Men’s magazines focus on facts: history, cultural, wine & food (with no diet advice), sports. Their general tone is, “Hey, guy, you’re pretty cool. Here’s some stuff to make you even cooler…not that you need it.”

So many “women’s” books and magazines focus on “what’s wrong with you”.

Do women have self-image problems that these articles address? Or do women have self-image problems BECAUSE they read these articles?

“Can Modern Women ‘Have it All'”? Fascinating.

Thanks for sharing!

Great job putting this list together. Each of these stories moved me in a different way.

* “We help one another live and sometimes we watch – and help – one another die,” a quote from Emily Rapp in Female Friendship, is one of the most profound statements I’ve read in a long time. It resonated with me deeply since I’ve only begun making lasting friendships with women in the last five or so years. Growing up with only a father in the home, I didn’t know how to relate to women, and truthfully didn’t trust them for various reasons. After giving birth to my daughter, something seemed to reconcile in me. I have a group called the Spoonsters (we all have molded spoon rings) that gets together regularly and is committed to doing life together.

*Dear Sugar, I could Really Use Your Help Here – “Get Over Yourself and Reach. Starting Now.” Best. Advice. Ever. When the author talked about humility, it reminded me of what C.S. Lewis quote, “humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking about yourself less (often).”

*She Who Dies With the Most Likes Wins – every woman who has ever worked in the corporate world can relate to this, though I don’t relate with the term feminist. I guess because the word makes me feel like that’s just another box I’m supposed to fit into. But I love what Valenti’s saying here, “What’s better than being roundly liked is being fully known.”

*Dear Lord, The F Word, by Jennifer Weiner brings back so many memories and so many fears. I have a little girl too, and though weight is not my struggle, I worry my daughter will have have to overcome some of the things I did growing up. It’s a harsh world and what we look like matters more than it should. I hope to teach her to be strong, resilient and to overcome herself so she can do great things regardless of what others might speak into her life.

The first is probably my fave. There is something so beautiful about the tragedy in reality, especially when combined with a great love story.