Dating, Mating, and Manhandling: The Ornithological Guide to Men

Frances, a columnist for Flaunt magazine, describes herself as a dating expert with a Ph.Double-D. This sets the tone for the rest of her first book, an awkward amalgamation of wink-wink, nudge-nudge teen magazine articles on how to get a boyfriend and more brazen guides to dating and sex. Using a clever classification system that equates men with birds, she presents several dozen types, from the ""Clay Pigeons"" who ""won't take the hint to buzz off"" to the ""Baldheaded Eagle"" who is ""bossy, controlling, and pervy, in a very good or completely pathetic kind of way."" The rest of Frances's book, split into sections on dating, sex and couple-hood, thinly disguises inane cliches about dating as rules: ""If a man has taken your phone number, but he's also managed to slip you his, you must always wait for him to call you. Period,"" and ""although men should be on time, women are always allowed to be a little late."" This field guide to men is best taken as a lightly humorous guide.