29 and Counting : A Chick's Guide to Turning 30 [Paperback]

Julie Tilsner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 1998

Just when a woman's learned how to wind her way through a life of temp jobs and commitment-phobic boyfriends, she has to face the biggest nightmare yet--turning 30. What with everything on that "To Do Before 30" list still left undone and and the biological clock ticking all too loudly, even the most sensible chicks come a little unglued when their fourth decade is upon them.

Luckily, humor writer Julie Tilsner is here to help. A Business Week editor who ditched New York City and a successful career for a kibbutz in Israel when the big day closed in on her, Tilsner recounts her experience and those of many other women in this pithy, insightful, and uproarious self-help book.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this irreverent Chick's Guide to Turning 30, Julie Tilsner guides readers through the five stages of fear, denial, bargaining, the countdown, and the great beyond. She also offers some tips on affordable ways to cope with the pressure--including "group bitch" sessions and subscriptions to the Good Vibrations catalog--and how to deal with related anxieties about your professional and romantic destiny.

About the Author

Julie Tilsner is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and a former editor at Business Week. She's written articles for the New York Times, Linguafranca, the Los Angeles Times, POV, and Women's Wire. She lives with her husband (whom she met on a kibbutz) and new baby girl.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (June 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809229374
• ISBN-13: 978-0809229376
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

See the movie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only for the Cosmo crowd, August 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 29 and Counting : A Chick's Guide to Turning 30 (Paperback)

Having recently endured the traumatic 3-0, I was looking forward to this book, which I expected to cheer me up by reminding me of all the plusses to my advanced age. On the contrary: this book actually increased my depression, listing a multitude of drawbacks to being thirty that had not even occurred to me. Instead of offering real consolation, Tilsner makes empty promises about the benefits of being thirty, assuring us that we will magically wake up with new self-confidence and direction for our lives. I only wish it were so. Probably most off-putting is her assumption that her readers spent their twenties wallowing in recreational sex and recreational drugs; her description of the average 'chick' seems to come straight from the pages of Cosmo and has little relation to my life, or that of anyone I know. If you actually do buy products from the Good Vibrations catalog and count that Saturday night wasted when you don't get high and bag a stud muffin, this book may be for you. It wasn't for me.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Targeted at a small demographic group, September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 29 and Counting : A Chick's Guide to Turning 30 (Paperback)

The Reader from Athens said it very well, and I agree completely with every part of her review. I was barely worried about turning 30 until I read this book. Let that be a word of warning to potential readers - now it's as if all these other people's fears of turning 30 have been implanted in my brain. And the author's reassurances fell flat with me - too many were based on just some chatty conversations with the author's many "girlfriends". I think there's some helpful information in the book, and it's often interesting to hear about other people's experiences - but I didn't like the author's implication that we're all "chicks" hoping to get "preggers" before the dreadful age of 30.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Humorous, but insubstantial, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 29 and Counting : A Chick's Guide to Turning 30 (Paperback)

Tilsner's book gave me a few good chuckles, but there's not much substance to it. It left me with the feeling of "Is that all?" Although I'm definitely a member of Tilsner's generation, and can identify with her humor, I was turned off by Tilsner's constant references to her friends and herself. She even plugs a friend's website in the book--a gesture I found somewhat unsavory. If you're looking for something thoughtful and informative, this book isn't it. But, if you're looking for humor and "lite" writing, you'll enjoy it.