# "Proud non-reader" Kanye West turns author



## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

A little late to the game on this one (it was published late last month), but I found it interesting enough to share. I hope no one else has already posted it!

*"Proud non-reader" Kanye West turns author*

My favorite part of the article, besides the obvious irony in the title and point of the piece?



> "Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed," West said. "I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph.
> 
> "I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life," he said.


...And Kanye, he knows a thing or two about self-absorption.

I guess we won't see him endorsing the Kindle any time soon! Unless, of course, he makes his -- ahem -- "Kanye-isms" available in ebook format.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

i just be so glad I haven't read dat book


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## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

But if you did, you could write an entertaining review on Amazon!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

I strongly suspect that the reviews were a better read than the book would be.

It's depressing that there will actually be fans of his who buy this thinking it's deep.


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## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

You mean "I hate the word hate!" doesn't qualify as "deep," Susan? Say it ain't so!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

What I don't get is how he could be a college drop-out.  
I mean, to drop out you have to have managed to get in...


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## Sweety18 (Feb 14, 2009)

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth


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## libros_lego (Mar 24, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> What I don't get is how he could be a college drop-out.
> I mean, to drop out you have to have managed to get in...


you is so funny


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Here's what impresses me:

"His book is 52 pages -- some blank, others with just a few words -- and offers his optimistic philosophy on life. One two-page section reads, "Life is 5% what happens and 95% how you react!" Another page reads "I hate the word hate!"

"This is a collection of thoughts and theories," West, 31, said in an interview about his spiral-bound volume, which was written with J. Sakiya Sandifer."

52 pages, some blank, some with only a few words - and he needed to write it WITH someone


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Meemo said:


> 52 pages, some blank, some with only a few words


And for eight bucks, yet.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

THAT is completely ridiculous... watch it be a Best Seller... just because all of his fans will HAVE to have it!!!! YEESH!


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

This isn't even funny.


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## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

Rasputina said:


> This isn't even funny.


If I didn't laugh, I'd cry.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Oh I wasn't speaking about any of the comments here, I just meant the story in general. Hope no one thought I was referring to their post.


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## koolmnbv (Mar 25, 2009)

The sad part is that maybe, just maybe, if he would have put a little effort into it MAYBE he could have pulled out something worth reading.

I don't know Kanye's life story past that he's a singer/rapper and I know a few of his songs. But everyone has a story and if you manage to become famous while doing what you love I'm sure you could turn that into a positive book. Along the way you can tell your life story and leave with a positive message. 

Instead it seems like he wanted jump on the "celebritys get attention and make money for doing anything/nothing" bandwagon. Paris Hilton is also still searching for her new BFF (best friend forever) in season 2, Yes thats right 2nd season. She chose a bff in her 1st season but that didn't work out so she needs a 2nd season to help her find a new BFF! It's crazy but people will but it and they will watch it. So the rich get richer for half the effort! 



Edited to add: I'm not a hater/bigot, I do think their are several good celebrities  and wealthy famous people out there. There are ones that do good things with the oppurtunities and money they have been blessed with. I was just on a little rant above and wanted to come back and add in that I know there are good and bad among all walks of life.


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## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

koolmnbv said:


> The sad part is that maybe, just maybe, if he would have put a little effort into it MAYBE he could have pulled out something worth reading.
> 
> I don't know Kanye's life story past that he's a singer/rapper and I know a few of his songs. But everyone has a story and if you manage to become famous while doing what you love I'm sure you could turn that into a positive book. Along the way you can tell your life story and leave with a positive message.


But if he did _that_, remember, Kanye would be "so wordy and so self-absorbed," like other people who write novels. And he is not a fan of books. He co-wrote (!) Kanye West Presents Thank You and You're Welcome simply to set the record straight when it comes to his "Kanye-isms," because, he says, "I get paraphrased and misquoted all the time."

I'm gonna quote my "favorite" part of the article again, because I still can't believe someone (especially someone with a _university English professor_ for a mother!) could say this with a straight face:



> "Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed," West said. "I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph.
> 
> "I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life," he said.


That just blows my little mind.


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## sharyn (Oct 30, 2008)

> "Life is 5% what happens and 95% how you react!"


This is actually quite profound. Not very original, but I'm impressed that he knows it enough to actually write it down. Or maybe that was the ghost-writer part...<G>


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## MAGreen (Jan 5, 2009)

Meredith Sinclair said:


> THAT is completely ridiculous... watch it be a Best Seller... just because all of his fans will HAVE to have it!!!! YEESH!


Do you think his fans know how to read?

ETA: After reading the reviews, I LOL even harder. 2 of the 6 even deny buying the book, one got it as a gift and the other borrowed it from a friend, or are they just too embarrased to admit they bought it? I would be!


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Part of me wonders if this is just him talking to his fan base, or better yet, putting on whoever was interviewing him.  If not, his poor mother is probably rolling over in her grave.  I've heard him say some stupid stuff, and I've heard him sound reasonably intelligent.  But to say "I would never want a book's autograph"...eek.

Plus:  "West, a college dropout, said being a non-reader was helpful when he wrote his book because it gave him "a childlike purity." "

Unfortunately what he said makes you remember that one man's "childlike purity" is another man's "ignorance".


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

I have never seen nor heard anything by him that impressed me in a positive way.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

He "hates the word hate" yet his most memorable quote is "George Bush hates black people."  

I ranted about this on my blog last week. The amusing part of the whole thing is that he probably doesn't get how utterly unintelligent this makes him appear.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Thumper said:


> He "hates the word hate" yet his most memorable quote is "George Bush hates black people."


I believe it was "George Bush doesn't care about black people."


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I wouldn't want to see the outcome of an intelligence test between those 2


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Folks, let's be respectful, please. . . . .


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I don't pay much attention to Kanye West...is he the guy whose mother died of a botched plastic surgery operation? And he was quite close to her?

L


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Leslie said:


> I don't pay much attention to Kanye West...is he the guy whose mother died of a botched plastic surgery operation? And he was quite close to her?
> 
> L


According to Wikipedia, yes.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

intinst said:


> According to Wikipedia, yes.


Thanks...


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Since we are talking about less-than-stellar writing, I downloaded the free script of the first episode of Nurse Jackie. I read about 5 pages and deleted it. What a pile of crap. My 2 cents.

L


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## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

MAGreen said:


> Do you think his fans know how to read?
> 
> ETA: After reading the reviews, I LOL even harder. 2 of the 6 even deny buying the book, one got it as a gift and the other borrowed it from a friend, or are they just too embarrased to admit they bought it? I would be!


So would I! Of course, buying it wouldn't be necessary: at fifty-two pages -- some of them blank -- it's not like you'd have any difficulty reading this literary gem in its entirety at your local Barnes & Noble so you could then write a review without having to purchase it.



Meemo said:


> Part of me wonders if this is just him talking to his fan base, or better yet, putting on whoever was interviewing him. If not, his poor mother is probably rolling over in her grave. I've heard him say some stupid stuff, and I've heard him sound reasonably intelligent. But to say "I would never want a book's autograph"...eek.
> 
> Plus: "West, a college dropout, said being a non-reader was helpful when he wrote his book because it gave him "a childlike purity." "
> 
> Unfortunately what he said makes you remember that one man's "childlike purity" is another man's "ignorance".


Quoted for truth. 

What did you think about the Confucious/confusion remark? ("So does he fancy himself a modern-day Confucius? 'I'm trying to end the confusion,' he said, laughing and adding, 'I'm gonna put that on the next album.'") Did Kanye know what the interviewer was talking about and then poke fun at it, or did he think s/he mispronounced "confusion"? I couldn't tell, myself.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

jesspark said:


> What did you think about the Confucious/confusion remark? ("So does he fancy himself a modern-day Confucius? 'I'm trying to end the confusion,' he said, laughing and adding, 'I'm gonna put that on the next album.'") Did Kanye know what the interviewer was talking about and then poke fun at it, or did he think s/he mispronounced "confusion"? I couldn't tell, myself.


Can't be certain, but I'd bet heavily on the latter. The former would show both recognition of the name Confucius and an interest in quick wordplay, neither of which seem likely.


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## HollyChristine (May 30, 2009)

What really irks me about the whole thing is the money that he was probably paid to write a book. I'm trying to find out how much, but the Publisher listed on Amazon is SUPER GOOD? WT! I totally would have gone with SUCKERS, LLC. Emphasis on the LLC. 

Did he publish himself? 

I decided to self publish after Blagojevich received a six figure deal from Phoenix Books. When people like that gets deals, I wonder how many talented yet unpublished authors are shoved to the side...


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

HollyChristine said:


> What really irks me about the whole thing is the money that he was probably paid to write a book. I'm trying to find out how much, but the Publisher listed on Amazon is SUPER GOOD? WT! I totally would have gone with SUCKERS, LLC. Emphasis on the LLC.
> 
> Did he publish himself?
> 
> I decided to self publish after Blagojevich received a six figure deal from Phoenix Books. When people like that gets deals, I wonder how many talented yet unpublished authors are shoved to the side...


Very good question, Holly. The number is probably higher than we can even imagine.

L


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## HollyChristine (May 30, 2009)

Argh to the greed.


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