Georgia Books

"The Dark Side of Hopkinsville" is a collection of short stories written by the distinguished African American journalist Ted Poston. Mr. Poston was a reporter for the New York Post for years. When joined the paper, he became the first black reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper.

Theodore Roosevelt Augustus March Poston spent his early years in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children. His parents were educators with his father often called upon to settle disputes of fact among the men of the local community.

These stories are about segregation, the complexion game, social pretension and how silly these issues really are. Set in the early twentieth century, they cover the final idyllic years of Ted's childhood before the death of his mother. These stories are not angry, they are humorous and entertain as well as educate.

The character's are vivid and well developed. Mr. Poston is efficient yet thorough in developing them vividly in remarkably few words. There's Rat Joiner, Ted's best friend from Billy Goat Hill. Rat is Huck Finn to Ted's Tom Sawyer. There's Mrs. Nixola Green head of the `Blue Vein Society'. The membership was reserved for Negroes of light-complexion enough to see their veins. Knee Baby Watkins a kid that absolutely, positively refuses to walk. Mr. Fertilizer Ferguson who's rough exterior (and smell) hides his entrepreneurial genius. The humorous cast of characters goes on.

This slim volume necessarily includes "The Revolt of the Evil Fairies" Ted's most anthologized story. (If you haven't read it, you know nothing about African-American literature.) In it he rebels against the complexion discrimination perpetrated by Black people by other Black people in the context of a school play.

Mr. Poston led a long and successful career as a journalist. This reviewer just wishes he'd written more fiction than this gem he has left us.

While this book is about life for a Black child in rural Knetucky in the early 1990s, much of this will be easy for people of almost any background to relate to.

This look on a Black child's life is not entirely the fun stuff of Bill Cosby's Fat Albert or the grimness and despair of Richard Wright's Black Boy, but it combines the good and the bad to prevent it from being either rose-colored memories or gloom-despair-and agony-on-me. We get the fun of beign a kid and palying games and getting into srapes with your friends as welll as the brutal racism and classism of the times in whcih Ted Poston had lived. This would make a good cartoon series or movie (anyone at Disney listening)?

In either case, it would be a good idea of older folks from the pre-television era would read this book with the kids and talk about it afterwards.

Truly one of the most fascinating books of the decade. It is the African American version of The Little Rascals. It is an amazing tale of friendship, and a community that truly lives the African proverb, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." This books gives meaning the prejudices even within the same race and social class in a fun loving,yet serious way. The Dark Side of Hopkinsville should be read by children of all ages. The adventures of several friends during the turn of the century will affix your mind to yester year. It will bring back memories of your childhood and the wonderful experiences you shared with your closets classmates and friends. You will remember the times you "cut out", of school to go fishing or perhaps wish you would have. There are stories that you haven't told for perhaps decades. Reading this book will recall familiar stories from days gone by, it will make you smile, laugh, cry and at times wonder why. But, through it all you will realize that you made it over and suddenly you are here and you are still here. As I read the story it helped me realize that although things change they somehow stay the same. There is really nothing new under the sun. There is a Rat Joiner who still whipps the Kaiser. Some people are meant to stay alive even after they are gone so generations after generations can meet them, they are meant to be known for ever, such is the case with the characters in this book.

Truly one of the most fascinating books of the decade. It is the African American version of The Little Rascals. It is an amazing tale of friendship, and a community that truly lives the African proverb, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." This books gives meaning the prejudices even within the same race and social class in a fun loving,yet serious way. The Dark Side of Hopkinsville should be read by children of all ages. The adventures of several friends during the turn of the century will affix your mind to yester year. It will bring back memories of your childhood and the wonderful experiences you shared with your closets classmates and friends. You will remember the times you "cut out", of school to go fishing or perhaps wish you would have. There are stories that you haven't told for perhaps decades. Reading this book will recall familiar stories from days gone by, it will make you smile, laugh, cry and at times wonder why. But, through it all you will realize that you made it over and suddenly you are here and you are still here. As I read the story it helped me realize that although things change they somehow stay the same. There is really nothing new under the sun. There is a Rat Joiner who still whipps the Kaiser. Some people are meant to stay alive even after they are gone so generations after generations can meet them, they are meant to be known for ever, such is the case with the characters in this book.

As a child my grand-daddy "Rat Joiner" often called Ted Poston's name and I never paid close attention that he was a real person and best friend to my grand-daddy. After growing up leaving home, my mother Anna Joiner Harvey "Rat Joiner's" daughter, informed me that a lady by the name of Kathleen Hauke came to Hopkinsville interviewed many residents and initiated a book signing of "The Dark Side Of Hopkinsville". As I eagerly read the book in one sitting I happily recalled some of the stories grand-daddy told of Ted Poston over the years. The annedotes are heart warming and so real to almost anyone who lived in a southern or rural setting. The experiences and relationships forged in the book among the various characters can be applicable to most of our lives. The challenges that were over come by the characters as children encourage us all that life is one test after the next. With deep rooted faith,family and friends we can overcome any obstacles in life. This is evident in that Ted Poston and Theodore Roosevelt "Rat" Joiner, came from such humble beginnings and made outstanding contributions in life. Ted became a noted author and reporter and "Rat Joiner" left a long line of descendents (over 350 grand and great-grand children alone).

I confess I was drawn to this book by a)the inside jacket cover photo of the exceptionally attractive young female memoirist who seemed posessed of an enigmatic, almost haunted look, and b) the mysterious suggestiveness of the book title and partially obscured cover photo -- redolent of dark family revelations -- and I was not disappointed. 30-year old Jill Christman writes a searing account of harrowing family traumas, including her own recovered memory of childhood sexual abuse, the tragic auto accident that killed the young man who was the love of her life, her older brother's being nearly scorched to death by a freak shower incident, her near life-long estrangement from her father, and the wretched death in jail of a beloved uncle incarcerated for growing marijuana. All of these dark tales are leavened with ironic humor and described in superb detail. For me, the near 20 page account of Jill's preparation of a melted cheese sandwich for her frail grandmother, the ingestion of which led to her not untimely demise, was the piece de resistance.

If you have not read this book I suggest you do. I laughed out loud, cried, and was at a loss for words with this book. I really liked how the author used the nameless voice to bring out the questions and answers from the inside. I love to read and this is by far the best memoir that I've read.

I laughed out loud, cried, and was at a lost for words while reading this book. The element that sticks out is the second voice that appears throughout the piece. I encourage everyone who loves to read to read this book. I couldn't put it down once I started. I read it in one day. Job well done Professor Christman!

This book is a perfect example of the possibilities of creative nonfiction. Like the originator of the personal essay, Montaigne, Jill Christman chooses her self as her subject-the "I"-yet, in doing so, is really writing about all of us-the "we"-of humanity. Like more modern writers-Woolf, Stein, Eliot and so on-Christman also brings to her work a richness of prose, an understanding of arrangement and construction, and the confidence to employ such techniques as flashbacks, photo collages, and intertextuality. As a teacher of literature, I enjoyed this book for all of the reasons listed above. As a person who simply loves to read, I enjoyed this book because it is a GOOD READ! Sometimes sad, sometimes happy, sometimes terrible, sometimes funny-this book consistently had me turning the pages. I certainly recommend it.

With some of the intensity of *The Bell Jar* and some of its artlessness, *Darkroom* purportedly details Jill Christman's life with disarming candor and rue. Born into a family so doggedly dysfunctional that the alternative is never an issue, the author's account of suffering bulimia, sexual abuse, and inadequate and self-centered relatives makes a sad but not an unfamiliar recipe. It is counterpointed by her many-sided love for her family and boyfriend. Interspersed throughout the scatter-shot presentation, Ms. Christman weaves the idea of art, pictorial and literary: this is a book or a photo, not life. Well, you can't have it both ways, yet if this element perforce seems insufficiently integrated, her narrative remains, despite the post-modernist consciousness, a sharply affecting story.

Peter Selgin's collection of short stories, "Drowning Lessons," is a seamlessly crafted, deeply affecting swim in waters that are at once welcoming, redemptive and dangerous. The author dives confidently into the minds of ordinary men, all of whom are trying desperately to connect to the people in thir lives or the strangers they come upon. The first story aptly named 'Swimming' finds an old man(a strong swimmer) imagining a last chance at love with a much younger woman whom he meets at favorite place to swim. While he dreams of what might be, he's left to grapple with the reality of his real life, his wife who has long since lost interest in him.She can't swim worth a damn. At the center of each story, 'El Malecon' for example is a moment wherein, lonely yet always proud characters must face the truth of who they are even if that happens in the last moments of their lives. We readers become witnesses to these painfully human, often funny moments. Like it or not there's isn't one among us who might not secretly identify with these characters' struggles which makes them compulsive, delicious reading. Did I mention that there's plenty of lust and humor too? Don't be afraid to take a deep breath and test these waters.

Several of the short stories in this collection are so masterful that they should be included in those anthologies of "Best Short Fiction of Whatever Year" and "Best Humorous Fiction of Whatever Year," and I would also add "Best Travel Writing of" --anyway, you get the idea. Selgin can be hilarious and is a wonderful writer of place; his stories set in Greece, Mexico, and even rural, hard-scrapple Connecticut really evoke their individual settings. As I was reading "Drowning Lessons," I kept thinking, "This is going to be my favorite story," then I'd change my mind and find another one, but two stories that really clung to me were "Sawdust," about a boy and his puzzling attachment to an older teacher, and "Boy B," a really shredding story about the bitter, intense love of a very competitive identical twin relationship. In all his stories, Selgin has an almost vaudevillian ability to do turn-on-a-dime changes in mood, voice, and feeling; he can go from bitter and sarcastic to lushly emotional and romantic in one sentence: this gives him a very singular voice, completely apart from the usual canned fluff of easily palatable commercial literature, where every line reads like it's come out of a Dairy Queen machine. There are times though when I wish some of the stories had gripped me more, stayed closer to the conflicts in them, or presented themselves with harder, less flinching situations. But the stories that I did like, and there were a number of them, like "The Girl in the Story" (a masterful, amazing tale set in Connecticut--and one of my "favorite" contenders); "The Sea Cure," deliciously scary and mean; and "The Sinking Ship Man," about the cult of big-time disasters (I won't spoil the plot by saying what famous disaster but Celine Dion warbles in it) and aging--still stick in my mind, and I think they will stick in yours for a very long time to come.

In Drowning Lessons we are given a full and very entertaining range of short stories by Peter Selgin. Stories whose characters are as varied as their local. Sharp wit and colorful landscapes surround the many speakers along the way, all the while we witness the inevitable collide between heart and conscience. It is what the best writers have always sought and what every reader yearns for. Follow these characters down life's many paths as they [...] up against the varying limits of convention and worldly wisdom. This collection is arguably the best short story collection since William Gay's I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down.

This book is a great read---the stories are so alive that I felt as if I might put the book down and find myself face to face with the characters themselves, alive in front of me, all of them vibrant, real and believable. It was a pleasure for me to find that these stories lived up to the promise of the recognition given them, the Flannery O'Connor Award; these stories are sophisticated, intelligent and totally entertaining. Best of all, I found myself liking these characters tremendously. Although all the stories are different and all the characters unique, there is an energy to this book that never flags, first story to last. If you're a short story writer, this collection is one to read and ponder---this author knows how to turn a phrase and hook a reader. (He also has a great craft book out, "By Cunning and Craft," one that I use all the time in teaching writing workshops.) Highly recommended!

What makes "Drowning Lessons" such compelling reading is that the stories cover the gamut of human emotions, each one conveying a specific message about human relationships and the lessons we take home from them. Using a broad range of colors, moods and rhythms Selgin does that in a very direct and moving way. Not unlike some musical compositions, stories such as "Swimming", "Our Cups Are Bottomless" and "Colors of The Sea" seem to alternately emerge and fade back as if riding the waves taking us from the dark depths of despair to bursts of hope and sunshine.

Very inspiring book. The pictures are gorgeous and will inspire any gardener. The info is helpful, although directed to a particular climate. If you are a beginning gardener, get this book so you can get ideas for your own garden.

Monty Don is very cool. I've not seen him on television, but he comes across as defiantly insistent on the inescapable value of organic gardening for our souls and our bodies. A great read that you will treasure forever.

A great read. Made me want to get out there and start digging. Make everything sound so simple.

This is one of the most practical and comprehensive books on organic gardening I have come across. It is full of useful advice on the plants he,(Monty Don) grows in his own farm, turned garden. It is also nice that it is not your standard gardening book, that is, one that gives sterile advice on every species(hight:10',hardy to:-5 ect.). He even has information on taking care of small livestock(chickens,ducks) In order to "complete the livestock circle". All in all this book is a must on the bookshelf of any gardener, as much for inspiration from Montys beautyful british garden as for the wealth of practical advice it holds.

Inspiring, warm, homely, earthy... a book to read, not just for reference... Monty takes you so deep into his garden, you can feel the mud squishing under your wellies, smell the lavender and taste the ripe tomatoes, with the feel of gentle sunshine on the back of your neck, and the scent of a thousand sweet peas helping you to forget the scratches from the pruning job you just finished.

The book is written in England, about a English garden with a particular climate and environment. But the practises can be adopted anywhere: know your land, know the climate, experiment, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

I will read this book over and over and over again. Sweet peas don't do so well in Sacramento as they used to back home in Leicestershire, but... maybe this year I'll try them at a time of year that suits them, not me!

This is a terrific book written by a member's wife and their daughter. I am a big golf fan and have read several books about Augusta National and the Masters in recent years, but this one has an entirely different angle--a woman's perspective, and an insider-woman at that. The authors are respectful of the club, but they also are open in offering dozens of refreshing anecdotes that are funny and border on irreverent. There are also a bunch of photos in the book depicting the golf course from a candid viewpoint.

I started the book about 6 p.m and finished about 1 a.m; I could not put it down. Every golfer, every Masters fan, every body in Augusta will want this. Lots of great (and courteous) insider stories about the the Club; the creek, the community power fights about the creek; about great golfers, the caddies; the role of women; the founders of the club; the author's learning golf; rubbing elbows with Washington big whigs.

I know the author personally; I never dreamed her book would be interesting; I certainly never expected to be glued to her book, but it is a gem. I've got a couple of golfing buddies in mind who will want to read this book.

The story about the golfer who would "never" play with a woman was great...he parted with a dollar of two.

The "ownership" of the caddies, the nicknames of caddies and the nicknames given by caddies to their "horses" was fascinating.

The stories about the club president show a man "bigger than life."

Perhaps some of you know what trunk bangers are...now I know.

My grandmother lived a few blocks from the club and she rented to people who attended the Masters...so the book brings back memories...

Anyone struggling with golf, all you addicts out there, who day dream about shots, greens, the rough, creeks and sandtraps will identify with the author, whether male or female.

I'm not even a golfer, but my daddy was; and after listening to him talk golf, get down with 90, high on 72, talk about lights for night golfing, discuss the game over a few drinks, I found this book a clincher. I never expected to enjoy a book so much.

I enjoyed the book, but I was eager to learn more about the men in their lives. Who were these men and how did they feel about the experiences.

I started the book about 6 p.m and finished about 1 a.m; I could not put it down. Every golfer, every Masters fan, every body in Augusta will want this. Lots of great (and courteous) insider stories about the the Club; the creek, the community power fights about the creek; about great golfers, the caddies; the role of women; the founders of the club; the author's learning golf; rubbing elbows with Washington big whigs.

I know the author personally; I never dreamed her book would be interesting; I certainly never expected to be glued to her book, but it is a gem. I've got a couple of golfing buddies in mind who will want to read this book.

The story about the golfer who would "never" play with a woman was great...he parted with a dollar of two.

The "ownership" of the caddies, the nicknames of caddies and the nicknames given by caddies to their "horses" was fascinating.

The stories about the club president show a man "bigger than life."

Perhaps some of you know what trunk bangers are...now I know.

My grandmother lived a few blocks from the club and she rented to people who attended the Masters...so the book brings back memories...

Anyone struggling with golf, all you addicts out there, who day dream about shots, greens, the rough, creeks and sandtraps will identify with the author, whether male or female.

I'm not even a golfer, but my daddy was; and after listening to him talk golf, get down with 90, high on 72, talk about lights for night golfing, discuss the game over a few drinks, I found this book a clincher. I never expected to enjoy a book so much.

I started the book about 6 and finished about 12. Every golfer, Masters fan, everyone in Augusta will want one of theses books.

It's full of real inside stories of the Club, its founders, the grounds, the caddies, the famous players.

I know the author personally and figured her book would be interesting but did not expected to be glued to it. The wording contained many of the unique phrases used at the National and un golfing. I could not put the book down.

I am not a golfer, but my dad was and I have heard him day dream about golf; I've seen him high on 72 and down on 90; it seems the author got to the point she day dreamed about sandtraps, the rough, the fairways, how she would handle different shots.

Stories about personal encounters with famous golfers and politicians were great. The stories about the caddies and their betting, "ownership" of golfers, their nicknames were fascinating.

The stories about how one gets into the club gives the Augusta National a sense of intrigue.

The stories about the president of the club presented a man bigger than life, who put fear into the hearts of the wealthy and powerful.

Fishing stories, access to the club during the Masters, access to the club during off season were all highly readable and clearly inside, non-public, unpublished views into a closed society.

That only a few people were there at a time off season was amazing; there is/or was a wonderful wine cellar; there were no socials unrelated to golf and no 5 somes.

This is a wonderful book of private information that every golfer will enjoy, buy 2 of (one to keep and one to give away).

From back cover:
[Greek version with English translation on opposite page]

"This new bilingual edition of 'George Seferis: Collected Poems' both supplements and revises the two earlier editions published in 1967 and 1969. It collects for the first time the complete 'Notes for a 'Week,' 'Three Secret Poems,' and three later poems that were not collected by the poet himself but whose English translation he authorized during his lifetime.

Long recognized as the leading contemporary Greek poet, George Seferis was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963. As the translators suggest in their introductory essay, Seferis's contribution to Greek poetry lies both in his capacity for creating those universal metaphors that illuminate the deeper meaning of our times and in his stylistic purity, allowing no embellishments beyond that necessary for precise poetic statement."

Seferis is great. These poems don't feel dated in the least, nor do they sound translated. They emerge from some deep root in the shared brain, and brim into life like grace. If you like Montale or Cavafy, you'll probably like Seferis as well. All three have a large vision that begins in the local and reaches the world.

The edition, by Princeton, is very fine, with clear print and a helpful introduction.

...(like myself). Seferis is graceful, erudite, and profound without being pretentious or willfully obscure. His work is lovely and haunting. I first became aware of his poems when Stephen King excerpted bits of them in SALEM'S LOT, which I think says something about how broad an audience Seferis appeals to. His poems tell stories as well as create imagery and mood, which helps make their beauty all the more affecting.

Although it is difficult for me to select my favorite modern Greek poet since I hold several of them in high esteem, among his peers, Seferis crests the wave of poetic intensity. His poetry is always laden with images often as tragic as they are beautiful. Like Kimon Friar, Edmund Keeley has brought the powerful verse of modern Greeks to the English reader (see the Amazon excerpts of this work). In sum, Seferis' poetic world is enthralling.

Seferis is the ultimate point of poetry. The real king of poetry. His name will be around throughout ages and the words he wrote will be remembered. The nobel was the least that people could return to him.

Here is a coffee table book that is worthy of reading as well as enjoying the pictures and illustrations. Well conceived with wit and wisdom of the players, peripheral personalities, and the low down on the Low country courses.
Written with an obvious love of the game, and a way with words, the author entertains us with interesting profiles as well as incisive reviews of the courses. Who knows ...... it may even take a few strokes off your score as you are forewarned about the hazards that will be encountered.
Great book for the local Low landers and those who may visit the area.

Fabulous and funny essays about golf and golfers, coupled with insightful reviews of the area's courses. A must read for anyone planning to partake of the Low Country's golf course treasures.

I was given this book as a birthday gift, and thought it would just be a pretty picture book about the fine courses of Hilton Head Island and Savannah. That element is definitely present, but what surprised me were the funny essays about the game of golf the author intersperses with the course reviews and area personality profiles. It's really a nice read--entertaining and informative in the same breath.

Having never played golf in that neck of the country, I am sorely tempted to head down that way when I'm next on vacation. Zuckerman does a great job in making these courses come alive and his style of writing is breezy and fun --and with great insight into the sport of golf.

I've been playing golf in the Hilton Head-Savannah area for several years, and this is a truly excellent representation of the courses, people and situations any visitor will encounter there.
The photos and drawings are really nice, and the text is both funny and compelling. I would recommend this book to any fan of golf in this area.

Tim O'Grady creates exquisitely wrought, archetypal prose that could even overpower Pyke's perfect documentary photos. (Without offense to Walker Evans, now I'm wishing Pyke had been around to collaborate with James Agee).

Amazingly, requires very little interest in Ireland or the Irish - O'Grady is from Chicago anyway and this book is more about experiences of all mankind. His crystalline narrative is hardly bound by ethnicity.

Extraordinary and inspiring new use of the verb, can. If you read poetry, you couldn't regret buying this experimental novel.

... then buy, borrow or steal a copy! Never before have I read such a good exploration of Irish exile. Stranded in a dismal flat in England, the protagonist remembers his happy childhood in Ireland, the rough living and working conditions in England, and his only love. The language is quite simple and often Hiberno Irish, but deeply imaginative and so lyrical, that the line between prose and poetry gets blurred. The beautiful black/white pictures added to this book, and the author's ability to portray Irish music help to give an insight into Irish culture. Sometimes it's like watching a documentary, and suddenly you can't help but feeling you're listening to a song; a song of heartache and terrible longing. Despite far from being soppy the book is very moving in the end; you actually hope for a happy ending. But that wouldn't be Irish.

This book is beautiful and tragic and joyful and moving, all at the same time and independently over the course of the story. Through the poetic language of the text and the poetic imagery of the photos, the drama of every day life in Ireland is brought across as quietly epic, if such a thing can be.

I am very familiar with the works of old time Irish writers including the works of James Joyce who wrote about Ireland in exile. I still don't know much about modern Irish novelists until I had the opportunity of meeting and listening to parts of Timothy O'Grady's novel at Perth Writer's Festival early this year. Immediately afterwards I bought a copy and later talked to Timothy briefly about writers in exile and their struggle with dislocation. This story is not only about dislocation and exile. This is the story of a man coming of age and following a journey during which he struggles to make sense of his life, dislocation, loss of love and loneliness.

This lyrically crafted novel is a great collaboration between O'Grady and photographer Steve Pyke. They collectively create a visual journey of a musical Irishman, his journey from one location to another, looking for work and the love of his life. O'Grady's begins his novel with a description of the protagonist's life back at home as a child:

"This room is dark, as dark as it ever gets - the hour before dawn in winter. I have sounds and pictures but they flit and crash before I can get them..."

For me, it is a metaphor of not been able to recreate the places and the people he left behind as a result of his journey.

O'Grady ends his novel with a similar narrative:

"In the room now a breeze comes in through the window and on it there is the smell of spring. Downstairs the girl turns on her radio... There is a time after long work when you can look for strength and there is nothing there....

In the morning light I let go."

In between, we learn about his journey, his recollection of Irish landscapes, the places left behind, the music he played and his love. But this is not just a mere description of a nostalgic mental journey of an Irishman in exile. This can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.

Reading this novel is like watching a visually crafted documentary embedded with voice and music that we can see and hear.

I'm glad that I met O'Grady and read his novel as my introduction to modern Irish novelists. But this novel had another positive effect on me. When I met O'Grady I was writing a novel about my own dislocation. This novel inspired me to look at my private journey again and again, and continue my writing in exile!

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the beauty and tragic of moving from one place to another.

... then buy, borrow or steal a copy! Never before have I read such a good exploration of Irish exile. Stranded in a dismal flat in England, the protagonist remembers his happy childhood in Ireland, the rough living and working conditions in England, and his only love. The language is quite simple and often Hiberno Irish, but deeply imaginative and so lyrical, that the line between prose and poetry gets blurred. The beautiful black/white pictures added to this book, and the author's ability to portray Irish music help to give an insight into Irish culture. Sometimes it's like watching a documentary, and suddenly you can't help but feeling you're listening to a song; a song of heartache and terrible longing. Despite far from being soppy the book is very moving in the end; you actually hope for a happy ending. But that wouldn't be Irish.

This book or guide I should say won't disappoint. It gives very good, practical ideas with some twists. What I liked most about it was some of the ideas in the book can be a little tame for my taste but offered ways to give them a fetish twist which I liked much more. For someone who is just testing their boundaries to getting off-the-charts erotic there is something meant for all. There was also a rating system in the book for each idea rating how much an idea could cost to weather there could be travel involved. These Diva's went all out. Quite a few things R and I have done already however there is always a way to change it up. All and all a very well written book with great ideas from two fiercely Dominant Diva's. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants their Dominant Diva to come out and play.

This book has some really cool and HOT things I've never tried before...
Like downloading hot stories and songs into his iPod as a surprise (he loved it),
Involving a 1-900 operator in your sex games, like a mock menage a trois! (This was hot.)
Having him be your chauffeur...and then buzzing yourself in the backseat. (He almost crashed!)
I heard Georgia and Julie on the radio last week and then I checked out the free game on dominantdiva.com called Parking Lot Passion. Both my boyfriend and I loved it! I'm hooked! I got the book 5 days ago, and have already tried 4 games. I'm a DOMINANT DIVA.

This book has tons of creative ideas I hadn't thought of but that are truly inspiring... I was surprised (and psyched) to see how many of the games aren't just sexy, but also super-romantic. Check out Bed, Bath and Way Beyond, for example--what woman *wouldn't* want to be pampered like that? My boyfriend *loves* this book--it's fun paging through it with him and picking out games to try together. (There are games for him as well as me, so that keeps it interesting ;)...) He was pretty excited when I brought it home, believe me--and it keeps paying off... Not just in making sex more fun, either. I swear my boyfriend is giving me more massages now, giving me more compliments and just generally paying more attention to me in and out of the bedroom. Even if you've never tried anything but vanilla sex, you'll get into this book--the games are called games because they're fun! Everything's rated from mild to wild, so you can start slow if you want--or go straight to the super-spicy... Consider me a very satisfied Dominant Diva!!

This book details exactly how to go about taking charge of your sex life. If you are a woman curious about how to start experimenting with some role play in your sex life, this is the perfect book for you. It details step by step how to set up role play scenes: what to wear, what props you might need, what to say, how to to go about every aspect of spicing up your sex life. And it is full of ideas for the timid to the daring so I can see using this book for a long time. The fantasies are hot, so just reading this book will add some heat before you even start trying it out. Perfect for the woman who wants to take control (or a man who wants his woman to take control to give as a gift). This book is not too wild or severe like some others about power exchange and it really does tell you "how to".

While this guide to adult love making bliss has only 69 games to play in the lover's bedroom, there is plenty of opportunity to add variations and eventually reach a goal of 1001 nights of exquisite sexual pleasure. The authors state their purpose as:
"We want to let you in on a little secret: There's nothing better than taking control of your sex life and your man. It's so empowering to know that you're not only in charge of your own O, but you can easily take charge of his too!"
The two authors were both waitresses when they met but before long Georgia became a dominatrix. Julie became a sex advisor for various media. The women tested each new sex technique, fetish, or position they discovered on their husbands and then "compared notes. If it earned our seal of approval, we'd tell our girlfriends and spread the love." Together they compiled their favorite sex games so their readers can get in on the fun too. They chose the games from their experiences as a very successful Manhattan and L.A. dominatrix as well their magazine sex features and their own kinky love lives.
Unlike most of the books on this subject, this one is jam-packed with detailed sexual role-playing games. The authors take the reader into a world that even the women in "Sex in the City" probably have not even dreamed about, much less experienced.
One only has to read, or better yet, try a couple of the games described in this guidebook to know the authors really do know their subject. Sample games include titles such as "Dirty Dancer," "Naked Sushi," "Master of Disguise," Naughty Nurse," "Sex Spa," "Take Me to the Drive-In," "Boss Lady," and "Caught and Cuffed."
This 282 page book is large format, beautifully illustrated with tasteful, erotic photographs (surprise, surprise), has an interesting, unique layout and the book is fun and if it doesn't make the reader laugh, they will at least giggle while they explore a whole new world of erotic adventures. The book also gives good advice about safe sex, the correct way to do some of the techniques so as not to cause damage to yourself or your partner and the variety of sex toys that can be introduced into many of the lovemaking games. This book is one of the best hands-on guides available on this highly stimulating and desirable subject and none of the games would be classified as extreme or particularly dangerous. The games are designed to give the unimaginative woman step-by-step or move-by-move or orgasm-by-orgasm instruction and hopefully by the book's end, even the formerly shy novice lover will be able to soar on to new heights of sexual satisfaction by adapting these basic games into love games tailored especially for their own tastes.
It's the kind of book that could easily become a modern version of the ancient Chinese and Japanese Pillow books in that couples will keep it under their pillows for saucy inspiration in the bedroom.
This book is so good at what it says, that if the authors had offered a "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" deal to purchasers, it's unlikely anyone would ever have wanted take them up on their guarantee. Honestly, these women know what they write is proven fact, again and again. The readers should prepare themselves to join the authors "on this Dominant Diva journey, and your sex life will never be the same." The authors also suggest that readers of the book "invest in some fire-retardant sheets, because things are gonna get hot. Really hot. And that's a promise!" And they are "oh so" correct!

Everybody who has serious illness or cares for somebody with a life-threatening illness should have this book. Makes a nice gift.

Going to be a best seller or should be.

NANCY WHITE KELLY IS A MASTER OF LIFE. SHE TOUCHES THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF HER READERS. SHE SHARES A STORY FULL OF HUMOR, EMOTION AND INSPIRATION AND IS ONE OF LIFES GREAT FIGHTERS. I AM LUCKY THAT SHE CAME BACK INTO MY LIFE AFTER AN ABSENCE OF SO MANY YEARS.

SIMPLY, ANYONE HAVING....OR KNOWS OF ANYONE HAVING BREAST CANCER SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. IT GIVES INSIGHT OF THE PERSONAL UPS AND DOWNS OF THIS DREADFUL ILLNESS, AND SHOWS HOW YOU MAY AS A PERSON KEEP AND USE A SINCE OF HUMOR TO HELP OVER COME OR AT LEAST KEEP AT BAY THIS ILLNESS. YOU WILL LAUGH, AND CRY BUT, AT LEAST WALK AWAY KNOWING HOW THE LORD CAN WORK IN WAYS BEYOND OUR EVERYDAY LIVES, AND BE USED TO HELP OTHERS. IN MY OPINION....I HIGHLY REGUARD THIS BOOK "TOPS"....AND RECOMMEND IT !!!!

The Journal of a Living Lady is one of late summer's nicest gifts. Nancy White Kelly, a middle-aged school principal/writer, reaches deep within her southern soul to wittily describe what it is like to dance daily with terminal illness.

The book is a compilation of her most popular weekly newspaper columns which began originally as the Journal of a Dying Lady. When the author kept surpassing her doctor's time schedule for expected death, loyal readers suggested a title change. The Journal of a Living Lady allowed her more latitude to write about other interesting adventures as she traveled the toll-road to cancer survival.

The popularity of Nancy Kelly's local newspaper column soon turned global due to the accessibility of her columns on the web and the recognition given by web reviewers. Mrs. Kelly appeared as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The Making Memories Organization recognized the author's wish to have an extended family reunion after she wrote, "I believe we have our funeral traditions backwards. When somebody dies, family and friends spend hours catching up, laughing and sharing memories. The only thing wrong with that scenario is that the person in the pine box doesn't get to participate."

Journal of a Living Lady is a page-turner. The last sentence of the first chapter ends, "I intend to live forever. So far, so good." Writing with a sometimes cynical, oftentimes mischievious squint, Mrs. Kelly leads the reader through several funny, yet inspiration experiences.

This book made me laugh and cry for three hours. Nancy White Kelly may have terminal cancer, but it certainly doesn't have her. In one column she wrote, "Until the horse is dead, I won't dismount. I only plan to spend the last day of my life dying." She also offers good advice: "Laugh a lot. Hug like a bear. Then smile. It is the second best thing you can do with your lips."