#2: Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (5th - 6th January)

A super cute read that serves as an incredible breath of fresh air in comparison to the experience of reading Meditations; I kid you not, the first time I opened Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, I read 45 pages in a row and only stopped because I had somewhere I needed to be soon!! 😱

EINTKILIN brings me so much joy purely from reading it, on a similar level that The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking does. Basically, this book is just like having a slightly batty but very lovely old person tell you about their life and things they like...without you having to say or do anything in return! 

I especially enjoyed the stories about the Saint Hong Duc (a child who randomly shows up to the author's house dressed as Santa and yells "TRICK OR TREAT!"), the cuckoo clock, and the detailed existential crisis over the deaf child who reallyyyyyy wants to take his leaves (context: Robert Fulghum doesn't rake because really likes leaves!)

As well as being incredibly charming, I also learned a lot of fun facts. Example: ants are clean freaks, so beetle larvae basically have a built in poo cannon specifically to prevent ants from eating them. As if the facts alone aren't impressive enough, Fulghum even applies them to human situations e.g. apparently he saw a man and a woman do something similar to this concept at a cocktail party. Wow, the level of genius that is required to connect the dots between beetle poo cannons and cocktail parties!!! 

Admittedly, I only learned about and requested EINTKILIN from the library because I saw that a guy I fancied at the time posted about receiving it as a birthday present, and I thought that maybe I would impress him and foster closeness by reading it. Fortunately for me, the book arrived well after my interest in him waned because what a crying shame it would be to read such a beautifully written book that is the literary equivalent of a hot brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream after the plate of bland mashed potatoes and cold steamed veges that was Meditations, only to be reading it to attempt to connect with a guy instead of actually taking in Fulghum's adorably optimistic and astute observations!!! 

The only issue that I have with EINTKILIN is the ending, and here's why:

I bet that he really enjoyed doing that, huh? 😉

Rating: 9/10

Final thoughts

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a book that I think absolutely everyone needs to keep a copy of because it is impossible to come away from reading this with a bad mood. It's light, it's fun, but you also come away a little smarter, a little wiser, and a little more appreciative of kooky old people. May I live long enough to become a kooky old woman who derives and inspires joy from the small things!

New words I picked up from Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten:

• aplomb: self-confidence in an intense situation
• bathos: basically an anitclimax
• Luddite: someone who is opposed to technology and new methods of working
• seersucker suit: a stripy suit that seems to be tailored really well
• succotash: an American dish that's made from sweet corn, lima beans, tomatoes, and okra