Jim Carroll Reviews
The Basketball Diaries

Thanks to T. J. Richter

I have heard Bantam Books once did a survey and determined that for every copy of The Basketball Diaries sold, at least three people read it. While I haven't seen the survey, I'd say this is a conservative estimate. I am sure the number of people who have lost their original, primo, first edition of The Basketball Diaries to pass-it-around syndrome is staggering.

In any case, T. J. Richter, a multimedia artist working out of Milwaukee, has managed to hang on to his copy of The Basketball Diaries by making a sort of yearbook out of it. He passes it around liberally but has one requirement: each person who reads it must return it with a written comment.

In May 1999, T. J. hosted Jim at the Y-Not II in Milwaukee (see photos here), and he asked Jim to add his comments to the yearbook Basketball Diaries. Here is the page with Jim's review of the book--you'll find Jim's comment on the bottom left. (Translation below.)