Summary Of Soil By Jeff Nitzkin

I've just finished reading Jeff Nitzkin's new book Toil...ing. Instead of reading it in one go like I prefer to read a book for review, life had me put it down and pick it up several times over the course of the month. It just so happens that the book is designed to be digested in such a way. The title is a contraction of "toilet" and "reading", referring to snippets of text short enough to read during a bathroom visit or three. It is a compilation of essays ranging from 1 1/2 to 5 pages long. Most of them are funny, but some are serious. They are all thought-provoking.

The 230-page Toil...ing covers a wide range of topics, but recurrent themes are food, commerce, social graces and general life wisdom. It is evident the author has considered his subjects in depth, as he expertly relates his thoughts on them with brevity. Mr. Nitzkin's lifetime business experience is apparent in his witty observations of marketing, price setting and sale schedules.
The pieces are appealing and stimulating. Essays at the end of the book ("The Gracious Guest", "Brian Williams....What Will You Do?" and "Spot On") are just as appealing as "Third Couple Rule", "A Meltdown" and "Summer Jobs" are at the opening of the collection. Mr. Nitzkin includes a compilation of articles ranging from hilarious to sobering. A couple of funny lines that stand out for me are "Noon is for gunfights and cigarettes" (from "Lunch") and "There is no high four!" (from "The Handshake"). The author's examination of parent-child relationships and his own childhood is touching in "Mom and