This book is very influential; it made me revisit the kind of relationship with my family. It teaches spiritual truth and contains practical life situations on how love can be best shared and received in all aspects of human relationship. A must-read book for singles before contemplating on a marriage.

This made a lot of sense to me, though I do think our needs change, sometimes from day to day. Mine are words of affirmation, quality time, and physical touch. None of these are a big surprise.

Why I Choose this Book:

I was first introduced to the 5 Love Languages about six or seven years ago when I was in my late teens, and my world was literally changed. Around that time I read one of the 5 Love Languages books, but I'm not sure what edition. I figured it was time to do a refresher course, hence the reason for requesting this book.

What I Thought about this Book:

If I hadn't already known about the 5 Love Languages and a lot of the material in this book, I think I would have had millions of light bulb moments going off. This book is a treasury of so much helpful information and explanations and logic that it's crazy.

For those of you who don't know, the 5 Love Languages are 1) Words of Affirmation 2) Physical Touch 3) Quality Time 4) Acts of Service and 5) Gifts. These are the five primary way that people give and receive love. It's amazing how much sense this makes after you've studied it for a bit. Then pieces start falling into place, and the relationships you have can be greatly enhanced just by learning how to speak other people's primary love languages.

I was a bit surprised how much of the book focused on the romantic side of the love languages (how to treat someone you're dating, etc...), but I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I've just found the love languages work incredible well for everyone - including family, friends, and even somewhat distant friendships such as co-workers. The book does go into how to apply the love languages to all the above situations, just not to the extreme that I had imagined it would.

If you ever feel like you're not connecting with people well - especially those who you should have a good relationship with, such as family members, then this book will most likely revolutionize your relationships. It is so eye opening and practical. I'm incredibly thankful to have learned how to relate to people better.

Conclusion:

There were a few places with a bit of content that I wouldn't be okay giving to children, but that's perfectly fine, because it wasn't written for children. (For instance on the chapter about physical touch being one of the love languages, they talk briefly about abuse. But, they handle everything in a way that I found very appropriate.)

I don't agree with everything that's in the book, but for the most part the information is incredibly helpful and totally spot-on. I highly recommend the book.

Rating:

I’m giving The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition 5 out of 5 stars, and 10 out of 10.

*I received this book from Moody Press

This concise, insightful book is very powerful. For those seeking deep relationships and lasting love, this is well worth your time. Carefully following the advice here and adapting yourself to handle the love language of your mate will lead to a lot of happiness and many saved marriages.

3.5 stars

I thought this had solid, though not groundbreaking, advice. It did make me think how I could improve my relationships with those around me which I'm going to follow through with.

2017 challenge: a book with career advice (this book contained information on how to improve your relationship with co-workers, so I'm counting it)

This book helped me understanding why at times I feel unsatisfied/misunderstood in certain relationships. Understanding our personal love language, as well as the one of others, is important for people who seek meaningful relationships.
The 5 love languages are as follows:

1 Acts of service
2 Quality time
3 Gifts
4 Physical touch
5 Words of affirmation

Gary is a Christian author who expressed these 5 characteristics of love in junction with the meditation of 1 Corinthians 13 & other bible passages. He does a remarkable job in explaining the 5 languages in a practical way and how they can be applied in real life. I have been using his suggestions and noticed that there is a lot of truth in his words. Although, I think that one of the things that should be taken in consideration by the author is also the cultural aspect of love. Different cultures have different boundaries for touch, verbal affirmation, and gift giving, and thus it would be worth investigating the languages interpreted by different cultures.

Reading this book also increased my love for God, especially once I recognized how He made me and how He loves me in the languages which are my love languages. And, of course not forgetting that God loves me in all 5 languages depending upon what I need in my daily walk.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking meaningful relationships and also wants to understand itself.

Short, clear, makes a whole lot of sense. Definitely recommend!

This book has clarified some of my thinking and led me to consider new ideas. The section in chapter 11 entitled, "The Nature of Marital Unity" and the chapter for single parents were especially helpful.
Love can mature and grow as we work at it. It's the most worthy pursuit in life, whether single or married.

My husband and I learned our primary love languages and we've agreed to try learning to speak to one another in those languages. The theory makes sense to me & I'm interested to see how acting on what we read will affect our relationship.

I had always heard people referencing this book as if everybody else was already aware or in tune with it's content and I just missed the meeting the day it was discussed. So I finally took the time and sought out the edition that suited my lifestyle the best. Ahem... the Single's edition. Being a night reader I tend to read only a couple chapters a night, pass out, then pick up where I left off the next night or even a couple nights later if I'm not really into the book. However, the five love languages, singles edition spoke to my soul in a way that I needed so badly and yet had no idea I was in need. It was as if Gary Chapman was having a personal 50 minute session with me each time I picked up the book. Yes, there are religious references and for some that might not be palatable. But for myself, I welcomed the references. There is a personality Assessment, so to speak, at the end of the book that helps you to determine what love language you 'speak'. This is exceptionally helpful for those like myself whom are finding that they might fall somewhere between two or three languages. I would say the only thing I did not care for was after working your way through the in depth study of the five love languages and how to navigate them in both romantic and personal relationships there was a chapter that simply did not resonate with me. I am not a single parent or have children of any kind, and I am pretty certain there is an edition just for this or close to it. However, don't get me wrong, many people need that chapter. I just skipped over it. Overall I enjoyed this read very much and am grateful to have discovered my love language(s). I would and have recommended it to friends and family alike.

Eye-opening. Read sometime before I got married.

Five years ago, in the context of a volunteer team, I was introduced to "the five love languages." It's the concept that every expression of love falls into one of five basic categories. Now, for the first time, I read one of Gary Chapman's books on the subject, The 5 Love Languages: Singles Edition. It explores this concept from the viewpoint of various singles (never married, widowed, divorced). According to the Goodreads rating system, "it was amazing"—that's 5/5 stars from me.

As an avid story-lover, I thoroughly enjoyed Gary Chapman's use of true stories to illustrate how an awareness of the five love languages has helped people cultivate, mend, or excel in their various relationships. Romantic, familial, platonic—the nature of the relationship doesn't matter. Of course, he's promoting his idea, so it's not in his interest to share instances of failure. Nonetheless, the book's versatile selection of success testimonies inspires confidence that there is great insight to be found in this philosophy. It's evident that the author really believes what he teaches.

There are some nuances or side points of The 5 Love Languages: Singles Edition that I question, but for the most part, it was an enriching read. The languages of love that this book teaches are "Words of Affirmation," "Acts of Service," "Receiving Gifts," "Quality Time," and "Physical Touch." Though it isn't common knowledge in the general public, it seems intuitive, once explored, that different expressions of love will hold different levels of importance to different individuals. For one person, uplifting and affirming words are the key to the heart, while for another it's quality time. In His Word, God exhorts us to look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4) and to consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). The fact is, while we all need love (from both God and people), our interests look different at a grassroots level. It takes thoughtful consideration to know what will stir up love in another. I really appreciate the attention this book gives to exploring the dynamics of human relationships.

The 5 Love Languages: Singles Edition by Gary Chapman was insightful and delightful, hence the 5/5 stars I give it. I would be interested in reading more of his spinoffs based on the core concept of the five love languages, and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring the dynamics of human relationships as God has made it.