Mark Frauenfelder’s new book, Rule the Web, promises to show you “how to do anything and everything on the internet—better, faster, easier.” That’s a grand promise, and I was rather skeptical. But after checking out the book, I’m truly impressed.

An Amazon customer reviewer puts it better than I can:

The cool thing about this book is it answers every question you ever had about using the internet, and the cooler thing is it answers questions you wished you ask. The tone is breezy - never boring or didactic. There’s a lot in here for web neophytes and a lot for people that consider themselves web experts. You can tell the author’s labour of love is getting the most out of the internet, and he’s filtered that love into a mind opening reference book.

In short, Mark has created the ultimate FAQ for the internet. Newbies will enjoy Mark’s approachable, clear, and concise answers. And hardcore power-users will delight in discovering a slew of new tricks and resources. Here are some juicy tips I learned:

1. Where to get dirt-cheap magazine subscriptions

Buy them from Ebay. I never thought to do this, but it turns out many of your favorite magazines are available for much lower than the normal subscription rates.

2. How to find out how much your house is worth

Enter your address or zip code on Zillow, and you’ll get a satellite image of your area with a list of real estate values.

3. How to get a free disposable phone number

Get a free voicemail number in your local area code via AIM Phoneline. Voice messages get sent straight to your email inbox.

4. The best way to get a cheap hotel room

Get guaranteed low hotel prices from Quikbook. The site includes boutique hotels you won’t find on others hotel comparison sites. Quikbook will also have rooms available that are sold out on sites like Expedia and Travelocity. Plus, there’s no charge to cancel or change a reservation.

5. Where to find lost user manuals

Looking for the manual that came with your microwave, camcorder, or TV? Get it from UserManualGuide.com. The site has a ginormous collection of user manuals for everything from air conditioners to webcams.

So who is this Mark Frauenfelder guy? Check him out on Boing Boing, Make Magazine, and oh, The Colbert Report.

Disclosure: This is not a paid review. Mark’s publisher sent me a free copy of the book to review. I liked it a lot, so I’m sharing it with you.

Posted in: Books, Lifehacks, Web