PBN-'Get a Hobby!'

“Discover your hobby personality!” This is what ‘Get a Hobby!’ by Tina Barseghian proposes. My husband and I could not wait to tear into this book and figure out our most ideal hobbies. We’re always looking for something else to cram into our already overblown schedules. We carefully read the Foreword by Miguel Figuerra, M.D.; learning that hobbies can create a more relaxed you. Excellent! Let’s get crackin’ shall we?

We sat down and diligently took the quiz that would help match us up with our hobbies. Right away, I found myself getting frustrated. The questions were so absolute. I love history yet somehow it didn’t factor in because I didn’t know the answer to the question. Maybe that was me reading it wrong, but a ripple of annoyance spread through me. After taking the quiz, I was all set to find out that I indeed like historical type hobbies, blogging, journal keeping, and such. Nope. I don’t according to the book. I like Falconry. Did you know that with Falconry, the top piece of equipment you need is a falcon? My husband about peed his pants when I read that off the list. I’m also prone to enjoying caving, scuba diving, and a host of other hobbies that scare the living daylights out of me. I threw the book at my husband in disgust. It was time to let him give it a try.

His answers matched his personality better, which is indeed adventurous, outdoorsy, nature loving and sporty. That is totally him in a nutshell. A giant nutshell, but all the same the book nailed him. He liked the hobbies matched to him, even the idea of a soapbox derby and fly tying. Treasure hunting especially intrigued him. A smug justification came over him when fantasy sports leagues joined the list.

Over the next few days, I perused the book again. While I am not about to strike up an interest in bee keeping, and I am not sporty or outdoorsy in the least bit, I did try my hand at African violet cultivation and herb gardening. I had no idea how to cultivate a violet from a leaf. Once I started reading that section I realized just how much information the book contains. Beyond the directions, lists, and helpful hints about each hobby, there are great websites listed on each page directing you to further information. Being the history nut that I am, I started leafing through the book just to read the historical sections listed with each hobby. Did you know a toy manufacturer created the ant farm in the 1940’s? I didn’t.

‘Get a Hobby!’ retails for $19.95. It contains lots of interesting tidbits of information, but I won’t be starting any new hobbies from this book, and I probably won’t be recommending it to anyone either. The quiz really turned me off initially and I found the overall look and feel of the book to be drab and not conducive to continuous reading.

Parent Bloggers is giving away a copy of the book (which MANY people really loved) and a $100 Michael's Arts & Crafts gift card. Just go to their site and leave a comment!