David Crabb Reads from His New Memoir ‘Bad Kid’: LISTEN

Yesterday, Towleroad book critic Garth Greenwell reviewed Bad Kid, the new memoir from David Crabb which he calls “the first great read of the summer.”

Adds Greenwell:

“…what's remarkable is how free this very funny book is of the usual coming out traumas. His mother's eagerness to overshare—“open and honest,” she says before each cringeworthy revelation—is almost as difficult for David as his father's discomfort with homosexuality, and neither parent ever gives him reason to doubt their love. … I'm not sure I can call to mind another memoir that is so entirely free of rancor. No one is a monster in this book; almost no one is willfully cruel. What fills these pages instead is wonder at the luck of having been part of such an absurd, wondrous world, and love for the people who inhabited it.

We think you'll agree after hearing the latest installment in our TowleREAD author series (now sponsored by Audible). Crabb is not only a talented writer, but his reading illuminates the writing with the teen angst and yearning it so richly deserves.

Crabb spoke to Towleroad about the excerpt he picked out to read:

“In the early portion of the book I've been struggling with fitting in, which for me meant disappearing. I would don my usual middle school costume: white sneakers, khaki pants, and a pressed button-down shirt. My hair was always perfectly gelled and parted. I looked less like a fun-loving, 13-year-old boy and more like someone who would knock on your door with a handful of Watch Tower magazines. But during my Freshman year I met Greg in gym class. He was the first boy who I felt a connection to and affinity for that didn't threaten me. For months I kept my true self a secret from Greg. Then one night over a Ouija board, while listening to Depeche Mode and casting vampire spells, I decided to take a chance. “

As part of its sponsorship of TowleREAD, Audible is offering a free download of David Crabb's podcasts at Audible.com with a 30-Day Trial membership for Towleroad readers.

Please enjoy a reading from David Crabb's Bad Kid, below:

And read Garth Greenwell's review, if you missed it, HERE.