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You're Not Much Use to Anyone: A Novel Hardcover – July 22, 2014

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David Shapiro (Author)
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David Shapiro (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars 25 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: New Harvest (July 22, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0544262301
  • ISBN-13: 978-0544262300
  • Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.8 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsLike HBO's "Girls" but with zero depth, originality, meaning, and purpose.
By Matthew on November 21, 2014
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This book perpetuates every single myth about 20-somethings, Brooklyn residents, media culture, and several other groups.

Shapiro is perhaps the least likable protagonist I've ever encountered. He's unbelievably self-absorbed and a liar. He gets mad at his girlfriends when they have promising career opportunities. He is NOT a good person and that makes him impossible to root for throughout the book. The worst part is that he views his immense privilege (his parents pay for him to live in the city) as a burden and complains about it.

The only positives in this book is that there are moments that make the story feel really genuine, or at least to Internet-obsessed people like myself who catch these little references.

This book was like "Girls" if it was even worse and had a cis-het, white male protagonist who was incredibly bland, selfish and just awful in every way imaginable. Thankfully, Dave Shapiro went to law school and gave up writing.

Don't waste your time with this unless you're an Internet-centric person. Even then, just get it from a library.

I'll leave you with the opening of a much better review from GoodReads that sums it all up:

"Imaginary conversation between David Shapiro and his publisher:

Amazon Publishing: Hey, David. So glad I was able to get you on the phone. Listen, I hear you have a Tumblr with over 30,000 followers and that you are, in particular, very popular with other Brooklyn hipsters like yourself. This is exactly the sort of buzzy project we really need to launch our trade publishing program! How about you write a novel for us?

David Shapiro: [Thinks for a minute.] I don't know if I'm qualified to write a whole book.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsI recommend the book for freshly minted college grads
By Lena Cox, PageCravings on August 28, 2014
Format: Hardcover
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m torn between describing David Shapiro’s debut novel, You’re Not Much Use to Anyone, as the oft told tale of directionless affluent kids living off their parent’s money while trying to orient themselves or the confessions of a self-aware awkward new adult.

David, the protagonist, comes off as the less manic version of Hannah from Lena Dunham’s Girls. His tone borders on detached when discussing his girlfriends or the direction he wants his life to go (law school), but about the time I wonder if he’s on a spectrum, he’ll drop a poignant and redemptive morsel such as “I remind myself that coolness is just a characteristic people ascribe to people who they only observe from afar, and that nobody is actually cool once you get to know them, and especially not people who are really concerned about how they’re dressed, but knowing that something is true and acting on it are different obviously.”

His detached nature changes when discussing a music review site called Pitchfork Reviews. A site David loathes, his disgust the closest to passion and excitement he’ll have the entire story. In response to another diatribe about the site, his girlfriend suggests he start a blog discussing the reviews on Pitchfork Reviews. He does, called Pitchfork Reviews Reviews.

The blog is part of the semi-autobiographical piece of You’re Not Much Use to Anyone. The author Shapiro began Pitchfork Reviews Reviews in 2010, a blog dedicated to giving a counter-voice to the reviews of indie music on Pitchfork. How much of the rest of the story is true versus fiction is known to David and his friends.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsBoth Finn the Human and Lumpy Space Princess Would Probably Approve of this Book (if LSP read, anyways)
By Jed Butler on July 27, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Disclaimer: I actually paid for this book ($5.99 Kindle, yeah!) and may be psychologically motivated to rate this book better than it is, because why would I, a highly intelligent human being, spend hard-earned money on something that wasn't high quality?

Review: I really enjoyed this book. I read it in a couple hours and laughed audibly several times (whilst alone). I related to the narrator and to many of the experiences that were so honestly portrayed in this "novel." I loved the honesty and the private moments that make you re-realize "hey, I'm not alone in this world, other people try to hide picking their nose too."

Disclaimer: I went to the Sun Kil Moon concert at The Town Hall and Mark mentioned how everyone asks him if Benji is "true." He responded by saying "Yeah, I'm really gonna be sad when my mom dies. There's a Red Lobster in Akron, Ohio. There really was a serial killer named Ramirez who died of natural causes." After Mark finished condescending to his fans, I was still left wondering if Carissa died from a trash fire, and I think she actually did.

Review: "You're Not Much Use to Anyone: A Novel" is well written! It feels a little bit like reading stream of consciousness poetry that has been slightly edited so as to garner a slightly better grade in high school English class. And it feels so honest! At times I felt like Shapiro was letting me into a secret that I probably didn't need to know, but that actually did contextualize the emotion that Shapiro is conveying through the narrative.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsAccept the Fate

The reading was quick with the style a bit choppy. Very much like reading a blog. The story of the authors ascension was not very compelling. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Luis Beguiristain
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

coming of age book

Published 19 months ago by Judy S.
3.0 out of 5 starsAn amusing, quick read

I've never read David Shapiro's blog, I rarely read Pitchfork Reviews, and I'm not a huge Belle and Sebastian fan. Had I been, I think I would have rated this book higher. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Jaclyn
4.0 out of 5 starsI usually don't like thinly fictionalized accounts

I was surprised. I usually don't like thinly fictionalized accounts, but this one really made me understand the ups and downs of this young webslinger.

Published 21 months ago by Bob Parks
3.0 out of 5 starsWhat can I say

The book kept my attention for the most part and I was never bored. However, the ending was terrible and I constantly kept wondering what exactly is the point? Where's this going? Read more

Published 22 months ago by Bosslady
5.0 out of 5 starsSuspenseful in its own quiet way, the protagonist's sense ...

Suspenseful in its own quiet way, the protagonist's sense of dread carries the reader along through tension and sighs of relief. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Jenny Lind
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat book!

Loved the book. Really enjoyed the transparency of the main character. Makes him very real. It was a fun,quick read. Just what I was looking for!

Published 22 months ago by Hady Mendez
5.0 out of 5 starsGenerational defining. It's a first person commentary through one ...

Generational defining. It's a first person commentary through one 22yo mind, who is trying to make it after college. Read more

Published 22 months ago by PulpTruth94
3.0 out of 5 starsPretty okay

some really great quotes and a strong voice...but so rambling at times that I questioned most of my choices in reading it.

Published 22 months ago by Mike Turner
1.0 out of 5 starsBoring

I didn't even finish this book. I was so bored by the main character.

Published 22 months ago by bookwormthemillionth

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