One of the great things about being a reader is that you can learn life lessons without having to experience the hardships that teach the lesson. Books are filled with wisdom filled advice that we can apply to our own lives. But not all of that advice is good. There are a lot of actions that book characters take repeatedly with positive results that would not work out so well in real life. Here are my examples of bad advice from books.

Bad Advice #1- If your family is pressuring you to settle down, you should hire someone as a fake date for the holiday/family wedding/vacation.

Ignore the books trying to tell you this is a romantic scenario. You are not going to fall in love with this person, your family will definitely find out and they will most likely be furious with you. This applies to a marriage of convenience too.

Bad Advice #2- Forget about calling the police, you can solve this crime yourself

We have trained police detectives for a reason. It is not safe to go around searching for evidence and irritating a possible murderer. It is highly unlikely that as a bakery owner, you are going to pick up clues that trained detectives missed. In fact, you are much more likely to destroy evidence. Plus, there’s a 99.9% chance that if you are snooping around asking questions, you will tip off the murderer and be the next victim.

Bad Advice #3 You should quit your job and buy an estate in a foreign country

While there is nothing wrong with evaluating your life and making changes. It is not as simple as books would have you believe to drop everything and move to another country. Especially if you don’t know anyone or speak the language. Chances are low that you will inherit an Italian Villa the day after you tell off your boss. At a minimum, you should contemplate the decision for more than a month and have the semblance of a plan.

Bad Advice #4: If you’re involved in an accidental death, don’t call 911, just hide the body

Even in books, most characters get caught with this one. Then the truth is revealed, and everyone understands. However, in real life, there’s a good chance you’ll do some prison time.

Bad Advice #5 You should conduct top secret scientific experiments without government approval.

If you don’t get caught and punished, you could end up unleashing a virus, causing an explosion or destroying the environment. You will not turn yourself into a mutant superhero, or time traveler.