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3.92 of 5 stars
Based on the award-winning 10-million-plus-hit blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a high five for humanity and a big celebra... read full description

reviews

Nov 24, 2011
Dan rated it: 1 of 5 stars
I don't even know where to start with The Book of Awesome. I guess the best place to start is how I acquired this book. My friend Mary sent it to me in the mail last week, thinking I might like it. This isn't the first time that Mary has recommended a book to me, but it is the first time she's ever given me the book she was recommending, with the instructions to pass it on to someone else that might enjoy it when I was done with it.

I can see why you'd want to pass it on after reading More...
4 comments like (7 people liked it)
Aug 20, 2010
Katie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This book reminds me a lot of the website "stuff white people like." It's a compilation of short selections about awesome stuff, ranging anywhere from just a few sentences to a few pages. The beauty of this book is that you'll find yourself nodding your head vehemently, saying "Yes. YES. That is awesome. (!)(!)"

Just to get a little idea of what you'll encounter upon reading this, here's a sampling of items from this collection that everyone basically must ag More...
1 comment like (7 people liked it)
Feb 05, 2012
Buggy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
The Book Of Awesome is a really fun idea. Its also a very pretty book, makes a great gift and is being marketed like crazy, I mean its everywhere and yes there are a lot of things included here that made me smile however it really reads better in list form and I’m sure most people did like I did and just skimmed through, reading the chapter titles of familiar relatable happy things that you don't often stop to appreciate and moving on.

I mean honestly do we need 4 pages explaining wh More...
9 comments like (3 people liked it)
Jan 26, 2012
SuperSteph rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I was waiting for my cousin at a bookstore when I came across this book. I read the whole thing under 30 minutes! I really love how it's so true that when you add up all these little things that make you happy, life really is pretty grand:)

You hear about it all the time (even from your own inner monologue)when things go wrong or all the crappy things that can make a day turn south;burning yourself(or a child) with the curling iron(OW), stubbing your pinkie toe, no toilet paper in a More...
Jul 30, 2011
Rachel rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Of course, the opposite of awesome is un-awesome – which is exactly what it feels like when you hit have to wait forever in line because there is no other checker to open a new lane or you get a speeding ticket from the cop who was on the side of the road or you hit a bunch of red lights in a row (I always get to about the third and say, out loud in my car, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”) or when your alarm clock blares and you feel like it is way to early for the alarm clock to go off or when you mean More...
May 28, 2011
Julia rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This book is comprised of short 1 & 2 pagers of life's little joys. It was laugh out loud funny at times. Many things resonnated with me.

For example: when Pasricha talks about "the other side of the pillow", I said, yea, that's me! "On nights when you just can't sleep, one of the greatest things invented is simply Turning Over the Pillow!. The other side of the pillow, folks, is flat when you're sagging, fresh when you're stale, and cold when you're hot, baby!
More...
May 05, 2011
Cait rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This was such a warm and fuzzy reading experience. Some of the entries brought with them a heavy dose of nostalgia, while others provoked the surprise and delight of "Hey, I do that too!" recognition. The book works best read in small doses, maybe a handful of entries a day. Any more and you run the risk of it becoming tedious (you're reading what is essentially a list, after all), and that would be a shame. Pasricha's commentary on each entry is sometimes sweet, often blunt (but n More...
5 comments like (2 people liked it)
Apr 24, 2011
Michelle rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I wish I could come with a good idea, make a blog about, people read it, I make book about it, people buy it and then publish another book.
Some of the AWESOME stories are great, lots of the them reminded me of all the things I like too.
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Mar 06, 2011
Cookie rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Based on the award-winning 10-million-plus-hit blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a high five for humanity and a big celebration of life's little moments:

• Popping Bubble Wrap
• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding
• Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday More...
Dec 03, 2010
Michelle. rated it: 5 of 5 stars
The title is very full of itself. "The book of Awesome"... Well lemme tell you something, it wasn't wrong. This book was so AWESOME! It's not really a story but the way the things were written, was so magical!

Let's bask in it's glory....
Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesome!Awesom More...
2 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jan 07, 2011
Christi rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Neil Pasricha started a blog, http://1000awesomethings.com/ in 2008 simply to document all the awesomeness he encountered in his everyday life. The popularity of this website led to the publication of The Book of Awesome in 2010. Goodreads has samples of some of the awesome things discussed in the book, but I have some of my own favorites:

When someone lands on the hotel you built built in Monopoly
Peeling that thin plastic film off new electronics
Licking the batter off the More...
May 19, 2011
Is life getting you down?



Did you have a bad day?



Then you need the Book of Awesome!!



What could be better than taking the simple average every day things in life and rediscovering how awesome they really are?



From bakery air to cat naps. Hitting all the green lights to trick or treating.



Yes... the world is full of little things and with the help of this book you'll turn that frow
6 comments like (2 people liked it)
Oct 16, 2011
Mackenzie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Just like the title says, the book is awesome.

I derived great joy from reading the many awesome things it lists. I can just randomly open one page and the one thing I read there is indeed something completely awesome. Like "sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out" and "the smell of the coffee aisle in the grocery store". It's really hard to not smile because you just know they are.

I pick up the book whenever I feel down and in a way this More...
Apr 12, 2011
Traci rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile. With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us - sometimes we just need someone to point them out. The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are free (yes, your grandma was right). With laugh More...
Oct 17, 2011
Kitsune rated it: 4 of 5 stars
If someone could write a book like Rob Brezny's "Pronoia" but write it for the average middle class, jock/jockette or "Sensate type", this would be that book. Let me give you an example of the sort of things the book suggests is awesome: "high 10's" (which are 2 handed "high 5's"), peeling an orange in one strip, and putting on underwear fresh from the dryer. "The Book of Awesome" was not a bad book, but it wasn't written for "Intuitives" More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
May 14, 2010
Alea rated it: 5 of 5 stars

If it is not obvious already, The Book of Awesome is.... AWESOME. Whenever you need a laugh, a giggle, a smile a little pick me up, The Book of Awesome is right there waiting for you.

The format of the Book of Awesome is sort of an extended list. Each title describes the awesome thing and then the actual body copy ranging from a word to a few pages details the awesome. Pasricha goes off on a lot of tangents and tells a lot of stories and gives a lot of scenarios but his way with More...
0 comments like (5 people liked it)
Jul 23, 2011
Susan rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Oh how I long to snark about The Book of Awesome and its happy-go-lucky message of appreciating the little things, but unfortunately people, I drank the Kool-Aide too and am now extremely busy celebrating the minutiae in life!

The Book of Awesome is (wait for it...) awesome! It is chocked full of awesome-sauce such as "High-fiving babies: because they usually don't leave you hanging;" "Taking off your bra after wearing it for hours;" "Waking up before your ala More...
Oct 12, 2011
Sarah rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I'll have to continue this later since it's overdue at the library, but since I've read over half of the book, I think I'm qualified to share my overall opinion on it.

The Book of Awesome is basically an exercise in positive thinking--only in short bursts, as opposed to the full on change-your-whole-viewpoint dogma. Think grins as opposed to hugs everywhere. If you find all the good in the little things then the bigger annoying things won't be as irritating. Pasricha's snappy, sweetly n More...
Dec 28, 2011
Faye rated it: 2 of 5 stars
Laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with just enough sarcastic nostalgia"

Hmm. A good concept. Unfortunately, that little twinge of sarcasm that's supposed to make this "optimism for the rest of us" (Vancouver Sun) ruins it. If you're going to write a book ( or a website) about the little things in life worth celebrating, why consistently muck it up with just the tiniest twinge of negativity? It's The Secret for people that enjoy being crusty.

And, it might be hum More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jan 08, 2011
Cait rated it: 4 of 5 stars
THE BOOK OF AWESOME is, for lack of a better word, awesome. A collection of ideas of things that are awesome, each heading is followed by a small description of exactly why that thing is awesome. My favourite? Illegal naps! There’s nothing better than taking a nap when you know you probably shouldn’t, but it feels so good anyway.

The anecdotes are quite humerous, or touching, and some just make you shake your head smiling, knowing that yes indeed, that thing is certainly awesome (laughi More...
Jul 17, 2011
Nicole rated it: 4 of 5 stars
My own personal addition to The Book of Awesome: Always finding a reason to go into a building that has a revolving door. It always feels like I'm entering a more important world going through one of them - almost like I'm in a movie, and it just makes life seem a little more fun. Too bad LA doesn't utilize them more....

Anyways!

This book is all about appreciation, and about us recognizing just how important the little day to day happenings are to the creation of our overall h More...
Feb 13, 2011
Lynne rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Cute book. Some things were awesome, some (for me) just 'eh.' Something for everyone, though, that's for sure.

Some of my favorites:

Saying the same thing a sports commentator says just before they say it.
Because at that moment you go from being a lazy potato chips n' naps fan lying on the couch in a crumb-covered pile of sweatpants, bedhead, and B.O. to an insightful sports critic with a sharp eye, quick tongue, and backup second career.

(They all have additi More...
Aug 25, 2011
Frange rated it: 3 of 5 stars
While I enjoyed some of the mini-essays in this book (in particular, the poignant closing reflection was quite well written), it did make me realize that I've really slipped out of the mainstream of our culture... Even though I could identify with some of the awesome experiences described therein (e.g., flipping over your pillow in the middle of the night, playing on old playgrounds), many of them center on circumstances/situations that are not part of my adult life, like purchasing fast food or More...
Jan 02, 2011
Tiana added it
I just finished this book, and its actually really good. I think it is really funny, and all the chapters have a lot of funny things. In each of the chapters in this book, there is something awesome, and then an explanation of why its awesome. For example, some of the chapters names are: Sleeping in new bedsheets, Tripping and realizing no one saw you, Wearing underwear just out of the dryer, and Popping bubble wrap. Though this book doesnt really have a story plot, it is really interesting, and More...
Feb 05, 2011
Naomi rated it: 4 of 5 stars
The Perfect Book to cheer me up while I was sick. I had to keep running to my parents to read them one thing or another. This really isn't going to be a review, I'm just going to list off all of my favorite "awesome" stuff... which is like half the book, so please prepare yourself:
Old, dangerous playground equipment / When you get the milk-to-cereal ratio just right / Fixing electronics by smacking them / Tripping and realizing no one saw you / Waking up before your alarm cl More...
Dec 14, 2010
Lesley rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This was a feel good book. There were moments in it and times that I thought "wow, that IS pretty awesome and I'm glad that I'm not the only one who takes pleasure in that!" Neil Pasricha is a laid-back kind of writer who writes in a way that would never be described as elegant. I felt like I was reading a book that a really, cool, easygoing guy wrote one day without editing and without second thought. It was his own words and there may have been a few editing errors and grammatical mi More...
Jun 25, 2010
Elizabeth rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I like this premise--identifying the tiny things that make us so very happy. In these trying times, the success of this book (& accompanying website) show how we are all craving the identification of good things. I think the word "awesome" is so misused but I use it myself, so who am I kidding? It seems like I gravitate toward the entries about sleeping. There was one about waking up and still realizing you have more time to sleep (I love that). There was one about how good it feels to More...
Jul 25, 2011
Aaron rated it: 5 of 5 stars
There is not much to say about this book that the title does not already suggeest. This book is Awesome! I read through this book reminding myself of all the great things in life. It reminded me to appreciate life because who knows how long we will be here and why not appreciate putting on nice warm underwear straight from the dryer? I read some of these to my wife and we sat and laughed and enjoyed some of the ideas. The website is awesome as well. Be sure to check out the website http://1000awesomethings.com/ More...
May 05, 2011
Becky rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I liked the idea behind this book but I think it tries to be much more clever than it actually is. My biggest complaint is that he ended his description of each thing with AWESOME! I know you think it is awesome, that is why you included it and titled your book as such. Most of the items in the book simply have to do with good timing (ie hitting all green lights.) Nonetheless, I do agree with the author that these five things are pretty awesome:

-the final seconds of untangling a re More...
Apr 19, 2011
Cydney rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I would really give this book a 4.3 out of 5 stars. It was so quirky and funny and true. It's filled with things that we might take for granted in the grand scheme of things, but when you're having a bad day...these little events or things really do make your day a bit more awesome.
My personal favorite was "Figuring out how to work the hotel shower". Because of personal struggles that I won't get into right now.
The only reason this doesn't get a 5 out of 5 for me is that s More...