The Book of Awesome - Neil Pasricha

Title: The Book of Awesome
Author: Neil Pasricha
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books, 2010 (Hardcover)
Length: 390 pages
Genre: Adult/Young Adult; Humour
Started: April 28, 2010
Finished: May 1, 2010

Summary:
From the author's website/blog:
From neighbors with pools to ordering off the menu at fast-food restaurants to fixing electronics by smacking them, The Book of Awesome takes on life’s sweet feats with all the honest humor and winning enthusiasm that has earned Pasricha’s blog its millions of followers. But while powered along by Pasricha’s distinctive, fresh, and hilarious voice, The Book of Awesome isn’t about one man’s favorite things, but rather a catalog of the universal little pleasures we all share. With its focus on the many things that bring us together rather than the few things that split us apart, it’s a book that will appeal to people from all walks of life — housewives and college kids, children and senior citizens alike. Arising out of Pasricha’s riffs on popping bubble wrap and getting a trucker to blow his horn is an unexpected, genuine sort of inspiration, as The Book of Awesome offers up a hearty cheer for all the little things we take for granted.

Review:
The Book of Awesome is just one of those kinds of books that everyone who appreciates a concept like this just has to own. It's a feel-good book, like those Chicken Soup books, just less religious and more fun. The author runs a blog called 1000 Awesome Things which is the original idea that lead to this book. Basically, the page heading is the concept and then the author elaborates on the subject or gives a funny anecdote. It's a celebration of all things awesome yet ordinary, and some of them will make you feel nostalgic and make you laugh, like "Mastering the art of trick or treating", and "Dangerous playground equipment". Then there's my all-time fave: "Fixing electronics by smacking them", seriously, when doing this actually works, you feel awesome. There are also some sweet ones, like "Remembering how lucky we are to be here right now", and "Smiling and thinking of good friends who are gone", so it's not all laughs, but guaranteed this book will make you both laugh and cry. I can't stress enough how indeed awesome this book is, I have the e-Book version on my eReader and bought the physical one for my husband, and all I could hear while he was reading it was him laughing his head off. This book is for all ages, though younger kids might not get some of these ideas, but I'm sure some older teens might and definitely adults. So go out and read this book, it really truly is awesome!

Recommendation:
Awesome. Need I say more?

Thoughts on the cover:
It's hard to imagine a cover for a book like this, there's no way to really have images on the cover 'cause it deals with so many things, but I think they got it right here: black cover with colourful text, simple yet fitting.