Fake: Fraud, Lies, and eBay (Part 2)

I finished the book within about 4 hours of starting it.  It was a great, quick, read and it caused me to do some research on my own afterwards.  I first went and looked up the "incident" on google.  Tons of articles came up about it.  This was huge and I can't believe that I missed this when it happened.  Afterwards, I went to play around on Ebay.  Though I understand why people like the site (it's fun, it's risky, it has everything you can ever ask for offered), I am having a difficult time understanding how the author was able to get as addicted to it as he was.  It was like he couldn't quit.  Even after he pled guilty, he went on to create computer software FOR Ebay... there are a million different things he could have made software for and yet, he was single minded beyond the point of being able to recognize it and continued to involve himself in Ebay.  

I started reading another book.  It's a quick read as well and is associated with the social aspect of the art world.  As much as I hate to admit this, it was written by a young woman, for an audience of young women.  It reminds me of that movie "The Devil Wears Prada" (which I was dragged to against my will) only it relates to the art world as opposed to the fashion world.   The book is called "Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him," and is by Danielle Ganek.  So far, though I have only read about 20 pages, it's hilarious.  Everyone check it out (girls and guys both!)!

When I'm done with this one, I'm most likely going to be in search of another quick, easy, entertaining art read... recommendations welcome!

Fake: Fraud, Lies, and eBay

Yesterday evening I was browsing on Google Books in search of a new novel to begin.  I was looking for something light but interesting, that wouldn’t take too much time to get through.  What I came across was Fake: Fraud, Lies, and eBay by Kenneth Walton.  I started reading some of the pages Google posts online and couldn’t seem to stop reading.  It was only around the time that I got to “page 7-8 have been removed from the internet for copyright purposes” (or something along those lines) that I realized that I NEEDED to go out and get a copy of this book.  Until I was able to go obtain a copy I spent a little bit of time researching the store (which is a true story).  It’s about a man who got addicted to selling fine art on eBay during the big dot com boom in the mid-90’s.  Literally, it got to a point where he quit his career as a lawyer (to pursue his eBay career full heartedly), started copying artists signatures onto works that could be by them, and knowingly deceived people into buying works that were not what he portrayed them to be for thousands and thousands of dollars.  It wasn’t until a work went for over $100,000 that the newspapers (and later the FBI) got involved.  AND this story is 100% true! 

So, first thing this morning I hunted down a copy of the book and can’t seem to put it down.  In fact, I’m back to reading.  Another post will come later when I finish reading.