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Manslations: Decoding the Secret Language of Men
'Manslations' is an hilarious - and honest - guide for women about what men say, who they are, and why they behave the way they do.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 10, 2013
I'd seen Jeff Mac, a stand up comedian, during the Bowery Poetry Club days - he was on a panel onstage as we watched the Obama election via live feed - so when I saw this book on the shelf at Out of the Closet, a thrift store franchise to benefit AIDs, I nabbed it. It's probably the only legit self help book by a comedian, he really explains the difference in men's thinking - getting something done, fixing a problem, etc, and how women endlessly over analyze it. He has a quietly feminist perspective, and has obviously read up on all the junk and legit science but feels no need to reference it - I love this Jeff Mac book! I've had humour/info book that were categorized, for book stores, as "self Help" or "Sociology", and it tanks your book right from the jump - I suspect this is what happened to him with this book, but pretty much every author gets jacked over and over so WTF - Brava, Jeff Mac!
January 5, 2021
Manslations; Translating of the Man language.
Stumbled upon this book while doing research for work and found it an interesting read. Straightforward read which you could easily finish in 2 hours. The tone was honest and funny, unsurprising considering that the author has his own stand-up comedy show. I particularly enjoyed reading his sharings from the male perspective on how they usually interpret things, which simplified many questions females ponder about and read too much into.
Only downside was that some points had only been lightly touched on and brushed aside when they could have delved deeper. And the author oversimplifies everything to one factor - sex, as the underlying motive, which ignores all other factors in the real world. Perhaps that is the point; men really are simple creatures as the author claimed to be?
A light-hearted read, I guess.
Stumbled upon this book while doing research for work and found it an interesting read. Straightforward read which you could easily finish in 2 hours. The tone was honest and funny, unsurprising considering that the author has his own stand-up comedy show. I particularly enjoyed reading his sharings from the male perspective on how they usually interpret things, which simplified many questions females ponder about and read too much into.
Only downside was that some points had only been lightly touched on and brushed aside when they could have delved deeper. And the author oversimplifies everything to one factor - sex, as the underlying motive, which ignores all other factors in the real world. Perhaps that is the point; men really are simple creatures as the author claimed to be?
A light-hearted read, I guess.
October 27, 2019
Finally
Plain talk, easily understood. What all women need to know! Things that women should have already known, men are like dogs.
Plain talk, easily understood. What all women need to know! Things that women should have already known, men are like dogs.
May 15, 2020
This book was hilarious.
January 23, 2013
I'm tempted to say this is all the man-manual you'll ever need.
No, really. I say that as someone who's been male for nearly 28 years now. There's an astounding amount of material out there on explaining our behaviour to the fairer sex, ranging from the thought-provoking and useful right through to Cosmo, but none of them match this one as an elegant thought-machete. Manslations cuts right through the bramble to expose how male thinking makes absolutely perfect sense (as long as you're a man).
It scores big on readability and is just unbelievably funny in a dad-joke sort of way - corny and a bit old-fashioned and irresistible - but these traits are mere tributary to the book's real strength, which is explaining the machinery behind a man's thinking. Because the tone is so light-hearted, it's not so scary & overwhelming once you're in there, allowing Jeff Mac to take you on a guided tour without feeling intimidated. Because the tone is so light-hearted, you won't be tempted to see absolute rules where none exist either, which should cut down on real-world post-hoc confusion. By the time he's done, the agonised overthinking of other books will seem kind of pitiable by comparison.
So why am I only tempted to say it's all the man-manual you'll ever need? Well I wouldn't plant a flag in Manslations and say "this is it", but it's hard to imagine another work surpassing it and still being this much fun. Manslations reduces all others to supplementary notes, and that's a hell of an achievement for a toilet-turner by a comedian.
Best of all, if you want a free sampler you can easily check out Jeff's old website, which despite not having been updated since 2009 contains a lot of the same material as went into the book. So what are you waiting for? Get manslating already!
No, really. I say that as someone who's been male for nearly 28 years now. There's an astounding amount of material out there on explaining our behaviour to the fairer sex, ranging from the thought-provoking and useful right through to Cosmo, but none of them match this one as an elegant thought-machete. Manslations cuts right through the bramble to expose how male thinking makes absolutely perfect sense (as long as you're a man).
It scores big on readability and is just unbelievably funny in a dad-joke sort of way - corny and a bit old-fashioned and irresistible - but these traits are mere tributary to the book's real strength, which is explaining the machinery behind a man's thinking. Because the tone is so light-hearted, it's not so scary & overwhelming once you're in there, allowing Jeff Mac to take you on a guided tour without feeling intimidated. Because the tone is so light-hearted, you won't be tempted to see absolute rules where none exist either, which should cut down on real-world post-hoc confusion. By the time he's done, the agonised overthinking of other books will seem kind of pitiable by comparison.
So why am I only tempted to say it's all the man-manual you'll ever need? Well I wouldn't plant a flag in Manslations and say "this is it", but it's hard to imagine another work surpassing it and still being this much fun. Manslations reduces all others to supplementary notes, and that's a hell of an achievement for a toilet-turner by a comedian.
Best of all, if you want a free sampler you can easily check out Jeff's old website, which despite not having been updated since 2009 contains a lot of the same material as went into the book. So what are you waiting for? Get manslating already!
January 4, 2012
A little embarrassed about reading this book because it implies that I'm a bit clueless in the field of understanding men...BUT I guess I have to swallow my pride and just admit it: I don't get men sometimes. actually, a lot of the time. This book (written by a guy) is very straight-forward. You'll be told things you didn't want to know. You'll look in suspicion and slight disgust at your male friends and your boyfriend/husband. You'll be like "Oh, no! I really am the TYPICAL WOMAN. NOOO".... BUT THE KNOWLEDGE IS WORTH IT. Being a feminist, I try to steer away from the typical female stereotypes and, as often as I can, I try to bridge the gap between male and female differences. But this book is all about their differences, at least in terms of communication. Many of my arguments with my boyfriend have been due to misunderstandings. We're so blinded by the idea that everyone thinks (or should think like us) that when we're confronted with someone who's way of thinking is just flat out different, we're like "waaiittt....what??" but I like that Jeff Mac actually made this clear to the readers. The sexes really are different (not superior one over the other) but just different. I like that he's refreshing, honest, and compromising. At times a bit too blunt, he uses humor to make the truth a little easier to swallow. Also, I like that he actually made things simple to understand. Many other books are so vague and ambiguous that, at the end, you're left even more confused. One thing I really liked was the fact that he promotes understanding and compromising between couples (I'm such an advocate for this. It's hard though). Highly recommend this book to both men and women (gonna try to get my boyfriend to read it since it's a pretty fast read and might help him understand me a little bit better as well-- wish me luck)
November 30, 2010
I have to say... Even though this took me a year to read (to the date), I actually quite enjoyed it. A friend had given me a copy of this book when she was going through a rough time & I thought I'd read it so that I could pick through her mind. That was a big mistake! She is a very complex person.. & as simply put as this book makes things, I had to read it chapter by chapter & leave a resting place for absorption to take its effect.
Jeff Mac is a very funny guy. He seems to want to help a lot of people. But the only problem I found while reading was that he was trying to be funny all the time... to the point where I wasn't laughing anymore & rounded back to serious. I don't know if that was his intention, but that's what happened. Needless to say, the book was full of all the info that was sitting dormant in my brain somewhere. It's like I knew all this already but I never gave use to any of it. Having it there in front of me & in print sure brought it out. It's almost life-changing, if you let it. No need for histrionics... It's all right here.
Jeff Mac is a very funny guy. He seems to want to help a lot of people. But the only problem I found while reading was that he was trying to be funny all the time... to the point where I wasn't laughing anymore & rounded back to serious. I don't know if that was his intention, but that's what happened. Needless to say, the book was full of all the info that was sitting dormant in my brain somewhere. It's like I knew all this already but I never gave use to any of it. Having it there in front of me & in print sure brought it out. It's almost life-changing, if you let it. No need for histrionics... It's all right here.
October 17, 2009
If you have ever just been completely puzzled by what the men around you are doing, give it a read. Even if it's not completely accurate, it's funny. When the men around you make you want to scream, you'll find it a bit easier to forgive with bits like...
"Every man secretly believes that he's just a few sit-ups away from being 24's Jack Bauer. We're pretty sure that one the Navy SEALs are going to call up and say, 'We're underat attack-we just lost half our squad! We need you!' And by God we'll be ready!" (p 5) Apparently, if you just make your menfolk feel like a badass for doing what you want, they will gladly do it.
Now I'm not saying it's true (tell me menfolk is it?) but it's FUNNY and frankly, that's what mattered here.
"Every man secretly believes that he's just a few sit-ups away from being 24's Jack Bauer. We're pretty sure that one the Navy SEALs are going to call up and say, 'We're underat attack-we just lost half our squad! We need you!' And by God we'll be ready!" (p 5) Apparently, if you just make your menfolk feel like a badass for doing what you want, they will gladly do it.
Now I'm not saying it's true (tell me menfolk is it?) but it's FUNNY and frankly, that's what mattered here.
February 12, 2009
This book was hilarious! It's very "He Just Not That Into You" esque, but I found this one a bit more realistic. Plus, the authors sense of humor made me laugh out loud on almost every page. I'm not sure I understand men any better, but at least I put in some sort of an effort to try.
May 31, 2017
I love this book! Just full of good advice and humorous insight. Granted, a lot of the book was taken from his blog (manslations.com) but I liked that it was all together in one place--and as funny as ever! I totally laughed out loud--in public.
March 22, 2009
Made me laugh out loud...some pages even had me crying because I was laughing so hard. I saw my hubby in alot of the descriptions and made me truly thankful that I am not on the dating scene anymore!
August 27, 2009
this book is hilarious...and also pretty awesome at the same time. even if you are already in a relationship with a man, it is interesting to hear things from this perspective. and thank goodness someone was finally able to give me a good explanation for the video game obsession!
September 8, 2009
Cute and funny book about what men say and what they reall mean. The best advice I'm taking from this book is that if there's a conflict between what men say and what they do, ALWAYS believe what they do.
February 2, 2010
Yes I read a self help book about men. Why?Because I don't get them
This books humor and honesty captivated me ,so much that I finished the book cover to cover in about two hours.Is it "Unbearable Lightness of Being"?--NO , but you will like this book ladies. And you may learn a thing or two
This books humor and honesty captivated me ,so much that I finished the book cover to cover in about two hours.Is it "Unbearable Lightness of Being"?--NO , but you will like this book ladies. And you may learn a thing or two
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December 8, 2008Wait for the February 2009 edition of BookPage, and THEN I'll tell you what I think. :)
March 4, 2010
eeeh it was ok...
January 25, 2011
The Manaslations Q & A blog is amazing, hilarious, and--best yet--free so save your money and skip this book. Same contents as the blog but less funny and poorly organized.
February 27, 2013
Was pretty comical and alot of it made sense. I like how he was very candid and pretty much knows how women think lol
December 29, 2013
Hilarious.
February 10, 2014
I'm not sure if this book had a lot of useful info but it was hilarious.
July 25, 2014
Very funny, entertaining and useful. It was a big help for understanding men!
May 3, 2016
Basically men are lame dogs who will have sex with anyone and everyone.
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November 18, 2017This site will be helpful
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews