Customer Reviews

Daily negations: a malcontent's book of meditations for every interminab

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The line between comedy and tragedy is very thin in Daily Negations. Every day features a new, grim thought to bring you back down to earth if you were feeling a little too good about yourself. But the humor is so raw and edgy--and genuinely funny--that you won't resent it a bit

Two books bear strikingly similar titles -- "Daily Negations" by John S. Hall, published Feb 1, 2007; and "Daily Negations: A Malcontent's Book of Meditations for Every Interminable Day of the Year" by Barbara Lagowski and Rick Mumma, published Dec 1, 1996.

The first one mentioned above is also here on Amazon (and my review with it).

This book being reviewed by yours truly has an "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" feel to it. By that I don't mean you'll want to move your bowels as you read it, I only mean it is worthwhile smatterings of disjointed information that Lagowski and Mumma knew the rest of us would also find interesting so they made the effort to compile this book. People, places, things, events, quotes, facts you probably never knew or would find elsewhere, and a bit of somewhat dark satire, smart-mouthed irony is apparent in the overall collection. There is a very brief topic index (in the back).

Basically the layout of this book is a quote by somebody (or a few somebodies per page) who you might or might not know; often a short trivia comment about them or about the quote; a paragraph on the topic indicated by the quote(s); then a short fact of life that you personally can easily identify with (called a negation). There is at least one of each in this list, for every day of the year.

April 15 - "Today I'll pay the IRS without complaint, knowing that those making more than me are paying almost as much tax as I am." (example of a negation)

You'll be delighted by this book If you have both feet on the ground and prefer not to be brainwashed with sayings such as; "There's light at the end of a tunnel" (you fool that's an oncoming train!!), "Better times are just around the corner" (unless you're talking about an ice cream shop - you've lost me), "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" (then give it up ya moron, don't be an idiot), "Happiness cannot be found at the bottom of a bottle" (maybe so, but I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy), and "Chin up lad, best foot forward" (your sinuses can drain down your throat that way, and you'll avoid re-injuring the same foot).

The two books mentioned in my first paragraph have their own style and yet both are prized possessions in my vast library. Someday I hope to get a third book.

Read one of these if you've overdosed on Kathie Lee