The Book of Good Habits: Simple and Creative Ways to Enrich Your Life

By Dirk Mathison

Book Overview

The Book of Good Habits contains nearly 2,000 simple and creative ways to enrich your life. Dirk Mathison uses wit, humor, satire and a dash of cynicism to blend his own good habit recommendations with those of a diverse array of philosophers and fools, from Confucius and Abraham Lincoln to James Brown and Groucho Marx. The habits range from the practical (keep a pair of tennis shoes at the office so you can take a quick run or power walk during breaks) to the sublime (drink green tea from a blue cup) to the ridiculous (slap up--if you must slap, make it a habit to slap someone who makes more money and is more prominent than yourself). The Book of Good Habits includes habits for the mind, health, safety, sex, love, friendship and parenting. At the heart of Mathison's book is the belief that if we change our daily behavior, our lives will change as well. And that it is through our habits that we give life to our ideas and our ideals. So chew on a bit of parsley for clean breath, use candles even when there's no special occasion, and enrich your life with The Book of Good Habits .

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963994662
• ISBN13: 9780963994660
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press
• Length: 214 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

This is no airy-fairy type self-help book!

This book is small in size, and I glanced through it while a friend looked for a specific book at our local bookstore. Wow! What a surprise! This book neatly condenses all the daily tidbits that make up life, and gives suggestions on everything from completing quickly and painlessly the mundane chores of the everyday to using proper manners (not nearly as difficult as you may think, and by the way, you are so much more pleasant to be around if you are not picking your teeth in public). The book is set up in categories, each addressing different areas (finances, relationships, daily tasks, your personal attitude, and so many more). This is one of those books where you find yourself saying, "That is obvious. Why didn't I ever think of that?" Mathison points out the obvious, and the not-so-obvious, and neatly presents a package of valuable morsels to gently but firmly change one's life for the better. He writes in a fun and easy-to-read style, and unlike many of the so-called self-help books, there is no airy-fairy in this gem! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and believe you will, too.