Saturday, March 24, 2007

Books for Serious Folks (who need to lighten up)

For The Too Serious Amongst Us Debra at As I See It Now recommends the book Mrs. Appleyard's Year. She calls it "a for-goodness-sake-lighten-up! book."

Says Debra:

Mrs. Appleyard, an empty-nester, will tickle even the most serious of you until she makes you smile... or dare I say break out in a rusty laugh? She'll show you that admitting your faults can be fun, even freeing, and she'll help you find the lighter, more balanced side of your daily grind. She'll remind you of what's right about life and you'll find yourself remarking, "Oh! I'd forgotten about those good, simple, happy things, those delights which did not disappear with the 1950's. I'd only thought they had."

And you'll see that, often, it's what we serious folks have forgotten that makes us what we are today--so dreadfully serious that people avoid us, lest they catch our crankiness. Which, incidentally, is the exact opposite of this whole biblical idea of Christiandom.


I know I've read books that made me laugh at myself or that shot my anger at someone or something into tiny, broken pieces or that made me back off of something that, now that I thought about it, wasn't really my business. But just at the moment no title is coming to mind.

If you happen to think of a book that helped you or someone else "lighten up," please share.

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