Very funny where it’s funny, and I really recommend anyone read the cover (at least of the paperback edition). While I enjoyed almost all the information in the book, I did find that at times it dragged a little – for example, most of the 700 hobo names were wasted on me, as there wasn’t enough novelty to make the slogging worthwhile. Still, quite readable.

...As for the actual content of the almanac, never in my life could I have imagined the vast wealth of knowledge contained in the mind of Mr Hodgman. Never could I have grasped the complexities of the seedy side of the back-stage areas of the Mall of America. Never could I have understood the legendary stories of the hobos and their monarchs. Neither would I have possibly imagined the rich true history of the 51 United States and it’s Presidents. And if it weren’t for this book, I would never have known the sad story of the Furry Old Lobster (song by Jonathan Coulton). And there is so much more useful world knowledge to take in, I fear I would not do it justice to try to describe it all in blog-form…

Read a full review here.

“Now I sense that you have further questions… you are reasonable to ponder, who is this John Hodgman, and how did he come to know so many invented facts?”

John Hodgman has written a plausible, but fictional collection of facts that is very, very funny. The Areas of My Expertise is part of the tradition of Woody Allen’s Without Feathers, Steve Martin’s Cruel Shoes or Jon Stewart’s Naked Pictures of Famous People. Hodgman has a strange collection of anecdotes, facts, lists, and tables that are imaginative and create a parallel world filled with hobos, mysterious floating states, and alternate histories. It’s a great book to dip into for a laugh or to sit down and carefully read to find a unique perspective on the world.

Hilarious. Hands down. The book is written like an almanac, except every tidbit of information is false.

John Hodgman is now (in)famously known as the “I’m a PC” guy from the Apple Computer commercials. But, he’s also written this odd little book as well.

And more recently, you can see him explain “Net Neutrality” on the Daily Show here. Very funny.