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I didn't suggest that you should, Libra. I was merely pointing out that the idea of 'choice' gets bandied around a lot at present – but it's not universal. Only some people get a choice in anything. I do understand what you're trying to say – but if you're saying that you want to "teach her...

Funnily enough, the issue of choice came up elsewhere – it's a word that seems to get tossed around willy nilly these days. Whose choice? Who gets a choice? Does your daughter get a choice? Not at nine, on this issue, no. So straight away, we see that choice is not a universal – it only...

In a country with such a high level of under-age sex and teenage pregnancy (the US has the worst record on these things in the West, apart from the UK), since this is available, isn't it wise to ensure that as many girls as possible are vaccinated as early as possible? I don't suppose many of...

If it's the same one that is being administered in the UK, then it's not. The vaccine that is being administered in the UK will apparently be most effective if administered before the onset of sexual activity with other people. NHS information Science Daily

Aren't the real 'quacks' the ones who have foisted their superstitious beliefs on others by helping to block research into stem cells (and related therapies) in some countries?

Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Translated by Joachim Neugroschel When young nobleman Severin von Kusiemski meets the beautiful young widow Wanda von Dunajew at a Carpathian resort, he believes he's found his perfect woman – a veritable Venus, particularly when draped in her...

I like his prose – this is the second novel that I've read (Live from Golgotha last year) and I've got Myron to come and Julian on order. He's got a very light touch, a very wide vocabulary and there's an enjoyable (but not over the top) campness to his style.

Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal "I'm Myra Breckinridge whom no man will ever possess." So declares Gore Vidal's eponymous heroine – as bright a star as ever hung in the firmament; a goddess in the true Hollywood tradition, with a feisty determination to bringing down the old ideas of the...

Kiss of the Spiderwoman by Manuel Puig, translated by Thomas Colchie Manuel Puig's 1976 novel tells the story of Valentin and Molina, two vastly different prisoners who are confined to a cell together. Valentin is a political prisoner, while Molina has been jailed for "corruption of a...

The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín As the summer holidays approach, Helen, a successful school principle in Dublin, contemplates her relationship with her husband and her two young sons. They're preparing to leave for a family holiday and Helen will join them in a few days, after...

Hi NotTheDoctor – it was an amazing experience. He played four Beethoven piano sonatas – just extraordinary to see how he commanded the entire hall and made the music seem completely personal.

And she "appointed a pastor to the town planning board"? Oh purleese!

Apparently, when a mayor of Wasilla, Palin signed up legislation making women who alleged they had been raped pay $500 for a medical examination to provide evidence (or otherwise) or their claims. What an evil bî***..

Stewart.

The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn.

Because you haven't actually read any modern ones? Your thread title talks of "contemporary poets". Okay. So who have you read and why did you dislike their work so much? To say that "contemporary poets" (per se, therefore) "suck" is a sweeping generalisation. What would you think of a thread...

Hi Peder, Glad you enjoyed the colloquialisation. :whistling: It doesn't surprise me that it's so highly rated – indeed, as you say, over Lolita. Two things occur to me about that book: • it's so famous because of the controversial subject matter, but most people only know that title of...

Forgot to mention the use of the two crosses – the Iron Cross and the Christian cross – that both decorate Malkhe's neck (hiding his 'mouse') links the 'faiths' of patriotism and religion.

Cat and Mouse by Günter Grass Translated by Ralph Manheim It's Danzig (Gdansk) during the early part of WWII. During the summer, a group of schoolboys swim out to a Polish Navy minesweeper that has been sunk and almost (but not quite) submerged off the coast. There, Joachim Mahlke – a...

Thank you, Thomas. It really is an interesting read – not least because of the attitudes and its attempt to create a discussion about female sexuality.