SEX ANALOGIES, SINGLE WOMEN AND (OTHER) SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

The perfect Valentine's Day read: My mind was completely blown by A Single Revolution: Don't look for a match. Light one. If you've ever been asked, “How are you still single?” and didn't immediately respond with, “How are you still married?”...this book is for you. It's also for you if you've ever asked that question (seriously, I think men and women in relationships could benefit from reading this book). Quick chapters filled with straight talk (albeit sometimes repetitive and not a deep, cultural examination of why we got here, which I would have loved), it's a much-needed reminder that being in a relationship and being single should absolutely be equal life statuses in society, but they're not. And because they're not, many women choose to stay in relationships full of chaos, unfulfillment, and pain because the alternative (single) is made out to be a “defect” by society. Single women spend time worrying about “if they're doing enough” and self-attacking for not being (fill in the blank) enough to find a partner. As someone very recently out of a relationship, my biggest takeaway from this book is that I can thoroughly treasure a single life and hold the desire for partnership. One won't keep me from the other.

What I'm writing: That Novel is getting real!! I'm up to my CURLS in addressing my agents' notes. We're at the point in the editing where every sentence needs to be perfect. True story I spent close to an entire hour writing a single sentence comparing sex to riding a racehorse (at the request of my agent) only to scrap it with my writing coach after a lengthy Zoom debate. So if you're wondering if this book will be moving, steamy, and good – the answer is yes, yes it will be. But unless I have a eureka moment about comparing a racehorse to good sex, you'll sadly have to live without that 10-word beat.

WOMEN'S STORIES

What gets passed down becomes our history. A few for the canon: Women ruled the bestseller list in 2023!!! 70% of all the books on the bestseller list last year were written by women!!! This breakdown on which books and by which women absolutely delighted me. See all the deets for yourself! I had been wondering how Britney's memoir sold, and at a cool 908k copies, I'd say she fared just fine ;) Add it to my dreams in motion list!

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine: I sent this podcast about “the other significant others” to a lot of people, and slurped up every juicy bit of conversation that I could. It's a deep dive into the relationships that we don't have language for – the friendships that are so much more than friends, they're essentially platonic life partners. And how important close connections, and even all the drama and problems and tradeoffs that come with them, are (at least in my case) completely worth the tradeoff. Less complication from less emotional ties isn't something I want.

Trust me, you'll want to listen to this podcast with Rhaina Cohen called “What Relationships Would You Want, if You Believed They Were Possible”.

xx