A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: Hank's sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018)

project history · status: completed · last event: milestone (2021-07-16)

Hank confirmed in 2018 that he was writing a sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, finished a draft in October 2019 and announced it as A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. It came out on 7 July 2020, became a New York Times bestseller and appeared in paperback in July 2021.

Told alongside: Hank writes An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, his first novel (2014) · John: tour with Hank and Sarah for A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and You Are an Artist (2020) · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: announcement and publication of Hank's first novel (2017)

About: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

date	event	what	video
2018-08-31	announced	Asked whether a sequel to his book is in the works, Hank says yes.	Beautiful if Damp: Answering Questions in Melbourne 00:02:17
2018-12-28	milestone	Asked what the sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing will be named, Hank says he has a working name, but his publisher, editor and agent have told him it is bad.	The Cutest Thing My Son Has Done and More (With Katherine) 00:01:13
2019-04-23	milestone	Hank is sorting through titles for the sequel to his number one New York Times best-selling An Absolutely Remarkable Thing; helping him, John re-realized he is terrible at titles.	untitled 00:00:00
2019-06-07	milestone	Hank says his book will have a sequel he is working on, which led him to list, with Twitter questions, what he wishes he had known writing his first book.	8 Things I Wish I Knew When I was Writing my First Novel 00:00:00
2019-10-29	milestone	Hank tells John he has finished a draft of his book, the biggest news of his year.	The Truth about None Pizza with Left Beef 00:02:55
2019-10-31	milestone	Hank has started revising and really enjoys the story; it is a mess, but he thinks it will be good.	Book News! 00:00:29
2019-11-01	milestone	John says Hank has just finished a sequel to his first novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.	On Looking Up to Your Little Brother 00:02:39
2019-11-29	announced	Hank announces his new book, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, out July 7, 2020, with pre-order links and a synopsis in the description; he'll talk about it more soon.	My Most Controversial Opinion 00:03:07
2019-12-20	milestone	Hank's book A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor now has a cover, designed by Kaitlin Kall; followers on social media may have seen it.	Reading the First Chapter of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor 00:00:02
2020-01-07	milestone	John says Hank's book A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, such a good title, comes out in July.	Endings · Beginnings 00:02:29
2020-01-10	milestone	Hank likes the book a lot: it is much more ambitious than his first and says interesting and important things we need to be thinking about now.	The Thing I would Like to End 00:03:14
2020-02-28	milestone	Hank signs the sheets for A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor; signed copies are now available for pre-order.	I'M FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE 00:02:10
2020-05-08	milestone	Hank has finished his last edits to his book and sent them in; it is officially 60 days, two months, from publication.	The years start coming and they don't stop coming! 00:03:04
2020-06-12	milestone	Hank tells John it is 25 days until July 7, when the Carl saga concludes and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is released.	Fed to the Rules 00:02:59
2020-06-19	milestone	Hank's author copies of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor are in, and the book has its first review, from Library Journal.	Only Shooting Stars 00:03:08
2020-06-30	milestone	John reread Hank's A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor over the weekend and thinks it is the rare sequel that improves upon the original.	i like it 00:00:41
2020-07-03	milestone	The audiobook cast is announced, with many voices: five point-of-view characters plus epigraphs between chapters, like a fundraiser transcript with made-up Senator William Casey.	My World's on Fire 00:01:56
2020-07-07	outcome	A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is available now wherever books are sold, and they launch it tonight at 7pm at youtube.com/vlogbrothers.	You're a Rock Star 00:03:13
2020-07-21	milestone	John notes that Hank's A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a New York Times bestseller and congratulates him.	Somebody Once Asked . . . 00:00:00
2021-07-16	milestone	Hank's two novels, one story about the internet now and in the future, are both available in paperback as of this week (week of 12 July 2021).	Should You Abandon Social Media? 00:03:13

What is said about it

11 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).

2020-06-12 · Fed to the Rules — ask: Hank says signed editions of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor can be pre-ordered all over, now including Waterstones in the UK. — 00:02:59
2020-06-12 · Fed to the Rules — announcement: Hank and John will hold a launch event on July 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern, here, open to everyone. — 00:02:59
2020-06-12 · Fed to the Rules — announcement: Hank: Every ticket buyer gets a signed copy of the book in the mail, and the first 500 sign-ups at each venue get a lapel pin available no other way. — 00:03:28
2020-06-19 · Only Shooting Stars — announcement: Hank tells John his author copies of the book are in, with the actual words; it is a little longer than the first, not by design: there was just a lot of story to tell. — 00:03:08
2020-06-30 · i like it — John calls the book funny, heartwarming, moving and a big adventure, but most of all an astonishingly sophisticated analysis of what the internet does to us and our social orders. — 00:00:49
2020-06-30 · i like it — John: From how platforms use our attention to how online experience both humanizes and dehumanizes others, John says the book captures what now feels like for him. — 00:01:02
2020-06-30 · i like it — John: Hank didn't foresee a pandemic but saw something coming; the book helped John see contemporary life as more than merely foolish, if less than merely beautiful. — 00:01:12
2020-06-30 · i like it — announcement: John: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor comes out on July 7th, one week from today; John is so excited for people to read it. — 00:01:38
2020-07-10 · What a Concept!! — Hank: Both of Hank's books talk a lot about music on purpose: music is the clearest example of how every creation is a collaboration with the past. — 00:02:45
2020-12-29 · Looking Back at My 2020 Goals — John: Sarah's book You Are an Artist and Hank's A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor both came out, but the touring John planned for them did not happen. — 00:01:56
2021-01-05 · SUPERIOR FISH BEINGS — John: Avoiding spoilers, John says adult Hank has arguably written the two greatest superior fish being novels of the century, with few actual fish beings. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:58