Feb 27, 2003 02:09 PM
6458 Views
(Updated Feb 27, 2003 04:37 PM)
This is the first Darrel Bristow-Bovey book I read but I assume his other books would have been equally funny yet informative too.
I Moved Your Cheese, presents a cynical & amusing alternative to Dr. Spencer Johnson's self-help best seller, Who Moved My Cheese?. Having read the latter, I was curious to know WHO is this person claiming to moving the cheese :)
I also thought it was yet another self-help book that would tell us to do this or not to do that & that would make us feel better about ourselves, putting us in a more acceptable position in the society blah blah. I have had my share of reading such books & have to admit that even when I enjoyed reading the books, whenever I tried to implement any/some suggestions given those books, they mostly backfired. But when I read on the back cover I Moved Your Cheese - ''The lazy person's guide to helping yourself'' I knew this is one book I'd enjoy !!
Darrel says in the introduction of his book:
''The problem with the self-help books that litter the shelves of the bookstores & bedside tables of the nation, besides the fact that they are poorly written by unattractive authors, is that they expect you to do all the work. You are required to read them, remember key words, perhaps even put their teachings into practice in everyday life''
Yes, yes, rek agrees. Reading is easy but the most difficult part is to try following & succeeding in using these 'helpful' tips effectively. But in this I Moved Your Cheese - we are not required to take any such steps at all. Just lying on your sofa we learn how to reap the rewards of being a better person, without having to trouble yourself with the unnecessary burden of actually becoming better. Instead of trying to improve yourself, reap the benefits of letting others do the improvements for you.
Naturally, I was hooked right from the first page, reading & laughing as the author tells that its not even necessary for me to read this book ! Just buying & keeping it displayed in a prominent position would make me a brighter, happier and more desirable person. How? I wondered.
The book tells things that are oh-so-simple yet we [or even the cleverest people] are not able to see. Darrell explains that self-help books are damaging to the self-esteem coz we set up goals that we cannot achieve & as a result we end up feeling more of a failure than we originally felt. Hmmmm....... it made some sense.
Dealing with various subjects, Darrel also gives some obvious & funny examples/tips on how to find a mate, how or why his diets fail & make digs on celebrities whom we look upon for inspiration. Here is what he says for some of them :
Oprah :
No one can be Oprah, coz even Oprah is not Oprah. Oprah the person was just smart enough to let herself inhabit the idea.
''The Chucklehead'' Deepak Chopra :
First I thought he was a LA gangsta rapper...I don't like to make fun of my fellow writers but that's ok coz Deepak Chopra isn't a fellow writer, he isn't a writer's cuticle.............Deepak Chopra says that only difference between man & a tree is informational & energy content of your respective bodies. I say that's is also the only difference between me, a tree & George W Bush! No, only not difference. A tree has leaves, sucks up water from the ground & lets dogs urinate against it. And George Bush is a little like a tree.
This is a hilariously different self-help book for the couch lovers! It tells them there is no need to get out of the sofa & try to improve themselves coz they are already OKAY :) Do nothing about anything & if you really want people to think you're a better person ; just fake it. A useless bit of advice but still there are also some bits worth remembering. One of lines I liked best is:
We may be lazy, but we aren't dumb. It is only the very smart who can get away with being as lazy as we are
Darrel was also right about just keeping the book in view, looking at the cover reminds me of the contents & I break into a big smile. Reading this book may or may not change your life much but it will certainly make you laugh & would also tempt you to distribute/gift copies of the same to your friends, my copy of this book is already doing the rounds :)
