5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
How do did this man get a book deal?, May 24, 2008
This review is from: 505 Weirdest Online Stores (Paperback)
I was given this book as a joke gift. I doubt I would ever buy such a title to begin with, it is basically a bathroom reader. None of the websites featured are shocking, interesting or even unusual. The very nature of the internet is that nearly every fringe interest group or product is represented. So assembling a list of 505 "weird online stores" is easy enough yet the author fails to impress.
Some of the Mr. Crowley's lamer selections for WEIRD ONLINE STORES are: Jib Jab, a well known satire site and not so strange. Amish Mart, not so shocking that the Amish would sell merchandise on the internet who isn't at this point?, Richard Simmons Store, the man has a devoted following why is it shocking he might have a website. Ripley's Believe it or Not, a well known brand, is it so weird that they would have a website? Lame, lame and lame. What is next a website devoted to just socks? What is the world coming to???? Any fool can surf the web for minutes and find some utterly shocking, hysterical and or disturbing websites such as The Real Doll, Cats that Look Like Hitler, etc. etc. etc. , Mr. Crowely's examples are tame and obvious indeed!!!
On top of not being interesting the book is also not funny. After a brief description of the websites the author gives his "verdict" on the online stores, his tone is judgmental, smug, snide, and NOT FUNNY! So is the author of the book related to a publisher? How did this get a book deal, and this his second book? The book claims he is an 18 year old honor student which if true would explain his lack of perspective beyond, "Richard Simmons is plain weird", or "Why are Amish people so against electricity?" YAWN!
On top of the poor writing, and lame websites, the book also has an obvious politically right wing bias. A casual buyer would not expect passages praising George W. Bush, the disgraced Donald Rumsfeld, or the hateful Ann Coulter, all the while bashing former president Bill Clinton. Why is any of this necessary in a seemingly light hearted book about weird online stores? Generally speaking if people want to read about politics or political humor they buy political books, here the political agenda was jarring and out of place.
If I had a birdcage, this book would be lining its bottom. I am glad I didn't pay for it, but I am sad that anyone would.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
My website made it to the book!, January 11, 2008
This review is from: 505 Weirdest Online Stores (Paperback)
Unlike the professional book reviewers, I actually found this book when I was doing a Google search for myself. My website is 'reviewed' so I figured I would buy the book and read the review.
Hence, my review of this book will not be a re-write of the dust jacket.
The write-up of my website (store) is pretty much what I would expect from a teenager reviewing websites: sarcasm. Reminds me of being young. I like that. I was a bit like the author when I was younger so I forgive him for his summation of my website.
Still, I bought the book and showed my whole family. They all either laughed hysterically (the men) or took personal affront (the women) to the authors words.
I, of course, laughed.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation, And Much More!, May 22, 2005
This review is from: 505 Weirdest Online Stores (Paperback)
This is a wonderful book for those who like laughing at the excesses of the Internet. Many of the sites in this book are designed to be laughed at ("Naked Dancing Llama"), but, disturbingly, many are not ("Villisca Axe Murderers"). The scope of the book is quite comprehensive and everyone I have shared the book with has been simultaneously mortified and amused. Some of my favorite sites from the book are "Bob Barker Prison Supplies," "Ornithopter Zone," "Texas Bigfoot Research Center," "Pole Vault World," and of course "Air Sickness Bags," a site for collectors of (what else?) airsickness bags (www.airsicknessbags.com.) Really.
While many of these stores ("The British Lawn Mower Museum") are not designed primarily as stores, all of these sites have something to sell, from designer diapers from Montana, to wooden computer peripherals.
This book is eye opening, hilarious, and just a little bit frightening.
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