We are all assailed on a daily basis with blandishments to buy and commands to carry out. And, let's be honest, some are inaccurate, slapdash, erroneous, mistaken and often downright dishonest. In fact, much of what they tell us is not just simply wrong, it is wrong in a way that is funny - it makes us laugh. In Empty When Half Full, a plethora of such nonsense is quoted and analysed, highlighting the silly, surreal and often hilarious nature of it. Organisations large and small are equally guilty. So much so that sometimes what they say to persuade us can be positively dangerous. From misprint to misdirection - this book will give you a hundred hilarious reasons never to buy anything ever again.
Empty When Half Full
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
All sorts of "funny" books seem to appear, but this is particularly good. Based on the real things said about products, descriptions, instructions, warnings and the like its examples all bring a smile and some are ludicrous (Sleeping tablets cautioning "May cause drowsiness"). There is a lesson here for those who create these silly statements and for shoppers too - but above all it is a real laugh.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You need to be warned not to read it on the train as this book is often laugh out loud funny.
As the author of a book focused on langauge (Persuasion Skills Black Book: Practical NLP Language Patterns for Getting The Response You Want) I was interested in where Patrick Forsyth was going to take. This book is just like one of the labels the author points out "Blackcurrant Juice comes in two flavours - orange and strawberry"
The first flavour is just a very funny book about typos, mistakes, misprints and misinformation that happen in our business world. The second flavour includes the little interludes between chapters where the author explains some of the world of marketing. The interlude starting on page 41 about the increasing desperation to create more fanciful descriptions of products is so true, so clearly explained and incredibly funny to boot.
And by mixing the two flavours together I was left completely entertained and with a few linger questions about how I treat my own communications with my customers and what sort of impression I make. A great book.
As the author of a book focused on langauge (Persuasion Skills Black Book: Practical NLP Language Patterns for Getting The Response You Want) I was interested in where Patrick Forsyth was going to take. This book is just like one of the labels the author points out "Blackcurrant Juice comes in two flavours - orange and strawberry"
The first flavour is just a very funny book about typos, mistakes, misprints and misinformation that happen in our business world. The second flavour includes the little interludes between chapters where the author explains some of the world of marketing. The interlude starting on page 41 about the increasing desperation to create more fanciful descriptions of products is so true, so clearly explained and incredibly funny to boot.
And by mixing the two flavours together I was left completely entertained and with a few linger questions about how I treat my own communications with my customers and what sort of impression I make. A great book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Zoe King
Format:Paperback
This book is subtitled `A Cantankerous Consumer's Compilation of Mistakes, Misprints and Misinformation'. Somewhere in there should be the word `hilarious', though of course then, the alliteration would fall down. The book is essentially a rant against the kinds of misinformation we are fed by manufacturers, advertisers, retailers and others. However, what quickly becomes clear is that much of the misinformation is unintentional, sometimes with hilarious and mind-boggling results. Take this somewhat surreal example from the first chapter, `The Art of the Bleeding Obvious' - `ASDA have shops with in-store opticians in them and one such has a sign saying: "Contact lens patients should remember to bring their lenses with them or we will be unable to see them". Or this, from eBay: "As Christmas is approaching, the postal service will be very busy recently".
In his second chapter, `Confusion Rules', Patrick looks at ambiguous wording, both written and spoken. In a section on unwelcome ingredients in products, he cites the example of a computer printer box which contains the warning: "may contain products from Switzerland". Later chapters include confusing pricing and/or information from supermarkets and other service providers. I laughed out loud at many examples, including the information on a toothbrush from Superdrug, which sells at £1.44 and comes with the statement that it is equivalent to: "£7.58 per metre".
Much of the book is comical, and as I read, I marked the examples which had particularly tickled me. However, there are only so many page-markers in a pad, so I eventually gave up as almost every page offers a belly laugh or two. That said, the book does have a serious purpose, and comes with the warning that unless we are attentive to the words around us, we can very easily be mislead, whether by accident or design.
Patrick Forsyth is a prolific author of serious business books, but here, I'm delighted to say, his previously unsuspected sense of the ridiculous is very much to the fore, making for a very enjoyable read.
In his second chapter, `Confusion Rules', Patrick looks at ambiguous wording, both written and spoken. In a section on unwelcome ingredients in products, he cites the example of a computer printer box which contains the warning: "may contain products from Switzerland". Later chapters include confusing pricing and/or information from supermarkets and other service providers. I laughed out loud at many examples, including the information on a toothbrush from Superdrug, which sells at £1.44 and comes with the statement that it is equivalent to: "£7.58 per metre".
Much of the book is comical, and as I read, I marked the examples which had particularly tickled me. However, there are only so many page-markers in a pad, so I eventually gave up as almost every page offers a belly laugh or two. That said, the book does have a serious purpose, and comes with the warning that unless we are attentive to the words around us, we can very easily be mislead, whether by accident or design.
Patrick Forsyth is a prolific author of serious business books, but here, I'm delighted to say, his previously unsuspected sense of the ridiculous is very much to the fore, making for a very enjoyable read.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Empty when half full
This is an hilarious look at the way things are sold or explained. As we see, the process can go very wrong. Read more
Published 5 months ago by observermac
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for cheering yourself up!
This is a great little book for cheering yourself up with the absurd and the ridiculous mistakes and misprints that Patrick has collected. Read more
Published 13 months ago by A. Halfacre
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insight and laughter about words - and how not to use them
Have you ever been in a book shop and cast your eye over a book which seems to resonate with you at that moment but you are not sure why? Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sue Stockdale
5.0 out of 5 stars
This review has been carefully to avoid errors...
Damn you, Patrick Forsyth and "Empty When Half Full" ... you've got me bang at it now. Everywhere I look I'm finding ridiculous labels, instructions and text typos and falling... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Suzan St Maur, author of "Business Writing Made Easy"
4.0 out of 5 stars
For fan of observational humour!
As the 'cantankerous consumer', Patrick Forsyth has done a stunning job of finding the inaccuracies, the typos and the sheer stupidity that is spouted out by companies in search of... Read more
Published 14 months ago by N Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars
New, it's back?
My favourite quote is "It is dangerous to cross this bridge when this notice is underwater", but being advised to "wash and dry a pair of baby socks separately" comes a close... Read more
Published 17 months ago by T. Proudfoot
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
What a hoot! With an interest in language this was irresistable and it's very funny, both in what it quotes and how it is presented. Read more
Published 19 months ago by The Book Worm
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