The temperatures are dropping, scarves are being worn for warmth (not style), and your late summer glow has been replaced by rosy cheeks and a runny nose. The freezing weather makes it ever so difficult to unwrap yourself from the tight embrace of your down comforter and do anything remotely productive. Luckily, with winter break just around the corner, you can avoid the harsh realities of class, work, and responsibilities for a few weeks.

Break is exactly that.. a break. With all the required reading you’re given during the semester, it can feel like ages since you sat down with a book…for fun. So, we’ve compiled a list of 8 must-read classic English, classic American, and popular contemporary novels that should be enjoyed over break.

And, in light of the recent casting of Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, we’ve picked a celeb for each novel that would be perfect as the hero or heroine. So check out our list, choose your favorite, snuggle up with a mug of hot chocolate, and escape from the world (and the cold) for a few hours by creating your own mental movie with the help of these texts. Read More »

A few weeks back one of our writers started a discussion about the infamous number. No, not your SAT score; the number of people you have slept with. She (ever so eloquently, I must add) offered the idea that any guy worth her time would not care about how many guys had lifted her skirt before.

I really wanted that to be true, but knowing how much people talk about “the number” I had some doubts that anyone would find a guy who would ignore it completely. Clearly people care about the issue – why else would everyone keep track?

I turned to my male friends for some insight: should I worry about how many people I have slept with? Do guys care about my number?

He Said:

What’s in a number? Well, when talking about past partners with your special someone, it’s how many penises have been inside your girlfriend, that’s what. Who she’s slept with is just not a good thing to think about. But does it really matter?

Personally, I could care less. Not that her sexual history isn’t important, but assigning value to the number itself is arbitrary and basically meaningless. As long as I’m not at risk of catching something (which should be confirmed in an entirely different conversation, btw), I don’t see how the number of people makes any difference in our relationship. Read More »