A Dream About Lightning Bugs

A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons

De: Ben Folds

Narrado por: Ben Folds

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the genre-defying icon Ben Folds comes a memoir that is as nuanced, witty, and relatable as his cult-classic songs.

“A Dream About Lightning Bugs reads like its author: intelligent, curious, unapologetically punk, and funny as hell.”—Sara Bareilles

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND PASTE

Ben Folds is a celebrated American singer-songwriter, beloved for songs such as “Brick,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” and “The Luckiest,” and is the former frontman of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. But Folds will be the first to tell you he’s an unconventional icon, more normcore than hardcore. Now, in his first book, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming and wise chronicle of his artistic coming of age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller.

In the title chapter, “A Dream About Lightning Bugs,” Folds recalls his earliest childhood dream—and realizes how much it influenced his understanding of what it means to be an artist. In “Measure Twice, Cut Once” he learns to resist the urge to skip steps during the creative process. In “Hall Pass” he recounts his 1970s North Carolina working-class childhood, and in “Cheap Lessons” he returns to the painful life lessons he learned the hard way—but that luckily didn’t kill him.

In his inimitable voice, both relatable and thought-provoking, Folds digs deep into the life experiences that shaped him, imparting hard-earned wisdom about both art and life. Collectively, these stories embody the message Folds has been singing about for years: Smile like you’ve got nothing to prove, because it hurts to grow up, and life flies by in seconds.

Praise for A Dream About Lightning Bugs

“Besides being super talented, and an incredibly poignant and multifaceted musician, Ben Folds is a fantastic author. I couldn’t put this book down—and not just because I taped it to my hand. Ben takes us into his mind and into his process from the very beginnings of his childhood to where he is today—one of the greatest musicians and writers that has ever graced the art.”—Bob Saget

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A Dream About Lightning Bugs is an insightful, touching and often hilarious look back at [Folds’s] life and career, told with wit and good old-fashioned Southern warmth—like Truman Capote, but with more F-bombs.”—People

“A Dream About Lightning Bugs offers a glimpse inside the head of another musical genius while also being one of the best-written, most interesting musical memoirs of the rock era.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A masterfully written memoir, and so much more. Folds imbues this literary work with keen insight and humor to create an elegant and moving tribute to art and life itself.”—Daniel Levitin, author of #1 New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind

“Delightful . . . Singer-songwriter Folds explores the ways in which music shaped his life and offers glimpses into the process of making music. . . . Folds’s fans will take great pleasure in this charming and insightful memoir.”—Publishers Weekly

“Engaging and solid . . . Rock memoirs have a distancing effect, but Ben Folds is as relatable as ever.”—The Washington Post

“A memoir of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll that’s long on wry humor and short on—well, sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. . . . A pleasure for fans and encouragement for novices to tune in.”—Kirkus Reviews

“[Folds’s] journey, beginning with a dream he had at age three, is one of the most rewarding any musician has brought us along for in quite some time.”—Paste Magazine

“A Dream About Lightning Bugs . . . radiates [Folds’s] goofy, brilliant, genuine, deeply empathetic spirit, marked by the kind of amiable self-consciousness with which unboastful genius often shades itself from the harsh stage-glare of attention.”—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

my hero

I've been listening to Ben longer than I can remember. he has been a personal hero to me as his albums would somehow relate to what was happening in my life (at least how I applied it in my head). it was easy because his music and stories are real, relatable, and always entertaining. this was the first audio book I had listened to and I'm glad I did because it was like getting the story from the man himself. I purchased the book when it came out but my masters program kept me from my side reading. long drives to class made this audible possible. I highly recommend this book to anyone as it's not just for fans of his music, but for human beings in general. give it a go!

Mr. Ben come here and watch me eat this sandwich

I love Ben Folds' music and now I love his books. Though his beard may have possibly got in his way during the recording of this audiobook, he valiantly persevered and gave us the best reading one could expect. No seriously, the book and the performance are terrific. His father, as you know (former member of .38 special and now blind famous song writer) was the main reason for the audio book so for that... god bless.

Genius

Growing up with the music of Ben Folds Five and Ben Folds, I was always curious as to the lyrics of some of the songs. This book explains so much. It was funny and descriptive, I couldn’t stop listening. I’m so glad I decided to go with the audible version so I could hear Ben Folds tell his own story. Thank you so much for writing this. Truly enjoyable!

Long time fan, great stories

Folds entertains here as narrator. I enjoyed the history, and how he matured in various ways. As a fan, it filled gaps of the song writer and his music that I’ve enjoyed for years.

Loved it! Big fan!

This book was very well written, has a lot of personality and soul, and I really enjoyed it