The Joy of Work - Scott Adams
Rating: 4/5
This book is 60% Adams' twisted and often dated humor, 40% well-delivered practical advice on being creative and funny with solid, specific examples. The split is physically distinct with most of the practical advice falling in the last 40% of the book. The first 50 pages are funny and provide some insight that could be used professionally. The next 100 pages are often funny but just as often dated. The last 100 pages were my favorite and the most valuable if you're looking for more than just laughs. I wanted to love this book. I almost didn't make it to the good part. Perhaps if I was ten years older and read this book ten years earlier, it would have been painfully funny and relevant. As it stands in 2018 the world has become so politically correct and technology changed our social norms to such an extent that much of the work place shenanigans Adams describes are simply irrelevant or impossible. The pranks induce more nostalgia for obsolete technologies and social norms than provide ideas that can be implemented. If anything, Adams highlights how fortunate he was to get ahead of the curve on understanding and leveraging the internet age. Much of humor is timing. And while I enjoy Adams' sense of humor and the way he dispenses it, the time has passed for many jokes in this book. Fortunately, many of the jokes are still funny.
I put this book on my reading list but forgot why. I bought the book at the end of last year and recently got around to reading it without conscious expectations. On page 158 I had such a distinct impression of a change in tone that I made a note. I wrote: this is the page where I started to get what I came here for. It suddenly hit me that I was reading Adams' genuine opinion and advice on creating humor and being creative. Adams includes practical frameworks for doing both through writing and other methods. I added the book to my list for the writing tips. Throughout chapters four and five I questioned the value of continued reading. However, the last 40% of the book was excellent. I believe this part of the book is timeless advice. I made numerous highlights and notes and will be returning to this practical and logical approach to humor as an ongoing reference.
It's interesting that Adams wrote this book when he was about 38 years old. He was only a few years into his career as a full-time cartoonist and yet he had clearly studied his craft before going pro. His provided frameworks and clarity of thought showcase an underrated intellect. His ability to rationally examine situations helps him both identify the humor and draw meaningful insights.
For anyone thinking of reading this book to gain practical insight on writing, humor, and creativity you could safely read pages 1-58 and 157-259 and ignore everything else. Of course, if you were born before 1980 that middle part may be exactly the laugh therapy you need.