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Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's Humor Category
A hilarious collection from McSweeney's that "achieves the sensation of being hit by a hip, humorous train.... Breaks mold after mold in hilarious fashion" ( The New York Times ).
Now more than ever, Americans are troubled by questions. As sweaty modernity thrusts itself upon us, the veil of ignorance that cloaked our nation hangs in tatters, tattered tatters. Our "funny bones" are neither fun nor bony. Glum is the new giddy, and the old giddy wasn't too giddy to begin with.
What can be done to stop this relentless march of drabbery? Nothing. But perhaps this book can be used to dull the pain. Included
The Ten Worst Films of All Time, as Reviewed by Ezra Pound over Italian Radio
Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One.
How Important Moments in My Life Would Have Been Different If I Was Shot in the Stomach
My Beard, Reviewed
Circumstances under Which I Would Have Sex with Some of My Fellow Jurors
Now more than ever, Americans are troubled by questions. As sweaty modernity thrusts itself upon us, the veil of ignorance that cloaked our nation hangs in tatters, tattered tatters. Our "funny bones" are neither fun nor bony. Glum is the new giddy, and the old giddy wasn't too giddy to begin with.
What can be done to stop this relentless march of drabbery? Nothing. But perhaps this book can be used to dull the pain. Included
The Ten Worst Films of All Time, as Reviewed by Ezra Pound over Italian Radio
Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One.
How Important Moments in My Life Would Have Been Different If I Was Shot in the Stomach
My Beard, Reviewed
Circumstances under Which I Would Have Sex with Some of My Fellow Jurors
249 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
55 people are currently reading
1568 people want to read
About the author
Dave Eggers
352 books9,463 followersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.
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January 2, 2019Do you speak english?
No? Ahi ahi ahi!
Comprato su eBay perché ci tenevo proprio tanto ad avere un numero di McSweeney's: peccato che non avendo capito un'acca di quanto c'era scritto sull'annuncio non abbia comprato un numero di McSweeney's ma solo una raccolta dei racconti pubblicati: che non leggerò mai perché il mio inglese non me lo consente! :-)
No? Ahi ahi ahi!
Comprato su eBay perché ci tenevo proprio tanto ad avere un numero di McSweeney's: peccato che non avendo capito un'acca di quanto c'era scritto sull'annuncio non abbia comprato un numero di McSweeney's ma solo una raccolta dei racconti pubblicati: che non leggerò mai perché il mio inglese non me lo consente! :-)
September 17, 2011
"Created in Darkness" is a collection of humour ranging from lists to jokes to stories and as you would expect with any joke anthology, the results are mixed but are generally quite brilliant. I felt that the best pieces were JM Tyree's essay "On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compacter" and Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell's "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring".
The "Death Star" essay is actually a well thought out and reasoned argument as to why such a massive and complex space station has such a throwback as a trash compacter to deal with waste. It's very funny only because his points make sense and that Star Wars and logic don't really go together.
The Lord of the Rings commentary is the best part of the book though. Alexander and Bissell, writing as Zinn and Chomsky, argue that Gandalf is a dictatorial puppet master similar to Karl Rove, fomenting fear and hatred in Middle Earth in order to maintain power, while the Hobbits are drug addled criminals whose "pipe weed" based economy is creating this war between the rural community of the Orcs and the trigger happy Elves. Really well written and clever, it's an excellent read.
Other highlights is "The Name Game" by Stephany Aulenback and Sean Carman. Extract: "Take the word ` dead as your first name, and a description of incest with your mother as your last name. That's your Marked by the Mafia name."
Brodie H Brockie and R J White's piece "The Newest from Jokeland" and Tom Ruprect's "It's Not Actually a Small World" are similar in that they take away the humour from familiar archetypal jokes and make them funnier. From "Jokeland" - "Chicken Joke #63: Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the chicken lacks any reasoning or decision-making capabilities, it seems unlikely the chicken's action was spurred by any particular motivation."
Keith Pille's "Journal of a New COBRA Recruit" is another brilliant satirical essay this time from the GI Joe world.
The funniest piece though that had me doubled over in laughter was Jake Swearingen's "How Different Moments in my Life would have been Different If I had been Shot Twice in the Stomach". It takes key moments in a boy's life such as graduation, or his first kiss and then imagines the boy is shot twice in the stomach while doing it. It's so absurd but so genius, it really is brilliant.
There's a lot here to enjoy so anyone looking for a pick-me-up and likes unconventional humour will find something in here they'll like. I thought it was a brilliant piece from the McSweeney's gang. Recommended.
The "Death Star" essay is actually a well thought out and reasoned argument as to why such a massive and complex space station has such a throwback as a trash compacter to deal with waste. It's very funny only because his points make sense and that Star Wars and logic don't really go together.
The Lord of the Rings commentary is the best part of the book though. Alexander and Bissell, writing as Zinn and Chomsky, argue that Gandalf is a dictatorial puppet master similar to Karl Rove, fomenting fear and hatred in Middle Earth in order to maintain power, while the Hobbits are drug addled criminals whose "pipe weed" based economy is creating this war between the rural community of the Orcs and the trigger happy Elves. Really well written and clever, it's an excellent read.
Other highlights is "The Name Game" by Stephany Aulenback and Sean Carman. Extract: "Take the word ` dead as your first name, and a description of incest with your mother as your last name. That's your Marked by the Mafia name."
Brodie H Brockie and R J White's piece "The Newest from Jokeland" and Tom Ruprect's "It's Not Actually a Small World" are similar in that they take away the humour from familiar archetypal jokes and make them funnier. From "Jokeland" - "Chicken Joke #63: Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the chicken lacks any reasoning or decision-making capabilities, it seems unlikely the chicken's action was spurred by any particular motivation."
Keith Pille's "Journal of a New COBRA Recruit" is another brilliant satirical essay this time from the GI Joe world.
The funniest piece though that had me doubled over in laughter was Jake Swearingen's "How Different Moments in my Life would have been Different If I had been Shot Twice in the Stomach". It takes key moments in a boy's life such as graduation, or his first kiss and then imagines the boy is shot twice in the stomach while doing it. It's so absurd but so genius, it really is brilliant.
There's a lot here to enjoy so anyone looking for a pick-me-up and likes unconventional humour will find something in here they'll like. I thought it was a brilliant piece from the McSweeney's gang. Recommended.
July 3, 2008
Can you give 0 stars? How about negative stars? This book was probably the least funny book of humor I've ever read, and yes, I got it. I understood WHY most of this stuff was supposed to be funny, but I certainly didn't agree. I actually couldn't get to sleep for a few extra minutes last night, because I was so pissed at myself for wasting two hours on this book.
This type of humor just seems so pleased with itself, no, almost enraptured with itself. Some stories take a relatively amusing premise and stretch it out for three pages. Others take a not-so-amusing premise and belabor it for 50 (Was the Howard Zinn/Noam Chomsky bit at least that? Because it felt more like 200, if we're being honest. It's like societal critics take on J.R.R. Tolkien! So they're acting like the Lord of the Rings trilogy was reality, and adjusting their criticisms accordingly! I'm familiar with both of these men, and I get it. I get what the author was trying to do. But it wasn't funny. Just...not at all.) I wonder how many people loved this book because they were supposed to love it since it's the great and powerful McSweeney's publishing it. Or maybe since it's clearly such "highbrow" humor, they're embarrassed that they didn't think it's funny. The world may never know.
Here's an idea! Let's write a list of bad wrestler names! Now here's two more lists just like it! I did have to wonder occasionally how much effort was being put into the stories; the lists, I knew. Zero effort. I wonder how much the authors got paid.
Humor like this? It insists upon itself, Lois. It insists upon itself.
This type of humor just seems so pleased with itself, no, almost enraptured with itself. Some stories take a relatively amusing premise and stretch it out for three pages. Others take a not-so-amusing premise and belabor it for 50 (Was the Howard Zinn/Noam Chomsky bit at least that? Because it felt more like 200, if we're being honest. It's like societal critics take on J.R.R. Tolkien! So they're acting like the Lord of the Rings trilogy was reality, and adjusting their criticisms accordingly! I'm familiar with both of these men, and I get it. I get what the author was trying to do. But it wasn't funny. Just...not at all.) I wonder how many people loved this book because they were supposed to love it since it's the great and powerful McSweeney's publishing it. Or maybe since it's clearly such "highbrow" humor, they're embarrassed that they didn't think it's funny. The world may never know.
Here's an idea! Let's write a list of bad wrestler names! Now here's two more lists just like it! I did have to wonder occasionally how much effort was being put into the stories; the lists, I knew. Zero effort. I wonder how much the authors got paid.
Humor like this? It insists upon itself, Lois. It insists upon itself.
December 9, 2009
Amazingly, McSweeney's has invented yet another hipster trend – that of the genre being “humourous without being funny.”
No, the magazine itself was not the first to tackle such an element. For years prior to its death, the National Lampoon featured any number of deadpan articles which were essentially born dead, whether the result of a poor concept, inept writing, faulty comic timing, or just plain comedic bombing. But the difference between Nat. Lamp. and McSweeney's is that the latter seems to revel in its presentation of unfunny humour writing. The Lampoon took its criticisms to heart, and expired. McSweeney's acts like it achieved its intended goal.
Enter Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans. The book reads like a snarky remark that lingers too long, as if intended to be read while slouching against a wall with hands in pockets. It isn't funny. It isn't even trying to be - witty, yes, but funny, absolutely not. It is, simply, humour writing without the humour. It's been removed, as if by design. Even the perennially amusing Neal Pollack has had his funny bone ground into a fine pulp and smeared across the pages of this “Best Of” compilation in the guise of a “funny” article which lacks all mirth.
Why isn't it funny? Because “The Newest from Jokeland” is comprised of cliched jokes, sans punchline – deliberately. Because “El Wusso” is provided along with “The Bulimic Cheerleader” as potential Bad Names for Professional Wrestlers. Because “I Know What You Did Two Moons Ago” is a spoof on detective fiction inexplicably interbred with stereotypical Native American tomfoolery. Because “Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One” is an 18-page meandering tribute to writers Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell's familiarity with Zinn and Chomsky and the Lord of the Rings movie franchise – and nothing more. Because “Candle Party” is narrated by a person hosting a dull candle party, and “Reviews of my Daydreams” is an inside joke that only the writer really gets, and “It's Not Actually A Small World” is the same joke over and over and over and over and over again – that it's not actually a small world because people rarely meet up with specific people from their pasts.
The book's not funny. Well, no – that is not entirely true. It is funny in very specific places, but these places are so few and far between that the reader actually feels retroactively ashamed of himself for snickering at such an unfunny – such an unabashedly forced - book as this. Because it truly is not funny. It's not really clever, either. Though you can tell that it tries very hard to be. It's essentially the “witty” guy at a party who is slyly relying upon a rehearsed “spontaneous” monologue, which would be devastated should it allow any verbal input from an outside observer - the guy you'd feel embarrassed for if only he weren't so goddamned smarmy, so goddamned smug about how clever he thinks he's being. This book is trying so hard to be hip, to be young and filled with verve, that it is a shameless poseur. And it's embarrassing to read, although to the rest of the world the reader probably looks like a hipster who gets it. The book is, in essence, a hipster prop.
But what the book isn't, once again, is funny. It simply isn't. It's dry, and monotonous, and stilted, and would have been much better off as a small forest of living, breathing, oxygen-producing, habitat-providing trees instead of the unfunny pile of paper taking up space on a dusty bookshelf. The former of which, I might remind potential readers, this book once was, but is no more. Now it's a bound sheaf of dead trees, bringing as much mirth as a silent, lips-moving, finger-following reading of Ecclesiastes.
McSweeney's winds up – once again – with Eggers on its face. But the book does unequivocally succeed in being humourous without actively being funny. If this was, indeed, its dubious original intent.
No, the magazine itself was not the first to tackle such an element. For years prior to its death, the National Lampoon featured any number of deadpan articles which were essentially born dead, whether the result of a poor concept, inept writing, faulty comic timing, or just plain comedic bombing. But the difference between Nat. Lamp. and McSweeney's is that the latter seems to revel in its presentation of unfunny humour writing. The Lampoon took its criticisms to heart, and expired. McSweeney's acts like it achieved its intended goal.
Enter Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans. The book reads like a snarky remark that lingers too long, as if intended to be read while slouching against a wall with hands in pockets. It isn't funny. It isn't even trying to be - witty, yes, but funny, absolutely not. It is, simply, humour writing without the humour. It's been removed, as if by design. Even the perennially amusing Neal Pollack has had his funny bone ground into a fine pulp and smeared across the pages of this “Best Of” compilation in the guise of a “funny” article which lacks all mirth.
Why isn't it funny? Because “The Newest from Jokeland” is comprised of cliched jokes, sans punchline – deliberately. Because “El Wusso” is provided along with “The Bulimic Cheerleader” as potential Bad Names for Professional Wrestlers. Because “I Know What You Did Two Moons Ago” is a spoof on detective fiction inexplicably interbred with stereotypical Native American tomfoolery. Because “Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One” is an 18-page meandering tribute to writers Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell's familiarity with Zinn and Chomsky and the Lord of the Rings movie franchise – and nothing more. Because “Candle Party” is narrated by a person hosting a dull candle party, and “Reviews of my Daydreams” is an inside joke that only the writer really gets, and “It's Not Actually A Small World” is the same joke over and over and over and over and over again – that it's not actually a small world because people rarely meet up with specific people from their pasts.
The book's not funny. Well, no – that is not entirely true. It is funny in very specific places, but these places are so few and far between that the reader actually feels retroactively ashamed of himself for snickering at such an unfunny – such an unabashedly forced - book as this. Because it truly is not funny. It's not really clever, either. Though you can tell that it tries very hard to be. It's essentially the “witty” guy at a party who is slyly relying upon a rehearsed “spontaneous” monologue, which would be devastated should it allow any verbal input from an outside observer - the guy you'd feel embarrassed for if only he weren't so goddamned smarmy, so goddamned smug about how clever he thinks he's being. This book is trying so hard to be hip, to be young and filled with verve, that it is a shameless poseur. And it's embarrassing to read, although to the rest of the world the reader probably looks like a hipster who gets it. The book is, in essence, a hipster prop.
But what the book isn't, once again, is funny. It simply isn't. It's dry, and monotonous, and stilted, and would have been much better off as a small forest of living, breathing, oxygen-producing, habitat-providing trees instead of the unfunny pile of paper taking up space on a dusty bookshelf. The former of which, I might remind potential readers, this book once was, but is no more. Now it's a bound sheaf of dead trees, bringing as much mirth as a silent, lips-moving, finger-following reading of Ecclesiastes.
McSweeney's winds up – once again – with Eggers on its face. But the book does unequivocally succeed in being humourous without actively being funny. If this was, indeed, its dubious original intent.
August 11, 2012
Meh. And again I say - meh. And can I just say that I don't LIKE McSweeney's? Okay? I live in McSweeney's-land, I feel as if San Francisco is some sort of theme park of the mind for McSweeney's, and it just flat out leaves me cold. This collection is like David Letterman in prose -- lots of silly lists, lots of snarky pastiches of easy pop culture targets, sometimes with a meta level thrown in to please the grad students. I did laugh at the bad baby names, but don't waste my time calling this literature, okay? Go back and read James Thurber, and be amazed, amazed, at the command of prose style the man has in his best work, and the amount of literary reading you have to have done to fully enjoy what he's offering. You'll laugh, but it won't be hollow laughter.
November 4, 2013
So there are two ways to look at this book:
1. As a book: the Star Wars chapter had me in stitches. I really liked this one, too. (Become a sucker MC!) and it was great to see my goodreads pal Jim Ruland among the authors! (Hi Jim!)
Other parts of the book were tedious and, more often than not, had the disconnected feeling of internet content forced into becoming a book.
2. As a medium: The book is internet content forced into becoming a book. There is something so completely backwards about this that I love. Taking the impermanent, impulsive content of the fickle internet and turning it into bound and printed matter...you people are crazy. Content-wise, it's like if all the contacts in your smartphone were forced to be at the same party. Like, yes, they have this one thing in common (you) and they each have their assets, but mashed together it's just weird. And so much of this book is just lists, lists and more lists!
So, something so completely reassuring to recognize that a novel only exists because the author sat down, wrote something, and decided NOT to put it on the internet. Decided to make it a singular work. Decided to flesh it out beyond a list of ideas.
As long as we have people who think that way, we will have novels. Something about that is beautiful to me.
1. As a book: the Star Wars chapter had me in stitches. I really liked this one, too. (Become a sucker MC!) and it was great to see my goodreads pal Jim Ruland among the authors! (Hi Jim!)
Other parts of the book were tedious and, more often than not, had the disconnected feeling of internet content forced into becoming a book.
2. As a medium: The book is internet content forced into becoming a book. There is something so completely backwards about this that I love. Taking the impermanent, impulsive content of the fickle internet and turning it into bound and printed matter...you people are crazy. Content-wise, it's like if all the contacts in your smartphone were forced to be at the same party. Like, yes, they have this one thing in common (you) and they each have their assets, but mashed together it's just weird. And so much of this book is just lists, lists and more lists!
So, something so completely reassuring to recognize that a novel only exists because the author sat down, wrote something, and decided NOT to put it on the internet. Decided to make it a singular work. Decided to flesh it out beyond a list of ideas.
As long as we have people who think that way, we will have novels. Something about that is beautiful to me.
August 8, 2012
There is not much humor in this pointless compilation of artless works by a bunch of writers who must think they are hilariously funny. This book is like a bad trip into the self-absorbed minds of people who seem to enjoy gazing at their belly buttons with utmost fascination. To be fair about it, one story make me chuckle. Once. It was “The Spirit of Christmas” by Kurt Lucks, about 4 pages long. Also of note, “On the Implausibility of the Death Star’s Trash Compactor” by J.M. Tyree, 4 pages long, “Fire, the Next Sharp Stick” by John Hodgman, about 10 pages, and “Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002 for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One” by Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell, about 17 pages. That’s 35 pages out of 239 that were less tedious than the rest. Out of these 35 pages, I would say that the “Lord of the Rings” one was the best written, but still, I chuckled ONCE (that “Spirit of Christmas” thing). So actually 21 pages out of 239 wear actually of interest. The only “funny” story in the end is the Christmas letter one, and I qualify it with reservation, since it is also very predictable, so only 4 pages were humorous enough to get me to chuckle (not even laugh) once. Out of 239 pages of crap written by a gang of literary high-brow types. I hate wasting my time, but I did on this one.
November 22, 2008
today as i was waiting at the bus stop i was reading the lists at the end of this book and laughing, quite loudly, to myself. unfortunately, i didn't know there was someone behind me also waiting for the bus who probably thought i was a bit of a weirdo. but the book was just too funny to contain my joy. i especially loved the lists at the end, and the essay entitled "on the implausibility of the death star's trash compactor." a few of the essays were too long and not-so-funny, and sometimes i didn't feel so culturally literate - maybe the essay on the lord of the rings would have been more funny had i cared about lord of the rings. who knows. but this is a great book to have lying around and to be able to pick up in short spurts for a quick laugh.
October 13, 2012
A collection of brief humor pieces from the literary magazine and website, written mostly by unknowns and showcasing its erudite, absurdist slant. As with any florilegium such as this, it’s a hit and miss collection. The relatively lengthy piece explaining that the Supreme Court’s decisions are actually arrived at through basketball games played by the justices is far too overblown and tedious; I found Neal Pollack’s nonsensical “Trinity” to be the least funny thing that ever attempted to be funny. Mostly the value in this collection is in the ultra-short, dry pieces that approach pop culture straight-faced, as if it were academia, such as “Pop Quiz,” in which the narrator cluelessly answers song titles that are questions (“Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” – “they have lower standards”), or the interviews with Goofus and Gallant’s friends and co-workers to explain what “pushed Gallant over the edge.” Fun, quick reading, non-essential but worth dipping into.
February 28, 2013
This is a collection of 'humourous' stories that appeared in McSweeney's online and in print. I use the term 'humourous' loosely. Most of it is pretentious junk in which the writer seems to believe he/she is unbearably clever, or simply could not have given less of a shit about what they were writing. There are a few funny exceptions, such as the Supreme Court Justices making all landmark case decisions on the basketball court, and Noam Chomsky/Howard Zinn giving a commentary for 'The Return of the King'. Other than that, one or two clever remarks aside, this is horrible.
Let it be noted, no actual writing from Dave Eggers appears, save for the preface.
I've read other stuff that has appeared in McSweeney's and enjoyed it, so this was extremely disappointing.
Best avoided unless you find actual laughter to low-brow for you.
Let it be noted, no actual writing from Dave Eggers appears, save for the preface.
I've read other stuff that has appeared in McSweeney's and enjoyed it, so this was extremely disappointing.
Best avoided unless you find actual laughter to low-brow for you.
January 4, 2012
Let me begin by saying that I'm a big fan of McSweeney's lists and monologues but I rarely take the time to read much else of their work. However, I was surprised to find this book at my small Mississippi library and I checked it out on the hopes that one day they'll notice some people want to read books that aren't about vampires or decorative floral arrangements.
I found it to be pretty hit or miss - some of the entries made me laugh, some weren't funny and a few were even a bit tedious to get through. It was a decent read, but if I'd paid money for it I'd probably want to punch something in annoyance.
I found it to be pretty hit or miss - some of the entries made me laugh, some weren't funny and a few were even a bit tedious to get through. It was a decent read, but if I'd paid money for it I'd probably want to punch something in annoyance.
April 17, 2008
A collection of extremely short items, mostly no more than four pages. I found some of them mildly amusing, but many were just confusing. I did like the lists section at the end of the book. I got this from the library when I saw a review of a later McSweeney's book in the paper, but now I doubt if I'll bother with that one.
August 13, 2017
5 stars forON THE IMPLAUSIBILITY OF THE DEATH STAR’S TRASH COMPACTOR
Classic
I LOL'd rereading it
He makes some good points. Closed septic systems FTW
Classic
I LOL'd rereading it
He makes some good points. Closed septic systems FTW
January 14, 2008
this book was strange strange strange. Though I did enjoy a few...
August 15, 2008
Humor writing that is not so funny from a bunch of 2nd rate Dave Eggers copycats. :P
November 15, 2009
OK anthology of humor from the magazine/website.
March 16, 2012
This book marks the point at which McSweeney's (who I love) really was too much in love with itself. Some good stories, mostly meh.
June 9, 2012
Not sure why I didn't like this more. I usually love all of their humor pieces on McSweeneys.com.
May 28, 2012
Silly in some parts, dull in others and hilarious in small doses. Definitely read it, but don't expect to be blown away.
November 6, 2013
This is a hilarious collection of inventive, short humor pieces.
June 15, 2023
Humor can be such a mixed bag, and that's pretty much how I feel about all of the McSweeney's I've read so far (Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists and The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes). There were some articles that were better than others, but overall it was just ok.
December 26, 2019
I bought this book based on the humorous titles of the essays, none of which turned out to be humorous. What a rip!
July 3, 2014
SRP (Summer Reading Program) Why Bite: A compilation of humor pieces from McSweeney’s, some are funny, some aren’t, and some are hilarious.
My favorite alternate title for this book: Humor Is Timeless: 1998-2003.
I am not, nor will probably ever be, a dedicated reader of McSweeney’s. I do, however, have a soft spot in my heart for nearly all things San Francisco, and also happen to enjoy Dave Eggers’ writing. Being that McSweeney’s has a certain reputation and specific fan base, I was surprised to find that my local library, in a small, rural desert community that tends to be predominantly blue collar conservative, owned a copy of this book. So of course, it felt like fate and I had to check it out.
While I’m not an avid reader of even the magazine’s website, I have read pieces linked to occasionally by college friends on Facebook. I always found these bits funny, clever, witty and intelligent. While these adjectives could certainly be used to describe several pieces in this collection, unfortunately they do not describe all of them. While the humor seems to be hit or miss, even among the trademark lists found throughout the book and also in a dedicated section at the end, I feel the writers’ aim was true more often than it was way off. Many pieces were moderately funny in a silly fashion, akin to humor found in shows like “Saturday Night Live” (when they have good writing) and the late night shows that include comedy bits and skits. The lists were often as funny as Letterman’s “Top Ten,” a comedy bit which sometimes suffered from the rigid format. The lists have no such restrictions and so vary greatly in length and level of humor. Some pieces were also reminiscent of shows such as “Robot Chicken” and “Family Guy,” witty parodies invoking both academic and pop culture references. These were possibly my favorites. A few pieces were only funny if one possessed the academic knowledge necessary to understand the premise for the joke. One of these made me laugh hysterically, “Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One” by Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell. Another one, “Upcoming Titles from Gavin Menzies, Author of 1421: The Year the Chinese Discovered America” by Paul Tullis, prompted me to google Menzies. I’d never heard of him. Once I knew who the heck the guy was, though, the piece was incredibly funny.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. Compilations are great books to take with you when you are running around town, as you read most of the pieces completely in a manner of minutes, though a few in this particular volume were rather long. So I read this book in short bursts waiting for my son at soccer camp, sitting pool side during his swimming lessons, in line at the post office (Or rather I would have if I had needed to go to the post office.), at the library while my son browsed the children’s section, waiting for the pot to boil while making dinner, etc. I didn’t laugh out loud as much as I wanted, so this book wasn’t perfect. But it was pretty dang close.
Some of my more favorite pieces in addition to the aforementioned and nearly two-thirds of the lists:
“On the Implausibility of the Death Star’s Trash Compactor” by J. M. Tyree (I have some counter points regarding the parasitic worm-creature.)
“I Know What You Did Two Moons Ago (The Revenge)” by Brian Kennedy
“Candle Party” by Alysia Gray Painter (I can totally see this as an SNL skit with Vanessa Bayer playing the part of the host.)
“Journal of a New COBRA Recruit” by Keith Pille (I couldn’t stop laughing at this one, but it might be a generational thing.)
“Pirate Riddles for Sophisticates” by Kevin Shay
“Goofus, Gallant, Rashomon” by Jim Stallard (Please, Seth Green, please do a “Robot Chicken based on this piece!)
My favorite alternate title for this book: Humor Is Timeless: 1998-2003.
I am not, nor will probably ever be, a dedicated reader of McSweeney’s. I do, however, have a soft spot in my heart for nearly all things San Francisco, and also happen to enjoy Dave Eggers’ writing. Being that McSweeney’s has a certain reputation and specific fan base, I was surprised to find that my local library, in a small, rural desert community that tends to be predominantly blue collar conservative, owned a copy of this book. So of course, it felt like fate and I had to check it out.
While I’m not an avid reader of even the magazine’s website, I have read pieces linked to occasionally by college friends on Facebook. I always found these bits funny, clever, witty and intelligent. While these adjectives could certainly be used to describe several pieces in this collection, unfortunately they do not describe all of them. While the humor seems to be hit or miss, even among the trademark lists found throughout the book and also in a dedicated section at the end, I feel the writers’ aim was true more often than it was way off. Many pieces were moderately funny in a silly fashion, akin to humor found in shows like “Saturday Night Live” (when they have good writing) and the late night shows that include comedy bits and skits. The lists were often as funny as Letterman’s “Top Ten,” a comedy bit which sometimes suffered from the rigid format. The lists have no such restrictions and so vary greatly in length and level of humor. Some pieces were also reminiscent of shows such as “Robot Chicken” and “Family Guy,” witty parodies invoking both academic and pop culture references. These were possibly my favorites. A few pieces were only funny if one possessed the academic knowledge necessary to understand the premise for the joke. One of these made me laugh hysterically, “Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One” by Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell. Another one, “Upcoming Titles from Gavin Menzies, Author of 1421: The Year the Chinese Discovered America” by Paul Tullis, prompted me to google Menzies. I’d never heard of him. Once I knew who the heck the guy was, though, the piece was incredibly funny.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. Compilations are great books to take with you when you are running around town, as you read most of the pieces completely in a manner of minutes, though a few in this particular volume were rather long. So I read this book in short bursts waiting for my son at soccer camp, sitting pool side during his swimming lessons, in line at the post office (Or rather I would have if I had needed to go to the post office.), at the library while my son browsed the children’s section, waiting for the pot to boil while making dinner, etc. I didn’t laugh out loud as much as I wanted, so this book wasn’t perfect. But it was pretty dang close.
Some of my more favorite pieces in addition to the aforementioned and nearly two-thirds of the lists:
“On the Implausibility of the Death Star’s Trash Compactor” by J. M. Tyree (I have some counter points regarding the parasitic worm-creature.)
“I Know What You Did Two Moons Ago (The Revenge)” by Brian Kennedy
“Candle Party” by Alysia Gray Painter (I can totally see this as an SNL skit with Vanessa Bayer playing the part of the host.)
“Journal of a New COBRA Recruit” by Keith Pille (I couldn’t stop laughing at this one, but it might be a generational thing.)
“Pirate Riddles for Sophisticates” by Kevin Shay
“Goofus, Gallant, Rashomon” by Jim Stallard (Please, Seth Green, please do a “Robot Chicken based on this piece!)
January 9, 2011
Two stars because this book was hit and miss. Some parts made me laugh out loud and some made me glare at the page in disgust, like, "Hey, that's not funny." Like, "That's not funny in a way that isn't just 'oh man, what a corny joke' but more like 'that's not a joke at all. That's just a labored, cumbersome and random pop culture reference a la Chuck Klosterman or 30 Rock Season 4 and maan am I tired of that shit.'" Like, "Is this author even trying to be funny?"
This book reminds me of this theory I have. It is mostly speculation and admittedly it sounds like I was high when I came up with it! But I wasn't! It's just a half-baked idea! I'm just putting it out there! A brief dissertation on my stupid theory follows!
Let me set up my theory with an assertion. I assert that the 1990's was the decade of pop culture references and irony (see: Weezer's "Buddy Holly" which is a 90's band making a video about a TV show from the 70's about characters who live in the 50's. Also, the rock band Pavement who tried hard to prove to everyone that they weren't trying. Also, the Simpsons.).
Then along came the post-irony of the 2000's. This is like Napoleon Dynamite and Michael Cera. And waalaa! Thanks to Post-Irony, moony-eyed sincerity and social awkwardness is the new snarky (I have ANOTHER theory that this chic naiveté is proof of a psychological regression that happened to our culture en masse in the wake of 9/11. Like, everybody looked into the abyss of human evil and we ended up getting all emotionally weird. "Down home values" were en vogue and everyone wanted to sit at home in jammies, eat comfort food and watch good guys win.)!
So, as technology progressed through the late 1990's and into the next millennia (especially as the Internet blew up) society had quicker access to newer and newer shows. Pop culture began to move at such a breakneck speed that our ideas about what's funny began to become rapidly outmoded (don't believe me? Watch Seinfeld or even Homestar Runner. See? Not funny now.). Thus, irony quickly was replaced by Post-Irony (Michael Cera, remember) and THAT was quickly replaced by Post-Post-Irony in a matter of some years. As a young tech-savvy culture we just couldn't add the prefix "post-" to things quickly enough.
This is all going somewhere. I swear.
So, into what category does this McSweeney's collection of essays, lists, and out-and-out cornball jokes fall? I reckon (and, again, I'm talking completely out of my ass) that it's Post-Post Irony, a brand of humor that was at its inception in the mid-2000's when this book was published. Post-Post-Irony is when you say something but it's buried so deep in irony, so many layers and layers of pop cultural references and parodies of parodies and topical jokes that it becomes completely irrelevant and not at all funny because THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY DEGREES OF SEPERATION and NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. Thus, anything you say can be Post-Post Irony. If the listener doesn't get it, well, that's because "getting it" implies that there is something to be gotten and that whole notion is soooo pre-1990's. Everyone knows that not-funny is the new funny.
Call me old fashioned, but I like a joke that has a set up and a punch line. I'll take a list of corny puns over an faux erudite crack about homeland security ANY DAY.
Do I explain myself coherently? Does my theory hold water? Probably not. Who knows. It makes sense in my head, though. I gave this book three stars because there were some parts that made me laugh out loud and that's a great thing. Right?
September 3, 2009
I think I've had too much McSweeney's in my reading diet this year.
This book is way too full of itself. But what was I expecting? It's McSweeney's! I've found that I get half-way through one of their books, and I just want to stop. The glow of reading something so self-referentially witty wears off after about 125 pages. And then, I feel bad about myself for not wanting to finish a book. I don't need a book to tear me down; I do it to myself well enough!
After extensive discussion on the subject with my husband -- he suffers from the same disenchantment -- we decided that the best strategy is to start a McSweeney's book half-way through. By the time we get tired of it, we'll be done!
Yes, there are funny stories, but just a smattering. I'll tell you what they are so you can skip directly to them:
1. On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor
2. Fire: The Next Sharp Stick?
3. Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One
4. Journal of a New COBRA Recruit
5. Norse Legends Reference Pages
6. The Lists section
That's about 250 pages distilled down to about 40 for you. You're welcome. Considering this book bills itself as "THE BEST" of McSweeney's humor, I'm just shocked that it boils down to such few guffaws.
By far, my favorite was the Lists section, and it really is as it sounds. There is a subject in bold lettering with a list of words or phrases that fit the category. Since I'm so into giving examples for this review, here's an example of a list:
Possible Follow-Up Songs for One-Hit Wonders
"How Are We Going to Get These Dogs Back In?"
"Bust an Additional Move"
"Seriously, Eileen, Come On"
"(Won't You Give Me a Ride Home from) Funkytown?"
"Remember When you Lit Up My Life? That Was Great"
"I Will Now Pass the Dutchie Back to You and Thank you for Passing It to Me Originally Because I Really Enjoyed the Dutchie"
"The Morning That the Lights Came Back On in Georgia"
"Everybody was Kung Fu Making Up"
"Whoomp! There It Continues to Be"
"867-5309 Extension 2"
"We Never Took It and Persist in Our Refusal to Take It"
Are there bad lists -- hellz yes. But I'm done spoon feeding you. Go find out what they are on your own.
This book is way too full of itself. But what was I expecting? It's McSweeney's! I've found that I get half-way through one of their books, and I just want to stop. The glow of reading something so self-referentially witty wears off after about 125 pages. And then, I feel bad about myself for not wanting to finish a book. I don't need a book to tear me down; I do it to myself well enough!
After extensive discussion on the subject with my husband -- he suffers from the same disenchantment -- we decided that the best strategy is to start a McSweeney's book half-way through. By the time we get tired of it, we'll be done!
Yes, there are funny stories, but just a smattering. I'll tell you what they are so you can skip directly to them:
1. On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor
2. Fire: The Next Sharp Stick?
3. Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One
4. Journal of a New COBRA Recruit
5. Norse Legends Reference Pages
6. The Lists section
That's about 250 pages distilled down to about 40 for you. You're welcome. Considering this book bills itself as "THE BEST" of McSweeney's humor, I'm just shocked that it boils down to such few guffaws.
By far, my favorite was the Lists section, and it really is as it sounds. There is a subject in bold lettering with a list of words or phrases that fit the category. Since I'm so into giving examples for this review, here's an example of a list:
Possible Follow-Up Songs for One-Hit Wonders
"How Are We Going to Get These Dogs Back In?"
"Bust an Additional Move"
"Seriously, Eileen, Come On"
"(Won't You Give Me a Ride Home from) Funkytown?"
"Remember When you Lit Up My Life? That Was Great"
"I Will Now Pass the Dutchie Back to You and Thank you for Passing It to Me Originally Because I Really Enjoyed the Dutchie"
"The Morning That the Lights Came Back On in Georgia"
"Everybody was Kung Fu Making Up"
"Whoomp! There It Continues to Be"
"867-5309 Extension 2"
"We Never Took It and Persist in Our Refusal to Take It"
Are there bad lists -- hellz yes. But I'm done spoon feeding you. Go find out what they are on your own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2014
Created in Darkness is a brilliant collection of some of the funniest satire of our age presented by one of the funniest and original publications ever created. The McSweeney’s collections are beautifully curated and offer a great deal to any audience that picks them up. I really love the fact that I can pick these books up and read things, enjoy them as single bites, and then if I want to share them I can legally find them on the website and send a friend a link. They win the traffic, they won my money buying their book, I get some entertainment, and so do my friends.
I had some favorites in this book - the lists were amazing, the recurring Ezra Pound pieces, the review of the trash compactor in Star Wars, Candle Party, The Zinn/Chomsky DVD commentary for Lord of the Rings, How Important Moments In My Life Would Have Been Different Had I Been Shot In The Stomach, Pirate Riddles for Sophisticates, and others. I was surprised at the volume of work Dan Kennedy contributed to the site (and this book), as only knew him from The Moth.
A lot of fun is guaranteed if you pick this up.
Or you could just go to the website for free.
You could kill a tree or burn some coal.
You could shed your humanity, and die a lonely death if you wanted to.
If you read this, that will probably happen a lot less sooner than if you read it on the website, becoming an amalgamation of electricity, bytes, and electrons streaming in your eye holes and causing you to sit in your own human filth until you can upload yourself to the matrix of McSweeneys. The McMatrix. Supersize yourself before you bite the big one. Bite the big one laughing to Michael Ian Black.
That’s the name of my new band, “Michael Ian Black’s Big One”
This isn’t funny, of course. The book is. Ignore this and go read it.
Or look the table of contents up online and read them on the website like a cheap jerk.
Just go away.
I had some favorites in this book - the lists were amazing, the recurring Ezra Pound pieces, the review of the trash compactor in Star Wars, Candle Party, The Zinn/Chomsky DVD commentary for Lord of the Rings, How Important Moments In My Life Would Have Been Different Had I Been Shot In The Stomach, Pirate Riddles for Sophisticates, and others. I was surprised at the volume of work Dan Kennedy contributed to the site (and this book), as only knew him from The Moth.
A lot of fun is guaranteed if you pick this up.
Or you could just go to the website for free.
You could kill a tree or burn some coal.
You could shed your humanity, and die a lonely death if you wanted to.
If you read this, that will probably happen a lot less sooner than if you read it on the website, becoming an amalgamation of electricity, bytes, and electrons streaming in your eye holes and causing you to sit in your own human filth until you can upload yourself to the matrix of McSweeneys. The McMatrix. Supersize yourself before you bite the big one. Bite the big one laughing to Michael Ian Black.
That’s the name of my new band, “Michael Ian Black’s Big One”
This isn’t funny, of course. The book is. Ignore this and go read it.
Or look the table of contents up online and read them on the website like a cheap jerk.
Just go away.
July 2, 2010
Like most humor collections, the selections are a little hit or miss, but by and large it's a terrific book and good for plenty of indie/intellectual laughs.
Of course, that means there are plenty of people who will think it's pretentious and 'too-smart-for-its-own-good.' But if you like smart, sarcastic humor, and don't really care who thinks you're a hipster (or even an ironic, less serious post-hipster) this is a howl. "Created In Darkness By Troubled Americans" knows it has a very specific audience, and couldn't care less if the rest of the world "doesn't get it." And it now has an honored place on my bookshelf along with titles like Steve Martin's "Pure Drivel" and Ian Frazier's "Coyote Vs. Acme."
Not everything is brilliant. "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky for The Lord Of The Rings" is a clever concept that goes on several pages too long, and "A Brief Parody Of A Talk Show That Falls Apart About Halfway Through" was either a poor or deliberate choice to start the book off with. It will confuse and bother anyone not patiently accepting of Ironic Metaphysical humor, and therefore result in anyone not perfectly suited to this book putting it back on the shelf disgustedly.
On the other hand, "Words That Would Make Nice Names For Babies If It Weren't For Their Unsuitable Meanings" is worth a nice, socially mocking chuckle (For Girls: Angina or Calorie), and John Moe's "Cancelled Regional Morning TV Shows" still makes me laugh uncontrollably (particularly "What's the point, Duluth?" "Crispin Glover's Biloxi Morning Zoo," and "Shame on you, Denver!")
Of course, that means there are plenty of people who will think it's pretentious and 'too-smart-for-its-own-good.' But if you like smart, sarcastic humor, and don't really care who thinks you're a hipster (or even an ironic, less serious post-hipster) this is a howl. "Created In Darkness By Troubled Americans" knows it has a very specific audience, and couldn't care less if the rest of the world "doesn't get it." And it now has an honored place on my bookshelf along with titles like Steve Martin's "Pure Drivel" and Ian Frazier's "Coyote Vs. Acme."
Not everything is brilliant. "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky for The Lord Of The Rings" is a clever concept that goes on several pages too long, and "A Brief Parody Of A Talk Show That Falls Apart About Halfway Through" was either a poor or deliberate choice to start the book off with. It will confuse and bother anyone not patiently accepting of Ironic Metaphysical humor, and therefore result in anyone not perfectly suited to this book putting it back on the shelf disgustedly.
On the other hand, "Words That Would Make Nice Names For Babies If It Weren't For Their Unsuitable Meanings" is worth a nice, socially mocking chuckle (For Girls: Angina or Calorie), and John Moe's "Cancelled Regional Morning TV Shows" still makes me laugh uncontrollably (particularly "What's the point, Duluth?" "Crispin Glover's Biloxi Morning Zoo," and "Shame on you, Denver!")
April 7, 2013
If I could give this zero stars I would.
* 48 awful pieces. Worse than hipsters with handlebar mustaches (for whom and by whom this book appears to have been written) or the Tea Party (for whom this book likely represents much of what they can't stand about "liberals").
* 1 piece that had a funny premise but went on far too long. Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky Recorded Summer 2002 for The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Extended Edition) DVD Part One (1)
* 1 piece I didn't hate. Pop Quiz (2)
* 1 piece that I truly enjoyed. On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor--but you can read it online so don't bother with the book. (3)
(1) http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/un...
(2) http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/po...
(3) http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/on...
* 48 awful pieces. Worse than hipsters with handlebar mustaches (for whom and by whom this book appears to have been written) or the Tea Party (for whom this book likely represents much of what they can't stand about "liberals").
* 1 piece that had a funny premise but went on far too long. Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky Recorded Summer 2002 for The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Extended Edition) DVD Part One (1)
* 1 piece I didn't hate. Pop Quiz (2)
* 1 piece that I truly enjoyed. On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor--but you can read it online so don't bother with the book. (3)
(1) http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/un...
(2) http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/po...
(3) http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/on...
March 16, 2009
not my cup of tea. i like absurd humour, not what purports to be clever humour. the only thing in it that really made me laugh very hard was the Journal of a new COBRA recruit because it pointed out the absurdities in the cartoon: why stand quietly and aim when you can just keep running at the target, shooting wildly and yelling COBRA?, for example. and you can find that actually funny column right here for free on the interweb: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2002/01/02c... don't both reading the sequel he wrote, it's boring. :)
also, i have to wonder about the wisdom in putting a whole bunch of lists at the end. they made me fall asleep. i suspect that this book is a toilet book for some people. matthew will be disappointed that i didn't like it, but i disappoint him so regularly, that he should be used to it by now. :)
also, i have to wonder about the wisdom in putting a whole bunch of lists at the end. they made me fall asleep. i suspect that this book is a toilet book for some people. matthew will be disappointed that i didn't like it, but i disappoint him so regularly, that he should be used to it by now. :)
October 24, 2012
I got this book because I was hoping for something that would keep me laughing out loud; unfortunately this book falls short.
The humor in it is startlingly homogeneous in concept: take some lowbrow or absurdist premise and present it as an essay, article, journal, dialog, etc. in a calm, erudite tone. It seems to be more about ideas that are odd to think about than about actual laughter.
Then again, it's possible it's just not my cup of tea and that it's uproariously funny for other people.
That's not to say I don't find anything funny in it at all. There are a number of places where I've laughed--but honestly, I've gotten more laughs out of a lot of serious novels than I've gotten out of this book of humor. It's skillfully written and clever, but I'll have to look for belly laughs elsewhere.
The humor in it is startlingly homogeneous in concept: take some lowbrow or absurdist premise and present it as an essay, article, journal, dialog, etc. in a calm, erudite tone. It seems to be more about ideas that are odd to think about than about actual laughter.
Then again, it's possible it's just not my cup of tea and that it's uproariously funny for other people.
That's not to say I don't find anything funny in it at all. There are a number of places where I've laughed--but honestly, I've gotten more laughs out of a lot of serious novels than I've gotten out of this book of humor. It's skillfully written and clever, but I'll have to look for belly laughs elsewhere.
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