So, the Holy Hullabaloos books came off the press on April 25, and I now have two copies of the final version in my hot little hands, whatever that phrase means. They're lovely looking. They're much fatter and book-like than the bound galleys. They're so nice that Karen might even actually finish reading the book. She doesn't usually read anything I write, but she did promise to read the book, and for a while she was reading the bound galley of HH, but then she stopped, claiming that the book had a "weird hand-feel" because it was a weird shape or something. My wife, in case you don't know her, is bananas. Good bananas, but still. Anyway, now that the beautiful new book is out with all the blurbs all over it, there are so many blurbs, if there were any more blurbs they'd have to be written on the spine of the book like that one story David Foster Wallace once wrote for an early issue of McSweeney's, and also the cool and crisp picture of Uncle Sam and Jesus with lightly painted hair on it, I think Karen might finish the book, and that is good. Also I should point out that the book is cheap. Did you hear that? It's cheap. Because it's a paperback. Ordinarily a Beacon book would come out first in hardcover, but Helene Atwan, the editor and Director of the press, decided that since the book should be attractive to younger people and students, it would be a good idea to have it come out in paperback so they could afford it. I thought it was a good idea. Who wants to pay $26 for a book anyway? And this decision was made before the economy went completely into the toilet, so now her judgment looks like pure genius. If you're looking for a book to read this summer, then, consider that you will be able to get my book for like $14 on Amazon, while it might cost you $87 to buy some hardcover piece of crap that isn't even as good as my book. Why would you pay $73 more to buy a worse book? I don't understand it. Why??? Anyways, the book will be shipping from the warehouse in Iowa or somewhere on May 6, that's next week, and it should be making its way to Amazon and B&N and the bookstores in late May sometime, although the official publication date remains early June. Have a nice day, thank you.