A Grown-up Guide to Effective Crankiness: The CrankaTsuris Method by Steven Joseph is a non-fiction guide for individuals and families who frequently find themselves in the company of those who woke up on the wrong side of the bed or are meandering in the slouchy-grouchy zone themselves. In other words, this book is for everyone on the entire planet. Using humor and anecdotal stories as the bedrock of his narrative, Joseph breaks down the different varieties of the “CrankaTsuris”—pronounced a bit like a dinosaur—and the spaces that it inhabits. Over the course of forty-one chapters, Joseph combines examples of the dreaded CrankaTsuris and the best methods of taming the beast.

I grew up in a household where my grandmother called her beloved spouse “Grum-pa” due to his own tendency toward the cantankerous. We never saw it but it appears that during their sixty-year marriage, it lingered in their space. A Grown-up Guide to Effective Crankiness is a lot of fun to read. Steven Joseph's style of writing is conversational and funny, and the approach to explaining the CrankaTsuris Method is useful. I particularly liked chapter twenty, Fact or Fiction CrankaTsuris, which is so relevant in the keyboard warriors' debate, and how anger prevents us from actually seeing the bigger picture. The book is best served in small doses as the writing is pretty densely compiled, being entirely written in a narrative. Still, the balance between good advice and entertainment value is there and I have no doubt many will agree that Steven Joseph's work is well done.

A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness examines humans' natural tendency to get irritated, whether for a justifiable reason or not, and offers practical ways to coexist more smoothly regardless of this natural phenomenon he terms TyrantoCrankaTsuris. First introduced by the author in a children's book, TyrantoCrankaTsuris describes a little dinosaur from whom all humans descended. In this adult follow-up to the book, Steven Joseph targets adults who might vent on their family, friends, and coworkers carelessly. Backed up by real and fictional stories, several points urge readers to be more mindful and logical, express love to their loved ones regularly, develop healthy habits, listen and settle discords effectively. Lessen the effects of the CrankaTsuris by spreading the word about him and make the world a much happier place.

You know when you've been thinking about a topic, and you finally find a book that explains it in detail? Before reading A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness, I analyzed what went wrong in my last relationship and concluded that getting riled up is natural. However, Steven Joseph's book showed me different ways to coexist better despite this, which I seriously appreciate and will employ henceforth. Although the stories seemed somewhat derailing and too much compared to the lessons, luckily, I enjoyed the humorous tone, the hilarious personal stories, and the brilliant lessons extracted from the tales. Since A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness has taught me how to control and channel my emotions when I'm upset, I recommend it to readers seeking to become more emotionally intelligent and aware of their actions and the effects on others.