"Weirder Than Marshmallows" Book Review

“Weirder Than Marshmallows” says it’s the “essays and musings of Dan Fogg.” I think it’s just funny. It’s only about 87 pages, so you can grab it and take it anywhere and finish it in no time, then pass it on to a friend. Or grab it for your e-book reader and read it over and over again.

 

Here are some samples from the book:

 

Here he’s talking about writers and why they write: “And that idea won’t let go, won’t let go no matter what, won’t let go until pen hits paper and it’s evicted from the apartment of your mind with a simple combination of movement and ink.” I love the EVICTED FROM THE APARTMENT OF YOUR MIND! Now I see all my writing ideas as little renters in little apartments in my brain and when I get one on paper and out the door to try to sell somewhere, it gets a tiny eviction notice.

 

In the essay Helplessness and the Valor of Others he describes himself a little: “To carry something this large is an inconvenience to anyone. Even more so when a three month old baby can out arm wrestle you and you need one hand to drive your motorized wheelchair.”

 

In the essay on Electile Dysfunction 2000 he explains the Gore/Bush election mess so well that even I understand it, and even takes a paragraph to describe the CHAD! “And the pregnant chad, which can’t help but make you giggle, is one that’s simply dented in the middle.”

 

The book is varied in topics and broken down into tiny chapters, which I love. He tells tales of human stupidity, “warnings that should never have to be warned”, “stories of mass ignorance”, “Twilight Zone like tales”, and comments on the world in general in an amusing way. AND then includes a few pages of his favorite quotes.

 

My only complaint about this book is that I wish the editor’s note at the beginning would explain more about the author, who died at the age of 22. His mom compiled the book, and I would love to see more about this funny kid without having to Google him. What was his “disability”? How did he die? What was he like as a kid (wry, sarcastic, aware of “inhuman stupidity” even then?)?

 

Here’s more about Dan Fogg and this book, and here’s how to buy his book and others by Dan.

 

Bottom line: It breaks my heart that Dan Fogg (1980-2002) has left our world, but his mom hints that there’s more to read, as he also wrote fiction, which he told his mom will blow your head off J

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