Reviews Books

I love Supernatural. Anything Supernatural gets an automatic 5 million in my book. I love the extra detail included in each companion that gives more facts on the creatures and the explanation as to why the writters decided to make the brothers go after them. Dean and Sam are the BEST!

I preordered this book when I ordered the season 1 companion guide along with the complete seasons on DVD. I was very satisfied with the indepth information that was given about each episodes. The best thing about this book is the 22 Things for Aspiring Ghost Hunters By Dean Winchester. Very good book for any Supernatural fan!!

This is an awesome book to have for fans of Supernatural!! I highly recommend it.

The Supernatural Season Two Companion is brilliant. Much like the first companion, it has lots of episode information, quotes, and behind the scenes looks. It also contains episode insights from Ackles, Padalecki, and Eric Kripke. The quick facts and episodic music listings are particularly my favourite. The "Did You Know?" bits are always insightful and really interesting. And, needless to say, the coloured image inserts are awesome.

Overall, I have been really happy with the seasonal companions so far. I look forward to the the third with great interest.

Thank you for sending the book so timely and in the great shape it was promised that it would be. 5 Stars

The best book you can ever get in General surgery. If you really want to enjoy surgery while you are reading, get Greenfield's. The sub specialty sections are awesome as well, you don't have to look elsewhere when you get this book.

i found this book the best surgical book covering
basic scince,general surgucal and subspescility topics including
anatomy,pathophysiology of surgical dieases and managment in details.

I came across this book back in early 2002, and since my best friend had the Sabiston and we were on a budget, i bought this one. This is deffinetly the best and the most complete book i could have bought on general surgery. It takes you from anatomy trough physiology in each pathology you read upon. Would recomend it to anybody, either finishing medschool, or starting your residency in General Surgery.

i'd rate in terms of comprehensibility &modern thinking greenfield>sabiston>schwartz

I happened to pass through this most wounderful book by mistake, but when I read through it,Ii felt really sorry for not depending on it as an additional but essential referrence during my college and postgraduate years, the chapters are well organized and deeply written easily read, the illustrations are very clear and informative, although I might suggest a second more expanded chapter on infections being one of the most serious sergical enemies infections. ..I really want to thank the editors and contributors for the enormous effort they have put here and all the knowledge I found in this great book.

I actually bought this book because I am always looking for great, meaningful movies to watch and when I saw it I thought this would be perfect!

Also - I passed it along to my friend who is a teacher and she has used it in her class for friday movie-days . . .

I just saw this book listed in my local paper and I ordered it right away because I have teens who are difficult to communicate with. Last night I actually sat down with my son and daughter and we watched "Scent of a Woman." We had a great discussion afterwards about cheating, friendships etc. This book was a god send. I recommend it to anyone with children who are tough to talk to. Thank you to the authors for this wonderful addition to our library.

Every parent has been confronted by the blank stare displayed by their child when confronted with a difficult topic they simply wish not to discuss with you. This book overs an antidote to that ennui with the simple, but brilliant idea of 'taking" your kid to the movies instead. This is accomplished by the easy expedient of slamming a video tape in your own home vcr.It offers the "safe" outlet of entertainment as a catylist for serious discussion by employing salient guidelines and analysis of over 100 theatrical films.

This is a terrific book for sharing with yor family and almost every family likes movies. The analysis is quite inciteful and the movies choices are interesting and inspired. The lessons are good ones and easily followed by children and adults.

I really like this book! The introduction is extremely helpful and provides a lot of insight into using films within the family structure. A giant step beyond just a movie guide, this book shows parents like me how I can use movies to learn more about my kids. I have a ten year old son who is not the easiest person to talk to, so I'm confident that many of the movies in Talking Pictures will provide the common ground needed for us to have some of those meaningful talks.

This book has everything that you could possibly want to know about Adult Contemporary music. It gives you a whole new slant on The Beach Boys, Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Elvis and many many more. I've discovered hits about these artists and many more that I never knew exsisted. Highly recommened!

Billboard Books & Joel Whitburn & his Record Research team have Indeed come up with a treasure trove of AC chart INFO. This body of work is a must have for those of us who Love"Soft Rock".Or Better Still,as the Record Research motto on the back of the book says"for those who have a HEART for the Charts.Has Listings of the 200 most succesful AC Artists.This book also cross references w/ Pop Chart Information under ea.Artist.I Love This Book!I can't Wait for updates to this,It'll be Awhile!ENJOY!

As always with Joel Whitburn's Record Research books, the detail is spot on - exactly what it says on the tin. A fascinating insight into the changes that have occurred in what is considered "adult" music over 4 decades. Way back in the sixties, the phrases "easy listening" and "middle-road" were applied to what is now called the "adult contemporary" chart - that gives you a good indication as to the sort of music that generally qualified in those days.

I particularly like the fact that B-side details are also given, which seems to be the case with the latest issues of the RR singles books.

Whether or not this volume is of interest or use to you depends on what you want to use it for. If you merely want to scan it for interest and entertainment, then get the volume that addresses the Hot 100. If you need it for research purposes, or your interest goes beyond the pop charts, then this is a fabulous book.

An excellent book with tons of information and insight. It's great to see the many different types of artists who have landed on the Adult Contemporary charts and also great to see my favorite AC group the Carpenters ranked as one of the most successful of alltime.

What a great book. Almost as great as other RR books. It's always cool to see rock stars of the past like Clapton, Stewart and Billy Joel make great strides on the Adult Contemporary chart. In this book you will see how well all the pop acts have done with soft rock radio in the last 40 years. From Perry Como to Jim Brickman, from Rita Coolidge to Enya. The book even has a great section of the AC hits from 1955-early 1961.

My only complaint is that with the growing success of adult-rock music, I kind of wish Record Research would have put a special bonus Adult Top 40 section (based on research from Billboard's Adult T40 chart). It would have fit in well with this book. It may be another ten years for another revision of this book but enjoy this one while it is totally up-to-date to 2002.

Like its companion, The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, Torture and Truth is an essential resource for scholars or researchers on this subject. However, because of its length (500+ pages)and scope it is an excellent choice for the more general reader. It is a compilation of reports and letters, mostly from the Bush Administration, on the Iraq War and torture issues. Because of its primary source components, it is invaluable for anyone doing research on the subject. It is well-organized, and will find a place in many dissertations in the years to come.

This book offers a chilling rendition of the events that occured at Abu Gharib. It fairly reviews the events through official reports, which are quite chilling! A must read!!

This is by far the best journalistic account of the torture of suspects at Abu Ghraib. This is also the best book to read after reading the books of documents, which give you the vital context for understanding Danner's book. Read them first and then this one - you will then be able to understand what really happened and why. British and US troops really did commit terribe acts against their prisoners, with tragic consequences for the reputation of both nations in the Middle East. Read Danner and the documents books to discove why. Christopher Catherwood (author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED MODERN IRAQ: Carroll and Graf, hardcover 2004, paperback 2005)

The author strongly makes the case that the Abu Ghraib torture scandal was not caused by a few rotten apples on the night shift, but was systematic torture as policy. The Red Cross report and other valid reports are in the book so that the reader can see for himself that the torture at Abu Ghraib was certainly far more than a few rotten apples that were military police serving in the reserves that were sent to Abu Ghraib.

There was sadism at Abu Ghraib. There was a breakdown in law and order at Abu Ghraib. There was a breakdown in discipline at Abu Ghraib. This, of course, puts our entire Country and our entire military at risk.

Not only is the torture wrong, but, beyond that, torture is ineffective and many of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib had no intelligence value in the first place. Torture is very harmful to our Country politically speaking. It is certainly the case that any information that was obtained by torture would be overshadowed by the political damage caused by the activities.

I bought Mark Danner's TORTURE AND TRUTH several months ago from Amazon, and find it ever more relevant to current events. For the numbers of people detained and tortured in the War on Terror-- many of them believed by reputable individuals and organizations to be innocent-- continues to rise, and extends far beyond Abu Ghraib. The very fact that the majority of these people have never been formally charged with involvement in terrorist activity nor tried seems to prove their innocence, for it would be very easy to keep someone in jail these days if one could present solid evidence of their involvment in terrorism. Those who object that the tortures inflicted on these detaninees is not as bad as that which some totalitarian governments inflict upon their victims ignore the fact that the "soft torture" techniques in development since the end of World War II have been found to be more effective in "breaking" victims than simple brutality (see Alfred McCoy, A QUESTION OF TORTURE: CIA INTERROGATION FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE WAR ON TERROR). The suffering of these wretched detainees keeps me awake at night, yet to this day most people seem unconcerned about their plight. Danner's comment from the Introduction to his book still holds true: "Like other scandals that have erupted during the Iraq War and the war on terror, it is not about revelation or disclosure but about the failure, once wrongdoing is disclosed, of politicians, officials, the press, and, ultimately, citizens to act."

John Waters is a great artist, and I mean artist, because he's created things no one else had, and probably never would!!!! this book also gives un an insite on the sequal to a cult hit PINK FLAMINGOS, and while not has good as FLAMINGOS, it's still funnier than most, and it's obvious he wrote some parts far MS.HILL, who was one of the stars of DESPRATE LIVING, also a script in this GREAT BOOK. I beg anybody who likes any type of film, no matter what it may be to get this book, because you'll never ever look at ANY movie the same!!!!

Waters's early work is hilarious, and the book is a surprisingly good read despite the egregious absence of Waters's best flick, "Female Trouble."

Reading these screenplays was more fun than watching the movies, as I could picture the filth in a more vivid way than is possible to portray on Waters' low budget. The happenings in these plays are so utterly outrageous the sheer force of their sleazyness is more overwhelming than "art". What perverse genius! I am reduced to babblesome blandness beside it. I love it more than my own haircolor, the sound of dogs dying & of babies crying--more than my own filthyness even. Gush gush gush gush gush gush gush...

John Waters may very well be one of the most hilarious and entertaining filmakers of our time. His quest for beauty in the trash heaps can always put a smile on your face. Some folks may find themselves becoming offended by Waters' offbeat sense of humor, but it's all in good(or bad) taste. The screenplays for two of his most notorious films, "Pink Flamingos" and "Desperate Living", are at last available for a fun read. You can recapture some of his terrific dialogue and grasp a tighter sense on the humor the he tries to push. The real treat here is the screenplay for the unmade sequel to "Pink Flamingos" called "Flamingos Forever". Unfortunately, this will never be made because the majority of the first film's stars have now passed on and Waters' feels those shoes could never be filled by anyone else. Don't be thrown off by it's title, "Trash Trio" is definately a terrific excursion into bad taste.

What a treat it is to read three screenplays written by the great director, John Waters. "Pink Flamingos" proved that a cult classic could be created on an extremely limited budget. The actors were uniquely talented and the characters they portrayed unforgettable. Now that the demented dialog they spoke is on the printed page, one can savor every word. I particularly enjoyed the pledges of undying love spoken by Raymond and Connie Marble.

CONNIE: "Oh, I love you Raymond! I love you more than anything in the whole world. I love you even more than my own filthiness, more than my hair color. Oh God, I love you more than the sound of bones breaking, the sound of the death rattle..."

RAYMOND: "And I, Connie, also love you more than anything I could imagine - more than my hair color, more than the sound of babies crying, dogs dying, even more than the thought of original sin itself. I am yours, Connie, eternally united to you through an invisible cord of finely woven filth that even God Himself could never, ever break."

"Desperate Living" is a modern day fairy tale in which an obese maid accidentally kills the husband of the neurotic socialite she works for. Rather than face a trial and possible prison time, they escape to a bizarre village in the forest known as Mortville. In the book, John Waters vividly describes the place and its residents. "Everything is made out of trash and garbage, including the houses. Hideous bums, perverts and psychopaths walk the street as...leather-clad Goons patrol the street harassing the pitiful citizens. In the distance we see a fairy-tale castle." Queen Carlotta is a ruthless monarch, living in opulent splendor while her squalid subjects starve. The power of the printed word was such that, immediately after reading that screenplay, I had to watch the movie again.

The real treasure in this trash trio is the screenplay for "Flamingos Forever," the never filmed sequel to "Pink Flamingos." The action takes place fifteen years after the end of the previous story. Babs Johnson, Crackers, Cotton and Edie the Egg Lady return to Baltimore as the Divine leaders of a filth cult. The late Connie Marble's sister, Vera, is married to Wilbur Venninger, a necrophiliac who owns a funeral home. The Venningers kidnap young children and force them to drink, smoke and shoot heroin. Vera claims to be the filthiest person alive, and sees Babs Johnson as the biggest threat to her title. Vera Venninger's rivalry with, seeming victory over and ultimate defeat to Babs comprises the rest of the story. What a shame that most of the actors in the original movie had passed away by the time this was written, and the sequel will never be filmed.

I'm a single mom with three kids. I work two jobs and take care of an invalid mother. As a result, my kids see a little too much TV for my comfort. With my busy schedule, I needed some way that I could let the kids watch TV without having to be there to monitor every moment, and a way that wouldn't require much of my time. This is it. I spend less than 5 minutes with it each day challenging my kids with a TV project, and I'm set to go do what I want. My hats off to the author for finding a way to use TV to actually bring us all together.

This book is great! My kids love it. I find the activities for older teenagers (15 and up) a little impractical for my kids, but they actually enjoy helping the younger ones since the projects are creative and involve TV. So either way, my kids are actually doing things together and learning! Thank you! Finally my TV is harnessed.

I found TV Time to be very practical. At first I thought it might be another book that assumes I have a craft store in my house, but no. Not much is necessary beyond cardboard, paper, crayons, pencils, books, and the usual stuff you find in every house with a child in it.

I was skeptical when I ordered the book, but it really does work. I only have to spend two minutes a day with the book to find a new idea and that quickly my kids are automatically using it in a creative and educational way. When I see all the pictures they color and projects they make now while watching TV, I don't feel guilty letting them watch anymore. One less reason to feel guilty about being an overworked Mom.

Journalist and mom Debra Koontz Traverso shares the same concerns that other parents have about the wasteland that in general characterizes TV for children. But she's not willing to throw the baby out with the proverbial bathwater, preferring instead to use TV for the educational and mind-expanding experience it can be. So, she's written TV Time to help parents learn how to get kids actively involved in managing TV choices and making the most of them.

With 95 percent of the households in this country sporting at least one television set, the medium obviously has an impact on a child's life. Although much has been written about the evils of children watching television, little concrete guidance has been provided for parents in palatable form .. until now, Traverso remedies this situation in her book by providing unique and fun ideas on how to transform the television into an educational tool by incorporating the fun of watching the tube with the stimulation involved in learning.

And here's the best part: the book is divided by age groups, activities and subjects, so it makes an easy reference that can grow with a child as his/her TV selections change through the years. Most of the activities take less than a minute to read and apply, a welcome blessing to busy working moms who otherwise would feel angst about allowing their children to watch TV.

The author suggests lots of easy-to-play games, dialogues, mindteasers and memory quizzes to help turn sitting in front of the TV into an active rather than passive experience. Traverso also suggests unusual and subtle ways parents can stimulate their children's thinking to critique content as they watch television, and she also helps them understand the subtle messages presented on the screen.

Most educators would agree, it's a book that should be referred to each time the TV is turned on.

This brilliant little book (71 pages of actual text) records twenty days in which Hawthorne was in effect a single parent for his five year old son, Julian, during August 1851. Hawthorne's wife Sophia, called Phoebe in the book, and two daughters (seven year old Una and newborn Rose) go off to visit Sophia's parents. Hawthorne is with Julian for just about every waking moment of Julian's day, running from six or seven AM to seven or seven thirty PM. He records their days in his notebook; and, despite the brief and informal style of these notes (and they are notes and not a detailed chronicle), succeeds in evoking nearly the totality of a child's day. I doubt that any major writer has ever so completely and carefully focused on what a five year old actually does and what his life is like.

Hawthorne is also direct and frank. He gets exasperated (as all parents do) about the constant demands for attention, the nonstop childish chatter and the endless sometimes inane questions but only rarely rebukes Julian. On the whole, Hawthorne is remarkably patient. He is amused by Julian's battles with the monsters that appear in the form of thistles and weeds which Julian routinely and daily slaughters. He is fascinated by Julian's determined and uniformly unsuccessful fishing. He admires Julian's great good nature and his gusto. Hawthorne takes care of the boy's minor illnesses, injuries and accidents. He feeds, dresses, bathes and clothes him daily. He also tries to curl his hair. Some of these actions he admits are badly or clumsily done but they are all clearly done with love.

The book also contains a few insights into other aspects of the normally reserved Hawthorne. He is positively volcanic about his dislike of Massachusetts's Berkshire region and its weather and his contemptuous and angry references to a neighbor and to (of all things) the Shaker sect are painful to read. Also clear, however, is his deep love for his family and for friends such as Melville and his love of life generally. He goes to considerable lengths to rescue a kitten trapped in a cistern and does what he can for the well-being of Bunny, whom he obviously considers a rather dull creature. There are observations on the daily round of country life in 1851 as well, including the contents of meals (little meat but plentiful milk, vegetables and rice), interactions with others, visitors and other matters.

The prose is very direct and clear, a far cry from Hawthorne's complex, allusive and often indirect formal style. This is a record of parenting and of a child's life that is moving and beautiful. There is also a useful if perhaps somewhat overlong introduction by writer Paul Auster.

I had previously thought of Nathaniel Hawthorne as serious, stuffy, reclusive - as indeed many contemporaries thought of him. However, _Twenty Days with Julian_ show another side of the man - and the eternal joy and wonder of childhood.

While his wife and daughters were away, Hawthorne spent three weeks alone with his son, Julian. Chronicling their activities, you get a clear sense of the time and of the person Hawthorne was. But what was most pleasant - and surprising - was how similar 4 year old Julian was to children today. A joyful read that would make an excellent Father's Day present.

This is abrief book, but full of great writing. It's very interesting to see what has changed in 150 years - the food, the activities, the words, and what hasn't - how little kids behave.

Hawthorne really captures the boundless energy and joy of small children, as well as his own sense of bewilderment as a father.

Everything positive said about this book is true. But I would add this: Mr. Auster's introduction is excellent until he reaches a point where he starts divulging some of the best points in the diary. So buy the book and go straight to the diary. Then enjoy Auster's wonderful intro. Bravo to NYRB for publishing this as a stand alone book; what a great gift for a new parent!
CS

From July 28th until August 16th, 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife Sophia took their daughters on a visit to her relatives, leaving her husband home to care for their 5 year-old son, Julian. Hawthorne kept a record of his time with the little boy in a journal, calling the episode "Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny by Papa". Anyone familiar with Hawthorne's exquisite, almost recondite writing style as exemplified by his novels and short stories will hardly recognize him in the guise of babysitter and chronicler of his jet-propelled kid's activities. Driven nearly to distraction by Julian's nonstop chatter and noisemaking (Hawthorne's wife had recently given birth to baby Rose, and the little boy was constantly being told to keep quiet), Hawthorne nevertheless decides to allow the child the freedom to be as noisy as he likes while the baby is away. This proves to be an exercise in forbearance for poor papa, as Julian proves to have no off switch, making it "impossible to read, write, think, or even sleep (in the daytime) so constant are his appeals..." Over the ensuing three weeks, the two take daily walks to fetch the milk, and to the lake where Julian fishes with furious, single-minded determination and catches absolutely nothing. Hawthorne struggles to figure out how his wife curls the kid's hair, and there are several unfortunate events - a bedwetting accident, a pants-peeing incident, the kid gets stung by a wasp, the pet bunny, Hindlegs, dies and is buried in the garden, much to Julian's amusement. (He hopes a Bunny Tree will spring up, covered all over in bunnies hanging by their ears.) Through it all, Hawthorne, in spite of his befuddlement with the finer points of child care, bears up gracefully, proving himself not only a gentle and loving father, but a genius at capturing the essence of childhood and the joy of witnessing,close at hand, his little boy's joie de vivre.

I had no idea the spectrum of videos available until I read this book. It's also the perfect book if you want to get a video to watch with your lover and tells you how to introduce the idea to them. Plus it tells you who the good filmmakers are. Comprehensive and highly recommended.

I always thought I would watch adult movies if only there were any good ones! I was never very excited about adult movies but I am a fan of the author, and the video guide is not only her best book to date but made me want to go out and rent some of these movies. As a woman I am used to being insulted by adult movies, but the guide is written by an intelligent woman and she's pointed the way for me to find hot movies, and her recommendations have been right on the mark. She gives the reader a guide with which they can make informed decisions about what they do and do not want to watch. How refreshing.

This is a great book! My girlfriend and I love it, and she's now happily put herself in charge of renting our videos. Violet Blue's tone is warm, funny, and excited about sex and adult videos, and she takes no prisoners in her hilarious video reviews. There are hundreds of films in this book and she explains how to find the good stuff. My girlfriend liked where Blue explained how to avoid seeing things that are offensive and we cracked each other up reading the "porn glossary" out loud to each other. It's nice to see a guide that takes us readers and porn watchers seriously. It's a great book for us couples. Don't read it alone! Thank you Violet Blue!

This is the ultimate consumer guide to porn and it's perfect for women and couples. The female perspecitve is utmost here and it shows you how to steer clear of low quality and female degredation while still finding really hot porn. This is an encyclopedia of modern adult film and nothing has been left out. History, backstories, profiles on interesting people in the business, lots of women-made erotic films and even softcore and mainstream titles are covered here. Nice sections on finding and selecting porn to suit individual's tastes. This book is a welcome relief and is intelligent, funny and free of the usual judgement and stigma in other porn writing. Blue treates porn like an independent film genre, and it's about time.

As someone who has been recommending intimate videos to my girlfriends for years, I was anxious to see what I might learn from Violet Blue's, `The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos.' As it turns out - if you're an experienced porn watcher - not much! (More on why not later.) But if you're a newbie, this book actually has a lot to offer!

For those of you who might be hesitant to watch porn, this book offers many reassurances, such as - people who watch porn are NOT compulsive masturbators, or - porn watchers DO enjoy regular sex with their partners, and, most significantly - watching porn will NOT affect your ability to have a meaningful relationship but, in fact, it might do just the opposite! (Hear, hear!)

On the positive side, the book also provides many GOOD reasons for watching porn, such as - to satisfy one's curiosity (and to expand one's horizons), as education, as entertainment before (or during) sex, or quite simply - to get off! On this last point, Violet offers a lot of encouragement particularly to women - to allow themselves to masturbate while watching porn - which, for men, is only second nature (like breathing)! Lastly, for couples, this tome does review the sensitive issue of how to view porn with a partner - especially when one partner is reluctant. (Luckily, my husband has never had this problem!)

Violet also reassures us - that it's not always necessary to attempt (in one's own bed) everything we might see in porn - and that it's ok for certain types of action to remain in the realm of `fantasy.' In fact, one of porn's strongest roles - is to dimensionalize (add realism) to our sexual fantasies. So even if your boyfriend watches some of the raunchiest porn imaginable - that doesn't require you to try it (or even admit to liking it, even if you do) - so long as he's able to separate fantasy from reality (which most men are surprisingly able to do.)

Probably the most useful sections of the book deals with the types of porn available, such as - feature films, educational videos, all-sex videos (all sex, no plot), to name just a few - as well as my favorite, girl/girl -- which is sometimes called lesbian videos, even though most of the performers are not true lesbians. So if you're unsure of what to watch, this book can add structure to the sometimes bewildering array of porn that's available.

On the downside, this book was published in 2003 -- just a few years ago - but a long time, unfortunately, in porn years! As a result, most of the movie titles it recommends - which make up about 2/3rds of the book - may be difficult, if not impossible, to find today (unless one looks in the classics or marked-down sections). Fortunately, some of the directors, studios, and series listed -- may still be around in some later incarnation.

There's also very little mention of one of the hottest new genres - gonzo -- in which the director interacts (verbally) with the actors -- which saves cost, since there's no script and no rehearsing - but results in some of the hottest, most spontaneous action you'll ever see on screen.

For the experienced porn watcher, this book also seriously dates itself by pointing out that the most prevalent and brazen type of (male) climax available at the time - were facials (an ejaculation served across a woman's face) - which are as useless and degrading back then as they are today! (Ladies, honestly, how often have you asked your lover to do this for you? If you're like me - how about NEVER!) Let's get real!

Fortunately, achieving a climax within a woman's body (on screen) is much more accepted and commonplace in porn today - which makes the action more realistic, more romantic - and much more emotionally satisfying to watch! (It's about time!)

As another nit, the book sadly has only a brief chapter on lesbian and girl/girl videos, which is a shame. And it mixes them with bi-videos (where the men do it with both men and women) which have an entirely different audience and a much more limited appeal.

Luckily, the author, Violet Blue, has a new book coming out, `The Smart Girls Guide to Porn,' which sounds well targeted - since its women who will probably seek out this type of info, especially in a book!

As a happily married (bisexual) female, here are my suggestions for what I'd like to see included in her new book - which this present edition was sorely lacking:

There are now genres of porn - which explore the lovingness of every orifice (such as oral and anal) - and the creative after-climax uses for a man's output (such as swallowing, swapping, and cream pies which is the oozing of ejaculant out of the orifice where it was deposited, plus other combinations of the above).

The natural eroticism of girl/girl should be more strongly highlighted - especially for women. In my own experiences, I've yet to meet a girl who doesn't like to watch two cute babes making love to each other. And I've also found that a woman's enjoyment of porn will increase tremendously - after she discovers girl/girl, which only makes sense since porn is about women - and women have always had an appreciation for the beauty of the fairer sex. (Said differently, it's harder to believe that porn exploits women, and to restrict one's own enjoyment - when pretty girls can now be an object of desire - for both men and women!)

Needless to say, a section of the book should be added to reassure MEN - that watching girl/girl videos will NOT turn their girlfriends or wives into lesbians! (Take it from me -- they won't!) Unfortunately, the most common reason I've found to explain why some women DON'T watch girl-only videos - is because their men don't (yet) approve. Fortunately, that attitude is quickly changing.

I didn't say this earlier, but back in 2003 - it was also taboo to mix boy/girl and girl/girl action - in the same scene. The thinking was (and still is) that guys will be turned off. But one of my favorite type of videos today is girl/girl/boy threesomes, where the girls are free to make love to each other early on (usually in the segment's opening) - and later all throughout the scene - even after their guy has joined in, which is pretty heady stuff!

As further expansion, the nastiest and most romantic of these girl/girl/boy threesome titles are probably more easily recognized under the `swapping' genre where the girls do just that orally with their lover's output - which, for me, is a great heterosexual reassurance - which allows the intimacy of the girl/girl action to go even higher! (As a watch-out, these videos are probably better suited to the more advanced porn watcher - but they are items which I suggest quite often - to my girlfriends who really enjoy porn!)

In conclusion, Violet Blue's `Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos' offers some timeless advice to overcome one's hesitation when it comes to watching porn. The plethora of videos it recommends, though - are hopelessly out-of-date! Fortunately, porn just keeps getting better and better - for both men and women! Enjoy.

Tess Slesinger's The Unpossessed (1934), her only novel, published when she was only 29, is so bright, so playfully and angrily intellectual, so intelligently experimental, so sharp and sensitive, satirical and forgiving, and unforgiving. It is a condemnation of the generation older than her, although it seems written by someone much older, and it is certainly not sympathetic to the younger. It is dark, and gets darker and darker, especially in terms of intellectuals and the wealthy they depend on, their isolation mentally, physically, and emotionally, even from themselves. It's such a tragedy that so wise a woman, who could write such incredible sentences,turned instead to screenplays, and then died young.

With her keen ability to delve into human psychology, Tess Slesinger is a worthy successor to Henry James and Virginia Woolf. Oops! I hope I haven't ruined this book for the general reader because--once you get beyond the first fifteen pages or so and catch on to what Slesinger is up to--you won't put the book down. In terms of literary Modernism and the writing craft, Slesinger builds on the accomplishments of Woolf and James, two of the acknowledged masters of interior psychological processes: Tess Slesinger adds wit, irony, and charm. And, she is thoroughly American in the pace and comedic timing of her work--the very *sound* of this novel is American.

To the general reader, I would say that The Unpossessed is not a consciously arty, literary novel. I'm convinced that there was no other way to write this work, no way to say what had to be said in any technique or structure other than the one in which Tess Slesinger wrote it. The author wanted to approximate reality, modern 1930's life (Depression Era, intellectual activism), and to exactly recreate each character's thoughts. To do that, Slesinger, like Woolf, had to master the use of parentheses and italics in order to show simultaneous thoughts, to show what characters are thinking when another character is speaking. Italics and parenthetical statements are necessary to give the reader the feeling of real life--as lived in the moment. And because every person is so mentally active, each has an interior consciousness which they bring to bear on the social predicament.

In Bruno Leonard, Slesinger has given us a university professor who is as idiosyncratic and witty as they come--the type of erudite, gentleman intellectual who has been largely killed off by mass delivery of education in the new diploma factories. And, in Elizabeth Leonard, Bruno's cousin, we have a young woman who is as engaging as she is sexy and mixed up. The "Black Sheep"--Emmett Middleton, and Cornelia and Firman--are as timeless as any intelligent, active college students frustrated with the times in which they live (with the poverty of the Depression Era, and the unequal sharing of wealth in the U.S.). They are genuinely hoping that the work of Karl Marx can show Americans a way toward a more just society. Emmett Middleton seems to be the stable, moral center of The Unpossessed.

In terms of language and style, The Unpossessed approaches poetry. In Slesinger's characteristically poignant and biting prose, she writes from inside Emmett's conflicted consciousness, "Emmett had hated the word 'business' since he was three years old; it came out of his father's mouth tobacco-stained and dry, slightly nasal; the combination of the zz sound with the n went the wrong way up his nostrils like burning sulphur off a kitchen match. 'He s-says I look too much like a girl scout for his racket anyway.' He thought with relief how since knowing Bruno he had relinquished the vain attempt to gain his father's approbation" (139).

Slesinger's willingness to let the English language carry her into poetic realms makes The Unpossessed soar above the polemical novel; her work has humor and grace in it. To be so young as Tess, so aware of the interior of the human soul, to write only one novel--and then to die so young!

And, dear reader, don't be led astray or fooled by Slesinger's at-times cool, emotionally distant prose. Underneath--and running throughout--is a plea from the heart: Intellectuals and activists must connect to life; while we are reading Engels and Marx and examining the direction of our nation, we must allow life to happen. Yes, be an intellectual with integrity, commit to a cause and be active with it--but go ahead, fall in love, get married, have a baby. These are not bourgeois concepts. They are life, too.

Finally, I don't know why this novel isn't on every undergraduate reading list along with Fitzgerald and Hemingway. This is truly a 20th-century masterpiece--and suitable for the times in which we live.

I knew within the first five pages of this book that I was going to love it. This is because Tess Slesinger's writing is beautiful and atmospheric. The narrator is third person omniscient, so we get a range of character's points of view in a flowing fashion. In this way it is similar to narrative like Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.

The basic premise is that there are these Greenwich Village leftists who want to start up a communist newsletter. This, however, is merely the basis for the larger group interactions. There are also deep dysfunctional relationships between the couples that make up the larger group and the shiftiing dynamic between man and woman. This novel looks hard at the mind of a woman of the time and what it is that she wants and whether or not she even knows what she wants anymore. It also looks at the men around them and how they percieve these "new" and "independant" women. It is a fascinating look at the relationship between the sexes.

I recommend getting not this verison, but the Feminist Press version because the Feminist Press edition has a very interesting forward.

We read this book for our book club. The first half is tough--it was challenging to get into the rhythm of the glib repartee, double meanings and quirky jargon, much less get all the characters straight. Then, at about the halfway point, the group convenes for a meeting, and it's off to the races!! Slesinger has (OK, had) a remarkable flair for capturing the times, a remarkable ear for dialog, and a grand ability to skewer different "types" with deadly accuracy. The climax of the book is a party scene you'll never forget--picturing the shabbily dressed baby-communist collegians rubbing elbows with wealthy society mavens who are ignorant of the cause they find themselves supporting still cracks me up--a very rich and VERY funny novel.

Try this passage, not quite at random:

"`I'm the Bruno Leonard all-purpose one-man three-ring self-kidding self-perpetuating exhibitionistic circus divided like all Gaul into partes tres. One part sour grapes, one part wish-fulfillment, nine parts subconscious. And the greatest of these, according to the antediluvian Chinese, is the subconscious. This way, ladies and pessimistic gents, for the J. J. stream-line crooner, for old Doc Leonard the campaigning fool, watch hin frisk, watch him scamper, watch him catch his fleas in public. Don't feed him peanuts feed him opiates, buy your tablets at the gate from Miss Diamond who has given many years of service, who sacrificed her vacations, her virtue, that this firm might go on.' He subsided, to his own relief; collapsed into the chair that Nora drew up for him. `To sex and its many ramifications,' he said, and raised his glass."

Okay, it is out of context. But in context or out, I defy anyone to catch all the layers of meaning there, at least not on first reading. It's not precisely obscure (although I don't think I catch everything), not Joycean or Kafkaesque. It's more like a James Wood movie monologue: the narrator has no skin at all and she process on six channels at once, certainly the quickest-witted observer you could want to imagine. Or a "Simpsons" tape, where you know you will catch something new at second look, and some of the music gags will still go clean on past you.

Try it again for the rhythm. Can you get it? I cannot quite, but I am pretty sure it is there: all gnarly and snarky, all elbows and knees, a mind and a sensibility all its own. Just to get in the swing of things, I found I had to read it out loud, but no matter: it was better that way, and it lasted longer.

Tess Slesinger subtitles it "A Novel of the Thirties," and that it is: an attempt at clear-eyed observation of her cronies and adversaries among leftwing New York intellectuals at the bottom of the Depression. She dedicated it "to my contemporaries." Elizabeth Hardwick, in her introduction to the NYRB edition, calls it "a kindly act of intellectual friendship," and that it is not-indeed Hardwick's is one of the wildest misjudgments I can possibly imagine. It may be "friendship" in that she cares enough about these people that she wishes she could save them. But it is not in the least way kindly. Rather, this is an act of prophecy: a calling down of God's (if there is a God) wrath upon a wayward Greenwich Village by one who loved it a great deal but understood it - to her dismay - even better. It's rich, it's full of life and it is tainted with the acrid aroma of doom. What a talent. What a sensibility. What an experience, as energetic and refractory as any novel you will read for a long time. Tess Slesinger died in 1945 at the age of 39. She never wrote another.