Next book

THE WILD GIRLS CLUB

TALES FROM BELOW THE BELT

Radakovich gives men the lowdown about women's secret desires and conversations, as exemplified by the Wild Girls Club, consisting of her and her ``supervixen'' friends. The pieces collected here, which have appeared in Details magazine, were written for a male audience, but, filled with anecdotes about the search for sex and love, they will also appeal to women. Obsessed with sex and male sex organs, Radakovich relates her experiences with exuberant candor. After sampling the offerings from a couple of male escort (read ``prostitute'') services, Radakovich concludes that ``having someone to worship you is one of life's better turn-ons.'' In another experiment, she tests several aphrodisiacs, with varied results (after taking one called Montezuma's Secret, ``even the knockwurst in the refrigerator started to look good''). Tired of the single life, she joins several dating services (``getting laid was not the problem; finding someone who didn't irritate us in the morning after was'') only to meet a nerd, a likable slob, and a man who embarrasses her by performing card tricks at an outdoor cafe. When a neighbor finds love on a cruise ship, Radakovich takes a cruise. Although at first the trip is a ``single's nightmare,'' it turns around with a huge alcoholic fest and flirtation confessions near the end of the cruise. Radakovich's raffish sense of humor litters her book, especially her tongue-in-cheek answers to ``probing questions from the male room'' as ``the Determinator'' at Details. Although right on target with much of her advice and narration, she also receives mail from irate customers (``Come to Seattle,'' one man writes, ``Ted Bundy was from here''). Battled-scarred survivors of stressful dating and miscommunication will want to read this book, if only for laughs.

Pub Date: May 4, 1994

ISBN: 0-517-59631-8

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994

Categories:
Next book

NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:
Next book

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

Categories:
Close Quickview