You may have noticed the strange people handing out free books in front of campus. You may have even indulged in their offerings. And why not? They’re free, aren’t they?
A closer look at the novels’ seemingly AI-generated covers reveals the man behind the philanthropic mystery. After making his fortune in Silicon Valley as a venture capitalist, lyrical visionary Rich Shapero veered his path toward his true calling: writing graphic sci-fi smut and giving it away to American college students.
We at the Black and Blue Jay thought this offer sounded far too good to be true, so we decided to investigate. We originally planned to read the books, but one of our valued staff members brought up the point that that would probably require actual effort. Instead, we have scoured the depths of Goodreads to find the truth behind these novels. To our surprise, the books seem to be a hit! Check out these real five star reviews (trust us, they’re worth the read).
Balcony of Fog
“This book was great cause i got it for free and I used it to open a stuck window by slamming it into the handle repeatedly.” –Gavin
“I Scotch taped this to my wall. Good as a decoration and conversation starter, absolutely brings the room together.” –Michelle
Wild Animus
“It was perfect, worth every penny I paid for it! My favorite chair leg was broken, and this provided just the right height to stop the wobble, so getting it handed to me for free as I walked across the quad was definitely worth it. As for the words in it, I can attest that they are in fact words, even though the order they are presented in makes for a terrible story. If I had to rate it based on the contents rather than its functionality, I would have to find a way to give it negative 8.3 stars. Fortunately, its function negates that need.” –Nathan
“All you people who’ve been trashing Wild Animus, the fine and revealing work by Mr. Rick Shapero, have been looking at everything the wrong way. Just look at it positively […]. Imagine that the tiny imperfections that mar this marvelous book don’t exist. Imagine, for instance, that the protagonist isn’t a completely selfish, moronic, insane idiot who does nothing useful at all, that the “love” “interest” isn’t a horrifyingly passive victim, that the prose isn’t so full of manure you could fertilize the entire state of Montana with it, or that this whole undertaking of reading “Wild Animus” isn’t a complete waste of time that you could be spending on more valuable activities (i.e. castrating yourself with a handful of rusty nails, fighting a pack of rabid Dachshunds with nothing but a rubber chicken, jumping into a huge box of dirty syringes, swallowing a gallon of hydrochloric acid, electrocuting a Yuuzhan Vong with a car battery, running into an al-Qaeda hideout wearing nothing but a tuxspeedo and a shirt saying “Kiss me, I’m a Navy SEAL”, etc.).
Just keep pretending this book isn’t the worst thing ever, and it won’t be!” –Mallory
Island Fruit Remedy
“Back with what can only be considered his pièce de resistance, ‘Island Fruit Remedy’ (a novel), Rich Shapero hurls us headlong into what is essentially a tropical fruit brothel. The novel follows a young Hamlet-esque protagonist named Wood along his journey of self discovery, troubled by the indecision of bonking Guava or Papaya. The myriad minor characters such as ‘Cool Guy’, ‘Gwen’, or ‘Femboy’ may on first read appear flimsy and insubstantial, plucked out of the mind of a man perhaps addled with speed, however on ponderation reveal much about the human condition. Noteworthy examples of exceptional prose include: ‘her breasts were giant globes with bumpy nipples the colour of dirt’. I loved every page, every irrelevant subplot, every grammatical mistake. The most joy and entertainment I have ever experienced reading.” –Ellen
If you do end up cracking open one of his books, PLEASE email your reviews to theblackandbluejay@gmail.com.
The Black and Blue Jay 