X/@DailyCaller
Senator Booker is cashing in on the record 25 hours of talk against Trump and releasing a book called Stand on November 11 from St. Martins, as officially announced today.
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In early February, the Senator’s acrimonious speech opposing Trump’s politics and rhetoric for over a day filled the front pages. While all that drama worked well for his unforgettable record and moments alternating with impassioned pleas, Booker is now taking that moment and expanding it into the entire book, likely extending on the very principles he had highlighted in the speech.
The announcement led to a slew of internet reactions, with many of them questioning who would even read such a book. One user said it should be called a book on performance art, while another joked it was not even good enough to be used as toilet paper. Some speculated the book would be on clearance soon, whereas one person estimated sales to be only in the tens.
Others called the book deal a cash cow, with a few commentators speculating it might be money laundering or a phrase similar to “payment for services rendered.” A couple of the harsher critics compared it to Vice President Harris’s scarcely-reviewed children’s book. Then came a firmer and much wider comparison to other unsuccessful political books, including mentions of Jake Tapper’s work being heavily discounted.
Sarcasm permeated the comments with alternative titles such as I Shit You Not and A Moron Speaks, clearly mocking the Senator’s literary effort. More sarcasm followed, with one dissenting voice even dissing the book cover by publishing a photo of Booker mid-speech to say seeing his “O” face was the last thing they needed today.
Straying from the jokes, some commenters went serious and criticized Booker from a political perspective; one referenced the historical stances of the Democratic party on civil rights, while another dismissed the entire speech as lacking any present-day accomplishments. A decided negative twist dominated most responses, with one or two possible exceptions, to the announcement of the book.
This is not the Senator’s first big foray into writing, having written United about his vision of America in 2016. The book received mixed reviews, but it never came close to stirring the electronic mockery that has engulfed this latest announcement. The Senator has cultivated a reputation, both locally and nationally, for being an outspoken progressive voice who is willing to stages dramatic stunts: the 25-hour speech being an example of something he evidently thought worthy of a book.
The jury is still out on finding Stand an audience, and early social media indicators at least suggest several hurdles in its path there. The intertwined occurrence of extreme politicization and doubts about politician books makes for a hard next chapter. Booker will find it hard to convince readers that more lies on his people’s work than merely commercializing their political viral fame if he is to outrun the online snarking cloud.
The publishing world has traditionally been a platform for politicians to put forth their ideas and earn huge advances. The last few years have seen books issued by members of both parties, judged to varying degrees of success. Booker’s book is really extraordinary because it ties so concretely into an anachronistic piece of public performance, rather than toward broader policy ideas or personal narratives.
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As the November launch nears, the world will watch to see if the Senator can make the leap from clearance bin jokes to the big-time conversations about the themes that Stand is set to tackle. Until then, the internet is going to keep roasting the whole concept alongside the motormouth book cover caught mid-speech. Depending on whether it really has something to offer besides having been manifested during those 25 hours inside the Senate, the book’s reception might be drifting.
This story originally appeared on Celebrityinsider
