5 Questions with Dan Wilbur, Neighborhood Literary Nerd

Photo by Anya Garrett.

In between taking daily requests for 50 Shades of Grey while working the counter at Park Slope's Community Bookstore, doing stand-up comedy sets, and playing countless hours of Madden and Dr. Mario, comedian Dan Wilbur has written a book.

Dan, a Kensington resident, recently published How Not To Read: Harnessing the Power of a Literature-Free Life based on Better Book Titles, his comedy blog about photoshopped book covers. The subject is a touchy one for Dan; his love for literature is derailed by his video games addiction, and he makes a living peddling hardbacks to Park Slope's residing authors. As of last Tuesday, Dan is now part of this elitest group with a tongue-in-cheek how-to on getting by without reading. His own book is currently on display at Community, where he offers customized book covers with purchase. We caught up Dan to find out more about his book and why the book store employee is empowering people to never read.

Tell me who the average Park Slope reader is in one sentence: 

"Oh, I happen to be (or once was) a writer." (Not an insult, by the way! I think the taste of Park Slope bookish folk seems to be that of experienced editors/writers even if they don't have those occupations themselves. They know some people who recommend Calvino and Paul Auster. Or they actually are Paul Auster.)

From Dan's blog, Better Book Titles.

What are you recommending to readers these days? What about books they may have on their shelves but have never read?

I've sold one hundred copies of my own book in a week! Obviously that's what everyone should read! But before (and during) this week, I've hand sold about one hundred copies of Paul Murray's Skippy Dies. Maybe one of the most underrated books in the last few years about libidinous, drug-addled Catholic school boys experimenting with drugs, sex, and .... TIME TRAVEL. It's great. The book you might have on your shelf and you should read is Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita or Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy or The English Patient or the Fitzgerald translation of the Odyssey. Oh no! There are too many books and most are good!

Let me get this straight. You work in a bookstore, yet wrote a book about how to get by in life without reading?

 

Yes. It's a book that's meant to empower people to feel good about their choice to never read while also sounding smarter than everyone in the room. The first half is written as if you've never heard of books before (where to find one, how to read one properly, carrying one around), the second half includes tips you can follow to look smarter in situations with extremely smart people (college, book clubs, publishers who want to give you a book deal). If anyone follows all of it...well, they might die. But if they follow some of the safe steps, no one will talk to you ever again! And then you'll have tons of free time to read or not read at your leisure.

From Dan's blog, Better Book Titles.

How Not to Read was released last Tuesday. Tell us how the book tour is going!

So far I've made it all the way to Greenpoint and lower Manhattan. Pretty cool stuff. Have you heard of this place "Union" "Square"? It's huge! So many people. The tour hasn't really lifted off the ground, but it is full nice stops: New Hampshire, Boston, Philly, Cleveland, and probably California before Christmas. If, for any other reason, to perform comedy in all those cities while signing books during the day.

It might be too early, but any plans for a sequel?

Sure! My friend Robert Dean and I are working on a book based on our blog "Unquotables" and on top of that I'd like to do something about specific literary figures and fake letters. I've done a bit about Virginia Woolf giving her editor a panic attack that could be a great exchange to put on paper. I think there are more Better Book Titles books to be made. 

Be sure to catch Dan at his upcoming Union Hall show, "Comedians with Books," which is going down on September 19th at 7:30PM, and will feature Janeane Garofalo, Ted Travelstead, David Rees and more!