One of the most eagerly anticipated books of the season--funny, sexy, wise fiction from the freshest new voice in women's writing.

"I don't admit to myself what I'm doing when I put my bike helmet on and ride over to the bookstore a few blocks away. I pretend that maybe I'm just getting another Edith Wharton novel. But I bypass Fiction and find Self-Help. I think, Self-Help? If I could help myself I wouldn't be here. There are stacks and stacks of How to Meet and Marry Mr.Right, and I take my copy up to the counter as furtively as if it were a girdle or vibrator..."

With a steadily growing cadre of readers who delight in her smartly comic and insightful writing, Melissa Bank is an event waiting to happen. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing explores the life lessons of Jane, the contemporary American Everywoman who combines the charm of Bridget Jones, the vulnerability of Ally McBeal, and the wit of Lorrie Moore. As she works her way from defiant teenager to reluctant career girl, growing older and getting smarter, Jane maneuvers her way through love, sex, relationships, and the occasional perils of the workplace. She reluctantly succumbs to the questionable advice offered in a pop-psych book entitled How to Meet and Marry Mr. Right .

Accompanied at every turn by the ear-whispering authors (who bear an uncanny resemblance to two popular, hateful high school acquaintances) Jane makes a series of dating decisions that lead her in the right direction--but for the wrong reasons. Wise, poignant, and full of the kind of laugh-out-loud insight you just have to share with your best friend, Melissa Bank is the kind of writer readers have been waiting for: an original voice telling a universal story through characters we all love and recognize. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

梅莉莎・班克（Melissa Bank），曾在《芝加哥论坛报》、《西洋镜杂志》、《大都市》和《北美文学评论》上发表过作品，她的短篇小说曾在美国全国公共广播电台播出。1993年，班克荣获尼尔森・阿尔格伦短篇小说奖。1999年，梅莉莎・班克制造了美国出版业的一大新闻。她凭借讲述一位机智敏感的纽约姑娘简・罗森纳尔的一系列情感故事，一举获得六位数预付金。这个短篇系列格外走红，获得的成绩可与海伦・菲尔丁的畅销书《单身女士日记》媲美，还没写完就被好莱坞名牌导演看中了，可见班克是一位深谙都市情文学之道的圣手。《少女渔猎手册》被《出版家周刊》评为1999年最佳图书，被译成包括中文在内的二十二种文字。班克目前与她的拉布拉多爱犬美宝莲一同住在纽约。