Honestly, I thought I'd hate the format of this book. It's 100% written in lists. I thought it would be hard to get into the plot, but I was so wrong. This book sucked me in! Dan is such a flawed yet engaging character. His lists range from comical and wacky to painful and sad. Give this book a try if you want a change of pace with your reading!

I had a hard time finishing this book for some reason. I am not sure if it's because of the way the book is or if it's just too slow for me.

I don’t believe I have ever read a story that is told completely in lists. This book is like being in someone else’s mind 24/7 and knowing their every thought—appropriate or not. In order not to deviate from the list format, I’ll list all the reasons I loved this book.

It’s funny and made me laugh out loud quite a few times.
It’s wonderful to see how much Dan loves his wife and how he respects her grief over the loss of her first husband.
I loved the bookstore atmosphere and the monthly books featured. I also loved Dan’s witty opinions about some of the books—and his opinions of his employees.
Dan has some interesting thoughts about the teaching profession. Most were spot-on. Especially his thoughts about meetings.
Dan’s friendship with Bill, the widower he met at bingo, was heartwarming. I think I love Bill too! He is my favorite character in the book.
Dan’s love for the baby that he thought he didn’t want was proof that he was meant to be a father. Not just a father, but a great father!

This is a really sweet, book that doesn’t take too long to read. It is the perfect read going into the holiday season.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I originally decided to read Twenty-one Truths About Love because I was intrigued by the list concept--how can a book be entirely comprised of lists? And I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint. The lists actually enhanced the feeling that I was in the main character's head in real time, freaking out about all the things going wrong in his life.

And there are a lot of things going wrong (in a list, of course):

1) Dan quit his teaching job to run a bookstore, and now he's losing money
2) Dan's wife Jill was married to a perfect guy who died, and Dan worries he can never measure up
3) Dan's father has been absent from his life for years, but has recently started to write Dan letters asking for forgiveness, only Dan doesn't know if he can give it
4) Dan feels like if only he could do one important thing, be brave in some way, he could find a way to turn it all around, but he doesn't know how to start

The book is equal parts funny and touching, and the best part is that since we only have lists, events unfold in unexpected ways, and sometimes we don't get the full story of what's going on in Dan's head until he doles out more pieces of the puzzle. His lists are varied, some as simple as grocery lists, and others are as complicated as rules of the universe, but they all help move the plot forward. I found myself rushing through the book, wanting to find out how Dan can possibly solve his biggest problem of all.

And that solution was probably the only part of the book that fell a bit flat for me. After the whole book of things slowly coming together, the climax felt rushed and his problem solved too neatly. I did, however, like the overall message of the book, and the last list of the book is the best one of all.

This book chronicles the ups and downs in the life of Daniel Mayrock from over a 6 month period, looking at his relationships and career. Here's the interesting part - the book is written entirely in lists, from Daniel's perspective. I did enjoy this unusual format and Daniel is an engaging narrator. However, it did make it hard to get invested in the characters, especially as there's so little dialogue. Some good life lessons in here though.

This book is fantastic! The entire novel is made up of lists. Don't let it put you off. The lists vary from funny to sad to wise to silly. Because the lists are written by the protagonist over the course of several months, the story unfolds almost like a traditional novel would unfold. You see the financial stress of a semi-profitable bookstore takes its toll on Daniel and observe the lengths to which he will go to protect his wife and family. It's a good reminder that when people make mistakes and get in over their head, most of the time, they do it with the best of intentions, just like Daniel. And...just like him, most people are good people at their core. Pick up this book and read it today! You won't regret it.

I really enjoyed this story told all in lists. It was a very unique format and not one I've ever read before, but I liked it!

I related to Daniel on so many levels; from his overthinking almost everything to his awkwardness around people in general.

I also appreciated the "A New Chapter Picks of the Month" lists and have added several books to my TBR from each month.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of Matthew Dick’s upcoming novel. I loved it. I thought the list format was creative and it still was able to tell a cohesive story without being too distracting. And that format made the reading go quickly. Mostly I loved the narrator Daniel. He is absolutely relatable, with his universal worries and paranoias, although he does choose an ultra-unorthodox approach to trying to resolve some of them. I definitely recommend this title.

The plot looked good but I could not get into the story. The book was set up as a Middle Aged man writing notes/lists to himself about whatever thought was on his mind. He was kind of whiny in his complaints. I wish I’d never done this I should have done this.. those same thought came across multiple lists.

Things I enjoyed about this book:

1. The fact the book was written entirely in lists was really creative.
2. Amidst everything that went on in the book, it’s really a story about love, fear, and family.
3. Many of Dan’s thoughts are surprisingly on par with mine.

Things I didn’t enjoy about this book:

1. The list format started to wear me down.
2. There was one particular plotline that I found really irksome.
3. Darned book made me cry...

Dan left his teaching job to run a bookstore. It wasn’t as easy or profitable as he thought it would be. (Of course, he thought teaching would be easy, too, but...) He's afraid to reveal the extent of his financial struggles to his wife, Jill.

Much of Dan’s life is characterized by running away from his problems. He’s the master of not saying what needs to be said. He has feelings about his father, who is suddenly trying to reconnect with him after years of estrangement. He has feelings about the specter of Jill's first husband, who died, hanging over their heads.

When Jill gets pregnant he knows he must do something to get money or he’ll lose her—but his idea is a desperate one. He struggles with the reality of the situation and every possible solution, but he keeps coming back to the least-certain and riskiest one. And he knows the ramifications of his actions may be worse than his current situation.

Twenty-one Truths about Love is a poignant, sometimes scattered, sometimes disturbing look into the mind of a man who is struggling in so many ways. While some of the lists in the book illustrate where Dan's heart and mind are, some are a little quirky and bizarre. And some are downright funny.

Matthew Dicks is a great writer (his Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend still haunts me). I loved the concept and the heart of this story. It’s just, the list thing dragged the story down a bit, to the point where I skimmed through the lists when the subject seemed extraneous. (Some of the lists ran way too long, too.)

Despite my ultimate weariness with the lasting power of this concept, this was a really creative twist in storytelling and I’ll think of this book for a long while.

NetGalley and St. Martins Press gave me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

The book will publish on November 19.

I'm not really sure what to make of this book, but all I know is that it definitely wasn't for me.

The entire book is just a series of lists that the protagonist makes every day. There's no narrative or dialogue. For me, reading list after list, even humorous ones, gets old really fast. I stopped about 10% in.

What?!? A novel made up entirely of lists?!? That's either extremely innovative or just plain crazy!! Okay...I'm coming down on the side of innovative because you know what? I thought those lists did work to tell this story.

Reason for Dan's lists? He saw a therapist who suggested journaling which sucked. So list making was a compromise and is now a habit, a way to think things out and make sense of things on paper. "A habit is just an obsession that pretends to the intentional and controllable."

Problem #1: Dan is married to the woman of his dreams who is a young widow but somehow her first husband Peter is a wall between them in Dan's mind. How does he measure up? How can you compete with a dead man who can do no wrong?

Problem #2: Dan has quit teaching and opened a bookshop which isn't doing all that well. He lies to his wife about the state of their finances. And every month things get worse...

Problem #3: Dan's father walked out on his family when his wife was unfaithful and hasn't been a part of his two sons' lives for many years. Now he seems to want a relationship but Dan wants no part of that...

Problem #4: Dan's wife is pregnant, which exacerbates a lot of the above problems. Can Dan be a good father when he has had no example to follow?

Yes, lists are limiting in what we learn about what the other characters are thinking and feeling--for instance, does his wife compare Dan to Peter constantly? But the lists reveal a lot about Dan and all his quirks and neurosies.

I haven't mentioned humor yet and I should have because this novel is SO laugh-out funny at times. I came to love Dan as much as his family and friends do--if only he could believe that! Great story about the angst of modern life.

I received an arc from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Matthew Dicks’s Twenty-one Truths about Love in exchange for an honest review. The book releases Tuesday, November 19.

Dan’s life is out of control. His wife, Jill, yearns to be have their first child. Dan is not so sure. He quit his job as a teacher to open a bookshop . . . which is failing. He has no relationship with the father who left him when he was a child, and he’s overshadowed by his brother, Jake Jr. He has no friends.

His coping mechanism is lists. Soooo many lists. He lists his ideas, his feelings, his fears, his wishes, and the truths he’s learned—or thinks he’s learned—about life.

Matthew Dicks’s novel is, in fact, composed solely of Dan’s lists as he tries to make sense of a chaotic life. The convention works fairly well through most of the novel, providing insight into Dan’s perspective. After a while, though, the device wore thin for me, and the novel’s conclusion defied credulity for me in a way that I could not recover from.

There’s still plenty to enjoy here: as a teacher and book lover, Dan’s lists of principles for administrator and ideas about the importance of books for children resonated. The book is organized into months, and each month, he shares his book store’s picks, stories about customers, and philosophies about reading. Those moments are, I think, my favorites.

Overall, Matthew Dicks’s Twenty-one Truths about Love is a pleasant enough book with an empathetic protagonist but not a book I’d strongly recommend.

Here is why I love this book - I love lists and I love anything that has to do with bookstores. So of course I'm going to like a book that is told through the perspective of lists by a bookstore owner. It's an ingenious concept that, at first, you can't quite believe can hold up, but lo and behold, it does.

The humor in this book is entertaining. Quotes like, "A habit is just an obsession that pretends to be intentional and controllable," and "If the childhood version of yourself would hate the adulthood version of yourself, you suck at life" had me laughing out loud and nodding my head all at once.

It's a quick read (it is just lists, after all), but it's such a great fun read that I really enjoyed.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Likes:
Lists!
Quick Read
Fun concept

Loathes:
Even lists can drag a bit.
No real in-depth character analysis

Enjoyed this quick read. The novel is written in the form of lists. Written from the first person narrative of Dan Mayrock, it chronicles his life, his wife, Jill whom he lives a lot, and his family. The novel shows how far Dan can go, his encounters at the bookstore that he owns, his fears on becoming a father, Jill’s dead husband, Dan’s own father who abandoned him, and his endless delightful relatable thoughts.

A book full of lists and a man who owns a bookstore? Sign me up! I love lists and bookstores. The protagonist's interior and exterior lives are presented to us almost totally in lists and while some are obsessive, relatable, and humorous, the trajectory of the novel had me rolling my eyes and begging "please don't let the story go in the direction I think it is". I would say this would be a cute paperback book to gift a new or almost new dad, but it's not making my list of faves.⁠

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dan is an obsessive list maker—he tries to solve all of his problems by making lists.

This story unfolds entirely through Dan's lists where he uses them almost like journal entries in his hopes of saving his family, his bookstore, and ultimately himself.

I devoured this book in one sitting.

I'm not going to lie, at first I was disappointed when I discovered that the whole book was made up of lists, I mean...who wants to read lists? Well, when they are written by Matthew Dicks you do.

Dan is completely overwhelmed with life and is suffering from anxiety. It was suggested to him by his former therapist that he log his feelings—this is where the lists come in. And he pretty much records everything from the day-to-day mundane, to what is plaguing him.

Having left his career as a teacher to open a bookstore, Dan is feeling tremendous pressure to succeed. He has yet to turn a profit and this is causing him anxiety and guilt since he hasn't disclosed this information to his wife, Jill. Not only does she thinks that everything is going swimmingly, she's also basking in the glow of pregnancy—having a baby is another source of stress for Dan.

Jill was a widow when they met, and Dan has always felt competition with her dead husband, Peter. He feels like he can never measure up and is incredibly insecure where Peter is concerned because he wouldn't be married to Jill if Peter was still alive.

We learn so much about what it is like to be flawed and human through Dicks' unique book. This narrative style could have easily failed, but instead, readers will be utterly enchanted by the raw beauty of Twenty-on Truths About Love. It was moving, funny, and incredibly real.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "Twenty-one Truths About Love".

I'm currently in the middle of a major move, and will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating.

Thank you so much!

Having absolutely loved Dicks' Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, I was beyond excited for Twenty-one Truths About Love, especially when I saw that Taylor Jenkins Reid blurbed the cover! Unfortunately, this book didn't work quite as well for me as Memoirs did.

A 300+ page book written entirely in lists? Sounds interesting, right? At the onset, the format felt fresh and fun and lent itself to a quick read, but quickly, I realized there was a reason this style hadn't been used before - it's fun and fresh for a little bit - and then I would have liked some traditional chapters. 300+ pages of lists is a LOT of lists. Some of the lists made me laugh out loud and some made me really want to scream at our main character Dan (there's a lot of privilege and complaining with this one). For me, this would have been cute to have each chapter start with a list and then proceed into more of a traditional format after each list, rather than continued list after list.

What I did love: Dan owns a bookstore! How can you not love a protagonist who works around books and talks about books within a book! Dan's friend Bill from bingo was also a really bright spot in this book!

Overall, not my favorite, but open to more from Dicks in the future and really hoping he goes back to more of the vibe I felt in Memoirs!

I am not sure how Matthew Dicks pulled off this format, a book made of lists, but he did and he did it well. I found it very humorous and enjoyable, most surprising is it felt complete. I had been worried it would not seem like a complete story or too gimmicky to get into but it was compelling, interesting and easy to read.