Because I don’t watch television, I was interested to know more about this fad of a camouflaged ZZ Top bearded man toting a plastic cup. Stores are flooded with Si-covered apparel; Facebook is inundated with duck-themed quotes. What is going on?
Okay, Si is funny, Jack. After reading through this book (the fastest 240 pages ever—nice job editors; tell me how you pulled that off), I can see the appeal of Si’s fanatical character. And Si admits to this in the book: being a character. I think it is funny that women drive out to propose to him (even though he’s married) or people offer to provide sighted guide (even though he says he’s not blind). He’s a character and doing quite well at doing just that.
I found the ironic prologue especially hilarious, whether intentional or not. He spends his time telling how much he values honestly and truth, but is doing so in a medium where he claims to be the author. Yeah, right. I picture the book being written in a room where Mark Schlabach (the other guy’s name on the cover—the one not pictured) is listening to tapes of Si, pausing, typing, and playing some more. Congratulations to Mr. Schlabach on capturing the spirit and nuances of Sir Si—very well done. But if the prologue wasn’t meant to be satirical, then maybe it should have been dropped in lieu of having Si’s name in the author’s spot.
Hey, this book is just a collection of Si’s stories with no particular order or congruent theme. And that’s fine. Based on the videos I’ve seen on YouTube, fans of the show will probably find the same loveable Si they see on the screen. People that are not fans of the show may still find some charm in Si’s back-woodsy fanatical stories, but may be better served of their time elsewhere.