One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories

---

Novak is nimble at showing how easily the ordinary can morph into the extraordinary and adept at making us see the surreal in the everyday. A funny writer with a great ear, but also as a genuine storyteller with an observant eye and finely tuned emotional radar. But he synthesizes those influences and has delivered something wholly original. The longer stories avoid easy laugh-out-loud punch lines in favor of quirky, offbeat twists that showcase his skill as a storyteller.

Accordingly, his more concise stories come across as brainy comedy bits, while his sustained tales covertly encompass deep emotional and psychological dimensions. Written by an author in complete control of his craft. Novak was smart and sexy, but funny, too!? Wow, screw that guy. I would just have spent every day at his feet instead of doing my job. He just keeps kicking short fiction in the rear, making it run ahead clutching its ass, and then he runs up and kicks it some more, and the result is one of the most aggressively, insanely awesome debuts in a while.

Novak Read by B. Buy the Audiobook Download: Apple Audible downpour eMusic audiobooks. Add to Cart Add to Cart. The One where Everyone Hates Math. Another about a woman giving great advice, a guy who stands out with a red shirt and the two of them meeting up. Oh, and I wonder how good of a pillow my keyboard would make. Excuse me, I need a nap.

No, I did not think the book was funny. The book was dry, boring, humorless, pretentious, and weird. The stories were mundane and simplistic, the writing was dull and insipid, and there were only two scenarios that made me even partially crack a smile. Discussion Question for the Author: A You are clever and witty, seeing something no one else could ever see because you are a super special snowflake. You know because your mother told you so. B You are pushing for a non-traditional AKA totally mainstream now type of comedy. Check out some real humorists, such as George Carlin and Robin Williams.

Discuss how they employed humor. Nov 28, Heather K dentist in my spare time rated it it was ok Shelves: I have no idea what to make of this one. Novak tried very hard to be creative and funny, with creative, um, certainly being the key word. Some stories were amusing in a way, but most were just odd.

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories

I didn't laugh, not once, and I think I was supposed to laugh. If you are interested in a collection of random thoughts in short story form, narrated by a series of "The Office" alums, then give it a shot. Just keep your expectations to a m Weird as hell Just keep your expectations to a minimum. Not at all what you expect given the "I am a funny famous person I guess I'll write a book of stories that are pretty much all about me" trend right now. People are going to disagree about this a lot, I think.

I had no idea Novak was capable of such good writing but when he chooses to ditch the traditional and speak directly to the Twitter generation it's really going to piss off purists. I think it's much more interesting how palatable he makes reading so many bits and stories that point out you Not at all what you expect given the "I am a funny famous person I guess I'll write a book of stories that are pretty much all about me" trend right now. I think it's much more interesting how palatable he makes reading so many bits and stories that point out your own hypocrisy, first world privilege and mortality.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Homework assignments for kids everywhere, View all 4 comments. I was skeptical of trying this book but I kept reminding myself that B. Well that's how I talked myself into it. I'm so glad I did! There are sixty-ish stories in this book, varying greatly in tone, subject matter, and length. Julie and the Warlord Sophia the sex robot who falls in love The Beautiful Girl in the Bookstore one of the shortest stories, with my favorite line - "She loved him, but she neve I was skeptical of trying this book but I kept reminding myself that B.

See a Problem?

Julie and the Warlord Sophia the sex robot who falls in love The Beautiful Girl in the Bookstore one of the shortest stories, with my favorite line - "She loved him, but she never quite got over the suspicion that she was just his favorite thing in the bookstore. They bring the stories to life, especially Lena's performance in Julie and the Warlord.

The audio added an entire star to my rating, and 4 stars was going to be pretty great. I recently read a review of Portlandia that described Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein as "deadpan. Novak can be that way sometimes. One story had this line near the beginning, and it isn't just the writing of it but the delivery that had me giggling as I folded laundry: Jan 06, Orsolya rated it really liked it Shelves: You may not know who BJ Novak is. I also dare to add incredibly cute, sexy, intelligent… Okay, sorry.

Back to the matter at hand. Varying in length and composition style; each story has a strong individualistic narrative voice as Novak is able distinguish each character and story but yet maintain a smooth and cohesive strand. Novak is a master at meshing laugh-out-loud moments with deeper philosophy. The stories make the reader think and contemplate layers of topics while also entertaining on the simplest level. Some readers may also be disappointed with some of the page stories which are more like antidotes or thoughts in a narrative form versus a story with a strong skeleton.

On the other hand, even these small musings are interesting and have depth beyond the superficial top coat. This results in the stories feeling more novella-esque and results in a unique appeal to the text. Each story retains believability and is accessible. Perhaps the more odd stories should have been spread out versus clumped together. Make sure to read these! Novak proves he has writing skills beyond stand-up comedy and television. Clearly, Novak would prove quite well to pen a full-length fiction novel do it, Novak!

Feb 06, Daniel Simmons rated it did not like it. One of the most irritating books I've read in a while. In part this is because the author is clearly an intelligent, think-outside-the-box fellow with a lot of good ideas. I just found the majority of these stories unstructured and smarmy, with lots of punchlines but very little payoff. What DOES excite my admiration is his use of dialogue, which is very natural. Feb 04, Alexandra rated it it was ok. I love BJ Novak and the shows he has starred in or been a writer for. So of course I thought I would love this book.

But I found it a little boring. I didn't find it very funny or entertaining. I can't figure out what I'm missing that everyone else seemed to love. I think maybe I'm just not a fan of short stories. Jan 02, Mariah Roze rated it liked it. This book was entertaining! It was full of short stories that had nothing to do with each other. Some of the stories I really enjoyed, others I didn't.

Stories and Other Stories

The first couple stories weren't good, so it took me a while to get into this book. Aug 31, Nada A. Feb 19, Kristen Coates rated it it was amazing Shelves: Then, I bought this book. Before I began reading I cracked the book and read the rear inner flap, which prompted amazement and wonder when I learned that he is a writer beyond the collection I was holding, obviously , executive producer, and double majored in literature at Harvard. I flipped to the first story, ready to be wowed, and was not disappointed for a moment.

I laughed and cried in the same sentence, felt love, shame, curiosity, confusion, frustration, and glee in the span of five page story. It was everything and nothing, it touched a nerve in my core fundamental ideas while dissolving into nonsense a few pages later. His intelligence, depth of feeling, and quirky weirdness radiates from each page, and I want to be his best friend. Link to the book trailer: Apr 17, Jessica S.

I was disappointed by these stories I wanted to like them more than I did. Some of the premises were really fun and fantastic, so full of promise, but they tended to lose momentum and peter out by the end. They often felt incomplete and pointless.

The endings were often super gimmicky don't get me started on the "discussion questions" at the end of a few. Some of the stories just felt like comedy bits--like jokes with punchlines. Overall, not my cup of tea. Feb 03, unknown rated it liked it Shelves: I probably enjoyed this 4 stars but I started to resent it at the end for being short stories.

Mar 21, Troy Blackford rated it really liked it. This, a collection of around sixty 'stories,' was a frustrating book.

'One More Thing' Has A Few Too Many Things, But It's Still Funny

For the first forty percent or thereabouts, I was not enjoying it much at all. The quality of it came in fitful bursts, but there were enough stories here that I did not like at all to make me doubtful of enjoying the whole. Indeed, if you had told me even at the halfway point that I would be giving the book four stars, I would have been astounded. But, I had to admit as I read more and more that the stories I did enjoy were ve This, a collection of around sixty 'stories,' was a frustrating book. But, I had to admit as I read more and more that the stories I did enjoy were very moving, diverting, engaging, or amusing indeed.

Sometimes, they even exhibited a combination of these qualities. I believe the overall effect is marred by the presence of subpar stories. You'll be riding a wave of emotion or respect for the intention of the author, and then then next 'story' some are genuine stories, but there are often just a handful of sentences, representing more of a thought or dare I say it even a skit would be throwaway, or at the very least not an appropriate contrast to the previous entry. Balance in a collection is excellent. Unartful choking off of the previously developed feeling is not. I for one had no objection to the presence of the shorter pieces, when they were good.

I found the format of this book to be sound. It's just that some of the pieces think they are more clever than they are. There is a really disparate quality level here. And I think you can place the blame for the collection being in the form it is at the feet of the current mainstream publishing industry. First off, it's amazing a collection of short pieces got published, as that's a form of writing that is not heavily represented these days.

But the problem is that even these collections have to be 'novel-length. This collection would have been a sublime and powerful novella-length work that I would have gladly given five stars to. In fact, I suspect removing just fifteen of the pieces would have made this collection uniformly good, and taking out twenty or so would have made it genius. It's hard to express, if you haven't read it, why some of the pieces have such a net negative effect on the whole, but in my own estimation they did.

Novak is a writer who is not afraid to use celebrities as characters. At one point, even the aforementioned Stephen King my favorite author makes a cameo. The stories are really enjoyable for the most part, when they are. There's a lot of emotional stuff, hilarious stuff, and interesting stuff. There is also, unfortunately, a lot that is full of itself. For example, we are forced to read a piece where the oft-muttered idea 'If I had a nickle for every cup of coffee I spilled, I'd be rich! We are supposed to be dazzled by the thought-power that went in to working out this concept, or something.

But for me at least, it was jarring, placed as it was between two pieces that actually did something for me. I think, what it comes down to, is character. Pieces focusing on people and their emotions or reactions to the world frequently had the power to move or dazzle. Anyway, this isn't the longest book in the world and I think you should at least try to give it a go.

There's a lot of great work in here, along with some other stuff. Feb 02, Taryn Pierson rated it liked it. Now that The Office has run its course, Novak has released a collection of short stories, a new outlet for his sly wit. Some of the stories are very short, only a few lines. And if you've ever wondered what would have happened if the tortoise and the hare had a rematch, BJ Novak can tell you, and his interpretation of events is logical and satisfying.

Novak's humor is pretty dry, so if that's not your thing, this book might not be for you. He may be spouting jokes, but he keeps such a straight face, you might end up squinting at the page to see if he's serious. If you enjoyed The Office and its occasionally cringeworthy awkward moments, you'll probably be on board with Novak's brand of humor. I've said before that short stories can be a nice break if you're used to reading longer works, and this book in particular is good for that because of the lightness of tone.

I had fun spending a little time in Novak's kooky world, soaking up his wry observations about life and the people who live it. And why carrot cake has the best frosting. More book recommendations by me at www. The stories or characters that are attributed to them are a perfect fit, and Rainn Wilson's voice is particularly well-suited for the stories. My biggest issue with this book is, unfortunately, the writing.

Some of it is sharp and witty, but in some stories it just feels like it is coming from an author who KNOWS he is clever and trying to prove it without really being engaging. Many times he only comes off as pretentious. Though I chuckled a few times, none of the stories made me laugh, which to me means that the author missed the mark. However, when Novak foregoes this style, the results are very moving and interesting stories. Two of them stood out for me: Novak's Harvard English and Spanish major bona fides come through in wry stories about retooling seminal works of world literature for today's readers.

Audetat, Translator of Don Quixote," a would-be poet finds an alternate route to literary fame by translating classics into accessible vernacular English. Quotes from prominent critics' gushing reviews of these audacious new editions — "Audetat blows the cookie crumbs off Proust" — are absolutely hilarious, but Novak undercuts his story by unnecessarily spelling out Audetat's not-so-little secret well after readers have figured it out.

As in David Sedaris' modern-day fables, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk , a surprising number of these stories proceed from absurdity to moral lessons, such as "slow and steady wins the race, till truth and talent claim their place," in "The Rematch. Chewing out his new editor, he confesses that one of the titles he'd been toying with was a mantra of his protagonist, "So far only goes so far.

Read an excerpt of One More Thing. Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player. Novak's new story collection covers everything from carrot cake to artificial intelligence.

Reviewer Heller McAlpin says the book has a few too many things packed into it, but overall, the collection is "wildly promising. Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email. February 11, 7:

• The Seagull (Oberon Modern Plays)
• Empathie und Spiegelneurone (German Edition)
• The Cat That Collected Rabbits
• Fembot Sally And The Fortress Of Doom (Fembot Sally Book 2)
• Was vorhaben muß man: Aphorismen (German Edition)
• Anno Dracula 1918 - Le Baron rouge sang: Anno Dracula, T2 (French Edition)
• Rebekah Armstronge