"1001 Ways to be Romantic: Now Completely Revised and More Romantic than Ever" by Gregory Godek

Ever hear the phrase "less is more"? Well, I think Mr. Godek should follow that sage advice, because my biggest problem with this book is its size - it is way too big! I get that he wants to give the reader a wide range of choices as far as how to be romantic, but please! There are so many "suggestions" that after getting about half-way through this tome, I realized he was repeating himself. Or it was so close to something he'd already said that I read it as exactly the same.

In either case, I got tired of the romance and quit.

In addition, some of the "advice" sounded more like advertising. Between all the hotels/motels/B&Bs, the lingerie companies, the chocolate companies, and the like, I suspect that Godek has pocketed a good amount of change for mentioning their names. And for someone who keeps saying "you don't need to spend a lot of money to be romantic", he would have you shelling out some serious dough to impress your sweetie.

Before you think I'm completely writing this guy (and book) off, not all the advice is bad. Some of it is quite good, such as putting forth 100% in your relationship, rather than the old 50-50 split (if you've only willing to meet your partner half-way, good luck when the going gets tough). He also advises not to take your significant other for granted, which is always good advice - you never know what can happen when you least expect it. Little romantic gestures, such as leaving love notes in his/her car, or doing a chore that your partner hates to do, are also good, and in fact, we've done that in our own marriage. But the amount of dreck you have to skim through to get to the good stuff is not worth the time or the trouble.

My advice is to treat your partner the way you want to be treated, tell him/her that you love him/her every day, and kiss a lot!