Based on the award-winning 10-million-plus-hit blog 1000 Awesome Things, The Book of Awesome is an international bestselling high five for humanity and a big celebration of life’s little moments.Sometimes it’s easy to forget the things that make us smile. With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the … heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it’s tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us, like:
• Popping Bubble Wrap
• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding
• Watching The Price Is Right when you’re home sick
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it’s Saturday
The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are free (yes, your grandma was right). With laugh-out-loud observations from award-winning comedy writer Neil Pasricha, The Book of Awesome is filled with smile-inducing moments on every page that make you feel like a kid looking at the world for the first time. Read it and you’ll remember all the things there are to feel good about.
A New York Times Bestseller • USA Today Bestseller • Globe and Mail Bestseller • Toronto Star Bestseller • Vancouver Sun Bestseller • Macleans Bestseller • Winner of the Forest of Reading Award
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One of my favorite professors used to read us one chapter a day from this book first thing in the morning(the class was at 7:30 am). It was motivating and unexpected. I loved it so much, I bought a copy when I graduated. Whenever I’m feeling down, I’ll read a chapter and go about my day happier and lighter than I was before.
Neil Pasricha has written a book of short essays about little things in our lives that make our days just a little more awesome when we encounter them.
I needed this book in my life right now. I don’t even know how to follow that up without hijacking this review into my own political soapbox, so for future reference, I’ll just note that we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and may George Floyd rest in peace. I pray for justice and meaningful societal changes for him and so many countless others.
Anyway…
A reminder of small, awesome things is a welcome break from the daily hourly onslaught of bad news at the moment. The topics are so great that just reading the contents brings a smile to my face. “The smell of freshly cut grass.” One of my favorite smells in the world. “Watching The Price is Right when you’re at home sick.” That one brings back memories of staying home sick with my grandfather, who passed away two years ago. I don’t remember watching The Price is Right with him, but I remember Chuck Woolery hosting Scrabble. And that brings back memories of Papaw watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy literally every night that it was on. Another one that I haven’t experienced but I sure would like to: “When your suitcase tumbles down the luggage chute first after a long flight.” If that ever happens to me, I’m going right out and buying my PowerBall ticket. I think the lottery odds are better than the first-luggage odds!
I mostly read this before bed, because that’s when I like to read my nonfiction books, so over breakfast in the morning, I would read the chapter titles to my husband. That sparked some good conversations about whether we thought each topic was awesome or not (He thinks sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out is awesome, but I’m generally for being completely covered, even if it’s only a sheet). We’d also discuss any other memories the topics sparked, like my stories about my grandfather and game shows.
The book got just a bit too long for me. I looked back at the last several chapters, and I do mostly agree that they’re awesome, so I must have just run out of attention. But it also felt like, instead of a quick page or two, the essays got a bit longer. Whatever happened, I personally just wish the book had been maybe 25 pages shorter.
If you need a pick-me-up like I did, please give this book a try. You’ll walk away with a renewed appreciation for all the awesome little things that make up your day if you just have the eyes to see them.
not a page turning read.
The Book of Awesome was not awesome (or AWESOME! as Neil Pasricha ends each entry, part of the decidedly non-awesomeness for me). I grabbed it on a whim – a BookBub $1.99 download, thank you very much – on a day when I could have used a little awesome in my life: 2 flight delays + 1 cancellation = 0 on the awesome scale. Unfortunately, many of what Pasricha considers awesome I consider irrelevant or, worse, gross. The perfect wings partner is the former for me, while putting potato chips on a sandwich definitely falls into the latter category. I simply cannot imagine hanging my head out of the car window or sneaking McDonald’s and hiding the evidence.
That said, I am always grateful when a cashier opens a new lane, I have fond memories of watching the Price is Right as a kid, and who hasn’t felt the tremendous relief that comes from successfully removing an eyelash that’s wandered onto the eye? While I didn’t care for many of Pasricha’s examples, and his writing style itself grated on me after five minutes, he did succeed in upping my level of gratitude for the small things in my life that are pretty wonderful.
(This review was originally published at http://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2018/02/the-book-of-awesome.html)
Stupid
Simplistic, somewhat disappointing.
I liked this book as it was an easy read. This is the kind of book you can jump around from chapter to chapter, it’s not necessary to read them in order. The author uses very short narratives with humor to remind you of some really fun things we all experience. The only problem is after several chapters it gets old. I put the book down when I was halfway through.
Really light reading with a few sweet little gems to make you smile.