But she did fall in love, almost immediately. Within a month she was hopelessly and endlessly in love with another secret agent, a kind, warm man named Bob. He had big hands and a lot of brothers and sisters, and there was no falling out of love with Bob.
– B. J. Novak, “Never Fall in Love” from One More Thing
This is a fun book, with more hits than misses. I first heard a story from this read on This American Life. Lots of laugh-out-loud sections, like this from “Welcome to Camp Fantastic for Gifted Teens”:
Today, I am a former millionaire living in an air-conditioned apartment not far from the historic town of Patchogue, New York. Would I give it all up to change places with you, a gifted teen on the cusp of an unforgettable summer of priceless, idle pleasures? Of course not. Being a gifted teen is a walking, waking nightmare. But perhaps, with some time and effort, you can change places with me.
And the initial story, about a rematch between the tortoise and hare from the fable, has this description of the result:
Never, in the history of competition – athletic or otherwise, human or otherwise, mythical or otherwise – has anyone ever kicked anyone’s ass by the order of magnitude that the hare kicked the ass of that goddamn fucking tortoise that afternoon.