"Screw Cupid"

I read "Screw Cupid: the sassy girl's guide to picking up hot guys" primarily because of the title and the hot pink cover.

Written by Samantha Scholfield, this second book on the one wiley girl book review is supposed to teach girls how to make the first move.

She starts the book by recounting her personal dating journey...taking matters in to her own hands after realizing she wasn't getting hit on because she had a flat chest. Uhm, ok. After describing one humiliating cream-pie-in-the-face pick-up attempt after another, she comes to the conclusion that it's best to pretend you just want some very important information from a dude. For example if they have the time, or my personal favorite from her arsenal of pick up lines, whether guys think Angelina Jolie is hot because knowing this information will settle a debate you're having with a friend of yours. Ugh...

Her point is that if you approach a guy he will instantly think you want to have sex with him and that will cause him to instantly blow you off. Huh? Somehow asking a neutral question puts a guy more at ease and magically makes you more attractive. In my opinion it could also make you more annoying... take this Seinfeldesque opener she suggests you use when approaching a group of men at a bar:

"YOU: Hey, guys, tell me something: What is the deal with guys and the remote? I was over at my girlfriend's house earlier with a bunch of guys to watch the game. Every time the commercials came on, they freaked out if we tried to change the channel. What is the deal with that?

THEM: blah blah blah

YOU: What is it, exactly, they think girls are going to do with the remote?

THEM: blah blah blah

YOU: How do you expect girls to learn how to use your crazy-ass remote system if you guys are always hanging on to it? How good would you get programming the TiVo if girls always did it for you?

THEM: blah blah blah

YOU: We have this guy friend who bought Tivo a year ago, and we've hardly seen him since. What's the deal with that? It's like he's found a spouse.

THEM: blah blah blah"

"blah, blah blah"? I'm not sure why she doesn't tell us what the guys were saying but I'm guessing it's because they were probably just staring at her with a WTF? look on their faces, or they were busy winding up to hurl another chocolate cream pie in her face.

Ultimately her point is dating is a numbers game, so odds are if you approach enough men eventually one will be charmed by your Jedi mind trick chatter.

OK... I agree that it's good to put yourself out there... to be friendly and talk to guys instead of waiting around for someone to talk to you. I'm working on that because I am horrible at it. But, the problem I have with Samantha's philosophy is the assumption that guys are retarded so you have to trick them into having a conversation with you. I'm also a horrible liar, so telling a group of guys that my friends and I were just discussing some random topic would definitely not come off as genuine.

And, I think being genuine is one of my best qualities.