Ladies Please

Try as you may, you won’t get the answer because we’re guys and we come from Mars where it’s an alien-eat-alien world. Most of the time we’re confused as heck and need a girl to set us straight but all the other times we pretty much know what we want. The same way how we can’t figure you lot out and why you need so many pairs of shoes, we too can be hard nuts (all puns intended) to crack. Girls rule. That’s a fact no guy can deny. That said, there are a few things about you that drive us crazy and make us go running across continents and enroll into witness protection programmes to get as far away from you as possible. Here’s a book that’ll help you if not figure us out, save you from a few nasty dates and know when to run screaming, because at the end of the day boys will be boys.

The delta ladies -- Wild honey.

The acclaimed author of Almost Doesn’t Count, The Ties that Bind, and Loose Ends now explores the bonds among four women and the secret confessions that could put their friendship at risk. Meet Lexie, Meshell, Tonya, and Tracee—single, successful, and fierce women who happen to be best friends. Devoted divas since college, they’ve bonded over a monthly ritual to regroup, hang out, and keep it real. With a little wine, a little drama, and a lot of laughs, they discuss their dreams, ambitions, betrayals, families, and without a doubt, the men in their lives that come and go. But this night out arrives with a twist. This time, it’s a night of mischievous sexual confessions. For straitlaced Lexie, it’s a revelation that forces her to reconsider her sheltered life, her inhibited past, and her desire to finally lose control. First comes her curious flirtation in a not-so-innocent chatroom. Then comes the dare for Lexie to take her curiosity—and her needs—one thrilling step further, for a personal deliverance that could threaten a longstanding friendship—or bring four women closer to understanding themselves, their men, and their secret passions than ever before. “[Electa Rome Parks has a] witty and engaging way with words.”—New York Times bestselling author Zane

Today, millions of women and girls around the world enjoy running and entering races. It wasn’t always so: • In 1961, when Julia Chase edged to the start of a Connecticut 5-miler, officials tried to push her off the road. • At the 1966 Boston Marathon, Roberta Gibb hid behind a forsythia bush, worried that police might arrest her. • The next year at Boston, Kathrine Switzer was assaulted mid-race by a furious race organizer. • In the mid-60s, Indianapolis high schooler Cheryl Bridges was told not to run anywhere near the boys’ track team because she might “distract” them. • When Charlotte Lettis signed up for the University of Massachusetts cross-country team in the fall of 1971, she was told to use the men’s locker room. • A few years later in coastal Maine, young Joan Benoit would stop her workouts to pretend she was picking roadside flowers, embarrassed that her neighbors might spot her running. First Ladies of Running tells the inspiring stories of these and other fiercely independent runners who refused to give up despite the cultural and sports barriers they faced. Legends such as Doris Brown, Francie Larrieu, Mary Decker, Jackie Hansen, Miki Gorman, and Grete Waitz are chronicled by Runner’s World editor Amby Burfoot. Burfoot even runs the 1994 Marine Corps Marathon with Oprah Winfrey, whose successful finish opened the floodgates for other women runners. First Ladies of Running is a beautiful and long-overdue tribute to the pioneers of women’s running, and a gift of empowerment for female runners everywhere.