9 Books to Put the Spring Back in Your Dating Step

Source: 9 Books to Put the Spring Back in Your Dating Step

Spring is officially here, which means it's almost time to take out your flirty sundresses and sandals for the warmer season. In case you're feeling a bit rusty in the dating department, these nine books will help you regain some confidence and perhaps figure out your dating blind spots. Whether you are single and just want to have fun or looking to have a committed relationship, see what you should pick off the bookshelves to put the spring back in your dating step.

  • Meeting Your Half-Orange: Half-orange, derived from the Spanish phrase mi media naranja, is your perfect other half. You just haven't met him yet, according to Meeting Your Half-Orange: An Utterly Upbeat Guide to Using Dating Optimism to Find Your Perfect Match. But in addition to being feel-good, the book promises to be results-oriented and pragmatic, with tips on how to change your thinking, perceptions of others, and body language.

  • The Gaggle : Just say no to ambiguous texts, mixed signals, and confusing hookups. The Gaggle: How to Find Love in the Post-Dating World assures women they have more power to find a mate than they think in the modern dating world.

  • Around the World in 80 Dates : As Lonely Planet's head of PR, Jennifer Cox decided to go around the world to find love. In Around the World in 80 Dates she meets a professor in Sweden, a high roller in Vegas, and more on her quest for international love.


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  • The Between Boyfriends Book : Sexual sorbet: the first person you sleep with after a breakup to remove the taste of a bad relationship. Premature 'we'jaculation: a common dating dysfunction where one member of the couple starts using "we" before the other is ready. These are terms defined in The Between Boyfriends Book by Emmy-winning Sex & the City writer Cindy Chupack. It's a collection of essays filled with love-life anecdotes and advice.

  • Smarten Up Your Internet Dating Style: Whether you are new to Internet dating or have had some messy encounters, Love Online by Jean-Claude Kaufmann discusses the importance of not viewing Internet dating like online shopping for a mate. Rather, she explores the difference between instant gratification (when searching for love) and the key to establishing lasting commitment.

  • Let Classics Be Your Guide: In Much Ado About Loving: What Our Favorite Novels Can Teach You About Date Expectations, Not So-Great Gatsbys, and Love in the Time of Internet Personals by Jack Murnighan and Maura Kelly, the authors turn to classics like Howards End (my all-time favorite book!) and Jane Eyre to discuss and overcome dating concerns and setbacks. A few examples include whether you should date a divorcée and how to turn a fling into a committed relationship.


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  • Ditch the Prince Charming Idea: As hard as it is to admit, it's true that nobody is perfect, including the future men you will date (and hopefully marry). Instead, it's time to focus on how to make a relationship work and how to value the men you date rather than set unrealistic expectations. The Soul Mate Myth: A 3-Step Plan for Finding REAL Love by Jean Cirillo will help you love (without the fairy-tale ideals).

  • Toss the Broken Record Routine: We've all repeated bad dating habits that often lead to our relationship demise. In Finding Love That Lasts: Breaking the Pattern of Dead End Relationships by Vera Sonja Maass, this relationship counselor uses case studies to examine why we keep making the same dating mistakes and how we can break them.



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