Things That Suck is a new book out by an old friend. And while, yes, you could say that one thing that sucks is having to blog about a friend’s book, I’ve got no problem with this one. People ask me for links all the time (no, not from this site, which probably has all of seven readers – that also sucks) and I generally shy away. But here’s one I’m OK with – into even.

First, the book itself is a lot of fun. It’s basically a list of 1500 or so phrases describing situations most of us have seen, largely outside of our control, that are just no fun to be in. Most are little, niggling issues that can drive you nuts if you think more about them. The key, I think, is recognizing their general harmlessness and unimportance, and that seems to be one point of the book.

It’s lighthearted – mostly. I was a little taken about by some of the entries, and I contacted the author (OK, my good friend) Jason about them. He pointed out that having harsher items in the list served to put into perspective the lighter entries. And he’s right: getting your shoes muddy is really no big deal considering the much larger problems we face both individually and as a society.

Beyond the text, there is a fun flip-book style animation sequence of something that sucks in a different way. It’s not lewd, but I shouldn’t ruin it.

Finally, I’d also urge you to check out the website and blog. The website has interactive elements that allow users to add to the list, and to send messages to others of things that they presumably just found, that suck. Next, the blog, on a totally different topic, chronicles the author’s attempts at selling the book – pretty fascinating. I’m told the URL of the blog may change, so if that doesn’t work for you, try the link off the website.