Top Tips for Girls: Real advice from real women for real life (Paperback)

by Kate Reardon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
REAL LIFE MADE EASIER

In today’s lifestyle guru–obsessed world, where we all turn to magazines and TV personalities to teach us how to organize our lives, cook, look, and live better, it’s refreshing to hear clever, who-would’ve-thunk-it suggestions from regular women.

In Top Tips for Girls, today’s primer for women in the know, Kate Reardon has collected just that—literally hundreds of tips on all areas of our lives, be it raising kids, staying fit, dressing well, planning a wedding, gardening, dating, dieting, traveling, or working. Far from garden variety, the tips you’ll find here are surprising—the sort that women used to get word-of-mouth from their own moms, grandmothers, aunts, and best friends. Some of the many helpful, and even hilarious, tips you’ll read here include:

•To avoid blisters from new shoes, coat your feet with Vaseline.
•Invest in a certain number of “nice” hangers. When you start having to use the metal ones from the dry cleaner, it’s time to clean out your closet.
•Impress guests with homemade-tasting mayonnaise by adding fresh lemon juice and capers or thyme to ordinary mayo.
•Perk up wilted ferns by spraying them once a month with weak tea.
•To find your car in an unfamiliar area, use the camera on your cell phone to take a picture of the nearest street sign.
•Tone up your butt by squeezing it in quick reps of fifty while watching TV.
•To safely dispose of receipts and bank statements without buying a shredder, simply keep a container of water to pop them in and let them dissolve.

And many more!

About the Author
KATE REARDON is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and has worked for Vogue and Tatler. Visit her website at toptips.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307406695
• ISBN-13: 978-0307406699
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #342,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, April 16, 2009

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This is a fun book, though its entertainment value lies more in the fun of mocking it than in taking it seriously. Though, perhaps it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. I have hesitated to write this review because of how much this book feels like a novelty.

It's a terrific concept: Full of tip after tip on the proper etiquette for how to deal with topics as varied as pets, gardening, diets, beauty, weddings, travel, etc., this book seemingly covers every possible contingency in a young woman's life. Unfortunately, most of the tips lack real substance.

The best part of this book, by far, are the introductions to each chapter which are written by author Kate Reardon. She is a terrific writer. Her stuff is funny, witty, smart, engaging. With chapter after chapter I kept wishing that she had kept going and written all of the tips herself, too.

Instead, the tips are a hodge-podge of responses that she received from readers online. Women wrote in to Reardon's website with their own personal tips on various topics, and while some are interesting, most are odd or, at worst, not helpful. "Put the sponge in your dishwasher every time you run it" as a way to keep the sponge clean is a helpful tip. "Wear a rubber kitchen glove. It will be grated before your fingers!" not so much. And do we really need a section with advice on how to deter slugs?

When I got to the section called, "How to Remember to do Kegel Exercises" I thought, really? We need four tips on this? Of course, the tip about using Neosporin to clear up pimples does make me curious to try it.

And what about this nugget: "How to Pull Clothes Over Your Head Without Ruining Your Makeup: If you need to pull clothes over your head and you've already done your makeup, put a large old pair of panties on your head so that they cover your face. They will protect your clothes and your makeup. - Gam"

Sigh.

In the introduction, Reardon writes that this book is "about collecting all those little tips and tricks that get us through life." It sounds so lovely and nostalgic. Yet, I can't help but notice at the end of the introduction, where she also writes, "The tips in this book are the opinions of people who have contributed to my website. I haven't rigorously tested them all...if you've got a better idea for any of the tips you find in this book...do please...let us all know."

I do have a better idea. Kate: next time write all of the material yourself. Or at least decide if the book is meant to be real advice of the useful variety, or a fun joke to pass around and giggle about at the office.

Reviewed by: Marie Robinson

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun gift idea, December 23, 2008

By	K. Nolen (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book should be titled "Tips for Women." Its got some fairly adult topics. I am planning to give it to my brother's girlfriend who is 25. I think it is perfect for someone her age.