Single Effort Book Review
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a book review and although I get offers to do them on a regular basis, I’ve been turning most of them down due to lack of time and/or interest in the books offered to me. However, recently I did agree to review a book called Single Effort by Joe Keller since it is one that is aimed at single guys (which I am one).
So when the PR firm sent me my review copy, I looked forward to reading it.
The Target Audience
The target audience is clearly single male readers but instead of the usual book for this demographic, Single Effort is for both guys who have never been married and those who are divorced (or in the process of going through one). The author, a divorcee himself, made sure that the divorced men crowd were included by having specific early chapters to address common issues that this group goes through.
Indeed, this book is very helpful for divorced men since many of these poor fellows are probably quite rusty in their dating skills and may not be too up to date on the latest dating trends out there. The area of online dating is an example where many divorced guys may not have much experience with.
Single Effort even describes how separated men starting out in the divorce process can save lots of money by going through a mediator first before than letting the divorce lawyers do the bulk of the work. This is what the author himself did.
The Life For Single Guys
A separate chapter focuses on life after divorce but the tips offered here are also great for all single guys living on their own for their very first time. Not only does it cover dating but also other areas of life such as how to nicely set up your house or apartment to make it appealing to women and tasks that all single men have to do for themselves such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. After all, their ex-wives and mothers are no longer available.
Joe Keller believes that cooking is so important for single guys that he wrote an entire chapter on this topic. Not only does he cover kitchen setup but also identifies products that he has already tested and uses. He also includes various recipes for us single guys to cook up.
Another topic which is covered in its own chapter is the subject of wines. The author here obviously believes that the more knowledgeable a single guy is on wines, the more impressive he will be to the ladies.
Although I can see his points on cooking as a useful skill that many women will appreciate, I have to admit that as a guy who is not a cooking enthusiast, I was not convinced to drastically expand my own cooking skills. I personally hate spending time to cook but that’s just me as I’m sure some (but not all) other guys will feel otherwise.
How To Meet And Talk To Women
Of course, the book goes into detail on where and how to meet single women. The author provides some great ideas in this book. However, even though I like many of his ideas on how to talk to women in public, I think they should have been qualified a bit more.
I believe that geography will have a lot in determining whether it might even be appropriate to just start talking to women in public and go as far as asking for phone numbers or email addresses as soon as you meet them. I would think that in smaller towns and cities where most people are more open to communication between strangers, these ideas might work. However, in many big metropolitan cities where people are more wary of strangers due to higher crime rates, such strategies may not work as well.
The Online Dating World
True to helping single guys keep up to date, Joe Keller dedicates two full chapters to the world of online dating. He describes how to write an effective online profile and how to communicate with women online. I found these tips particularly useful.
What would have been great is a review of some of the more popular online dating websites and dating services out there since there are so many of them. He already reviewed household products he uses at home so why not review dating websites too?
My Final Thoughts On Single Effort
The author approaches the reader assuming that the end goal is to be in another happy relationship. Although I think this is great, I would have liked to see a bit more coverage for single guys who do not want to get into any serious relationship anytime soon. These may be guys who got burned too much in a past relationship or marriage and just want to have fun for now.
Age differences and cultural differences since we live in a much more diverse society than ever before, are important issues to address in a single man’s dating world. I don’t think Single Effort or any other book of its type so far, goes into these adequately.
But overall, I do consider Single Effort to be a useful read filled with worthy tips for single guys whether never married or divorced. It is up to date and worth adding to your collection of single men guides.
Order Single Effort below.
