1000 Awesome Things and The Book of Awesome

If you are looking to buy The Book of Awesome, you can get it on Amazon by clicking this link.

I’m going to jump on the band wagon here, and tell you about 1000 Awesome Things.  The author, Neil Pasricha, is doing some fantastic guerilla marketing for his new book by sending free copies to a number of bloggers.  Everywhere I turned today I saw a post about this book.  And, while I apparently didn’t make the list for a free book I feel very strongly that it is worth mentioning because this is an AWESOME website and I’m sure the book is equally AWESOME.

The website 1000 Awesome Things has been around for 474 week days.  His 526^th awesome thing is “When dreams come true.” One of his dreams came true today with the release of “The Book of Awesome.”

You may be wondering if the content of the Book of Awesome is the same as the content of the 1000 Awesome Things website. Much of it is the same, but there is some new material in the book. Before buying the book for myself, I wondered why someone would buy the book when we could get most of the same content for free on the Internet. After receiving the book, I found there are a few reasons to buy the book.

1. I don’t have a fancy phone or iPad, so I have to do my Internet reading at my desk. Having the book make is easier to read a little awesome every day, and do it anywhere that might be comfortable.
2. When I finish the Book of Awesome, I’m planning to give it away to someone I love.
3. I want to support the author, Neil Pasricha.  He’s just a regular guy with a blog, and with a little hard work, he morphed that into a book deal.  I like supporting regular people that do extraordinary things.
4. I’ve heard of many people buying this book as a gift.  It can be difficult to pick good books that are suitable for gift giving, but you really can’t go wrong by gifting The Book of Awesome.

Here is a review that is posted on Amazon, from Publishers Weekly.  I think it’s a good summary of The Book of Awesome.

Pasricha celebrates the simple pleasures of everyday living. Focusing on both tangible pleasures and simple experiences, Pasricha provides a contemporary take on everyday inspiration that skips the typical Chicken Soup for the Soul fare: “When you push the button for the elevator and it’s already there,” (“Ding!”); “When the boss goes out of town” (“Who’s up for a three-hour lunch?”); “Peeling that thin plastic film off new electronics” (“Welcome to the world, remote control”). Other items get more substantial discussions, including the other side of the pillow, old playground equipment, hotel lobby bathrooms, the last day of school, and the five-second rule. Though tongue-in-cheek, Pasricha emerges a committed but inviting optimist, combating life’s unending stream of bad news by identifying opportunities to “share a universal high five with humanity.” Readers looking for simple, unsentimental pick-me-ups should find this happy browsing.

You can surely acknowledge the things mentioned in that review are all AWESOME.  I’m very happy for Neil to be living his dream and I am excited to read about all the awesome things!

I also want to add a few of my own awesome things.  Here is a short list of 10 things I think are Awesome.

1. The day I married my best friend.
2. The day I became a dad.
3. Lifting the couch so my daughter can find lost things.
4. A cool rain on a hot summer day.
5. Sunrise at the beach.
6. The smell of new electronics.
7. Hugs.
8. A warm campfire on a cool night.
9. A camping breakfast.
10. Watching flowers slooowly growing from seeds.

That list could go on and on.  Try making your own list of 10 Awesome Things and then buy The Book of Awesome and share in all the Awesomeness.

Tagged as: Bloggers are people too, Books, Happiness, Reading