Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Review: Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

Publisher: Penguin Press
Pages: 277
Received: Received a copy from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: June 16, 2015
Buy From Chapters.ca / Buy From BookDepository.com

Goodreads Synopsis:


A hilarious, thoughtful, and in-depth exploration of the pleasures and perils of modern romance from one of this generation’s sharpest comedic voices

At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. This seems standard now, but it’s wildly different from what people did even just decades ago. Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. With technology, our abilities to connect with and sort through these options are staggering. So why are so many people frustrated?

For years, Aziz Ansari has been aiming his comic insight at modern romance, but for Modern Romance, the book, he decided he needed to take things to another level. He teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg and designed a massive research project, including hundreds of interviews and focus groups conducted everywhere from Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzed behavioral data and surveys and created their own online research forum on Reddit, which drew thousands of messages. They enlisted the world’s leading social scientists, including Andrew Cherlin, Eli Finkel, Helen Fisher, Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, Sherry Turkle, and Robb Willer. The result is unlike any social science or humor book we've seen before.

In Modern Romance, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world.

My Review:

Honestly, I wasn't too sure what I would think about this book, I'm just now getting into non-fiction reads, but I can say I was really invested in this book. I really loved how Aziz Ansari really detailed how technology has changed the way that we interact with one another now. What I really loved is that even though Aziz has done so much research for this book, there is a great amount of humour added in as well, that just made it that much easier to read through (I'm used to non-fiction being very dry).

This book was very well done, the many different ways that technology has changed dating in our generation is shown very well. What I really enjoyed is how Aziz also travels the world to see how romance happens in different cultures, and readers really get to see that not everyone is truly taken with the technology and there is still a small group that will find their partner the old fashioned way.

The reason this book really stuck out with me is because I never really got into all the apps that are out there for meeting people, but I've been around people that are and I am always interested in how things work out. Aziz not only dives into how technology has changed the way we meet people, but he also shows how different communication is, and especially at the beginning of a relationship it can be very dangerous. Aziz even adds in some fun bits of his own interactions through texting.

I really loved the mix of humour and social science to bring to light how society has changed because of technology. Aziz Ansari was the perfect comedian to write this book, I could just imagine his voice while reading this (even better when he suggests that you think of him saying certain things in a very dark voice). I can truly say that I am getting more and more into non-fiction because of books like this that can add some great humorous stories to get their point across. If you haven't read this one yet, definitely pick it up, not only is it funny but it really makes you think about the way we use technology!

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...