A Valentine Read

I don't usually do humor books in the blog (since funny is such a subjective thing), but a new book caused such unbridled laughter amongst the library staff that I feel compelled to share. Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet: a new way to get men talking about stuff that matters, by Burton Silver and Martin O'Connor, is so far out in left field that even though it bills itself as a help guide for interpersonal communication, it really is just plain humor. Here's the scenario: you are supposed to get the man in your life to sit down, listen to a hypothetical situation, and answer a series of questions which you then interpret - much like dreams - to discover his true inner workings. Want to find out if he's interested in being in a relationship? Read out loud a list of animals and ask him to come up with names for each animal pair. If he picks a male name and a female name (Rex and Fluffy), then he's interested in committment because "he sees a world of couples". If he picks Rex and Scamp, then you might as well pack up your toothbrush. Want to find out what he thinks about women? Have him answer a bunch of stupid questions from an alien, like "Why do women have so many shoes?"
This book reads like the literary equivalent of a cootie catcher. If you can get a guy to go through these dumb exercises with you, you've either been dating for less than 4 months or he's making stuff up to pull your chain. He's in a relationship with you - he's not applying for a job. Save the goofy personality tests for Human Resources.