The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Rating:
Summary: Girls Guide lacks direction
Review: Melissa Bank's book was partialy engaging, but lacked fluidity. The "Girls Guide" needed to give readers directions to follow each storyline each time a new chapter began. I found the content to be drab and without laughter. I appreciated what the author was trying to do, but I would rather have actually gone hunting and fishing - than sit through this one again.

Rating:
Summary: An easy read
Review: If you are looking for something light to read - this is it. The main character is amusing and while at times most women will find something in her with which they can relate, the story itself isn't all that interesting. The characters could have been more flushed out and at times the dialogue seemed forced. Fun for a rainy Sunday afternoon though....

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable book with a point - can you find it?
Review: I read this book for my neighborhood book club. When it was chosen I was initially disappointed. I had looked at it in the book store and assumed it was just a light fun read. But I sat down to read it anyway in preparation for the club meeting. It is an easy read, but it is much more as well. The main character, Jane, is likable and tells a good story. I totally disagree with the other reviewers that say the chapters do not flow, that they did not know at what point in Jane's life the events happened, and esspecially that the chapter about the dinner party is just dropped in out of place. This is essentially a book about the nature and meaning of love. Each one of the chapters explores a little bit about what that is. In the end, yes just in time, Jane discovers what it is to love and be loved, and how loving oneself is central and key to that. What is the key that Jane finds? What is the message that the author is trying to get accross? What is it that Jane finally discovers, after years of searching in jobs and relationships that allows her to find fullfilment? Read the book and see if you can figure it out!

Rating:
Summary: A nice light read for beach or airplane ride...
Review: I bought this book used, in paperback, and as such was not disappointed. It's not "literature", it's not Austen, for goodness sakes, but it was entertaining as I sat by the pool and watched my kids splash during Spring Break.

The book is a collection of short stories, thrown together to arc throught the life of one "Jane", a frustrated preppie who tries for years to get her life together, (especially her love life) and finally succeeds at the end of the book. Saved by the bell, she meets, and despite her best efforts to sabotage herself, wins her dream man, and they live happily ever after.

This book was nowhere near what I'd consider deep. It had some nice moments, some good dialogue, some clever imagery. Sometimes I wanted to give Jane a little shake, and tell her "get over it!" and get on with it, but all in all it was a worthwhile read. Buy it in paperback to read at the beach this summer.

Rating:
Summary: the first girl book since austen that is not offensive
Review: Good beach / cafe / theres-something-I-don't-want-to-think-about reading. It's nice, and it's funny. It's about a girl/woman and what she learns about people/men/relationships. It's been compared to sex and the city - it's more intelligent, sweeter, and less raunchy than that; but that's the general idea. It's book candy, but much less offensive than normal stuff in the genre. I think that the reason is because the heroine has other important relationships in her life other than Men, and that she is able to maintain her dignity most of the time.

On the other hand, there is nothing more profound here than can be found in girl magazines. I don't really mean to compare her to Austen.

I was disappointed when it ended and there was nothing more to read.

Rating:
Summary: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
Review: Worth the hype, although it is more a book about the main character's life experiences than single's life as you are lead to believe. It is a great collection of short stories about a wonderful girl/woman you will be able to relate to and completely understand. With the exception of one short story (I have no idea what it had to do with anything) this was a great book. I would definitely recommend if you have fallen in the Bridget Jones trap as well.

Rating:
Summary: Cold as Ice
Review: This is a thin little book comprising of seven short stories. They are all, with the exception of one, written in the first person by Jane Rosenal, a female New Yorker in and out of psychoanalysis. They take place during various periods of her life; the first one when she is fourteen and the last apparently when she is in her mid-thirties.

Her stories consist of observing the human beings in her life, and the events which occur to them and her, and making sarcastic comments about them. She doesn't really like anybody except for her father, who appears only intermittently, then dies. She has a boyfriend who is 28 years older than her but she doesn't like him either. She doesn't like her boss. She doesn't like her first boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, who was kind enough to invite them to her Caribbean estate. She doesn't even like her first boyfriend. The reason we know she doesn't like these people is that she remains aloof and distant from them, and makes cynical and bitter remarks both to them and about them.

In the middle of the book there is a story written in the first person by Nina, who is a downstairs neighbor of Janie. She contributes nothing to the Janie mystique, and all she does is recount an unusual dinner party. Why this story is contained here, I do not know, but I should stress that this is a very thin book. The type-size is huge--just this side of Cat in the Hat material--and there are four blank pages of filler between each story. If the type-size were normal and the Nina story were eliminated, this book would be about ninety pages long.

In the last story, which shares the title of the book, we finally get a glimpse of what this collection could have been. It is about Janie's efforts to attract and finally hang onto a man by a using a self-help guide which encourages her to play coy. Ironically, by using these techniques, she almost loses the man of her dreams. It is only by reverting to her own personality that she is able to keep him. This story is unique in that it is the only one where she allows herself to come out of her shell. For once, we see her vulnerabilities, and she becomes human to us. We begin to empathize with her; and her jokes, instead of being brittle and prickly, become funny, and touching. The story is symbolic of the book as a whole: like Janie, when the author finally opens up to us, we respond.

But unfortunately, it is much too little, and much too late. Despite its being well-written and occassionally clever, there is no depth here, and, except for the last story, no warmth.

Rating:
Summary: It's the writing, not the plot
Review: ...that makes this such a great book. If you love language and pacing and reading masters thereof, dig in. It doesn't hurt if you're also a single chick. If you like page-turning plot heavy michael crichton type material, you will NOT like this. but i loved digging into it every night, and mourned finishing it. haven't read anything quite as good since!

Rating:
Summary: Book - suberb, Marketing - ordinary
Review: The book is promoted (blurb and cover) as just another 'chick' book. The marketing really undersells what is an insightgul and beautifully written story.

The book had a strong impact on me personally, I think I cried for an hour after putting the it down. Beyond finding love, it was about the shifting nature of love and life, of self-discovery and the hope of finding 'the one'. It is about living in the 'grey'- believing in one's convictions and maintaining one's humour and passion, as the main protagonist does throughout the story.

In terms of the seemingly out of place chapter about Nina, this chapter was relevant given what I felt were the key messages of the story. The son's seemingly unfortunate situation: his current and ex-lover are both pregnant, highlights that life is rarely linear and that we can make the most of unusual and trying circumstances.

A must-read for anyone who gets frustrated by the 'grey' areas in life and love.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I read so many great reviews on this book, and when I finally sat down to read it (it was entertaining) I guess it just didn't live up to my expectations. I felt it was kind of whiney and inconsistent. However, the last chapter was excellent. If she could write a book with more like that final chapter, she would have herself a few more stars from me.