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THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

2011-06-29 · John · watch on YouTube · Books & writing · announcement promotion

Lower-confidence wave

2011 videos did not pass the QA gate (17 %); their analysis is shown but less reliable.

John announces that his new novel is called The Fault in Our Stars and is #1 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, promises to sign every first-printing copy, delegates the Sharpie colour to a forum poll, and opens a Great Gatsby reading with notes on the made-up epigraph and a six-chapter assignment.

What is said

00:00:00 — Title reveal: The Fault in Our Stars, from Julius Caesar; credit to a Nerdfighter

  • ★★★ John can finally reveal the title of his new novel: The Fault in Our Stars. — 00:00:00 · The Fault in Our Stars
  • ★★★ The title comes from Julius Caesar's 'the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars'; John says that's easy for Shakespeare or a Roman nobleman to say, and he doesn't fully agree. (hedged) — 00:00:00 · William Shakespeare
  • ★★ John says he kind of stole the title from a Nerdfighter, Miss X. Rojas, on YouTube, and thanks Nerdfighteria. — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:29 — #1 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble; pre-order link; every first-printing copy will be signed

00:01:10 — Sharpie colour crisis at Target; poll in Your Pants

  • ★★ In Target's Sharpie aisle John had an existential crisis over colour: black might look fake, blue or red ostentatious, green like a pun on his name. (playful) — 00:01:10 · Target Corporation
  • ★★ John delegates the Sharpie colour to a poll in Your Pants, linked in the doobly-doo. — 00:01:10 · Your Pants

00:01:39 — Nerdfighters' TFiOS covers shown with a Sing-a-ma-jig concert; summary

00:02:13 — Great Gatsby: the invented epigraph, 'made up and golden', the green light, lyricism; six-chapter assignment and quiz; sign-off

  • ★★ John starts talking about The Great Gatsby today, but only its epigraph and first sentence, so no spoilers. — 00:02:13 · The Great Gatsby
  • ★★ Gatsby's famous epigraph is attributed to the poet Thomas Parke D'Invilliers, who, John points out, doesn't exist. — 00:02:13 · The Great Gatsby
  • ★★★ The epigraph matters because it is made up and twice says 'gold': Gatsby is essentially a book about things that are made up and/or golden. — 00:02:43 · The Great Gatsby
  • ★★ Readers should also watch anyone wearing glasses and the green light, John's favourite metaphor in any book, except maybe Holden's hunting hat. (hedged) — 00:02:43 · The Great Gatsby, close reading
  • ★★ John asks readers to notice the novel's lyricism: its rhythm can be heard from the first sentence, which he reads. — 00:03:12 · The Great Gatsby
  • ★★★ John's assignment: read the first six chapters of Gatsby within two weeks from today, and there will be a quiz. (playful) — 00:03:12 · The Great Gatsby

Humor (significant)

  • John builds up to revealing his novel's title, then notices the video's title already gave it away. — 00:00:00 > «Video title? You ruined it!»
  • Celebrating TFiOS at number one, John reaches for his exclamation for such occasions. — 00:00:29 > «I have an exclamation to use in such situa- French the Llama.»
  • Delegating the Sharpie colour choice, John links a poll on the Your Pants forum. — 00:01:10 > «There is a link in the doobly-doo to a pole in your pants. That sounds dirty.»
  • After showing fans' covers to a Sing-a-ma-jig concert, John reconsiders his career. — 00:02:13 > «I don't know why I spent four years writing this book when I could have just made a hit sing-a-ma-jig album.»

Threads in this video

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