One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories

I am not a short story person, maybe because so often some stories resonate and others miss the mark, or maybe because I like to dissolve into a book for long stretches of time and short stories are...short. In any case, Novak's tales were alternately touching, hilarious, and heartfelt, (and occasionally meh). Four stars for the laughs, and I highly recommend the audiobook, which is filled with Office personalities and other celebs.

I don't know if some of the humour would be lost in the printed word but man did these stories make me laugh. #favouriteaudiobookofalltime

“Roses are rose. Violets are violet. I love you.”
I definitely enjoyed reading B.J. Novak's short stories. Most of them were witty and entertaining, like the one quoted above. That was a full story in Novak's book, and a lot of them were that short as well. I loved how Novak's stories were all so diverse and all still very comical. They weren't stand-out to me though. I don't really think any of them were particularly memorable or extremely funny to me, they were just good. I really enjoyed seeing Novak speak at my school, and when he read some of these stories out loud I found them even funnier. Maybe they would all be funnier if he read them out loud, but in any case, it was a good, fun read that was a much needed lighter break from some of the longer, heavier stuff I've been reading lately.

I don't know that I've ever had this much fun reading short stories.

I listened to the audiobook of One More Thing and it was not funny. What a bummer, I had high hopes.

Being clever only gets you so far and if that's all that there was to this particular volume of 64 short stories it would grate pretty fast. But Novak's smarter than that. I'm not kidding, Novak is a Harvard grad with a degree in English and Spanish literature.

There are throwaway bits, SNL type sketches like the Market Was Down “Why was the market down? No reason. Well, stupid stuff. Actually to be honest, maybe it was Spain at the beginning, but it was really only worried about Spain because it woke up looking for something to worry about.” Or Great Writers Steal where “Neither of them ever got anything published, In fact, those who read their writing went so far as to say they they misunderstood literature on an unusually fundamental level. But after a few years, they got to be pretty good thieves.” But even those prove Novak's got a good ear for language and he manages to flex his writerly muscle with his longer pieces. He deserves the praise he's been getting for this collection.

I very much enjoyed this funny, clever, and interesting collection of short (some VERY short) stories. Novak has a somewhat specific sense of humor, so it's not completely surprising to me to see that some readers are not “getting” the collection - the humor is sly, and sometimes on the edge of cutting, and it's not going to be for everyone. Standouts from the collection for me include No One Goes to Heaven to See Dan Fogleberg, about the quality of the musical offerings in Heaven; The Something by John Grisham, about a big surprise for the prolific author; Sophia, about a sex robot who falls in love; and Welcome to Camp Fantastic for Gifted Teens, about a very unusual summer camp opportunity. These were MY particular favorites - I would bet each reader would come up with a different list, because each story in the collection is a sarcastic gift waiting to be opened. This collection does include lots of strong language and adult situations, so parents should beware. I'm already looking forward to Novak's next collection.

I'd heard some of these stories on public radio and around the internet, and thought they were funny. And like, pretty much any one of these stories, if I'd seen them posted individually on McSweeney's, I'd probably “like” it or maybe even retweet it.

But when they're all put together, the overall effect is like, Okay, I GET it. I get it, you have an ironically reverent irreverance toward pop culture/politics/issues of import. I GET IT.

The audiobook might be more interesting because it's read by a bunch of Office alums & other comedians.

The best. This book makes me so happy. What's better than this book? The book trailer. That's right. Google it. Trust me.

Novak builds stories around concepts that a lot of people dismiss as passing thoughts or fleeting questions. Some stories are more serious than others. All have a touch of absurdity.

Saw this pop up on my feed and thought “Oh yeah, I read that when it came out!” Maybe I'll revisit it soon since I do remember enjoying it.

It's hard to deny the imagination at work here. Every story takes an odd idea and runs with it. Some work wonderfully, poignant and hilarious. Others fall flat, pointless and underwhelming. But those stories that really hit the mark make all the rest worth it.