A few weeks after I did the Rules commentary, I finally found on the web a listing of all 35 rules from book 1. Don't you just love it when things come out too late for you to use them...Anyway, I figured I'd post them anyway for your edification and possible amusement. I so wish I could go back and throw in more critiques, but I'll just limit it to a few lines. Judge as you will. I haven't read the book and don't know if she's putting down exact phrasing or just giving her own impressions.

Posted by DebF on the Breakup Girl board:

1. Be a "Creature Unlike Any Other".
2. Dont talk to a man first (and don't ask him to dance).
3. Don't stare at men or talk too much.
4. Don't meet him halfway or go dutch on a date.
5. Don't call him and rarely return his calls.
6. Always end phone calls first.
7. Don't accept a saturday night date after Wednesday.
8. Fill up your time before the date.
9. On the first three dates, relax and pretend like you're an actress making a cameo appearance in a movie. Be sweet in light, no heavy conversations. End the date first. (I'm paraphasing from the Rule 9 chapter "How to act on the first three dates".)
10. On dates 4 through commitment time you can show more of yourself and your feelings, but still don't mention marriage, kids, future. Don't tell him anything negative about yourself. Act independent so that he doesn't feel that you're expecting him to take care of you. (Again, paraphrasing.)

Hmmm. You want them to always take care of you financially on dates, but otherwise pretend you aren't expecting him to take care of you in some manner?

11. Always end the date first.
12. Stop dating him if he doesn't buy you a romanitic gift for your birthday or valentines day.
13. Don't see him more than once or twice a week.
14. No more than casual kissing on the first date.
15. Don't rush into sex.
16. Don't tell him what to do.
17. Let him take the lead.
18. Don't expect a man to change or try to change him.
19. Don't open up too fast.
20. Be honest but mysterious.
21. Accentuate the positive in personal ads.
22. Don't live with a man or leave your things in his apartment.
23. Don't date a married man.

A lot of these are either common sense or just blowing out of proportion, but this one's a flat-out DUH.

24. Slowly involve him in your family.
25. Practice, practice, practice, the rules.
26. Even when you get engaged or married follow the rules.
27. Keep doing the rules even if your friends and family think you're nuts.
28. Be smart if you are in high school, (I'm not going to bother paraphrasing this chapter.)
29. Take care of yourself if you are in college and dating (again, no paraphasing here either.)
30. Nexting! (dumping) and dealing with rejection, my summary of this chapter: if we get dumped get right out and try again, rules girls do not get hung up on men who reject them they say "his loss" or "next" and carry on.
31.Don't discuss the rules with your therapist.

What is with the utter secrecy behind all of this? If these rules are so common and universal, why not say that you're doing them? If not to the man, to other people? (I guess this relates back to #27) Are the authors afraid the therapist will tell them this is crap?

32. Don't break the rules.

Oh yeah, like we haven't heard this one anywhere before ever.

33. Do the rules and you'll live happily ever after.

Okay, I really don't think you can promise anyone that. This is the most cultish remark of all the vaguely cultish remarks, to me...

34. Only love those who love you.
35. Be easy to live with.