Captures both the patois of hobology and the romanticized nuance of facial hair

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	• The Areas of My Expertise John Hodgman Riverhead Trade, 2006 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 123 reviews view larger image
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WHAT???

Yes, the title of my review says it all. I found myself going "WTF" every second of reading this. It was definitely a strange book, but I did find myself laughing at different points. :)

The Areas of My Expertise

I read this book on the plane from Ohio to LAX and could not stop laughing, other passengers were looking at me in confusion. When reading this masterpiece, you either "get it" or you don't...

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A good mix of different types of humor

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, but I can see where others might not. The humor varies from intelligent and informed to stupid and silly with hardly any warning whatsoever, but Hodgman's voice nevertheless remains consistent throughout. You could call it a fake almanac in the way that America: The Book is a fake history textbook, but this theme is somewhat inconsistently maintained in a way that may be off-putting for some readers - no one, subconsciously, likes material to stray from its context. In reality, it's a collection of humorous essays, lists and charts. When Hodgman stays true to an internal context ("Jokes That Have Never Produced Laughter" and the ridiculous mock-advertisement "Top Spots for Crabs") he is at his best, as well as when he delves into fictional narrative (the history of the floating 51st state of Hohoq), but there are weak moments - the Lycanthropic Transformation Timetables beginning each chapter are largely useless besides their familiarity as act breaks, and the 700 Hobo Names are hilarious in concept, very amusing in portions but very overwhelming when read from start to finish.

In fact, those hobo names provide a good microcosm for the book as a whole. Let's take a look at an excerpt: "31. James Fenimore Cooper; 32. Twistback John, The Scoliosis Sufferer; 33. Sweet Daddy Champagne; 34. Senator Cletus Scoffpossum; 35. Horus, the Bird-Headed Fool; 36. 50-Tooth Slim; 37. Monk, the Monkey Man (which is to say: 'The Man')" All amusing names when viewed individually; all the more amusing when read within the context of hobo names; and some have a bit of extra cleverness, especially 32 and 37. And James Fenimore Cooper... what's he doing there?! But this is merely a small portion of a much larger list... not to say that reading the entire book is as daunting and sporadically amusing as reading 700 names, but hopefully you get my point.

Hodgman is a very clever man and, while the internal context of the book varies, it is always told in the very dry voice of a man who never hides the fact that all the things he tells you are made up yet very important and factual. Taken as a whole, it's a very enjoyable book.

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Captures both the patois of hobology and the romanticized nuance of facial hair

The cliches "Tour de force", "feelgood hit of the summer", and "attractive cover art" have been used enough in the other reviews, along with the attempts at lint humor.---
The only negative being that in addition to the book, much to my surprise and chagrin the package contained a bobcat --- would not buy again.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Borges meets the bathroom book in John Hodgman's bestselling almanac of complete (and fabricated) world knowledge.

Abridged CDs - 4 CDs, 5 hours