Learn to enjoy nasty e-mails (e-mails con mala leche)

Words in an e-mail never mean what they seem at face value. An attentive reader can hardly find one without an undelying flow of suppressed feelings, a hidden power statement, a slight criticism disguised as praise words … or even worse things. Let’s pay our eternal tribute of gratitude to those literature teachers who compeled us to write critical reviews of texts (tantos años haciendo esos comentarios de texto que odiábamos, ¿os acordáis?). Every minute of comentario de texto training is paying now.

Now, if you wish to manicure your ability for nasty e-mails you can’t miss the most brilliant, witty, hilarious book I have come across lately. It is simply entitled “E”, which you will learn on the first pages stands for “e-mail”.

Matt Beaumont http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Beaumont wrote this book completely in the form of e-mails exchanged between the crazy, lazy, overly ambitious, sex-obsessed and (to be quite honest) pretty realistic characters in a company surely heading towards bankruptcy. Being a former copywriter himself, Matt Beaumont chose to set this hilarious tale of corporate intrigue in an ad agency. Secretaries do what they can to abuse temps. Bosses do not hesitate to badmouth their superiors while unfairly firing people to cover up their own mistakes. Consultants just try to do as little as possible and travel the world on the company’s account.

Matt Beaumont writes the e-mails in a subtle way where the characters are subtle, in a harsh way where they are harsh. There is even one art director who can barely write and he just grunts (in writing!).

Stop working on boring spreadsheets and indulge a bit with some random pages http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0452281881/ref=sib_aps_sup?ie=UTF8&p=random
Do break your piggy bank and fight winter blues at a negligible $12 in Amazon, even lower if you buy the book second hand. You will burst into tears with laughter, provided that you are in the right mood to see your own human weaknessess reflected in those of the computer-handicapped boss, the bitchy secretary, the dull PA or the very-much-in-need-of-sex average office inhabitant. If, after the Three Wise Men’s visit you are broke, you can always read for free at http://maktoob-business.maktoobblog.com/48000/Drugged_by_e%3F

By the way, “ta” is short for “thanks”. My pleasure :)