Reality Matters: 19 Writers Come Clean About the Shows We Can't Stop Watching

Top Chef. America’s Next Top Model. Survivor. Dancing with the Stars. American Idol. Big Brother. The Biggest Loser… Everyone has a guilty reality television pleasure. Curated by Party Girl author Anna David, Reality Matters is a collection of hilarious yet revealing essays from novelists, essayists, and journalists—including Toby Young, Neil Strauss, and Stacey Grenrock Woods, among many others—about the reality television shows they love, obsess over, and cringe at; and why they, and America, can’t stop watching.

What happens when brilliant writers dissect the TV shows we can’t stop watching?

• Humorous Essays: Laugh-out-loud funny and surprisingly insightful takes on the shows we secretly love, from The Bachelor to Jersey Shore.
• Witty Pop Culture Commentary: Some of today’s sharpest novelists and journalists—including Neil Strauss and Toby Young—come clean about their own reality TV obsessions.
• Celebrity Culture Unpacked: Go beyond the guilty pleasure to explore what our fascination with fame, conflict, and on-screen drama reveals about our own lives.
• Smart TV Analysis: A collection that treats reality television with the sharp, intelligent analysis it deserves, proving that even our guiltiest pleasures are worthy of a closer look.

Reality television is the ultimate guilty pleasure -- a nonstop parade of cast members and scenarios that make fictional ones seem downright dull. Increasingly absurd challenges, hair-yanking catfights, and hot tub makeouts dripping with yet-to-be-acknowledged regret are only part of its appeal.

In this collection of wry and moving essays, bestselling authors explore the programs we obsess over, cringe at, and occasionally feel inspired by. From a Real World casting call and American Idol tattoo to a look at the appeal of Big Brother, Survivor, The Real Housewives, and more, a vibrant mix of literary luminaries examine the form of entertainment that’s dominated our TV screens for more than a decade.

Entertaining and insightful, Reality Matters is a must-read for anyone who adores reality TV, wants to know what kind of an impact it’s having on our society, or simply wonders just how real any of it actually is.

“Fun, funny, and surprising.” - Penthouse

“Shockingly amusing and periodically poignant, Reality Matters gives college-educated reality show fans permission to smile about their devotion to America’s guiltiest lowbrow pleasure.” - LAist.com

“Durable writing about reality television, is such a thing possible?...[Reality Matters] may answer that question. It contains considered essays on “Project Runway,” “Dog Whisperer,” “Survivor,” and “Jersey Shore”....[and] useful analysis of the fakery/reality issues inherent in television that purports to be, though rarely is, entirely true. ” - The New Yorker

“If there’s anything more entertaining than experiencing the guilty pleasure of reality TV firsthand, it’s reading a bunch of brilliant people trying to rationalize their obsession with the genre.” - Flavorpill

“Insightful.” - USA Today, Idol Chatter

“A brilliant compilation.” - Starpulse