The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road [Vinyl Bound]

Who hasn't fantasized about ditching work and pulling a Thelma and Louise? Well, don't even think about taking a road trip without a copy of Cameron Tuttle's Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road. Tuttle, who's crisscrossed the country several times, has written a hilarious, in-your-face, travelogue/self-help book (glove-compartment-size with a nifty hot-pink cover) that's sure to get adventure-seeking gals everywhere in their cars. The Bad Girl's Guide is jam-packed with practical and not-so-practical information on where to go (the Elvis Is Alive Museum, Lizzie Borden's House), which Road Sisters to bring along (preferably ones with trust funds), essential tunes (Donna Summer's "Bad Girls," natch), as well as indispensable tips, such as 14 ways to open a beer bottle on your car and 11 uses for a condom (pony-tail holder, snakebite tourniquet). The format, with various sidebars and boxes, is a bit cluttered and the nuts and bolts info a bit sketchy, but Tuttle covers a lot of ground in 192 pages--and she answers that all-important question: what car did Thelma and Louise drive? A '66 Thunderbird convertible. --Jill Fergus

Cameron Tuttle's degree in English literature from fancy-pants Brown University makes her eminently qualified to write "The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road."

"It gives me great delight to have been paid to write a book about how to pee beside the road without splashing or flashing," says Tuttle, cruising south of Market in her root beer-colored Isuzu Trooper. She's munching beef jerky, often her breakfast of choice on the road.

Her amusing little guide has hit a nerve with nice girls longing for a little Thelma and Louise action. It has sold more than 30,000 copies since it was published in May and just went into its third printing.

"My father thought I'd wasted my education studying English poetry," she says. "I'm getting my revenge writing a pink vinyl book."

Packed inside that hot pink cover is a saucy pastiche of tips and shtick. It's about the pleasures and perils of being a "road sister," freed from the restraints of daily routine and societal expectation-even if just for the weekend. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Then toss Cameron Tuttle's The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road into your glove box, and put the pedal to the metal. I call shotgun. -- Vanity Fair

With its pinky vinyl cover and its tongue-firmly-in-cheek drawing of a "bad girl"-hair flying in an open convertible-Cameron Tuttle's book surely live sup to its name )and so do the daft illustrations by partner-in-crime Susannah Bettag). If you're looking for low-budget, high-adventure cheap thrills, then the irrepressible Tuttle may just be you're kind of guide. "A road trip can be anything you want it to be," she writes. "You decide how to act, where to go, when to stop, and what to do when you stop." What's the best way to prepare for a road trip? By doing nothing of course, what should you expect? Expect nothing. She dispenses advice on what to bring (the phone number of a friend or relative with deep pockets) and what not to bring a (a photo of your boyfriend). And she even suggests places to look for on the road (the site of the first official Elvis sighting or where to see the world's largest cow). Gleefully naughty, girlishly cheeky, sublimely silly, "The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road" is cheesy humor at its hilarious best. Hit the road at your own risk. -- Chicago Tribune

From the author of Paranoid's Pocket Guide comes the ultimate women's guide to the open road. Filled with indispensable information such as how to get out of a speeding ticket without crying and 14 ways to open a beer bottle on your car, The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road also gives the practical lowdown on what to do when your engine overheats, you get a flat, or you need a safe and legal place to spend the night in your car. The fabulous pocket format and indestructible cover make it perfect for flinging in the glove compartment. Bad bumper sticker included.

Cameron Tuttle has written many articles on fashion and lifestyle trends for national magazines. For now, her car is parked in San Francisco. Susannah Bettag's illustrations have appeared in Seventeen and Ms. She lives and paints in San Francisco.