The format of this book was extremely original and interesting and I was impressed with the author's ability to tell an entire story in lists. Parts of this book were hilarious and other portions made me choke up. Sometimes the author included obscure thoughts in his lists that l, too, have had. I enjoyed this book, particular how it all came together (loved Bill!) but I must admit that there were times I got a little tired of reading the lists. I'd love to read a book by this author told the "regular" way.

Twenty-One Truths About Love offers a unique reading experience through its inventive use of lists as the primary narrative structure. While this approach initially feels fresh and engaging, offering bite-sized glimpses into Daniel's life, it does become a tad repetitive as the story progresses. Interestingly, the title and the book cover don't align with the story's core themes, creating a slight disconnect between expectation and reality.
Daniel's journey through a self-inflicted crisis resonates on a deeply human level, mirroring the anxieties and missteps we all experience. However, the resolution he finds feels somewhat unconvincing, stretching the boundaries of believability.
The narrative, while punctuated by moments of genuine hilarity, which are a true highlight, unfortunately, doesn't offer substantial closure for Daniel beyond a rather superficial addressing of his paternal relationships. The story feels somewhat unbalanced, with the comedic elements shining brightly but appearing too infrequently.
Despite these uneven aspects, Twenty-One Truths About Love is a worthwhile read for its original narrative voice and the relatable core of Daniel's struggles. While the list format might wear thin, the resolution feels a bit flimsy, and the packaging does not quite match the contents, the flashes of humor and the exploration of personal crisis offer enough to keep the reader engaged.

Have bought a range of more mature reads for the school library and this was a huge hit with staff and students alike. A good read that created plenty of opportunities for discussion -will definitely recommend

This book is written entirely in lists. I had never really read a book like this so that drew me in, The story is heartfelt. It is a quick read especially if you like to read snippets at a time. It can also be finished in one sitting. It is also humorous at times. Dan is a very likable character.

This story is all about Dan and his life. He is obsessed with lists and thus his tale is told through them. Dan has quit his job teaching, opened a bookstore, has a baby on the way, is irritated at times that his wife is a widow, and the money he's making isn't adding up to what he tells his wife.

Oh yeah, his father left him at a young age and he hasn't really gotten over that. He isn't dead, he just walked out of his life when his parents got divorced. One of the more common sentences he writes down is, "Mom divorced you, I didn't divorce you," which is absolutely heartbreaking.

So, this story is told in the form of lists...which is weird and I never quite got used to it. I did get a little attached to Dan and all his quirks. Personally, this man needs some intensive personal therapy, as well as couples therapy because I'm not even too sure how he's married. Hopefully his lists are different from how he is with his wife...

3 stars.  I thought this was ok. The list format was different and honestly, he drove me nuts. It felt like complaint after complaint after complaint. He makes references how people comment it's weird that he's writing while engaged in conversations with them, and, it is. This whole book was just odd...so be warned if you pick it up!

I actually really enjoyed the format of this book. It made it fly by! I also appreciated the vulnerability.

Dan was a hard character to like, his lists at times were annoying. I read this a while ago, but it wasn't a book that stuck out to me. Dan was whiney and unlikable.

Review coming soon. Fell behind due to illness, amd working on all of the old ones now.

This one will not be forgotten. LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK!
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.


Pub Date was November 19th 2019
#twentyOneTruthsAboutLobe #MatthewDicks #NetGalley

A book that consists of nothing but lists. It sounds interesting and fun and different. That lasted about 15 minutes before I got annoyed with the format. It was about the same time that the storyline started dragging for me. I really wanted to bail on this book but decided to keep at it and I am glad I did. Things started picking up around the time that...well I don't want to spoil it. It did make me laugh at some points, gasp at others. By the time it ended I had a more positive view of the storyline although I can't say the same about the format. Adding him to a list of authors I would like to read more of.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the storytelling device of using only lists written by the main character, but it totally worked. Dicks does an amazing job of conveying emotion, humor and details despite the unconventional means by which he wrote the book and I found myself laughing along with Dan, thinking about his commentary and and empathizing with his obsessiveness.

This was just not what I was expecting. I got this because the premise seemed unique- writing a book via lists, and I am a sucker for uniquely formatted books ( ex: House of Leaves and Illuminae). However, this did not come through for me. The main character did not come off as sympathetic at all and killed my desire to complete the story.

I"m a huge fan of epistolary novels so this list-format was right up my alley. I've never read anything by Matthew Dicks before but I will gladly check out his backlist after this sweet story about family, love, and forgiveness.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. The book is written entirely in lists. I really did love the format. The story flowed well and the characters were relatable. I enjoyed reading Dan's lists and getting to know him. I always say that if a book makes a reader feel something, it’s a good book. I really enjoyed reading Twenty-one Truths About Love.

This is a quirky, fun, quick read that anyone can relate to. I gave this book 3 stars only because the list style made it easy to put this book down and forget about it.

I was intrigued by the list style of writing, but found I couldn't focus enough to actually read the book. This was a DNF for me unfortunately.

I was really excited about the premise of this book. It was a different kind of read as I've never read a book in this format before. It was good, not my favorite but it had its moments where i laughed and smiled

I wanted to love this one, but it was hard for me to read more than a little bit at a time because of the format.

This is a unique story, written entirely in lists. This is the story of a man struggling and at a crossroads in life . These are the lists of Daniel. He's trying to figure out his life and this is how he copes and figures things out, in lists. This is a unique novel and was a fun, quick read.

To write the whole book in the form of lists is a fun and fresh concept, enriched with main character Dan's quirky sense of humour and his really touching sensibility.
But the thing is - the novel is seriously prolonged. If much shorter, I would stay with my initial almost protective attitude and sympathy for Dan, neurotic bookseller with low self-esteem and openly bleeding heart because of his father abandoning him. But more than 300 pages has tired me and my positive attitude slowly changed into - boy, you are almost 40, your wife is pregnant. How about asking for some help - professional advice, friend's advice, or at least your wife's advice? No need to be a superhero and some of your quirks are your strenghts. But you need to start to talk to people, unless you do not want to develop serious mental health problems. Thanks God for Bill Donovan!

A star goes out for implying Kimberly's religion as a part of her being a bad, annoying person. How about simply make her a bad person?

Not my favourite book from the author, but still a a quick, fresh read with many wise observations about life, love and longing for something better, more hopeful.

The premise of this book was very interesting to me, and unfortunately that's where my interest stopped for the most part. Because of the list factor, everything just fell kind of flat for me. The plot was bland. The characters were super unlikeable. The book just kind of ended and didn't really feel like much of a resolution. I think this probably would have been better if it was only half lists, or had some kind of other viewpoint. It was nothing to write home about.