TORONTO - Author Christian Lander says he's still shocked by the success of his megahit blog-turned-book "Stuff White People Like."
"I'm a little neurotic -- I sort of always assume for the worst -- so I didn't think the first book was going to do well. I was super nervous. And then it did well and I was amazed they let me do a second one," he said.
That second book is "Whiter Shades of Pale," a humorous look at regional differences within North American white culture.
"The Toronto white person is urban and stylish, and you could say that they are exactly like the New York white person -- of three years ago," Lander, a Toronto native, writes in the new book.
Lander describes white Montrealers as: "one of the more intimidating white people on the continent."
"The Montreal white person can speak perfect French and is probably in a band you haven't heard of yet. But you will."
And Vancouver's white people are described as "the most elite white person on the whole West Coast."
"They have out-yogaed Los Angeles, out-Asian-fetished San Francisco, and out-outdoored Seattle. All three are nearly impossible tasks and yet Vancouver has been able to pull them off!" Landers wrote.
"The only activity you won't find them engaging in is work."
Lander's first book spent a long stretch on the bestseller list and his website has received nearly 75 million hits.
"I've been completely surprised that I've been able to do it, I'm really, really lucky, it's been awesome," said the author, who lives with his wife in Los Angeles.
Material for the follow-up book was collected while travelling extensively on book tours for "Stuff White People Like," which helped him differentiate between white people in Boston (love their hometown's blue-collar roots, self-conscious about Harvard ties), New York (perpetually angry, constantly remind you they actually live in New York), and Europe (consume massive meals but are hardly ever overweight, have incredibly soft hands from months of state-sanctioned time off).
He also riffs on more universal white-person loves, such as Scotch snobbery, hiring nannies, ironic tattoos, obsessive use of disinfectants, and eating whole wheat anything.
As for whether there'll be a third book, he's not sure. For one thing, it's getting harder to find new things to make fun of.
"Total number of pages written on the third book, no, total number of words written for the third book is zero at this point," Lander said.
"I don't know if I could fill a third book. I honestly didn't think there'd be a second book, so who knows what's going to happen in the next little while. White people might start liking all sorts of new stuff."
Lander is currently a staff writer for an upcoming MTV animated comedy called "Good Vibes," which was created by David Gordon Green, director of "Pineapple Express," and includes voice work from Adam Brody and Danny McBride.
