Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Booknote: When Did Ignorance Become a Point of View?

Scott Adams, When Did Ignorance Become a Point of View? Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel, 2001. ISBN: 0-7407-1839-8.

Genre: graphic novels and comics
Subgenre: humor, workplace
Format: Trade paperback
Source: I bought this one, on clearance, at my local Hastings. 


I do enjoy the Dilbert comic strip, but this volume was underwhelming, and I was not impressed. Many of the strips just felt flat. Allow me to post a bit from the book's description:

"In his eighteenth collection, Scott Adams still has the corporate world guffawing about the adventures of Dilbert. . . " .

Guffawing is way too much wishful thinking for this volume. Yes, the Dilbert comic strip can be funny and make you laugh at times. Heck, there have been strips I've related to and strips I've shared with coworkers to ease the pain of work a bit. Unfortunately, none of those strips were included in this volume. Even the strip that provides the title of the book was not funny. It was relevant, especially in today's social climate, but it felt a bit flat and depressing rather than amusing.

Overall, I've read better volumes of this series, and you should seek those instead, especially some of the earlier ones. This volume pretty much felt like Adams was just phoning in the work. The snappy humor and situations that you often shared with colleagues are just not there. It feels more like something the author put out just to grind something out (and probably make a few more bucks in the process).

At least I do not feel too bad having paid for it. It was on the clearance shelves at my local Hastings for a buck or so. Given the quality, I am starting to see why. If you must, just borrow it.

2 out of 5 stars, barely.

This book qualifies for the following 2016 Reading Challenges:




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