spending a little time writting a book is worth all the money.

like 99.9% of the people in america, hes after money. he saw and oppurtunity and took it. who can blame him?

oprah is a ditz and doesnt know any better. understood?

New novel by James Frey

13 September 2007
TVNZ
HarperCollins is to publish a new novel by James Frey, the author who admitted fabricating key parts of his best-selling drug and alcohol memoir A Million Little Pieces.

HarperCollins, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., said it would publish Frey's Bright Shiny Morning in summer 2008. It gave no further details about the novel.

"James Frey is an immensely talented writer who has written a truly extraordinary and original novel, one of great breadth and ambition," Jonathan Burnham, HarperCollins senior vice president and publisher, said in a statement.

Frey admitted in January last year that he had made up key parts of A Million Little Pieces, which was the biggest selling nonfiction book in the United States in 2005, with more than 1.7 million copies sold in paperback edition.

The book had been chosen by talk show host Oprah Winfrey for her reading club - a move that often transforms books into best sellers. After Frey's admission, Winfrey apologised to her viewers, saying she felt "duped".

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1347023

I think the book was fairly good for a work of fiction but for James Frey to claim this was his memoir (this was all before ppl found out this was false) and try to sell book that way really just pisses me off especially when regarding to the use of drugs and some of the exaggerations he puts in there. Maybe his real life wasn't so exciting so he had to exaggerate facts and make up stories in order to sell something. It does show the struggle that an addict has to go through (for the most part) in order to get clean and any addict that does get and stay clean from whatever the substance may be is highly regarded

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book

No, I still disagree! He could of as easily made it a fiction novel and got the same amount of money he did by making it a non-ficton! What do you people not understand? I'm pretty damn sure he didn't write the book to plan on it happening like this, why would anyone?! I use to like Oprah, until after this while, i now think she is quite ridiculous espically after saying she still approved of the book while calling in on Larry King Live, then changing her mind and bringing James Frey on her show and ripping on it. It sounds like no-one is going to understand my conspet on this issue, but i'm still willing to get my point across!

If he made it a fiction novel, the book would have been boring and dull. He had to spice thins up to make them interesting. Nobody would have been interested if he wouldnt have lied. It would have been more exciting to go to an AA meeting.

I see where your coming from though. The point is, his book is utter bullshit and you can't argue with that. The facts are there.

I'm not writing back anymore, you are all not very understanding and most of you probably haven't even read the book. I'm not here to change your mind about a book, so think what you will...

The book has some good points; he pointed out that the 12 step program is not the only solution to drug/alcohol addiction. Also, the novel depicted, fairly accurately, some of the terriblly demanding things that addicts must go through in order to recover. The book was intersting, an easy read, but definitely should have been marketed as fiction. Like others are saying it probably wouldnt have been spread around so much and definitely would not be on a top seller list. I think it was worth reading; he does have some good ideas on recovery even if his stroy is bullshit.

So, if I understand you correctly, it really doesn't matter that this guy exploited drugs and drug users by presenting a stereotypical image for no other reason than to do the media circuit and line his pocket.

It makes no difference that responsible users should get tarnished from this as the media celebrates yet another work of fiction that furthers the notion of the drug user as "the eternal Junkie"?

Wait ok, are you guys saying he planned on having his book be proven a lie so he could get publicity? If so that just stupid, I mean yea that’s bullshit that his book made more money when it was alleged to be made up but, he never planned that extra publicity. There is no way in hell that selling a made up story as fiction would increase the profit of that book by very much (In fact most of the most famous and profitable books are fiction). The only way he made extra money was because these people called him on it.

Why do you think the book would have been any less interesting or fun to read if he said it was fiction? Don't you think Oprah would read the book anyway and have him on the show? I'm tired of ever single piece of media that makes drugs look bad being accused of "demonizing the drug culture" Don’t you think Fear and loathing in Las Vegas demonized the drug culture? After all it portrayed hippies that took LSD as crazy horrible people, I mean try and point out one responsible drug use in that movie, you just wont be able to do it and yet it's many a drug users favorite movie.

Face it if somebody wrote a book or screenplay about an average responsible drug user it would probably bomb out. Unless the movie was some kind of anti-anti drug propaganda and pro drug criminalisation documentary (sort of like a Michael Moore movie with fewer lies). Then it would probably get lot of publicity for its controversial topic. What I don't approve of is the news and government lying or over hyping about drugs, because those institutions are the ones who shouldn't be lying and cause the biggest impact when they do.

sorry ment to say pro drug Legalization, I must not be registered.

That was my point exactly, Woodman. And pharma, are you the president of his fan club or something. I have read the book, before it become popular, and at the time of reading my opinion was still the same that it's sad that this is the image the media has forced americans to understand about drug use, and cause it to be a published book gaining popularity. When swim found out about it being a fake, my opinion was then that it's a shame that he knew faking these stories about how horrible drugs were on his life would grab the attention of the public because they want to believe that's what drugs do... and it's funny he got caught. Most respectable, privately owned, bookstores on the west coast have been putting his book in the fiction section, which is where it belongs.

Is there any question in anybodys mind that constant use of crack is bad for you???? Are you saying that this book puts a bad face on a drug like crack cocaine, and thats not fair? Sorry, but even as a recreational user of drugs, i for one think that aspect of his book is completely fair first of all. Second of all, Its also very true that when certain people are using drugs including alcohol they fuck up their lives, especially on a more than daily basis. Finally, the conclusion to this book is james is out of rehab and hasnt used drugs since, so where is this "eternal user" bullshit coming from. Like i said before, it sucks that certain things were embellished, but the vast majority of the book is true to life, its not a work of fiction its the same as every movie in hollywood that says this was based on true events, and its even more true to life than most of those shit shows. This book shouldnt have been labelled a memoir, but it still belongs in the non fiction section. Read the book, and have the smoking gun article right next to you on the screen, and you will understand what im talking about.

and remember kids
crack is bad

Two complaints in Manhattan courts Monday took aim at James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces.

In a federal class-action lawsuit, readers said the book was a waste of time and they should be reimbursed for the cost of the book and the time they spent reading it. The plaintiffs, Jimmy Floyd and Susan Gardiner accused publishers Random House and Nan Talese of gross negligence for failing to fact-check Frey's supposedly "brutally honest" account of addiction.

Another suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by social worker Jennifer Cohn said that as a "health care professional" she recommended the book to people with substance abuse and legal problems because of its "redemptive theme." Cohn is seeking $10 million on behalf of consumers she claims were injured by Frey's lies.

Similar lawsuits have been filed by readers in Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

"Cohn is seeking $10 million on behalf of consumers she claims were injured by Frey's lies."
...talk about just trying to get money. Sounds more like they are rather than James Frey. How would he have injured anyone by his lies, that's silly.

Agreed.

SWIM would like to see more detail of the claims of these people. It's probably just them rambling on and on about how sorry they feel for themselves. Just like everyone else. It's a shame.

i guess what it comes down to here is not the demonization of drug use, i personally think some drugs really fuck up peoples lives and arent a good option for anybody. what it comes down to is i hate fake people. not liars per se, i lie when i must, sometimes i tell extravagant lies to strangers to amuse myself, but people who try to build an image for themself and it is not who they really are, those people are the worst kind of people. james frey is one of them. i dont think in writing this book he only wanted money, i think he also wanted some kind of childish respect for being "bad ass." the guy is a frat boy with a tattoo saying ftbsitttd (fuck the bull shit its time to throw down). he wrote a book full of lies about being a drug addict and how hard core he is. all of you are drug users (except maybe a few cops, hello officer, nice day eh?) how can you defend this man. he is the king jackass.

It sounds as if some are arguing that the end justifies the means. Whether or not his "message" (if that's what you would call it) helped a few people, it doesn't change the fact that he lied. Besides, if you talk to the majority of those that have suffered through a serious addiction, many consider Frey's words useless bullshit. He claimed that those who can't break an addiction are simply weak. I seriously doubt this man had much of a problem to begin with. Besides, we don't need any more misinformation or negative publicity in regards to drug use.

Didn't Oprah denounce him a fraud later?

Reputation Comments on this post:

Rep for 1 excellent and 2 well done reviews

swim had to read this book when he was in rehab and he absolutely loved the first half of it but the second half was kind of a turn off as fucked up as that might sound. theres definetly alot to be learned from the book and i do not understand why oprah went ape shit on him... okay an addict lied and made an inspiring story meant to help people. so he made some of it up that doesnt make him a horrible person...

Reputation Comments on this post:

Rep for 1 excellent and 1 well done reviews

Maybe not a horrible person but it does make him a fraud. He promoted his book as his true life struggle and how he changed his life. The true story part was a big appeal to many who looked to it for inspiration. I just cant see the book in the same light when its fluffed up as much as it is, and i think that many who purchased the book feel ripped off. Sure he might have helped some people, thats great, but he also made a load of money lying.

I merged threads on this subject.

The man should become a politician. He will probably get elected.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm not bothered at all over James Frey making up "key parts" In my opinion the book's power and success come from it's ability to give the reader an honest look into addiction, detox, rehab and recovery. The emotions and thought processes that go through ones mind during this turbulent time. The side stories that were added for excitement purposes were insignificant for me. I was also extrememly impressed with James Frey's writing style, his words blended in the same fashion as thoughts rather than proper structured literature, and this certainly added to the powerfulness of the story. 10/10