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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
i really thoroughly enjoyed this book. going into it, i thought it would be more cultural analysis than memoir, but i actually preferred the autobiographical nature more than the researched bits. i felt connected to aimée, and wanted to follow along her journey to either find love or prove everyone else wrong. i was rooting for her every step of the way, and i loved how open and honest she was.
most people are reading rom-com books this month, with happy endings galore, but i loved the realness of this book. some dates are terrible, some are not. some relationships last, some don’t. aimée’s vulnerability to share these moments of her life helped make me feel less alone.
highly recommend!
most people are reading rom-com books this month, with happy endings galore, but i loved the realness of this book. some dates are terrible, some are not. some relationships last, some don’t. aimée’s vulnerability to share these moments of her life helped make me feel less alone.
highly recommend!
informative
medium-paced
Absolutely loved the beginning, but it was downhill from there. The book can't decide if it wants to be technical and research-based or an autobiography, and is kind of both and kind of neither.
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
informative
medium-paced
The Lonely Hunter is a mix of memoir and research on the topic of loneliness in our current times. Aimee Lutkin is in her mid-thirties and thinks she will be alone for the rest of her life, as she sees more and more friends pair off, get married, and have children. After several years of not really dating, she jumps back into the online dating pool, setting a goal to go out at least two dates per week and see what happens. Interspersed in her search for love is her research on how loneliness is viewed by others and how dating has changed, as well as the en vogue term of "self care." While I did not rate this book highly for myself, I fully admit that I went into this book thinking it was something different than it ultimately was. I thought it would be more about being alone and how it is viewed, and acceptance of not needing a partner in order to be content with one's life, but this very much was about partnering off and being lonely, and adventures in dating. Lutkin's ways of going about dating were confusing to me-- she wanted a partner, but frequent dates she went on seemed to be with people in open relationships where she would not be the primary relationship. And none of them seemed to go anywhere. She tries to connect her experiences with data/science, but it is disjointed at times. And the concluding section in particular is all over the place, and I came away from this book not knowing what the author was trying to get at.
Thank you to Dial Press via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
Thank you to Dial Press via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
This book was only very partially what I expected and wanted to read. It was 90% memoir and 10% cultural analysis and I would've preferred that split to be at least 50/50. There were passages that were really relatable and wonderful, but I generally dislike memoirs, so the process of reading was arduous.
Also, the whole first chapter is incredibly anti-fat. It's glaringly obvious in a book that overall analyzes our culture's obsession with looks and dating, as well as points out various struggles of other marginalized people. Ludkin tries to critique diet culture, but no critique of diet culture is truly complete without centering fat people.
Also, the whole first chapter is incredibly anti-fat. It's glaringly obvious in a book that overall analyzes our culture's obsession with looks and dating, as well as points out various struggles of other marginalized people. Ludkin tries to critique diet culture, but no critique of diet culture is truly complete without centering fat people.