Customer Reviews

Admit It, You're Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies, and Irrational Behavior

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book collects together lots of goofy things people do. Some of it is compulsive behavior, phobias, or just quirks. It was fun looking though it to see if any were behaviors I have.
I liked the one where the lady puts her hot iron in the refrigerator to avoid any possibility of a fire after finishing her ironing. You can't help but smile at some of the ideas. One woman shopped for food that starts with the same letter (carrots, cat food, corn). Must have made life complicated.
The behaviors are grouped so there's a chapter on food, clothing, money, sleep, germs, bathroom, and miscellaneous.

An OCD ALERT! (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, that is).

Judy Reiser interviewed 2,000 people to find out their quirks--many you and I share.

Her bathroom humor section (toilet paper, seat use, reading material) was amazing as I thought it was only at my house this happened.

She captured the behavior of spouse and friends alike--things you learn to ignore or they will drive you nuts. Married 38 years I know! That's why the concept of tolerance should be added to the wedding vows.

I didn't see myself in hardly any of them, but then I am a compulsive liar. Actually I had no favorites in the hundreds of little quirky stories because so many resonated with me in some way.

Great gift book that will end up in the bathroom, where according to a "man quirk" there MUST be something to read.

Armchair Interviews says: Admit It, You're Crazy is a fun read for your house or a gift--say a bridal shower so the unsuspecting bride will get some much-needed clues.

Ever heard of someone who makes holes in her socks? A person who irons his newspaper? What about a cat who runs a treadmill? These and many other quirks are now available in one book to tickle your sane nerve. Author Judy Reiser brings to public notice the many quirks and idiosyncrasies of people in her recent book Admit It, You're Crazy! (Andrew McMeel Publishing, Missouri, 2005).

Judy Reiser's book is a collage of interview clips of numerous individuals, all adults, in first person. These run the gamut of humor from real crackers to slightly off-the-track peculiarities of living. Obsessive thinking and resulting compulsion is the recurring motif in most of the instances included. At times, the behavior will not seem so irrational as some of the persons relate it to their early experiences and some of them definitely reflect the reader's own quirks.

As far as goes the fun part of the book, it will depend on the reader's own rationality whether the instances scribed elicit a guffaw or a sigh out him/her. More matter-of-course response from the reader, more reason to suspect one's normality. Grins! But the book is certainly unique in that the author's absence is nearly fixed (except in occasional questions); in some ways a short coming because after reading over fifty pages you feel lost in a deluge of voices popping in and out incessantly.

One beautifying feature of the book is the adornment with colored headings, fun figures, and vignettes that go in perfect accord with the business of going bananas. Money, eating habits, bathroom behavior, travel, and germ-response stories are presented with the profession, gender, and age of the people involved. Judy Reiser has done a nice job in letting people put on the make-up of self-critical smile before they stand under their shower. Wink!

PS: Judy Reiser is open to receiving more quirks and idiosyncrasies from people. She can be reached by e-mail given at the end of her book.

I am one of those people who like to read almost anywhere, including bathrooms. I have also over the years developed several other daily habits and ways of going about my work that some people might find peculiar. Sometimes when I hang out with my friends, we exchange a few stories about our peculiarities, but otherwise I have hardly ever given much thought to other people's idiosyncratic behaviors. "Admit it, you're crazy!" gave me a chance to take a peek into silly habits of other people and not feel guilty about doing it.

The book is made up of individual "confessions" by a person who has a particular habit or idiosyncrasy, or is familiar with someone who engages in peculiar behavior. Each "confession" is no more than a couple of paragraphs long, so you get a lot of information in this small volume. The "confessors" are only identified by their occupation and age so that their anonymity is secured. The book is organized into sections that deal with different aspects of the daily life, such as bathroom habits, bedroom habits, eating habits, etc. The idiosyncrasies described range from just ordinary habits (such as where you like to sit in a restaurant) to the kinds of behaviors that could be characteristic of clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The book is very nicely illustrated, and ideally suited for casual browsing. It can be picked up at any point, and can be re-read many times. It's a fun, entertaining, little book.

Some things written were to funny .You never realize how many crazy things you do.until you read them in this book.

This is such an entertaining book! What I love is that if you start reading through it, at first you're laughing and saying to yourself, "boy, is that nuts." But then at some point somebody describes how they stack their pocket change or something and you find yourself thinking "That's wrong - it should be stacked so it adds up to a dollar, not by height" and you realize that you've got the same kind of quirks. I showed her first book, "And I Thought I Was Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies & Meshugaas" (one of my favorite books) to a friend who said it was interesting but that he doesn't have any habits like this.

Since I know him well, I laughed and laughed. We ALL do things like this, we just think ours is the only right way to do it.

Its pretty funny. Great collection of the silly things that a lot of different people do on a daily basis. Defiantly worth buying, and reading. Puts a smile on my face.

This book was pure joy! Judy Reiser helps you realize that everyone has a little crazy in them which is one funny thing we all have in common!

Have you ever thought how odd some people are? Have you ever been brave enough to acknowledge your own quirks and idiosyncrasies?

I admit I like the toilet paper unrolling under the roll (and I've been known to change it at other people's houses) and it drives me so insane when people leave the toilet seat lid up that it leaves me tempted to post a BIG sign to please put the lid down. Ladies! There is a lid for a reason! I also make my grocery list in the order of my entry and path in the grocery store.

The more I read, the more I began to recognize the folks around me. This book is one I would relegate to the bathroom - if reading materials were allowed there. It is one of those books that you would put in the bathroom, and then wait quietly outside of the door for laughter.

I like that the quirks in the book are followed by the person that was brave enough to voice the quirk, (and their profession.) It made the quirk, in some cases, funnier.

Admit it, you're crazy would make a great gift - wedding, shower, or birthday - or just a gift to bring a smile to someone's face. It is a book of strange behaviors that will leave you rolling on the floor laughing. Even the "normal" people do the darndest things.

Thanks Judy for a great laugh.

Oh. My. Gosh! I had many moments of ME TOO! My strangest crazy tendencies were validated in this book. It made me feel like I was having a good laugh with my other slightly crazy friends! I highly recommend this book--it'll make you feel good about your odd habits and about that friend or cousin or neighbor who always makes you wonder why they do that.