Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Just one more thing that's no fun now that I know better.

Tanya, a beautiful young Gypsy girl, was swaying in a provocative, sensual dance before Nikki’s sprawled form. One of his hands lightly held a small flask of brandy on his powerful chest. The other hand, lying carelessly on the chair arm, would occasionally move listlessly to the nearby table and turn over another card in the game of solitaire he was indifferently and infrequently pursuing while regarding Tanya, who skillfully undulated to the wild, frenzied tempo. Through narrowed tawny eyes, Nikki watched her tantalize him. Her graceful young body, half revealed in a scanty blouse and silken skirt, twirled close, then retreated, displaying a wanton invitation from brilliant dark eyes. The firelight caught the coruscation of golden highlights from the heavy hoops in her ears and from the multitude of sparkling necklaces twined round her slender neck and swaying against her trembling half-naked breasts.

I should be embarrassed to admit how many of these I must have read when I was in High School. In my defense, everyone else was reading them, too--even some of the boys. These books were a pretty hot commodity; they were thick and throbbing with salaciousness and we passed them from hand to hand until the covers were torn away and the pages just barely hanging from the binding. You knew you'd been passed a really good read when someone handed you a copy held together purely by the grace of a wide rubber band.

It occurred to me today that--armed with a graduate degree in English and hard-won appreciation of quality literature--I couldn't find a book that gave me that much enjoyment if my livelihood depended on it.

I'm needing a good read in the very worst way. Send me your recommendations. If you include a review, I'll publish it for all the world to see.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

For enjoyment: I feel Bad about my Neck by Nora Ephron

For Reflection: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

For inspiration: Why Women Should Rule the Word by Dee dee Myers

For insight & fun: Mundanejane.com

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