"The worst joke God can play is to make you
an artist, but only a mediocre artist."
-David Bowie
In The Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest, the author's first guide originally published in 1986,
Ms. Begoun writes enthusiastically about the places she knows and loves. The reader gets the impression
that the author has indeed tested each of the locations herself, and when she rates
a bed and breakfast with four lips one feels fairly secure it's a kissable place.
Less passionate, but entertaining are the reviews in The Best Places to Kiss in San Francisco.
From this guide the reader gets the impression that Ms. Begoun is a stranger to San Francisco,
and her discoveries are just that - discoveries, not advertising. Fortunately, the author
is one to avoid trendy tourist-laden places, so her suggestions are usually safe.
for a kiss than the locals?
A less focused guide is Ms. Begoun's overview of the Southern California area.
In The Best Places to Kiss in Southern California, the author misses
more than she hits. Southern California is a massive area to cover, and one
hundred forty-eight pages isn't adequate for the job. Many of the places covered
fall within the area of the Los Angeles guide, leaving one to wonder why they
are included here and not in the other. That fault aside, Ms. Begoun's writing is
right on, flaunting her Paula-isms without apology to the appreciative amusement
of the reader.
The guide to New York City's kissing places pales in comparison with Ms. Begoun's
other guides. On the professional credits page are listed the names of eighteen
"contributors" to the book. These contributors are the real authors. That shouldn't
fault the books guidance abilities though, for who knows better where to take
someone for a kiss than the locals? The absence of Ms. Begoun's voice does fault
the books ability to entertain though. Gone from its pages are the Paula-isms.
Gone too is the sense of excitement generated from discoveries made right alongside the author.
Paula, we miss you.
posted 01/28/01
Consecutive Kisses
The Best Places to Kiss in New York City
(Beginning Press, $8.95) is billed as the first travel guide for New Yorkers in love. Inside are
found over two hundred locations for snuggling and getting personal with
your significant other. It's not the first such guide published by
author Paula Begoun, nor is it her best. Ms. Begoun is a personable writer, with quips and
observations that can only be described as "Paula-isms". She is a vibrant personality
- her own best advertising - something her kissing guide to New York City lacks.
You see, Ms. Begoun's been a very busy lady of late, and thus relied on others
to test the kissing waters of and around the Big Apple.
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