Monday, December 20, 2010

Book Review: "More Information Than You Require"

John Hodgman continues the project begun with The Areas of My Expertise in More Information Than You Require (Riverhead, 2009) ... and I use "continues" literally, since the pagination here picks up where TAME left off (and will likely continue in the project third installment, That is All).

This volume provides almost 400 pages of Hodgmanian deadpan antics, from "profiles" of the American presidents to 700 names of mole-men, information on how to be a minor television personality and how to deal with common infestation (my favorite is "tides"), some selected folk remedies, owl recipes, answers to readers' questions, and much more.

As with most Hodgman productions, the reader should be careful to pace himself, lest he risk the severe and debilitating Hodgman Overload Syndrome. By only reading a short section or two at a time, this condition can be avoided, and the jokes will continue to amuse.