Not a Piece of ‘Crap’

“Crap” is not just another self-help manual, but a guide to cleaning out one’s life of meaningless, troublesome nonsense. As the paperback says, you can learn how to deal with annoying teachers, bosses, back stabbers and other stuff that stinks, just by reading. As a result, one of the recommended summer reads has got to be “Crap.”

The various varieties of crap are all addressed, including how to identify, avoid and dealing with the crap that comes into the lives of numerous individuals on a daily basis.

When dealing with your superiors, like bosses, teachers, and parents, you need to ask yourself if the crap that is coming from them is truly useless crap or constructive criticism. The same thing goes when pondering the answer to if crap from your friends can help you to become cool or is just peer pressure. The answers could go either way with these questions. Crap is a word that has several meanings and all of them are not in the dictionary. It is best to weigh the pros and cons of the so-called meaningless crap.

Avoiding crap can be as easy as knowing when to play and when to fold in accordance with thoughtful decisions and social interactions. According to the book, people should be more flexible and choose their battles more carefully. Some arguments that involve crap-like reasons are better left not fought. Another way is to simply avoid negative people. As the saying goes “misery loves company and misery does like to spread.” One last way of avoidance is to not be on the offensive or instigate trouble with those negative persons.

There are times that crap is identifiable, but inevitable and when that happens dealing with it is the next topic in the book. Groups of supportive people in your corner are one of the best ways to deal with the shortcomings of life. When crap, in the form of clutter, builds up in your home, have a party. According to the book, making fun out of spring cleaning helps to pass the time. Not only are the groups of family and friends helpful, but having a positive outlook on life is also a plus. Visualization of better outcomes can help in trying situations as well.

As an added bonus to this, there are the actual facts about crap throughout this paperback. Facts such as what actual crap is made up of, an Asian elephant can expel up to 500 pounds of fecal matter in one day and in Singapore there is a $1,000 fine for individuals who neglect to flush a toilet.

Authors Erin Elisabeth Conley, Karen Macklin and Jake Miller have made an amazingly funny, yet informative collaboration. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in entertainment and information. The flow of it makes it a real page turner and offers immense information to citizens in need of it.