At this point, it’s easy to assume we have seen it all when it comes to celebrity-penned nonfiction. You have your traditional memoirs and your juicy tell-all’s. You have the newly popular strand, the comedian’s collection of essays. You even have a choose-your-own-adventure autobiography (Neil Patrick Harris, King of Doing Awesome Things). There really can’t be any other ways a celebrity can write a book, can there?
Unless you’re Aziz Ansari. Now, if you’ve seen Aziz’s stand-up specials (which if you haven’t, you really should; he has three on Netflix), you know that a good portion of his set revolves about dating in this modern age. He calls audience members up and reads the text messages through which people try to romantically connect. He hilariously recalls trying to simply meet up with a girl, and how what should have been a simple text exchange becomes a week long escapade of missed chances that ultimately ends in silence. So, when asked to write a book, instead of retelling his set and adding some additional anecdotes, Aziz paired up with a sociologist and decided to explore the science behind these romantic-encounters-gone-awry that seem to plague our generation.
Casey Brown | Gal about Town 