One More Thing by B.J. Novack is the kind of book that you want to talk to people about. First, because it’s not a novel, but rather a collection of short stories, so that makes for a conversation piece in itself. (Imagine it: “Read any good novels lately?” “Not really, but I read this clever story that was a twist on award shows…” Maybe only the circles I run in talk like this.) Second, because these are intelligent short stories. Like, I probably really only grasped what he was getting at in about one in five. I wouldn’t want that to be intimidating to readers, though. The stories are written to entertain you, to make you laugh at the absurdity. Especially since the title lines are uttered by a sex robot. These stories are probably also to make us reflect and think just a little, and it even comes with discussion questions (!).
And I want people to know about these stories, but I would probably only be willing to talk about a handful of them in front of the majority of people out there. It’s kind of the same sensation I had while watching the series Black Mirror. Like, people should know about it, but I don’t want to be responsible for recommending it, if that makes sense. It’s like a vulnerability spot about someone else’s creativity that you happened to enjoy, maybe.
It’s also the kind of book that makes you want to write. At least that’s the case for me. I have a deep admiration humor and wit, and this book delivers on both. While reading, I was jealous of the fact that Novack was responsible for coming up with even one of the ideas for these stories. Let alone developing the story idea into something worth reading. Let alone creating a cohesive collection of them! But it’s fine. I’ll just review the book and bring it up in conversation so that I can at least feel like I am seeping it up as inspiration.
Written by Hannah 