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You Didn't Hear This From Me

byKelsey McKinney

Notes on the Art of Gossip

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'Sharp-witted and thoroughly researched . . . McKinney convincingly proves that gossiping is a legitimate part of modern life' The Times

“Can you keep a secret?”

Gossip has been journalist Kelsey McKinney’s full-time job for the past four years. Yet the more time she spent collecting and sharing and thinking about stories as the host of the phenomenally successful podcast Normal Gossip, the more her concept of gossip began to expand.

In You Didn’t Hear This From Me, McKinney offers a delightfully insightful exploration of our obsession with gossip. What even is it, and why is it considered a sin? Why are we so fascinated by celebrity drama and tabloid headlines? How do we use and abuse gossip – and why do we want to do it at all?

From the Epic of Gilgamesh as told by chatbots, to the scandalous betrayals in The Traitors, McKinney dives deep into a range of cultural touchstones and, with juicy morsels of real-life gossip interspersed throughout, captures the heart of gossiping: how enchanting and fun it can be to lean over and whisper something a little salacious into your friend’s ear.

Weaving together journalism, cultural criticism, and memoir, You Didn’t Hear This From Me is a sharp, witty and candid exploration of the irresistible allure of those secrets that are just too tantalising to keep to yourself.

McKinney has written this book to prove that gossip isn’t just bitchy women with raised eyebrows exchanging each other’s secrets like currency. It’s a vital means of communication, and part of an ancient tradition of oral storytelling…This book is not simply a manual for those who like to harvest facts about their former friends on Facebook. Sure, it uses the Barbie film as a serious scientific case study, but it’s also sharp-witted and thoroughly researched. There’s history, theology, legal cases, a detailed physiology of the ear. Most usefully, McKinney convincingly proves that gossiping is a legitimate part of modern life

The Times

About Kelsey McKinney

Kelsey McKinney is a reporter and writer who lives in Philadelphia. She was the founding host of Normal Gossip, as well as a co-owner and features writer at Defector.com. She has worked as a staff writer at Deadspin, Fusion, and Vox, and her reporting and essays have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, GQ, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and many others. Her first novel, God Spare the Girls, was published in 2021.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9781405975100
  • Length: 304 pages
  • Price: £10.99
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