Rating: 
Summary: Amusing, but unoriginal
Review: I liked this book the first time I read it -- when it was called Bridget Jones's Diary. The plots of both books are strikingly similar, and Hunting & Fishing doesn't do anything new. Do we really need yet another book that tells us about the awful woes of being single and in one's late twenties? I think not.
Rating: 
Summary: Witty, Insightful
Review: Too many people have tried to classify this as another "Bridget" book. Such a presumption is completely wrong, as this book provides a more realistic, rather than overblown glimpse at what its like to be a modern day female. Perhaps Jane, this book's main character, and Bridget -- two young women looking for love -- might enjoy having drinks together and discussing their lifes and loves. That, however, is the only extent in which these two books are related.
Rating: 
Summary: On the whole, disappointing.
Review: I must agree with many other readers' sentiments -- on the whole, "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing" was a disappointment. Based on the reviews I read everywhere, I chose the book with the intention of recommending it as a selection for a book club. However, I did not enjoy the book enough to recommend it."The Girls' Guide . . ." is essentially a collection of character sketches rather than a cohesive novel. There's nothing wrong with that per se, however, after reading each vignette (with the exception of the last), I found myself wondering what the author's point was. I never identified with Jane, the protagonist, and found her laugh-out-loud funny only once (although she often reminds us just how funny she thinks she is). The book also has a seemingly unrelated short story narrated not by Jane, but by an older woman named Nina. I still have no idea what that was about! If I hadn't read other readers' reviews that mentioned it, I almost would have thought there was a glitch when my book was published and another author's chapter got in there by accident. Given all that, besides "disappointing," if I had to sum up this book in one word, I would have to say, "weird."
Rating:
Summary: moody, introspective, subtle, simple
Review: Who needs another Bridgit Jones Diary? Not me. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Deserve the Hype
Review: I am not sure why this book received the hype it did. Does Melissa just have fabulous publishing connections? The book teaches you nothing except that love is sometimes difficult (no brainstorm there). Jane doesn't experience most of the love traumas most women do. None of the men up and leave her. None really cheat on her (there's one maybe brief moment of infidelity) or abuse her. They all seem to adore her, perhaps in their limited way, but adore her nonetheless. And she always leaves them. Why then does she need to buy and follow Meeting and Marrying Mr. Right? Her problem isn't that she can't keep a man. Her problem is that she's not choosing her men wisely. Actually, her men reflect her own ambivilance about her life goals. The solution doesn't lie in better relationship games but in figuring out what she really wants in life. I will give her credit for writing a very quick read but an only mildly entertaining read. The writing style is light with some snappy one-liners. The one highlight in the book is her relationship with her father. But it's definately not a realistic look at relationships in the 90s -- unless you're dating men who take you on great trips to St. Croix and men older than your father. If you must read it, wait until the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: Best womans book written since wharton
Review: I didn't know about the hype surrounding this book, I picked it up at the store because it looked intrigueing. Little did I know it would be the best book I have read in years. It is a must for fans of women's literature. Jane Rosenal journey was so similar to my own that I shuddered at some of the similarities. I burst out laughing as I read the book. READ IT.. if you don't see yourself, you will see people you know. Her style of writing is easy on the eyes, and the heart. I'm already purchased copies to give to friends. Banks truly captures the struggles and comedic hardships faced by single women today.
Rating:
Summary: A very first book
Review: I felt that this book felt like something a person might have written early on in their writing career. I didn't think it was well-written or funny, though it had amusing moments (one, at the end) My reading group didn't like it either, so I'm not alone. They gave it so much publicity with posters and ads and everything, you'd think its good but its not at all good. It's flat.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, witty, soporific fluff.
Review: If Elaine Benes, of "Seinfield," in one of her dreamy moony moods wrote a book, this would be it. The one liners come fast and often, and you keep thinking, "Ah, there's an end to that conversation, or that reverie," but it goes on and on, until you find yourself falling asleep (laughing all the way). As Melissa is, to the bank. What fools these publishers be!
Rating:
Summary: Hype aside, it's a good read
Review: I actually want to give this book three and a half stars. On the whole I found it entertaining, brisk, likeable and deft. There are some wonderful moments, some poignant, smart, wry observations, and Jane is sympathetic because she's so real. It's hard to compare this book to Bridget Jones's Diary; they're completely different, and the hype seems beside the point -- I think linking the two books, and hyping this one so much, actually hurts it, and gets away from what's good about it, which is that it's an honest, mostly unsentimental, fast-paced read, worthwhile and memorable, about a woman who's easy to relate to, both insecure and truthful, and therefore endearing. There are two very good stories in the collection: the title (last) story and "The Worst Thing a Suburban Girl Could Imagine." If the other stories were up to their level, this book would be brilliant through and through -- but 2 out of 7 isn't bad. I look forward to her next book, and recommend this one, in spite of all the brouhaha.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read, interesting, but not all it's cracked up to be.
Review: This book has received a lot of hype lately, so I eagerly bought it. The review I read was only about the last chapter of the book--the part I was most interested in reading. The rest of the book is a little dry, but I get Bank's point that it's important to be true to yourself and who you really are. Since the whole book is about Jane, I didn't see the relevance in the chapter about Nina. Who the heck is Nina? Why do we care? My advice: skip that chapter and read the rest.
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