The Joy of Being Single

by Allia Zobel Nolan

Forget rumors about married people living longer, or that single people are miserable, or that two can live as cheaply as married people started these rumors out of pure jealousy. Which inspired single freelance humorist Allia Zobel to correct the record. Joined by New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast in her first-ever collaborative effort, the authors refute the bad rap singles have gotten with dozens of insightful, irrefutable reasons to celebrate living alone. 138,000 copies in print. Illustrated by Roz Chast.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Cartoon

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 1992

About the author

Allia Zobel Nolan is an internationally published, award-winning author specializing in children’s trade and religious books and adult humorous books. She has written over 150 titles, and has over 2 ½ million books in print. For the past nine years, Ms. Zobel Nolan worked for Reader’s Digest Children’s Books as a Senior Editor. She became a free-agent as of April 07, and is now at work on several religious children’s books.

Ms. Zobel Nolan has been published by Workman, Andrews & McMeel, Reader’s Digest Children’s Publishing, Barnes & Noble, Adams Media, Broadman & Holman, Zondervan, Cook, Scholastic (Veggie Tales), Concordia, Kregel, Standard Publishing, and Tommy Nelson. She has won several book awards, among them, the 2005 Mom’s Choice Award for the Most Outstanding Children’s Book for Preschoolers, an iParenting Award for Greatest Product of 2005, and the 2007 Teacher’s Choice Award.

Ms. Zobel Nolan has appeared on numerous TV shows, including Good Day New York, CNN, the Bertice Berry Show, Fox 5 "Pet Department," CBS News, Saturday Morning Live, The Channel 2 Six O’clock News; Hard Copy, the Fairfield Exchange, Westchester Channel 12, Channel 8 News New Haven, Education Notebook, and other nationally-syndicated television shows, in addition to interviews on radio, and extensive media coverage in local and national press.

Ms. Zobel Nolan is a member of the Cat Writer’s Association and Connecticut Press Club. She lives in Connecticut, with her husband, Desmond, and their three cats, Angela, Sinead, and McDuff.

She loves writing about God, cats, and for children.

- excerpted from her website

Reviews

[The Cute Little Brown-haired girl]

Embrace being single ladies...it is a GOOD THING~

[Rory · Rating 5 out of 5]

My bible.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Many things, such as staying up all night watching Star Trek reruns on the TV, rearranging my apartment in the middle of the night, etc, are things I actually do. I love that Allia was proud to enjoy her single status while she was single, that she unapologetically found her life to be complete, happy, and meaningful without a "significant other". She embraced her singleton life and didn't look to another person to make her feel happy or complete - a refreshing contrast to the "sad spinster" stereotype single women often face.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a lot as a child. It's a collection of funny comics that focus on a possible cat lady who prefers to soak in the tub, read a good book, and cuddle with her feline friends than be in a relationship. Her arguments are funny, yet oddly compelling. I feel like much of my life was shaped by this book. Perhaps my parents should not have let an eight-year-old read this.

[Keli Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

hahahahahahhahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I found this at the thrift store and it was written in the early 90s.. and the author has since got married so...well she realized there was more joy in NOT being single.. but this book is a trip.. if you can find a copy GET IT!!

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute little illustrated book my mom gave me years ago. The older I get the more I relate!

[Aliaa Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it never ended 😂❤️

[Noninuna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is entertaining & even tho the illustration is not my taste, I LOVE it! Some things are only relatable to single ladies living alone, independently not those who're still live with their parents for various reasons, which one of them is me 😆 The joy that I can totally agree is:

"You can sit in a chair and read novel cover to cover without feeling guilty."

[Mimi Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a sweet little booklet. It cheered me up a lot. It was published in 1992, so one or two things are a little outdated. But still very relatable. I laughed at the first page because the illustration is just like my bed! I showed it to my loved ones and they loved it too. I hope the author can write another one for 2023. Blessings and love to the author and the artist of this book.

[Lightwhisper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esperava que fosse mais cómico.. não é que os desenhos e o texto não consigam ser engraçados, mas nem sempre se consegue empatizar com a solteira por a realidade americana não ser a mesma do que a portuguesa?
Lê-se num ápice e por vezes, as próprias legendas são mais cómicas do que os desenhos...

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ok in a hallmark cards sort of way.
Redeemed by the illustrations of Roz Chast.