I found this fair-condition hardcover at a local Salvation Army thrift shop. I'd enjoyed the sequel, More Letters from a Nut, so I figured I'd give this one a try.

This turned out to be more fun than I expected; I'd been wondering if I'd find it sad that so many hapless secretaries had to spend time dealing with this lunatic's letters, but - while there were some who just seemed beleaguered - there were quite a few recipients who caught the spirit of the thing perfectly. [I did feel some sympathy for the respondents who clearly put in some time and effort trying to be helpful to this weirdo's off-the-wall requests, though I suppose it's part of the job to reply to lots of queries that never turn into real business.]

Among the ones I found most entertaining: after getting a helpful response from a tanning-oil product, Nancy wrote back asking to apply for the job of Quality Control Inspector, saying "I'd rather inspect something then [sic] move something. Let somebody else do it, I'll take a look at it and make sure they did it right.... One question: If you are looking for a quality control inspector, who is inspecting the product NOW?"

And the one he wrote to the head of the physics department of the California Institute of Technology, asking: "Doesn't it make sense to you, that if you weighed 150 pounds, and you could life 300 pounds, you should be able to fly by sitting on a chair and lifting yourself up? How come this doesn't work? The best I can do is jiggle the chair a bit. Am I doing something wrong?" The scientist replied with a hand-written letter explaining the whole thing, and very nicely too.

After getting a reply from a Mars Candy representative to another question, Nancy replied with some suggestions for new product names, including "STARTLES" - a combination of Starburst and Skittles - and "SINGLES BAR - Eat when you'[re available. With or without nuts." [He was addressing her remarks about the research-and-development cycle and how it could take years to develop one new candy. "Years of research? Hah! I thought of this in the morning," he adds.]

I also got a kick out of his "Minnesota Viking" costume - dressed as a Viking but talking like a Minnesotan ("The snow, shivering, bobsledding"). "This is a positive upbeat portrayal of a Minnesota Viking. There are no vulgarities, no profanities. Although I do make one small obscene gesture, but only as part of a poem." The reply to this one, from the marketing department of the Minnesota Vikings, requested a video of his performance; I'd rather like to see that myself!

It does get a bit repetitive if you read several letters in a row, and I still have a built-in dislike for practical jokes that makes even these relatively mild ones a bit off-putting, but some of the ideas are impressive and he carries off his ingenuous tone to perfection.

RELEASE NOTES:

I plan to leave this book somewhere in the waiting area of the Subaru of Nashua dealership (which really is in Hudson!) at about 9. Hope the finder enjoys it!