The Snark Handbook: A Reference Guide to Verbal Sparring

by Lawrence Dorfman

It’s impossible to go a full day without using snark, so why fight it? Snark is everywhere, from television to movies to everyday life. This lively collection provides hours of entertainment—better than an Etch A Sketch, and more fun than Silly Putty! At the heart of it, being in a state of snark can be one of the most useful tools at one’s disposal and hence (yes, I used “hence”), a powerful way to get what you want. With snark, you can catch people completely off-guard, and royally piss them off

Included here is the Snark Hall of Fame, the Best Snarky Responses to Everyday Dumbassness, and much more. It’s a book that will make you laugh. It’s a book that will make someone else cry. It’s a book every student of the American psyche (that’s all of us, Sparky) needs to have. Let loose. Let your inner anger become a positive rather than a negative, but most of all, have fun. (Yeah, like that’s something you know how to do.)

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Language, Reference, Comedy, Amazon, Audiobook

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Lawrence Dorfman has more than thirty years of experience in publishing, where he honed his snark chops. He lives in Hamden, Connecticut, like you really care.

Reviews

[Shek · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's a book called The Portable Curmudgeon that came out in the late '80s or early '90s (still in print!), which is a great compilation of quotes from the likes of Dorothy Parker, WC Fields, Oscar Wilde, and Fran Leibowitz, with a minimum of intrusive editorializing on he part of the author.

This book, on the other hand...

It contains a sprinkling of the kinds of quotes that can be found in The Portable Curmudgeon (buy it today! http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Curmud...), but which are mightily pulverized by a dumptruck-sized helping of jokes I learned in middle school, jokes I would have been beaten up for telling in elementary school, rejected MAD Magazine rip-off pitches, punchlines from newspaper comic strips, widely-quoted jokes from TV show characters, bad puns, AWFUL puns, and jokes that you previously avoided by deleting 75 separate email forwards from Uncle Spiros without reading them. Plus a meandering, unfunny introduction that reads like the author was desperately chasing a word-count minimum.

A pop-culture cash-in book on the sudden and immense popularity of the word "snark", if the cousin no one wants to sit next to at Thanksgiving landed the book deal to write it. What a slog. If I never needed to poop I wouldn't have read past page 1.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love snark. Snark and sarcasm runs in my blood, so naturally I needed to read this book. It gives instructions on how to be snarky as well as how to identify snark, but there are people who will simply never get it (it does make snark easier for those of us that do!). There are some great one-liners like: "I didn't say it was your fault. I said I was going to blame it on you" and "If ___ were captain of the Titanic, he'd say we're stopping for ice."(--go ahead and fill that in with Trump).

Some great jokes like "What's the difference between a Northern fairy tale and a Southern fairy tale? Northern ones start 'Once upon a time...' and Southern ones start 'Ya'll ain't going to believe this shit...'". Snark about religion, movies, work, sex, you get the picture. I think everyone needs snark in their life and this is a good starting point.

[P.J. Colando · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written years ago and was a good refresher course. Much needed in the present climate of acrimony, not bliss, in conversational exchanges.

[Cate's Book Nut Hut · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my Husband gives me a book and suggests I read it, I usually do as he’s not an avid reader; so when he gave me this one I sat and devoured it in a couple of hours.

If you’ve ever walked away from a situation wishing you could have come out with a witty remark or comeback to a comment someone made, then this is the book for you. Likewise, if you are looking for something that will bring a smile to your face on an otherwise long and boring journey (providing you’re not driving that is)then again you might want to consider picking this little gem up to travel with.
It is packed from cover to cover with asides and comeback from the famous and not so famous, some are a little juvenile in their delivery but all will make you laugh; and if travelling on an aeroplane as my Husband was when he read it, apparently make your fellow passengers laugh too.

The book is short and sweet and, by no means will it turn you into a verbal sparring heavyweight by the time you finish it, but it will keep you highly entertained. It is immature in places, as I’ve already said, but if we let our inner children die from lack of feeding then life will just become mundane. Feed this one to your inner child and it will be satisfied for a while.

I would recommend this book to anyone that appreciates life is for living and enjoying and not to be taken too seriously.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/15...


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

[Paul Brain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I had one laugh. That’s it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snarking is a social phenomenon we need to reckon with. First, we need to understand and be able to recognize it. Before this author launched a tsunami of Snark books on a variety of topics, there was plenty of material out there. "The Portable Curmudgeon" by Jon Winokur is a timeless classic that dredges up brilliant insights from noteworthy writers, politicians and pundits.
This edition popped up on a discount site for Kindle readers and the blurb that promised to teach readers how to frame zippy comebacks enticed me to point and click. Midway through, it seemed like the book overpromised and underdelivered. It contained a lot of filler and stale jokes. It had me wishing that I had borrowed of the ebook for free from our local lending library; however, when I browsed to check if they had, it seemed our online library had 10 other titles by the same author on snarking but not the reference guide. So I borrowed the snark handbook on politics.
This edition was far superior to the reference guide with more humor, zingers and other stuff to subtly import into my vocabulary and discourse. Perhaps it really means that politicians are juicier targets for ridicule and snark. Oddly enough, after digesting the Politics edition in one sitting, the Reference guide became more palatable, warranting a modest upgrade. Any book that can elicit a good belly laugh is worth reading, especially if it is less than 200 pages with lots of page length illustrations.

[Rex Libris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would have, I think because I went into it with a false set of expectations. I thought "humor" means "funny," but apparently for the author it means "rude."

There is an art to put-down comedy, as opposed to being vulgar and insulting. The old time comedians quoted in this book understood it, and as a result they have great library of jokes that have withstood the test of time.

Many of the newer comics and so-called entertainers think they are smarter and more clever than everyone else, so therefore whatever rude insult they hurl at people is automatically funny. But they are not funny, let alone clever. They are just political hacks and total jags.

[Renee Svendsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of snark and sarcasm so this book was like a doctor's prescription for me. I didn't laugh out loud a lot, but I found myself reading a snark and then thinking about who I should use it on. In today's environment, there are tons of people and events that are snarky moments. My regret is that I don't remember many of them for future use - there is, however, a really good index so if you have a little prep time before the snark you can look it up. One reviewer said they and a friend read it to each other and they ended up laughing to the point of tears. I think that would be a great way to enjoy this.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, but definitely not an audiobook. This was offered as a member perk by audible, and while it was hilarious at times, it's clearly meant as more of a coffee table (or perhaps back-of-the-toilet?) light read meant to be read a few pages at a time.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just meh

Some good, some funny, some snarky, but not enough to make it truly snark. Look for the gems, they are there.

[iris young · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too snarky for me...

Curiosity that killed the cat killed my interest way to quick! I suppose I disappointed a lighthearted version of snark?😂

[Hadrian · Rating 1 out of 5]

As witty as any truck stop trinket.

[Shelley Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Some original snark. A BUNCH of old redundant snark.
It was light & entertaining. What I needed at the time.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less "A reference guide to verbal sparring," and more a collection of jokes - probably mostly sourced from wikiquote.

Still, worth the $2 I paid for it. Wouldn't stretch to 5 though.

[James Athey · Rating 5 out of 5]

O

[Christopher Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is old and tired literature written by someone who probably voted for Donald Trump. Skip.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this small book. It was a collection of snarky remarks for different situations.

[William Sadowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was short, sweet, and above all else, filled with snark and snide remarks for all facets of life. Although it will not turn you into a verbal sparring heavyweight, able to crack back with the quickest of quick wits, it will keep you entertained for quite a few hours. While the one liners that scroll across the bottom of the book are hardly new, the book does contain some side-splitting quotes, especially from the likes of Earnest Hemingway and Dorothy Parker. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good laugh, and who knows, maybe you might even pick up some quips along the way.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! I did expect a book titled The Snark Handbook to be more of a how-to than a list of quotes. On the other hand, as the book says, when it comes to snark either you've got it or you don't. If you've got it, you'll love this book. If you don't, don't bother reading it. You'll just sprain your brain.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy read and I did enjoy it. I just wish there was more actual advice in the book. It was mainly just quotes, sayings, and jokes that were snarky. There was a short chapter at the end with advice and "drills" but that was it. Still, the quotes were funny and helpful and I enjoyed the book

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book with a friend during a lengthy bus ride resulted in both of us laughing so hard tears were running down our cheeks! Maybe it was due to the day's events, the timing of the ride home after a long day, or because the quips provided are so accurate and hilarious, who knows but boy, what a treasure trove of sarcastic wit.

[John]

I've often wondered what was the difference between being witty and sarcastic or negative and snide. I am finding that "snark" is that fine line. When done too often, such sarcasm verges on the bring of being campy. Done well, such comments can reach the heights of urbane.

[Todd Beauregard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing more than a collection of one-liners with about 30 seconds worth of insight interspersed. Poorly edited and sophomoric. Bathroom humor and gags that are based on and appeal to a silly sense of immaturity.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent funny book. I was surprised that it was just a collection of quotes with just a tiny bit of actual written parts...

It did make me laugh, though, and it was super quick to read. Good bathroom or coffee table book.

[CLM]

My friend Larry's book!

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a compilation of snark, and although I like it as much as the next person, it seemed like a snarky excuse to sell books. Write much?

[Jocelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of jokes and one-liners. Some of the content I had read in top-100 lists on the Internet 10 years ago.

[Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

SO funny! Filled with sayings and stories that are hilarious!

[Gracee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do I really need a book to tell me what I already know? ;)

[Shaida Hossein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely the book I needed to break up all the intensity I have been reading about recently. I love it and I cannot wait to use some of the snarky remarks in my life!