How to Date in a Post-Dating World

by Diane Mapes

Taking up where Emily Post and Miss Manners left off, Diane Mapes counsels the dating-distressed on today s new rules of courtship. This smart, savvy etiquette guide addresses both nuts-and-bolts questions (Who asks? Who pays? Who makes the first call? Who brings out the condoms?) as well as the more puzzling aspects of modern romance (Do I really need to tell my new girlfriend that I had her investigated?). Advice, behavioral examples, and dating horror stories are gleaned from a number of sources, including singles, psychologists, scholars, authors, etiquette experts, relationship coaches, and the most well-mannered people on earth, Southern women and gay men. From how to avoid dating a serial killer to what to do at a snuggle party, How to Date provides single men and women, gay and straight, with a step-by-step road map for navigating today s romantic quicksand with humor, grace, and aplomb.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2006

About the author

Diane Mapes is an award-winning journalist and former humor columnist for the Seattle P-I whose writing has appeared in Bust, CNN, Health, MSN, MSNBC, NBCNEWS, Seattle, TODAY, Washington Post and dozens of other publications. She’s won awards for both essays and fiction and her short stories have appeared in Asimov’s, F&SF, Interzone and other small publications. Nonfiction books include HOW TO DATE IN A POST-DATING WORLD for Sasquatch Books and the anthology SINGLE STATE OF THE UNION for Seal Press. For the last decade, she’s written about cancer research for Fred Hutch News in Seattle, translating complex scientific studies into easy-to-understand health news the public can use. She's currently finishing up two novels: a comic heist and a dark urban fantasy.

Reviews

[Alice]

An easy read. I read some articles of hers in the past and enjoyed her humour. It is not helpful, if that's what you want, but it is enjoyable overall.

[Megi wants to live in a Library.]

This book is very superficial (be sexy and wealthy basically). A lot of the stuff in this book can be true, but it depends on what type of person you want to date/ what your values are. It was informative but is not a follow line-by-line guide. Real people want to date real people, weaknesses and all. This book makes it out to be that people need to be perfect. It is important to strive to be better but not to the extent of being someone/thing that you are not.

[Kate]

This is a very charming (but not particularly helpful) book about the manners to have (and mannerisms to avoid) while dating. It validates those of us who arrive on time, and who have had the awkward experience of telling your first date his fly is open.

The emphasis is on etiquette and charm, less on psychoanalysis or strategy. Having read a million and one dating books, I still found this one had something to contribute. I'd recommend it.

But not if you're married.

[Brad]

Diane Mapes has a fun column in the Seattle P-I, and I was hoping her dating book would be a fun read. On the whole, it does okay. She mixes her own advice with those of other experts (other dating writers and the grandson of Emily Post), as well as submitted dating success and horror stories. The only wisdom I picked up from the book is that I should talk to strangers more often.

[Sarah]

While this book is funny and whitty at times it is not very helpful in the world of dating.

[Johnna]

I liked this book best of all the books I've read about "dating". She totally gets it and makes it hassle free and straightforward.