U2-A Diary

Not long after posting yesterday’s update about Amazon saying they wouldn’t ship U2 – A Diary for another month, I got an email from Beth B., who’s helping to promote the book, letting me know that the book had arrived at the warehouse in New York. That confirmed my suspicion that Amazon wasn’t really going to have to wait a month to ship.

Then I went and traded emails all day today with the very helpful people at Omnibus and learned all kinds of stuff about how book distribution works, and was just about to post an explanation here on the blog, when fellow @U2 staffer Tassoula forwarded me an email from Amazon that showed this:

The Amazon.com sales page still says “Ships in 2-3 weeks,” but I’m guessing that’ll change in the next day or two. The Barnes & Noble page is already updated to show “Usually ships within 2-3 days.”

So, good news all around. If you pre-ordered, you should be getting the book soon. If you haven’t ordered yet, you should be able to get it pretty quickly.

Several friends emailed me this morning to share the news that Amazon.com is telling people who pre-ordered U2 – A Diary that the book won’t be shipped for another month:

Ouch. Sorry, gang. I have no idea what’s going on. I have an email in to Omnibus to see what they know, but it’s already after-work there, so it’ll be another day (at the earliest) before I have a reply.

Will report more when I know something….

It’s driving me a little batty to know that so many people have the book before me, but when I see awesome reviews like the one Marie in Coventry (UK) wrote on Amazon.com, I don’t mind at all that you guys are getting your copies already. :)

It’s well worth it’s cost and will take pride of place on my bookshelf next to U2 Show,U2 by U2 and U2andI by Anton Corbijn. Top marks for both content and beautiful presentation. But, I ask myself? how am I ever going to find the time to absorb all this information?

Heheheeee. Thanks, Marie. Very kind of you.

I know there will be negative reviews of the book, and I’m almost certain the general (music) press won’t “get it”, so it’s a great feeling to see things like Marie’s review above.

Meanwhile, my copies of the book are being shipped today from England, so I should have them in a week or two. Patience……

Declan M. just emailed with great news: Amazon UK has U2 – A Diary in stock, and has started shipping it out to people who pre-ordered. SUH-WEEEEEEET! :)

Awesome news, very exciting … only downside is that many of you will see the book before me. But that’s okay. I’ll live. (Amazon.com doesn’t appear to have its stock yet; must still be on the way from the UK to its North American warehouses.)

Thanks for the news, Declan — I hope you (and everyone else) enjoy the book!

If those 14 interviews I did a couple weeks ago weren’t enough, here’s a longer and more in-depth conversation you might like:

U2tour.de: Interview with Matt McGee

Here’s a little bit of it:

U2tour.de:
How many fans helped to write the book and sent their stories in to you?
Matt:
Hundreds! I don’t have an exact count, but there are close to 200 fans listed in the acknowledgments, and I’m sure I left some out. I received more than a thousand emails from all over the world while I was working on the book. The fans were amazing. The book is so much better because of their help. And I have to thank you and your team especially for the emails you sent with good information. Your web site was also a big help — the tour date archive, the video archive, and much more.

Bjorn and Hans and Flo and the whole gang at U2tour.de really seem like good guys. I hope to get the chance to meet them someday. Thanks for doing an interview with me about the book, guys.