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never arrived
This book never arrived, but the credit card was billed. I notified the agent, but was told that it would eventually be found in the mail, but I could not return it due to the lenght of time that it has been lost in the mail. | 0negative
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Emma, a masterpiece & nice supplemental material
For me, reading Jane Austen's novel EMMA is a delight. However, not all readers have been in agreement with me over the years including Jane Austen herself who warned her family before publication "I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like." She was of course making fun of herself in her own satirical way; - her critics on the other hand, were quite serious. When the book was published in 1815, Austen sent a copy to her contemporary author Maria Edgeworth who gave up reading the novel after the first volume, passing it on to friend and complaining, "There is no story in it." Others had mixed feelings offering both praise and blame for its focus on the ordinary details of a few families in a country village. One important advocate of Emma was Sir Walter Scott, whose essay published in the Quarterly Review of 1815 represents the most important criticism on Austen's writing during her lifetime. Even though the review was published anonymously, she must have been quite giddy when the reviewer heralded her EMMA as a `new style of novel' designed to `suit modern times'. Heady stuff to be sure. When it was later learned that Scott had contributed the review, it would placed Jane Austen in a whole other league of writers.EMMA can be enjoyed on different levels, and for pure humour and witty dialogue it may reign as Austen's supreme triumph. Just Google quotes from EMMA and you might agree that it has the best bon mots of any of her novels. Modern critics claim it as her masterpiece, and I do not doubt it. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE may be the most beloved and well know of her works, but Emma represents Austen at the height of her writing skill and power as a story teller. Like some of Austen's contemporaries, the modern reader might find challenges in its minutiae and supposed lack of story. Not to worry. There are many sources available to assist in understanding Jane Austen's subtle and often witty dialogue, her unique characterizations, and help place the novel in historical context.One source to consider is the new 2008 edition of EMMA, by Oxford World's Classics. Recently revised in 2003, this re-issue contains the same supplemental and textual material with a newly designed cover. For a reader seeking a medium level of support to help them along in their understanding you will be happy to find a thoughtful 23 page introduction by associate Professor of English and Women's Studies Adela Pinch of the University of Michigan. The essay contains a brief introduction, and segments on Shopping and Suburbia, Narrative Voices: Gossip and the Individual, The Politics of Knowledge, and Emma: Much Ado About Nothing?. Her emphasis is on understanding Austen's choice of writing about the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of the lives of its heroine Emma Woodhouse and her circle of family and friends in Highbury, a small English village in which she sets about to match make for all of its singletons blundering hilariously along the way. I particularly appreciated Prof. Pinch's positive comments throughout the essay."Austen makes voices stick in the mind through her use of free indirect discourse, which makes character's voice seem indelible, capable of soaking into other beings. But she also uses the same technique for representing thought. Her cultivation of this mode of representing her heroines' minds has made her novels crucial to the history of the English novel, markers of a movement when the novel as a literary genre perfects its inward turn, and begins to claim human psychology as its territory. Above all it creates the feeling of intimacy with her heroines that many readers prize." Page xvii-xviiiIf I may be so bold and interject as the everyman Austen reader for a moment, parts of this essay are scholarly and touch on areas beyond my immediate understanding, especially when she delves into the philosophical and psychological pedantry. For the most part, Prof. Pinch's essay is written in accessible language and is reverent and admiring to the author and the heroine. I found this outlook refreshing since the heroine Emma, and the novel EMMA have received some criticisms for their shortcomings over the centuries. The novel is about so much more than the "no story" that Maria Edgeworth hastily condemned it to be. I especially adore Emma's little friend Harriet Smith and think her much maligned in the recent movie adaptations, and well - can there ever be enough praise bestowed upon Mrs. Elton? She is comedic genius and worthy of a nomination to the literary comedy hall of fame.Professor Pinch has also supplied the helpful explanatory notes throughout the text which are numbered on the page allowing the reader to refer to the back of the book for explanation. Honestly, I prefer them to be footnoted at the bottom of the page instead of riffling back and forth, but that is a quibble on convenience. The remainder of the supplemental material; Biography of Jane Austen, Note on the Text, Select Bibliography, Chronology of Jane Austen, Appendix A: Rank and Social Status, and Appendix B: Dancing are repeated throughout the other Jane Austen editions in this series.This Oxford edition is a sweet little volume at an incredible price if you are in the market for a middlin amount of supplemental material from reputable sources containing an authorative text edited for the modern reader. If you enjoy matchless wit and irony, unforgettable characters, and a unique story that turns the everyday imaginings of a young Georgian era woman into an extraordinary story filled with a comedy of manners and romance, then take note; - Miss Emma Woodhouse commands you to purchase this book immediately!Laurel Ann, Austenprose | 1positive
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Trite and unconvincing
Superficial and soporific, Albom's book is strong on sentiment but weak on substance. Riddled with ridiculous aphorisms such as "When you're in bed, you're dead," this book left me feeling like I had just read a high school student's unstructured freewrite. Having finished the book, I couldn't care less about Mitch Albom; more sadly, I couldn't care less about Morrie Swartz either. Because I am not cold-hearted by nature, only the writer of "Tuesday's with Morrie" is to blame for my apathy. | 0negative
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Food for thought
I wouldn't categorize this as an inspirational book--It's really more thoughtful, even manifesto-like at times--but I've nonetheless come away uplifted by what Cardinal Arinze has put forward here. Even though I have long been sympathetic to religions sharing a common vision, in the past I have been uncomfortable with the potential loss of identity for particular faiths (in my case, Christianity). I want to be open all people of good will but I don't want have to adopt a new universalist religion which throws everyone into gooey sameness. This book gives me hope that there can be alliances formed between traditional religions while their individual characters are respected. The author hasn't put forward any radical ideas, but I find it encouraging that someone so high up in the Catholic Church seems to be approaching the multifaceted nature of the world with a sense of reality. | 1positive
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Laugh-out-loud funny AND mouth-droppingly insulting
I'm a travel enthusiast, or at least a dreaming-about-traveling enthusiast, so I picked up this book for a little summer "getaway" of my own. I read the whole book, but there were numerous times I put it down to absorb something shocking Bryson said or to read a particularly ridiculous passage to my boyfriend. Bryson is incredibly negative about every single place he goes to, the exceptions being Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Italy (at least Rome and Sorrento). Bryson seems to direct most of his disappointment and, quite honestly, thinly veiled dislike of Germans and German-speaking countries, as well as most of northern Europe. It's not just that he bitches about train schedules, public workers, the sound of the German language, how terrible their food is (and all of this gets pretty annoying after awhile), it's that he seems to bring up the horror of WWII every chance he gets in the appropriate countries. He seemed to look at Germans as inferior, and was appalled that the old men he encountered could have been Nazis 50 years earlier. Good God! I didn't know I was settling in for a depressing and pretty judgmental portrait of central Europeans. This constant theme was tedious, as well as his blatant elitism. There was one lovely passage where Bryson speaks of the "typical" haughty manner of European service workers and writes that, in effect, these workers are inferior because they spend their lives waiting on other people, so clearly they aren't doing something important. Although Bryson is often sarcastic, this was not a sarcastic passage. It was appalling.Oh, and the constant complaining about tourists and how they're ruining Italy, the Alps, and most other countries he went to is ridiculous, as he was among them.The only positive thing I can say about this book is that there are some passages that are funny and had me giggling to myself. However, once I realized that the entire book was going to be about him bitching about every single place he went to, I just plowed through the rest of it as fast as I could to get it over with. | 0negative
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By far the best of the quartet!
"Children of the Mind," the long-awaited final installment of Card's wonderful Ender Series, is the best of the lot. I was never much of an SF fan before reading "Ender's Game" two years ago, and now Card has ruined me: I can't read any other SF novels without thinking how shallow they are compared to these four.COTM finishes the series better than anyone could have hoped. My greatest fear, going into this book, was that Card would finish off his character in a fiery battle with the Lusitania Fleet, as many other so-called SF writers would have. However, Ender dies in a perfectly natural way at the completion of his mission (to restore the buggers). I felt that the deepest, most moving character was the ansible-being, Jane. She moved me with her deep compassion for Ender and his new family.To those who have panned this book in their reviews: What were you thinking?! Everyone should read this book. Of course it's not a stand-alone novel, that was never Card's intention! Perhaps those used to "normal" (read:awful and shallow) SF might not like this book; they should read some real literature then come back to COTM. They will find that only Card's work stands up to that of such great modern authors as Doyle, O'Brian, and Gibbons. | 1positive
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Nice pics, but not much else...
When it was time to build a deck I needed a few books since I had never built anything like this before. I am fairly handy but pretty much just learn as projects arise. The plan was to build a 800 sq. ft. deck off the back of my house. I bought 3 books, this one, a Home Depot book and Building a Deck (Build Like a Pro). This book and the one from Home Depot were USELESS! They had some good pictures but the instruction was very scattered and one dimentional, not useful for projects other than what they were specifically showing.I HIGHLY recommend the Build it Like a Pro book. I thankfully read this one first and it very thouroughly taught me how to build a deck from a real construction guy. It taught methods and variations that allowed me to build the deck of my dream, pretty much all from the one book. Check it out at http://www.amazon.com/Building-Deck-Build-Like-Pro/dp/1561584797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s;=books&qid;=1230251818&sr;=8-1 and don't waste your time on this book. | 0negative
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The book is the 'Solar Fraud'
There are two technologies that meet the 'holy grail' of supplying 100% clean energy at a price comparable or less than the grid:a)Concentrated solar (CPV), using triple junction cells and dual axes trackers for decentralized systems and, Solar thermal systems (such as Ausra) for base load power stationsb)4th Generation nuclear - 'Integral Fast Reactors' (IFR)for centralized systems.'The Solar Fraud' mentions neither (that I could find), to that extent it itself is a fraud. It reads like a rambling bunch of opinions that don't stack up with available technology - as if it was commisioned by the fossil fuel industry. And frankly I didn't even bother to finish it. I feel I should ask for a refund.If you want to find out about the latest solar and nuclear technologies I'd recommend these two books, both available from Amazon.com:a) 'Solar Revolution' by Travis Bradford [2006] - The economic transformation of the energy industry. This includes all the latest solar technology - even though written two years earlier.b) 'Prescription for the Planet' by Tom Blees [2008]- The painless remedy for our energy and environmental crises. | 0negative
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Good Book
I've read it a million times, it was purchased as a gift for someone; but, since I never received the other two books, I didn't bother giving it. | 1positive
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Tozer's incredible depth of understanding of God's principles is significant
Respect for Tozer's spiritual discernment and his application of God's Word towards our everyday life is both practical and critical in our Kingdom walk with God. | 1positive
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Classic
A must read for any minister who desires to devote his life to the service of God and men. Read it! | 1positive
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"Like an Echo in the Engulfing Darkness"
These are strangely compelling stories, all of which evoke a sense of mystery and poetry. Floods and monkeys, skulls and puppet shows, vie with each other and figure here in short works that are too realistic for fables but too bizarre to be mistaken for reality.Gothic surrealism might be the best way to describe the tone achieved by the author, whose real name was Karen Blixen (made familiar to modern audiences by the film "Out of Africa"). This is a reissue of a volume that first appeared in 1934.Borrowing the author's phrase, each story is "like an echo in the engulfing darkness." Atmospheric and brooding, these tales are part Poe and part Brothers Grimm. Exotic in characterization as well as setting, we are introduced to a polyglot collection of virgin nuns and wandering n'er do wells, who cling to rooftops and journey on rhino-horn laden dhows.Escape from the ordinary world is promised and delivered, but somehow, the people in these stories also remind us of people we know and situations that might not be as straightforward as we have assumed. A scarf may not be a scarf. The wind may be more than the wind. A scarf blown in the wind recalls to one character the memory of a little white snake -- madness is hinted at, at every turn.They are seven distinctive tales. Yet, the evocation of place, the depiction of eccentricity, the precariousness of life, suffuse them all. They are magnetic and memorable. Even so, some readers may find the tales a bit too weird for their tastes.If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction. | 1positive
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Never again will I read Anne Rice !!!
How feeble. Where is Lestat ? In the previous books I loved him, hated him , admired him , felt his anguish and so on.... what happened to him ? To me , Anne Rice , in one final book , destroyed the character she brought to life in the first three books . I could say more about the rest of the content , however , I have already wasted enough of my time on this trash. Bitterly disappointed !! | 0negative
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An Amazon Con
An email solicitation acknowledged me as an International Amazon customer, and invited me to download the Kindle Reader, which I did.However when I tried to download the titles I was advised that they were not available to me in Africa.Amazon knows I am in Africa because my email address and customer details describe my location as being in Africa.So much for not discriminating against the people who live in Africa! | 0negative
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Difficult to read but well worth it.
How does one review a classic? Especially one so noteworthy as to have demanded the creation of 11 or more film variations, numerous adaptations, and even television series? I long avoided reading this novel due mainly to it's daunting size, and the fear that it's translation would cause the reader more work than I was willing to put into it. However my burning desire to know the true tale of Edmond Dantes overruled my hesitation.The story, for those of you who are unfamiliar, follows Edmond Dantes in his wrongful imprisonment at the hands of his friends, his 14 years in the Chateau D'If, his escape and rebirth as a self proclaimed hand of vengeance against those who had wronged him. If you have only seen the movies, the book, particularly the ending, is far different than what Hollywood has created. There are no dramatic duels, no massive swordfights with brigands, and not everyone who we believe should, lives happily ever after. This is instead a slow but genius work of Dantes methodically stripping away all that his enemies held dear to them, at whatever cost. None die by his hand, but are rather destroyed by his influence, and their own evil choices come back to haunt them.The story itself is genius, interesting and very fun. The writing, particularly the translation that I read, is an often difficult and sometimes tedious work that one may need a notebook to keep straight. The cast of characters is very large and they are often referred to by different names, making it a bit more difficult to keep track of who is who without some sort of note taking. I was not smart enough to take notes, and thus had to spend quite a bit of time searching my brain to make sure I was thinking of the correct person as I read, particularly with some of the more minor story lines and the characters that weaved in and out of the story with multiple chapters between their appearances. Also, this book will probably be disappointing to those who are interested in the action that the movies provided. The Count of Monte Cristo, does not come in with guns blazing, but rather plays a very well thought out and disturbing game of mental chess against his opponents. As readers we hope for their downfall, but also wonder how far the Count will go... his years of imprisonment have left him hardened and disturbingly without remorse at the use of innocents to gain his vengeance. As he plays his pieces we wonder just who will be sacrificed, and who will have the chance to live happily ever after in this dark world of Dumas.Readers of more modern novels may have trouble with this book because of the sheer volume of concurrent story lines, all of which are necessary for understanding the strings being pulled by the Count. But to remember the tale of the lovers, the orphan, the bandit, the banker, the ship builder, the assassin, the count, the princess, the steward, the military man, the lawyer, the cheating husband and wife, the lost love, the musician, the buried baby, the dying father, the paralyzed grandfather, the murderess, the thief, the countess, the emperor and all of their relations, can be quite a daunting task for any reader. Still each of these stories could be a book of their own, keeping the reader quite entertained, but Dumas has managed to weave them all together into one, brilliant and shining tale... if you can keep them straight through the end.What surprised me most was the ending of this story. It was not what I wanted, or hoped for. True I loved Haidee, and wanted nothing but her happiness... but many seemed to be left in suffering that did not deserve the fate that they were bound to. I will not elaborate for fear of spoiling the ending... but this does not end on a Hollywood, "they all ride off into the sunset" ending. Perhaps the meaning of the story is not all about revenge, but rather what damage the hunt for vengeance can bring to not just those who have wronged you, but to all those that surround you. The downfall of selfishness; be it falsely imprisoning someone to gain what you may, to the selfishness of vengeance... there is so much meaning in this book, I can see why it is so often "required reading." Though I highly recommend this book, I would advise you attempt to read it with others either in a class or a reading group so that you can discuss all of the rich meaning behind Dumas's words. | 1positive
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An essential book for any Java Pro
I use the online version of this book very often. The print edition is a very great asset on any Java pro's desk, gives quick reference and correct usage examples of Java APIs, which are too numerous to remember for any one. | 1positive
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The Book of the Gods
Ok, probably not, but its very close. Personally, I am a very big fan of H.G. Wells. Although lesser known, this is Wells at his finest. It is a fast story that changes points of view almost every chapter, and takes place over the course of 23 years. It is a story about the changeing of the tide and alteration of our reality. You get to expierience changes as small as the transition from horse and buggy to moter car to changes as large as the change from big to small through the eyes of a convict to a farmer to a scientist, and various people in bettween. I feel the need to relate this to the show 24. It has a simmilar feeling of some unknown threat drawing apon you gradually. This is not a book, its an expieriance. Too bad its out of print though. If you still want to read it after everybodys ran out, then it can still be found in a few, best novels by HG Wells books (thats were I read it), and dont forget to check the library. In addition I would like to recomend any Wells book, they are all fantastic, and I consider him the most brilliant author of the 19th or 20th centuries. | 1positive
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Just okay.
This book was obviously aimed at young teens and pre-teens, which alienates all of V.C.'s older fans that she has earned over the years. Of course, I had to buy it anyway.I felt that Brooke's story would have been much more interesting had it been put in a longer book. Also, the book was a complete rehash of Butterfly. Extremely trite and predictable, yet better than Butterfly or Crystal. I wouldn't recommend this book for adults, not even die-hard fans of V.C. Save your money and buy the full-length Runaways instead. | 0negative
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Nothing New Here & Somewhat Annoying
I would recommend Patrick McGiligan's biography because it has the research and detail one would expect of a biography. This book, (I assume written by an Englishman since it was published in England and uses words like "chum",etc) is a composite of what has already been published on Jack Nicholson. Its even balanced and focuses on seminal events in Nicholoson's life and his movies..What is very annoying about this book is the excessive description of the cultural context that surrounded Jack's 60's days...Way too much setting, frankly because there is not any new content here...If you don't know much about Jack, this is not a bad introductory piece....Oh, yes the other thing about this book is way too much (previously published) information on Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski, Marlon Brando, and Robert Evans...the writer goes into great details on the problems in their lives...not central to subject of this biography... | 0negative
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The poorest of the series
This is the least of the Death Gate novels. Its story really has little to do with the grand plot. I almost hurled the book across the room when Zifnab (really the wizard Fizban from their flawed Dragonlance books) appeared and started spouting silly references to our own time. This silly comic relief truly spoils whatever tension was building up. | 0negative
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A bit confusing...
This book would be great, but for one thing. Elaine Cunningham jumps around character too much. One moment I'm reading about the gods before Faerun, then she jumps a few centuries inthe future with completely different characters. I didn't know where I was! | 0negative
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Characters squabble constantly and are no fun.
I normally like Amanda Quick's books under all three of the names used by publishers but this book and the follow-up are just not a fun read. Yes, I was bored with nothing to read so I read both books but then realized that I was glad they were finished.Not worth the money. | 0negative
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Loved The Book
What I enjoyed most was the book gave me a perspective of the civil war from the common man's point of view. Most of the civil war books I have read talk about the glorious battles and what the generals did to succeed. The trilogy brought what lead up the war, during the war, and what happened after the war to life from what the common folks experienced. What's really sad is the parallels that can be drawn between what was going on in Washington D.C. during the war and what exists in Washington today. Not much has changed. | 1positive
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PHANTOM is a ghost of a good Goodkind novel...
Like so many others, I have loved this series from the get-go. Wizards First Rule, followed by my favorite of the 10 books, Stone of Tears, set solid precedents in the very fabric of the fantasy genre.Then the slow decline ensued. Some books were better than others. Richard started yammering about his belief systems in large sums of paragraphs, making most of us yawn. But still, the overall core of the story and its characters were good.PHANTOMS is without a doubt, the weakest of them all. I prectically skimmed the entire 587-pages of this vast volume of which about only 10% of it was interesting. What a shame.Just when the series has 1 book left in it, one would think that Terry Goodkind would put his very best into it. And perhaps, according to him, this is! (Lord, I hope not.)There are some good scenes in the book. But they are unfortunately few. I hope the very last book in this once great series ends with a bang. It truly needs it. | 0negative
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I generally don't like to read reviews.....
.....I should've read the reviews before I bought it:Unless you are pursuing a physics orquant career or some derivative of themit, not enough to interest the mainstream financial community. As much as Derman talks about the mentality of traders or salesmen in his book, he did nothing to attract their readership with its content. Just as I think he's developing an interesting anecdotal moment that coincides with some notable market event, Derman succeeds in finishing his thought without a big finish.His info on Fischer Black was of interest. | 0negative
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Boring
For more than twenty-five years, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee has been universally ingratiated into high school English programs. The repetitious dialogue; unhindered meandering; endlessly and needlessly branching plotline and much dated speech and setting has probably frightened more sophomores out of ever reading for fun than the Great Gatsby and Watership Down combined. But just because forcing teenagers to read a detailed account of growing up in 1930s Alabama is borderline child abuse does not mean there is nothing students can learn about good literature from To Kill a Mocking Bird. The characterization is presented masterfully; the descriptions are vivid; the narration is well done and it truly reflects the trials and tribulations of the time in which was written. To Kill a Mocking Bird is a fine piece of literature, but it's a terribly boring book. | 0negative
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Interesting read
A good collection of ghost stories. I would recommend the first edition over this edition, mainly because it is nicer on the eyes. | 1positive
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Anne's Optimism Lives On!
Anne Shirley, now a teacher, has still got that admirable enthusiasm and optimistic spirit within her that keeps the reader's spirit up and interested. Even though not all of her students treat her with total respect, Anne still believes that "there is good in every person if you can find it" (pg. 29). She always seems to make out the best of unpleasant situations that come her way. She takes the time to look past the negative subject and searches for an optimistic point instead. This book is full of Anne's ability to handle things with a joyful attitude (, for example with the unfortunate conditions of Marilla's eyesight). I would greatly recommend this to all who enjoy experiencing cheerful and humorous feelings while reading, especially kids and young teens and those who have read and enjoyed the first book in this series. | 1positive
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The Review of The Old Man and The Sea
The review of The Old Man and the SeaErnest Hemmingway is a great author but he is a little slow. He used his characters quite a bit, almost too much; it made the book drag on and on and on. But he also showed his emotions very well, you could tell that he had experienced fishing before. The Old Man and the Sea is a vivid yet boring book that has a good story.I didn't like this book because of how Hemmingway had Santiago talk so much, and the book had no action. For example, the entire book was Santiago talking to himself, this kept me from getting into the book. If he explained more about the conflict or added action, the book could have been a great one. I don't think Hemmingway could have written a more boring story. In addition, there was no action up until the end, before it's just Santiago speaking to himself. If Hemmingway had a good rising action in this book it could have been a more exciting book because you anticipate the ending. It also seemed like Santiago kept repeating the same exact schedule making me want to put the book down. Because the book was fairly boring not too many people would get into the book and know what they read 5 minutes ago.Hemmingway also used a lot of detail making you feel inside the book along with a lot of info. For instance, every fact Santiago states Hemmingway gave you a descriptive and good explanation to it. I think this may have helped the book out by creating a good picture in your head. Along with giving you a lot of information so you can predict what will happen next. Additionally, Hemmingway made you feel you could feel what Santiago feels. With all of the detail and descriptive wording it gave you a touch of emotion and a feeling that Santiago may be feeling. Also Ernest let you know he knew what he was talking about by giving you so much information. For these reasons I would recommend this book to adults and not children.If Hemmingway didn't use Santiago as a source of speaking so much this book could have been great. Because he did and I wouldn't recommend this book to many people except for adults. Though, I did like how he showed his emotions through his writing making the reader feel involved. All in all this entire book isn't for kids and it isn't for someone who wants action or a good story to pump them up, it's for someone who is very emotional and likes slow stories. | 0negative
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One of my all time favorite novels
A MUST READ! Although I was originally recommended this story alongside The Scarlet Letter on a reading list, other than the theme of love and extramarital pregnancy, Tess exceeds in every way. My favorite aspect is that it is intricately woven with complex characters that make the reader question whether they should love, pity, or hate each (or all of the above). And I love that the story is complete... almost a series of stories following Tess, flowing from one stage of her life to the next. I can't go too in depth with this review without giving away important details I think you'll enjoy discovering along the way. All I can do is recommend that every read Tess of the d'Urbervilles at least once! Or in my case going on my 9th time so far. lol) | 1positive
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Time I'll never get back.
I'm not so enamored with this book as many other reviewers are. I reached the middle of the book before I realized I didn't care for any of these characters. I found the rest of the book a chore to get through. The way these family members slept around and who was related to who made my head spin. I don't know how this detective agency even made a profit-or even O & D Law firm. The book's title absolutely makes no sense. The pacing was mind-numbingly slow. Margie seemed like a shell instead of a real character. There was only one scene I thought was funny, the rest I kept rolling my eyes. The only character I found mildly entertaining was Riley. Plus, being an animal lover, I had a real problem with Nell stealing and keeping someone's pet. Twice she had the opportunity to return the dog, but failed to do the right thing. And the murder plots? I found them to be profound jokes as well as the author's obsession with china. Skip this one if you can. | 0negative
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Full of errors
This book has errors page after page. Poor examples and no answers in the back to see if you can follow the dribble typed out before the practice problems.Don't purchase. I've used it in two class at two different schools and I still say it is weak! | 0negative
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The heroine is selfish and annoying!
I usually like Laurie McBain's books. However, despite her superb writing ability, the heroine is super annoying. I get the point that she is fiesty, however, in almost every scene she comes off as selfish and super cocky. There is no softness to her that the reader can relate to. McBain's efforts at creating a dynamic,three dimensional character with a lot of drive completely turned this reader off. Arrogant, cocky, and selfish with a nasty temper is all the heroine comes of as!!! I wanted to be in the novel and smack her!The hero, Lucien, is about just as one-dimensional. In almost every scene the hero and heroine are fighting or arguing. The only scene when they were pleasant together was when Sabrina lost her memory and could not recall that she hates Lucien! What the?!! The only reason while I give this book one star is because of Ms. McBain's ability to keep me reading despite my annoyance at the heroine. However, it was not enough for me to finish the book! Please, Sabrina, you are not the female "Robin Hood." Robin Hood stole foremost for the people, you stole foremost for yourself! | 0negative
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TOO ABSTRACT!!!!!!
Can you imagine having a tollbooth in your room or meeting a dog that has a watch on its side? It seems so unrealistic. But, if you like abstract journeys to imaginary places then,The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a great reading choice for you!The story begins with Milo, a ten-year-old boy who is extremely bored. He discovers a tollbooth in his room. He drives through it and explores unbelievable lands with strange characters. First, he visits the land of Expectations where he meets the Whether Man. From there, he travels to the Doldrums and meets Tock, who is a loyal watchdog. He then goes to Dictionopolis where he learns that the princesses, Rhyme and Reason, have been captured. From here, Milo begins a quest to free the princesses. On this quest Milo, Tock, and Humbug travel to many strange and dangerous lands where they learn important lessons about life, such as the importance of time and how to use words.Since I am a fan of realistic fiction, this book was not for me! I felt that The Phantom Tollbooth was boring because it was just a story of an unrealistic journey through an imaginary land. The events and lessons were too abstract for me. Even the characters were stale as bread. I was not impressed with Milo because he seemed so unsure of himself, and a bit wimpy. Tock was smart, wise and loyal, but he was also somewhat boring. I do not recommend this book unless you are a fantasy lover. I could not wait to finish reading The Phantom Tollbooth! | 0negative
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What is this one about anyway?
I did not enjoy this story because I could hardly remember it when I put it down. The characters could have been cardboard figures, the plot is dry, there just is not enough "oomph" to get the story off of the ground. The character Anna Catalano is called "home" temporarily to help out in the family restaurant. For Anna, home is not a safe haven, but a place of bad memories and disappointments better left buried and sorrows best not come to light. Patricia Gafney, the author, does make an attempt to trhow in some romance, but there just isn't enough there and the story fizzles. There are no "flight lessons" unless the author is trying to describe Anna Catalano's flight to and from home, and herself. If you must read this one, get it from the library. To me, it was not worth time, effort, or money. | 0negative
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The Author w/ His Mind in the Gutter by the Side of the Road
Kirsch goes out of his way to make secular religion look bad in this dose of hard corps revisionism. Still, this is well worth reading if you ever pondered some of the more troublesome stories of the Old Testament. How come ma' preacher never told me this stuff?! I'd have come to church EVERY sunday! | 0negative
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Still a Classic
This is yet another example of a great book, that stuffy academics would prefer you don't read, due to it's free association like content. However, the experiences of the beats are both prophetic and bohemian. Rest all yee tired souls, and plop back into yee easy chairs with your Limbaugh letter, I'll take ON THE ROAD."The most boring people i encountered in America were professors, no, even more boring were their wives" Henry Miller | 1positive
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Another one of those rebellious teens here ;)
Well I'm a teenager and I can be disgruntled and irritatingattimes, so since a lot of you are so interested in our thoughts, letme tell you a few of mine: I don't like homework. I think it s**ks. You ever get a real long homework assignment when all you want to do is go get drunk somewhere? Another thing I hate is the winter. The winter s**ks. It makes me sad and depressed. It really does. No kidding. If you really want to know. For chrissakes I hate people who wear really old shoes with holes in them and all, and they wear them down to the sock because they can't afford to go and buy new ones. Those people are crazy.There, now give me the Pulitzer Prize! ;) | 0negative
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Silly
Simply a horrible book. Enjoyed most of the shorts in the Books of Blood series. Wasted my time with this one. | 0negative
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Classic
Seriously, it's The Hobbit. Does it have its flaws? Sure. Tolkien was a story teller, not a writer, per se. But it's classic literature. It is to be loved and enjoyed. | 1positive
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Paranormal?
I was told of this book by a friend who claimed that it told the story of the ill fated ship - Titanic but it was wrtten 14 years before Titanic sailed. Strangely enough he was correct. Though the plot is ordinary by today's standards, the eerie feelinge once gets in noticing the similarities between Titanic and the story in this book ensures a top rating. | 1positive
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Invisible Man
I initially heard of this book because it was on my son's required reading list for school. I read the blurbs and, although I saw that Saul Bellow had praised it, I found the promise of Invisible Man intriguing nonetheless. The idea of describing the pre-civil rights era black man as being invisible in plain sight appealed to me as an insightful take on human nature. I looked forward to reading this novel as a unique perspective. I was eager to understand the first person perspective of a man who inhabits his world, invisible to everyone who sees him despite his best efforts to be seen. I expected too much. The idea of the story I thought, and still think is wonderful. The execution is a bit less wonderful.Mr. Ellison is, quite frankly not a very intriguing writer. He has a tin-ear for dialogue and his people are not recognizably human. His characters, with the possible exception of the white subversives do not speak an authentic vocabulary and his attempts at writing accents are like a tone-deaf man relating a melody.Like his dialogue, his characters do not ring true. I am left with the impression that Mr. Ellison never actually met, much less understood any of the regular, work-a-day people he tries to populate his story with. Ordinary people are as invisible to him as he believes his character to feel. His character, on the other hand is not so much invisible as he is transparent. I found myself early on with the impression of an unintelligent liar, telling me poor lies and expecting me to believe them because he has already fooled himself into believing them. That impression was confirmed again and again with each subsequent tale. Several times I actually called the book a liar out loud (in manners of speech), putting it down in disgust. The more I read, the more I felt burdened as I have in my life when forced to listen to similarly poor liars, telling me stupid fantasies in an attempt to either impress me or to avoid punishment. Perhaps Mr. Ellison was too clever for me and has actually written a tale told by a dense, pathological liar, to see whether his audience would figure it out.The writing mechanics of the novel are poor as well. Mr. Ellison has no flair for description and his prose is uninteresting. I am confused as to why anyone would have thought this worthy of publication or promotion. I forced myself to read the entire novel because I made a promise to do so. I certainly regret having made that promise. It is said, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. This pudding proved poorly mixed, undercooked, and ultimately indigestible. | 0negative
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A must read
My grand father introduced me to this book and Jim Corbett's writing. Any one who ever longed to travel should read Freuchen and Corbett. Honestly written, with detail, wisdom, and the appreciation of irony that makes life in hardship enjoyable. I read it every fall when cold weather sets in. I agree with the previous reviewer. If you only read one book this year, make it Arctic Adventure. | 1positive
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Decent demonstration of the form
This book seemed more geared towards learning a form, and introducing the "Five Animals" principles, than presenting an entire art. However, the form itself is fairly complex, as it is in essence five different forms strung togeather in a logical manner. The first chapter is just a couple of pages long, giving a brief history on developement of Chinese fighting specific to the animals style. The following five chapters detail the five animals one by one: the dragon, tiger, snake, crane, and leopard, with no apparent order. Those chapters cover the physical and mental/spiritual/psychological characteristics of the different styles. Then there is a short chapter on the stages of learning the form, and finally a chapter showing the complete form. I'd say that this part was pretty easy to follow, with the main problems being that some possitions were only shown from behind. Each photo has text describing it's actions underneath it. It is an eye-opening and physically challenging form, and is great at least for developing ballance and endurence. The last chapter shows applications of some of the movements. All in all, I'd say that someone with a background in most striking arts ought to be able to grasp what's going on. The chapter on the form itself is the meat of the text, with the rest of the book being a good intro into the Five Animals form, but nothing extrordinary stands out to me. | 0negative
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Losing a Favorite Series Author
When the author of a favorite series dies, favorite characters also die, leaving a void that's not easy to fill. But one can always reread the old books and enjoy the stories and the characters again.What has happened to the Kay Scarpetta series is worse than the author ceasing to write. With each recent novel, and especially with Black Notice, the main characters (Kay, Lucy, Marino) have become so loathsome and the plots so unengaging that I can't imagine wanting to revisit the earlier novels. These are unpleasant people and I will not miss them. | 0negative
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Best book in the Series!!!
This bok has got to be L.J. Smith's best yet! I couldn't put it down, and Ash is the best male character she's introduced yet!! I hope that there will be a sequel where Ash and Mary-Lynnette are reunited. THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!!! | 1positive
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Great alternative to a textbook
I use this book as a primary text in a high school Economics class. I love it and so do the kids! | 1positive
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Fails to crystallize
Kurlansky's text is fragmentary and spotty, jumping from notion to notion without deeply examining any of them. For example, he has a chapter purporting to be about the geology of salt, but it actually covers petroleum and preservation; the bits on geology are scattered everywhere else.Worse is the regular occurance of factual errors, half-truths, and pure mistakes, appearing on nearly every page of the book. If an author wants to write about a chemical compound, he ought at least to know a little chemistry. Kurlansky claims that no one knows why the sea is salty; suggests that water can be 'cooked' out of salt; does not understand hygroscopy; cannot reliably identify which ions are reponsible for basic and which for acidic properties; and may not know what a redox reaction is.The 'salt' article on Wikipedia is better. | 0negative
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Very Disappointing
I have waited for this book for 11 months.I finally got it two days ago.I was anticipating receiving a book withmany tips and tricks on how to use Archicad.Instead I just got a broad brush history,no good how to's,a limited how firms areusing it, and an incredibly insultingtalk about stories and layers.The whole text of the book could have beencontained in one large magazine article,but the designers of the book choose insteadto double space the sentences and leave alot of white space in the margins.The composition of the pages is fine, butI bought the book for knowledge(which it did not contain),not a pretty page format.Don't waste your time or money.I hope some one else does write agood archicad book.I'll gladly payfor one, but they should have paidme for looking thru this waste of good paper.I have never written a review of any kind ofbook or product before, but this book was sooobaaad that I am writing one now.Jack Rogers AIA | 0negative
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Intelligent Design suffers a "Bad Beat" and is still whining.
Losing a court case is like suffering a poker "bad beat." Nobody really wants to hear your story, and it's considered "whining" if you don't get over it after one beer. Amazingly, losers comprise more than 50% of all lawsuit participants. Most go away muttering under their breath about judges who don't understand them. Some can't get over their legal "bad beat" and write books about their loss.So say it, so be it. The Discovery Institute has published their whine after the Dover bad beat. Entitled "Traipsing Into Evolution," it appeals to the court of public opinion. Appeal denied. This is a wretched book.The Discovery Institute PR campaign for Intelligent Design bears a laughably strong resemblance to Baghdad Bob, the Iraqui "Information" minister who claimed there weree no Americans in Iraq's capital city as those same Americans pounded up the stairs into his own studio. His mere statements of fact served as their own proof, no matter how outlandish. Traipsing continues this M. O. None of the factual assertions in this book are to be taken seriously.The book overlooks a peculiar idiosyncrasy of courts. Unlike Iraq's ministry of Information, courts rely on something called "evidence." There are two components to that concept. First, only evidence actually admitted in court "counts." Out of court self serving press releases are not evidence and don't count. Second, the evidence proffered in court must meet certain minimum requirements. Witness testimony, for example, must be both under oath and subject to cross-examination.That means witnesses must answer questions from an attorney who is not sympathetic to the witness's own position. The witness cannot decline to answer and the witness must tell the truth. In the Dover trial, the Intelligent Design side offered: (1) out of court press releases; (2) proffered witnesses who waffled, equivocated, and finally admitted the lack of factual support for ID when cross examined; and (3) some of the Intelligent Design witnesses got caught lying under oath.The trial judge's opinion detailed ID's lack of evidence and the witness testimonial defects, including the falsehoods, throughout his 139 page decision. Any intellectually honest post-mortem would have addressed these issues head on. If you expect Traipsing to do so, you'll be disappointed.Traipsing argues that ID is good science and that it is not creationism. In "Bhagdad Bob" fashion, the book offers Discovery Institute press releases as "evidence" in support The court rejected both propositions based on the evidence actually offered at trial. As just one example, two Discovery Fellows, Michael Behe and Scott Minnich testified as experts. Both were asked under oath if ID was science. Both had the choice to answer truthfully or to lie and prevaricate. To their credit, they answered truthfully. Minnich testified that ID was not science and Behe testified it was as scientific as astrology. Based on this evidence from ID's own proponents, the judge not surprisingly found that ID was not science. Frankly, the authors distort both the in-court and out of court evidence in their book.The book makes much of the fact that the judge found a lack of peer reviewed literature and ignored the "vast" ID favorable literature enclosed in the book as Appendix B. There are two reasons why the judge did not consider this literature. (1) it was out of court hearsay, not subject to cross examination; and (2) It is not scientific research, it is essentially propaganda. This second point is why nobody was willing to actually testify in court that such peer reviewed ID-specific scientific research existed.If you are interested in what really happened, get it from the horse's mouth. Read the opinion itself and the actual evidence and trial testimony. Both are online. | 0negative
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Christina, Jade, Alesandra and...parasols???
Compared with the heroines in the other three books link with this (I have them all) I found Sara to be a disappointment. Not that I hated her, and the soup mishap is quite acceptable, and so is the incident of setting fire to the parasols in the "heath", but come on!...what idiot would loosen ropes on a ship to untangle her parasol without checking first what the ropes are attached to?? And I found it quite tiring that she was such a watering pot. I liked the fact that she grew less timid and stronger as the book progressed, but the constant bursts of tears for rather grating after the first few times.One thing that I HATE in series books are inconsistencies. How Caine went from being the Marquess of Cainewood (which he should be, being the elder son of a duke)in Guardian Angel to being the Earl of Cainewood in this book was a glaring mistake that should have been noted and corrected during the editing!Nathan's titles are also confusing. If his father was the Earl of Wakersfield, how did Nathan become the Marquess of St. James? Did the king grant the title on Nathan when he was 14 (since he was already marquess when he married)? I can't imagine how else he would get that title since obviously it couldn't have been inherited (if his father held the title before him, why was the father never referred to using the marquess title as it the correct protocol?). If anyone knows, I'd be happy to hear the explanation.All in all, this is unfortunately the least liked book in my Julie Garwood collection. | 0negative
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Written as "faction" rather then non-fiction
The story is true and very interesting, but Eric Williams made a couple of horrible mistakes in writing this. One is that he changed the names of all the main characters and wrote it in third person. It comes across as a novel rather then non-fiction and Williams has admitted that some of it was added at the insistence of his publisher to make it more exciting. It simply isn't as good a book as it could have been. | 0negative
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Dry and Very Dull
The book is about the protagonist Jake Barnes. It details his many days as an expat in Spain and France. The trouble is that there isn't much to his days except for drinks, breakfast, lunch, and more drinks. Jake and his friends, Robert, Mike, and Bill along with the loose Lady Brett Ashley get soused and dance at bars and argue and drink and vie for the attention of said loose Lady Brett Ashley. Mike is Ashley's current beau but Robert keeps trying to take her away while Jake(who says he's already been with Lady Ashley) is still secretly in love with her and suffers in silence.Throw in a bull fight or two along with a fist fight between Robert and Jake, an affair between the bullfighter, Pedro Romero and the loose Lady Brett Ashley and you have the entirety of the 251 page boring melodrama.If you are at all curious who the 34 year old loose Lady Brett Ashley chooses in the end, you'll have to suffer through reading the entire bunk like I did or skip to page 247. | 0negative
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If you liked Mickey Spillane..This book is for you.
In the Cook County, IL morgue there is the body of a beautifulgirl no one knows who it is. This is the 1930's Chicago andWilliam Crane, a private Detective down on his luck decides heis going to find out who she is; after all there could be moneyin it for him and sure enough a wealthy NY family hears of thebody and decides it could be their daughter who spends alot oftime wandering around the country then of course Crane is moreinterested than ever.William Reuhlmann, Ph.D writes theforward and compares the story to many detective stories writtenin the 40' and Dashiell Hammett. I really do not agree. I see,Mickey Spillane written all over this book. To his fans, you willprobably very much enjoy this book. Just not my favorite type ofmystery. | 0negative
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JUST ONE WORD: EXCELLENT
Do not expend thousands of dollars on consulters, expend just a few dollars to buy this book and implement these methodology in your company or business. GREAT BOOK | 1positive
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it was one of the best books i have ever read
I am a large fan of the hobbit. It was definetly among the best books I`ve ever read.I did not have a favorite part, the whole thing was totally awsome. I recomend it to readers young and old. | 1positive
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All fluff and no meat
After all the hype about this book, I found it to be an extreme disappointment. Very religious,and points people to try things most people cannot do. It's a book that impresses many, but I would think, in the long run helps very few. | 0negative
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Scooby-Doo Predictable
There are happy endings, and then there are over the top, unrealistic, "murderer confesses double homicide to arresting officer" while "arch-rival buys several hundred dollars' worth of china from Heroine in a gesture of appreciation" and "Ecstatic Boyfriend buys lot next door and promises to propose on her next birthday" endings. Taken individually, any one of these unbelievable outcomes would spoil a good mystery, but when all occur in the same novel within the final two chapters, the result is a Regrettable Read.Murder Under A Mystic Moon was my first read by Yalenorn, (a quick read) and I was so disappointed by the sugary ending that it spoiled the mild enjoyment I felt for this cozy story and put me off future novels in the Chintz N' China mystery series. I was initially attracted to the novel because of the plot outline: Emerald, an amateur psychic with two kids, helps a friend locate a missing biker buddy that police believe is a victim of cougar attack, but Emerald "knows there's something else wandering the forest--something that resembles the Klakatat monster of legend...." A mystery novel with a Psychic, a Mysterious Forest, a Monster, and Bikers--how could this story go wrong?Well, I'll tell you how. Pack in a whole lot of Emerald eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner (plus extended descriptions of her caffeine addiction and various espresso drinks), following Emerald about her daily life on tangents to Yoga class, and polish off the story with the aforementioned ending, and you end up with a mildly enjoyable "mindless" mystery that offers no challenge to readers whatsoever with its wildly unfocused plot.The basic plot is straightforward enough: Emerald's psychic talents are requested by her biker friend Jimbo to locate his missing friend. However, too many tangent side-plots interrupt the main thread of the story: Emerald's longtime feud with her nemesis--who happens to be a local TV reporter, her mothering of her children, and her blossoming relationship with her boyfriend Joe. These sub-plots, which could have enhanced the story, instead slog the pacing due to unfailingly ideal outcomes. There is no hint of true suspense that Emerald's relationship may suffer a few snags, her children might get in real trouble or fail to understand life lessons she is trying to teach them, or that her rivals will succeed in smearing her good name or causing true harm to her life. Conflicts are created and resolved in predictable sequence, and this lack of tension makes for a lackluster mystery. I found myself skating over excessive lines of description detailing Emerald's happy reaction to unsurprising conflict resolutions in order to get back to main story.The mystical descriptions of the novel with enjoyable and interesting, but its protagonist Emerald, while likeable, is somewhat of a goody-two-shoes. The story is peppered with annoying antagonists: Cathy Sutton--bleached-blonde local TV reporter with an attitude whose petty spite targets Emerald multiple occasions, George Pleasant (who is anything but) Cathy's intern cousin and amateur psychic with a gargantuan ego who slanders Emerald on TV and verbally maligns her in almost every scene, Roy--her cheating, slime-ball ex-husband that ignores his two kids and is verbally abusive to Emerald via telephone calls, and Anthony--her cheating ex-boyfriend who dumped Emerald for a starlet and makes a reappearance to get her back. Contrast these repulsive characters with an unrealistically perfect, faultlessly devoted Fireman boyfriend who worships Emerald and her kids, and Emerald's apparent refusal to stand up to any of these irritating personalities except in her mind, and you end up with Mary Jane Mom--the girl next door who can do no wrong.If you enjoy mindless, predictable mysterious with Scooby-Doo endings and kitschy atmosphere, give this novel a try. If, like me, you prefer SOME element of realism to your tale, skip this series like a bad cold. | 0negative
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A modern classic
I happened to find this book at a time when the Dark Night had all but swamped me, and it was a lifeline! Burrows has been a Carmelite nun for many years, and has been a teacher of young nuns. She obviously has an inquiring mind, too, and studied the great Carmelite writers, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux. How well she describes the path we must follow if we hope to rest in God!If you have recently started on this journey, read the book for inspiration, and keep it to reread as you move along. If you are a very old hand at prayer, look into it for courage and clarity. It is one of the great ones.Review by Janet Knori, author of Awakening in God | 1positive
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A Gift of the Spirit
You don't have to be a screenwriter to enjoy and embrace Sally Merlins musings. Ms. Merlins compilation of personal anecdotes and philosophical musings is truly a gift of the spirit and a must read for all writers in all disciplines. Be prepared though, to learn the business and the magic of writing along with a thing or two about yourself. Musings manages to findthe common thread of spiritual truth within the film business and artfully weaves both together in a way that shows her great respect and love for all writers. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is either embarking on a writing path or is already on one. Even non-writers will enjoy Ms. Merlin's anecdotes of Hollywood and her depth of feeling for the process of writing. | 1positive
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Great in a disturbing way!
This book opened my eyes big time! I recomend it for anyone who owns pets or has kids. It can be a bit technical at times - I had to read some sections twice to really get it, but well worth the effort. I strongly recomend you read this and follow or start with "The nature of animal healing."This book will also get you to questions vaccines used in humans...autism for your young daughter anyone??Read it but don't let the quest for knowledge on this subject stop at this book! | 1positive
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Glad to have read this classic
As one of the first books I read on my Kindle, this one will always be a little special for me. The writing style took more than just a little getting used to, but overall it is a classic tale that was a lot of fun to read. Not sure I'll do much more Oscar Wilde, but I'm glad to have read this one. | 1positive
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Rowling corrupted her own creation
Once upon a time, JK Rowling came up with a truly magical idea, one that deservedly made her very wealthy: children at a magical school, one which overlapped London. However, Rowling never really let us enjoy that magical world. Beginning with the first book, Rowling corrupted and destroyed her own creation. With each successive book Harry Potter's world became uglier and less magical. With each new book Rowling added more and more political preaching about the real world.So this is a review of the entire series and I am about to give the ultimate spoiler. The forces of good are utterly defeated in the Potter series. The real villain is JK Rowling, not Voldemort. By the time the series completes there is no joy anywhere in the magical world, and there are no heroes. All the characters are dead or tainted by evil. Banality, conflict, anarchy, corruption, and violence run unchecked throughout the magical world.Everyone wants to read about students at Hogwarts. How does Rowling cheat us out of that?#1 - ALL AUTHORITY FIGURES ARE BADAny school story must include students being taught by teachers. Rowling refuses to allow that to happen, because of her attitude towards authority figures. Every teacher and authority figure in Potter's world is either incompetent, corrupt, evil, or for some reason unable to help the students. The authority figures also neglect the children and fail to protect them. Books, Hermione, and Harry end up being the real teachers and leaders.#2 - RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKENNeither the children nor the faculty respect the rules of the school. Punishments are arbitrary and rule-breaking is even rewarded. The rules are often bizarre. Most characters seem to view the rules as meaningless pedantry, a formality which all must waste time pretending to comply with.This makes Hogwarts seems less like a school than a hotel where Harry meets his magical peers.#3 - ABUSE, VIOLENCE, TORTUREThe books are loaded with abuse, violence, and torture, including cruelty to animals and children. No one in the books seems to care. Characters like Harry Potter respond with their own cruelty and no one cares. The abuse begins in the first book and steadily worsens throughout the series.#4 - THERE ARE NO HEROESRowling goes beyond corruption of authority figures. Her rule is that there can be no good people at all, no heroes. Everyone must be cut down and leveled.No one in the Potter books seems to have a moral code. Harry loves to lie, read other people's correspondence, argue with his friends, etc. Concepts like self-sacrifice surface from time to time, but there is no follow through.The end result of all this is a grim world in which there is mechanical magic, but nothing truly good. There is no idealism in Harry Potter's world. There is no duty, no honor, no family, no self-sacrifice, no wise teachers, and no experts.In Harry's world there is only SELF. | 0negative
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Irresponsible nonsense.
My feelings on this book are best described in my letter to the publishers of it.To Whom it May Concern: I am writing this letter in reference to your book entitled "10,000 Dreams Interpreted." I don't have the book in front of me, so it might not be the exact title. I checked it out of my local library to help me interpret a dream I had the night before. I was astounded at the content. The book's cover and all outward appearances profess it to be a modern work. However, as far as I have been able to deduce, it was written around the turn of the century. Not only is the book not about interpreting dreams, but about the "prophecies" dreams hold, but the book is FILLED with racist terminology. I urge you to track down a copy and look up "fight." A few entries down, the book helpfully informs you of what it means if you dream of being attacked by razor-wielding "negroes" on your walk home. How offensive! And the book might be acceptable if marketed as what it actually is: an antiquated volume meant for us to snicker at. However, according to the publication information at the front of the book, it seems that you merely slapped a more modern looking cover on the book every dozen years or so and have sold it as a modern dream encyclopedia ever since! How irresponsible! In the wake of the resurgance of new-age science, uninformed people, even children may pick up this book and be influenced by its nonsense. I urge your corporation seriously to consider changing your marketing (i.e. the cover) of the book, or to pluck it from the shelves altogether. I am going to do what it takes to inform the public of this piteous excuse for a book.Email me with questions at appreciationgirl@hotmail.com | 0negative
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Boring
This is an extremely boring book! Judging from the cover, i thought this story was going to be very exciting and myserious! After the first hundred pages, absolutely nothing had happened! Hoping something would happen i continued reading on, sadly nothing did happen! I am disappointed to announce this book is a waste of time... do NOT waste your time reading it! It is just some stupid book about kids that sniff dirt! I would rather sit and stare at a wall then read this boring book again! | 0negative
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Excellent Second Installment
After reading Eragon, I was amazed to find out Christopher Paolini is such a young author. His writing surpasses his age. I love the storyline and characters. I can't wait for the final installment to the Inheritance Trilogy. | 1positive
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An interesting concept ruined by bad pace and violence
The book starts out as an intruiging concept but the pace is terribly slow and the narrative and dialogue elements quickly become repetitive. I almost put it down permanently several times. Then I got suckered in by the action that started happening mid-way through the book. It seemed as if the pace was picking up, and indeed there were some interesting character twists (like the relationship between Time and Hart that I had a feeling about), but then it degenerates into 200 pages of violence, with the last 30 being like something out of a zombie horror film, gratuituous and sadistic. I was so sickened by it it gave me nightmares afterwards. SKIP THIS BOOK! | 0negative
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A bit too gross
I like parodies as much as the next person, but this book is just too much of a gross-out to be funny.My dislike for it has nothing to do with how big of a Tolkien fan I am; I'm a huge Star Trek fan, and I loved Star Wreck. I have a degree in English History, and I loved 1066 and All That. That's why I read this book, because parodies of things I'm extremely familiar with are the best kind! I was disappointed to find that this book goes for the lowest common denominator to get laughs: Dildo Bugger? Come on! | 0negative
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A timely critique for the post-Enron era
Rich Zubaty's books will open your eyes to new ways of thinking about relationships, work, and the social issues that affect our lives. On virtually every page you find a new idea, or an old truth that has been long forgotten. I have studied social science and critical thinking for over 20 years, and I still find challenging and inspiring ideas every time I pick up one of Zubaty's books.In "The Corporate Cult" he examines the rise of the corporation, and the destructive influence it has had on our social welfare. Since the great boom of the 90's, it has been common to hear expressions of faith in the corporate system, such as the "triumph of capitalism" or the "global village". People espouse "freedom" and "democracy" as the highest individual and collective values of the society. But how can we be free participants in a true democracy when a few mega-corporations control nearly the entire economy and dictate the way most of us spend our working days? There is no "freedom" for a corporate employee. And there is often no democratic choice for a community that would rather not have a corporate behemoth, such as Walmart, move in and destroy the traditional economic community. Zubaty asserts that faith in the corporation, and empty concepts of freedom, is a form of cultic behavior. Just as cult members unquestioningly obey and support dubious gurus, the subjects of corporate regimes willingly submit to corporate masters and recite the empty slogans picked up in school. People praise corporations, and marvel at the supremacy of the "American way of life", even as our social lives become more isolating and impoverished.Zubaty examines the rise of the corporation and how it came to be defined as a legal "person" with all the rights and privileges of a human being. The trouble is, a corporate person has no real responsibility to anything other than the concept of profit. And due to its vast economic resources and unlimited lifespan, it becomes a monster against which individual flesh and blood people cannot compete. The modern corporation is a tool of unbridled greed for the few who own the major portion of corporate stock. Corporations bring profit to the few with out any corresponding responsibility for the social and environmental damages caused. The managers are professional employees with little stake in the communities in which they reside. Profits extracted from communities are funneled to a remote headquarters while residents are given low wage jobs. Small innovative businesses with a real stake in the community go out of business, while a generic "Super Walmart" thrives on the edge of town, paying no taxes to support the community that feeds it.Things have not always been this way. Zubaty has been to corners of the world where the incursion of corporate values is resisted. People in these places are happy and less afflicted with the endless desire for consumer goods fostered by our corporate society. But as corporations increasingly operate in a "global economy", traditional values and lifeways are destroyed. When the human values of community, friendship, and faith, are supplanted by the endless quest for "profit", people begin to feel a malaise that has no solution. The quest for possessions takes the place of community activity and political action. Corporations gain profit and power even as they destroy the quality of community life. The growth is like a cancer, eventually destroying the host.Zubaty's writing style interweaves pages of cogent analysis with stories of his encounters with less "advanced" and more happy cultures. It varies the pace of his presentation and makes for a very enjoyable reading experience. | 1positive
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"classic" does NOT mean good!!!
If you havent been forced to read this book while in school, or hadnt had a chance to grab it at the library, run while you can. 1984 might have been scary 100 years ago, but not now. If you like reading about old people think they are beating the system by saving a PAPERWEIGHT, then by all means...The book has multiple plot holes as well. Beware the "government runs the world unchallenged, but still needs to brainwash old people" hole. Read something else instead... ANYTHING ELSE! | 0negative
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Hated It
Seriously hated every page of this book. Not that it matters, but I read a lot of classic literature, and this is by far the worst book I have ever read. The characters were mean, vile and had no redeeming qualities. It must have read like absolute trash in the time period it was written, and still does today. I fail to see how anybody could find this story romantic. If a man told me that this book epitomizes his idea of romance, I would run for the hills and never look back. I honestly can't waste any more time on this book, even to write a lengthier review. | 0negative
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The King Indeed
I found this book totally captivating!!I read it in two days, loved every word...I was only eight when he died, but I recently visited Gracelandand became fascinated by his life.. and death.Thumbs up for the guys who wrote it... they definately had someinteresting insight to the king's life!! | 1positive
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Great Diversion, Enjoyable Reading
I will admit my erronious ways. As a science fiction reader I have always avoided books with dragons or dragonriders on the cover. Any volume with a knight on the front was a historical novel to be avoided. Shame on me. The real hoot about this thing is that I didn't mean to order this book! Several years ago I had an audio tape of one of the PERN books by Anne McCaffrey, and attempted to listen to it on a long car-trip. Unfortunatly, A three year old with numerous complaints kept me from hearing every other word. Scratch one. Now I have had a great experience reading Terry Goodkind's DEBT OF BONES, George R.R. Martin's Wonderful THE HEDGE KNIGHT, and the sadly overdue ( for me ) RUNNER OF PERN, by Anne McCaffrey. Thank you to the editors for including a complete list of related works . I spent a hot South Alabama day under my porch umbrella with this book and my ever present cold beer loving every minute of it. | 1positive
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The greatest book I've ever read!!!! A thousand stars!!
Gone with the wind is the best and most unbelievable book I've ever read. It has so much going on and the characters are so interesting you are drawn to them and their lives. Despite the fact that the book is over a thousand pages, I was sorry when it was over! It was amazing. | 1positive
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not that impressed...
I'm afraid this was a bit of a disappointment... I didn't find the story particularly original or inspiring, and its presentation through the artwork and production was pretty but not much more than that. The book also has recipes, but they are all fairly simple soups that I could find in other cookbooks, so this does not add to my culinary skills.I own the Pistoulet pattern of china, and that was the main reason I looked for this book and got it. I do love the china and its whimsical patterns and colors. | 0negative
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Almost a total massacure of this classic gem...
House of Seven Gables has been one of my favorite classics since the middle school days, decades ago. This review is of the CDs and the performance of the narrator himself, not about the novel. The reason I decided to buy it in the first place was becasue it was on sale for $15, and the fact that it's unabridged. Anthony Heald has terrible reading speed, he would pause at wrong places while not stopping at periods. Anyone that has read classic novels would know that most of them have long sentences with many semicolons, and conjunctions. He sounded like he's catching his breath quite often, and his pronounciation is kind of slurred as well. At least it didn't cost me that much. If you search for unabridged audio editions of this book, you'll find a few others by different companies, which all cost at least $30 or more. If you are poor then get this one, it's the cheapest. I'm certainly shopping for another set. | 0negative
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A dull, unrealistic read
I do not understand the mountains of praise this book has received. I found it very dull, easy to put down, and quite unrealistic. Okay, it's sort of a cute idea to be told from the perspective of pubescent boys who are obsessesed with these girls, but much of it is just in bad taste. The unrealistic parts also bugged me. If children are taken out of school, someone official will investigate. School is mandatory. Particularly if there is a suicide, there would be an investigation ... even in a small town! The boys as men finally comment on the selfishness of suicide, but it is only after we have endured page after page of their own self-absorption, their own stupidity, and their own lack of initiative. The lack of attention to the mother, in particular, is also maddening. She is obviously imprisoning her children and has an impotent husband. Why is there no comment, no alarm about her mistreatment of the daughters? Suicide is not a comical subject. It could be, if done right, I suppose. But this book does not do it well, not at all. It is a book that you'll be happy to put down and not pick up again. ...If I were you, I'd find something else to read. | 0negative
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great product,
fast delivery because I loaded it down, have not had a chance to read it yet, will start soon, and am looking forward to it | 1positive
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A great resource for 'scary story' beginners like me
There's little to add to what earlier commenters have written. But I do want to note that not only are the stories themselves awesome, but the collection as a whole serves as a broad and useful introduction to spooky stories. Many representative authors of the 'old school' are included, like Sheridan Le Fanu, M.R. James, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Benson, and the much neglected Oliver Onions. Lovecraft is, of course, there, too. The editor couldn't have chosen better examples to inspire readers to seek out more of the represented authors' works. | 1positive
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'the history of the world as selected by Claudia: fact and fiction; myth and evidence; images and documents'
As the elderly Claudia, a historian, lies in hospital terminally ill, she determines to write a history of the world, 'and in the process my own, the bit of the 20th century to which I've been shackled'.And so begins a patchwork of recollections: childhood, her relationship with Jasper, their daughter Lisa, her time in Egypt as a war correspondent and her passionate love affair there, her protege Laszlo, her brother...Unlike most such novels, Lively introduces the voices of the other protagonists too. So while Claudia is the main narrator, we have a section spoken by Lisa where she discusses her feelings for her mother, and the whole book switches between paragraphs in the 1st and 3rd person. In the latter we feel an omniscient onlooker is giving us a perspective on the other's thoughts. Thus'Jasper sees...Claudia in a red dress...wonderfully inappropriate...He stands considering her, remembering her, savoring her.''Lisa has read Claudia's books. Claudia would be surprised to know this.'Thus like a well constructed history book Lively attempts to tell the story of Claudia from all sides. The awkward relations with her daughter; the hostility with her sister-in-law; Laszlo who thinks she is wonderful; Jasper who still keeps in touch. Even long-dead Tom expresses his feelings.A wonderful and unusual mosaic effect of writing. | 1positive
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The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle is about some of children's favorite character in green, Robin Hood himself! In the begining of the book Robin shoots the evil kings deer(but not on purpose), and he also kills the sheriff's son because the man shot at him first. Then, the book goes on and they all try to catch him and it goes on and on and on the at the end Robin dies so it is not very good. I don't reccomend this book to many people because it has a lot of hard words and they talk weird. That is my review of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. | 0negative
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written by a teen looking for good audition monologues
When I looked this book up, I understood from the reviews that it was full of wonderful monologues perfect for teens. I found almost all of them fairly stereotypical and pointless. I would call them "wish monologues". They wish they were monologues. Although it's a great idea, this book was a huge disappointment to me and I would not recommend it to any teen looking for audition material. | 0negative
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excellent
Excellent recording, on par with the Grammy winning Harry Potter readings. The voiceover is distinct and recognizable for every character, the speed and emotion with which she reads makes listening an absolute pleasure. Highly recommend. | 1positive
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A great Stevenson rouser, for historical adventure buffs.
It's York versus Lancaster, but it's from the viewpoint of a young man, fated to avenge his father's death and find his true love against the backdrop of the bloody 15th century War of the Roses. Stevenson does a bang-up-job of developing his characters, and the atmosphere is palpable. Try keeping this one out of your hands. | 1positive
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The Red Badge of Courage
I purchased this edition of THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE for my junior English III class. This is an excellent edition of the novel...it is clearly printed, the writing is large enough to be seen well, and the "feel" of the book suits teenagers. They have told me repeatedly that they like the "style" of this book. | 1positive
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True love is blind *well, it is for Jane, anyway*
Bronte shows through Jane that sex is Not one of woman'snecessities. Rochester is ugly, but he has a mind. I wish all womenwere of this opinion. | 0negative
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Very difficult to hear
If you are a teacher, I would look into buying another audio version of Romeo and Juliet. I have been using it as a tool to get the students to hear professional actors and to then ask them to use the same skills those professional actors use (inflection, emphasis, etc.) The problem is it is VERY difficult to hear...to the point that you have to sit 3 feet away to hear it at times. This simply does not work for a classroom. | 0negative
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Self-Centered to an extreme
Books in which a woman finds herself through a period of self-indulgence only work if the reader believes that the seeker deserves a period of self indulgence, or if the reader believes that the seeker has given and given and is truly depleted.In this case we have a writer who perhaps needs a relaxing break to recover from divorce, but after she has recovered what she really needs is to think of others for a change. She would really have found a level of prayer at say, Mother Teresa's centers in India--plus, she would have had a chance to look beyond her own navel. | 0negative
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Tapas:
When we traveled in Spain we discovered many different Tappas that everyone liked! I felt that these recipes required ingredients that we cannot buy in Indiana. Big cities on each coast might have squid and octapus ready to go but we do not. Not very many recipes appealed to us. Thank you. C.S. | 0negative
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read the review from "A Customer"
Please read the review offered by "A Customer" for a finely detailed refutation of this book's assertions about Daito Ryu and Aikijujitsu. Frankly they were very generous in giving the book three stars with that glaring egregious blunder. What makes it particularly galling is the fact that Westbrooke and O. Ratti are senior aikidoka with years of experience but have not done their homework on their own art. So in turn what else should be questioned? | 0negative
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WARNING: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
This book is based completly on an on-line quiz. My wife bought this book for me used and they will not let me take the quiz. I talked with customer support and they told me to buy a new book making my current book useless. | 0negative
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Lives up to its' title
All I have to say is wonderful book Jason Busby and Michele Bousquet. Very concise and in depth. It covers absouletly everything and I mean everything from the beginning to the end of what a 3D production is and how to get it done.I honestly can't put it down, it's an amazing resource.Kudos!! | 1positive
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Great read
This is hands down my absolute favorite Terry Pratchett book. Very well written and enjoyable from front to back. Great author. | 1positive
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Handbook of Hatches
Wow! This book is loaded with a lot of information, and it's written in a helpful and easy-to-understand manner. The pictures of the naturals and the imitations are the key. It's helped me out in identifying what I've been seeing on the water, and then giving you the flies that should work for the imitation AND how to fish them. | 1positive
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Uninteresting and Dangerous to the World
This book is not a good read unless the reader is a crime novel enthusiast. The story is about a couple that has been married for 24 years. The past few years were not great. On a Wednesday morning, they are sitting across the dining table, the wife realizes how much she hates the husband, and wants to murder him, which she thinks she should have done years ago. But the husband has already made plans to murder her. They make several unsuccessful murder attempts. The mystery is about these attempts and not about who is the killer/victim. The author has tried to make all this humorous! | 0negative
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Utter garbage
I've read a LOT of crappy screenwriting books, but this one takes the cake. It's hard to overemphasize just how bad it is. For starters, it's written at the level of a young adult book (or worse, a book written by a young adult), and with the kind of awkward phrasing that reeks of hasty writing. What it amounts to, more or less, is a list of cliches, fleshed out with truisms and tautologies. And oftentimes Jak posits these cliches as things that MUST be followed, laying down absurdly black and white rules to accompany her laughably overstated and limited descriptions.To show you how bad this book is, I've opened to a page at random and tried to pick out a paragraph that best illustrates what I've just described:"In Fantasy, there are basically two religious factions: Good and Evil. Demons = bad, Angels = good. Gods and goddesses can be either. Fortunately, in Fantasy, the good gods are distinguishable from the bad ones: The good ones do good work, the bad ones do bad work. Gray areas exist only to help develop plot twists. Witches and wizards also are either good or evil, as in Glinda the Good Witch and The Wicked Witch of the West."That's not even an especially egregious example - its pretty representative of the book as a whole.I must admit I'm a bit flabbergasted by the number of positive reviews for this book here. A testament to the state of the screenwriting industry, I suppose? If you want to write fantasy film, I recommend reading Chris Vogler's "The Writers Journey" (which Jak steals from liberally) and Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy." Also, watch a lot of fantasy movies. This last bit should be obvious, but it seems that Jak doesn't think it necessary. Her book is aimed at hack writers who are looking for a quickie reference sheet of stale genre tropes to help them cash in on the "next big thing." | 0negative
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travis' review
I felt that Hamlet was detailed and complicated throughout the storyboard. It had both action and suspence throughout the book. On the other hand I felt that Hamlet was too detailed and confused me. The old English didn't help one bit. It confused me more. I had to read this in English class my 12th year in High School. So this is propably why I didn't enjoy it. The story itself was a love tragedy and i don't like that kind of storyboard. I recommend reading this book in English class but not on my own free will. | 0negative
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A Chore that Bores
I can't say enough good things about this book. In fact, I can't say one good thing about it. I base my reviews upon several points and this book did not pass one. I didn't care about any of the characters and there was a supreme lack of drama and interest. A big problem for me was the overuse of the colon. I have never seen the colon used so much in my life. I don't think I've used my own colon as much. It makes reading the text a chore. Another annoying factor is the sentences that made me ask, "What???" Here are two: "The monk took off his glasses like some patients remove their trousers," "Charles looked up from an armchair as if he'd seen a well-loved moth." There's more like that but I had to give you at least two examples. This book falls short of suspense, interest, logic and is not enjoyable to read. You'd have more fun overusing your colon. | 0negative
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Cardboard Cutouts
This book is a dressed up version of what has become the stereotypical Black turn of the century saga--the SBW (Strong Black Woman) versus the NGBM (No Good Black Man.)It's almost insulting-- when will our Black female authors let go of this tired theme? Do any Black women in their thirties KNOW any happily married couples? You wouldn't think so, according to Ms. Little. Even poor Natasha is doomed. She's the only character with a well adjusted family, but her life was just TOO darned PERFECT.The characters in this book are shallow, self serving, nouveau riche BORES. That could still make a good book, but sadly, on top of being obnoxious, they are thinly written. We never really understand what makes them tick.One interesting omission: In The Itch, a book that is ostensibly about Black upward mobility, Ms. Little completely ignores the "old guard" Black upper-class, which has quietly existed since BEFORE Reconstruction. The ancestors of this little known group owned land and property. Some had been slaves who bought their freedom-- many were free born. They began pursuing college degrees and upward mobility in the 19th century.No, Little deals only with the Cristal swigging, label hound arrivistes, one or two generations removed from the 'hood. Rareified circles? NOT!!!Where are characters Miles and Cullen now that the market bubble has burst? As for Abra and Natasha? Why, it's just Shug and Celie zoomin' down Rodeo Drive in a silver Porsche. | 0negative
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Awesome story! Read it!
Read this story, it is so awesome. For one thing, the movie wasn't as good, and the book is really creepy. So if you didn't read it, bad luck for you. So go out, get it (Store or library) and read it! | 1positive
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