The Book of Nice

A Nice Book About Nice Things for Nice People

Author: Josh Chetwynd

Paperback

Proves that nice is more than good. In short, amusing entries, the author examines the stories behind acts of kindness (helping someone cross the street), gratitude (why we say "hello"), praise (standing ovation), and symbols of love (the iconic red heart).

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Paperback

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

Description

Nice is the secret ingredient to a better life. It makes us happy. It may even be what makes us civilized when we say thank you, shake hands, send flowers, we re doing the nice things that bring people together.?A compulsive and chunky book for lovers of trivia, popular history, customs, and culture and a perfect gift to say you re nice The Book of Nice is an entertaining, quirky compendium of those signs, traditions, and expressions that we so often take for granted, yet turn out to be quite fascinating. It s about why we cover a yawn (originally to prevent evil spirits from entering our bodies, now to hide the impression that something s boring us). About holiday traditions it s thanks to Guy Lombardo s December 31 broadcast in 1929 that we now sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year s Eve. About customary offerings the wedding cake evolved out of the Roman use of wheat as a symbol of fertility (and it s much tastier than bits of grain). And about those simple yet essential niceties how Thomas Edison championed an obscure term, hello (if Alexander Graham Bell had gotten his way, we d all be saying ahoy ). Why not put a little nice in your day?

Awards

Commended for IndieFab awards (Popular Culture) 2013

Critic Reviews

“"I have the nicest words to say aboutThe Book of Nice, a smart look at all things, well, nice."”

“Chetwynd explores being nice through chapters on gestures, songs, words, characters and offerings that spread the love and does so with wit and intelligence. It’s an important book.”

—The Huffington Post

—O Magazine

“I have the nicest words to say aboutThe Book of Nice, a smart look at all things, well, nice.”

—Gayle King in Oprah Winfrey'sO Magazine

About the Author

Josh Chetwynd is the author of The Secret History of Balls (named a Best Book of 2011 by NPR), How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun, and other books. He is a former reporter for USA Today and U.S. News & World Report, and a contributor to Variety, The Times (London), and the BBC. He lives in Denver, Colorado.