September 3, 2009

See Kanye write

I am a huge fan of books, always have been. Fiction, non-fiction, history, business, all of it. Love love love art books. Even love cook books, and trust me there is a healthy dose of irony there. So what to make of this news? Rap star Kanye West is publishing his first book. I like West’s style and his outspoken politics. And I think Heartless is a stunningly beautiful song. Yet his book, called “Thank You and You’re Welcome”, is annoying me.

So why does this bug me? West describes himself as "a proud non-reader of books". His book is 52 pages, some blank, some with a few words, of as he describes on his website, "an entertaining volume of "Kanye-isms... the creative, humorous and insightful philosophies and anecdotes used in creating my path to success." Ok so humility is not in play here.  Is this really a good thing? A book written by someone who doesn’t like books? Couldn’t people read something else? Maybe with words and sentences and chapters?

The upside? Maybe this will have the Oprah effect, and drive non-reading Kanye fans into a bookstore where while searching for Kanye’s epic tome, they will trip over another book and buy that one also. Or not...

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