Arts Books

A fun, quirky book with little bits of information about everything and anything from information about the use of herbs to accupressure to how to keep children entertained(!).

The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and the how-to pics are somehow instructionally explicit and simple to follow without being cluttered and illegible.

Part comic book, part philosophy, part mystery, and all fun. Don't take it too seriously, but enjoy the ride!

I bought this as a gift due to the reviews. All I got was a comic book written by someone at a high-school level of thinking. Be suspicious of the positive reviews. I'll try to return this book - or I'll throw it out.

This book is great...it has everything from tying knots, workout regimens, motivational anecdotes, all the way to macrobiotics and sex-enhancing techniques! This is by far the ultimate everything book! I was looking through a copy that one of my friends had and went to both Borders and Barnes & Noble, but they never seem to stock the neat titles I find! I immediately came home and ordered the book on Amazon.com and it came quick, in great shape, great transaction, great book!

This book is full of great and interesting ways to accentuate your health and well being. Although you might want to really delve deeper with other volumes, this one is a great and diverse reference for asian health techniques.

A manual for everyone to have to refer to for various life experiences. I recommend everyone to have this as a part of their survival kit in everyday life.

As a freshman in college, the concept of religion can be a very distant one. A man who is a leader of a spiritual organization on campus highly recommended CS Lewis, beyond the Chronicles of Narnia, and finally I decided I would see what the interest was about. I cannot believe I waited so long to experience such a fantastic author and truly wonderful books. If you are a life-long Christian, someone open to the concept of religion and looking to explore, or just someone who wants several great stories to read, this collection is unbeatable. Over 750 pages and seven stories that will challenge the reader, both spiritually and intellectually. I highly, highly recommend this book.

While it seems that many of C.S. Lewis' works have been compiled into collections since their initial publications, this particular collection might be one of the best available at the moment. That is, this collection might offer a comparatively larger bang for one's buck. Each of the titles contained within this single volume are more than worth their weight in gold, making the collection as a whole priceless. One should realize, however, that if the collective work is approached as one large, continuous reading, it might be seen as a tremendous undertaking. As large as the actual book might be, one should not be intimidated by its size, and feel comfortable tackling each of the separate texts as if it were independent from the larger collection if not only to avoid rushing in an attempt to reach its end.

To avoid an unnecessarily long review, one might be best served, if at all interested, to examine the reviews available for each of the individual titles contained within this compilation. Beyond this it should be mentioned that while these are appropriately dubbed Lewis' signature classics, much of his work is omitted from this collection. A few additional suggestions if one is interested in this author are The Four Loves, Surprised by Joy, Letters to Malcolm, and God in the Dock among many, many others. Again, this collection is a legitimate bargain considering the wealth of knowledge it contains and the comparative price of purchasing each separately...or never inquiring at all.

This is truly a life changing book. What an incredible mind C S Lewis had. It has been an honor to have the opportunity to read this collection. I won't stop until I have read everything I can find about, or by C S Lewis.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in C.S. Lewis!! Very handy to have all of these classics in one volume. Easy to read print also makes it hard to put down!! If you've long enjoyed the works of C.S. Lewis, or if you are new to him (like me!), you will not be disappointed with this purchase!!

C. S. Lewis held such a brilliant God-given imagination, that ALL his works tickle the mind in places that one didn't even know existed! His writings will have you laughing until you hurt one minute, and the next minute so full of spiritual sobriety that the on-going, unseen (yet very "felt") battle raging around us becomes crystal clear.

It is far and few between when a book will call me back to it when I walk away. It is not often that I find such joy and delight when I can finally pick it up again--almost feeling a guilty pleasure when there are so many chores to do and work to be done!

What a brilliant mind this author had. What a blessing he was to our planet! My children love his works.

Carrie Lynn Jones
Author of: It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers

The author did a fantastic job with this book. It is a must-have for fiction writers.

James Scott Bell does a great job of dissecting the basics of plot and structure. Even writers who've been working for a while will find plenty of useful information in the book - especially in the chapter on generating story ideas.

Beginning writers, or writers who are just now starting to hone their craft will find tons of good advice including the basics of outlining, working with plot in various drafts, viewing plot as a vital part of your story, and knowing how and when to make the plot work to it's best advantage.

This book along with a dictionary, thesaurus and Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" should be on every writer's bookshelf.

If you're thinking about writing fiction, this book is a "must have." In order for a writer to write page one, he needs to know where he's going, and how he's going to get there. This book systematically walks you right through the entire process. I found it to be very beneficial in not only answering the how's but also the why's. It intoduced ideas and thoughts that I had never considered before that am sure will make my writing better. I would recommend this book as a prerequisite to anyone interested in writing good fiction. I found it to be well worth the time and money, as are all of the other books in this series.

Great advice and generous tips. Finally I understand the three-act structure, and the notion of creating suspenseful fiction doesn't seem so daunting. Thanks.

What this book should be called is 'How to Sell Your Soul for a Monetarily-Successful Writing Career: Now in 14 Intensely Dull Chapters!'. Bell goes on and on about 'connecting with the reader', but it's really just a thinly-veiled way of saying 'sell a lot of copies'. Which is fine, I guess, but it gets old.

Even disregarding that aspect of it, it's not that what Bell has to say is all bad; he does discuss a lot of important principles. But if one has ever taken any kind of writing class at all, or even simply read a book, one should be able to figure it out on one's own. Essentially, this is a book for the people who didn't pay attention in high school English.

I really love this book. I read The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting What You Want first, because based on the title it had more to do with my situation than the other books in the series. I enjoyed it, but I have to say this book is better. Even if, like me, you have no real desire to go on a road trip, this book is hilarious inspiring. It quickly had me excited to pee outdoors, lie about my name, and sneak into empty motel rooms to take a free shower (this coming from a girl who normally obeys speedlimits, pays bills promptly, and is always so polite and tragically walked all over by authority figures). If you're looking for something to inspire your inner wild woman burried under layers and layers of social niceties, and rules about ladylikeness, this is the book.

My freshman year of college I took a trip to New Orleans with my roommate. Her mom lent us her minivan and left this book and a bag of marshmallows on the floor of the car. Six hours in a car had never passed so quickly! This book makes long drives of monotonous highway FUN. I wouldn't say it's a cover-to-cover read. Just pack it with your car snacks and flip through the pages to have some fun. Next time, I'll be sure to add a couple squirt guns to my supplies list.

Funny yet practical ideas on making the most of your trip trip when you just want to get away from the everyday stuff. Where to park overnight to sleep if you have to. How to get out of stuff, like speeding tickets. Where to take a shower or clean up while on the road.

Some stuff I would never be brave enough to try, like egging on a policeman by swigging a NA beer in front of them while you're driving! Why take that chance? We can get ourselves in trouble in lots of other ways besides having to interact with the cops on purpose! Good advise on where to bring your car if you're having car trouble. Funny dress up ideas if you want to exhibit a "road persona". Think Thelma and Louise. Now, if only I had that classic muscle car...

My girlfriend and I saw this book at Borders and had to sit down and check it out. We laughed so hard we nearly got kicked out of the cafe. People were staring. The smart ones came up and asked what we were reading and got their own copy. If you have a wacky sense of humor, this is your book!

A friend lent me this small, vinyl-covered pink book, and I read it in about two days. It's a fun, comedic chick guide for the all-American road trip, packing one-liners and humorous drawings in side-by-side with suggestions for trip destinations and crazy traveling advice. The book encourages girls to get out of the ruts in their lives and hit the highway with their favorite tunes. Packing light, eating junk, picking up cute hitchikers, and taking wild friends are must-dos, according to Tuttle. While most of the book's suggestions (such as using marshmallows to plug a muffler hole or jam a parking meter) are totally implausible, they do provide a few laughs. Not on my must-read list, but a nice, quick little book if you need a light pick-me-up.

The only thing that saddens me about this movie, aside from the heartbreaking climax of a brutal attack that you must simply see to savor, along with the fact that this priceless artifact never made it to the "Big Screen" was poor advertising.

If this movie had been properly advertised, I would have been PERFECT for it's time, making movies like "Making Love," "Parting Glances", and "'Broke Back Mountain"

Harvey Fierstein wrote, directed, and produced this Broadway adaption of his fine work from the stage, and brought to the big screen, SEAMLESSLY, although Harvey of course, in his adorable self-deprecating humour, denies it all, making his quiet private demeanor a stark contrast to his "Diva" like status as a performer.

It's just no use to even try to explain this movie, for I personally, PERSONALLY believe one must be a young gay male in this country to have been raised from the 50's to the early 70's, when homosexuality was a "sickness" that must be cured.

Shudder...

Don't EVEN get me started on that subject.

Later, I may go and edit this review, as I have many times, but alas, I have other things to do in my nonstop, hectic life. Dog to walk, couch pillows to rotate...you know how it is.

I can't tell you how much I love Torch Song Trilogy. I can honestly say I love this more than Brokeback Mountain. Now before anyone starts ragging on me, I'll tell you why. Trilogy shows that gay people are just as vulnerable to hurt, joy, and humanity as straight people. Fierstein's character isn't afraid to take on the world even when it is hostile and violent toward him. He displays strength and compassion and never loses his sense of humor, no matter how despairing and bleak it gets. Now don't get me wrong, I love BBM but Arnold Beckoff has strength and resilience in a way that Ennis Del Mar could only dream of. Mountain was a wonderful film but like all major gay love stories it always has to end tragically with the death of one of the characters. Trilogy showed that while Arnold experienced the loss of a loved one, he also fought and gained an old flame who finally came to his senses. It would be nice for mainstream gay themed films to have characters that are unafraid to take on the world and fight for that respect. Instead we get gay characters who are the subjects of ill humor or tragedies that make people think twice about falling in love. I can also add that this is one of the better films of the overblown 1980s (I also believe the 80s was probably one of the worst decades for movies).

I would call this Torch Song Tragedy, which is constituted by the actuality of the subject. In spite of all the time passed it still matches mainstream America's perception of gays.
I saw this movie many years ago and it moved me even today.

A quadruple all star cast topped off by Anne Bancroft and harvey fierstein. The story about a gay guy, whose Mom loves him, but wishes he wasn't. Harvey Fierstein's performance as gay Arnold gives a performance of a lifetime. He has never been better and will never be better.Being a gay female impersonator in New York confronts him with daily challenges, crisis', brief moments of happiness and loads of grief. This is a down to earth flick that tells the story, I'm a person and I deserve to live too. Once a Broadway play and now a film too good to miss

Ever since seeing him accept the Tony for his adaptation of "La Cage" I have had a tremendous admiration for the sheer creative genius of Harvey Fierstein. But "Torch song Trilogy" has got to be the icing on the cake; the cream on the top of Mt. Everest; the spark that set off Guy Fawlks Day on the 5th of November in London!

And as if the tale wasn't enough, that fantastic narration by Mr. Fierstein at the end of the film was just by far and away the best "special feature" I have ever had the pleasure of hearing! (Normally I avoid listening to a narrative over a movie I have only just watched!!)

And although I think the late and great Anne Bankroft was superb as the mother, I confess I would like to have seen Estelle Getty in the performance extolled by the author.

As a totally "square" viewer of this performance, I would hazzard a guess that in another 50 years or so "Torch Song" will have reached the level of film classics. The death scene of Matthew Broderick in the story was simply devastating!

For sheer entertainment and creative competence, my vote would have to go to Mr. Fierstein.