Beach Boys FAQ book

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I work part time at a bookstore.  It's hard for us, certainly.  So we sell a lot of other things besides books.

We got in Carlin's book, and I think Jon's David Marks book.  Nobody bought them except me.

It is sad that not many people shop in their local bookstore--but, you can't force people to do things they don't want to do, and they don't want to shop at the local bookstore.  Just like I wish people would record records the way they used to, I wish people liked shopping at their local bookstore.  I wish people liked purchasing complete operas, so the music section of our store would have a bunch in stock all the time.

But the market makes it clear that that's not what people want.  I'll continue to provide the service to people like me, but in many ways it is like running a recording studio with only vintage gear, or running horse-and-buggy rides.  It's going to be a small market.

The price of books is pretty ridiculous though.  New hardcovers that would have been 25 bucks three years ago are now 35 and sometimes 40 bucks.  And what's really annoying is that we get these huge stacks of celebrity memoirs which don't sell.  I mean, why do we have 100 copies of Kris Jenner's memoir in stock!?

[runnersdialzero]

I want to work at a library (or li-bary if you're retarded).

[Smilin Ed H]

Would it matter?

[stack-o-tracks]

I want to work at a library (or li-bary if you're retarded).

I say libary because I know it gets at people.  Thanks, Homer Simpson.

[Beach Boy]

Great news Jon. Now if only that The Real Beach Boy reprint would see the light of day!

Should one wait for the reprint or spend 100 bucks for a used copy, if one can't wait? I'd rather see Jon getting my money for his work but with heavy rotations of Bambu and Pacific Ocean Blue in my player I am not sure if I am able to wait any longer. 

[hypehat]

In one of the other book threads, he says it's getting reprinted next year..... right? Memory futzy with head in Middleton criticism. Must get off internet.

[Beach Boy]

Thanks for pointing that out! In that case, I'll go with the expanded version of course!

[David Kennedy]

I got my copy about a month ago and really enjoyed it! Thank you Mr. Stebbins for putting it together. 

[tony p]

That's great.  Jon, it's really a fun book, I'm pretty new to being "obsessed" with the Beach Boys and it was a great primer!

im the same. its a great book for someone just getting into the BB's - very well put together (much like the Black Sabbath FAQ - another great read)

now onto 'Catch A Wave' and 'Heroes & Villains'

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I work part time at a bookstore.  It's hard for us, certainly.  So we sell a lot of other things besides books.

We got in Carlin's book, and I think Jon's David Marks book.  Nobody bought them except me.

It is sad that not many people shop in their local bookstore--but, you can't force people to do things they don't want to do, and they don't want to shop at the local bookstore.  Just like I wish people would record records the way they used to, I wish people liked shopping at their local bookstore.  I wish people liked purchasing complete operas, so the music section of our store would have a bunch in stock all the time.

But the market makes it clear that that's not what people want.  I'll continue to provide the service to people like me, but in many ways it is like running a recording studio with only vintage gear, or running horse-and-buggy rides.  It's going to be a small market.

The price of books is pretty ridiculous though.  New hardcovers that would have been 25 bucks three years ago are now 35 and sometimes 40 bucks.  And what's really annoying is that we get these huge stacks of celebrity memoirs which don't sell.  I mean, why do we have 100 copies of Kris Jenner's memoir in stock!?

I worked off and on at Borders store for 5 years and I loved every minute of it! I just loved being immersed in so much great literature/information/knowledge on a daily basis. I would have stayed there forever if there was any money to make at that place. I work in television now, and my first day was a huge shock to my system. I'd been around so many smart and educated people (There were people with Masters degrees etc who just wanted to hide away and be around books) who could talk passionately about every subject under the sun, and then here I was suddenly around a bunch of folk who could only be bothered to talk about movies and TV! I remember, we could check out books like a library! I took home "Dumb Angel" and Jon's Dennis book at the same time and tore through them in hours flat! (Sorry Jon, I was too broke back then to buy the damn thing: but I did later)

[Heysaboda]

I've been informed by my publisher (Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard Group) that my Beach Boys FAQ book has sold through the first printing as of late last month, and a significant amount of the second printing has already been pre-sold. They are calling the demand for the book "very high". This is great news for me, obviously. But it also reflects further evidence that the Beach Boys are in an up phase regarding general attention and demand for Beach Boys product. The fact that the book outpaced the publisher's expectations in such short order (only out since mid Sept. and only released in the UK a couple weeks ago) is a positive sign that the Beach Boys still have some commercial appeal (Smile's sales reflected a similar positive trend). I want to thank all of the people here who contributed, have been supportive of my work...and have spent their dollars on my book (s). This gives the Xmas season a little extra sparkle for my family.

Hey Jon, I just bought your FAQ book via Amazon.  Looking forward to it!

Peace
Out

[metal flake paint]

Thanks Jon for a thoroughly entertaining and informative read.

[Jon Stebbins]

Thanks to everyone here for the good wishes, and the nice comments regarding the book. I appreciate it greatly.

[SloopJohnB]

Too early to comment on the whole book as I've just started reading it, but this puzzled me:

Page 24 -
"...Mike Love, who possessed the family chemistry due to the fact that his mother, Glee, and Brian's mother Audree were sisters."

Really?

[Paulos]

Too early to comment on the whole book as I've just started reading it, but this puzzled me:

Page 24 -
"...Mike Love, who possessed the family chemistry due to the fact that his mother, Glee, and Brian's mother Audree were sisters."

Really?

That's not right - Glee was a Wilson.

[SloopJohnB]

Too early to comment on the whole book as I've just started reading it, but this puzzled me:

Page 24 -
"...Mike Love, who possessed the family chemistry due to the fact that his mother, Glee, and Brian's mother Audree were sisters."

Really?

That's not right - Glee was a Wilson.

That's reassuring, I thought I had been wrong all these years!  I wasn't expecting such a mistake after reading so many positive reviews.

[Jon Stebbins]

What? A Mistake?...Uhhh...Yeah, that one really killed me...considering I've known Glee was a Wilson since about 1965. Just a total brain freeze while making a larger point about the DNA driven synergy of those voices, which should have been caught during the editing and proofing process about 5 times over...but NOOOO! Gotta say though, it bugs me less now that the book has been read by hundreds of people who know Glee is a Wilson who didn't notice or didn't care. As I cringed awaiting the castigating chorus... I've only had one person point the error out (until now). Anyway, sorry, my bad...next printing fixes it.

[PongHit]

FAQ means 'Questions' — no promises regarding the accuracy of the answers. Looking forward to getting this book — I'm pretty sure my GF got it for me for Xmas.

[SloopJohnB]

What? A Mistake?...Uhhh...Yeah, that one really killed me...considering I've known Glee was a Wilson since about 1965. Just a total brain freeze while making a larger point about the DNA driven synergy of those voices, which should have been caught during the editing and proofing process about 5 times over...but NOOOO! Gotta say though, it bugs me less now that the book has been read by hundreds of people who know Glee is a Wilson who didn't notice or didn't care. As I cringed awaiting the castigating chorus... I've only had one person point the error out (until now). Anyway, sorry, my bad...next printing fixes it.

  That's okay. Any other mistakes I should be made aware of before continuing reading?  I hope it does get fixed in next pressings - I wasn't personally bothered by this mistake as I already knew about the Wilson family, but as this book seems to be aimed at the general public (or at least, that's what "FAQ" suggests) it makes the mistake... "More important", somehow.
 

FAQ means 'Questions' — no promises regarding the accuracy of the answers.

[Andrew G. Doe]

What? A Mistake?...Uhhh...Yeah, that one really killed me...considering I've known Glee was a Wilson since about 1965. Just a total brain freeze while making a larger point about the DNA driven synergy of those voices, which should have been caught during the editing and proofing process about 5 times over...but NOOOO! Gotta say though, it bugs me less now that the book has been read by hundreds of people who know Glee is a Wilson who didn't notice or didn't care. As I cringed awaiting the castigating chorus... I've only had one person point the error out (until now). Anyway, sorry, my bad...next printing fixes it.

  That's okay. Any other mistakes I should be made aware of before continuing reading? 

Yeah, I think you'll find Durbin is more commonly spelled Durban. 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I found a Barnes & Noble location that claimed to have a copy of the book; at least the website claimed it was in stock. Drove almost an hour to get there after reserving a copy, only to find out we made a blank trip. I can order it online, but this was supposed to be my Christmas gift. In any case, I will end up ordering it from Amazon and will never give B&N my business again.

[Zach95]

My girlfriend just gave me this book for Christmas, I mentioned it off-hand at school the other day (only knowing of it because of this forum I might add  ) during one of my crazed Beach Boys rants.  I was so excited she got it for me, I can't wait to read it!  I've been educating her about the band lately, I quizzed her on the names of the boys while showing her the picture of the front cover, she got a few right!  

[PongHit]

It's a Xmas miracle — I received this book this morning — can't wait to check it out.

[Peter Reum]

Great book....no cereal...100% on target

[Jon Stebbins]

Great book....no cereal...100% on target

Thanks Peter!