Instead of reviewing a classical piece of fiction like I normally do, I decided to do something a little different this week. Through a good friend of mine, I was able to get my hands on one of the most excitingly experimental books I’ve ever read. Writing a standard review of such a strange work wouldn’t be in the spirit of the book, so I decided to dial back the words, add a few pictures and include a reading of one of my favorite (sort of) poems in the book.

Before I get into the brunt of the review, I should start by saying that this book series isn’t for everyone. In terms of word count and physical size, it’s very much on the skimpy side. The good news there is, if you really like one of the exclamation point books, you can make your experience last longer by reading the complete series. They're quite cheap, and can be read in any order without losing any story points.

When I initially began reading !, I was immediately struck by how funny it was. Everything from the first word to the last word tackled common assumptions, phrases or beliefs in a humorous way. There was even a two page (sort of) poem listing the times where it is okay to put all your eggs in one basket! Here’s page one:

Every time I flipped to another page, I never knew what to expect. There were even times when the font was upside-down, and the page number was on the wrong side, so I wound up flipping to a previous page by mistake! This is all to say that this book is extremely entertaining, witty and deeply relaxing. Reading ! was a real pleasure.

Without any further ado, I'd like to end the review with a clip of one of my favorite poem/prose hybrids in the series. Enjoy!

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