Customer Reviews

How Not to Date

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book slayed me. It is so damn funny, and it's also worth checking out as a refreshing voice on dating - the author is clearly a woman who wants the right guy, not just any guy for the sake of having one. There are plenty of us out there, but we tend not to be the ones to write about dating - the market is saturated with silly Cinderellas looking for their prince charming and offering advice on how to compromise yourself to get a guy at any costs. These women tell us that a woman is defined by her marital status, no matter what kind of a jerk, idiot or moron their guy may be. Judy McGuire reminds us all that no one should put up with an idiot, meanie, psycho, moper, whatever, and it's better to commiserate with friends than to settle. But this is not a feminist book - no way. Judy gives just as much space to the crazy and stupid chicks out there. By sharing these entertaining and sometimes frightening tales, she reminds us all that we deserve the best, we should behave ourselves, and that men and women may well be from different planets, but we're united by our unpleasant dating experiences. It also reminds us why "sense of humor" is one of the most important thinsg to look for in any date.

Anyone who's ever dated needs to feel that the monumental mistakes they've made along the way are worth laughing over, and anyone who doesn't feel that dating is a laughing matter should pick up this book right away. If painfully funny truths were nickles, this book would be worth a million. If you can't laugh about a hard-drinking wiccan who channels baby voices through her cats on the first date, well, you may not be able to laugh at all.

Who better than Seattle Weekly's Dategirl columnist Judy McGuire to walk you through the horrors of bad dating and give you some advice on how to avoid the crazies, from just slightly to dangerous? Here, she's compiled what could be considered a "best of" awful dates, from those who lie about their marital status to those who spend the whole night with hamburger in their teeth.

She also includes interviews with porn stars Tera Patrick and Joanna Angel, a shrink, a stripper, and a few other dating veterans to give some highly specific dating "do"s and "don't"s. As someone who's been on my share of bad dates but who's also committed a sin or two in the dating realm, I laughed out loud while reading this book - when I wasn't cringing in horror at some of the things people will put up with in the name of love (and nookie).

What's also great about this book is that McGuire owns up to her own dating faux pas and even gives a ray of hope that even those who mess up, like her current boyfriend, who brought along friends for moral support on their first date, can be redeemed. I can only hope that my future dates will be nowhere as tragic as some of these, and at least know what to look for. Best of all, McGuire doesn't take herself or the dating dilemmas she presents here too seriously. This is not a "you must do this (or not do this)" if you ever want to find a partner type of book. It's one that, dare I say, you could even share with someone you're dating - just not on a first date.

I'm a book editor who reads more than sixty books a year professionally and dozens for pleasure, and I have not laughed this hard in a really long while. McGuire's writing style is superb: laconic, sardonic and just plain funny. Like a seasoned cicerone she guides the reader through a series of hysterical tales of dating woe, yet even when the narrative is at its most hilarious it still manages to retain a lot of compassion for the poor souls out there trying to hook up. This is not reality-show laugh-at-the-idiot humor--it's much more sophisticated and insightful. You could even give it to a cool mom or dad. Loved it!

Fans of Judy McGuire's weekly Dategirl column, which runs in Seattle Weekly and formerly ran in New York Press (where I was one of McGuire's editors), are familiar with her sharp wit and addictively readable tales. With "How Not to Date," readers new and old are in for good times.

HNTD's four sections cover the spectrum of bad dates, from the boring/banal all the way to "crimes against romance." Good advice abounds, but I loved it for the you-can't-make-this-stuff-up factor. When it comes to the (many) bad dates in this book, truth is way stranger, and far funnier, than fiction.

This is a great book, it's a Gem. It's in there between David Sedaris and David Letterman's Top Ten Lists in its power to cheer me up on a dark day,a typical day when I would probably qualify for anti-depressants. Instead of popping pills,I've become kind of a stand-up comedy addict, because it just brings so much relief to the daily grind. In the same spirit as Chris Rock, or Kathy Griffin, Margeret Cho, or Eddie Griffin: Having the guts to openly face the darker aspects of human nature, and get over it. I'm a real fan of Judy McGuire's "Dategirl" column and blog. I've read her entire archive at "The Seattle Weekly" and it only whet my appetite for more. She has such a fresh, compassionate, steely outlook on the daily disappointments and tragedies, of everyday life. She revealed that at one point in her life she took up boxing as a sport, and she has that kind of grit to face head on any kind of difficulty or personal challenge without flinching. She can deliver the one two punch with a punchline, instead of surrendering into a soggy mess of depression. She's picked herself up , brushed herself off, and moved on. Realizing that nothing has been wasted in the effort. She's taken chances on guys who deserved sympathy,and gleaned insight. She has compassion for people, and enough curiosity to investigate what makes them tick, even if they ended up ticking her off.
I'm somewhat bored with superficial types of women and men who have a laundry list of standards and an agenda to meet. I appreciate her outlook because she's open minded, but not naive. She also revealed that she earned a degree in criminal justice. She has the ability to be patient with peoples human frailties, and yet the sense to get off the merry-go- round when it becomes abusive. Without being bitter. Alleviating the bitterness with beautiful absurdity. In her archive, one of my favorite articles from 2oo4, I think, was called "The Fun Haver's Guide to Dating"
in which some poor shy guy was advised that he should know when his date is having fun because there's beer blowing out of her nose because she's laughing so hard.

This book is awesome! It is funny and scary. I'm single now, but this book makes me feel it's ok to be single than get stuck with people like in this book. And makes me feel better to just "DATE" not to find a "MATE". anyway, I can't wait to go on many dates and talk about them with my girls...I love this book.

I love Judy McGuire's stuff. Her columns, her blog, and now, finally, at long last, HER BOOK! For anyone who's woken up and wondered, "What the hell happened last night?" (you know who you are), you need How Not to Date. You need it yesterday. If you don't want to cry over a bad date (not-worth-it), then you might as well laugh.