When I was a young boy back in the 90’s I used to go to the deli behind my house every week to buy comic books. Every week I was given a choice between the new MAD Magazine or the new Cracked. I was the kid in the minority who preferred Cracked over the much higher rated MAD Magazine. I was addicted, one could say I was a Crack-Head (see what I did there?). I even recall in 1995 when Fox announced their new show Mad TV, my prepubescent friends and I quickly put together Cracked TV. The show was short-lived (we recorded one 10 minute episode that was mostly just us acting out articles from that week’s cracked, but I can promise you it was still funnier than any episode of MAD TV).
Once high school began I stopped visiting the deli for comics and got caught up in typical high school stuff (discovering Monty Python & Kevin Smith movies). I sorta forgot about Cracked and started ignoring MAD (both the Magazine and the Show) all together. It wasn’t until college when a close friend introduced me cracked.com. At the time I saw the site I didn’t even realize this was at all related to my beloved cracked magazine, but I did fell in love with the site and began reading the site on a daily basis. I was once again a Crack-Head.
Now with their first book You Might be a Zombie (and Other Bad News) Cracked.com has entered itself back into print media. The book is a collection of popular articles from the site as well as never-before printed articles. The articles encapsulates what Cracked.com does best like ruining some of your favorite movies for life (The Saddest Happy Endings in Movie History, making sure you NEVER leave your house again (Things that Can Kill You In Your Own Backyard) and praising Teddy Roosevelt (Most Bad-ass Presidents)
First things first, this book is hilarious. There’s not a single essay that fails to deliver. You’ll find yourself quoting exerts and facts from it towards friends and family members. If you have the book with you, there’s even a chance that you may whip the book out and immediately start reading it to friends.
Reviewing this book is quite difficult however. It is at its core just a series of interesting lists, but they are extremely interesting and funny lists. There is really nothing to not like about this book. It may not have much of a re-readable factor; but that’s not the kind of book this is. A friend called it a “Bathroom Book” but I disagree. The book is more than even just a coffee table book, it’s a conversation starter. If you’re on a site named Geekscape reading this review (which I know you are), then chances are, this book is perfect for you.