qi_ 's review for:

How to Date Men When You Hate Men by Blythe Roberson

DID NOT FINISH: 28%

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quitting while i'm ahead because i can't take anymore. 

this concept of this could have been really good if it was executed properly. it is set up to be a look at how to navigate dating men within a patriarchal society where men have all the power. WHICH IS INTERESTING RIGHT. however, it just ended up being random dating anecdotes of the author that don't connect to any interesting point. at the point where i was at (around the 80-page mark) it moved into almost self-helpy BuzzFeed guides on how to navigate modern dating which was what ultimately lost all my interest because:
a. i don't necessarily think the advice was that good
b. tbh i don't need or care about dating advice because there was no one in my vicinity that i want to date

i don't mean to invalidate the author but the overall tone was quite 'woe is me' without providing reasons for the reader to feel bad or sympathise. maybe i will feel more sympathetic when i'm older and the experiences are closer to my heart but, from a general sense, it was a bit tiring. 

i wish the title was addressed more since i really did enjoy the small sections where she actually wrote about different issues when it comes to this heteronormative society. 
things i wished she brought up but should have dived deeper into:
- what people mean when they say they 'hate all men'
- boybands and female sexuality
- the economic necessity of getting married
- dating apps and capitalism
..yeah out of the 80 pages i read these were the only interesting things i picked up on the rest was dating self-help like: 'way to make it clear it's a date' or 'good analog places to meet men' 

congrats first dnf of the year