LOL: Author Turns 12 Years of Text Messages into Book
In a first for publishing, artist and author Tracey Moberly has written a book composed from 12 years’ worth of personal text messages. Titled Text-Me-Up!, the volume transforms words, samples and quotes from Moberly and associates’ SMS messages dating all the way back to 1999 into a full-scale autobiography.
Baring it all, featured narratives cover everything from her marriage’s failure to the struggles of going through life as a single parent, complete with present-day musings and reflections on memories the texts dredge up. More coherent than the usual “where u at l0l – brian iz dancing on table” narratives most use text messaging features for, it offers a candid look at everyday life through multiple people’s SMS missives.
Interweaving Moberly’s commentary, insights and illustrations with over a decade’s worth of bite-sized observations and pithy comments, the volume looks to be a unique experiment that may catch on with cell phone users. At the very least, it serves as a cautionary tale for today’s technorati. Read: Be careful what you send, as five years hence, it’d be a shame for that lame break-up text you fired off in lieu of a proper phone call to become part of an ex’s tell-all-memoir.