Journalist Andrews (politico.com, theroot.com), a self-described smart-ass, chronicles her life as a young, black political reporter in Washington, D.C.  (amazon.com)

"This book was born out of anger," writes Hanauer in the introduction to this fierce, feminist collection (amazon.com) about sex, solitude, work, motherhood and marraige. Look for essays by Kate Christensen, Helen Schulman, Elisaa Schappell and others.

The Prozac Nation author makes her case for difficult women in this biography of the bad girl (amazon.com). "Now that Mother Teresa is finally dead," she writes in the introduction, "It is safe to say that the Goody Two-Shoes as real, live girl has so thoroughly fallen from grace in recent years that those branded with virtue—perhaps with a scarlet letter 'V' on their foreheads, like two fingers signing for peace—will go as far as taking off their clothes just to change the label."

Described as "Desperate Housewives on steroids," this cheeky new novel follows Amanda Vaughn, a recently divorced mother of two, who moves back to her affluent Dallas hometown where her old friends her primed to destroy her reputation. (amazon.com)

In kitchens around the world, the chef is always right, as Chavez learns when he goes behind the scenes to find out what makes a restaurant kitchen run. (amazon.com)

When her best friend announces that she's leaving her husband, Izzy Brilliant begins to ponder her next move. After seven years of marriage and motherhood and feeling like a total you-know-what, is it time to leave it all behind? (Buy the novel at amazon.com)

Stoller helped popularize knitting for a new generation of women with this quirky pattern book (amazon.com) for "chicks with sticks."

It’s Valentine’s Day and Baker, a mother of three, has an appointment with the oncologist. "Cancer is a bitch," she declares. "It doesn’t give a shit about my holidays." And so begins Baker’s sharp, funny, relatable tale of her experience with the disease-and the gnawing fear that it will come back. Or, as she puts it, every mammogram feels like a "call back" for an audition. Available at Amazon.com.

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