TresSugar

Good Books Can Have Bad Sex

Colleen Barrett — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:30:10 PST

The 18th annual Bad Sex Award, which honors "crude or outlandish sexual passages in modern literature," was bestowed upon author Rowan Somerville for his sophomore novel The Shape of Her.

While imagery like a woman twisting "onto her belly like a fish flipping itself," entranced and appalled judges, the line that really hooked them was "Like a lepidopterist mounting a tough-skinned insect with a too blunt pin he screwed himself into her."

Somerville accepted the accolade, awarded by the Literary Review, last night at a surprisingly nondebaucherous affair in London. "There is nothing more English than bad sex," he said, "so on behalf of the entire nation I would like to thank you."

I feel like I'm writing an article for the Onion, but this is quite real. Literary titans like Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe have won in the past, and John Updike was honored two months before his death with a Lifetime Achievement Award for being shortlisted four times. A lifetime achievement award for bad sex? I would die, too!

See what other novelists were nominated this year below.

20 of Your Favorite Authors

Colleen Barrett — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:10:24 PDT

For National Author Day Monday, I asked who your favorite authors were. From old classics like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens to contemporary favorites like David Sedaris and Margaret Atwood, you revealed who ranked number one on your mental list.

Check them out below - maybe you'll find a new favorite.

Read the rest below.

Who's Your Favorite Author?

Colleen Barrett — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:45:43 PDT

Once I'm into authors, I will read anything by them. Sometimes all they need to do is write one epic book, and I'm a reader for life; other times, I fall slowly through a series or a stretch of solid reads. Today's National Author Day, so let's round up our go-to writers and find some new favorites while we're at it.

Grab Bag! Lessons From the Love Lives of Women Writers

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:10:23 PDT

Relationship truths from famous female writers - Lemondrop
The many grooms of Elizabeth Taylor - The Frisky
Meanwhile, Elizabeth denies latest engagement rumors - Twitter
Do men compare current girlfriends to their exes? - Glamour
Botox could cost you friends - The Awl
Pro-choice activist takes on "Abortion Changes You" campaign - Feministing
On Tina Fey and the Single Ladies - Double X

Buzz Interview: Curtis Sittenfeld, Author of American Wife

BuzzSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:30:44 PDT

This week, author Curtis Sittenfeld's new book American Wife hits book stores near you. The book is inspired by the life of Laura Bush, and a few weeks ago, when I was about halfway through American Wife, I chatted with Sittenfeld about the controversial aspects of the book, how this epic American tale is a departure from her previous two books, and what's going on with the movie version of Prep!

Buzz: This character, Alice Blackwell, is intriguing and sexy, and generally those terms are considered mutually exclusive from the first lady. How did you work around people's ideas of what it means to be the first lady?
Curtis Sittenfeld: I think that all people are complicated and all people have inner lives. I think that a lot of times our view of first ladies is that they’re very stiff or proper or formal but I think they’re people like anyone else. When they’re not in public they probably can relax a lot more.

I know that these characters are based on the lives of George and Laura Bush, and when I read some of the sex scenes, I wondered if you had a hard time going there?
Laura Bush was a starting point for this novel, but there’s so much that we don’t know about her even though she’s a very public figure. And so what I did was invent a character who’s loosely inspired by her but isn’t her. I do not see Alice Blackwell as just, you know, Laura Bush is her name change. I see Alice Blackwell as a distinct person. I know that some readers might feel differently but I don't feel like I wrote sex scenes between George and Laura Bush [laughs].

To learn more about her new book and why she might still write about weird, neurotic girls,

read more! My experience reading the book so far has been to forget it’s Laura, and Alice is her own person to me except when I bump into events that I recognize from Laura’s life. It’s a unique reading experience to say the least. Is that the experience you think people will have? Hope they’ll have? Well, the way that I conceived of the book, there are four major events in in Laura Bush’s life that I included - you know, one in each of the four sections of the book that are real - and then pretty much everything else is made up. So I would say 85 percent of the book is made up. The characters, the situations, the conversations - and I trust the sophistication and intelligence of my readers and I like when I read a book that assumes my intelligence. So I know that it's a kind of weird hybrid book, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. When it comes to women married to men who do things that we don’t agree with, there’s this tendency to implicate them by association. Did you find yourself more sympathetic to a woman like that? This book has made me rethink my ideas of those women’s responsibilities, etc. Yeah, that is definitely a question that’s really interesting to me, which is: How much is one spouse responsible for another spouse? Or how much does one spouse represent another spouse? And I think it’s an incredibly complicated question and the answer varies a lot from marriage to marriage. But I actually just got married, like, three months ago. So I do think the subject of marriage is probably interesting to me during the time I was writing this. You know, I’m about to turn 33 and you know there are marriages . . . like of course the ideal is to marry for a long time but then sometimes you look at, you know, marriages that have lasted, you know, 30 or 40 years and you think, "Well it lasted long, but I don’t know if I’d want to be in it." But I think it’s a worthy goal for people to try to stay together, but I also think that you have to make compromises. Yeah, it's such an intriguing question and so far I find myself feeling very sympathetic toward this character who I know will become the first lady and judged by people for her husband. I keep thinking, "Aw, but she's young and falling in love." Right, well, it’s so hard to guess how anyone’s life will turn out I mean even with, you know people I knew in high school or people I knew in graduate school. Their lives . . . some have taken much different turns than I would have guessed, but you know, that’s what makes life interesting. Unlike Lee in Prep, or Hannah in The Man of My Dreams, Alice is a grown woman and more mature than either of those young women. Are your characters going to grow up as you continue to grow? Well, by the end of the book Alice is 61, so she obviously gets to be much older than I am in real life. I think that I don’t feel like I’ll never write about teenage girls or young women again. I mean, I still think that there’s so much material there, so I don’t think my characters will only get older as I get older, although to some extent that will probably happen. I do feel like one of my core readers is probably like the 22- or 23-year-old young woman, and I do hope she does not feel abandoned by this book. You know, like, "What happened?!" Right! You hit on my initial reaction when the book was in my hands. Which was, "Oh my. This is a big epic book . . . It’s so different from the others." This is a story and a personality that really captured my imagination, but I’m not determined to only write epics from here on out, you know? I still have room in my heart for neurotic, you know, weirdo girls [laughs]. Oh good - I feel like I can speak for many when I say that’s somewhat of a relief! Yeah - I promise, I promise! Finally, are there plans for any of your books to become movies? Do you want that? Prep was optioned by Paramount, and the option has been renewed, and actually a screenplay exists, which was written by Noah Baumbach - he did Squid and the Whale. I think, you know, it seems like with movies all the stars have to align - every thing has to correspond perfectly for a movie to be made. But I think things are a little bit murky, but I would be delighted if it got made. He is attached as a writer/director. I would be delighted if he were the one who made it. I don’t know, Man of My Dreams was not optioned and this one I think they just started sort of sending it out in Hollywood. I don’t know. It’s not an area where I feel like I have any control, which is kind of liberating. Source and Source

Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: 1922 - 2007

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:36:35 PDT

I awoke this morning to the sad news that groundbreaking novelist Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday at age 84. As reported by the AP, Vonnegut's wife, photographer Jill Krementz, said the writer suffered brain injuries following a recent fall at his home in Manhattan.

Probably best-known for his books Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut was truly one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, lending his distinct voice to everything from historical satire to non-traditional sci-fi and laugh-out-loud humor. In fact, I think Vonnegut's stylistic legacy is one of the most powerful influences on many of today's modern novelists.

Throughout my adult life, Vonnegut has been one of my favorite authors, and having the opportunity to hear him speak during my college years only heightened my respect for this sharp and endlessly clever man. Though I would highly recommend the more classic Vonnegut novels, my favorite books of his might be the slightly more obscure Galapagos, which tackles the theory of evolution in a thoroughly absurd way, and the darkly futuristic novel The Sirens of Titan. Any other Vonnegut fans out there? If so, tell me which of his books is your favorite.

Source

Fat-Proof Your Life

Health — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:06:06 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Maridel Reyes

It's true that there are certain times in your life when extra poundage seems to appear out of nowhere . . . and settle on you. In fact, experts have honed in on the exact moments when you're most vulnerable to weight gain.

"Life transitions, having a baby, and going through menopause cause many women to pile on pounds," says Susan Albers, PsyD, author of But I Deserve This Chocolate!: The 50 Most Common Diet-Derailing Excuses and How to Outwit Them. "But with planning and prep, you can stay thin."

We asked top experts for their strategies to help you ward off weight creep - and even shed pounds - at these tricky stages. Solutions ahead.

Getting married

Heavier ever after? It can be the flip side of wedded bliss: "Six out of 10 of my clients come back heavier after the honeymoon," says celebrity fitness and wellness guru David Kirsch.

Health.com: 25 Diet-Busting Foods You Should Never Eat

Young newlyweds pack on an extra six to nine pounds in the five years after getting hitched compared to singletons, according to research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And most of that gain happens in the first year of marriage.

"Couples start to mirror each other's eating habits," explains Albers. "You might be matching him calorie for calorie without realizing it."

Learn how to keep the pounds down postmarriage and in the mommy years, after the break.

Heart Braid Is a Sweet Valentine's Day Hairdo

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:35:38 PST

Who needs a sleeve when you can wear your heart on the top of your head! While some tots will be sporting their Valentine's love with their clothes, lil ones with long manes can fashion their hair into the ultimate symbol of love with a heart braid. Cozy Friedman of New York's Cozy's Cuts for Kids and the author of Cozy's Complete Guide to Girls' Hair ($9), shared the sweet holiday look with us. If you know how to create a French braid and have 15 minutes to spare, your child can sport this sweet style. Just follow these step-by-step instructions.

Images Courtesy of: Jennifer Playford and Alexandra Grablewski

How to Throw a Midnight in Paris-Themed Oscar Party

Shannon Vestal — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:30:00 PST

If you're planning on throwing an Oscar viewing party for Hollywood's big night on Feb. 26, then I suggest that you go big this year and give your event a theme. Take a cue from the nominees and let best picture nominee Midnight in Paris give you inspiration. It has plenty of elements that translate into an opulent party: Paris, the 1920s, and many of its own scenes of revelry. Here's how to use the Woody Allen film as your party muse, and don't forget to fill out a ballot with your Oscar picks for a chance to win an iPad.

How to decorate: Scatter vintage books by the authors featured in the film, like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T.S. Eliot, and decorate with mini French flags and twinkle lights. Stand a cardboard cutout of the Eiffel Tower near the entrance of the party.
How to dress: The dress code can be either 1920s French (think flapper and drop-waist dresses), or you can just wear your regular clothes like Owen Wilson's character Gil, but you have to continually act surprised and impressed by your surroundings.
What to serve: A rainbow of French macarons, a cheese plate, baguettes, and fancy crepes. Serve champagne in '20s-style glasses like the ones used in the film (though these are disposable).

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

6 Ways Vegetarians Can Be Economical

Emily Co — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:25:52 PST

There's always the perception that being vegetarian is expensive, but that's not necessarily the case. Deborah Madison, the author of Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone and Vegetable Soups From Deborah Madison's Kitchen, says in general, "vegetables aren't that expensive compared to meat." Here are tips from Madison on a few ways vegetarians can save:

Learn to cook and eat grains and legumes of all kinds. "Grains and legumes are very economical and are often organic. You can even buy them in bulk bins, which is always a good way to save money. There are some new books out now on grains that will teach you about their flavors and how to cook them - invest in one! "I suggest, Ancient Grains For Modern Meals by Maria Speck."
Know which vegetables give you the best value. It's important to also know which veggies you can use entirely. "Carrots, winter squash, fennel, cabbage - these are very efficient vegetables in that you can use every part of them. Fennel can be expensive, but if you slice it on an inexpensive mandoline, you can get a lot of salad material from one small bulb."
Find out what the edible parts are. "For example, well-peeled broccoli stems are delicate and delicious, and broccoli with the stems costs less than the crowns alone. If beets come with their leaves, use them! They are related to spinach and chard and are just as good. Chop off the stems, discard any that aren't up to snuff, and cook the rest. Chard stems are also quite edible and actually favored over the greens in other countries. You've got two vegetables in one if you use them. Fennel stalks can be used in a soup or soup stock, the greens a garnish."

Read on for more.