488 Rules for Life: The Thankless Art of Being Correct

My sister recommended this popular Australian comedienne's book and I did a lot of giggling and made a fool of myself on my evening walks but, although I enjoyed, stand-up comedy is not really my thing and I have heard a lot of similar snark before. I think my favorites were the bathroom and kitchen rules (definitely the rule on training your dishwasher), and the special sealed section on department store fitting rooms. The 'scene' in which she describes her efforts at wrangling a bathing suit over her hips, while the sales representative flings back the curtain for all to see, is priceless and nearly made me #@% my pants! But the humor got a little thin and dragged for me at the 50% mark....

Never-the-less, my Aussie sister convinced me show more that Kitty Flanagan is the real McCoy (she is) and so I dashed over to YouTube and had a blast watching her do her 'thing' in dozens of assorted videos, and now I am searching for a link to Season One of Fisk (could not find yet, but like a dog with a bone, I am relentless in my mission).

If you are not familiar with Kitty Flanagan, I recommend you give this a try...hard to find a library copy but Hoopla has the ebook always available, if your library subscribes. Of course, if get your hands on an audio copy you will hear the author's pitch perfect delivery. Enjoy! 3.5+ show less

Kitty Flanagan is an Australian comedian and I've enjoyed watching her in the ABC comedy drama Fisk where she plays the lead role of a lawyer at a small suburban law firm.

In her book 488 Rules for Life - The Thankless Art of Being Correct, the author lists rules for life, that if followed, would make all of our lives easier. You'll nod in agreement as you read some of these relatable rules - don't answer your phone in the toilet - and you'll cringe in recognition as you recall those who regularly break these rules in your own circle.

I listened to this audiobook in the car over the course of 2 months, listening for 15 minutes at a time and it was a great short form of entertainment for a long road trip. Coming in at under 6 hours in show more duration, it's best enjoyed in shorter grabs so that the novelty doesn't wear off.

The genesis of the book was a segment on The Weekly, a TV show on the ABC and the author has grouped the rules into themes / chapters such as:
Around the home
At the office
Food
Relationships & Dating
At the Movies

As I'm typing this, I'm hearing the author's distinct voice in my head along with her no-nonsense attitude and I could easily relate to - and agree with - most of her rules. Here's one chosen at random:

"Rule 76: 'Feed' is not a noun and should never be used as such, as in: "hey do you want to go for a feed?" No, no I don't." Chapter 4: Language

Published in 2019, I'm a little late to the party, but 488 Rules for Life - The Thankless Art of Being Correct by Kitty Flanagan is an amusing and lightly entertaining look at social etiquette and life's little irritations. show less

I must admit to not being much of a TV watcher, so I didn’t know that 488 Rules for Life was originally part of The Weekly television show. While we are talking about confessions, I didn’t know that this book was a send up of 12 Rules for Life until I saw the book in a catalogue and thought it looked like Kitty’s. Oops. I did read a few pages of this book in store and found it quite funny, so it was a nice surprise to find it as one of my Christmas presents. It’s a light and humorous book poking fun at human behaviour across a range of situations. As Kitty says, the number of rules might seem excessive but once you start reading you could find yourself thinking that some rules really should be better known.

The great thing about show more having hundreds of rules is that there is one for nearly every situation a person may come across and then some. The book is helpfully divided into sections of home, office, travel, sport etc. Some parts were far more relevant (and funny) to me. I think there is definitely some merit beyond the humour for the movies section in particular. I agree with Kitty in that there is no way you can look at (or gasp, answer) your mobile phone in the middle of a movie without sending out a giant searchlight ray from around your hands across the theatre. Definitely not one to do for great movies (although if you do it during Ad Astra like I did, all that happens it you wake some people up). The language part was also particularly funny, particularly if you’ve ever had to Google what the latest slang meant. (Unfortunately I can’t use the term poncewobble here because I don’t have siblings to make up an amusing anecdote).

488 Rules for Life is a funny, light read. I feel it’s best picked up and read in smaller sections or some of the impact of the humour could be lost (particularly if you are reading in a nice place where minimal rules are being broken around you). Some of the parts will resonate more than others, depending on what you relate to in your life. Behind all the humour though, there are definitely some rules that need to be adopted by the mainstream! (I vote for the entire reality television section).

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Self-help and personal development books just are not my thing…. they never have been. But, I very much enjoyed Kitty Flanagan’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek response to this publishing juggernaut, her latest book 488 Rules for Life: The thankless art of being correct.

The type of stand-up comedy that most strikes a chord with me is observational humour, and more specifically the wry and dry variety. In Kitty Flanagan, you get a master in this style of comedy, with a dose of GenX feminism (and good-natured snark) on the side.

But, can a list of rules be entertaining? Yes, it can. But the entertainment factor more often stems from Kitty’s delivery and discussion of the rules, rather than the rules themselves. A title designed to dip in show more and out of as the mood takes you, the book consists of rules grouped together by theme, e.g. Health and Lifestyle, Language, Food, Parenting, Fashion, etc. Continue reading >> https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/2021/01/488-rules-for-life-by-kitty-flanaga... show less

Kitty Flanagan is a popular Australian comedienne, performer and writer who regularly appears on stage and screen. 488 Rules for Life is her tongue in cheek guide to modern etiquette, a list of rules that guarantees the world would be a better place, if only everyone would follow them.

Rule #19 - Flush. Pause. Check
Rule #26 - Cushions are not spiritual advisers
Rule #164 - Don’t serve food on planks, tiles, slabs of granite or any other building materials
Rule #222 - Gender-reveal parties are not a thing
Rule #447 - Lower your expectations, that way you will never be disappointed

And if there are any rules you don’t agree with, refer to Rule #1 - If you don’t agree with the rule, forget about it and move on.

Truthfully there are only show more 447 rules, so Kitty thoughtfully leaves room for you to list your own like...

#448 - Applaud performers if you’ve watched them perform, even when they are mediocre at best
#449 - Return your damn shopping trolley to the corral
#450 - Stand to one side while waiting for the lift/elevator to open, not directly in front of the doors

An amusing, easy read, sure to elicit at least the occasional nod of agreement, and likely more than one outburst of laughter, I enjoyed Kitty Flanagan’s 488 Rules for Life. show less

Hilarious. I loved it, the kids loved it, my mates loved it when we hit play on a random section and laughed our heads of while having a glass of wine.
I keep recommending this as an excellent car-trip audiobook. It is the type of book you can just listen to where ever it happens to be playing, you don't miss anything if you tuen out etc.

Plus Kitty Flanagan as a narrator is brilliant, reguarly hear her trying not to laugh at how ridiculise her own rules are.

A mildly amusing collection of etiquette rules for various situations, born from a joke about self-help books on a TV show.