I found this hardcover in this Little Free Library in Manchester, NH while dropping off some books of my own, and was delighted to find another release copy of this very entertaining book. Bonus: I can cut and paste my previous remarks, thusly:

This is one of those books that is now studded with little bits of paper marking the sections I wanted to quote. Since if I quote them all I might as well just scan in the whole book I shall try to pick a small sample, but it's tough. The overall tone is a sort of mild British version of Dave Barry, with similar flights of fancy and toggling between relatively serious advice and the totally frivolous. One of my favorite passages combines both; it comes in the "How to Love" chapter:

Men love women because they are the loveliest things on God's earth. Women love men because chocolate can't mow the lawn. Some men prefer to love other men. Equally, some women prefer to love other women. There's a word to describe this kind of behavior: Love.

The book starts off with a chuckle ("They say the devil makes work for idle hands. He also makes work for other parts of the body and this he calls exercise.") and keeps on going. I realize its mild tone and scattershot subjects might not appeal to everyone but I adored it - both in the text version and in the audio version (read by my favorite narrator, Simon Vance, aka Robert Whitfield, aka Richard Matthews - he's got a wonderful voice, and he's cute, too - not that that shows on the audio, but I thought it was worth mentioning!).

A few more samples:

from "How to Use a Changing Room":

It's important to wash your private bits in the shower, but they must only be given a brisk buffing. Anything more leisurely will be seen as indulgence bordering on wanton self-gratification.

from "How to Do Extreme Sports":

Extreme sports all boil down to thinking up great new ways of killing yourself and then extracting the death part at the last moment.

from "How to Climb a Tree":

Climbing trees has become a bit of a forgotten art. The only time you see someone up one is when they are cutting it down or trying to prevent it being cut down. Children wouldn't think of climbing a tree unless it was a fully interactive computer game featuring Gonad the Larchslayer.

from "How to Sneeze":

Sneezing is an enormously powerful bodily convulsion second only to the orgasm in its intensity. Both are difficult to fake with any degree of accuracy, and it's best not to attempt either in a lift unless you are by yourself or with someone who loves you a very great deal.

Um, I just noticed that I'm only on page 27 and the book is still studded with little paper strips marking excellent quotes, so I think I'd better stop here and advise you to get a copy and read the whole thing!

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in the Little Free Library outside the Adult Learning Center on this rainy day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2020 You're Such an Animal challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2020 September Sapphire challenge, for the mostly-blue cover. ***