My Catholic friend tilted her teacup like a fortune-teller. "You know," she said, "I think people who don't have God in their lives are like people...
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Having watched the tv show first, but also following Belle on Twitter and reading her online blog, I was very interested in reading her book. Really loved it...it gives you a perspective on call girls that, I'll admit, I've never read before: that of a woman who wasn't forced into prostitution, who doesn't have a manipulative pimp, and who, on the whole, leads a fairly normal and productive life. And she makes it clear that not every woman has this experience, obviously.
Very sexually graphic, again obviously, so I suppose if you're faint-hearted, you may not want to read it....but I would highly suggest it to anyone who holds an interest in the sex trade
discussion as a viable resource for the other side.
Anyone who has seen the show will recognize various scenes in the book, but the book is quite different than the show. Being a fan of both, I don't feel that anything is taken away by this, however.
One book, split into four books, with the same characters throughout, BUT such a change in plot with each book that it caught me a bit off-guard sometimes. I almost gave up on it in the beginning because it is very Harry Potter-esque, but this time, the characters cuss quite a bit, find themselves in sexual situations that involve more than snogging, and tackle the idea of magic in a much more pessimistic, "real life" way than HP ever did. The ending wasn't what I expected and, to be honest, felt a bit weak, but ultimately, I'm glad I persevered and read through to the end.
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(4 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
Wow oh wow. What a fantastic addition to vampire lore. The authors take the idea of a vampire and make it logically work into science and biology and then unleash an epidemic of them on New York. The first half of the book had me on the edge of my seat and I never quite relaxed after that. Can't wait for the next one already!
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(6 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
While I believe that this is an important read since it gives an unflinching view of the Iraq war from the Iraqi side by a Lebanese female journalist (how many civilians were killed rather than the actual targets, how many widows and widowers we made instead of ridding the world of terrorists, and how many children had to pay the price for this war), for me, there wasn't a good balance between that and the author's story of her infertility and how desperately she and her husband wanted to have kids.
I do understand that the reason why Zahra and Hawra played such a huge part of her life was because of her infertility story and I don't wish to come across as unsympathetic, but the infertility part of the book dragged for me and I ended up skipping through some pages of it.
(I just re-read that and it makes me sound very unsympathetic...as someone who has no interest in having her own children and would rather adopt, I had a hard time relating to Jaber's desperate need to spend years and money on fertility options. That's why I skipped through those parts...)
However, all in all, a very good and powerful book.
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(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Somaly Mam IS an inspiration to women around the world. Her story of being sold into sexual slavery and then managing to get out of it AND to make it her life's work to help other girls (some as young as eight years old) to escape the slavery in Cambodia is something that every single person should read about.
Slavery is still happening in the world today and it is hidden because it is glamorized as an exotic thing for tourists to do. It needs to stop and these women and girls who have been terrorized by it need to be freed.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
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halofriendly has commented on (42) products.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl by Anonymous
halofriendly, October 19, 2009
Having watched the tv show first, but also following Belle on Twitter and reading her online blog, I was very interested in reading her book. Really loved it...it gives you a perspective on call girls that, I'll admit, I've never read before: that of a woman who wasn't forced into prostitution, who doesn't have a manipulative pimp, and who, on the whole, leads a fairly normal and productive life. And she makes it clear that not every woman has this experience, obviously.Very sexually graphic, again obviously, so I suppose if you're faint-hearted, you may not want to read it....but I would highly suggest it to anyone who holds an interest in the sex trade
discussion as a viable resource for the other side.
Anyone who has seen the show will recognize various scenes in the book, but the book is quite different than the show. Being a fan of both, I don't feel that anything is taken away by this, however.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
halofriendly, May 5, 2009
One book, split into four books, with the same characters throughout, BUT such a change in plot with each book that it caught me a bit off-guard sometimes. I almost gave up on it in the beginning because it is very Harry Potter-esque, but this time, the characters cuss quite a bit, find themselves in sexual situations that involve more than snogging, and tackle the idea of magic in a much more pessimistic, "real life" way than HP ever did. The ending wasn't what I expected and, to be honest, felt a bit weak, but ultimately, I'm glad I persevered and read through to the end.(4 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
The Strain: Strain Trilogy #1 by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
halofriendly, May 5, 2009
Wow oh wow. What a fantastic addition to vampire lore. The authors take the idea of a vampire and make it logically work into science and biology and then unleash an epidemic of them on New York. The first half of the book had me on the edge of my seat and I never quite relaxed after that. Can't wait for the next one already!(6 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans by Hala Jaber
halofriendly, May 5, 2009
While I believe that this is an important read since it gives an unflinching view of the Iraq war from the Iraqi side by a Lebanese female journalist (how many civilians were killed rather than the actual targets, how many widows and widowers we made instead of ridding the world of terrorists, and how many children had to pay the price for this war), for me, there wasn't a good balance between that and the author's story of her infertility and how desperately she and her husband wanted to have kids.I do understand that the reason why Zahra and Hawra played such a huge part of her life was because of her infertility story and I don't wish to come across as unsympathetic, but the infertility part of the book dragged for me and I ended up skipping through some pages of it.
(I just re-read that and it makes me sound very unsympathetic...as someone who has no interest in having her own children and would rather adopt, I had a hard time relating to Jaber's desperate need to spend years and money on fertility options. That's why I skipped through those parts...)
However, all in all, a very good and powerful book.
(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam
halofriendly, March 8, 2009
Somaly Mam IS an inspiration to women around the world. Her story of being sold into sexual slavery and then managing to get out of it AND to make it her life's work to help other girls (some as young as eight years old) to escape the slavery in Cambodia is something that every single person should read about.Slavery is still happening in the world today and it is hidden because it is glamorized as an exotic thing for tourists to do. It needs to stop and these women and girls who have been terrorized by it need to be freed.
(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
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