I don’t do self-help books. It’s just not my thing. When you read them in public, they have embarrassingly bold titles that advertises to the world what’s wrong with you. When you check them out at the library or buy them at the bookstore, you get that “look” from the person over the counter.
Not that I’m speaking from experience—well…okay, I might have glanced at one self-help book. It was after I graduated from university; it was a transitional period in my life so you can understand why my literary standards may have been compromised when I came upon the title I Don’t Know What I Want—But I Know It’s Not This! staring at me from the library shelves.
Was I able to derive any self-help? Nope. One year later and I’m still waiting for the light to shine.
When I started reading Ronda Rich’s What Southern Women Know About Flirting, I didn’t realize that I was reading a self-help book; I actually assumed the book was collection of short stories. If it wasn’t for my admiration of Scarlett O’Hara, I would have abandoned this manual at the introduction. I persisted and I’m glad I persisted—this book is a pleasant find for an open mind.
Ronda Rich has a unique definition of flirting. Southern flirting is not seductive flirting, but the simple act of treating everyone with kindness. Therein lies the allure of a Southern belle: she treats the cabbie and waitress with the same amount of respect as she may direct toward a doctor or a congressman. The Southern belle is the embodiment of warmth, the symbol of the feminine mystique.
You don’t have to be Southern to be a belle. With enough self-confidence, compassion, and consideration, all women can charm the world.
That’s funny that you thought it was a short story collection! It’s a nice idea, though…being nice to everyone. And you gotta love that opening line to GWTW! It inspired me in high school.
By: Eva on December 28, 2007
at 5:58 pm
And she does it with humor…Just stopped by to wish y’all a Happy New Year and Happy Reading in 2008!
By: maggie on December 31, 2007
at 9:22 pm
I always love reading about Southern Women. Unfortunately, I find them a dying breed. Globalization and technology are wonderful, but they tend to blur the cultural lines.
In the generation before mine, my parents’ generation, I knew many women who embodied the best of the Southern Woman definition: charming, kind, dignified but down to earth, educated and with lovely diction, courteous, and generous. They stand out as models to aspire to.
The book sounds interesting and few of us are not in need of a little pep talk about compassion and kindness- whatever the source! Thanks for an interesting review.
By: jenclair on January 1, 2008
at 10:48 am
I chose to read this book for an assignment in one of my psychology classes. I am looking at this book as a window into the Southern culture regarding interpersonal relations. I used the survey in the book to get my associates take, to my surprise there are males from the South who feel just as Ronda Rich does. I find this book, interesting–I guess you could say “Pay it forward” could apply. I had fun with this reading yet do not plan on using as a self-help book.
By: Vonda on April 12, 2008
at 2:32 pm