Editors' Note--Love Is In The Air

Okay, maybe not. But perhaps it is, since you picked up our Valentine’s Day issue. This year, this is the only good thing about V- Day, since Liz’s grandiose plans got unnecessarily preempted. Sigh. Oh well. Hey, this issue actually has a few pieces that fit our lovely theme. We start off with um, a failed relationship, and end with, um…a failed relationship. But never mind that! Because we at The Toucan get bored when we’re not discussing our love lives, we have some tips for improving yours. Namely, literary pickup lines. C’mon, if you’re reading this, you: A. Are literate and hip, and B. Need all the romantic help you can get.

• I’d like to flip through your chapters.
• Are you open to interpretation?
• Will you be My Antonia?
• You know The Great Gatsby? Yeah, well, I’m better.
• I can tell a book’s quality by running my hands down its spine, and you look like a fantastic read.
• The Age of Innocence has officially ended.
• You wouldn’t be reading A Farewell to Arms if you were in mine.
• I wish I could see you without your dust cover.
• I’ll treat you better than a first edition copy of Pride and Prejudice.
• Let me fill your margins with my ink.
• Were you to have A Room of One’s Own, would I be included?
• Like a good book, I can’t wait to curl up with you.*
• Looking at you, I feel like Sydney Carton. You’re a far, far better thing than I’ve ever done.

*some guy actually tried a variation of this one on Liz the night after we thought these up. In a bookstore, of course. In his defense, she was whistling at Norman Mailer.

So, yeah. We really, really, REALLY don’t recommend giving these a shot (note Liz’s bookstore suitor was NOT successful), but if you’re desperate and/or are really turned on by these and start churning out lit pick-ups of your own, let us know about them by commenting at www.thetoucanonline.blogspot.com, or drop us a line at thetoucanmag@gmail.com. That goes for submissions, too, people!!! We <3 submissions. We need them more urgently than affection!!!

Well, that’s about it before we binge on chocolate roses. Thanks to the Bird’s real Valentine, Dan Cirilo, and his randy raven, EAP.

Love and hugs, Liz and Laura, Toucan Editrices