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    Sellevision: A Novel
    Sellevision: A Novel
    Sellevision: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    Sellevision: A Novel

    Written by Augusten Burroughs

    Narrated by Robin Miles

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited, Sellevision explores greed, obsession and third tier celebrity, in the world of a fictional home shopping network.

    Welcome to the troubled world of Sellevision, America's premier retail broadcasting network. When Max Andrews, the much-loved and handsome (lonely and gay) host of "Slumber Sunday Sundown" accidentally exposes himself in front of twenty million kids and their parents during a "Toys for Tots" segment, Sellevision faces its first big scandal. As Max fails to find a job in television, another host, the popular and perky Peggy Jean Smythe is receiving sinister emails about her appearance from a stalker. Popping pills and drinking heavily, she fails to notice that her husband is spending a lot of time with the very young babysitter who lives next door. Then there's Leigh, whose affair with Sellevision boss Howard Toast is going nowhere, until she exposes him on air; and Bebe, Sellevision's star host, who finds Mr. Right through the Internet--if she can just stop her shopping addiction from taking over.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateNov 28, 2006
    ISBN9781593978532
    Author

    Augusten Burroughs

    Augusten Burroughs is the author of Running with Scissors, Dry, Magical Thinking: True Stories, Possible Side Effects, A Wolf at the Table and You Better Not Cry. He is also the author of the novel Sellevision, which has been optioned for film. The film version of Running with Scissors, directed by Ryan Murphy and produced by Brad Pitt, was released in October 2006 and starred Joseph Cross, Brian Cox, Annette Bening (nominated for a Golden Globe for her role), Alec Baldwin and Evan Rachel Wood. Augusten's writing has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers around the world including The New York Times and New York Magazine. In 2005 Entertainment Weekly named him one of "The 25 Funniest People in America." He resides in New York City and Western Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for Sellevision

    3.5/5

    468 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What a super hilarious and creative book!!! I love it!
    • 5/5
      "You exposed your penis on national television, Max." The first line of the book and it's a wild ride from that point. Max the flasher in question is one of the hosts of a home shopping show for the Sellevision network. We follow Max's story and some of the other hosts from the network. Max is termed right after that first sentence and tries out for various other jobs. There's Peggy Jean a good Christian woman who finds herself with a stalker and turns to drugs and alcohol to try and cope. Bebe is the networks longest running hostess who has a bit of a shopping problem herself. There's also a younger hostess who's having an affair with the married boss. Throw in another philandering husband, a dry cleaner, a psychotic child with anger issues and you've got most of the characters in the book. Truly a hilarious book and you can't help but wonder what awful thing the characters are going to fall into next. Unlike most I did like this as much or more than Burroughs memoirs.
    • 4/5
      A cute fun summer beach read. The characters and their events are zany, out loud laughable, and wanting you to hope they make this a movie!
    • 3/5
      Here's the ins and outs of a home shopping network cast of characters, as told via the warped perspective of the man who gave us Running with Scissors.Things are humming along nicely for everyone at Sellevision when one fine day, one of the senior hosts accidentally exposes himself during a live segment aimed at children and their parents. Turns out to be the beginning of a major downward spiral for the network. Shortly after, another host finds herself the target of a stalker and becomes progressively (and hilariously) unhinged. A third exposes her boss/lover live on the air during a Simulated Ruby Sensations segment, and the fourth, a compulsive shopper, finds love in an unexpected place. This one is a wicked romp that manages to skewer television/film personalities, shopping culture, NYC culture, suburbia, religion, 12-step programs, and a host of other sacred cows. Those are the book's strengths. The main weakness is that it leans a little too hard on the train-wrecky side of absurdity in places--there's a definite sense of "what more can I pile on here?" just for the sake of it, in other words. But it's still fun.
    • 3/5
      This is fiction by Augusten Burroughs who is mostly known for his memoirs. This is a really funny story about people trying to make it in the business of Home Shopping TV.
    • 5/5
      Augusten Burroughs never fails to make me laugh when reading his books.
    • 3/5
      I would have liked this better had I read it on the plane, which was my intent - it's not quite the sort of thing I dig, but it was funny enough. It's wildly over-the-top, which is kind of its only charm - from the intro, where the only sympathetic character gets fired from his Home Shopping Network-type job for a wardrobe malfunction of the highest order, it doesn't let up on the broad caricatures or ridiculous action.

      It's badly dated, of course, but that can't be helped. I wasn't totally a fan of reading a whole book about hopelessly shallow people (hence the "better on an airplane" part) but Burroughs certainly hit what he was aiming for, I think.
    • 5/5
      Burroughs' Sellevision is a tale about a gay TV presenter who inadvertently exposes himself on TV. The story follows the after effects of the event. Some of the descriptions of the book might lead on to think the story to be a little smutty; but far from it, in fact I found it to be highly entertaining - an hilarious and thoroughly rewarding story with some larger than life characters. Rewarding as a read, and rewarding in the just and so appropriate outcome. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      This book was fun - a harmless romp into the idealistic world of QVC and Home Shopping Network executives and their private lives. Great beach book!
    • 4/5
      A hilarious satirical glimpse into the world home shopping networks, consumerism and scandal. I didn't think I would like "Sellevision," but I ended up enjoying it more than some of Burroughs' later works. Granted, a few of the quirky characters begin taking on cartoon-like qualities. Continuity is also problematic in some spots. But I disagree with those reviewers who suggest that there's not much of message in this book. It speaks volumes about everything from society's insatiable appetite for scandal, to the changing consumer landscape. Yet is also remains an easy and amusing read.
    • 2/5
      As much as I love Augusten Burroughs, I did not like Sellevision at all. It was very obvious this was his first book as the plot jumped all over the place as if he had a lot of ideas, but couldn't decide on how to blend them together. My biggest problem, though, was the characters; I didn't care about them. I couldn't empathize with them, could care less that their lives sucked, etc. Another one of those books that took me forever to read because I didn't enjoy it enough to not put it down, and avoided it because I wasn't enjoying it.
    • 2/5
      Far be it from me to reject a book that focuses on the too little explored topic of facial and arm hair. Not since T.S. Eliot's Prufrock has the topic gotten such literary attention. Nevertheless, the subject matter may be a little thin to build a novel on. One can see that Burroughs is building up his writing chops with this book. Most people start out with the thinly veiled autobiography, then move to pure fiction: he has gone the other way, finding his stride when he draws on his personal experience. That is because he really cares about himself. The people in this novel, not so much, and it shows. Even superficial ninnies deserve some love, at least they do if you want readers to care enough to keep reading, and these characters just don't get any from Burroughs.
    • 3/5
      Funny and crazy, in your face humor...just like Burroughs' memoirs.
    • 2/5
      Not the best of Augusten's but anything written by him has entertainment value.
    • 2/5
      Funny stuff but, in the end, empty. His autobiographical stuff is so much more interesting for being real.
    • 4/5
      If you are fan of QVC, HSN, etc. you will totally get this. If not you still might find it funny!This is about the fictional cable shopping channel "Sellevision" and it's popular hosts. You get Max Andrews who is their golden boy host who makes an on-air peek-a-boo of a mistake. There is Peggy Jean Smythe (think Mary Beth Roe of QVC), wholesome, Christian, delusional and is the victim of facial hair!.You also get the popular Bebe Friedman (think former QVC host and lovely gal Kathy Levine)who finally finds Mr. Right until a twist in the relationship makes for a funny read. There are other characters but these 3 are best. An easy read and perfect for the beach!
    • 4/5
      Lightweight, but humorous