Moving Foreword: Real Introductions to Totally Made-Up Books by Jon Chattman
A great foreword – sometimes – is even better than the book it precedes. So why not skip the actual book altogether?
That’s the premise behind the incredibly innovative Moving Foreword: Real Introductions to Totally Made-Up Books (BenBella Books), a collection of introductions to imaginary books written by real celebrities, comedians, musicians and other writers with something to say. This book, compiled and edited by Jon Chattman, offers a no-holds-barred cacophony of funny, poignant and even thought-provoking writing that tackles everything from politics to pop culture, true crime to trout fishing, and Star Wars to skin flicks.
“The best parts of books are often the parts before the books themselves,” says Chattman. “Think of this as licking the icing of a whole pack of Oreos without having to bother about the soggy cookie part.”
The book includes more than 60 forewords, from pop celebrities to TV and film stars, to singer-songwriters to journalists and more. “Their entries are surprising, funny, spine-tingling and intentionally confusing,” says Chattman.
Consider some of these fake book titles and the authors of their forewords:
- Blank Pages: An Anthology, foreword by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer John Oates
- Pizzazz: The Life and Death of Darrell Hammond, foreword by Saturday Night Live alumnus Darrell Hammond
- Everything You Need to Know About Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Regulation, foreword by New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight
- Fly Ball: How the New York Yankees Have Changed Lives, foreword by talk show host Jerry Springer
The book’s only real foreword is written by The Office’s Rainn Wilson, who suggests “In life, there are some things one simply cannot underestimate: wolverines, gastroenteritis and the importance of forewords….With this book, you don’t have to suffer through the rest of the book. There is no rest of the book.”
Adds Chattman, “In an age where the phrase ‘fake news’ has been used to death, let’s embrace forewords to fake books.”
Moving Foreword is available for purchase.