''Jeff, One Lonely Guy'' is a 2012 nonfiction book by
Jeff Ragsdale. It was published on March 20, 2012 by New Harvest.
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...
selected the book for inclusion in
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012,
and it was a
GQ 2012 "Book of the Year".
In 2014
Amitava Kumar
Amitava Kumar (born 17 March 1963) is an Indian writer and journalist. He is a Professor of English at Vassar College.
Personal Life
Kumar was born in the city of Arrah in the Indian state of Bihar on 17 March 1963 and grew up in the nearby c ...
included portions of ''Jeff, One Lonely Guy'' in his newly released book, ''A Matter of Rats: A Short Biography of Patna''.
Kumar previously interviewed Ragsdale and wrote about him in ''The New York Times''.
Background
In October 2011 Ragsdale posted several fliers around New York City as a social experiment.
The fliers stated "If anyone wants to talk about anything, call me”, followed by his phone number. The fliers quickly went viral after images were posted on
Reddit
Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
, with Ragsdale receiving hundreds of phone calls and texts daily from people from all over the world.
Ragsdale collected many of the phone calls and texts into a book project similar to
Postsecret
PostSecret is an ongoing community art, community mail art project, created by Frank Warren in 2004, in which people mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard. Selected secrets are then posted on the PostSecret website, or used for Pos ...
. Ragsdale compiled the material into a manuscript, illustrating major themes that appeared most often in the correspondences. Ragsdale weaved personal essays throughout the manuscript to detail and illuminate his relationships, family life, and his forays into the New York stand-up comedy world.
Reception
Critical reception for Ragsdale's book, ''Jeff, One Lonely Guy'', has been very positive, with
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author and screenwriter. Ellis was one of the literary Brat Pack (literary), Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique as a writer is the expression of extreme acts ...
praising ''Jeff, One Lonely Guy'': "The symphony of voices here is an overwhelming reading experience. This short book is also a verification of a legitimate new form of narrative; it’s the definitive document so far of where our medium is heading. I've never read anything like it." Ellis writes on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
: "The most powerful reading experience I've had in the last year is ''Jeff, One Lonely Guy'' by Jeff Ragsdale". He continues, "What I mean about a new art form: ''Jeff, One Lonely Guy'' by Jeff Ragsdale is really the first example of successful post-Empire reportage yet."
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...
writes, "I love this—a great idea, and so deftly put together. A telling mosaic of modern loneliness and almost-connectedness." Poet and critic
Nick Flynn
Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. Life and career
Nick Flynn was raised by his mother in Scituate, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.
Flynn had no contact with his father throughout most of his chil ...
asserts: "We have crossed over the threshold
ith Ragsdale's new collage form and are now—strangely, terrifyingly, beautifully—in this transformed world.” Literary critic, JW McCormack, writing for
Bookforum
''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. After announcing that it would cease publication in December 2022, it reported its relaunch under the direction of ''The Nation'' magazine six mo ...
, describes it as "revolutionary". A reviewer for the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States.
Th ...
commented that individual reader reception would be "a matter of personal taste" and that "
me will be delighted at how well Ragsdale appears to know them. Others may just throw the book across the room in disgust. In the case of the latter, one should probably attempt to finish reading the entire thing first".
Reality show based on flyer
In June 2013 Ragsdale was approached by
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
producer David A. Hurwitz (
Fear Factor
''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...
,
Million Second Quiz,
Bam's Bad Ass Game Show). Hurwitz was interested in developing a television show based on Ragsdale's social experiments and conceptual art projects. In fall 2013 Ragsdale and Hurwitz teamed up, wrote, and shot the pilot for the reality show, ''Being Noticed''.
The pilot was shot in Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Malibu, as well as various locations throughout Sherman Oaks. The cast and crew numbered in the dozens and the pilot was shot over the course of several weeks.
''Hotline'' documentary
Ragsdale stars in the award-winning 2014 documentary feature film, ''
Hotline (2014 film)'', which ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' calls "brilliant". The film is directed by acclaimed
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
producer and director, Tony Shaff. Shaff and his film crew followed Ragsdale around New York City for weeks as Ragsdale worked his "Lonely Guy" hotline.
''Hotline'' premiered in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
at
Hot Docs
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...
in April 2014, where it was an official selection and audience and jury favorite.
On August 9, 2014 ''Hotline'' won First Prize for Best Feature Documentary at the
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state.
Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the Newpor ...
.
On May 9, 2014 the
Brooklyn Film Festival
The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in New York City.
Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro in ...
announced that ''Hotline'' had been selected for inclusion in its prestigious feature film line-up.
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
Official book website
2012 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Books about crowd psychology