Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - The Areas of My Expertise

The Areas of My Expertise
The Areas of My Expertise
Author: John Hodgman
An almanac of complete knowledge compiled with instructive annotation and arranged in useful order by me, John Hodgman a professional writer, in The Areas of My Expertise which include: matters historical, matters literary, matters cryptozoological, hobo matters, food, drink & cheese (a kind of food), squirrels & lobsters & eels, haircuts, utopi...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780739466230
ISBN-10: 0739466232
Pages: 228
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 11

3.4 stars, based on 11 ratings
Publisher: E. P. Dutton
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

BaileysBooks avatar reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on + 491 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
If you have a sense of humor and a thing for sarcasm, you should enjoy this book. However, this is not the sort of book you cozy up to and read in one sitting.

Hodgman is very witty and his book is good, but not one word of it is to be taken seriously. While there is nothing wrong with that, it gets tiresome to read page after page of meaningless hobo banter. I would have enjoyed this book much more if I would have read it in pieces, a little bit at a time, over several days or even several weeks. This particular kind of humor sits best in small doses. That is my take on it, at least.

Otherwise this is a very funny book full of completely useless information and something to the tune of 500+ hobo names. It makes for quite an interesting read. But don't take my word for it. The hobos told me what to say and I know enough about them to listen.
reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on
Helpful Score: 1
Delightfully ridiculous and hillarious. I lost it completely when I got to the list of hobo names.
classicana avatar reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on
Helpful Score: 1
Laugh out loud funny! For me this is not a sit down and read cover to cover - it's best taken in small doses. Leave it where you'll pass by several times a day, open it, read a page, chortle, snort, or laugh heartily, then go on about your day. The author's mind works in strange and wonderful ways!
jeffp avatar reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on + 201 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Not all that funny, sadly. Mildly amusing. YMMV, but I found it to be something I could set down any time, anywhere, without regret.
Read All 10 Book Reviews of "The Areas of My Expertise"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on
I like John Hodgman's Resident Expert bits on the Daily Show, and this book is a collection of those types of musings. As I understand it, it was this book that got him the spot on the Daily Show. The jokes can be hit-or-miss, depending on how obscure the references are. I think the book is a little overcrowded visually, but I guess that is how the almanacs that he is parodying are like. Overall, I think the book is worth a read, because some of the pieces, like the one on cons, are really hilarious.
jrw avatar reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on + 33 more book reviews
AREAS is entertaining but dangerous in the wrong hands. One has to know some choice bits of trivia to "get" the jokes, play on words, or satire. While Hodgman proclaims repeatedly that you should not take anything he writes seriously, some will no doubt confuse his fiction with reality.
reviewed The Areas of My Expertise on + 36 more book reviews
A freaky book of oddities real and imaginary. Since I like my fiction to be distinguishable from my non-fiction, this book was not for me. But, I can see that it would have amusement potential for others who aren't as rigid as I am.


Genres: