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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
it was....... not what i expected? not totally bad! totally not MY particular taste, very much not what i thought i would get based on the tittle, but not bad. 2.5 outta 5.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
This book was... weird.
I thought the title was funny and I wanted to read something that's completely different from what I've been reading. It's shown up all over my social media and it piqued my interest.
I also just listened to every episode of Nicole Byar's podcast "Why Won't You Date Me?" so I was in the mood for some feminist dating stories.
That's basically what this is.
It's very feminist, and it's the author telling you about all the ways she didn't realize she was on a date and every time a man was rude to her.
Which, don't get me wrong, I amhere for it, but it was a little... meh.
Before anyone asks "but Yvonne, why are you reading a dating guide? Have you stooped so low in life that you feel like you need a book to guide you on how to date?" Please stop.
It is not actually a dating guide. It's humor. Written by a comedian.
I thought the title was funny and I wanted to read something that's completely different from what I've been reading. It's shown up all over my social media and it piqued my interest.
I also just listened to every episode of Nicole Byar's podcast "Why Won't You Date Me?" so I was in the mood for some feminist dating stories.
That's basically what this is.
It's very feminist, and it's the author telling you about all the ways she didn't realize she was on a date and every time a man was rude to her.
Which, don't get me wrong, I am
Before anyone asks "but Yvonne, why are you reading a dating guide? Have you stooped so low in life that you feel like you need a book to guide you on how to date?" Please stop.
It is not actually a dating guide. It's humor. Written by a comedian.
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
This read felt like a scroll through my friends' group chats. I'm a big fan of comedic personal essays and Blythe nails this take on modern dating (pun intended). The title is perfectly catchy and tongue-in-cheek: Blythe states upfront she in fact does not hate all men and adores many individual men, but wants her readers to acknowledge that we live in a patriarchal society that systematically oppresses women (not to mention creates a toxic environment for men to live as real feeling humans). Loved it!
Came back and finished this one. The second two-thirds did feel a bit stronger than the first 90 pages in parts. But How to Date Men When You Hate Men was just a bit too meandering for my taste. It's also been, I don't know, a decade? since my romantic experiences resembled Blythe's (which I didn't expect, given that we're both millennial women dating in NYC); that may explain part of the disconnect (between me and this book).
Former review:
DNF p. 94.
I really thought this one was going to be for me, and yet it very much was not.
How to Date Men When You Hate Men is light on actual analysis - it's more stream of consciousness than persuasive research essay. Which is fine! But it's just not working for me. Could be that Blythe's never been on a date (!?). Could be that I'm just too old. Could be that I don't want an author to say, "it's like the Beauty Myth" when they're referring to a double bind, I want them to say, "It's a double bind." Who knows.
I gather that this one might effectively make some women feel less alone trying to date men in today's world. It didn't do that for me, and I didn't find it all that funny or entertaining or insightful either, so... DNF. (But it might be a home run for you!)
Former review:
DNF p. 94.
I really thought this one was going to be for me, and yet it very much was not.
How to Date Men When You Hate Men is light on actual analysis - it's more stream of consciousness than persuasive research essay. Which is fine! But it's just not working for me. Could be that Blythe's never been on a date (!?). Could be that I'm just too old. Could be that I don't want an author to say, "it's like the Beauty Myth" when they're referring to a double bind, I want them to say, "It's a double bind." Who knows.
I gather that this one might effectively make some women feel less alone trying to date men in today's world. It didn't do that for me, and I didn't find it all that funny or entertaining or insightful either, so... DNF. (But it might be a home run for you!)
This was a fun idea but the concept didn't fully work for me.
*3.5 Stars
This was a really funny memoir/collection of essays about dating and men and dating men and not dating men. The audio book was read by Roberson herself, and I thought that was a great feature. She has a great wit about her and just a funny and likable voice (just to clarify, voice in the writing/literary sense, not her speaking voice, although that is fine as well).
My problem with the book comes from how repetitive it is. I think it could've benefited with some trimming because a lot of the points made in the essays were similar, but the real problem was that sometimes it sounded like she was repeating exactly the same things, down to the same lines. It didn't ruin the book, but it did feel a little annoying at times.
Also, if you're someone who's not pretty well-versed in women/gender studies, or at least interested in it, this is not the book for you.
This was a really funny memoir/collection of essays about dating and men and dating men and not dating men. The audio book was read by Roberson herself, and I thought that was a great feature. She has a great wit about her and just a funny and likable voice (just to clarify, voice in the writing/literary sense, not her speaking voice, although that is fine as well).
My problem with the book comes from how repetitive it is. I think it could've benefited with some trimming because a lot of the points made in the essays were similar, but the real problem was that sometimes it sounded like she was repeating exactly the same things, down to the same lines. It didn't ruin the book, but it did feel a little annoying at times.
Also, if you're someone who's not pretty well-versed in women/gender studies, or at least interested in it, this is not the book for you.