PUC Chronicle

Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: amazon.com From business and fashion advice to relationship quizzes, Melissa Kirsch's new self-help book offers fast facts and helpful information.

Self-help books are everywhere these days. They are aimed at many different areas of life one could improve;: get-fit books, what to do after college, dating and relating problems and pretty much anything else you could possibly need help with.
The newest addition to the genre is "The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything" by Melissa Kirsch.
The front cover of the book looks like a planner and is divided into10 areas of life deserving attention in life; health, work, money, manners, friends, love, family, spirit, home and fashion. The topics are not skimped on either, because the book is 477 pages long including appendices, list of resources the author used and an index for handy looking up.
Kirsch said in the introduction that she was inspired to write this book after working as an editor and would have to look at books apparently aimed at her then 20-something age range.
After continuously looking at such books, Kirsch said she then decided to make a book of her own and sought out advice from women she looked up to- as to what they wish they would have known in their 20s as well as what they still do not know.
The book also contains facts from authorities in the different areas discussed in the book as well as personal stories from women Kirsch had contacted through interviews and e-mail.
While the book contains advice mainly common sense and probably something you have learned either in school or through simply living life, the advice is all together in one place for simple consulting.
The book is also a ready reference for those who are too embarrassed to ask questions about things people already presume one knows.
Didn't pay attention in economics or find that a trip to the bank leaves you more confused than what you already were? In the money section of the book, Kirsch explains W-4's, stocks, taxes, IRAs, credit cards along with tips on how to save money and what kind of spending "bird" you are and how to correct your habits.
Wondering if your fashion sense if up to snuff? In the fashion section Kirsch tells you what accessories not to use (items like Burger King crowns, fannypacks and '70s retro-lunch boxes get the boot), how to make your clothing work for your body type and the benefits of "cost per wear."
Kirsch does realize her book is not the final authority in the field of women conducting their lives and even mentions so in the introduction of the book.
She welcomes readers to contact her with feedback and the like at www.melissakirsch.com.

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