Our Book of Awesome

Neil Pasricha

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781982164508
• eBook ISBN:
  9781982164515
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

Welcome to Our Book of Awesome, a celebration of the small joys that bring us together. In a world that is often overwhelming, it's time to return to the simple things, the AWESOME things, all around us...if only we take a moment to see them:
-Carrying the ice cube tray from the sink to the freezer without spilling
-Finally unsubscribing from that annoying email you've been getting forever
-Seeing your parents dance
-Adding a gift note to yourself on your online order
-Sending a private message during the video conference and then seeing your coworker look down and silently smirk
-When your kids don't hear you opening a bag of potato chips
-When the hand sanitizer isn't that extra slippery kind that never dries
-Texting your husband to do something when he's upstairs and you're downstairs
-When the cake plops flawlessly out of the panThese are just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of things you'll find in this new volume. You'll also find comments, letters, and submissions from the AWESOME community around the world, leading to a final cacophony of awesome, by all of us, for all of us. Our Book of Awesome is an injection of joy, a heartfelt gift, and a smacking high five for humanity. Read it to be reminded of the endless AWESOME things that give laughter and happiness to our beautiful and brief lives.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• So What’s This All About?
• 1. Carrying the Ice Cube Tray from the Sink to the Freezer without Spilling
• 2. Laugh Lines
• 3. Sending a Private Message During the Video Conference and Then Seeing Your Coworker Look down and Silently Smirk
• 4. How Messy Your Face is after Eating Shawarma
• 5. Finally Unsubscribing from That Annoying Email You’ve Been Getting Forever
• 6. Getting Really, Really Sweaty Before Jumping in the Lake
• 7. Discovering a Shortcut the GPS Doesn’t Know About
• 8. Picking the Right Thing to Unplug Out of the Mysterious Power Bar Full of Wires
• 9. Completely Nailing the Timing on That Avocado
• 10. Accidentally Snorting While Laughing
• 11. Gravy
• 12. When Your Friend Returns Your Book and They Actually Read It
• 13. Finding Something to Scratch the Part of Your Back You Can Never Reach
• 14. Rogue Children
• 15. Remembering the Attachment Right Before Sending the Email
• 16. Drinking from the Hose
• 17. When You Finally Get Rid of That Thing That’s Been Rolling Around the Trunk of Your Car Forever
• 18. When Someone Calls Just to Say Hi
• 19. The Smell of a Library
• 20. Correctly Guessing the Secret Ingredient
• 21. Finishing the Workout
• 22. Hot Chocolate in Cold Arenas
• 23. Taking the Stairs Beside Somebody Taking the Escalator
• 24. Dogs with Jobs
• 25. Adding a Gift Note to Yourself on Your Online Order
• 26. When You Find Out What Was Making That Horrible Smell and Get Rid of It
• 27. Tire Names
• 28. Opening the Dishwasher and It’s Already Empty
• 29. The Sound of the Needle Hitting the Record
• 30. Sleeping in Sheets That Dried in the Sun
• 31. Someone Actually Returning Your Wallet
• 32. Peeling All the Dried Glue off the Lid
• 33. Rejigging the Entire 3D Puzzle of Your Freezer to Somehow Squeeze This Giant Box of Chicken Fingers in There
• 34. Grandma Hair
• 35. When That Book You Placed a Hold on Four Months Ago is Finally Waiting for You at the Library
• 36. Stretching Your Legs after a Really Long Car Ride
• 37. When the Hand Sanitizer Isn’t That Extra Slippery Kind That Never Dries
• 38. Feeling Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend Smile While Kissing You
• 39. Putting All the Toppings on the Hot Dog Bun Before the Actual Hot Dog
• 40. Putting on Your Sandals and They’re All Warm from Lying in the Sun
• 41. When Your Kids Don’t Hear You Opening a Bag of Potato Chips
• 42. Inventing New Foods at the Buffet
• 43. When a Stranger Helps You Push Your Car Out of a Snowbank
• 44. Driving Down an Old Road with Trees That Touch and Form a Canopy Over Everything
• 45. Yellow Teeth
• 46. Putting a Couple Easy Things on Your To-Do List Just So You Can Enjoy Crossing Them Off
• 47. Reading an Actual Newspaper
• 48. Unpacking the Last Box
• 49. Throwing Non-Ball Objects to People
• 50. Finding and Eating Berries Right off the Vine and They’re All Warm and Juicy from the Sun and Then the Juice Dribbles Down Your Chin
• 51. Sitting on That Warm Spot Where Your Pet Was Just Sleeping
• 52. Any Dessert in Sandwich Form
• 53. Deciding to Ignore That Little Pain You Woke Up with Today and Hoping It Will Just Go Away Tomorrow with a Good Night’s Sleep
• 54. A Little Kid Holding the Door for You
• 55. When a Human Answers the Phone
• 56. When You Cook Something New and Everyone Likes It
• 57. Leaving Your Belt in Your Pants for Tomorrow
• 58. When the Internet Goes down and Everybody Walks Out of Their Rooms and Actually Starts Talking to Each Other
• 59. Making Disgusting Slurping Noises While Eating a Really Juicy Peach
• 60. 3:00 A.M. Driveway Conversations with Your Best Friend
• 61. Taking the Price Tag off Anything in One Clean Peel
• 62. That Secretary Who Actually Runs Things Around Here
• 63. Finding a Lid That Fits This Stupid Tupperware Container on the First Try
• 64. The Core of the Cinnamon Roll
• 65. When the Crosswalk Changes to Walk Just as You Approach It
• 66. Tiny Sports Victories
• 67. Shampoo Memories
• 68. Chomping Up and Down a Cob of Hot, Farm-Fresh Corn Like a Wild Animal
• 69. Seeing the Delivery Truck Pull Up in the Middle of Your Street and Wondering If the Cardboard Box Roulette Will Land on Your Porch
• 70. When Halfway into a Videoconference a Cat Nobody Saw Before Suddenly Wakes Up on Someone’s Lap
• 71. When That Person You Haven’t Seen in a While Doesn’t Guilt Trip You for Not Seeing Them in a While
• 72. Actually Making the Right Amount of Spaghetti
• 73. Midnight Summer Walks
• 74. Becoming Friends with the Only Other Kid Who Doesn’t Know Anyone Here
• 75. Somehow Finishing Your Shampoo and Conditioner Bottles at the Same Time
• 76. When the Categories in Jeopardy! Are Right in Your Wheelhouse
• 77. Flipping Over Your Grilled Cheese to Discover You Perfectly Cooked the Bottom Side
• 78. The Sniff Test
• 79. Finally Cleaning Your Disgustingly Filthy Windshield
• 80. When Your Completely Plugged-Up Nostrils Suddenly Open Up with No Warning
• 81. Putting Things in Your Shoe So You Don’t Forget Them Later
• 82. The Sound of a Golf Ball Falling into the Cup
• 83. Blaming Your Fart on the Dog
• 84. Actually Finding Time to Eat Whatever I Want
• 85. Going to the Movies by Yourself
• 86. Getting Tiny Chores Done Before the Microwave Beeps
• 87. When That Mandatory After-Work Hangout Planned by HR Is Canceled by HR
• 88. Tennis Grunts
• 89. Successfully Firing Your Shopping Cart Thirty Feet Across the Parking Lot Before It Perfectly Crashes into All the Other Carts
• 90. Facial Hair Experiments
• 91. Being Suddenly Really into Bird Watching
• 92. That Person at the Table Who Suddenly Convinces Everyone to Get Dessert
• 93. When You Owe Someone $20 and Someone Else Owes You $20 But Then They Just Give $20 to the Person You Owe Instead
• 94. The Sound of a Bouncing Basketball Echoing Around the Playground as the Sun Sets
• 95. Feeling It in Your Bones
• 96. The Blanket
• 97. When Your Footsteps Line Up Perfectly with the Floor Tiles You’re Walking Across Right Now
• 98. The Honor System
• 99. That Person Who Hands You a Tissue When You’re Out Somewhere with an Endlessly Dripping Nose
• 100. Slowly Shifting Back to Nature Time
• 101. Anything Really, Really Heavy
• 102. The Moment at the Bar When Everyone Starts Singing Together
• 103. Finishing Your Last Exam and Starting Summer Vacation
• 104. The Very First Bite into a Fresh Piece of Gum
• 105. Being Able to Tell My Baby’s Cry Apart from All the Other Crying Babies at the Park
• 106. Pulling a Thick and Tangly Clump of Hair Out of the Drain
• 107. Seeing Your Parents Dance
• 108. When Everything You’re Cooking Gets Done at the Same Time
• 109. When the Foul Ball Is Flying Towards You
• 110. When Cats Do Stupid Things
• 111. Going Through a Revolving Door Without Having to Push
• 112. Your Birthday Week
• 113. Pulling a Shrimp Out of Its Shell with Your Teeth without the Tail Breaking Off
• 114. Seeing What Comes Out of the Garden at Your New Place
• 115. Seeing Kids Reading in the Hallway
• 116. That Little Hole at the Top of Your Sink That Prevents It from Overflowing
• 117. Tearing off a Piece of Plastic Wrap That Doesn’t Immediately Get Stuck to Itself
• 118. Socks as an Expression of Personality
• 119. Making It Through Airport Security Without Any Beeps
• 120. When You Get in the Car and Notice Someone Filled Up the Tank
• 121. Watching Your Favorite Movie with Someone Who Hasn’t Seen It Before
• 122. When You Get a Package Delivered While You’re on a Call and the Dog Doesn’t Bark
• 123. Going Really Fast Over Speed Bumps at the Back of a School Bus
• 124. Smelling Someone Barbecuing Over Your Backyard Fence
• 125. Realizing You Accomplished Nothing So Far Today So Deciding to Spend a Few Minutes Cleaning Up Your Computer Desktop and Calling That a Win
• 126. When Your Parent Brings You Back a Gift from Their Business Trip
• 127. When That Old Restaurant You Love But Haven’t Been to in Twenty Years Is Still There When You Go Back
• 128. The First Day of the Year You Get to Wear Shorts
• 129. When You’re Sleeping and the Sounds Around You Meld into Your Dreams
• 130. Slipping in the Tub But Catching Yourself at the Last Second
• 131. A La Moding Anything
• 132. When a Butterfly Lands on That Flower Right on the Edge of the Trail You’re Hiking
• 133. Thinking
• 134. Trying on the Most Ridiculous Sunglasses You Can Find at the Store
• 135. Giving Thanks
• 136. Twisting the Lid off the Jar after Nobody Else Could
• 137. A Tiny Bird Singing Its Heart Out Alone on a Power Wire in an Empty Parking Lot
• 138. Peeling a Hard-Boiled Egg and Getting a Big Chunk of Shell off All at Once
• 139. Racing Outside to Put Your Garbage Out But Missing the Truck So Then Just Casually Walking Across the Street in Your Robe and Leaving It in with Your Neighbors’ Bins Because Theirs Gets Picked Up Later
• 140. Getting a Good Locker in High School
• 141. That One Pair of Pants That Makes Your Ass Look Great
• 142. Texting Your Husband to Do Something When He’s Upstairs and You’re Downstairs
• 143. Really, Really Tall People
• 144. Showing Old People How to Do Something on Their Phone
• 145. Singing in the Car on the Way Home from the Concert
• 146. Getting Dressed Out of the Laundry Basket
• 147. Redoing a High Five with a Friend to Get a Better Smack
• 148. Backing Away from the Crib like a Ninja
• 149. Using Milk Instead of Water
• 150. Your Saliva
• 151. Waiters and Waitresses Who Know the Menu Really Well
• 152. 30-Second Surprise Neck and Shoulder Massages While Cooking Dinner at the End of a Long Day
• 153. Gutsy City Animals
• 154. Cheesy School Photo Day Trends
• 155. Finally Finishing That Scarf You Started Knitting a Decade Ago
• 156. When the Cake Plops Flawlessly Out of the Pan
• 157. Seeing Your Baby Talk to Themselves in the Mirror like It’s a Completely Different Person
• 158. When You Should Have Gotten a Parking Ticket But Didn’t
• 159. Flossing
• 160. The Couple Minutes after the Kids are Buckled Up But Before You Back Out of the Driveway
• 161. The Moon
• 162. Dogs Hanging Their Head Out Car Windows
• 163. Someone Giving You a Good Idea on How to Distract Your Kids for a Solid Hour So You Can Get Some Work Done
• 164. Breakfast for Dinner
• 165. When You’re Walking Beside a Fence or Railing and You Poke a Stick in There So It Just Clangs Over and Over
• 166. Mastering the Art of Giving Great Rides
• 167. When That White Noise You Didn’t Know Existed in the Background Suddenly Stops
• 168. Bailing on a Sled
• 169. Thick Milkshakes and Greasy Fries at an Old Diner
• 170. Starting the Lawn Mower on the First Pull
• 171. Taking a Nap after Eating Pancakes
• 172. Making the Last-Second Call to Grab an Umbrella on Your Way Out the Door This Morning
• 173. Actually Finishing a Bar of Soap
• 174. Getting All the Chocolates You Want from the Box of Assorted Chocolates
• 175. Spinning in an Office Chair for No Reason
• 176. When One of Your Paintings or Tests Makes It onto the Fridge
• 177. The Silence After the Bone-Shaking Noise Stops
• 178. When You’re Not the New Guy Anymore
• 179. Food Gawking
• 180. That Bend in the Pipe under the Sink
• 181. Finding Your Name on Some Tacky Souvenir in the Gift Shop
• 182. Seeing Your Teacher in the Grocery Store and Suddenly Realizing They Are a Real Person
• 183. Hands-Free Everything Public Bathrooms
• 184. Being the Guy on the Roadside Construction Crew Who Gets to Hold the Stop Sign
• 185. Peak Magnolia
• 186. Sleep Lines
• 187. Lineup Friends
• 188. Old-School Sugar Cereals
• 189. Sleeping in on Weekend Mornings
• 190. Holding a Baby in One Arm While Successfully Making an Entire Breakfast with the Other
• 191. Anything Served to You Sizzling or on Fire at a Restaurant
• 192. Having a Great Story to Go with That Horrible Bruise
• 193. Eating a Taco Without Anything Falling Out
• 194. The Air Just Before a Thunderstorm
• 195. A Perfectly Sharp, Pointy Pencil
• 196. Any Restaurant with Old Ladies Doing the Cooking
• 197. Watching the Sports Highlights of the Game You Just Finished Watching
• 198. Singing the Guitar Solo
• 199. All the Things You Learned in Third Grade
• 200. The First Time a New Friend Calls You by Your Nickname
• 201. Picking Up Your Boyfriend’s or Girlfriend’s Sweater and Suddenly Smelling Their Smell
• 202. Seeing a Plane from Another Plane
• 203. Opening and Sniffing a New Pack of Tennis Balls
• 204. Successfully Navigating Your Home in the Dark
• 205. Playing Hide and Seek with Your Kids But Really You Just Hide and Check Your Phone
• 206. Actually Winning One of Those Completely Fixed Carnival Games
• 207. Cracking Open a Brand New Textbook
• 208. Blowing Bubbles in Your Milk
• 209. Lazing on the Couch after a Big Holiday Feast
• 210. Your First Job
• 211. When the Videoconference Chat Fills Up with Compliments About the Thing You Just Said in the Meeting
• 212. Finally Taking Your Mask off after Wearing It for Hours
• 213. Any Bite Where There’s More Chocolate than Cookie in the Chocolate Chip Cookie
• 214. When You Clink Every Single Glass for Cheers Even If It Means Getting Up and Walking Around the Restaurant Table
• 215. Anything That Can Grow Wings
• 216. When Your Kid Falls Asleep on You
• 217. Finally Cutting off That Overgrown Big Toenail
• 218. Watching Seniors Do Water Aerobics
• 219. Cutting Your Sandwich into Triangles
• 220. Letting the Waves Bury Your Feet at the Beach
• 221. When a Stranger Laughs at a Joke Between You and Your Friends
• 222. Homemade Food on the Potluck Table
• 223. The First Time You Get to Ride in the Front Seat of the Car
• 224. Completely Guessing the Right Answer on a Multiple Choice Test
• 225. The Surprise Left Turn Arrow
• 226. Not Bumping Your Head on That Thing You Always Bump Your Head On
• 227. That Person Who Brings Treats into Work on Friday
• 228. The “Access Granted” Noise of Your Hotel Room Door Unlocking Even after It Was Touching Your Phone
• 229. Helping Out an Insect Struggling to Do Something
• 230. Getting a Glimpse of the First Parade Float Coming Around the Corner
• 231. Seeing a Big Dog Sitting in the Driver’s Seat of a Parked Car
• 232. Sitting in the Very Back Row of a Sporting Event
• 233. That One Really Weird Food Combination That Only You Love
• 234. Your Skin
• 235. Talking to Little Kids About What They Want to Be When They Grow Up
• 236. The Superfast Group Cleanup
• 237. Sending Yourself Emails to Do Stuff in the Future
• 238. Somehow Waking Up at the Right Time Even Though You Forgot to Set Your Alarm
• 239. Flying Over Mountains
• 240. Videoconferencing Your Parents and Seeing More than Just Their Foreheads
• 241. The First Warm Day of Spring
• 242. When Someone You Haven’t Seen in Years Suddenly Pops into One of Your Dreams
• 243. Remembering We’re All Pretty Much the Same
• 244. That Dirty Melting Snowman Across the Street Suddenly Reflecting Back to You a Strangely Poignant Metaphor About Life Itself
• About the Author
• Copyright