Indexed (Paperback)

~ (Author) "This seems like a good place to start..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A unique, hilarious take on the modern world

Jessica Hagy is a different kind of thinker. She has an astonishing talent for visualizing relationships, capturing in pictures what is difficult for most of us to express in words.

At indexed.blogspot.com, she posts charts, graphs, and Venn diagrams drawn on index cards that reveal in a simple and intuitive way the large and small truths of modern life.

Praised throughout the blogosphere as "brilliant," "incredibly creative," and "comic genius," Jessica turns her incisive, deadpan sense of humor on everything from office politics to relationships to religion.

With new material along with some of Jessica's greatest hits, this utterly unique book will thrill readers who demand humor that makes them both laugh and think.

An Exclusive Indexed Card from Jessica Hagy

About the Author

Jessica Hagy is a freelance copywriter. She has won a Silver Clio, Creative Best Award from the Columbus Society for Communication Arts, and more than a dozen ADDY awards for her writing. Her blog, Indexed, was named a 2007 Webby Awards Honoree and was a recent addition to the BBC Magazine online.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Studio (February 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142005207
• ISBN-13: 978-0142005200
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,221 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #31 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Self-Help & Psychology
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Venn will it be indexed?, March 22, 2008

By	Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Venn diagrams are used in set theory to show all of the possible mathematical or logical relationships between sets or groups of things. The diagrams usually consist of overlapping circles. Consider a simple example of a set of all red objects and a set of all apples. One circle represents everything that is red; the second circle represents all apples; and the area that is common to both circles represents all red apples.

John Venn, a British logician and philosopher, created Venn diagrams in the 1800s, and they are used today in set theory, probability, logic, statistics, and computer science. Jessica Hagy has raised the Venn diagram to an entirely new level. She comments on culture through what she calls her "mildly snarky" diagrams.

"I think I learned Venn diagrams in seventh or eighth grade. I hadn't used them a lot before I started doing this. You sort of file them away like the capitals of all the states."

Hagy works in the advertising industry and has done extensive research on American consumer culture. She finds unusual connections: Jesus and Elvis, for example. Rice Krispies and arthritis. Rich old women and pimps.

Sometimes it takes a bit of time for her admirers to discover the connection, even with the help of Hagy's diagrams. But when the "A-Ha!" moment comes, you feel happy and just a little proud of your cleverness.

She's created 1,400 or so of her diagrams on index cards, and posted over 600 on her blog and elsewhere. Almost 100 appear in this book. You may find the diagrams weird; Hagy expects that: "I think everyone brings their own weirdness to it. They interpret in their own way."

Hagy maintains an excellent blog and has contributed to "The New York Times" blog on 'Freakonomics'. This book is a great introduction to her work.

Robert C. Ross 2008

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Open up your right brain, May 9, 2008

By	Frank E. Hurtte "Consultant, Author, Speaker,... (Davenport, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I help companies sell more. Specifically, I help companies sell technical products. In this effort I speak to groups all over the country. I find that good visuals make a good presentation. I purchased "Indexed" to open my mind to better visuals.

This book can be used one of two ways. First, it is a funny and quick "read" (and I use this term loosely because there are very few words - it is visual). Secondly, this book can be reviewed often to stimulate visual representations for your own ideas....

It's not for everybody, but it works for me.

Frank Hurtte
River Heights Consulting

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, May 9, 2009

By	Margaret Gayle (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Ideal for those who tie their organizational sense to index cards, and/or who have a cynical appreciation for how to lie with statistics, and/or who do a lot of charting, graphing or sentence diagramming and have a sense of humor about it.

The book is candy, not science; and once gone through its role as amusing diversion is over and it's ready to be passed on to someone else.