"Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo" tells the story of a cultural moment that's happening right now-the nexus point where teen culture, music, and the web converge to create something new.
While shallow celebrities dominate the headlines, pundits bemoan the death of the music industry, and the government decries teenagers for their morals (or lack thereof) earnest, heartfelt bands like Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, and Thursday are quietly selling hundreds of thousands of albums through dedication, relentless touring and respect for their fans. This relationship - between young people and the empathetic music that sets them off down a road of self-discovery and self-definition - is emo, a much-maligned, mocked, and misunderstood term that has existed for nearly two decades, but has flourished only recently. In "Nothing Feels Good," Andy Greenwald makes the case for emo as more than a genre - it's an essential rite of teenagehood. From the '80s to the '00s, from the basement to the stadium, from tour buses to chat rooms, and from the diary to the computer screen, "Nothing Feels Good" narrates the story of emo from the inside out and explores the way this movement is taking shape in real time and with real hearts on the line. "Nothing Feels Good "is the first book to explore this exciting moment in music history and Greenwald has been given unprecedented access to the bands and to their fans. He captures a place in time and a moment on the stage in a way only a true music fan can.

David Gould is a young journalist in Brooklyn under contract to write True Fiction, a book about teenagers' addiction to blogs (online diaries). He's never written a book, never kept a diary and, worse yet, is suffering a career-killing case of writer's block. Entranced by the hyper-real lives of young bloggers and their diaries' subtle promises of romance and adventure, David stars his own fiction blog: online he's not a lonely writer, he's a notorious scenester. In short order his girlfriend leaves town, his diary mysteriously begins updating itself, and MsMisery - an irresistible 22-year-old indie rocker - moves to New York and begins canoodling with an obnoxious hipster. When the hipster turns out to be David's doppelganger, David is finally forced to leave his apartment and fight for his life. With gripping characters and mood-altering detail, Andy Greenwald captures the essence of what it means to be young and struggling with identity in the new century. From cyberspace to nightclub bathrooms, from Brooklyn to Utah, Miss Misery is a fast-moving, funny story about the timeless need to become the main character in your own life.