Dear LFTP: friends who want online reviews of a dishonest book and a bad CD
- How do I handle friends' requests for online reviews of a dishonest book and a bad CD?
A listener is asked to review a friend's divorce book that gossips untruthfully about her ex (hiding that she committed the adultery) and a friend's music CD she can't enjoy. The hosts advise: be honest but kind — find one true positive thing about the music, and decline the book review rather than lie ('rather than contradict you in an online review, I'm just gonna pass'); addressed as Dan, a host tells how Bob Russell graciously endorsed his self-published late-90s book of columns. The show closes with a grocery-store story about a cook who didn't wash his hands and the standard benediction: be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends.
More on Friendship
-
Dear LFTP: 'Maid of Honor Fails to Follow Shower Instructions'
- Who is in the wrong — the bride or the maid of honor who won't follow the shower instructions?
The second Dear LFTP letter, titled 'Maid of Honor Fails to Follow Shower Instructions' (not a bathing problem — a bridal shower problem): the bride was clear she didn't want a…
From No. 603 · Found Out
-
Dear LFTP: the $4,200 loan that never came back
- How do I get past the sadness over the $4,200 loan my friend never repaid — do I just let it go?
The final Dear LFTP letter: a year ago a supposed friend asked to borrow money — her husband had left the country to renew his visa, her car was repossessed, she had no way to get to work.
From No. 603 · Found Out
-
Dear LFTP: Ralph calls three or four times a week
- How can I get my retired friend Ralph to call less frequently without being rude?
The letter: 'Ralph,' a longtime best friend, retired and is bored, so he calls three or four times a week 'even when there's nothing new to talk about,' rehashing the same things; subtle hints haven't worked; letting it go to voicemail just earns a callback request.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
-
Dear LFTP: the birthday-gift pressure
- My friends insist on giving me birthday presents I can't reciprocate. Shouldn't my wishes have been respected since it's my birthday?
Mike reads the first Dear LFTP letter: a part-time worker paying her own health insurance asked friends to skip presents at a triple birthday dinner; they refused, saying she needn't reciprocate.
From No. 601 · Humble Faithful Idiot