What Was I Thinking?: How Not to Date

by Annie Earley

I'm not one to sit around and wait for something to happen. I wanted a man.My Dating Profile Writing this book became an obsession with me. I want you to think, feel, eat, sleep and live the dating experiences I had over the course of a year. As you meet Sponge Tom, “Skip-To-My-Lou” Stew and Lame Joke Jim, I hope you recognize my determination to maintain my self respect and high standards in a relationship as well as the ability to find humor in any situation. The men I dated are all nice enough guys, I just took the opportunity to make light of their idiosyncrasies and things that happened in my relationships with them. With the help of my “advisory committee” I learn that physical appearance goes hand in hand with what's inside.Join me as I learn the ins and outs of online dating.

Genres: Relationships, Self Help, Nonfiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2007

About the author

Annie Earley has a Master’s degree in Education. She taught locally for 29 years and retired in 2003. Shortly after retirement she started a small business in stained glass. After her divorce in 2004, she resumed playing guitar and now performs in a band. The group plays the northeast Pennsylvania bar/restaurant scene and occasionally at summer festivals and get-togethers.

In 2006, she met a man through a fellow musician and they got married six months later. He is also a musician and is currently the bass player in the band. He is the happy ending to her real-life story.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a light and funny read and when I was flicking through my adobe digital editions I started reading What Was I Thinking and didn’t stop. It was really light and entertaining and I guess it was really good because it wasn’t my usual kind of book.
I don’t tend to read much in the way of non-fiction these days and I was starting to feel a little bored with what I have been reading lately so What Was I Thinking was a really good refreshing read and it made me think I should be reading a bit more non-fiction because it was definitely enjoyable.
While I didn’t get as many laughs out of What Was I Thinking as I thought I would, I still cracked a smile here and there. It was just interesting to read about someone else’s experiences with dating, especially when they had some funny little quirks about them.
If you’re looking for a fun, light afternoon read then I think that What Was I Thinking by Annie Earley is definitely a good choice of book. I think it would especially make for a good beach read too!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was really funny and a quick read, with only 111 pages. This book makes you look back at your own dating experiences and reflect on what kind of horrible memories you had in relation to Annie’s . I love that she refers to her friends and family as the advisory committee. Each chapter was devoted to a different guy that she dated. I highly recommend this book to any young person, whether looking for a partner or not. In some ways, I wish this book was a little longer because I got such a kick out of it. I do like the snippets at the back of the book warning of the dangers involving online dating, it is priceless!

[Nicole]

Occasionally I come across a book that makes me wonder how it ever got published. This is one of those books. For someone who has a master’s in education, Earley is a poor writer; it’s slightly horrifying to know she once taught America’s youth. In addition to the poor writing, Earley is incredibly superficial and judgmental throughout the book. She finds no flaws with herself as she lambasts every man she dates. With each scathing comment, she congratulates herself for not having let the man know what she really feels. The only redeeming quality to this book is its length. This book just may be the worst book ever.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a hard book to read. I was expecting stories of crazy, desperate men in the dating world. I thought it would be a funny, light read.

Instead, the book reads simplistically, and rather than revealing a sense of humor, the whole thing came off as a bit cruel towards the poor men who just weren't the author's type. They were well-meaning guys with quirks, and she lambasted them.

The stories are poorly told, with appalling grammar. I did not enjoy this book at all, nor would I recommend it to any of my friends.