Of All Things!
by Robert Benchley
(Cobbled Together) Blurb:
This is a collection of humorous essays by Robert Benchley, an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. Best known for his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from New York City and his peers at the Algonquin Round Table to contemporaries in the burgeoning film industry.
My Reaction:
I don't believe I had ever heard of Robert Benchley before reading this, though I've since learned more about him (such as that he's the grandfather of the author of Jaws) and watched one of his short films (How to Sleep, which is available for free on YouTube). I think I saw his name on a list of authors to read if you like P.G. Wodehouse, so Donald and I gave this freebie a try between other books.
It's been months since we finished it, but I think my impression was that it was amusing in spots, but that it felt more dated and less funny than Cuppy's How to Be a Hermit. Cuppy's book is the more recent of the two—published in 1929, while these essays by Benchley were published in 1921—but the choice of subject matter make the more recent one feel fresher and more relevant (to me) than a mere eight years' difference should make.
For example, one of these essays relates the process of college football fans gathering to listen to the progress of a game being played at a distant stadium. But because this was before radio broadcasts of sporting events, the events of the game were communicated via telegraph, with an announcer relaying the play-by-play. There's a great deal of confusion and mistakes, and the whole thing feels bizarre and far-removed from the modern experience. (Some of the essays are less severely dated than this, but this one stands out in my memory more than most of the others.)
Anyway, it's been too long since reading it for me to make many more comments. I'd consider reading more of the author's work.
