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    More Information Than You Require
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    More Information Than You Require
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    More Information Than You Require
    Audiobook12 hours

    More Information Than You Require

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The New York Times bestseller by Famous Minor Television Personality John Hodgman -- The Daily Show's "Resident Expert" and the "PC" in the iconic Apple ads -- picks up exactly where his first book left off. In fact, "the new volume is in every way a continuation of Areas of My Expertise, except in the ways it's clearly superior." (The Onion AV Club)

    In 2005, John Hodgman published his first compendium of Complete World Knowledge, The Areas of My Expertise, a handy volume of fake trivia and made-up facts. Hodgmania was born. Virtually overnight, John Hodgman was whisked from tweedy obscurity to the high ether of minor celebrity. And from his strange new vantage point as a Famous Minor Television Personality, Hodgman realized that there is some world knowledge yet to be documented. And so he returned to exactly where he had left off-namely, page 256 of the paperback edition of The Areas of My Expertise. And he brought with him: MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE. Which, naturally, begins on page 257. Like its predecessor, More Information Than You Require consists of brief articles, overlong lists, frighteningly complex charts, and beguiling narratives on new and familiar themes such as:

    THE PAST (because there is always more of it)
    THE FUTURE (because they say there is still some left)
    MOLE-MEN (including a list of 700 Mole-man names)
    GAMBLING, THE SPORT OF THE ATHSMATIC MAN (including hermit crab racing)
    CRYPTOGEOGRAPHY (including Canada)
    HOW TO BE A FAMOUS MINOR TELEVISION PERSONALITY (Hint: Go on television)

    AND NOW, the relatively pocket-sized and inexpensive paperback edition includes even more.

    MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE, updated to include the very latest in implausibility.

    PLUS!: This paperback edition includes a special self-expanding fold-out edition of THE TAXONOMY OF COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, which you have probably never seen before because it has been carefully hidden. UNTIL NOW.

    Look out for John Hodgman's latest book, Vacationland, available from Viking in Fall 2017.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 29, 2009
    ISBN9781101145807
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for More Information Than You Require

    3.5/5

    190 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      There's not a whole lot to distinguish this from Hodgman's last work. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. His stodgy-professor-of-the-bizarre schtick is still hysterical, although I'm a little concerned by his insistence that he's working on a third book. Comedians say that doing something three times is funny, but if the repetitiveness of More... is any indication, Hodgman has given this horse all the flogging it can handle. Specifically, the mole man history wasn't as good as the hobo history, and while I am curious to learn if Obama has a hook for a hand, I felt as though I'd already read Hodgman's section on the presidents.

      I do have to give him credit, however, for his page-a-day calendar, which, although simple, was far and away the best part of the book. The way he gradually turns the seemingly random events into a story makes it a joy to discover, elevating what would have barely been noticeable as a paragraph somewhere in the book into something that truly stands out.
    • 5/5
      The audiobook is a fantastic way to pass a road trip. Perhaps even funnier than "The Areas of my Expertise", with more interaction with Jonathan Coulton. 700 molemen names AND their occupations is worth the price alone.
    • 4/5
      It was fun, funny and good. Full of interesting and unknown Fictious Truth. The history that never happenned finally explained... I did think that the author was slightly obessed with the Mole-Men and their world... So I kind of jump over it. Loved the trivia at every page... truly an interesting read...
    • 3/5
      I love John Hodgman on The Daily Show. I even like his horribly misleading Mac commercials. I even like books from the rest of the Daily Show family. Why don't I find his funny? I did the audiobook version of More Information than You Require. This is another book of "fake facts" which, as Hodgman points out, are facts nevertheless. He tries to be clever and funny, but the material just isn't there. There are a few moments, like his beg-a-thon pitch for NPR while appearing as a guest on Ira Glass' radio show which ended with Glass "firing" him. But too often Hodgman tests our patience like an over-long Family Guy bit. Last book, it was reading a endless list of hobo names. This time, it was 700 molemen names and their occupations. That bit alone lasted more than an hour and a half -- I guess people paid $10 to sit in the audience during the reading. Several CDs are also devoted to a "daily calendar" in audio form.As much as I disliked his two books, I'll probably buy the inevitable third when it comes out. Meanwhile, I really hope Lewis Black does another -- he's just as funny in audio form as he is on TV.
    • 3/5
      Hodgman's humor is great, but I think it translates better in spoken/visual media than written. Still better than 98% of other books in any given humor section.
    • 4/5
      Hodgman is a little more hit and miss with the funny in this sequel. When he hits he hits hard, but there are too many misses for me to give this book the highest rating. Still, if you liked the first book, this one is definitely worth picking up. It's hard to find a better book of fake facts and trivia.
    • 5/5
      My first reaction to More Information Than You Require that it is piss-in-your-pants hilarious. Or maybe not hilarious? I don't know, but it's exactly the type of humour that keeps me in stitches. You know, lots of deadpan language stuff, and puns. The running gags of "literally*" and the other one of "bullroar" instead of "bullshit" to keep the language clean (while meanwhile using 'shit' or 'fucking' quite regularly) absolutely delighted me.Also, there were any number of literary allusions as well as pop culture allusions and I'm sure that I didn't catch all of them.I really like the way Hodgman starts off with a rather mundane idea, then grows it until it's completely absurd and perhaps even suggesting mental imbalance? when taken out of context. But within the context of the list or anecdote or whatever, it's utterly logical and oh my it's just like Renfield's Madman Logic from Dracula. But anyway.There were a few things that didn't entirely work for me - some of the anecdotes were a little too long without reprieve by lists or tables, which was one of the things I loved about Areas of My Expertise. I mean, the mole-manic stuff was funny, but it felt a little forced in places, like Hodgman was trying to make sure he hit the 366 page count. Likewise, I liked the millionaire minor television celebrity persona used as a character in the book (think of how Colbert the actor/comedian plays Colbert the right-wing pundit), but the egoism of this character (many, many self-references and tangents to talk about himself) started to become wearisome by the end of the book. That said, the outlandish aspects of the character (such as his Upper West Side Observatory, or his Zeppelin) were fantastic.I guess what I'm saying is that this book doesn't follow the "almanac" format quite so closely as the first one, which is occasionally detrimental to the humour. I find that rather than reading it all in one go, it was better to read a section or two at a time, so as not to be overloaded by the whole thing. I suppose it's rather like savouring a particularly sumptuous chocolate cake by cutting a small piece for dessert for a week rather than eating the whole thing for supper.Amongst the things I particularly enjoyed were the daily "this day in history" notes at the top of each page. I was caught up in the weather feud between Richmond and Minneapolis and wondered what strange precipitation would show up next. The notes about the Yale Feline Research had me in stitches. And the section about Coulton, the feral man, was absolutely fantastic (it was referenced in one of the Yale Feline Research notes, too, which literally* slayed me). Oh, and that reminds me of another fantastic point of the book: it's done up as a second volume of a three volume work, with Areas of My Expertise as the first. So the page numbers continue from the first book and there are references and notes pointing to the first book. For example, in the section about Coulton's cat-killing ways, a note instructs the reader to the read about that story in the first book.Overall, I very much enjoyed this book (a little bit at a time) and I am so very glad that I purchased it and it's sitting next to the first one on my bookshelf (hopefully they do not spawn and create a blackhole! I actually do not keep my hardback and paperback copies of Areas of My Expertise together, due to the recommendation not to). If you're not a fan of Hodgman, or you didn't particularly care for Areas of My Expertise (or else you found it pretentious or too long or whatever), then you're likely not to enjoy More Information Than You Require, since it really is very much "MORE." But if you love Hodgman and can't get enough of him? This is definitely worth your time.*not literally
    • 4/5
      Generally quite funny. The guide to our American presidents and the daily almanac entries were perhaps the funniest, but Hodgman really breaks out as a terrific essayist in his consideration of alien abductions, his only explanation for how his wife could have ever ended up with him. Eloquent, warped, and funny, this chapter really struck a chord with me. Wonderful!Perhaps my only real complaint is that in most parts of the book, the writing seems to follow the same formula as works by other Daily Show alumni (Colbert's book, America: the Book, etc.): Start with a seemingly serious paragraph and add a twist at the end with some absurd punchline, keeping a deadpan tone throughout. Of course, it's effective in isolation, but feels a bit tedious if you've read previous books from the same clique.That's really a minor quibble, though. Bravo to Hodgman for this. If I gave extra stars for copious (and humorous) footnotes, this would easily warrant a 5.
    • 3/5
      Another collection of fake facts and fallacious anecdotes, sprinkled liberally with a bizarre obsession with molemen. No idea what the print book is like, because by far the best parts of the audiobook were the cameos from random people like Paul Rudd and Ira Glass, as well as the interplay between Hodgman and his friend Jonathan Colton. A lot of the parts with no costars dragged quite badly: the boring fake jury duty orientation video, the interminable page-a-day calendar (though that did have a couple of funny moments), the weird alternate history involving molemen. The list of 700 molemen names was only fun because it was read before a live audience; it would have been unbearable as just a droning list that went on and on. In short, some of this was pretty enjoyable, but I doubt I'll go out of my way to find the last book in this series.
    • 3/5
      My review of Hodgman's previous book of bald face lies masquerading as reference material can ALMOST equally apply to this entry. While still a delightful distraction from real facts, I didn't care for this one quite as much. While the first book returned to the Hobo Rebellion as a central touchstone (and tickled me every time) this entry uses tales of Mole Men dwelling beneath the earths crust as a similar touch stone with much less consistent success. The entry also seemed to smother the reader a little bit at times as if too accurately spoofing old academic journals. But that being said, if you liked the first you'll still like this and if you should happen across this one first go ahead and read it. No matter what order you read them in, it's still funny and still not true. Amuses me, and I imagine it might amuse John Hodgman too, that second among the top genre/shelves listed by Goodreads readers for this book is "Non-Fiction". This book is many things...but that it ain't.
    • 3/5
      It dragged a little. Less amusing than the first book.
    • 3/5
      A funny book. Many references to Buckaroo Banzai.
    • 5/5
      This book it funny, really funny. In fact, most other comedians and humor writers could learn a lot from reading (or as in my case, listening to) this book.
    • 5/5
      Hilarious. Laugh out loud funny, which can be very embarrassing if you are reading on the train. I would imagine. I'm certainly not speaking from experience.