The worst story about me

So I just opened the mail and discovered a copy of Furiously Happy from Korea!

And I love it, but I don’t speak Korean so I used Google Translate and this is what it gave me:

In case you can’t read it, my favorite parts are:

Between normal and abnormal.”

THE WORST STORY ABOUT ME.”

“Gloomy and tall.”

We are all insane.

And I’m pretty sure that this is just a wonky google translation but honestly even if this is an exact translation? I think they totally nailed it.

53 thoughts on “The worst story about me

Read comments below or add one.

  1. Once you send your book out into the world (and other countries), do you have any say on this sort of thing? Like the cover design and copy? Or do all successful authors get this sort of nice … surprise? 😀

    (I get a lot of say on the American and UK cover and a little say on some of the other covers, but usually its a total surprise. ~ Jenny)

  2. I worked graveyard shift at Ama***… well, nevermind. But.. your book came across a line of boxes and prompted me to order a copy (^ – ^). The taxidermy Raccoon (and sparklies) is what caught my eye. I would be very concerned with international sales if they change the cover willy-nilly.

    Cheers!
    Meg

  3. Sure, we are all insane — that why we buy them. I don’t think they did justice to your hair, though. Unless that’s your brain — I had brain surgery last year, but fortunately for me, all the bats hid, so I’m still — well, normal is not exactly the correct wordd — I guess I’m still ME!

  4. I don’t care if it’s an accurate or inaccurate translation — I think it’s great!

  5. Gloomy and Tall is the name of my fifth memoir. Right after And Then I Pooped My Pants.

  6. Gloomy and tall. Hmm sounds like me some days and my name is Jennifer maybe they got us mixed up.

  7. We. Are. A little bit crazy. Not too much but just enough! (My sister and I used to recite this as we walked around arm in arm. Now I say or think it way too often!)

  8. There is an episode of News Radio in which Jimmy James writes his autobiography and it tanks in the US, but the translation does so well in, I think China or Japan (can’t remember right now), that they translate it back from the foreign language and re-release it. The author’s US book reading is hilarious.

  9. Don’t you wish you could find out how the contents were translated? You should get credit for a totally different book of humor if the cover is any hint of the laughs inside….

  10. I really like “In the Name of a Blogger”. Gloomy and Tall sounds pretty good too. 11/10 would worship.

  11. I swear the Google translate app is my favourite thing ever. You need to translate doll boxes with it. I got a nendoroid at one point that the app swore was telling me to “throw the clock maker into the fish pond”. The wronger it is, the more awesome it is.

  12. Gold Black Humor —- meaning the most high class of black humor — my favorite kind!

  13. Sending to my Korean daughter for help – it is nearly midnight there so I’m not sure whether she’s up, but if I get an answer, I’ll be sure to post here.

  14. Insane? Definatly and NOT hiding! Love Engrish. Happy Thanksgiving all you insane people. :o)

  15. So my daughter says the large red and blue part says something like “A little bit crazy, but who cares?” She said the red part definitely says “A little bit crazy”. The blue part – she says, and I quote, “I haven’t read the book so I can get the nuance of the last part, whether it means who cares or how about it.” Korean humor is – let’s say, different. We are a very sarcastic family, and we would say something sarcastic and she would never get it. Then we would say something completely serious and she would ask, “was that sarcasm?” The top gray says, “Between normal and abnormal, the funniest stories about me”. The band says “Proudly ranked first in New York Times Best Sellers using the name of Blogger. Gloomy and exhilarating! Rated (19 age) black humor has attracted readers from 18 countries”. At the bottom, “All of us are not normal. There are only people who hide well.”

  16. Just wanted you to be aware I recently received a friend request on FB from you (it was a spoof) telling me I had won one of your new books. Simply needed my name and address and to pay shipping, I did and then found one charge for the “shipping” followed by a 34.95 charge that was an unauthorized charge on my account. Seems the company is a game account, and my PayPal card was charged without permission. Now I had to request a new PayPal card, and have no access to the money in it for the next 7 to 10 days!!

    (Ugh. I wrote about this on the blog a week ago. Some fucking scammers using my name. I will never ask you for money. Also, my page is for anyone so if you get a friend request you know it’s a scam. You can join without being my friend. Sorry, sweetness! ~ Jenny)

  17. We. Are. A little bit crazy. Not too much but just enough! (My sister and I used to recite this as we walked around arm in arm. Now I say or think it way too often!)

  18. Ha, gotta love Google Translate! Just wanted to add my own translation:

    Between normal and abnormal,
    the funniest story about me

    A little bit crazy, but
    so what?

    From blogger to New York Times #1 bestselling author!
    Gritty and delightful. A new voice in black humor (rated for ages 19 and up) has arrived, attracting readers from 18 different countries.

    None of us are really sane.
    Some just hide it well.

  19. I’m wondering about 19 Gold Black Humor. Pick or Pan??? You are always the lamp that leads us all, Ms Bloggess.

  20. Please, please, please watch the NewsRadio episode called Plan B to learn the glory that is Jimmy James’ autobiography translated into Japanese and then back into English again. “Soon the super karate monkey death car will park in my spot.”

  21. I sent you an email at nowhere then realized I could have just called and asked your actual email address but couldn’t at that point. my bad.

    sorry about your grammy.
    karen finley, the performance artist, has a lyric in a song, “…cuz she’s my grammy…”
    don’t google if you don’t already know.

    Here’s me https://m.facebook.com/eve.butler.3386

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