Con Hủi - Tái bản 12/2010 tải xuống LIT miễn phí

Waldemar Helgeson bobtattoo — I am a rather large fan of Mary Roach and for the most part she did not disappoint. Like her first book on human cadavers (Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers) this book provided an overview of some of the more 'interesting' (while perhaps shocking would be a better adjective) scientific research on sex. Who knew there was such a thing as a pig vibrator (and I don't mean a vibrator shaped like a pig) or how porcupines mate and how this type of stuff leads to research on human sex. I mean, with chapter titles like "The Prescription-Strength Vibrator: Masturbating for health", "The Testicle Pushers: If two are good, would three be better", and "The Sausage, the Porcupine, and the Agreeable Mrs." how could this book not be entertaining? And it was, very entertaining and enjoyable. I would not say this is a comprehensive review of sex research, but what was covered was very interesting and frequently entertainingly shocking. My only 'criticism' is that she misses a huge junk of the science of sex – the psychology of it. She specifically states that she expected research to show that how humans ‘feel’ would be critical to our sexual response. Based upon the psychological research, of which there is a good amount, this is true. I would not criticize her for this omission, but she states in her book that she expected to find a lab doing just that, researching how interpersonal factors influence sex and sexual response. If she had not made these statements I would not have anything remotely negative to say, but the reality is that there are several rather prominent research labs across the country doing just this. The extent of discussing the psychological component of sex is when she discusses Masters and Johnson’s sex research of the late 70s, which there was not a substantial amount of psychology involved but at least some. She does not discuss any of the research that has occurred since or is still going on regarding sex. Clearly, as a mainstream writer she could not perform a completely exhaustive search, but I think this book would have been improved with at least one chapter that at least discussed some of the current research on psychosocial variables and sexual activity or perhaps just delete the statements about wanting to find lab such as this as though they do not exist when they do. However, overall I was very pleased and entertained which is ultimately the objective after all. Mary Roach has really made a niche for herself in the field of literature. I look forward to her future endeavor.

Manish Patel faiaslchippa — The evil, doom-shrouded hero. A nice break from all those upbeat fantasy books. Tragedy stalks Elric's life, and when you have a sword that sucks people's souls, sometimes your friends souls, you can see why.

Giovane Roberti kstv23715f — ** spoiler alert ** ** WARNING: this review contains spoilers of ‘Thorn Queen’ ** Eugenie is in the midst of a heated fae battle. Following her kidnapping and rape by Queen Katrice’s son, Eugenie and her lover King Dorian have entered into an all-out war. Kingdom fighting kingdom, people forced out of their homes and countless deaths rest on Eugenie’s shoulders . . . there seems to be no end in sight. Until mention of the Iron Crown. The Iron Crown is worn by the strongest and most fearsome shining ones. Only determined and deserving warriors can wear the crown and conquer lands. But can Eugenie use the Iron Crown to bring peace and put an end to the war she started? I love Richelle Mead. Straight-up, no lie, I would read her shopping list if it came out in paperback. I adore ‘Vampire Academy’ and salivate at the very mention of ‘Georgina Kincaid’. But I have an especially warm spot in my heart for her ‘Dark Swan: Eugenie Markham’ series. I think that ‘Dark Swan’ is the most underappreciated and poorly advertised of Mead’s series. Case in point; we haven’t had a ‘Dark Swan’ novel since 2009, despite Mead telling fans that ‘Iron Crowned’ was completed in 2010. The delayed release was purely because the final ‘Vampire Academy’ book came out in 2010, as well as fifth (and much-anticipated) ‘Georgina Kincaid’ book. Mead’s publishers thought that ‘Dark Swan’ would be swept under the rug and denied proper hoopla up against ‘VA’ and ‘Georgina’. And it’s not right! Because anyone who loves Richelle Mead is guaranteed to adore ‘Dark Swan’. It has everything that makes a Richelle Mead series so compelling and addictive – strong heroine, love triangle and twisted fates. A lot happened in ‘Thorn Queen’. Dorian killed Leith after he kidnapped and raped Eugenie. Eugenie and Dorian finally stopped their lustful tango and became lovers. Eugenie seemed to finally accept the responsibilities that came with being Queen of the Thorn Lands . . . despite a war looming. Richelle Mead definitely had a lot of plot-points to untangle and investigate . . . It’s hard to go into a lot of detail about the ins and outs of the storyline without giving away HUGE spoilers that would wreck the reading of ‘Iron Crowned’. But I can say that Richelle Mead was right (and kind) when she warned fans that there would be a few bumps in Eugenie’s road . . . as all Mead fans know, she is one author who loves to write messy situations for her characters to wallow in. Eugenie is no different from Rose and Georgina – ‘Iron Crowned’ is the turning point for Eugenie. It comes in all of Mead’s books – an instalment which throws the heroine into turmoil and changes the entire discourse of the series. Such is ‘Iron Crowned’. “You need to find the Iron Crown.” “The what?” “The Iron Crown.” She said it in a grand, ominous way . . . one that really deserved an echo chamber to give it its full effect. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll bite. What’s the Iron Crown?” “An ancient artefact. One worn by the greatest, most powerful leaders in the shining ones’ history. Leaders feared by all, who ruled many kingdoms.” I will say that attentive fans will be able to figure out a few of Mead’s curve-balls . . . but only because Mead revels in writing complicated fates for her characters. She writes tall-order prophecies for practically all of her heroines, and then delights in teasing and tripping fans up when it comes to fulfilling the foretelling. There were a few times when reading ‘Iron Crowned’ that I had to grit my teeth and persevere. Eugenie does stupid things, and makes stupid mistakes (not least of all where her love life is concerned). But this is all part of why I love Richelle Mead so much. Her characters are not perfect, as much as fate plays a fickle game with their lives, her characters also get themselves into awful situations brought about by their own ignorance and fear . . . Eugenie is no different. She is fallible and all the more interesting for it. That being said . . . ** SPOILER ** Oh wow. I hate Kiyo. I looooove Dorian, but hate Kiyo. It was hard to read Eugenie’s betrayal and break-up with Dorian. . . made all the worse when she ran into Kiyo’s arms. Grr. The only reason this book isn't getting full-marks from me. I felt like Eugenie acted too hastily in dumping Dorian. It did seem like a somewhat contrite way to put a spanner in Eugenie's works. ** end SPOILER ** Richelle Mead is the best of the best. She is one of the stars of the urban fantasy genre, and ‘Dark Swan’ is among her masterpieces. This is one under-appreciated, fantastical series. Eugenie is an imperfect protagonist who is living in the eye of the storm caused by an ancient prophecy. ‘Iron Crowned’ is full of twists and turns – some you’ll see coming, others will knock you out . . . be prepared for Mead’s trademark brilliance.