The book started as a blog, and now it is a full-length novel. And now, I’m blogging about it. The circle of life, I guess.
This book is utterly hilarious, and also heart-warming, accurate and optimistic. The book isn’t a novel; it is laid out in basically the original blog-format, each ‘chapter’ being only a couple of pages, and devoted to one thing which the author finds to be…AWESOME. I read half the book in about two hours; it's almost impossible to put down. After each funny chapter, I just kept turning pages eagerly.
Some examples of things which Pasricha finds to be, in his words, “awesome”, include: “Taking your bra off after wearing it for hours”, “Old, dangerous playground equipment”, “Picking the perfect nacho off someone else’s plate” and “Popping bubble wrap.” His explanations for each simple pleasure are incredibly accurate and delightfully droll. Most readers will relate to what he has to say; for instance, his explanation for “The first scoop out of a jar of peanut butter” involves him writing that the new peanut butter is like uncharted territory that nobody has ever visited before. He writes: “When I
peel the top off a new jar of peanut butter I like to pretend I’m a scientist peering through the world’s most powerful telescope, catching Earth’s first glimpse of a new, strange, and distant planet.”
The book is written in a humorous, lighthearted way, but the subject matter is something that hits home with basically anyone and everyone. From hearing someone fart in public, to the Universal Fry-Sharing Policy, the book packs a lot of laughs. The general message that the author seems to be trying to impress upon the reader is that, we must all savor the little things in life, because it is those things that make up the whole. Instead of focusing on the bad things in life, such as war, famine, depression and economic unrest, we could all do to enjoy life as it happens to us, and look for hidden gems of happiness and AWESOME-ness wherever we can.
These simple, awesome things are all things which average people love. These are not far-fetched, complicated pleasures. The sheer simplicity seems on the surface to be childish and slightly immature, but under the humor is a feeling that each reader who picks up this unique book is a partner; a member of the same club. We are all, essentially, the same. All anyone wants is to be happy, and enjoy life, and Pasricha brings this feeling of sheer, utter enjoyment to us in large quantities. When I see pages and pages of things which make me laugh, and make me cry from the sheer awesomeness of it all, I feel more hopeful and appreciative of this wonderful thing we call life.Reading this book will make an optimist out of even the most pessimistic of people.