false 198003 0 0 816516 006057898X 9780060578985 37 <![CDATA[Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178653484m/816516.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178653484s/816516.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/816516.Quirkyalone_A_Manifesto_for_Uncompromising_Romantics 3.71 155 Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics Sasha Cagan and a few of her single friends are at a New Year's party, counting down to midnight and staring out at "a sea of people not kissing". In that moment, Cagan moves "from thinking that (we) were the only ones to seeing us as part of a group, a moment, and perhaps even a movement." Enter the quirkyalones, for whom singledom is not just a holding pattern between relationships; they see themselves as creative, independent, offbeat types with the discrimination and courage to remain uncoupled rather than date for the sake of not being alone.

Quirkyalone is a celebration of flying solo, of realising the value of solitude and close friendships while holding out for true love. Some may never find it, of course, but what makes a person a quirkyalone is the belief that staying single is perfectly okay. So what happens when a quirkyalone finds a mate? Quirkyalone is a state of being, posits Cagan, an approach to life that doesn't disappear when romantic circumstances change. "Never is the quirkyalone outlook more important than when we are romantically intertwined, or, shall we say, quirkytogether."

Critics might argue that Cagan and her quirky compadres have not so much spawned or identified a movement as come up with a funky name for the considerable group of people too smart to model their relationships on the movies and women's magazines. But at its core, Quirkyalone is a campy, provocative take on contemporary single life, reminding the attached and unattached alike that being quirky is all about being unapologetically, uniquely and boldly oneself. --Svenja Soldovieri, Amazon.ca

]]> 198003 3.65 291 82 2004 565986 1416534695 9781416534693 35 <![CDATA[To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Say About Us]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255993989m/565986.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255993989s/565986.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/565986.To_Do_List_From_Buying_Milk_to_Finding_a_Soul_Mate_What_Our_Lists_Say_About_Us 3.58 98 More and more, we are a nation of list-makers, from grocery lists, New Year's resolutions, and things to do before we die to DVDs to rent and people we've kissed. In To-Do List (based on the popular blog of the same name, todolistblog.com) Sasha Cagen celebrates the humble to-do list, exploring the ways these scribbled agendas reflect our personalities and passions. To-Do List is both a celebration of lists and a peek at the lists that others create. Broken down by subjects like "Daily Lists" to "Sex Lists," it's a fascinating collection of lists from everyday people to the well-known:

* Novelist Nick Hornby's list of desert island discs
* A therapist's secret fears ("I HATE having to think about clients in relation to my hair or clothes")
* A shopping list from chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse
* A woman's accomplishments before her thirtieth birthday ("Hot air ballooned over the Serengeti," "Danced on a table in Vegas")
* Qualities one man is looking for in a future wife, including "Chews with her mouth shut" and "Will let me give my first son the middle name of 'Jacob'"

With each list, Cagen offers the story behind it and a prompt for readers to compare notes and take their own stab at a similar list. Voyeuristic and interactive, To-Do List will show you just how much -- and what -- your lists say about you.]]> 198003 3.65 291 82 2007