Orbiting the Giant Hairball. Say What?

The other night I was on the phone with Martine, a creativity coach I know in Belgium. I had asked her what she was reading. She's as avid a reader as I am, and I wanted some new titles. Martine got her pile of books from her bedside and began telling me about them. Martine speaks excellent English, but when she told me the title Orbiting the Giant Hairball, I had to ask her to repeat herself.

If that isn't best book title I've heard in a long time, I don't know what is. Feel free to comment with the most unusual book title that you've run across lately.

Of course, I had to rush over to my dealer and check it out. Luckily, the library had it on the shelf, a small hardcover whose title was scribbled in funky, hand-drawn letters. The subtitle, A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace, shares the author's perspective on life in the corporate world.

Gordon MacKenzie worked for Hallmark for 30 years (to the day, he tells us. Was he waiting until he could get retirement benefits or what?).

I started reading and couldn't stop. Each chapter is a short vignette about how to be part of a larger culture without being sucked into the middle of it. Thus, orbiting. MacKenzie started out as an illustrator for Hallmark and worked his way into management. He ended up doing presentations to organizations and schools around the world, bringing his quirky perspective to others. The book is peppered with child-like drawings that invite the reader to play with a simpler perspective.

Go check it out. I'm having a lot of fun spending time with MacKenzie. I could not stop laughing in the chapter called "No Access." Thanks for the recommendation, Martine!

Comments

[Barb]

I've got one for you! I came across this book when helping with our annual Friends of the Library book sale. It is called, "How to Shit in the Woods" by Kathleen Meyer. It is referred to as the "backpacker’s bible." I did not even have a chance to buy it as a gag gift, because one of the other helpers grabbed it from my hands. She was so excited to give it to her son-in-law who camps often. I'm sure it was a bit hit!