4 Points, Paperback, 20032 WOMEN, 14 DAYS. THE GOAL? ACHIEVE BOLD FACE STATUS
SIGHTINGS: Spotted last night at a giant bash at Nobu: fashionista cuties Karen Robinovitz and Melissa De La Cruz. Karen was heard saying she’s “still exhausted” from her recent Bungalow 8 birthday party that would have made P. Diddy jealous. Apparently, she was wearing two million dollars’ worth of Harry Winston diamonds (including the 22-carat ring Whoopie Goldberg wore to the Oscars) and was constantly shadowed by a bodyguard named Lou who was straight out of a Scorsese film. Melissa, also fatigued from the fast track, just hosted an intimate dinner party at a swanky Upper East Side restaurant attended by trend-setting journos from New York magazine, The Observer, Allure, “Page Six” as well as the indefatigable Michael Musto–and as part of the gift bag giveaway, the whole crew is being flown to Miami to stay at a five-star resort favored by the likes of Will Smith.
Asked how they managed to go from barely-known freelance writers to A-list celebrities in just fourteen days, they coyly spilled the beans: Marie Claire called with the assignment, and they simply begged, clawed, cried, borrowed, cheated, lied, stole, and bribed their way to fame. Their how-to tips to stardom include “Pick an M&M color to hate, and stick to it.” And they’re writing a book, daaahlings, so whether you live in New York or Nebraska, you too can have the goods to claim your own fame and become legendary.
7 Points, Hardcover, 2008An engaging and entertaining collection of trivia, On the Tip My Tongue is quiz book with a difference, published in time for the holiday season.
Trivia-phile David Gentle brings together the most tantalizing, brain-twisting questions that—honestly, no really—are just on the tip of your tongue. From historical events to Hitchcock to Hogwarts, On the Tip of My Tongue asks readers to name as many items as possible from a list, and to solve the hidden links between specific groups of questions. As the reader gets deeper into the book, the more difficult and arcane the questions and connections become. In between quizzes, Gentle provides readers with fascinating anecdotes, scholarly commentary, and curiously fun facts about specific entries, giving readers a proper historical and cultural context for each fact and list.
As enlightening as it is entertaining, On the Tip of My Tongue is the perfect holiday gift for the discerning intellects in your life.
6 Points, Paperback, 1994<b>Oprah Book Clubî Selection, April 2000:</b> Originally published in 1970, <I>The Bluest Eye</I> is Toni Morrison's first novel. In an afterword written more than two decades later, the author expressed her dissatisfaction with the book's language and structure: "It required a sophistication unavailable to me." Perhaps we can chalk up this verdict to modesty, or to the Nobel laureate's impossibly high standards of quality control. In any case, her debut is nothing if not sophisticated, in terms of both narrative ingenuity and rhetorical sweep. It also shows the young author drawing a bead on the subjects that would dominate much of her career: racial hatred, historical memory, and the dazzling or degrading power of language itself. <p> Set in Lorain, Ohio, in 1941, <I>The Bluest Eye</I> is something of an ensemble piece. The point of view is passed like a baton from one character to the next, with Morrison's own voice functioning as a kind of gold standard throughout. The focus, though, is on an 11-year-old black girl named Pecola Breedlove, whose entire family has been given a cosmetic cross to bear: <blockquote> You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each accepted it without question.... And they took the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them, and went about the world with it. </blockquote> There are far uglier things in the world than, well, ugliness, and poor Pecola is subjected to most of them. She's spat upon, ridiculed, and ultimately raped and impregnated by her own father. No wonder she yearns to be the very opposite of what she is--yearns, in other words, to be a white child, possessed of the blondest hair and the bluest eye. <p> This vein of self-hatred is exactly what keeps Morrison's novel from devolving into a cut-and-dried scenario of victimization. She may in fact pin <I>too</I> much of the blame on the beauty myth: "Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another--physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion." Yet the destructive power of these ideas is essentially colorblind, which gives <I>The Bluest Eye</I> the sort of universal reach that Morrison's imitators can only dream of. And that, combined with the novel's modulated pathos and musical, fine-grained language, makes for not merely a sophisticated debut but a permanent one. <I>--James Marcus</I>
2 Points, Paperback, 1988Annie Dillard remembers. She remembers the exhilaration of whipping a snowball at a car and having it hit straight on. She remembers playing with the skin on her mother's knuckles, which "didn't snap back; it lay dead across her knuckle in a yellowish ridge." She remembers the compulsion to spend a whole afternoon (or many whole afternoons) endlessly pitching a ball at a target. In this intoxicating account of her childhood, Dillard climbs back inside her 5-, 10-, and 15-year-old selves with apparent effortlessness. The voracious young Dillard embraces headlong one fascination after another--from drawing to rocks and bugs to the French symbolists. "Everywhere, things snagged me," she writes. "The visible world turned me curious to books; the books propelled me reeling back to the world." From her parents she inherited a love of language--her mother's speech was "an endlessly interesting, swerving path"--and the understanding that "you do what you do out of your private passion for the thing itself," not for anyone else's approval or desire. And one would be mistaken to call the energy Dillard exhibits in <i>An American Childhood</i> merely youthful; "still I break up through the skin of awareness a thousand times a day," she writes, "as dolphins burst through seas, and dive again, and rise, and dive."
6 Points, Paperback, 2004<B>"Don't get me wrong. There was -- there is -- much love between my husband and me. We aren't miserable, we just aren't happy. And we aren't really together that much -- it didn't used to seem to matter. But it's starting to matter. It's starting to matter very much indeed."</B> <P>With her marriage spiraling toward divorce, sexually confident and unapologetically sized-24 Sidney Stein finds herself drawn into an illicit affair with Geoffrey Fahl -- not only married and twenty years her senior, but also her father's business partner. Perilously close to falling in love with this man who is so very wrong for her and knowing there's no future in the relationship, Sidney decides it's time to turn her life around. <P>Newly separated from her husband, Sidney dives into the dating pool. And after more than a dozen dates, a disastrous transitional guy and reconnecting with a high school crush, she can't help but wonder if it might not just be easier to let herself drown. But just as she stops looking for the ideal man, someone else arrives . . .and he might just be everything she never knew she always wanted. <P>Experience the love, joy and heartbreak of Sidney Stein in Stacey Ballis's debut novel. Neither pat nor predictable, <I>Inappropriate Men</I> is laugh-out-loud funny without compromising intelligence.
11 Points, Hardcover, 2006<B><I>The New York Times</I> bestselling author of <I>The Other Woman</I> returns with a wry tale of two women who discover the grass is not always greener on the other side of the Atlantic</B> <BR><BR> Vicky Townsley is single, solvent, and seriously successful. Features director of the hugely successful <I>Poise!</I> magazine, she has an amazing flat, good friends, a fantastic wardrobe . . . in short, everythingÃâexcept the life she wants: marriage, children, and a house in the country. <P> On the other side of the Atlantic, Amber Winslow has a stone mansion in Connecticut, two kids (and a full-time nanny), the requisite golden retriever, and a busy charitable commitment for the local WomenÃâs League. But she hasnÃât quite found the fulfillment she had expected from being a wife and mother. When she spots an intriguing contest in <I>Poise!</I>, Amber never expects to be picked. <P> <I>Life Swap</I> is a riotous and poignant look at what happens when two women, both of whom think their bliss lies elsewhere, walk in each otherÃâs shoes for a month only to discover that happiness is closer than theyÃâd ever thought. A rich, clever, and sharply observed chronicle of the true lives of women, <I>Life Swap</I> is a must read for the modern mademoiselle that will again squarely position Jane Green in a preeminent place in womenÃâs fiction.
6 Points, Paperback, 2004<p>Meet Julia, a wildly successful television producer who appears to have the picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she breaks out in a rash every time she passes a stroller. But when her no-strings-attached nightlife leads to an unexpected pregnancy, her reaction may be just as unexpected . . . And then there’s Samantha—happily married and eager to be the perfect June-Cleaver mother. But baby George brings only exhaustion, extra pounds, and marital strife to her once tidy life. Is having an affair with a friend’s incredibly sexy husband the answer? <br><br>With <i>Babyville</i>, bestselling author Jane Green applies her golden touch to the next phase of a girl’s life. By turns witty, rollicking, and tender, this sparkling, sexy tale about the complexities of modern motherly love isn’t really a story about babies—it’s about three friends whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by that life-changing event that hangs over the head of every single girl: motherhood.</p>
6 Points, Paperback, 2004<B>A novel about losing a diary -- and finding a soul mate.</B> <P>Her diary had never let her down, never told her it was too busy, never not been there for her. Unlike men! <P>Now the unthinkable had happened . . . <P>For high-flying London lawyer (and self-confessed control freak) Sam Washington, accidentally leaving her diary in a New York hotel room is a fate worse than death! Tormented by the idea of a stranger reading her innermost thoughts, she knows there's also a secret in her little black book that, in the wrong hands, would devastate her best friend and cause a tabloid sensation . . . <P>Alarm bells start ringing when TV producer Ben Fisher turns up on her doorstep -- fresh off the plane from New York . . . and desperately seeking Sam. They're complete strangers, yet he seems to know more than a little about her. Has he found her diary? Has he read it? Sam resolves to find out by getting closer to Ben -- who seems happy to oblige! Only, is his mind on kissing . . . or just telling?
5 Points, Paperback, 2007
5 Points, Paperback, 2004The best letters are the ones that tell you everything. Not just the big, important stuff, but the little details of life. <I>The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters</I> is a one-sided epistolary novel. We get to read all the letters written by Olivia Hunt, erstwhile film producer, over the year she learns her sister Maddie has cancer. Olivia scuttles between her hometown in Ohio, where Maddie still lives, and Los Angeles, where she's trying to get a film version of <I>Don Quixote</I> off the ground. Along the way, she writes newsy letters to her best friend Tina, crabby mash notes to her ex-boyfriend Michael, worried missives to her parents, breezy memos to (real-life) entertainment honchos, and cheery entertainments to Maddie herself. These epistles are crammed full of the asides and rambling descriptions that make for good letters, and good books. She writes, for instance, "I went down to the cafeteria. Judy, the cashier, told me her daughter passed the Bar exam, so that was nice to hear. She said I looked tired. I ate some iceberg lettuce with orange dressing in the empty cafeteria. And two chocolate chip cookies." It's not poetry, but the orange dressing and the chatty cashier go a long way toward capturing hospital life. It also helps that first-time author Elisabeth Robinson is a producer and screenwriter who worked on <I>Braveheart</I> (among others); she's just as detailed and knowing when she describes the seemingly Herculean task of producing a film. She includes gentle send-ups of Robin Williams and John Cleese, who star in the fictional picture, and terrifying glimpses of executive tantrums. (A Hollywood background has its downsides: the book occasionally strays into formula.) In the end, Robinson's hard work with all those details ultimately results in a believable, lovable heroine. <I>--Claire Dederer</I>
5 Points, Paperback, 2004Dating! Drama! Driving!<br><br>Remember what it was like to be sixteen? Whether it was the year your teeth were finally free of braces or the year you were discovered by the opposite sex, that magical, mystical age is something you will never forget. Edited by Megan McCafferty, author of the runaway hit novels <b>Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings</b>,<b> Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday</b> is a compilation of short stories inspired by all the angst, melodrama, and wonderment of being sixteen.<br><br>Sarah Dessen’s “Infinity” is about a girl confronting two major milestones: getting her driver’s license and losing her virginity. The Dead Girls in Jacqueline Woodson’s “Nebraska 99” have already decided to “do it” and must now cope with being teenage mothers. And Carolyn Mackler’s “Mona Lisa, Jesus, Chad, and Me” explores whether friendship can survive when partying and prayer clash. Also included is a new Jessica Darling story by Megan McCafferty about the last fifteen minutes Jessica spends—or rather, doesn’t spend—with her best friend, Hope, who is leaving Pineville.<br><br>Featuring stories by Steve Almond, M. T. Anderson, Julianna Baggott, Cat Bauer, Emma Forrest, Tanuja Desai Hidier, David Levithan, Sarah Mlynowski, Sonya Sones, Zoe Trope, Ned Vizzini, and Joseph Weisberg, these hilarious, poignant, and touching tales are perfect for both those who have yet to reach that milestone and those who want to reminisce about their “sweetest” year.
6 Points, Paperback, 2005From the author of the zany debut, <i>American Idle</i>, comes a hilarious novel about learning how to be yourself-even if it kills you. <br><br> Kirby Green didn't get to be a Vice President of Marketing by being nice. But when she fires her entire staff within a few weeks (they all deserved it, really), her new boss is hardly impressed. Wanting to prove his point, he issues a bet: If Kirby can get someone-anyone-to call her nice, she can take that long-awaited dream vacation to Italy with her best friend, Jules. If she can't, she can kiss the Coliseum goodbye. Oh, and her job too. <br><br> Now Kirby has exactly thirty days to bully someone into saying she's nice-and to show her boss who's boss. If she doesn't fall hard for him first...
4 Points, Mass Market Paperback, 2000<P>Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent novels, consistent number one bestsellers in England, have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody along with Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen. </P><P>In <I>Equal Rites,</I> a dying wizard tries to pass on his powers to an eighth son of an eighth son, who is just at that moment being born. The fact that the son is actually a daughter is discovered just a little too late...</P>
4 Points, Paperback, 1992African Silences is a powerful and sobering account of the cataclysmic depredation of the African landscape and its wildlife. In this critically acclaimed work Peter Matthiessen explores new terrain on a continent he has written about in two previous books, A Tree Where Man Was Born -- nominated for the National Book Award -- and Sand Rivers.<br><br>Through his eyes we see elephants, white rhinos, gorillas, and other endangered creatures of the wild. We share the drama of the journeys themselves, including a hazardous crossing of the continent in a light plane. And along the way, we learn of the human lives oppressed by bankrupt political regimes and economies, and threatened by the slow ecological catastrophe to which they have only begun to awaken.
4 Points, DVD, 2005Nowadays it's rare to find a movie that pays attention to human weakness as well as strength, and that sees a whole person as having both. When a sports magazine gets bought by a media conglomerate, an ad sales executive named Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid, <I>The Rookie</I>) finds himself playing second-in-command to Carter Duryea, a hotshot barely half his age (Topher Grace, <I>Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!</I>) whose marriage has just fallen apart. One evening Carter invites himself over to Dan's house to escape his loneliness, where he meets Dan's daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson, <I>Lost in Translation</I>). The two strike immediate sparks and when they run into each other later in the city, a relationship begins--which they discreetly keep from Dan. But the heart of the movie is not in its plot, but in the way that Dan responds to the news that his wife is pregnant, or how Carter tries to fortify his self-image with a new car. These aren't jokes; the actors inhabit these moments fully and turn them into psychological events. Quaid plays Dan as a simple man, but his straightforwardness feels genuine (rather than a failure of the writer's imagination). Grace and Johansson have terrific chemistry as lovers, but so do Grace and Quaid, both as rivals and as a substitute father and son. <I>In Good Company</I> isn't likely to win any awards, but it's honest and honorable; there's a core of truth to its characters and their problems aren't resolved too neatly. Sometimes, that's worth watching. <I>--Bret Fetzer</I>
13 Points, , 2002Originally filmed for broadcast as the band's very first pay-per-view event, 11 Live: Jars of Clay in Concert offers a complete musical retrospective of one of the most innovative groups in our industry. Multi-platinum, Grammy Award winners Jars of Clay share new material from their most recent self-produced project, The Eleventh Hour, plus classic cuts such as "Worlds Apart," "Love Song for a Savior," and "Flood." 11 Live features almost two hours of performance footage, including a full concert setting and an intimate acoustic set, plus behind-the-scenes interviews with the band.
6 Points, Paperback, 2003<B>How long does it take to go from It Girl to on the dole?</B> <P>TV producer Rebecca Cole has seen better days. Like the day her cartoon creation, Esme, made her a hit and scored her a promotion. <I>That</I> was a good day. But now that her roommate has decided to heed her therapist and appreciate the simpler things in life -- outside of New York City -- and a corporate takeover at her network has left Rebecca jobless, this food snob has to find a way to afford her rent and her penchant for fine dining. Oh, and she really should start saying no to the break-up sex with her ex. <P>Surely Rebecca will be able to draw herself out of this mess, and maybe even find a way to eat well in the process?
6 Points, Paperback, 2007Connie Nixon is no stranger to making lists. In fact, she has rewritten the list of her deepest desires no fewer than forty-eight times. And each Sunday, for as long as she can remember, she’s tinkered with it. But actually doing something about her desires is a different story—until the night she comes across a box belonging to her estranged daughter…and makes a stunning discovery. It turns out that her seemingly straitlaced Jessica is part owner of one of the most successful sex toy shops in America.<br><br>Shocked by her daughter’s secret life, Connie tucks her list in her back pocket and does something utterly impulsive: she hops on a plane to New York City to track down Jessica—and winds up on the wildest adventure of her life. Because with her daughter’s help, Connie’s about to let her own inner bombshell see the light of day. <br><br>Now, for the first time ever, things are flying off Connie’s list. Like reconnecting with her daughter. And getting tipsy before noon. And the most startlingly extraordinary desire of all: falling in love.
6 Points, Paperback, 2004<B>Katie's given up on love . . .so she'll be the perfect bride.</B> <P>When Katie Simpson discovers her boyfriend boffing "Fishpants Fraser," she vows to eat toenail clippings before getting involved again. Life as "the ginger spinster of Pelham Parish" will be lonely, but bearable as long as she shags lots of strangers and hangs tight with her friends. Unfortunately, Katie has the unerring ability to hit on the only gay man at the party (not again!). And her pals are somewhat preoccupied. Mover-and-shaker Janice has started scoping funerals for doddering sugar daddies. George, Katie's gorgeous, flamingly gay best friend (yes, she's tried it), is madly in love with an Aussie heartbreaker (struck out there, too) who needs some speedy nuptials to stay in the country. What better opportunity to plan a fake wedding more elaborate than a ten-tier cake? <P><B>However, love hasn't given up on Katie.</B> <P>Just when the girl who eats like a cow, wears clompy shoes and is unacquainted with her own hairbrush starts trying on white dresses, romance comes from the unlikeliest -- and straight and male -- source. Will Katie let the man she loves ruin her wedding day?
5 Points, Paperback, 2006<center><P>From a winning voice in fiction -- the author of <I>My Favorite Mistake</i> and <I>Exes and Ohs</i> -- comes a romantic comedy that will have you in stitches.<P><P><b><font size="+1">She's late for her life...</font></b><P></center><P><P>Becca Davis has always played it safe -- denying her passion for fashion design in a dead-end job and letting her pragmatic boyfriend (mastermind of the "Kevin Bradley Ten-Year Plan") make the tough decisions in life. Stunned into saying yes when Mr. Predictable springs a surprise proposal on her, Becca realizes that she's running out of time to turn her life around. She's only got one more chance to chase her dreams and no one -- not her control freak fiancé, not her dramaholic sisters, not her overprotective parents -- will talk her out of it.<P><P><center><P><b><font size="+1">He's right on time.</font></b><P></center><P><P>Terrified but determined, Becca breaks off her engagement, moves in with her sister in Los Angeles, and prepares to take the fashion world by storm. The reality of the Hollywood scene is much harsher than she anticipated -- lots of slamming doors, snooty clients, and double-crossing celebrity stylists -- but she won't give up. And while she's waiting for her big break, she meets Connor, a sexy risk-taker who's the polar opposite of her ex-fiancé. Is Becca ready for his all-or-nothing approach to love? With her design business taking off and her family starting to fall apart, she's about to learn the timeliest lesson of all: Love and fashion wait for no woman.<P><P>
6 Points, Paperback, 2007<p><b>It’s Ex-Wives versus Next Wives in this latest novel from bestselling author Jane Moore—a sexy tale of modern (re)marriage, packed with razor-sharp wit and high-stakes drama.<br><br></b>It’s Alison’s wedding and she and her groom, Luca, have just exchanged vows and are preparing to cap off their perfect day at the reception. But before the champagne even hits the crystal stemware, Luca’s first wife storms in and makes it clear that she intends to remain very much a part of his life. When the fuss has died down, Alison finds an ally in Fiona, who confides that a few women she knows have recently started something called the Second Wives Club—a group of female friends who get together to bitch and gossip about the drama that inevitably unfolds when you marry someone else’s husband.<br>The club’s founding members include Julia, a stunning self-proclaimed trophy wife whose husband insists on remaining uncomfortably close to his former spouse; Susan, whose live-in boyfriend is the classic widower who can’t let go of his beloved ex’s memory; and, of course, Fiona, whose cross to bear is the teenage stepson from hell and an ex who’s bent on sabotaging her relationship. Fortunately, the Club gives them a place to vent, and together they contend with malicious rumors, scheming divorce lawyers, and ex-wives intent on revenge—until they decide that it’s time to stop settling for second best . . . and then the fun really begins. <br><br>Told with Moore’s signature wit, wisdom, and sass, <i>The Second Wives Club</i> proves that second wives can be every bit as winning as the girl next door—and offers a dishy, unputdownable look at the modern marital love triangle.</p>
6 Points, Paperback, 2003Faith's sunny life just got a little bit cloudy... <P>Faith, the face of AM-UK's morning weather, is used to delivering the forecast. But this surprisingly unglam celeb is not used to being told the forecast--especially when it concerns her own marriage. After years of wedded bliss, there isn't much about her husband, Peter, that this thirty-five-year old doesn't know. In fact, her quiet family life seems almost too comfy...until a casual remark from Faith's ultra-glam best friend plants a seed of doubt that takes root and strangles all sense of Faith's contentedness. Faith begins to assess everything about her mild-life--snippets of conversation, Peter's surprising new look, the attentions of a handsome new acquaintance and the small fire burning inside her, licking at the possibility that, out of the blue, her life is about to change....
6 Points, Paperback, 2004<B>She's heard all the lines. Now it's time for the truth!</B> <P><B>Charlie</B> has to keep pinching herself to believe she's leaving Australia for a trip to Europe -- a generous gift from her family, who know how tough her life has been lately. But the last person Charlie expects to bump into on the plane is <B>Jasper Ash</B>, international celebrity, rock-star sex-god -- and Charlie's former best friend, flatmate and . . .almost-lover! <P>It's been three years since Charlie impulsively jumped into bed with Jas, then a struggling student. But their nearly-one-night stand had just been warming up when Jas began the male "backing off" ritual, practically sprinting out the door with the classic excuse, "It's not you, it's me." Yeah, right. Everyone knows what that means: It <I>is</I> you! Not pretty enough, not successful enough -- just not <I>enough</I>. <P>Charlie has dealt with it -- and a whole lot more -- but the unanswered questions still niggle. Acting on impulse once again, she invites Jas to join her <I>own</I> European tour! And as they share hotel rooms, play at being tourists and dodge Jas's determined groupies, it becomes clear they're both at a crossroads in life. Before they can move on, they finally have to deal with the unfinished business between them -- starting with a serious conversation about <I>that night</I>.
6 Points, Paperback, 2005In this funny, poignant debut, a plus-size heroine becomes a reality TV show contestant and discovers she's already beautiful enough to be the next big thing. <br><br> Kat Larson figured she had nothing to lose by becoming a contestant on the new reality show <i>From Fat to Fabulous</i>-except maybe a few dozen pounds. Then she'd finally be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Nick, the British hunk she met online, who still thinks she's a size four. She'd finally be confident and graceful and thin-and there's that big cash prize, too, to pay for all those slinky new clothes she'd need. She'd finally have the perfect life.
4 Points, Paperback, 2003<CENTER><B><I>Where are all the real rock stars?</I></B></CENTER><P>Eliza is looking to date a rock star -- though she uses the term loosely. None of her boyfriends have been famous. Most have unbearable habits and overbearing mothers. A few only played show tunes. Still, they're intense. Pierced. Tragically stubbled. With a predilection for dressing in black. Eliza finds them deep -- in theory, anyway. But in reality, none comes close to the object of her original rock-star crush: actor/crooner Jack Wagner. When her latest catch turns out be another mama's boy, Eliza begins to realize love is nothing like her favorite '80s song.<P><CENTER><B><I>Is she ready to face the music?</I></B></CENTER><P>Just as Eliza is planning her next move, she's dealt an emotional triple-whammy involving her sister, her best friend, and a horrific blind date. That's when she realizes that only by taking a good look at her past -- and her tape collection -- will she ever be able to hear a different kind of song and live a different kind of life.<P>
4 Points, Paperback, 2002<div>For years, things have run quite smoothly for Perdita and her organic gardening business. So what if her hair needs a complete overhaul, her sweater has more holes than Swiss cheese, and there's no hope of a boyfriend on the horizon? The last thing Perdita wants is a meddlesome man in her life-but she's about to get one, in the form of her completely infuriating ex-husband, Lucas.<br><br>Lucas in disagreeable, curt, arrogant, and smolderingly gorgeous. He's also the new chef at Grantly House, Perdita's number-one customer. Worse, Mr. Grantly has the insane idea of starting a television cooking show that will put Lucas and Perdita together as "The Gourmet and the Gardener."<br><br>Now, things are heating up in the kitchen--and elsewhere. With the bright lights blazing and old feelings stirring the pot, it could be a recipe for disaster...or absolute delight.<br></div>
5 Points, Paperback, 2002Jo Miles has a nice London home, a lawyer husband, two lovely children, and a thriving part-time career as an interior decorator. In the world of contemporary women's fiction, she's clearly due for some kind of disaster. In <I>Fourplay</I>, disaster comes as divorce. Jo's husband leaves her for a creature Jo comes to refer to as "the Cliché," a 23-year-old blond secretary. After hubby's departure, <I>Fourplay</I> becomes an extended bout of frog-kissing as Jo, clearly much too saucy and adorable for a lifetime of singleness, entertains four different suitors. Sean is an irresistible cameraman, about whose sexual proclivities we hear far too much; Martin is a millionaire record exec; Conor is a steadfast old friend; and Jeff, her ex, of course comes crawling back. Throughout, Jo is supported and nurtured by her chubby, hilarious, less adorable best friend Rosie. On the whole, the book is ridden with clichés, but here's the funny thing: those very stereotypes make <I>Fourplay</I> a pleasant--even a compulsive--read. We know all will be right for Jo; we know Rosie will never let her down, yet never be prettier than her, either; we know true love will descend on all like a wet, inevitable London fog. Jane Moore's writing is just funny enough, just edgy enough, and just true enough to make us revel in these clichés rather than resist them. <I>--Claire Dederer</I>
5 Points, Paperback, 2006Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. <br><br>Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. <br><br>But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?
6 Points, Paperback, 2000Jane Rosenal, the narrator of <I>The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing</I>, is wise beyond her years. Not that that's saying much--since none of her elders, with the exception of her father, is particularly wise. At the age of 14, Jane watches her brother and his new girlfriend, searching for clues for how to fall in love, but by the end of the summer she's trying to figure out how not to <I>fail</I> in love. At twice that age, Jane quickly internalizes <I>How to Meet and Marry Mr. Right</I>, even though that retro manual is ruining her chances at happiness. In the intervening years, Melissa Bank's heroine struggles at love and work. The former often seems indistinguishable from the latter, and her experiences in book publishing inspire little in the way of affection. As Jane announces in "The Worst Thing a Suburban Girl Could Imagine": "I'd been a rising star at H----- until Mimi Howlett, the new executive editor, decided I was just the lights of an airplane."<p> Bank's first collection has a beautiful, true arc, and all the sophistication and control her heroine could ever desire. In "The Floating House," Jane and her boyfriend, Jamie, visit his ex-girlfriend in St. Croix, and right from the start she can't stop mimicking her beautiful competitor, in a notably idiotic fashion. "I'm like one of those animals that imitates its predators to survive," she realizes--one of several thousand of Bank's ruefully funny phrases. But even as Jane clowns around, desperately trying to keep up appearances, she is so hyperaware it hurts. Again and again, the author explores the dichotomy between life as it happens and the rehearsed anecdote, the preferred outcome. In <I>The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing</I>, even suburban quiet has "nothing to do with peace." Bank's much-anticipated debut merits all its buzz and, more to the point, transcends it. <I>--Kerry Fried</I>
6 Points, Paperback, 2002Twenty-three-year-old Jersey girl Eve Vitali is on the verge of something . . . whether it be a relationship, the fabulous life that she reads about in the Styles section of the <I>New York Times</I> or a nervous breakdown. Despite her Jackie O. suit, Eve works as an unappreciated assistant for -- of all things -- a <I>bicycle</I> magazine. Everyone keeps telling her that she's got her foot in the door, but the rest of her is surfing the Net and schlepping around with Tabitha, an Amazonian sex goddess. Between glam parties, obligatory visits home and myriad men, Eve is realizing that it takes a lot of work to get beyond the verge and on to the next big thing . . . <P><B><I>It seems everyone has advice on how to get there: </I></B> <P><B>Eve (on keeping her "foot in the door"):</B> <BR>"Develop artificial cheeriness. Answer all requests with 'great.' <BR>Hypothetical: Person of dubious authority: 'Eve, why don't you count all of the paper clips in the entire department and then divide, them into seven equal piles?' <BR>Me: 'Great. I'll get right on it. That'll be great."' <P><B>Tabitha (prefers foreign men, gets entrée to the coolest parties, buys <I>lots</I> of underwear):</B> <BR>"Remove unsightly hairs before all dates." <P><B>Roseanne (Eve's roommate who works in -- gasp! -- finance):</B> <BR> "Whatever you do, don't be predictable."
6 Points, Paperback, 2003Wish you were in someone else's shoes? <P><B>Leaving wasn't supposed to have been the end!</B> <P>Jo just can't figure out how it happened. One day she's blissfully cohabiting with Dan; the next she's moving out, wondering why Dan isn't chasing after her. Or at least suffering minor emotional trauma and sexual impotence. And was it really necessary for him to shack up with their amorous neighbor? <P>If only Jo could be someone else for a while -- someone who isn't newly single, freshly underemployed due to that bursting Internet bubble, and sharing her apartment with her father after he has decided to take a breather from her mother. Thanks to the wonders of technology and the anonymity of e-mail, she does just that: reinvents herself and strikes up a virtual friendship with Dan. <P>Of course, she's well aware that pretending to be someone else isn't the healthiest way to stay close to her ex. But who can be bothered with details when life takes a turn for the confusing? Throw in a scheming neighbor, a disapproving mother, a gorgeous Italian waiter and an appreciation for pop music and you have a comic caper that will keep you on your toes!
4 Points, Mass Market Paperback, 2004Working for Vogue, Amy spends her days dressing waif models in London's latest apparel while fending off insults from the Gucci-garbed staff. Hardly the glamorous job she hoped it would be. But that won't stop her from fantasizing about the jet-set life she knows she's destined for--or the prince who's bound to redeem her from a less than glowing record in romance.<br><br>However, beneath her dreamy exterior, Amy has a sure streak of common sense. So when the impossible happens--and her path crosses that of London's hottest film star--she swoons with longing, expecting nothing in return. But Orlando Rock has other ideas. For Amy is just the kind of girl he's after--smart and witty, with a penchant for quoting from the classics, different from the daft supermodels and vain leading ladies he's dated before. Or is she? For with fame, fortune, and true love just around the corner, Amy's head is spinning, her jet-fueled imagination poised for takeoff. Is her love for Orlando stronger than her lust for the limelight--or is she merely fated to be the paparazzi's latest prey . . .?<br><br>Hip and hilarious, this enchanting, sizzlingly sexy tale of a winsome twenty-something caught between romance and reality will have you rooting her on through each outrageous mishap and daring plunge toward love. . . .<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i>
5 Points, Paperback, 2005<B>Q: What turns thirty-three-year-old graduate student Shari Diamond on? <P>A: Anything British</B> <P>Forget tall, dark, and handsome. For Shari there's only tall, pasty and from Across the Pond (despite her aunt's advice to find a nice Jewish boy). Ever since Shari first happened upon Christopher Robin in her childhood reading, she's had a passion for all things Anglo-Saxon. First it was books, then it was blokes, now . . . well, it's still blokes. <P>Unbeknownst to her, Kit, Shari's latest British conquest (and decidedly <I>not a Jew</I>), also happens to be her biggest competition in her search to find the last-known speaker of a language close to extinction. Shari's spent four years trying to find this guy so she can complete her Ph.D. and now Kit has beaten her to the punch? When she learns that there might be more (and less) to Kit than meets the eye, will this Anglophile turn her back on the land of tea and crumpets once and for all? <P>From the bestselling author of <I>The Matzo Ball Heiress</I> comes a tale of one woman's two obsessions and what happens when they collide.
6 Points, Paperback, 2000<p>Out-of-work urban professional Francesca Greenfield has always known that she was the "smart" sister.Amanda was the soft and lovely one who, from the beginning, had always garnered most of the attention -- and all the dates. Now they've been thrown together in a last-ditch effort to save the family coffeehouse business before it goes permanently down the drain.</p><p>In the chaotic misdt of mad promotional schemes and piranhalike next-door competitors, the sisters Greenfield are going to have to put aside their hard-faught sibling rivalry -- and quick! -- for the family good.</p>What happens when a single woman in her early thirties gets stuck living and working with her sister again along with all the insecurities of sibling rivalry?<p><i>"From where I stood now, fifteen years out of high school, I knew that smart was more valuable than pretty. For one thing, pretty is available to anyone who has the time, energy, money, and will. And even without exercise or makeup, I considered myself to be serviceably attractive. I elicit a grunt from workmen. Baggers at the supermarket, however, called me ma'am."</i><p>Meet Francesca Greenfield, a smart, urban professional suddenly tossed out of her so-so career and into the business of selling coffee alongside her pretty, perky sister Amanda.<p>But selling coffee is only the start of their worries.<p>Francesca has always known that she was the smart sister, "though our mother never set us down and said, 'Francesca, we'll call you the smart one.'" Amanda was soft and lovely from the beginning and had always garnered most of the attention-and all of the dates. Now they've been thrown together in a last-ditch effort to save the family business before it goes permanently down the drain.<p>As for the coffeehouse itself, well, there's rarely a dull moment. Consider the piranha-minded next-door franchise and the brainstorms of one nearly psychotic marketing manager for starters. And who can forget about love? Or at least sex. Thanks to a promotional contest, it's not long before Amanda is looking to explore the aura of a buff mountain climber while Francesca considers shedding more than her inhibitions with a J. Crew model.<p>The stakes are rising. It's time to find out if smart or pretty knows best, whether the distinction really suits either one of them, and if the Greenfield sisters can actually live happily ever after.
6 Points, Paperback, 2007As Ann Lord lies on her deathbed, her daughter delivers a balsam pillow from the attic. At first the ailing woman is confused, but suddenly the scent reminds her of the "wild tumult" she experienced 40 years earlier: <blockquote> Something stole into her as she walked in the dark, a dream she'd had long ago. The air was so black she was unable to see her arms, it was a warm summer night. Above her she could make out the dark line of the tops of spruce trees and a sky lit with stars. She felt the warm tar through the soles of her shoes. The boy beside her took her hand. </blockquote> In the porous world between conscious and unconscious the protagonist of <I>Evening</I> revisits the great passions of her life, along with its considerable disappointments. The boy in the dark remains the fixed point--not so much because he is the most important man in her life, but because of the untapped possibilities he represents. Meanwhile, friends and relations come to sit by Ann Lord's side as she veers between clarity and feverish recollection.<p> In her third novel, Susan Minot takes some new risks--her narrative spanning seven decades of memory and her style ranging from Stegneresque particularity to the exquisite abstraction Virginia Woolf perfected in <I>To the Lighthouse</I>. Equal parts memory and desire, fiction and poetry, <I>Evening</I> is a seductive story made more so by the measured pace of details emerging, one by one, like stars. <I>--Cristina Del Sesto</I>