The Areas of My Expertise
by John Hodgman
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Book Reviews of The Areas of My Expertise
Book Review: It has one major problem. It's just not very funny.
Summary: 2 Stars
Someone once said that it is a lot easier BEING funny than WRITING funny. There is no better example of this than John Hodgman's disappointing parody trivia book, THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE.
You will have to look long and hard to find more than two chuckles in its 256 pages of charts and text. It tries hard enough, but it ends up coming across like a comedian bombing at an open mike with material his mom told him was funny. It's not bad or poorly written. It's just dreadfully dull. Imaginative for short stretches, but never interesting or engaging. The cover may be the funniest part of the book, but even THAT is painful to try and read.
I stuck with the book (or, more accurately, slogged) through the end in the vain hope that Hodgman, who is so funny on THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, would be able to translate his talent from the screen to the page. It just never happened.
But, in the interest of full disclosure, before you decide for sure not to buy this book you should consider the fact that I handed it to my girlfriend and she chuckled out loud during the first few pages. Of course, she is pretty easy to make laugh so your mileage may vary. Caveat Emptor, my fellow reader, caveat emptor.
Book Review: For Those of Unusual Taste
Summary: 4 Stars
I like surrealistic humor as much as the next guy, but this volume is simply not to my taste. Nor was it to my husband's. Or my mother's. I am guessing it won't be to most people's.
I think perhaps if somehow the tidbits in the book could be re-cast into a Monty-Python sort of sketch show, they might work in such a way as to have more universal appeal. But digesting the material in its current form, I more often than not found myself thinking "I see what he's getting at and why he thinks it's funny, but I'm not laughing."
Of course there are bound to be those whose mental processes match up so squarely on Hodgman's that they will naturally guffaw along with the author, because in fairness, he does what he does well, even if it doesn't appeal to me personally (thus the four stars).
So don't just pass it over at the store without giving it a try. You can open it pretty much to any page and get the general idea. You might be among the elect who are tickled by Hodman's weird little world.
But if on the other hand, it leaves you cold, don't worry. It isn't you.
Book Review: Boxcar Aldous Huxley
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the 700 hobo names that appear in this book, and it had me on the floor of a hospital waiting room convulsing and crying. Soon the other people in the waiting room realized I was not having any sort of attack, but I think a few of the people sitting next to me were a little worried.
There are people who won't "get it" (the aforementioned "it" is the humor in this book). If you are a fan of absurdism, deadpan, surreal, non-sequitur, and false news humor, this is for you.
For those that get a kick out of someone slipping on a banana peel and falling down (which I am not putting down, all different kinds of comedy have merit), you may find this book tedious and cerebral.
Hodgman definitely plays the know-it-all character well, and the snootiness is absolutely hilarious. I just got his 2nd book, and look forward to freaking out many more people in hospital waiting rooms.
Book Review: The more education you have, the funnier this book gets !
Summary: 5 Stars
Short and simple, the more that you hang around "professional academics" the funnier this book gets. Both the book and audiobook remind me of evenings with long-winded professors who phase in and out of reality as their lecture grows longer and less likely to be of any use to any sane and normal person.
I honestly believe that if people don't "get" the humor in this book, try hanging around a post-graduate literature department ... (or the local Starbucks where many literary academics end up working). The weaving of half-truths, theories and outright lies are unmatched, and Hodgman's ability to expertly weave them in this pseudo-narrative is nothing short of genius. I've decided that it's just easier to believe what he says than to constantly try to discern truth from fact.
Hodgman's humor is intelligent and unique. If you want a football in the groin, go to YouTube.
Book Review: Absolute Magic
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a fascinating look at a world not unlike our own, but like Oz, Wonderland or Narnia it is filled with fascinating wonders that are a joy to behold. Hodgman has created a beautiful souvenier from a daydream. A world of grifting ninjas, rampant hoboes, and bizarre eponyms. This is unlike any other book I have come across and has shown me just what an almanac can do. If you can suspend your disbelief and dive into Hodgman's world you will see our own world, our faults and foibles, our beliefs and superstitions reflected back in the fun house mirror of his mind.
There is incredible depth to the humor of this. This is a satire, not of an administration, nor the body politic, it is instead a satire of humanity and our constant quest for knowledge, be the knowledge historical, superstitious, or divinatory, our need to know is lampooned and subverted.