Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl [Hardcover]

Aisha Tyler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2004

The dynamic comedienne and actress delivers provocative, hilarious, and empowering advice on dating, sex, style, and the cool confidence every woman needs to succeed. Using innovative insight, humor, and the vocabulary of a new generation, Aisha introduces us to Swerve—a new road map of advice for young women.

swerve \’swerv\ vb swerved; swerv•ing A mental or moral turning away from a given course; a major change in direction; [to get one’s swerve on] to enjoy oneself without inhibitions; to parade about with confidence and style. syn VEER, DEVIATE, DEPART, DIGRESS

Gorgeous and gutsy, Aisha Tyler has made an unmistakable name for herself in the entertainment world. Now she applies her on-target insight and brazen wit to tackling the old-fashioned mentalities that keep women from living their lives to the fullest. In Swerve, Aisha rejects the relationship/marriage imperative and puts authentic living first. This is no dry, self-help mumbo jumbo—Aisha dishes out hip, fun, and laugh-out-loud advice.

Packed with Aisha’s uncanny wisdom and hilarious commentary, Swerve offers the opinion that single twenty- and thirty-somethings can find fulfillment on their own terms.

Speaking to the audience of successful books such as Swell: A Girl’s Guide to the Good Life and The Bombshell Manual of Style, Aisha offers a new way to navigate life for the postmodern girl.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like an older sister who has life all figured out delivering a motivational speech, 33-year-old actress and comedian Tyler digresses, in a stand-up comedy approach, on popular culture, guys, personal hygiene, Sun Tzu's The Art of War (as a metaphor for dating) and how to be yourself in today's media-inflated world. Tyler, the first woman and first African-American to host E! Entertainment's Talk Soup, is clever (although she fervently denies it), confident and very modern. Unabashedly honest and optimistic, she reveals what makes her tick, dishing on how to live by mottoes such as "You are entitled to be a badass." Tyler is so hip, however, that conventional writing structures don't exactly apply to her book. Countless meditative, incomplete sentences, words such as "fergawdsakes," italics, witty footnotes and parenthetical commentaries on her own observations are all quite "postmodern," but do nothing to discredit negative 20- and 30-something stereotypes. Although the author possesses a degree in government from Dartmouth College, her writing comes right out of her mouth, clearly targeted toward the everygirl. But she produces an entertaining light read, attuned to what she presumes her readers want to talk about, down to the gritty topics of sex, dirty jokes, bikini waxing and boys. Of body image, the six-foot-tall beauty says, "Looking at celebrities as role models... is a big fat waste of time," and reminds women that "Guys. Like. Curves," acknowledging that she appeared in the Maxim Hot 100 in her underwear.
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Review

Swerve offers comedy with a feminist twist. -- The Boston Globe

Being funny comes easily to Tyler.. The book is sarcastic and feminist without laying on the dogma. -- Complex

Brilliantly funny . . . Pick it up and laugh out loud in front of strangers." -- Jane

Dazzling . . . Swerve has the same cool sensibility that made her shine as the host of E's 'Talk Soup.' -- USA Today

Packed with ... wit and wisdom on relationships, sex, our obsession with thin, and how to get your swerve on. -- Ebony

Smart, funny, and cooler than Samuel L. Jackson. . . . Swerve exudes broadminded thinking and self-confidence. -- The Kansas City Star

Swerve is very funny, quite witty, and thoroughly modern. -- Seattle Weekly

Tyler is everything she seem[s] . . . . funny, independent and very smart. -- The Arizona Republic

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 237 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (January 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525948066
• ISBN-13: 978-0525948063
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,785,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The musings of a postmodern girl, January 27, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl (Hardcover)

Too hip to be existential but filled with age old truths, SWERVE by Aisha Tyler
is a commentary on maintaining a sense of self while trying to weather the
often cold dating climate. It is packed with clever anecdotes, personal
accounts, and common sense rules for preserving dignity in the face of trying
to hook the hot guy at the end of the bar without appearing to be a harlot.

Tyler begins with a basic definition of postmodernism and then she flips it
and tells what it means to her. She goes on to discuss how she doesn't know
if SWERVE is postmodern or not. She began writing it with the idea of sending
a helpful message to women. What she ended up with was a witty observation of
life, dating, and self-esteem. Her humorous slant on the subject matter keeps
it from being a self-help book, but her many descriptions and stories will
undoubtedly lead readers to identify with some characterizations in the book.

With chapters titled "The Ballad of The Yogurt Girl" and "The War of Art, or
Aiken v. Studdard in the World Series of Love", Tyler is entertaining and
truthful in her depictions of people at work and at play. Many times the
chapters read like a conversation that Tyler was having with a friend - one
that started off on one subject, but ended up somewhere else entirely - and it
still managed to hold my attention. Where else can you find, in one chapter,
a discussion of people mimicking the personalities of Ruben Studdard and Clay
Aiken at a karoke bar and end up with a discussion of The Art War as it relates
to dating?

Using language that is spoken by those in their twenties, Tyler addresses issues
that have long been debated in sociology classes and in bars throughout the
country. How does a girl land a hot guy, beat out the competition and maintain
her dignity? What does a woman do when she has made a fool of herself during
her quest for a man? These as well as a multitude of other topics are
among those touched on by Tyler. Her underlying message is to be yourself in
the face of any dating or social disaster and all will be fine in the
end. Regardless of the subject that Tyler flows to, she is entertaining and
has put together a book that is simply fun and amusing.

Reviewed by Diane Marbury
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh out loud clever!, April 11, 2004

By 

B. Diona Kidd (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl (Hardcover)

Aisha Tyler has a strong and unique voice in her writing. Her genuineness and grounded perspective is what makes her humor so appealing to me. Her writing is unpretentious and honest. She rants about reality tv, unrealistic expectations, platonic relationships, dating, and sexism ( without going off on a feminist crazed rant ) to name just a few topics. She also explores the idea 'What is sexy?'.

This book was a funny, refreshing read. Highly recommended!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, July 1, 2004

By 

ROCHEE (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl (Hardcover)

Reading this book is like having a conversation with your best girlriend. To some this may be quite abnoxious, but to others it is quite refreshing. The book is quirky, which is not surprising being that the author herself is quirky. There are random refrences, roundabout points, and side conversations with the reader. All these things make the book fun. "Fun" being the operative word. You can't take this book too seriously. The whole aim of the book is to tackle some fairly heavy, slightly mundane issues in a lighthearted way. The topics addressed are conversations shared amongst girlfriends. In conversations with our best friends we make roundaabout points, we go off on tangents, and we make random interjections. This book parallels the dynamics of such conversations. One of the elements of the book that I found most endearing was Tyler's ability to make complex allegorical comparisons without losing the reader. Tyler also interjects some amusing language and "conversation" throughout the book. Making the book more like a tête-à-tête or heart-to-heart. The book is truly an amalgamation. That is why Ms. Tyler found it difficult to describe the book in the introduction. This book cannot be described. To some this is a dreadful proposition. To me it is refreshing.