Introducing The Joy of Positivity 2: The New Batch and Joy of Positivity as a Permanent Feature at Nathan Rabin's Bad Ideas
About a month ago I launched an ambitious promotion to try to ensure that the Flaming Garbage Fire Extended Edition of my 2021 book The Joy of Trash did not meet the same sad fate of the original version, which sold almost nothing, attracted zero attention and seemingly failed to interest even a single solitary soul in a website that represents so much of my hopes, dreams and aspirations.
To interest readers in The Joy of Trash, which is essentially this website in book form but without all the typos, factual errors and unforgivable sloppiness that have rendered me unemployable, I introduced the Joy of Positivity.
The idea is as simple as it is irresistible. For just 25 dollars I’ll send a patron a hardcover copy of The Joy of Trash autographed by Felipe and myself and numbered to 100.
But that’s not all! Inside every Joy of Positivity book I hand-wrote a sincere recommendation of something as good as the garbage I write about in the book is bad.
But that still somehow wasn’t all! I also threw in an autographed copy of the 120 page extended version of The Weird A-Coloring to Al, an amazing coloring book Felipe and myself collaborated on FOR FREE.
All I had to do to sell books was give people so much that I’m barely turning a profit on each “Joy of Positivity” purchase.
At this point I believe that I have sold 98 Joy of Positivity packages. That leaves just two more. But since this promotion has been such a success and gotten such a warm reception I’ve decided to keep it going with that most beloved of all pop culture entities: a sequel.
this one in particular
That’s right. As soon as I sell those last two books I will introduce The Joy of Positivity 2: The New Batch.
This will be similar to the predecessor in that will include a hardcover copy of The Joy of Trash signed by Felipe and myself and numbered (to 50). I’ll similarly be hand-writing recommendations in each book but this time I will also include a podcast recommendation in each book.
Are there 50 podcasts I love? Yes, there is. I’m a bit of a podcast fan. A buff even. I really dig podcasts! To put things in Tony the Tiger terms, they’re GREAT!
AND everyone who chooses this option gets a signed copy of The Weird A-Coloring to Al as well!
I’ll make you such a deal!
I had so much fun writing up Joy of Positivity entries that I decide to keep the idea going full-time on a permanent basis as a feature at my newish Substack newsletter Nathan Rabin’s Bad Ideas. Working on each of the individual recommendations and putting together my next book The Fractured Mirror made me realize just how much wonderful entertainment I have had the pleasure of experiencing in my 26 years as a writer and 47 years on this kooky planet and how much I want to share those sometimes obscure treasures with you.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will be posting a Joy of Positivity post on Nathan Rabin’s Bad Ideas for paid subscribers.
In the first week I wrote up Gary Stewart’s tragic honky tonk masterpiece Out of Hand, Michael Jai White’s hilarious blaxploitation parody/homage Black Dynamite and finally Disney’s trippy, horny tribute to international friendship Three Caballeros.
Yesterday I posted a piece on one of my favorite movies of the past twenty years, Richard Linklater’s Bernie.
What will my choice for tomorrow be? Become a paid subscriber and find out!
This week I will also be launching a pair of ambitious projects over at Nathan Rabin’s Bad Ideas. My epic journey into James' Belushi’s complete filmography begins on a dazzling note with Michael Mann’s masterful Thief while I kick off my journey through Saturday Night Live movies with a deep dive into Michael O’Donoghue’s surreal, semi-watchable vehicle Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video.
Incidentally, the next two movies I get to cover for these projects are The Blues Brothers and Trading Places, which means that I will be gushing effusively about the films of a LITERAL MURDERER. I’m not sure how I feel about that! Weird, mostly!
Oh, and it looks like the Blues Brothers Convention will happen again this summer so I might be covering that for Nathan Rabin’s Bad Ideas . The second day of the first one was cancelled because of weather so I feel like I have unfinished business there. Also, it’s good for my soul to visit Chicago and my sick father at least once a season.
Join me over at Substack for these neat projects AND a review of a new movie paid subscribers get to choose! This week, for example, I will be seeing Renfield.
Am I qualified to review a Nicolas Cage movie? I’d like to think I am. I am a bit of a fan in that I’ve devoted years of my life to covering his entire career and also he’s my favorite actor.
I’ve accepted that I will probably never come close to meeting the 5000 dollar monthly goal I set for myself six years ago. Our current monthly haul is less than half that and new pledges and few and far between. If I get three new patrons in a month I’m overjoyed. Control Nathan Rabin 4.0 pledges have similarly dried up almost completely.
So I REALLY need these other aspects of my career to succeed if I’m going to avoid being so broke that I will be buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave but I need your kindness and generosity to make that happen.
Buy The Joy of Trash: Flaming Garbage Fire Extended Edition at https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop and get a free, signed "Weird Al” Yankovic-themed coloring book for free! Just 18.75, shipping and taxes included! Or, for just 25 dollars, you can get a hardcover “Joy of Positivity” edition signed (by Felipe and myself) and numbered (to 100) copy with a hand-written recommendation from me within its pages. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind collectible!
Or you can buy The Joy of Trash from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Trash-Nathan-Definitive-Everything/dp/B09NR9NTB4/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= but why would you want to do that?
Check out my new Substack at https://nathanrabin.substack.com/
And we would love it if you would pledge to the site’s Patreon as well. https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace