How to Act Like a Grown-Up

When I picked this up I wasn't sure what to expect: would this be tongue-in-cheek, offering witty and sometimes snarky comments about life and the stages of maturation, would it be condescendingly targeted at teenagers, or would it strike that rare balance between informative and interesting?

It was, thankfully, the last. Instead of appearing patronizing, it feels more like the way a kindly mentor might take you aside to educate you on a small issue. The thoughtfully-chosedn topics are varied, everything from understanding your self worth to admitting that you're wrong, and many could be summarized as "general consideration for others". (If I weren't regularly exposed to college students I might have been surprised that topics like promptness at the checkout, being on time and the concept that "most occasions are not about me" were included, but I am and therefore I wasn't.) Financial independence, finishing what you start, even going to class and being actively engaged, and voting rather than just complaining are all signs of maturity.

College students, for whom this is probably targeted, will also find useful tips on writing papers, financing your education, interacting with your professors and some social issues, including the difference between sexuality and maturity and even a topic about suicide. (This last was carefully handled, offering realism as well as advice.)

These are lessons we tend to learn slowly and, occasionally, painfully. Being a grownup means learning how to learn from others, how to behave appropriately, knowing when to conform to the group and when something can be a matter of personal expression, and being able to delay gratification. I'd recommend this to older teenagers and college students, as well as young adults just starting out independently who might have missed - or ignored - some parental advice along the way.

I though that this book gives nice gems for people of all ages. It is what one thinks to be common sense but sometimes people need to read it. It was a easy read which was nice but still had a lot of information to give.

All the things you want to say (with witty humour) but don't bother as you know they just ignore you since you're a real person. A must buy for every first year university student! The chapters are reasonable in length, the language chatty but not too 'trying to talk like' teenagers or young adults which is very well judged.

This book had me and my partner laughing at the humorous quips!

The title says it all: short chapters dealing with the behavior that should be exhibited in situations as diverse as stores, cell phones, driving, Facebook, interviews, sex, voting, watching movies. Not only are the chapters short, the entire book is too, with certain passages repeated in large print, so it’s over pretty quickly. And why is the accompanying graphic a woman’s shoe?
I have no complaints about the text or the ideas. This is a well-written and meaningful book for our times, though it is sad to realize how much it is needed. Yet it’s for that very same reason that I doubt it will do much good. The author writes, “It’s no insult to find out you’ve been wrong. It stinks, but try to be happier that you learned the truth instead of bummed out that you were wrong.” This is the most important passage, because it personifies the hopelessly optimistic tone of this book. Everything is well said, and most people would benefit from reading it. . . but the problem is most people won’t read it because they don’t think they need it, and those who do read it will never admit any of this applies to them. The entire time I was reading I felt like this was all great, but no one is going to follow this advice. And that made me sad. . .
3.5 pushed up to 4

A fairly quick and relatively enlightening read.
On the one hand, the extremely short chapters contribute to the accessibility that the genre requires, but on the other hand, that same brevity often leads to the feeling that there is a lot left unsaid.
The chapters cover a myriad of topics that are indeed essential to being an adult, and the book seems to glorify adulthood, but in a very sensible and pragmatic way. I did not get the impression that any particularly new and revolutionary knowledge was imparted - basically, the subjects covered are, in their essence, universal truths that simply bear repeating, especially when put together in a handy reference book and examined as objectively as possible. I particularly enjoyed the chapters dealing with what makes one a real winner or loser.
Some claims are backed up with examples and situations from the author's own life, and this, while lending an air of authenticity to the entire affair, can sound just a tad pretentious at times, in the I'm-more-experienced-than-you-so-I-must-be-right way. Still, it is nice knowing that someone took the trouble to put this together, because being an adult, hell, just acting like an adult can be extremely difficult, and that's a cold hard fact. Most of us are grateful for and would gladly accept any help we can get.
Overall, in a sense, reading this feels like a conversation with a down-to-earth adult who sits you down and shares things that you would have eventually learned anyway, but it may be a good idea to learn them as soon as possible and preferably not the hard way.
I couldn't tell you if getting your hands on this book is a wise and adult-like investment, but by reading it you will certainly find out for yourself.