One of the books my book club selected this year was Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance. Our membership only contains one single woman, but we could all relate in some way to the foibles of dating in a modern age. In Modern Romance, Aziz works with an NYU sociologist to research anything and everything on the modern romance scene, to fascinating and incredibly relatable results.
The book is written mostly from Aziz’s point of view and if you’re familiar with his excellent Netflix show “Master of None,” then you’re familiar with his voice in this book. I really enjoyed hearing about dating from someone who isn’t quite as normal, but still has insecurities similar to a ‘regular’ person. Some of the stories he tells about his own dating life ring true for myself or friends. I wouldn’t say that this book really comes to any major scientific conclusions as much as it gives readers a window into what it’s like to date today.
Back when my parents’ generation was dating they basically had to call each other. No one does that anymore and while I thought forever it was just me, or just the local scene, Ansari’s book proves it’s at least nationwide, if not global. Texting is often the preferred method of communication even between established couples but especially for newly-introduced ones. I confess, I often prefer to just text my husband something than to get on the phone. We can chat in person when we’re at home together. The research team travels all over the world to hear from all kinds of single people what dating is like today, and this is a fascinating read. I’m not sure if it would depress me though if I weren’t attached. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve been in the online dating scene and I wasn’t a huge fan of it, but this book definitely made me glad I don’t have to wonder anymore if I’ve texted back too fast. Now I can just worry about it for new friends.
I definitely recommend this for anyone with a social science interest, but it’s totally relatable to all of us.