Swim Naked, Defy Gravity and 99 Other Essential Things to Accomplishbefore Turning 30

It is perfect!! There are simple but crucial things to do before turning 30.

I read about this book in a review in a popular women's magazine and decided to buy it for a friend who was turing 23. She had been out of college for a year and was in that rut between college graduate and just beginning her first real career. After I received the book, I was flipping through it before wrapping it and when I suddenly realized that I was reading through the whole book! The short, simple chapters make for a quick reference type style, and they also allow you to read in no particular order. I found the book to be a great way to assure yourself that the feelings you are having about making changes in your life after college are good and it also reconfirms that no longer being stuck in that adolescent way of thinking is a good thing and it is also something that you grow out of, the sooner the better! I highly recommend this book.

This book was a fun run-through of all the things a girl should accomplish by thirty. A lot of the things in the book brought about fun memories, and it was a great book to just sit back and think of all the good times. I made a mental note of the things that I have to go back and do (or stop doing for that matter) and it gave me a new perspective. There are such things as "Stop chronic over-apologizing" and "Quit a bad habit" that I probably should consider doing, and it made me laugh at the explanations that the author gave as to why they are list-worthy. It is a good read. Girls, have a blast reading this book and seeing which ones you've done, and which ones you still need to do before the big 3-0.

At first glance I thought that this was going to be one of those earnest, preachy "donate blood, save orphans" kind of unrealistic lists, but instead this book has more of the everyday hard-earned challenges that a young woman faces today. I like to recommend this book to women who ask me questions on iVillage.com because I think that the tasks that appear in this book can help round out a woman's personality and help take the edge off of a lot of her relationship anxieties. I get a kick out of the "Claim your granny panties" chapter which is about being a woman who is truly at ease with herself when she's wearing unsexy skivvies. I also like the chapter on "Stop slamming other women" which is what I see happening way too much these days. It would be a lot better if women called a truce on each other and tried more for camaraderie....like sisters. So be sure to get a copy of this light self-help/humor book which isn't an intimidating or overwhelming "To Do List" that makes women feel like they're lacking or incomplete. It's more about sisterly advice and having a fun look at the challenges of getting older.

This book is funny as hell and surprisingly useful! I got it as a gift and I expected it to be preachy and trite with advice like "get your cholesterol checked" and "spend time volunteering at a local senior citizens' facility" but instead the author talks about dying your hair and orgasms and food and bras, all in a completely down-to-earth, girl-to-girl, snarky way. The little chapters are perfect for little bite-sized bits of reading, in fact they're kind of addictive. Definitely a good subway read, or gift for your sister if she's cool. You just gotta love this part: "DEFY GRAVITY: The gravitational pull that keeps the Earth in orbit is an awesome, amazing thing. Unless, of course, you have breasts. Then, the scientific wonder isn't so much about the invisible forces that keep you grounded, but how they contribute to the unmistakable downward drag of your once-perky assets. The migration downward is slow but inevitable, and there's only one surgery-free way to fight the natural process: a righteous bra." ROCK! An excuse to buy an expensive bra.