Relationships Friendships

For more than 25 years, small-talk expert Don Gabor has helped thousands of people communicate with wit, confidence, and enthusiasm with his best seller How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends. This newly revised and updated edition combines classic techniques in the art of conversation with necessary skills for communicating in the 21st century.

In this series, we will attempt to reclaim the sacredness of friendship. We will begin by developing a sound definition of friendship. Then, we will reflect on some godly wisdom as it relates to friendship. After that, we will examine godly examples of friendship, examine our own motives in the relationships that we pursue, learn the difference between subjects and objects, and, finally, we will talk about the importance of boundaries and how to manage the territory that lies between friendship and romance.

Yes, Mindy Kaling is the genial Hollywood celebrity who posted twelve selfies from a single Oscar party, but that smile took work. In this hilariously honest essay, Mindy reflects on the social anxiety that she traces back to the slices of white cheese her parents served at her ninth birthday party. Little has changed in thirty years--least of all the fear of being judged forever. It’s probably best to just back away.

Our culture today is inundated with narratives about the strength of female friendship, whether through images of girl power, BFFs, or work wives. Yet cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith has always found her own life much messier. She has had dramatic friend breakups, friendships that felt like too much or not enough, friendships that drifted into silence, and friendships built on convenience rather than a meeting of minds. And there are older cultural scripts to contend with: the competitive rival, the jealous backstabber, the underminer, the fair-weather friend.

It’s bad enough losing the wedding rings, let alone losing your heart… Josh Hamnett is best man at his mate’s wedding, and he’s determined that nothing will go wrong on the big day. Then his ex-girlfriend appears in the church in a gorgeous scarlet bridesmaid’s dress and literally falls into his arms. Kate thought she’d locked away her memories of Josh forever, but seeing him again brings them all rushing back, good and bad. He’s the only man she’s ever really loved, and she’s shocked to discover the chemistry between them still sizzling hot. But she can never forgive him ...

In Desperate Woman Seeks Friends, Kristen Strong offers her two decades of experience as a regularly relocating military spouse and one decade as a settled civilian to address head on the crisis facing women today in startling numbers: an acute loneliness and isolation due to a lack of friends and community.

Remy always knows the perfect time to give a boyfriend "The Speech" telling him it's over - after the initial romantic whirl, but before the reality of an actual relationship hits. Her friends tease that her boyfriend tally is nearing the triple digit mark, but she's a girl who knows just how to avoid any messy emotional entanglement. After all, she's had the example of her five-times-married mother to show her what not to do.So what, then, is it about Dexter that makes it so hard for her to follow her own rules?

It’s always been Malak, Kees, and Jenna against the world. Since childhood, under the watchful eyes of their parents, aunties and uncles, they’ve learned to live their own lives alongside the expectations of being good Muslim women. Staying over at a boyfriend's place is disguised as a best friend’s sleepover, and tiredness can be blamed on studying instead of partying. With growing older and the stakes of love and life growing higher, the delicate balancing act between rebellion and religion is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.

Can guys and girls ever be just friends? According to Audrey Tate and Clarke West, absolutely. After all, they’ve been best friends since childhood without a single romantic entanglement. Clarke is the charming playboy Audrey can always count on, and he knows that the ever-loyal Audrey will never not play along with his strategy for dodging his matchmaking mother — announcing he’s already engaged…to Audrey.

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles in school, no matter how hard she tries. But as soon as she dives into the pool, she's unstoppable. She's the fastest girl on the middle school swim team, and when she's asked to join the high school team over the summer, everything changes. Suddenly, she's got new friends, and a high school boy starts treating her like she's somebody special - and Annabelle thinks she'll finally stand out in a good way.

If you want to become that person—the one that everybody immediately likes and wants to be around, the one people want to keep in touch with—then this will be the most important audiobook you’ll ever listen to. Do you find that even when you put yourself out there and try to make friends, it’s not easy? Do you wish you had more friends to spend time with doing things you love? Listen to How to Get People to Like You and immediately start using the methods inside to experience the wonderful world of thriving social circles and interactions.

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: If he doesn't play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone's business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he's been emailing with, will be compromised.

Sydney Sage is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. In the Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her...But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once.

When friends turn to lovers, the temperature’s going to soar… Tasha Wilde has spotted the perfect site for the chocolate and coffee shop she’s planning to run with her best friend, Maisey, in Doubtless Bay, New Zealand. The only trouble is that Maisey’s gorgeous brother, Kole, also wants the shop for his photography business. Their friends are convinced that Tasha and Kole have feelings for one another, so they invent a game – the two of them must do their best to get the other to admit they’re in love. They have eight days. The winner gets the shop. Both think their attraction ...

Three young friends - Leo, Elsa, and Max - spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness and that they will soon be cruelly ripped apart from one another. With their lives taking them across Europe - to Germany, England, Prague, and Poland - will they ever find their way back to one another? Will they want to?

Four years before Nina Totenberg was hired at NPR, where she cemented her legacy as a prizewinning reporter, and nearly twenty-two years before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, Nina called Ruth. A reporter for The National Observer, Nina was curious about Ruth’s legal brief, asking the Supreme Court to do something revolutionary: declare a law that discriminated “on the basis of sex” to be unconstitutional. That call launched a remarkable, nearly fifty-year friendship.

From best-selling author Maggie Stiefvater, a gripping tale of darkness, miracles, and family. At the heart of Bicho Raro, Colorado you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles.

In Discovery, book 3, Derrick King reunited with his sister Miriam and with Rebekah Ford. Both girls escaped Pacific Edge, leaving no small crisis in their wake. Rebekah followed Miriam but has second thoughts because she left her sister, Anna, behind. After finding Derrick and returning to Potterville, they learned Anna also escaped from Pacific Edge. Powerful people are looking for Anna. Derrick and Miriam promise to rescue Anna. They don’t know where Anna is or who is looking for her.They know it rescue is dangerous. They don’t understand just how dangerous it is.

It’s been almost two years since Simon died in detention, and the aftermath has been hard to shake. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation outwitted a vengeful copycat. Now the entire Bayview Crew is back home for the summer, and everyone is trying to move on. Only, this is Bayview, and life is never that simple.

With The Interruption of Everything, her sixth novel, Terry McMillan takes on the fault lines of mid-life and family life, reminds us once again of the redeeming power of friendship, and turns her eye toward the dilemma of how a woman starts to put her own needs higher on the to-do list while not shortchanging everyone else.