Dating Makes You Want to Die (But You Have to Do it Anyway)

Recently I posted a video clip called Decoding Manspeak. One of the books mentioned in that clip was Dating Makes You Want to Die: (But You Have to Do It Anyway) by Daniel Holloway and Dorothy Robinson. You have to admit it’s a catchy title. Enough so that I bought it because, well, that’s how I feel about dating sometimes. Okay, most of the time. At the least, you have to do it anyway…unless you want to stay single forever.

In Dating Makes You Want to Die: (But You Have to Do It Anyway), Holloway, Robinson and their insane sense of humor take you through the steps: being single, first contact, first date, third date, falling in love, meeting the parents, break up options, moving in together, and marriage.

As they’ll tell you:

You need to date. Truth be told-and we will always tell you the truth, like it or not-dating is hard but not complicated. Every step of a relationship is like that part of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where Indy can step only on the the letters that spell the Latin name of God, or else be consumed by the bottomless cavern. Bottomless caverns are no fun, as anyone who’s ever made love to Perez Hilton can attest to. But lest you, like Indy, forget your dead-language training, and make a near-fatal misstep, pay attention. This book will guide you step-by-step through the chasm of romance to the holy grail of partnerhood.

And so it begins with singlehood or why you’re not having sex. Apparently, there are 8 reasons why:

You’re a slave to your work
You’re living with your parents
You look like you could use a cocktail (That would be me by the way. I definitely don’t get out enough)
You look, and smell, like you’ve had too many cocktails (Or other things much less legal.)
You don’t know how to dress
You spend more time talking to your cat than to other humans (Yep, that’s probably me too.)
Your social network is built around internet gaming
Your friends are only lovable to you

Most of the remedies include drinking more alcohol as does a large part of the book. Go out more, meet for a drink instead of coffee, and on and on it goes. You already know how I feel about the possibility of meeting Mr. Right For Me in a bar.

That being said, overall there are some good bits of advice and suggestions that make sense. For example:

There’s a law of physics that goes something like, “Every time you look your worst, you will run into someone you want to look good for.”

Yep, happens to me every damn time. This lovely law now has me fixing my hair, freshening my make up, and slathering on the pheromones to run to the grocery store or out for a burger with my parents. Hasn’t helped me meet anyone yet, but who knows.

There is also, of course, advice about where to meet people, including internet dating, and how to make a good first impression. I particularly like the section entitled: “Craigslist and eHarmony: Two Sides of One Creepy Coin.” Definitely a must read.

Holloway and Robinson also do their best to keep you grounded in reality.

Remember: You’re not looking to walk away from meeting someone thinking, “This is the one. That PhD-approved compatibility formula sure is smart.” Or, “Thank you, lame kickball league, for matching me with the yin to my yang. I think I’ll go shopping for things to wear on my honeymoon now. ” You’re looking to walk away thinking, “I could see that person again.” And that’s what dating is-seeing that person again until you don’t want to anymore. Or don’t want to see anyone else anymore. Beautiful, ain’t it?

Each section ends with a cute little quiz to help you determine where you are on your journey which may, or may not, end at the chapel…if you decide that’s where your journey has taken you.

Thoughts?

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Posted by lisaq on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 and is filed under Books, Featured, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Dating Makes You Want to Die (But You Have to Do it Anyway)”

Tee aka The Diva's Thoughts November 11th, 2008, 11:22 am

This definitely sounds like a book I could really use right about now. Hmmmmm……

Tee aka The Diva’s Thoughts´s last blog post..It’s Almost That Time Of Year Again
auntiegwen November 12th, 2008, 2:48 am

So true, I need to make more of an effort with my appearance. At the moment we are all a similar size so it’s first up best dressed and I should not wear teenage boys hoodies, I know, I know !

auntiegwen´s last blog post..Horoscope shmoroscope
lisaq November 12th, 2008, 7:05 am

It’s a pretty decent read Tee.

Haha Gwen. I hear you. It’s so easy to go with comfortable. It’s taken a real effort on my part not to head out the door in a T shirt and fat jeans.