I Didn’t Have a Nice Time Reading “I Had A Nice Time and Other Lies”

Foreword: I am not a fan of dating advice books. Books about creativity and bettering yourself, sure sign me up, but books claiming to turn your love life around are flat-out absurd. A book isn’t going to teach you how to date or lead you to the man of your dreams. When my editor asked me to read I Had A Nice Time and Other Lies by The Betches and write a reaction to it, I physically shuddered at the thought of carrying the bright pink monstrosity home from the office. It took me a month to actually sit down to read it, but here it goes.

While the majority of the advice in this book is despicable, there are certain bits that are true. They can be condensed down to the following:

• Love yourself and know your worth.
• Don’t date jerks who don’t appreciate you.
• Don’t rush in—physically or emotionally.
• Don’t cheat.

They are not revolutionary concepts. These are not four lessons that need to be explained over and over again in nearly 300 pages. It only took 20 words total for me to type them out. But unfortunately, Betches reiterated these principles over and over again in the most condescending tone any author has ever used.

Frankly, the entire book is offensive and contributes to the decline of dating culture despite the fact Betches seems to think this book will make dating culture better. In reality, which is the world its readers live in, I Had a Nice Time and Other Lies simply adds fuel to the fire that is our messed up generation.

Just as there are four main pieces of advice in this book, I have four main issues with it:

1. It Perpetuates Selfishness as an Acceptable Way of Life

The thing is this book chooses to “lift” readers up by putting men down. Repeatedly, they encourage readers to manipulate men in a sick version of what they believe to be the “game of dating.” Men are human beings, and they don’t deserve to be toyed with — just like women don’t.

They also encourage a drug culture, which isn’t really something you should encourage. To each his own, but it’s not a good, conscientious idea to cheer it on when your book is physically marketed to appeal to young readers. Hello, it’s hot pink.

2. It’s a One-Trick-Regina-George Pony

If I Had a Nice Time and Other Lies was comprised of unique jokes and takes on things, I might at least have been able to stomach finishing it. Unfortunately though, it’s essentially just one long-running Mean Girls joke. I love Mean Girls too, but I don’t rely on it as my sole source for humor. Why? Because it gets old.

Using Mean Girls to float your book content simply makes it a stale book—and it sends the message that speaking to other people in the same stuck up, egotistical manner of Regina George is acceptable. It’s not. And when they aren’t leaning on Mean Girls for support, they sub in a Beyonce, T-Swift, or Clueless reference. All of which are just as overdone as the Kardashians.

3.  It Gives Young Readers a Twisted Sense of Reality

I hate this book. There, I said it. It’s these kinds of tacky, pointless books that are ruining the literature industry. The fact that this was prominently displayed in a Barnes & Noble where impressionable teenagers could find it is sickening to me. Why? Because it’s those young, impressionable girls who will read it, take it to heart, and think the language, jokes, and principles are something to implement in their lives.

4. It Tries Harder Than the New Kid in 7th Grade

I Had A Nice Time And Other Lies is basically trying to be too millennial, too trendy, and too hip. It’s practically breaking its hardback to appeal to the readers, to connect with them, to be an “authority” on dating. In my opinion, it fails at all of that.

There’s no original thought in here. It isn’t worth the $24.99 my editor paid for it, and it certainly wasn’t worth the time I spent reading it. Instead of purchasing and reading this in the hopes that it will help you turn your life around, just go spend that money on an experience you’ll actually cherish or donate it to an animal shelter or something. You won’t gain anything from this book. It will simply make you feel like an emotional headcase with a unjustified superiority complex.

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