Books About the Ups and Downs of Modern Dating
The modern dating world is such a confusing landscape to navigate. The multiple dating apps. Building a dating profile. Texting and meeting a variety of new people. Getting ghosted. There are so many variables and with this many apps you’d think it’d be easier to find what you’re looking for. These books in this list show the ups and downs of dating and offer advice on how to find what you’re looking for. Combined with wit, humor, research, and even some success stories, you’ll feel more confident and empowered entering the dating world.
Professional sex and dating coach Myisha Battle brings together a diverse collection of client stories to bring us an inclusive, sex-positive guide on how to navigate dating and relationships and get what you really want from it, whatever that may be. She offers advice on how to make a great dating profile for dating apps and help make the world of dating more bearable and enjoyable for everyone.
Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales was a leading critic of the online dating industry after downloading Tinder when it was a new dating app. She wrote multiple articles and eventually made her directorial debut with the HBO documentary Swiped: Hooked Up in the Digital Age. This raw, funny memoir about sex and dating in the age of the internet is a coming-of-middle-age during the new dating revolution. She expresses her experience with honesty and asks whether these apps even really want us to find love.
Since the start of the internet, there was sex online. In almost every significant development that defined the Internet that we have today, it has come out of a meeting of sexuality and technology. The internet also changed modern sexuality by offering a safe space to explore, fantasize, and be accepted. This books covers everything from Jennicam to VR spaces using visual history filled with broad themes and backstories.
From the viral creator of Instagram account @ByeFelipe comes this guide that helps women navigate the perils that come with swiping right on dating apps like Tinder and Bumble. It blends humor, feminist theory, and Riot Grrrl-esque graphic art to answer any questions people may have and gives women the tools to take control of their dating life.
Gabi Conti logged thousands of hours on dating apps to collect research after a world-shattering breakup in her early twenties. In each chapter, she focuses on a different type of guy and offers advice on how to deal with them. She profiles 20 stereotypical men, from their physical appearance and dating style to red flags and success stories. It also includes charts and quizzes and captures the frustrations and hilarity of dating apps.
For fans of romcom movies comes this first installment of the series Boyfriend Project. Samiah Brooks never expected to go viral, but after a live tweet exposing her three-timing boyfriend, his two other girlfriends have gone viral with her. Now, the three best friends make a pact to spend the next six months without men. Samiah is finally taking care of herself and developing the dating app she’s always dreamed of. But when Samiah meets Daniel Collins at work, she may be tempted to break her pact.
Olivia Huang Christenson is nervous to be taking over her grandma’s matchmaking business. But those nerves soon turn to anger when she learns of a new dating app that threatens her business. It also doesn’t help that infuriatingly handsome Bennett O’Brien, L.A.’s most eligible bachelor, is behind the app. As their businesses go head to head, they make a deal to find a match for each other. And whoever falls in love loses. Bennet is already adept at stealing business ideas so what’s stopping him from stealing Liv’s heart too?
Emily Hoang is a writer and editor, who is obsessed with haunted houses, ghosts, and dreams. More info can be found on her website.