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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this super-literate, ultimately exhausting exercise in literary parody, New York Times magazine contributor Hodgman has produced "a compendium of COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE." From sections titled "What Will Happen in the Future" to "What You Did Not Know About Hobos," he piles up smart-alecky nonsense in layer upon layer of surreal, wholly fictional factoids. Whether highlighting American presidents who had hooks for hands, or sketching out the mythical secrets of Yale University, Hodgman creates a strange and intermittently hilarious parallel universe where lists of history's worst haircuts (in addition to the Mullet, there are the Scrape, the Scab and the Shag-Swoop) are printed alongside descriptions of "famous novels that were not originally published as books." Sprinkled throughout with breathless "factual" interjections—"Were you aware of it? The body of Thomas Edison was never buried. Instead it was displayed for many decades in a traveling carnival.... DOES IT EVEN SEEM POSSIBLE?"—this "almanac" demonstrates Hodgman's formidable imagination, if not his ability to amuse consistently. The individual passages are funny but get lost in an already overstuffed work. For the hyper-well-read fans of publications like McSweeney's, this is a treasure trove of twisted absurdist miscellany. For others, however, it may just be too much of a good thing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From AudioFile
It's hard to imagine this quirky almanac in audio, with all its lists and visually enhanced, completely artificial arcana. After hearing it perfectly read by the erudite goofball who wrote it, however, it seems unlikely there could actually be a print version. Hodgman is a deft performer. His audio adaptation is gravy to dry humor. His earnestly ridiculous prose is meant to be absorbed though the ears, metered precisely by the cadence of his own voice. The audio has its own extras, such as the made-up state songs of the 51 states (yes 51, but not D.C. or Puerto Rico). This audio is not for everyone, but it's desirable for any collection short on offbeat humor or aurally enhanced arcana. D.J. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
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First Sentence
Traditional almanacs regularly included information about what to expect in the coming year with regard to crop yields, tidal patterns, moonrises, and so on. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Traditional almanacs regularly included information about what to expect in the coming year with regard to crop yields, tidal patterns, moonrises, and so on. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hugely Disappointing,
This review is from: Areas Of My Expertise (Paperback)
The total number of laughs I had while reading this book is one less than the number of stars I've given it. What a colossal bore!
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Expertise in Hilarity...but then "The Typo",
By
This review is from: Areas Of My Expertise (Hardcover)
This is a seriously funny book. That is an oxymoron to be sure (def: oxygenated moron) but nonetheless I stand by that vague statement. This is a book for people who love to learn about little known facts and aren't concerned if the facts are instead absurd fictions designed to make you laugh. While not all of Hodgman's absurdities worked for me there were more than enough that made me laugh out loud (e.g. I loved the sections from his fictional next book on his baby daughter) to make up for the ones that left me wondering why that section was supposed to be funny. So I recommend this book for people who have a twisted sense of humour. Don't try to ask yourself how a man could put together such random topics (Hobos? Squirrels?), just appreciate the dry wit that could write such a book.
However, I would be remise in my duties as a reviewer if I did not point out the elephant in the room. In this case, the elephant is "the typo" and the room is the book I am reviewing. It appears on the top of page 226 in the first printing of the hardcover edition and it reads "The is the entirety of Chapter 19 "What About Badminton?"" Did you see it? "The" is used instead of "This". This came at the end of the book but like taking a bite of spoiled cheese at the end of an excellent lobster dinner, it marred the entire experience. My advice to you, future reader of this book, is to get a friend to cut out this typo so you don't have to witness it as I did. My advice to you, ineffective editors of future editions, is to preserve this typo in all its horrific glory. Like Bill Bucker's gaff in the 6th game of the 1986 World series, like Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and just like everything that came out of George W Bush's mouth, sometimes these blunders are better remembered than the unblunders.
1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
best almanac ever,
By A Customer
This review is from: Areas Of My Expertise (Hardcover)
I can't spell but I sure like to read. well, I liked this book anyway cuz i could put it down for weeks and pick it up again and there's no story to try to remember but it's funny as hell.
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