World Famous Comics: Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!: Cartoonist Ignores Helpful Advice
Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!: Cartoonist Ignores Helpful Advice
By: Scott Adams Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Portfolio Hardcover Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: October 18, 2007
Product Description: Everyone knows Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, as the king of workplace humor. His brilliant insights into the crazy world of business have long been on display in his hugely popular comic strip and bestselling books like The Dilbert Principle. But theres much more to life than work, and it turns out that the man behind Dogbert and the Pointy-Haired Boss has an equally outrageous take on life outside the cubicle.
Now Adams ventures into uncharted territory in this hilarious collection of more than 150 short pieces on everything from lunar real estate to exploding bladders, not to mention politics, religion, dating, underwear, alien life, and the menace of car singing.
In his essays on Helpful Critical Guy syndrome (HCGS) and the Who Cares Most (WCM) Method, Adams shares his recently acquired insights on married life. He shares his diet secret that involves experiencing a wrenching personal problem to lose weight or, if that fails, buying stretch pants and growing a goatee. He also gives expert advice on how to appear smarter than you are (two words: zeitgeist and eponymous).
Adams isnt afraid to confront the most pressing questions of our day, such as the pros and cons of toothpaste smuggling, why kangaroos dont drive cars, and whether or not Jesus would approve of your second iPod.
His optimistic cynicism enlivens his no-holds-barred rants about stupidity, Komodo dragons, getting old, nose snorkeling, and the end of humanity.
He even takes us behind the scenes of his process for creating Dilbert, showing a series of strips that he wasnt allowed to run in their original form. And he reveals why a syndicated comic strip can never show a police officer firing a gunbut a donut that shoots bullets is totally fine.
Why has Adams decided to leave his comfort zone with this book? As he writes:
Every time I try something different or unlikely, someone says the equivalent of Dont quit your day job. When I venture into areas clearly outside of my expertise, I hear Youre in way over your head! and, lately, Stick to drawing comics! But if I had listened to that sort of advice in the past, I never would have done anything interesting in my life.
Was it smart to write this sort of book, or will it turn out to be another in a long list of my failures and embarrassments? Beats me. Thank you for giving it a chance.
NOT Dilbert, STILL funny! This is an autobiography, basically from a daily on-line blog maintained for years by Adams. It is funny, philosophical, ridiculous. No plot (it's just a blog, people), but great airport or hospital reading. Lots of short chapters, all of which stand alone, with occasional repetition. Don't try to read it all at once. Put it in your trunk for waiting rooms and visits to the in-laws.
Hilarious! Very funny, witty and insightful. Scott Adams provided an interesting perspective on the world around us. If you are a fan of The Dilbert Principle, this is another one to try. I simply could not stop laughing while reading this book.
It's an effort I suppose I have for some years now been a fan of Dilbert, and have also with delight read some of Adams' other books like "The Dilbert Principle", which I also found very funny. He is, or at least can be, a very witty man, Scott Adams, and does have an ability to cut to the bone of a subject, which is absolutely joyous to read about.
This book, however, is not that great. Firstly the blog format makes the chapters/sections of the book far too short and to a certain exent repetitive. Many, far too many, ideas seem like the half baked kind, that should have been left out completely or at least have been expanded on before being put into bookform. Also Adams, at times, comes across as not witty or funny at all, but 'weird' for the sake of being weird (he is not weird at all, but he like to project an image of himself being terribly close to being absolutely barking). He seems almost like an ageing Hunter S Thompson or such. He is also terribly self-important and a bit conceited at times, which makes the already doubtful material even less funny.
There are naturally redeeming factors. It is not everything in it, that is not one bit funny. Loads of satire and a critical look at society can be spotted in this volume too. There are many amuzing passages, but sadly they do not outweigh the less good ones. Read it if you're a fan. Otherwise there are much better books out there to make you laugh. 2,5 stars.
Amusing but disjointed I would have liked to like this book more. The chapters are short, pithy and amusing, but there's no overarching plot or story so it feels like you're just reading someone's blog. And wait! You ARE just reading someone's blog, because this book is a collection of Scott Adams' blog postings you can read for free online. Damn, I wish I'd known that first.
Wonderful Essays, Terrible Title! I'm a big fan of Scott Adams's blog and it is a treat to read this collection of some of his best essays. Thought provoking, funny, philosophical, infuriating - something for everybody. The worst thing about this book is its title. It's a much better book than the title indicates. Ironically, one of Adams's essays is on good book titles - he should have taken his own advice. So ignore the title, buy the book, and enjoy yourself!
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
