ABOUT THE BOOK!

Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics

Quirkyalone is on sale in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Australia. A list of stores and online retailers carrying the book in Australia is available here. A similar list of Canadian retailers is here. Quirkyalone will be translated and released in Germany, Brazil, and Denmark in 2005.

Quirkyalone is now its second printing. If you are considering buying the book online, please link from one of the links on the left. That way we get a small percentage of the sale. Muchas gracias, molto grazie, danke, and thanks!

PRAISE FOR QUIRKYALONE

"Fun, inspirational and provocative, this book is the perfect antidote to the Valentine's-inspired coupling craze."—Publisher's Weekly

"Cagen's new book —with its playful melange of text, pie charts, lists, and quirkyalone bios — expands on her original essay but trades wistfulness for an attitude of eloquent (and sometimes hilarious) self-determination."—Boston Phoenix

"If you¹d simply like to read a funny, open-minded, well-researched treatise on an important and growing segment of our modern culture ­ I suggest you get a copy of ³Quirkyalone.² You may discover you¹re a QA and didn¹t even know it."—Tampa Bay Weekly

"Is this a unique new revolution? Hardly. QAs have always existed—remember the swinging '70s, anyone?—but give Cagen credit for coining a term. Her QA manifesto is inspiring, with its talk of a new, more free section of society in which it's OK to not have a significant other on Valentine's Day—which Cagen is ambitiously trying to rebrand as International Quirkyalone Day." Seattle Weekly

"The quirkyalone personality is so her, it's scary, says Sarita Misra, 30, who lives in Huntsville, Ala. "I'm an extrovert," Misra says. "I love people and social situations." But she also likes to travel alone. She's comfortable going places by herself. Her romantic history hasn't been one long-term relationship after another.

Misra was born in India but grew up in Alabama. She has lived on both U.S. coasts. Everywhere, she says—especially in the South and in her South Asian community—there's little understanding of those who like to be single. And, of course, there are expectations from family and society.

Misra bought Cagen's book and found herself on every page. "I read it to my family," Misra says. "[I said,] 'This is what I've been trying to tell everyone for so long. I can't explain it but this explains it.'""—Dallas-Fort-Worth Star Telegram

"Quirkyalones are not anti-love and certainly not anti-sex —merely 'anti-dull relationships'. They would rather spend time hanging out with friends, people with whom they have a real rapport, than endure a bad date. It's certainly a great antidote to Rachel Greenwald's terrifying new book, The Program, which has stormed America and 'revolutionised the dating game'. Greenwald,who is to romance what Attila the Hun was to peace studies, believes lone women should market themselves like a brand, wear Wonderbras at all times and tell everyone in their address book that they are seeking a husband."—London Observer

Advance praise from Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

"Cagen is up to something that could be as important for women (and men) as The Feminine Mystique was years ago: We aren't just halves of couples; we are distinct individuals—as complete and potentially happy alone as we are with our families and lovers. Thank you, Sasha, for giving us this proud and thoughtful declaration of independence!"

Some books are silly. Some books are serious. Quirkyalone is both. It's the rare coffee-table (or bathroom) book that makes you smile and think. A treasure trove of fun, laughs, and endless questions to ask yourself, Quirkyalone is a bible for all who reject archaic notions of romantic relationships. The book is loaded with individual voices of people who are constructing new approaches to life and love. Don't expect to find linear narrative or cliched self-help lingo. We have made every effort to let quirkyalones speak for themselves. The book is teeming with individual voices and personal stories. Every page is a treat, with juicy pop culture references, mad libs, personal stories, how-to guides, quizzes, and more.

Quirkyalone is always there for you. It's the album that sounds good ten years after you buy it. It's like a mix tape: No matter what mood you are in, you can find a song that speaks to you. You can skip around from chapter to chapter and get new insight about yourself and your friends. You can create your own lists based on the ones in this book (lists like "Dated then Hated," "What to Do when a Friends Starts Seeing Someone," and "Secret Single Behavior.") It's a resource to share with your friends, your parents, your co-workers, or your partner (if you have one)—especially friends and relatives who have been wondering (all these years) what is up with you. No matter what category you fall under (quirkyalone, quirkytogether, quirkyslut, or quirkyobserver), this book will make you see the world through a different lens.

Quirkyalone looks at:

• Womb quirkyalones, who were born that way; and born-again quirkyalones, who weren't.
• The quirkyalone nation: pie charts illustrating demographics of this community—where we live, what we do
• Sex and the single quirkyalone (le quirkyslut!)
• Adult best-friendship: Having significant others (note the plural) over a lifetime
• Romantic obsession: the dark side of the quirkyalone's romantic personality
• The mini-trend of self-matrimony (women who marry themselves first before committing to another partner)
• What happens when a quirkyalone begins a relationship? Is he/she still a quirkyalone, or a quirkytogether?
• Profiles in courage: Tributes to quirkyalones yore

To be clear (just in case you thought you were reading about The Surrendered Single or The Rules), Quirkyalone does not provide:

• The magic formula for the husband-hunt

As a value-added bonus, Quirkyalone includes the exclusive publication of Never-Ending Nightclub, a prescient look at the life of an urban twenty-something woman through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old. The author wrote and illustrated this book in eighth grade. Although she is EXCEEDINGLY proud of Quirkyalone, part of her wonders if Never-Ending Nightclub may be her best work yet.