Think of two of the most personal things in your life:1. your relationship with your parents and 2. your dating life. Most people try to keep the two mutually exclusive and relatively private. But not New York Times best-selling author Justin Halpern. In his first book, Sh*t My Dad Says, Halpern chronicles his filterless father's most outrageous anecdotes and advice. Now, in his latest book, I Suck at Girls, Halpern puts himself in the hotseat, exposing all of his most vulnerable romantic scenarios.

Below are some questions Halpern answered about his new book.You can catch him live TONIGHT, Tuesday May 29th at 7pm, at Brookline Booksmith.

Your first book, Sh*t My Dad Says, chronicled some of your 74-year-old dad’s best life advice.  What was the most memorable piece of dating advice he ever gave you?

To never try and generalize women. Each woman is different and anyone who gives you advice on "women" is a complete idiot. Listen to your wife and girlfriend, and don't try to sum them up and find a neat and tidy way to handle difficult moments.

 
Lots of us share details about our romantic lives with friends. But you put it all out there in your book. Any regrets?

You know, not really. I'm okay being laughed at, but I guess I'd feel bad if someone I loved was being laughed at. I try to never let that happen. I do regret reading the story of losing my virginity at a book reading my mom was at. That was weird. I could feel her eyes staring at me from the audience. I was hoping a helicopter would crash through the bookstore and airlift me out of there.
 
You take full ownership of ‘sucking at girls.’ But have you ever met a female counterpart who just plain sucks at dating guys?

Oh yes, I've met quite a few. I won't name them, but I know this one woman who has this terrible habit of laying some piece of SUPER serious and dramatic information on guys on their first date. I don't know why she does it. I call that "dropping an EED: emotional explosive device."
 
You come from an interfaith household with a Jewish father and Catholic mother. Did that influence your romantic pursuits at all?

Not at all.  I did end up marrying a Jewish girl, but it wasn't a plan, it just happened that way.
 
You met your now wife the ‘old fashioned’ way before online dating became the cultural norm.  How do you think you would have fared in the online dating scene?

I actually think it would have helped me out a ton. I'm way better when I can sit and think about what to say. In person, I'm a lot of "uh" and "um" and awkward stories that I realize are awkward halfway through telling them, then make more awkward by stopping and changing the subject with no segue.
 
What’s your definition of a ‘young adult,’ and do you see include yourself as one?

I think a young adult is someone who still laughs at poop jokes. And yes, I'm one.
 
If you were single and living in Boston, how would you get yourself into the dating scene?

Boston seems to have a whole bunch of activities that are centered around the colleges. I love that. I think that'd be such a cool place to meet a woman.