One More Thing

Stories and Other Stories

By: B. J. Novak

Narrated by: B. J. Novak, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Jason Schwartzman, Katy Perry, Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, Julianne Moore, Carey Mulligan, Emma Thompson

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

B.J. Novak's One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories is an endlessly entertaining, surprisingly sensitive, and startlingly original debut that signals the arrival of a brilliant new voice in American fiction.

A boy wins a $100,000 prize in a box of Frosted Flakes - only to discover how claiming the winnings might unravel his family. A woman sets out to seduce motivational speaker Tony Robbins - turning for help to the famed motivator himself. A new arrival in Heaven, overwhelmed with options, procrastinates over a long-ago promise to visit his grandmother. We also meet Sophia, the first artificially intelligent being capable of love, who falls for a man who might not be ready for it himself; a vengeance-minded hare, obsessed with scoring a rematch against the tortoise who ruined his life; and post-college friends who try to figure out how to host an intervention in the era of Facebook. Along the way, we learn why wearing a red T-shirt every day is the key to finding love, how February got its name, and why the stock market is sometimes just...down.

Finding inspiration in questions from the nature of perfection to the icing on carrot cake, One More Thing has at its heart the most human of phenomena: love, fear, hope, ambition, and the inner stirring for the one elusive element that might just make a person complete. Across a dazzling range of subjects, themes, tones, and narrative voices, the many pieces in this collection are like nothing else, but they have one thing in common: They share the playful humor, deep heart, sharp eye, inquisitive mind, and altogether electrifying spirit of a writer with a fierce devotion to the entertainment of the listener.

With special appearances by Lena Dunham, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, Julianne Moore, Carey Mulligan, Katy Perry, Jason Schwartzman, Emma Thompson, and Rainn Wilson.

©2014 B. J. Novak (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"It is Mr. Novak’s gift for channeling the way we talk and think today that propels many of the funnier tales here...his precisionist eye for detail, his ability to capture the odd thoughts that burble through his characters’ minds...Mr. Novak is nimble at showing how easily the ordinary can morph into the extraordinary and adept at making us see the surreal in the everyday." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

"Baseline clever and fresh, at best spectacularly perceptive, and always commanding, Novak’s ingeniously ambushing stories of longing, fear, pretension, and confusion reveal the quintessential absurdities and transcendent beauty of our catchas-catch-can lives." ( Booklist)

"The bulk of Novak’s stories are comedic, and more than a few are surprisingly tender.... Written by an author in complete control of his craft." ( Publishers Weekly)

SO GOOD. SO FUNNY! READ THIS BOOK.

If you could sum up One More Thing in three words, what would they be?

Intelligent, Hilarious, Satisfying.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think this book MUST be listened to. The narrators of this book are absolutely fantastic. They make this book (which is already excellent) come alive in a way that reading a book just can't.I wish B.J. Novak could be the narrator on many many more books. He was so enjoyable to listen to.

Any additional comments?

This book is smart, so funny, and so entertaining. Its one of my favorites now and I have bought a paper copy just to keep. I am SO glad I listened to it first. Its an excellent book to read, but its fantastic to listen to. Within the sharp, ironic, insightful comedy is a whole bunch of beautiful thoughts. It was one of those books that when I finished it, I missed it and wanted it to keep going. I also felt like I had been made happier (that warm fuzzy feeling that you get when you feel like you were better for the experience) and had gained insight from having listened to it. I highly recommend this audio book. Give it a listen. You will not be disappointing.

great book, not comedian's dry bio

While I won't claim to understand much of the underlying meaning of these stories, they are great stories. clever and funny. If you are looking for something similar to Man Seeking Woman, this is it without being 100% relationships. This is what I've been looking for, hopefully he's got another one in him.

Funny collection of shorts

This book is pretty ADHD but I laughed out loud multiple times, found it very creative, and loved the “discussion questions”. BJ Novak has a nice voice to listen to and the list of guest appearances was also really fun.

So f***** good!

I would give it 10 stars out of 5. Very creative and super funny. Enjoyed great performances.

Could not finish

I really like BJ Novak's work.
I could not get thru this book. Just more mean funny than haha funny.

Maybe I try it again another day. Wish I could return.

Hit or Miss

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I thoroughly enjoyed sections of the book. If you are familiar with B.J. Novak's writing style from his work in television, you will recognize immediately his tone. Some of the stories were hilarious, some mildly amusing, and some just odd.

Would you be willing to try another book from B. J. Novak? Why or why not?

I would - it will be interesting to see if he writes something in a novel format in the future.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) has some excellent narration, as do many of the other guest narrators like Jenna Fischer, Lena Dunham, and B.J.'s pal Mindy Kaling.

Did One More Thing inspire you to do anything?

I did feel inclined to look at other collections of short stories.

Any additional comments?

Consider this if you are looking for a collection of funny, albeit a little uneven short stories.

Fun Book Full of Cameos

I really enjoyed this listen. It was a nice change from a long fictional story. BJ Novak is smart and witty and it was really great to hear familiar voices throughout the stories.

This is something that I could listen to when I had a few minutes free and get a bit of added entertainment in my day.

Unpredictable genius

Wow x pi. Worth reading, worth recommending. You enjoy more than a few times. Was he dreaming throughout the story or not?

Fantastic

Seriously I liked it a great deal. Sophia was particularly great- really struck a nerve with that one. Oh wait..,

Quirky

This was an odd collection of things; some of the stories were very funny, some of them were quite moving, some of them were touching and very memorable, but some of them were strange and overall it was uneven. still, I'm glad I listened to it. I think Mr. Novak sounds remarkably like Ira Glass.