Sure it's "discreet"

[tsaiko]

Amazon.com's recommendations are terrible. I know I've talked about this before (People who own a PS2 also bought outdoor grill accessories), but it bears repeating. The recommendations are terrible. And yet... I can't stop looking. It's like watching a really bad, bad movie with a group of friends where you spend the entire moving completely trashing it. The recommendations are often so inexplicable that you can't help but click the next button to see what else it's going to cough up.

One of the books that often come up in the recommendations is Discreet Young Gentleman. Now I would not recommend clicking on that link at work or in a crowded computer lab. However, for those of you who have some privacy, go ahead and click.

The absolute irony of putting that title with that book cover is just amazing. When I think "discreet young gentleman" I picture some dashing guy from the Regency era dressed up in his finery, standing a little too close to the rake his sister is marrying or possibly a British navy officer from the Napoleonic war period back home from see his family casually touching the sleeve of his best friend for a little too long.

What I don't see is a "package" that's as big as the guy's head. Good lord. Let's hope he's the one on bottom or the other guy isn't going to be able to walk straight for a month. There's nothing discreet or gentlemanly about that cover. Then again, maybe that's the point.

Only reason I keep it on my recommendations page is every time I see it, I dissolve into laughter. It brightens my day. Though sadly, it seems to have fallen off in favor of 20 million books about cartography.

As a side note, I kept typing "discrete" into the Amazon search agent and wondered why I couldn't find the book. A long, hard look at the results full of mathematical books finally clued me onto the fact that I was using the wrong word. ^_^;

Comments

[awriter.livejournal.com]

*sputters* Oh no. XD

[awriter.livejournal.com]

"People who read this (http://www.amazon.com/Discreet-Young-Gentleman-M-Pearson/dp/0971708959/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197917933&sr=8-1) also read this! (http://www.amazon.com/Price-Temptation-M-J-Pearson/dp/0971708932/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b)"

AAAAAAUUGGHH D:

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

But it's the pelvic thrust
That really drives you insane.
Let's do the time-warp again.

[eslington.livejournal.com]

Gonna need a whole lot of stamps for that package!

[mechante-fille.livejournal.com]

Oh... crap! I just beta'd something and looked at the word 'discrete' for a very long time before shrugging and moving on. It was a word, must be right. Why, oh, why, didn't I check the meaning? Eh, no biggie. Just fanfic for a comm. But still, if someone wants to say 'separate,' or 'distict' they should just say separate. Or distinct. Same as frangible. That doesn't even look like a real word.

Also, I remember that book.^^ Pearson, or the editors, choose those funny cover pics. It's like the Fabio covers of mainstream romance. I love how it is kind of pyramid shaped, too. Nice.

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

I imagine it's one of those word confusion things that just doesn't come up very much. I mean I know to make sure I use the right "there," "their," or "they're." But discreet? You just assume there's one way to spell it and move on.

I know someone had to have picked that picture for the humor value. There was no way that cover wasn't chosen deliberately.

Now I kind of wonder how good of a book it is...

[mechante-fille.livejournal.com]

I read her (his?) other one, The Price of Temptation. I think it was Meg's or Sam's? It was... okay. Some weird stuff. I don't remember it really well. I think... yes, there was some definitely sweetness, and I really liked some of the supporting characters. In some cases, I would have maybe enjoyed a story abou them, more.^^ But overall, it was not a waste of time.

Haha, the review of that one on Amazon mentions the cheesy cover as well. Yeah, I think it was chosen for the humor.^^

[akichan.livejournal.com]

Sweet Baby Jesus. Mother of...

Look at the size of...

Bloody Hell, he could play ping pong without using his hands or a paddle.

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

*chokes trying not to spray her screen*

WARN ME BEFORE GIVING ME MENTAL IMAGES LIKE THAT!

[akichan.livejournal.com]

...also, I didn't know they had Spartans in the Regency era.

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

SPARTAAAAAAAAAA!

TONIGHT WE DINE WHEREVER IS REASONABLY AFFORDABLE!

[akichan.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHA YES.

[ralphiere.livejournal.com]

O_O It must be like swinging a bat everything he shakes it off after peeing!

Hee!

[aqua-eyes.livejournal.com]

I have had one useful reccomendation from amazon.co.uk. ^^ Lynn Flewellings books. XD!

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

I fully agree with that recommendation! I really like Lynn Flewelling.

[feuervogel]

There's another Alec & Seregil book coming out in spring or early summer. <3

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

Oooh. I had not heard about that. I will keep an eye for it. Thanks!

[feuervogel]

June 24th, 08, paperback.

Also, http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/those_fish_are_in_the_barrel_again/ is the first encounter I had with this book cover. (And if that link to the video of the dude with the silicone is still good ... O.O )

[skylark97.livejournal.com]

alice_montrose posted the covers for the Japanese translations of the first two novels a little while ago and they are teh pretteh. *_*

(I uploaded them here (http://pics.livejournal.com/skylark97/pic/000exq8d) and here (http://pics.livejournal.com/skylark97/pic/000ey4ce), and here's the book info in a language I don't read. XD (http://www.c-novels.com/book/2007-12-15-1326.html))

[aqua-eyes.livejournal.com]

yush! good stuff!

[eslington.livejournal.com]

Maybe the "Discreet" part refers to the three other guys peeking on them from the bushes.
(They're just that discreet.)

[skylark97.livejournal.com]

XD I really liked the book. It was a pretty good read, imho. Funny and cute and sweet.

But yes, there was no end to the shit that Jason gave me over it every time he caught sight of the cover...>_> That man makes more taking it up the butt jokes than any straight man ever should...

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

I may pick it up because I really am curious about it. Though I think I'll definitely have to read it at home and make sure the cover isn't showing when my mom/grandfather/sister/brother-in-law visit.

[eternalism.livejournal.com]

I've seen some incredibly ironic and twisted recommendations from Amazon. Like the time I was looking at the price of a movie I'd just watched, Maya (http://www.amazon.com/Maya-Anant-Nag/dp/B0006HBZU6/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1197933481&sr=1-3), which is the story of a young girl in India who is subjected to ritual rape by priests. At the bottom of the Amazon page was the following: If you liked this movie, you might also like "Brother Bear (http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Bear-Joaquin-Phoenix/dp/B00016JF2W/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1197933450&sr=8-4)".

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

Oh that's... wow. I have no words.

Yeah, Amazon is notorious for the off the wall recommendations. A friend of mine bought a dining room table and was recommended baby wipes. To this day we can't figure out what the connection is.

[eternalism.livejournal.com]

Because all babies shit on tables... Or something.

[zombiebanana.livejournal.com]

Oh...dear sweet lord. xD!! That is anything but discreet.

But hey, I bought a video game once and was recommended a lawnmower. :/ If the recommendations are made by a general concensus of "people who bought [insert item] also bought [insert item]", there are a LOT of strange people out there... xD

[d-moonchild.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed both Pearson's novels quite a lot. The covers, however... let's just say that when I ordered these books, I only hesitated because of the covers - what if I ever met the people from the packaging department of Amazon and they remembered my name? :) But I overcame that fear, and now these books are on my bookshelf, neatly wrapped in paper and waiting to be reread.

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

I think my biggest problem is that I read books whenever, wherever I have time to read them. Sometimes this means I only get to read them in public. No matter how much I may be curious, there's no way I'm taking that cover out in public.

I'm still tempted to buy them though. Maybe after Christmas...

[d-moonchild.livejournal.com]

Same here, actually. I can't leave my apartment without a book or my Pocket PC. Hence the paper cover. A page out of a newspaper and you can take this book outside without blushing. I had a good time with it, so I thought it was worth the money and the effort of wrapping.

[velithya]

I think he's got a duck down there. That pointy bit is definitely beak-like...