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Choose Your Own Misery #1
The Office
This is an ACE for ISBN13:9781626819245 The Office Adventure
A comic choose-your-own-path novel for adults. Play as a miserable, hungover office worker just trying to zombie through another awful day at work.
Should you show up for the big meeting or duck out with Debby, the weird woman from HR who keeps making suggestive comments about FDR? Play the fatty lump in your back for office-wide sympathy, or dive into a WebMD spiral that can only end in “cancer?” Tell someone about the weird genital-fondling that’s happening at the crystal healer’s, or just accept that this is the best substitution you’ll find for love, today...or maybe ever?
In CYOM: TOA, you have countless “options,” but they rarely end well. It’s okay, though. A life of adventure would require so many uncomfortable sleeping situations. Besides, you have dental.
Keep reminding yourself about the dental.
A comic choose-your-own-path novel for adults. Play as a miserable, hungover office worker just trying to zombie through another awful day at work.
Should you show up for the big meeting or duck out with Debby, the weird woman from HR who keeps making suggestive comments about FDR? Play the fatty lump in your back for office-wide sympathy, or dive into a WebMD spiral that can only end in “cancer?” Tell someone about the weird genital-fondling that’s happening at the crystal healer’s, or just accept that this is the best substitution you’ll find for love, today...or maybe ever?
In CYOM: TOA, you have countless “options,” but they rarely end well. It’s okay, though. A life of adventure would require so many uncomfortable sleeping situations. Besides, you have dental.
Keep reminding yourself about the dental.
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
32 people are currently reading
855 people want to read
About the author
Mike MacDonald
3 books34 followersMike MacDonald is the co-author of the Choose Your Own Misery series. He spent four years as a contributing writer with America’s Finest News Source, The Onion while simultaneously working as a journalist at Canada’s largest newspaper chain, Postmedia News and Journalists for Human Rights.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
September 30, 2015
You wake up with the mother of all hangovers. Aw, crap! It's a work day.
Do you call in sick or hit the snooze button? Either option will have consequences.
I've been "playing with" this book at lunchtime for over two weeks now and I still haven't experienced every possible scenario.
You could end up vomiting on your own shoes, appearing on television, embarrassing yourself in front of fellow employees AND the boss, pimping a coworker to a slimy IT guy, getting sent to HR for certain termination, or maybe even gaining a promotion.
In the end, it really doesn't matter what you do - your ultimatereward punishment will be ... drum roll ... you're allowed to get up and do it all again the next day! Oh, joy. It's a never-ending Groundhog Day of drudgery and toil.
Try reading this terrific, page-flipping adventure when you should be working. It might make the time 'til Happy Hour go a little faster.
Do you call in sick or hit the snooze button? Either option will have consequences.
I've been "playing with" this book at lunchtime for over two weeks now and I still haven't experienced every possible scenario.
You could end up vomiting on your own shoes, appearing on television, embarrassing yourself in front of fellow employees AND the boss, pimping a coworker to a slimy IT guy, getting sent to HR for certain termination, or maybe even gaining a promotion.
In the end, it really doesn't matter what you do - your ultimate
Try reading this terrific, page-flipping adventure when you should be working. It might make the time 'til Happy Hour go a little faster.
February 22, 2016
I just fucking knew one day, warped minded individuals would reach out into the world and smack us right upside our noggins with a book that would throw us into a bunch of not so great shitty situations. PURE GENIUS!
Everyone remembers those CYOA books where you get sucked into a wormhole, travel to other planets, talk with aliens, find buried treasure and make the dreaded wrong choice and the story ends. If not, where the fuck have you been? Under the big rock on Mars that looks like a face? Damn!
Choose Your Own Misery is just like those except on a whole new level! Try imagining the most horrible of things that could happen to you on any given day, then you just might be prepared for what might happen to you in this book.
Now of course, I am not spilling the beans here about anything or any situations you might come across. But safe to say I have had my ass handed to me and then some. I'm reading this for my eleventh time and still finding different ways to be in MISERY and I'm absolutelyfuckingtively loving my journeys. Kudos!!
Everyone remembers those CYOA books where you get sucked into a wormhole, travel to other planets, talk with aliens, find buried treasure and make the dreaded wrong choice and the story ends. If not, where the fuck have you been? Under the big rock on Mars that looks like a face? Damn!
Choose Your Own Misery is just like those except on a whole new level! Try imagining the most horrible of things that could happen to you on any given day, then you just might be prepared for what might happen to you in this book.
Now of course, I am not spilling the beans here about anything or any situations you might come across. But safe to say I have had my ass handed to me and then some. I'm reading this for my eleventh time and still finding different ways to be in MISERY and I'm absolutelyfuckingtively loving my journeys. Kudos!!
December 16, 2015
I have to say--and I don't say this lightly--this is easily the best comedy book I've cowritten this year.
I highly recommend everyone in the entire world read it, love it, and then get their moms to read it and film their inevitable disgust and/or horror.
I highly recommend everyone in the entire world read it, love it, and then get their moms to read it and film their inevitable disgust and/or horror.
December 28, 2015
This book is an autobiography. But legally, you can't present that as evidence in court.
September 24, 2015
Haha, this was good fun, I've read it about 8 times now just to get as many endings as possible. I was expecting it to be more miserable than it was, that might just be because I'm a miserable sod!.
I remember buying these adventure books when I was a kid, they were good and it was like having a story you could read again and again and the story was always different. I read this on the kindle and it works really well. I would write about my favourite route the story took, but that would just spoiled things, I can say though it ends with a trip to get a bottle of vodka.
Enjoyed this, going to have to see if I can find more of these, it should be as popular as that colouring in for adults.
I remember buying these adventure books when I was a kid, they were good and it was like having a story you could read again and again and the story was always different. I read this on the kindle and it works really well. I would write about my favourite route the story took, but that would just spoiled things, I can say though it ends with a trip to get a bottle of vodka.
Enjoyed this, going to have to see if I can find more of these, it should be as popular as that colouring in for adults.
February 19, 2016
1. Do you have time to read a book?
No, go to #2.
Yes, go to #3.
2. You must be mistaken. Everyone has time to read. This is the perfect book for your lunch break or a train commute, since you can get through many of these adventures quickly.
Proceed to 3.
3. Clearly you should read this book. You get it at your local bookstore, where they are doing a signing event. The authors are hilarious, so you have high hopes. You notice one of wrote "I hope you laugh so hard you puke" when she was signing your copy. Should you be worried? Hmmmm.
If you want to read it in the office, go to 4.
To read it on the train, go to 5.
4. The book makes you feel better about how much you hate your job. At least you've never puked on your shoes, and you have some good coworkers. You're just starting to really get into it when one of the endings makes you laugh like a hyena. Your boss wants to know what is so funny. When he sees the title of the book, he thinks it must illustrate a good attitude toward work. Then he looks closer. The series name, Choose Your Own Misery, seems to indicate otherwise.
If you want to try to explain it away, go to 6.
If you want to keep reading and just let him come to his own conclusions, go to 7.
5. You hate your long commute to work each day, but the book makes you feel better, because at least you've never seen someone hurl themselves in front of the train. In fact, there are a lot of really horrifying things in this book that have never happened to you. Go you!
On the down side, you are feeling hungover. The stopping and starting of the bus doesn't help, and suddenly you reach an ending in the book that is so funny you do end up puking from laughter. All over the book. Now you can't read it any more, which is unfortunate, because you were really starting to get into it. And as it turns out, the book was the best part of your day. Work still sucks. The End.
6. "I, ah, don't really think of my job as a miserable adventure, by the way," you say. Your boss knows you are lying out your a**, and he schedules a meeting with you to discuss "your attitude lately." You try to explain that the book is satire, but it doesn't go over well.
If you want to throw the book in the trash to indicate your support of the company's ideals, go to 8.
If you want to quit your job so you have more time to read, go to 9.
7. Your boss keeps a closer eye on you over the next few days, and winds up overhearing a heated argument you're having with your sister on the phone. It's not even your lunch break. He doesn't appreciate the urgency of discussing why jeggings are a terrible thing that should be killed with fire, and he schedules a meeting with you to discuss your use of the company phone for personal calls, and in general, "your attitude lately."
If you want to throw the book in the trash to indicate your support of the company's ideals, go to 8.
If you want to quit your job so you have more time to read, go to 9.
8. Your boss seems to appreciate the gesture, you think... but after you leave, he fishes through the trash because he can't bear to see a book wasted. He reads it and ends up liking it. In fact, he laughs so hard he pukes, after which he makes you clean the puke. Then he tells you the company doesn't have a use for anyone who would throw a book in the trash, because it shows you are wasteful and quick to do the wrong thing if you think it might please people. The End. You monster.
9. You can't bear to not keep reading the book right now, so you decide the best possible course of action is to quit your job so you can go home immediately. When you get home, your cats are delighted to see you. However, your kitten tries to gnaw on the book. And manages to knock it into the recycling bin.
Proceed to 10.
10. You love him anyway, and you decide not to take his evident hatred of the book out on him by scaring him away with a squirt bottle. Instead, you take to nestling the book under a blanket when you leave the room, so that he can't get to it. When you finish it, you shelve it high up, beyond his reach. You are sorry to have read through all possible endings so quickly, but at the signing, you won an ARC of the sequel, so that makes you feel better about it. That will come in the mail in—well, you don't exactly know when, but hopefully the authors will have it ready soon. You live happily ever after in your parents' basement, reading instead of dealing with people. People suck. The End.
No, go to #2.
Yes, go to #3.
2. You must be mistaken. Everyone has time to read. This is the perfect book for your lunch break or a train commute, since you can get through many of these adventures quickly.
Proceed to 3.
3. Clearly you should read this book. You get it at your local bookstore, where they are doing a signing event. The authors are hilarious, so you have high hopes. You notice one of wrote "I hope you laugh so hard you puke" when she was signing your copy. Should you be worried? Hmmmm.
If you want to read it in the office, go to 4.
To read it on the train, go to 5.
4. The book makes you feel better about how much you hate your job. At least you've never puked on your shoes, and you have some good coworkers. You're just starting to really get into it when one of the endings makes you laugh like a hyena. Your boss wants to know what is so funny. When he sees the title of the book, he thinks it must illustrate a good attitude toward work. Then he looks closer. The series name, Choose Your Own Misery, seems to indicate otherwise.
If you want to try to explain it away, go to 6.
If you want to keep reading and just let him come to his own conclusions, go to 7.
5. You hate your long commute to work each day, but the book makes you feel better, because at least you've never seen someone hurl themselves in front of the train. In fact, there are a lot of really horrifying things in this book that have never happened to you. Go you!
On the down side, you are feeling hungover. The stopping and starting of the bus doesn't help, and suddenly you reach an ending in the book that is so funny you do end up puking from laughter. All over the book. Now you can't read it any more, which is unfortunate, because you were really starting to get into it. And as it turns out, the book was the best part of your day. Work still sucks. The End.
6. "I, ah, don't really think of my job as a miserable adventure, by the way," you say. Your boss knows you are lying out your a**, and he schedules a meeting with you to discuss "your attitude lately." You try to explain that the book is satire, but it doesn't go over well.
If you want to throw the book in the trash to indicate your support of the company's ideals, go to 8.
If you want to quit your job so you have more time to read, go to 9.
7. Your boss keeps a closer eye on you over the next few days, and winds up overhearing a heated argument you're having with your sister on the phone. It's not even your lunch break. He doesn't appreciate the urgency of discussing why jeggings are a terrible thing that should be killed with fire, and he schedules a meeting with you to discuss your use of the company phone for personal calls, and in general, "your attitude lately."
If you want to throw the book in the trash to indicate your support of the company's ideals, go to 8.
If you want to quit your job so you have more time to read, go to 9.
8. Your boss seems to appreciate the gesture, you think... but after you leave, he fishes through the trash because he can't bear to see a book wasted. He reads it and ends up liking it. In fact, he laughs so hard he pukes, after which he makes you clean the puke. Then he tells you the company doesn't have a use for anyone who would throw a book in the trash, because it shows you are wasteful and quick to do the wrong thing if you think it might please people. The End. You monster.
9. You can't bear to not keep reading the book right now, so you decide the best possible course of action is to quit your job so you can go home immediately. When you get home, your cats are delighted to see you. However, your kitten tries to gnaw on the book. And manages to knock it into the recycling bin.
Proceed to 10.
10. You love him anyway, and you decide not to take his evident hatred of the book out on him by scaring him away with a squirt bottle. Instead, you take to nestling the book under a blanket when you leave the room, so that he can't get to it. When you finish it, you shelve it high up, beyond his reach. You are sorry to have read through all possible endings so quickly, but at the signing, you won an ARC of the sequel, so that makes you feel better about it. That will come in the mail in—well, you don't exactly know when, but hopefully the authors will have it ready soon. You live happily ever after in your parents' basement, reading instead of dealing with people. People suck. The End.
October 7, 2015
This book is a HOOT and that isn't something I say often. Or ever. Seriously, this book is so fun. Check it out.
The fun of childhood imagination mixed with the crushed dreams of adulthood.
After a night of too much drinking, do you call in sick or hit the snooze button? Do you use that last vacation day or suck it up and go in to the office? Do you rent a hooker for the evening or ask Debby to play your girlfriend for the night? You know - the typical questions that we all face every day. If “rabid-animals-with-guns voice” and “FDR role-play” tickle your laugh box, then you’re in for a treat with this truly unique and interactive reading experience.
The fun of childhood imagination mixed with the crushed dreams of adulthood.
After a night of too much drinking, do you call in sick or hit the snooze button? Do you use that last vacation day or suck it up and go in to the office? Do you rent a hooker for the evening or ask Debby to play your girlfriend for the night? You know - the typical questions that we all face every day. If “rabid-animals-with-guns voice” and “FDR role-play” tickle your laugh box, then you’re in for a treat with this truly unique and interactive reading experience.
November 28, 2015
What a ride! "Choose Your Own Misery: The Office Adventure" is an innovative, interactive comic romp through a day in the life of a run-of-the-mill wage slave who's had a bit too much to drink the night before and is paying for it today. Depending on your druthers, you, the reader, can chart the protagonist's path to a selection of workplace hells, in each of which he seems to dig himself into a deeper hole. Funny and entertaining – a recommended read.
December 10, 2015
This is next level, top-class comedy at its absolute finest. I'd imagine that this book is going to gain some serious traction once it's officially released. I'd highly recommend Choose Your Own Misery: The Office Adventure to anyone who likes dark humor, quirky characters, and strong writing. Also, there's a really brilliant easter egg dropped somewhere near the middle of the book -- folks who explore multiple paths will be richly rewarded!
April 16, 2017
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
RATING: 3.5 STARS
A choose your own adventure for adults! I liked the idea and the silly humour of the "office" edition. I read this a few times...different versions. It is great for when you are standing in lines or on a car trip. I would recommend this if you enjoyed reading the Choose your Own Adventure series.
RATING: 3.5 STARS
A choose your own adventure for adults! I liked the idea and the silly humour of the "office" edition. I read this a few times...different versions. It is great for when you are standing in lines or on a car trip. I would recommend this if you enjoyed reading the Choose your Own Adventure series.
January 26, 2016
Hilariously written by a duo of talented authors, CHOOSE YOUR OWN MISERY: The Office Adventure will make anyone who's having a hard day at work feel better about his or her job. Or, if you don't work in an office, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at what could go horribly wrong if you did have to go to an office after a hangover! Such a fun read -- you can literally start over and over to choose your own misery if you don't wanna go where it's taking you!
January 25, 2016
The Office Adventure is pretty much on point to the real thing. If you dig Office Space for it's crushing familiarity this is right up your alley. Explore what misery awaits you with each separate decision. It's more fun going back to the story you just finished and selecting all the choices you didn't the first time around. Aces! Read it on your lunch break.
November 4, 2015
You know when you're too anxious thinking about all the things that could go wrong at work? Well, that's what you'll find in this book. I've read it about 10 times and I'm still trying to get a happy ending. It's so hilarious! I really liked it!
*Many thanks to Diversion Books for providing an ARC!*
*Many thanks to Diversion Books for providing an ARC!*
November 20, 2015
Way more fun than actually going to the office, but also makes going to work more fun when you consider all the adventures you could encounter. Probably shouldn't read it in the office unless your co-workers don't mind you laughing til you cry!
November 15, 2015
Hilarious. I will definitely be buying this for coworkers!
July 10, 2020
Keep yer rape culture out of my favorite childhood series, mkay?
(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic copy of this book for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for rape.)
It's 7:30AM on a weekday and you're hungover...again. Do you a) hit the snooze button on your alarm and risk being late (even though you pissed yourself overnight and desperately need a shower), or b) call in and use up your last remaining sick day (keeping in mind that it's only March and you have another nine months of this shit to look forward to)? Nearly every path leads to humiliation and ruin, so no need to choose carefully.
One of my favorite childhood series gets an adult makeover in Choose Your Own Misery: The Office Adventure - a Dilbertesque spin on ye ole Choose Your Adventure books that were popular in the '80s. Dilbert, if it was rated R, and to the nth degree of absurdity.
I was both nervous and excited to try this title, and with good reason - the last such book I read (Max Brallier's Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? ) was a giant letdown, with an obnoxious dudebro as the MC. Straight, white, middle-class, with a penchant for abusing animals and devaluing women. Completely unrelatable to anyone but a fedora-wearing, mouthing-breathing ex-frat boy. Which most of us aren't.
To its credit, Choose Your Own Misery tries hard to be gender- (and possibly race-) neutral. Every time something pops up that might pigeonhole the narrator as a dude, an alternate explanation is offered. That Axe body spray you use to mask the reek of vodka sweat rolling off you in waves? It's not yours; your roomie left it behind when he moved out. Khakis? Hey, ladies wear those too. And yet after progressing through a dozen or so possible stories, it becomes apparent that you only have a romantic interest in women. So...either you're a straight guy or a lesbian in a city incredibly accepting of LGB folks. Possible, but unlikely.
Even so, I found the story amusing enough - good in small doses, useful for killing a few minutes here or there - until I stumbled upon the rape plots. Plots, plural.
In the first one, you make up a story about the nerdy IT guy date-raping a coworker at an office party in order to keep him away from Debby, some woman you didn't even like - until you set her up with said guy so that he'd cover for your with your boss. Didn't I mention that you're a horrible person? Like, the worst.
The second rape plot has you visiting Debby's crystal healer, who grabs your junk without your consent during the session. Whether you decide that you're outraged or not, either choice has you wishing you'd purchased Fiona's services in bulk, since being sexually assaulted is the most human contact you've had in months.
And that was when I decided that I can't even with this book. Like, who looks at a kid's book and thinks "You know what this needs? More rape."
Look. I'm not arguing for a blanket ban on rape jokes. They can actually be funny - but only if the subject of the joke, the person or thing we're all laughing at, is the bad guy: the rapist. Rape culture. Rape apologists. Not the victim. Never the victim. It's shameful to score a cheap laugh at his or her expense.
And what do these two (allegedly amusing) plot points have to say about rape? People lie about rape for their own ends, and those who aren't getting laid on the regular should just be happy that someone wants to rape them. Rape culture 101.
The book you've eagerly devoted your Sunday afternoon to makes some rather appalling assumptions about rape. Do you a) purge your Kindle with a long overdue bleach bath; b) burn this shit to the ground; or c) write your own feminist Choose Your Own Revenge story? (Dear dog, someone please choose c!)
Look. The Onion is usually pretty good about this stuff. Is it really too much to expect better from one of its writers?
http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/01/27/...
(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic copy of this book for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for rape.)
It's 7:30AM on a weekday and you're hungover...again. Do you a) hit the snooze button on your alarm and risk being late (even though you pissed yourself overnight and desperately need a shower), or b) call in and use up your last remaining sick day (keeping in mind that it's only March and you have another nine months of this shit to look forward to)? Nearly every path leads to humiliation and ruin, so no need to choose carefully.
One of my favorite childhood series gets an adult makeover in Choose Your Own Misery: The Office Adventure - a Dilbertesque spin on ye ole Choose Your Adventure books that were popular in the '80s. Dilbert, if it was rated R, and to the nth degree of absurdity.
I was both nervous and excited to try this title, and with good reason - the last such book I read (Max Brallier's Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? ) was a giant letdown, with an obnoxious dudebro as the MC. Straight, white, middle-class, with a penchant for abusing animals and devaluing women. Completely unrelatable to anyone but a fedora-wearing, mouthing-breathing ex-frat boy. Which most of us aren't.
To its credit, Choose Your Own Misery tries hard to be gender- (and possibly race-) neutral. Every time something pops up that might pigeonhole the narrator as a dude, an alternate explanation is offered. That Axe body spray you use to mask the reek of vodka sweat rolling off you in waves? It's not yours; your roomie left it behind when he moved out. Khakis? Hey, ladies wear those too. And yet after progressing through a dozen or so possible stories, it becomes apparent that you only have a romantic interest in women. So...either you're a straight guy or a lesbian in a city incredibly accepting of LGB folks. Possible, but unlikely.
Even so, I found the story amusing enough - good in small doses, useful for killing a few minutes here or there - until I stumbled upon the rape plots. Plots, plural.
In the first one, you make up a story about the nerdy IT guy date-raping a coworker at an office party in order to keep him away from Debby, some woman you didn't even like - until you set her up with said guy so that he'd cover for your with your boss. Didn't I mention that you're a horrible person? Like, the worst.
The second rape plot has you visiting Debby's crystal healer, who grabs your junk without your consent during the session. Whether you decide that you're outraged or not, either choice has you wishing you'd purchased Fiona's services in bulk, since being sexually assaulted is the most human contact you've had in months.
And that was when I decided that I can't even with this book. Like, who looks at a kid's book and thinks "You know what this needs? More rape."
Look. I'm not arguing for a blanket ban on rape jokes. They can actually be funny - but only if the subject of the joke, the person or thing we're all laughing at, is the bad guy: the rapist. Rape culture. Rape apologists. Not the victim. Never the victim. It's shameful to score a cheap laugh at his or her expense.
And what do these two (allegedly amusing) plot points have to say about rape? People lie about rape for their own ends, and those who aren't getting laid on the regular should just be happy that someone wants to rape them. Rape culture 101.
The book you've eagerly devoted your Sunday afternoon to makes some rather appalling assumptions about rape. Do you a) purge your Kindle with a long overdue bleach bath; b) burn this shit to the ground; or c) write your own feminist Choose Your Own Revenge story? (Dear dog, someone please choose c!)
Look. The Onion is usually pretty good about this stuff. Is it really too much to expect better from one of its writers?
http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/01/27/...
September 25, 2017
This book was hilarious. I really enjoyed it. There were tons of scenarios and options. Some made you scratch your head in amazement and others were just plain strange. When your first open the book you must choose where you go to work or hit the snooze button after a night of drinking. What you choose sends you to different pages. It just gets funnier and funnier. I highly recommend this book to any one who read the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books as a child. You will differently get some enjoyment from reading this book. Make sure to have two bookmarks - One to keep your place before you choose and one for after you choose. You will not regret it. Happy Reading!
~April
~April
June 15, 2019
well, i went through two paths in ten minutes and i'm not really interested to read another one. but it was quite funny!
December 26, 2017
Don't get me wrong: I did enjoy Choose Your Own Misery: The Office Adventure, the first in a series of books by comedy writers Mike MacDonald and Jilly Gagnon satirizing the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books that all of us of a certain age read as children. The problem with The Office Adventure is instead that I enjoyed it too much, so to speak; MacDonald and Gagnon essentially drive the singular gag of the book into the ground through repetition after repetition of the same theme.
For those not of a certain age, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books were young-adult "literature" in which every page or so, the reader came to a decision point, at which they turned to page x or page y, depending upon which choice they made; sometimes the result would be good and move the story forward, sometimes the result would leave the protagonist dead (usually). The Office Adventure riffs on this theme by presenting the concept as decision points while working at a dead-end, soul-killing job, usually (read: always) ending in the protagonist's being just as miserable afterwards as beforehand. And therein lies the problem: In minute doses, The Office Adventure does provide real entertainment, particularly as MacDonald and Gagnon's scenarios are genuinely, if sophomorically, funny. However, when the gag--unending misery, as MacDonald and Gagnon freely, and gleefully, cop to--repeats itself over and over, albeit in different manifestations, the joke eventually wears out its welcome. MacDonald and Gagnon seem to recognize this, because they state flat out that the reader shouldn't read through The Office Adventure cover to cover, even if they claim that that's because of the existential crisis that such relentless misery would generate. But given that MacDonald and Gagnon do so admit, that rather telegraphs the limitations of The Office Adventure.
Ultimately, part of one's enjoyment of The Office Adventure depends on one's nostalgia for good old-fashioned Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. (MacDonald and Gagnon wrote a sequel, Choose Your Own Misery: The Holidays; however, I never had the associations with misery around Christmastime on which MacDonald and Gagnon are riffing, me being Jewish, so I had no interest, especially after The Office Adventure.) However, equally important is whether one enjoys or doesn't enjoy their job, even if they work in a cubicle farm. While I very much enjoyed the various Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books that I read as a youth, I actually enjoy my job, and I'm in school to train for an even more enjoyable endeavor; as such, while the gag of The Office Adventure appealed to me for a time, ultimately, it didn't resonate, even on the limited nature on which it was supposed to. Part of the nature of humor is knowing when to vary it, and MacDonald and Gagnon fail to do so enough to grab my interest for long.
For those not of a certain age, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books were young-adult "literature" in which every page or so, the reader came to a decision point, at which they turned to page x or page y, depending upon which choice they made; sometimes the result would be good and move the story forward, sometimes the result would leave the protagonist dead (usually). The Office Adventure riffs on this theme by presenting the concept as decision points while working at a dead-end, soul-killing job, usually (read: always) ending in the protagonist's being just as miserable afterwards as beforehand. And therein lies the problem: In minute doses, The Office Adventure does provide real entertainment, particularly as MacDonald and Gagnon's scenarios are genuinely, if sophomorically, funny. However, when the gag--unending misery, as MacDonald and Gagnon freely, and gleefully, cop to--repeats itself over and over, albeit in different manifestations, the joke eventually wears out its welcome. MacDonald and Gagnon seem to recognize this, because they state flat out that the reader shouldn't read through The Office Adventure cover to cover, even if they claim that that's because of the existential crisis that such relentless misery would generate. But given that MacDonald and Gagnon do so admit, that rather telegraphs the limitations of The Office Adventure.
Ultimately, part of one's enjoyment of The Office Adventure depends on one's nostalgia for good old-fashioned Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. (MacDonald and Gagnon wrote a sequel, Choose Your Own Misery: The Holidays; however, I never had the associations with misery around Christmastime on which MacDonald and Gagnon are riffing, me being Jewish, so I had no interest, especially after The Office Adventure.) However, equally important is whether one enjoys or doesn't enjoy their job, even if they work in a cubicle farm. While I very much enjoyed the various Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books that I read as a youth, I actually enjoy my job, and I'm in school to train for an even more enjoyable endeavor; as such, while the gag of The Office Adventure appealed to me for a time, ultimately, it didn't resonate, even on the limited nature on which it was supposed to. Part of the nature of humor is knowing when to vary it, and MacDonald and Gagnon fail to do so enough to grab my interest for long.
December 1, 2015
Wow. Have these folks captured office life. Choose Your Own Misery is an apt title.
They might give Dilbert a run for his money.
And do they have a gift for writing. They had me laughing on practically every page. Or maybe crying because I could relate to the pain and misery.
From the intro:
“Think carefully before you make a move…or don’t. Frankly, it won’t make much of a difference. None of what we do makes much of a difference. We’re all just programmed to die.”
And there’s gems like this:
“You feel sick the entire elevator ride up to the office, but that’s probably just the hangover combined with old mayonnaise.”
And this:
“There’s nothing in the world less sexual than a PowerPoint presentation on ROI analysis.”
Which is sad because I can agree. I have actual experience presenting PowerPoints on ROI analysis.
*sigh*
Oh, and I love the “surprise ending” that starts with you getting another drink at the bar…
Recommended. But maybe not for the same age group as “Choose Your Own Adventure” was geared for.
Thanks to NetGalley and Diversion Books for a copy in return for an honest review.
They might give Dilbert a run for his money.
And do they have a gift for writing. They had me laughing on practically every page. Or maybe crying because I could relate to the pain and misery.
From the intro:
“Think carefully before you make a move…or don’t. Frankly, it won’t make much of a difference. None of what we do makes much of a difference. We’re all just programmed to die.”
And there’s gems like this:
“You feel sick the entire elevator ride up to the office, but that’s probably just the hangover combined with old mayonnaise.”
And this:
“There’s nothing in the world less sexual than a PowerPoint presentation on ROI analysis.”
Which is sad because I can agree. I have actual experience presenting PowerPoints on ROI analysis.
*sigh*
Oh, and I love the “surprise ending” that starts with you getting another drink at the bar…
Recommended. But maybe not for the same age group as “Choose Your Own Adventure” was geared for.
Thanks to NetGalley and Diversion Books for a copy in return for an honest review.
January 26, 2016
Choose Your Own Misery: The Office Adventure hits all the right notes of despair and bemused resignation which will resonate with anyone who has done time working in an office. The choose your own adventure format lends itself especially well to the exquisite cyclical hell of the office automaton. In short: the book is absolutely hilariously dark. Versatile enough to be read on a long car trip or in short bursts like when you sneak off to hide in a bathroom stall for twenty minutes. Don't look at me like that. I know what you do.
January 26, 2016
Fast-paced and funny - a great gift for both office workers and people glad they're not working in offices.
The humor is dark, so if you're easily offended, you should probably avoid. But if you're like me and no topic is off limits, you'll definitely laugh your butt off and find yourself reading passages to whomever is sitting nearby. Make sure you're buds with that person, though, or things could get weird.
The humor is dark, so if you're easily offended, you should probably avoid. But if you're like me and no topic is off limits, you'll definitely laugh your butt off and find yourself reading passages to whomever is sitting nearby. Make sure you're buds with that person, though, or things could get weird.
December 14, 2015
If you loved Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid (I absolutely did) and want to feel better about all your actual life choices (I always do), Choose Your Own Misery: The Office is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Where else can you get fired, get promoted, cauterize your own wounds, and kill a coworker all within a few hours?
A+ if you like dark humor.
*I received an ARC from the publisher.
A+ if you like dark humor.
*I received an ARC from the publisher.
January 26, 2016
This book should be required reading for idealistic college seniors (particularly liberal arts majors who aren't on their way to grad school). Might as well let them know what they're in for! This book was a super fun read, darkly funny, and occasionally a little too real. Highly recommended.
June 8, 2016
It was annoying! The man in this book had a miserable life no matter what choice you chose. And no matter how many times I went through this book, and choosing different choices, I ended up with "Go back to page 1." I couldn't put it down. You will definitely enjoy this book.
September 9, 2016
Excellent!
![Profile Image for Amanda [Novel Addiction].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1415744673i%2F4886503._UX200_CR0%2C36%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 30, 2016
So.. I'm an alcoholic, terrible worker, and I pretend to do cocaine to get a three month paid sabbatical. Huh.
September 3, 2022
If you're at all like me, you probably have fond memories of those tattered paperback Choose Your Own Adventure novels in the school library. They were the literary equivalent of text-based adventure games like Planetfall, Wishbringer, or Zork - only instead of swapping random floppy disks, you scrambled back and forth to random pages. We used to read them at a frantic pace, just to see who could find the weirdest ending.
Of course, if you grew up in an era that didn't begin with 19-something, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but that's not the point.
Anyway, when I came across an ARC for The Office Adventure, the very first Choose Your Own Misery book, I knew I had to give it a read. Mike MacDonald and Jilly Gagnon have tapped into a sweet spot of nostalgia here, even managing to capture the essence of those cheap paperback covers. All that's missing is some yellowed tape along the spine, dog-eared pages, a pop can ring-stain on the cover, and smear of bad pizza on the page edges.
My first read through the book, I called in sick, created a bronchitis panic, made the mistake of being honest with my doctor about a lump on my back, tried to cut out own tumor, and ended up in hospital with men from the insurance company waiting to talk to me. My next time through, I slept in, pretended to work from home, got caught out by a lisping IT guy, agreed to prostitute the homely woman in HR for a clean slate on my vacation accrual, ended up claiming her for myself, got knocked out, and salvaged a half deal out of it.
Sore jaw and loneliness aside, that was probably the best ending I could have hoped for.
A third read through had me call in sick again, backpedal on my bronchitis story, puke all over my shoes in a badly drive taxi, completely blow it with my office crush, get called into the CEO's office (a case of mistaken identity), arbitrarily fire half the staff, and get the guy I was mistaken for fired as a result of my choices, only to take a sip from desk flask,and wake up where I started.
I always loved those weird meta endings that allowed you to do it all over again.
Since these books are like crack, a paper addiction that can't be denied, I had to try once more. My last read had me called in sick, own the bronchitis panic, and then sneak in late, only to create a scene with the receptionist, make the boss think she's crazy, get her fired (causing a fatal heart attack), and get myself promoted - which meant, of course, I was suddenly saddled with actual work and couldn't come in late or hungover anymore.
Misery has indeed been chosen.
While it lacks the fun of Who Killed John F. Kennedy? (a Lose Your Own Adventure book), The Office Adventure cleverly puts a sadly sarcastic, grown-up spin on what was always a childish diversion. If you've had a chance to give it a read, meet me out by the big tractor tire in the schoolyard (you know the one with the steel belts sticking out and the mosquito-infested water inside?) and we'll compare notes on how may endings we can find.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Of course, if you grew up in an era that didn't begin with 19-something, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but that's not the point.
Anyway, when I came across an ARC for The Office Adventure, the very first Choose Your Own Misery book, I knew I had to give it a read. Mike MacDonald and Jilly Gagnon have tapped into a sweet spot of nostalgia here, even managing to capture the essence of those cheap paperback covers. All that's missing is some yellowed tape along the spine, dog-eared pages, a pop can ring-stain on the cover, and smear of bad pizza on the page edges.
My first read through the book, I called in sick, created a bronchitis panic, made the mistake of being honest with my doctor about a lump on my back, tried to cut out own tumor, and ended up in hospital with men from the insurance company waiting to talk to me. My next time through, I slept in, pretended to work from home, got caught out by a lisping IT guy, agreed to prostitute the homely woman in HR for a clean slate on my vacation accrual, ended up claiming her for myself, got knocked out, and salvaged a half deal out of it.
Sore jaw and loneliness aside, that was probably the best ending I could have hoped for.
A third read through had me call in sick again, backpedal on my bronchitis story, puke all over my shoes in a badly drive taxi, completely blow it with my office crush, get called into the CEO's office (a case of mistaken identity), arbitrarily fire half the staff, and get the guy I was mistaken for fired as a result of my choices, only to take a sip from desk flask,and wake up where I started.
I always loved those weird meta endings that allowed you to do it all over again.
Since these books are like crack, a paper addiction that can't be denied, I had to try once more. My last read had me called in sick, own the bronchitis panic, and then sneak in late, only to create a scene with the receptionist, make the boss think she's crazy, get her fired (causing a fatal heart attack), and get myself promoted - which meant, of course, I was suddenly saddled with actual work and couldn't come in late or hungover anymore.
Misery has indeed been chosen.
While it lacks the fun of Who Killed John F. Kennedy? (a Lose Your Own Adventure book), The Office Adventure cleverly puts a sadly sarcastic, grown-up spin on what was always a childish diversion. If you've had a chance to give it a read, meet me out by the big tractor tire in the schoolyard (you know the one with the steel belts sticking out and the mosquito-infested water inside?) and we'll compare notes on how may endings we can find.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.
July 20, 2019
I thought an adult version of the "choose your own adventure" books from my childhood would be fun, but this was awful.
The writing was very amateur. The story would abruptly end and take you back to the beginning without having an end to the path you were on. I took a few different paths and they were all like this. You'd "click here to continue" and suddenly you'd be back at the annoying first page without a conclusion of what happened. It was like stopping a book in the middle and restarting it. It was frustrating and made each path a waste of time. The authors should have had a few test runs to make sure the paths selected formed a complete story, especially since the writing was so basic.
Skip this one, guys.
The writing was very amateur. The story would abruptly end and take you back to the beginning without having an end to the path you were on. I took a few different paths and they were all like this. You'd "click here to continue" and suddenly you'd be back at the annoying first page without a conclusion of what happened. It was like stopping a book in the middle and restarting it. It was frustrating and made each path a waste of time. The authors should have had a few test runs to make sure the paths selected formed a complete story, especially since the writing was so basic.
Skip this one, guys.
October 11, 2017
The Office (Choose Your Own Misery #1) was a riot. Dilbert-esque in it's humor, I laughed through this whole book. Should I go to work or lie my way out? There is humor, death and a whole lotta truth about being in the work force, especially in an office setting, making every miserable trip eerily reminiscent of life. Can't wait to read more in the "Choose Your Own Misery" series.
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