In 1980, Lisa Birnbach edited the cult-classic Official Preppy Handbook, and I have been keeping my eye out for it at book sales ever since. Its unmistakable plaid/madras bordered cover is most commonly spotted in the humor section, but occasionally is sorted into History or Home and Garden. The self-proclaimed “first guide to The Tradition. Mannerisms, Etiquette, Dress Codes, The Family. How to Be Really Top Drawer. The Legacy of Good Taste, Proper Breeding & The Right Nickname.” An out-of-print and essential how-to manual for every old school prep out there, this book teaches you about the most important things in life: what to name your dog, fifteen expressions for being inebriated, where to send your child to boarding school, how to decorate your den, the virtues of pink and green, which sports are appropriate, and even what books to read. Here is the list:
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
A Good School by Richard Yates
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
Tea and Sympathy by Robert Anderson
This Side of Paradise or anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Love Story by Erich Segal
Decline and Fall and anything else by Evelyn Waugh
The Headmaster by John McPhee
Rector of Justin by Louis Auchincloss
Good Times/Bad Times by James Kirkwood
The Stories of John Cheever or anything else by John Cheever
Lawrenceville Stories by Owen Johnson
The Belles of St. Trinian’s by Ronald Searle
The Duke of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff
The World According to Garp by John Irving
Anything by George Plimpton
Anything by William F. Buckley Jr.
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