B.J. Novak's One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories is an endlessly entertaining, surprisingly sensitive, and startlingly original debut that signals the arrival of a brilliant new voice in American fiction.
A boy wins a $100,000 prize in a box of Frosted Flakes—only to discover that claiming the winnings might unravel his family. A woman sets out to seduce motivational speaker Tony Robbins—turning for help to the famed motivator himself. A new arrival in Heaven, overwhelmed with options, procrastinates over a long-ago promise to visit his grandmother. We meet Sophia, the first artificially intelligent being capable of love, who falls for a man who might not be ready for it himself; a vengeance-minded hare, obsessed with scoring a rematch against the tortoise who ruined his life; and post-college friends who try to figure out how to host an intervention in the era of Facebook. Along the way, we learn why wearing a red T-shirt every day is the key to finding love, how February got its name, and why the stock market is sometimes just . . . down.
Finding inspiration in questions from the nature of perfection to the icing on carrot cake, One More Thing has at its heart the most human of phenomena: love, fear, hope, ambition, and the inner stirring for the one elusive element just that might make a person complete. Across a dazzling range of subjects, themes, tones, and narrative voices, the many pieces in this collection are like nothing else, but they have one thing in common: they share the playful humor, deep heart, sharp eye, inquisitive mind, and altogether electrifying spirit of a writer with a fierce devotion to the entertainment of the reader.
From the Hardcover edition.
A boy wins a $100,000 prize in a box of Frosted Flakes—only to discover that claiming the winnings might unravel his family. A woman sets out to seduce motivational speaker Tony Robbins—turning for help to the famed motivator himself. A new arrival in Heaven, overwhelmed with options, procrastinates over a long-ago promise to visit his grandmother. We meet Sophia, the first artificially intelligent being capable of love, who falls for a man who might not be ready for it himself; a vengeance-minded hare, obsessed with scoring a rematch against the tortoise who ruined his life; and post-college friends who try to figure out how to host an intervention in the era of Facebook. Along the way, we learn why wearing a red T-shirt every day is the key to finding love, how February got its name, and why the stock market is sometimes just . . . down.
Finding inspiration in questions from the nature of perfection to the icing on carrot cake, One More Thing has at its heart the most human of phenomena: love, fear, hope, ambition, and the inner stirring for the one elusive element just that might make a person complete. Across a dazzling range of subjects, themes, tones, and narrative voices, the many pieces in this collection are like nothing else, but they have one thing in common: they share the playful humor, deep heart, sharp eye, inquisitive mind, and altogether electrifying spirit of a writer with a fierce devotion to the entertainment of the reader.
From the Hardcover edition.
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3
bennettgavrish
(Grade: B+) Novak showcases an insane amount of literary skill and cleverness in this collection. His perspective on life in the modern world is both hilarious and emotionally engaging. The first half of the book is stronger than the stories in the back half, many of which are one-pagers that read more like tweets or stand-up comedy bits.
(Grade: B+) Novak showcases an insane amount of literary skill and cleverness in this collection. His perspective on life in the modern world is both hilarious and emotionally engaging. The first half of the book is stronger than the stories in the back half, many of which are one-pagers that read more like tweets or stand-up comedy bits.(Rated on Feb 24, 2015)
1
bpagano
(Grade: B) I was really impressed by this book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was very reminiscent of Woody Allen at his best. These are short, punchy stories that make you laugh while yanking the covers off the absurdity of the human condition.
(Grade: B) I was really impressed by this book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was very reminiscent of Woody Allen at his best. These are short, punchy stories that make you laugh while yanking the covers off the absurdity of the human condition.(Rated on May 3, 2014)
1
RemusLupin
(Grade: B) I'm not usually a huge fan of short stories, but this collection was very enjoyable. The stories ranged from short and punchy, to poignant, to surprisingly funny. I looked forward to flipping the page to see what would come next.
(Grade: B) I'm not usually a huge fan of short stories, but this collection was very enjoyable. The stories ranged from short and punchy, to poignant, to surprisingly funny. I looked forward to flipping the page to see what would come next.(Rated on Feb 24, 2015)
1
SniffaCat (Grade: C) It took me a while to get through this book; I just dipped into it over a week or so, rather than whizzing my way through. A few of the stories were enjoyable, whilst some made you wonder why they bothered; they felt more like jottings of an idea of a story or something funny the author wanted to develop later - a pitch they were making.
(Grade: C) It took me a while to get through this book; I just dipped into it over a week or so, rather than whizzing my way through. A few of the stories were enjoyable, whilst some made you wonder why they bothered; they felt more like jottings of an idea of a story or something funny the author wanted to develop later - a pitch they were making.(Rated on Sep 24, 2014)
1
pancakes
(Grade: C) This is a collection of short unrelated stories that revolve around the culture of today. There are a few gems that were funny or ibsightful but mostly its just a quick read.
(Grade: C) This is a collection of short unrelated stories that revolve around the culture of today. There are a few gems that were funny or ibsightful but mostly its just a quick read. (Rated on Jul 24, 2016)