Customer Reviews

Would You Rather : Over 200 Absolutely Absurd Dilemmas to Ponder

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This book honestly disappointed me. I was excited to order it, hoping that it contained a series of wacky--but thought-provoking--dilemmas that I could use at a party as a fun icebreaker (i.e., copy them onto cards and leave them lying around for people to look at).

The authors deliver on part of the promise; the dilemmas are truly absurd, combining random pop-culture references with silly concepts and situations. Several of the dilemmas posed gave me a moment's chuckle, but they are far too over-the-top to engender any sort of interesting thoughts or discussion. The authors seem much more interested in proving how absurd they can be than in coming up with something that, although odd, illuminates basic values or personality traits. I think this is best illustrated with an example.

From another source I got the following: "Which would you prefer? To have every stoplight turn green upon your arrival for the rest of your life or to have one week of the best sex any person ever had?" In my opinion, this is a silly, but interesting question.

Here is an example taken from the book. "Would you rather be accomplished in the art of oragami but be totally covered in moss or deeply understand the themes of the Porky's [movie] saga but have the head of a Lego man." I find the absurity of this question mildly creative and funny, but the humor is pointless; it doesn't lead anywhere. And this random absurdity wears thin after a while.

If you prefer the second example above, this book is definitely for you. If you prefer the first, forget it.

In summary, I will admit that the book did lead me to ponder something new--that I could round up a couple of my more eccentric friends and in one evening of brainstorming come up with something similar or better than "Would you rather...?"

I truly enjoyed this book because it allowed me to lighten up about "choices" or "dilemmas" or whatever you want to call them. I understand and appreciate the need for self-evaluation, analysis, curiousity, sharing, and developing. I do, however, sometimes need to not go there.

Many people complain this book didn't have the depth they would have liked. There is no depth, but the point isn't to be deep. I feel like the word "absurd" (used in the description on the COVER) points that out pretty clearly. For what it aims to do, the book does well. This book is a great reminder that *sometimes* all that evaluation/analysis stuff just is too much -- missing the point and ruining the fun of life.

"Would you rather...?" is laugh-out-loud funny from the first page to the last. The book was given to me as a present, and I didn't know what to think until I opened up the first page and laughed for about 5 minutes. I read the whole book in less than an hour, and you will, too. It makes a great present or stocking stuffer. Warning: some of the jokes are crude and gross though, so it's not suitable for the pre-teen set.

Of all the Would You Rather...? type books out there, this is by far the best of the best. Never before could I have thought how entertaining a book could actually be. Whenever I am talking with a friend and the conversation goes dull, I simply ask out of the clear blue sky, a question from the book. Keeps the conversation going well on into the night. A hands down winner. A must for anyone who likes to laugh and be perplexed at the same time.

This book is the greatest! I am very shy and used to just stay at home and read my Dungeons and Dragons manuals. But one day, I got this book, and worked up the courage to go to a bar. Well, I brought the book and it (and I) were a huge hit! Everyone was laughing and giving high fives. God bless Heimberg and Gomberg -- you are in my prayers.

The first time I found this book, I was in a Barnes & Noble with a bunch of my friends. At first, we were all standing up, but soon we were sitting on the ground and I think we read through a good portion of the book! I'm surprised that they didn't kick us out of the bookstore, we were laughing so hard! While I absolutely adore this book, I can see how it might not appeal to certain people's sense of humor... I guess. I agree with the person who said that people NOW think they are funny, because I do that too! It kind of spices up the conversation. I don't know how to explain it, but when you say, "would you rather have fangs or a forked tongue?" 99% of the time people will laugh! My friend and I made up our own too! Whenever I read it, it sparks my imagination. For me, (this is going to sound corny but) it has added something to my life. HUMOR!

We got this book for a party and it was the highlight. We had grandma laughing so hard that we had to put her on her resperator. We can't wait for the next one to come out--we go through them so quickly! If you like the books, you should see the whichwouldyouratherdo dot com website as well! Good work, Dave!

This really is not funny or thought-provoking. Dumb examples from pop culture -- way too many. People didn't like it when used recently at a birthday party, and we abandoned it all together in favor of a much funnier, crowd-engaging version of this game: the Zobmondo Book of Outrageous Choices.

and lost it so I got this one in it's place. The questions are really stupid and you don't care to even answer them. The one I had with the pink covers questions were very thought provoking and morally charged, and you did learn a lot about people by going through the book. This is just random dumbness. I threw away money on this.

I loved this book! I gave it four stars because it has some content not suitable for children. Otherwise, it made me roll on the floor laughing hysterically and gave me some good things to ponder.