In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.

Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists’ ascent, a prelude to fame.

A Muse nº3 recommendation

The Forty Rules of Love unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, Shams, the whirling dervish—that together explore the enduring power of Rumi's work.

A Muse nº3 recommendation

Still Life with Woodpecker is a sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.

Review from Eloise: This book just might be the love of my life, and I don’t say that lightly. I sleep with in next to my bed. I go out of my way to bring it up in conversation. It not only is an interpersonal love story, but it is a love story, a love message, a love loving to the moon. It is a dream come true. Just be sure to have a pack of Camel Blue cigarettes (or at least a reference photo) for you will end up spending far too long holding a flashlight/magnifying glass searching for hidden women and words…A short and sweet review, I refuse to say anything more other than, A MUST READ <3

Provides an illuminating explanation of the origins and meaning of romantic love and shows how a proper understanding of its psychological dynamics can revitalize our most important relationships.

A Muse nº3 recommendation

“The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, renowned scholar, cultural critic and feminist bell hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a society bereft with lovelessness--not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love. 

Review from Eloise: Love. bell hooks presents an exploration of love in all of its forms—romantic, familial, communal, and self. And she does so in a way that, in all honesty, is terrifying. Everything I thought that I knew, or more relevant, didn’t know, was turned upside down in the most illuminating way. Western culture has turned love into both a commodity and an ideal. She is able to deconstruct the most common of misconceptions and challenges us to radicalize our evaluation of how we approach love through challenging the cultural norms that distort our perceptions. But, she guides us every step of the way, weaving in philosophical reflections, personal experiences, and wisdom from spiritual traditions, offering a holistic view of love as a transformative force that can heal.

We all desire great love. Yet, there seems to be a lot in the way when it comes to cultivating a relationship we crave.

Why is that?

It’s time for a new template — one rooted in choice, truth, safety, and respect. To get us there, Mark Groves and Kylie McBeath, champions of positive philosophy, provide us a roadmap, one they walked themselves, to step out of protection mode and into connection mode.

A Muse nº3 recommendation

Attachment theory has entered the mainstream, but most discussions focus on how we can cultivate secure monogamous relationships. What if, like many people, you're striving for secure, happy attachments with more than one partner? Polyamorous psychotherapist Jessica Fern breaks new ground by extending attachment theory into the realm of consensual nonmonogamy. Using her nested model of attachment and trauma, she expands our understanding of how emotional experiences can influence our relationships. Then, she sets out six specific strategies to help you move toward secure attachments in your multiple relationships. Polysecure is both a trailblazing theoretical treatise and a practical guide.

Review from Olivia: whether you are polyamorous or not, this has the best section on attachment theory I have ever come across

For 20 years The Ethical Slut—widely known as the “Poly Bible”—has dispelled myths and showed curious readers how to maintain a successful polyamorous lifestyle through open communication, emotional honesty, and safer sex practices.

Review from Drew: This is the book you’re handed at the front door on your first day of polyamory school. But I honestly think anyone would benefit from reading it - if not cover to cover, then at least skipping around in it and reading the parts that either intrigue or horrify you. The book is written on the radical premise that sex is nice and pleasure is good for you, and are parts of life to be sought after and celebrated, not ashamed of. As I read it I felt a huge weight come off my chest and lots of moments of “Wait - yeah! It should be that way!” Very liberating book, which is what I’m after.