Just what the doctor ordered, unless you're afraid of doctors

There was a time when people were eccentric. Nowadays there's a term for every little quirk in one's personality, and if it can be described medically, then someone somewhere is going to figure out how to use that to sue someone else for money.

Direct from California -- the state that in 1986 created a task-force to promote self esteem -- comes Winokur's "Encyclopedia Neurotica," an irreverent guide to the world of neuroses, phobias and a slew of other conditions just waiting to be chronicled in the next best-selling "addiction memoir."

I don't need a book to tell me what my major malfunction is. I'm a grouch. Just ask my family.

By the way, the link on the book title goes to the Amazon page, but if you do a search there of "neurotica", the results are some rather disturbing offerings. Good thing there's a word for those folks, just so we can keep an eye on them.