bookitalum's review against another edition
4.0
Many sincere thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC of this audio book in exchange for an honest review. This book is an irreverently funny “encyclopedia” by Philomena Cunk. Or, as she describes it, “A helpful guide to the universe, but written by someone you trust.” This book is a natural extension of Diane Morgan’s comedy, so if you’re a fan of the clips you’ve seen on TikTok you should definitely give this a read. As usual, nothing is off limits. So, if you’re particularly sensitive about religion, politics, or the shape of the earth, you’d better steer clear. For me, the humor was on point. American audiences should be prepared for the characteristic dry, British wit, and several jokes that will go over your head. Fear not, there are boat loads of jokes for everyone. As I’ve come to expect from Philomena, I appreciated the insights into controversial topics. For example, on climate change she offers, “Not everyone thinks climate change is real. This hot topic has split the science community right down the middle 90/10.” She shared timely information on plagues, “Statistically, the only way to protect your partner from the Black Death was to die yourself.” And very technical information in the field of astrophysics, “Scientists know black holes are there because when they ask for money to study them nobody tells them to fu*k off.”
In terms of criticisms, some of the content was a repetition of previous material. Fortunately, it wasn’t excessive or problematic, just something I noticed. I did notice a glaring missed opportunity in the discussion of DNA. I kept waiting for a shout out to Rosalind Franklin, but alas this encyclopedia was equally as incomplete as every other by crediting Watson and Crick. (What the heck, Cunk?!)
In terms of audio adaptation, Morgan as Cunk is a spectacular narrator. I’m confident the audio experience surpassed a print-only reading of the book. The production quality is fantastic and exactly what I would hope/expect. No qualms or complaints.
Overall, stellar! I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it!
Finally, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my favorite entry: END OF THE WORLD, THE. “Predicting the end of the world is tricky and you’re best leaving it to the experts. Probably the biggest experts are the Jehovah’s Witnesses who’ve predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994, and 1997. So they’re getting really good at it.”
In terms of criticisms, some of the content was a repetition of previous material. Fortunately, it wasn’t excessive or problematic, just something I noticed. I did notice a glaring missed opportunity in the discussion of DNA. I kept waiting for a shout out to Rosalind Franklin, but alas this encyclopedia was equally as incomplete as every other by crediting Watson and Crick. (What the heck, Cunk?!)
In terms of audio adaptation, Morgan as Cunk is a spectacular narrator. I’m confident the audio experience surpassed a print-only reading of the book. The production quality is fantastic and exactly what I would hope/expect. No qualms or complaints.
Overall, stellar! I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it!
Finally, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my favorite entry: END OF THE WORLD, THE. “Predicting the end of the world is tricky and you’re best leaving it to the experts. Probably the biggest experts are the Jehovah’s Witnesses who’ve predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994, and 1997. So they’re getting really good at it.”
bookitalum's review
4.0
Many sincere thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC of this audio book in exchange for an honest review. This book is an irreverently funny “encyclopedia” by Philomena Cunk. Or, as she describes it, “A helpful guide to the universe, but written by someone you trust.” This book is a natural extension of Diane Morgan’s comedy, so if you’re a fan of the clips you’ve seen on TikTok you should definitely give this a read. As usual, nothing is off limits. So, if you’re particularly sensitive about religion, politics, or the shape of the earth, you’d better steer clear. For me, the humor was on point. American audiences should be prepared for the characteristic dry, British wit, and several jokes that will go over your head. Fear not, there are boat loads of jokes for everyone. As I’ve come to expect from Philomena, I appreciated the insights into controversial topics. For example, on climate change she offers, “Not everyone thinks climate change is real. This hot topic has split the science community right down the middle 90/10.” She shared timely information on plagues, “Statistically, the only way to protect your partner from the Black Death was to die yourself.” And very technical information in the field of astrophysics, “Scientists know black holes are there because when they ask for money to study them nobody tells them to fu*k off.”
In terms of criticisms, some of the content was a repetition of previous material. Fortunately, it wasn’t excessive or problematic, just something I noticed. I did notice a glaring missed opportunity in the discussion of DNA. I kept waiting for a shout out to Rosalind Franklin, but alas this encyclopedia was equally as incomplete as every other by crediting Watson and Crick. (What the heck, Cunk?!)
In terms of audio adaptation, Morgan as Cunk is a spectacular narrator. I’m confident the audio experience surpassed a print-only reading of the book. The production quality is fantastic and exactly what I would hope/expect. No qualms or complaints.
Overall, stellar! I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it!
Finally, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my favorite entry: END OF THE WORLD, THE. “Predicting the end of the world is tricky and you’re best leaving it to the experts. Probably the biggest experts are the Jehovah’s Witnesses who’ve predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994, and 1997. So they’re getting really good at it.”
In terms of criticisms, some of the content was a repetition of previous material. Fortunately, it wasn’t excessive or problematic, just something I noticed. I did notice a glaring missed opportunity in the discussion of DNA. I kept waiting for a shout out to Rosalind Franklin, but alas this encyclopedia was equally as incomplete as every other by crediting Watson and Crick. (What the heck, Cunk?!)
In terms of audio adaptation, Morgan as Cunk is a spectacular narrator. I’m confident the audio experience surpassed a print-only reading of the book. The production quality is fantastic and exactly what I would hope/expect. No qualms or complaints.
Overall, stellar! I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it!
Finally, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my favorite entry: END OF THE WORLD, THE. “Predicting the end of the world is tricky and you’re best leaving it to the experts. Probably the biggest experts are the Jehovah’s Witnesses who’ve predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, 1994, and 1997. So they’re getting really good at it.”
jules11jem's review against another edition
4.0
What a hilarious book! If you enjoyed the TV show, this is a must read! Get ready to laugh a lot. Also, reading it via audiobook is *essential* to experiencing it the way it was meant to be read. The delivery of the lines is half the humor. If you don’t like audiobooks, I recommend at least watching part of the TV show before reading so you can read it in the ‘proper voice’.
This is the type of book that is best enjoyed if you listen to a little bit every day. Almost like a comedic devotional. Definitely worth a read/listen for comedy lovers.
This is the type of book that is best enjoyed if you listen to a little bit every day. Almost like a comedic devotional. Definitely worth a read/listen for comedy lovers.
theirresponsiblereader's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
4.0
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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What’s Cunk on Everything About?
Funny story (well, a story anyway), last week I was in my doctor’s office briefly and the nurse was being nice while she prepared to stab me with a knife (or maybe it was a tiny needle, the witness accounts vary) and she asked me what I was reading. I responded with, “Have you seen that show on Netflix called Cunk on Earth?” She hadn’t. Which made the whole small-talk pitch so much harder.
Because if you have seen the show (even just a clip or two), this is easy—it’s Philomena Cunk’s take on just about everything. History, culture, science, art, philosophy, religion, sports, food, and some of the important individuals in those areas. Presented in her idiosyncratic way, of course.
Now, if you haven’t watched the show—because you’re a reader, or something rare like that—this is trickier. Cunk’s approach to the documentary specials on TV or the encyclopedia entries in this book are a combination of naïveté, misunderstandings (especially in mispronunciation/misspellings), and cynicism.
Miscellaneous Observations
I don’t know how to talk about this book—especially as it’s essentially 1-5 page entries on a wide variety of topics (and that page count is just a guess, I couldn’t tell you from my eARC). The topics range from Alexander the Great, the Alphabet, The Alt Right, The Dark Ages, Democracy, Fake News, “Fullosophy,” Hair, the iPhone, The Mystery of Life, Sausages, “Weeing in Public,” and so on. So, right—forget trying to cover this all intelligibly.
In lieu of that, here are some miscellaneous observations:
- The pacing is a bit odd—the “H” entries are around the fifty percent mark—I’ve come up with a dozen half-baked ideas/theories/jokes to explain it. It really doesn’t matter, but I thought it was odd. I don’t care—but it was something I noticed.
- The entry on Jazz is just fantastic.
- There are a couple of running jokes—derogatory comments about the idea of books throughout, repeated use of “Frankingstein” (to describe a certain Mary Shelley character), and that the moon landing was faked. This book doesn’t really feel like a vehicle for running jokes, but they work so well.
- The first paragraph about The Oedipus Complex is one of the best things I’ve read in 2023—the last sentence of that paragraph made me almost laugh out loud (but I was in the waiting room of that doctor’s office, so I had to swallow it to prevent strange looks)
- I really didn’t think that you could make many jokes about triangles. The authors of this book proved me wrong—and most of them were really funny, too.
- You are going to hear Diane Morgan’s deadpan delivery in your head whether you read this or get the audiobook. Just know that going in. (you likely assumed it that already, so know that you’re right).
- Mozart and Shakespeare are frequently the targets of jokes—it’s not surprising to see them both as topics here. Some of the funniest things I’ve seen written about both of them are here, too.
- The entry on Xylophones is fantastic—it covers the instrument, the usage of it in alphabet books, the silliness of using it in them (given the pronunciation), and more.
So, what did I think about Cunk on Everything?
I didn’t see (but maybe overlooked) the writers behind this book listed anywhere—but whoever they were, they deserve a round of applause. Or two.
I chuckled and laughed out loud a lot while reading this. There’s really not much more to say—that’s what they were going for.
My daughter and I have spent months sending various Cunk videos back and forth to each other. But now I’ve transitioned to reading her bits and pieces of this as I worked through it. I’m not nearly as good as Morgan at delivering the material, I realize. She’s probably glad I’m finished. But, man is this a quotable read—it’s virtually impossible to resist the urge to share this material.
Whether you go from cover to cover, or dip into it here and there (probably for longer than you intend to)—these brief entries are almost certainly going to be a burst of entertainment for you. Not all of them are going to work for every reader—but never fear, just turn the page and you’re probably going to come across one that will.
I had a blast with this—putting this post together took longer than you’d think based on the brevity of it because I kept getting distracted by the book and re-read large chunks of it. I think you will, too.