These were all fantastic. ( )

This is an enjoyable collection of short essays/stories taken from the "Modern Love" column of the New York Times. I first heard about them after watching the streaming show "Modern Love." Both the book and the show are enjoyable. They are quick and easy to read, most of the stories are heartwarming, but not all--some are quite sad actually. I was most intrigued when I recognized that a story I was reading was the basis of a particular episode of the show, and just how different it came across on the screen. Sometimes the screen version filled out details, and somehow, the story became more light-hearted and comical than the original. Only one story was really changed -- the story of a foreign adoption where the baby turned out to have various medical issues. The screen version changed the choice that the parents' made, which changed the whole meaning of the story. Worth reading. ( )

»Because real love, once blossomed, never disappears. It may get lost with a piece of paper, or transform into art, books, or children, or trigger another couple’s union while failing to cement your own.
But it’s always there, lying in wait for a ray of sun, pushing through thawing soil, insisting upon its rightful existence in our hearts and on earth.«

I recently watched the series “Modern Love” and - quite aptly - loved it. Since it was based on the New York Times column of the same name, I had high hopes there might be a collection of this column and that’s how I found this book which comprises about 40 of the most memorable essays from the column.

I laughed, I cried and sometimes I did both at the same time. Some of the stories hit close to home, others deeply impressed me. Even right now while writing this and recalling some of the stories I’m a sniffling mess.

The one defining quality of this collection of essays is its unapologetic honesty and truthfulness to its subject - love in all its forms.

Whether you’re young or old, no matter the gender or sexual preference: Waste no time, get this book and read it.

Five out of five stars and a place among my favourite books of all time.

P.S.: To C., »He wasn’t really a texter anyway, so his lack of response didn’t necessarily reflect the weirdness of my text. It was probably normal for non-texters to see a text and not reply to it. They saw it, found it charming (or not), but didn’t think it required a response. Totally standard.«


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A collection of essays from the New York Times "Modern Love" column. The stories included in this collection span across different ages, kinds of love, and stages of relationships. What unites them is a keen insight into one of the most vibrant experiences we have as humans - loving and being loved an experience that can be both beautiful and ugly. Occasionally funny, often sweet, and with a few that left this reader sobbing the collection is well worth exploring. ( )

"I would explain that human love is a combination of three emotions or impulses: desire, vulnerability, and bravery. Desire makes one feel vulnerable, which then requires one to be brave."
― Daniel Jones

A heartfelt compilation of true love stories that were selected into the famous The New York Times' Modern Love column. This book successfully made me smile, laugh, and tear up in the end.

As a fan of both the column and podcast show, I read this fear of finishing it so soon. Reading this is like getting a glimpse of their life in which they experienced many kinds of love--platonic, family, or romantic. I enjoy almost all of the stories, some more than the others. My favorite is the one that is adapted to the television series, The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap. It tells a story about an elderly couple who finds love in a running club.

"Old love is different. In our 70s and 80s, we had been through enough of life's ups and downs to know who we were, and we had learned to compromise. We knew something about death because we had seen loved ones die. The finish line was drawing closer. Why not have one last blossoming of the heart?"

This book is a heartwarming one that we all need during this tough time. Let's spread love, not viruses. ( )