It is perhaps no surprise that a book titled "What Every Man
Thinks About Apart From Sex" is a best seller.
It is also perhaps no surprise that such a book has recently
outsold a Harry Potter title and "The Da Vinci Code" on
Amazon.com.
But what about the fact that the book contains only blank
pages?
"I am fiercely proud that I can now call myself a best-selling
author," said comedian and entrepreneur Sheridan Simove, the book's
"writer."
"What is wonderful about it is that people want to laugh."
"What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex" has sold out its
first print run, hitting No. 744 on Amazon's list, ahead of Dan
Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" at No. 2,910 and JK Rowling's "Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" at No. 2,406.
Simove told AOL News that the idea for the book came after an
earlier publishing venture, a self-help book called "Ideas Man,"
which was a comparative flop.
"It was about my life and success and failures," he said of "Ideas
Man." "It took me five years to [write], it was out for two years,
and it got to number 5,000 on the Amazon charts."
Simove's other ideas have been more successful, including a Martin
Loofah King bath product, the Inotepad and the Designer Beaver, an
adult novelty gift, which he claims have sold over a million
units.
"I like to do things where people say it can't be done and no one
puts barriers in front of my goal," Simove said.
The latest winning idea was turning a joke into a book.
A blank book.
"From the day of conception to having a book in my hand took nine
days. I became gripped by the idea."
Although "What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex" was given an
ISBN
number, crucial for any serious publishing venture, British
authorities refused to grant the publication the tax-free status it
usually does for books.
"The question now is when is a book not a book?" Simove said. "This
is the first surrealist book ever made.
Simove is no stranger to controversy. He previously attempted to
change his name to "God" but was blocked when his bank refused to
acknowledge the change.
"My bank was very angry with me," he said. "They said that they
couldn't put me in the system with only one name.
"I said put me down as 'Almighty God.' It went all the way to the
top of HSBC. They said they would close all my accounts. In the
end, I changed my name back again."
Flushed by the success of "What Every Man Thinks About Apart From
Sex," Simove is already working on a sequel.
"I am thinking about a follow-up called 'Reasons to Trust
Politicians,'" he said.
Hey it's a great notebook 