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A review by tim_ohearn
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
5.0
Recently, I've been toying with the idea of writing my own book. As a writing exercise, I have been developing characters through short stories: real people, composites of real people, people that exist inside my head, and fictional people.
After a few months--about two weeks ago--I started to think that maybe my witty portraits of characters would be more interesting than the concept for the book itself. So, I continued writing, except with a working title. Which meant I meant business.
When I returned to Chicago after an extended vacation, I canceled my Audible membership and went on a shopping spree with my accrued credits. One suggested book was, well, this one. B.J. Novak. The Office. Being from Scranton, I have to be on the lookout for new peripheries of The Office so as to always have new things to say when I meet new people and tell them where I'm from. This seemed a pragmatic choice.
In spirit, what I've been working on is very similar to this book. It's written with similar posture. Though it's less snarky, it's on the same level intellectually. The titles were eerily similar as well. My subtitle being "and Other Stories That Never Happened."
At any rate, imagine how it felt to realize that 1. My concept wasn't original and that 2. My concept, or at least a vaguely similar concept for the exact same audience, had already been published four years ago. I was crestfallen. I mean, what are the chances of me ever having made this discovery?
After a few stories, I began to warm up to One More Thing. Eventually, I really got it. I can't imagine anyone outside of my generation enjoying it to the same degree, though. It's funny but relies heavily on the element of surprise or other devices that can sometimes be irritating. Under the guise of humor by a well-known humorist, more complicated topics are explored with depth and with beauty. Concepts that seemed totally ridiculous and contrived unraveled into brilliant stories that were touching and thought-provoking.
It felt like a book that was written for me. For more reasons than it is similar to a book that I am writing for myself.
After a few months--about two weeks ago--I started to think that maybe my witty portraits of characters would be more interesting than the concept for the book itself. So, I continued writing, except with a working title. Which meant I meant business.
When I returned to Chicago after an extended vacation, I canceled my Audible membership and went on a shopping spree with my accrued credits. One suggested book was, well, this one. B.J. Novak. The Office. Being from Scranton, I have to be on the lookout for new peripheries of The Office so as to always have new things to say when I meet new people and tell them where I'm from. This seemed a pragmatic choice.
In spirit, what I've been working on is very similar to this book. It's written with similar posture. Though it's less snarky, it's on the same level intellectually. The titles were eerily similar as well. My subtitle being "and Other Stories That Never Happened."
At any rate, imagine how it felt to realize that 1. My concept wasn't original and that 2. My concept, or at least a vaguely similar concept for the exact same audience, had already been published four years ago. I was crestfallen. I mean, what are the chances of me ever having made this discovery?
After a few stories, I began to warm up to One More Thing. Eventually, I really got it. I can't imagine anyone outside of my generation enjoying it to the same degree, though. It's funny but relies heavily on the element of surprise or other devices that can sometimes be irritating. Under the guise of humor by a well-known humorist, more complicated topics are explored with depth and with beauty. Concepts that seemed totally ridiculous and contrived unraveled into brilliant stories that were touching and thought-provoking.
It felt like a book that was written for me. For more reasons than it is similar to a book that I am writing for myself.