Greenlights is his way to seize the day and constantly be moving forward — a life lesson he has learned and is eager to share. #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Over one million copies sold!
Matthew McConaughey spent 12 days alone in the desert with no electricity in order to turn the diary he's kept for 36 years into his new memoir, Greenlights. Let's catch some Greenlights “It shouldn't surprise you that this book is good, but it will surprise you just how good it is. Wise and entertaining, this is an inspiring memoir and how-to from one of the great outlaw philosophers and artists of our time.”.
| Author | Matthew McConaughey |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Matthew McConaughey |
| Cover artist | Miller Mobley (photo) Christopher Brand (design) Michael Morris (design) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | Crown |
| October 20, 2020 | |
| Media type | Print (hardcover), e-book, audio |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 978-0-593-13913-4 (hardcover) |
| OCLC | 1152442722 |
| 791.4302/8092 B | |
| LC Class | PN2287.M54545 A3 2020 |
| Website | greenlights.com |
Greenlights is a book by American actor Matthew McConaughey.[1][2] It was published on October 20, 2020, by the Crown imprint of Crown Publishing Group.[3] The book includes stories and insights from McConaughey's life in chronological order. It has been described as a memoir but McConaughey has called it an 'approach book'.[4] It debuted at number one on The New York Times non-fiction best-seller list.[5]
Background[edit]
McConaughey exiled himself in the desert without electricity for fifty-two days while writing the book.[6]Greenlights originated from diaries and journals McConaughey began writing when he was fourteen years old.[7] McConaughey described the book as a collection of 'stories, prayers, poems, people and places and a whole bunch of bumper stickers.'[8]
Publication and promotion[edit]
Greenlights was published on October 20, 2020, by the Crown imprint of Crown Publishing Group.[9] McConaughey promoted the book with appearances on Good Morning America,[10]The Joe Rogan Experience, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The GaryVee Audio Experience, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Howard Stern Show, Pardon My Take, The Dr. Oz Show, Fox & Friends, and Russell Wilson's DangerTalk podcast,[11]Hot Ones,[12] and The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast podcast.[13]
The book debuted at number one on The New York Times non-fiction best-seller list for the week ending October 24, 2020.[5]
Reception[edit]
Mark Athitakis of The Washington Post called McConaughey's poetry 'cringeworthy' and criticized his wisdom for being unrelatable, calling the book 'stuffed with vaporous, circular proverbs for would-be McConaugheys.'[14] In their review, The Times of India wrote, 'The writing is conversational and easy to read, though this is one book whose audiobook form is worth listening to. The actor/author reads it himself, with the correct inflections and even does voices. It's truly entertaining.'[15] In an interview with McConaughey, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson said that the book was 'a collection of great stories'.[16]
References[edit]
- ^Itzkoff, Dave (October 14, 2020). 'Matthew McConaughey Wrote the Book on Matthew McConaughey'. The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2020.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Romano, Nick (July 30, 2020). ''Are you lit?' 'Cause Matthew McConaughey is writing a memoir'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^'Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey'. Penguin Random House. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^Hunt, Elle (October 26, 2020). 'Zen and the art of torso maintenance: Matthew McConaughey's guide to life'. The Guardian. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ ab'Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction - Best Sellers'. The New York Times. November 8, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^Kirkpatrick, Emily (August 13, 2020). 'Matthew McConaughey Spent 52 Days Alone in the Desert with No Electricity to Write His Memoir'. Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^Paiella, Gabriella (October 21, 2020). 'Matthew McConaughey Is Thinking About His Eulogy'. GQ. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^'Matthew McConaughey on His Memoir Writing Process: 52 Days Alone in the Desert (Without Electricity!)'. People. August 12, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^Schaub, Michael (July 30, 2020). 'Matthew McConaughey Is Making His Literary Debut'. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^FitzPatrick, Hayley (October 19, 2020). 'Matthew McConaughey talks lifelong dream of being a father and the first moment he saw his wife'. Good Morning America. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^O'Neal, Sean (October 23, 2020). 'Won't You Say You Love a Dark 'Barney' Movie?'. Texas Monthly. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^'Matthew McConaughey Grunts it Out While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones'. Complex.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^'The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast: Matthew McConaughey'. Apple Podcasts. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^Athitakis, Mark (October 20, 2020). 'Matthew McConaughey is 'alright, alright, alright' — and thinks you will be too'. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^'Micro review: 'Greenlights' by Matthew McConaughey'. The Times of India. November 16, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^'The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast - Season 4 Episode 1: Matthew McConaughey - YouTube'. www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Over one million copies sold From the Academy Award(R)-winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfactionNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN'Unflinchingly honest and remarkably candid, Matthew McConaughey's book invites us to grapple with the lessons of his life as he did--and to see that the point was never to win, but to understand.'--Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ckI've been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me. Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life's challenges--how to get relative with the inevitable--you can enjoy a state of success I call 'catching greenlights.' So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops. Hopefully, it's medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot's license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears. It's a love letter. To life.It's also a guide to catching more greenlights--and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too. Good luck. The short dust jacket included with this hardcover edition is an intentional design choice.
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'A brilliant memoir . . . [Greenlights] is unmistakeably 'a book that only Matthew McConaughey could have written.' This is a good thing.'--The Times Magazine (UK)'McConaughey's own story is arguably more interesting than any character he has embodied on the silver screen over the decades.'--USA Today'Delightfully voicey.'--GQ
'At its best moments, Greenlights . . . delivers memorable life lessons.'--Pico Iyer, Air Mail'McConaughey is a talented actor and a fine writer, but a total genius at living. He attacks life with an exhilarating ferocity. This is a wildly unexpected and delightful book you can't just read, you have to experience.'--Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October'It shouldn't surprise you that this book is good, but it will surprise you just how good it is. Wise and entertaining, this is an inspiring memoir and how-to from one of the great outlaw philosophers and artists of our time.'--Ryan Holiday, author of The Daily Stoic'A Renaissance man on the big screen, McConaughey shows he is the same on the page. Mystical and spiritual but mostly just wonderful, Greenlights is an inspired memoir that celebrates the idea that it's the journey rather than the destination that will fulfill us.'--Michael Connelly, author of Fair Warning'Written with great intensity and rare candor, Greenlights is a whirlwind of wisdom that's as singular and fervent as its author. Read the book, experience the behind-the-scenes adventures, then pursue your own greenlights full throttle.'--Shaka Smart, head coach, men's basketball, The University of Texas at Austin'Greenlights is many different books at once: an entertaining autobiography, a delightful adventure story, a very funny comedy, a wise self-help guide, an inspiring argument for love and family, and a candid tale of spiritual and personal discovery. I cannot recommend it highly enough.'--John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, co-author of Conscious Leadership
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