Dateworthy [Paperback]

Dennie Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2004

Smart, hip, funny, and frank dating advice-from the woman whose USA Weekend RelationTips column is devoured by 49 million readers every week.

Just about everyone wants to be part of a couple-to be loved and be in love. Dating, a process that can be fraught with disaster, may be a necessary evil on the road to achieving a happy, fulfilling intimate relationship. But how do you eliminate the losers and find people to go out with who are dateworthy? Perhaps even more important-how do you make sure that you are dateworthy?

Drawing on thousands of letters she receives through USA Weekend and the questions she fields during her live chats on USAWeekend.com, Dennie Hughes shows you how to:
- Figure out what your personal dating style is

- Stop acting in a way that will mark you as one of the Top Ten most-bound-to-be-broken-up-with dating types

- Rethink unhealthy mindsets about dating like "love at first sight" or "being with a jerk is better than being alone"

- Master the 10 First-Date Commandments

·- End a bad date gracefully

- Navigate your way through the intricacies of online dating

- Determine whether a great date equals a possible mate (aka "keep vs. creep potential")

Featuring a Q&A section with actual RelationTips reader problems as well as the author's sometimes sad, sometimes scary, mostly humorous anecdotes from her own plentiful dating fiasco stories, Dateworthy will help you hone your relationship skills so that you can find the right significant other for you.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Backed by a massive publicity push, USA Weekend relationship columnist Hughes is out to fill what she claims is everyone’s goal: "to be part of a couple, to be loved and be in love." Her book on becoming "dateworthy" is aimed at women who have a history of dating losers. She advises them to figure out their dating type (Time Bomb, Drama Queen, Shadow, etc.), change their dating style and master a few skills to deal with the ways of men before embarking on their next date. Hughes’s style is not for those in a hurry. She’s big on paperwork, encouraging readers to "make a list of ten visual qualities that you love in order of preference" and to "write down every relationship that you feel violated your faith in love or undermined your confidence." Yet the book manages to belittle women ("you are the common denominator in all of your failed relationships") and stereotype men ("Men are visual. Dress prettily, not provocatively") without saying much of anything new. Fans of Cosmo and Glamour will like Hughes’s familiar style, which is heavy on lists, quizzes and Q&As. Hughes also shares dozens of stories that she says are based on her own dating past. Less empowering than The Rules and more than a little repetitive, this volume will sell well, nevertheless, since Hughes’s column reaches millions of people and many of them may want to check it out.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

From Library Journal:
Hughes, "RelationTips" columnist for USA Weekend, has written a comprehensive dating advice book appropriate for young women. It is the antithesis of Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider's The Rules, offering straightforward advice for creating an honest and healthy relationship. Using a hip and humorous approach, Hughes includes suggestions for rethinking unhealthy mindsets, improving one's dateworthiness, and evaluating potential partners' dateworthiness; she also cautions women about sex on the first date and putting friendship second. She features a wide variety of her personal dating stories and concludes with a Q&A section of actual "RelationTips" reader problems. Although the use of stereotypes, cliches, and author-coined terminology such as "boy-o-logy" may be off-putting to more worldly readers, the young and young-at-heart will enjoy the upbeat and practical message. An optional purchase for public libraries.-Wendy Lee, Brainerd P.L., MN Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (October 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594860750
• ISBN-13: 978-1594860751
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,240,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dateworthy is worth reading, February 24, 2005

By 

Kara (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dateworthy (Paperback)

I loved this book and I loved that Ms. Hughes didn't just write about this from an analyst side-line point of view. She was really in those dating trenches and all the advice works from a real life perspective. The quizzes make you think. The relationtips alone are worth the price of the book. And the dating stories were must-see-TV worthy. With all the post-it notes I have stuck in it, it has literally become my constant dating reference book. Buy this book and be prepared to share it with your friends.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a must for those ready for a change!, December 13, 2004

By 

The therapist "Gee" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dateworthy (Paperback)

As a happily married woman, I chose this book not for myself but for my sister who has re-entered the dating arena...I like Dennie's style in her weekly column so I figured my sister would feel comfortable with Dateworthy. I ended up reading the book before I saw my sister and to say I was impressed is an understatement.

As a professional with degrees (BA, M.Ed., Ed.S.) in various fields of human relations and education, it is refreshing to see an author that doesn't bash either sex, try to manipulate men (remember The Rules?), advocates NOT jumping into the sack in the beginning of a relationship, and (the most refreshing part of all)leads the reader to realize that while no person is meant to be a partner with all people, if there is a consistant problem with relationships in a woman's life, perhaps she should look within herself and honestly evaluate what she is about. Dennie does a beautiful and gentle job of leading the reader through a series of thought provoking questions and quizes which, when answered thoughtfully and honestly, can open a new chapter of self-realization for the reader. It is at this point the reader can determine what she is truly looking for in a date/mate and unlike some popular books, (like He's Just Not That Into You) Dennie gives over 300 pages of good, solid, safe advice for any dater on what to do while in the dating arena during the 21st century.

Dating can be fun and very funny...just read some of Dennie's personal anecdotes which are liberally scattered throughout the book. But Dennie also offers a solid dose of reality with the unstated message of

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guy's Point of View, November 9, 2004

By 

C. Law "Cody" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dateworthy (Paperback)

I know this book is geared toward girls more but there are even many points in this book that can be for guys as well. For example, some of us can be classified as "The Rescuers", finding relationship with a girl who's like a lost puppy or "The First Sighter" where some of us guys think we can't be attracted to a girl if we can't feel the chemistry instantly. Just as girls can be "Dateworthy", guys can be too. What better way to have success with girls than to understand how girls think.