A statuesque blonde with a penchant for prosecco and an absolute adoration of Rod Stewart, journalist Dolly Alderton first came to my attention a couple of years back via a Sunday Times ‘Style’ column, in which she detailed the adventures of her colourful dating life. So wry and engaging is Dolly’s writing style that her column became a firm favourite of mine, so much so that in a newspaper of a whole lot of must-read articles, hers was the first I’d read every week. I just had to know if Dolly and her guy, the Comedian, would live happily ever after, you know. Side note: I had a similar obsession with Ali Harris’s dating column for Company magazine way back when she used to write about her love for Email Boy. Anybody remember that? Well, it just so happens that Ali and her Email Boy are now husband and wife. Dolly and her Comedian, on the other hand, did not live happily ever after.

Sadly, just like her relationship with the Comedian, Dolly’s dating column is no more, but she’s stayed on my radar via her newsletter ‘The Dolly Mail,’ and ‘The High Low,’ the weekly current affairs and pop-culture podcast she co-presents with fellow journalist Pandora Sykes. If you haven’t yet checked out The High Low, then I really recommend that you do. It’s a big favourite of mine (despite unfounded allegations against The Lighthouse Family –Joke!)

It’s not an understatement to say that I was mega-excited when I heard Dolly had signed a book deal, a book deal that has garnered, as per The Bookseller, ‘serious film and TV interest’. (Think ‘Girls’. But funnier. With characters you can actually relate to and root for). I’m also glad to report that Dolly’s memoir Everything I Know About Love is a total winner; an honest, heartfelt and very, very funny reflection on life, love, loss and everything else in between. At its core, Everything I Know About Love is a love letter to friendship, a celebration of Dolly’s close knit circle of friends who have stuck together through everything: good times, bad times, and lots and lots of wild times.

Everything I Know About Love details Dolly’s adventures in life and love from her early days as a MSN Messenger-obsessed teen (Dolly once went on date with a boy she met on MSN Messenger only for that date to end following twelve minutes of mutual insults involving a DVD of Toy Story 2 and a kilt) to her early days in London where life was all about cheap booze, communal living and Rod Stewart-themed house parties. I mean, I wouldn’t describe this as a Rod Stewart-heavy memoir per se, but he’s definitely in there. As he should be.


Recommended.

http://daisychainbookreviews.blogspot.ie/2018/01/book-review-everything-i-know-about.html

This started off quite happily but was, perhaps, overlong. Having said that, Dolly shares some happy, sad and downright crazy events from her love-life, to hanging out with friends....and what friends some of them are. Nice ending.

I am not really a fan of autobiographical books but this one looked interesting so I gave it a go. I enjoyed some of Dolly's anecdotes about her experiences in love and dating but found it very familiar to something that I have read or seen before but frustratingly cannot remember what.
Not for me if I'm honest but well-written with a nice style and lots of honesty.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for review.

Somehow I’d managed to get through life without coming across Dolly Alderton. Happily, that is now rectified by her memoir-cum-confessional-cum-collection Everything I Know About Love

The writing about her relationships with men and with her friends (and their relationships) is interspersed with hilarious pieces on ludicrous wedding plans, horrifying baby showers and the most annoying things people can say. There are even a couple of recipes thrown in for good measure.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read, and a delight to spend time with.

Honest, hilarious and moving, Dolly Alderton's memoir is a roller coaster ride through the highs and lows of growing up. Loosely framed around how her understanding of love has changed throughout her life, the book is made up of humorous vignettes, satirical observations, lists and even recipes, which makes it perfect for reading in short chunks.

Dolly Alderton is a journalist and podcaster. She is perhaps most known for her time as a dating columnist for The Sunday Times Style and as the co-host of The High Low Show, a weekly pop culture and current affairs podcast. I hadn't read her work before, but found Everything I Know About Love to be witty and easy to read.

Starting with her teen years, chatting to boys on MSN, and moving on to navigating the turbulent waters of early adulthood, we see Dolly grow up and start to understand who she is. I struggled through the 'party girl' sections of the book, in part because I couldn't relate to them, but primarily because the drunken antics stopped being funny as soon as I realised how they weren't in any way making her happy. It was incredibly difficult to read about her self-loathing, anxiety and dependence on drunken nights out.

Dolly tells stories of her brief, intense relationships - from a stranger proposing to her at JFK to a middle-aged guru asking to fly her out to France to spend a week with him - and explains how she came to the conclusion that she had always confused intensity for intimacy. But really, it is the love she knows through friendship that was the best to read in this book. I had so much respect for Dolly's best friend Farly by the end of the book, thanks to Dolly writing about her with such love and admiration. It is a real celebration of friendship.

Some of the most interesting and moving parts of the book came as Dolly talked about her personal therapy and the tragic death of Farly's sister. I found myself in tears as Dolly described her best friend's grief and then laughing again within minutes as she moved on to another topic. This memoir is funny, sad and fast-paced, just as life often is.

[This review will be posted on the link provided on 26 January.]

I will be talking about this book on my YouTube channel

I was immediately hooked by the nostalgic coverage of teenage MSN messenger etiquette and relationships. As a 30-something, this was painfully familiar and made me laugh the most out of everything covered in the book. And this book does cover a huge amount of topics and themes.

I related to a lot of the situations in this book, which is just what I wanted from this memoir. There were more poignant moments amidst all the dry wit and humour which gives depth to the story. I felt the honesty throughout the book.
There were a few paragraphs I skipped - I wasn't really interested in the recipe bits, even with the little bits of life commentary that went with them. I thought this distracted from the overall narrative.

Overall I enjoyed it, and related to a lot of the subject matter. I would happily read another book by the same author.

This review will be a little shorter than the average one, as there isn't much I can say about Everything I Know About Love as a non-fiction, without giving spoilers etc.

The biggest highlight of this read for me, aside from the amazing, sometimes hilarious, heartwarming, smart messages and stories, was the writing, because damn can Dolly Alderton write. Everything I Know About Love is written perfectly eloquently, and could almost spark any kind of emotion from the reader, ranging from angst, to heartbreak, to humour. It was just amazing.

In terms of the stories and messages throughout, this book covered so many reactions from me. There were parts were I was visibly sad, but more often than not, it was the humour I found within the story. So much of what Alderton has written was completely relatable and made you reflect on your own life and own stories, sometimes more serious aspects and sometimes more lighthearted, like remembering how MSN dominated your life when you were a young teen. My favourite parts of the book, however, were definitely the lists, of what Dolly knew about love at different ages and stages, which were scattered throughout the book!

Before reading Everything I Know About Love, I knew a little about Dolly Alderton, knowing her from her Sunday Times column and her podcast. However, I knew that I wanted to check this memoir out, as it sounded charming and smart. I was not disappointed and would highly recommend this if you're a fan of Dolly's or of memoirs/non-fiction with similar messages.

I received this E-Arc in exchange for an honest review and would like to say thank-you to Penguin for providing me with an advanced-readers-copy of this book.

Full Review on my blog: https://thereadingruby.blogspot.com/2018/01/book-review-everything-i-know-about.html

Just finished reading a review copy of Everything I Know About Love. I don't know whether to silently weep or bear hug my girlfriends, but I know I loved every witty, uplifting and smart word written. Unfailingly honest and totally relatable.

I'm a little older than Dolly so, despite this book being hyped up on social media, I was quite apprehensive about reading the diary of a twentysomething. I still don't think it's necessarily my thing, but we do have quite a few shared experiences, which was nice to see.
The life before social media is something that I remember very well and I enjoyed her mentions of Messenger (the ONLY form of communication when I was at school) and the preconceptions she had about romance when she was a teenager. Something I really didn't like was the recipes - there's really no need for them and they seem oddly placed.
I imagine this is quite a tedious book if you haven't had the same kind of experiences as Dolly, so it's certainly not for everyone.
All in all, a light, fluffy read - nothing too taxing, but a nice trip down memory lane.

Not really a book for me. I started reading it but did not enjoy this at all.

I wasn't enthralled with this book. Perhaps I had misconceptions about it before I started. I'm not really a huge fan of this style of book, but I'm sure it will appeal to some readers. It isn't poorly written, and she does make some funny/interesting points, but it's just not my kind of thing!

I am a HUGE fan of Dolly Alderton, I first discovered her writing via her dating column in The Sunday Times Style Magazine and I used to pour over it every week (I still haven’t forgiven my husband for interrupting me reading her final column to tell me something about a football match he was watching – spoiler alert, somebody kicked a ball at a net). It used to make me laugh, it used to make me cry and it used to make think. When I saw that she had written a memoir titled, Everything I Know About Love, I knew I had to read it.

I was a little worried at the beginning as I realised that I am a little older than Dolly, have had a vastly different upbringing, didn’t battle my way through my 20s dating and I have never been on Tinder in my life. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to relate but I soon realised that Everything I Know About Love is far-reaching and all-encompassing and, no matter your age or relationship situation is an entirely relatable read.

This is a hugely brave book, Dolly is unapologetically honest about her life, the mistakes she has made, the decisions that she has come to, the paths that she has taken and the ones she has ignored. I was blown away by the sincerity of her writing and felt like a voyeur at times peeking into her innermost thoughts and fears.

There are laugh out loud moments where I cackled – her observations of modern life, friendships, becoming an adult, growing up (two very different things) and the nuances of modern life are perfectly judged. I defy anybody who has been invited on a hen weekend or baby shower to not nod along and laugh at the satirical e-mails she has created (I am pretty sure that the invitation to celebrate with a bride to be is one that I have received before). It is rare to read something that I felt spoke to me and made me feel a little less alone. I really felt at times that this book was written for me, some passages felt so personal that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it.

Then, there are moments of extreme sadness. Utter despair and heartbreaking incidents that made me sob. Her writing is so wonderful that these events affect you, her friends are your friends too and I felt utterly bereft and inconsolable at times. I loved the bonds that Dolly, Farley, India et al have. There is pure love, support and kicks up the bum when needed.

This is a funny, moving, emotional, insightful, honest, brave and wonderful read. I have highlighted so many passages to re-read at times when I need to feel restored and to remind me to be kind myself. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an advanced copy of Everything I Know About Love in return for an honest review, it was my absolute pleasure.

Many thanks for the copy of this wonderful book, I will be posting a full review on my blog around publication date and will promote via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I will also post reviews on Goodreads and Amazon,

This book is funny. Not all funny, with recipes and advice and sad-times thrown in there. But it shows that we don't all follow the same path and that love is never easy. The ending is nice in that it focuses more on the love of friends, a group of girlfriends, who, as shown in this book, stick together through pretty much everything. A wonderful read for those in their twenties or even those not.

I loved this book. It is well written and thoroughly enjoyable. When I started reading it I thought it was simply great fun. As it went on I found it to be so much more. As a woman of a certain age, with a daughter, I found I was able to relate to the experiences both from my own youth and that of my daughter.

I loved the way struggles of a young woman were documented with wit and sometimes graphic detail. The desire to be liked and loved, the trying to be the person you think others want you to be and the mistakes along the way. More importantly, it is so insightful into the friendships between women. The pain of being ousted in friendship by the boyfriend and how to find your way back. How these change and develop over time - Dolly you will need another book as these friendships become even more important and more fun as we get older.

If you’ve ever read articles about love and dating, chances are you’ve already come across Dolly Alderton.

She’s a popular London-based columnist, journalist, director, podcaster and now author of her memoir, Everything I Know About Love.

I’m always intrigued by people who write a memoir before they have even hit 30 – it has always seemed a bit self-indulgent in the past - but Dolly has plenty of life experience to share - and she does so in an open, warm, funny, often heartbreaking, style that, in my opinion, crosses generational boundaries.

Once I started reading, it felt a bit like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole into a world very different from my own but one that was completely immersive (and hard to get out of).

Told in a mixture of stories and anecdotes, lists and vignettes, at times I found her style a bit chaotic – maybe a reflection of her life at that time? – and the inclusion of recipes felt a bit random; like she was simply jumping on the bandwagon.

There was definitely a story arc, of sorts. I won’t say ‘coming of age’ because that seems patronising but as Dolly shares her many and varied experiences with love, sex, friendship, family, alcohol, drugs, work and play, life lessons seem to be learned - although perhaps not immediately.

It is something of a rollercoaster read – and when she dipped I felt genuinely sad for her – but her empowering final chapter left me feeling really positive about her journey.

This is just so brilliant. You relate to it whether you like it or not. I actually freaked out when Dolly started talking about dates at the National Theatre bar because that was me just before Christmas!

I really wanted to give this book a higher score but I just couldn't. When I first started reading it I liked the brisk, chatty style and I guess it was my fault for not reading the blurb properly but I thought it was a story I was reading and not someone's real life thoughts and opinions. However, I soon understood what I was reading and read on with enthusiasm.

Now, the reason I could only give it 3 stars was this. For me the book is too drug and drink heavy and I wasn't totally sure if the author was giving a warning about the dangers of drugs or was advocating their wide and varied use. It's a personal thing but I didn't like the strong use of drugs, the detailed explanations of nights spent so drunk that they didn't know what they were doing, and the wild behavior - don't get me wrong, I am not boring or a prude but it just isn't my cup of tea in a book.

Thankfully I was able to give 3 stars at the end because I loved the last chapter - the more reflective tone in the writing is interesting and engaging and I just wish the rest of the book had been the same. I am sure that many people will love this and give it 5 stars so please don't be put off by this review.

Thanks to Net Galley for the preview copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dolly Alderton, was a favourite writer of mine in the Sunday Times. Her dating column was interesting and a bit too vivid but I enjoyed it. However this book is rather like a crash. There is a point that information is too much and what is shared is cringe making. I am not British but this diary shows a middle class girl of her own volution sharing her use of alcohol to have meaningless sex. I would hate for her parents to read this.

Bring back the Dolly who wrote movingly about the death of her best friend's sister in this book, who also wrote about her attempts at surfing in Portugal in the newspaper but the logorrhea of days drinking and shagging has got to stop.

I confess that I didn't know who Dolly Alderton before I read this book but you really don't need to. It's mostly a memoir about her dating history and its equally tragic and hilarious. It's quite a silly book but there's actually a lot of really poignant stuff within the silly. I'm assuming I'm around the same age as the author as the cultural references were really relevant to me and that definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.