Taking readers on a trip around the world, this book serves as a collection of proverbs from dozens of countries. Organized alphabetically by country, these little nuggets of wisdom are paired with the author's own reflections or wisecracks about each of them with one purpose of mind: getting the reader to laugh. Walking a balance between good advice, cultural understanding, and entertaining the reader, these proverbs can serve many purposes but are compiled to put a smile on peoples' faces. While some of these will sound familiar to readers, others should be brand new and few have probably ever had these idioms paired with jokes in quite this way. Pairing classic wisdom with a sense of humor that can be cutting, suggestive, or just plain imaginative is what makes this book come to life.

To truly appreciate this book, readers need two things: a sense of humor and an open mind. Being able to take in timeless perspectives from around the world is a valuable experience, but adding the wherewithal to take things with a grain of salt and not too seriously makes these proverbs even more worthwhile to read. The humor might not always be friendly to everyone in the family, but at no point does it really go beyond the suggestive comments made in prime time television. There's even a scientific principle to this book as well, as the author is a pharmacist who believes in the healing power of laughter and is affiliated with the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. For readers who want to take a quick trip to see what life is like in other countries and enjoy themselves at the same time, this is a must-read.

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