Customer Reviews

Dating Amy: 50 True Confessions of a Serial Dater

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Great non-fiction writing often requires a bit of masochism: Tom Wolfe dropped acid to better understand Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, George Plimpton matched up against professional boxers, and football and hockey players and then lived to write about it, and Richard C. Clarke worked for George W. Bush's White House on counter-terrorism issues, among countless other examples. Possibly topping that list is Amy DeZellar, whose very funny memoir Dating Amy recounts going on 50 dates. In Seattle (which has a notoriously bleak dating scene).

Amongst the characters that DeZellar goes on dates with include a blind man checking out other babes, a rock critic who had never heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and some guy she appropriately calls "Mistakenly Swingin'". When you start to think the book is a collection of exaggerations, you instantly remember getting phone calls from your friends late at night so they can recount the travails of evenings they can never get back. Or you remember sitting across from a younger couple at a 4 star restaurant where you here the guy can't believe that he just realized he forgot his wallet at home.

Dating Amy is never whiny or excessive. Most of the dates occupy only about 7 or 8 pages, so they never go on too long or become grating. She writes in a manner that is concise and humorous. You only want each date to end for her sake.

Dating Amy is part gonzo memoir, part self-help book and part tragically self-deprecating comedy routine. Ladies would probably enjoy Dating Amy because they can relate to her misery. Guys can learn a thing or two about what not to do on a date. It is written in such an accessible and funny matter that anyone would surely love to have a few drinks with DeZellar and commisserate over dating woes.

What do you do when you move to a new city and can't find a job or a good man? If you're Amy, you create a website: www.DatingAmy.com. The premise: go on 50 dates and report on all the details. In the beginning, she hopes to create some buzz that will help her writing career.

Dating Amy blends memoir with relationship advice. I could identify with Amy when she wrote she knew what she wanted in a man but still didn't know what she wanted in a relationship. Her dates range in age and income level: artists, computer developers and entrepreneurs. She shares what she has learned about herself and the dating process with her readers.

Each date opens with a true confession--a truth about what happened or what Amy really wished/wanted. Several chapters end with myths that are bunked or debunked. Some myths that are covered: love only happens when you are not looking for it; online dating is perfect because it helps you find your perfect match; and things about unmarried men who are over 35 years old.

Amy reflects on various dating experiences: blind dates; the agony of waiting for his phone call; dating someone who is great on paper but with whom you don't have a lot of chemistry with; and being dumped after the first date. As a fellow Washington resident, I also enjoyed reading about places and events around Seattle.

Amy is very likeable and you really want her to find Mr. Right. She is a great writer and I loved her honesty and wit. Some dates made me cringe (like the comedian in dates 25 and 26) while others had me laughing out loud (dates 3 and 30).

I would recommend this book to both men and women. Dating and relationships can be tricky and this book provides hope and unofficial rules. I found myself nodding in agreement with Amy's observations. I also think this book would be great for book clubs since it raises many different issues.

Armchair Interviews says Seattle's version of Carrie Bradshaw, Dating Amy is a fantastic and fun read!

Being in the same oddball (read: freaky) world of dating as Amy, I've been entertaining myself by reading the handful of books published on the subject. Some are well-written, some contain entertaining stories, some let you really connect personally to the author, but Dating Amy is the first one I've come across to successfully combine all three elements. DeZellar does a great job of allowing the reader into her emotional and mental space in an alternately hilarious and tragic way.

One aspect that made this unique was her journaling of multiple dates with the same person over time. All relationships of any sort take time to develop, so it was really interesting to see how she interacted with the same person over a couple of dates. Life can turn on a dime, and hearing how DeZellar experienced those inflection points inherent in the first few meetings with someone was fascinating.

I can't wait to meet Amy at an upcoming book signing!

Dating Amy was truly an enjoyable read! Being a busy working mom, pleasure reading takes a back-seat to almost everything else. But this was a book I found myself bringing along with me everywhere I went; I didn't want to wait to find out what happened on the next date!

I'm the type of person who wears my emotions on my sleeve, so as my family watched me read this book, they could tell by my reactions how it was affecting me. I'd laugh out loud, sigh, cry, groan...Amy's exceptional writing style allowed me to feel like I was right there with her during all her experiences. She's truly got a talent for crafting a story! I'll look forward to more books by Amy.

Amy DeZellar has landed the perfect balance of funny and truth. My wife and I read it together and we continually laughed out loud at Amy's very true observations on the complexity of male/female relationships and dating rituals. Check it out!!

Forgive the bias fact that Amy and I were buddies in high school...this lady knows how to write! I admired her keen sense of humor and comic timing back in the disco era, and like fine wine, it has only improved. Amy's candid honest and heartfelt commentaries are punchy and poignant. In our current sophisticated world of cybersex, she reminds the reader that dating is still an adventure, and no measure of late-night instant meassaging can account for the face-to-face encounter. Bravo, my friend!

What a treat! Well written, funny, insightful. As this book is mostly about finding oneself, which is essential in finding and keeping the right relationship, in addition to learning from other experiences, joining a decent dating service and staying socially active, I personally found out that it's easier to make an impression when you have exciting things to talk about and share. To feel more knowledgeable and confident about everyday's life, and be more interesting when meeting others (dates, work, or friends' gathering) I joined services like Agogus.com.

I happened across this book at Barnes and Noble, sat there reading it awhile, and ended up buying it. It's not really a dating advice book, but it's maybe the only book on dating written by a female that I consider worthwhile (because it contains some worthwhile lessons, mostly unintentional). I paid special attention to the things her dates were saying to her and some of them really made me cringe. Is that really what women think when guys say/do that? It mostly helped me in what not to do but also allowed me to see the dating scene from the perspective of the type of woman I prefer to date. I've been single for years now, been married for years as well, and well, when it comes to the opposite sex, both can be a real challenge. But if you can laugh at the dating scene and yourself, it certainly doesn't hurt. When in her book she said "I'm ready to quit having fun and get married now", she was being facetious but wasn't aware of how close to the truth she really was. Everybody ought to find that out for themselves, so I guess I hope she does too. Definitely some great laughs!

I was originally drawn to this book because of my personal collection of blind date "horror" stories. I was in search of a kindred soul and I certainly found her in "Dating Amy". Whether you are actively dating; on hiatus or you just like good gossip, you'll love this book! Expect to learn something, though - the book is less about finding love than it is about finding oneself.

Guys, my brothers, click on the one click icon right now and buy this book! Seriously, buy this book! Here's why:

1) It's funny, very funny, in some places 'laugh out loud while eating in a Chinese restaurant' funny'.
2) It's well written and incisive.
3) It gives some great insights into what women think about when dating.
4) And most importantly it's a manual for men of what *not* to do when dating. Some of the anecdotes that Amy (who, by the way is smokin' hot) relates will make you laugh out loud while your teeth are on edge and you're wondering if you've ever done behaved this way yourself.