<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>3107</id>
  <title><![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0385314698]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780385314695]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">3107</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">7</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">6958</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1994</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:791|5:139|4:278|3:254|2:97|1:23|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">791</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">2786</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">1019</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">124</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.52]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[775]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[122]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>2119</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Robert Hellenga]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-200x266.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2119.Robert_Hellenga]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.50</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>1307</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>235</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="1017">
      <review>
  <id>34028739</id>
    <user>
    <id>1002870</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Leena]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Provo, UT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1002870-leena]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206064735p3/1002870.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206064735p2/1002870.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>774</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone who loves Italy, romance, and books]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[my sis]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 28 07:44:06 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Oct 13 16:37:39 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>once</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[With very little forethought or planning, our spirited heroine, Margot Harrington, leaves the security of her low-paying job restoring books at the Newberry Library and heads for Europe. She throws herself headlong into an exhilarating Italian adventure, her destination the ancient city of Florence ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34028739">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34028739]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34028739]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>31669389</id>
    <user>
    <id>100306</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Laura]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Houston, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/100306-laura]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1216748113p3/100306.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1216748113p2/100306.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Aug 31 12:26:53 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 23 13:58:30 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm not really sure why I had high hopes for this book. I'd never heard of it, never read any reviews. I guess I expected something different after reading the blurb on the back of the book, which was completely misleading. The real story had a good premise, and the writing was good, but I was mad t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31669389">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31669389]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31669389]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>1818426</id>
    <user>
    <id>105280</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jest]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Canada]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/105280-jest]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jun 10 08:02:22 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 13 12:59:55 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This story is about a young female book conservator who travels to Italy in 1966, the year the Arno flooded its banks, destroying the collections of galleries, libraries and churches.  While staying in a convent she discovers a lost book of pornography that dates back to the Renaissance.   Hurray!<br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1818426">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1818426]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1818426]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>586</id>
    <user>
    <id>5</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Elizabeth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Santa Monica, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5-elizabeth]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1169594940p3/5.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1169594940p2/5.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="italy" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[People who love Italy]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 05 14:52:37 -0800 2006</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 05 14:54:09 -0800 2006</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Another get away and dream of Italy book. <br/><br/>From Amazon:  <br/>In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in lo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/586">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/586]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/586]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17079472</id>
    <user>
    <id>925476</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Theresa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Queen Creek, AZ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/925476-theresa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260160941p3/925476.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260160941p2/925476.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction-general" />
        <shelf name="read-in-2008" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[book conservators, art lovers, and lovers of Italy.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[http://www.litchicks.com/reviews/the-sixteen-pleasures.html]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Mar 05 09:18:57 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 19 18:49:30 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[There is a paragraph near the end of the book that explains my feelings for the book itself:<br/><br/><em>&quot;Have you ever read a great novel, or listened to a great symphony, or stood in front of a great work of art, and felt - absolutely nothing? You try to open yourself to the text, the music, t...</em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17079472">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17079472]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17079472]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>45107656</id>
    <user>
    <id>618766</id>
    <name><![CDATA[ehnonymus]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/618766-ehnonymus]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1194994237p3/618766.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1194994237p2/618766.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Feb 01 21:26:21 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Feb 01 21:26:21 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[the back of the book, and indeed even the title, suggests that the sixteen pleasures will be quite a bit more scandalous than it actually ends up being.  in some ways i found it disappointing, not because i needed it to be more salacious but because it had all the potential to be an amazing book but...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45107656">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45107656]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45107656]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>51296814</id>
    <user>
    <id>2185137</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sarah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2185137-sarah]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1238726830p3/2185137.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1238726830p2/2185137.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Apr 02 14:04:58 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Apr 02 14:51:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm a little skeptical when it comes to books written by old men from the perspective of young women; I always expect there to be some sort of disconnect as if the author is writing about a subject matter that they obviously know nothing about. The Sixteen Pleasures captures all the romance of art, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51296814">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51296814]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51296814]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75210615</id>
    <user>
    <id>1462387</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Karyl]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1462387-karyl]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1219720850p3/1462387.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1219720850p2/1462387.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Oct 20 22:30:52 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 03 06:46:46 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I cannot even remember when I picked this book up, or why.  I took it along on the plane ride last week mainly because it was a size that fit easily into the pocket of my backpack.  Reading the back, I thought it was a bit of an erotic novel, and as such was somewhat embarrassed to take it along.  B...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75210615">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75210615]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75210615]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>52469981</id>
    <user>
    <id>2214498</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Purplycookie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Pasig, Philippines]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2214498-purplycookie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259358924p3/2214498.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259358924p2/2214498.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="hated-it" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 13 01:41:15 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Apr 26 04:17:40 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<em>&quot;But what is your life right now? Right at this moment? What makes it more than a sequence of pleasant moments?&quot;</em><br/><br/>In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods -- and equally intent on adv...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52469981">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52469981]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52469981]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>40694561</id>
    <user>
    <id>1710557</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Bookczuk]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Charleston, SC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1710557-bookczuk]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1228146591p3/1710557.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1228146591p2/1710557.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="bookcrossing" />
        <shelf name="favorite-author" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 22 13:12:49 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 22 13:13:08 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It had been a while since I read this, but am clearing my shelves for new books. I remeber liking it a great deal- but of course Florence is one of my favorite places on earth, and a wonderful place to be in love. In another copy of this that I had on my shelf, a previous reader had marked this pass...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40694561">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40694561]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40694561]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>26695094</id>
    <user>
    <id>1255876</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Pat]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1255876-pat]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1214144600p3/1255876.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1214144600p2/1255876.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 08 16:44:56 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 08 16:47:25 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really liked this story. The book is set in Florence after the Arno flooded in the 60's. The main character is a librarian bored out of her mind who volunteers to help restore books. She has the adventure of a lifetime. Probably silly but I still loved it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26695094]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26695094]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>58064767</id>
    <user>
    <id>349438</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kirsten]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Williamstown, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/349438-kirsten]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1211852754p3/349438.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1211852754p2/349438.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 01 10:01:04 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 03 06:13:13 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a curious book - while sort of about a rare book of erotic Renaissance poems and etchings, it also has unexpected sections on book conservation and book binding, how the Catholic Church deals with annulment in the case of (supposed) impotence, and all kinds of other random digressions.  Ther...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58064767">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58064767]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58064767]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>74021268</id>
    <user>
    <id>422087</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Bibliophile]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/422087-bibliophile]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1238517395p3/422087.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1238517395p2/422087.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="2009" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Oct 09 17:32:05 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 07 05:09:26 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> purports to take place just after the great flood of 1966 that devastated much of the city of Florence and its artistic treasures.  Margot Harrington, a young American bookbinder, goes off to try and help preserve some of the cities' treasured old books, and in the process, bec...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74021268">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74021268]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74021268]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>60034869</id>
    <user>
    <id>2409288</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jane]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2409288-jane]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jun 23 07:56:19 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 17 09:21:40 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 23 07:56:19 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Margot Harrington travelled to Florence to help repair and conserve books damaged by the flooding of the Arno in 1966.  She discovers a rare volume of erotic drawings and sonnets in a convent library and is soon involved in trying to sell the volume in order to save the convent's finances.<br/><br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60034869">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60034869]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60034869]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29484440</id>
    <user>
    <id>1233422</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Liz]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1233422-liz]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 06 21:22:16 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Aug 26 23:29:07 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Margot goes to Florence in 1966 after the city has suffered a devastating flood. While the damage of the homes and buldings is extreme, worse still is the damage the to the countless works of art and books (many to this day have not been repaired or restored). Margot is a book conservationist and re...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29484440">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29484440]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29484440]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>5247435</id>
    <user>
    <id>67550</id>
    <name><![CDATA[liz]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Philadelphia, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/67550-liz]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1180913271p3/67550.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1180913271p2/67550.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="international" />
        <shelf name="literary" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 28 15:43:32 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Sep 17 19:08:22 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So I really, really loved <em>Philosophy Made Simple</em>, Hellenga's later novel that I read over a year ago.  <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> sucked me right in, and I liked it way better than some other novels I've read about Americans in love with Italy.  <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> follows an American girl in her mid-t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5247435">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5247435]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5247435]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>26348661</id>
    <user>
    <id>1291915</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lolly]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Columbia, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1291915-lolly]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259764639p3/1291915.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259764639p2/1291915.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="historical-fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jul 05 05:55:38 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jul 05 05:56:58 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book had a wonderful start, and the main character was so well-defined. I loved her nostalgic moments, and stories of her family and travels. I also liked the Italian lessons I got from the book. The premise of the book was quite fascinating--the &quot;Mud Angels&quot;, the book restoration and...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26348661">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26348661]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26348661]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>67237201</id>
    <user>
    <id>2582387</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Marvin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Iowa City, IA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2582387-marvin]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1254414189p3/2582387.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1254414189p2/2582387.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="religion" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 20 00:00:00 -0800 1999</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 13 09:07:13 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 13 09:08:00 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A very engaging story about a 29-year-old book conservator from the Newberry Library who goes to Florence, Italy, in the 1960s to help restore books &amp; artwork after a devastating flood. It includes technical details about conservation work in its engaging narrative. And there are other ironies: this...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67237201">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67237201]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67237201]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44088662</id>
    <user>
    <id>1929659</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dawn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[West Jefferson, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1929659-dawn]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259938502p3/1929659.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259938502p2/1929659.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 23 13:25:33 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 23 13:33:23 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It was a fairly easy read, though I did get a bit frustrated with all the phrases in French or Italian or whatever. I am sure if you spoke the language it would add depth. I can't really say that it was a uninteresting book, but it isn't a &quot;Wow&quot;...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44088662">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44088662]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44088662]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>40629004</id>
    <user>
    <id>3236</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kate]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Durham, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3236-kate]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1214855837p3/3236.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1214855837p2/3236.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3107</id>
  <isbn>0385314698</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385314695</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">122</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913m/3107.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1162239913s/3107.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3107.The_Sixteen_Pleasures_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>791</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the <em>Sixteen Pleasures</em> burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: &quot;We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves,&quot; she warns. <p> Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly &quot;tangled up&quot; with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: &quot;Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment.&quot; Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, &quot;along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks.&quot; <p> Though <em>The Sixteen Pleasures</em> is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books?</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 21 17:38:45 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 03 18:58:31 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really would give this one a 3.5 rating if permitted. I loved parts, hated parts. Absolutely loved the focus on Italy and the Italian language - hated pretty much any of the romance in the book - very unrealistic in my opinion. Another suggested &quot;strong woman character&quot; book from a frien...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40629004">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40629004]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40629004]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="currently-reading" />
          <shelf name="favorites" />
          <shelf name="historical-fiction" />
          <shelf name="italy" />
          <shelf name="book-club" />
          <shelf name="literature" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3107</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>