Customer Reviews

Dating For Dummies

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book is like an encyclopedia for dating. It covers the entire process of dating from A to Z (well, at least from Abstinence to Yawning). It covers such frivolous topics as hygiene on the day of your date ... to very serious topics like date rape. And of course it covers just about everything in between.

Dating for Dummies is full of bullet points and checklists, which makes this huge book much easier to read than you might expect. For the person who thinks dating in today's world is as difficult as reading hieroglyphics, this book will help you get you over the hump.

As a dating expert who has spent my career as a matchmaker and singles coach, there are a few idiosyncrasies that remind you that Dr. Joy Browne is indeed a psychologist first and foremost. For example, she urges you not to date for an entire year after your divorce (to make sure you're emotionally whole) and not to wear perfume or cologne on a date (after all, you wouldn't want to offend your date or set off an allergic reaction).

Bottom Line - This is a great basic introduction to dating. If you're new to the dating scene (or if you haven't had a date in a decade), then this book will help you get started.

This book is a good guide to dating for everyone....it has useful information on manners and ettiquette. Perhaps one of its best strengths is to give more specific direction on when to do certain things, such as kissing on the first date, sex, good first date spots, how much to spend, etc. The major drawback to it is that it seems to give fairly rigid advice as absolute rules, when in many cases the individual situation would call for a different action. There is also some contradictory advice from one chapter to another, but they are minor contradictions.

Amazon.com Review for Dating for Dummies
(...)This review was completed by a group of five college seniors from Villanova University. We spent a semester researching and reviewing best-selling self-help books on the subject of romantic relationships. We evaluated five texts after reviewing academic literature specifically on the topics of commitment, trust, conflict, verbal communication, and intimacy. In order to make you a more informed consumer, we hope to provide you with a review of Dating for Dummies.
The author's intent is to provide information on and fundamental ideas about dating so that everyday individuals are able to learn more about themselves. Then, the author helps one find a date, and provides helpful tips and insight in order to make the dating experience more enjoyable, less stressful, and a complete success.
This book is written individually for both men and women of any age group. Whether an individual is 15 years old and going on his or her first date, or 90 years old and rejoining the dating scene with grandchildren, this book provides information on the dating game. The only other prerequisites for reading this book are that individuals be heterosexual and dating in America. Also, Browne specifically notes that this book is designed to be in use from the time that one decides he or she wants to begin dating up until six to nine months after the first date. This book stops when couplehood begins.
Dating for Dummies reads similarly to a manual that is written in a casual, humorous style. In order to grow towards a relationship, Browne works to direct an individual into helping his or her self so that he or she can be a good date. The book provides useful advice and does so in a way that incorporates practical, everyday situations. It is user friendly and is designed to make an individual the best that they can be without being somebody else.

We evaluated how the following five topics were approached in the book:

Commitment- Commitment was in fact addressed in Dating for Dummies. However, it was addressed indirectly in a whole chapter as it is defined in terms of casual, serious, and heavy dating relationships. Dating for Dummies was very practical in its discussion of commitment, but not very thorough. It outlined what level of commitment should be inherent in a relationship, which depends on whether the relationship is casual, serious, or exclusive, etc.

Trust- Trust was found in the index, which indicated discussion on developing trust through self-disclosure, trust as a factor in breaking up, and being able to trust someone enough in a relationship to know that one is safe. Specifically, the book was very detailed on developing trust through self-disclosure and provided examples and tips for making that happen more effectively.

Conflict- Dating for Dummies did address the topic of conflict. While there were no sections mentioned in the index, there were four brief paragraphs that addressed conflict from a very common sense approach. With only four paragraphs to discuss conflict, there were not many examples or exercises for acceptable behavior in dealing with conflict.
Verbal Communication- Dating for Dummies discussed verbal communication skills by providing guidelines on how to communicate when out on a date. It limited itself to providing examples of lines and ideas of what to and what not to talk about. Also, it gave a lot of useful tips for conversations to have when one first meets someone of interest. It definitely targeted the general public with real examples that can one help truly understand and relate to the book.

Intimacy- Intimacy was addressed throughout Dating for Dummies in the context of self disclosure, expression of thought and emotion, listening, and making positive verbal statements. As such, this book provided specific examples of things to tell immediately, a list of things to tell eventually, things to tell before sex, and things to tell if asked or pushed. Also, the book provided rules on sharing feelings, including an example for each rule. Finally, the book provided specific topics that should not be disclosed such as sexual stories, previous love affairs, and flings with the boss, just to name a few. Also, in the case of positive regard, the book provided specific body parts to compliment and specific compliments to give about those body parts.

This book is best for the subject of intimacy.

(...)

This book includes a lot of common sense and good humor. It was a bit too basic for me but would be good for young people. I personally found "4 Steps to Bring the Right Person into Your Life" by Philippa Courtney to be the most helpful to me because I am more interested in finding the right person than I am in the art of dating.

In ordering this book, I was hoping to get some insight, some understanding of how women think, how to achieve social success, how to deal with rejection. I certainly didn't need someone to tell me to brush my teeth and iron my clothes before going on a date! While the book is cleverly written, and amusing at times, it really didn't offer much to me in terms of information.

This was somewhat helpful, though I was not motivated to follow any advice; in fact, the moment I put the book down I had no desire to keep reading or come back to re-read.
Also some advice is too much on the surface, this book did not explore the feelings that are present when dating. Now you can see why I'm back on Amazon.com looking for a better book on dating.
I did like the organization and ease of reading though, even if it was a bit too on-the-surface and simplistic.

Dr. Joy Browne is very entertaining and humorous, and I got lot's of laughing out loud done reading her book. But for content, she doesn't deliver. I recommend purchasing the book "How To Win The Love You Want" by Thomas W. McKnight and Robert H. Phillips (ISBN 1-57866-018-1) instead. It's a much better buy than Dr. Browne's book. Everything up to Chapter 12 does a mediocre job in supplying information that is superbly done by the above mentioned book. Everything from there is downhill. Good attempt Dr. Browne but please, spare the public.

Granted I've labeled myself amongst the "dating impaired" for awhile before I picked up this book. I decided to review this book about 6 months after I've been through it and see where my life is. As far as dating goes, I'll say it has improved. I'm not sure whether it is the content of this book Or just my life in general.

Anyways, the book is neat and filled with good stuff for those who aren't too sure about dating. However only you can decide how the advice in the book will be used. Some of the information in this book you'll look at and say "duh" and some you'll say "will have to remember." Do with this book what you will. Above all, have fun!

This book contains some useful insights about dating, such as manners and ettiqite. The emphasis on respect is truly commendable. Many useful suggestions about places and times for dates are made. However, the book seems to look at dating as an exact science. This method works fine if you are discussing a business deal, but it has it's shortcomings when applied to dating.

Everybody thinking about dating or returning to the dating scene should read it. The book is informative, written in a concise, orderly fashion from what is considered a date, getting a date, where to go for the first and subsequent dates. Includes date Do's and Don'ts The advice is up to date and very relevant. It has real stories from the authors experience. Highlighted areas of "girls stuff","guys stuff",things to avoid, short statistics that are very enlightening.Very funny and well writen. Over all an excellent book.