• Home
  • Reviews
    • Review by Title
    • Review by Author
    • Review by Rating
  • Features
    • 30 Books to Change Your Life
  • About Me
    • Review Policy
    • Privacy Policy

The Restricted Section

Nerdy Girl, Romantic Reads

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

November 19, 2019 Comments : 5

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew DicksTwenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks
Published by St. Martin's Press on November 19, 2019
Pages: 352
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

"Radical, extraordinary, and profoundly human." - Taylor Jenkins Reid

1. Daniel Mayrock loves his wife Jill…more than anything. 2. Dan quit his job and opened a bookshop.3. Jill is ready to have a baby. 4. Dan is scared; the bookshop isn’t doing well. Financial crisis is imminent. 5. Dan hasn’t told Jill about their financial trouble. He’s ashamed. 6. Then Jill gets pregnant.

This heartfelt story is about the lengths one man will go to and the risks he will take to save his family. But Dan doesn’t just want to save his failing bookstore and his family’s finances—he wants to become someone.

1. Dan wants to do something special. 2. He’s a man who is tired of feeling ordinary. 3. He’s sick of feeling like a failure. 4. Of living in the shadow of his wife’s deceased first husband.

Dan is also an obsessive list maker, and his story unfolds entirely in his lists, which are brimming with Dan’s hilarious sense of humor, unique world-view, and deeply personal thoughts. When read in full, his lists paint a picture of a man struggling to be a man, a man who has reached a point where he’s willing to anything for the love (and soon-to-be new love) of his life.

Reasons I love this book

  1. I just do, and I think other people will, too. 
  2. It reminds me of two of my most favorite books: High Fidelity & The Lover’s Dictionary. 
  3. It is utterly unexpected, authentic, fresh, funny, and deep.

Reasons this book is like High Fidelity

  • The lists
  • The very wry humor
  • Struggling small business owner (borderline anti-) hero
  • I inexplicably knew I was going to love it from the first page

Reasons this book is like The Lover’s Dictionary

  • The unusual, diary-esque formatting
  • Truth bombs abound
  • The sad, but still somehow hopeful, tone
  • I inexplicably knew I was going to love it from the first page

Reasons I’m a bad little reviewer

Outstanding review books: 40 (shit)
Overdue AND outstanding review books: 31 (double shit)
Cookies stress-eaten trying to figure a way out of this mess: 3, peanut butter

Additional thoughts on reviews

If more books were formatted as lists, I might actually finish them by the deadline and write more listy reviews.

That’s a lie because I’m a garbage person.

Yes, I realize all of these sections are different formatting. Welcome to how I felt having OCD and reading 352 pages of lists that do not have precisely the same formatting. (Cue evil laughter…and also eye twitch)

Reasons you should read this book

  1. I guarantee, you haven’t read anything quite like it.
  2. It will surprise you and make you feel things.
  3. Because I said so?

XOXO

5 Comments Categories: Review

Comments

  1. Bonnie @ For the Love of Words says

    November 19, 2019 at 5:07 am

    I haven’t even read this (yet) but I can already agree with you on books with lists. I can’t say I’ve read one before but I’m certain I’d love more books with more lists. Seriously, who doesn’t love a good list? You’ve already completely sold me on this one so I’m just going to wait anxiously for my library hold to come in. 🙂

    Reply
    • Dani says

      November 19, 2019 at 11:53 pm

      Lists, lists, lists. What can’t they do? 🙂

      Reply
  2. Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits says

    November 19, 2019 at 4:36 pm

    Wait. The whole book is written in list format? Hmm. That could be really interesting and entertaining, or it could get annoying.
    Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ Ch-ch-ch-changesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Dani says

      November 19, 2019 at 11:52 pm

      The format really worked for me, but then again, most of my life is held together by list upon list 🙂

      Reply
  3. Angela says

    November 24, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    I’m a listmaker, too – I think Dan is a character I would love!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Me

Hi! Welcome to The Restricted Section. I'm Dani and I love love...in my books anyway. Come enjoy all the first kisses, broken hearts, and happy endings with me!

Follow Me

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Love Letters

Hiya! Want my posts delivered right to your inbox? Just add your email below.

What I’m Reading

Recent Posts

  • Three Things I’m Loving: Thanksgiving Edition
  • The Toll by Neal Shusterman
  • Short and Sweet: The Folk of the Air by Holly Black
  • Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks
  • Anticipated Releases: November & December

Categories

Archives

Affiliate Links

This site uses affliate links. If you click a link and then make a purchase, The Restricted Section may earn a small monetary award, which we’ll use to pay for blog fees or giveaways.

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

Design by SkyandStars.co
Back Top

Copyright © 2019 · ROSEGOLD Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in