Sloppy: Or: Doing It All Wrong

by Rax King

Overview

From the James Beard Award-nominated author of Tacky, a boldly funny, warts-and-all tour of the bad habits that make Rax King who she is

"Most writers are boring people. King, though, seems different: Bettie Page meets Carrie Bradshaw."—Washington Post

With Rax King's trademark blend of irreverent humor and heartfelt honesty comes a new collection of personal essays unpacking bad behavior. Sloppy explores sobriety, begrudging self-improvement, and the habits we cling to with clenched fists. 

In “Proud Alcoholic Stock,” King examines her parents’ unwavering dedication to 12 step programs and the texture her family history has lent to her own sobriety. “Shoplifting from Brandy Melville” is a lighthearted look at, what else?, shoplifting from Brandy Melville—one of her few remaining indulgences now that she doesn’t drink. King writes about her overspending and temper control issues as well as her poorly managed mental health. These seventeen essays capture the personal and generational vices that make us who we are. From being a crummy waitress to using uppers to force friendships, from obsessing over the Neopets forums to lying for no discernable reason, these essays approach bad habits with emotional intelligence, kindness and—most importantly—humor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593688465
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

RAX KING is the James Beard award-nominated author of Tacky and co-host of the podcast “Low Culture Boil.” Her writing can be found in Glamour, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and toothless Pekingese.

Editorial Reviews

Rax King is my favorite dirtbag genius in lucite heels. Read her shit.”
—Samantha Irby, author of Quietly Hostile

“It is frankly rude to take a book full of such poignant insights and sharp jokes and call it Sloppy, but that's what Rax King did with her tender and charming new essay collection. I hope this book sells one million copies, because the writing deserves it, and also because then Rax can pay back the money she borrowed from me when she was doing all those drugs.”
—Josh Gondelman, comedian and author of Nice Try

“Out of all Rax King’s habits, let’s be so thankful she hasn’t quit writing. She’s plagued with the same follies as the rest of us but has been bestowed a gift by the bored gods and the lush dogs to be able to craft a perfect essay, one that helps us untangle why the hell we’re still like this. It is the kind of book people will imitate because it’s so original and the kind of book that will be fundamental for young writers and women, or people who are both of those things if you can imagine something as wretched as that. I love reading about Rax’s incredible sloppy life.”
—Melissa Lozada-Oliva, author of Candelaria

“Brave. Vulnerable. Hilarious. Rax King’s world is one of bad ideas and brilliant insights that come from following them through.”
—Lola Kirke, author of Wild West Village

“Spry confessional. . . . An entertaining memoir of a train wreck of a life, and of picking one’s way out of the rubble.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“King follows up her cheeky debut Tacky with an essay collection about bad behavior. . . . Written with her characteristic wit, cheek, and sense of gallows humor.”
—The Millions

“Brash, darkly funny. . . . King writes candidly of her suicide attempts and calls sobriety ‘the birthplace of boredom’ (she’s sober now)—but her razor wit ensures the tone never veers into self-pity. Instead, she provides a bracing, brutally honest account of living outside the bounds of respectability.”
—Publishers Weekly

“In her incisive Sloppy, King investigates addiction, relationship dynamics, pop culture and more throughout these . . . no-holds-barred personal essays. . . . Astonishingly self-aware. . . . Sloppy doesn’t end in transformative redemption, nor does it justify the blunders of selfish youth. Instead, King deconstructs the messiness of what it means to be alive, delivering the kind of clarity and crackling insight that can only be achieved through intentional vulnerability and a refusal to romanticize the past. To err is to be alive, and Sloppy illustrates that personal growth is a surprising, ever-evolving journey.”
—BookPage

“Gut-busting. . . . It’s hard to imagine that self-improvement could be this funny.”
—Boston Globe

From the Publisher