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The A-Z of Being Single: A Survival Guide
Ah, the single life. The blind dates, the guiltless sleeping in the starfish position, the "table for one, please." In this book, Jeff Green offers practical advice on how to find love, or failing that, how to pretend you've got a significant other half. And if you've just been dumped, Jeff shows how you can reach "closure," otherwise known as uncompromising revenge. Green also includes great pick-up lines for the older lover—"Did you break a hip when you fell from heaven?"—and beauty tips for dates—"How to look 20 years younger? Stand further away." If you're in a relationshio, this book will remind you why your own situation is worth tolerating, and if you're happily single, follow Jeff's advice and you're guaranteed to stay that way.
- GenresHumor
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2003
15 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Green
3 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Jeff Green is a comedian who has staged several sell-out tours throughout Britain and Australia.
Jeff Green is a comedian who has staged several sell-out tours throughout Britain and Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 26, 2019
Olen voittanut tämän suomennetun version random-kirjana kirja-arvonnassa joitakin vuosia sitten. Eipä ole tullut tartuttua tähän Sinkkuelämän ABC:hen aiemmin, mutta tuumasin että olisi nopealukuinen. Ja niin tämä olikin, mutta se onkin sitten ainoa myönteinen asia, mitä tästä voin sanoa. En siis viitsinyt ryhtyä tänne sivustolle kirjan suomenkielistä versiota lisäämään.
Kirjan "huumori" on peräisin niistä samoista ikiaikaisista "naiset ovat tällaisia ja miehet tällaisia" -stereotypioista, joista ties kuinka monien sitcomien ummehtuneet vitsit on revitty vaikka kuinka kauan. Eli ei naurata. Kuraa.
Kirjan "huumori" on peräisin niistä samoista ikiaikaisista "naiset ovat tällaisia ja miehet tällaisia" -stereotypioista, joista ties kuinka monien sitcomien ummehtuneet vitsit on revitty vaikka kuinka kauan. Eli ei naurata. Kuraa.
April 13, 2018
On the whole it was very funny. Simple to read and finished in a day. Very relatable.
February 22, 2014
A suitably ironic choice for Valentine’s evening, The A-Z of Being Single purports to be the go-to guide for singletons, unhappily coupled up and those in a satisfying relationship. Green rattles through everything from how to flirt to time to split in alphabetical order with his tongue firmly in his cheek.
The first issue with this book is its title. I would have expected The A-Z of Being Single to be something of a survival guide to singledom and although there are a few suggestions (if you pay the single person supplement, set your alarm so you can move over and use both sides of the bed), the majority of the advice is centred around dating and relationships – the exact opposite of what the title suggests.
Green does present a witty repartee and is able to illicit more that the odd chuckle but, title aside, there are three huge problems.
First, Green races through every section at a crazy pace. The whole thing feels like it was knocked up in an afternoon and there is no time to just enjoy the piece for what it is. I would have liked to see Green adopt a Peter Corey approach in making a Coping With… Being Single of sorts. Copey’s Coping With… Exams & Tests is the perfect example of an A-Z that lovingly and funnily explores each entry with the paced respect they deserve.
Second, there’s a lot of repetition. A lot of the jokes are centred around the usual stereotypes – men just need sex, beer and food while women are high maintenance, overly complicated experts in nagging – and that of course the communis opinion starting point for such a piece. The problem is, there is no second layer of humour or further developments, so we have essentially the same jokes over and over again under a different guise.
Third, it’s very repetitive.
The concept of this book has a lot of potential, and Green can be genuinely funny. He should have taken more time over this one. What we have feels like more of a rough outline of notes for the book, or a working draft, rather than a finished product and is quite disappointing.
The first issue with this book is its title. I would have expected The A-Z of Being Single to be something of a survival guide to singledom and although there are a few suggestions (if you pay the single person supplement, set your alarm so you can move over and use both sides of the bed), the majority of the advice is centred around dating and relationships – the exact opposite of what the title suggests.
Green does present a witty repartee and is able to illicit more that the odd chuckle but, title aside, there are three huge problems.
First, Green races through every section at a crazy pace. The whole thing feels like it was knocked up in an afternoon and there is no time to just enjoy the piece for what it is. I would have liked to see Green adopt a Peter Corey approach in making a Coping With… Being Single of sorts. Copey’s Coping With… Exams & Tests is the perfect example of an A-Z that lovingly and funnily explores each entry with the paced respect they deserve.
Second, there’s a lot of repetition. A lot of the jokes are centred around the usual stereotypes – men just need sex, beer and food while women are high maintenance, overly complicated experts in nagging – and that of course the communis opinion starting point for such a piece. The problem is, there is no second layer of humour or further developments, so we have essentially the same jokes over and over again under a different guise.
Third, it’s very repetitive.
The concept of this book has a lot of potential, and Green can be genuinely funny. He should have taken more time over this one. What we have feels like more of a rough outline of notes for the book, or a working draft, rather than a finished product and is quite disappointing.
April 15, 2014
My friend is newly single after three years of being in a relationship so I thought it would be an appropriate gift for him to get him this book. To make sure it was suitably amusing, rather than disheartening, I thought I'd read it first.
I have very mixed feelings about it. For a start the title is wrong; it isn't really a guide to being single, more a guide to dating really, which is fine but it should have been labelled as such. It felt extremely rushed and didn't feel like much effort was put into it. I also particularly disliked the 'roleplay' sections which apparently gave demonstrations of his points. However they were just extremely irritating and could be skipped over.
On the other hand it was very funny in places and I found myself chuckling quite often. It was light hearted and certainly one I could give to my friend.
I have very mixed feelings about it. For a start the title is wrong; it isn't really a guide to being single, more a guide to dating really, which is fine but it should have been labelled as such. It felt extremely rushed and didn't feel like much effort was put into it. I also particularly disliked the 'roleplay' sections which apparently gave demonstrations of his points. However they were just extremely irritating and could be skipped over.
On the other hand it was very funny in places and I found myself chuckling quite often. It was light hearted and certainly one I could give to my friend.
July 17, 2011
Actually quite amusing in parts he points out that one of the troubles with singlehood is that you have no one else to blame. Who left the washing up in the sink? YOU did, there s no-one else around!
July 28, 2011
Fantastically funny and brilliant book. Nice one Jeff!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews