false 4728684 2 <p>In this exuberant and hilarious debut reminiscent of <i>The Life of Pi</i> and <i>Then We Came to the End</i>, an episode of furniture moving gone awry becomes an impromptu quest of self-discovery, secret histories, and unexpected revelations.</p><p>Thom is a computer geek whose hacking of a certain Washington-based software giant has won him a little fame but few job prospects. Erik is a smalltime con man, a fast-talker who is never quite quick enough on his feet. Their roommate, Tree, is a confused clairvoyant whose dreams and prophecies may not be completely off base. After a freak accident fl oods their apartment, the three are evicted-but they have to take their couch with them. The real problem? The couch-huge and orange-won't let them put it down. Soon the three roommates are on a cross-country trek along back roads, byways, and rail lines, heading far out of Portland and deep into one very weird corner of the American dream.</p><p><b>Benjamin Parzybok</b> is the creator of <i>Gumball Poetry</i>, a journal published through gumball machines, and the Black Magic Insurance Agency, a city-wide mystery/treasure hunt. He has worked as a congressional page, a ghostwriter for the governor of Washington, a web developer, a Taiwanese factory technical writer, an asbestos removal janitor, and a potato sorter. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with the writer Laura Moulton and their two children.</p> 4793186 1 11 2008 Couch total:146|5:16|4:58|3:42|2:23|1:7| 146 491 300 67 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 5 false Mon Mar 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 04 23:08:05 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 15 23:26:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 5 2 false Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 19 23:57:28 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 08:50:05 -0700 2008 The couch in question may or may not be somehow magical. Three roommates in Portland, Oregon (in my own...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 2 false Sun Dec 28 09:20:03 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 09:01:11 -0800 2008 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 3 2 false Wed Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 16:44:17 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 16:45:56 -0800 2008 Lord of the Rings, except instead of a ring you have a couch. And instead of hobbits you have a computer programmer who is allergic to wheat, a conman, and a wire bending psychic. And instead of the Shire, you have Portland. Also, not so much with the epic poetry....more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 3 1 false Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 00:14:39 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 11:00:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 1 false Sat Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 13 23:43:14 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 15 10:50:46 -0800 2009 1
Of course, an idea this ridiculous and silly is right up my alley. The...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 1 false Wed Jan 14 21:02:44 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 10:11:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 1 false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 16:15:15 -0800 2008 Sat Aug 08 18:13:23 -0700 2009 Couch starts off as a typically Northwestern tale of woe: three underemployed guys - a laid-off programmer, a fey pie-baking hippie boy, and a smooth-talking con artist - share a dismal Portland apartment, down on their luck and starting to feel desperation creeping in around the edg...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 5 0 false Thu Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 05:55:01 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 17:55:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 1 false Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 18:28:35 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 12:16:15 -0700 2009 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 1 false Sat Dec 13 06:24:45 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 06:27:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 3 0 false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 21:10:02 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 22:14:22 -0700 2009 Everyman is an over-sized, unemployed computer genius whose girlfriend has dumped him. His name is Thom and he doubts himself.
The Re...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 3 0 false Tue Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 16:28:58 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 06:47:34 -0700 2009
I can appreciat...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 0 false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 06:01:06 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 16:19:33 -0700 2009
That said, I almost didn't care, because the rest of the story was such a fabulously funny...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 3 0 false Sun Jun 14 15:29:03 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 15:31:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 2 0 false Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 08:10:24 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 08:19:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 2 0 false Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 14:14:41 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 06:57:39 -0700 2009
Unevenly written overall, and at times I was tempted to put the book down and give up from boredom. Overall, I didn't think it was worth the journey. I didn't find it funny, but it did touch on ...more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 3 0 false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 22:45:46 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 22:46:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 4 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 21:41:11 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 21:42:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4728684 1931520542 9781931520546 145 67 3.36 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4728684.Couch 2 0 false Wed May 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 07:02:32 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 09:20:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4728684