All About Love: New Visions
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- Create Date：2022-03-09 09:54:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：bell hooks
- ISBN：0060959479
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Summary
"The word 'love' is most often defined as a noun， yet 。。。 we would all love better if we used it as a verb，" writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love。 Here， at her most provocative and intensely personal， the renowned scholar， cultural critic， and feminist skewers our view of love as romance。 In its place she offers a proactive new ethic for a people and a society bereft with lovelessness。
As bell hooks uses her incisive mind and razor-sharp pen to explore the question "What is love？" her answers strike at both the mind and heart。 In thirteen concise chapters， hooks examines her own search for emotional connection and society's failure to provide a model for learning to love。 Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire， she provides a new path to love that is sacred， redemptive， and healing for the individuals and for a nation。 The Utne Reader declared bell hooks one of the "100 Visionaries Who Can Change Your Life。" All About Love is a powerful affirmation of just how profoundly she can。
Librarian note: there is an alternate cover edition of this book here
Reviews
Ronia Dubbaneh
，
My first time reading bell hooks but definitely won’t be the last。 So many good nuggets in here about love， covering such a broad spectrum of ideas。 Some thoughts challenged me and other thoughts will stick with me for good。
nghi
，
wow。 this was one quote-y， lovehappy， spiritual， optimistic book。 and i can honestly say that i somewhat enjoyed it。 although i don’t agree with every point hooks makes， the content holds some value and prodded at my brain。 i’m not nearly articulate or fantastic at comprehension enough to go into detail and sift through what i enjoyed， but i think this is one of those books that i can refer back to in the future。 i have my own healing to do （which， no surprise， is an idea hooks connects to love） wow。 this was one quote-y， lovehappy， spiritual， optimistic book。 and i can honestly say that i somewhat enjoyed it。 although i don’t agree with every point hooks makes， the content holds some value and prodded at my brain。 i’m not nearly articulate or fantastic at comprehension enough to go into detail and sift through what i enjoyed， but i think this is one of those books that i can refer back to in the future。 i have my own healing to do （which， no surprise， is an idea hooks connects to love）， and love is something that feels out of reach for me still。 perhaps i am exactly the type of cynic hooks depicts in the book， but i just can’t take some of the truisms she includes as realistic ideas that i can incorporate into my life or see as possibilities。 i felt like it became an overload of generalities that clouded information i found useful or interesting。 i think the content would resonate more with people who are in touch with spirituality and those who would find the truisms she includes as things that can be held as universal fact。 。。。more
Denise
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It has occurred to me how little I have read about love。 Hooks’ words mostly resonate with me but I caught myself tuning out to the constant sermon-like delivery of her words。 Still， it was worth the read to explore the many dimensions of love。 One of the biggest take-aways is that romantic love need not be the ultimate expression of love。 Other expressions may be just as valid if not more important in real life。
Ava Mattis
，
so much wisdom in here that it became a bit hard/almost grueling to digest。 not sure about how the chapters were split up， as the transitions between seemed abrupt and sometimes topics would merge into each other in repetitive ways。 main takeaway: we must choose to love—to exert agency over it， not just fall into it & relinquish control。“male fantasy is seen as something that can create reality， whereas female fantasy is regarded as pure escape”“the wounded child inside many females is a girl wh so much wisdom in here that it became a bit hard/almost grueling to digest。 not sure about how the chapters were split up， as the transitions between seemed abrupt and sometimes topics would merge into each other in repetitive ways。 main takeaway: we must choose to love—to exert agency over it， not just fall into it & relinquish control。“male fantasy is seen as something that can create reality， whereas female fantasy is regarded as pure escape”“the wounded child inside many females is a girl who was taught from early childhood that she must become something other than herself， deny her true feelings， in order to attract and please others”“because we have learned to believe negativity is more realistic， it appears more real than any positive voice”service/volunteering - “but as we act， we not only express what is in us and help give shape to the world; we also receive what is outside us， and reshape our inner selves” 。。。more
val
，
❤
Euen
，
Mixed feelings。 At times， it's brilliant and beautiful in its idealistic yearning for a national healing of lovelessness。 At other times it veers into sermonizing preachiness （hooks's take on the Monica Lewinsky scandal is a good example）。 Her takes on work were especially grating and deeply based on the privilege of being a successful writer who has the ability to follow her own advice。Despite my misgivings， would still comfortably recommend at least half the chapters to others， with the remain Mixed feelings。 At times， it's brilliant and beautiful in its idealistic yearning for a national healing of lovelessness。 At other times it veers into sermonizing preachiness （hooks's take on the Monica Lewinsky scandal is a good example）。 Her takes on work were especially grating and deeply based on the privilege of being a successful writer who has the ability to follow her own advice。Despite my misgivings， would still comfortably recommend at least half the chapters to others， with the remainder being hut or miss。 。。。more
Jenny
，
brilliant <3
Jonathan Forney
，
I enjoyed the message of this book a lot。 The chapters on childhood and how partners treat each other really stood out to me。 I liked how many references were made。 Even if some of the statements about how different peoples’ lives would be if they were more loving didn’t seem based in reality to me， I still enjoyed the hope in how bell wrote。 Very interesting read and I’m glad to have gotten to experience some of her work。
Elisa Etrari
，
I thought it was going to introduce more groundbreaking concept for me， but i’m happy i got around to read it。“When I travel around the nation giving lectures about ending racism and sexism， audiences， especially young listeners， become agitated when I speak about the place of love in any movement for social justice。 Indeed， all the great movements for social justice in our society have strongly emphasized a love ethic。 Yet young listeners remain reluctant to embrace the idea of love as a transf I thought it was going to introduce more groundbreaking concept for me， but i’m happy i got around to read it。“When I travel around the nation giving lectures about ending racism and sexism， audiences， especially young listeners， become agitated when I speak about the place of love in any movement for social justice。 Indeed， all the great movements for social justice in our society have strongly emphasized a love ethic。 Yet young listeners remain reluctant to embrace the idea of love as a transformative force。 To them， love is for the naive， the weak， the hopelessly romantic。” 。。。more
Laura Tran
，
"From childhood on， I found many of my angels in favorite authors， writers who created books that enabled me to understand life with greater complexity。"bell hooks， you're my angel。 "From childhood on， I found many of my angels in favorite authors， writers who created books that enabled me to understand life with greater complexity。"bell hooks， you're my angel。 。。。more
Cris
，
"O paraíso terreno é nosso lar， e o amor， nosso verdadeiro destino。" "O paraíso terreno é nosso lar， e o amor， nosso verdadeiro destino。" 。。。more
Nina
，
This book had some profound gems throughout and I am thankful to have read it。 It also taught me a lot about myself I wasn’t ready to hear lol！ But overall， she makes a lot of sweeping generalizations and speaks so loftily about love that I found myself disengaged for quite a lot of the book。
ert
，
i think it’d be right to say i love this book。 in the verb way。 really want to read more of bell hooks’ books…her legacy lives on！
laura
，
2-2。5 stars。 I read a quarter of the way through and I couldn't finish this book。 Though some of the breakdowns were interesting， of how we're socialized to love and how those behaviors and acts often take form， this book is disappointingly binary in its ways of thought。 The binary & hetero relationships described between two interchangeable 'genders' and 'sexes' was extremely narrow and hard for me to get past。I appreciated some of the insights on how we're socialized as children to receive lov 2-2。5 stars。 I read a quarter of the way through and I couldn't finish this book。 Though some of the breakdowns were interesting， of how we're socialized to love and how those behaviors and acts often take form， this book is disappointingly binary in its ways of thought。 The binary & hetero relationships described between two interchangeable 'genders' and 'sexes' was extremely narrow and hard for me to get past。I appreciated some of the insights on how we're socialized as children to receive love and care in dysfunctional and/or abusive family dynamics。。。 How early in life we learn to manipulate （or survive） power dynamics through lying， but the flat descriptions of gender/gender roles & dynamics really killed my interest and curiosity to learn more from this book。 。。。more
teo
，
i loved it， even if， at times， it felt too spiritual for me。 at the saume time， she was profoundly heteronormative and it felt weird knowing that she was queer。 she coined the "queer not in the sense of who you are having sex with， but about being at odds with everything around it" thing so i guess it makes sense（？）。also， for someone who is interested in relationships anarchism， the dynamics between people and psychology， the generalizations she made were quite disturbing and lots of them would i loved it， even if， at times， it felt too spiritual for me。 at the saume time， she was profoundly heteronormative and it felt weird knowing that she was queer。 she coined the "queer not in the sense of who you are having sex with， but about being at odds with everything around it" thing so i guess it makes sense（？）。also， for someone who is interested in relationships anarchism， the dynamics between people and psychology， the generalizations she made were quite disturbing and lots of them would need some backup， not just her individual experience。 still， it was really lovely and surprisingly healing。the search for love continues even in the face of great odds love as an action， not a feeling [。。。]， this manner automatically assumes accountability and responsability there can be no love without justice [。。。] abuse and neglet negate love loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and to create community <3 。。。more
may
，
overwhelmingly beautiful。 "all the years of my life i thought i was searching for love i found， retrospectively， to be years where i was simply trying to recover what had been lost， to return to the first home， to get back the rapture of the first love。 i was not really ready or be loved in the present。 i was still mourning - clinging to the broken heart of girlhood， to broken connections。" overwhelmingly beautiful。 "all the years of my life i thought i was searching for love i found， retrospectively， to be years where i was simply trying to recover what had been lost， to return to the first home， to get back the rapture of the first love。 i was not really ready or be loved in the present。 i was still mourning - clinging to the broken heart of girlhood， to broken connections。" 。。。more
Hannah Martin
，
（3。5 stars） This is the first book I’ve read by bell hooks。 I have loved watching videos of bell hooks speak because of the way she engages ideas and makes me think more expansively。 This book certainly expanded my ideas of love， and it also lost me in some parts along the way。 There is a lot of religious undertones， which I don’t necessarily mind。 However， the gender essentialism is outdated， but I understand it would have been pretty standard at the time of publishing。 Overall， I think bell ho （3。5 stars） This is the first book I’ve read by bell hooks。 I have loved watching videos of bell hooks speak because of the way she engages ideas and makes me think more expansively。 This book certainly expanded my ideas of love， and it also lost me in some parts along the way。 There is a lot of religious undertones， which I don’t necessarily mind。 However， the gender essentialism is outdated， but I understand it would have been pretty standard at the time of publishing。 Overall， I think bell hooks’ ideas around childhood experiences and how we carry them with us and how we heal from them to learn to love were the most impactful parts of this book。 。。。more
Nathaniel Smith
，
Every man needs to run this book。
Edith
，
Through reading this book， I keep digesting and reflecting。 There are many things I learn from the past that have protected me before could no longer lead me to true happiness。 The first time in my life， I realize that I am not courageous enough。 I always believe I have a lot of courage to take an adventure and to fight back in certain occasions， but I realize I have the fear of failure， being judged or being blamed， which I had experienced a lot in the past， and that are preventing me from bein Through reading this book， I keep digesting and reflecting。 There are many things I learn from the past that have protected me before could no longer lead me to true happiness。 The first time in my life， I realize that I am not courageous enough。 I always believe I have a lot of courage to take an adventure and to fight back in certain occasions， but I realize I have the fear of failure， being judged or being blamed， which I had experienced a lot in the past， and that are preventing me from being my true self。 It is even more courageous and impressive to keep real under unfavorable occasions。The quotes in this book have hit me: 1。"Males learn to lie as a way of obtaining power， and females not only do the same but they also lie to pretend powerlessness。"2。"Men are by no means the only group who use lies as a way of gaining power over others。 Indeed， if patriarchal masculinity estranges men from their selfhood， it is equally true that women who embrace patriarchal femininity， the insistence that females should act as though they are weak， incapable of rational thought， dumb， silly， are also socialized to wear a mask—to lie。 "3。"When our real self appears in its entirety， when the good behavior becomes too much to maintain or the masks are taken away， disappointment comes。 "4。"True love is a different story。 When it happens， individuals usually feel in touch with each other’s core identity。"5。"Everyone wants it， even those who claim to have given up hope。"6。"Choosing to be fully honest， to reveal ourselves， is risky。 "7。"Love lasts even when we no longer have the company of the person with whom we experienced profound mutual care and growth。" 。。。more
Olivia Sours
，
this book took some time to process - no doubt。 bell hooks utilizes her words in such an eloquent way and while I may not fully agree with some of her points in this book， most of them brought upon genuine thought and I appreciated that wholeheartedly。
Klissia
，
Em sintese este livro é isto : num mundo ideal o amor。。。 Mas sim deu novas perspectivas e reflexões， sobre a sociedade e o "eu"， então o livro vai se tornado um pouco "auto - ajuda" o que abomino。 Em sintese este livro é isto : num mundo ideal o amor。。。 Mas sim deu novas perspectivas e reflexões， sobre a sociedade e o "eu"， então o livro vai se tornado um pouco "auto - ajuda" o que abomino。 。。。more
Cindy
，
I agree with most of bell hooks’ thoughts in this book and the notion that love can be a transformative power that heals individuals， communities， and even public policies and institutions if we prioritized it over greed。 Would that ever happen though？ As a cynic， I seriously doubt it。 Still， it was nice to imagine this idealistic world。 She lost me later with the overemphasis on spirituality， at one point literally referencing angels， so I think a religious person might resonate with this book I agree with most of bell hooks’ thoughts in this book and the notion that love can be a transformative power that heals individuals， communities， and even public policies and institutions if we prioritized it over greed。 Would that ever happen though？ As a cynic， I seriously doubt it。 Still， it was nice to imagine this idealistic world。 She lost me later with the overemphasis on spirituality， at one point literally referencing angels， so I think a religious person might resonate with this book better than I did。 She tends to make generalized statements throughout the book as if they were universal truths， and it made me wonder what sources she had to actually back that up。 For example， she’ll talk about how men do X and Y， and even if I agree with her statement， I wonder if this is coming from a valid source or if she is just basing this on a few people she’s met。 It feels like the latter， which makes me question the validity of her thesis。A lot of the writing also felt very straight， which is odd since a Google search tells me that bell hooks is queer。 The book often contrasts men’s perspectives on love vs women’s in a heteronormative way， which to me felt limiting and too simplistic to describe love， when factoring in queerness could have opened up so many more avenues。 I will just assume this is a product of its time though。 This is my first bell hooks book， and this just didn’t quite hit the mark for me。 。。。more
Aliyah Grace
，
2。5 stars。 I did not like the religious preaching or anti estrangement bits
Yasmin Zeidan
，
why did bell hooks call me out 2 pages in lol。 Really good read if you're prepared to go head to head with things that you've been denying about yourself your entire life 👍 why did bell hooks call me out 2 pages in lol。 Really good read if you're prepared to go head to head with things that you've been denying about yourself your entire life 👍 。。。more
Lieselotte Gevens
，
Te hoge verwachtingen， wat teleurgesteld
Aline Assuf
，
extraordinary book （though some cultural commentary is outdated， to my eyes at least） that dares go into the heart of every matter: love。just read everything bell hooks guys， you're welcome。 extraordinary book （though some cultural commentary is outdated， to my eyes at least） that dares go into the heart of every matter: love。just read everything bell hooks guys， you're welcome。 。。。more
Svenja
，
some 1* chapters， some 5* - for me， the main ideas of this book （which i adored！！） could have been explored in some 100 pages。
Emily Chalk
，
This was quite a heavy one for my brain after work each night so have read in dribs and drabs， but nonetheless really enjoyed finishing this off and excited to pass on to friends to discuss。 （The irony is not lost on me that amongst my picking up & down of this I was probably devouring some of the most surface level unrealistic representations of love possible lmao）。
Fon | movedbyprose
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3。5 stars
Pamela
，