price：$23.99
Adamant Media Corporation
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Terrific Collection) 『London does not disappoint in this collection. His observations are as sound today as they were in his time. It was fascinating to see that London even experimented with science fiction in his story the Red One.
Sean O'Reilly Editor-at-large Travelers' Tales Editor of 30 Days in the South Pacific』
(A Fine Collection!) 『It's a shame Jack London's "South Sea Tales" (sometimes referred to as "Hawai'ian Stories") are not more respected, both by the masses and by literary circles. London's stories here are equally as engaging as his better-known Yukon tales ("White Fang," etc.). And the fact that the setting is so drastically different from the snowy Northern Hemisphere of his other tales represents how versatile of a writer he was. It is true, there is not a lot of character differentiation from story to story, which may annoy readers looking for a veritable "collection" of stories and yet please those other readers looking for stories that are connected and read more like chapters of a novel. Nonetheless, Hawai'i is a United State and yet, fiction from this region that is taught on an academic, American Literature collegiate level is rare. That is a shame, because this collection shows that the region is intriguing, dangerous, and beautiful, all at the same time (and what more can you want out of a short story collection)!』
(This is not South Sea Tales) 『One star is not because the Jack London stories in this book are not wonderful. It is because this book is not South Sea Tales by Jack London, which I first got from my grandfather's bookshelf and was one of the most memorable reads from my youth. It is a collection of sea stories, including four from South Sea Tales, but I have found a copy of the original stories at Barnes and Noble. One might guess that some of the stories were dropped because, like Huck Finn, they use dialogue and espouse attitudes that we now know better than to live. The stories are still great and do not deserve to become un-stories. This collection is misnamed and misleading.』
(Good solid 1900's sea stories) 『Eight good stories by Jack London, about the people and places of the south Pacific in 1908. Also a good long introduction by A. Grove Day which should (like all too many "introductions") only be read *after* reading the stories.
Most of the people in these stories are, of course, either victims or perpetrators (or both) of one of those long painful Western exploitations of a less civilized ("less civilized") part of the world. London knows that that's what's going on, and he writes with sympathy for all concerned, and without the more self-conscious bemoaning that would be expected of a XXIst century writer. To the modern reader, then, he can sometimes seem cold-blooded, but seldom disturbingly so.
The prose is fine and spare most of the time, and never gets in the way of the tale. The places and the tales are memorable. There is not a great variety of character and setting; the eight stories together could almost be a single novel. His voyage on the Snark (which inspired these stories) clearly left him with a strong and single impression of this place and these people, and he conveys that impression skillfully along to us.
Definitely worth reading.』
『This Elibron Classics book is a reprint of a 1909 edition by Columbian-Sterling Publishing Co..』
price：$4.78
Bella Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A awesome read!) 『This was a great book, well written, a timely topic as well. I loved the characters in this book, not sure if the other reviewer even read the same book I did based on their comments! I bought this book since its been on the Amazon top 5 list for over a month now, cant ignore the numbers! I dont often look for sequels in a book, but this is one that I think that screams out for it. I have always enjoyed Richardson's book, but think this is the most outstanding one so far. I rate this a solid 5!』
(strongly developed characters) 『This book goes bravely where no other lesbian romance novel has gone, a war zone, and it does it with hard hitting yet sensitive writing. The bogus, mean-spirited review from above aside, this one is anything but a trashy romance. Good for Richardson for tackling this subject.』
(From the best Trashy Romance Novel to the Worst) 『I loved this author's other book, The Candidate, one of my favorite books. Her new book is awful... I'm not sure how to articulate what made it so bad but I guess it comes down to the fact that I didn't like the characters. I'm a sucker for trashy lesbian romance novels but this one I can't get myself to even read the last dozen pages...』
(One of the best books I have read in 2009!) 『I loved this book! I read, on average over 250 books a year, on all different genre's, but Tracey Richardson's "No Rules of Engagement" is, by far, the best book I have read this year. Richardson, in both "The Candidate" and "No Rules of Engagement" does a excellent job of pushing her novels from the standpoint of being not just another love story, as she takes on such hard hitting topics, as women in combat in the war in Afghanistan, as well as a would be woman president. No rules is a fast paced, page turner. I stayed up until 2 am just to finish reading it in one setting as I could not put it down. There is a little bit in this book for everyone, military women, medical professionals, journalists and photo journalist, hopeless romantics, tear jerker scenes, mom's and yes, even women hockey players! Enter Major Logan Sharp, serious, committed and hot as hell, but a total devoted to her career professional. In comes Jillian Knight who rocks Logan's world, who is everything Logan Sharp is not. Logan meets the perfect Yang to her Yin, but is she willing to take a chance finally in letting in her true soul mate ? Who comes along with all the baggage that we do at this stage of our lives? A must read!』 『With wounded soldiers all around her, Major Logan Sharp doesn't have time to pamper some photographer from stateside. What spare energy she does have goes to worrying what she'll do when she ships home from Afghanistan. Home--for Logan, the word means nothing. But photographer Jillian Knight is not what she expects, and certainly not what she needs complicating her last tour. Leaving her partner and daughter at home, Jillian Knight is on assignment in Kandahar to record the heroic work of medical units in war zones. She knows it'll be rough, but Logan Sharp's dedication and competence is reassuring. Jillian finds herself looking forward to her encounters with the intriguing military doctor, understand that by-the-rules demeanor is a must for surviving in a land where life is cheap.
Under the pressures of danger and conflict, the intense feelings of comrades threaten to overwhelm their good sense, but they follow the rules. After a single heart-stopping kiss, they do the only thing they must--say goodbye. Keeping in touch is not part of the plan,but when their paths cross unexpectedly more than a year later,abiding by the rules is suddenly much harder than they ever expected.
Two unforgettable women try to figure out the rules for their own lives and the future in Tracey Richardson's romantic novel or wartime and coming home.』
price：$1.50
Dreamspinner Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Out in the Country) 『Grey, Andrew, "Love Means No Shame", Dreamspinner Press, 2009.
Out in the Country
Amos Lassen
Geoff has been living in the city and living gay life to the max but when his father died he had to go home to the country to the family farm. One day he discovers a young Amish man, Eli, sleeping in his barn and he learns that Eli is on his year off away from his church before he takes baptism as a full member. They both are attracted to each other but Geoff is determined not to get involved but Eli wants him and pursues him. The relationship that they share is threatened by the people who live near them and Eli finds himself in a whole new world. He must decide whether to return to the church or stay with Geoff and have "faith in the power of love". This is a sensitive and moving story especially because the two main characters are so completely different and have so much to overcome. It is very easy to become emotionally involved with the characters as Grey gives us men who are wonderfully created and drawn. The detail is stunning and the language is sublime. I think we should watch Andrew Grey--I see big things in his future. 』
(Life in the Country) 『This booked moved me so much that I had a hard time putting it down to go to bed. The main charcters of Geoff and Eli are embedded in my brain even now. The fact that Eli came across first as a straight Amish young man, I had my doubts about the two getting together. When the young man started to "court" Geoff that seemed to be the turning point of the book. I loved the interaction between the two from the moment Geoff found him sleeping in the barn to the very end of the book. Their love for on another was unconditional.
I laughed in this book and cried as well especially when Eli had to make a difficult decision. My heart sank when he had to leave and go back to his family due to some unforseen circumstances due to some nosey relatives and their big mouths.
I loved this book very very much and would recommend it for anyone to read. I would give this book 10 stars if there were any but 5 stars is what it gets.
』
(Touching story about finding your soulmate) 『This story touched me deeply because the two main characters are such an unlikely match at first and have so many obstacles to overcome. The descriptions of their feelings and motivations is excellent and the story captivated me from the very first page. The setting and detail given adds lots of color and a rich background.
Geoff struggles with his attraction but gives in when Eli starts courting him. Eli is very clear about his feelings for Geoff but struggles with the repercussions his family might face in the Amish community if word of his relationship with Geoff ever got back to them.
I was moved to tears at several points because I was so emotionally involved with the characters and their inner conflicts. This is a wonderful story that I recommend wholeheartedly.』 『Geoff is in the city, living the gay life to the hilt, when his father's death convinces him to return to the family farm. Discovering a young Amish man asleep in his barn, Geoff learns that Eli is spending a year away from the community before accepting baptism into the church. Despite their mutual attraction, Geoff is determined not to become involved with him, but Eli has discovered that Geoff shares his feelings and begins to court him, neatly capturing first Geoff's attention and then his heart. Their budding relationship is threatened by closed-minded, gossipy relatives and the society at large, a whole new world to Eli, and he must decide whether to return to the community, his family, and the world and future he knows or to stay with Geoff and have faith in the power of love.』
price：$8.84
Bloomsbury USA
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Meeting An Old Friend - Yet Again) 『Reading City Boy is a bit like sitting down with an old friend one has known for years and still - despite hearing similar stories from him each time you meet - feeling closer to him than ever and realizing how much his friendship means to you. White still has the ability to startle, to come out with some revelation about himself that leaves the reader wondering: "Why did he admit that?" We learn from Edmund White: learn to be more honest, more down-to-earth, more tolerant, and more understanding. In City Boy, White's focus changes from the interior to the exterior. Those who read and enjoyed My Lives may be disappointed in City Boy. My Lives was a breathtaking excursion into the life and mind of Edmund White. Each page had the ability to charm or alarm us. City Boy, on the other hand, is more about the world outside, the world of others, the world that White lived in and observed while simultaneously living the life that we all have come to know through his other books. City Boy is an authentic representation of the 60s and 70s and of gay culture during those years, in particular. But if a reader picks up this book hoping for sadly amusing pages about White being led around on a leash or fascinating insights into his real-world relationships with women, one will find City Boy lacking. For someone yearning to have lived through the 60s or 70s and having missed it by a decade or two or three, City Boy should supply a good picture of the times. If someone is seeking a little gossip or some smartly drawn vignettes of famous people, City Boy should please as well. White gives wry observations of James Merrill, Vladimir Nabokov, Jan Morris, John Hohnsbeen, Peggy Guggenheim, William Burroughs, Jasper Johns, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Susan Sontag among others. The author who always seems to us as though we've known him forever, this time around has taken the focus outside, writing about the decades he remembers well but through the lens of his movement around the cities: New York, San Francisco, and Paris. As always, White is a class act. At his simplest and least exciting he is always a gentleman, one who deserves the title of "our friend between the covers."』
(good and dishy) 『This is a very good and gossipy book, full of "and then I met" celebrity sketches. The section on people he met in Venice could pass as one of the unwritten chapters from Capote's Answered Prayers. White loves to tell you who's gay and what he did about it.
Many of us grew up closeted in the sticks and we could only dream about going to Manhattan for the culture and partying, but White did it. Of course, for every successful White there were hundreds who failed. This is a tale of Believe in Yourself and you can triumph. It helps if you're witty and good-looking and able to establish great connections.
I enjoyed reading about gay life in Manhattan in the 60s and 70s. But then came the 80s and AIDS ruined everything. The book has great warts-and-all sketches of famous people (Virgil Thompson, Susan Sontag, Mapplethorpe, to name only a few), but there are also a lot of his author friends I had never heard of, and I was easily able to find their works here on amazon.com and to order a few.
This book doesn't make it all seem fun and glamorous. There were bad times, sad times, and that's what makes this book so important in documenting an important era in our culture scene. There are lots of witty observations and sharp cutting truths here. And there are laments for the lost time.』
(White Fills in the Blanks) 『Edmund White has always been one of my favorite writers - and considering I read mostly gay writers I suppose that means he is one of my favorite gay writers. And for that reason I especially enjoyed his reluctant but sincere defense of gay writing against all those closeted types that challenged his so defining himself. Having only met White once, a brief encounter outside a movie theater when I was in the company of Kim Brinster -then the manager of Oscar Wilde Bookshop which I then owned - and White with whomever was then his boyfriend, my only real life impression was that age in both our cases created some resemblance between us. Now there is a tortured sentence, but then, I'm not the writer. Having read White's much longer biographical novels I welcomed the filling in some of the blanks, and for the brevity. My overall impression is that White discounts his achievements somewhat from surprise of having accomplished same. Nonetheless, he is a delightful writer, a wonderful story teller and provides new dimensions to the lives of some of his contemporaries. I hope he will do something similar for the '80s and '90s and in an interview in The Gay&Lesbian Review he appears to indicate that this may be the case. If so, hopefully this publisher will stick with him and it will be forthcoming soon as I only have four years on White and I don't want to miss it.』
(A Dark and Fascinating Account of Literary Ambition) 『If Edmund White had been a completely different person, he might have enlisted in the military in the 1960's and built a career as a soldier, even as he suspected the true cost of war. Over forty years later, he could have written a memoir about his career, emanating from almost a type of post traumatic stress.
"City Boy" struck me as this type of dispatch, although White's battles were fought as he struggled to develop a literary career in New York during the 1960's and '70's.
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Chinese, White was accepted into a Ph.D. program at Harvard. However, he chose to follow a boyfriend to New York, arriving in 1962. With no contacts in the literary world, White took a boring job at Time-Life Books which he later abandoned to take an extended trip to Rome. While he seemed to have little momentum, White writes, "I was obsessed with being famous--not rich, which held no interest for me, but famous among the top echelons of the cultural elite."
Reading about his life in the 1960's, I would not have bet on White achieving that goal. His first novel, "Forgetting Elena," was published in 1973, and his "breakthrough" novel, "A Boy's Own Story," was not published until 1982. White lived a bohemian existence, surviving on freelance work, developed friends and contacts in literary and cultural circles, and pursued his rapacious sexual appetites in the gay underground. This book contains fascinating accounts of time spent with luminaries such as James Merrill, Truman Capote, Robert Mapplethorpe, Susan Sontag, and others. What casts a pall over these stories, however, is how bizarre and unhappy so many of these icons seemed to be as they struggled to maintain careers in a city that runs white-hot with ambition. When you add White's poverty, his struggles to live as an openly gay man, and the death of legions of friends to AIDS, the account resembles a battlefield strewn with collateral damage.
The most hopeful note in this miasma is White's testament to friendship. He would wrap sexual trysts and lovers in disposable paper, while making presents of friends. You get the sense that the friendships were what enabled him to persevere in the midst of so much bleakness.
White has written numerous well-received works of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir and teaches writing at Princeton, so it could be said that he has realized many of his ambitions. The value in this memoir is in telling us the true price of this achievement. 』
(City Boy) 『J.E. Barnes reproaches White with the very faults he freely admits; to please Barnes, apparently, an autobiographer would have to indulge in self-glorification from the first page to the last. White is very funny about his youthful shortcomings and any reader who'd ever examined himself or herself would laugh along with the self-satire. "City Boy" is a witty, fascinating look at an era and a city and a culture as most of the reviews in the press and on Amazon attest. Only an envious, homophobic sourpuss like Barnes could take some of the positions he subscribes to-but if you look at his other reviews, you see that Barnes also raps Hemingway and Mark Twain on the knuckles and reserves his highest praise for "Peyton Place." He is also an admirer of old movie stars, pop singers, horror tales and UFOs-in fact, he's had a few "sightings" of his own! Too bad that Barnes's eccentricities lead him to attack so viciously a luminous, entertaining book such as "City Boy."』 『
An irresistible literary treat: a memoir of the social and sexual lives of New York City’s cultural and intellectual in-crowd in the tumultuous 1970s, from acclaimed author Edmund White.In the New Y ork of the 1970s, in the wake of Stonewall and in the midst of economic collapse, you might find the likes of Jasper Johns and William Burroughs at the next cocktail party, and you were as likely to be caught arguing Marx at the New York City Ballet as cruising for sex in the warehouses and parked trucks along the Hudson. This is the New York that Edmund White portrays inCity Boy: a place of enormous intrigue and artistic tumult. Combining the no-holds-barred confession and yearning ofA Boy’s Own Storywith the easy erudition and sense of place ofThe Flaneur, this is the story of White’s years in 1970s New York, bouncing from intellectual encounters with Susan Sontag and Harold Brodkey to erotic entanglements downtown to the burgeoning gay scene of artists and writers. I t’s a moving, candid, brilliant portrait of a time and place, full of encounters with famous names and cultural icons.
An esteemed novelist and cultural critic,Edmund Whiteis the author of many books, including the autobiographical novelA Boy’s Own Story; a previous memoir,My Lives; and most recently a biography of poet Arthur Rimbaud. White lives in New York City and teaches writing at Princeton University.
An irresistible literary treat: a memoir of the social and sexual lives of New York City’s cultural and intellectual in-crowd in the tumultuous 1970s, from acclaimed author Edmund White.In the New Y ork of the 1970s, in the wake of Stonewall and in the midst of economic collapse, you might find the likes of Jasper Johns and William Burroughs at the next cocktail party, and you were as likely to be caught arguing Marx at the New York City Ballet as cruising for sex in the warehouses and parked trucks along the Hudson. This is the New York that Edmund White portrays inCity Boy: a place of enormous intrigue and artistic tumult. Combining the no-holds-barred confession and yearning ofA Boy’s Own Storywith the easy erudition and sense of place ofThe Flaneur, this is the story of White’s years in 1970s New York, bouncing from intellectual encounters with Susan Sontag and Harold Brodkey to erotic entanglements downtown to the burgeoning gay scene of artists and writers. I t’s a moving, candid, brilliant portrait of a time and place, full of encounters with famous names and cultural icons.
“[A] moving chronicle . . . that peacock’s tail, those stag’s antlers—they’re here, to be sure, but so are vulnerability, doubt, failure and long years toiling at the sort of cruddy day jobs that most literary writers know all too well . . . InCity Boy, White is amusing and raucous as ever but he also lets the mask slip…his losses and struggles, as consequence, seems less sculpted, but more real . . . Some stories don’t need to be embellished to glow.”—The New York Times Book Review
"An open-throttled tour of New York City during the bad old days of the 1960s and early '70s . . . it's all here in exacting and eye-popping detail . . . There is a great deal of sex and gossip inCity Boy, but it is also a minor-key account of Mr. White's coming of age as a writer . . . City Boyis Mr. White's second memoir in three years, and a great deal of his fiction has been autobiographical. You get the sense of a writer slowly peeling his life like an artichoke, letting only a few stray leaves go at a time . . . This one is salty and buttery, for sure. Mr. White's 'Oh, come on, guys' meekness has vanished into thin air."—The New York Times
"Chronicl[es]Gotham’s cultural highs and lows during those two heady and iconic decades . . .
fleshing out our notion of how vital a period the’60s and ’70s were . . . Since White is a born raconteur, his gimlet-eyed anecdotes about celebrities of the era are as tangy as blood orange sorbet served after lobster Thermidor . . . [he] matches his talent for journalism with brilliant imagistic prose."—Gay City News
"City Boyis an amazing memoir of White’s hunger for literary fame—for publication even—and intellectual esteem in the superheated creative world of ’60s and ’70s New York. His sketches of writers and artists, including everyone from poets James Merrill and John Ashbery to artist Robert Wilson and editor Robert Gottlieb, are full of bon mots, sharply observed details, and great honesty about his own desires for love and esteem.City Boyvividly brings to life the sheer squalor of life in 1970s New York . . . A wonderful raconteur with a well-stocked fund of anecdotes and observations, White’s writings reveal much about alliances, alignments, and personalities from a vanished world that still echo strongly in our own."—This Week in New York
"[An] exuberant, thoughtful memoir. Arriving in 1962 and determined to be famous, [Edmund White] found a job in publishing and got to work on his dream. Away from the office, he dedicated his energy to meeting people (some famous, some not) and, of course, having sex with lots and lots of men. Ambition, amphetamines, neurosis and an era when New York vibrated with desire combined for heady times in his young life . . . White wrestled with self-acceptance as he pursued therapy to reorient himself for a (never-to-be) heterosexual marriage; he admits he was so consumed with internalized self-loathing that he didn't have a clear idea of how he looked. Others, however, did not miss the handsome, eager man in all his '60s and '70s glory, and he made friends easily. White's affectionate yet candid portraits of literary celebrities Richard Howard, Harold Brodkey and Susan Sontag celebrate those friendships, with the eminences coming across as quite distinct from their forbidding pubic personas, even lovable. White got around in less elevated circles too. He saw a lifetime of scandalous acting out that bubbles up in passing remarks like, 'When gay men say in their personals, 'No drama queens, please,' they are trying to avoid someone like Coleman.' Sparkling cameo appearances by the likes of Truman Capote, Robert Mapplethorpe and Fran Lebowitz expand the feeling that artistic Manhattan then was a very different place than it is today. All fun aside, the gadabout boulevardier at some point had to take a back seat to the fiercely ambitious emerging writer. White's vivid analysis of his artistic struggles and literary progress during these years is like a master class for other writers. As he notes, the years of uncertainty helped him develop and refine his themes, otherwise he 'would never have turned toward writing with a burning desire to confess, to understand, to justify myself in the eyes of others.' Many readers of his landmark novel,A Boy's Own Story, will sit up at attention when he links his goal of writing 'a modern tragedy in which there were two choices and both were bad' to Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen. That like-minded connection to Bowen also serves to explain his insistence that any truly satisfying work of literature must embrace a mysterious element of charm. Let it be known that White's memoir takes that lesson to heart and has charm to burn."—John McFarland,Shelf Awareness
"A graceful memoir of a decidedly ungraceful time in the life of New York City . . . A welcome port』
price：$15.99
Adamant Media Corporation
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (not the copy I thought I was getting) 『It's a story I've read many times, but I did specifically want the cover that is pictured with this item (to match the others I have in the series), and that's not what I got. Very disappointed, a complete waste of money on my part, but not worth returning by the time I pay for interational shipping.』
(Gah.) 『Who else would have liked to see the "hoyden" (read: assertive girl) Nan punch that simpering, girly-girly little twit Bess right in her lisping mouth?』
(Poor Publisher) 『I was looking forward to having my own copy of Little Men, but the copy I received from publisher Hard Press had many grammatical and spelling errors. It did not have an appealing layout, either. I should return it for a better copy of the book which I know exist.』
(Disappointing) 『Mostly I got this book because I never owned it and do own Little Women and Jo's Boys.I want my daughter to have the trilogy.I thought it was terrible.A mere series of goody-goody character sketches with very little holding it all together. If anything, it just underscored how Jo should have accepted Teddy! They were a great pair.I did not care about these boys much and even had trouble distinguishing them from one another.Jo's Boys was much better--at least a novel, so read Little Men only to fill in the blanks.』
(My favorite Alcott novel...) 『Mention the name Louisa May Alcott, and most people will instantly think of "Little Women." But in my mind, the less often discussed "Little Men" is just as great, if not better.
The story picks up shortly after the conclusion of "Little Women," with Jo and Frederick Bhaer running a school at Plumfield. Along with their own little Rob and Teddy, they are busy raising the neglected children of rich folks alongside the orphans they have taken in.
While the boys exist in a virtual haven for good ol' fashioned fun upon the farmlike Plumfield, Mother and Father Bhaer still manage to teach them moral life lessons along with their classroom exercises.
If you enjoy this book, be sure to pick up "Jo's Boys," which takes place ten years after "Little Men" and concludes the boys' stories.』 『Follows the adventures of Jo March and her husband Professor Bhaer as they try to make their school for boys a happy, comfortable, and stimulating place.』
price：$5.12
Riverhead Trade
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Wonderful Book--But Where's the Human Connection?) 『I should have loved this book, it has everything--wonderful atmospherics, beautiful written language, well defined characters, and plot (and plot twists) out the wazoo! My wife finished this book, and loved it so much, she immediately went out and bought all of Sarah Waters' other books.
I admired this book, I was impressed by it, I understood the praised heaped on it, but I didn't love it--for one reason: There was no character I really cared about, no character I rooted for, no character that touched me, no character that emotionally drew me in. Each of the characters (every single one) was shown as selfish, weak, immoral, cowardly or flawed in some respect. I couldn't sympathize for those characters who were treated badly by life, as each was shown to have their own questionable motives. As such, I felt myself the outsider, much like passing a car accident on a distant highway--interested enough to look, but not really touched by the fate of the passengers.
All of this having been said, this is a well written book, a fun read, a wild ride--although without the human connection, without the emotional connection, one I suspect I will quickly forget. 』
(So good, you need to read it twice) 『This is the quasi-Dickensian story of two girls, two proud lilies, ensnared in briar thorns. Girls treated like rare books whose covers hide a multitude of neatly-catalogued sins - a pair of complementary titles, indeed. The plot is deep, dark, twisting and treacherous, like the river that runs through it.
This novel is so wonderfully-constructed it needs to be read twice to fully-appreciate it, there are so many themes and details to absorb.』
(well worth the read !) 『This was our book club choice. Some of us liked it immensely and some others were bogged down by the style and language. I think it is well worth the read and would recommend it.』
(Another great read from Ms. Sarah Waters!) 『Sarah Waters never dissapoints. She has a profound way of describing her characters with such amazing imagery that you can't help but feel like you know them. Very few authors grab my attention to the extreme that she does - I can't seem to get enough of her writing style!
I ordered Affinity and can't wait to dive in! I definitely recommend this book, it has moved up on my list of faves... it's right up there with Ms. Water's Tipping the Velvet.』
(Entirely Original, Boldly Inventive, and Monumentally Entertaining.) 『Without a doubt, I can say that this ranks within my top 5 fictional novels of all time. It offers an intricate and deep plot, unexpected twists, and unlikely romance, and several truly interesting and compelling characters. Each of these elements is greatly accentuated by Sarah Waters beautiful writing style and utter mastery of the English language. Every sentence seems to be poetic and almost lyrical. I find that I sometimes get ahead of myself when reading it because I am so eagerly awaiting the next paragraph. I don't think any other book has held my attention as strongly or for as long a time as 'Fingersmith' did. Yes, the book is long, but you'll not be able to put it down once you've begun reading.』 『In Victorian England, an orphan girl is sent to a country estate to work for-and ultimately woo-its young heiress, on behalf of a mysterious benefactor known as Gentleman.』 『Fingersmithis the third slice of engrossing lesbian Victoriana from Sarah Waters. Although lighter and more melodramatic in tone than its predecessor,Affinity, this hypnotic suspense novel is awash with all manner of gloomy Dickensian leitmotifs: pickpockets, orphans, grim prisons, lunatic asylums, "laughing villains," and, of course, "stolen fortunes and girls made out to be mad." Divided into three parts, the tale is narrated by two orphaned girls whose lives are inextricably linked. Waters's penchant for byzantine plotting can get a bit exhausting, but even at its densest moments--and remember, this is smoggy London circa 1862--it remains mesmerizing. A damning critique of Victorian moral and sexual hypocrisy, a gripping melodrama, and a love story to boot, this book ingeniously reworks some truly classic themes.--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk』
price：$4.78
Cleis Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Nonstop action that will keep you on the edge of your seat) 『When you open Geoffrey Knight's The Riddle of the Sands, prepare yourself, because you are about to be taken on a nonstop, no-holds-barred adventure that will keep you balanced on the very edge of your seat. This is the second installation of Mr. Knight's Fathom's Five series, picking up where his novel The Cross of Sins left off. The Riddle of the Sands might be considered to be a stand-alone story, but readers not wishing to find themselves a little confused (albeit still entertained) will definitely want to read The Cross of Sins first, because the first novel introduces the main characters and provides important back-story.
This novel is just plain fun. Along with gorgeous men and lightening-paced action, The Riddle of the Sands has an irresistible thread of humor that runs throughout it. Whether we're witnessing a Texas cowboy having a face-off with an irascible camel, our heroes stripping down to the buff to blend in with a museum display, or young Will Hunter goggling at the size of the sexual appendages on dozens of fertility gods, we are almost guaranteed a smile.
Don't expect much time to stop and catch your breath as you read this story. The action is constant, taking the reader from the tundra of Siberia to the Brazilian jungle to the deserts of Egypt, from a bathhouse in Cairo to the streets of Paris and Warsaw. Our heroes face madmen, crocodiles, booby-trapped rooms, and even a ticked-off housekeeper. They are in constant danger, and they tend extricate themselves from one situation only to land face-first into a mess of even greater magnitude.
If I were to extract a theme from The Riddle of the Sounds to go along with the fun, I would say that it is one of father/son relationships. Not only does this tell the story of the character Jake and his young friend Sam, whose relationship resembles one of parent and child, it focuses on the youngest member of Fathom's team, Will, and his tempestuous relationship with the father who disapproves of and denigrates him and dips briefly into the character Luca's search for the father who abandoned him as an infant. In addition, the central riddle revolves around Imhotep of ancient Egypt and a son who does not appear in any history books.
This story has a cinematic larger-than-life feel to it. As I read The Riddle of the Sands, I felt almost as if I were in a movie theatre, popcorn in hand, watching open-mouthed as The Mummy meets Indiana Jones and the heroes face constant danger. The plot follows several different paths as the members of the team split apart and then reunite over the course of the story, and while this has the potential to be confusing, Mr. Knight keeps it all very well organized and tightly choreographed.
Similar to the previous novel, The Riddle of the Sands ends with a number of cliff-hangers that will make readers clamor for more. Next in this series is The Curse of the Dragon. If this novel runs true to form - and I have no reason to believe that it won't - then we are guaranteed a well-told tale filled with action, adventure, humor, and just a touch of romance. Oh, and lots of naked muscular chests. 』
(Thrill Ride From Start to Finish) 『Riddle of the Sands opens with a bang and doesn't stop, not even on the last page.
My first clue that this was going to be even more exciting than The Cross of Sins, something I thought was impossible, was when the walls of Laptev prison in Siberia where Professor Fantom and Shane were visiting, literally blew out by a bomb. Their escape from Siberia is the stuff of movies as they battle ice, treacherous weather conditions and a deranged killer. The adventure continues without stopping for anyone to draw a breath, as the 5 protagonists race to find an antidote for a slow acting rare poison, the Deldah-sha orchid, that is killing Sam, Jake's unofficial ward.
This story is exceedingly complex with more action than any reader could expect, starting with 2 kidnappings, and the guys must race against time to find the key to the Lost Pyramid of Imhotep which disappeared thousands of years ago, and unlock the riddle, before Sam succumbs to the poison that's gradually taking over his body.
The trek takes our heroes from Berlin to Paris, to New York, to London, San Diego, Brazil, Cairo, the Amazon and countries in between. But for me the most thrilling part of the book was in the Nile Valley, Egypt. This was such an exciting sequence that I won't even attempt to describe the danger and the impossible escapes that happened in the nick of time. I'll just say that Will should have been dead. No human being can survive the punishment he endured.
If you think the book is all adventure, racing from one country to another, you could not be more wrong. The sex is so hot it could peel human skin. You definitely won't be disappointed since there is sex and lots of it in the book.
I didn't think that Geoffrey Knight would be able to increase the heat level in Riddle of the Sands from book 1, The Cross of Sins but he proved me wrong - from the action/adventure sequences that are indescribable, to the wonderful characterizations and the sex. Riddle of the Sands is for the true adventure lover. This is not a book for sissies because the action sequences are so intense I felt as if my heart was pumping on adrenaline alone. This story takes off right after The Cross of Sins ends and it's not a standalone book. You must read the first book to get a sense of the characters because the strength of the series is definitely the characters. All of the bells and whistles, wonderful though they are, pale when pitted against the 5 men who are the stars of the books.
This story sizzles with fun, sex and adventure. I could not put it down - it was like a drug. The characters sparkled, the prose and dialogue were outstanding and Riddle is better than The Cross of Sins which I didn't think could be topped! If you're looking for a series that will entertain you, grab you by the throat, make your heart go into overdrive, and give you 5 of the hottest men, gay or otherwise, who are so sexy and who put out at every opportunity, then run don't walk to your nearest book store or online bookseller to buy a copy of Riddle of the Sands. 』
(Gay Novels just went to a whole new level!!!) 『As soon as I got this book in my hot sweaty hands I started reading and was sucked in immediately. I read the entire novel in one sitting, I could NOT put it down! The Riddle of the Sands is packed with adventure, fun and sizzling men you'll dream about every night! I really loved the first book in this series, The Cross of Sins, and I was curious to see if the author could deliver something as good as the first, but he put my curiosity to rest with every page. This book isn't as good as the first--it's BETTER IN EVERY WAY! By the end of this book not only did I feel like I knew the characters better, I felt like they were my friends and lovers. On top of that, the adventure was non-stop, the puzzles in the temples and pyramids were clever and very cool, and through it all the author still manages to get a laugh in every now and then and bring out some humorous moments. And then there's the sex--steamy, sizzling, sweaty! Don't miss this series, I think it's the gay man's Harry Potter (but for adult audiences!)』
(The Riddle of the Sands (A Fathom's Five Adventure 2) by Geoffrey Knight) 『First of all, strange events in the publishing industry I'm not aware of, made that the first book in the series was out with Starbook Press, and this second with Cleis Press. True, it's not necessary to read The Cross of Sins to understand and enjoy The Riddle of the Sands, but without it you loose one of the most interesting aspect of this novel, the fact that it's the quintessence of all the gay fantasies, and probably the result of a lively imagination fed with lot and lot of adventures movies and books. There is one for every taste in the Fathom's Five: you like them careless and friendly, like a homemade dish? Shane, the Western modern cowboy is your man. You like them exotic and fascinating, like an ethnic speciality? Eden, brazilian doctor is ready for you. Young and fast, like burger and fries, but served in a china plate? Will, the son of an American ambassador and part time history student, part time pro football player is on the drive through. Traditional and just with that spicy taste? Luca, Italian dongiovanni and former art model, ready to please. And last but not least, you like coffe and donuts? Jake, half mercenary half good hearted man, is always a right choice. All right, now I'm hungry, and Geoffrey Knight's novel is the only one that can satisfy all those fancy ideas.
It's useless that I summarize the story, first since I can't do that without giving to much details and risking to spoil the story, and second since, truth be told, the story is classic, like all the adventure books of the last 100 years, there is something to find, there are the good boys who are always first on the place, and there are the bad boys who always follow closely. The good boys are doing that not for money, but for a bigger and worthier reason, and the bad boys are only interested in finding a treasure. What I probably liked best in this second book is that the adventure seemed more innocuous, there were less dead bodies around, and probably there were also more funny moments. I liked very much Will's scenes with his estranged father, and was very interesting in the apparently sweet love story between Jake and Sam, even if, actually, since it is soo sweet (meaning that without sex or anything sexual at all), I didn't understand if Jake has a fatherly interest in Sam or something more personal. My favorite from the previous book, Luca, has only a secondary role here, but I think the author is thinking at something special for him, and I had the strong impression that, the author himself, through the words of Professor Fathom, let the reader know that Luca is also his favorite. Eden and Shane have their own little story going, and it's Shane's turn to have a little sexy story on the side, as Eden had in the previous book; they are important supporting role, and the author is always kind with them, but they have not yet achieved the upper level like Will, Jake and Luca.
The Riddle of the Sands is a surprisingly easy and fast book to read, I thought to have just started it and when I realized that I was more than half the book away. For me it's a compliment, it means that I was so sucked into the story, that I lost track of the time.』
(Erotic and Manly) 『Knight, Geoffrey. "The Riddle of the Sands", Cleis Press, 2009.
Erotic and Manly
Amos Lassen
I have said several times that good erotica is very difficult to write and it is rare to read it. Geoffrey Knight writes good erotica and he titillates. "The Riddle of the Sands" is almost Indiana Jones like but it has something extra--a gay point of view and some very horny gay characters. The plot is totally believable, the characters are well developed and the sex is very hot. Jake is being blackmailed by Pierre Peron and the men are sent on a mission that seems to be impossible--they are to find and uncover the riddle of the sands so that they can save the life of one of their own who has been poisoned. The problem is that the riddle is a riddle and no one knows if it is real or something else. You will not stop turning the pages with this. Very well written and incredibly sexy. "The Riddle of the Sands" is a book you are not likely to forget. 』 『
The clock is ticking! Blackmailed by Jake's nemesis - the vengeful Pierre Perron - Professor Fathom's team of five horny gay adventurers is sent on a seemingly impossible mission to uncover the legendary Riddle of the Sands in order to save one of their own from a rare and deadly poison. But what is the Riddle of the Sands? Where are the long-lost clues and hidden maps that can lead to its whereabouts? Is it a myth, a mirage, or the greatest engineering feat in the history of ancient Egypt? From the icy plains of Siberia to the shadowy bathhouses of Cairo, from the scorching valley of the Nile to the heart of the Amazon jungle, readers join these hunks— treasure-hunter Jake, Brazilian biologist Eden, Texas cowboy Shane, art expert Luca, and quarterback Will — in a search that blends nonstop action and high-octane sex!
price：$23.99
Adamant Media Corporation
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Taken aback.) 『I was excited to start this book at first. The story started off somewhat slow. Not till I started the middle of the book then it started to get exciting. The ending did not turn out how I expected. Overall, I felt depressed after reading this story.』
(Tenderly Fantastic) 『Some of my all-time favorite literary quotes and passages come from this work. If you love the works of the early 20th century, there is no reason why you wouldn't read this book and have it included with your adventure. You'll love it from beginning to end and eventually fall in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald himself. Be warned - haha.』
(the jazz age with the rich and glamorous) 『I tried to read this because it's a standard of the American novel in the 20s. But I could not finish it. The characters are rich, spoiled, glamorous and fascinating to each other. But that's all. Imagine a novel length fantasy written for a Hollywood gossip magazine. That's what you have here.
The writing is occasionally striking, but there is nothing in it that I want to read about.
I think it was Hemingway who quoted Fitzgerald as saying "The rich are different from you and me." Papa's answer: "Yeah, they have more money." That sums it up quite well.』
(False advertising) 『The book was described by the seller as in "very good condition" when in fact it was quite worn, and it took four weeks for it to come. I had emailed the sellers telling them not to send the book after May 26th and still they sent it to me June 2nd when I had already gotten a library version for my June 6th book club.』
(Great Work of F. Scott Fitzgerald) 『Tender is the Night was a great novel! Many have compared it to The Great Gatsby, however, I would say that this book is much more complex and interesting and differs very much from it. The novel is very descriptive and catches my attention through is vivid explanation of the setting on the Riviera, and Dick and Nicole Diver's home, the Villa Diana. The novel maintains a sense of mystery in the beginning, and allows the reader to grasp a sense of the relationship of Dick and Nicole, and how the perfect appearance of Dick and Nicole masks their true struggles. The novel is a partially autobiographical novel about F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, and this emotional book becomes more and more intriguing until the last page. This book will be interesting to those who enjoy reading about the splendor of the 1920's and the beauty of the Riviera, while still analyzing a very wonderfully complex plot.』 『In "Tender is the Night", Fitzgerald distilled much of his tempestuous life with his wife Zelda, and the knowledge of the wrecked, fabulous Fitzgeralds adds poignancy and regret to this tender, supple and poetic portrait. To the just-fashionable French Riviera come Dick and Nicole Diver - handsome, rich, glamorous and enormous fun. Their dinners are legend, their atmosphere magnetic, their intelligence fine. But something is wrong. Nicole has a secret and Dick a weakness. Together they head towards the rocks on which their lives crash - and only one of them really survives.』 『In the wake of World War I, a community of expatriate American writers established itself in the salons and cafes of 1920s Paris. They congregated at Gertrude Stein's select soirees, drank too much, married none too wisely, and wrote volumes--about the war, about the Jazz Age, and often about each other. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, were part of this gang of literary Young Turks, and it was while living in France that Fitzgerald began writingTender Is the Night. Begun in 1925, the novel was not actually published until 1934. By then, Fitzgerald was back in the States and his marriage was on the rocks, destroyed by Zelda's mental illness and alcoholism. Despite the modernist mandate to keep authors and their creations strictly segregated, it's difficultnotto look for parallels between Fitzgerald's private life and the lives of his characters, psychiatrist Dick Diver and his former patient turned wife, Nicole. Certainly the hospital in Switzerland where Zelda was committed in 1929 provided the inspiration for the clinic where Diver meets, treats, and then marries the wealthy Nicole Warren. And Fitzgerald drew both the European locale and many of the characters from places and people he knew from abroad.
In the novel, Dick is eventually ruined--professionally, emotionally, and spiritually--by his union with Nicole. Fitzgerald's fate was not quite so novelistically neat: after Zelda was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and committed, Fitzgerald went to work as a Hollywood screenwriter in 1937 to pay her hospital bills. He died three years later--not melodramatically, like poor Jay Gatsby in his swimming pool, but prosaically, while eating a chocolate bar and reading a newspaper. Of all his novels,Tender Is the Nightis arguably the one closest to his heart. As he himself wrote, "Gatsbywas a tour de force, but this is a confession of faith."』
price：$8.48
Cleis Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Lesbian Sex Book) 『Great book. Very informative, altho I'd say it is geared more towards women who are inexperienced, new to Lesbianism or are not too familiar with the female body. Wouldn't be on my top 5 to recommend if you're past all the basics and looking for something new or deeper.』
(Great on the Basics) 『I read the 2005 German edition of the 1999 US book. It is on the basics of lesbian sexuality and beyond. There are other books recommended for saving the bored done-it-all inner city sexpert from lesbian bed death. But let's face it: Most of us aren't that lucky. It depends on what book you are seeking. It is not the book's fault that a few already know most of its content. This book is also for those who lack imagination, knowledge and/or experience in lesbian sexuality. Meaning, you don't have to be a lesbian to find this book informative. Which can't really be said about many heterosexual sex books vice versa. In fact, one or the other information, many gay men should be aware of, as the author isn't squeamish about anal sexuality.
You will find not only virtually everything from masturbation to sex parties, but also on safer sex. Especially this section is important for heterosexuals as well, as most of the latter hardly engage in it, when it comes to oral sex on females. Lately, I went into a classic straight sex shop to buy some dental dams and the sales person didn't even know what I was talking about, even though they offered them in some corner. This expensive, that I am glad that this book gives instructions to the public on how to make them yourself from cheaper and more readily available items. Again, recommendable information for everybody else in the anilingus version.
I find it noteworthy that this book takes the pressure off political correctness, when it comes to sexual fantasies. And yes, there's a difference, when this lesbian sexpert does it or some creepy sexual release magazine.
Be aware that the traditional hanky code has many variations. The meanings to the colors provided here are mostly shared. However, some may lead to misunderstandings. For example, white is decoded here as seeking/being a newbie. I know it rather as: "Leave me alone, today I am here just for the beer." It should also be noted that some colors look very similar in the usually softly lit places, where you find them.
You may be interested in specialized topics, like Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot: Not Your Mother's Orgasm Book! (Positively Sexual).』
(The whole lesbian sex book) 『There were a lot of insights I didn't know. There were many myths that were cleared up with this book. Just knowing the female anatomy is priceless in itself. Understanding your body and getting the most out of your sexuality is the best way to begin to enhance your life.』
(Was expecting to more) 『Wanting to be the best ""Lover"" I can be, I was expecting to read something that I did not know. Anything new happenning Ladies?? Anyway, I was slightly dissapointed but still a good read with good instructions and has vlaue.』
(Womanly Pleasure) 『If you want to be more open with your partner about sex, this book will help. Men will also find plenty here to help them pleasure a woman. 』 『Witty and personal, The Whole Lesbian Sex Book is most comprehensive sex guide available for lesbians, offering information and support for all lesbian lifestyles. It speaks to lesbian and bisexual readers of diverse experiences—young and old, partnered and single, trans- and traditionally gendered, sexually experienced and naive. The Whole Lesbian Sex Book offers basic information, techniques, advice, support, and playful discourse on the subject of lesbian sex, including: where to find partners, G-spot stimulation, oral sex, vaginal fisting, dildos for fun and fashion, dynamics of butch/femme sex, anal sex, the pleasures of lube and latex, where to cop the best cybersex, and leather, piercings, tattoos, high heels, and other fetishes.』 『Cure for cancer? End to world hunger? What's left to do after the publication of Felice Newman's definitive guide to lesbian sex? Drawing on a wide range of published sources as well as her own notoriously graphic questionnaire circulated by e-mail--stunning mild-mannered office workers as it reeled across their computer screens--Newman has compiled an exhaustively thorough how-to guide for practices as exotic as play piercings and as pedestrian as oral sex. Along the way, she offers a primer in sexual politics and lesbian manners at the turn of the century. The S/M hanky code is laid out once and for all. There is even a (brief, happily brief) section on celibacy.
Highlights include descriptions of sex writer Tristan Taormino's private consultation with Betty Dodson, the author ofSex for Onedescribed as "the mother of masturbation": "I was so excited about this adventure that I nearly peed in my pants," recalled Taormino, "I was going to touch myself for Dr. Betty Dodson!" (In the end, Newman reports, "Tristan earned an A+ in pelvic thrusting, but got a big 'needs improvement' in the breathing department.") Although it sometimes skimps on the details, especially with regard to women's health,The Whole Lesbian Sex Bookis so rich, inclusive, and authoritative that it invites challenge. Now inventive lovers can ask each other: "Is it inWhole Lesbian?"--Regina Marler』
price：$0.32
Signet Classics
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Excellent Novel!) 『Wow! Where do I start? This novel is the epitome of a well-rounded slavery novel! The details were nothing short of amazing! At any given moment, I can find myself vividly imagining the scenery and ambience that the novel speaks of! This is one of my favorite pieces of literature and I believe everyone should experience this vivid account of Harriet's difficult ascent from slavery to freedom. I only wish there was something to tell of how Harriet's life progressed where the novel leaves off.』
(Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl) 『I ordered the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl as one of two books required for an American History Course in which I am enrolled. The first book (a Pulitzer Prize winner), American Lion, is excellent (I'm 2/3 of the way through it), and based upon the reputation of the Professor teaching the course, I can only guess that the Slave Girl will be equally good. Both books arrived in excellent condition and on time. 』
(Important insights into American slavery with implications for today) 『I've always been fascinated by slavery in America, and I've read several dozen books on the subject. But "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs was a real eye-opener. It's the first narrative I've read by a woman who escaped from slavery, and it has significant differences from male slave narratives. Jacobs talks about the unique misery of being a female slave, writing that "Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women." I always wondered how the wives of slaveholders reacted to the knowledge that their husbands were having sex - and fathering children - with their human property. Jacobs answers that question in full, with chilling details. Instead of blaming their husbands (sons, brothers), female slaveholders often blamed the victims - the female slaves and their children. Female slaveholders often treated their husbands' sex slaves - and the resulting children - with special malice and cruelty. And that's just one of the questions addressed by this observant, emotional and well-written narrative. I recommend this book highly, especially for those who have not considered how slavery turns masters into monsters.』
(A literary homage) 『I didn't know what to expect when I bought this book. I was afraid the writing might be antiquated, but the topic was of such interest I thought it worth a try. I'm so very glad I did. This is one of those books you can hardly put down. I couldn't stop reading it.
Maybe it's because I'm a Southerner that I find this book so interesting, I don't know. I only know that reading this book as made me look at my beloved South, of which I am so proud, in a much less prideful light. I was raised to believe that slavery was wrong, and yet...I was also raised on that "Gone with the Wind" image of the south where faithful black slaves were treated like family and the Yankees were the bad guys, and even though I saw the "Gone with the Wind" antithesis "Roots" as a kid, that one for some reason never really sank in.
Harriet has made me think. She's made me realize just how horrible the institution of slavery was. Reading about her life and the daily lives of other slave men and women, reading about what she personally endured to be free, her seven year wait for escape in a crawlspace so small and short she couldn't even stand up, has forever changed my opinion of the antebellum South, "Gone with the Wind" is really, truly...gone.
Reading this book was an act of homage. Homage to a brave woman, who 150 years after the publication of her book is still making us think. 』
(Truth about slavery) 『I don't do well just picking up a book, reading it through and keeping interest throughout. This book was part of a history course and I have found it very interesting as well as informative. Growing up I always heard of how slaves were treated but when you actually read it from a "SLAVES" view, it brings a whole new perspective. I would recommend it for anyone. 』 『In one of the most significant slave narratives ever written, Harriet Jacobs, born a slave to mulatto parents in 1813 North Carolina, recounts her remarkable story. From her sale to an abusive master, to her bid for freedom as the lover of a white man, to her ultimate and harrowing emancipation, this work is an outstanding example of a woman's extraordinary courage--and one of the most provocative first-person accounts of slavery in American history.
Afterword by Myrlie Evers-Williams
"One of the major autobiographies of the Afro-American tradition."-- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.』
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