I recently received a copy of a new online dating book called Fine, I'll Go Online!: The Hollywood Publicist's Guide to Successful Internet Dating. I'll admit that I felt lukewarm about it before I went ahead and gave it a read through. However, after reading through the entire book and dog-earing a few pages to go back and read again, my conclusion that it's a book worth checking out. Here's a brief overview of what it tells you, what I liked, what I didn't and why you should read it:

The book and author:



Fine, I'll Go Online!: The Hollywood Publicist's Guide to Successful Internet Dating is written by Leslie Oren, a Hollywood publicist who realized that the skills she'd acquired in her job made her successful with online dating. Leslie gives you insight into those skills - skills which are all about how to make you look your best from profile description to the second date.



What I liked:



The best part about this book is that it is filled with anecdotes and true stories about successful online daters. These snippets give you as a reader insight into what makes Internet dating a success for people from all walks of life. It really takes the basic lessons that Leslie shares in the book and infuses them with the life of real people.



What I didn't like:



I had the same problem with this book that I have with almost all self-help books. That problem is that the advice has to be given to women generally and I usually don't feel like it necessarily applies to me. For example, there's a section which talks about what to wear on a first date and the admonishment to essentially not look "too easy" sat uneasy for me.



Why you should read it:



If you can get over the self-help generalities, you'll find that there's some really terrific advice in this book. Online dating is all about selling yourself in a way that gets the attention of the right people while still conveying the truth about who you are. Leslie Oren's book teaches you how to do that.



An extra perk:



If you get the book, you can also get two weeks of a Match.com membership for free. If you're looking to try out a new site and haven't used Match yet, this could be a clincher for picking up your copy. Learn more from the website. Question of the Day: What's your favorite about-dating book?