Life Skills

An entertaining treasury of tips, hacks, and step-by-step techniques to smooth your way through the world.

How do you give a good wedding toast? How do you fix a clogged drain? How do you bowl without hurting anyone? Questions like these—some highly practical, others wildly funny—make up this engaging do-it-yourself guide. Including illustrations and diagrams and compiled from the Chicago Tribune how-to column "Life Skills," this book is filled with often-humorous instructions on performing a variety of tasks—from technical challenges to social interactions.


sew a button • wrap a gift • shine your shoes • clean your keyboard • ask for a raise • give yourself a facial massage • flirt • pack for a road trip • turn down a request • teach someone to ride a bike • photograph a dog • change a tire • fix a faucet • load a moving truck • end a relationship • give a tip • choose an engagement ring • and more