vacationland: true stories from painful beaches

what makes a good book? a lot of different things, really.

preferably, there is a lesson or two you can carry with you after you set the book down. ideally, it holds up a mirror into which you gaze and see yourself and your world reflected back at you with a different perspective than you previously had. with any hope, it moves you emotionally: a good cry when you need it, a nightmare-inducing scare, a guffaw that leaves your abs sore, a smile ear to ear when you’re feeling a twinge of sadness.

i’m sad to say it took me as long as it did to finally get around to reading ‘vacationland: true stories from painful beaches’. i’ve read humorists’ books before and found them wanting, but john hodgman being one of my favorite pseudo-celebrities and best “fake internet judge” (his words, not mine) kept the book on my ‘to read’ list. i’m genuinely happy i saved it.

what makes ‘vacationland’ a good book? a lot of different things, really. but the most important thing? after page turning for hours, it still surprised me in the end.

buy it here. ask them to have john sign it, while you’re at it. (he does it just about every week.)