Book picks similar to
An ABZ of Love by Inge Hegeler


non-fiction
sex
brainpickings
relationships

Penis Pokey


Christopher Behrens - 2006
    Are you up to the challenge?

How to Be a Great Lover: Girlfriend-To-Girlfriend Totally Explicit Techniques That Will Blow His Mind


Lou Paget - 1998
    Most of the sex guides for women, however, have been prudish, esoteric, or incomplete. The ultimate sexual instruction book for women, How to Be a Great Lover gives you the down and dirty details that you really want to know on exactly what men like and why, and shares the proven erotic techniques that make for incredible sex you'll both enjoy.Acclaimed sex expert Lou Paget draws on the real-life experience of the hundreds of men and women who have attended her workshops and presents their secrets and tricks in an elegant, no-nonsense style. Lou has found that in the bedroom (or closet, or kitchen), knowledge equals confidence, and confidence will make you feel empowered, heighten the intimacy of your relationship, and enable you and your partner to enjoy yourselves in a variety of intense, new ways. Whether you are starting a new relationship, have run out of creative ideas, or want to light his fire all over again, How to Be a Great Lover has enough spicy tips and surprises to excite both of you and leave him begging for more.From kissing techniques, ways to create the right atmosphere, and a lesson on safe sex--including the "Italian Method" of putting a condom on a man with your mouth--to twenty different manual techniques and the secrets of great oral sex, Lou covers all the basics and more. She offers innovative positions for intercourse, tantalizing moves you can do with a pearl necklace, and a beginner's guide to anal stimulation, as well as a catalogue of sex toys and how to use them. With more than ninety step-by-step illustrations that will show you how to drive him wild, How to Be a Great Lover provides proven, sure-fire techniques that will make you a master of the bedroom.

Purpose and Power of Love and Marriage


Myles Munroe - 2005
    Love is everywhere -- in songs and in books, on televisions and on movie screens. Yet, for all of our thinking and talking, how many of us truly understand love and where can we turn for genuine insight in matters of true love?

Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking


David Bayles - 1993
    Ordinary art. Ordinary art means something like: all art not made by Mozart. After all, art is rarely made by Mozart-like people; essentially-statistically speaking-there aren't any people like that. Geniuses get made once-a-century or so, yet good art gets made all the time, so to equate the making of art with the workings of genius removes this intimately human activity to a strangely unreachable and unknowable place. For all practical purposes making art can be examined in great detail without ever getting entangled in the very remote problems of genius."--from the Introduction

Leonardo's Notebooks


Leonardo da Vinci
    During his life he created numerous works of art and kept voluminous notebooks that detailed his artistic and intellectual pursuits.The collection of writings and art in this magnificent book are drawn from his notebooks. The book organizes his wide range of interests into subjects such as human figures, light and shade, perspective and visual perception, anatomy, botany and landscape, geography, the physical sciences and astronomy, architecture, sculpture, and inventions. Nearly every piece of writing throughout the book is keyed to the piece of artwork it describes.The writing and art is selected by art historian H. Anna Suh, who provides fascinating commentary and insight into the material, making Leonardo's Notebooks an exquisite single-volume compendium celebrating his enduring genius.

The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future


Ryder Carroll - 2018
    Out of sheer necessity, he developed a method called the Bullet Journal that helped him become consistently focused and effective. When he started sharing his system with friends who faced similar challenges, it went viral. Just a few years later, to his astonishment, Bullet Journaling is a global movement. The Bullet Journal Method is about much more than organizing your notes and to-do lists. It's about what Carroll calls "intentional living:" weeding out distractions and focusing your time and energy in pursuit of what's truly meaningful, in both your work and your personal life. It's about spending more time with what you care about, by working on fewer things. His new book shows you how to... • Track the past: Using nothing more than a pen and paper, create a clear and comprehensive record of your thoughts. • Order the present: Find daily calm by tackling your to-do list in a more mindful, systematic, and productive way. • Design the future: Transform your vague curiosities into meaningful goals, and then break those goals into manageable action steps that lead to big change. Carroll wrote this book for frustrated list-makers, overwhelmed multitaskers, and creatives who need some structure. Whether you've used a Bullet Journal for years or have never seen one before, The Bullet Journal Method will help you go from passenger to pilot of your own life.

The Female Brain


Louann Brizendine - 2006
    Though referenced like a work of research, Brizedine's writing style is fully accessible. Brizendine provides a fascinating look at the life cycle of the female brain from birth ("baby girls will connect emotionally in ways that baby boys don't") to birthing ("Motherhood changes you because it literally alters a woman's brain-structurally, functionally, and in many ways, irreversibly") to menopause (when "the female brain is nowhere near ready to retire") and beyond. At the same time, Brizedine is not above reviewing the basics: "We may think we're a lot more sophisticated than Fred or Wilma Flintstone, but our basic mental outlook and equipment are the same." While this book will be of interest to anyone who wonders why men and women are so different, it will be particularly useful for women and parents of girls.

The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships


Harriet Lerner - 1989
    Taking a careful look at those relationships where intimacy is most challenged--by distance, intensity, or pain--she teaches us about the specific changes we can make to achieve a more solid sense of self and a more intimate connectedness with others. Combining clear advice with vivid case examples, Dr. Lerner offers us the most solid, helpful book on intimate relationships that both women and men may ever encounter.

31 Days to Great Sex


Sheila Wray Gregoire - 2012
    Then we spend a few days on building emotional intimacy (your friendship), a few days on building physical intimacy (the fireworks, making sex feel wonderful!), a few days on spiritual intimacy (the oneness), and a few days putting habits in place so that you can keep the momentum going once you're done.Sex is so important in a marriage, and yet often we lose hope. It becomes blah. We wonder if we can ever recapture that spark--or if we can ever light that spark in the first place.This series takes you step by step in the process of building a fun and intimate sex life. It doesn't only focus on the mechanics of sex--though there certainly are posts that will help you in that department. It also focuses on building friendship, experiencing real intimacy, and learning to have fun again, just the way God intended.Any two bodies can work together sexually. When we have problems in the bedroom, it's often not because of our bodies. It's usually because we aren't communicating well, or we feel distant from each other, or we're just nervous. The big benefit of this 31 days is that you'll actually TALK and communicate about this important part of your life. Talking about it is difficult to do, but the prompts and the posts make it much easier. That's often when breakthroughs happen!Who will benefit from this book? Newlyweds who want to start off well! Couples for whom life has become blah and too routine Couples who have almost given up hope that sex can become great Couples in conflict because one spouse wants sex more frequently than the otherIn other words--just about every married couple. It doesn't matter where you are in your marriage, the 31 Days to Great Sex will help you talk about sex more, think about intimacy more, and feel much closer together.How does it work?Each day has a topic, like "Embracing the Skin She's In", "Hitting the Reset Button on your Sex Life", or "How Do You Decide Your Sexual Boundaries?" There's a short write-up you read together, and then there's a challenge for you to do, often containing some conversation prompts. And yes--there's plenty in there about how to make sex feel great, too.We're meant to have an abundant marriage--so don't settle for mediocre. Make this the most fun project you'll ever do together as a couple.

A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue


Wendy Shalit - 1998
    Where not long ago an unmarried woman was ashamed to give public evidence of sexual desire by living with someone, today she must be ashamed to give evidence of romantic desire. From sex education in grade school to coed bathrooms in college, today's young woman is being pressured relentlessly to overcome her embarrassment, her "hang-ups," and especially her romantic hopes. Meanwhile, the problems young women struggle with grow steadily more extreme: from sexual harassment, stalking, and date rape to anorexia and self-mutilation. Both men and women endlessly lament the loss of privacy and of real intimacy. What is it all about? Beholden neither to conservatives who discount as exaggeration the dangers facing young women, nor to feminists who steadfastly affix blame on the patriarchy, Wendy Shalit proposes that, in fact, we have lost our respect for an important classical virtue -- that of sexual modesty. A Return to Modesty is a deeply personal account as well as a fascinating intellectual exploration. From seventeenth-century manners guides to Antonio Canova's sculpture, Venus Italico, to Frank Loesser's 1948 tune, "Baby, It's Cold Outside," A Return to Modesty unfolds like a detective's search for a lost idea as Shalit uncovers opinions about this lost virtue's importance, from Balzac to Simone de Beauvoir, that have not been aired for decades. Then she knocks down the accompanying myths one by one. Female modesty is not about a "sexual double standard," as is often thought, but is related to male virtue and honor. Modesty is not a social construct, but a natural response. And modesty is not prudery, but a way to preserve a sense of the erotic in our lives. With humor and piercing insight, Shalit invites us to look beyond the blush and consider the new power to be found in an old ideal. She maintains that the sex education curriculum forced on those of her generation from an early age is fundamentally flawed, centered as it is on overcoming reticence -- what we today call "hang-ups." Shalit surprisingly and persuasively argues that without these misnamed hang-ups there can be no true surrender, no richness and depth to relations between the sexes. The natural inclination toward modesty is not a hang-up that we should set out to cure, but rather a wonderful instinct that, if rediscovered and given the right social support, has the power to transform society.

The 30 Minute Happiness Formula


Rachel Rofe - 2014
    It's easy to read so you can get moving right away.To get started, simply scroll to the top of the page, select the "Buy" button, and start reading.

Getting to Commitment: Overcoming the 8 Greatest Obstacles to Lasting Connection (and Finding the Courage to Love)


Steven Carter - 1998
    We sabotage our relationships and undermine our chances; we focus on the wrong partners and run away from real possibility. We find it difficult to be trusting, vulnerable, faithful, and honest. No matter how great the desire, we don't know how to move forward.Getting to commitment is about growth and change. It is about getting the love you deserve. You will learn how to recognize and overcome the eight greatest obstacles to lasting connection, how to focus on real possibility, and how to make and keep the relationships that matter most. Whether you are facing your own commitment issues or the issues of a reluctant partner, there is a way to both understand and resolve these conflicts. Falling in love and staying in love requires its own kind of heroism, because it takes real courage to make a commitment to lasting love. This book is about finding that courage.

Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, and Stress-free Life


Francine Jay - 2019
    Each day we add more possessions, more commitments, more worries, more stress to our lives. Striving for fulfillment, our closets become overstuffed, our calendars overscheduled, and our spirits overwhelmed. Instead of feeling happy, we just feel heavy.Lightly offers help. Whether you want to strip down your life to a backpack or free up some space in your closet, overhaul your schedule or gain back an hour in the evening, Lightly helps you identify what you treasure, while letting what’s unnecessary fall away. You will learn to lighten:  Your Stuff: advice on how to declutter what’s weighing you downYour Spirit: release the worries and emotional baggage that can be just as burdensome as possessionsYour Stress: reclaim your time and strive not to get more done, but to have less to doYour Step: reduce your consumption and make the planet as beautiful and clutter-free as your homeWithout a strict regimen, Lightly puts the power back in your hands to take control of your life.

Pussy: A Reclamation


Regena Thomashauer - 2016
    Author, educator, and School of Womanly Arts founder Regena Thomashauer has been working with women for the past 25 years, and what began as just a few women in her living room has since grown into a global movement with thousands of graduates worldwide.In her newest book, Pussy: A Reclamation, you’ll discover what no one taught you about the source of your feminine power and how to use it. It’s no secret that women today are still undervalued at home, at work, and in relationship. Too many of us are at war with our bodies and disconnected from our truth.See, we live in a culture that teaches us to turn off. To play small. To take care of everyone else first. To keep a lid on our dreams and a cork on our truth.This book is written to reacquaint a woman with her own power source—which is the part of herself she has been taught to ignore, push down, and despise. Indeed, the word that most viscerally sums up that power is, as Regena puts it, “arguably the most powerful pejorative word in the English language.” Like any expletive used effectively, the title of this book is meant to be a wake-up call. It is a reclamation, in a world that desperately requires the feminine.Here’s what you’ll learn:The key practices required to seek and speak your deepest truth, no matter whatHow to embody radical self-celebration, and why it will change your lifeHow to end the war with your body—and rather, see it for what it is: beautiful, sacred, powerful, and so, so worthy of approvalHow to trade depletion, obligation, overwork, and resentment for gratitude-filled, passionate contribution to our families, communities, and societyWhy a woman’s sensual awareness is critical for her spiritual, intellectual, and emotional healthWhat’s ahead on the next frontier of feminism—and how you can help make it happenAnd oh so much, much moreThis provocative, groundbreaking book brings forth a whole new paradigm for women, along with game-changing tools and practices to navigate any area of your life—relationships, career, body, confidence, sensuality, and more.By turns earthy and erudite, passionately argued and laugh-out-loud funny, Pussy delivers the tools and practices a woman requires to do and be whatever she wants in this life. It’s a call for her to tune in, turn on, and not drop out—but live more richly, fully, and lusciously than she ever thought she could.There’s a revolution afoot, and you’re invited.

Conversations on Love


Natasha Lunn - 2021
    A celebration of love in all its forms, featuring conversations with: Philippa Perry on falling in love slowly * Candice Carty-Williams on friendship * Alain de Botton on the psychology of being alone * Dolly Alderton on vulnerability * Emily Nagoski on the science of sex * Diana Evans on parenthood * Lisa Taddeo on the loneliness of loss * Esther Perel on unrealistic expectations * Stephen Grosz on accepting change * Roxane Gay on redefining romance * and many more