According to Joanna Barron's mother the criteria for success should include: earn a credential, marry a man with potential, improve yourself, and surround yourself with culture.Unfortunately, the life that twenty-seven-year-old Joanna has carved out for herself doesn't begin to fulfill her mother's checklist. And that might not be so bad, considering her mother's definitions of men with potential (bland Howie the pharmacist) and culture (a complete collection of Barry Manilow recordings) certainly aren't the most sophisticated. But something is sorely lacking form Joanna's life in Sunnyside, Queens.Enter Tommy McClellan, neighborhood bad-boy turned cop, the kind of man her mother warned Joanna to steer away form. An ever-smiling smooth operator, Tommy adds a little sass to her days and a lot of spice to her nights. But as their relationship intensifies, Tommy's unwillingness to change doesn't quite click with Joanna's dreams of something more.

Product Description: "What is your biggest pet peeve?" This simple Twitter question posed by John Cleese inspired bookseller Jen Campbell to start a blog collecting all the ridiculous conversations overheard in her bookstore. Everything from "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to "Did Charles Dickens ever write anything fun?" Anyone who has ever worked in retail will nod knowingly at requests like "I’ve forgotten my glasses, can you read me the first chapter?" Or the absurdity of questions like "Excuse me ...read more