The List: A Love Story in 781 Chapters

Though no one likes a to-do list (until everything is checked off, or you lose the list), there is a certain joy in keeping lists. And we at Workman couldn’t agree more. After all, we do claim a few rather extensive lists ourselves. Like The Wish List. And 1000 Places to See Before You Die. And 14,000 Things to Be Happy About. And Dream It, List it, Do it.  Why, just look at that list I’ve come up with! But it’s all in effort to get to talking about a charming little book called The List: A Love Story in 781 Chapters whose innovative short chapter form came well before its time (well, hello there, Twitter).

Its “an honest, funny look at the way we love, like, lust, and…list” (says Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada). And here’s an excerpt, to give you a taste:

1. You will dream about meeting Mr. Right.
   1. You’ll be eleven.
   2. Twelve.
   3. Forty-six.
2. Your first Mr. Right will be a rock star.
3. Your first Mr. Wrong will be a musician.
4. You will not learn from this.
5. You will get advice about men from your mother.
   1. “It’s as easy to love a rich man as a poor man.”
   2. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
   3. “Good luck.”
6. You’ll decide your mother has no idea what she’s talking about.
   1. Until you’re her age.
7. You’ll go out with a girlfriend, hoping to meet Mr. Right.
   1. You’ll be twenty.
   2. Thirty.
   3. Your mother’s age.
8. You’ll meet a man in a bar.
   1. The bartender.
   2. The bouncer.
   3. A banker.
   4. A man who’s wearing a T-shirt that says: Eat Me.

AND, To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we invited seven members of the Workman staff to each write “The Short List”–his or her own love story in just 5 to 7  numbered “chapters.” Stay tuned today as we post one original story each hour!