cover image The Gift of Shyness: Embrace Your Shy Side and Find Your Soul Mate

The Gift of Shyness: Embrace Your Shy Side and Find Your Soul Mate

Alexander Avila, . . Fireside/S&S, $14 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-0075-2

Valentine's Day brings a slew of books on finding a mate—for readers who are shy, widowed, divorced or starry-eyed.

The Gift of Shyness: Embrace Your Shy Side and Find Your Soul MateAlexander Avila. Fireside/S&S, $14 paper (256p) ISBN 0-7432-0075-6

Wallflowers rejoice: just because you're bashful doesn't mean you have to change your ways in order to find a partner. In this book, psychologist Avila explains how shy people can actually use a demure temperament to their advantage. Recommending a "shy-sensitive dating program," he teaches readers how to start conversations with potential mates, feel "charming, attractive, and irresistible" when faced with a new romantic prospect and take more credit for their dating successes. Inhibited readers will find comfort in Avila's gentle approach, and his suggestions are realistic and helpful. The book will also be available in Spanish, allowing it to rescue even more quiet romantics. Agent, Sheree Bykofsky. (Feb. 5)