The first time I heard about this book was on The Daily Show. No-one over here seems to watch this U.S. show, but I think it’s a real gem. It’s a familiar enough format – the presenter, Jon Stewart, goes over some of the main news events of the day (typically the political stories), then there’s a more in-depth report on something, then there’s a one-to-one with a guest. Except it’s mostly a piss-take. The in-depth reports usually involve a reporter trying to keep a straight face while asking some complete nutter pointed questions (this is a Jason Jones speciality). Or it will be a reporter voicing someone’s position (typically the U.S. government’s) in a story, but then taking it to such an extreme that it appears incredible anyone could have thought it was a good idea (Rob Corddry is especially hilarious at this).

 

Where was I? Oh yeah – anyway, a couple of months ago, John Hodgman was the guest on the show, and he was there plugging this very book. It seemed interesting enough, so I bought it.

 

Since then, John Hodgman has gone on to become a contributor to the show.

 

The best way to describe it is probably as "a fictional version of Schott’s Original Miscellany". Personally I never really got into Schott’s Original Miscellany. I just found it boring and gave up after half a dozen pages. But this is different, mostly because it’s all made up, and so quirky you’ve no idea what’s coming next. The author is pretty up front about the fictional element here:

How quirky is it? A few subjects covered are ‘Dog People v. Cat People’, ‘Prohibition-Era Euphemisms for Alcohol’, ‘Short Words for Use on Submarines to Preserve Oxygen’, and much, much more about hobos than you ever wanted to know.

 

Yes, it’s a bit weird in places (a multi-page listing of names can be a bit dull), but as an exercise in surrealism it’s worth the cost.