THE SWEET POTATO QUEENS' FIELD GUIDE TO MEN: Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay, or Dead

Browne's fourth venture into chronicling Southern belles gone bad shows no signs of exhausting the topic; her reservoir of hilarious advice and empowering stories are still fresh and funny. There are five categories of men "you must have in your life—one to talk to, one to dance with, one who can pay for things, one to have great sex with and one who can fix things." Offering tips on where to find eligible men, Browne suggests Home Depot, bookstores (where she met her new husband, The Cutest Boy in the World), post-funeral feeds and "class reunions after number 25 or so are hot beds of, well, hot beds." As for dating older men, Browne coos, "I've long been a proponent of this concept on account of the opportunity it affords us to be young and cute forever." Although the Queens are best known for their all-purpose problem solver of "The Promise" (of oral sex), equally useful is the sage observation that "No compliment is too outrageous for a man to believe." Browne narrates with an assured, relaxed drawl—she writes exactly as she speaks, making her the perfect raconteur. This is the first time Random has not issued Browne's work unabridged. Obviously, they forgot Mae West's adage, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." Simultaneous release with Three Rivers paperback (Forecasts, July 12). (Oct.)