Synopsis:
An author’s memoir of the writing life.
Review:
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having my work ripped to shreds at a workshop led by Bret Lott. I say “pleasure” because (a) he was right, and (b) he made it fun. I knew from reading Before We Get Started that I’d respect his opinion, but [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Synopsis:
An autobiography of a promiscuous life.
Review:
The most striking thing about Kerry Cohen’s Loose Girl is the inevitability of her misbehavior. Cohen’s parents divorced when she was a preteen, and neither one seems able to practice any kind of responsible or involved parenting. Her dad is the kind of guy who asks for a [...]

Popularity: 23% [?]

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Synopsis:
A writer and journalist who never wanted kids finds herself spiraling into obsession when she begins to try to conceive.
Review:
Peggy Orenstein paints herself in such a bad light in Waiting for Daisy that it’s next to impossible to sympathize with her predicament. And that’s too bad, because three miscarriages are a lot to suffer [...]

Popularity: 21% [?]

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Synopsis:
Told their unborn child has birth defects that will likely lead to stillbirth, a couple decide to see the pregnancy through to term.
Review:
I am a sucker for stories like those found in The Shaming of the Strong. When I was pregnant with Superfast Baby I thought a lot about what I would do if [...]

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Synopsis:
The misadventures of a hapless twenty-something woman whose greatest fear is that she will die a virgin, and whose second greatest fear is that she’ll have sex before marriage.
Review:
I’ll let you know up front that there’s no way that I can be objective about Sexless in the City, because Anna Broadway met the woman who [...]

Popularity: 30% [?]

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My dear friend Anna Broadway’s book Sexless in the City is coming out on Tuesday, April 15th.
I’m so thrilled for Anna, who met the editor who bought her book in my very living room! I’ve read some sections of it and it’s just great.
So how do you win a copy? Easy–just blog [...]

Popularity: 32% [?]

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Synopsis:
Short stories, essays, and an unfinished novel by Shirley Jackson, queen of American Gothic and author of “The Lottery.”
Review:
My love for Shirley Jackson has been well documented in this blog, so I was delighted when my husband got me Come Along With Me for my birthday.
The collection opens with “Come Along With Me,” the novel [...]

Popularity: 49% [?]

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Synopsis:
A look at sexual mores in the age of AIDS.
Review:
I like a good polemic as much as the next person, particularly when it involves people having lots of sex, mostly because I always feel like that’s nice work if you can get it. Last Night in Paradise isn’t hard-hitting investigative journalism as much as [...]

Popularity: 41% [?]

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Synopsis:
The death of Brian Martin’s father by suicide prompted him to reflect on his own spiritual journey and battle with depression.
Popularity: 26% [?]

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Popularity: 26% [?]

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Synopsis:
A memoir about a writer’s descent into Ritalin and cocaine addiction while working on the not-supposed-to-be-about-her follow up to her best-selling first memoir.
Review:
If I could dare to face my obsession with Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation, I would still not go into therapy because any cure for Wurtzelmania would ruin my taste for things [...]

Popularity: 36% [?]

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