'Guide' is an amusing look into the male species

By TISH WELLS
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
"The Spotter's Guide to the Male Species" by Juliette Wills (Quirk Books, 144 pages, $12.95)
This is the kind of book that makes a great high school or college graduation gift, a re-entering-the-dating-market present or a "do you see your ex in this?" divorce party door prize. "The Spotter's Guide to the Male Species" is sharp-edged and snarky as only the British can be.
Juliette Wills, a freelance magazine writer who has covered sports, film and music, has distilled her 10 years of dating into this small book.
A "30-something" from Brighton, England, she categorizes men as if they were bird species. You have "Appearance and Plumage -- clothes, hair, shoes, accessories"; "Feeding Habits -- How He Obtains His Food," and "His Job -- If He Is Unemployed." There are two appendixes -- a glossary and a quick-reference guide. It even includes an index.
This is a book that will make you either wince or giggle helplessly. Cleverly written, it's witty and sharp-edged, maybe too much so at times. It can be cruel to the hapless male it's aimed at.
"The Spotter's Guide" is a perfect book for reading out loud on ladies' night with your girlfriends while sipping on that second bottle of wine and eating chocolates. It is a guilty pleasure.