You Can Count on Cupid
Uncovering Love by the Numbers, from the First Date, to the Seven-Year Itch, to the Forever After
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
True-love facts about modern dating, marriage, breakups, and makeups, from the Guardian's popular relationships advice columnist
Is love blind-or does Cupid calculate? Luisa Dillner, a medical doctor and the entertaining "Love by Numbers" columnist for London's Guardian newspaper, sifts through the latest scientific research to answer the questions of the lovelorn and the love crazy alike. She tackles perennial matters of the heart, such as:
- Which pickup lines work the best?
- Do gentlemen prefer blondes?
- How do I know she's "the one"?
- How can I get my boyfriend to stop flirting and start taking out the trash?
- Are office romances doomed?
- What's the best way to mend a broken heart?
- Will any couple ever be able to avoid arguing in the car?
For those curious about the chances of tempting someone to leave a spouse (50 percent of those approached take the bait) or if Web romances bloom in the spring (the peak times for online love are actually January, February, and September), Dillner is the perfect--and amusing--guide to the science of living happily ever after.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Readers who know and love Dillner's advice column in the Guardian should appreciate this compilation of relationship questions and answers, but newcomers may find her an unpredictable source of advice and information. In themed chapters, Dillner covers the spectrum of love questions, from the science of pick up lines to the perennial fight over the remote control to the stress of "empty nest syndrome." Dillner frequently cites research and studies, from sources as varied as the "International Association for Relationship Research" to "101 dating couples at the University of Illinois," but just as frequently tosses off opinions that are flippant, unfounded or just unhelpful ("Most women whose husbands come out have no idea they are gay," "Some women are more likely to keep their own surname than others"). Though the piecemeal newspaper column approach doesn't add up to a satisfying full-length reading experience, Dillner does cover an impressive array of topics, from pornography use to "surviving children" to dealing with attractiveness discrepancy.
