Customer Reviews

What Should I Do If Reverend Billy Is in My Store?

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Mickey on the cross, credit card exorcisms and the anti-consumerist gospel are just a few of the wonderful things you can expect out of Reverend Billy's shows. All of this has been captured on the page in this captivating and passionate book. Funny and wise, who needs a Starbucks coffee when you have Bill Talen to wake you up.

You know that local store in your town that has been there for years? Maybe you even know the name of the nice woman behind the counter, or maybe she knows yours. Yeah, that one. Soon it will be gone. A large corporation from another town in another state will move into that store and that nice lady won't work there anymore because they pay somebody from another town less money. Over time you will notice this happening alot. Look around YOUR neighborhood, do you see a Home Depot where the hardware store used to be? Is there an Applebees where your favorite restaurant as a child used to stand? If not, there will be. Unless we listen to the message of Bill Talen, an out of work actor from Hells Kitchen. When in character as "Reverend Billy" he preaches to anyone willing to listen about the serious problems that consumerism and relentless advertisment and big business in general cause in our neighborhoods. He also preaches about the solution to the problem, simple things that we, you and i, can do in our own lives to combat this problem. We can practice consumer disobediance, we can avoid shopping at places like Walmart and go to the local grocery. Or you can actually walk past the fifteen Starbucks' on your block and buy coffee from your local deli. Maybe the guy who owns the deli coaches your kids soccer team. Who owns Starbucks? Does he care about your family or your neighborhood? Rev. Billy cares about your neighborhood and so should you.

The humor throughout is undeniable. While Billy is very clearly against certain elements in society, he doesn't take himself too seriously. I laughed and laughed while reading this book - the humor caught me by surprise in that it was much funnier and less self-righteous than the documentary, "What Would Jesus Buy."

The only buzz kill in the book is that he does take his beliefs on religion a bit too seriously. It goes from funny to strange to mildly annoying pretty quickly; in my opinion, this is due to the fact that his views on this are non-sequitor to his message. Fortunately, this is not a large portion of the book.

He is "The Fool" in Disney's tarot. Emerson would be singing in his choir. Definitely worth a read.

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What Should I Do if Reverend Billy Is in My Store?

Stop shopping. Good advice.