Focus Group on John Kenney's TRUTH IN ADVERTISING FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Anybody? Anyone at all? Any thoughts? Again, we are talking about the cover, the cover of the book. GUY: I like it. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: You like it? Great. Terrific. Anything more specific? JENNA: I hate it. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Hate it? Jenna hates it. GUY: Actually, I didn't really like it. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Guy has changed his opinion almost immediately. GUY: Yes. ANTHONY: I'm a little confused, because you're asking me to react to a book cover. It's just the same words repeated over, and over, and over again. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: It's the title of the book, Truth in Advertising. David, question, yes? You don't have to raise your-- DAVID: Where's the bathroom? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: I think it's down the hall on the left. DAVID: Oh, I'm going to need that later. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: So the title of the book, Truth in Advertising. Anthony, does that sort of bring up any emotions for you, any reactions? ANTHONY: If I'm being honest-- [SCREECHING] [David slowly pulls a plate of cookies across the table towards him] --boredom, confusion, just feelings, if I'm being honest. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Honesty, yes. Honesty is great. Those are some more negative, more negative emotions generally. Jenna, if you had to sort of describe-- JENNA: I don't like red. It reminds me of my mother-in-law. She was a really horrible person. She liked red, so I just don't, and now she's dead, so-- FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Anything more relevant to the-- GUY: I agree with Jenna. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: About her mother-in-law? GUY: About everything. ANTHONY: Truth in Advertising, right? What does that mean? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: That's a great question. Do you have any reactions, David, to the title? DAVID: Well, I see truth. But I'm thinking lies. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Yes, in a sense. In a sense, the novel is about lying. JENNA: My ex-husband was a liar. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: OK. ANTHONY: Advertising is about lying though. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: It is. And the main character works in advertising. He's a copywriter in New York City, and we sort of follow Finbar Dolan through these difficult complexies-- ANTHONY: Now, what's that? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Finbar Dolan. ANTHONY: What is? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Finbar Dolan. ANTHONY: Yeah. What is that? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: The main character. GUY: It's a girl? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: It's a 40-year-old man. DAVID: It's a river elf? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: It's not an elf. JENNA: That's quite a name. ANTHONY: That's also a girl's name. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Great. So he's sort of estranged from his family, so there's complexities there. And he has dying father, so he deals with that, and then this sort of disillusionment with the industry and his career. And then sort of all these complex themes that are addressed throughout the book, relatable themes. Yes? ANTHONY: If I can stop you. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Yes. Absolutely. ANTHONY: It feels like a book that lacks a clear focus. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: I mean, it would be hard to summarize any novel in just a few words. ANTHONY: Man-eating shark terrorizes a peaceful beach community. JENNA: Jaws. DAVID: A troubled teen spends Thanksgiving break wandering the streets of New York City. GUY: Catcher in the Rye. ANTHONY: There you go. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: That's a good book. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: This is also a book. GUY: I've got one. Sex. JENNA: 50 Shades of Grey. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: OK. [LAUGHING] FOCUS GROUP LEADER: But it's a book that we're talking about. GUY: Oh, yeah. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: The book right now that is-- so this book-- DAVID: I wonder if they're going to make it a movie. MAN 1: This is good, right? JOHN KENNEY (AUTHOR): I think they're really getting it. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Back to this book, Truth in Advertising. ANTHONY: So I have a question. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: Yeah? ANTHONY: Is that how big the book is going to be? FOCUS GROUP LEADER: This is a poster. ANTHONY: Personally, I would never read a book that big. FOCUS GROUP LEADER: That's a mock up. I mean, the real one's going to be book sized.