Why Parents' Fave New Book Is Go the F*** to Sleep

...even though it won't be published until June 14
By Sarah Whitmire,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2011 4:15 PM CDT
Updated May 21, 2011 6:43 AM CDT
Why Parents' Fave New Book is Go the F*** to Sleep
Made viral on the web, "Go the F*** to Sleep" was #1 on Amazon's best-seller, even though it won't be published until June 14.   (Amazon)

Go the F*** to Sleep snagged the No. 1 spot on Amazon's best-seller list this week—almost a month before it hits bookshelves—and Rebekah Denn thinks she knows why. The 32-page book blends soothing rhymes with sleep-deprivation-induced obscenity, and the Internet-savvy attribute its early success to a viral PDF-sharing spree. "Nope," writes Denn, a parent of three, in the Christian Science Monitor. Her friends are all ordering copies, but it's because of the shared sense of suffering, not a sly marketing campaign.

Sleepless nights drove Go the F*** to Sleep's author, Adam Mansbach, to post a Facebook update that read, “Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, ‘Go the — to Sleep'”—and the universal response drove him to actually follow through. While waxing sentimental about her thirdborn, Denn's even considering buying a copy: "I want to remind myself, that yes, [parenting] really was hard—so hard that we all laughed just at the mere idea of a book that dared to be profane about such a topic." (More viral marketing stories.)

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