* GG PRODUCTS * BOOK CLUBS * BOOKS * BOOKSTORES * CHOCOLATE AND LINGERIE * LIP GOO * MUSIC * GOOD WORKS

 

 

 

This is the part of the site where I recommend books, products, foods and whatever suits my fancy to you.  I receive no money for any of these recommendations, but if I recommended you, and you want to send me some money, or some of what I recommended, well aren’t you sweet and didn’t your Grrl Genius of a mother raise you right!

 

To send me money or presents contact me here

 

An essential part of the Grrl Genius Philosophy is the idea that promoting another Grrl’s (or Enlightened Male’s) genius doesn’t take away from YOUR genius--quite the opposite.  The Grrl Genius Universe is a place where there is no zero-sum equation thinking, and the success of others just paves the way for YOUR success.

 

So that’s why I’m listing a lot of amazing Grrl Geniuses and a few Enlightened Males whose products or art is something I think you should get involved with. Let them nurture your genius.  Yes, many of them are my friends.  Favoritism and nepotism are essential elements of the Grrl Genius philosophy.

 

1. GG PRODUCTS        BACK TO TOP

 

First of all let me say that if you are looking for Grrl Genius logo products, at the moment there is only one.  It is an adorable black tank top that has the logo of Grrl Genius Incorporated on it.  These shirts are made by my seventeen-year-old friend (and future famous fashion designer) Bernadatte Vela and a portion of the profits go to the fabulous        charity Girl’s Inc. (more about them later).  To order a shirt send mail to bginingsbv@aol.com

 

2. BOOK CLUBS            BACK TO TOP

 

OK, something I am so jazzed about is that I recently returned from the Girlfriend Weekend of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs and I’m here to tell you, this is the best chain of book clubs in America, and not just because my book and my boyfriend’s book were their December 2004 picks.  I wasn’t going to go, but my mom made me (I’m not even kidding and it put me in the awful position of having to admit that my mother was right!) Kathy Patrick, the proprietor of, no kidding, a combination hair salon and bookstore in Jefferson TX, runs the club. To find out more about Kathy and the book clubs go to Beautyandthebook.com. Kathy is going to be publishing her own book next year, so look for more info to come about that.

 

3. BOOKS            BACK TO TOP

 

Speaking of my boyfriend’s book (what, I was speaking of it!) you’ve just got to go buy it as soon as humanly possible.  Sure, the New York Times (yes, THAT New York Times) favorably compares W. Bruce Cameron (that’s my boyfriend) to humor greats James Thurber and Dave Barry, and further more Oprah (yes, THAT Oprah) says he’s “dead on, hilarious!” but the important thing is that my six year old niece Maya Cathryn Michon says he is, “the funniest man in the whole world!” and I agree.  You simply must buy How to Remodel a Man because though it is the funniest book I’ve read this year, it is also full of tricks (that actually work!) to make men do what you want them to do. I should know because I use these tricks on him all the time and he doesn’t even realize it, even though he wrote the book!  It’s that good. By the way, you can also sign up for his always-funny column at wbrucecameron.com. and that’s free, so why wouldn’t you?  Also you should be watching the charming ABC show 8 Simple Rules which is based on his book 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Incidentally, his daughters are no longer teenagers, they are lovely young women and both are Grrl Geniuses.  Also, his son is far less squirrelly than the kid on the show, and he is much more talented and handsome.  

 

So at this Girlfriend Weekend I met some amazing women you should know about.  Iris Rainer Dart who is the legendary author of the Grrl Classic Beaches is as hilarious and funny a person as she is a writer.  Please check out her newest book Some Kind of Miracle. One of the most delightful people at the event was the Southern Belle Celia Rivenbark and you’ve simply got to read her devilishly funny We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle . Two other books I got at the event that I am simultaneously reading and loving is the juicy, gory thriller by former LA Times reporter Denise Hamilton The Jasmine Trade and the wry and sentimental Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King. They’re both great!

 

There were three other women there who really inspired me. Victoria Moran who is this incredibly wise and calm and beautiful person who claims she’s an age she cannot be, because she looks too fabulous and that is why I am devouring her Younger By the Day: 365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body and Revitalize Your Spirit. Leslie Levine is this tiny little powerhouse of positive thinking and she will make you feel like you can conquer the world.  My favorite of her books is Ice Cream for Breakfast (because, for crying out loud, she’s recommending ice cream for breakfast which is obviously a genius idea) but check out her whole amazing vibe at leslielevine.com. The last of the trio of inspiring geniuses was Marshall Chapman, who is this hip and tough Amazonian singer-songwriter and exactly the kind of girl who would have beaten me up in the bathroom in Jr. High, but I highly recommend her book and her music because she’s cooler than all of us and if you spend some time with her art, I figure some of her coolness is bound to rub off. Check her out at www.tallgirl.com.

 

Meanwhile there is another Grrl Genius writer I’ve got to turn you on to and that is Claire Scovell LaZebnik.  She wrote one of the most sarcastic and true novels about sisters that I have ever read, Same as it Never Was. Her heroine is absolutely the female Holden Caufield I longed for as a young reader.  Claire has four children and manages to write about a book a minute and she also has written a daringly honest and deeply insightful book about being a parent of an autistic child, Overcoming Autism.  I love the title and having met her family, I have to say it’s accurate, they have truly overcome this incredible challenge.  Please check out her website at www.sameasitneverwas.com

On the topic of autism, I must recommend one other book, Finding Ben by Barbara LaSalle.  It is a beautifully written book about a mother's journey trying to discover why her son is so different.  It is honest and touching and inspiring.

 

Ten other Grrl Genius authors you’ve got to read if you want to be my friend (I know that’s a lot but really, you are going to buy Ten books in the next few years, so I’m just saying, make them these) are as follows.  Number one on the list is Don’t Look Back, We’re Not Going That Way  by TV icon Marcia Wallace.  Marcia is wise and spiritual and yet squirt-your-drink-out-your-nose-funny, and reading this book is like having her for a best friend.  She’s at marciawallace.com.  Not By Accident  is an improbable and inspiring true rescue story by my friend Samantha Dunn, who the LA Times compares to Joan Didion, but for my money Sam’s more fun to read.  If you’ve never read Sandra Tsing Loh or Merrill Markoe, then there is something wrong with you, which is that you’ve never read two of the wittiest Grrl Genius writers out there.  A Year in Van Nuys is my favorite books of Sandra’s and What the Dogs Have Taught Me is my favorite book of Merrill’s.  Although Merrill’s new novel is written with a partner, it is dishy and bitchily funny, The Psycho Ex Game.   Linda Bloodworth-Thomason was my boss when I was a writer on Designing Women, and though she created one of the best sit-coms ever, she couldn’t just rest on her laurels, so she went off and wrote a novel that had me laughing so hard people were staring at me and at other times had me sobbing my eyes out, which also earned me some strange looks.  It’s called Liberating Paris and I couldn’t put it down which, because it’s huge, which means I got quite a work out besides all the laughing and crying.  Claire Cook is a wonderful and funny writer who wrote the huge bestseller Must Love Dogs which you Must Read if You Love Dogs, her newest, Multiple Choice, is a great mother-daughter read, it will make you laugh and wince whether you’re a mother, a daughter, or both.  My friend Liz Tuccillo was a bartender living in a basement apartment in Brooklyn, struggling for her art for years writing the most comical, wonderful and weird plays you’ve ever seen, including one that takes place on a basketball court which was actually staged in a gym with a cast of deliciously hunky athletes. Then she became a writer on Sex and the City, and teamed up with comic and Uber Enlightened Male Greg Behrendt to write He’s Just Not That Into You, which is a huge bestseller and has been read by pretty much everyone in America but if you haven’t read it, don’t get left out, it’s got some tough practical wisdom you might need to hear. Christie Mellor’s The Three Martini Playdate  is the perfect gift for anyone you know who has reproduced but still has an interesting personality and believes that children are both a) amazing and b) not the boss of us. Learning Curves by Michele Weston is a book that will help a woman of any size love her body, and know what kind of cute clothes to put on it.  Michele is one of the best stylists I know, and her philosophy on looking fabulous will make you, well, look fabulous!  Finally, if you’ve never read Margaret Cho’s I’m the One that I Want  you have missed reading the achingly hilarious writing of a true comedy legend.  Read it, read all of them.

 

Seriously, these women belong on your bookshelf.

 

Finally, I must recommend one other Enlightened Male author if for no other reason than to make sure people know I do in fact recommend male authors I am not currently sleeping with, and that author is comic (boy) genius Carl Reiner.  Carl is one of the funniest humans that ever lived, and because we have the same wonderful editor, he was nice enough to read both my books, and give me blurbs for both back covers.  It was the thrill of a lifetime for me that he thought I was funny, and possibly the only thing I have ever accomplished that left my dad truly speechless.  His newest book My Anecdotal Life is an autobiography about a time in show business that I am so sorry doesn’t exist any more, it’s all about the days when fantastic weirdos ruled entertainment, before giant multi-national corporations decided what we would watch, read or listen to.  His writing is impeccable and his stories are treasures.

 

4. BOOKSTORES        BACK TO TOP

 

Also, may I just say, if you love books, please support independent booksellers.  I’ve provided online links to all these books so you can check them out, but honestly, it’s independent booksellers who really support authors. Three of my very favorite independent bookstores in America are Rainy Day Books in Kansas City, Joseph Beth Booksellers in Ohio  and The New England Mobile Book Fair. These people actually love books, and authors and they so deserve your business. If you are ever looking to buy a book online, and also want to support independent booksellers, go to the following link http://www.booksense.com/store/index.jsp which will get you to the Booksense online store.  Every time you buy a book there you are casting a vote for independent booksellers everywhere.

 

5. CHOCOLATE AND LINGERIE           BACK TO TOP

 

OK, OK, enough about books.  Let’s talk chocolate and lingerie.  This summer I tasted some of the most scrumptious chocolate I’ve ever eaten, made by this really sexy couple in the wilds of the Massachusetts Berkshires.  I’m obsessed with chocolates and I’m here to tell you these things are gorgeous (some of them are dusted with actual GOLD, I wouldn’t be surprised if they used diamonds instead of nuts, which would probably be tough on your teeth, but still!) and they taste incredible.  The name of the place is Chocolate Springs Cafe and you should simply call 413-637-9820 and order these very princessy chocolates on my say so.  If I’m wrong you can write me and yell at me, but I’m not wrong.  In the interest of full disclosure I will say that these people did give me some chocolate once, but lots of people have given me chocolate and you don’t see me pushing their stuff here.  They’re that good.

 

Somebody else who gave me some stuff once is Cosabella lingerie, but that was AFTER I wrote so passionately about their lingerie in my newest book and put a pair of their panties on the cover of my hardback (the book, not my ass).  I don’t care what kind of body you have, it will look better in Cosabella.  Lingerie is our friend.  Remember, lingerie takes over where skin lets us down.  Go to Cosabella.com  and order whatever you can afford.  Even the G-strings are amazing.  No kidding.

 

6. LIP GOO                  BACK TO TOP

 

Now here’s something nobody gave me for free but I just love.  A makeup artist recommended it to me, and I am now recommending it to you.  It’s Shu Uemura #768  lipstick and it’s the color your lips would be if you were in a movie where you looked perfect and like you weren’t wearing make-up at all, though you’d actually spent an hour and a half in hair and make-up.  It’s like that.

 

Also, for my money, the best lip gloss out there is Stilla pink shine, It’s looks great over lipstick, it lasts, it doesn’t run, and it’s fantastic all on its own.  Most importantly, if you kiss someone when you wear it they won’t end up looking like a drag queen, which is good news for both of you, unless you’re kissing drag queens and I have a feeling even they don’t like having someone else’s lip gloss smeared all over them.

 

7. MUSIC          BACK TO TOP

 

Ooh!  Ooh, what about music?  Let me recommend a wonderful band that I performed with this summer called Melodrome.  Their music is romantic and soulful and yet real rock and roll, and both my boyfriend’s seventeen-year-old son and I agree they are a great listen.  Check them out at www.melodrome.net.

 

Another band you’ve just got to check out is Yazbek, which is my friend David Yazbek’s rock band.  You might know him better as the Tony nominated (and he totally should have won) composer of The Full Monty but his rock band, well, rocks!  He’s actually a rock star whose day job is writing musicals that make millions, I guess it beats flipping burgers. I love his album Damascus, and also Tock is fantastic.  Check him out at Davidyazbek.com

 

If it seems like I am recommending too many Enlightened Males in the music department please do me a favor and buy the soundtrack, or better yet a ticket to, the Broadway smash hit musical Wicked.  The book for the show was written by Winnie Holtzman, the Grrl Genius creator of My So-Called Life, and one of those rare women in Hollywood who actually mentors other women.  It was adapted from a wonderful novel, but only a great writer can do a great adaptation and Winnie is that writer.  Legendary Steven Schwartz did the music and the Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Mendel are Grrl Genius divas of epic proportions.  It’s the most Grrl Geniusy musical on Broadway and worth every dime of the hundred bucks it will cost you to see it.

 

8. GOOD WORKS                    BACK TO TOP

 

A true Grrl Genius always tries to do something for others without becoming a pathetic codependent.  Trust me, at times it can be a fine line.  That’s why charities are so important and so much more worth your time than bad boyfriends. In the department of giving, I have to mention that this summer I had the privilege of doing a benefit for some hard-working people who are restoring an historic theatre in the Berkshires.  It was the premiere of my one-woman show, and it was held at The Berkshire Music Hall to benefit The Colonial Theatre restoration.  This is an enormous project and yet so worthwhile because they are saving a treasure for future generations.  If you want to check it out, or help, go to their website thecolonialtheatre.org.

 

Finally, let me tell you about a charity that has become the official Grrl Genius charity, and that is Girls Incorporated.  Girl’s Incorporated is a nationwide mentoring program for young women, encouraging them to become as excellent as they can be.  Girls Inc. is the largest single giver of scholarships to young women in this country and the people that work for them are, without exception, the most positive, can-do collection of individuals I have ever met.  If you truly want future generations of girls to live up to their potential, you will get involved with this charity.  These people are committed heart and soul to the idea that girls in this country have got to stop selling themselves short.  In other words, they need to claim their rightful title of Grrl Genius.

 

That’s all good stuff!