Available: A Memoir of Heartbreak, Hookups, Love and Brunch

By Matteson Perry

Matteson Perry is a Nice Guy. He remembers birthdays, politely averts his eyes on the subway, and enjoys backgammon. A serial monogamist, he’s never asked a stranger out. But when the girl he thought might be The One dumps him, he decides to turn his life around.

In Available, Matteson brings us into the inner sanctum of failed pickup lines, uncomfortable courtships, awkward texts, and his unexpected journey to self-discovery, charting the highs and lows of single life and the lessons he learned along the way. Candid, empathetic, and devastatingly funny, Available is the ultimate real-life rom-com about learning to date, finding love, and becoming better at life.

‘Matteson Perry is the most entertaining chronicler of nice-guy romance since Nick Hornby.’ —A. J. Jacobs

‘Matteson Perry has written the antidote to the bro-hookup book. Available is a thoughtful, interesting, and most of all, funny memoir about relationships, filled with universal feelings but unique stories.’ —Justin Halpern, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sh*t My Dad Says and I Suck at Girls

Matteson Perry is a screenwriter and performer. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, McSweeney's, College Humor and other publications. His work has been featured on NPR and Funny or Die. A Colorado native, Matteson lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Inc. Books
• Release date: May 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781925435061

Matteson Perry

Matteson Perry is a screenwriter, performer, two-time winner of the Moth GrandSlam storytelling championship, and the host of the monthly Moth StorySlam in Los Angeles. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, McSweeney’s, College Humor, and other publications. His work has been featured on NPR and Funny or Die. A Colorado native, Matteson lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

Reviews for Available

[pet12-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After having been dumped by his long-term girlfriend, Matteson Perry decides to take a year off from being in a serious relationship. Instead, he wants to enjoy casual dating, have fun and have sex without hurting anybody's feelings. Matteson has been a really nice guy all his life, always a bit shy with females but also very inexperienced at not being in a serious relationship. Over the course of the year, he learns a lot about himself, about dating, about friendships and relationships and about communication.Available is a funny and lighthearted memoir written from a male perspective, which was pretty interesting. The author lost me a little when he recounted his drug-fuelled weeklong experience at Burning Man (the whole idea sounded like a total nightmare to me), but he really won me over with the last few chapters.A refreshing writing style and amusing anecdotes made this into an enjoyable, quick read.I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[kimmeyer-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Matteson Perry describes his book, Available: A Memoir of Heartbreaks, Hookups, Love, and Brunch, as what Eat Pray Love would be if it had been written by a man. A serial monogamist through his twenties, Perry vows to take a year off from relationships to date casually after having his heart broken by a woman he calls his manic pixie dream girl.

He goes on a bunch of dates and has a fair bit of sex, learning about himself and developing insights on love and relationships along the way. Each woman is described well enough to seem different than the rest, and these experiences culminate in Perry devoting several chapters to his time at Burning Man, which had been a primary motivator for him to remain single.

Humorous and self-deprecating, his quest to get to know women on a purely casual and physical level never comes across as misogynistic. And yes, he does find love in the end, as anyone who reads the dedication page to his wife at the beginning of this book is already aware. I highly recommend this one to anyone who’s endured breakups, online dating, or the search for love.

I was able to read this title courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher, and really enjoyed it!