Page 10 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - September '24

Page 10, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Book Review

The Official Dictionary Of trick. In 1995 a group version, which made it to The New York Times bestseller

Sarcasm: A Lexicon For of “thinkers, writers and list. That’s easy to understand when you start laughing
artists” in Britain got
through the 215 pages that are arranged in 15 chapters
Those Of Us Who Are Better together to form The with such headings as: There’s No Business Like; Words
Useless Information
of Wisdom; Food Fight; I Wanna Sex You Up; Seeing the
And Smarter Than The Rest Society. Today they have World; Creativity Corner … and so on – offering more
than 1,500 true facts which, as the author states, prove
30 members – their names
Of You And The Ultimate are listed in a front page once again that “knowledge doesn’t have to be useful to
Book Of Useless Information: of this book – and the be entertaining.”
Here is a small sampling:
Chairman, Noel Botham,
A Few Thousand More Things is listed as the author of • Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.
• The average person spends two weeks of their life
this book.
You Might Need To Know The inclusion of the kissing.
word “Ultimate” in the
• Giraffes have no vocal cords.
(But Probably Don’t) title of The Ultimate Book • 83 percent of people hit by lightning are men.
of Useless Information • When female elephants have been pregnant for more
By Nils A. Shapiro refers to the fact that
You have two books there was an earlier Book Review on page 11
for the price of one in this
month’s column. And since
you receive this newspaper
for free the following Are You Ready Hurricane?
review is certainly worth
the price. (My feeble
attempt at sarcasm.) For The Next Storm?
These books are perfect
examples of my lifetime
obsession as a bibliophile. No Air Conditioning?
Books have always been my favorite source of No Refrigeration?
information, knowledge and information. Even today I
seek out titles of interest wherever I shop, from big box FREE
supermarkets that stack books on tables to furniture stores 10% OFF
that don’t sell books at all. 7 Year Warranty
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volume that was on display in a furniture store – not for $ 350 $ 1,000
sale but to draw attention to a high-quality sofa grouping.
I convinced the owner to sell the book to me and it is now One-Time OFF
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This month’s two books are recent additions I couldn’t *Must show coupons. Call for details.
resist because their subject matter is just so much fun!
And since I base my selection of books to review here 561.774.7714
largely on what I feel you would enjoy – and would want
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your attention here. West Palm Beach, FL 33409
The Of f ic i al
Dictionary of Sarcasm
is the work of James
Napoli, executive
vice president of the GeneratorSupercenterofThePalmBeaches.com
National Sarcasm
Society. (Yes, there Licensed Electrical Contractor #EC 13010145
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well-crafted hardcover
book is surprisingly
heavy – in weight, not
in tone. The author’s
sarcastic humor begins
on the front cover with the notation: “Not Approved for
Use by Stupid People” … and on the back cover makes his
point: “You have been waiting patiently for a dictionary
like this to come along. And now it is here … Not that
you give a crap.”
Of course, the heart of the book is in the more than
350 pages of definitions, almost every one illustrated and
printed in two colors. Here are just a few examples:
Power Lunch: A strategic session of manipulation and Life moves fast—
preparation for eventual backstabbing arranged around a

pleasant noontime meal. prepare for the unexpected
Hard Working: Conscientious behavior of the kind
usually exhibited by a sap who doesn’t understand that with Accident Insurance.
no one is going to thank him for it.
Kosher: 1. Food that conforms to Jewish nutritional
laws, which were handed down by God in order that the
Chosen People would never experience flavor. 2. Also
used as a generic term to imply legitimacy. “I know most
people don’t sell stereo equipment out of the back of a We’re here to help.
panel van, but don’t worry, it’s strictly kosher.”
Waistline: The part of the human body that we get
the most obsessive about keeping trim, if only to remain Accident insurance complements your Florida Blue Health Plan. Call to learn more
desirable enough so activity occurring below it will still about insurance plans from USAble Life.
be a viable option.
Contractor: A person who has the ability to make M&A Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
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*****
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popular person in your group, it turns out that there 22L-USAL-0872 112941 1222
is another strange organization that might help do the