36 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 11, 2006
This review is from: 101 Things to Do Before You're Old and Boring (Paperback)
As soon as I read the title of this book, I wanted a copy. Then when I got a copy, I started worrying that I was one of those old and boring people. After all, I'm thirty-one, which isn't as old as, say, Methuselah, but isn't as young as any of those cuties on Dawson's Creek, either. But then I decided I'll probably always be young at heart (which basically means I'll be wrinkled and totally gray, and yet still want to learn to skydive), so this book could be a great guide to see what I've accomplished.
According to Mr. Horne and Ms. Szirtes, these are the one-hundred-and-one things everyone should do to keep their life fun and interesting--and to keep you from being old and boring. Included after each category are my own thoughts on the matter:
1) Send a Message in a Bottle: Did this as a class project once; never got a response.
2) Run up an Escalator the Wrong Way: Did it, but only because I was in a hurry.
3) Make an Origami Crane: Too uncoordinated and impatient.
4) Learn How to Tell When Someone Has a Crush on You (and When They Don't): Wish I'd had this list in high school.
5) Keep a Dream Diary: Still do this.
6) Touch These Creatures: No thank you; there's no way touching a ginormous hairy spider will improve my life.
7) Prepare Yourself for Fame: I've been prepared for years; Fame is obviously avoiding me.
8) Learn to Play an Instrument: Wish I'd done this!
9) Play a Computer Game to the End: Done this too many times; undoubtedly this says something about my social life.
10) Have an Embarrassing Moment and Get Over It: This is called life; happens all the time.
11) Get Your School Involved in a World Record Attempt: So cool!; wish I'd though of it.
12) Paint a Picture Good Enough to Hang on the Wall: When stick people become the next big thing, I'll be rich!
13) Learn to Whistle (and Make Other Noises): Still not too good at this.
14) See a Ghost: Yep; and I'm still recovering.
15) Fart and Burp: I'm taking the fifth on this one.
16) Make a Swear Box: Right now, my box is about as big as the Empire State Building.
17) Act in a Play: Never have, but would like to.
18) Win Something: Rarely, but it has happened.
19) Make a T-Shirt: Still have the one I made in junior high.
20) Stay Up All Night: I have kids; this was a normal routine for a long time.
21) Sleep All Day: Again, I have kids; this just doesn't happen.
22) Invent a Secret Code: Not unless talking to an infant and my pets counts.
23) Learn to Do a Card Trick: Does fifty-two card pick-up count?
24) Grow Something from a Seed: Several times; they usually end up dying anyway.
25) Start a Collection: I collect angels; statues, figurines, pictures, etc.
26) Help Save the Planet: I recycle.
27) Turn Back Time: Been trying to do this since I passed age twenty-five.
28) Learn to Do a Party Trick: Contrary to popular belief, I don't think chugging is a party trick.
29) Climb to the Top of a Mountain: Nope; but I'm open to someone carrying me to the top.
30) Make a One-Minute Movie: No, but sounds like fun!
31) Host a Party: Yes; but Tupperware Parties don't count, either.
32) Visit...: Never been outside the US, but have been to Arizona, Las Vegas, and Florida.
33) Learn to Bake a Cake: Of course; that's why Betty Crocker is so rich.
34) Hide a Treasure and Leave a Map for Friends to Find: Done this with my kids; alas, no Johnny Depp at the end.
35) Learn How to Ask Someone out (and How to Dump Them): Afraid my husband wouldn't appreciate it.
36) Start Your Own Blog: Several times.
37) Write Lyrics for a Song: Yes; they sucked.
38) Make a Time Capsule: No, but I want to.
39) Be a Genius: Well, duh! That's a given!
40) Take Care of an Animal: Yes, and we're getting a new calico kitten, Callie, in two weeks!
41) Learn to Like These Foods: I watch Iron Chef, so I would try just about anything.
42) April Fool Someone: Not really; it just seems too mean.
43) Do Something Charitable: I donate to the United Way regularly, as well as give blood to the American Red Cross.
44) Teach Your Grandparents Something New: I don't think they'd want to learn what I could teach them.
45) Invent a New Game: For my children, all the time.
46) Go as Fast as You Can: I'm pretty sure this is called speeding.
47) Make your Own Badges: Yep; I'm Supreme Queen Genius of the Universe.
48) Watch These Films: Most of them!
49) Read These Books: Most of them!
50) Pretend to Be Sick Convincingly: This is how I missed most of my freshman year of high school.
51) Save Your Pocket Money for a Month and Spend it All at Once: That takes self-control; I don't have any.
52) Learn to Swim: Yes; I taught myself.
53) Succeed at Something You're Bad At: Cleaning my house, although I'm not sure I'm really succeeding.
54) Be a Daredevil: Except for my love of rollercoasters, I'm not really into being wild and crazy.
55) Invent a New Trend: Wearing sweats and a t-shirt 24/7 hasn't really caught on yet.
56) Know Who Your Friends Are: Sure do!
57) Plant a Tree (and Climb it When You're Older): Planted one, don't climb them since I broke my arm doing that at age 8.
58) Start a Band: No, but I know if I did it would be called "The Geniuses."
59) Camp Out in the Backyard: Several times.
60) Learn to Live Without Something You Love for a Week: I'm not into self-punishment.
61) Join a Club: I belong to several of them, both on and off line.
62) Cook a Meal: Daily; although I don't always want to.
63) List the Things Your Parents Say They'll Tell You When You're Older: I wish I'd done that for blackmail purposes.
64) Make Your Bike or Skateboard Look Cool: My bike was pink and gray, which was cool enough for me.
65) Learn to Juggle: Too uncoordinated.
66) Have a Snowball Fight and Fun in the Snow: Every winter.
67) Build the Ultimate Sandcastle and Have Fun in the Sun: Every summer.
68) Take Part in a TV Show: No, but I was in a commercial once.
69) Make a Scene in a Public Place: Thanks to my kids, this happens a lot.
70) Spend Christmas in Another Country: No, and don't want to; Christmas is for being with family.
71) Do Something Nice Without Being Asked: All the time; it's called being a mother.
72) See Your Music Idol Perform Live: Not yet, but I'm still holding out hope.
73) Have a Sleepover: They got me through my teenage years.
74) Become a Spy: I'd tell you about it, but then I'd have to kill you.
75) Watch a Tadpole Grow into a Frog: Do people really do this?
76) Learn to Say Useful Phrases in Other Languages: I don't think foreign curse words is what they mean.
77) Make Your Own Greeting Cards: I'm cheap, so yes.
78) Hold a Yard Sale: Just had one not too long ago.
79) Build an Igloo: Not much use for an Igloo in Illinois.
80) Start Your Own Secret Society: "Geniuses Unite"; you have to be really not stupid to get in.
81) Research Your Family Tree: I got too scared to finish.
82) Learn to Skip Stones: Yep; just watch out for water fowl.
83) Dye Your Hair: Heck yeah; I'm too young to be gray.
84) Lobby Your Local Congressman: Several times, for all the good it did me.
85) Write a Story and Get it Published: Twelve times, in fact.
86) Sing in Front of an Audience: If karoake counts, then many, many times.
87) Learn to Use Long Words (and Drop Them Into Conversation): How did you think I got A's in high school?
88) Blame Someone Else: Kids are good for lots of things.
89) Learn to Stick Up for Yourself: Did this around age seventeen.
90) Get from A to B Using a Map: I'm laughing too hard to answer this one.
91) Send a Valentine Card: Still send them to my husband after ten years.
92) Have Your Own Plot in the Garden: It's there, but it's dead.
93) Build Your Own Web Site: Several times; you're on one now.
94) See Your Name in Print: Many times; not all of which I'm proud of.
95) Make a Unique Milkshake: I'll stick to Jamocha, thanks.
96) Glue Coins to the Floor: Do you know what that would do to hardwood or vinyl??
97) Learn to Take Great Photos: Sure, headless people are really in right now.
98) Drive Something: Car, Limo, and does "driving people crazy" also count?
99) Be Vegetarian for a Week: Sorry, but this gal is a carnivore through and through.
100)Meet Someone Famous: I consider all the great authors I've met to be famous.
101)Decide What You Want to Be When You Grow Up: Still working on this.
What's great about 101 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE OLD AND BORING is that it doesn't just list what you should do; it gives you helpful hints and tips on how to accomplish the goal. It also provides Achievement Stars to mark that you've completed the task, when and where you accomplished it, and, in some cases, a place to rate your fear factor about doing it.
A great book, for teens and adults alike. Order your copy today!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
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