Literature on Kindle

Why Kindle Fire sucks - and what to do about it

2011-12-27T04:46:00.001-08:00

The Kindle Fire from Amazon has been one of the most anticipated product launches in the past few years. People are crazy about it, and Amazon claims it is a bestseller.

We do not understand. The only explanation is that people are broke and/or stingy. This cheapish something is neither a decent ebook reader, nor a real tablet. And it has a whole bunch of flaws.

Display: 7" is simply too small and too low-res, unless you focus on text like the original Kindles. The resolution is 1024x600, which already sucked on netbooks, because 600 pixels are not enough to show many dialog windows or websites without constant scrolling. And at 169 dots per inch it is not crisp enough for small print, making it far inferior to the e-ink displays of the regular Kindles.

Connectivity: no 3G option so far, just wireless. Well, not everyone needs 3G, but not even having the option just sucks.

Storage: 8 Gigabyte. About 6 of them can actually be used. That is 2-4 movies at HD resolution. Sorry guys, but you are 2 or 3 years late to impress anyone with that amount of memory... and of course it can not be expanded with memory cards, but you are forced to rely on the Amazon cloud service. Storing your stuff on some big companies servers who-knows-where is never a great idea, and for non-Amazon content it is not even free. Plus you can not access your stuff when you are somewhere without WIFI coverage (yeah, that 3G would have been nice, eh?)

Add a weakish processor and mediocre battery life, and you know why this unit comes at 199 bucks...

199 wasted bucks, we would say.

You want a decent tablet?

Stick with Apple's iPad or the Asus Eee Transformer Prime TF201. Yes, those are more expensive.

But the Kindle Fire does not provide "more for less", as Amazon boldly claimed, but it is just cheap.

You want an ebook reader for actual reading?

Stick with the non-Fire Kindle product line. Kindle Touch 3G
and his brethren are good at what they do, really good.

Want the perfect all-in-one solution?

You will have to wait a little. Even the better pads/tablets have a resolution of 1200x800 or similar these days. Which is pretty decent for most uses - except reading. Plus their displays all suck in direct sunlight.
The next generation (iPad 3 etc.) is expected to have displays that have about the same pixel density as the "Retina Display" in iPhone and iPod Touch, where the eye can't distinguish the pixels anymore even when looking very closely. 10 inch displays at that pixel density would be appropriate for reading books and magazines without hurting your eyes.

Until then we recommend buying an "old fashioned" Kindle with e-ink display for reading purposes - cheaper, better, and you can still use it in a couple of years in addition to the shiny new tablet you purchase next year... ;-)

P.S.: Prefer to read our extensive review in German: Kindle Fire Review auf Deutsch

Waking up - again!

2011-12-21T07:48:00.001-08:00

Yeah, kindlebooks.blogspot.com was dormant for quite some time. When we started the site over 2 years ago, it was still a bit early. Kindle was an "early adoptor" product, not very mainstream. And Kindle and the like were available only on the US market. So interest in the site and our articles was limited - and as a result we abandoned the project, for the time being.

In the meantime things have developed. A lot.

Kindle itself has grown from a somewhat clumsy ugly something into a reasonably well designed (considering it is not from Apple...) sleek ebook reader.

The technology behind it has also trememdously evolved - from the displays to cloud-storage.

And last but not least the market has become pretty mainstream, and Kindle and other eBook-reader platforms are available internationally, the userbase has grown a lot.

Sooooo - guess what?

Exactly!

We will continue where we left off.

Expect updated Kindle product reviews and a lot of Kindle book reviews (both for the US/English-speaking world and for the German-speaking countries).

And of course there will be some spring cleaning, removing old clutter, outdated design, dead links, etcetera...

We are back.

Consider bookmarking us and/or adding kindlebooks.blogspot.com to your feedreader, so you don't miss anything.

See you around!

Six Inches of ... Kindle!

2009-07-10T11:16:00.001-07:00

OK - we are a bit late with this one. But - actually it is better to wait some time when a new gadget comes out. Wait for the first reviews, have a close look yourself, then decide, if you would like to promote it or not.

So - DO we want to promote the all - errr, almost - new Kindle, that 6" baby where actually less is more, in regards to price and size?

You bet!

Yes, we could copy/paste all those technical specs and mumbojumbo from the Amazon website. And add some high-pitched noise of ourselves.

But: the new smaller Kindle is just the best so far. Period. Believe it, and click the product image to go to Amazon and see and compare for yourself. Or believe not. And get lost. ;-)

Or just click the textlink: Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Genuine Leather Messenger Bag for Kindle 2

2009-03-10T04:42:00.001-07:00

Messenger Bag for Amazon Kindle 2

The stylish Italian leather messanger bag has been designed aound the special Kindle pocket inside.

But this is a all-round useful and stylish everyday bag. You will find yourself using this all the time.

Customer Review: Great bag

I love this bag I just recieved it for my kindle i had been thinking about purchasing it for a while because it would be perfect for taking my kindle with me. I don't know what other reviewers are talking about how the kindle only fits in the kindle slot out of the case my kindle slides right in perfectly and easily in its m-edge cover the strap is adjustable to allow for various ways of carrying the kindle I am able to put my kindle in it and all of the kindles accessories like the charger and link cable and my book light and have plenty of room to spare for my ipods and phone and all their accessories. I am very impressed and very happy with my purchase. the bags quality is also very sturdy and excellent. great product!

Customer Review: Love it!!!

Great bag, not only for my kindle, but cell phone, small journal, and extra stuff I carry. Works for me!

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Barrack Obama: Dreams from my Father

2009-03-09T02:27:00.001-07:00

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American.

It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident.

This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.

Customer Review: Kenyan view

I read this book with great interest. First, from a curiousity standpoint; how does he see Kenya and does he understand it's complexity. Another perspective that i looked into was his obsession to find himself in his father. I'm Kenyan and know what a father means to one if absent. My dad died when i was eleven and i explored him alot-still do. My mother kept him fresh in our minds and i've concluded that the absent parent becomes the focal point of a young boy. Men,as many may disagree, will seek their father to relate to and will yearn and seek that figure,if they don't find him appealing when they find him, they become what they hope he was. I was enthralled that he is able to explain Kenyan issues i'm familiar with and places i've trod with such precision. Very titillating.

Customer Review: Dreams from my Father

It was excellently written and quite inspiring. It gave insights into the personality of our current President.

Verdict: must read. No matter if you like the man or not, no matter if you see him as messiah or just as another con man (which is more likely, btw.). This guy will have a major impact on our not-so-bright future. He is the friendly face that serves (voluntarily or as a "Manchurian Candidate") as a perfect fassade for the same old ugly bloodsuckers that run the US and most of the world. If this book is "true" and honest or mostly deception - it will tell you a few things about "the man".

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Now on iPhone and iPod Touch: all your Kindle-Books!

2009-03-04T02:47:00.001-08:00

Good news! No longer are lovers of literature limited in their choice of hardware.

Amazon's Kindle is an amazing device - but many just back off because of the price. And many already have a portable device, such as the iPhone or iPod Touch and do not want to carry more than one.

The screen of the Kindle of course is way more friendly to the eyes and has a much higher resolution (= letters more crisp) than those of the Apple devices. But for occasional reading the gadgets from Cupertino will do just fine and some books might even display in colour - opposite to the Kindle, who's display is b/w only.

The Kindle reader software for iPhone and iPod Touch will be available around NOW from Apple's AppStore - for free!

Delivery of the books will be different: while Kindle just downloads the stuff all on his own you will have to manually download books for iPhone or iPod from the Amazon webstore.

You can sync the books between your devices - say start reading at home on the Kindle, sync, run off, just carrying your iPhone - and continue reading on the road right were you stopped on your Kindle. Cool, eh?

In case you are thinking about buying an iPod by the way - currently there is a special promotion on Amazon where you can save a fluffy 100 bucks: click here for special offers on iPods! (but remember: Kindle Reader software is available only for the iPod Touch and iPhone, not iPod classic or Nano!)

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

2009-03-02T11:56:00.001-08:00

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga.

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger.

In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf.

With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Customer Review: You have to read them all!

I am on this book out of the 4. They are all good. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book. This book is cheaper to purchase here then in any store I have been to! I already have her newest book out for older readers. Once I am done with this series onto her next one!

Customer Review: Best in Series!

I gave a 1-star review on New Moon, but a 5-star review on Twilight and Breaking Dawn. I give a four star review on this novel also because it deserves it! I really enjoyed reading this book. Although it's not as deep as some other books I read, it's still an enjoyable book series. I wasn't a big fan of Bella in this book, because she came off as whiny and helpless. Jacob was great though, as always! All in all, it was enjoyable and I read it on a trip to the beach.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Note: for Book 1 and Book 2 of the sage, click here (1) or here (2)

Dickens Genuine Leather Cover for Kindle

2009-03-02T10:56:00.001-08:00

The Dickens Genuine Leather Kindle Cover (Chocolate Brown)

Once upon a time, you bought an Amazon Kindle and you had great expectations. It has changed your life, giving you instant access to every novel ever written, but there's a twist. . .

The generic black case and clumsy rubber-band closure can make yours a bleak house.

Designed specifically for your Kindle, this case is just like a good Dickens novel: classic and enduring.

Remark: made for Kindle 1, not sure if it fits well with the Kindle 2, might be a bit loose since the 2 is thinner. Did not test)

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)

2009-03-01T02:25:00.001-08:00

New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)

Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed.

In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist.

The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi.

Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

Customer Review: More Edward and would have been 5 stars

Before I say this, know that I have 4 kids and I am very busy. I have not been into books in quite some time, but I devoured the 4 books in one month.

This book is a necessary piece of the 4 book collection. It didn't go along with what I wanted to happen in the story line for a long while, but I found that it kept me on edge more than any other book in the series. I found myself crying and sometimes shaking with anticipation.

Only reason I gave it a 4 instead of 5 is because of course I wanted more Edward!

Great Fun!!

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Note: Book 1 we had previously, click here. Book 3 will follow tomorrow.

Booklight: XtraFlex2 Light - (Blue, Kindle Compatible)

2009-03-01T02:20:00.001-08:00

XtraFlex2 Light - (Blue, Kindle Compatible)

Customer Review: Good quality, bright, bluish, a bit pricey - will use

I received one of these (the black version) a few days ago and my verdict is that I am likely to use it when reading books at night.

Brief overview:

- 2 super-bright LED's with lenses

- light has more blue and very little red, or yellow (think of a steady neon light)

- uses 3 (THREE) AAA batteries

- 40-hour battery life (claim is made on the package, not verified by me)

- power supply not provided

- relatively long, flexible arm

- can turn on 1 or 2 LED's

- solid build

- a bit heavy but had no problem using it with a paperback

I will definitely use this lamp when reading books at night.

Note: is available in different colours.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

2009-02-28T04:12:00.001-08:00

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made.

But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear.

The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires.

This is a love story with bite.

Customer Review: Twilight has ruined me

I really hadn't picked up a book in a while until everyone I knew began talking about Twilight a few weeks ago... I wasn't even aware that a movie had been released in November and once I remembered the star playing Edward - (Patrick) - being on a morning talk show and girls screaming their heads off... I wondered what it was about, but that wasn't what led me to pick up the book.

I picked it up because ... well, because I was taking a risk in adding anything new to my busy life and in other peoples opinion this was worth the time. I soon learned why girls were hysterical over this figure that represented basically the perfect man.

Edward is in many ways what every girl wants in a man... someone who is completely dedicated, hot, protective, trustworthy, makes others jealous (come on admit it), someone who isn't concerned with parental authority, has a nice car, can go anywhere at any time, has a mutual love so intense the world doesn't exist, strong, wonderful hair, GREAT SEX, and super powers to top it off. Yeah, loving Edward has ruined me.

Overall, if you don't look too deep - it is a very entertaining & entrancing series that leaves you feeling like you are missing something vital in your life - an Edward.

There is also Book II and III, will be posted later.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

M-edge Genuine Leather Platform Jacket for Kindle 2

2009-02-26T10:17:00.001-08:00

M-edge Genuine Leather Platform Jacket for Kindle 2 (Pebble Saddle Brown)

The Platform Jacket for the Amazon Kindle 2 is the ultimate for sophisticated on-the-go eReader users.

Whether in the office, at a business meeting, or at home, the Platform Jacket provides refined and stylish protection of your Kindle 2 in a superior case.

The Platform Jacket introduces a new standing design, which allows you to read your Kindle upright, hands-free, while still offering full surface protection in a lushly padded case.

The soft grey interior ensures your Kindle will always be cushioned in comfort.

The Platform Jacket seamlessly integrates with M-Edge Accessories exclusive e-Luminator booklight via a specially designed pocket sewn into the interior of the jacket.This smart case with classic lines includes a loop for your pen and interior pockets for storage of notes, business cards, and other essentials. Even while closed, you will find access to all ports, so you never need to remove your reader for charging.

The M-edge Accessories Amazon Kindle 2 Platform Jacket is a sleek case that will protect your eReader from scratches and dings. It is the perfect solution for the user with a fashionable, active lifestyle.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Mira Kirshenbaum: When Good People Have Affairs

2009-02-25T00:37:00.001-08:00

When Good People Have Affairs: Inside the Hearts & Minds of People in Two Relationships

A world-renowned therapist, Mira Kirshenbaum has treated thousands of men and women caught in the powerful drama over what to do when an affair reaches into their emotional lives. Now, in When Good People Have Affairs, Kirshenbaum puts her unsurpassed experience into one clear, calming place. She gives readers everything they need to cut through the thickets of fear, hurt and confusion to find their ways to happier, more solid relationships with the person who’s right for them. For example, Kirshenbaum identifies seventeen types of affairs, helping readers figure out which type they’re in and what it means. Is it a:

--“See-if” affair?
--Ejector-seat affair?
--Distraction affair?
--Unmet-needs affair?
--Panic affair?

Kirshenbaum encourages honest answers to such questions as:
--What am I missing in my marriage?
--How do I decide between two people when it’s like comparing an apple to an orange?
--How do I decide to end my marriage, end my affair, or end them both?

She leads readers through six easy-to-navigate steps that will take anyone from anxiety to clarity. When Good People Have Affairs will be a lifeline to any man or woman who feels caught between two lovers, and its insights are indispensable to anyone else touched by an affair.

Customer Review: A book long overdue

Long ago I read Kirshenbaum's book "Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay" and underlined so much of it there was hardly a clean page left. Now all these years later I have read her latest book; "When Good People Have Affairs" and can say that this book has been asking to be written for a very long time. Critics who say this subject matter shouldn't be written about are no different than people who say that an elephant in the living room should not be talked about.

The facts are the facts; for a myriad of reasons people are drawn into affairs and the truth is it simply is not as black and white as many people want to think that it is. Of course there are lots of examples of people who are simply not trustworhty and cannot seem to commit when it comes to relationships and marriage. We all know those stories. The other side of the coin however, is that good people DO have affairs. And just as there are short term affairs that are flings there are also long term affairs that are deep love affairs.

Sometimes the one in the marriage has been hurt and hurting for a long time. The reason they do not go ahead and divorce is connected with a myriad of complexities; family expectations, property issues, social status, as well their own personalities and simply not wanting to have to deal with any more pain in their lives as well as not wishing to cause others close to them any pain. Not wanting to hurt either their spouse or their children they feel caught in an agonizing situation. As an Episcopal priest I know this to be a fact.

I am very grateful to Mira Kirshenbaum for having the courage to write this much needed book. I only hope that down the road she will address the issue of the unmarried person in the affair; usually the woman, as well as the issue of how adult children play into the reason why their parents feel they cannot extricate themselves out of a marriage that for all intents and purposes died a natural death long before the affair began in the first place.

While this book is focused on the married partner in an affair, it is still very helpful for the single partner. Indeed it was the single partner in such a situation who told me about the book in the first place. Knowing that someone like Mira Kirshenbaum is out there; not only recognizing the reality of these situations but looking into the causes and the solutions, is like water flowing into a dry desert for those who find themselves caught in what can be a very lonely place.

Verdict: of course, being published in a deeply religious and bigot society, the book does NOT touch the real points (like why "marriage" has been invented and made the rule, and why it is nonsensical in most aspects) and does not promote the probably most loving and helpful solution (networks and/or neo-tribes of loving people, fluctuating freely. The concepts of "polyamory" get close to it). But it is a start. Leave the preachers of sin and guilt and the bigots behind. Free your mind. Free your love.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Mary Janice Davidson: Adventures of the Teen Furies

2009-02-23T01:38:00.001-08:00

Adventures of the Teen Furies

Mary Janice Davidson

Customer Review: Wonderful and compelling YA offering by Ms. Davidson...

I have read and loved all of MaryJanice Davidson's novels and novellas and decided to give her Young Adult offering a whirl. This is a wonderful novel with a great deal of humor and some poignancy to boot. Andrea Grouper is a typical teenage girl going through growing pains while convincing her paranoid driving coach that she has been driving since she was eight years old and keeping her eye on her troubled friend Meredith.

When she convinces Meredith to join her in visiting her old friend Brenda, she does not know how she would interact with her. But it turns out that not only is Meredith adored by Brenda and a new crop of male friends, she also becomes part of a game in which they pretend to be superheroes and villains.

They also have some adventures with the male friends. Andrea accepts to become George's girlfriend while she drools for Kyle, the one Brenda has set her eyes on. Meredith hooks up with Terry, who is as eccentric as she is at times.

However, how will the group cope with Meredith's suicidal episodes and the extreme side effects from her medications? How will they cope with the knowledge that she'd had a nervous breakdown a few months before? Will Andrea be able to break free from George and tell Kyle how she feels about him? And are their imaginary characters a way to escape from their sometimes troubled realities?

This is one of the best Davidson stories I have read. She has a wonderful sense of humor, as all of her faithful readers are well aware, but she also adds some dark situations and poignant scenes in this offering.

Meredith saddened me at times. She goes through some rather painful things brought on by her depression. She has a wonderful friend in Andrea. Speaking of whom, Andrea is the signature Davidson heroine in that she is a smart mouth and is fiercely independent. She likes the idea of having a randy boyfriend who worships her even though she is not that into him. Those scenes made me laugh.

Terry is also hilarious. He is a hopeless flirt who is not afraid to voice his opinion on everything. Kyle is the quieter one of the bunch, but he also turns out to be as three-dimensional as the other characters. As said earlier, this is one of Davidson's best stories. This also happens to be one of her first writing efforts.

She started out writing Young Adult books and then branched out into writing romance and fantasy (or a combination of both genres). But she will release another YA book later this year. Adventures of the Teen Furies is a true testament of just how talented and versatile Ms. Davidson is. She is now one of the most popular romance/paranormal authors out there and for good reason. I recommend this YA novel most highly.

Customer Review: Adventures of theTeen Furies

I am a 55 year old mother of two and I loved this book. It is teenagers all the way. It is exciting, well written, fast moving and a joy to read.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Essential Kit for the Amazon Kindle 2 - includes Car and Wall Charger

2009-02-23T01:32:00.001-08:00

Essential Kit for the Amazon Kindle 2 - includes Car and Wall Charger with Rapid Charge Technology - Gomadic Brand w/ TipExchange Technology

Dont miss a beat with our Essential Power Bundle Kit.

Adaptable for any conditions a nomad might face; the Essential Power Bundle Kit allows you to charge your mobile device in half the time with our rapid wall charger and rapid car charger. Compatible with our branded TipExchange Technology (tips are included) that enables utility with hundreds of mobile devices; the Essential Power Bundle Kit supplements the intention of any mobile technology: making your life easier while youre on the go. In addition; this product; like all Gomadic products; is backed by a lifetime warranty.

Customer Review: perfect Kindle replacement charger

My bunny chewed my original Kindle cord within my first week of ownership. I had been wishing that I had a car charger for my Kindle, and found this charger combo, saw the positive reviews it received, and ordered one. It works great, is priced reasonably, and has both a wall charger and car/travel charger. This is a great product.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Carry more books: SD Card for your Kindle!

2009-02-23T01:25:00.001-08:00

BLAZING 133x Speed 4GB Secure Digital SD Memory Card for AMAZON KINDLE 1 by Accessory Power

Store 4GB in a card the size of a postage stamp! The Secure Digital 4GB memory card offers incredible storage power in the smallest of packages.

Customer Review: EXCELLENT, EASY TO INSTALL SD CARD FOR KINDLE!

BLAZING 133x Speed 4GB Secure Digital SD Memory Card for AMAZON KINDLE by Accessory Power the Fast & Reliable Memory Solution ** Includes Free Memory Card Holder **

For someone who has never inserted a memory card before,this snapped right into my Kindle & I immediately & easily downloaded the books I've already read onto it. All items downloaded are displayed underneath the titles in Content Manager--this is an easy way to keep things organized, open up space on your Kindle, and any book you may wish to re-read in the future can be immediately uploaded back to your Kindle.

Customer Review: Works like a charm with the Kindle

This card works like a charm with the kindle. It provides loooooooots of extra storage. It works seamlessly.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Julie Skerven: Fool's Gold

2009-02-22T02:07:00.001-08:00

Fool's Gold

Julie Skerven

Customer Review: Fool's Gold is a good treasure!

Short & sweet: FOOL'S GOLD by Julie Skerven is a good romance with a bit of suspense thrown in. Typical of the Harlequin style romances, this one is based in a mythical town in western Wyoming.

The suspense is good, the romance tasty, and the setting of a modern day ranch on the verge of becoming a dude ranch is good. A nice read for in between!

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Azadeh Moaveni: Honeymoon in Tehran

2009-02-21T10:52:00.001-08:00

Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran

Both a love story and a reporter's first draft of history, Honeymoon in Tehran is a stirring, trenchant, and deeply personal chronicle of two years in the maelstrom of Iranian life.

In 2005, Azadeh Moaveni, longtime Middle East correspondent for Time magazine, returns to Iran to cover the rise of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As she documents the firebrand leader's troublesome entry onto the world stage, Moaveni richly portrays a society too often caricatured as the heartland of militant Islam.

Living and working in Tehran, she finds a nation that openly yearns for freedom and contact with the West, but whose economic grievances and nationalist spirit find a temporary outlet in Ahmadinejad's strident pronouncements. Mingling with underground musicians, race car drivers, young radicals, and scholars, she explores the cultural identity crisis and class frustration that pits Iran's next generation against the Islamic system.

And then the unexpected happens: Azadeh falls in love with a young Iranian man and decides to get married and start a family in Tehran. Suddenly, she finds herself navigating an altogether different side of Iranian life. Preparing to be wed by a mullah, she sits in on a government marriage prep class where young couples are instructed to enjoy sex.

She visits Tehran's bridal bazaar and finds that the Iranian wedding has become an outrageously lavish-though often still gender-segregated-production. When she becomes pregnant, she must prepare to give birth in an Iranian hospital, at the same time observing her friends' struggles with their young children, who must learn to say one thing at home and another at school.

Despite her busy schedule as a wife and mother, Azadeh continues to report for Time on Iran's nuclear standoff with the West and Iranians - dissatisfaction with Ahmadinejad's heavy-handed rule. But as women are arrested on the street for "immodest dress" and the authorities unleash a campaign of intimidation against journalists, the country's dark side reemerges. This fundamentalist turn, along with the chilling presence of "Mr. X", the government agent assigned to mind her every step, forces Azadeh to make the hard decision that her family's future lies outside Iran.

Powerful and poignant, fascinating and humorous Honeymoon in Tehran is the harrowing story of a young woman's tenuous life in a country she thought she could change.

Verdict: feeding the fears and the anti-islamist agenda, the book keeps the balance just as much that you can't NOT recommend it... ;-) BTW - many of the troubles described will become everyday experience for "western" women (and men) as well - because Christlamists and Islamists are pretty much the same..

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Amity Shlaes: The Forgotten Man

2009-02-20T08:42:00.001-08:00

The Forgotten Man

"It's difficult today to imagine how America survived the Great Depression. Only through the stories of the common people who struggled during that era can we really understand how the nation endured. These are the people at the heart of Amity Shlaes's insightful and inspiring history of one of the most crucial events of the twentieth century.

In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes, one of the nation's most respected economic commentators, offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression.

Rejecting the old emphasis on the New Deal, she turns to the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how through brave leadership they helped establish the steadfast character we developed as a nation.

Some of those figures were well known, at least in their day--Andrew Mellon, the Greenspan of the era; Sam Insull of Chicago, hounded as a scapegoat.

But there were also unknowns: the Schechters, a family of butchers in Brooklyn who dealt a stunning blow to the New Deal; Bill W., who founded Alcoholics Anonymous in the name of showing that small communities could help themselves; and Father Divine, a black charismatic who steered his thousands of followers through the Depression by preaching a Gospel of Plenty.

Shlaes also traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers themselves as they discovered their errors. She shows how both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt failed to understand the prosperity of the 1920s and heaped massive burdens on the country that more than offset the benefit of New Deal programs.

The real question about the Depression, she argues, is not whether Roosevelt ended it with World War II. It is why the Depression lasted so long. From 1929 to 1940, federal intervention helped to make the Depression great-in part by forgetting the men and women who sought to help one another.

Authoritative, original, and utterly engrossing, The Forgotten Man offers an entirely new look at one of the most important periods in our history. Only when we know this history can we understand the strength of American character today."

Customer Review: Really in depth look at the leaders of the time and their thoughts

I think she did a great job of being non partisan. Obviously she doesnt agree with Roosevelt and I dont know who can with some of the things he pulled. The scary thing is the similarity of then to now. Great read and I wish they would use it in Colleges if not High schools to give another view of that time. We ask so much of our kids now at an earlier age, I think they can even take discussions of this in High School also. I mean they vote at 18 without really any knowledge of the world so it all has to come from parents and school.

We are totally changing the ideals of this country, not the place to debate rightly or wrongly, so books like this need to be out there to help give people some information on the other side of the New Deal argument. At least that way we can agree or not to change the country from Uncle Sam to Mommy Sam.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Works of Charles Dickens. Huge collection. (200+ Works)

2009-02-19T02:16:00.001-08:00

Works of Charles Dickens. Huge collection. (200+ Works) Includes The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, ...

Indulge Yourself with the best classic literature on Your Kindle or PDA. Navigate easily to any novel from Table of Contents or search for the words or phrases. Author's biography and free stories in the trial version.

Features

Navigate from Table of Contents or search for words or phrases
Make bookmarks, notes, highlights
Searchable and interlinked.
Access the e-book anytime, anywhere - at home, on the train, in the subway.
Automatic synchronization between the handheld and the desktop PC. You could read half of the book on the handheld, then finish reading on the desktop.

Table of Contents

List of Works by Genre and Title
List of Works in Alphabetical Order
List of Works in Chronological Order
Charles Dickens Biography

Fiction

American Notes
Barnaby Rudge
The Battle of Life
Bleak House
The Chimes
A Christmas Carol
The Cricket on the Hearth
David Copperfield
Dombey and Son
Great Expectations
Hard Times
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
Holiday Romance
Hunted Down
The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices
Little Dorrit
The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman
Martin Chuzzlewit
Master Humphrey's Clock
A Message from the Sea
Mudfog and Other Sketches
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Nicholas Nickleby
No Thoroughfare
The Old Curiosity Shop
Oliver Twist
Our Mutual Friend
The Pickwick Papers
Reprinted Pieces
Sketches by Boz
A Tale of Two Cities
The Uncommercial Traveller

Short Stories

Some Christmas Stories:
A Christmas Tree
The Child's Story
Nobody's Story
The Poor Relation's Story
The Schoolboy's Story
What Christmas is as we Grow Older

Three Ghost Stories:
The Haunted House
The Signal-Man
The Trial For Murder

Doctor Marigold
George Silverman's Explanation
Going into Society
The Boots at the Holly Tree Inn
The Holly-Tree
A House to Let
The Lamplighter
Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy
Mrs. Lirriper's Lodging
Mugby Junction
Perils of Certain English Prisoners
The Seven Poor Travellers
Sketches of Young Couples
Sketches of Young Gentlemen
Somebody's Luggage
Sunday under Three Heads
To Be Read at Dusk
Tom Tiddler's Ground
Wreck of the Golden Mary

Non-Fiction

A Child's History of England
Miscellaneous Papers (11 essays)
Pictures from Italy
Speeches: Literary and Social

Customer Review: A Fine Kindle Edition

Charles Dickens. Meh.

Not! The man does verbal gymnastics that would sprain a lesser man's brain, yet weaves stories that still sparkle and resonate some 150 years later.

This Kindle edition is easy to navigate, and the text seems to be complete and accurate, something that cannot always be said with inexpensive editions of classic authors.

I love Charles Dickens, and if you feel the same, give yourself the inexpensive treat of this fine Kindle edition of his collected works.

Customer Review: In case you're wondering whether you need 200+ works

The answer is certainly yes. The Kindle format continues to amaze and impress me with its ease of use, and more importantly, with its guilt free reading function. The guilt free reading function is the one where you can read a hundred pages on a Kindle, never look at that particular book again, and never feel guilty about having spent $15 + shipping on something you don't intend to complete.

The Dickens collection is wonderful because even if you're big fan of England's second greatest author, you're unlikely to have so many of his works, especially some of the more obscure ones such as "American Notes," which is a journal of his 1842 trip to the U.S.A. This Kindle edition gives you that excellent piece, and of course much more.

The only down side is that the Kindle will, if you hit the wrong button, take you back to the Home page or back to the complete list of all 200 works, so you can end up doing a bit of detective work to get back to where you left off. This isn't a problem with single-book Kindle editions.

This is another example of how the Kindle has, overnight, made vast and important literary collections instantly accessible to the ordinary reading public without having to make the public library your second home, or impoverish oneself, or devote thousands of square feet at home to musty, smelly, roach-loving old books.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Gomadic: Deluxe Travelkit for Kindle 2

2009-02-19T02:12:00.001-08:00

Deluxe Kit for the Amazon Kindle 2 includes a USB cable with Car and Wall Charger - Gomadic Brand w/ TipExchange Technology

This item is available exclusively through Gomadic Corp on Amazon. Gomadic products are custom designed by Gomadic engineers and are built using carefully selected high quality components.

Only Gomadics products use the unique TipExchange technology which provides an inexpensive way to convert your charger to support a new mobile accessory. In addition; this product; like all Gomadic products; is backed by a lifetime warranty.

Very useful for all us travelling Kindlers!

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Music: Kindle my Heart

2009-02-18T02:24:00.001-08:00

Kindle My Heart

From time to time I will throw in a CD. Music. I came across this one while I was searching for new Kindle Books on Amazon. And it grabbed my attention. Listen! :)

This is the first CD in the series "Celtic Songs of Worship." The musical moods range from rollicking jigs and reels to meditative reflections, from songs in traditional sean-nos style to a choir. Many of the songs combine exquisite Irish or Scottish melodies (such as used by Robbie Burns), often hundreds of years old, with new Christian lyrics and richly evocative harmonies. Three tracks are in Gaelic. As well, two well-known hymn texts are sung to traditional Irish folksong tunes.

Customer Review: Awesome Celtic Christian Music!

To describe these Celtic CD's as delightful, lovely or simply awesome would be an understatement... They are both superb!! I listened to them recently with rapt attention, while with my children up at our family cottage. While doing so, our tiny cottage was engulfed by a massive rainstorm, whose rolling thunder echoed across the lake, and lightning turned the nightime into day. It made me realize the power of the Irish Gaelig title for Jesus as the "Ri Na Dul" (King of the Elements).

Notwithstanding the noise outside, the music soothed my children's fears and they were soon fast asleep. As for me, I listened with great intent to every song, noting its singers/musicians, and the detailed research that went into each piece. I was delightfully transported to landscapes, seascapes & skyscapes of Eire, the Scottish Hebrides, Wales (Pembrokeshire)and of course, Holy Island. I wholeheartedly endorse these entrancing, exquisite tunes. Move over Enya & Loreena McKennitt!

Customer Review: Love the sound...

This CD, as well as it's companion "God Above, God Below", are of extremely high quality musically. I am especially impressed with the words, well crafted and set to traditional melodies. It gives a pleasant mix of familiar and new to the listening experience. I play it often, and find myself humming the tunes throughout the day. Highly recommend it!

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Livy's Roman History Vol. I, II & III

2009-02-17T03:47:00.001-08:00

Livy's Roman History Vol. I, II & III

The Story of Roman history told chronologically from the earliest times when groups of refugees from the Trojan war formed villages on the Tiber river.

To the foundation of Rome by the twins Romulus and Remus up to the time of Julius Caesar.

As told by Titus Livius (also known as Livy) a Roman writer that lived in the time of Julius Caesar.

Customer Review: Great Reference book

Am pleased that Kindle permits me to find the specific text I am looking for with very little difficulty.

Verdict: Must have for any student or person interested in our cultural origins. Way superior to any paper edition.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

The Shack

2009-02-16T05:03:00.001-08:00

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.

Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

Customer Review: The most inspiring and amazing book.

This is a story of healing. I think anyone who has ever been hurt or lost someone should read this. It really lays out how much God loves all of us! I also think people who become religious judgers should read it because it is eyeopening! All around a great story!

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

M-edge Genuine Leather Executive Jacket for Amazon Kindle 1 (Marbled Red)

2009-02-16T04:52:00.001-08:00

The Amazon Kindle Genuine Leather Executive Jacket is the ultimate for sophisticated on-the-go eReader users. Whether in the office, on the plane, or on a treadmill, the Executive Jacket provides refined and stylish protection of your Amazon Kindle in a superior case.

The soft grey interior ensures your Kindle will always be cushioned in comfort while full surface protection is provided in a lushly padded jacket. This smart jacket with classic lines even includes a loop for your pen and interior pockets for storage of SD Cards, notes, business cards, and other essentials.

Even while closed, youll find access to all ports, so you never need to remove your reader for charging.

The M-edge Accessories Amazon Kindle Executive Jacket is a sleek case that will protect your eReader from scratches and dings. It is the perfect solution for the user with a fashionable, active lifestyle.

Customer Review: Vast improvement over original Kindle case!

I bought the beautiful blue one and find it holds the Kindle much more securely than the original Kindle case. I rarely use the elastic strap for the upper right because it's easier to turn on and off without it, but the Kindle is still very secure. I love the slip-in strap detail on the front, and the pockets on the inner left of the case are very convenient. The bright royal blue is easy to find. Highly recommend -- worth the extra money! The only complaint I have is that the upper left-hand corner seems to push against the Page Back button a bit as it's tight, but that button isn't well-placed anyway and is corrected in the Kindle 2. I just bought that and am hoping that this case will work for that too even though it's thinner. I don't see why not with the three leather corner holders and the elastic strap.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

BusinessObjects XI (Release 2) : The Complete Reference

2009-02-15T08:02:00.001-08:00

This book is a must read for anyone deploying BusinessObjects. It covers everything from planning your upgrade to the latest release, to best practices in universe design, and powerful report creation that maximizes business insight.

This book covers the most frequently used features for the full BI suite, in one comprehensive book.

There's in depth coverage of Designer, security via the Central Management Console, InfoView, Web Intelligence, and Desktop Intelligence.

It goes beyond step-by-step instructions to cover how and why in a business context. Transition notes are interspersed for version 5 and 6 customers to understand the biggest changes in Business Objects XI Release 2.

If you drive BI requirements in your company or are a data warehouse program manager, Business Objects administrator, report author or consumer, this book is for you.

Customer Review: Really a complete reference

I am new to BO, so sometimes I am lost in the hoge numbe of possibitities, with this book I get on the road again. It helped me a lot in designing universes and reports. It is easy to find the right solution. And VERY handy to have this on your Kindle together with all your other favorite books. Way better than a paper edition.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Jeff Strand: Out of Whack

2009-02-14T09:00:00.001-08:00

Out of Whack, the latest comedy from the author of How to Rescue a Dead Princess, is an outrageous tale about friendship, love, following your dreams, and other really scary stuff.

Customer Review: Whacka Whacka Whacka

This was another fine example of Jeff Strand's ability to make a reader laugh. This book was outright hilarious! I enjoyed every single minute of it, even if toward the end I felt as though it could have wrapped up a little sooner.

None the less a very quick and fun beach read. He never disappoints.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Charlie Rose - Jeff Bezos (November 19, 2007)

2009-02-14T08:58:00.001-08:00

An hour with Jeff Bezos, chairman and CEO of Amazon.com about The Kindle, a wireless, portable reading device.

Quite funny flashback to the beginnings of the Kindle...

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

M-edge Leisure Jacket for Amazon Kindle 1

2009-02-13T06:56:00.001-08:00

The eMotion Leisure Jacket for the Amazon Kindle is the ultimate case for on-the-go eReader owners. Whether at the gym, pool, or beach, this jacket provides superior protection for your Amazon Kindle.

This stylish, padded case features a read-through clear vinyl cover which helps provide protection against moisture, dirt, dust and sand. The reverse binding design provides easy access to the Kindle's "Next Page" and "Back" buttons.

This custom designed jacket incorporates a perfect blend of function and style and provides the most protection and mobility available for your Amazon Kindle.

Customer Review: Just what I needed

Maybe they've re-engineered this cover since some of these reviews were written, because I'm not having any of the problems that people have reported here.

I'm very impressed with the sculpted bed that holds the Kindle. It fits the edges perfectly and even compensates for the sloped angle of the Kindle's back, making the screen sit flat in the cover. This leaves a little cavity behind the Kindle where you can store notes, business cards, etc. The sculpted bed also appears to provide extra protection against impacts (not that I'd want to test it). The screen is a little more exposed than it is with the standard cover. I'm more careful about throwing it in a bag or under stuff in my car when I'm using this cover.

I LOVE the fact that the screen is always visible. This means I don't have to open and close a cover every time I want to read. When I commute by train to work, there are lots of stops and starts when I board the train, transfer to bus, etc. This cover makes it very simple to wake up the Kindle and start reading again.

It's easy to access all of the buttons through the cover. The little hole for the scroll wheel is perfect and doesn't hinder its usage. And contrary to what others have reported here, the cover has made my next/prev page buttons less sensitive and now I'm less likely to accidentally turn the page.

Some reviews complain that there's no access to the power and Whispernet buttons. I rarely turn mine off, so that's not an issue for me. I typically just use sleep mode when I'm not reading. Maybe I'll reboot the Kindle every few weeks because I'm superstitious and periodically reboot most of my electronics.

WHAT I LIKE:

* Never having to open and close the cover. That's perfect for me, because I read whenever I can, even if it's only for a few minutes at a time. I can easily wake up the Kindle and put it back to sleep by pushing the buttons through the cover.

* The perfect contour of the cover.

* Less chance of accidentally pressing buttons.

* More protection than the standard cover.

* Since you don't have to open this cover to read, the Kindle stays cleaner and doesn't end up with rain spots, dust, cigar ash, etc.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

* There's no access to the controls on the bottom edge of the device (power, earphones, USB, etc.). This is the biggest flaw in an otherwise awesome product. I'll probably carve a hole in mine so I can access these controls.

* Zipper (minor complaint): The puller on the zipper slide is big and flops around. A smaller puller would tuck into the zipper instead of dangling. It's not a big deal, just a minor annoyance.

* Cleaning: Although not a design flaw, but an inherent problem with a clear cover, this cover creates three surfaces to keep clean: the screen, the inside of the cover, and the outside of the cover. Dust or dirt on any of those surfaces gets in the way of the text.

All in all, I'm very happy with this cover. It's actually a 4 1/2 star item for me, but I'll give them the half a star.

Click here to read more and order it on Amazon.com !

Kindle-Gadget: Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On Light

2009-02-12T01:56:00.001-08:00

GOLD CREST LLC-Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 offers pure smooth light guaranteed. Features no bulbs to replace-ever! Coils to super compact size can be clipped on or freestanding can be positioned in any direction and a long battery life of up to 40 hours! This product is great for readers and crafters. Includes 2 super LEDs as bright as 6 regular LEDs. Measures 9 inches when it is in a ready to use position. Uses 3 AAA batteries (not included) or an AC Adapter (optional sold seperately) that can be plugged into an appropriate AC household outlet. Color: Black.

Customer Review: Very Good quality

I love this light. So many booklights I have bought in the past lack something to be desired (not bright enough, only lights a small area, flimsy). This one surpased my expectations. It nicely lights both pages so readjusting the light every page isn't necessary and it is very durable feeling. I just bought two more for my daughters.

Customer Review: Excellent product

Great product! Light is bright and really helps when using the Kindle in low light situations. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it is very bulky. If they had a smaller version that would be easier to carry with the Kindle that would be great.

read more and order it on Amazon.com !

New Kindle 2 is out! The better Bookshelf!

2009-02-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Just a short note to let you know Amazon has released the second generation of Kindle.
Thinner, more beautiful (looks almost like a big iPod...), more powerful, even better display, longer battery life, way more storage (up to 1200 books...) and so on...

To put it different: time to upgrade. Or for those who were reluctant due to the "questionable" optics of the "old" Kindle: time to get one, at last!!

Click here for more images, technical details, detailed reviews, videos, and - of course - the chance to pre-order your brand new Kindle 2:

The Virgin's Lover

2009-01-03T03:21:00.001-08:00

The Virgin's Lover

"In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth's ambitious leap to the throne will pull her husband back to the very center of the glamorous Tudor court, where he was born to be. Amy had hoped that the merciless ambitions of the Dudley family had died on Tower Green when Robert's father was beheaded and his sons shamed; but the peal of bells she hears is his summons once more to power, intrigue, and a passionate love affair with the young queen.

Can Amy's steadfast faith in him, her constant love, and the home she wants to make for them in the heart of the English countryside compete with the allure of the new queen? Elizabeth's excited triumph is short-lived. She has inherited a bankrupt country, riven by enmity, where treason is normal and foreign war a certainty. Her faithful advisor William Cecil warns her that she will survive only if she marries a strong prince to govern the rebellious country, but the one man Elizabeth desires is her childhood friend, the irresistible, ambitious Robert Dudley.

Robert revels in the opportunities of the new reign. The son of an aristocratic family brought up in palaces as the equal of his royal playmates, Robert knows he can reclaim his destiny at Elizabeth's side. Elizabeth cannot resist his courtship, and as the young couple slowly falls in love, Robert starts to think the impossible: can he set aside his wife and marry the young queen? Philippa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover answers the question about an unsolved crime that has fascinated detectives and historians for centuries.

Philippa Gregory uses documents and evidence from the Tudor era and, with almost magical insight into the desires of Robert Dudley and his lovers, paints a picture of a country on the brink of greatness, a young woman grasping at her power, a young man whose ambition is greater than his means, and the wife who cannot forgive them.

Customer Review:

More like 4 1/2 stars....

With the death of Queen Mary, Elizabeth is now the heir to the throne of England. She is not beloved by all, however. As a Protestant, Elizabeth is opposed by the Church and her people are split by their faith. Elizabeth needs a confidant, someone she can rely on when all seems chaotic around her. Robert Dudley seeks to be that man, despite his marriage to Amy Robsart Dudley. England is teetering on the brink of war, both internally and externally. Elizabeth's love for Robert could destroy England forever....

Philippa Gregory immerses the reader in a time long past. The rich pageantry of Elizabeth's reign springs to vivid life in this lush tale. The meticulous attention to detail can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, such as when the war is being described, but the sheer imagery of this tale is startling. THE VIRGIN'S LOVER is a tale to be savored as it provokes as many questions as it answers.

Elizabeth herself is a tortured character, sometimes controlled and focused and at other times a silly girl in love. She is sharply contrasted with Amy, a woman I wanted to like but yet couldn't. Amy's staunch faith both in her Church and her marriage is admirable to a degree, but her blindness to Robert's faults made me want to reach in the pages and slap some sense into her.

Robert is a total cad. Is he driven truly by love for Elizabeth or does he only want the power she can grant him? At times, I sensed that he still felt a smidgeon of the love he once shared with Amy. Regardless, his dismissal of her wants and needs is inexcusable. The power of the court was obviously a very heady thing and Philippa Gregory clearly shows this throughout THE VIRGIN'S LOVER.

What sheer genius by Philippa Gregory to evoke such strong reactions about her characters! Ms. Gregory provides her own twist to the history of Elizabeth's reign while keeping the reader completely enthralled. Having not read the prior books leading up to Elizabeth's ascension to power, I still felt the magic of the time period. After reading THE VIRGIN'S LOVER, it is a guarantee that I will read THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and THE QUEEN'S FOOL to see how these books tie in.

Verdict: more than worth the few bucks and the space on your Kindle that this book will occupy ;-)
For further information and instant download, click the cover image above!

The Vixen Diaries

2008-11-24T03:33:00.001-08:00

The Vixen Diaries

This titillating expose chronicles the personal and professional adventures of this tabloid-laden socialite, dispelling some rumors, while confirming others. Diaries unveils the heavily shrouded Hollywood backrooms and its coveted secrets. Offering her ardent fans answers to burning questions and presenting lessons learned, this book will surely not disappoint. Karrine draws you in to get an up-close and personal look at the Hollywood life of fast money, drugs, and sex; all the things that make for a great movie. She discusses her interactions with people after the release of Confessions of a Video Vixen and how she copes with it all.

Customer Review: using us!!!

I am glad i waited for the library to get this book...if she has been so used and abused by Hollywood, why oh why is she using and abusing the buying public by writing this self-indulgent trash... kindly watch out for Karma...

there are no lessons here for the real talented beautiful young ladies attempting to share and grow...she is making a difficult road for many TRUE artisans to break into entertainment...not every friggin person in the entertainment industry are monsters..the book "If I Did It", you know the O.J. thing, also made it on the Times Bestseller list and many other books of HORROR make it there...kindly don't be fooled by lists...it does not make one a true writer...don't care what Harrell says...

really how can one live just to create a life of trash to write about...how sad... what does she do, go to party after party with a tape recorder, "oh i just said that and oh, they just said, and what is the real meaning of what was just said"? dag!

I ain't mad at you for there is sucker born every minute as the saying goes but i refuse to be the one to put money in someone's else's bank account.I am truly grateful i did not contribute to your new castle..enough already about how rough life is with having money...love is the key, oh, i forgot,you know all about that too, wow have you ever THOUGHT about becoming a teacher, oh forgot again, professionals only hang out with professionals...

took the book back to the library the same day and of course there is a waiting list so there is an audience for you just not me, thank goodness! Get a real life and stop taking money without really working for it...it is an abuse of love!!!

Customer Review: I'm not impressed

Now I know she went in a different direction with this one but she is so repetitive about how she is, what she is, and all about her. Plus the fact that she mentions Bill almost every chapter about nothing!! I'm not a hater, I do actually like her and support her but she fell off with this one. It's not even that it has to be like her 1st one. But a good author should not make a great 1st best seller and then flop on her 2nd. It was boring and it was hard for me to get through the whole thing, definitely not a page turning like the 1st. I also feel like if you can't mention someone's name pertaining to the 1st and 2nd book then why mention it at all?? If she ever makes a 3rd book she needs to come alot harder and juicer. You can't be so open in your 1st book and then all closed up and fake in your 2nd, it's not worth it and it disappoints readers, anyone agree??

Verdict: nice insight why the world is - as it is. But that should be visible and clear without another useless book.

If you like trash and like to support the PH-lifestyle: go ahead, click the cover image above, buy it. Its easy to delete on Kindle afterwards, so no traces, no embarrassment

Gates of Fire

2008-11-12T02:38:00.001-08:00

Gates of Fire

The national bestseller!

At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.
Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history--one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale....

Customer Review: A Brilliant Book

Absolutely one of the best books, not just as an historical fiction, I have ever read. I could not have expected a military culture with its seeming brutality be described with such finesse and beauty.

Written beautifully as a narrative.

The narrator is the lone survivor of the battle at Thermopylae who recounts in detail the battle as one who fought with the Spartans by request from the conquering Xerxes. He begins by telling his life story, the loss of his family and how he came to know the soldiers of Sparta and King Leonidas. He describes their culture in detail, the individual men and women that he knew peripherally and personally and the build up to and the battle of Thermopylae; why he loved these people and why the Spartans were his heroes. The author wraps it up beautifully. Historical events accurate as far as I could tell.

Excellent read, I couldn't put it down.

Customer Review: Dynamite!

I want to be a Spartan! It was exciting and inspiring and though the author took a few small liberties with historical facts, it was a most excellent read. I highly recommend getting lost in Sparta! Worth the time, the money, outstanding!

Sweet Revenge

2008-11-04T04:53:00.001-08:00

Sweet Revenge

Goldy Schulz is thrilled to be catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library. But little does she know that on the menu, alongside the Great Expectations Grapefruit, Chuzzlewit Cheese Pie, and Bleak House Bars, is a large helping of murder.

While setting up at the library, Goldy spots a woman lurking in the stacks who bears a striking resemblance to Sandee Brisbane -- the Sandee Brisbane who killed Goldy's ex-husband, the Jerk. But Sandee is supposed to be dead. Or so everyone believes.

Goldy's suspicions mount when the body of Drew Wellington, a former district attorney, is found in a corner of the library with a map worth thousands of dollars stashed in his clothing. She's convinced that Sandee is involved.

But the holiday madness is only just beginning for Goldy. Soon she's drawn into the dangerous, double-crossing world of high-end map dealing. And like the ghost of Christmas past, Sandee keeps making an appearance. Could she be out to prove that revenge is sweet?

Customer Review:
Love the series, but....

I think it really *is* time for Goldy to develop more, or take a trip somewhere, or solve a murder that doesn't involve her ex-husband or someone who knew him. I have hugely enjoyed the series, but this book did seem tired- full of recap, as one reviewer noted. Also, I found it pretty unbelievable, even for fun fiction murder, that a woman who wrecked a car, fell in a creek and was attacked and nearly suffocated all in one day would still get up and go to work in the morning (after a steamy shower with her husband, no less).

I love the cooking; I think the author is a great story-teller, but wouldn't you just love to see Goldy grow up a little? Or change? Or have something different in her life? Most of us do face change and challenges eventually. I keep thinking she and Tom need to have a baby or Marla needs to remarry or Julian open a new restaurant or SOMETHING. It feels like this book was the same as the last one... too bad, because Goldy is a lot of fun.

Customer Review: Rosenblat rocks!

Barbara Rosenblat rocks reading this most recent course in the "Goldie the caterer" series of Colorado Rocky Mountain (sugar) Highs, culinary delights, and cozy murders. Rosenblat even reads the included recipes with an enthusiasm and inflection that would process Julia Child into a Pavlovian canine (or maybe I've just been reviewing too many diet books lately ;-)

This entree in the Diane Mott Davidson oeuvre mixes in morsels from former capers, so you might want to enjoy those first, if you haven't already.

As usual, please click the cover image or the title above for more information and immediate download!

Mere Anarchy

2008-11-02T01:14:00.001-07:00

Mere Anarchy

I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.

-- Woody Allen

Here, in his first collection since his three hilarious classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, Woody Allen has managed to write a book that not only answers the most profound questions of human existence but is the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.

"I awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe," he explains in a piece on physics called 'Strung Out.' In other flights of inspirational sanity we are introduced to a cast of characters only Allen could imagine: Jasper Nutmeat, Flanders Mealworm, and the independent film mogul E. Coli Biggs, just to name a few. Whether he is writing about art, sex, food, or crime ("Pugh has been a policeman as far back as he can remember. His father was a notorious bank robber, and the only way Pugh could get to spend time with him was to apprehend him") he is explosively funny.
>In "This Nib for Hire," a Hollywood bigwig comes across an author's book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: "Actually," the producer says, "I'd never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before."
From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Review: Not his best, and not his worst either

Woody Allen's new book is certainly not as good as Side Effects, or Getting Even. However, it has highlights and is a decent read. Light, but a bit uneven. If you are a dedicated fan of the Woodman, you definitely should take a look at this. But if you are new to his prose, start with Getting Even, and his best work, Side Effects.

Customer Review: Allen at his absurdist best

Many may only know Woody Allen from his films . . . but he has also

written three very funny collections of short stories: GETTING EVEN,

WITHOUT FEATHERS and SIDE EFFECTS.

Over 25 years have passed since the publication of that last book,
so when I saw he recently came out with MERE ANARCHY, I quickly
got my own copy to see if he has lost his touch . . . I'm happy to say that he has not.

MERE ANARCHY, like his earlier efforts, covers a wide range of
topics . . . you'll find yourself laughing when you hear his observations about sex, food or even how parents deal with the rejection
of their son into the best nursery school in Manhattan:

* In the days following the rejection, Anna Ivanovich became
listless. She quarreled with the nanny and accused her of
brushing Mischa's teeth sideways rather than up and down.
She stopped eating regularly and wept to her shrink. "I must
have transgressed against God's will to bring this on," she
wailed. "I must have sinned beyond measure-too many
shoes from Prada." She imagined that the Hampton Jitney
tried to run her over, and when Armani canceled her charge
account for no apparent reason, she took to her bedroom and
began having an affair. This was hard to conceal from Boris
Ivanovich, since he shared the same bedroom and asked
repeatedly who the man next to them was.

I also liked what Allen had to say about moving into a new
property:

* It all began with the purchase of a small brownstone on
Manhattan's Upper West Side. Miss Wilpong, of Mengele
Realtors, promised us it was the buy of a lifetime, priced
modestly at a figure no higher than the cost of a stealth
bomber. The dwelling was drumbeat as being in "move-in
condition," and perhaps it was, for the Jukes family or a
caravan of Gypsies.

And on the subject of crime, here was his take:

* At the trial Stubbs chose to act as his own lawyer, but a
conflict over his fee led to ill feelings. I visited Beau Stubbs
on Death Row, where numerous appeals kept him from
the gallows for a decade, in which time he used prison to
learn a trade and became a highly skilled airline pilot. I
was present when the final sentence was carried out.

A great sum of money was paid to Stubbs by Nike for the television
rights, allowing the company to put its logo on the front of his
black hood. Whether the death penalty acts as a deterrent
remains questionable, although studies show that the odds of
criminals committing another crime drops by almost half after
their execution.

MERE ANARCHY is Allen at his absurdist best . . . read it,
if for no other reason than it will put a smile on your face--something
we all need to do more often.

As usual, click the cover image or the book title above for more information and to get your copy!

Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness

2008-10-31T04:27:00.001-07:00

Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness

Strategies and answers from a lifetime of selling, from the bestselling author of The Sales Bible. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The New York Times best seller The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. All of his books have been number one best sellers on Amazon.com, including Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Patterson Principles of Selling, and his latest best-selling books The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. Jeffrey's books have sold millions of copies worldwide.

Jeffrey gives public and corporate seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts live and Internet training programs on selling and customer loyalty. He has presented an average of 120 seminars a year for the past ten years.

Customer Review: A great read for the sales person who wants to improve!

Jeffrey Gitomer is a very creative and non-traditional sales professional. For that reason, I read all of his stuff. It is becasue his approach is so different than mine, that I learn from him. His ideas are new, different and sometimes may not work, but they are a departure from almost every other sales teacher I know. I recommend this book, without hesitation, to any sales person who wants to get better. And, it only takes you about 2 hours to read the whole thing!

Customer Review: Jeffrey Gitomer Tells it Like it Is

Jeffrey Gitomer cuts to the chase. This is the most realistic book I have read on selling. Most people in sales beat around the bush. Gitomer goes for the jugular. He eludes that if you can't get passed the gatekeeper, you stink as a salesman. I highly recommend this book to anyone in sales.

Ron Draluck, author of Push button Investing in Real Estate

Verdict: like it or not - this is how selling works. Either you quit and start doing something useful. Or you read this book.

Oprah loves her Kindle. And YOU?

2008-10-29T01:19:00.001-07:00

This summer, Oprah received a gift that she says changed her life. "I'm telling you, it is absolutely my new favorite thing in the world," she says.

No, you weirdo. She is talking about her Kindle ebook reader
, of course!

Could Oprah be wrong? We all know: no.

So move your whatever over to Amazon and get your own Kindle
. Or find someone to gift you one... ;-)

(btw. they have a nice video demonstration on that page, even with a "drop test". Seen a Kindle hit the floor? Here
.)

Plain Truth

2008-10-28T09:20:00.001-07:00

Plain Truth

Moving seamlessly from psychological drama to courtroom suspense, Plain Truth is a triumph of contemporary storytelling. Jodi Picoult presents a fascinating portrait of Amish life rarely witnessed by those outside the faith -- and discovers a place where circumstances are not always what they seem, where love meets lies, and where relationships grow so strong they can transcend death.

When Ellie Hathaway decides to defend Katie Fisher against the charge of murder, the urban-savvy D.A. finds herself caught in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own. Plain Truth is the extraordinary story of two unforgettable women -- and what happens when their disparate worlds collide.

Customer Review: A Rich, Well-Written Drama

This was a great book, rich in detail and drama. Katie Fisher, a young unmarried Amish woman, gives birth in secret and the infant's body is found dead in her family's barn. Her distant cousin, Ellie Hathaway becomes involved and ends up representing Katie in a controversial court-room drama. In preparation for the trial, Ellie lives with the Fishers on their farm and learns the customs of the Amish.

Picoult delivers a very emotional story narrated alternately in third person and first person from Ellie's perspective. Katie's character is often frustrating as her testimony changes, but she is also very sympathetic due to the constraints of her religion and community. Ellie is a tough lawyer who faces the challenges of being thrust into an unfamiliar society, governed by its own rules and practices. Other supporting players like Katie's shunned brother Jacob, Ellie's former beau Coop, and Katie's parents contribute to this multi-layered narrative. At times, Plain Truth was mildly predictable, but still delivered great insight on the Amish way of life, a great courtroom battle, and the occasional dramatic twist.

Customer Review: Anyone remember 'Agnes of God'?

That was a play about a young nun who supposedly murders her newborn. A female shrink appears to determine if she is sane and/or guilty. Very similar! Especially in the early chapters, I couldn't get past the similarities. The Amish girl keeps denying she was even pregnant altho she was taken to the ER for post-delivery complications.

This continuing denial makes no sense in the story. The girl is not portrayed as insane or mentally deficient. She lives on a dairy farm and knows more about childbirth than most people. I assume the author is using this device to "keep us in suspense" about the girl's true nature, but to me it's just annoying. In the end, the girl tells the truth and a mystery remains, one that would have been far more intriguing and believable than the stupid denials.

As a Lancaster native, I believe the author has captured some of the elements of Amish life. It truly is another world. The girl's simple goodness changes the lawyer's life (which certainly needed changing!). What I wish the author would have done more of, is to contrast the two environments: Amish farm and worldy courtroom. To do that by adjusting what she writes about and how she writes it would have been fascinating. Too often, the story breaks down into just a young career woman trying to succeed and find love at the same time.

The twist ending comes so abruptly, the shock value is minimal. The story could have been much stronger as pure suspense, without the true romances sidetrips.

As always just click the cover image or the title for more information and easy purchase/download!

A Hunger Like No Other

2008-10-26T01:54:00.001-07:00

A Hunger Like No Other

"Acclaimed author Kresley Cole introduces a sizzling new series with this tale of a fierce werewolf and a bewitching vampire -- unlikely soul mates whose passion will test the boundaries of life and death. A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her . . .

After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.
A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy . . .

Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents -- until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae -- and their notorious dark desires -- ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.

An all-consuming desire . . .

Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?

Customer Review: Blahnikks

Unfortunately I read the other two books in the series before breaking down to read this one. Although it was entertaining, it left much to be desired. Like another reviewer stated, "it took forever for them to have sex"--and while that it not a deal breaker in and of itself, their continuous starting and stopping was.

But hey, its at a discount right now and you can easily pass some time with it...

The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything

2008-10-25T02:53:00.001-07:00

The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything

"In the readable and riveting style of The Tipping Point , Stephen M. R. Covey uncovers the overlooked and underestimated power of trust in a page-turning look into what he calls "the one thing that changes everything."

A groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting book, The Speed of Trust challenges our age-old assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver -- a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing. Written from his informed perspective as the former CEO of a $100 million enterprise, Covey draws on his pragmatic experience growing Covey Leadership Center (founded by his father, Dr. Stephen R. Covey) from a shareholder value of less than $3 million to a value of more than $160 million.

In this powerful new book, Stephen M. R. Covey articulates why trust has become the key leadership competency of the new global economy. He eloquently informs readers how to inspire lasting trust in their personal and professional relationships, and in so doing to create unparalleled success and sustainable prosperity in every dimension of life. He shows business, government, and education leaders how to quickly and permanently gain the trust of their clients, coworkers, partners, and constituents. Covey convincingly makes the case that trust is a measurable accelerator to performance and that when trust goes up, speed also goes up while cost comes down, producing what Covey calls a "trust dividend."

Covey reveals the 13 Behaviors common to high-trust leaders throughout the world and persuasively demonstrates actionable insights that will enable you to shift your behavior to increase -- and inspire -- trust in the important relationships in your life.

Like a ripple in the pond, The Speed of Trust begins within each of us personally, continues into our relationships, expands into our organizations, extends into our marketplace relationships, and ultimately encompasses our global society at large. Covey presents a road map to establish trust on every level, build character and competence, enhance credibility, and create leadership that inspires confidence.

"

Customer Review:

A Description of the Advantages of Forming Trust, the Psychology of Trust, and How to Build Trust

Trust can make things easier, and distrust can definitely make things much harder. You already know that. But do you know how to check out where you need to change in order to create more beneficial trust? The Speed of Trust can help those who need a template for such self-examination.

Mr. Stephen M. R. Covey is the son of Dr. Stephen R. Covey of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fame. If you've read that famous book, you may remember young Stephen referred to by his father as the seven-year-old son who was asked to keep the yard "clean and green" and did neither at first. Dr. Covey writes the foreword for this book and refers to that example. Ms. Rebecca Merrill helped with the writing of Dr. Stephen R. Covey's book First Things First which was coauthored by Roger Merrill.

Trust is expressed by a paradigm that includes five waves of trust (self trust based on the principle of credibility, relationship trust based on the principle of proper behavior, organizational trust based on the principle of alignment, market trust based on the principle of reputation, and societal trust based on the principle of contribution). Most of the book is taken up with examining those five waves and their underlying principles. The core of the book comes, however, in the 13 behaviors that establish trust (talk straight, demonstrate respect, create transparency, right wrongs, show loyalty, get better, confront reality, clarify expectations, practice accountability, listen first, keep commitments, and extend trust). Each section of the book comes with ways to check on your performance and to create plans for improvement.

This book is by far the best development of the subject of creating and restoring trust that I have read. That makes the book an essential reference. I congratulate and appreciate the authors for tackling this important subject.

I would be remiss, however, in being a trustworthy reviewer if I didn't point out some weaknesses in the approach:

1. Some of the examples of trust and mistrust drawn from Mr. Covey's experiences aren't terribly satisfying to read. Perhaps the most jarring example is one of the early ones in the book that describes the distrust that the Franklin Quest people felt toward him after the company merged with Covey Leadership Center. Mr. Covey comes across as unbelievably naive for not having taken into account how the two cultures should mesh (if at all) in engineering the merger. That's a more fundamental lesson than the lack of trust point. In addition, he doesn't seem to realize that merely being the son of the company's founder would make many people who didn't know him skeptical of his qualifications and his talent. Having read about how naive Mr. Covey was in this situation undercut my confidence in his ability to address the subject of trust. But I did appreciate his willingness to share such a painful experience in his book.

2. Most of the examples that are cited that do not involve Mr. Covey's direct experience are very overused. They same examples have been used to prove excellence in many other dimensions. As a result, the book doesn't come alive as much as it might. The examples conjure up memories of other books and arguments rather than cleanly bringing across the authors' trust-related points.

3. The book's structure and style are pretty pedantic, but without the precision that an academic would bring to the subject. In most areas, the authors rely on your sense of what's right rather than giving you clear lines of what to do and what not to do. That's fine if you already have a well-defined sense of how trust is formed and re-established. But if you don't know the answers already because you haven't lived in that kind of an environment, the book will leave you with too little direction.

4. Ultimately, long sections of the book are very general and boring. The major exceptions are the examples drawn from Mr. Covey's own family. I found those examples to be fresh and interesting.

After you finish this book, I suggest that you think about those who have gained your trust and distrust. What did they do? Examining those personal examples will add a lot of depth to the general ideas presented here.

Customer Review:

A Must Read

A must read for realizing the importance of trust and reminding yourself how important it is to continue building your integrity and trust with yourself and with others.

No matter whether its a professional or personal relation, if you have trust--the speed of getting things done is just amazing.

The Places in Between

2008-10-24T02:56:00.001-07:00

The Places in Between

In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past.

Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion-a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following.

Through these encounters-by turns touching, con-founding, surprising, and funny-Stewart makes tangible the forces of tradition, ideology, and allegiance that shape life in the map's countless places in between.

Customer Review:
writing that becomes lyrical, a journey that is epic

Rory Stewart's walk across Afghanistan is a spectacular act of courage and a wish to know firsthand. I found it hard to read at times -- for example, when he develops what seemes to be a camaraderie with a man both sadistic and loyal, whose idea of fun is frightening young children. Rory Stewart does not overtly muse about this complex relationship though he describes it so well that presumably the reader wonders about it because Rory Stewart is also uncertain and perhaps uncomfortable with the dichotomy. At other times, he does express clear feelings -- for example, his sense of the superficiality and self-serving nature of those who "help" without first-hand knowledge of what those receiving this "help" actually need and want. There are riveting descriptions of scenes he witnesses or participates in and, as the book goes on, his writing becomes almost lyrical. There is the dog he walks with for part of his journey, Babur. And then there is the man himself. Rory Stewart never seems to pity himself, even when he very nearly succumbs to the cold and snow and being sick. Although he is sometimes in very dangerous situations with the people he meets, one senses by the time he gets near Kabul a weary impatience and doggedness that make him refuse to be bullied after all he has seen and lived through. I highly recommend this book.

The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World

2008-10-21T06:19:00.001-07:00

The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World

"The book you hold in your hands is revolutionary, a groundbreaking exploration of the science of intention. It is also the first book to invite you, the reader, to take an active part in its original research. Drawing on the findings of leading scientists on human consciousness from around the world, The Intention Experiment demonstrates that thought is a thing that affects other things. Thought generates its own palpable energy that you can use to improve your life, to help others around you, and to change the world.

In The Intention Experiment, internationally bestselling author Lynne McTaggart, an award-winning science journalist and leading figure in the human consciousness studies community, presents a gripping scientific detective story and takes you on a mind-blowing journey to the farthest reaches of consciousness. She profiles the colorful pioneers in intention science and works with a team of renowned scientists from around the world, including physicist Fritz-Albert Popp of the International Institute of Biophysics and Dr. Gary Schwartz, professor of psychology, medicine, and neurology at the University of Arizona, to determine the effects of focused group intention on scientifically quantifiable targets -- animal, plant, and human.

The Intention Experiment builds on the discoveries of McTaggart's first book, international bestseller The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, which documented discoveries that point to the existence of a quantum energy field. The Field created a picture of an interconnected universe and a scientific explanation for many of the most profound human mysteries, from alternative medicine and spiritual healing to extrasensory perception and the collective unconscious. The Intention Experiment shows you myriad ways that all this information can be incorporated into your life.

After narrating the exciting developments in the science of intention, McTaggart offers a practical program to get in touch with your own thoughts, to increase the activity and strength of your intentions, and to begin achieving real change in your life. After you've begun to realize the amazing potential of focused intention, and the times when it is most powerful, McTaggart invites you to participate in an unprecedented experiment: Using The Intention Experiment website to coordinate your involvement and track results, you and other participants around the world will focus your power of intention on specific targets, giving you the opportunity to become a part of scientific history.

The Intention Experiment redefines what a book does. It is the first "living" book in three dimensions. The book's text and website are inextricably linked, forming the hub of an entirely self-funded research program, the ultimate aim of which is philanthropic. An original piece of scientific investigation that involves the reader in its quest, The Intention Experiment explores human thought and intention as a tangible energy -- an inexhaustible but simple resource with an awesome potential to focus our lives, heal our illnesses, clean up our communities, and improve the planet.

The Intention Experiment also forces you to rethink what it is to be human. As it proves, we're connected to everyone and everything, and that discovery demands that we pay better attention to our thoughts, intentions, and actions. Here's how you can."

Customer Review:
Intentional Experiment

This book will be as mental gymnastics to the reader. The author, with

clear-minded writing and uncluttered thinking, will challenge

the reader to explore areas of thought which will be new territory

to many. It certainly was for me. We come away realizing that

the "magic" ,so commonly written about in today's literature,

is all within. And it's not fiction.

Paul A Theriault

Customer Review:
FASCINATING...

"The Intention Experiment" by Lynn McTaggart provides fascinating insights on intentional living. This book shows you how thought can affect your life. In essence thought is an energy that has the potential to transform your own life as well as help others.

Focused group intention is also shown to be a highly powerful tool in affecting animals, plants and humans.

You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty (You)

2008-10-20T09:12:00.001-07:00

You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty (You)

The body is the most fascinating machine ever created, and nobody talks about it in ways that are as illuminating and compelling as Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz. Most people think of the aging of our bodies the same way we think of the aging of our cars: the older we get, the more inevitable it is that we're going to break down. Most of us believe that at age 40 or so, we begin the slow and steady decline of our minds, our eyes, our ears, our joints, our arteries, our libido, and every other system that affects the quality of life (and how long we live it). But according to Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz, that's a mistake. Aging isn't a decline in our systems.

It's actually very purposeful. The very systems and biological processes that age us are designed to help us when we're a little bit younger. So what's our role as part of the aging population? To learn how those systems work so we can reprogram them to work the way they did when we were younger. Your goal should be: die young at any age. That means you live a high quality of life (with everything from working joints to working genitals) until the day you die.At the core of this landmark book are the Major Agers -- 14 biological processes that control your rate of aging.

Some you've heard of, some you haven't, and some you never knew contributed to the aging process. Some speed decline, others inhibit your repair mechanisms. These Major Agers are everything from short telomeres and inefficient mitochondria to stem cells and wacky hormones. The doctors explain the principles of longevity and many of the causes of aging and how to fight the effects. The climax of the book is a 14-day plan to help you along your path to staying young. The doctors want you to be able to integrate important processes into your daily life in order to make staying young routine, but first you'll need to measure your real age and health right now. Staying young encompasses your emotions and mental health as well as your exercise habits, eating habits, personal hygiene, and genes, among other things.Wouldn't you like to know how to prevent your body from aging badly?

The original YOU book showed how bodies work in general, and YOU: On a Diet explained how bodies lose weight and stay fit. Now in YOU: Staying Young, Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz illuminate the mysterious mechanisms with a lively metaphor -- the modern city.

What differentiates a vibrant and thriving city that ages gracefully from one that is worn down and rusted out? Despite genetic differences, which are like the geography upon which the city is built, cities age differently because of the way residents treat their education system (stem cells), power plants (mitochondria), electrical grids (brains), transportation routes (blood vessels), and landfills (fat). You -- as mayor, resident, and street cleaner -- have the power to balance your biological budget to ensure a life that's both long and strong. Thankfully, just as cities can invest in renewal and improving their repair processes, so can you.YOU: Staying Young is filled with signature YOU Tools, including YOU Tests, YOU Tips, and visual and verbal metaphors to bring the science to life.

Customer Review: Great Information!

This is one of the better books that I have read and it really challenges you to think differently about your body; how each system runs, how they interact and how they can be maximized. At best this book will help you live a better, more productive life. At worst it's a very intriguing read!

Love Cheat Steal

2008-10-19T10:25:00.001-07:00

Love Cheat Steal

Me thinks its a rather funny book for in between. But public opinion on this books is slightly divided, as these two reviews show:

Customer Review 1: "They smile in your face...."

Skinny leads who confuse sadomasochism for a meaningful relationship double-cross one another along with John Lithgow, until everyone, by default, is double-crossing him- or herself, not to mention everyone in the phone book whose surname starts with the same letter as theirs.

If this is your idea of entertainment, seek this one out.

I'm thinking of feeding mine to the dumpster. Two stars, and only because the brilliant John Lithgow can make anything worth watching while he's on the screen.

Customer Review 2: WWW reviews LCS

A stylish keep 'em guessing thriller with top-notch talent and clever twists and dialogue. The writer-director really knows his stuff and keeps the pace moving. Roberts is excellent as are many of the secondary characters. Unfortunately, the girl isn't very good. Five stars. Better than anything on TV and much of what's on the big screen.

You decide. The price is a steal anyway.

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

2008-01-17T03:11:00.001-08:00

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

This highly respected text, now in paperback (and now also for Kindle), has been thoroughly updated and revised. It introduces a logical theory of photographic lighting --- one that teaches beginning photographers to predict results before setting up lights. This is not primarily a how-to book with only set examples for photographers to follow. Rather, Light: Science and Magic provides the reader with a comprehensive theory of the nature and principles of light to allow individual photographers to use lighting to express their own creativity. Numerous photographs and illustrations provide clear examples of the theories delineated within the text, while sidebars highlight special lighting questions.

Although styles of photographic lighting continue to change, Light: Science and Magic does not go out of fashion because it is not based on style; rather it is based on the behavior of light. These principles will not change until fundamental physics does.

*Now in paperback
*Highly respected text on lighting theory covering the principles, applications, and equipment for informed lighting decisions
*Sidebars highlight special lighting questions

Customer Review: Jam-Packed

This book is a terrific exposition about the science of light (in simple terms) and why it matters to photographers. It is so jam-packed with information I read it twice in one month! If you're looking for a book about the "best" films, cameras, lights, or other equipment, then don't buy this book. If, instead, you're looking for timeless book about lighting principles and how to handle difficult lighting situations, then this is the one for you.

Customer Review: The "handguide" to lighting well...

amazing users guide to the basic principles of how light falls upon subject matter. If you ever want to know how to create better images using better light, then start with this book.

the book is laid out in easy to understand chapters, image examples and lighting diagrams. I had no problems trying out many of the lighting scenarios discussed in the book.

Recommended, especially if you are studying photography in high school or college.

Technorati Tags:
Kindle, Photography, Light, Lighting

The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II

2008-01-10T08:45:00.001-08:00

The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II

The battle for Moscow was the biggest battle of World War II -- the biggest battle of all time. And yet it is far less known than Stalingrad, which involved about half the number of troops. From the time Hitler launched his assault on Moscow on September 30, 1941, to April 20, 1942, seven million troops were engaged in this titanic struggle. The combined losses of both sides -- those killed, taken prisoner or severely wounded -- were 2.5 million, of which nearly 2 million were on the Soviet side. But the Soviet capital narrowly survived, and for the first time the German Blitzkrieg ended in failure.

This shattered Hitler's dream of a swift victory over the Soviet Union and radically changed the course of the war. The full story of this epic battle has never been told because it undermines the sanitized Soviet accounts of the war, which portray Stalin as a military genius and his people as heroically united against the German invader.

Stalin's blunders, incompetence and brutality made it possible for German troops to approach the outskirts of Moscow. This triggered panic in the city -- with looting, strikes and outbreaks of previously unimaginable violence. About half the city's population fled. But Hitler's blunders would soon loom even larger: sending his troops to attack the Soviet Union without winter uniforms, insisting on an immediate German reign of terror and refusing to heed his generals' pleas that he allow them to attack Moscow as quickly as possible. In the end, Hitler's mistakes trumped Stalin's mistakes.Drawing on recently declassified documents from Soviet archives, including files of the dreaded NKVD; on accounts of survivors and of children of top Soviet military and government officials; and on reports of Western diplomats and correspondents, The Greatest Battle finally illuminates the full story of a clash between two systems based on sheer terror and relentless slaughter.

Even as Moscow's fate hung in the balance, the United States and Britain were discovering how wily a partner Stalin would turn out to be in the fight against Hitler -- and how eager he was to push his demands for a postwar empire in Eastern Europe. In addition to chronicling the bloodshed, Andrew Nagorski takes the reader behind the scenes of the early negotiations between Hitler and Stalin, and then between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. This is a remarkable addition to the history of World War II.

Customer Review: Mildly satisfying

The Greatest Battle is well worthwhile if only to focus our eyes on a monumental event that strangely has received lesser attention in this country than the battles of Stalingrad or Leningrad. At the same time, the author over-reaches in attempting to cover the thinking and strategies of two arch antagonists, the order of battle of two great armies, and the collatoral political and social upheaval. It's good but not great--more of an extended article than a book. The result is a worthwhile read that also leaves one wanting greater depth, analysis and understanding.

Customer Review: Thoroughly Engrossing Account of an Epic Battle

Nagorski has done a remarkable job telling the story of a pivotal aspect of WWII that many of us know very little about. The book is thoroughly engrossing, drawing you into this epic battle through historical narrative, behind-the-scenes insights and fascinating first-hand accounts.

Personal remark: might help to remedy and dismiss the legend of D-Day as the main event in "liberating" Europe and defeating the Nazis...

Start 2008 with a good laugh: Buddy Buddy

2008-01-06T04:20:00.001-08:00

Buddy Buddy
Customer Review: Really funny!!

This is one of my favorite Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau movies. It is up there with the Fortune Cookie and other great ones.

Sadly this movie was never released in DVD. It needs to be.

Walter has really acted brilliantly here as a crusty professional assassin who keeps getting fouled up by the incompetent suicide attempter (Jack Lemmon).

(((oh, and this is NOT for Kindle... *lol*)))

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (A Marketplace Book)

2008-01-04T04:06:00.001-08:00

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (A Marketplace Book)

Few investors have made and lost fortunes to equal those of the legendary Jesse Livermore, a notorious stock market speculator during the first half of the 20th century. Enjoy this highly readable, entertaining chronicle of one of history's boldest speculators.

Written in 1923 by Edwin Lefevre, this work is cleverly written as a narrative biography. Independent-minded investors today will enjoy and even profit by Lefevre's shrewd, witty book. His observations of human behavior and market trends are as wise and accurate now as they were 75 years ago. There is nothing new on Wall Street, Livermore observes, "Whatever happens in the stock market today has happened before and will happen again.

yeah, well, 'nuff said... Or 'nuff sad?
No matter. Some insights into an ugly world... Worth a look.

Stephen Hunter: The 47th Samurai (Kindle Edition)

2007-12-31T02:33:00.001-08:00

The 47th Samurai: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel

In The 47th Samurai, Bob Lee Swagger, the gritty hero of Stephen Hunter's bestselling novels Point of Impact and Time to Hunt, returns in Hunter's most intense and exotic thriller to date. Bob Lee Swagger and Philip Yano are bound together by a single moment at Iwo Jima, 1945, when their fathers, two brave fighters on opposite sides, met in the bloody and chaotic battle for the island.

Only Earl Swagger survived. More than sixty years later, Yano comes to America to honor the legacy of his heroic father by recovering the sword he used in the battle. His search has led him to Crazy Horse, Idaho, where Bob Lee, ex-marine and Vietnam veteran, has settled into a restless retirement and immediately pledges himself to Yano's quest. Bob Lee finds the sword and delivers it to Yano in Tokyo. On inspection, they discover that it is not a standard WWII blade, but a legendary shin-shinto katana, an artifact of the nation. It is priceless but worth killing for.

Suddenly Bob is at the center of a series of terrible crimes he barely understands but vows to avenge. And to do so, he throws himself into the world of the samurai, Tokyo's dark, criminal yakuza underworld, and the unwritten rules of Japanese culture. Swagger's allies, hard-as-nails, American-born Susan Okada and the brave, cocaine-dealing tabloid journalist Nick Yamamoto, help him move through this strange, glittering, and ominous world from the shady bosses of the seamy Kabukicho district to officials in the highest echelons of the Japanese government, but in the end, he is on his own and will succeed only if he can learn that to survive samurai, you must become samurai.

As the plot races and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that a ruthless conspiracy is in place, and the only thing that can be taken for granted is that money, power, and sex can drive men of all nationalities to gruesome extremes. If Swagger hopes to stop them, he must be willing not only to die but also to kill.

Customer Review: The Samurai Sword

Imagine the bloody battle at Iwo Jima which a tough US Marine fought with a Japanese officer. The American survived and was highly decorated. He also took the Samurai sword of the Japanese officer. Fast forward 50 years. The son of the Japanese officer turned up in the States to look up the son of the US Marine named Bob Lee Swagger who was also an ex-US Marine, looking for the sword. Out of a sense of honor, Bob Lee Swagger found the sword and brought it to Japan. The sword turned out to be a legendary sword in Japanese history. With such a promising start, Stephen Hunter has delivered an exciting novel about Japanese culture, Samurai, Japanese sword, the Yakuza and of course, the CIA in Japan. The plot is fast moving. Hunter interspersed the novel with juicy tidbits about Japanese culture. It is like watching a movie and suspending belief. Like in many Hong Kong Kung Fu movies, Bob Lee Swagger learnt Japanese sword fighting in one week and was able to kill the Yakuza topmost assassin who was also their master swordsman.

The story of the 47 Ronin is one of the most celebrated in the history of the samurai. Ronin is a samurai without a master. This story is about Asano Takumi no kami Naganori (1667-1701). Lord Asano was chosen by the shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, to be one of a number of daimyo tasked with entertaining envoys from the Imperial family. Unfortunately Asano did not get along with the ranking master of protocol, Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka (1641-1702). This interpersonal conflict came to a head in April, 1701 when Asano threw his sword at Kira. Kira was not wounded seriously. However, this was a serious matter and the Shogan ordered Asano to commit hara-kiri and all his lands in Harima confiscated. They were all buried in Sengakuji.

Asano's samurai were disbanded and became ronin. However they plotted together and on the snowy night of 14 December 1702, 47 of them marched to Kira's mansion. Kira was beheaded by the same sword that Asano used to kill himself. It is this sword that is the centre of Hunter's novel. They then carried Kira's head to Sengakuji, where Asano was buried. Then they turned themselves in. The ronins were ordered to commit suicide. The Legend of the 47 Samurai is very popular in Japan and many plays, novels, mangas and movies were based on it. The still a popular spot in Tokyo and a place who many feel were the finest examples of samurai loyalty to emerge from the Edo Period.

A good thriller with fast moving action packed scenes of Japanese sword fighting (first time I read about Japanese sword fighting action in English). I give it a four stars.

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Stephen Hunter, 47th Samurai, Ronin, Japanese Swordfighting, Samurai Sword

David Baldacci: The Camel Club (Kindle Version)

2007-12-22T07:21:00.001-08:00

The Camel Club
The Camel Club. It's where the most influential businessmen and politicians wine, dine, and often change the course of history--and where ruthless mercenaries spy unseen, recording every last bit of information to sell to the highest bidder. But when Harry Stone--homeless man and conspiracy theorist extraordinaire--witnesses a gruesome murder, secrets begin to unravel. Stone steals a piece of evidence from the scene that links the Club's founders to the murder of a high-profile government official, and they'll do anything to get it back. Secret Service Agent W. Frank Churchill begins investigating Stone as a murder suspect, but soon, with the help of defense attorney Kate Monroe, he unearths a shocking truth: One man is using the Camel Club for his own terrible devices--and to achieve his horrific goals, he must kill Stone...and anyone else who gets in his way.

Customer Review: Good Cloak and Dagger Fun

"Camel Club" is a smartly written cloak and dagger tale that weaves together suspense, action, and contemporary issues in a fabulous read. Baldacci not only has a knack for storytelling, but he also speaks eloquently through his characters about terrorism, fear, prejudice, and aggression. Well informed and artfully written, "Camel Club" is the perfect suspense novel for cold November weekends.

The world is a more dangerous place after 9/11, and no one knows it better than Carter Gray, the United States "intelligence czar" and the President's right hand man. Having lost his family on that horrible day, Gray has dedicated his life to crushing terrorism, and he won't allow anything to stop him: not even personal liberty or privacy. This is a game with deadly consequences and Gray is playing for keeps.

However, shadowy forces work behind the scenes, infiltrating the intelligence community at the highest levels. With a handful of keystrokes, terrorists' identities are erased as a deadly plot moves forward against the President. The nation's only hope lies in the hands of world-weary secret service agent Alex Ford and a handful of outcasts who call themselves the "Camel Club".

Evoking thoughts of Tom Clancy, this is a great thriller touching deep, painful contemporary matters. It's pacing is timely, characterization deep, and its narrative tense. Offering a thought-provoking, perhaps frightening view of our future struggles with terrorism, "Camel Club" is a definite thriller-junkie pleaser.

Customer Review: Baldacci Outdoes himself!

This is a don't miss book. Not only has Baldacci created a plot with such twists and turns as to make the reader absolutely giddy, he has created characters that are at once believable and quite amusing. This page-turner grabs the reader from the first paragraph and keeps the reader turning pages until the last word.

Iraq War Crimes: Imperial Life in the Emerald City

2007-12-19T11:11:00.001-08:00

Imperial Life in the Emerald City

An unprecedented account of life in Baghdad's Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of towering plants, posh villas, and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq.

The Washington Post-s former Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran takes us with him into the Zone: into a bubble, cut off from wartime realities, where the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competed with the distractions of a Little America-a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a disco where women showed up in hot pants, a movie theater that screened shoot--em-up films, an all-you-could-eat buffet piled high with pork, a shopping mall that sold pornographic movies, a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs, and a snappy dry-cleaning service-much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and internal documents, Chandrasekaran tells the story of the people and ideas that inhabited the Green Zone during the occupation, from the imperial viceroy L. Paul Bremer III to the fleet of twentysomethings hired to implement the idea that Americans could build a Jeffersonian democracy in an embattled Middle Eastern country.

In the vacuum of postwar planning, Bremer ignores what Iraqis tell him they want or need and instead pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions-a flat tax, a sell-off of Iraqi government assets, and an end to food rationing. His underlings spend their days drawing up pie-in-the-sky policies, among them a new traffic code and a law protecting microchip designs, instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity production. His almost comic initiatives anger the locals and help fuel the insurgency.

Chandrasekaran details Bernard Kerik's ludicrous attempt to train the Iraqi police and brings to light lesser known but typical travesties: the case of the twenty-four-year-old who had never worked in finance put in charge of reestablishing Baghdad's stock exchange; a contractor with no previous experience paid millions to guard a closed airport; a State Department employee forced to bribe Americans to enlist their help in preventing Iraqi weapons scientists from defecting to Iran; Americans willing to serve in Iraq screened by White House officials for their views on Roe v. Wade; people with prior expertise in the Middle East excluded in favor of lesser-qualified Republican Party loyalists. Finally, he describes Bremer's ignominious departure in 2004, fleeing secretly in a helicopter two days ahead of schedule.

This is a startling portrait of an Oz-like place where a vital aspect of our government's folly in Iraq played out. It is a book certain to be talked about for years to come.

Technorati Tags:
Books, Kindle, Iraq, Emerald City

Crucial Confrontations (Kindle Edition)

2007-12-12T12:53:00.001-08:00

Crucial Confrontations

The authors of the New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations show you how to achieve personal, team, and organizational success by healing broken promises, resolving violated expectations, and influencing bad behavior

Discover skills to resolve touchy, controversial, and complex issues at work and at home--now available in this follow-up to the internationally popular Crucial Conversations.

Behind the problems that routinely plague organizations and families, youll find individuals who are either unwilling or unable to deal with failed promises. Others have broken rules, missed deadlines, failed to live up to commitments, or just plain behaved badly--and nobody steps up to the issue. Or they do, but do a lousy job and create a whole new set of problems. Accountability suffers and new problems spring up. New research demonstrates that these disappointments aren't just irritating, they're costly--sapping organizational performance by...'

Customer Review: Daily problems solutions

Confrontations with other people's ideas, opinions and actions are part of a daily routine. Books like "Crucial Confrontations" show us how it looks like when stakes are high and results could strongly influence our lives. Having such book "on our side" help us to confrontate daily challenges successfully. For both side's sake.

Customer Review: Great lessons for work and life

Having read both this book and "Crucial Conversations" more than once, let me say that they are both worth reading more than once! In its latest reading, I used this book for a book study at work, guiding my team (I'm their boss) through the book and the lessons in the book. The team had been largely dysfunctional, had serious problems with communication, apparently had no idea of how to deal with confrontations, and might very well have imploded completely. Over the course of a few months, we read this book chapter by chapter (with some breaks), discussed each of the lessons, and started to put them into play.

Today, the team communicates far better, has become highly functional, has improved their interpersonal skills, and are a joy to work with.

Several of the team said that they were already starting to put some of the things they'd learned into practice in their personal lives, and I can see them applying them at work daily.

The lessons that you can glean from this book are HUGE. If you find yourself struggling to have real conversations about issues small and large, if you have a relationship that is in some jeopardy, or if you just want to be more effective in a leadership or teaming role, read these books.

For instance, the idea of mastering your stories... what is it that you assume about the motivations of the other person, and how do those assumptions generate feelings which drive YOUR behaviors? Learning about your "stories", how to discuss them with others, and how that affects you could be the start of something wonderful for you.

Read these books. Now.

Technorati Tags:
Kindle, Amazon, confrontations, crucial confrontations, teamwork, problem solving

James Patterson: 1st to Die (Women's Murder Club)

2007-12-09T11:09:00.001-08:00

1st to Die (Women's Murder Club)

Four women--four friends--share a determination to stop a killer who has been stalking newlyweds in San Francisco. Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.

But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving each other a hand. The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered--before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong.

Full of the breathtaking drama and unforgettable emotions for which James Patterson is famous, 1st to Die is the start of a blazingly fast-paced and sensationally entertaining new series of crime thrillers.

Customer Review: Surprised

I have never read a James Patterson novel before this one. I was pleasently surprised at how good the book turned out to be. The book was face paced and kept you guessing until the end. I already have gone out and bought book two and three. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Kindle-version now available - as usual just click the cover to order it!

Have a great Sunday!

Technorati Tags:
Kindle, James Patterson, Womans Murder Club, Books

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (for Kindle)

2007-12-08T04:18:00.001-08:00

Pride and Prejudice

Welll.... needless to say anything about this one. A MUST have in any collection and one of the books which should not be missing on any Kindle...

BTW - it is almost for free!

Cormac McCarthy: The Road (Oprah's Book Club)

2007-12-07T05:46:00.001-08:00

The Road (Oprah's Book Club)
A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food -- and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

Customer Review: Masterpiece

The Road is simply one of the best stories I've ever read. And, I have hundreds in my collection. McCarthy deserves the recent accolades and honors. This is a fine piece of fiction, in every way - worthy of the 2006 Pulitzer.

In general, The Road is a story of a father's love that grabs you by the heart - via a pair of filthy, desperate, sweet hands - and squeezes until the very end and then clenches one last time for good measure. It's an emotive journey of desperation across a cruel and unforgiving landscape that is vaguely familiar, yet as barren as the surface of the moon.

It's a worn out advertising cliche to say it, but: If you only read one book this year, let it be The Road.

Technorati Tags:
Kindle, The Road, Cormac McCarthy, Ophra Book Club

Elizabeth Same: Soldier's Heart

2007-12-06T00:49:00.001-08:00

Soldier's Heart
"Elizabeth D. Samet and her students learned to romanticize the army "from the stories of their fathers and from the movies." For Samet, it was the old World War II movies she used to watch on TV, while her students grew up on Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan. Unlike their teacher, however, these students, cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, have decided to turn make-believe into real life.
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West Point is a world away from Yale, where Samet attended graduate school and where nothing sufficiently prepared her for teaching literature to young men and women who were training to fight a war. Intimate and poignant, Soldier's Heart chronicles the various tensions inherent in that life as well as the ways in which war has transformed Samet's relationship to literature. Fighting in Iraq, Samet's former students share what books and movies mean to them-the poetry of Wallace Stevens, the fiction of Virginia Woolf and J. M. Coetzee, the epics of Homer, or the films of James Cagney. Their letters in turn prompt Samet to wonder exactly what she owes to cadets in the classroom.
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Samet arrived at West Point before September 11, 2001, and has seen the academy change dramatically. In Soldier's Heart, she reads this transformation through her own experiences and those of her students. Forcefully examining what it means to be a civilian teaching literature at a military academy, Samet also considers the role of women in the army, the dangerous tides of religious and political zeal roiling the country, the uses of the call to patriotism, and the cult of sacrifice she believes is currently paralyzing national debate. Ultimately, Samet offers an honest and original reflection on the relationship between art and life."

Customer Review: Short book with a big impact

A few weeks ago this author was on my local NPR station and I was intrigued by the idea of her book and then I got out of my car and walked into a book store and there it was on the new arrivals pile. I'm not sure if I would have noticed it if not for the story on the radio but I'm glad I did. As a former Army officer who has dealt with some of the issues in this book I was pulled in by her stories of teaching at West Point, an institution I did not attend but have visited and those visits made her descriptions that much more palpable. This book will be a jumping off point to explore more of the references the author describes. I rarely find books that I can't put down but this was one of them.

Customer Review: An Exceptional Book

Elizabeth Samet is a civilian professor of English at West Point. The increase in the number of civilians teaching there was one of the innovations of Fletcher Lamkin, during his term as the WP dean of the academic board. When I taught there, as a reserve officer, in 1967-9 there was only one civilian instructor in English, a woman who taught the plastic arts. Dr. Samet is a Yale Ph.D. and her (to some, curious) career choice of a position at West Point is one of the many stories which constitute this book.

She is able to accomplish several things here. She provides a vivid sense of the WP ethos, along with the `newer' ethos which includes women cadets, civilian professors, majors, minors, and a rich array of electives. She provides sketches and portraits of a number of her students and a number of her military colleagues. She reports on their communications with her as they move on in their careers, to and from war zones and, for some, to civilian life. The book is a mini-memoir and mini-autobiography. Most of all it is a long reflection on the relationship between literature and life, literature and the military, literature and war.

What is most impressive about the book is the fact that it is so accessible. Its materials are complex but they are presented in a manner that is instructive, moving and compelling. This is a book for everyone interested in literature, for everyone interested in soldiers and for everyone interested in West Point. I recommend it highly.

Technorati Tags:
Kindle, Elizabeth Same, Soldier's Heart

The Navigator (NUMA Files)

2007-12-04T12:50:00.001-08:00

The Navigator (NUMA Files)
Years ago, an ancient Phoenician statue known as the Navigator was stolen from the Baghdad Museum, and there are men who would do anything to get their hands on it. Their first victim is a crooked antiquities dealer, murdered in cold blood. Their second very nearly is a UN investigator who, were it not for the timely assistance of Austin and Zavala, would now be at the bottom of a watery grave.

What's so special about this statue? Austin wonders. The search for answers will take the NUMA team on an astonishing odyssey through time and space, one that encompasses no less than the lost treasures of King Solomon, a mysterious packet of documents personally encoded by Thomas Jefferson, and a top secret scientific project that could change the world forever.

And that's before the surprises really begin . . .

Rich with all the hair-raising action and endless invention that have become Cussler's hallmarks, The Navigator is Clive's best yet.

Customer Review: Pure Dross Instead of Escapist Fun

Years ago, I came to the conclusion that Clive Cussler had a totally tin ear, wrote the worst love scenes in the world, and wasn't so great at "page turning suspense" either but...I read The Navigator after I realized he had obtained a ghost writer.

The ghost can't write even worse than Cussler can't write. This particular plot, revolving around Phoenecians in Harrisburg, PA (yes, you read that right) failed to suspend disbelief. Forget the characters. They were so muscular, gorgeous, and wooden that they made the plot seem believable in comparison. See, it goes like this: the Queen of Sheba's descendant beds down with the NUMA operative in between her various kidnappings (the lady gets hit over the head more often than Wiley Coyote) by another of King Solomon's spawn and---

There was one odd thing about this amazingly bad book: Cussler, having managed to have Phoenecians hand-carry golden plates on which are supposedly written the supposed ten commandments all the way into the Endless Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, totally misses a trick. At this point, our ancient mariners aren't far from Hill Cumora. Since Cussler was already accounting for the first landing in the New World, solving the puzzles of Phoenecian navigation, addressing the importance of the Queen of Sheba, locating King Solomon's Mines, and solving the mystery of the disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant, why didn't his Phoenicians cross into upstate New York and bury the plates near the home of Joseph Smith?

Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression

2007-12-03T05:08:00.001-08:00

Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp.

So begins Mildred Kalish's story of growing up on her grandparents' Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering.

Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed--and valiantly tried to impose--all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared.

Filled with recipes and how-tos for everything from catching and skinning a rabbit to preparing homemade skin and hair beautifiers, apple cream pie, and the world-s best head cheese (start by scrubbing the head of the pig until it is pink and clean), Little Heathens portrays a world of hardship and hard work tempered by simple rewards. There was the unsurpassed flavor of tender new dandelion greens harvested as soon as the snow melted; the taste of crystal clear marble-sized balls of honey robbed from a bumblebee nest; the sweet smell from the body of a lamb sleeping on sun-warmed grass; and the magical quality of oat shocking under the light of a full harvest moon.

Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a "hearty-handshake Methodist" family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish's memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like "quite a romp."

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Review: Sweet Read!

I just saw this Author at our local library. She was a doll and I wish I could sit down with her and chat all afternoon! The book was from the heart genuine and easy to read. I wish I could click my heals and travel back to life when it was simple and honest and people were REAL... What a neat time to grow up in...READ IT and dream!

Customer Review: Christmas Purchase

This purchase was made for the purpose of a Christmas gift. I had no difficulty locating the item and I appreciate the prompt delivery of a product in excellent shape. Thank you.

Warriors: Power of Three, Book 1: The Sight

2007-12-02T04:55:00.001-08:00

Warriors: Power of Three #1: The Sight (Warriors: Power of Three, Book 1)
"There will be three, kin of your kin . . .

The wild cats have flourished in their new home on the banks of the lake for several seasons, and the Clans are growing strong and healthy with new kits. The time has come for three kits of ThunderClan to become apprentices.

Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw spring from a strong legacy: children of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, two of the noblest ThunderClan warriors, and grandchildren of the great leader Firestar himself. All three young cats possess unusual power and talent and seem certain to provide strength to the Clan for the next generation.

But there are dark secrets around the three, and a mysterious prophecy hints at trouble to come. An undercurrent of rage is rising against those who are not Clanborn, and the warrior code is in danger of being washed away by a river of blood. All the young cats' strength will be needed if the Clans are to survive.

. . . who hold the power of the stars in their paws."

Customer Review: Erin Hunter is losing her touch...

The first series of warriors were the best books i have ever read. Firestar made a very likable main character, with a wide variety of great characters throughout, either challenging him. Tigerstar was a chillingly evil villain, that really made the danger seem real. The second series saw almost all the remaining characters of the first series die, leaving us with some new and not very well developed characters. Brambleclaw was a cool main charcter, and the third person narrative around Bramblepaw in Twighlight and Dawn was almost like seeing what Tigerstar felt when he was trying to take over Thunderclan. But it still wasn't as good as the first series. Now we have another series of Warriors that has went another generation away from Firestar. Actually i was surprised by how much the style of this series was like that of the first one. i think that all of the Warriors books are worth a read, and if Erin Hunter continues to write this way, she may save her novels from coming to a very boring end.

Heartsick

2007-11-30T13:34:00.001-08:00

Heartsick

Damaged Portland detective Archie Sheridan spent ten years tracking Gretchen Lowell, a beautiful serial killer, but in the end she was the one who caught him. Two years ago, Gretchen kidnapped Archie and tortured him for ten days, but instead of killing him, she mysteriously decided to let him go. She turned herself in, and now Gretchen has been locked away for the rest of her life, while Archie is in a prison of another kind---addicted to pain pills, unable to return to his old life, powerless to get those ten horrific days off his mind. Archie's a different person, his estranged wife says, and he knows she's right. He continues to visit Gretchen in prison once a week, saying that only he can get her to confess as to the whereabouts of more of her victims, but even he knows the truth---he can't stay away. When another killer begins snatching teenage girls off the streets of Portland, Archie has to pull himself together enough to lead the new task force investigating the murders. A hungry young newspaper reporter, Susan Ward, begins profiling Archie and the investigation, which sparks a deadly game between Archie, Susan, the new killer, and even Gretchen. They need to catch a killer, and maybe somehow then Archie can free himself from Gretchen, once and for all. Either way, Heartsick makes for one of the most extraordinary suspense debuts in recent memory.

Customer Review: A Book You Will Never Forget; I'd Give it 4-1/2 Stars if I Could.

I feel a lot of the reviews so far are rather unfair. I think this is a better book than some have reported. I would give it 4 and 1/2 stars if I could. First, I don't think comparing this to "Silence of the Lambs" is particularly accurate or helpful. I also think, maybe, it might have been the excruciatingly detailed and sometimes horrific torture scences that has "set some people off." I read so many books that at the end of the year I find there are only a scant few that stand out in my mind and I can vividly recall. This will be one that I remember forever! I did not think the characters were one dimensional as some have said. Archie, for example, was the most compelling of complex characters. I was never bored for a minute. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. As for the ending, as endings go (so many are disappointing), I thought this was as good or better than most. I wonder how those who complained could have ended it better. If you are not squeamish, I would definitely recommend this story.

Customer Review: Fast and entertaining

People have been saying that they're disappointed with this book. Yes it is reminiscent of one of literature's best serial killer Hannibal Lector. And yes, the book is fast-paced and direct to the point. But really, is there anything wrong with that? I had a great time reading Heartsick, it delivered everything I was looking for. I can't wait to read the next installment and will be recommending this one to friends.

After having almost died at the hands of Gretchen, The Beauty Killer, Archie is still distraught by the events that happened to him. Not only are is life and health a complete mess, but his mind is as well. He cannot get the image of Gretchen out of his head. As a matter of fact, he still goes to see her every Sunday. Why? It is never really made clear.

But there is a new killer on the loose. Someone is abducting high school girls. All of them are found murdered. The mayor asks Archie to come back to the force to lead the case. That's where he meets Susan, a reporter who's asked to follow Archie and his squad as they try to catch the killer. Susan is rebellious but her role quickly becomes predominant in the case.

Although Gretchen is mostly seen through flashbacks, her presence is very real and present throughout the book. To the fact that it almost becomes terrifying to read what she did to Archie when she was holding him captive. We almost get to understand his addiction with Gretchen after a while. She's such a mystery, such a horrible yet enticing presence...

Angels & Demons

2007-11-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

Angels & Demons

From the acclaimed author of Digital Fortress comes an explosive international thriller that careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.

Customer Review: Thrilling!

If you enjoy action and thrillers, you'll love this book! From the first to the last chapter, I couldn't help but to eat it all up. The main character, John Langdon, reminds me of a cross between Carl Jung and Indiana Jones. While I didn't verify his facts nor cared to, I found this book to be similar to a Die Hard movie. Full of action with incredible stunts. If you read this book for the entertainment aspect and not for facts, you'll have a great read from beginning to end!

Customer Review: great book

If you liked the DaVinci code you'll love this one. It's a must read for mystery lovers.