Tricky to review this one. Overall, I was struck by the originality of the story and the social media touchstones (e.g. Kayak and FB) that let the novel intersect with the "real" world. There were elements that grew tiresome --a major one was the girlfriend, but I digress lol--but ultimately, this was a story that I wanted to finish. And even though I positively *hate* the cover and am not terribly crazy about the title either, almost 2 years after reading the story, I still think about it sometimes. In fact, I'm writing this review because I just referenced TBDNE in a frustrated indie author's discussion thread over on Amazon. I may even reread it. But back to the book: I also appreciate the use of music -- Here, My Dear by Marvin Gaye is a prime example--to link Mike's world (the protagonist) to my world.

This book is imperfect, as most human-made stuff is, but it is engaging, original, and makes me look forward to reading more of Schneider's work once he's gotten more backing/support ($$$) and his gift for storytelling has gained even more seasoning. As an indie singer & songwriter with one album released and another in the oven, I give Mike Schneider's book a hearty thumbs-up and (also) raise my fist in solidarity. I believe time will allow him to continually develop his craft and I earnestly hope that the hard-knock indie life doesn't quench his spirit. All in all, I dug it.

Geek Addendum: Schneider really makes the most of the *media* elements of reading. To complement the book, there's a Spotify playlist featuring songs from the story (Dude, I KNOW!): http://open.spotify.com/user/onemikey...

The music taste alone is worthy of a writer-crush. Please support this cat and tell him that you dig his work. It's hard out here...

Social Media Links:
Follow the author on Twitter: @onemikey
Here's the TBDNE Tumblr: http://thisbookdoesnotexist.tumblr.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TBDNE (w/ images from the book as well)