Winner of the “Indie Book of the Day” award, this short collection of humorous essays explores such quirky topics as annoying pet people («I'm Not Talking About You, Of Course”), analyzing your inner child («Irrational Fears”) and how to live like the Amish in the aftermath of a hurricane («A Jolt of Electricity”).

Included are also stories of just how much damage can be caused by a sneeze («It All Started with a Loud Sneeze»), why it is so complicated to buy a tube of toothpaste («Ask Me No Questions»), how not to prepare dinner («Martha, I Let You Down»), making new friends («Friends in Low Places»), how a parent's obsessive hobbies can become an inescapable vortex («Crazy Hobbies»), and why spending the night in a sleep clinic is like being abducted by probing aliens («Nightmare at the Sleep Clinic»).

If you don't see yourself in one of these entertaining essays, then I'm not talking about you, of course…

Barbara Venkataraman

Books