I spent last weekend camping and reading Modern Romance (one of our June picks) by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg. Fellow readers, I enjoyed every page.
In the book, Ansari explored today’s dating scene. It is so different than it was ten or fifteen years ago. The options are unlimited (which he argued is both good and bad). He conducted several focus groups and found that older participants were more likely to have married someone who lived in their building, their block, or somewhere in their neighborhood. Younger participants were not likely to have coupled with someone in such close proximity. In fact, the younger participants were overwhelmed by the number of options they had in the dating sphere.
He had a lot of visual aids throughout the book which were both helpful and hilarious. Some of the text message conversations he showed had me laughing out loud. There was one particular conversation where a guy named Will texted a girl he had met at a party and in the message he said he was “texty” introducing himself*. Hilarious.
The only thing I did not enjoy about Ansari’s book was his rejection of absolutes. He ended the final chapter of his book with a Pitbull quote:
“People are stuck on what’s normal, what’s right, what’s wrong. Maybe what’s right to you is wrong to me . . . What counts at the end of the day is everybody being happy.”
I think blurring the line between what is right and what is wrong makes the whole issue so much more complex and sad. How can anyone operate in a world where right and wrong are relative terms?
However, Pitbull’s concluding quote aside, I loved the book. It is informative, hilarious, and enjoyable. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Modern Romance. You will be both entertained and intellectually stimulated.
*When I finished the book, I updated my Goodreads profile and then watched an episode of “How I Met Your Mother.” It was season four episode twenty-one (“The Three Days Rule”). In that episode, Ted sends a “texty text” to a girl he promised his group of friends he would wait three days to call. I laughed harder at this than I should have, but all I could think about was pathetic Will. Actually, after reading this book, I’m finding “How I Met Your Mother” to be a fascinating show.
Did you get a chance to read it? What is your reaction? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and be sure to tag your copy of the book on instagram with #TWTBookshelf.
Live, Love, Learn,
Candice & The Write Teacher(s)