WE GAVE OUR contributors at Matador a guerilla mission to “assess” how and where people get fucked up all over the globe, and to write about it as transparently as they could. The results were fairly predictable: Journalists found themselves breaching security, riding ill-recommended ferries, and dialing into places “half naked in the back of a stretch limousine, with Moet champagne cascading down [their] tits.”
Part travel guide, part drunken social commentary, 101 Places to Get F*cked Up Before You Die may have some of the most hilarious scenes and straight-up observations of youth culture of any book you’ve ever read. For sure you’ll get all the information you need to find different spots, whether they’re booming clubs, isolated backcountry raves, ridiculous festivals, or just chill places to meet people and hang out all over the world.
As the book came together, one thing that surprised me was a kind of pathos in many of the stories. A subtext of seeking connections with people, of scrambling default behaviors and patterns, of trying to seal ourselves deeper into certain moments. In the end I found characters and culture I can identify with, original scenes, a feeling that it’s not all keg-stands and cologne-covered douchebags dancing to Euro-house.
Anyway. Check the cover here, and consider preordering. The book will be published January 7th, 2014, and will be available at booksellers nationwide, including Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Amazon, and Books a Million. Stay tuned for a book trailer, giveaways, and more stoke.