I Can't Believe I'm Buying This Book: A Commonsense Guide to Successful Internet Dating

Imagine my surprise and delight at Evan Marc Katz's "I Can't Believe I'm Buying This Book: A Commonsense Guide to Successful Internet Dating"! My pencil was flying as I underlined Katz's unique points on page after page. I found new stuff in every chapter.

This guy knows what he is talking about. Katz used to be the customer consultant at AmericanSingles and JDate. And it sounds as if he has been at times certifiable as an Internet Dating Junkie. He knows the big dating sites and he knows about profiles - Wow! Does he know profiles! Katz gives the best profile advice I have seen, short of what I do myself. Plus he's funny and writes reasonably well.

Katz has a couple of weak spots - he's young (the cover says he's 31) and while he has been an energetic Online dater, he has yet to meet the love of his life, online or otherwise - though he did fall in love for the first time. He really hasn't got much to add for the over 50 crowd, a huge segment of CyberDaters, other than the good advice he gives for your online presentation and for dating in general. Katz's book is clearly "A Commonsense Guide to Successful Internet Dating" - it's about dating, not necessarily about finding the love of your life. He's great at that, the hands down expert, as far as I am concerned. Katz's answer to everyone's question "Does Internet dating work?" is a clear and unqualified "Yes!" But if you want assurance that you will find the love of your life via the Internet, you will not find it here.

Katz also asserts that he founded the first online dating consulting service E-Cyrano in 2003. He and I need to talk, since I have been online as a CyberRomance coach since 2002. But let's not split hairs - Katz has written a GREAT Internet dating book, and it's going to the top of my Amazon Listmania recommendations. Congratulations, Evan!

And I am not even going to tell you the names of those other books.


Excellent book for men or women   April 20, 2004
The Poe Toaster (Seattle, WA United States)
66 out of 77 found this review helpful

Five stars doesn't seem like enough.

I've been dating online for just under a year, and what I really like about this book is how it lets the reader know that they're not alone in the trials and tribulations of online dating.

For instance, I used to feel like I was the only one stupid enough to go out with a girl even when I really wasn't all that excited about meeting her. The author assures me that his roommate is the same way. The author does a great job of disarming the reader and assuring the reader that they're not the only ones going through these different nuances of online dating.

Online dating can be rough. Where else can you potentially be talking to six different women through e-mail, four of them on the phone, and get three different dates a week? It can be really rough because you reject and get rejected A LOT more than you would outside of cyberspace, because you do A LOT more interacting with the opposite sex. This book has everything you need to know to enter this arena, and everything you need to know to survive in it once you're there.

Get into online dating without the kind of advice found in this book, and you're going to get butchered alive. Trust me-I got into online dating when I split with my ex, and was totally taken aback when the first few women I wrote to ignored me. Now I know that it happens to everyone. I also didn't have enough experience or knowledge to know what to put in my profile and what to leave out, what to put in a new contact letter and what not to, etc. If I had, I would've had more dates at first and less rejection.

Good book. If you're getting into online dating (which I highly recommend because it's very challenging and very rewarding), you'll need this information and this book is the best place to get it.

One other thing-the author has a great sense of humor and the book is pretty funny in places.


The best, most fun book on getting the most of online dating   February 12, 2005
Ramon Thomas (Johannesburg, South Africa)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

I bought this book and Online Dating for Dummies while doing research on Internet dating. The for Dummies book pales by comparison to this one. Firstly Even Katz is much funnier then 2 PhD's who authored the other book. While laughing you are learning a lot of good practical advice. I can confidently say that this book has made a huge difference in my own online dating experiences. Before reading this book I maybe got 1 response from every 10 women I wrote to. And I almost never got a woman writing to me out of her own. This is has changed dramatically. I get 1 or 2 women writing to me on a weekly basis. I also get a much better response when I write to them. I get women quoting my headline and refering to my essay's all the time.[...]


Informative and Entertaining   July 19, 2004
helene (Los Angeles, CA United States)
17 out of 21 found this review helpful

I first encountered Mr. Katz when I accompanied a friend to a local singles mixer where the author happened to be a guest speaker. Admittedly, I was a somewhat skeptical audience. I had been online dating for four months and had become a bit disillusioned with the process. Mr. Katz delivered a lively, engaging presentation, choc-full of useful insight and peppered with great humor. By the end of his presentation, my interest in online dating was renewed and I decided to purchase his book. I was not disappointed.

This "Commonsense Guide" takes the reader through the crucial steps of determining which site is best for you and how to create an alluring profile that will generate more responses. The author continues by addressing some specific potential pitfalls of online dating and how to avoid them. What is remarkable about this book is that it is written with a sense of humor and includes some truly laugh out loud moments while remaining honest and true to the serious matter of finding love.

What I found especially surprising and pleasing about this book was the author's insight into the perspective of the female online dater. He accurately touched upon so many of the frustrations and challenges unique to women dating in cyberspace. I nodded with agreement and relief as he addressed my concerns one by one. This guy obviously did his homework.

This book is an entertaining and informative read, and if you have the opportunity to catch Evan Marc Katz at a speaking engagement, do so.


Funny, smart, down-to-earth and "get to it!" guide   March 12, 2005
Luis J. Villanueva Rivera (Lafayette, IN)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

Being in and out of online dating for some years, this book was a great find, and it will be for many more. The author provides a clear guide for everything related to online dating, like selecting a website, the photo, writing essays, and more. His style is funny and realistic, which makes it a less hard blow on one's ego when you read all your mistakes and why they don't work. Some of the most common mistakes the author mentions in some sections I've learned the hard way, save yourself the trouble and get this book. Many examples (for both good things to write and the no-no's) will help you on your next adventure in the world of online ads.