The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything [Paperback]

Melissa Kirsch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2006

A COLOSSAL CHEAT SHEET FOR YOUR postcollege years. Finally, all the needs of the modern girl—from the benefits of a Roth IRA to the pleasure and pain of dating (and why it’s not a cliché to love yourself first), from figuring out what to wear to a job interview to the delicate enterprise of defriending—are addressed in one rollicking volume. Here is the perfect combination of solid advice and been-there secrets for every one of life’s conundrums you might confront, all delivered in Melissa Kirsch’s fresh, personal, funny voice, as if your best and smartest friend were giving you the best and smartest advice in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As a former senior producer at Oxygen Media and author of their "Ask Princess" advice column, Kirsch specializes in helping young women face the challenges of life in the real world. Here she's compiled information and advice in a common-sensible, funny and easy-to-read primer on all aspects of life for women in their 20s and 30s, deftly organized into 10 chapters covering health, work, money, manners, friends, love, family, spirit, home and fashion. Nothing is off limits, from "Home Ec for Modern Times" (including the rationale behind nude tub-scrubbing) to romance and its subsidiaries (such as "Non-Goal-Oriented sex"). Kirsch is fond of using lists and charts to compliment the text, such as her handy stain remover chart and her Woman's Sexual Bill of Rights, and she includes a liberal sprinkling of funny and insightful quotes from regular gals. Especially helpful are her chapter on "The Company You Keep," with advice on rooming, traveling and growing with friends, and her thorough look at money and finances. While some of this information is old hat, it's delivered in a welcoming and comprehensive package, making it a standout in a crowded field as well as an ideal gift.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"This is the first book to explain such critical subjects as a Roth IRA and a bikini wax with equal clarity. It’s funny, irreverent, wise, thorough, and empowering. Women of any age will find this book incredibly helpful. It’s like having a guru girlfriend who won’t make you feel dumb for asking the questions you don’t want to admit you don’t know…I laughed out loud. And couldn’t agree more."
—Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes

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Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (November 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761135790
• ISBN-13: 978-0761135791
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melissa Kirsch is a former senior producer at Oxygen Media, where she wrote the popular 'Ask Princess' column. She's also written for Nerve, Ladies' Home Journal, National Geographic Traveler, and Scientific American online. She lives in New York City and online at www.melissakirsch.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-have book for 20-something women, November 18, 2006

By 

Pimm (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything (Paperback)

I am giddy, absolutely giddy, with delight over this book. First off, let me admit that I love "guides" of this sort, so I was already pretty excited before it arrived. But this truly is a must-have guide for young women. It is a seriously helpful, but also cute and quite funny, book bursting with information that every woman should really have. I own a bunch of this type of book (such as "The Go-Girl Guide," "Three Black Skirts," "Modern Girl's Guide" and "How to Walk in High Heels"), and this is by far the most comprehensive and useful of all of them. It provides serious, expert advice on everything from how to deal with menstrual cramps, which nutritional supplements to take, and how to balance your checkbook, 6 steps to furthering your career, how to buy a house, set the table, avoid cell phone borishness, how to know when a relationship is over, to how to make an all-purpose vinagrette, 8 ways of wearing the same black dress, how to prevent stress, how to deal with roommates, etc. You can open this book to any page and find thoughtful, serious advice gleaned from experts, and presented in a friendly, humorous manner. Kirsch does not dumb down any of her information, but she manages to keep up a lively, fun style of writing that makes learning how to get rid of rodents an engrossing and funny experience, if you can imagine.

I also love the book's format and design. It has lots of great, charming little illustrations throughout, and tons of sidebars, quotes, special topics, etc. to break up the text and make it easy to find information. It has a very helpful appendix with a checklist of things to check when looking at houses or apartments to buy or to rent. I really wish I had that, as well as a lot of other information in this book, before now. This is a wondeful book, and a perfect gift for any women in their 20s or 30s who you care about.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LAUGH OUT LOUD practical guide to life, November 21, 2006

By 

Anonymous (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything (Paperback)

Sent this to my college-age daughter and WOW did I hit LOTTO. Yours truly looked "brilliant...way cool dad...awesome book...THANKS". She's gone and purchased books (on my nickel) for all her friends in the dorm. I must confess to reading a few chapters and laughing at loud. While I hate to admit it, I think Girl's Guide has better advice then this ol' dad.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious yet useful., December 3, 2006

By 

Gretchen C. Rubin (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything (Paperback)

This book somehow manages to be hilariously funny, yet also practical enough to be helpful. I dog-eared many pages -- for example, about how to fix a falling hem with iron-fusible tape (how it possible that I never knew such a product existed?). And it answered many questions I never knew I had, such as: what's the purpose of an underwire bra, anyway? I loved it! Good for a straight read-through or browsing.