Customer Reviews

Alphabet City: My So-Called Sitcom Life

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Very entertaining and funny book giving you an 'insider' view into the working world of New York City!! Loved the comparisons to a sit-com life and all of the 'characters' and 'guest stars'! Especially loved the transparency of the author's view of NYC coming from Texas...not forgetting his roots but also making the jump to NYC with ease and as always, a fantastic sense of humor!

Jon Paul cleverly packages his memoir into TV episodes and this makes for a quick and delightful read. This is not a snarky tell-all -- it is a sweetly and at time sharply told story about kid from Texas who moved to the big apple to follow a dream and make a better life. And yes, there are celebrity appearances in several episodes for those of you who like a little gossip -- you will learn that celebrities are real people too!

Alphabet City is as entertaining a memoir as you can ever pick up, especially if you're one of the plucky souls who has ever made the ole knuckle-headed move out to New York. Trust me, it'll chase your morning blues away on the subway. Stuffed like a goose on a "steady diet of seventies sitcoms," Jon Paul kissed his functionally dysfunctional Texas clan goodbye and struck out on his own, Mary Richards-style, in NYC at the age of 26. Now, Mary Richards, of course, moved to Minneapolis, but the point is, she made it after all and Jon Paul was determined to do the same. And, minus the perky bosom, he had everything that Mary Tyler Moore's character had going for her - a good head on his shoulders, a glinting smile, and a resolve to make the whole mess work - only to meet the storm surge of New York's p.r. industry. His life becomes all about keeping his head above water in a career and a city that require more wits than he ever imagined he had about him. Along the way, he must negotiate entertainment-industry pandemonium as he manages a cast of celebrities' unmanageable schedules and caters to their incalculable whims. Yet, just like Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid, experience brings him along like a fighter as he travels the globe, eventually writing for Conde Nast and developing an independent p.r. portfolio. But that's just part of a story that also includes poignant scenes of finding love, losing loved ones and realizing that the journey alone is worth the wear and tear. It's ALL in here - and it's a must-read for anyone who has a dream and packs up and splits for the city.

Jon Paul Buchmeyer spent most of his 20s pursuing the West Coast version of the American dream... write the great American screenplay and wait until the William Morris Agency instigates a bidding war. But when the high-six against low-seven offers didn't start pouring in, Jon Paul went for the East Coast Plan "B" and ended up in the glamorous world of New York celebrity PR. Jon's southern charms and sweetness quickly endear him to his celebrity clients.

Alphabet City tells the universal story of moving to the Big Apple to make it in the big leagues. Whether you're a newly minted Wall Street banker, an aspiring actor or dancer, or trying to make it in publishing/writing like Jon Paul, you'll appreciate his earnest take on life in the New York fast lane. Jon's writing manages to be sentimental without being mawkish. He brings readers into the hilarious lives of his celebrity clients without being gossipy or bitter. Nice guys do finish first.

I wasn't able to put this book down while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta... written with great flair... an entertaining and enjoyable read not to be missed!

I just finished "Alphabet City: My So-Called Sitcom Life". I thought the "sitcom" framing device was a very fun way to structure book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I must say that being the gay one-time owner of a Bichon Frise, from Dallas and Austin who moved to New York, I found more than a few things to identify with in Jon Paul's book. And I must admit that I wiped away a small tear while reading the last page. So----now I'm anxious to read the further adventures of Jon Paul, Juan Pablo and Frida. When's the movie coming out?