All My Life for Sale

by John Freyer and John D. Freyer

Book Overview

The classic American passion for the road meets the current obsession with internet consumption in one of the most original illustrated books to come along in years. One day, John Freyer decided to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582342512
• ISBN13: 9781582342511
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Go Simple - AFTER you buy this book!

This is such a beautiful book. Photos on nearly every page. It's really a work of art. As someone who lives in a very tiny apartment and is attracted to the idea of "simplifying", I'm super intrigued by the idea of purging all of my possessions. So ironic when I told the ever-so adorably-hip indy bookseller today, "I have to have this book right now." Acquire it and enjoy!

the sum of his parts

I really loved the portrait of the thrift-shopping, travel-loving, childless single artsy young male that begins to emerge as the anecdotes attached to each auctioned item begin to pile up. A vicarious thrill to watch the project gather steam, to see all the people who get in on the fun of one person's creative and decidedly outside-the-mainstream creative project. In the spirit of Mail Art, Fluxus, and the child entrepreneurs who amuse themselves all weekend long peddling lemonade and broken toys from their stoop. One of those delights to page through again and again...

Makes you want to sell stuff!

John Freyer realized that when he first arrived in Ohio, all he had were the objects in the trunk of his car. He has accumulated much stuff since living there, and now that he's thinking of leaving and heading back to New York City, he wants to reduce his belongings to practically nothing. From this notion was born the allmylifeforsale plan. John invited over some friends to help him tag his belongings, and then he slowly but systematically sold them on eBay. All My Life for Sale is the true story of Freyer's quest to get back to the basics. He is quirky and honest in his writing, and the pictures of objects, how he sold each one, and who bought it are eccentrically wonderful. There's a certain inspiration one feels after reading this book-a yearning to put belongings in proper perspective. The style of the book allows the reader to choose whether to read it cover to cover or to skip around the book. The introduction and conclusion are must-reads, however, since they offer insight into how the project got started and how it ended.

A new kind of memoir

I was a participant in John's effort to sell everything he owned (I bought his Jesus night night). Before the book came out, it was hard to see where he was going with this project. But due to my own fascination with other people's possessions (thrift stores, flea markets, etc.), I wanted to see where he would take this. The book is the culmination of a mental, spiritual, and actual road trip to follow the paths his possessions took. It seems to me that, yes, his former possessions do reveal what kind of person he is, but he does not need to own these things to be who he is. This is a memoir formed by a mosaic of these possessions, and what he says about each one. He links each object to a friend, or a member of his family, or a personal experience. It's funny, insightful, and at times poignant. There is an evolution in John's thinking about his project that is evident as he begins to sell things with a more personal meaning. The book is also influenced by the events of September 11, 2001, on which day he was leaving New York to visit more of his stuff. This is a book that began as a web site, and made a successful transition to print, which is a growing trend. So much for the death of the book by Internet!

most entertaining of the genre....

eh? I was immediately attracted to the cover of this book. I know, you can't judge a book by its, etc. Well, let me tell you John Freyer had more stuff than my two slighty-past-teenagers combined. He had stuff you thought you threw away, he had stuff you saw last week at a yard sale, he had stuff you saw at an antiques store. The photos, writing and results are entertaining and indicative of the "one man's trash" theory of stuff in general. I was struck by the kindred spirits John encountered as he made his odyssey to visit his former stuff; all in all, entertaining, thought provoking, and certainly worth a conversation or two. Made me wonder, "what if everyone sold all their stuff at the same time.....?" Picture the postal deliveries, and the friendliness which stuff-swapping could engender. I would have given this 5 stars, really consider it 4.75 rather than 4. Add this book to your stuff.