Rating: 
Summary: Winks, smiles, and charm,a well mannered book.
Review: The captivating bait of truth, cast upon the waters of my male ego, rippled a call for my attention. A master of fly-fishing choreographs gentle movements into no less than a timeless life art. Ronda Rich's expert castings of barb less well manicured, mascara words have hooked and reeled in my mildly wiggling mind. Ronda Rich winks, smiles, charms and disarms anyone willing to read and hear her fresh edifying voice. Colloquial, intelligent, spunky, it's just a plain fun book. A treat not just every woman should know but one every gentleman will enjoy. This book is respectable and worthy of the time that most of us don't allow ourselves for such pleasures.
Rating:
Summary: The PERFECT Southern Woman's Book
Review: This book is a wonderful portrait of southern women. We are funny, smart, tough, home loving, feminine women. I read this book with pride and was mighty proud to be the kind of woman who puts her family first and puts her makeup on every day. I take offense to so called southern women or any women who claim that paying attention to how we look is shallow. It's called "taking pride in how the world sees you." As Ronda Rich points out, "It isn't easy being a southern woman but it's worth the work." Really, it's hilarious to think that there are some in the world who don't think that the presentation we make to the world is important. I can proudly say I am not one of those women. Instead, I am one of the majority of southern women who believes that dressing appropriately for church and the office is important. But, as Ms. Rich strongly points out, what is most critical is how we treat each other. Afterall, Pretty Is As Pretty Does! By the way, that's the title to one of the best chapters in the book. If you're a strong woman with a lot of pride, you'll love this book. If you have a wonderful sense of humor, this will be your new favorite book.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Lady
Review: This is one of my favorite books of all time. Here you have a woman telling us about how women are raised in the south. There is no preaching going on here, just good guidelines on how to be a Lady in todays world.
My favorite part about the book is that she gently reminds you that it is alright to be a lady, look like a lady, and act like one. That does not mean be a door mat for everyone that walks by or be sub-serviant to males. It just means being the best person you can be and doing it with flair!
Even a tom-boy like me can see the advantages of glorifying one's self in her womanhood and not worrying about loosing your self or being a "Fluffy Bunny". I have started to follow some of the guidelines in the book and my life has become a bit more intresting and enjoyable! I hope you enjoy it too!
Rating:
Summary: Great for all women, southern or not!
Review: This was a fun book to read, and had a lot of advice that was surprizingly right on target. The writing style is like listening to a friend tell you stories and give advice, so it is a very enjoyable book to read, and it is also funny!You will get something great out of this book, and you may even learn a thing or two about how to get what you want out of life. If anything, you will spend an enjoyable afternoon reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Lite, Pleasant Read
Review: I feel that this book is a fun read, but that the term, "southern women" could be replaced with, "Non-dysfunctional women." I have met plenty of dysfunctional southern ladies and lots of northern women with spunk and manners. Southern women don't possess a monopoly on good manners. The book emphasises lots of truisms: be fair, don't insult a man who inappropriately makes moves on you but be firm, write thank you notes, watch what you divulge to people that you don't know because friendships (and sadly even marriages) aren't for forever all the time, you can get more bees with honey, think possitive thoughts when you are really, really mad so you don't act with a lack of class, etc. This is the kind of a book that you need to read when you want to lash out inappropriately at someone. The author's real-life experiences make the advice practical and the biggest lesson that I learned from the book (and from life) is that people seldom regret keeping their mouths shut when they are mad. The advice isn't new, but the format is enchanting.
Rating:
Summary: PERFECTLY DIVINE!!!
Review: This book is --- as we say in the South --- an absolute hoot! It's also charming, heartwarming and fun. Get ready to meet a variety of southern women with many traits in common. The true steel magnolias who have grit mixed with glamour. In one chapter, the author and her sister are darting through a creek, holding up their skirts, to help chase down the family's cows who have escaped from the pasture then in another her mama is having her hair done before going into surgery. The best part is that they laugh at themselves and always celebrate the things that we hold dear --- family, life, tradition and good manners. Well worth the time!
Rating:
Summary: SO MUCH FUN! WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING
Review: I received this book for Christmas in a basket filled with tantalizing treats like bubble bath and expensive chocolates. This was my favorite gift in the basket. I laughed from beginning to end and a few times heard myself saying, "That's exactly right!" What Southern Women Know is a mixture of self help, humor and a bit of history. I didn't know until I read this book that General Sherman had once been in love with a southern woman! I read it in one sitting and plan to read it over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Southern Tell-All?
Review: Let me start by saying that I am a proud Southern Woman! That's why this book interested me in the first place. I was pretty disappointed after reading What Southern Women Know; simply because I didn't realize it was a type of self-help for non-southerners. The novel divulges a lot of information that can be said about women all over the globe, not just the south. Mostly it's just a boring rehash of the author's own experiences and ideas of what makes a southern woman unique.
Rating:
Summary: I am this kind of woman and PROUD of it!
Review: This book, enchanting, funny and warm, describes me to a T. and I am very proud of that. Throughout this book, Ronda Rich writes entertainingly of a special breed of southern women who are gracious and thoughtful. The kind of women who give gifts in appreciation for kind gestures, who take magazines to the families who are sitting with love ones at the hospital, who take the time to write a handwritten note of gratitude and who strive to treat rude, unkind people with good manners and a smile. It warmed my heart to be reminded how important these things are. Yes, she, too, writes of how important clothes, hair and jewelry are to this special breed but she's right --- how we present ourselves is undeniably important. It's part of the package and reveals the pride we put into everything we do -- from loving our families to doing our best in our professional lives. I have given away at least two dozen of these books to women like me who, I knew, would appreciate the beauty of the words on these pages. This book represents southern womanhood at its best. The women who are the cream of the crop in our society. If you are unashamedly feminine with a strong respect for tradition and a tendancy for thoughtfulness and compassion, you will LOVE this book. I guarantee it.
Rating:
Summary: my review
Review: I don't quite know how to start this review, because I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I ordered it because I saw a review of it in Cosmo, and the excerpts they had looked interesting. At some points in the book, it is entertaining, even humorous. Some ofthe suggestions Rich offers are right on target...but she seems to think that Southern women are so much better than women from other regions. A lot of the advice she gave was advice that's been drilled into me for years from my own mother. (by the way, I am from Montana, which is about as far north as you can get)
For some reason, Rich seems to believe that the only way you can get ahead in life is to wear a lot of makeup and focus on your outward appearance...hasn't she ever heard of inner beauty? And a lot of the stuff she says seem to be way off base. I know quite a few "southern women" whom I admire very much that have successful marriages, nice homes, and great careers who say that a lot of the things in this book simply aren't true. According to Rich, this makes them outsiders. She states straight out several times throughout her book that women who do not do the things she describes are in fact deemed outsiders and are not accepted in the south. This simply isn't true.
Overall, I guess this book is okay for entertainment purposes and does present a few valid points, but I wouldn't recommend it as a "must read".
|
