Tuesday, June 29, 2010

In Which Snickers Tackles Astrology, Version 1


The Book:

Published: January 7th 2002 by Fireside
How I Got It: The library isn't just for picking up hot nerdy chicks, ya know.
Why I Read It: Aside from school, why does anybody read anything? For shits and giggles, of course!
The Review:

Born on a Rotten Day takes traditional astrology a bit further and gives insight on how to survive coexisting with each sun sign. The general descriptions made me laugh: the quality of my sign, Gemini, is described as "Mutable. Gemini is the human version of the revolving door." Each sign is divided into different categories: If You Love One - Man/Woman, If You Are One - Born Rotten, It's All Relative - The (Sign) Family, Office Party (each sign in the workplace), and Can't We All Get Along? (Basically, how to deal).

However, I had to disagree with some of the generalizations Born on a Rotten Day makes about my sign; this, of course, caused me to doubt the accuracy of the other sign descriptions. One worries that to keep the rotten, snarky tone of the book, Dixon-Cooper decided to forgo accuracy. Keep this in mind as you're reading; and try a little cross-referencing; I'd recommend Darkside Zodiac if you appreciate the bitchy, cynical tone in Born on a Rotten Day as I did.

I think the thing that bothered me the most, and is consequentially the reason I didn't give it 4 stars, is this: each sign supposedly has a back-up weapon of sorts against the other signs, EXCEPT for the other signs that have a shared element. Example: for Gemini, "You and the other Air signs, Aquarius and Libra, understand each other on a soul level, and therefore, rarely have serious confrontations." This is a load of bull. There has to be a way to get under Aquarius and Libra's skin, because despite having the shared element of Air, the qualities are all different. It is described this way for each sign, with the exact same phrasing; the only difference being the signs.
Understanding each other on a soul level, my ass. If every sign understood each other, well, we wouldn't be reading this, now would we?

Mostly, I'd recommend Born on a Rotten Day to anyone looking for a good laugh, not for someone who wants serious, accurate advice on how to live with someone born under a certain sign.

The Rating:
3 Stars.

I give it three stars because despite how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, I enjoyed the blunt, here's-what's-wrong-with-you attitude Born on a Rotten Day has. This quality redeemed the book right out of an otherwise certain two-star rating.

7 comments:

  1. I've never really been into astrology but this sounds interesting! I do, on occasion, peek at my horoscope but noting more than that.

    But..I do love getting my daily snark in!

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  2. Born on a Rotten Day is a pretty cool title for what it is about. For someone who doesn't put a whole lot of stock into astrology, this would be a fun read for a laugh. :)

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  3. I feel like at one point during my teen years, I was into astrology. That and dreams. Maybe more into dreams.

    Anyway, I probably would enjoy this just to see what it has to say about interactions between me and my friends.

    Although, I must say. As a Sagittarius on a date with a fellow Sagittarius recently, when it just wasn't clicking for me I did think "it's because we are both sagittarii (iuses?) and both like being the center of attention. Ha.

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  4. Born on a Rotten Day is a book I've wanted to read since I bought Love on a Rotten Day. I liked Love on a Rotten Day and want to see the differences in the format.

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  5. I smell BS too on the Aquarius and Libras never having tussles....my mom and I have a confrontation or two!

    I'll second that Born on a Rotten Day is a cool title....good review! :)

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  6. Your review made me want to read this book more than what the actual book is about! Haha. The fact that you made the point that some of it is B.s. because of it saying certain signs get along better with others and what not, made me want to see just how ridiculous it was. Plus, I also could use a good laugh!

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  7. +JMJ+

    The title makes it sound as if it could be my autobiography! =P

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