Ray Bradbury insisted he was "trash," Sedaris wrote about his laughable lack of productivity, and Vladimir Nabokov was pretty sure nobody knew how to say his name.
Everyone's self-deprecating once in a while—even literary geniuses. Or perhaps, especially literary geniuses? After all, they know the exact right words to string together to tease themselves, talking down their bodies of work or their personal histories—though usually, let's be fair, tempering it with a "but" at the end. These people have to sell books, after all.
Below, a few beloved authors make fun of themselves, as gently as the ego demands. Share your favorite, or add your own favorites in the comments!
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