Passive Aggressive Notes

Did you ever have a roommate who just wouldn’t wash his/her dishes? Or a co-worker you knew was stealing your food? Or a neighbor who had a dog that did its “business” on your lawn all the time?

If you said “yes” to any of the above, did you ever do anything about it?

If you’re like me, you probably didn’t. I’ve had my share of roommates and co-workers constantly eating food that wasn’t theirs, and rude neighbors in college who’d blast their stereos at 3am in the morning every night. But I never did anything about it.

Because of these experiences, it was quite therapeutic to read Passive Aggressive* Notes—Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile Writings *And just Plain Aggressive by Kerry Miller (HarperCollins, $13.95). The book presents notes sent in from around the world, as well as those submitted to the popular website Passiveagressivenotes.com (also by Miller), by people who experienced issues similar to those I previously mentioned.

The book states “Passive-aggressive people-and the notes they write-display an 'accidentally-on-purpose' ambiguity. Its barbed criticism disguised as helpful advice, a gentle reminder, a friendly joke-anger sugarcoated with pleasantries and smiley faces, but betrayed by one too many exclamation points.”

Passive Aggressive Notes was very entertaining. The notes are funny, some are absurd, and others are downright mean and nasty. The notes deal with various issues that many of us can relate to in one way or the other, whether it be selfish co-workers who don’t contribute to the coffee fund, or roommates who never change the toilet paper roll.

Although some of the notes had a bit too much foul language, I really enjoyed Passive Aggressive Notes, and it made me appreciate how I no longer have to deal with inconsiderate roommates or co-workers that steal my food…although I still have to deal with the occasional toilet paper roll that hasn’t been changed…

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing the product(s) for review and/or giveaway.

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