LOVE & OTHER RECREATIONAL SPORTS

Author: John Dearie ISBN: 0452285240 6/2004 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: Plume

Jack Lafferty is handsome, thirty-five years old, a successful Wall Street banker—and miserable. Years of navigating the carnival fun house of the Manhattan dating scene have climaxed in wedding plans—plans the are destroyed when his fiancée's affections wander. Embittered, Jack has sworn off women. No way will he be hurt again, not even by Sarah Mitchell, a bright and beautiful corporate attorney. But just when Jack’s romantic torpor finally lifts, disaster strikes, pushing Sahra away and seemingly out of reach. Getting her back will require a move so bold, so daring, that the cautious Jack isn’t sure he’s up to the task. Or is he?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

An enjoyable and often enlightening read, LOVE & OTHER RECREATIONAL SPORTS is exactly about what the title says: dating and relationships, but strictly from a man's point of view. Which, of course, puts love in the same category as Saturday morning basketball, or a Sunday afternoon spent at the races.

Well, okay, that's not entirely true. But this was a pretty good insight into the minds of men and how they work on this particular subject (or don't). And while I thought this story tended to bash the romance genre a bit – Fabio in particular, but then I'm sure he's used to that by now – it still had a lot going for it in pace, humor, writing style and the "men talk" dialogue, especially where Alex's philosophical conversations with Jack are concerned.

If you're looking for something quick, interesting, and in seeing how men view we females and their thoughts on developing relationships with the opposite sex, then you might want to give LOVE & OTHER RECREATIONAL SPORTS a try. Believe me, it's worth it if it helps you better understand how your other half thinks!

Nancy Davis