"How to Be Single" Liz Tuccillo

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about this book. I read it because I had heard good things, even though I'm happily married and have been dating my husband since I was 20. The book is primarily about women in their mid to late 30's looking for love in places where there are shortages of men, so it didn't always speak directly to me. I gave it a try anyways, and this is what I thought:

The bad: Okay, let's get the bad stuff out of the way. The book felt a little awkward to me at times, and not in an intentional way. The writing just felt awkward. Parts of it were a little cheesy. There was lots of crying. I also found that the book dragged on and on. What was said could have been said in a lot less pages, I think. I seriously considered giving up on it partway through.

The good: That being said, I'm glad that I did stick it out and finish it. The writing itself did not miraculously improve, but the plot was interesting! The author really did travel around the world interviewing single women for her book, so we learn a lot about how other cultures date and get married. One culture's women allows their husbands to sleep with prostitutes, another's has open marriages. Some cultures shun single mothers, while another cluture embraces it. Fascinating research! This book also doesn't have the traditional "happy ending", which was a gutsy move. The theme? You don't have to have a man to be happy, but it sure would be nice.

I would love to see a book called "How to be Married" because that sure isn't easy either. Maybe I should just go ahead and write one of those.....hmmm......anyways, okay book, interesting information (which saved the whole thing) and worth checking out of it's snowing outside and you have two days in which to do nothing. I think that you'll end up learning something that you didn't know before you picked it up.