Review – That is All – John Hodgman

I got this one for Christmas, too. I admit I started reading it before then, here in Morehead, at the bookstore and coffeeshop (mostly trinkets).
Hodgman's segments on the Daily Show, The Areas of My Expertise, his general demeanor – all tickle me in a certain way. Hodgman holds a place in my mind similar to that of Emo Phillips or Mark Twain or (young) Johnny Rotten.
Obviously I don't know the man John Hodgman, only a sort of exaggerated persona, or possibly a character. As I do with Phillips, Twain and Rotten. It takes a certain sort of genius to create something so strong and new and strangely sublime, so my hat is off to Hodgman.
The persona adapted is that of the bookish lecturer and snob, an extremely fallible intellectual. It deals directly with academia, the idea of “expertise,” and epistemology itself, all under a comedic, overstated guise.
But do I like the actual book?
Yes. I very much do.
A part of me wants to criticize Hodgman for using the same format three times in a row, but I'm so glad he didn't stop after the first one. That is All could very well stand on it's own. And there isn't a format that lends itself to this sort of material like the almanac.
There are a few occasions in which Hodgman backs away from absurdity and shows us what he can do. The voice remains the same – aritulate, deliberate, stuffy, aware – but the tone shifts slightly to accommodate this different inner exploration. These brief snaps back into reality make every word of what he's written worth it. Even if the rest weren't amazingly amusing, I would still applaud him for dropping these bombs after presenting himself as nothing more than a jester.
His first book was tied together by hobos, his second by molemen, and the last by ancient and unspeakable gods -a perfect material for the sci-fi nerd and exaggerator. The book is kept consistent by relating every bit of information it contains to Ragnarok, or the Apocalypse, or whatever you want to call it. The second book seemed to be shoddily put together, but this third one is a perfect ending, complete with the big bow and the cherry on top.

Concept – 10/10
Execution – 10/10