Poll and Book Review

So, now that everyone’s had a chance to catch up on just how truly fascinating life at chez divorced single mom is, here’s the question for the day. What’s the appropriate action to take when one is approached by a guy who seems perfectly nice and with whom one appears to have things in common, but who is not so hot in the looks department?

Things to keep in mind while answering this question:

1. Number of other current prospects = 0
2. Guy is not a troll – just no initial sparks and isn’t really “my type.”
3. There’s no way in hell a guy who IS “my type” will EVER ask me out. I have aspirations waaayyyy beyond the boundary of my league.
4. The ethics of encouraging someone’s attention when you strongly suspect there’s no future in it due to lack of attraction.
5. Wondering what it would be like to be in the driver’s seat for a change. This includes the semi-bitchy and no doubt immature desire to be the “just not that into it” party (i.e. the one who doesn’t care about returning phone calls and/or has no motivation to stress over whether the other party likes her or not).
6. Number of other current prospects = 0
7. The desire not to “settle” ever again. Because look how well that turned out the first time…
8. The chance to be the hot half of the equation for once.
9. The opportunity for free dinners and adult conversation.
10. My experience with really good looking guys (which, admittedly, is somewhat limited) is that they are major jerks.
11. ANYTHING is better than sitting home alone on Friday nights watching re-runs of “What Not to Wear” for pregnant women, right?
12. Did I mention this is the only game in town right now? I mean, yes, Cowboy Guy finally e-mailed me back, but it was a kind of strange, intense e-mail and I’m thinking I may need to just back away from that situation. So Looks 3 Guy (as in “dance 10, looks 3” – it’s a “Chorus Line” reference…rent the movie) is pretty much where it’s at right now. There was one other guy who sent me a wink and I responded, but nothing back from him since then so I’m not even giving him a cute nickname for the blog.

Okay, that’s it. The polls are open. Remember, my dating future is in your hands (but no pressure).

Now, on to the books. Yes, I’m actually doing a review on Friday like I’m supposed to. Try not to fall over in shock.

I won’t bore you with reviews of the dating self-help books I read because they were, for the most part, a waste of time. However, there’s one small exception – although it’s not really a “self-help” book so I have no idea why it was in that section of the store, but it was so I suppose the store considers it to be self-help so that’s how I’ll have to refer to it. I’m talking about “Between Boyfriends” by Cindy Chupack, a former writer and executive producer for “Sex and the City.” It’s a collection of amusing anecdotes and essays about her dating experiences – I’m guessing some of these are things that were pitched as episodes for the TV show but didn’t make the cut. She’s got a great sense of humor, the stories are amusing and ring very true (which is funny and yet it’s kinda sad at the same time to know that’s what awaits me out there in the deep, dark waters of the dating world). I particularly liked her idea of the “male harem.” Always wanted to get me one of those. Anyway, if you know anyone who’s single or who is “between boyfriends” I highly recommend this book as a little pick-me-up and something to do on those Friday nights when even the losers of the world have failed to ask you out.

Next is “Kitty Goes to Washington” by Carrie Vaughn. This is the second book about Kitty, the late night radio talk show host and her (mis)adventures as a werewolf. In this installment, Kitty is called to Washington, DC, to testify before a Senate committee on the supernatural. This would seem far-fetched unless one remembers that Dee Snyder, the frontman for “Twisted Sister,” once testified before Congress and a werewolf seems tame compared to that. Along the way, Kitty runs afoul of the local vampire community, a rather sinister government medical lab and an Unseelie sidhe preacher who claims he can “cure” vampirism and lycanthropy. When I reviewed Vaughn’s first book in this series, I commented that it was obvious she was a novice writer, but she had some good material to work with and hopefully would hone her craft in later installments. The good news is that this book definitely has a tighter plot structure and flows a lot better than the first one did. The bad news is that there are still a number of “rookie” mistakes here – chief among them being a particular TV broadcast that Kitty convinces the people around her to allow under circumstances that one would have to be totally gonzo nuts (not to mention stupid) to allow a TV broadcast. This was far more unbelievable than her being called to testify at a Senate hearing. The supporting cast of characters was more thoroughly fleshed out this time even though some of them are clichés and at least one of them appears to be a direct rip-off from Laurell K. Hamilton’s “Anita Blake” books. Although, I find I’m not that broken up about it. If I can end up with a series that has all the fun and excitement of the original Anita books without all the “Penthouse Letters” style porn of the later books then I say bring it on. This book was a definite improvement over the first book so I look forward to the next installment to see if the remaining problems can be resolved.

That’s it for this week. Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! Drive safely!!

KJ