The Istanbul Review Sayı: 4 kitap serbest oDF biçim

Vignesh Kumar _icky_anesh — This book gives an insight into how the Lincoln family may have been. There was so much tragedy in their family but there was joy also. It was a very quick read.

Morris Willner morriswillner — I read The Women on the Porch about 15 years ago, shortly after moving into Benfolly, the old house on the Cumberland River where the author and her husband Alan Tate lived during the 1930's. Although I remembered liking the book enough to give it 4 stars and suggest it for our Book Club reading, I have found on its rereading that I didn't remember much about the book - or perhaps now am noticing different things about it than I did then. I have wanted to reread this book for years and am so glad that I finally have. One of the things that has always struck me about Caroline Gordon's writing is her clear and distinctive descriptions of the natural world in which her characters reside and the story unfolds. Her thoughtfully detailed verbal illustrations of scenes carries me totally into the world she is describing, mesmerizes me with memory and recognition. Her notice of the smallest leaf picking up light, the aspect of the sky, the quality of air, the surrounding flora works to capture the very essence of the outdoor world in beautiful wording that vividly illuminates the setting for each scene in the story, placing the reader solidly into the place of which she writes. And sense of PLACE is a very important aspect of Gordon's writing.

Garrett Ammon garrettammon — Gone with a Handsomer Man is a good, light mystery. While it did have unusual characters and some funny sections, I didn't find it quite as funny as promise. All in all, it's still an entertaining read, but of the light and fluffy sort which I am not likely to remember a few months after having read it. One of my favorite features of the novel was Teeny's cookbook. I found this to be a very interesting and unusual plot device, and it was one that painted a very vivid picture of not only Teeny, but also the women who came before her. Teeny herself is also quite likeable, so I sympathized with her predicament. The mystery has a good setup but is really implausible. This isn't necessarily a criticism because this sort of madcap setup works really well in a novel like this, much like it does in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. However, if you're looking for a good, well-drawn literary mystery, this is probably not the book for you. As for the ending: contrived much? This part really let me down, as I had enjoyed this book but found the ending abrupt, jarring, and an obvious setup for the sequel. Naturally, if you are going to be writing a series, you want to leave the reader hanging and make them anxious for your next installment, but I thought this was poorly done in this case. Final verdict: Good, frothy beach read.

Graciano Garcia grazianoga2048 — i LOVED this book! its so funny

Wanlizi Xi wanlizi — The author notes from the beginning that she is making this book an adventure for the reader as well as the members of the Dykes Who Dare. You may mimic Kate with her patented “What the hell?” when you learn that the book is written backwards. Seriously. It starts with Chapter 10 and ends with Chapter 1. It is written in the same vein as the rest of the series, just is presented a tad bit differently. If you aren’t up for the challenge, and are in fact a “leaker”, the Forward Version is included as well. My friends ~ take the dare. Embrace the nature of the Lesbian Adventure Club: “to mess with and to be messed with.” Enjoy the story as intended: backwards. And to celebrate this cunning storytelling technique, I am jumping off the pier too. My review is written backwards. Starts with the end and ends with the start. Enjoy it. I “D Double D dare you” to! “Again, we concluded our meeting with beginnings. Something ended, but hope remained ignited nonetheless.” Any of the stories in this series can be read on their own but I highly recommend starting from the beginning. The development of each of the couples as well as the friendships among them all is quite a journey to follow, and without reading all the stories you will miss out on the subtle innuendos that are included throughout. How else will you know who the “big-boobed bimbo babe” is or why it is so wonderful to see Noelle and Denny on a date? The first five books in the series, in order, are Scavengers, Ledge Walkers, Savages, Loose Sleuths, and Sisters. Each installment in the series is as enjoyable as the previous and is always a wonderful adventure that marks not an ending, but the start of something new for the wonderful characters. Once again we are presented with an exceptionally fun adventure involving friends and lovers, making for a truly exceptional read. I cannot recommend this series more highly for anyone that enjoys thrilling adventure and captivating characters. After six books I feel like these characters are old friends that I can’t wait to visit with again. As always there is humor throughout this book, and that is of course not surprising if you are at all familiar with the other books of this series. The first adventure results in a “Smut Pumpkin”. There are ballcocks and nipples, elbows and eyes, a choice between “Whale of a Weenie” and “Greenie Weenie”, bags of body parts, a Dean Grim Reaper, and plenty of blood and guts. Plenty! Hell, there is balloon boob bursting throughout ~ what more do you really need?!? Personally, the haunted house turned out to be one of my absolute favorite of all the DWD adventures. Blood curdling screams and dismembered body parts always make me giggle. I love all of the characters in these stories but there is a special place in my heart for Kate and Claudia as well as Holly and Laura. Kate is our narrator, and we see these stories through her eyes, and her reporter sensibilities always put an interesting spin on things. I adore her quirks and her dedication to Claudia. That Kate’s life is defined by her love for Claudia is touching and always moving. These two have come a long way since the first book and I look forward to watching them celebrate their ten-year anniversary in the next book. Holly and Laura are always a force to be reckoned with, and the fact that they leave their bedroom at all is shocking! These women burn for one another, one cannot resist the other, and although it can be at times humorous it is also heartwarming to see two women who are so completely consumed by their partners. To separate these women would be a crime and I look forward to every scene they are in. Leakers Ignited is another exceptional addition to what has become a favored series. Each adventure is so unique, yet maintains the same themes throughout. We are given five couples made up of ten women who couldn’t possibly be more different. Yet they bond together as the closest of friends, and are there to help each other out at all times. Each couple exemplifies the definition of love, from Ginny and Kris who have been together for twenty-five years to Allison and Janice who have only a few months as a pair. “I thought of our group, of our friends who had afforded us this closeness in many ways. We held mirrors up for each other. When one struggled, we were grateful for what we had. When it was us slogging in the muck, we were reminded of what we could be, of what we owed each other and ourselves to be.” As is always the case when the women get together, the adventure parallels the relationships between all the couples. Some of them need help from their friends to move forward and others are just looking to reaffirm how much love they have for one another. By working together they will all end the adventure stronger than when they started, loyal to the end to what is most important, their friendships and love. Their first adventure involves a list of items and the women have to come up with the clue. What results is a jack-o-lantern carving escapade that only our beloved DWD could pull off. The following adventures are scavenger hunts, similar to the first adventure that Ginny and Kris hosted, but of course there is a twist. The women are given the items needed to help figure out the clue. Never an easy task! The evening culminates with the “Blood Curdle College of Spookology” ~ a haunted house ~ since it is October after all! The DWD are given a single hint by their illustrious hosts to make it through the spooky house, “’Remember that everything is backward. In order to find your strength to make it through, you need to identify your weakness.’” Ginny and Kris have decided to add an extra special spin on the night but making everything backwards. The women have all been ordered to wear reverse baseball caps embroidered with DWD, mustache-nose-eyebrow glasses on the back of their heads, and backwards bras with water balloons for boobs. They look positively ridiculous and that is only the beginning. With each adventure, succeeding will result in losing points and the lowest score at the end of the adventure wins. However, the final twist, is that the team with the highest score will be given the honor of ownership of the “big-boobed bimbo babe” for another month. Yup, the prize goes to the loser. Backwards, my friends, backwards. That’s right, you guessed it, another month has passed and all the women of the illustrious Lesbian Adventure Club have gathered for another adventure. This month the Dykes Who Dare find themselves back at the beginning, having gone full circle through each of the five couples. It is now October, and Ginny and Kris are hosting the wild group antics once again. Inevitably hilarity ensues when the matriarchs of the group take over, but by the end of the day the relationships between each couple will be stronger and the friendships between all the women will be even tighter.

Ben Leffler _en_effler — Too technical for me. I was looking for a bit more motivation and user friendly technique.