Customer Reviews

How to Meet a Man After Forty: and Other Midlife Dilemmas Solved

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

You're either going to like this book or hate it. In "How to Meet a Man After Forty and Other Midlife Dilemmas Solved," Shane Watson takes on, unabashedly, a couple of issues that gnaw at single women once they hit their forties such as aging and physical appearance; real friends and toxic friends; the mother and daughter love-hate relationship; the Joneses, as in keeping up with the Joneses; and the new brave (and confusing) worlds of midlife singlehood and of dating. Watson had a good premise for a book and there may be some useful advice in there. The problem is that you'll have to read through whole chunks of inane text before you find any.

For somebody who's advising women to ditch tiered skirts and glitter makeup by the time they get to be forty, Shane Watson speaks exactly in the voice of teenager who wears both. And I say "speak" because "How to Meet a Man After Forty" reads like a transcript of a gossip marathon session. Watson's penchant for dropping celebrity names and designer labels thorough the book made me wonder whether she thought all women in her forties subsist only on a steady diet of tabloids. She certainly seems to believe that all women live by celebrities' standards when she writes "And what goes for celebrities goes for us too." I certainly don't believe that so about 80 percent of the book would be considered useless for me and for anybody else who knows that celebrities have an army of personal trainers, makeup artists, personal shoppers, nannies, house cleaners and Photoshop experts to help them keep up their own standards. And as for how to meet the right man after forty, I think you will find that you've heard it before: do a reality check of your expectations; give yourself opportunities to meet other people; take care of your appearance and so on.

Some readers may find Watson's writing style cute and witty and her examples funny. I, on the other hand, thought that she needed an editor or a professional writer to help her cut down on her rambling and give her book a clearer focus. "How to Meet a Man After Forty" may be entertaining for certain readers. But they better get their hands on it fast because as soon as the celebrity mill churns out its next generation of starlets, Watson's book shelf life would be, well, so yesterday.

I truly related to and enjoyed this book. As a woman over 40 looking for love, it made me laugh, cringe in horror, and ponder my fate all the same, but it reminded me that women have the power to make themselves happy. The author runs through the spectrum of marriage, romance, divorce, and how to get your mojo back no matter your age, and in a world that is so youth-driven, this can be priceless for women who think their chance at love is long over. It's not, and this book will help bring back the passion, and the humor, to your quest for love and hopefully get you looking for love in all the right places.

This book is not funny. At all. It is also not aimed at meeting a man -- it's geared for middle-aged women who are afraid to look their age and want to impress other fashion-conscious women.

The title is grossly misleading. My midlife dilemmas are more of the do-I-go-back-to-school-or-expand-my-business life choices, not whether to botox or not. (Not. Duh.) If you enjoy advice on how to update your wardrobe and look, without ending up looking like a teenybopper, then this book might be helpful for you. However it seems like "How Not To Look Old" by the vivacious Charla Krupp, who is a shocking 54 and looks 30, would be much more straightforward, as well as more useful, with its copious illustrations.

I did not like this book - it wasn't anything like I expected. The author had some cute information but for the most part rambled & I didn't get anything out of it.

First of all, yes, I'm WAY over 40, but I've been married for 23 years.

I just thought this book would be entertaining.

The majority of this book is about the subtitle 'And Other Midlife Dilemmas Solved'. This part was interesting but I found that I was beginning to get a bit bored during the parts she talks about friends and when she talks about mothers. I very much enjoyed her talks on dating and finding 'The One'.

Chapters Include:

Am I Good For My Age-

She discusses your basic look, cosmetic surgeries, make-up & clothing.

What Do I Do About My Friends-

In this chapter she discusses the types of friends, the ones you

should keep and the ones you should get rid of.

Am I Turning Into My Mother-

(self explanatory)

Is It Me Or Is Everyone Showing Off-

Discusses things like ego and why people act the way they do.

Should They Have Written To Thank Me-

Manners

Can I Be Single and Happy-

Thoughts on single life

How To Meet The Right Man In Your Forties

The meat of the matter.

Now You Are A Stepmother-

Obviously after you meet and marry 'The One'. Discusses the pros &

cons of this issue.

All in all it is a good book and brings to light a lot of things you may be doing to hinder your success at meeting 'The One'.

My friend in her 50's is anxious to borrow this book. (Okay, she's been married twice, but it can't hurt.)

Thank you!

MEF

HOW TO MEET A MAN AFTER FORTY AND OTHER MIDLIFE DILEMMAS SOLVED is entertaining, often humorous, and sometimes thought provoking. I enjoyed author Shane Watson's chapter entitled "Am I Turning into My Mother?" especially her lists of "Things That Your Mother Does That You Would Never Consider" and "Things You Do That Your Mother Never Would Have Considered." I also enjoyed her rants about the torture women put themselves through to remain/become desirable (I've ranted plenty myself).

What's disappointing, though, is chapters intended to fulfill the title's promise--to advise women on how to meet a man--are well written but tepid and not informative. I fear women searching for a man will not learn anything new. Too bad.

Read for Watson's commentary, not for man-catching advice.

I admit I am on the lower end of 40 and though I am not on a "manhunt" per say ,(married for 21 years) many of my friends are. I thought this would be a good book to read since this seems to be a topic among them as of late.

The author does an okay job but much of this is common sense.. take care of yourself.. stay positive.. keep a good outlook , things I can get from any teen magazine.

The other thing was the constant name dropping , that got old after a while.

The book is not a bad read, I guess you can glean a tip or two, although the two friends that did read it were not really finding anything new in it either.. and I didn't find it that entertaining.

It's okay.. but nothing special.

First, let's get the name out of the way. This is not a book about how to meet a man. At all. If what you're looking for is a guide to meeting a man - and why wouldn't you be? That is, afterall, the title - you're going to be disappointed.

It's a book about what it means to be a single woman in the 21st century, and it reads a lot like autobiographical chick lit. It bursts the myths about the supposed Sex in the City lifestyle we single women are supposedly leading, but at the same time it celebrates all the wonderful contours of our lives. It is full of insights into the lives of contemporary 40 year olds. I adored the chapters "Is It Me, or Is Everyone Showing Off" and "Should They Have Written to Thank Me?" There were many lines I called my friends to read aloud.

When the manhunting and dating advice finally appears in the 6th chapter, the author is refreshingly frank: "Dates...are the number one drawback of being single. Most are a sophisticated form of self-flagellation that leave you thinking that things out there in man world are even worse than you had imagined. You get home from 90 percent of those dates, open a bottle of wine, and pray for God to make you a lesbian. Nevertheless, dating has got to be done. You must date when the opportunity arises, in much the same way that you are obliged to vote in elections, because (a) otherwise you are not in a position to complain about your lot and (b) there is always the fractional possibility that it might bring about some positive change in your life."

The message of the book is that if you're happy, confident and have a healthy social life, you're more like to attract The One. Good advice, but perhaps not the detailed blue print some readers will be expecting.

This was a delightful surprise! Smart and funny British female columnist Shane Watson is a very entertaining writer, and her subject matter is near and dear to the hearts of every grownup woman: aging, appearance, fashion, manners, friends, healthy living, sex, relationships, love, and more. I laughed out loud at places, but even when I wasn't laughing, I was completely engrossed. If you are a fan of Sex and the City-type girlfriend dishing about life with all its ups, downs, foibles and frustrations, run, do not walk, to buy this book.

One huge quibble: the title and the premise of the book as a manual for meeting men after 40 is very misleading, and I fear it will miss its audience. Luckily for me, I stumbled on this book with my divorced sister-in-law in mind, because I've been married 20 years and didn't think I'd have any interest in it for myself. How wrong I was, and happily so! The dating parts of the book don't even begin until well past the halfway mark, and those are followed up with terrific sections on raising teenagers, stepparenting, relationships, etc. In other words, this book is great for ALL women, and not just those (A.) Over 40 who are (B.) In the market for a new man.

Highly recommended.

I would fit the target audience for this book - I am a single woman in her mid-forties. However, I selected this book as it was marketed as funny in the Bridget Jones genre. It was not. The bottom line is in order to attract a man, a woman over forty must do everything in her power, including considering plastic surgery, in order to maintain her appearance. It wasn't funny or entertaining. Women are broken down into two categories - naturals and plastics, with the author taking the stance that the plastics is what a woman should strive to attain. I wouldn't want the type of man who would be attracted to the type of woman the author states we should be.