With the kind of ambition that would make Ryan Howard proud, B.J. Novak released a collection of stories entitled One More Thing, and a children's book called The Book With No Pictures, in 2014. The later is quite exactly what the title says it would be—there are no illustrations, no author's photo, and even a debate whether the traditional logo of Penguin Books could appear on the spine, the Emmy nominee told to the Los Angeles Review of Books at the time.
B.J. explained to the publication that when he was growing up, reading for him was something that was rebellious, independent, and empowering, and he wanted to be able to convey that spirit to his young readers. "For a young kid who doesn’t know if books are boring, or interesting, or a chore, or homework, to frame it right away as something that is always on their side," he said. "That reading is a fun, rebellious tool that they will always have. They can interpret this code and use it to their own advantage."
At least with children's books, the Office star seems to have cracked the code. According to its site, The Book With No Pictures spent 55 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
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