Mara Altman addresses the problem every woman faces but no woman wants to acknowledge: facial and body hair. Her brave, witty memoir gives readers a rare, honest glimpse into the hidden world of lasers and razors. It begins in childhood, when Altman discovers that hair sometimes grows in unexpected places -- and that it's best to remove it immediately, or risk ridicule from 8th-grade girls. It continues into early adulthood, when romantically-inclined men make offhand remarks about her fine coating of fur. From there it's a hilarious, heartfelt journey from Barcelona to Bangkok in search of a cure, an explanation, and the perfect pair of tweezers.
Every day, hundreds of human beings board long-haul flights to India on an extended break from their everyday lives, in search of something seemingly easy to find: themselves. That quixotic quest for understanding has drawn much of the world’s population eastward ever since Buddha first assumed the lotus position, and writer Mara Altman needed to know why. So she flew around the world in search of an answer not only to that mystery, but also to the deeper questions that plague all who yearn to define the meaning of life. What Altman found in her wild, comic 18-day reporting trek across India – a journey that took her on a laborious, 37-hour cross-country train trip, onto a mystical flat rock by the ocean in Pondicherry, and eventually into the emergency room of a cut-rate Bangalore hospital – will make you laugh, learn and ponder. By the end of her epic odyssey, it will also take you unexpectedly and thrillingly close to the pulsing heart of human existence.
Mara Altman turns to the topic of motherhood with touching and uproarious results. At 32 years old, the recently married author found herself suddenly surrounded by babies, and the expectation of family and friends that she would soon have one herself. Altman’s ambivalence prompted a search for the meaning of motherhood –– one that led her to wear a fake pregnancy belly, attend pre-natal yoga classes, debate experts, and even tend to her very own crying plastic baby. Her reporting led to a surprising and uplifting lesson about life, love and the choices we make. “Baby Steps” is what to expect when you’re not expecting –– a heartfelt and hilarious guide to making the most important decision of your life.
A rejected novel has sent newly-married Mara Altman into a tailspin of questioning and self-doubt. Should she stop racing forward, and settle down to start a family? Or should she give her quest for success another shot? With a gimlet eye trained directly on herself, Altman recounts her wild experience of becoming a standup comedian. By turns comic and cosmic, the 31-year-old Altman's search for a new path — and fresh answers — yields a joke-filled journey towards an unexpected and life-affirming finish line.
Last fall, newly-engaged author Mara Altman rejected the showy sparkle of a multi-carat diamond ring, and chose instead a simple, three-figure bauble. But why? There began her reportorial journey to find the true connection of diamonds to marriage -- and to love.
Over the course of a seven-hour Kindle Singles Interview at his home in rural Washington, 81-year-old Tom Robbins – whose novels “Another Roadside Attraction,” “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues,” “Still Life With Woodpecker” and “Jitterbug Perfume” have emerged as 20th century American classics – devoured salmon burgers and Rainier beers as he recounted memories of his extraordinary career, his psychedelic journeys, his hatred of creative writing programs and the reason he refuses to call his new book, “Tibetan Peach Pie,” a memoir. He also talked a fair amount about mayonnaise.
On an L-shaped sofa at his home high atop the Hollywood Hills, 54-year-old “Weird Al” Yankovic – the Grammy-winning song parodist famous for such hits as “Like A Surgeon,” “I Love Rocky Road,” and “Eat It” – lets down his legendary hair for a relaxed, revealing and often hilarious three-hour conversation. Among other topics, Al opened up about his nerdy childhood, his late-night writing binges, his gut-wrenching reach for movie stardom, and his hopes for his latest album, Mandatory Fun. He also discussed his future plans to have a drug problem.
Over the course of a close-to-three-hour Kindle Singles Interview in her home office on New York’s Upper East Side, Dr. Helen Fisher – who wrote the classic and bestselling books “The Anatomy of Love” and “Why We Love,” and who is the chief scientific adviser of Matchmaking at Match.com – discussed her life’s work unraveling the mysteries of the heart by exploring how love plays out in the brain. Dr. Fisher also revealed the evolutionary reason some spouses stray, the best way to get over a breakup, the role self-deception plays in having a spectacular love life, and, thankfully, the answer to that ever-mystifying question: But seriously, who should pay for dinner?