You have a few hours left to take advantage of the massive $1 discount to my new book, Why Can’t I Leave A Smiley Face? If you order before midnight, you pay $3 instead of $4. Here’s a reader review:

Roosh has an approach to writing about his life that is at once clinical, self-reflective, funny, critical and–one just does not expect this–philosophical. In his latest, he returns to the country of his birth and ultimately find us wanting; but I’m jumping ahead of myself.

The book is a series of vignettes documenting his return to visit friends and family after years away. Each chapter describes occurrences on this journey and reads very much like an quirky, independent movie so much so you will think you were at your local art house cinema drinking a Belgian lager and watching a cool guy make his unconventional way through life.

As he describes what’s happening, Roosh deadpans his observations like a movie voice-over. He writes with a detachment that is at first startling but ultimately refreshing and makes me think he may be reproducing for us what happened in his mind real-time as it was actually happening.

As you read, you stumble across various pronouncements about the human condition from a man who will, in his lifetime, meet more different people in two years than most ever will in a lifetime. He is frank, quite brutally frank actually, about sex. He is brutally frank also about the female of the species, genus Americanensis. Here, for example, he describes how many men it takes to turn a woman into a ruthless entitlement mare:

“I estimate that it takes ten male partners for a woman to start realizing that she doesn’t “need” a man. Any man who dates her after that will get half-assed relationship efforts and increased entitlement. She knows how easy it is to get [a man] that, though maybe not as good as yours, will validate her nonetheless.”

Since 10 is quite a low number in modern America, if one accepts his assertion it is no leap of the imagination to see where things have gone. And every other story he tells of meeting women in DC seems to bear this out.

Especially funny is the story of the female lawyer who cannot understand the psycho-dynamics of reality and asks–no demands–attention. On his metaphorical feet as usual, Roosh turns ice cold and decides to see just how far he can push the interaction. And like the damaged spirit that she is, unrecognizing, blind, she stumbles unfeeling towards eventual cat-owning obsolescence. No way a normal person could absorb this every weekend and emerge unscathed. Roosh seems to shake his head, clarity prevails: I’m back in the United States.

More than the travails of random encounters with tigresses is Roosh’s interactions with his mother and sister. It seems he’d thought they were supportive of his lifestyle, but something about their XX chromosomes had since taken over and produced arguments against his choices, and it seems to find him taken aback. “In my own house, too?”

What I like most about Roosh’s writing is the philosophical calmness with which he writes, how he describes the process of levelling counter-arguments without emotional outburst especially considering he’s “arguing” with those he loves about a way of life he has come to love. One can be forgiven for thinking it a writer’s low trick, made to show how cool under fire he is, but watch his videos and you can sense this is how he is regardless of the circumstance. It is no leap to connect this person with his writing persona and sense the veracity of it.

Methodically, he rips apart mom’s reasoning so that, by the end, she is making what I feel is the painful demand that either he change or he stop communicating with her. This couldn’t have been an easy thing to write about, but it is invaluable to anyone thinking of hoeing this road. This is what may and likely will happen to you: even your own family will disapprove of your jumping the society-lain train tracks.

Another family story, this time of dad. Seeking perhaps to understand himself further, he meets up with his father over a weekend’s gambling in Atlantic City and coaxes from him the apparent genetic source of Roosh’s “talents,” shall we say. Dad was a “player” back before it became codified, before it became popular. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Underlying all this and forming a backbone of his new book is the world-weariness: he’s half-expecting something new, please surprise me. Perhaps in the two years I’ve been away, he begs, please be different. But he only finds more of the same and even worse. It is a jungle of the heart and the cougars are winning: you can play with a tame lion, but those claws, those claws, those claws. The title of the book comes from a tryst with a woman who coldly dispatches him from her bed, and in a moment of vulnerability, he leaves a note and discusses with himself how best to convey that a human experience between them has occurred instead of a steel bare transaction: perhaps a smiley face? She never calls back.

And so, as he departs (sister no longer cries at the airport) he comes to the conclusion that America is the land of the barren of soul. He no longer recognizes it and thus leaves its shores, a stranger. I wonder what that means for the men who are left behind. I ponder this question and my soul freezes at its outer edges.

And another review:

I picked it up before bed, thinking I’d read just a small bit of it before crashing out. I was about halfway through and set it down to get some sleep, but then it kept nagging at me so I picked it up again and finished the rest. I say “nagging at me” because it wasn’t like it was the most captivating book in the world, but I felt like it touched me on a real emotional level in a lot of ways (no homo), so I had to put those thoughts at ease by finishing.

Maybe it’s because I’ve struggled with a lot of the same emotions and challenges Roosh talks about over my last year of being home in the states. In fact, I think a lot of the issues touched on are things that have been in my mind over the past couple weeks.

I also found my spirits lifted in some of the brighter moments, even smiling a little; Roosh has a great ability for getting readers involved in his story. I especially appreciated how his camaraderie with the other forum members seemed to balance him. Makes me want to meet more like-minded guys.

On another note, I’ve noticed that in a lot of Roosh’s more recent writings, he seems to float back and forth between wanting to settle in a little bit, maybe even questioning his beliefs about women, and just embracing the momentum he’s already built in his life. I think this is something a lot of us struggle with. He doesn’t overdo it or give the red pill back; he just acknowledges its presence.

To be perfectly honest, I felt like some of the play-by-play in the nightclub chapters was a little too drawn out and that some of the “angry” banter Roosh had with women seemed pretty trivial in nature. Then again, I think a lot of the guys who read the PUA stuff enjoy this play-by-play type writing, so I’d say it fits that side of the audience. And while the personality revealed in some of these interactions may have rubbed me a bit wrong, one of my favorite aspects of any Roosh writing is the way he lays it all out there to be seen, warts and all.

He doesn’t sugarcoat something just because it might put himself in an awkward or less than favorable light. I always respect this type of honesty in a writer, and revealing the true subtleties of human nature makes for a more interesting, believable read and commentary on the lifestyle we’ve chosen.

In conclusion, I liked this homecoming story and will probably give it another go. Coming home to suddenly feel like an outsider can sometimes wear on you and leave you wondering if perhaps it’s you that has become flawed. Just knowing others experience the exact same thing is reassuring and offers a reminder that we aren’t all born into a place that’s right for us.

For some of us, there’s just no going back once we’ve embraced the international lifestyle (much like taking a red pill of any other hue). It’s a scary, somewhat alienating feeling, but you just have to keep searching for whatever it is you’re looking for. Even if it never reveals itself, sitting home probably wouldn’t have made you any happier, and at least you reach the end-game knowing you gave it a shot, which is far more than most people can say.

I hope you find what you’re looking for, Roosh. Thanks for another good read.

If this book interests you, click one of the following links:

• Read sample pages from the book
• Order your paperback or Kindle copy
• Order your ebook copy (pdf, mobi, and epub)

I’m also offering two combo deals that last until midnight tonight. In the first, you get all three of my memoirs for $8. The download package contains pdf, mobi, and epub formats for each book, 433 pages in total…

Click here to order the Memoir Combo.

The Life’s Work combo has all 15 of my books (1,484 pages), including Bang and Day Bang, my two popular game books. It also contains the Bang audiobook in mp3 format. The price is $35:

Click here to order the My Life’s Work Combo (256 megabyte download).

Your thoughts on Smiley Face so far are encouraging me to tackle a longer memoir in the future.

Today I’m releasing my new mini-book, Why Can’t I Leave A Smiley Face? It’s a 52-page memoir about the month-long visit to America in October 2012. Here’s the description:

How many sexual partners is too many?
What happens when you’ve lived away from your birth country for too long?
Why do moms give bad advice to their sons?
Why do Americans talk so much?
Should a one-night stand have romance?
Can a man ever be more interesting than a woman’s smartphone?
Are you your father’s son?
How much money is enough?
Which country is best for men?
Can a city decrease a man’s sex drive?
Why is it that using a smiley face is needy in one country but not in another?

These are the questions that come up in Why Can’t I Use A Smiley Face?, a short memoir about one man’s brief return to America after living in Europe for nearly two years. Stories range from trying to bang girls in Washington DC to getting caught up in a web of lies.

Living abroad can bring great experiences, relationships, and happiness, but it may cost you friends, family, and even your own identity.

The book costs $3. If you purchase the Kindle or ebook edition (pdf, mobi, and epub package) before Sunday at midnight, you get a discount of one whole dollar. The price will increase to $4 after that.

Click one of the following links to continue:

• Read sample pages from the book
• Order your paperback or Kindle copy
• Order your ebook copy (pdf, mobi, and epub)

This book is a mini-sequel to A Dead Bat In Paraguay, the memoir I released four years ago after quitting my job and living outside of America for the first time. I recommend you read it first before Smiley Face to better appreciate the stories. While reading Dead Bat is not required, you should at least be familiar with my background to put Smiley Face in context. This weekend I’m offering a combo deal where you can get all three of my memoirs for $8. The download package contains pdf, mobi, and epub formats of each book, for a total of 433 pages…

Click here to order the Memoir Combo.

I started writing my first book, Bang, back in 2006. In the past seven years, I’ve written 15 books that contain 1,484 pages and 537,867 words. I’ve also produced a Bang audiobook with the help of a voice actor. In this combo, get all 15 books and the Bang audiobook in mp3 format for only $35:

Click here to order the My Life’s Work Combo (256 megabyte download).

Smiley Face is on the short side (it will take you about 90 minutes to read), but it’s a story I wanted to tell. I hope you enjoy it.

I never thought I’d do an interview with a publication owned by the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon, but it happened. It was split up in two parts (1 and 2). Here it is:

Joseph F. Cotto: Over the last several years, many have come to believe that chivalry is no longer a practical social norm. Do you agree with this idea?

Roosh V: Chivalry was an exchange. Men would be chivalrous while women would look presentable, cook wholesome meals, and take care of the home. This obviously has broken down, but women still believe men should hold their end of the bargain while they abstain. It’s 2013 and they advise men like me to open doors, be polite, and pay for dates, yet when you tell them to act like a lady, they denounce you as a “sexist” or “misogynist.”

The irony is that women absolutely do not have sex with chivalrous men anymore; they stick them straight in a black hole known as the friend zone. Until women reward chivalrous men with sex and relationships, it will continue to be be phased out of society.

Cotto: Today, divorce and infidelity rates are disturbingly high. Insofar as men are concerned, why do you think that this is the case?

Roosh: Divorce in America is a great deal for women. She gets half a man’s assets and monthly payments that can be quite substantial if children are involved. The more money the man has, the more she gets paid. The ultimate humiliation for husbands is to pay alimony for a woman who then takes care of her “bad boy” lover in his former bed. If you take away incentive for a woman to remain a wife or to be loyal, she won’t.

Cotto: It is often said that “Nice guys finish last”. Generally speaking, what are your views about this idea?

Roosh: That phrase presupposes that nice guys are even in the game, but these days they are resigned to being spectators. If you are a nice guy, the best hope you have is marrying a spinster in her 30s who already had more than a couple dozen sexual partners when she was “discovering” her sexuality during her 20’s, and she’ll still put you below her office career.

You get the used car with high maintenance costs while the jerks who treat her poorly get to drive the new car off the lot, enjoying the new car smell.

Cotto: Often, men develop midlife crises due to serious self esteem issues. Do you believe that this is inevitable, or more of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Roosh: When your masculinity is being shamed into obsolescence by the feminist elite, when women are repeatedly passing on you for bad boys, and when no one seems to give a damn that you’ve had a respectable career where you’ve contributed meaningfully to society in some way, you’d have self-esteem issues too. When you’ve done everything that women told you in order to land a wonderful wife and mother, but you’re alone and stuck on Match.com with nothing but 50 year old divorcees giving you winks, I think you would wonder why you worked so hard in life and if it was all worth it.

Cotto: Feminism is a tremendously controversial subject. From your standpoint, what legacy has it left for men?

Roosh: Weaker men. The whole point of feminism is to absolve women or all responsibility for their actions while shaming or criminalizing masculinity. Women act more masculine in their pursuit of power while men are becoming unsure of which behaviors they can safely exhibit, forcing them to take on more feminine traits. In the end you’ll have an androgynous society where both sexes are unhappy because you’ve taken them far away from natural behavior that has existed among humans for hundreds of thousands of years.

Cotto: During the years ahead, do you expect political correctness to find a welcome audience among younger generations of men?

Roosh: The best brainwashing program for politically correct speech is higher education. This is where you have a man’s undivided attention for four years. You can stuff his brain with whatever nonsense you want, but since fewer men are now going to universities, I think you will begin to see men growing up without this brainwashing and then questioning a lot of PC ideas.

Cotto: Since you became a professional writer about dating, what has been the greatest lesson you learned?

Roosh: American women are the worst in the world. I’m not using hyperbole; I’ve been to over 25 countries and have dated in most of them. It’s the only country where I have consistently sour experiences with uppity women who seem to swallow all the male hatred that has been taught to them in college and by the media. Dating an American woman is like going to battle, and I feel sorry for all the men that are still stuck with them.

Cotto: If you could give men a single bit of advice for the life well lived, what would it be?

Roosh: Get out of America. Make your money, start some type of internet business that frees your mobility, and hop an airplane to a destination where English is not the primary language. At least when it comes to women and comfort, the grass is indeed greener. I’ve lived almost four years outside of America, and I have no desire to go back.

Cotto: Now that our discussion is at its end, many readers are probably wondering how you came to be such a noted voice about men’s issues. What inspired you to pursue such a career?

Roosh: It was an accident. I originally writing guys how to find happiness through sex and casual relationships, but soon it became clear that the more American girls you sleep with, the less happy you become. My search abroad for feminine women made it easier to write comparisons on how bad American guys have it.

The interview almost turned out to be a “red pill for dummies” guide. The question is if it convinced any white knights and beta males.

I haven’t taken a blog break since July 6 of last year. It’s time for another one. I got a lot of good stuff coming, including a new book. In the meantime I’ll be around Twitter, the forum, and ROK. You can also check out the archives for older posts you’ve missed.

In chronological order…

7 Ways Feminism Is Destroying American Women

2. Makes her proud to be ugly. Go into any middle-of-the-road bar in a major city and what do you see? Overweight women with short hair, loose clothing, and flip-flops. Feminism has taught women that it’s okay for them to look like they just rolled out of bed and that any attempt to look “feminine” will make men desire them for their looks instead of their intellectual and philosophical brains. Evolution laughs. Men are attracted to beauty, and always will be. Next thing you know, American women will appear in public wearing pajamas.

Pussy Paradise

I want to be in a place where if I step outside and take a deep breath, pussy will come. I want to walk in a huge club and be the most desirable man who women compete over. I want zero-effort pussy of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever had in my life. Maybe you’re laughing right now that I’m dreaming, that this place doesn’t exist, but I believe it does, and sometimes belief is all it takes.

Everything I Know About Women

“Roosh I did the 100 approaches. Some of them went okay but I usually ran out of things to say. I didn’t get laid. So I’m ready now for you to teach me everything you know.”

Drama, Vodka, Sex, and Blood

Two ugly girls approached me but I didn’t indulge them for long. It was getting late and I was losing hope. Sure, my mood could’ve been better, but there just weren’t any cute girls to talk to. I sat in silence for what seemed like forever, stewing about the night’s events, when two young girls came into the bar. I forced myself to approach.

World Game

In the States, you will probably be amped up in a night out because of dealing with girls who have attitude. You can harness this anger into a cocky vibe that snags the next girl. But when abroad, anger will lead to a vibe that the girls don’t like. I wouldn’t even bother calling out a foreign cockblocker because it will just take you away from having the optimum softer attitude. Let things slide.

The Roosh Program

I want to share a game program for those of who are starting from scratch, regardless of age. It’s not meant to turn you into a Casanova, but it will quickly take your game above the mainstream average. It’s also useful for beta males who just got dumped.

She Is Bitch

“I understand that, but I don’t want to be in a place where that’s the reality. I prefer the fantasy world of women wanting to have sex with you just because they like your sense of humor or personality. My culture is different.”

The Secret To Fast Sex

I tried everything to get them to come, even saying I’d pay for their cab ride back, but it didn’t work. I’m sure I would have banged at least two out of those three if I had rented an apartment in the center. Instead, I had to get their number and accept the built-in 50% flake rate that comes from dating.

Women Who Own iPhones Lose The Ability To Love

For women, the smartphone is a bridge to receive offers of penis twenty-four hours a day. With text messaging and use of apps that connect her to Facebook, dating sites, Instagram, and the like, your average girl is receiving subtle and not-so-subtle sexual offers every other hour. She even gets to hear a bell tone when a new penis is putting in his attempt. The smartphone is a perfectly designed machine for women to field dozens and dozens of penis offerings every month when in the previous generation your average woman wouldn’t receive that many in a lifetime.

One Piece Of Advice

Your environment doesn’t change your borne temperament. It provides little boosts to your happiness level, but it always falls back to where it was at the start. Changing your belief system can definitely affect the thermostat of your temperament, but only by a small amount.

If you want to browse through last year’s posts, check out the archive.

Return Of Kings has been growing steadily, with a total of 134 posts among six contributors since I launched it in late October. Here are the top 15 posts you may have missed:

1. Is The Feminist Movement Experiencing A Meltdown?
2. 14 Things Every Guy Should Know About Swedish Girls
3. Will The Norwegian People Disappear?
4. One Man Has Found The Secret To Banging Argentine Girls
5. Why Demographics Matter For The Younger Man
6. Have You Swallowed The Red Pill? Take The Test
7. What’s Happening With The Manosphere?
8. The Synergy Of Game And Money
9. I Dare You
10. Why Adopting A Frugal Mindset Will Hurt You
11. 5 Reasons Why Every Man Needs Partner Dancing
12. The Anti-Male Commercial
13. Do McDonald’s Workers Deserve High Pay?
14. Starbucks Is Singlehandedly Destroying Coffee
15. Who Is Mark Minter?

I also moved my book reviews there. Here are the newest ones:

1. How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling
2. Iranian Rappers & Persian Porn
3. The Father Of The Term “Sexual Marketplace”
4. The Art Of Learning

The site is updated twice a day, even on weekends. I predict that in 2013 it will surpass this blog in terms of page views. After just two months it has already has a third of the traffic. Follow Return Of Kings on Twitter for post updates.

The posts you read on my blog usually take a month or two from concept to publication. A thought enters my brain, I nurture it, take notes, write a draft, and then revise it over a few weeks until you see the final product. Because of this process, quality would drop if I posted more than three times a week.

Enter Twitter, a great platform to quickly share interesting links and media (my feed sends out about 100,000 clicks a month). Only problem is that it’s constricting in how much you can express. There’s no way to collect relevant comments that add to the conversation.

I needed something that would fit in between my blog and Twitter, so I created a site called Return Of Kings. Instead of telling you what it is, check out a sample of recent posts:

• What A Pump & Dump Looks Like
• This Blacksmith Is A Man
• Is It Easier To Get Laid In Poor Countries?
• The Story Of O (book review)
• Juicing: Flash In The Pan Or Growing Lifestyle Movement?
• What It’s Like To Opt Out Of TSA’s Body Scanners

I plan on updating it 7-10 times a week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or follow it via Twitter and Facebook.

To encourage participation, I’m running a contest where five $15 Amazon gift certificates will be given out as prizes. On December 1, I will pick five random comments as winners. The more comments you leave until then, the greater chance you have to win. Just remember to leave your email address when you post (it won’t be displayed publicly). Limit one gift certificate per person.

One thing I want to try is posting “street style” photos of attractive foreign women, similar to how it’s done on The Sartorialist and Hel Looks. I know a lot of my readers travel with expensive cameras, so here’s the plan:

1. Travel to a country as you normally do (with your impressive camera).
2. Approach pretty girls on the street asking to take a photo for a men’s magazine site. I will provide you with a business card template that you can show them when you approach.
3. Take a couple pictures that you send to me.
4. Segue into a personal chat where you try to get her number (if you wish).

I get content for the site and you leverage your photography hobby to approach women in a way that shows value (and builds your portfolio). It’s win-win! I’m also open-minded to other contributions, so contact me if you want to help.

Click here to check out Return Of Kings.

I’m taking a break from the blog for a couple weeks to enjoy summer here in the Balkans. You can view the archives to check out the newest posts you may have missed.

It’s also a good opportunity to catch up on my books. You can view all of them at Bang Guides. The forum will stay open and I should be around Twitter.