Avoiding Everyday Disasters: Stop Murdering Your Houseplants, reheat leftovers without ruining them, don't owe your arm and leg in credit card debt, and dodge 500 other common pitfalls of adulting

by Laura Lee

Learning from failure is an effective—and entertaining—way to make information stick. This fun and engaging guide showcases tons of common screw-ups and how to avoid them.

Do you know how to tie your shoe? Or do you just think you do but you’ve actually been screwing it up for decades like most people have?

This witty, light book takes a fresh spin on all the mistakes we make everyday that end up costing us big in our wallets, our health, our homes, and beyond. Topics covered are Yourself (appearance, skills, all things you), Your Home, Your Cooking, Your Money, Your Relationships & Family, and Your Health. This perfect combination of humor and wisdom entertains readers as they learn how to make their lives better by avoiding and remedying common screw-ups.

Things we all mess

*Using chopsticks as spears because you just can’t figure them out (Yourself)

*Throwing Frisbees behind you, sucking at horseshoes, and other game/sporting fouls (Yourself)

*Getting your sofa stuck on moving day (Your Home)

*Gluing your fingers together (Your Home)

*Turning your brown sugar into a brick (Your Cooking)

*Breaking the yolk every time you flip an egg (Your Cooking)

*Your taxes. Argh. (Your Money)

*Overdrawing your account and paying a fee  even though  you have overdraft protection (Your Money)

*Cracking someone’s ribs in the Heimlich maneuver (Your Health)

*Inability to make a Band-Aid stick or get a Band-Aid off without tearing out your hair (Your Health)

*Forgetting your loved ones’ birthdays year after year (Your Relationships & Family)

*Embarrassing yourself on a date because you don’t understand the French menu or the 90-page wine list (Your Relationships & Family)

The ways in which we flub and flounder are infinite, and this book taps into that boundless fountain of foul ups in a way that will entertain and enlighten readers of all kinds.

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 26, 2017

About the author

Laura Lee is the author of 22 books. In addition to a large catalog of humorous reference titles such as The Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation and Don't Screw It Up, she has written one children's book, A Child's Introduction to Ballet, two novels, Angel and Identity Theft, and Oscar's Ghost, which deals with conflicts between members of Oscar Wilde's circle over his legacy after the playwright's death and Wilde Nights & Robber Barons, the story of a member of Wilde's circle who went on to be part of an international band of confidence tricksters who used false titles of nobility.

The San Francisco Chronicle has said of her work: "Lee's dry, humorous tone makes her a charming companion... She has a penchant for wordplay that is irresistible."

Lee brings to her writing a unique background which includes work as a professional mime, improvisational comic, and radio announcer. After a three-year stint as a part-time touring public relations director for a Russian ballet company, Lee has returned to her native
Michigan where she divides her time between writing and producing ballet educational tours with her partner a Russian ballet dancer and director.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura Lee and the editors of Reader's Digest published a very handy guide for a number of so-called disasters from the personal (such as how to break wind correctly) to dying arts (such as how to correctly parallel park) to the professional (such as how to make the best of your Linked In account). It's a must read!

[Alberto Tebaldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

few tips have been useful, overall it's more common sense advices