The Happy Hook-Up: A Single Girl's Guide to Casual Sex [Paperback]

Joy Alexa Sherman (Author), Nicole Tocantins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Mindless fling, harmless hook-up, booty call, friends with benefits. Call it what you want, but let'­s be honest: more females than ever are choosing to stay single-and sleeping around has become an accepted, if not expected, part of the singles scene. But while casual sex is no longer a girl'­s dirty little secret, it'­s not always as easy as it'­s often made out to be. In THE HAPPY HOOK-UP, two 30-something women who have done hard time in the casual sex trenches address the various issues that single women face before, during, and after hooking up. Using extensive interviews with a variety of experts, THE HAPPY HOOK-UP explores the physical, behavioral, and emotional issues that go along with doing the casual deed. Accompanying the authors'­ sardonic and sage advice is an array of entertaining and educational anecdotes from women who'­ve hooked up and survived to share their enlightening tales. They shed light on such important issues as planning ahead (go easy on the alcohol-and the fiber), special engagements (celebrity screws; workplace whoopie), and the awkward moments after (the phone number exchange; breakfast in public). Featuring quizzes and checklists to gauge the reader'­s casual sex readiness as well as glimpses into getting lucky from the male perspective, THE HAPPY HOOK-UP looks at commitment-free fun from a smart and empowering perspective.A woman'­s guide to casual sex, featuring advice from relevant experts, vixens in the know, and a few well-chosen guys. Appeals to the same sassy gals who watch Sex and the City, read Cosmo, and use Blue Q'­s "Dirty Girl" and "Virgin/Slut" beauty products. A recent U.S. study showed that almost 50 percent of adults have had a one-night stand.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

NICOLE TOCANTINS works as a production coordinator and reviewer at HITS (where she and Sherman met) and runs her own music supervision company. She is also a stellar comedic actress; her feature film work includes roles in The Opposite of Sex and Bounce, and her television credits include Seinfeld and Dharma and Greg. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
Before ALEXA JOY SHERMAN became senior editor at Shape magazine, she worked at the popular teen magazine Jump. She spent six years in the music industry doing publicity and marketing for Capitol Records and working as senior editor at the trade magazine HITS. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580086098
• ISBN-13: 978-1580086097
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!, May 3, 2005

By 

Devora "Single and happy" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Happy Hook-Up: A Single Girl's Guide to Casual Sex (Paperback)

I thought this book was just wonderful. As a woman in her forties who went through a bad divorce, I wasn't sure it would apply to me...I thought it might just be for the hot, young girls out there. But, I figured, what the heck -- I am a single girl (or woman) again, so I may as well see what my options are now that I've got them again.

Much to my delight, this book was full of funny stories from all kinds of women. They illustrated a lot of valuable points, all while making me laugh and realize that being single really can be an opportunity to explore your sexuality if you're smart and emotionally stable enough to handle it.

I applaud this book for addressing the subject matter responsibly. There are a lot of serious issues to consider when you have casual sex and as this book points out, if you consider those and feel okay with it all, then you have as much right as any man to go out and enjoy it for what it is.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!!!, April 5, 2005

By 

Jo Jo (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Happy Hook-Up: A Single Girl's Guide to Casual Sex (Paperback)

I can't say enough good things about this book. I bought it around Valentine's Day, right around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up (of course! I never seem to have a boyfriend on that holiday!).

At the time, I was thinking about having casual sex with a friend of mine, just to get me over the breakup. After reading this book and taking some of the advice to heart, I realized that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to act on my impulse to go for it with my friend. That's not to say that other people shouldn't have a "friends with benefits" type of relationship, I just realized in reading this book that it probably would't be right for me and that I should put some thought into it before just going for it.

BUT, I also realized that at a certain point, casual sex might be right for me and that it could be a great thing to do if I met the right guy, found the right situation. Well, I just had the right situation come up, and I feel really good about it! Since the guy was someone I wouldn't really want to get serious with, I feel really great about it -- we had fun, but that's all it was. If I hadn't had this book, I'm not sure how I would be feeling, but this book really helped me figure out how to know when the timing is right and when it's not. When it IS right, having a one-night stand can be a nice way to have some fun while you're waiting for Mr. Right to come along.

There's a lot of other great info in the book too and lots of stories from women that remind me of situations I might have been in myself at one point or another. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one going through all these things. I learned a lot from reading the stories from other women in this book.

It's all just really good info and a fun read.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. It's about time!, November 3, 2004

By 

CuteyPie (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Happy Hook-Up: A Single Girl's Guide to Casual Sex (Paperback)

I'm really glad I ordered this book. I know so many women and girls who are hooking up or having casual sex and not feeling so great about it. We want to be able to do it the same way men do, but it never seems to work out that great for us. This book helps you understand why women have regrets or don't enjoy having casual sex as much as they think they might (and no, it's not just because we aren't wired to have sex like men!).

Maybe you're just not able to handle it emotionally, like a lot of people say about females -- but this book talks about that and then brings up a lot of other good points that go deeper than that: Maybe you ARE able to handle it emotionally, but you're picking the wrong guys or you're not being careful enough (using protection) or you're too drunk to know what you're doing, or you're expecting too much after the fact. All of these things make you feel bad about it. This book explains why you shouldn't feel bad about it, and even helps you figure out if you should or shouldn't be doing it in the first place.

I'm sure a lot of people will dismiss this book without even reading it, thinking it's just promoting hooking up and casual sex. But people are already having casual sex (duh!), and this is the first book I've seen that talks about all of the details of it, so you might actually think about it before you do it. Plus, it makes you realize that you're not alone, that it's okay to have sex when you're not in a serious relationship (what are we supposed to do - wait until Mr. Perfect comes along?), and it's funny, too. I highly recommend it!