'Go the F— to Sleep' proves a popular lullaby with bleary-eyed adults

[steve2470]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-sleep-book-20110518,0,7939174.story



The No. 1 book on Amazon.com isn't "Bossypants" by Tina Fey or "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris — the top New York Times bestsellers this week. Topping the Amazon list is a picture book from a little-known publisher that won't be available until June called "Go the F— to Sleep."

Galleys of this off-color, not-at-all-for-kids title haven't even been printed, yet tens of thousands of copies have been pre-sold, prompting the publisher to move up the release date four months and increase the print run fifteenfold to 150,000.

After looking at a PDF of the book, musician David Byrne raved about it online, calling it "hilarious." Bestselling author and MacArthur fellowship winner Jonathan Lethem said it's "total genius."

"It's pretty wild," said Adam Mansbach, the 34-year-old author who was inspired to write the book "for fun" last year based on the "grueling" experience of putting his then 2-year-old daughter to sleep.

[FourScore]

1. Sounds like one I want! n/t

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[slay]

3. You're the whiner.. whiner

maybe your kid kept you up too late and you're just cranky.. :P

[renate]

4. well, I see your point--however

We can love the overall experience of having kids without liking *every* little bit of it.

I'm still thinking "go the f to sleep" with my teenager, but it's not as desperate as when my son would be up for hours in the middle of the night. I can't wait to read this book, even though those years are miles behind us now.

Whoops, I forgot to say--and I mean this sincerely even though apparently we disagree on the joys of being up and exhausted in the middle of the night--welcome to DU!

[eShirl]

15. probably shouldn't have kids if you don't have a sense of humor, either

[tavalon]

16. Sense of humor can only take you so far

That is why this book is so popular. It's tapping into the well known but rarely spoken about nightly bedtime battles.

[Javaman]

21. Never did, but I still enjoy laughing. nt

[lapislzi]

26. Oh, stop, fer chrissake.

I love my daughter to pieces, and if I had a penny for every time I thought "will you PLEASE go the fuck to sleep," I wouldn't need to play the lottery.

It's HUMOR. And it's funny because it's true.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

5. Anyone Who Battles Little Ones Who Won't Sleep Every Night Will Think This Is Hilarious

I may have even said that title at one point or another.

They should write a follow-up book about kids who get up way too early in the morning called, "Stay The F In Bed".

I've got the combo pack. They won't go to sleep at night and then get up way too early in the morning.

[a la izquierda]

19. That was me when I was little.

My parents must've hated me. I didn't sleep at night or in the morning.

[JVS]

6. Will there be a sequel called "Piss and shit in the fucking toilet!"?

[slay]

9. lol

heheh

[tavalon]

17. Dear God, I hope so!

But that wouldn't entirely have to be a children's book. Who the hell ever thought it was a great idea to teach boys (who grow up to be men) to stand to pee? I mean, really, just because you can, doesn't mean you should!

[Sabriel]

20. How about "Pick up Your Fucking Legos!"

Or "Clear Your Fucking Place!"

Anyone who has kids knows it's--sometimes--a love/hate relationship.

[truebrit71]

22. Legos are the child-sized variant of claymores...

...in the dead of night you can't see the little fuckers, but if you step on one the whole household will find out about them..

[lapislzi]

27. For parents of teens:

"Use a Fucking Condom!" and "Don't Think I Can't Smell Weed on Your Clothes!"

[lapislzi]

28. "Everyone Poops" covered that a few years back

I can't recall whether a similar, er, shitstorm ensued.

[steve2470]

7. if you want to pre-order:

http://www.amazon.com/Go-F-Sleep-Adam-Mansbach/dp/1617750255/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305789247&sr=1-1

HTH :evilgrin:

[Maru Kitteh]

8. Keep your child to a regular routine and this is NOT a problem.

1.) No caffeine for children. A wee bit of chocolate (this should not be a daily thing) is OK but not too much and never after 2pm. What do we see in kids diets now? Chocolate breakfast food, chocolate milk, chocolate snacks, chocolate desserts, soda pop, Yoohoos, etc......

2.) Get your child up at the same time every day (YES! that includes weekends)

3.) If they nap at afternoon, make sure it isn't so long that it interferes with bedtime

4.) Put your child to bed at the same time every day (YES! that includes weekends)

It astounds me when grown people are ridiculous enough to get mad at the little children that they are in charge of for behaviors, routines and schedules that the adults are in charge of.


I have one very lazy sister-in-law right now who complains constantly of her daughter, "she never lets me go to sleep." Really? (I thought) Who's in charge here? After talking to her and her husband, I find out that when SIL wants to sleep in the next day she will allow and even encourage the little girl to stay up. She puts her down for 2-3hr naps so she can Facebook and watch her TV shows. Then she whines on Facebook 2-5 times a month about her daughter not "letting her" sleep.

She/they are but one example. I've seen this problem with the same basic and incredibly obvious root causes again and again.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

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[Maru Kitteh]

11. Mine are healthy, strong, happy and well-rounded.

There are many areas where guided indulgence is good and healthy and not only great fun, but the foundation of great memories.

Poor sleep hygiene is never beneficial to a child's development or well-being.

[blogslut]

12. Mine had night terrors

And while they eventually passed, when they were happening, they were horrific for both of us. Planning is wonderful and I did that. But some things can't be planned.

[Thav]

23. Night terrors are the worst thing ever to deal with.

I've only had to deal with them once, and it's been the most harrowing ordeal I've had yet. I hope I never have to deal with one ever again.

[reggie the dog]

13. i have variable bed time for my 3 year old

any time between 830 and 10 00 pm is fine depending on when she wakes up from her nap. on the weekends we sleep late, during the week we wake up at 720

[Chemisse]

14. I've read the PDF of this book. Nobody is mad at the children,

just exasperated.

[Bosso 63]

18. Oh ,if it were just that easy.

Often it is that simple, but some times/some kids it can be more problematic.

[NickB79]

24. As a parent, I can firmly say blanket statements about raising children are usually BS

There are no sure-fire methods of raising children that work the same from one child to the next.

[FourScore]

25. Although your advice is spot-on, it just doesn't always pan out the way it should.

My sister is the best armchair parent I've ever seen. But she never had kids of her own. She loves to be in judgement of those of us who do have kids, though. Granted, she's got great ideas, albeit very pollyanna-ish.

It's like parenting help books. They make it sound so easy. The best parenting article I ever read was from a child psychologist who wrote about her own challenges with parenting. She started it by saying that time-out is a great tool, a great idea, and a great thing -- for the child it works on. She then went on to describe the kinds of real-life challenges that parents face every day, even though they try so hard to do everything right!

I think this book sounds hysterical.

BTW, we get our kids to bed every night early and on-time (give or take a half an hour, or those exceptions when there is a school concert or game), and we do all you suggest and more, and yet we still have the occasional battles!

[scheming daemons]

29. Sequels: "Clean your fucking room!" "Eat your fucking peas!" "Go the fuck outside and play!"

"Sleep in your own fucking bed!"