Bookstore. Coupon. Impulse buy. What else can I say?

This book starts with a rather clever idea; in contrast to the many "things to do before you die" books out there, this book highlights things that may be on those lists but that are, for most people, more likely to be a total waste of time! And from the Disclaimer up front it's clear that the tone is tongue-in-cheek: "The author believes the facts in this book to be accurate, the humor to be entertaining, and the advice to be useful. However, enlightenment, amusement, and self-improvement are not guaranteed."

The suggestions include some that are very trivial indeed ("don't try to bathe with a sliver of soap"), but the author backs them up with reasonable explanations, such as weighing the trivial amount of money saved against the awkwardness and inefficiency of trying to get clean. The section "Don't hunt for the 'best' parking spot" appealed to me, as it's been one of my own preferred Things Not To Do; as the author points out, heading for one of the outflung but uncrowded parts of a parking lot has not only allowed me to get my shopping done more quickly but has saved me from the emotional stress of space-hunting, of having others pounce on a space just before I can get to it, and so forth. (Many of the chapters include a "Fun activities" section; the one on parking spaces includes one that I've been tempted to try now and then -- basically, if somebody's aggressively seeking a parking space, just indicate that yes, you're leaving, and then walk off towards your far-flung-parking-lot spot, and see how long the space-seeker follows you before giving up in disgust! I haven't actually done this; if asked whether I'm leaving I'd probably nod towards the far-off lot and say, "Yep, I'm parked out there". But if someone's being rude and aggressive about space-nabbing I wouldn't mind leading them a bit of a dance!)

Some suggestions are obviously matters of taste, such as "Don't eat snails even when they're called 'escargot'"; I do think it's worthwhile for people (OK, most people) to try new dishes now and then, but I'd also agree that in cases where the odds are that they won't like it anyway and the dish itself is too unusual and/or pricey to appear on their tables very often, it saves a lot of time to just skip them. But there are people who adore escargot, and until you try you won't know whether you're one of them...

Another matter-of-taste item: "Don't read War and Peace". OK, since I (with some help from fellow BookCrossers) read it this year, I may be biased in its favor, and I think that (as with food) people ought to try different types of literature, but I can't disagree with the author when he points out that it's a very LONG book and for many people the time it would take to read it could be better enjoyed reading several other books, or doing something else altogether. But I'd prefer it if the suggestion had to do with not feeling you have to finish a book if it isn't grabbing you, even if it's supposed to be a classic. [So I was delighted to find, a few pages after the "War and Peace" section, another item: "Don't finish a novel if it's not entertaining". {grin}]

A slightly weirder item is "Don't use all your brainpower." This one's in rebuttal to those books that suggest that we only use about 10 percent of our brains and should strive to use more. The author says that using too much brain power would be a bad idea, though: "When you played Scrabble, you'd win by five hundred points every time. When you read a mystery, you'd know whodunit in the first chapter.... After a while, it wouldn't be much fun. So if you must increase your brain power, stop at 11 percent."

There's a lot more, and it's a great deal of fun - and some of the suggestions are pretty good ones, too, if not always easy to follow. Entertaining book.

RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book among the others in the window of Coffee Labs at around 2 pm. To the finder: please take a moment to make a brief journal entry on this book to let me know that it's in safe hands. Then do as you please with it: read it, journal again with your thoughts about it if you like, keep it, give it away or even join the fun by wild releasing it again. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the book!

I found the book today right where you left it in Cofee Labs. Someone left it flat on the shelf so it stood out among the others. At first glance I noticed the chapter about parking. As an avid 'far-parker" I figured I'd like more of what I read. I ended up sitting out front on the bench for about an hour. I was tempted to take it with me on a trip I'm taking but I chose to leave it exactly where I found it for the next person.

Excellent book. Excellent ideas to live by.

Speaking of which, this website is a fantastic idea. I just registered. I plan on leaving some books around in my travels now that I know about it. We'll see how it pans out.
Thanks.