About the Book
Although most people have a sincere desire to improve themselves - to make themselves smarter, happier, and more interesting - people are also pretty lazy, and really just want to sit on the couch and watch a movie. But those two impulses aren't necessarily mutually exclusive: After all, songs can also motivate us, and movies can teach us about other cultures, and it's hard to read anything without getting something out of it. Super-Pop organizes pop culture's greatest hits - including bestselling books, blockbusting movies, and platinum albums-into hilarious top ten lists, and provides quick-hitting commentary on all of the nearly 500 entries. In sum, Super-Pop offers a maximum-pleasure, minimum-effort way to become better at trivia, more interesting at a party, and, if it really comes down to it, a little bit more likely to kill a shark with pliers-if one should ever jump onto your raft and try to eat you. Lists include: Outwit death: Ten essential lessons in survival; Wax on: Ten movies that will show you the way (wise old man included); Drop the facade: Ten songs guaranteed to melt your frozen heart; and, The Easter special: Ten best works of art featuring at least one bunny.
About the Author :
Daniel Harmon is the editorial director at Zest Books, and a longtime editor of pop culture projects for a variety of publishers. He is a former staff writer at Brokelyn.com, and the author of an essay about Tommy Wiseau's film The Room, which was published in the anthology Cult Pop Culture (2011).
Review :
For anyone who has ever felt the slightest bit deficient in their pop-culture expertise, here is the ultimate guide, guaranteed to fill any void. Harmon has put together a quirky, fun, wide-ranging guide to nearly 500 different books, films, podcasts, songs, television episodes, video games and more, sorting them into kooky top 10 lists. 'Stop Being Such a Philistine: Easy Access Points to the World of High Art' includes Exit through the Gift Shop, a Banksy documentary directed by the subject; Amadeus (the movie); Barry Lyndon; a 2009 ad campaign for Levi's; and Beyoncé's 'Countdown' video, among others. Eat, Pray, Love, Spelunk: Tag Along on a Life-Changing Vacation recommends the VICE Guide to Travel, a Web-based collection of video guides to such vacation getaways as Doha and Karachi; The Darjeeling Limited; David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (1997); and The Amazing Race Australia. Each entry receives a paragraph or two of annotation. It is particularly entertaining to see what seemingly completely disparate things wind up on the same list. Evil Dead and The Sound of Music? Field of Dreams and Persepolis? The bizarre choices will prompt many double takes and lots of laughter. A weird, witty, endlessly entertaining compendium for the budding pop-culture aficionado.--Kirkus Reviews
-- "Journal"
Highbrow mixes easily with lowbrow in this lively compilation of film, book, TV show, and video-game references. The 'Cheat on Your Homework' list includes unlikely matched movies, Anna Karenina and Clueless. Ben Franklin, Richard Feynman, and Tina Fey make an appearance on the 'Stand on the Shoulders of Giants' list. Scattered black-and-white cartoon illustrations don't support or detract from the text. Occasional themed spreads offer amusing dialogue bubbles, such as 'Ten Essential Catchphrases for Use at Dinner Parties' (quoting the likes of Homer Simpson and Bugs Bunny), and 'The Smartest Inanimate Objects in the History of Pop Culture, ' such as garden gnomes and couches. An extensive index might prove helpful in preparing for trivia meets, but the joy here is in wandering through these browsable lists. Fun and witty, historical and current, this volume will find an appreciative audience.--School Library Journal
-- "Journal"
This book of annotated lists reads like an effective study guide for your next trivia night. Compilations such as 'Survival Lessons from Ten Works of Literature and Film' and 'Life as an Aristocrat' manage to find the commonalities between Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Downton Abbey. However, the book's humorous trivial content is actually far more substantial than first impressions would imply. Using familiar categories of pop culture, such as music, television, movies, and the Internet, Harmon manages to touch on both high-brow and broad cultural ideas, classical art, watershed historical events, and literature. The content encompasses a wide range of genres, eras, and topics, and the hundreds of jumping-off points for exploring facts beyond the lists have great potential to inspire the curiosity of readers. This is a go-to resource for teens looking to bone up on pop culture, sound interesting at a party, or craft the perfect playlist for a workout.--Booklist
-- "Journal"
