Scan barcode
sharonfalduto's review
5.0
Oh, John Hodgman, how I love your beautiful mind and your fake trivia. This book tells us all about the coming Ragnarok, in detail, with a page-a-day type calendar with all sorts of interesting predictions. Every page included something you could read aloud to your spouse or friend and laugh about. Unfortunately, he claims this is his last book. Boo! Write more, John Hodgman!
And yes, my first book of the year is one entitled "That Is All." Too bad I didn't finish it in 2012.
And yes, my first book of the year is one entitled "That Is All." Too bad I didn't finish it in 2012.
brookamimi's review
4.0
This book surprised me. There were the usual Hodgman witticisms and excellent guest voices, but after a while I was just kind of waiting for it to be over. Near the end, it picked up again and had moments like the last episodes of a season of BoJack Horseman--it's weird and sudden but hollows you out (in a good way, if that's even possible). Hodgman, however, helps you fill out again because this is the end of his trilogy.
jesabesblog's review
3.0
This is not a book you can listen to in the background. It's going for 'strange' and 'illogical', but takes it all the way to nonsensical. You have to listen closely to not end up so lost it feels as if you're just listening to random words. That's not necessarily a negative - it's the intention - and I loved the large cast of voice actors/personalities.
I did hate listening to the end of the book on audio. I haven't seen the book version, but it's a page-a-day calendar kind of thing, leading to the audio version having the words "today in Ragnarok" and "this was today in Ragnarok" for (nearly) every single one of the 365 days of the year. Hearing those words over 700 times started to feel violent and miserable.
I did hate listening to the end of the book on audio. I haven't seen the book version, but it's a page-a-day calendar kind of thing, leading to the audio version having the words "today in Ragnarok" and "this was today in Ragnarok" for (nearly) every single one of the 365 days of the year. Hearing those words over 700 times started to feel violent and miserable.
arnzen's review
I have cobbled together my own "boxed set" of all three volumes in John Hodgman's "Complete World Knowledge" series... all in audiobook format, which I highly recommend, as these are master performances with musical accompaniment, guest (mostly comedy) visitors, and open dialogue that add life to these books, which are a little two-dimensional on the page, but really become even more laugh-out-loud funny in audio (especially helpful for fans of Hodgman from his Daily Show and live act appearances).
As with the other Hodgman "world knowledge" books, this compendium of imaginary trivia plays with truth and imagination to humorous results. This one (third in the series, bringing an amazing labor to completion) shows how refined Hodgman's narrative persona has become, and how tenaciously comedic he can be, having grabbed hold of a concept and not letting go of it for a long, long time. Even the tediousness of some of his longer bits (like the now-infamous listing of hobo names) is intentional. In the process, he mocks all encyclopedias, information compendiums, and trivia books with aplomb. You kind of have to be willing to play along with him to "get it" -- I can easily see the stream of information overwhelming some readers (probably those who have never really delved into research or reference books), and the books are rife with geek culture references that really work...if you know the allusions. THE BOOK ALSO PORTENDS THE APOCALYPSE and in a strange way fits into the dystopian apocalpytical genre of literature. This literally IS all there ever is to know, ostensibly.
He is mocking himself but having his own fun his own way and I think it works out brilliantly.
As with the other Hodgman "world knowledge" books, this compendium of imaginary trivia plays with truth and imagination to humorous results. This one (third in the series, bringing an amazing labor to completion) shows how refined Hodgman's narrative persona has become, and how tenaciously comedic he can be, having grabbed hold of a concept and not letting go of it for a long, long time. Even the tediousness of some of his longer bits (like the now-infamous listing of hobo names) is intentional. In the process, he mocks all encyclopedias, information compendiums, and trivia books with aplomb. You kind of have to be willing to play along with him to "get it" -- I can easily see the stream of information overwhelming some readers (probably those who have never really delved into research or reference books), and the books are rife with geek culture references that really work...if you know the allusions. THE BOOK ALSO PORTENDS THE APOCALYPSE and in a strange way fits into the dystopian apocalpytical genre of literature. This literally IS all there ever is to know, ostensibly.
He is mocking himself but having his own fun his own way and I think it works out brilliantly.
stephb413's review
3.0
I laughed a lot during this audio book which is the only I an imagine this book as the guests were an essential element. Maybe I didn't love it as much as others because I didn't read the first two yet, but I certainly will. A lovely escape, which is said not said enough about books in the apocalypse genre.
fablejack's review
2.0
Laugh out loud funny in small doses but the law of diminishing returns kicked in about halfway through. This is the third of these I read nearly in a row and, while a few hundred pages of fake trivia amused me, I probably should have rationed 7-900 pages of it out over a year or so. I take partial responsibility for that.
greyscarf's review
5.0
Any book of fake facts and fantastical end-of-the-world scenarios that can raise meaningful questions about life and make me tear up with emotion automatically gets 5 stars.
robotgoods's review
**Disclaimer: I have not read "The Areas of My Expertise" or "More Information Than You Require"***
I was very disappointed with this book. I think John Hodgman is a funny guy, and his writing is humorous, but I just couldn't get through this book. I felt like the book was giving me ADD, with its page-a-day calendar, numerous footnotes, extra long tables, and overuse of capitalization to EMPHASIZE THE AUTHOR'S SELF-RECOGNIZED COMEDIC GENIUS. There just wasn't any impetus behind the words to get me invested...no purpose, no story. So in the end, I chose not to clutter my head with made-up facts, and returned the book to the library.
I was very disappointed with this book. I think John Hodgman is a funny guy, and his writing is humorous, but I just couldn't get through this book. I felt like the book was giving me ADD, with its page-a-day calendar, numerous footnotes, extra long tables, and overuse of capitalization to EMPHASIZE THE AUTHOR'S SELF-RECOGNIZED COMEDIC GENIUS. There just wasn't any impetus behind the words to get me invested...no purpose, no story. So in the end, I chose not to clutter my head with made-up facts, and returned the book to the library.