The Rules for Life Omnibus: 488 Rules + More Rules together in one edition

by Kitty Flanagan

The Rules for Life Omnibus is Kitty Flanagan's way of making the world a more pleasant place to live. Providing you with the antidote to every annoying little thing, these rules are not made to be broken.

This special omnibus combines comedian Kitty Flanagan's award-winning 488 Rules for Life with her rather prosaically titled sequel, More Rules for Life. Inside this blockbuster edition you'll find rules for every aspect of daily life, such

Pregnant women aren't magic lamps; don't rub them.
One to two squirts of perfume or aftershave is ample.
Never make eye contact with someone while eating a banana.
Once a month, hold your yoga tights up to the light and check the thread count.
And always, always, remove the lettuce before toasting a sandwich.

Witty, helpful and endlessly entertaining, this omnibus is the quintessential reference book with the power to change society...or, at least, make it a little less irritating.


'Rule no. 1 - Buy this book, laugh out loud, become a better person.'
Jason Alexander (Seinfeld)

Genres: Humor

448 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Lydia Rufus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book! I liked how it was culturally relevant and an Aussie author, so most things made sense and were funny to my aussie cultured sense of humor. Twas a bit crude in places, but I guess that fits the genre I'm reading.

Would not recommend reading in places where an unexpected snort of laughter would not be approved of/would raise eyebrows (ie the fancy national library or on a train).

A quote:

Rule 26

Cushions are not spiritual advisors

The current trend for putting trite advice on soft furnishings has to stop. No one has ever read Live, Love, Laugh on a pillow or Dream, Relax, Feel on a wall hanging and thought, Oh what an excellent idea, I've not lived, loved or laughed in ages. Well, that all changes right now, thank you, cushion!

In fact, more often than not, I find these clichéd bon mots have the opposite effect and actually inspire rage and the desire to punch something, usually a cushion with the hateful Keep Calm and Carry On printed on it.

Haha Kitty. Thanks for writing this.

[Francesca Pashby · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was vaguely practical, moderately amusing, and surprisingly beige.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always find Kitty funnier than I expect her to be. In some ways she’s a grumpy old man trapped in a woman’s body. I like the undercurrent of bewilderment she displays – bewilderment at how strangely people behave. There is a lovely bit in this where one of her rules is to not use the slang of people younger than you are – but that you should bring back that of your own past, or even before your own past. Similarly, she says you should never send memes to people younger than yourself, they’ll have already seen it, but only to people older than yourself. These are an amusing couple of books based on a clever idea. I read recently that rhetoric stopped being a subject when we moved from being a mostly oral culture to a mostly literate one – the need to be persuasive in spoken language had diminished. I wonder if something similar happened to etiquette? Even the spelling of the word seems quaint, and part of the reason these books are called ‘rules’ perhaps, rather than etiquette, breaking her own ‘rule’, in a way.

[Christian West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I think it's because Kitty Flanagan's dry sense of humour resonates with me. The added "More rules together" component wasn't as funny as the first 488 (ish) rules, but still quite good.
And I only really disagreed with a single rule - rule 433 don't talk in the library. But that's probably because, as a librarian, I've been told to "shoosh" by many people in libraries, and libraries are no longer the quiet places they used to be. So no, you shoosh, I'm going to talk loudly and proudly.
Otherwise funny.

[Cherylreddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was easy to read and hilarious. I skipped about through the different sections. Loved the tips and didn’t necessarily agree with them all, but generally some very good advice contained within. Kitty is a typical Australian comedian in her writing. So true to life. It’ll resonate with anyone.

[Megan White · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Very entertaining to read. Had a few laugh out loud moments. Didn't agree with everything but who cares, right?

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t read in bed at night, made me laugh too much!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and easy to read. Funny. Heard it in Kitty’s voice the whole way through. If you take this book seriously or personally you’ve probably missed the point.

[Max Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

It isn't often that I find a comedian who's sense of humour is as similarly dry as my own as Kitty Flanagan, so she is 100% one of my favourite whom I've come across. It's also rare that humour translates well onto a page, but Kitty makes each rule so hilarious that I literally laughed while reading this one lots of times. Tres bien, je l'adore.

[Lily Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up as an easy read to ease me into the new reading year. It was interesting and quite humorous, but the ‘list’ format makes it feel like a chore to get through and I do wonder how much of the learnings I can actually retain. I liked reading from her introverted and slightly socially-avoidant perspective. I just like Kitty Flanagan in general to be honest, she exudes a captivating honest energy, and was great in Netflix’s Fitch.