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Summary: Even men will love this book!!
Review: As an admittedly neurotic guy caught in the dating swirl of New York City, I found way too many parallels to my own life in this laugh-out-loud collection of short stories. Melissa Bank is a writer to be read carefully and gleefully and lovingly. This book has countless insights and a gazillion hilarious one-liners that you'll want to quote to your friends. Read it now. And laugh! And learn!
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Summary: What a GREAT READ!
Review: I picked up this book, because I liked the cover. I continued to read the book because I loved the way Bank writes. Witty and fun. Bank's paints Jane as a wonderful, interesting, imperfect woman. Thanks for the great read!
Rating: 
Summary: Derivative Lorrie Moore
Review: This book is a Lorrie Moore knock-off, complete with the anagrams and fractured words and narrative point of view. Lorrie Moore is a much better writer and reading this book only reminds you of how good Moore really is.
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Summary: Not much of anything
Review: I think the title is the funniest thing about this book, along with the jacket design itself which is wonderful. It's the stuff between the covers that I think it lackluster. The stories are of inconsistent quality and none shines. I suppose they link together, but it's almost as if the writer weren't confident enough to write it as a novel, yet didn't want to create a volume of short stories, so she simply created a hybrid. Which is fine, or would be if the writing were terrific. I hate to say it, but I really felt this was the Let-Down book of the season. It really felt like the first draft of a first novel, pushed forward by believing, impatient publishers. It's not awful, not at all. It's just sort of...there.
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Summary: A great read for a weekend trip!
Review: I easily identified with Jane (the main character) right off the bat. This book drew me in and I didn't want to put it down until I had finished. Once I had finished, I was sad, but felt like I had met a new friend. It was an easy and fun read. I definitely recommend this as a summer book must-have for any woman.
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Summary: Entertaining, light reading for summer
Review: This book was a lot of fun. I recommend it. It certainly isn't "literary fiction," but it is still entertaining. The main character was realistic and someone I would hang out with if given the chance. The chapter on cancer was irritating, and in general, the book does not hang together as a novel, but if read as a set of related short stories, it is quite good. The author writes very well, though one does get the impression that she didn't give enough thought to the art of novel-writing.
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Summary: All Hail the Love Child of Lorrie Moore and Raymond Carver!
Review: Melissa Bank's style is so clean and simple that you lose yourself in it until you hit a line that knocks you down and winds you. She lets us breeze through till the important moments, then simply states the loss. Lovely.
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Summary: This is not suppose to be Bridget Jones's Diary...
Review: it's MUCH BETTER. Bank is a perceptive, sensitve writer who finds humor and sadness in everday life- NOT just in the woes of being a single woman. This book should not be compared to the other popular, "girl" book (Bridget Jones's Diary is funny and has its own place for readers), because this book is about a search to become a complete person, not a search for a good husband. Finally, here is strong, witty, contemporary, female voice without the typical whininess or bitterness. For those readers who cannot see the merit in Bank's stories and for the readers who prefer Bridget Jones's Diary, one suggestion: get some depth.
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Summary: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!
Review: I was SOOOO dissapointed in this book. This is the hottest thing in all the magazines and reviews lateley, but I have the distinct feeling that reviewers only read the last story, which is the only one that even comes close to any comparison with "Bridget Jones". I would have liked it a lot more if I hadn't been duped into thinking it was as funny and realistic as "BJ". Most of the stories are boring, not clever or particularly funny, and the whole storyline of Jane dating a MUCH older man had me a bit repulsed, quite frankly. Looks like heavy promotion (gee, was Coppola pulling in some favors???) will get you far...
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I ordered this book pre-pub and was looking forward to the fun I had discovering Bridget Jones. The Girls' Guide is nothing like it. There is no depth to this lightweight read. Sure, Bridget was lightweight but she was funny. I could laugh at her and see myself. Nothing about Jane made me care very much. This is not a bad book. It just doesn't come close to deserving the attention it is getting.
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