Time Goes By

In the Fullness of Time: 32 Women on Life After 50 will be released by Atria on April 27, 2010 in trade paperback form ($16.00).   This collection of essays, poems, photographs and drawings was edited by Emily W. Upham and Linda Gravenson.   The following is an excerpt from one of the essays included in the compilation.

“My Narrow Escape” – Abigail Thomas

I like living alone.   I like not having to make male conversation.   I like that I can take as many naps as I feel like taking and nobody knows.   I like that if I’m painting trees and the telephone receiver gets sticky with hunter green and there’s a long drool of blue sky running down the front of the dishwasher, nobody complains.  

I’m seldom lonely.   I have three dogs, twelve grandchildren and four grown kids.   I have a good friend who now and then drives down with his dog.   We’ve known each other so long that we don’t have to talk and when we do we don’t have to say anything.   When he asks me if I’d like to take a trip around the world, I can say yes, knowing that I’ll never have to go.

Inertia is a driving force in both our lives.  

Sometimes I feel sorry for my friends who are looking around for a mate.   I don’t want one, and I don’t want to want one.   It has taken me the better part of 60 years to enjoy the inside of my own head and I do that best when I’m by myself.

I am smug.   I am probably insufferable.

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Another Book Giveaway!

Yes, we’re still giving away three (3) copies of the amazing book Double Take: A Memoir.   The Double Take  book giveaway contest remains open until midnight this Friday, January 8, 2010 Pacific Standard Time (PST).   To read the contest rules, enter the terms “double take” in the Search It! box to the right and hit enter.

But we’re here announcing a new book giveaway!   Through the courtesy of the publisher Multnomah, we have a copy of The Male Factor: The Unwritten Rules, Misperceptions, and Secret Beliefs of Men in the Workplace for one of our readers.Here is a synopsis of the book –

Among the subjects tackled by The Male Factor are: how men, with rare exceptions, view almost any emotional display as a sign that the person can no longer think clearly – as well as what they perceive to be emotion in the first place (it’s not just crying); why certain trendy clothes that women wear may create a career-sabotaging land mine in terms of how male colleagues perceive them; and the unintentional signals that can change a man’s perception of a woman from assertive and competent to difficult.

Women will likely be surprised, even shocked, by these revelations.   Some may find them challenging.   Yet what they will gain is an invaluable understanding of how their male bosses, colleagues, subordinates, and customers react to a host of situations – as well as the ability to correct common misperceptions.   The Male Factor offers a unique road map to what men in the workplace are thinking, allowing women the opportunity to decide for themselves how to use the insights the author reveals.

Note:  I suspect that this is a book that both men and women will find to be extremely interesting!

We will be giving away one brand new hardbound copy of this 320-page book by Shaunti Feldhahn, author of the  prior bestseller For Women Only.   The Male Factor has a value of $22.99.   In order to enter this contest, just send an e-mail to josephsreviews@gmail.com .   You must submit your entry by 12:00 midnight PST on Saturday, January 30, 2010.   Only readers who live in the continental United States are eligible to enter this particular contest and prior contest winners at this site will not be eligible to win this time around.  

That’s it – Good luck and good reading!