We Should All Be Mirandas by Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni #BookReview @HMHbooks

We Should All Be Mirandas is a celebration of a certain redheaded lawyer and the legions of fans who relate to her pragmatic, no-bullshit approach to work, love, and sex. Written by two self-proclaimed Mirandas, this humorous manifesto distils Ms. Hobbes’ core principles into a strategic guide for navigating life’s inevitable ups and downs. In it, you’ll learn to:

Overcome your internalised Mirandaphobia
Cope with humiliating sexual encounters
Make Google Docs your bitch
Dump that Skipper that you’ve been dating
Embrace your bad hair days
…and so much more!

With sharp, sardonic humor and nods to the series’ most iconic moments, We Should All Be Mirandas is the perfect gift for fashionistas, pop culture mavens, and every woman who has dared to eat cake out of the garbage.

 

I normally don’t read this type of non-fiction but I watched all the episodes of Sex and The City on tv many years ago and felt nostalgic. Didn’t we all secretly envy Carrie? Well did you ever stop to think that maybe you’re actually a Miranda and that being a Miranda is just as cool if not better than being a Carrie? Me neither but this little book made me change my mind radically.

The novel makes you appreciate the Miranda in you, hell it makes you love yourself a little more for whoever you are, and don’t we all need to be told once in a while that we’re amazing just the way we are (yep I do, that’s why I love Bruno Mars so much)? If you want to feel better about yourself, gloss up on that self-esteem a little bit, then this is just the medicine you need.

We Should All Be Mirandas was a fun novel and very easy to read, I made a zillion notes while reading this that I can’t possibly all share with you so you’ll have to read the novel yourself but I know you’ll be wondering ‘what is A Miranda’ exactly, and if you are one and if I am one) yourself ? Well in order to know if you are there’s a very easy to follow flow chart in the book that will give you an answer immediately. I did find out that I certainly do have some of Miranda traits (with a bit of a Charlotte rising) and I certainly know quite a few women who I recognise as a Miranda. I wonder how they’ll react when I tell them?

This cute little book takes the reader through every possible aspect you can think of, clothing advice, dating advice (types of men that can be a trap), career advice, travel, sex… well you name it and it’s covered. I found that the first part of the novel gave me a very good idea of a Miranda. These type of women are minimalists and go for natural make-up, they are blunt and sarcastic and have a mild distrust of the world, and Mirandas always wear clothes they feel comfortable in, no matter the look. In the section of types of sneakers a Miranda wears it is also clear that she wears them not as a fashion statement, but for comfort (unlike Carries). I can sooo find myself in that! Also, this one made me laugh out loud:

Mirandas have a tendency to accrue a freakish number of canvas totebags because totes have two qualities that Mirandas value very much: practicality and affordability. They’re cheap and can hold many things. Getting rid of them if they’re soiled and misshapen doesn’t happen though, one totebag is designated and all the old ones are stored inside. That’s just the Miranda way.

I also loved Mirandas take on How To Succeed in Bussiness. I’ll try to memorise the following words:

Those who put in the long, hard hours will gain a savviness that cannot be acquired by those who fake it till they make it.

I found the first part of the book to be really focused on being a Miranda, the second part was more common sense and some good advice for everyone who reads it. It’s composed of lots of How To’s and at the end of each section there are even great little recaps titled ‘What You Should Have Learned from This Chapter’. I really liked the tone of the novel and its non-judgemental way like whether you want kids or don’t want kids, each side gets support in its own self-depricating way. So what if there’s more risk of dying alone and being eaten by my own cat, as they say in the book, that’s a small price to pay for a life lived on my own terms :-).

I had a good few chuckles whilst reading this and it’s a great book to gift to a dear friend or to yourself. We Should All Be Mirandas is a novel for all women, certainly not only for Sex and The City fans!

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for my honest opinion.

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