n. A writing genre in which the author undertakes an odd or stuntlike project with the intention of writing about the experience.
2012
Now, in his third book, he spends two years eating, exercising and researching his way to becoming "the healthiest man in the world."…
A.J. Jacobs remains the current heavyweight champion of shtick lit.
A.J. Jacobs remains the current heavyweight champion of shtick lit.
2010
It’s not a bad idea — surely the Middle East could benefit from some ingenuity — even if the book is a prime example of the sub-genre that’s come to be known as "shtick lit."
2007 (earliest)
STEVE INSKEEP: I have in front of me a stack of books, which have this in common — many of them include in the title or subtitle the words My Year of or A Year of or "A Year Without Made in China," "Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously."…
STEVE ALMOND:…Part of the reason that this genre, which I'm going to call, kind of informally schtick lit, has propagated so many books is because a few of them had been very successful.
STEVE ALMOND:…Part of the reason that this genre, which I'm going to call, kind of informally schtick lit, has propagated so many books is because a few of them had been very successful.
No offense, Dennis, babe, but don't…you think it's time standup comedians stopped hauling down big-bucks advances just for typing up their old routines? Jerry Seinfeld popularized this literary subgenre (let's call it Shtick Lit) with his 1993 bestseller Seinlanguage, a flimsy collection of bits.