A Very Lonely Plant: Love, Sex, and the Single Guy

Robert B. MacIntyre, a former professor of psychology at the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education, is head of the Centre for
Relationship Therapy and Education in Orangeville, Ontario.

From this book we might conclude that “the single guy” watches way
too much television and listens to way too much indie rock music. The
author’s exploration of singleness is rich in contemporary cultural
context and references to the sort of things that could fill time alone,
whether at home or out in public. The book takes a wryly humorous tour
through various aspects of unintentional bachelorhood and the attempts
of shy guys to change that state. Part of this strategy has to do with
finding a balance between the “astute” and the “brute” aspects
of the dating male. For those reading about this balancing act from the
comfort of a dating or other relationship, the gyrations can be amusing.
For those in the midst of the game, they may contain some good new ideas
but also seem painfully familiar. A Very Lonely Planet is good light
reading for all those times you find yourself unexpectedly alone.