Joe Queenan, My Goodness (2000)

Joe Queenan, famous for being a cynic & an all-around bad guy, tried being good for about six months. He purged his home of products that used animal testing, started eating vegetarian, wrote checks to save the whales, the spotted owls & the wolves, & listened to hours & hours of Sting CD's.

In the end, he decided that he could do more good by being mean, since he has so much influence over people. I have a feeling his karma rating has been drastically downgraded.

Most of the book is wrought with repetetive cliches. I can't tell if he's trying to be funny by over doing it, or if he really thinks that it's good writing.

He does make an important observation, though: It's damn near impossible to be good in every camp. I once heard that if you eat a banana for breakfast & then walk to work, you're doing more harm to the environment than if you skipped the banana & drove to work. It makes sense, right? How much fuel is used to get that banana to you?

So the best that we can do is do the best that we can, & don't worry if it's not perfect.

This book will be traded. Let me know if you're interested.