BLOGS, BOOKS, BONANZA

Though not much of a sloganeer, one of the mottos I embrace in testy situations is the hackneyed but generally effective ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ I probably (though subliminally) filched it from the book of the same name, properly titled Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff, published by Hyperion. It’s a useful compendium of folk homilies that did what it was designed to do – keep things in perspective. (Think the otherwise sane driver who sees red after being cut off by another motorist.) As with many ego-transcending devices, it works precisely because it forces you to step back and look squarely at your own moronic behaviour, before you begin to bellow at the open air in your car.     

Having become semi-adept at not sweating the small stuff and without knowing it, I became inured to enjoying the small stuff. The idea that ‘good things come in small packages’ is not something I could readily accept. Inconsolably, and in spite of begging my mother for an operation I’d heard of to insert more bones in my legs, I topped out size-wise at a meager 5-foot-nothing. Family, friends, concerned strangers told me not to worry, that I’d have a growth spurt anytime now. The promised spurt never came and I’ve been a self-conscious small person with aspirations to be bigger for as long as I can remember.  

Personal neuroses aside, it was a revelation to discover (or re-discover; infants have an innate sense of wonder as they explore the world) the pure diminutive joys of everyday life. The bric-a-brac of human behaviour, the serendipitous happenings I’d usually discount as momentary distractions rather than enchanting moments, are rising like charmed snakes out of a long slumber. This, by way of a growing literary phenom currently making the rounds with the chattering classes called The Book of Awesome (Putnam) by 30-something first-time Canadian writer Neil Pasricha.

The book is based on Pasricha’s hugely popular blog – 12 million hits and counting – of the same name. It has been warmly endorsed by the likes of The Guardian, Wired.com, and Christian Lander, smartypants author of another popular blog offshoot, Stuff White People Like (Random House). It also didn’t hurt that book retailer Indigo’s CEO and “Chief Booklover” Heather Reisman put her Heather’s Pick imprimatur on The Book of Awesome and took out a half-page advert in a national newspaper generously extolling its virtues.

Both Lander’s and Pasricha’s books are vaguely Seinfeldian. While they’re not exactly about ‘nothing,’ they capitalize on the small, undeclared observations we may all unconsciously note but about which we rarely comment.  Who would care about our snarky asides and ironic tangents except maybe close friends and family? As it happens, a whole lot of people. Both books are bestsellers. This is apparently what happens when people take chances and put their ‘mad’ and mocked ideas out into the universe. I knew I had something with home video delivery.

The Book of Awesomehas some hilarious stuff. A few classics: “Locking people out of the car and pretending to drive away”; “Peeling an orange in one shot”; “Using hotel lobby bathrooms when you’re out walking around”; and my personal favourite, “Seeing a cop on the side of the road and realizing you’re going the speed limit anyway. Stress level goes up. Stress level goes down. AWESOME!” The premise of the book, while slight, is nonetheless brilliant in its ability to highlight simple, shared, universal truths.

Both Pasricha and Lander were pursued by literary agents once their shtick had gone viral. CBS Television one-upped the trend recently when it offered Justin Halpern – author of the massively-followed Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says, and the book, modified slightly to not offend, Sh*t My Dad Says – a 30-minute comedy slot. The show stars William Shatner as Justin’s dad, the cranky and hilariously profane Sam Halpern. As a nod to correctitude the sitcom is called $#*! My Dad Says.

Courting stillness has been energizing. It forces you to live in the here and now and pay attention to moments you’ll never get back. What with global warming, economic catastrophes, and wars raging with no end in sight, it’s reassuring to know that sometimes less is more.