Diary Of An Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

• this book was recommended to me in a cool way
• 5% chance it was recommended to me by the author
• 8% chance the author was present at the recommending
• it’s the right length for a book
• it’s the right size for a book
• it’s compelling
• there’s a coolness to it

and

• it did send a chill down my spine.

Reminded me of another dark and mysterious book:

The first page of DoaOT gives a good sense of where we’re headed:

Intrigued by this article about the author’s campaign to promote the book which he originally self-published in Amsterdam in 2006:

Intent on building underground buzz for the book, the author focused on promotional efforts that would make people google the book’s title. From his limited sales in bookshops he felt confident that he could land readers by getting the book’s cover (which features a picture of a snowman whose carrot nose has been repositioned to look like a penis) seen, and its title shared.

With this in mind, the author went out into the streets of New York and put up posters. Some featured profane statements and the book’s title; others simply displayed the book’s cover. The posters of the book’s cover were placed side by side on scaffolding, in the wheat-pasting tradition, to mimic ads promoting bands and albums that often dot urban landscapes. To draw readers in another way, the author created a fake profile on a popular dating website—he declined to say which one—with photos of a beautiful woman. The profile directed potential suitors to read a book called Diary of an Oxygen Thief. “I gave the impression that, if they were to read this book, they might have more of an amorous chance with me,” he said. Again, as with the posters, the goal was to get people to plug the book’s title into their Web browsers.

Now I’ve done my part.