Friday, January 16, 2009

Review: All Men are Cremated Equal

I am excited to be telling you about the latest book I read, Elizabeth Fournier's "All Men are Cremated Equal." Elizabeth has written a fabulous book that chronicles her blind dating adventures. Seventy-seven of them!!! Damnation!!

When she comes out of an engagement at the age of 36, Elizabeth decides she is going to take matters into her own hands. She puts together a list of official dating criteria, or "The Big Ten" as she likes to call them, and the man must meet these criteria – or else there will be NO second dates! She is set up on these dates by friends, relatives and even her former boss who had fired her!

Let me tell you a little about Elizabeth. She is a mortician by trade (hence the title!), but has a variety of other interests, such as motorbike riding, ballroom dancing, and seems to be quite the beer connoisseur. She is funny and witty and has a range of knowledge that seems designed to impress…well, anybody. And I have to tell you, I am impressed by her. I think you have to be a strong person to do what she has done here. She took her Big Ten list, applied it to the people she was dating, and remained true to herself and her beliefs. She never faltered in her mission, even though at times it was lonely. She never accepted a second date – even if the guy missed one point on the list – because she knew what she wanted and wasn't about to compromise herself.

And now, the dates! Um…WOW. There are some interesting guys out there. I think I have dated a couple of them!!! Everyone will be able to relate to at least one of the guys Elizabeth talks about in her book. Although I have never met a man who has talked ONLY in quotes…yes, that really happened. You have to read it to believe it, and I know you will get a kick out of
these…experiences. And, I have to say, I spent the entire book wishing I was sitting at a bar with Elizabeth and her girlfriends, drinking beer, sharing nachos and listening to her stories in person. She is so animated and funny, I just want to be her friend!!!

I think if you have ever experienced a blind date (or just a date in general) you should read this book. I even think guys could get some tips on what NOT to do!!

Oh, and Elizabeth, I have to tell you – you don't look like a mortician!! (And I know you are sitting there, smiling the smile you always smile when someone makes that observation!) *wink* Thanks for the book, girl!!!

5 comments:

Serena said...

holy cow...at first I thought from the title that this would be a fictional book...now that I know its nonfiction, it has me scared...that's a lot of blind dates...I can imagine how funny some of them must have been

Anonymous said...

Boy, does that sound like a fun read!

Me... said...

This sounds great, and I have the perfect friend to recommend it to!

I finally got the copy of Gods Behaving Badly from the place I won it. Thanks for the offer though! I can't wait to start reading it.

Right now I'm stuck on Be Happy or I'll Scream. A must read for any parent, or those thinking of being parents!

Have you heard anything on the job you interviewed for??

Arielle Lee Bair said...

That sounds awesome. Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'm going to buy it as soon as I can. And I'm going to loan it to my best friend too. I'm thankfully married now, but she's not and she's been on some horrendous little dates herself!

Azull said...

This book looks fun to read.