Pink isn't always pretty

I often judge books by their covers, and this strategy usually serves me well. If it hadn't been for their pretty pink covers, I may never have discovered some of my favorite books such as Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher or Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz.

Every now and then, though, I end up misjudging a book by its cover. On Friday, I checked out two books with yummy, pink covers: Don’t Be That girl by Travis L. Stork and Chuck Palahniuk’s Snuff.

Boy, was I disappointed.

I should have known better than to have checked out a book entitled Snuff that was written by the same guy who brought us Fight Club, but I was blinded by the pink cover. Once I got home and realized my error, I decided to broaden my horizons and try to read the book anyway. After all, there are quite a lot of intelligent people out there who just love Chuck Palahniuk. However, I only made it through the first 50 pages, and even that was a struggle. The book is extremely well-written. The problem is that Palahniuk's descriptions are way too detailed for a prude like me. I don't want to read about (or even think about) flabby, old, hirsute porn stars.

Don’t Be That girl: A Guide to Finding the Confident, Rational Girl Within was written by reality television star, Travis Stork (The Bachelor: Season 8). In my opinion, there is a good reason why Mr. Stork is a bachelor–he’s an arrogant, male chauvinist pig. Don’t Be That Girl is supposed to be a dating guide for women, but it comes off more like an anti-feminist manifesto. Stork demeans women by categorizing them into 8 different types: Agenda Girl, Yes Girl, Drama Queen Girl, Bitter Girl, Insecure Girl, Desperate Girl, Working Girl, and Lost Girl.

Call me Bitter Woman, but unless he’s some kind of sicko, I think he needs to be reminded that the females he dates are grown women, and not girls.

Surrender the Pink

One of my all-time favorite books is Carrie Fisher's hilarious novel, Surrender the Pink.