Customer Reviews

The Snark Handbook: A Reference Guide to Verbal Sparring (Snark Series)

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

 

 

I found this in a local bookstore and figured it was worth a look based on the title. It's not just a few one-liners, or repeating jokes about sarcasm, the author did a pretty good job sorting it all out and pointing out how funny it can be to mock others. I'm a big fan of the sarcastic comment, so I may be a bit biased, but I've been keeping the book at work, and it's been a hit among my co-workers so far.

Snark is in my soul. I thought I had a handle on it, but this book gave me a rude awakening. I thought I was snarky and I was wrong! Apparently to be a champion snarker you must pick apart people by any flaw they have and be an arrogant, misogynistic twit that has no real understanding of women. I have been doing it wrong the whole time. Now that I have my trusty repertoire of lame jokes, quotes and lists of movies and books that may or may not contain a hint of witticism I am ready to be a true snarkest! THANK YOU SO MUCH LAWRENCE DORFMAN!!!! You changed my life. You have actually inspired me to put together my own book. Now I know that all I need to do so is gather up a few quotes and references and intermittently make dense jokes, I am ready!

If you have any concept of what real snark is this book will bore you senseless. You will stop and ask yourself "Does the author know about different types of humor?" I sure don't think he does. He lumps anything that could be considered mean, sarcastic, sexist, etc... into the snark category and often forgets that wit and intelligence play into it. It is hard to be condescending when there is no one below you to look down on(I'm looking at you Dorfman).

Another thing, the citations were enough to drive a person crazy. Especially on a Kindle. You know you can do that in text, right? Especially since the book is set up like a kid's activity book. I'm glad I only paid 99 cents. Try harder Dorfman. I haven't given up on you yet.

Dorfman's "The Snark Handbook" is a fun and mildly informative primer on snark. And if you are already somewhat snarky, the tips, quotes, and anecdotes in this little guidebook will elevate your snarkiness. If you aren't much of a snark, however, the quotes, examples, and advice Dorfman marshals will have you snarking in no time...

There are a dozen or so chapters presenting snark as it relates to sex, children, work, movies, literature, and religion, among others. The strongest -- and funniest -- snark comes from (no surprise here) sex, relationships, children, and work. Some of the more entertaining and scathing snark:

"I went to a meeting for premature ejaculators. I left early" (Jack Benny)
"Could you undress closer to the blinking red light?" (unattributed)
"You can't buy love, but you can pay heavily for it." (unattributed)
"My mother never saw the irony of calling me a son-of-a-bitch." (Jack Nicholson)
"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." (Bertrand Russel)
"There is no I in team, but there are four in platitude-quoting idiot." (unattributed)
"Drugs may lead to nowhere, but at least it's the scenic route." (unattributed)
"Rehab is for quitters." (unatttributed)

And I especially love the nod to Washington, DC mayor-for-life, Marion Barry: "If it weren't for the killings, Washington would have one of the lowest crime rates in the country."

This is an entertaining read that, at its best, will improve your snarkiness or, at the very least, impart a few memorable, snarky quotes.

This book is a bit misleading. Both, introduction and preface, seem entertaining and after reading them I was persuaded to buy it. I however regretted shortly after. It turned out to be a collection of comments, remarks and jokes, which are at most, mildly amusing. If you find it on sale go for it, or else you can skip it. I've read a lot of books with a similar idea which are far more better.

This is more than a book of hilarious tales. It is a celebration of an attitude we all wish we could express so winningly. Buy one for yourself, buy one for a friend - raise an eyebrow and spread joy !

The compiler (or author, if you insist) has attempted to conceal the fact that this is merely a collection of funny quotes through the misleading title and by adding a few introductory paragraphs. But the book is almost entirely quotes. There are also a few jokes of the assorted quality and type that your buddy from college mass e-mails. I enjoy quote books, and there are at least 3 or 4 in the book that I don't recall seeing before. But the vast majority of the quotes will be familiar to many readers, the jokes have mostly been around for generations, and the comments from the compiler are unfunny at best. In addition, many of the quotes are misattributed, not attributed at all, or, most oddly, attributed to fictional characters.

In short, the book is not really specifically about snark, since it includes humorous quotes and jokes which have nothing snarky about them. It's not a reference in that it is inaccurate or omits information that could have easily been included. It is not a guide in any conceivable sense-- it will teach you nothing about how to be snarky, to be specific. It is not about verbal sparring in that many of the included quotes are wholly self-contained and would make no sense in a verbal confrontation. It's a fine quote book for people who don't read too much.

You want some snark in this review? OK: I wish the resale value hadn't been made negative by the author's signature on the title page.

Bought this book as family present for the holidays. Everyone enjoyed reading comments and quotes . Very humorous .

Very well done; laugh out loud type material. A great gift. I bought eight.

Do you remember all those chain emails of quotes that colleagues have passed on to you? You know, the ones where you give a little half hearted laugh and a small shake of the head that is code for "I hope you get hit by a bus for sending me this." Yeah, well those emails were dense enough that a gravitational field developed and formed this book.

If you like chain emails, your computer crashed and you lost them all, or if you find The Daily Show and Colbert Report the height of comedy/snarkiness (as the author did), then by all means this book would be perfect for you. However, if you expect funny and/or original content don't make eye contact with this book, it will stab you in the back and leave you to bleed out in the book store. Its 168 pages long and has a (and I'm being generous) 15 pages of original text.

It scares me that this was a gift, because all I can do now is wonder if the person meant well or is really mad and me.

THE SNARK HANDBOOK: A REFERENCE GUIDE TO VERBAL SPARRING is for 'enhancing one's inner snark' to combat bureaucratic failings. The snark state can actually be a powerful tool for argument and conversation, and this reference - broken down into fourteen key topics - teach how the snark operates in everyday life. Any general library will find this both humorous and pointed.