The Areas of My Expertise

An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order

By: John Hodgman

Narrated by: John Hodgman

Hot on the heels of the #1 bestsellers The Onion's Our Dumb Century and Jon Stewart's America comes The Areas of My Expertise, the brilliant and uproarious #15 bestseller (i.e., a runaway phenomenon in its own right-no, seriously) - a lavish compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom - all of it completely unresearched, completely undocumented and (presumably) completely untrue, fabricated by the illuminating, prodigious imagination of John Hodgman, certifiable genius.©2005 John Hodgman; (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Critic reviews

"Wonderfully absurd."
—The New York Times

"Hilarious . . . Nabokov's Pale Fire as directed by Wes Anderson."
—Time Out New York

"If Borges and Ben Franklin got drunk and decided to write a book together, the result might have been something a lot like this freaky 'almanac'."
—Tom Perrotta

"Even if you buy this book for the 700 hobo names alone, you will have gotten more than your money's worth."
—Dave Eggers

"A book of absurd tall tales, tables and charts spun from the warped brain of John Hodgman . . . Impressively eclectic."
—The Los Angeles Times

Theater of the Absurd

Hodgman's skill at creating and describing a delightfully ridiculous version of reality never fails to please. His mock serious narration of the "facts," together with Jonathan Coulton's occasional interjection, makes for a delightful listen. Because fully appreciating Hodgman's humor requires attention and because listening to both this book and "More Information Than you Require" were both such treats, I only would allow myself 20-30 minutes at a stretch, prolonging my enjoyment as much as possible. Alas, all good things must end, so I now must be satisfied with his wickedly funny (and actually quite wise) "Judge John Hodgman" podcast while I await his next opus--surely he has further revelations for those of us who require even more!

Audiobook is the ultimate version

The addition of music, improv, and Jonathan Coulton makes this an amazing experience. Absurd comedy at its finest.

Simply Amazing.

All I can say is that I found this book deeply deeply amusing. So much so that I've actually listened to it twice (I rarely do that). It really strikes the perfect balance between intelligence and silliness, which I immensely appreciate.

A bit too over the wall

I listen to the Judge John Hodgman podcast and I love the man's work. I find him to be clear-cutting and rational when judging silly questions, its pretty hilarious. So I had no doubt that his book offered the same type of judgmental personal insights. But I was mostly disappointed as the content offered nothing more than an accumulation of over the top randomness. I just didn't make me laugh.

interesting listen, not for everyone

John Hodgman delivers a unique brand of comedy in a deadpan style.
I wouldn't recommend this for anyone unfamiliar with his works, but for fans it's definitely a delightful trip into the mind of a comedic genius.