"Why Sh*t Happens, The Science of a Really Bad Day", By Peter Bentley

We all have those days when you feel like stamping your foot on the ground, shaking your fist in the air, and shouting "WHY ME?", "WHY TODAY?", cursing someone unknown force that has inflicted this misfortune upon you.

In 'Why Sh*t Happens', you live through perhaps the worst possible day of your life, and learn exactly why you have dropped your keys down the drain, stained your persian rug with red wine, and managed to trap your finger inside a glass bottle.

You are the main character in a 'choose your own adventure'-style novel without a choice, as you are lead down the path of destruction. Each chapter starts with a new scenario, before the author takes over and explains the science of your misfortune and how to get yourself out of a sticky, mucky, painful, or embarrassing situation (the choice of adjectives is never-ending).

You start your day well rested, as you manage to sleep through your alarm. We learn about the stages of sleep and the importance of a consistent sleep routine. As the day progresses, you battle with microwave explosions and burnt toast before you've even made it out the door, teaching you about the physics of microwaves and toasters and battling those common beliefs about microwave safety. That's nothing of what's to come, as you battle near-car crashes and petrol troubles on the way to work before you manage to infect every computer in your workplace with a malicious virus. By the end of the day, you've suffered broken joints, injured limbs, and managed to ingest glass as a pizza topping. You're left feeling drained and exhausted, and can't help wondering why you didn't just go back to bed at the start of the day.

Peter J. Bentley takes his PhD qualification beyond the insular laboratory setting, and uses his critical thinking skills to explain the inexplicable. When you're faced with excessive misfortune, it's easy to forget that there's no one else to blame and there's always a simple scientific explanation for the events that shape your day.

This book integrates concepts from many fields of science. As a scientist-in-training, this book was an excellent example of how you can use a PhD to engage a wider audience. I admire the author's creative thinking skills to tie these scientific explanations into a cohesive story, that would otherwise just be another book of interesting facts.

This is  a book written by a scientist, for scientists, or at least those with a scientific inclination. This book would appeal to all those out there who ask "WHY?", not "WHY ME?".  Written in a high level of detail, this book is an excellent example of science communication for those who want to learn.

As a Bachelor of Science graduate, I found some of the biological descriptions as a good review of my forgotten knowledge, whilst providing sufficient new information to hold my attention. (Incidentally, in the course of reading this book, I found myself engaged in several conversations were I was able to draw upon knowledge gained from this book.) Perhaps if I wasn't already familiar with scientific writing, I may have struggled with some of the finer details, and some quirky hand-drawn diagrams may have helped the reader to imagine some of the finer details.

If you really were having a sh*t day, I doubt you'd be receptive to a science lecture. But this book is a non-fictional explanation of a fictional story. You put this book down feeling exhausted, but mentally challenged and ready to tackle anything that the day thows you.