Straight from British shores, here is another dose of love, or the lack of it, from the pages of the London Review of Books. The editor of They Call Me Naughty Lola has cooked up yet another irresistible collection of brilliant, bawdy and often absurd personal ads from the world's funniest, and smartest, lonely-hearts column. These ads prove that even if you're lonely, you don't have to be boring, as advertisers in this book demand much more than long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners from their potential mates. Arranged by theme ('The Usual Hyperbole and a Whiff of Playful Narcissism'), and including footnotes to obscure references, Sexually, I'm More of a Switzerland promises to be 'a naughty treat' (Entertainment Weekly).
Personal ads -- men and women of all ages, backgrounds and aspirations, laying their souls bare and their hearts on the line -- are the modern world's equivalent of the Japanese haiku . . . or something like that, anyway. Painstakingly crafted, finely honed and, above all, short, they offer an endearing, intriguing and, often, amusing glimpse into the lives of those looking for love. Amid the witty one-liners and laugh-out-punchlines, there is pathos and passion aplenty; there is hope, longing and even good old-fashioned lust; there is romance, regret, ambition, and, occasionally, a hint of bitterness. Whatever the tone, however, these ads make for engrossing reading. Organized into themes ('Mentally, I'm a size eight' and 'Forty years ago I was going to marry Elvis') and fully annotated, Sexually, I'm more of a Switzerland is the perfect gift for the man or woman in your life -- as well as single friends everywhere. 'Woman, 36. WLTM man who doesn't try to high-five her after sex'
I've divorced better men than you. And worn more expensive shoes than these. So don't think placing this ad is the biggest comedown I've ever had to make. Sensitive F, 34. Employed in publishing? Me too. Stay the hell away. Man on the inside seeks woman on the outside who likes milling around hospitals guessing the illnesses of out-patients. 30-35. Leeds. They Call Me Naughty Lola is a testament to the creativity and humor that can still be found among men and women longing for love and allergic to the concepts of Internet and speed dating. Here is an irresistible collection of the most brilliant and often absurd personal ads from the world's funniest -- and most erudite -- lonely-hearts column. The ads have been called "surreal haikus of the heart," and in an age of false advertising, the men and women who write them are hindered neither by high expectations nor by positivism of any kind. And yet, while hopes of finding a suitable mate remain low, the column has produced a handful of marriages, many friendships, and at least one divorce. Here are the young, old, fat, bald, healthy, ill, rich, and poor hoping that they can find true love, or at the very least, someone to call them Naughty Lola.
The ultimate women's guide to sexual health?new from Dr. Ruth In this down-to-earth guide, celebrated sex expert and bestselling author Dr. Ruth Westheimer teams up with prominent gynecologist at Cornell and New York Presbyterian Medical Centers, Dr. Amos Grunebaum, to address the most pressing health issues women face today. Written in Dr. Ruth's refreshingly candid and lively style, it gives you everything you need to take charge of your health?from finding a gynecologist to having a happy sex life to planning or avoiding a pregnancy. With practical advice and information for every age and stage of a woman's life, Sexually Speaking is an invaluable reference you will turn to again and again. Covers everything you've ever wanted to know about women's health?from celebrated sex expert and therapist Dr. Ruth and top gynecologist Dr. Amos Addresses questions related to sexuality, hormones, STDs, pregnancy, menopause, fibroids, ovarian cancer, and other women's health concerns Helps you overcome embarrassment and other common obstacles to understanding and safeguarding your personal health Combines Dr. Ruth's straightforward, reassuring approach to some of the more challenging and uncomfortable concerns related to women's health and the expertise of Dr. Amos, who has seen it all?from routine exams to high risk births
Is love “blind” when it comes to gender? For women, it just might be. This unsettling and original book offers a radical new understanding of the context-dependent nature of female sexuality. Lisa M. Diamond argues that for some women, love and desire are not rigidly heterosexual or homosexual but fluid, changing as women move through the stages of life, various social groups, and, most important, different love relationships.This perspective clashes with traditional views of sexual orientation as a stable and fixed trait. But that view is based on research conducted almost entirely on men. Diamond is the first to study a large group of women over time. She has tracked one hundred women for more than ten years as they have emerged from adolescence into adulthood. She summarizes their experiences and reviews research ranging from the psychology of love to the biology of sex differences. Sexual Fluidity offers moving first-person accounts of women falling in and out of love with men or women at different times in their lives. For some, gender becomes irrelevant: “I fall in love with the person, not the gender,” say some respondents.Sexual Fluidity offers a new understanding of women’s sexuality—and of the central importance of love.
Originally published as an e-book that became a controversial media phenomenon, No More Mr. Nice Guy! landed its author, a certified marriage and family therapist, on The O'Reilly Factor and the Rush Limbaugh radio show. Dr. Robert Glover has dubbed the "Nice Guy Syndrome" trying too hard to please others while neglecting one's own needs, thus causing unhappiness and resentfulness. It's no wonder that unfulfilled Nice Guys lash out in frustration at their loved ones, claims Dr. Glover. He explains how they can stop seeking approval and start getting what they want in life, by presenting the information and tools to help them ensure their needs are met, to express their emotions, to have a satisfying sex life, to embrace their masculinity and form meaningful relationships with other men, and to live up to their creative potential.
Until I Find You is the story of the actor Jack Burns – his life, loves, celebrity and astonishing search for the truth about his parents. When he is four years old, Jack travels with his mother Alice, a tattoo artist, to several North Sea ports in search of his father, William Burns. From Copenhagen to Amsterdam, William, a brilliant church organist and profligate womanizer, is always a step ahead – has always just departed in a wave of scandal, with a new tattoo somewhere on his body from a local master or “scratcher.” Alice and Jack abandon their quest, and Jack is educated at schools in Canada and New England – including, tellingly, a girls’ school in Toronto. His real education consists of his relationships with older women – from Emma Oastler, who initiates him into erotic life, to the girls of St. Hilda’s, with whom he first appears on stage, to the abusive Mrs. Machado, whom he first meets when sent to learn wrestling at a local gym. Too much happens in this expansive, eventful novel to possibly summarize it all. Emma and Jack move to Los Angeles, where Emma becomes a successful novelist and Jack a promising actor. A host of eccentric minor characters memorably come and go, including Jack’s hilariously confused teacher the Wurtz; Michelle Maher, the girlfriend he will never forget; and a precocious child Jack finds in the back of an Audi in a restaurant parking lot. We learn about tattoo addiction and movie cross-dressing, “sleeping in the needles” and the cure for cauliflower ears. And John Irving renders his protagonist’s unusual rise through Hollywood with the same vivid detail and range of emotions he gives to the organ music Jack hears as a child in European churches. This is an absorbing and moving book about obsession and loss, truth and storytelling, the signs we carry on us and inside us, the traces we can’t get rid of. Jack has always lived in the shadow of his absent father. But as he grows older – and when his mother dies – he starts to doubt the portrait of his father’s character she painted for him when he was a child. This is the cue for a second journey around Europe in search of his father, from Edinburgh to Switzerland, towards a conclusion of great emotional force. A melancholy tale of deception, Until I Find You is also a swaggering comic novel, a giant tapestry of life’s hopes. It is a masterpiece to compare with John Irving’s great novels, and restates the author’ s claim to be considered the most glorious, comic, moving novelist at work today.
“An unusual and beautiful book,” the first novel by the bestselling author of A Wrinkle in Time explores the life of a young artist (Los Angeles Times). At only ten years old, Katherine Forrester has already experienced her fair share of upheaval. It has been three years since she last saw her mother, a concert pianist whose career was cut short by a terrible accident. After a brief reunion, tragedy strikes once more, forcing Katherine from the familiarity of New York City to a foreign Swiss boarding school. Far from home, she struggles with the challenges of growing up. Stifled by her daily routine and the pettiness of her classmates, Katherine’s piano lessons with a gifted young teacher provide an anchor in the storm. After graduation, she follows in her mother’s footsteps, pursuing a career as a pianist in Greenwich Village. There, she must learn to reconcile her blossoming relationship with her fiancé with the one consistent and dominant force in her life: music. Inspired by the author’s time living among artists, The Small Rain follows Katherine’s journey from a distraught girl to an exuberant and talented woman with the breadth and poignancy that defines Madeleine L’Engle’s signature style. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Madeleine L’Engle including rare images from the author’s estate.
Part romance, part detective story, Sputnik Sweetheart tells the story of a tangled triangle of uniquely unrequited love. Now with a new introduction from the author. K is madly in love with his best friend, Sumire, but her devotion to a writerly life precludes her from any personal commitments. At least, that is, until she meets an older woman to whom she finds herself irresistibly drawn. When Sumire disappears from an island off the coast of Greece, K is solicited to join the search party—and finds himself drawn back into her world and beset by ominous visions. Subtle and haunting, Sputnik Sweetheart is a profound meditation on human longing.
Based on her sought-after sexuality workshops, the coauthor of "Lesbian Sex Secrets for Men "shows women how to master the nine elements of sexual empowerment to reclaim their desire and live the sexually fulfilling lives they want. In a culture that defines achievement in terms of the workplace and the family, and that judges women s worth by superficial standards of beauty, sexuality is often overlooked as an essential piece of women s power. Many women realize they want more sexually but don t know how to get it. Based on her sought-after workshops for women, Amy Jo Goddard lays out her holistic, inside-out approach to sexual empowerment one that examines sexuality not only in terms of what happens in the bedroom but through a lens of personal power and the erotic energy that is at our core. In "Woman on Fire," she reveals how to elevate our sexual intelligence by mastering the nine Elements of a Sexually Empowered Life. Including stories from the thousands of women she has worked with, Goddard shares how to get (back) in touch with desire, explore vulnerability, and push the boundaries of what we think is acceptable. We will have not just better sex, but also more pleasure throughout life, more power in our work, and more deeply connected relationships. And we will discover what Goddard always reminds the women she works with: The more whole we are as sexual beings, the more fulfilled we are as human beings. "From the Hardcover edition.""
