Delete That: And Other Failed Attempts to Look Good Online

John Crist wasn’t always recognizable as “the guy from that hilarious video in the grocery store.” Growing up part of a homeschool family of ten in rural Georgia with Mennonite grandparents and a high-school job at Chick-fil-A, he was an unlikely candidate for internet fame. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, Crist passionately pursued his dream of stand-up comedy.

In his first book, Crist offers heartfelt, laugh-out-loud observations on the absurd ways we all try to make ourselves look better online: like how we all post filtered pictures of our super healthy kale salads but somehow neglect to post about our 1 A.M. Uber Eats Big Mac. Or how quick we all are to post our “I Voted” sticker pictures but fail to post about the ways we vote with our dollars every day in ways that don’t align with our loudly and publicly espoused values.

With self-deprecating wit, Crist chronicles his meteoric rise as an online and stand-up comedian, but he doesn’t gloss over the ways his own life choices did not align with his online image—a gap between perception and reality that eventually led to a stint in rehab.

In Delete That, Crist takes responsibility for his actions, offers some reflections on how to do better, and encourages us all to stop capitulating to the fear of “But what will they think?!” Instead, this book offers a bold invitation to stop curating life and start living it . . . one Nickelback concert at a time.

An upcoming book to be published by Penguin Random House.