Try Rebooting Yourself

Dilbert #28

by Scott Adams

It's an embarrassment of riches. I feel like an undertaker who just heard about a bus accident. It's tragic, but good for business.

Maybe, just maybe, the reason Scott Adams is able to so completely and utterly skewer the absurdities of the modern workplace is that deep down he really enjoyed his many years as a cubicle dweller. Perhaps his comic strip Dilbert is nothing more than a cleverly disguised love letter to corporate America. And maybe, just maybe, monkeys will fly out of Donald Trump's butt.

In Try Rebooting Yourself, AMP's 28th Dilbert collection, the world's most dysfunctional office family is back and doing what it does best. Wally adroitly steers clear of new assignments--and perfects his work grimace. The Pointy-Haired Boss (PHB) thinks of new ways to demoralize and disenfranchise his employees. (As part of a new strategy to make the pension plan solvent, he reminds employees Smoking is cool.) Dogbert continues his lucrative consulting business. And Dilbert, alas, he soldiers and smolders on, searching for intelligent life in the corporate universe--and maybe, just maybe, a little action. (Fat chance.)

This time out, the gang is joined by a host of odd (but strangely familiar) guest characters including the clueless Hammerhead Bob, and Petricia, the PHB's fawning but ferocious sycophant. All office workers may now nod knowingly.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Comic Strips, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Cartoon, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Scott Adams was a defining voice of the American white-collar experience who transitioned from a prominent cartoonist into a polarizing political commentator. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley and spending years in management at Pacific Bell, Adams launched the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. The strip’s sharp satire of corporate bureaucracy and the "Dilbert Principle"—the idea that incompetent employees are promoted to management to minimize their damage—resonated globally, eventually appearing in 2,000 newspapers and winning the prestigious Reuben Award. Beyond the funny pages, Adams explored philosophy and persuasion in works like God's Debris and Win Bigly, the latter of which analyzed Donald Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the 2016 election. His career took a dramatic turn during the mid-2010s as he shifted focus to his daily "Real Coffee" livestream, where he combined his background in hypnosis and corporate strategy to comment on the "culture wars." This period of independent commentary culminated in 2023 when he reacted to a poll regarding racial tensions with a series of inflammatory remarks. Labeling Black Americans a "hate group" and advocating for racial segregation, Adams faced immediate and widespread repercussions; hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, and his publisher canceled his upcoming projects. Undeterred, he moved his work to the subscription-based platform Locals, rebranding his comic as Dilbert Reborn. In his final years, he faced severe health challenges, including stage IV prostate cancer and vocal cord issues, yet he remained a prolific presence on social media. He eventually announced the end of his hand-drawn work due to focal dystonia but continued to direct the strip's vision. Adams’s legacy remains a complex study in the power of branding, the evolution of digital influence, and the volatile intersection of creative genius and political provocation in the modern era.

Reviews

[Mrs. Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not cool anymore to like Scott Adams, but in evaluating his Try Rebooting Yourself the reader should note that
(1) all the cartoons in this collection were drawn more than a decade ago, before Adams revealed his True Colors*
(2) despite being yucky persons, many artists/performers write or dance or hit baseballs really, really well.
That said, almost all the strips in Rebooting are workplace-related, and some are extremely funny. I particularly enjoyed “The Sales Call,” 55% of the way through the book. Recommended.

*I can’t help it if I’m too smart for the room

[Jess Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More office fun

It's a good thing and a bad thing that the days of cubicle life are dying or dead depending on when you read this review. Cubicle life taught many lessons you won’t learn anywhere else which could be good or bad. All of us learned to identify people who would waste our time or suck the life from us. You see, these lessons helped us outside of work as well. These skills help us identify energy vampires and people who could help us. They were life skills and we’ll have to learn them elsewhere for our betterment. Fortunately we have the Dilbert comics to help us learn. Enjoy the humor and the life lessons.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after my husband.

I'd rate this somewhere between a 4 and a 5. I thoroughly enjoyed it (4), would recommend it (4), and I don't know if I'd read it again (5) or not. I don't re-read very much.

I loved the Oz references, especially, the "yellow sticky-note road," as well as who was the wizard at the end of their journey. I loved that there were Narnia references, but the Oz ones surpassed them. The coffee jokes were good. Alice was always funny, and I loved the King Salmon joke.

[SKP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am on a quest to read all the Dilbert collections and moving right along with it. I enjoyed this book; always love Dilbert, Dogbert, Wally, Alice, Catbert and company. My favorite was the sequence where Scott Adams appeared in an Oz like storyline…hilarious!

[Ian Higgs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good as always

If you have ever worked on projects in big companies so much of this will resonate with you. So accurate.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cubicle follies

Good black and white artwork in sequential form. Contains self portrait of Scott Adams. Anybody who hates college not wits is ok in my book.

[Sam Goyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satirical comic strips about white collar work life. Some were very clever, others just flew over my head.

[David Erkale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dilbert is too goofy and odd at this point. Spoiler alert: Scott Adams incorporates himself in a short line of comics. He draws himself quite funny, honestly.

[I-in · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a collection of Scott Adams' comic strip from 13 Sepember 05 to 18 June 06 in Try Rebooting Yourself, the world's most dysfunctional office family is back and doing what it does best. Wally adroitly steers clear of new assignments-and perfects his "work grimace." The Pointy-Haired Boss (PHB) thinks of new ways to demoralize and disenfranchise his employees. (as part of anew strategy to make the pension plan solvent, he reminds employees "Smoing is cool.") Dogbert continues his lucrative consulting business and writes a FAQ for the company's web site. and Dilbert, alas, soldiers and smolders on, suffering the office weasels and searching for intelligent life in the corporate univers-and maybe, just maybe, a little action.

all office workers may now nod knowingly.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all might have started out like Calvin with a great view of life. But after hitting the workforce we all somewhat become Dilbert. Everyone knows someone like one of the characters in the strips. Highly recommended

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/5/07

[rabbitprincess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains one of my favourite Dilbert strips: the one where Dogbert is selling insurance. Being a former insurance company employee, I found it hilarious.

[Kevin Connery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dilbert

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Dilbert. Crappy office job. Hilarity ensues.

[Saranga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Adams sure knows how to dig fun at the corporate world. :)

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone should periodically read a Scott Adams book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Dilbert.

[Joseph Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

So applicable to the office...