Books

Journalist Mara Altman is on the ultimate quest to decode the O, consulting doctors, therapists, and, of course, a series of sex toys and subjects in Thanks for Coming: One Young Woman’s Quest for an Orgasm.

The original burlesque bombshell and all around icon for progressive politics, Gypsy Rose Lee, comes alive in Noralee Frankel's revealing biography, Stripping Gypsy: The Life of Gypsy Rose Lee.

Weaving in and out of religious communities, a young girl searches for identity and acceptance in Nicole Markotic's novel Scrapbook of My Years as a Zealot.

People Are Unappealing: Even Me smirks at the mishaps and mayhem of author Sara Barron's darkly humorous coming-of-age through stories that are as hideously embarrassing as they are endearingly charming.

The psychology behind cleaning goes under the cultural microscope in Dirt: The Quirks, Habits, and Passions of Keeping House, Mindy Lewis' essay anthology about keeping (or the attempt of keeping) things tidy.

Noir is the name of the game in Britten and Brülightly, Hannah Berry's illustrated detective story ripe with mystery and engrossing characters.

Margot Mifflin's The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman narrates the true, traumatic, and fantastic life of a young girl breaking cultural and racial boundaries in early-America.

Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley Brown celebrates the original superstar sex-columnist through all of her exuberant conquests and tumultuous shortcomings.

Pinch your pennies with The Backyard Homestead, Carleen Madigan's all-purpose guide to living simply and efficiently during any pesky recession.

Mishna Wolff explores her sometimes complicated, sometimes kooky childhood in the humorous and heartfelt I'm Down: A Memoir.