I bought a book

...this, in itself, is no great surprise. What is a surprise is this
one wasn't science fiction - it was a collection (and I quote) of
'small rules for little problems'.



Sounds like another checkout-book, doesn't it? One of those little
books hanging around at the counter, lurking, waiting to pounce on any
poor shoper addled by the bright colours, and weakened to the point of
impulse buying. The Little Book of Feng Shui ("For good luck, put a
fishbowl with thirteen goldfish in it in your hallway. If one dies, do
not worry - simply replace it") was the last time I made such an error.




This, though, caught my eye with the following, on the question of
tidying up: "Everything in life has its proper place. If it's not in
that place it's officially untidy. If the thing doesn't have a proper
place in the first place then it's officially rubbish." Speaking as
someone who has spent the last two months climbing over boxes, this hit
me with the force of some great revelation. I couldn't have been more
impressed if a burning bush had appeared right there in Fopps.
(Preferably in the r'nb/hip hop section, where it could do the least
damage. Culturally, anyway).



Wot the blazes is it called, anyway? Oh, right: 'Never Push when it
says Pull', by some bloke called Guy Browning. A modern-day guru, by
anyone's standards.