The book that inspired the film of the same name, staring Paul Giamatti, Sideways is a beautifully crafted buddy novel full of “witty dialogue, and bags of well-crafted entertainment” (Yorkshire Times).
Sideways is the story of two friends—Miles and Jack—going away together for the last time to steep themselves in everything that makes it good to be young and single: Pinot, putting, and prowling bars. In the week before Jack plans to marry, the pair heads out from Los Angeles to the Santa Ynez Valley wine country. For Jack, the tasting tour is Seven Days to D-Day, his final stretch of freedom. For Miles—who has divorced his wife, is facing an uncertain career, and has lost his passion for living—the trip is a weeklong opportunity to evaluate his past, his future, and himself.
A raucous and surprising novel filled with wonderful details about wine, Sideways is also a thought-provoking and funny book about men, women, and human relationships.
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"This book has been on my list for a while. I kept getting flashes of the film. I also found the lack of technology distracting. One character does not carry his cell phone, and the other makes a lot of calls from pay phones. The book came out in 2004 - What a difference 10 years makes."
— Sharon (4 out of 5 stars)
“A lively debut…Pickett takes his readers on a jolly ride.”
— Publishers Weekly“A buddy novel in the cinematic vein of Swingers.”
— Booklist“A buddy novel in the cinematic vein of Swingers…Pickett plays the sex-and-the-single-man angle for all it’s worth here…like Dharma Bums updated with metrosexual panache.”
— Booklist“Skillful work about a friendship between two ultimately likable guys.”
— Kirkus Reviews" Better than the movie. Wine anyone? "
— Jennifer, 2/19/2014" I read the book after watching the movie, still found it hilarious. A nice, easy, summer read. "
— Morris, 2/19/2014" I don't appreciate debauchery enough to enjoy this book. Plus, the two main characters were just jerks to each other the entire time. "
— Claire, 2/17/2014" One of those rare occasions when the movie is far better than the book. Unforgivable adverbs...sloppy and repetitive. Jack's got a few more crass & funny lines than in the film, and some scenes are interestingly very different than the film. The film is a very different beast, a work of art made from the flawed clay the book is. "
— Erica, 1/31/2014" Better than the movie. read while recoviering from surgery and it was very difficult to laugh - I did anyway! "
— Pat, 1/26/2014" A definite guy/buddy book. Overall enjoyable. "
— Stacey, 1/21/2014" It was surprisingly better than I expected, although a little overly descriptive at times. "
— Claudia, 1/17/2014" I was disappointed. I still plan to see the movie, but the book was choppy "
— Katie, 12/5/2013" if you enjoyed the movie, you'll love the book! i found myself laughing outloud numerous times. it's a really good, entertaining read with a lot of interesting info about one of my favorite things...wine! "
— Lori, 11/7/2013" So different from the movie but great, and hilarious and too smart for its own good. Great language, often laugh-out-loud funny and the perfect sort of post-post-coming of age, roadtrip book about drunken, depressing dude-bonding. And wine. "
— Frank, 9/13/2013" I've never looked at a bottle of Merlot the same way since reading this book! "
— Erin, 5/16/2013" The title "Sideways" means "drunk" or "intoxicated" which describes most of the time these two 40 something guys spend on a pre-wedding road trip to wine country. See the movie after you read this hilarious and poignant book. "
— Mick, 4/26/2013" I saw the movie after I read the book! A good adaptation I must say but I had a different set of Imaginary charachters and setup in my head which is very different from the movie. I like mine! "
— Shriya, 4/25/2013" Much, much, much better than the movie; although I love the part where she wacks him with the motorcycle helmet... Heh, heh, heh... "
— chelsea, 9/4/2012" Funny, funny, funny ..all i can say! :) "
— Kate, 8/3/2012" A soon-to-be best man and the bridegroom are out for a week of wine tasting before the wedding to find wine and women. The best man is trying to keep the bridegrooms pants up without success. Much funnier in the second half of the book when karma kicks in. "
— Jeanne, 1/11/2012" This was a fun read and it was interesting to see in what ways it differed from the movie. Although, I have to say the movie was actually better than the book - it actually seemed to have more depth and feeling to it. "
— Patrick, 12/15/2011" the movie was delightful but the book has a few more events that were cut out of the movie. "
— Will, 12/7/2011" I did not like this book. Like, at all. Maybe because I don't have a penis, I don't know. "
— Jennie, 8/29/2011" Loved the film. Book was OK. "
— Alan, 8/23/2011" The book and the film aren't exactly the same. I recommend both. "
— Erica, 4/27/2011" A book by a screenwriter that got optioned to become a movie before it was even published? Blah. Awesome movie. Mediocre book. "
— Ashley, 4/6/2011" Brilliant book and film. "
— Mark, 3/23/2011" Excellent buddy novel on which the film was based. An easy, fun read that makes you just want to jump in the car and go on a wine-tasting roadtrip. "
— Gekko, 3/14/2011" I loved this book. I saw the movie first then did a "I cannot put it down." number. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I'm re-reading Sideways as I now have the sequel, Vertical, and want to refresh my memory on details from the first novel. "
— Darby, 3/7/2011" Enjoyable, goes down easy, but the movie's a little better. "
— Stuart, 3/3/2011" Movie was so much better. The same guy who wrote the book wrote the screenplay. I wish he would have revised his story and made the book closer to the movie version because it makes so much more sense that way. "
— Mike, 1/20/2011" easy read. feel like getting on the road. "
— Amy, 1/1/2011" The book was so much better than the movie. "
— Terimorse, 12/8/2010" Surprised myself with a very enjoyable read...and a great movie. "
— Mike, 11/20/2010" I saw the film first and loved it. Then I picked up the book and loved it, too. They are very different, but the book is definitely very enteratining. "
— Dennis, 11/19/2010" Really liked. Movie did not compare to the book. "
— Ally, 11/11/2010" This book will make you laugh and cringe at the same time. Everyone can identify with these two guys...and we all know guys like these! For once the movie is a pretty good rendition of the book. "
— Aine, 10/31/2010Rex Pickett is the critically acclaimed author of the novel Sideways, which was adapted into the iconic film of the same title. Sideways was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay, among 350 other plaudits. Pickett is the author of three Sideways sequels—the IPPY Gold Medal–winning Sideways Oregon (previously published as Vertical), Sideways Chile, and now Sideways New Zealand. He is also the author of The Archivist. Pickett is currently working on a post–Sideways New Zealand trilogy. A Southern California native, the Rex Pickett Papers are currently enshrined at Geisel Library on the campus of his alma mater, the University of California San Diego.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.