Bad dates make for a good read

You Have to Kiss a lot of Frogs," the first novel from actress turned writer Laurie Graff, is a hilarious trip through the love life of Karrie Kline, a struggling New York actress living from part to part and man to man. Written as a series of short stories, "You Have to Kiss a lot of Frogs" illustrates the hazards of dating in the city. Poking fun at the foibles of both Karrie and her -- sometimes admittedly-odd -- dates, the book is a delightful romp that can be savored one story at a time, much like the box of chocolates Karrie received from a jilted lover. \nAfter going to a surprise bridal shower for her friend Marcy, Karrie Kline looks back at her life -- still single at 45, she takes inventory of her years of dating in search of love, happiness and perhaps even a husband. What she gets is a hilarious reverie of the good, the bad, and the just plain weird in her dating history. From a blind date mix-up to a barking TV star, Karrie definitely kissed her fair share of frogs looking for her Prince Charming.\nThe stories of Karrie's dates run the gamut from the hilarious date that almost wasn't to dead-serious stories of heartbreak and loss. The vignettes follow no logical order; rather than follow a neat linear fashion, the stories follow the more muddled order of human memory. While all of the short stories have their individual charms, the most interesting are those detailing her dates with the truly weird.\nMy personal favorite was the story recalling Karrie's date with a New York University graduate student working on his doctoral thesis. Drawn by his offbeat good looks, she went on a date that quickly proceeded from quirky to downright weird. Eating at a café, her hapless date detailed to her how he only wrote a few words a day on his thesis, searching for the absolute perfect words; this is in addition to eating the exact same thing for every meal, every day. Other women in the restaurant gave Karrie their sympathies, snickering at her admittedly odd date. Other similarly disastrous first -- and last -- dates dot her dating history, comprising the bulk of the book.\nAnd thus, "You Have to Kiss a lot of Frogs" ends nearly the same as it begins; Karrie is still single and searching for love. What is different, however, is the knowledge Karrie has about herself. She is aware of who she is and what she is looking for in a man. Most importantly, she knows it is OK she is 45 years old and still single, with no immediate prospects of marriage looming on her horizon. \nDelightfully fun, with a light tone and quirky narrative style, "You Have to Kiss a lot of Frogs" is a girly good time captured in a book. Graff created a great start to her writing career -- and I wonder how much of the material is culled from her own dating experiences. We've all been on our share of bad dates, and there is no better way to commiserate than reading stories infinitely worse than our own worst dates.\n"You Have to Kiss a lot of Frogs," written by Laurie Graff, is published by Red Dress Ink. The book has a list price of $12.95 and is available at Borders, Barnes and Noble, www.amazon.com and other local retailers.