If..., Volume 2: (500 New Questions for the Game of Life) (If Series) - Hardcover

Evelyn McFarlane; James Saywell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679452869 ISBN 13: 9780679452867

Publisher: Villard, 1996

Synopsis

If you found out for certain there is a Heaven and a Hell, how would you change your life? If you had to name the one thing that most frightens you about growing old, what would it be? If you could have only one part of your body massaged every day, what part would you choose? If you could have any view in the world visible from your bed, what would it be? If you could suddenly find out that one work of fiction was actually true, what book would you select? If you could name the sexiest words anyone could say to you, what would they be? If you could put anyone you know on Prozac, who would you choose? If you could be the house cat or lap dog of any person on earth, whose would you choose to be?

If...(Questions for the Game of Life) was a bestselling sensation with readers around the world. If 2 is a collection of 500 completely new and tantalizing, provocative questions that really make you think. It's an excellent source for party games, office water-cooler conversation, family dinners, and nights out at the local tavern. Crack open the secret dreams, the hidden desires, and the real personalities of your friends, your family, your lovers--and even yourself--with If 2...

About this title

About the Author

Evelyn McFarlane was born in Brooklyn and grew up in San Diego. She received a degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1985, and has lived and worked in Boston, New York City, and Syracuse. She is currently living and working in Florence, Italy, teaching  design for Syracuse University. She has an architectural practice with her partner, Adam Drisin. When she is not working, she spends time traveling in Italy, painting and renovating a small house in a medieval hill town in Umbria.

James Saywell was born in 1959 in Toronto. He lived in Hong Kong and China as a child. Travels through Asia at a young age instilled in him a passion for architecture, which he eventually studied in Toronto and Princeton. He lived and worked in the United States for eight years until moving to Florence, Italy, in 1993 to teach architecture. He divides his time among designing furniture for his company, Stillworks, Inc., practicing architecture, teaching, and learning to paint. He lives in a farmhouse in Tuscany.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The human imagination is infinite. The fantasies it creales thrill us and uplift us. They even help us to find our way in life. This second collection of "If ..." questions picks up where its predecessor left off ... somewhere deep in the extraordinary territory of what people hope for, dream for, and value about each other and themselves.
 
There is one immediate purpose of these 500 queries: to provoke the mind. Some are humorous, some more serious, and some even quite difficult to answer. Once you begin to play, you may find laughter, tears, revelation, learning, surprise, or contemplation. But you will never lack the potential for fascinating discussions.
 
As well as the "classic" topics (sex, money, children, death), If2 ... includes queries related to issues on the minds of people today, such as welfare, taxes, health care, the environment, and many more. Each of these alone can give rise to further discussion and other questions. Use this book to find out more about your neighbors or your friends; ask "If" questions of your teachers, use them for interviews, call in one to a radio show, send one out on the Internet. Few people can resist engaging in the discussions that "If..." initiates. The difficulty with thinking up and compiling these questions was that we were repeatedly interrupted by the irresistible urge to try to answer them, our own imaginations tempting us constantly from the asking, toward the answering. May you, too, give in completely to the same wonderful temptation.
 
 
If you found out for certain there is a Heaven and a Hell, how would you change your life?
 
 
If you could determine the age at which you will die, but with nc guarantees regarding health or money, how old would you like to be when you go?
 
 
If you had to select the one thing in life you feel the most guilty about, what would it be?
 
 
If you could rid the earth of one thing, what would it be?
 
If you were to close down any charity, which one would you pick?
 
 
“If you could have overheard a specific convocation between any two people, which would it be?
 
 
If you could have the hair of any Hollywood celebrity, whose would you want?
 
 
If you had to describe the most memorable night of your life, what would you say?
 
it you could have the power to hypnotize anyone for a day, who would you pick and what would you have them do?
 
 
it you had to name the best album cover ever, which would it be?
 
It you had to choose the one thing that gives you the most comfort, what would you say?
 
 
If you could have witnessed one event from your family’s history, what would you want to see?
 
If you had to choose a single vice president in the history of the United States to become president, who would you pick?
 
 
If you had to give up your favorite food forever, what is the minimum amount of money you would demand in return?
 
If you had to name the best live musical performance you have ever attended, which would you pick?
 
 
If you had to name the best speech or presentation you’ve ever heard, what would it be?
 
If you had to name the one thing that most frightens you about growing old, what would it be?
 
 
“If you could be more ambitious in only one aspect of your life, what would it be?
 
 
 
If you could have anyone from history welcome you into the afterlife, who would you want it to he?
 
 
If you had to nominate one person you have known for sainthood, who would you choose?
 
If you were to spend the rest of your life in the company of a single type of animal, which would you choose?
 

Edition details

• Publisher: Villard
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679452869
• ISBN 13: 9780679452867
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144