Roach, Mary "My Planet"

Roach, Mary "My Planet. Finding Humor in the Oddest Places" - 2013

I have read articles by Mary Roach for a long time and certainly have been one of her biggest fans. I looked for a book by her ages ago and didn't find it. So now I was happy to hear from a friend that she did indeed publish several in the meantime. I had to get one immediately.

Whether she tells every phone operator what she thinks about their message "your phone call is important to me", talks about every woman's horror about getting their husbands to ask for directions or any other nightmares we might have with our beloved, she really does find humour in the oddest places.

On three pages, she tells us all about problems we face every day, maybe more when we are married but a lot also goes for single people. In any case, I'm glad I didn't read this on the bus. Her stories are a treasure and I will certainly look out for more.

From the back cover:

"A Hilarious Collection of Essays from one of America's Most Gifted Humorists!

Mary Roach, the bestselling author of Stiff, Spook, Bonk, and Packing for Mars, is considered one of the funniest science writers of all time. Roach removed the medical gauze to reveal a different side of her comedy in the Reader's Digest column "My Planet" - which was runner-up in the humor category of the National Press Club awards. Now available as a complete collection for the first time, the quirky, brilliant author takes a magnifying glass to everyday life, exposing moments of hilarity in the mundane and revealing amusing musings about marriage to, as she puts it, "the man I call Ed." 

Learn to laugh at your spouse's obsessions, appreciate automated customer service, and find pockets of pleasure in mazelike bargain stores. You'll never look at a grocery list the same way again."