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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
How could I resist a book about the secret society of master pick up artists? A book on an inherently fascinating topic that gets a little draggy and self indulgent by the end.
Big deal when I read this back in the day - lots of memories.
This book is supposed to help men who have never gained the attention of someone they liked or appreciated, realize that they can actually get the attention of anyone. After that, its up to the guy to stop using the lines, and start using words that represent them. Why use fake lines to impress a girl, when you can be yourself and meet someone who may in fact be more like you?
A man should value himself first before trying to attract women he thinks may be of value to him. Men need to realize that it is in valuing themselves that women and anyone in general will value them.
This book could have helped with that, but it would have been nice if Neil Strauss stressed it a bit more. Instead, Strauss is capitalizing off the sex side of the book business, rather than the inspirational or life-uplifting side of it. Which is understandable. Sex sells. And it is in fact an underground society. The book is as "nitty-gritty" as it's subject.
Everyone wants love and attention, but not everyone gets it. And if you can find a way to help yourself without hurting others, the lines and methods in the book can help. It's not the only way, but its one of them.
And like any other tool, it isn't the tool itself that can cause pain, it is the person using the tool. Men who use the lines merely to have sex with random people reap what they sow. They also forget about focusing on who they are and making themselves better, rather than having sex with more and more women. There's magic in a relationship that is created by chance, rather than by choice. If you want to choose partners for sex, you might as well get a hooker. But you cannot choose your soulmates.
3 stars because Strauss doesn't express enough the underlying reasons behind strong relationships and the pitfalls behind sexual ones. Plus, its very long. But I must admit I myself wouldn't have come to these conclusions until I tried the lines myself. I didn't learn to ride a bike by riding one without training wheels.
A man should value himself first before trying to attract women he thinks may be of value to him. Men need to realize that it is in valuing themselves that women and anyone in general will value them.
This book could have helped with that, but it would have been nice if Neil Strauss stressed it a bit more. Instead, Strauss is capitalizing off the sex side of the book business, rather than the inspirational or life-uplifting side of it. Which is understandable. Sex sells. And it is in fact an underground society. The book is as "nitty-gritty" as it's subject.
Everyone wants love and attention, but not everyone gets it. And if you can find a way to help yourself without hurting others, the lines and methods in the book can help. It's not the only way, but its one of them.
And like any other tool, it isn't the tool itself that can cause pain, it is the person using the tool. Men who use the lines merely to have sex with random people reap what they sow. They also forget about focusing on who they are and making themselves better, rather than having sex with more and more women. There's magic in a relationship that is created by chance, rather than by choice. If you want to choose partners for sex, you might as well get a hooker. But you cannot choose your soulmates.
3 stars because Strauss doesn't express enough the underlying reasons behind strong relationships and the pitfalls behind sexual ones. Plus, its very long. But I must admit I myself wouldn't have come to these conclusions until I tried the lines myself. I didn't learn to ride a bike by riding one without training wheels.
Interesting take on self-esteem and step to overcome crippling shyness.
Set your morality aside, or better yet- just have an open mind. The 1 star reviews where someone just turned away from something they found distasteful- why not try to understand human psychology a bit more? Don’t judge so quickly- read, consider, learn from it, and if you still have the same objection that’s fine, at least it’s an informed objection now.
Anyways- I found this all fascinating. Strauss coulda done a bit more to paint personal lives, but then again that isn’t what this book is about. Instead we get guided through the world of the pickup artist, and- look, I don’t really dig the casual scene, I feel bad for people who can’t interact with the opposite sex but then also feel like most of the characters compensate too much going the other way- there’s a lot of questionable behavior occurring basically. A lot of stuff that you can judge harshly, because ultimately these men seem broken and in the extreme one way or the other. And so I just don’t focus on all that, I don’t get caught up in my moral view of their behaviors, because it’ll occur regardless of my judgment. What’s more interesting for my consumption is-
Look, why does this stuff work? Strauss kinda explains it, but on a deeper level- why does this stuff work, and why don’t we acknowledge it works? Why do we pretend there still isn’t some large unconscious part of our brains that operate on animal instincts? I think that’s the part that’s fascinating and still unexplored- Strauss just does the field work and it’s fascinating, but he also stops shy of delving into the psychological/social implications, and that’s what’s really interesting to me.
Anyways, so ya- read it if you think the subject/psychology interesting, don’t enter in focused on personal morals. You’ll learn info on picking up girls that may or may not be useful depending on said morality, but you’ll definitely find useful insights into human behavior/psychology in general.
Anyways- I found this all fascinating. Strauss coulda done a bit more to paint personal lives, but then again that isn’t what this book is about. Instead we get guided through the world of the pickup artist, and- look, I don’t really dig the casual scene, I feel bad for people who can’t interact with the opposite sex but then also feel like most of the characters compensate too much going the other way- there’s a lot of questionable behavior occurring basically. A lot of stuff that you can judge harshly, because ultimately these men seem broken and in the extreme one way or the other. And so I just don’t focus on all that, I don’t get caught up in my moral view of their behaviors, because it’ll occur regardless of my judgment. What’s more interesting for my consumption is-
Look, why does this stuff work? Strauss kinda explains it, but on a deeper level- why does this stuff work, and why don’t we acknowledge it works? Why do we pretend there still isn’t some large unconscious part of our brains that operate on animal instincts? I think that’s the part that’s fascinating and still unexplored- Strauss just does the field work and it’s fascinating, but he also stops shy of delving into the psychological/social implications, and that’s what’s really interesting to me.
Anyways, so ya- read it if you think the subject/psychology interesting, don’t enter in focused on personal morals. You’ll learn info on picking up girls that may or may not be useful depending on said morality, but you’ll definitely find useful insights into human behavior/psychology in general.
These men are disgusting! However, for some reason even the smartest women in the world fall for their game. I suggest that men and women a like read this book. If for no other reason than a different type of education!
I feel the need to clarify why I would give such a misogynistic piece of crap book a 5-star rating.
It's the perfect book really. It's got the wild adventures, it's got the humor, it's got the happy ending. And it makes you disgusted and sad, but it also makes you laugh and it makes you THINK.
In the end, they are all just scared little boys trying to find approval in a seriously fucked up world, and they don't really have any good role models to guide them. So they make bad choices. And they make even worse choices. And a lot of them screw up their lives completely. But then there are a few, like Style and Juggler, who aren't (as) misogynistic (as the others), and actually make you feel empathy for them.
A lot of the contents still objectify women, and borderline rape cases are described. But this is not the fault of the book. So the book gets 5 stars, because it was impossible to put down.
It's the perfect book really. It's got the wild adventures, it's got the humor, it's got the happy ending. And it makes you disgusted and sad, but it also makes you laugh and it makes you THINK.
In the end, they are all just scared little boys trying to find approval in a seriously fucked up world, and they don't really have any good role models to guide them. So they make bad choices. And they make even worse choices. And a lot of them screw up their lives completely. But then there are a few, like Style and Juggler, who aren't (as) misogynistic (as the others), and actually make you feel empathy for them.
A lot of the contents still objectify women, and borderline rape cases are described. But this is not the fault of the book. So the book gets 5 stars, because it was impossible to put down.
This book is a trainwreck: absolutely disgusting, but you just can't look away. I can't believe people actually look up to these guys.