Secrets of the SuperOptimist

This volume could become the self-help of choice for people who don't read self-help. This quirky, unique primer, categorized on its back cover as "Psychology/ Philosophy/ Great Religious Texts of the World/ Humor," provides more than 100 points of advice for achieving SuperOptimism, defined as "the mental discipline to reframe any situation into a favorable outcome." Centered around three central principles-believing in the preeminence of your own fortune, considering pain a kind of informative "sensation," and removing one's shoes whenever possible-specific "secrets" include: drink caffeine, "compare yourself downward," wear wool, "skip therapy," engage strangers and "tip everybody." The book also includes exercises and appendixes, as well as a handy, all-purpose slogan for 2007: "I can handle it." Whether or not one can, in fact, handle it, Morton and Whitten provide plenty of fresh perspective from way out in left field.