Customer Reviews

Out There: One Man's Search for the Funniest Person on the Internet

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, let me say that I am biased. My web site is mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 2. When henry first contacted me my first thought was "Uh oh, this looks like a process server trying to locate me." Imagine my surprise when he told me he had written a book and I was in it. When he sent me a complimentary copy I read it and found my self chuckling in agreement, especially in his opnion of people posting to my web site. So I consider this a must buy if you are looking for interesting sites on the web.

I'd say that if you are unfamiliar with Henry ALford's work, this is probably not the book to get. Look at Municipal Bondage, his first book; or, if you're interested in show business, Big Kiss, his third book.

Out There is fun, but it's not really stunt journalism, which is what he's best at.

This brief volume brought me a lot of joy; specifically, I had tears of laughter during the dialogues with the artifical intelligence called AOLiza. Reading Out There is not unlike reading the front section of Harper's Magazine, where you find a lot of fascinating raw data; it also reminded me of that TV show in England that's an anthology of outtakes from that week's most bizarre (and hilarious) cable TV shows. Alfred's book takes a highbrow approach to a lowbrow topic, which makes for some fascinating cross-pollinization.

There are some real gems in this book, like the dialogue between an artificial intelligence named Liza and a 23 year-old guy who, not knowing he's talking online to an artificial intelligence, hits on her. Priceless. Also amazing: a rabbi who writes a column about the joys of gun ownership. ("Why turnbolt over semi-auto for long-range accuracy work?") I also laughed at the bed and breakfast owner whose ad says, "Everything is garnished." Love that.

The chapter on sneeze fetishism (who knew?) is absolutely wild. I'm scared.

Perhaps I'm quibbling, but I am predisposed to favor authors who know their place. It is all very well to be an eloquent and elite user of words, but some who fit this description feel the need to showcase their writing ability at 15,000 words a clip. To which I say, No, no, no - you are not really writing a book; you are someone who is taking advantage of a publishing contract at Random House by having a novelty book published that dismally fails in it's efforts to find the funniest person on the internet!