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PIECE OF SHIT LOSER SCUMBAG: THIS IS NOT A MEMOIR
PIECE OF SHIT LOSER SCUMBAG: THIS IS NOT A MEMOIR is a collection of stories that explore the hidden inner workings of men who are far from good, and unfortunately, all too recognizable. Transgressive, sometimes funny, oftentimes sad, and horrifically human, this collection will leave you embarrassed for our species with a heart much heavier than before, sitting in your doctor’s office, waiting to discuss the spontaneous burning rash on your genitalia.
- GenresShort Stories
110 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2026
About the author
Matt Micheli
21 books116 followersMatt Micheli is an award-winning horror and dark-fiction author out of New Braunfels, TX. He has several fiction and non-fiction pieces featured in various magazines and anthologies and is a multi-contributor to This is Horror, Horror Sleaze Trash, and Horror Tree. A widower (he lost his wife to Cancer) and a loving father to a daughter and husky dogs, he spends his days dabbling in domestication and his nights in Tequila, always searching for the next great story.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to BookSirens and the author for an ARC
3.5: This book is unpleasant and confrontational but weirdly compelling. It feels like getting dragged into someone’s internal meltdown.
It’s raw and mean. Not mean in a cheap shock-value way, but in a deeply personal, self-aware, emotionally sharp way. That sharpness is intentional.
What really works is how familiar the chaos all feels. There’s no grand tragedy or cinematic suffering. Instead, ordinary people set their worlds on fire over ordinary things. They obsess over small slights. The obsession turns to resentment and then to hatred. Tiny irritations metastasise. Passing thoughts turn into fixations. Self-doubt mutates into full-blown psychological warfare. It’s uncomfortable because it feels recognisable.
The voice is relentless. It's bitter, funny, self-lacerating, and weirdly magnetic. The book has this energy of someone pacing back and forth in their own brain, ranting, dissecting, spiraling, occasionally landing on something painfully sharp before immediately setting it on fire again.
Multiple times I caught myself thinking:
"I don’t know if I like being here." …while continuing to read.
It’s bleak, but not dull. Harsh, but not empty. There’s a strange precision beneath the chaos, like the emotional mess is being very carefully constructed.
The unease is the point. The discomfort is the point.
I feel like this is going to be a divisive book. If you want likable narrators, emotional reassurance, or anything resembling narrative comfort, this will feel like psychic sandpaper. But if you like introspective, abrasive, slightly unhinged writing that captures the ugly, obsessive loops of everyday thought, this is it.
3.5: This book is unpleasant and confrontational but weirdly compelling. It feels like getting dragged into someone’s internal meltdown.
It’s raw and mean. Not mean in a cheap shock-value way, but in a deeply personal, self-aware, emotionally sharp way. That sharpness is intentional.
What really works is how familiar the chaos all feels. There’s no grand tragedy or cinematic suffering. Instead, ordinary people set their worlds on fire over ordinary things. They obsess over small slights. The obsession turns to resentment and then to hatred. Tiny irritations metastasise. Passing thoughts turn into fixations. Self-doubt mutates into full-blown psychological warfare. It’s uncomfortable because it feels recognisable.
The voice is relentless. It's bitter, funny, self-lacerating, and weirdly magnetic. The book has this energy of someone pacing back and forth in their own brain, ranting, dissecting, spiraling, occasionally landing on something painfully sharp before immediately setting it on fire again.
Multiple times I caught myself thinking:
"I don’t know if I like being here." …while continuing to read.
It’s bleak, but not dull. Harsh, but not empty. There’s a strange precision beneath the chaos, like the emotional mess is being very carefully constructed.
The unease is the point. The discomfort is the point.
I feel like this is going to be a divisive book. If you want likable narrators, emotional reassurance, or anything resembling narrative comfort, this will feel like psychic sandpaper. But if you like introspective, abrasive, slightly unhinged writing that captures the ugly, obsessive loops of everyday thought, this is it.
February 7, 2026
A Collection to Fill You With Unease!
Piece of Shit Loser Scumbag is exactly as confrontational and grimy as the title promises, and that’s what makes it work so damn well. Matt Micheli doesn’t sand anything down. He delivers stories that are raw, mean, and deeply unsettling, tapping into everyday desperation and turning it quietly grotesque. There’s an eerie undercurrent throughout the collection, where ordinary people spiral into obsession, self-loathing, and moral rot, and the lack of polish only makes it feel more honest and more disturbing. These stories are going to turn your stomach, make you feel dirty, and just might transport you a seriously dark headspace. Some stories feel like you’re reading something you maybe shouldn’t be allowed to see. That’s just how disturbing some of these are. That’s all the warning, I can give on these.
And then there’s “The Box,” an absolutely perfect closer that distills everything the collection does best into one final, lingering gut punch. This story might be familiar to some because it’s truly excellent, but it is uncomfortable, psychologically sharp, and impossible to shake. It’s the kind of ending that doesn’t just conclude the book, it seals it shut and leaves you sitting there in silence afterward. Prepare for the worst flavor of humanity yet and buckle in for another Micheli thrill-ride!
Piece of Shit Loser Scumbag is exactly as confrontational and grimy as the title promises, and that’s what makes it work so damn well. Matt Micheli doesn’t sand anything down. He delivers stories that are raw, mean, and deeply unsettling, tapping into everyday desperation and turning it quietly grotesque. There’s an eerie undercurrent throughout the collection, where ordinary people spiral into obsession, self-loathing, and moral rot, and the lack of polish only makes it feel more honest and more disturbing. These stories are going to turn your stomach, make you feel dirty, and just might transport you a seriously dark headspace. Some stories feel like you’re reading something you maybe shouldn’t be allowed to see. That’s just how disturbing some of these are. That’s all the warning, I can give on these.
And then there’s “The Box,” an absolutely perfect closer that distills everything the collection does best into one final, lingering gut punch. This story might be familiar to some because it’s truly excellent, but it is uncomfortable, psychologically sharp, and impossible to shake. It’s the kind of ending that doesn’t just conclude the book, it seals it shut and leaves you sitting there in silence afterward. Prepare for the worst flavor of humanity yet and buckle in for another Micheli thrill-ride!
February 14, 2026
This collection is … man, the right word eludes me. Polished? Grown-Up? Professional? Real?
They’re the kind of stories I read when I was an adolescent craving adulthood, more mature people around me, elevated thinking. This collection hooked me immediately and I feel refined and more knowledgeable in an odd way. The stories are grim, or punchy, or just out there but so real at the same time. Just wild but focused and a great read. Seriously recommend this one; truly brilliant.
They’re the kind of stories I read when I was an adolescent craving adulthood, more mature people around me, elevated thinking. This collection hooked me immediately and I feel refined and more knowledgeable in an odd way. The stories are grim, or punchy, or just out there but so real at the same time. Just wild but focused and a great read. Seriously recommend this one; truly brilliant.
February 15, 2026
A little bit dark, a little bit twisted, a little bit uncomfortable!
Review of advance copy
Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy.
Matt Micheli wrote my favorite novella last year (The Vines), so I was eager to check out his short fiction. Even though all of the characters within a incredibly awful people, I enjoyed every story. Some definitely hit harder than others, but this is a very solid collection. 4 stars
Fuck City Girls ⭐⭐⭐
The Apple ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Story of the Bear Man ⭐⭐⭐.25
Pretty Meat ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Complexities of Time and Whatnot ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Look ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Words, Miserable Fucking Words ⭐⭐⭐.5
Love Thy Neighbor ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My First Time with Jessie Spano: A Flash Piece ⭐⭐⭐
Love and Sadness and Fading Memories ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
And the Day Seemed Endless ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Box ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Matt Micheli wrote my favorite novella last year (The Vines), so I was eager to check out his short fiction. Even though all of the characters within a incredibly awful people, I enjoyed every story. Some definitely hit harder than others, but this is a very solid collection. 4 stars
Fuck City Girls ⭐⭐⭐
The Apple ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Story of the Bear Man ⭐⭐⭐.25
Pretty Meat ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Complexities of Time and Whatnot ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Look ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Words, Miserable Fucking Words ⭐⭐⭐.5
Love Thy Neighbor ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My First Time with Jessie Spano: A Flash Piece ⭐⭐⭐
Love and Sadness and Fading Memories ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
And the Day Seemed Endless ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Box ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
February 16, 2026
Extremely well written. That title… completely fitting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews