More strange than superb (Does Anything Eat Shit?: And 101 Other Stupid Questions - Sarah Herman)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	Does Anything Eat Shit?: And 101 Other Stupid Questions - Sarah Herman
Date:	11/04/09 (231 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A few humorous moments

Disadvantages: More dry and uninspiring than anything

'Does Anything Eat Shit?' is quite simply a collection of satirical answers to question you have probably never even thought of. The book was written by Sarah Herman and published in 2007. It has an RRP of £7.99 but can often be found in discount bookstores for a bargain price.

The book itself admits that the world is full of lots of really important questions and that although these deserve answering you will not find such answers within its page. Inside you will find plenty of nonsense, lots of lies and just enough truth to make you double check things with a reliable source. This premise in itself therefore makes it very clear that the book is not going to be a wealth of truth or a fountain of knowledge but more simply a paradoxical take on some of the weirdest and wackiest questions in the world.

The book itself contains 102 answers to such superbly strange questions with each of the answers being roughly 2 - 3 pages in length. This obviously means that they don't delve into great detail but if I'm honest I'm not sure a lot of the answers need anymore detail or even if anymore details exist that could have been included.

Some of the questions that the book answers include:
1. Do jelly babies have feelings?
2. How do they get the seeds out of grapes?
3. Is there any way a smile could light up a room?
4. Are there any contact lenses that can give me X-ray vision?
5. If nobody used deodorant would everyone smell good?
6. Have moles always lived in holes?
7. Why are sloths so lazy?
8. Does the moon taste like cheese?
9. If sea levels are rising what methods are being taken to prevent us from drowning?

And of course the ultimate question:
10. Does Anything Eat Shit?

This sample of questions should have given you an idea of what you are in for should you read this book. I must say however that I did find myself feeling a little let down by what I read. The blurb of the book plus the general modern and jazzy feel of the covers led me to believe that the book would be satirical, paradoxical, ironic and most of all humorous. Unfortunately however I didn't find myself laughing that often and on quite a few occasions did notice that I was thinking more 'what on earth is she writing this for' rather than 'that's interesting' or 'that's funny'.

The book states that it is an alternative take on human curiosity but again I didn't find myself begin particularly curious about any of the topics written about. I knew I wasn't going to find lots of useful informative but I did think I'd be intriguing or at least entertained. This however did not occur on any count and although I would recommend the book for a light read, possibly on holiday, I would suggest you only purchase it if you can find it cheap and I mean really cheap. OK there are a few good sections but not enough in my opinion and this really lets the book down. If you want a satirical take on life and it's many puzzles and questions Jeremy Clarksons' series of books are much better on every front.

If you do find yourself enjoying this book however there are others in the series. I cannot comment on how good they are but I believe the content of them, weird answers to strange questions, is roughly the same. Others in the series include:
Does Anything Eat Wasps?
Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?
Do Worms have Willies?
And Do Polar Bears Get Lonely?

Summary: Not really worth it in my opinion