The Areas of My Expertise

I am the author of the book in question, and I am concerned by the report here regarding multiple, unwanted mailings on my behalf. I have a small mailing list to whom I sent a weekly update about my book during the fall. Those updates have now ceased, though they may resume in the future. Membership on this list is voluntarily and frequently discouraged by me in order to avoid fraying readers' nerves as little as possible. If you feel you have received spam in my name, please feel free to contact me via my website. So as not to seem wholly crass, I will not list the URL here, though you can figure it out, I trust. Once you are there, simply click on the words "John Hodgman" and then "desperate." I would be glad to investigate this matter and resolve it if I can. I also have some excellent investment opportunities and low rate mortgages on prescription drugs that I am sure you will want to hear about. Sorry to briefly commandeer these reviews for this matter. It is cheesy, I realize, to give my own book five stars; but I am not going to give it zero stars on principle, because despite what you may have heard, I do not loathe myself quite that much yet. I apologize for the interruption. End transmission. That is all.

It is difficult to describe exactly why this book of parody is so good, so suffice to say, you have to read it to understand why Hodgman is so funny. It is great to read something that doesn't take itself seriously at all, and freely admits it is all for the humor. Check it out, you'll be laughing a week after yo finish recalling some of the topics skewered by Hodgman.

You know those rare moments when you are reading a book and something strikes you as stunningly hilarious? From out of nowhere? And then you have to put down the book for awhile because you are secretly afraid you have just read the funniest thing you will ever read so what is the point of continuing to read anything again ever? Well this book is that book. And that phenomenon occurs several times throughout it. All hail John Hodgman and the h in sunrays!

Hodgman's contributions to McSweeney's led me to this book, and THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE is almost entirely without disappointment. This isn't a book to read straight through, in a week; it's a book to sample from all year long. This is the sort of collection of stories and musings and articles that's best kept nearby to be accessed when the mood strikes. The style here is vaulted, relaxed, and perfectly ridiculous all at the same time. Some authors have imagination, some have language, and Hodgman has both, in excess.

That last couple days, during some quiet moments, I have picked up this book and read a few pages. Within moments my 5 year old is asking me "Why are laughing?" I don't usually laugh out loud during books or movies. I'm more of a quietly reflecting in the back of my brain "that was amusing" kind of guy. But this book is amazingly funny.