Everything I Know About Love
by Dolly Alderton
Publication date: February 25th 2020
Publisher: HarperAudio (first published February 1st 2018)
Summary:
When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming a grown up, journalist Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, wrestling with self-sabotage, finding a job, throwing a socially disastrous Rod-Stewart themed house party, getting drunk, getting dumped, realising that Ivan from the corner shop is the only man you’ve ever been able to rely on, and finding that that your mates are always there at the end of every messy night out. Glittering, with wit and insight, heart and humour, this is a book about the struggles of early adulthood in all its grubby, hopeful uncertainty.
Source: Goodreads
Thoughts:
I’ve seen so many great things about this book and was really looking forward to giving it a try myself. I chose the self-narrated audiobook when it became available at my library.
Dolly Alderton is an award-winning author and journalist and in her book “Everything I Know About Love”, she gives us exactly what you might imagine: a collection of stories, anecdotes, memories and thoughts all based on the subject of love. This memoir doesn’t just look at romantic love though, it delves into all kinds of love, most prominently friendship and those who stick by you long term.
“Nearly everything I know about love, I’ve learnt from my long-term friendships with women.”
This was a light, enjoyable read full of stories to make you smile. I found the majority of Dolly’s experiences to be very relatable and I really enjoyed the 90s and 00s nostalgia too. The writing style was simple, but in a good way and I appreciated that the book wasn’t padded out with lengthy waffle.
Some chapters I didn’t really get, for example the inclusion of a recipe for scrambled eggs and several fictional letters and lists, but I wonder if these would have come across a little better in print format. I think it’s always going to be strange listening to a recipe being narrated!
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to women in their late 20s and 30s who I’m sure would find plenty of relatable content in these pages. Give it a try!
Overall rating: “Everything I Know About Love” was a really enjoyable read for me. I found it to be relatable and nostalgic and looked forwarded to picking it back up every day. A great 4 stars from me!
What Rebecca's Read 