Book Club - How to be Totally Miserable: A Self-Hinder Book (audio version)

Welcome to another edition of book club.  Okay I may have cheated a little this time, as I listened to the audiobook - I much prefer listening to John Bytheway than reading his books.

This book is "reverse psychology" at its best.  It is, of course, really about how to be happy, but is presented in a humorous, entertaining way.  I think sometimes it helps also recognise the things we do that take us in the opposite direction.  By pointing out the things that will make us miserable, we might find ourselves going "oops, I guess I do that sometimes..."  It can help sometimes to recognise our bad habits before we try to develop the good ones.

John Bytheway (it feels too weird referring to him without his full name!) aims to be as entertaining as possible in writing this book, and it seems to be aimed mainly at (Latter-day Saint) teenagers.  He uses word play and alliteration quite a lot.  

The book is broken up into short segments on each point of "advice".  The headings of such segments include: 

Think about your problems

Relive bad memories

Hold onto grudges

Don't set goals

Be a breath of stale air

Believe that things will never change

Be easily offended

(the list goes on...)

In each segment he gives the advice on how to be miserable, but he also warns against and points out the opposite things, which will actually make us happy!  So being well informed, we are able to make our choice:  Do I want to be miserable, or happy?

Here's an example of the writing style:

To be miserable, don't set goals.  If you're trying to be miserable, it's important that you don't have any goals.  No school goals, personal goals, seminary goals, or family goals.  With nothing to shoot for, your life is shot.  Your only objective each day should be inhale and exhale for sixteen hours before you go to bed again.  Don't read anything informative, don't listen to anything useful, don't do anything productive.  If you start achieving goals, you might start to feel a sense of excitement, and then you might want to set another goal!  And then your miserable mornings are through.  To maintain your misery, the idea of crossing off your goals should never cross your mind.

The book is also filled with inspiring quotes and useful scriptures all about how to be happy...which of course we want to avoid!  Right?

It may take a little bit to think in opposites (kind of like The Screwtape Letters, though not as much), but at least in the audiobook his tone of jest clearly highlights the fact that he really means the opposite, and it is a light-hearted way of reminding ourselves that there are many  things we can do to choose to be happy.

What are your thoughts?