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Semi-Famous: A True Story of Near Celebrity
Social media star and comedian Josh Sundquist takes readers on his hilarious journey to the fringes of viral stardom to discover if it’s possible to be both very famous and very happy.
As a semi-famous internet creator, Josh Sundquist knows what it's like to chase fame, but he also knows that more fame usually means more stress. So he set out on a pseudo-scientific investigation to find out if there is any way for fame and happiness to overlap.
He attempts to define the word “fame”—hint: it's harder than you'd think. He turns back time to identify the first recognizable celebrity (you might know his former BFF Brutus). He digs into the numbers to debunk urban legends associated with stardom (ever heard of the 27 Club?). He talks to other semi-famous people (from K-pop sensations to former child stars) and asks them: Is this fame thing making you happy? If not, why are you doing it? If so, what's your secret? All while recounting funny stories about his own cringe-worthy fame-seeking (like his many attempts, and failures, to get onto MTV).
Packed with playful diagrams, fascinating insights from celebrities, and embarrassing truths from Josh’s experience with semi-fame, this is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming famous…or at least going viral on TikTok.
As a semi-famous internet creator, Josh Sundquist knows what it's like to chase fame, but he also knows that more fame usually means more stress. So he set out on a pseudo-scientific investigation to find out if there is any way for fame and happiness to overlap.
He attempts to define the word “fame”—hint: it's harder than you'd think. He turns back time to identify the first recognizable celebrity (you might know his former BFF Brutus). He digs into the numbers to debunk urban legends associated with stardom (ever heard of the 27 Club?). He talks to other semi-famous people (from K-pop sensations to former child stars) and asks them: Is this fame thing making you happy? If not, why are you doing it? If so, what's your secret? All while recounting funny stories about his own cringe-worthy fame-seeking (like his many attempts, and failures, to get onto MTV).
Packed with playful diagrams, fascinating insights from celebrities, and embarrassing truths from Josh’s experience with semi-fame, this is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming famous…or at least going viral on TikTok.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published July 19, 2022
11 people are currently reading
1827 people want to read
About the author
Josh Sundquist
13 books975 followersJOSH SUNDQUIST is a Paralympian, author, motivational speaker, and Halloween enthusiast.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 21, 2022
Fascinating reading! It's kind of a hybrid between a personal memoir of the author's lifelong quest for fame and a more academic examination of the whole concept of fame (Who becomes famous? How long does fame last? Is fame a joy or a curse?) There is lots of interesting research cited, and the accompanying graphs and illustrations keep things light even in the face of pretty sophisticated study from, like, actual scientists. Interviews with various people along the fame spectrum also add a unique depth to the ideas considered.
The author' style is wry, breezy, and conversational, so this goes down very easy, even with some actual scientific weight behind it. This would make a wonderful airplane or vacation read and is a perfectly painless way to get a little smarter and get a little more perspective on the odd but inescapable phenomenon of celebrity. Fans of pop culture, media, performing arts, and memoirs should definitely pick this up!
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
The author' style is wry, breezy, and conversational, so this goes down very easy, even with some actual scientific weight behind it. This would make a wonderful airplane or vacation read and is a perfectly painless way to get a little smarter and get a little more perspective on the odd but inescapable phenomenon of celebrity. Fans of pop culture, media, performing arts, and memoirs should definitely pick this up!
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
February 28, 2022
I picked up this book to read because I had seen Josh Sundquist come across my Explore feed on Instagram and so I was curious to see what he would have to say in this book on happiness and fame. In it, he tackles fame through many angles and why fame isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
Sundquist's style is funny and engaging. His text is filled with examples from the past and present to illustrate how they became famous and why they might have come to regret their acquired fame. He also tells his personal experiences and attempts at fame, both failed and successful through funny anecdotes and graphs thorough the book. I found the structure of the book, organized around school subjects to be a truly interesting and creative way of exploring the subject matter.
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sundquist's style is funny and engaging. His text is filled with examples from the past and present to illustrate how they became famous and why they might have come to regret their acquired fame. He also tells his personal experiences and attempts at fame, both failed and successful through funny anecdotes and graphs thorough the book. I found the structure of the book, organized around school subjects to be a truly interesting and creative way of exploring the subject matter.
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 25, 2025
I loved the first book I read by this author ("We Should Hang Out Sometime") but this one's a flop. Not really a memoir, it's his ill-advised attempt to teach middle and high school students about fame. He's totally out of his element, seems two decades past relevancy, just pastes together a few interviews and research studies, and includes only small amounts of his own life. He's not really that famous at all and doesn't seem to understand what true fame is.
Definitions are important when discussing celebrity and being well-known, but Sundquist fails to do a good job defining what he's talking about. Serial killers are famous but in a whole different category from actors (who begged to be noticed) or reality TV stars (who had fame thrust on them). Research can be used, but the writer mishandles it and fails to point out the obvious flaws in much of what he quotes of the very limited studies. Personal interviews with a few somewhat-known people are included, but he doesn't get much out of them. No matter how much he calls himself "a journalist," he's far from it.
And he's not really a comedian either--almost nothing humorous pops up in this book that really should have been geared toward adults. Anyone who hasn't graduated high school will be bored within the first few pages, and some of his references to famous people are incredibly outdated for a 2022 publication.
He also gets a number of facts and statements wrong. "All celebrities are famous." Wrong. NCIS "for 19 seasons the show has consistently been the number one most viewed scripted series on television." Wrong. He capitalizes black when referencing skin color but doesn't capitalize TelePrompter, the brand name of electronic TV reading device. Wrong and wrong. He even gets his own stories mixed up, claiming that a leader at MTV "offered me a PA job," which is also wrong--the guy was tired of being bugged by Sanquist to be an on air host so he said to the author "I could put you in touch with the people who hire our PAs." That's NOT a job "offer," it's pushing the kid off on others who might hire him or not.
Or how about this thought from the author? "If I was to ask you to name the most famous people of all time, some of the names on your list would probably be people who founded religions: Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, L. Ron Hubbard, etc." HUH? L. Ron Hubbard? Wow, Sundquist needs to learn what the words notorious and charlatan mean because Hubbard doesn't come close to belonging to the rest of the group in terms of fame or impact.
The whole thing is annoying and disappointing. It feels like he's using a simplistic topic to sell books to young people (or at least to libraries) because he ran out of other ideas or life stories. For someone who claims to be semi-famous this book is more than semi-lame.
Definitions are important when discussing celebrity and being well-known, but Sundquist fails to do a good job defining what he's talking about. Serial killers are famous but in a whole different category from actors (who begged to be noticed) or reality TV stars (who had fame thrust on them). Research can be used, but the writer mishandles it and fails to point out the obvious flaws in much of what he quotes of the very limited studies. Personal interviews with a few somewhat-known people are included, but he doesn't get much out of them. No matter how much he calls himself "a journalist," he's far from it.
And he's not really a comedian either--almost nothing humorous pops up in this book that really should have been geared toward adults. Anyone who hasn't graduated high school will be bored within the first few pages, and some of his references to famous people are incredibly outdated for a 2022 publication.
He also gets a number of facts and statements wrong. "All celebrities are famous." Wrong. NCIS "for 19 seasons the show has consistently been the number one most viewed scripted series on television." Wrong. He capitalizes black when referencing skin color but doesn't capitalize TelePrompter, the brand name of electronic TV reading device. Wrong and wrong. He even gets his own stories mixed up, claiming that a leader at MTV "offered me a PA job," which is also wrong--the guy was tired of being bugged by Sanquist to be an on air host so he said to the author "I could put you in touch with the people who hire our PAs." That's NOT a job "offer," it's pushing the kid off on others who might hire him or not.
Or how about this thought from the author? "If I was to ask you to name the most famous people of all time, some of the names on your list would probably be people who founded religions: Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, L. Ron Hubbard, etc." HUH? L. Ron Hubbard? Wow, Sundquist needs to learn what the words notorious and charlatan mean because Hubbard doesn't come close to belonging to the rest of the group in terms of fame or impact.
The whole thing is annoying and disappointing. It feels like he's using a simplistic topic to sell books to young people (or at least to libraries) because he ran out of other ideas or life stories. For someone who claims to be semi-famous this book is more than semi-lame.
March 14, 2022
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be famous, or in Josh Sundquist's case semi-famous. Or what the correlation between happiness and fame is? Who was the first famous person was and so much more? Well, you're in luck Semi-Famous: A True Story of Near Celebrity by Josh Sundquist will show. This book is full of diagrams, insights from celebrities, and personal stories from Josh.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I usually avoid nonfiction if I can, but this one piqued my interest. I'm glad I read it. This book is funny, interesting, and insightful. Josh knows how to make nonfiction fun. I loved everything from fun little diagrams to the conversations he had with celebrities. Plus this book is formatted in a unique way. It is formated as if it were a school day with different class periods teaching you all about fame. That may make you want to avoid it because who wants to go to school in a book? Well let me tell you, it makes the book even more interesting and fun. Some of the class periods include math, which talks about whether celebrities are really more likely to have addictions and how many celebrities people remember, and Biology, which talks about why celebrities date other celebrities and is there something in our biology that makes us want to become famous. There is even a lunch class period!
Overall this book is an interesting and funny read. Whether you like nonfiction or not, I think you will enjoy this one if you want to laugh and learn more about the world of fame.
Thank you Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
I enjoyed this book a lot. I usually avoid nonfiction if I can, but this one piqued my interest. I'm glad I read it. This book is funny, interesting, and insightful. Josh knows how to make nonfiction fun. I loved everything from fun little diagrams to the conversations he had with celebrities. Plus this book is formatted in a unique way. It is formated as if it were a school day with different class periods teaching you all about fame. That may make you want to avoid it because who wants to go to school in a book? Well let me tell you, it makes the book even more interesting and fun. Some of the class periods include math, which talks about whether celebrities are really more likely to have addictions and how many celebrities people remember, and Biology, which talks about why celebrities date other celebrities and is there something in our biology that makes us want to become famous. There is even a lunch class period!
Overall this book is an interesting and funny read. Whether you like nonfiction or not, I think you will enjoy this one if you want to laugh and learn more about the world of fame.
Thank you Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
November 11, 2022
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, since I was just looking through audiobooks marked "available" in the Libby app, and thought this one looked interesting. . .
I feel like it was pretty educational. It was definitely an in-depth study of what draws people to fame, what they will do in order to become famous, and how they might regret that decision later in life. It also has interviews with actual famous people, who have learned how to handle the fame with grace.
I do feel, though, as if the author expected people to think less of him when he announced his disability in the book. That we might question his abilities as a writer, or something. On the contrary. . . I didn't recognize the name, and was trying to figure out whether or not I'd seen or heard of him before, since he said that he was an internet comedian, and I had wondered why he would try for the Paralympics, instead of the Olympics, so I felt like that was a sort of clue, but as I have watched several videos from people with disabilities who might be labeled as comic, I couldn't place him. When he did name his disability, I simply had a moment of clarity and recognition. If anything, I thought less of him because he made that assumption, and because he is slightly obnoxiously atheist, using "BCE" and "CE" to mark time periods, and similar things. Nothing too serious, just minor annnoyances.
But I do find his videos funny, and I did like the book.
I feel like it was pretty educational. It was definitely an in-depth study of what draws people to fame, what they will do in order to become famous, and how they might regret that decision later in life. It also has interviews with actual famous people, who have learned how to handle the fame with grace.
I do feel, though, as if the author expected people to think less of him when he announced his disability in the book. That we might question his abilities as a writer, or something. On the contrary. . . I didn't recognize the name, and was trying to figure out whether or not I'd seen or heard of him before, since he said that he was an internet comedian, and I had wondered why he would try for the Paralympics, instead of the Olympics, so I felt like that was a sort of clue, but as I have watched several videos from people with disabilities who might be labeled as comic, I couldn't place him. When he did name his disability, I simply had a moment of clarity and recognition. If anything, I thought less of him because he made that assumption, and because he is slightly obnoxiously atheist, using "BCE" and "CE" to mark time periods, and similar things. Nothing too serious, just minor annnoyances.
But I do find his videos funny, and I did like the book.
February 28, 2024
I may have been in the minority of readers in that I had never heard of Josh Sundquist until this book, I just found it on the endcap of my library and picked it up. The premise seemed interesting enough, and it did not disappoint!
I love Sundquist's humanity and sense of humor throughout the book, making it incredibly readable. It is a large part memoir of his own experiences, but chock-full of statistics, interviews, and quotes from others who have achieved and live with fame.
This would have been a different book had it been written by an A-list celebrity, but I find that Josh's experiences with celebrity, where he's recognized on occasion while he's out and about, but not so much that he is swarmed when he goes to a coffee shop. However, he is well known enough to go to conferences where he does have to me mindful of crowds gathering. All of this gives him just enough of a brush with celebrity, yet grounded enough to provide a very readable and relatable take on what celebrity is, how it is achieved, how it is changing due to streaming media, and the level of happiness or lack thereof that it provides.
I love Sundquist's humanity and sense of humor throughout the book, making it incredibly readable. It is a large part memoir of his own experiences, but chock-full of statistics, interviews, and quotes from others who have achieved and live with fame.
This would have been a different book had it been written by an A-list celebrity, but I find that Josh's experiences with celebrity, where he's recognized on occasion while he's out and about, but not so much that he is swarmed when he goes to a coffee shop. However, he is well known enough to go to conferences where he does have to me mindful of crowds gathering. All of this gives him just enough of a brush with celebrity, yet grounded enough to provide a very readable and relatable take on what celebrity is, how it is achieved, how it is changing due to streaming media, and the level of happiness or lack thereof that it provides.
September 18, 2022
I first heard of Josh Sundquist when I stumbled across the book, "Love and First Sight." I loved that book so much, I had to look up the author (which I rarely do). Then I found his YouTube channel, then his other books. My kids and I entertained ourselves through the pandemic by watching Josh's videos on YouTube.
Semi-Famous was an absolutely fascinating book. Let me be clear; I could care less about celebrities or fame in general. I only read it because it's Josh Sundquist. But I really enjoyed this book. The layout of the book, with the different subjects as if they were class subjects was a unique and fun way to organize the book (at first I thought it was kind of lame, but as the book went on, I realized the genius behind it). Math is not my favorite subject, but I LOVED the math in this book, the formulas and how they were broken down. Maybe Josh should be a math teacher?
Great book! When is your next fiction book??
Semi-Famous was an absolutely fascinating book. Let me be clear; I could care less about celebrities or fame in general. I only read it because it's Josh Sundquist. But I really enjoyed this book. The layout of the book, with the different subjects as if they were class subjects was a unique and fun way to organize the book (at first I thought it was kind of lame, but as the book went on, I realized the genius behind it). Math is not my favorite subject, but I LOVED the math in this book, the formulas and how they were broken down. Maybe Josh should be a math teacher?
Great book! When is your next fiction book??
April 16, 2025
I think the book "Semi-Famous" by Josh Sundquist is a great book about how being rich and famous is not always the best thing that can happen to somebody. John Watson is the main character in the book and is the character they talk about when they say he is "semi-famous". He is called this because everyone in school knows him, but in the end, he realizes that it will never stay the same shown by graphs throughout the book on how the longer you are famous, the more likely that people will forget who you are in the future. Mercutio is one of the main side characters who tries to convince John Watson that people will remember him even in the future when he is not alive anymore. The author progresses through the book at a very good pace and proves his points with the graphs and tables that he used throughout the book for evidence. The authors tone is mostly somber throughout the book because John Watson thinks that he will not be remembers, but it is uplifting when Mercutio was saying that he will be remembered in the future. One more tone is that it is very serious whenever it is somber at times, but humorous whenever Mercutio is trying to be uplifting. I personally liked the book and I liked how the author shifted tones multiple times throughout the book and the graphs that he used in the book to prove the points that he was trying to make.
April 4, 2023
1) this book was approximately 3x the size I thought it would be when I ordered it.
2) I read it in one day and that doesn't happen often.
As someone who attempted to be a youtuber for a year, and who dreams of being on a talk show (i'm okay with only 15 minutes of fame, but i want those 15 minutes) it felt like this book was MADE for me.
I didn't even realize Josh was the guy from the Halloween costumes! I had heard about this book on an episode of Dear Hank and John.
He was so funny and felt like such a kindred spirit (although he is obviously a little more motivated than I am 😂)
Such great insight into what it means to be happy and what it might mean to be famous. With great thoughts on how to find happiness in life with or without fame.
I loved it!!
2) I read it in one day and that doesn't happen often.
As someone who attempted to be a youtuber for a year, and who dreams of being on a talk show (i'm okay with only 15 minutes of fame, but i want those 15 minutes) it felt like this book was MADE for me.
I didn't even realize Josh was the guy from the Halloween costumes! I had heard about this book on an episode of Dear Hank and John.
He was so funny and felt like such a kindred spirit (although he is obviously a little more motivated than I am 😂)
Such great insight into what it means to be happy and what it might mean to be famous. With great thoughts on how to find happiness in life with or without fame.
I loved it!!
April 29, 2023
I purchased this based on a World Magazine review, but I really feel like they missed the mark on this one. The actual writing wasn’t terrible and the subject matter was interesting, but the conclusions and the anecdotes based on the author’s life were somewhat disappointing/depressing. He offers several reasons why humans desire fame, but they seemed overly materialistic without addressing anything related to the soul, really. If you like to read about evolutionary explanations for strange human behavior and about the awkward lengths to which some folks will go for fame, then you might enjoy this book.
March 4, 2023
Semi-famous comedian, internet star, former para-Olympian, author, and more Josh Sundquist explores his own quest for fame and all the things related to being famous like how does one become famous, and is there an equation to determine someone's level of fame, does being famous make you happy and if not, why do so many people still want it? It's a very down-to-earth and accessible look at some very deep questions and one that any aspiring Tik-Tok future celebrity should definitely check out!
As usual, Josh's take on things had me chuckling at his take on things, cringing at his early super-awkward near-stalkerish attempts to meet celebrities and thereby become one himself, and nodding my head in agreement at his thoughtful revelations.
Satisfies #31 of the #the52bookclub2023 challenge: Set in a Workplace
As usual, Josh's take on things had me chuckling at his take on things, cringing at his early super-awkward near-stalkerish attempts to meet celebrities and thereby become one himself, and nodding my head in agreement at his thoughtful revelations.
Satisfies #31 of the #the52bookclub2023 challenge: Set in a Workplace
March 24, 2022
I've read a previous book by the author (Why Don't We Hang Out Sometime) which is funny and really relatable. The book was integrated into a nonfiction unit for high school sophomores and is pretty popular.
This one is one that I think is going to be a great addition to that unit - who isn't just a little curious about the impact of fame? In the world where students live a good portion of their lives on the internet? This is a great book for them to read, which is again relatable and funny.
This one is one that I think is going to be a great addition to that unit - who isn't just a little curious about the impact of fame? In the world where students live a good portion of their lives on the internet? This is a great book for them to read, which is again relatable and funny.
September 28, 2022
Semi-famous author slash comedian slash Paralympian Josh Sundquist clearly wants to be more that semi-famous. Interesting nuggets about fame and celebrity, including Fredrick Douglass (most photographed American of the 1800s) and Alexander the Great (named 70 cities after himself), as well as an autobiographical sketch of the author.
Random note from audiobook: Josh S cannot pronounce the word recognize / recognition/ recognizing. In his world apparently there is no ‘g’ in his version of these words.
Re-cah-nize . Ugh.
Random note from audiobook: Josh S cannot pronounce the word recognize / recognition/ recognizing. In his world apparently there is no ‘g’ in his version of these words.
Re-cah-nize . Ugh.
April 9, 2022
I’m a big fan of Josh Sundquist, and this book did not disappoint! His deep-dive into fame was insightful, informative, and really fun to read. His personal experiences combined with interviews with other celebrities and scholarly research made this book extra compelling! I’d recommend for anyone who is interested in dissecting celebrity culture (or who is thinking about becoming TikTok famous).
July 6, 2022
3.5 stars.
This book was an interesting concept, intertwining stories with research, all about fame and if it makes you happy. It was partly a memoir of his own experiences with fame and trying to be famous, and he interviewed other celebrities on the same topics. I learned a lot and it sparked deeper thinking for me.
This book was an interesting concept, intertwining stories with research, all about fame and if it makes you happy. It was partly a memoir of his own experiences with fame and trying to be famous, and he interviewed other celebrities on the same topics. I learned a lot and it sparked deeper thinking for me.
December 18, 2024
This book is really well written, especially for the Gen Z who strives towards fame. Once it got going, and Josh covered every aspect of fame like a school day, I really enjoyed it. I don't read a lot of nonfiction start to end, but this one kept my interest. I like the humor and voice as well. A great read!
December 17, 2022
I love Josh’s humor so when I saw he wrote another book I knew I had to read it. The topic of fame was interesting especially when linked with the author’s own experiences and stories. His first book is still my favorite but this one is worth a go. Clean.
May 18, 2024
Josh Sundquist has researched the intersection of celebrity, fame, and happiness. While Sunquist's book is specifically about celebrity, I think it can be generalized to just about any field. Go do what you are passionate about and the rest will follow.
April 5, 2022
Okay book that got a bit better as it went on. I found the first chapter to be a bit discombobulated feeling. Like I was jumping into the middle of a chapter but I wasn’t.
May 25, 2022
Can't wait.to read it!
June 13, 2022
Great read
August 8, 2022
4.5 stars
November 22, 2022
As with anything he writes, I'd give it six stars if I could.
January 19, 2023
Great book! Really surprised myself with liking not only a nonfiction but basically a biography.
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March 9, 2023I didn't really enjoy this book, but it was my misunderstanding. I didn't realize it was about his present life and not his past (like other works) or a novel. Read the synopsis before starting.
March 24, 2023
I really like Josh's conversational tone. It's a really good introduction to non-fiction if you're trying to get into the genre.
May 12, 2023
I love Josh’s style of writing - the anecdotes and graphs, his “voice” that comes through each chapter. This is the second book of his that I’ve read, and I’ve enjoyed both. Highly recommend!
July 27, 2023
This is a fun YA read about the concept of fame and celebrity.
November 25, 2024
2 1/2 stars. Some interesting bits. I’m not sure I am the target audience for this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews