How Not to Act Old: 185 Ways to Pass for Phat, Sick, Hot, Dope, Awesome, or at Least Not Totally Lame (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A welcome jolt of fresh wit: wryly, smartly, and crisply devoted to the subject that dare not speak its name among those of us who fully expected, against all odds, to never become unhip. With How Not To Act Old, we'll get our wish." (Sheila Weller, author of the New York Times bestseller Girls Like Us )

"Shimmers with a multitude of wise and hilarious insights on the pitfalls of acting your age. Don't just read it, memorize it. And buy it for everyone you love. It's original and brilliant! " (Dorothea Benton Frank, New York Times bestselling author )

Product Description

How to be cool when you're afraid you've forgotten how . . .

Sure, you can try to stay younger by exercising, coloring your hair, and wearing stylish clothes—but how do you respond when someone asks, "Do you Twitter?" How Not to Act Old gives you simple ways to come back from over the hill and to act as young as you look.

Covering everything from old-people entertainment (cancel that dinner party!) to old-people communication (it's called a "voice mail," not a "message," and no one leaves or listens to them anyway), Pamela Redmond Satran decodes the behaviors, viewpoints, and cultural touchstones that separate you from the hip young person you wish you still were. This irreverent guide is essential for anyone who doesn't want to embarrass their kids—or themselves.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061771309
• ISBN-13: 978-0061771309
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,465 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Self-Help & Psychology
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  #14 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Aging

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits MUCH too close to home!, August 12, 2009

By	Kathleen Lane (New York) - See all my reviews

Oh, Pamela Redmond Satran, did you secretly interview BOTH my 20-something daughters before writing this book? I won't let them see your hilarious and painfully true book because you confirm everything they've ever said to me. I don't think I could handle hearing "What did we TELL you?" that many times. I will, however, consider figuring out how to use my cellphone, re-think my notion of "dress shoes" and maybe even give up the Cosmopolitan in favor of the Kamikaze. I may even try to sleep past 6:30 AM on weekends. (At least I'll be savvy enough to avoid sending any incriminating time-stamped e-mails if I fail.)

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humor Book of the Year, August 7, 2009

By	Christina Baker Kline "Christina" (Bass Harbor, Maine) - See all my reviews

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll tell all your friends to run out and buy it. How Not to Act Old is an instruction manual and life coach in book form for baby boomers trying desperately to stay cool, and their Evil Young progeny who make fun of them. Even those of us who like to believe (okay, delude ourselves) that we know what's going on will recognize ourselves in Satran's witty, shrewd, razor-sharp observations. And to be clear: Satran's not really suggesting that we give up dancing to Springsteen or drinking vodka, only that we understand that a whole new generation is watching and snickering. We used to be them, and now we're not. This is the funniest book I've read all year.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comedy of Manners, August 6, 2009

By	Eric Levin "Palatino" (Montclair, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This very funny little book is social satire masquerading as self-help. (It's also a send-up of self-help books, avoiding which is--delicious irony--another way How Not To Act Old.) Who is being satirized? The young! And quite perceptively. Also those who would mimic them (whose number would not include anyone hip enough to buy "How Not To Act Old"). Slim as this volume is, it's loaded with amusing specifics. The author proves herself a shrewd observer of human nature and a writer with many arrows in her quiver.