Customer Reviews

Honku: The Zen Antidote to Road Rage

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
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After author Aaron Naparstek had a brush with danger when confronting a honking driver, he found a way to sublimate the frustration and anger of traffic annoyances into calming poetry. Through the use of the 5-7-5 syllable pattern of haiku, he has now brought enlightenment and laughter to the topics of road rage, traffic gridlock, high fuel prices, lack of parking, and many other automotive trials and tribulations. In this little book, perfectly suited in size to fit into the glove compartment, are such gems as:

Lawyer on cell phone/tries corporate and freeway/mergers at same time
Seattle traffic/the one thing capable of/stopping Microsoft
When the light turns green/like a leaf on a spring wind/the horn blows quickly

So keep this book in the car with you, and when that familiar tension starts, breathe deeply and transcend your road rage to reach a state of honku nirvana.

As Aaron's younger (but very influential) brother, I must take some of the credit for this authoritative book on America's Honking Industrial Complex. As a youngster, Aaron often found creative ways to liven up our lives. For example, when I was seven, in lieu of simply forcing me to wrestle with my neighbor, he would tie me to my neighbor and THEN have us wrestle. I think this example demonstrates Aaron's ability to take a relatively simply idea (haiku's/wrestling) and truly take it to the next level.

Long and short of it -- Haiku's rock -- buy it.

I have a confession to make: I am an angry driver. I take it very personally when people cut me off, don't let me merge, and are just generally rude and nasty behind the wheel. If you're like me, YOU NEED THIS BOOK. It is a great stress reliever; humor is such an effective coping device, and so much better than giving some moron "the finger!" Keep it handy in your car, but don't read while you're driving; the streets are dangerous enough with all those cell phone users out there.

I picked this up last night at a local bookstore and think it is great. Quick, funny, and often insightful. I especially liked: Our new minivan, so many cupholders it needs a dishwasher. Great to share as gift or just to pass around the office.

There's plenty of room in my truck's glovebox for this book, even if it's very home is a principle target of Honku. It's a great read. Lots of laughs, and not too many big words. Buy an extra copy, you'll definitely know someone that you want to give it to.

As a past brooklyn borough resident, I can certainly empathize with the author's internal rage at the wide-spread road rage that engulfs much of the city streets at all times of the day and night - INCLUDING - peaceful weekend mornings.

When I found out about this book, I immediately rushed out to get it, and was not dissapointed. Honku is a hoot (pun intended). This compilation of hilarious haikus from a geographically dispersed set of of creative writers, really does act as an antidote for those who must endure the sounds of non-silence, or for those who are trapped in grid-lock - and who need something else to reach for, besides the horn in front of them.

I enthousiastically recommend this book. It can be a funny, quick read, or a reference for all-time - especially when you are in a "jam".

Kudos for Honku!

AT

As a past brooklyn borough resident, I can certainly empathize with the author's internal rage at the wide-spread road rage that engulfs much of the city streets at all times of the day and night - INCLUDING - peaceful weekend mornings.

When I found out about this book, I immediately rushed out to get it, and was not dissapointed. Honku is a hoot (pun intended). This compilation of hilarious haikus from a geographically dispersed set of of creative writers, really does act as an antidote for those who must endure the sounds of non-silence, or for those who are trapped in grid-lock - and who need something else to reach for, besides the horn in front of them.

I enthousiastically recommend this book. It can be a funny, quick read, or a reference for all-time - especially when you are in a "jam".

Kudos for Honku!

AT

When this book was handed to me by a friend, my first reaction was "Huh?" Then I began to read and the laughter didn't subside even after I finished the book. Great, Funny, Insightful and a nice, quick read! The perfect thing to read after that long drive to your Summer destination.

Using anger as fuel for humor is a time-honored comic tradition, and this witty, easy read will have you laughing at yourself, and putting it all into a much needed perspective. Congratulations, Aaron Naparstek, for showing us that the way to deal is to be real, rather than rageful!A little Zen cool is a much needed antidote to today's overheated rhetoric.

This zen of a book is a hilariously brilliant interruption to the emotionally dangerous hijack of road rage. Aaron Naparstek transformed his own breakdown experience into a new poetic paradigm of honku,a true evolution of the Japanese haiku. For innovation and ingenuity alone, this book adds to reading lists about emotional intelligence, creativity and the evolution of possibiity. But, more than that, this gentle, easy to fit into your pocket or glove compartment book, works to make us laugh at the everyday nonsense of our lives. This little book is not just about interrupting road rage through creativity, it's a quick gestalt of the collective "who" we are on the roads of our lives.