John Hodgman

If you find the idea of a Hobo rebellion nearly overturning the American government oddly compelling, this is the book for you. And if there are dozens of facts that you need to have confirmed for you are not true...this is the book for you. A joyous and rye look at the missing facts of American History and how we are left sadder for their never having occurred. I look forward to reading his sequel which even now is sitting quietly, if suspiciously, on my shelf.

My friend Carolyn introduced me last year to the Judge John Hodman podcast and I instantly fell in love. Hodgman's humor is wry, dry, and laden with a heavy dose of realist perspective and self-knowledge that few people seem to have. Hodgman is fine with people being selfish, they simply need to acknowledge the fact that they are. Own up to what you are, and the world will respect you for it. Be generous. Be mindful of the work you leave for others. Be true to yourself.

[b: show more Vacationland|16128888|Vacationland|Sarah Stonich|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364259038s/16128888.jpg|21953803] is a series of essays with common threads woven through them. To tell the jokes is to ruin the sometimes 50 pages of set-up. The stories twist and twine, there are callbacks throughout, and the tapestry that is woven is ultimately a complex one. One laced in humor, yes, but one also that is very aware of its own mortality, what will be left behind after it's gone, and how much good having an open mind can get you in the world.

Unlike most humor books, this is one with vast substance, and one that I am glad I got to read at this point in my life. A lot of the book resonated with me and comforted me. Buying a new home is scary, moving is scary, growing old and growing up is scary - but it's something we all do, and if we're humble about it and honest with ourselves ultimately we'll all come out all right in the end. show less

It's a rare event that I'm moved to laughter, tears and introspection all from a single page. This happened repeatedly throughout John Hodgman's Vacationland. At the outset I had few expectations from the book's title and what little I had read about it online, but I certainly wasn't expecting anything this profound and personal.

As the subtitle suggests, these are true stories of everyday, mundane happenings which Hodgman relates in ways that are anything but mundane. Part of the reason I show more took to Vacationland so easily, I suspect, is because I'm similar in age to the author and our personal coming-of-age histories share many similar cultural beat points.

The stories skip around Hodgman's young adult and adult life, with a common theme of trying to integrate oneself in whatever part of life one lands in. Like a long-term vacationer, where the persistent initial feeling is "I am an outsider here but if I stick around long enough, this place might feel like home."

Just try it. Flip to the first page and go. I think you'll be delighted by the result. show less

Hodgman's sense of humour is about as dry as the centre of the Atacama Desert—and, I would imagine, one of the few to give rise to a list of 700 pseudonyms employed by hobos. (who, as we all know, long waged a war against the USA)—which means this book gels nicely with what I tend to find funny. Most of The Areas of My Expertise is brief and episodic, which I think makes it more a book to dip into rather than read straight through; there are parts of it which are more amusing than show more others. It's only towards the end of it, as Hodgman allows himself to engage in something closer to a narrative, that the humour goes beyond the simply wry to the truly sharp—I'd love to see what he could do if he gave himself the scope of a novel(la). show less