Every week, we'll be letting you know about new releases the editors at O and Oprah.com couldn't stop reading. On sale today, the short story collection...
Blueprints for
Building Better Girls
By Elissa Schappell
Elissa Schappell is not for the fainthearted. In this
collection of eight revelatory, risky stories, we meet the girls that all
mothers fear their daughter might become—or, to varying degrees, the girls we
might have become ourselves. One turns to hate to cover her vulnerability,
while another suffers from an eating disorder, in some part due to her mother's all-consuming embrace. The most shocking story follows a college coed through
her days of binge drinking and blacking out during a relentless parade of frat
house parties. Surprisingly, it's also the most moving. Schappell has the ability—and the
guts—to cut straight through the "girls gone wild" images that inevitably throb to mind (ouch) and show us the tender and often hopeful human beings that live inside these women-to-be.
In one upsetting scene, a group of angry, male bar patrons chases the coed and her friends across a deserted parking lot. As she jumps into a car to escape, the coed feels her mother's treasured strand of pearls break and must leave those pearls rolling hopelessly across the asphalt—save for one, about which she wonders if she has any right to even keep. "Maybe some farm kid walking down the street would find it..." she says. "And then they'd think that maybe the world wasn't as ugly as they thought it was. Maybe there was magic in it after all."
In one upsetting scene, a group of angry, male bar patrons chases the coed and her friends across a deserted parking lot. As she jumps into a car to escape, the coed feels her mother's treasured strand of pearls break and must leave those pearls rolling hopelessly across the asphalt—save for one, about which she wonders if she has any right to even keep. "Maybe some farm kid walking down the street would find it..." she says. "And then they'd think that maybe the world wasn't as ugly as they thought it was. Maybe there was magic in it after all."
A rule for us all: There is always magic in a gift from your mother. Always.
1. You probably can say it in 140 characters.
2. If you already know it's going to make you angry, don't click.
3. There's a Tumblr for that.
4. Even though I haven't met all of my Facebook friends, I love that they always remember my birthday.
5. If all else fails, watch Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.
2. If you already know it's going to make you angry, don't click.
3. There's a Tumblr for that.
4. Even though I haven't met all of my Facebook friends, I love that they always remember my birthday.
5. If all else fails, watch Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.
| Photo: Thinkstock |
This new report backs up previous studies by financial scholars as well as from financial institutions, all of which suggested that female investors were less prone to the overconfidence that can lead to big financial losses (and, less happily, whopping financial gains).
Since these two articles have already gotten the ball rolling, we'd like to point out a few more ways that women have an edge. We're not saying we're better than men; we're just taking a moment to celebrate our gender's advantages.
| Photo: Thinkstock |
It isn't an herb, technically, but no matter. "Arugula has oomph, because it has that wonderful meaty, peppery flavor. That, combined with nuts, is just superb," McVicar says. The essential ingredient in McVicar's arugula pesto is lemon—the combination of the juice and zest's zing with the almost spicy arugula "is just magic," McVicar says. She serves arugula pesto on pasta, as a dip with chips—or, even better, on a cold potato salad.
And if you're just hooked on basil pesto, seek out Mrs. Burns' Lemon Basil, an heirloom variety that makes a very citrusy pesto.
[Get the simple recipe, after the jump]
| Photo: Dolle's Candyland |
Salt water taffy is, alas, not made with salt water, but good ol' sugar and corn syrup. Despite the simple ingredient list (it also contains sea salt and flavorings), I still would not attempt making it myself--especially after watching this video of a Maine candy shop's impressively powerful 100-year-old machines in action. New York confectioner Marisa Wu, however, is undeterred by the upper body strength required to twist and pull salt water taffy by hand. Her fancy-flavored salt water taffy (think coconut, hibiscus and black cherry) are just hitting stores now. Until they reach your neighborhood, you can order them through Brooklyn's Bedford Cheese Shop, which will ship anywhere, allowing you to combine your childhood memories with your adult palate--no matter where you are.
 | Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.
—Eckhart Tolle |  |
 |
| Photo courtesy of Best Life |
If you have a question, send it to us!
Q: Can I cheat on my diet on the weekends?
A: We asked Janis Jibrin, MS, RD, Best Life lead nutritionist and diet counselor, to answer this question. She says she's heard this a lot lately—and she gave us four reasons to rethink this as a weight loss plan.
Some weekend cheaters gained almost 9 pounds in a year.
Your body doesn't know the difference between weekdays and weekends. If you splurge on the lumberjack breakfast or a plate of beignets, that could have three times the calories of your ordinary oatmeal breakfast. A 2008 study published in the journal Obesity found that participants who were likely to increase their calories on Saturday and decrease their activity on Sunday racked up tiny weight gains that led to almost 9 pounds at the end of a year.
| Photo:Thinkstock |
"I owe my mother a lot, " the writer says. "Besides the fact that she took care of us as a single mother, she also had to help me through an accident I had when I was 10 years old, which involved a number of surgeries; she made sure we were housed and fed, and she pushed us to get educations. ... My problem is that I have such a hard time visiting her. All she wants is someone to sit with her, but that is hard for me. I take my son with me sometimes, and it is wonderful to see her face light up. She doesn't say much, but we just sit for a while and then leave. I wish I could go there and spend more time, but it is really hard to do that. It literally drains me of all of my energy. I'm not complaining about her. She makes no demands. I'm not the dying person. I feel I should want to go see her as much as possible now."
While Tennis responds in a loving, thoughtful manner to the writer's confusions, what struck us most was the mother—and the idea that to sit and be with somebody sick is enough. So often we visitors worry about flowers (is pollen allowed?); we worry about bringing balloons or tabloid magazines; we worry about whether to sit on the bed (too close?) or sit on the chair (too far); we worry we're talking about silly, selfish things (our broken dishwasher, our jerky ex) when these sick people are struggling for their lives. However, instead of doing all this worrying, which may just lead you not to show up in the hospital room at all, or to panic and act in the least way you'd like to act, you can just sit and be there. Being there is enough.
Read more: Ways to help an ailing friend or parent
Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.
* It was nice to learn what the real Ernest Hemingway looked like in a swimsuit after completely falling for Corey Stoll's hilarious yet smoldering portrayal of the lion-wrestling, hard-drinking ultra-macho writer in the utterly charming Midnight in Paris (go see it this weekend!).
* Having received two heart transplants, 31-year-old Erik Compton knows "golf is not that big of a deal," but that only makes the fact that he won the Mexico open and qualified for the PGA tour that much more impressive. [PGA Tour]
* We spent some time this week cataloging the unique advantages of being a woman. A male cheerleader whose Bring It On-worthy performance has gone viral reminds us that anyone striving to make us forget our differences is worth celebrating too. [Towleroad]
* Surely you will be shocked to learn that men don't visit McDonald's for the salads. Still though, this infographic of guys' fast-food habits has plenty of fun facts—like how many hot sauce packets the average guy has squirreled away at home. [Mashable]
* "We were united, we were strong, we were righteous, we were unmovable, we were funny, we were corny as hell and as serious as death itself...Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I'd written in my songs and in my music. Clarence carried it in his heart."—Bruce Springsteen remembers Clarence Clemmons
| Roger Arpajou/©Sony Pictures Classics |
* It was nice to learn what the real Ernest Hemingway looked like in a swimsuit after completely falling for Corey Stoll's hilarious yet smoldering portrayal of the lion-wrestling, hard-drinking ultra-macho writer in the utterly charming Midnight in Paris (go see it this weekend!).
* Having received two heart transplants, 31-year-old Erik Compton knows "golf is not that big of a deal," but that only makes the fact that he won the Mexico open and qualified for the PGA tour that much more impressive. [PGA Tour]
* We spent some time this week cataloging the unique advantages of being a woman. A male cheerleader whose Bring It On-worthy performance has gone viral reminds us that anyone striving to make us forget our differences is worth celebrating too. [Towleroad]
* Surely you will be shocked to learn that men don't visit McDonald's for the salads. Still though, this infographic of guys' fast-food habits has plenty of fun facts—like how many hot sauce packets the average guy has squirreled away at home. [Mashable]
* "We were united, we were strong, we were righteous, we were unmovable, we were funny, we were corny as hell and as serious as death itself...Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I'd written in my songs and in my music. Clarence carried it in his heart."—Bruce Springsteen remembers Clarence Clemmons
A bottle of beer can be a thing of beauty—just ask Homer Simpson. Class up your next barbecue with one of these five options.
Bohemia Frida Kahlo
A Mexican beer pays homage to the iconic artist with a limited edition bottle featuring Kahlo's face and designs that appear in much of her work: flowers, hummingbirds and monkeys.
Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus
The label on this Belgian ale walks a fine line between racy and sophisticated. And the pink, raspberry-based beer inside is lovely.
[Next, three more beers that belong at your barbecue]
Bohemia Frida Kahlo
A Mexican beer pays homage to the iconic artist with a limited edition bottle featuring Kahlo's face and designs that appear in much of her work: flowers, hummingbirds and monkeys.
Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus
The label on this Belgian ale walks a fine line between racy and sophisticated. And the pink, raspberry-based beer inside is lovely.
[Next, three more beers that belong at your barbecue]
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