The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Thorndike Large Print General Series)

Rating:
Summary: Nothing new.
Review: Of these stories I only really dug the first one. Some of the other were pretty slow.

Rating:
Summary: Commercial venture, not literature
Review: Melissa is bright young woman. She saw the market demand, she had the connections, she wanted some cash. She wrote a contrived, self vaunting portrait of the reflective, funny single NY woman many female readers love to identify with by recycling a few ancient short stories written on dateless Saturday nights and spoofing The Rules. She did it skilfully enough with the intelligent spirit yet inner emptyness of an advertising copywriter and hoped for the best. And hit paydirt. A pleasant enough read - we all eat doughnuts sometimes - but literature?

Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly insightful
Review: I am not a Harvard graduate nor am I a soap opera fanatic. I am left wondering if the people who hated this book could not see past the use of simple words. To me, the thoughts and ideas put forward by Melissa Banks were effectively understated. Rather than being bombarded by overly descriptive prose, I was powerfully affected by the use of direct and succinct language. This conveyed to me the message that some situations in life are so profound, so comical, so unique, that just stating them as they are is enough. Flowery language and overly clever manipulation of words can often make the reader feel like the author doesn't have anything very interesting to say. Simple writing does not equal simple minds, and it is very narrow minded and unimaginative to see it as so. Living in London, I managed to avoid the "hype" that has been so lamented in other reviews. I picked up this book because the cover looked appealing, and once I started reading it, I was intrigued. I admit that at first I thought it would be a light read, but I quickly discovered that this book also dealt with life issues that seem mundane but are often very telling. Again, I am not a literary genius, but as an avid book reader, I do recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Choice If I May Say So...
Review: I don't plan on saying much because I'm not one for words, but I found this book quite satisfactory. Comedy and drama mixed with real life situations help make this book unforgettable. Its a entertaining and easy read... one of those books you just can't put down.

Rating:
Summary: It wasn't bad....but it wasn't ......
Review: This was Okay - but that's about it. Nothing to compelling or exciting about it. Read it if you have nothing else in the house.

Rating:
Summary: I would have rather gone fishing...
Review: From reading the other reviews on this site, there was apparently a lot of hype about this book. I found it while wandering through the bookstore and thought that it would be both funny and touching. Unfortunately, I never laughed nor was I ever touched. The book was trying to be overtly different than anything by Helen Fielding or Katie Fford, but in doing so, evoloved character development and a central plot. I kept waiting for the short stories to weave together,as well as for Jane to evolve as a woman and actually be changed by her life experiences. The writing style is choppy, which I also think adds to the uncohesiveness of the entire book. On the posititve side, it is a quick read and you will probably be no worse off for the ware. But it did disappoint me enough to make go online and write this review. In the end, I just felt cheated out of a good story.

Rating:
Summary: Great Disappointment
Review: I was quite disappointed in this book. I was very anxious to start reading this book after I had heard wonderful things about it. As Bank wrote on and on about Jane's life, I felt like it was a chore to continute reading though. I never felt connected with Jane throughout her perilous love and career lives. I found all of the stories on brother's girlfriends and neighbor's personal lives unimportant and unrealistic. The plot did not flow smoothly either. I felt huge gaps from one section to the next. If Bank's perrogative was to reflect love and understanding, I don't think this book was quite right. I commend her on her creativeness, no one I know could come up with some of Jane's experiences, but am not very pleased with this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Very East Coast
Review: Perhaps you have to be from the east coast of the USA to appreciate this book. It seemed smug, stilted, and tried too hard to be clever. I found myself wondering how the book was ever published, but I suspect that ties to someone in publishing did the trick. I admit that the title story was the best part. It had better movement and less of a self-pitying tone than the rest of the stories. The good part is that it's a popular book and if I take it to Powell's quickly I'll get an extra buck trade-in.

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the (negative) hype...
Review: Just finished the "Girl's Guide..." last night. I can honestly say it was one of the best books I've recently read. I was impressed that the seven short stories all featured the same central character (with one notable exception). I'm trying to figure out how anyone could finish the book and NOT identify with Jane. I finished it and kept hoping I would find more pages to continue with. Even despite the inserted story which does not feature Jane, (which is in no way a bad story, although I agree with complants as to it's incongruity) the rest of the book is skillfully written. From a teenager, un-sure of her self and frightened by her brother's failure in love, to a twenty-something woman in a relationship with a man twice her age, to the Jane at the end of the last story, the reader witnesses her transformation and maturation every step of the way. I would say that only the truly cynical reader would not identify or care about the central character and complaints about one incongruous story do not do justice to the other 220 pages of the book which are head and shoulders above the rest of the literary world. 5 Stars...an instant classic.

Rating:
Summary: Liked character, didn't like book
Review: I'm not sure I can quickly call to mind another book in which I liked the main character so much but disliked the book itself. Jane was a gem of a gal but I hated what the author did with and to Jane. Pair that with the two weird stories that seemed to have nothing to do with her and I found to book a drudge to read.