I just finished reading How to Talk to Girls at Parties, by Neil Gaiman, which is available absolutely free for Kindle here. It’s actually a short story, presented along with a free preview of Gaiman’s next novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
The title obviously interested me from the git-go (though it didn’t actually help in that department), but the story in itself is a pretty clever one, combining a sensitive portrayal of teenage shyness and angst with a space alien story. I think saying anything more would spoil it. Pretty good, and hey, it’s free.
Also free on Nook! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-talk-to-girls-at-parties-neil-gaiman/1114918146?ean=9780062293572
Why does this remind me of the classic, How To Make Yourself Miserable by Dan Greenburg? It’s about how to avoid having girls talk to you at parties. Based on the observation that some people are only happy when they are miserable and the best way to create misery is through rejection, the book outlines ways to get rejected in virtually every conceivable social situation. Back in my high school days many an evening was spent with a group of buddies reading excerpts and laughing over the friends we had seen acting out the depictions.
You mean How to Make Yourself Miserable wasn’t a guide for life? I’ve been doing it wrong all these years…
This is one of the few Gaiman stories I actually don’t like. I mean, it’s well-written, but I think all of the alcohol and (implied) sex put me off. Perhaps I was just a prudish teen.
This is reminds me of the Onion News story on Mike Greenman’s difficult negotiations with the Attractive Girls Union. It’s dry, yes, but I think it’s funny.
Mike Greenman does better than I do. At least he talks to them.