# Would you buy Sampiros book? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 19, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286 "2012-02-19T00:35:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/41 "2012-02-19T19:33:27Z")
I don’t understand the call for editing. To me there is no fat; it’s all “seasoning.” I’d buy his book in a heartbeat even tho it would have to come out of the grocery money. I do want it autographed, tho… **Sunspace** , I hope you PM him. He needs to be steered toward a publisher of grit lit. Even a small, regional publishing house would do. Just get it into print and let word-of-mouth do the rest. The man is GOOD. “How about some okra instead?” indeed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/42 "2012-02-19T20:16:08Z")
[post=11664803]My post is my cite.[/post] C’mon, Jon, get the book out in time for ChristmaHanuKwanzaSolstice! ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/43 "2012-02-19T20:19:26Z")
Is there any particular post of his that would give someone some insight as to what his book would be about? ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/44 "2012-02-19T20:46:10Z")
The bitchy answer was Bludgeoning Dull; the more considered one is No, I wouldn’t . What can be quite amusing, if a little over-praised, as the installments of a rambling, picaresque serial that pop up occasionally on a message board with a captive membership eager for any kind of coherent content wouldn’t work at all well as a stand alone book with no real core or substance other than “here are some long hyperbolic tales of my odd family”. Some people like his verbosity, I find it difficult to get past the first couple of paragraphs before closing the thread, and a decent editor would tell him to cut out or condense 2/3rds of it, which pretty much leaves Hey, here’s more funny shit my Mom did once, and that really isn’t enough to sustain a book. Condense, condense, condense, and add some narrative thrust before it is saleable to anyone other than existing fans on this site. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/45 "2012-02-19T20:55:46Z")
Shouldn’t we be chanting, “Author! Author! Author!” to get him in here to update us and perhaps do a reading and e-sign our thread? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/46 "2012-02-19T20:58:51Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > What’s the book about? I haven’t seen a reference to it. I do enjoy Sampiro’s posts, so probably yes. Ditto. He’s one of my favorite posters in CS. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/47 "2012-02-19T21:02:10Z")
> [@Beastly\_Rotter](#): > > The bitchy answer was Bludgeoning Dull; the more considered one is No, I wouldn’t . What can be quite amusing, if a little over-praised, as the installments of a rambling, picaresque serial that pop up occasionally on a message board with a captive membership eager for any kind of coherent content wouldn’t work at all well as a stand alone book with no real core or substance other than “here are some long hyperbolic tales of my odd family”. Some people like his verbosity, I find it difficult to get past the first couple of paragraphs before closing the thread, and a decent editor would tell him to cut out or condense 2/3rds of it, which pretty much leaves Hey, here’s more funny shit my Mom did once, and that really isn’t enough to sustain a book. Condense, condense, condense, and add some narrative thrust before it is saleable to anyone other than existing fans on this site. How do you suppose we got to be fans here on this site? By reading his stuff and not looking for “narrative thrust”. Not every piece of writing has to be narrative. I take it you don’t enjoy Dave Barry either. ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/48 "2012-02-19T21:06:07Z")
Would love the book. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/49 "2012-02-19T21:17:04Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I take it you don’t enjoy Dave Barry either. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/50 "2012-02-19T22:09:10Z")
> [@Beastly\_Rotter](#): > > The bitchy answer was Bludgeoning Dull; the more considered one is No, I wouldn’t . What can be quite amusing, if a little over-praised, as the installments of a rambling, picaresque serial that pop up occasionally on a message board with a captive membership eager for any kind of coherent content wouldn’t work at all well as a stand alone book with no real core or substance Ah, Hemmingway. I hate Hemmingway also. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/51 "2012-02-19T22:11:14Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > No. The idiotic detail in the tangents is hilarious. If anything, they enhance the main thread. Besides, that is how people think. Or at least how I think. Yeah, that’s the fun part. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/52 "2012-02-19T22:46:31Z")
I’d buy a hardback copy for my library, a paperback for loaning out, a digital copy for my tablet, and would watch the movie when it comes out, then bitch on here about how they screwed the movie up. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/53 "2012-02-20T01:09:33Z")
I doubt it would be my cup of tea. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/54 "2012-02-20T01:26:23Z")
If I wanted a long, rambling, endlessly digressed, pointless story about somebody’s crazy family, I could just call my mother for free. I sometimes find his posts amusing, but more commonly I wish he’d quit gassing on and get to the damn point already. I might flip through the book if I ran across it at the library but most likely wouldn’t check it out, much less buy it. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/55 "2012-02-20T01:44:26Z")
Yes. Fuck, hell, definitely yes. If you don’t like his rambling style, that’s fine; but if that was cut, it wouldn’t _be_ Sampiro. I hope he gets an editor that appreciates that. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/56 "2012-02-20T06:34:35Z")
> [@alexandra](#): > > Yes. Fuck, hell, definitely yes. > > If you don’t like his rambling style, that’s fine; but if that was cut, it wouldn’t _be_ Sampiro. I hope he gets an editor that appreciates that. Good editors are hard to find, but they do exist, although these days most non A-list authors must hire them on their own. On the bright side, this means we can shop around to find an editor who’s a solid match and who understands how to finesse our manuscripts until they’re nigh-on perfect. A great editor will cut what doesn’t work to enhance what does – just as Michaelangelo took a slab of stone and removed everything that wasn’t _David_. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/57 "2012-02-20T08:09:42Z")
I went for Yes, Hell yes, and would come back from the dead for this book! He’s the main reason I joined the SDMB after lurking and reading through years of his accumulated posts 🙂 > [@brickbacon](#): > > Is there any particular post of his that would give someone some insight as to what his book would be about? Try [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6389505&postcount=1) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/58 "2012-02-20T08:31:27Z")
I very much disagree with the snip snip kind of editing proposed. There are obviously bits that need subbing and fixing for sense, but the rambling asides and embedded parentheticals are part of the charm. And though not even Sweeney Editor would cut its throat, the thought that there’s the merest chance that a phrase like “By Message 9 or so the contractions are coming 3 minutes apart and I can see the head of the argument” could be lost gives me the heebie jeebies. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/59 "2012-02-20T08:50:03Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I And though not even Sweeney Editor would cut its throat, the thought that there’s the merest chance that a phrase like “By Message 9 or so the contractions are coming 3 minutes apart and I can see the head of the argument” could be lost gives me the heebie jeebies. Long run for a short slide. He has a gift of phrasing, but it gets lost in the verbosity. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286/60 "2012-02-20T14:32:43Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > If I wanted a long, rambling, endlessly digressed, pointless story about somebody’s crazy family, I could just call my mother for free. I sometimes find his posts amusing, but more commonly I wish he’d quit gassing on and get to the damn point already. Point? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-sampiros-book/613286.md?page=4)