I'm Tempted to Stop Acting Randomly

Dilbert #35

by Scott Adams

Following his 20th anniversary hit, Dilbert 2.0, Scott Adams returns with another Dilbert collection of funny page favorites inside I'm Tempted to Stop Acting Randomly.

Inside this collection, Dilbert and his team flail around in futility while the corporate bosses forget what it's like to be one of the little people. From CEO Dogbert's speculative use of the company jet for personal vacationing to the flawed planning of a new electrically compromised data center, Dilbert exemplifies the randomness and annoyances associated with corporate cubicle culture.

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2010

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

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have read and enjoyd other Dilbert books, you will probably enjoy this one about the same as them-and vice versa. Dilbert boks are sort of like literary McDonald's--that is not a slur, just a descriptor, as they are all pretty much comparable, and you know what you are going to get, with a little room for variation. There are many funny sequences here--Asok getting a nose that grows when others lie, the boss dying and getting resurrected, etc--but nothing ground-breaking or exceptions. Just entertaining, undemanding comics.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book full of daily Dilbert comics. How could it be bad?

[SKP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m reading my way through as many Dilbert collections as I can get my hands on. I am a big fan —lots of laughing out loud, being able to relate to so much of what goes on even via the little bit of corporate life I’ve experienced. I think anyone who has worked in any sort of office setting can relate to at least some of what you find in a Dilbert book. My only complaint about Dilbert collections overall is that there does not seem to be an agreed-upon order to which collections go in what order. Amazon says one thing, Goodreads another, other sites say something else. Some places have them in more than one series which is especially confusing. Scott Adams needs to fix this so all sites that promote or carry his books agree on what order they go. It would be to his advantage.

[Jess Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Laughs

This is a good book to read when you need a laugh throughout the day, especially after your manager hands you a project no one can complete. Reading this book reminds me of some of the decisions management has made over the years causing me to question whether I really live in the matrix or not.

[Jimyanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like almost all Dilbert books, this was highly entertaining and very funny. How does it compare to other Dilbert books? Hard to say, but it did seem to have an unusually high percentage of literally laugh-out-loud, "I have to annoy my wife by reading this one aloud to her" strips.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you count the -berts?

Good color artwork in sequential form. No black and whites. Dilbert and company move thru a corporate world of one illogical choice piled on another. Based off true events.

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Dilbert. Your humour always cuts close to the bone.

[Danielle Wondergem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny read!

[Ross Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, this was your typical collection of Dilbert comics.


Except at one point, someone in the main group dies. Yes, dies.


And the last page was a pure moment of me at work

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Such a nice way to wind down at day's end!

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a gigle!

[Michael Cawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny Dilbert comic strip collection

[David Erkale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Dilbert collection is newer, so the art and humour are different with the times. But surely you must read this to understand the PHB dying and reviving!

[Sam Goyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book with lots of funny strips satirizing office life.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a child I devoured comics and could laugh for hours at collections of the side. Sadly, much like the tilt-a-whirl, growing up has changed my relationship with comics. i still love Dilbert, but I can’t read a book like this in one sitting. Maybe the cubicle has stolen my soul, but i have to pace myself to get maximum laughs from a book like this.

[Cat Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the Dilbert comics, and this collection was as funny as ever.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dilbert and company are openly rebellious and wonderfully snarky in this volume. My favorite story arc involved their pointy haired boss getting stuck in the air ducts of the building. Lots of laughs.

[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

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dilbert book. 'Nuff said.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurtis loaned this to me. Once upon a time I read each and every Dilbert book, but I fell off that wagon in 1999 or so. I see Scott Adams is up to #35. Wow.

Entertaining.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat repetitive for me, if only because many of the strips in this book are also in the 2012 Dilbert Page-a-Day calendar. Enjoyable nevertheless.

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's dilbert..need I say more?

[Ian Rhines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good and funny comic book. It was also long.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even when you're in a job you enjoy, Adams' portrayal of the ridiculousness of office life is uncanny.

[Norman Styers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a little mean sometimes, but comedy often is.

[Pedro Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another serve of laughs and corporate naked truth

[S.M. Boyce]

I read DILBERT when I have trouble sleeping. It's a compliment, I swear.