Dating Amy: 50 True Confessions of a Serial Dater

By Amy DeZellar

Dating today can seem like Alice's tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Whether starting out or starting again, women face the difficult task of sorting through the good (guy), the bad (boy) and the ugly (morning after) in their search for Mr. Right. Here, giving hope to smart single women everywhere is Amy DeZellar, who bravely dedicated two years of her life to debunking common dating myths and documenting 50 of her dates.

She's gone wine-tasting with Indentured Cats, a blind date who also happened to be blind; been accosted in a cornfield by Glitter Ball, a lounge musician who grew up with the Beatles; and found her artistic sentiments at odds with her desire for financial security when she simultaneously got involved with a painter named Harry Potter and a NASA super-computer designer named Teflon, all in her quest to chronicle the dating life of a regular girl and maybe even find true love. Each of the 50 chapters is dedicated to a different date, and includes the kinds of tips and sharp observations that only someone on the front lines can offer. Get ready to laugh, cry, and commiserate with Amy--and learn, as she did, a few things about finding the perfect man.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446696544
• ISBN13: 9780446696548
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: 5 Spot
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

An insightful peek into today's world of dating

Being in the same oddball (read: freaky) world of dating as Amy, I've been entertaining myself by reading the handful of books published on the subject. Some are well-written, some contain entertaining stories, some let you really connect personally to the author, but Dating Amy is the first one I've come across to successfully combine all three elements. DeZellar does a great job of allowing the reader into her emotional and mental space in an alternately hilarious and tragic way. One aspect that made this unique was her journaling of multiple dates with the same person over time. All relationships of any sort take time to develop, so it was really interesting to see how she interacted with the same person over a couple of dates. Life can turn on a dime, and hearing how DeZellar experienced those inflection points inherent in the first few meetings with someone was fascinating. I can't wait to meet Amy at an upcoming book signing!

Wooking Pa Nub

Great non-fiction writing often requires a bit of masochism: Tom Wolfe dropped acid to better understand Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, George Plimpton matched up against professional boxers, and football and hockey players and then lived to write about it, and Richard C. Clarke worked for George W. Bush's White House on counter-terrorism issues, among countless other examples. Possibly topping that list is Amy DeZellar, whose very funny memoir Dating Amy recounts going on 50 dates. In Seattle (which has a notoriously bleak dating scene). Amongst the characters that DeZellar goes on dates with include a blind man checking out other babes, a rock critic who had never heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and some guy she appropriately calls "Mistakenly Swingin'". When you start to think the book is a collection of exaggerations, you instantly remember getting phone calls from your friends late at night so they can recount the travails of evenings they can never get back. Or you remember sitting across from a younger couple at a 4 star restaurant where you here the guy can't believe that he just realized he forgot his wallet at home. Dating Amy is never whiny or excessive. Most of the dates occupy only about 7 or 8 pages, so they never go on too long or become grating. She writes in a manner that is concise and humorous. You only want each date to end for her sake. Dating Amy is part gonzo memoir, part self-help book and part tragically self-deprecating comedy routine. Ladies would probably enjoy Dating Amy because they can relate to her misery. Guys can learn a thing or two about what not to do on a date. It is written in such an accessible and funny matter that anyone would surely love to have a few drinks with DeZellar and commisserate over dating woes.

Live Vicariously through Amy!

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (7/06) "Dating Amy" had me rolling in my seat. It was so funny. Unfortunately, as a single woman, I could relate to many of her experiences. She tried the online dating thing, so did I. After a particularly horrible date in which I was sure I was on Candid Camera, I gave up. Amy kept going. Amy decided that she was going to go on fifty dates and write about them on her website. She manages to keep the names of these men anonymous for which I am sure that they are grateful. Reading this book taught me that no matter where you are, we all tend to have the same dating experiences. An example of this would be going on what seemed like the perfect date, but the person never calls again. This taught me not to take dating so seriously, just enjoy it in the moment and appreciate it, if and when a great relationship develops. I also got some insight in how to deal with someone that I don't want to see again. That is something that has always seemed awkward to me. Amy makes a statement about "the lies that every woman must tell herself when she's physically attracted to someone with whom things aren't going as planned." This is another issue that I see as being so true. It allows many of us to get involved with people that we shouldn't. Reading about it opened my eyes up to the reality of this kind of situation. "Dating Amy" is a fun book for single people to read, if they are willing to take time off from the dating scene to read this. I suspect they will be. I also recommend this book to unhappily married people who think that the single scene is better. They will realize that it is not and hopefully try to work on improving their relationship with the one person that they found willing to make a commitment to them. Either way, you will love this story!

This is a fantastic read

Amy DeZellar has landed the perfect balance of funny and truth. My wife and I read it together and we continually laughed out loud at Amy's very true observations on the complexity of male/female relationships and dating rituals. Check it out!!

I couldn't put it down

As a single woman, I recognized some of my own experiences, only with Amy's sharp wit, they were much more funny. Not only is the book immensely entertaining, Amy gives some keen insight into the dynamics of male/female relationships. I really started thinking about my own dating patterns and what I really want out of a relationship--and I also realized that there are many privileges to being single. Amy gives hope and comfot to all single women out there and helps make the dating world make a little more sense.