Title:
Yawn
Publisher: Ten
Speed Press
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This Book!
Summary: Counting sheep no longer does the trick?
How about reading the U.S. Constitution? The next time you head
for bed pick up YAWN: BEDTIME READING FOR INSOMNIACS and try one
of over 75 ridiculous and unusual ways of getting to sleep. Pages
of tedious material with corresponding exercises will have you
belting out the zzz's in minutes, such as the: Biblical genealogy
in the Book of Genesis, detailed analysis of the stages of periodontal
disease, and life insurance accelerated death benefit rider.
Editorial Reviews
"Surefire
insomnia cure." —Salt
Lake City Tribune
"...seeing new and exciting possibilities in the most
boring details of life. ...recommending that you give that "sleepless
special someone in your life...this hysterical compendium of the
dullest of the dull reading material." —Detroit
Free Press
"Books can speak to the sleepless, the stiff, the discouraged,
the flabby and the nearsighted...This clever title comprises the
most snore-inducing texts ever assembled under one cover."
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
Reader Reviews
Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg
Readers of this column occasionally request books to put them
to sleep. They don't want works that call for a change of sleep-sabotaging
behavior, medications, or other treatments, but simply texts so
boring they bring on slumber.
Yawn aims to be that book. Among its selections of ponderous prose
are President Clinton's Grand Jury Testimony, Nutrition Guidelines,
Practical Palmistry, Income Tax Instructions, and Airline Ticket
Fine Print.
Some articles focusing on sleep also made writer Ellen Stern's
cut (none, happily, by this reviewer). These include a report
on "How to Get a Good Night's Sleep," from the FDA Consumer;
"Can Insomnia Affect Your Quality of Life?," a syndicated
news article, and "NASA Fatigue Countermeasures," a
scientific review of findings on scheduled cockpit naps that appears
on NASA's website. Stern also provides Halcion Dosage Information,
which she suggests is as soporific as the sleeping pill it ordinarily
accompanies.
This amusing collection may prove a popular holiday gift. But
it may not put you to sleep. Most sleep experts maintain that
boring books, talks, plays, and the like don't cause sleepiness.
They simply unmask it.
If you're not ready for sleep at bedtime, dull reading may prompt
you to seek other entertainment. That selection on "How to
Get a Good Night's Sleep" may prove useful after all.
BORING! (just as promised):
"This book consists of:
A letter from Elvis to Nixon
Passenger flight instructions
A stain removal guide
Clinton's grand jury testimony
Tax filing instructions for the state of Minnesota
A guide to dietary fiber... And More!
It was hard to decide what to rate this book. It IS boring. It
could very well put you to sleep. Of course, that is its job.
It is a collection of some of the driest dullest reading materiel
ever compiled in book form. If there was one complaint I had about
this book it would be some of the boring stuff in here was actually
pretty funny, therefore did NOT put me to sleep. Elvis's letter
to Nixon has got be one of the funniest things and ever written."
"Better than melatonin and valarian! When I can't sleep I
turn to this book. It knocks me out and at times I find myself
laughing myself to sleep. A great gift for insomniacs or a reference
tool for annoying partners who want to talk before bed. This will
put them to sleep in a heartbeat. Yawn is a real sleeper!"
Buy
This Book!
