National Network for Equitable Library Service

Admit it — sometimes we just don't get where our better half is coming from. Are 23 pairs of black heels — each varying in heel height, number of straps, and degrees of self-inflicted foot pain — really necessary? Does a $5,000 Bose stereo system qualify as a "home improvement"? Inside I Love You Even Though . . . , coauthors Rebecca Murray Schuler and Christine Wiesedeppe-Regan offer nearly 50 sarcastic insights on romantic rapport paired with charming, edgy line-drawn illustrations. Perfectly timed for Cupid Day gift-giving, guys and gals will find that all the important relationship topics are covered: lawn mowing, ESPN's SportsCenter, her propensity to collect shoes in varying hues of black and his ability to quote entire scenes from The Godfather, but always forget three items on the grocery list. Although Schuler and Wiesedeppe-Regan indicate that debates will rage over the culinary merits of stuffing a beer can up a chicken's bottom and the fine line between talking, asking and nagging, one thing remains certain, unequivocal and dependable — that thing is love. Sample entries include: I love you even though . . .   You can effortlessly organize a fantasy football draft involving 12 guys, six cases of beer, eight pizzas and five orders of Buffalo wings, but forget to make dinner reservations for our anniversary. You don't understand the financial and emotional disparity between "Coach" being printed on a handbag and "Coach" being printed on an airline ticket. You declare that G. I. Joe is not a doll, but rather an American icon embodying man's primal need for social order and homeland security. You consider camouflage a color. Even though you sometimes don't get me and I sometimes don't get you... I love you.