Rating: 
Summary: A quick and fun read tht also touches your heart
Review: I finished this book in record time and must say I was disappointed to see it end. A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing was released last year during the "Bridget Jones" phenom and was highly lauded as being a Bridget spin-off which I don't think it is. While it deals with similar topics this book is different than Bridget and just a good.Girls Guide is written as short stories that link together. The central character is Jane Rosenal who we see as a tender pre-teen in the first chapter/story and then get to follow through much of her young adult life (until her thirties I believe). It is well written and each chapter takes a different tone, or as some people have said a different voice - I think this is wonderful as it shows the reader how Jane is growing up and maturing. We watch as Jane learns about love by watching her brother date an older woman and then we watch as she falls in and out of love herself and we pine with her over falling in love and losing love and desperately wanting to meet the person of our dreams. We also watch her struggle with her career goals and choices, we watch her relationships with her family grow and change over the years and we learn a little something about friendships as well. I think it is safe to say that most female readers will see something of themselves in Jane at one stage in her life or another. This book is funny, touching, warm and truly wonderful. I don't want to say too much for fear of giving something away. I will say that when this book first came out I fought reading it as I thought it would be just a knock off of some of the other popular books that came out last summer and when I finally picked this book up I realized a few things - first, that this book got fabulous reviews for a very good reason and second, that I was really glad that I finally read it. I can't wait to see what Melissa Banks writes next - maybe she'll write sequel!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the truest books I've ever read
Review: This is one of my favorite books.
I also expected it to be lite chick lit, a junk book, but it really isn't at all. It moved me a lot, effortlessly putting into words all the inexpressible things that I felt.
I liked the format of the book as well, though some readers here had issue with it. The format reminded me of that of "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien, if any of you are familiar with his work. I feel that the format of this book enriches its texture and Bank's exploration of themes. The chapters do tie into a cohesive whole, but can function independently within this whole as well, like short stories. If she had just written the whole book in standard linear narrative chronological order, I feel that the book would have been much flatter, blunter, and lacking in perspectives. The discontinuity and fragmentation of the individual stories universalized the themes that Banks deals with, and makes all the events more applicable for the reader (e.g. the chapter that says "you" a lot and never defines the speaker. You are a character in this story of woman; it's Jane's story, but more than Jane's story). As a woman reading this book, even if the specific events don't apply to you, the same feelings, the same ideas and intangible vibes do. In this way, I felt like the book was just so TRUE.
Banks tells the story of the confusing modern day romance in a way that is both brutally candid and beautifully lyrical at the same time. Banks eloquently describes all the little details in life that no one else really thinks to bother to describe. She also eloquently describes complex feelings and situations in simple concise dead-on ways that made me keep thinking "Yes, I know EXACTLY what she's talking about" throughout the book. In short, her writing style is phenomenal and truly a work of art. She even manages to make ugly or wrenching things in life beautiful in a way (while staying truthful too!), along with the beautiful. Even when the bad happens, there is still a sense of warmth and humanity in her attitude about it. Truly, I love everything about Banks's voice and writing style.
A few examples of Bank's poignant lyrical writing style:
"In the morning, he asks where his razor is. You tell him that you threw it away when you broke up. He says, `I framed your deodorant.'" ~p213
"Her voice now: it was soft and whispery, the sound of perfume talking, which made her very occasional use of the word f**k as striking and even beautiful as a masculine man expressing nuanced and heartfelt emotion." ~p131
"I told them my grandmother seemed to believe that the window of the soul was hair, instead of eyes. My mother giggled. Around her mother, she became my age. My father said, `Hair is the roof of the soul." ~29
"You sense that he's dangerous but don't know why -and wonder if it's because he makes you feel safer than you've ever felt." ~p209
"I'd finished Gatsby, and I looked out at the lagoon, hoping to see a green light. But nobody's dock was lit up. Only one house had any lights on, and the light was just the blue of a television set." ~p43
Just go read it, it's amazing truly.
Rating:
Summary: Girls guide
Review: This book is a take off on all the "rules" type books that tell woman what they should be doing to "snag" a guy. I loved the underlying humor, and was refreshed to see the plot actually allow the girl to SUCCEED at the rules, only to be annoyed at having to change the person she was to accomplish this. Single gals will like this one.
Rating:
Summary: A different type of book
Review: THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING by Melissa Bank
October 7, 2004
THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING is not a novel. It's a series of stories (some that had been published previously) centering on Jane Rosenal, starting from the age of fourteen through middle age. Each story reveals something different about her, puts her in different situations, and in nearly every single story, it is told with a lot of wit and sassy humor. I found myself chuckling through some of the earlier stories, and found myself empathizing with her in another story (about her father dying from cancer).
I don't know of any other way to describe this "novel". It isn't a novel and so there was no climax or high point at the end of the last chapter. However, I did feel a sense of "ending" with that last story, feeling that maybe Jane had finally found someone that she may love for the rest of her life, or maybe as she said "We are just two mayflies mating on a summer night". Very profound.
My overall feeling about this "book" is that I loved it, mainly because it is not what I had expected. With a title such as THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING, I expected a tale centering on a teenage girl living in Wisconsin, for instance. What I did not expect was a coming-of-age series of short stories, chronicling the life of one woman from New England, along with her desires, thoughts, and opinions. I found it unique and it kept my attention throughout the entire book.
The middle story, which many readers have questioned, bothers me as well. But, from what I feel after reading this book, it was just a "lull", a transition story, in which Jane had moved into her deceased aunt's apartment, and it signified a big change in her life (her starting her relationship with her aunt's friend Archie). It was a rather weird blip in this series of stories, and that is only my guess as to why it appeared in the book. Other than that, I have no real complaints about THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING. With that said, I don't think this is a book that any reader can enjoy. One needs to be in a certain frame of mind, and come to the book not expecting anything in particular, or you may be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: What the heck?
Review: I really liked this book, but I am with some of the other reviewers, why not just put everything in order? What was the deal with the stories in between of the family that lived beneath her aunt's and the girl with breast cancer? You get involved enough to want to know more about them, but you get nothing. The writing is funny, witty, and gets you involved. I plan to read whatever she writes next, I would just prefer something that was in order and to have endings for characters instead of just having them yanked away from you.
Rating:
Summary: I Give This Book 2.5 Stars....
Review: I found no real storyline in this book. It was about
a girl's reaction to the many loves in her life, but I saw no actual story. And the further I got, the more confused I became.
It all starts by telling about Janie's brother
Henry's love life, and went downhill from there. Too many words
were cut off, as in P________ , which I find really annoying.
All the different stories pertained to Janie, but they weren't
all told by her.
I was counting on a good book about a girl, and the sports, fishing and hunting. Boy was I in for a disappointment.
I have to admit there were some good parts, but not enough to
rate this book higher than a 2.5 from me:)
Rating:
Summary: Surprised
Review: When I started reading this book, I thought- Ugggh, is this something Im going to have to force myself to read? Once I got passed the first chapter it picked up and became much better. The last two chapters were very good. I like the way we follow Jane through growing up and through her different relationships. The stories are good, although at times they end abruptly and can leave you wondering what the hell happened.
Also at times the dialouge is to put on. Who ever says- "I'm crestfallen".
It's an ok read. Nice time killer.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Disappointment!
Review: Once again, I believed the hype surrounding a book and picked it up. I only paid a dollar and I want my money back. I am an English major and I read a lot of great old books, but there is lots of great contemporary fiction out there--this just isn't it. If you really want to read this book,I would recommend that you check it out from the library. It's not worth plunking down money for.
Rating:
Summary: The title doesn't give a clue to what the book is about.
Review: The title doesn't give a clue to what the book is about. It isn't until the last part of the book that the title is even used. It is a metaphor for "hunting and fishing for a mate."
The book jumps around to different times in narrator Jane's life. Each deals with love and relationships. Some are quite interesting, other's not so.
I didn't read the book, I listened to it on tape. What I found most annoying was the constant, "he said, she said, I said." I'm not sure how it comes across in the written text, but as for being read aloud, it sounded as if it had been written by an amateur. But, this was the author's first book.
Rating:
Summary: Bestseller for a reason!
Review: When I bought "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing", I though that I had picked put an interesting summer read. Two days later I found that I had finished the whole book and was sad to see it go. Every page is soaked with experiences that any woman can relate to. The story is filled with ups and downs that carry your emotions with them through each turn. This book should be required for every girl. You won't be disappointed!!
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