How to Be a Person: The Stranger’s Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos, and Life Itself
Lindy West, Dan Savage, Christopher Frizzelle, Bethany Jean Clement, and the Staff of the Stranger.
Sasquatch
When a book tells you “The best books are funny: Feel free to put down any that aren’t,” you know right away that the author (or authors in this particular case) have a confidence in their work to the point that you won’t feel any need to put it down. How To Be A Person: The Stranger’s Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos, and Life Itself is one such book.
The book is a collection of essays by various authors, including acclaimed writer and activist Dan Savage, with articles from his Savage Love column. These relevant themes prove that How To Be A Person is exactly what it claims to be — a guide to college and anything remotely related. The staff members of the Stranger have come up with fool proof solutions for almost anything — how to choose a major to how to start a conversation, coming out of the closet, and even making the best tacos ever. Spoiler: cooking for dates is highly recommended by the Stranger.
Organized in clear sections (ie. What No One Else Will Tell About Drinking/Drugs/Sex and Dating/etc., How To Be Gay and more) and further reduced to allow the reader to pick and choose the advice they need, How To Be A Person is quick and to the point. And, let’s face it, which college or university student has time for casual reading? I’ll tell you. None of them.
That being said, How To Be A Person should become required reading for anyone entering into the realm of academia or even just leaving home for the first time. There’s a lot of value even for those that have been away at school for a few years as well. Reading the knowledge contained within this book might even convince you that you’re looking forward to the return of classes.
I know I’m already looking forward to throwing a party once the academic year starts. Apparently candles are a requirement. I’ll just have to make sure I have the fire station on speed dial because I have a 100 pack of tea lights with my name on it! What’s the number for 911?
One of the best things about this book is that the writers at the Stranger seem to have no filter. You’ll find yourself reading up on the basics required to flirt with a film major (hint: they love sleds) when all of a sudden Dan Savage is flipping off a kid who has come to him for advice.
This no-nonsense approach, while sometimes a bit harsh, gives you the impression that you’re getting advice from a good friend who isn’t afraid to tell you like it is. Their advice is non-judgmental (for the most part. Or at least when it comes to drug use) and covers all spectrums of the rainbow providing info for everyone who might find themselves in a bowl of alphabet soup or on the straight and narrow.
The only downfall to this guide is its Yankee-centric approach in some parts, like its entire section titled A Guide To America and a guide on how to know if you’re a Republican or a Democrat (hint: you shouldn’t be a Republican).
If this doesn’t sound like a book that you’d enjoy I implore you to find a copy and open it up to the section on How to Do Laundry. When you do, prepare yourself for the best paragraph you’ve ever read about a pen. If that doesn’t sway you, then you’re probably a Republican.
