This book won’t tell you how to make origami dinner napkins, or how to be like Martha. “There’re a lot of guides to tell you how to do things perfectly,” says Rowley. “We think perfection is overrated. The key is to be creative and be yourself.” Mixing practical advice (e.g., always send thank-you notes) with sassy suggestions (actually, send a thank-you balloon with what a blowout! scrawled across it in Magic Marker), “Swell” taps straight into the Zeitgeist that put “Sex and the City” at the top of the ratings and turned last year’s best-seller list into a female-bonding session for Bridget Jones and her pals. “It’s integrating the best of being a girl–that confident, wide-eyed attitude of everything being possible–back into your life,” says Rosenzweig. “The idea is to feel confident wearing sparkly eye shadow into the board meeting.” OK, that may not work for everyone. And yes, few people outside Manhattan need pointers for running down buses in their Blahniks. But there’s something here to put some swagger in every girl’s step.
