How to Ruin Your Love Life

by Ben Stein

Book Overview

A good love relationship isn't really that important. In fact, it uses up a lot of time you could spend thinking about yourself . . . and doing things all alone or with your drunken, loser friends. That's why Ben Stein has written How to Ruin Your Love Life. Following up on the wild success of his pioneering "do-the-opposite-of-what-I-say" self-help book, How to Ruin Your Life, he now brings you, in 44 easy-to-follow-steps, ways to definitively and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401902405
• ISBN13: 9781401902407
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Hay House
• Length: 119 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

One of a great series, Good reverse Psychology

Ben Stein is one of those rare Renaissance men who seem to be able to put their talents to any task and do a good or better result. This Book is one of his better efforts! Unfortunetly, it won't be read by those folks who need it the most! (Not that I am any paragon of virtue myself.)Bless you Ben and save Ferris!

I laughed out loud, not once but throughout the book!

I laughed out loud, not once but virtually throughout the book, when reading Ben Stein's HOW TO RUIN YOUR LOVE LIFE . . . he presents 44 easy-to-follow steps that will absolutely do just what it promises.Each step is presented in a short, hysterical essay with suchtelling titles as "Talk About Yourself Exclusively," "Make Fun ofYour Lover's Family," "Demand Expensive Gifts From Your Lover,"and "Compare Your Lover With Lovers You've Dated in the Past" . . . thenthere's arguably the most important one of them all: "If You're Dating Someone Who Has a Lot of Problems, Is Generally a Mess,All of Your friends Dislike Him or Her, Get Married Anyway--MarriageWill Solve All of Your Problems."I'm not so sure that last statement is true, but I do know that I have learned from this book--and pledge to start doing the oppositeas I type . . . also, in thinking about all the useful advice that Stein has provided, my only regret is that I did not have accessto this material much earlier in my life!For example, I now know that the following are not exactly whatmight be considered to be good things to do: * Let's face it: It's really boring to listen to other people's problems. Butfor other people to hear your problems, now that's truly fascinating.Why is there a difference? Because your problems are about you, andthat makes them far more interesting than what anybody else has tosay.* You can be confident that your lover will be happy to be frequently toldhow she can perfect her appearance. People like to be reminded oftheir flaws--especially by their lovers. And don't forget to pinch herupper arm or her thigh every once in a while to remind her that she'sgo extra fat in those areas--everyone loves that!* So say anything you like-no matter how hurtful--and when your loversays, "That's a bit rude, isn't it?" respond with an outraged look and ahaughty reply, such as: "Oh, I guess I'm not allowed to say anythingat all, right? From now on, I'll just talk to my cat. She lets me sayanything I want and doesn't jump down my throat."Or else, say something really cutting, maybe about his mother or father,and then when he looks shocked, say, "I'm just trying to have a healthyrelationship by expressing my feelings. But I guess that's not allowed.What am I supposed to do-keep it all bottled up inside me forever?! Idon't think that would be healthy for either of us, do you?"The beauty of this is that your lover really can't provide an adequateresponse to your "logic." What's he going to say--"No, you're notallowed to express your feelings?" Of course not. So, feel free to say or even do anything you want, and know you canget away with it. Why? Well, shucks, you're just expressing your feelings.

Eat Your Heart Out Ex-boyfriends!

Ben Stein has the talent and humor to prove me right in the book "How to Ruin Your Love Life". It identifies all the frequent behaviors many people have that results in unhappy relationships. This book is a necessity for anyone who is married, dating or single. Two things will happen if you read this book:1.) You'll stop doing all the unobserved things that drives your partner crazy and leads to misery.-OR-2.) You'll know what to watch out for and you'll stay away from people who exhibit these types of behaviors.Bravo, Ben Stein. Bravo!

Opposites Make it More Apparent

"Carve it in stone: Love Relationships Aren't Partnerships - They're Master-Servant Relationships, and You Are the Master (or Mistress)." ~pg. 21 Ben Stein's writing style is highly entertaining. I had just taken a sip of tea when I happened upon page 21 and I almost couldn't swallow my tea. I then realized it was probably best not to eat or drink anything while reading this book. It is way too funny. Not only did I spend last night laughing loudly enough to wake up my husband a few times, I realized Ben Stein should have put a warning in this book: "So funny, don't read in the middle of the night as you might wake the neighbors." Ben's theory seems to include "opposite therapy." This is not like any other relationship book you will ever read. You know those other books with the "to do" lists. While reading "How to Ruin Your Love Life" there were some moments of "stunning truth." I'd never really thought about people who were successful being the types of people who overcome their compulsions. This was a moment of truth for me. In 116 pages, you will encounter almost every "relationship mistake" you could ever think of. All in glowing detail. First, we find the two main rules that will lead you to loneliness and despair and they are: 1. You are better than anyone else. 2. Never forgive and never forget. Well, those seem easy enough to remember. Throughout this book, Ben Stein gives 44 rules that are guaranteed to ruin your love life. Everything from never telling your lover you love them to never being grateful for the gifts you get. "Why should you utter those three insignificant words? Don't you have any short-term memory? I just told you a few pages back that love was a junior high school game. Why didn't you believe me? What that meant was that although your lover is expected to constantly tell you that she loves you, you never have to reply in kind. Make her pant for it. Make her beg (similar to stingily doling out affection)! Make her yearn desperately for even a hint of "I love you." .....Repeat after me: Love is a junior high school game if you really want to do it well (and cruelly). So spare those three little words ... and spoil the relationship." ~pg. 52 If you have ever met someone who did this to you, you've probably spent a lot of time crying and if you then went on to meet someone who gave you love even before you asked, then you have known some measure of true happiness. Throughout this book, you will encounter a variety of "relationship-killers." Not saying "I Love You" can kill a relationship faster than anything I've ever seen. It is deadly. I must still have a sense of humor because I still laughed. Then, there is the "never admit that you're wrong or apologize in any dispute" rule. While each chapter is filled with wry wit, the endings of some of the chapters are especially good. Some of the endings lead to the next chapter and the ideas tie together in amusing ways. Like: "Now, back to driving your lov

Love is a funny thing

A hilariously funny book to read and how often did I see myself in those pages, tears of laughter running down my face. The funniest one, was when I was dating a guy for about a year and the relationship was going nowhere. It was only later I realised he was a commitment phobic and totally in love with someone else -HIMSELF!But on a more serious note, learn from your mistakes or move on.