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Welcome, lovebirds! This month I have selected some romantic reading for you and your loved ones. Perhaps you are keen on poetry - you'll find some good stuff here. Also, I have included one of my favorite "how-to" manuals. Keep in mind that you can purchase any of the books or recordings mentioned here from Amazon.com. Just follow the links provided within each review. |
Want to share your opinion on a book, movie, cd or eatery? E-Mail me your review and I might include it next month! |
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REVIEWS |
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The Art of Kissing
by William Cane St. Martin's Press, Revised edition (February 1995). Paperback. |
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Being a connoisseur of the kiss, I immediately snatched this book up when the original addition
came out. After reading it thoroughly, I felt that I had some new techniques under my belt, and was
ready to try them out on an unsuspecting (but willing) victim. In most cases, the new additions to my
repertoire were welcomed, and soon became part of his repertoire as well.
So if your kissing sessions seem to be a tad boring, pick up this book and learn something new. Soon enough you might find you enjoy kissing more than some other things ;) (not likely, you say? You might be very pleasantly surprised!) |
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Sonnets from the Portuguese : Illuminated by the Brownings' Love Letters by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William S. Peterson, Julia Markus (Editor) Ecco Press, 1 Pbk Ed edition (February 1998) . Paperback - 93 pages. |
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"How do I love thee?"... Read the passionate correspondence of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning and be taken back to an age when romance was understood. Read Elizabeth's poetry, and wonder if you were ever in love like that. Read the poetry out loud to your lover and let him or her wonder if you were ever in love like that. Just read it. |
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The Erotic Poems by Ovid, Peter Green (Editor) Penguin USA. Paperback - 449 pages. |
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Ok, forget romantic and think racy instead. These poems are funny and sexy - definitely no
Metamorphoses (cockroaches aren't very romantic), but they might change your way of thinking about love poetry!
Heck - this isn't "love" poetry, it's "lust" poetry!
Always one of my favorite books, and a fun gift idea for Valentine's day.
An intermittent rebuff |
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Love Letters : An Anthology of Passion by Michelle Lovric (Editor) Marlowe & Co, January 1995 . Hardcover - 48 pages. |
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If you've never received an actual paper love letter (e-mail just doesn't cut it sometimes),
you can experience that romantic sensation through this book. It contains
packets and envelopes with fascimiles of actual love letters written by Isadora Duncan, Dylan
Thomas, Robert Browning, and others, plus reproductions of Victorian chromolithographs
and line drawings. Perhaps, if you are not a writer, or are afraid to write your own sentiments, a gift of this book to your sweetie might be just the thing to get the point across. |
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REVIEWS |
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Warm Your Heart
Aaron Neville Pgd/A&M. |
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I've always loved Aaron Neville's unusual voice - it's as high as a falsetto, but there's nothing false about it - it soars like that of an angel. Despite the tremulousness of it, his voice is mellow and soulful. His old classic, "Tell it Like it is," is one of my all-time favorites. This album, produced by Linda Ronstadt, is full of romantic sounds, plus a few of the story songs for which Aaron and his brothers are famous. I addition, there is the most heartbreakingly beautiful rendering of "Ave Maria" - I have to cry each time I hear it. Ok, so I always will be Catholic at heart! If you have never heard Aaron Neville before, I say get out from under your rock and give him a listen. He has other albums available, and is featured on the Neville Brothers recordings as well. I recommend them all. |
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REVIEWS |
 Buy it now! |
The Princess Bride
Directed by Rob Reiner. Rated PG. Edition Details: NTSC format (for use in US and Canada only) Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, HiFi Sound, NTSC Number of tapes: 1 |
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Dunno 'bout everyone else, but The Princess Bride is my all-time favorite movie. I saw it at least
four times in the theatre, and countless times on video. It's charming - funny, silly, and romantic.
How can anyone not like a movie about "true blave?" For the three or four of you out there
who have not yet seen it, I urge you to visit your local video store and rent a copy. You'll love it.
Your kids will love it too. And those of you who have already seen and loved it, isn't it time
that you owned your very own copy of The Princess Bride?
Also, check out the Random House site for information on the 25th anniversary edition of the book, available from Amazon.com, of course! |
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REVIEWS |
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Maggiano's
Tysons II Mc Lean, VA http://maggianos.com. |
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Maggiano's is a big, noisy, family-style Italian restaurant with a New
York Little Italy feel. Sinatra croons over the speaker system, barely
audible over the sounds of happy diners. The food is on the traditional
side, with the usual pasta and veal dishes, which can be ordered
"family style" from a special menu for a prix fixe of $19.95 per person,
or per individual serving. Luckily, many of the menu items are available
in "half portions;" the servings are enormous.
I ordered a "small" Maggiano's salad of romaine, blue cheese, red onion, and frizzled prosciutto, with the house dressing, to share with my two dining companions. It was superb. The dressing was light and slightly sweet; I couldn't begin to tell you what was in it, however. The crispy saltiness of the prosciutto and the tanginess of the blue cheese partnered exceptionally well with the dressing. I would have been happy with just a salad and some of the wonderful bread that came with our dinners - a basket of onion rolls, whole wheat sunflower, and a white bread, all from the attached The Corner Bakery (worth a trip in itself). For an entree, I chose a half order of manicotti DiGregorio - chicken and mushrooms in a marsala sauce - as did one of my companions. Well, the sauce was a cream sauce, not the marsala I expected, but it was tasty nonetheless...and predictably huge. I had lunch and dinner for the next two days with the leftovers. The mostaciolli with eggplant marinara was even better - thick, clingy tomatoey sauce with slabs of meltingly tender eggplant on a pasta form that I have not seen in the Baltimore area - mostaciolli are like penne, but smooth, not ribbed. We ended the meal with good coffee, a bowl of mouth-puckeringly tart lemon ice, and an exceptional (and huge) slab of tiramisu - some of the best I have ever had. Laden down with a shopping bag full of leftovers, the three of us ate for about $60. If it wasn't so darn far, I would be a regular there. But alas, this is gonna have to be a special occasion kinda place for me. Or a stop if I ever have to go to Dulles again :) |
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