Clubs Books

This book "Proves that good things come in small packages." This book has "emotion and the unexpected turns will put tears in your eyes". Buy it today!

A Better Place Literary Fiction/Short Stories written by K.J. Stevens These thoughtfully written and arranged stories have a tough, no non-sense feel to them. At the same time they present beautifully sad revelations that are easy to identify with. The stories carry the reader up then bring the reader down with care and intelligence rarely found in young writers (at 29 Stevens is younger than most of his contemporaries). A good, solid read.

KJ Stevens very ambititious work, loved the spirited characters, and how all the stories are brought together. This book stays with you long after you turn the final page.

K.J. Stevens sets himself apart from other modern day writers with this collection of short stories that shows the deeper meaning of the little things in life. His superb prose and intense descriptions puts you in the life of his characters and reminds you that being alive is a wonderful thing. With this kind of brilliant storytelling capability, we are sure to see more of K.J. Stevens in the future.

Written in simple, evocative prose, I was reminded of my youth growing up in Vermont. Steven's examines, love, family, and life in his collection of short stories. Perhaps the worst part of living, is knowing you cannot retrace the past. Once a moment passes, it is gone - whether good or bad, that moment will never occur again. Steven's looks beyond the sophisticated life dwellers with a telling eye of detail, and captures those moments in time that should be appreciated. Unlike David Sedaris, who likes to laugh at life, this author embraces life and spiritiality. A must read for those of us wandering through life worshiping the wrong things.

Joel's book held my interest and kept me laughing, especially the his stories and mishaps in Vietnam. You'll espeically like and will laugh about the pickle juice! Great reading!

You'll enjoy this one. Brace yourselves for the ride of a lifetime. Great laughs as the trickster brother rides again. He'll bring you into a relm that lights up your life!

From a boy in the streets to a man in the Jungle. Joel struggle's with life just to stay alive. Striking a deal with God in a rice paddy, Joel forgets the deal and goes on to a hippy infested lifestyle, until a knock in the head brings him back to reality. Great reading for all!! Buster Curtsinger

This is a real life story of Joel Russell . Once you start to read it you don't want to stop until you finish the book. It keeks you intertained from start to finish.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It captivated my attention. It talks of life, and humor in the midst of suffering,joy in the midst of pain and the sacrifices oneself has to do for others. This story is of a man who in the midst of horror and fear, served his country with honor. Veteran or not, you will enjoy this true story of life and the battles that sometimes go with it.

The people that Joseph Mitchell introduces the reader to in these character sketches are representative of a New York that no longer exists and their stories are nostalgic and sentimental. But there is more here than that. Mitchell writes with a respect for his subjects regardless of their circumstances that reveals a true observer of life at work. Without a hint of judgementalism he takes the time to understand and the reader is rewarded and enriched as a result.
This collection is particulary good and Up In The Old Hotel contains more of the same style. The latter book is more readily available although I found a copy of this at the Strand bookstore off Union Square.

Joseph Mitchell--The New Yorker fact writer, whose birth, in North Carolina, 100 years ago is being celebrated by the reissue of this 1959 collection--was deeply versed in classical literature and in the fiction of James Joyce, and he loved the populist death art of Posada. He didn't let any of them get in the way of his journalism, though: they fueled his imagination, but he didn't require that they fuel ours, too. Anyone who reads for the first time the six New York waterfront and river stories in "The Bottom of the Harbor" is given everything needed to absorb what Mitchell has to say on every level in the prose, itself. And such beautiful prose it is--full of rhythmic texture and patience, of lists as melodious as scat singing, and of knowledge worn so lightly it can only be felt. Sometimes, Mitchell's writing is so seamless that it doesn't even seem human: it is both very modern and evocatively biblical in that way.
Mitchell was unquenchably curious about everything and everyone connected with the harbor, beginning with the hard-working fishermen and other workers, whom he presents with sympathy and matchless skill. And, yet, the human interest here is only one layer of his marvelous literary constructions. A strong recurring theme is the wasteful degradation of the environment in search of commercial gain. Another is the frailty of any individual life. Yet another is the poetry produced by the artless arrangement of names for fish or for wildflowers. And still another is the magic of stories, and of stories within stories, and of stories within stories within stories--the magic of suspended time. Although some of what Mitchell mourns has actually since improved, such as the ability of the Gowanus Canal to support underwater life, for the most part the New York harbor of 2008 has lost much of what he chronicled elegically 50 or 60 years ago. Even so, Mitchell's world--personal, individual, reflective, informed, invested with considerations of mortality shot through with graveyard wit--remains vital and real and so accessible that it would be dangerous to let high school, much less college students get their hands on the book. It might prompt a tragic optimism in them that it's possible to make a living as journalists by trying to write this way, a possibility as long gone as the once-thriving oyster beds around the shores of Manhattan.
A note about years: the pieces in "The Bottom of the Harbor" are arranged according to their tones and subject matter to make the book a good reading experience, rather than according to the chronology of their first magazine publications. If you look at them from the earliest to the latest, though, you find that the early ones are written in the omniscent third person and then, as the years go on, the voice goes into the first person, increasingly confiding on the page. "Mr. Hunter's Grave," first published in The New Yorker in September 1956, and described on the jacket flap as "widely considered to be the finest single piece of nonfiction to have ever appeared in the pages of The new Yorker," also ends on the darkest note. However, the book concludes with the youngest of the pieces, "The Rivermen," from 1959, whose ending, an apology from one man to another (also, as it happens, named Joe), reads: "'As far as I'm concerned,' he said, 'the purpose of life is to stay alive and to keep on staying alive as long as you possibly can.'" As the essayist and historian Luc Sante writes in his estimable forward to this centennial edition of "The Bottom of the Harbor": "This book of ostensibly journalistic feature stories turns out to hold at its core some of the fundamental questions of existence."

When Joseph Mitchell died in 1996 at the age of 87, the obituary that appeared in the New York Times, May 25, 1996, called him the "chronicler of the unsung and the unconventional." Mitchell began his career as a writer for The New York Herald Tribune in 1929. His career spanned the 1930s to the 1960s. He joined The New Yorker in 1938, and the pieces he contributed to that magazine have continued to gather momentum, taking on a life of their own. The six essays offered in this collection, a revised edition of The Bottom of the Harbor, were first published between 1944 and 1959.

Mitchell came to New York from rural North Carolina, and quickly found a fascination with life in the city. His essays, a combination of oral history, natural history, and psychological observation, reflect his love for the people and the surroundings of New York, with a special emphasis on fishermen and others involved in life around the harbor.

The first essay in the collection, "Up in the Old Hotel," is a kind of mystery--from a restaurant on the ground floor of a building near the Fulton Fish Market, Mitchell leads the reader to wonder along with him what the abandoned floors above may hold. It is this idea of mystery, things hidden from view, which permeate his stories. Whether he is describing the rat infestations on board ships in the harbor or the wild flowers growing in graveyards, his eye for detail is captivating. The narrative in each essay unfolds slowly, following a kind of wandering trajectory like the paths Mitchell takes to visit the individuals whose stories he relates with charm.

The Bottom of the Harbor is a book to be enjoyed slowly. The characters and settings are vividly drawn. The historical detail will delight those readers with an interest in New York's past, and the oral histories will captivate those readers who have a penchant for dialogue and psychology.

Armchair Interviews says: First-class essays all will enjoy.

He really does take you places. Places you may have been before, but in a time we'll never know again. As I'm reading, I'm careful to catch every word, afraid of missing out on the world he's revealing to me.

This is the first I've ever read of Mitchell, but he's already one of my favorite authors. Journalism at its finest.

There are so many good things I could say about The Bottom of the Harbor. Mitchell's writing style is clean easy to read without lacking in depth and texture. The stories themselves are fascinating and off beat.

But the best part of the book are the characters Mitchell writes about. They come alive through his portrayals and you will find yourself thinking about them, their thoughts, and their ways of life long after you stop reading.

The book contains six separate stories, each about 40 (short) pages long, so you can absorb them at your own pace without losing the thread. Personally, I had a hard time putting the book down.

I picked up my issue from Diane while attending the Art in the Park show in Plymouth MI. After reading just a small write up without opening the book, I felt a connection. Little did I know how much of the book seemed to have mirrored much of the last 17 years of my life.

The story, the characters, the lesson learned (for those like myself that see one even if it wasn't necessarily there) this book is one to be shared with others. In a different way it was hard to put this book down for the most basic reasons which is why I still read it cover to cover yesterday.

Well done and thank you Diane, I look forward to reading more of your work.

From the pink pillbox hat that reminds the main character of her grandmother to the pinch of sand held in a locket, the small details makes the story endearing. Sure to be a success, The Boy's Club is not to be missed.

Diane Dignan creates a memorable character in Alex, a young woman who finds herself challenged on all fronts in her life - from her mother, to her love life, her own grief over the loss of her father and to top it all off, a precarious situation at the office. Diane has crafted a strong character who seems to still be a bit of a hopeless romantic, and very endearing. I found myself really enjoying the journey Alex takes.

I really enjoyed reading this book . This is a story to really warm the heart.Once I picked up this book I could not put it down.It felt so good to read a book that I could feel like I was a part of. You will feel an attachment to these characters as you get into the story. A wonderful read I recommmend this book to all.

I found that The Boys' Club was riveting. I recommend it to any lady who remembers what hitting the glass ceiling is like, and how much it hasn't changed. The Good Ole Boy Network still runs the majority of the businesses, and women must be careful in how they present themselves and how they climb the corporate ladder to achieve the same results as men. I liken The Boys' Club to my business experience while living in Houston, Texas during the 1980's. Thanks Diane for a job well-done and written exceptionally well.

When I first took it out from the library, I thought that it would be a stupid story. Boy, was I ever wrong! It's really, really good. Nikki is a wonderful character, and so are Tori, Jill, and Danielle. As Nikki tries to juggle being popular at her new school, four hours of skating a day, mastering a double flip and making new friends, readers will laugh and sympathize with her ups and downs. A great beginning to a great series. And it really focuses on skating, and is very clear with the skating lingo. This book persuaded me to take up figure skating!

I have an 8-year-old "future Olympian" (just ask her) and this series has given her a broader look at what a committment serious skating takes. Although a bit superficial, the plots are realistic to younger children and cover some great topics (i.e. anorexia, time committment, losing touch with school friends, etc.) We are only a few books into the series, but it is really opening her eyes as to what it will take to "make it."

As a parent, I usually try to pre-read one book from a series before introducing it to my daughters. These days, you just can't trust everything. If this book is any indication of the rest of the series, I would heartily recommend it to anyone without reservations.

A little like the Babysitters Club, The Gymnasts, etc., this is a "club series" that focuses on serious ice skating. Children unfamiliar with ice skating terms will find them easily explained. The reality of the situation that Nikki found herself in with Tori is typical of the ice rink, but the subplots will be very familiar to those readers of Babysitters Club and The Gymnasts books - they're very predictable, as one other review said.

THIS DESERVES BETTER THAN TEN!!!! IT'S GREAT!!! IT TELLS ABOUT THE HARD TIMES AND THE FUN TIMES OF WORKING TOWARDS BEING AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION. I ADVICE ANYONE WHO LOVES TO SKATE TO READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi as someone who has watched and followed iceskating ever since she was born, so much so that I know the rules the moves read mags and stuff so much so as to accompany my friend to her skating sessions (even though I am desabled my self) I can safely tell you that this is one of the best books on iceskating that I have read.... I FINISHED IT IN HALF A DAY!!!!And a work day too... Enough said... BUY IT!!!!!I cannt wait till I read the rest of the series..

This is the greatest book in the United States of America. It is a fun book for people of all ages except if you can't read. It has a lot of pictures in it. The best picture is the one in chapter 5, another heartbreaker is the cover picture. I cried when little Timmy died. It just broke our hearts to see him go like that*sniff*.

This book inspired me to call all of my friends back and have coffee . I truly believe that it is a good book for people of all ages. This is one of Ms.Kelley's and her co-author Michael's
best work ever. They should plan on writing a sequel. ...

The Bridge Club is a good coming-of-age story. The protagonist, Kate, is a character with whom we can all relate: a high-strung teenager eager to change the world despite her limited views. The fervor with which she faces her struggles propels the reader through the climactic ending. All this-combined with the brilliant symbolism of a not-so-far-off storm, the bridge itself and the court of life-make for a thought-provoking read.

Happy, happy, joy, joy for Ms. Kelley! She wrote a book that inspired people around the world. It inspired us to write a book of our own this summer. It will be about our lives and reading a book that inspired us. And we shall dedicate to our favorite English teacher Ms. Kelly. It will be about a monster that made us read a book called "To kill a Bluejay", our title will be "The Highway club".
I hope we don't get in trouble for this and if anything we should get extra credit.PLEASE!

At & Am

"The Bridge Club" opens with an unnamed narrator gazing upon a shattered covered bridge some ten years after the main arc of the tale being told. The bridge plays a central role in the story to come and its broken state serves as a metaphor for the melancholy musings in the character's mind - of times, people, and places that now belong solely to the past. Descriptions of locations are given as contrasts between what is and what was, and into those differences are poured reflections on the invincibility of youth, of friendships, and good times that surely must last forever but somehow have diminished along with everything else and have passed into the oblivion of fading memory.

This prologue sets up the bittersweet tale that follows, a story of teenagers traversing through the certainty of their high school lives, grappling with the uncertainty of the days that will come after graduation. With the gloomy prologue casting its shadow over every aspect of the story, a foreboding sense of inevitability hangs over each page. What is not known though is what, if any, kind of victory might be drawn from a narrative whose conclusions find only tears and regrets ten years later. This is a credit to the authors, who give the readers a vague sense of the future that forewarns them of some things but surprises them all the more for the many twists of the tale and how the characters react to them.

Everything about "The Bridge Club" is accomplished. The teenagers sound like they ought to, seeing the world in black and white, and we marvel at the possibility that we might have seen things in such a way once upon a time. The adults speak like the parents and teachers we recall and perhaps have become, murky shades of grey. We read what the adults have to say half-understanding the ways in which they negotiate life's problems and half-wishing they were not so quick to dial down the ideals and dreams of their children and students. All the characters are well-written, defined by the struggle between idealism and compromise. This inner conflict provides the dominant theme of the book, and, framed by the prologue and subsequent epilogue, our own journey with "The Bridge Club" causes us to consider what we have given up in our lives, what we have lost, what we have gained, and most importantly we wonder if those parts of ourselves we cherish and have lost might be found again. "The Bridge Club" is a wonderful tale of adolescence into adulthood, and well-worth the time you invest in it.

I was entertained, which is rather important to me. What I enjoyed the most about this book was how it would look at every single word in the sentence without missing a single one... while at the same time not shoving White LIghter philosphy in your face Good job.

This book is an eye-opener! Mr. Chitty's translation of the Bible, which has always been cryptic to me, provided waves of "AHA!!!" moments. His in-depth research and analyses leave little room for doubt. I anxiously await the next book as the writer left me hungry for more!!

A totally absorbing and mind expanding experience. Taking you through the Old Testament John Chitty makes his case giving the reader, "a close encounter of the third kind," as the nature, identity and person of Yahweh is revealed. At the end you will say, "yes,how else could it be?" A must read for passage into the Aquarian Age.

As a person that is knowledgeable of scriptures, I was incredibly rewarded to read this book and see that it wasn't just myself that saw some scriptures that screamed 'more than your pastor is telling you'. There is such an obvious connection between angels, demons, UFO's, creation, miracles and technology. This is not for the closed minded Bible thumpers, but for those of us that are educated, rational and open to what is actually written in the Bible, not someone's interpretations (usually your parent's or pastor's). Mr Chitty is cautious, careful, specific and thorough in his analysis. This is not a casual read, but an end result of years of research and review, written in an easy to read and laboriously detailed outline of chronological, step by step, events as they are documented in the Bible and other ancient books of reference. These events and descriptions are not hidden, but blatantly clear. Mr Chitty points out things that you always wondered about-- and not just Ezekiel! It hits you to the core when you read this book and see it from an outside point of view, stepping aside of your cloak of religious beliefs. With our current knowledge of ancient religious beliefs and their origins, our historical knowledge of cave paintings, large scale stellar patterns on earth, even medieval tapestries showing UFO's, this book fits perfectly to connect the dots. With today's technology, we are finally able to comprehend and understand what the Bible is really saying. I would challenge anyone to read this book, even if it brings up endless discussions and questions. Most importantly, this book will challenge your core beliefs that have padded our lives with a faith that answers all those unanswerable questions. It provides a logical explanation to what we have glorified and conflicted over for centuries. Mr Chitty made no religious statements, absolutely none. But he sure makes you think about your own. Be prepared to be astounded.

You must be looking for a something that's a little different than your standard romance novel or Harry Potter book. You have found it with The Broken Bible. I personally have always felt there was more out there than half invisible ghosts with wings flapping around. What about the dinosaurs, UFO's, different cultures, and our technology burst in the past 100 years? There is too much that fits into place; like a giant jigsaw puzzle, John takes all the pieces from many sources and puts them together. This creates a more accurate image of the universe. His dedication to the logical and research truly shines in this book. After reading this book I guarantee you will never look at the moon the same way again!!!

If you're looking for a book to keep you laughing, this is it. The stories are real and funny. The characters are real and funny. It's about growing up in the South and the book is truly food for the Southerner's heart.

If you're looking for a book to keep you laughing, this is it. The stories are real and funny. The characters are real and funny. It's about growing up in the South and the book is truly food for the Southerner's heart.

I genuinely enjoyed this book. The stories reflect the true humor in simply being human, especially if you grew up in the South. I could have read 100 more of Mr. Adams artfully expressed stories....I hope to discover more of his work....and, yes...I actually DID go out and bring home some butter beans to further wallow in the nourishment of this read...

Joe Adams may be the funniest new voice in the South. The stories in this collection all make me laugh out loud, and I find myself reading them over and over again. Not only did I buy one for myself but have given it as gifts to friends who need a few laughs (and a few who didn't)

Joe Adam's "Butter Beans for the Soul" is a charming, laugh-out-loud read that will leave you with a smile on your face, and, as the title suggests, nourish the soul. This book is a collection of articles written for the author's hometown newspaper, "The Gaston Gazette" in North Carolina. The chapters are brief recollections and musings on growing up in a small, Southern town, as well as the author's humorous observations on his life today. With a heart and style as big as Mississippi's Willie Morris ("My Dog Skip"), Joe Adams tells us of the miracle of Television first coming to his small town; his grandmother stopping by the funeral parlor once a week to make sure her casket was still there (as the author notes, "Nobody had the heart to tell her it was a display model"); or taking his elderly cousins from the small town of Gastonia on a pilgrimage to Graceland in Memphis ("We've been here since 5 o'clock watching people go up and down on these glass elevators. We try to guess which floor people will get off. So far Mary's ahead'). He even locates an enchanted "healing springs" on his journeys that have been deeded outright to God. ("Although", he adds, "I don't know who pays the taxes. I would hate to see them try to foreclose on God for back taxes"). As life is a collection of moments, this witty collection of "snippets" -as the author calls them-provides warm insight and great humor into the author's rich life. All who read it will benefit from the joy contained within this book, and may find themselves craving a big bowl of butter beans once they're done.

My daugther has been strugling for the past four years since her divorce with four children, one with emotional problems, anger problems and learning problems. She cried a lot and said she didn't know where to turn to. Someone told me about this book and I let her read mine. She said she finally read a story sort of like hers and it gave her a lot of encouragement. Also, she is having a lot of problems with not enough money. The second part of the book provides a lot of money saving ideas that you can see in your budget when you follow the guidelines. The most important thing is that is written so she could understand it. She said the things she learn in the part called Let's Be Practical are things that are ordinary but she never would have thought of doing it. It really works, she said. Her voice sounded lighter than I had heard in a long time. I am sorry for parents cause I am one myself but I am so glad that this lady was willing to tell of her sorrow and heartbreak as well as the very positive and happy times so my daughter could be helped by it. I recommend this book to ALL PARENTS!

I found this book to be an example of how your everyday life can fall apart but with the guidance and help of God one can over come any obsticles that has been put in one's way. Throught reading this book I found myself seeing life throught the eyes of the author and experiencing what it was like for her. I found this book to be inspiring and influential in it's recommendations for living a christian life as a single parent with all the odds against you. I recommend this book to not only single parents but also to those thinking of becoming parents, thinking of getting married, or those who are married as a guide to help them understand what curve balls life can throw at you and how one can lean on God to help them through.

Orelia King wrote this review from my computer since she did not have one. Please understand that I do not review my own books. I did not want to appear dishonest. If you will look at the bottom of the last one with the information about daughter struggling, you will see Mrs. King's name.

As I read this book the message that I recieved from it was one of courage and determination to go on with everyday life even though where the means to go on where unknown however with God's help in providing the author always had everything that she needed for herself and her kids. They didn't always have the best of everything but they had each other and God and could do anything because of God. It is a great encouragement for single parents who have either divorced or been abandoned or widowed. It tells how one can survive and bring up a christian family with God's help.

This book is very valuable to anyone who reads it. I paused to consider my own lifestyle and how I needed to make some changes for the better. The powerful and emotional love this mother has for her sons, especially the special needs child, would make any mother's heart melt. As a social worker, I found it extremely effective to pass on to parents who were thinking about divorce. It has the ability to save marriages, make you realize just how good your own life really is as well as encourage single parents who think they just can't make it. I feel every minister or counselor needs this book added to their library. The information contained about increasing your buying power without another job is wonderful. I recommend every homemake that has the opportunity should purchase this book.

O. King School Social Worker

This is an excellent story about the Hardships of a Coal Mining camp in the British Isles and the social experience of a family that attempts to be "successful" within the framework of that system - and the futility of life there. The story is uplifting only in the Human aspect of their perseverance to make life better for themselves. A truly heart wrenching story if you have not read it. The miner's story is a story not often told. It demands a whole new sense of respect for those who have found themselves toiling for the rest of their countrymen in such an arduous pitiless endeavor. Thank you for looking.

I first read this book when it came out in paperback in the 70's. The binding was totally messed up the last time I tried to read it and I recently ordered a better copy on line. This is a book that I want my children to read. Crichton does a better job than most of portraying life in a UK coal mining town and how people with iron wills managed to survive, if not exactly prosper under adverse conditions. It is one of those books that should remind us all of how good we really have it compared to our forebearers. Reading this book is both a joy and an education for those that would like to regain their connection to the life of the common man.

I first read this about 25 years ago and remembered it being an oustanding read. It was better the second time around. Can't remember when I've been so "involved" in the lives of characters in a novel. Mr. Crichton captures the essence of a group better than anyone. A truly outstanding book.

It has been 27 years since I first read this book and it has always stood out in my mind as being one of my favorite works of fiction. From the first sentence to the last you will be captivated. It is such a shame that this book is out of print and is so hard to find at the libraries because it is a true treasure. I still have my original copy and believe me I'm afraid to lend it out. This book should be considered a classic!

The book haunts me. It has been weeded out of my library, and I can't find it anywhere.

It seems to be such a true thing. Gillan and Meggie, so far apart in nature, are equally compelling characters, and each of their children's personalities have been developed well.

Remembering my Great Uncle's accent, I was moved by even the language and syntax. In my childhood in Southern Illinois, we lived in a coal town. Classmate's fathers died in the mines sometimes, bazarr crafts involved shining chips of black coal. We burned it in the basement furnace for fuel, and I pulled many a glowing klinker from the flames to drop into a washtub until they cooled and were used to augment the sparse gravel in our driveway. So the story interested me greatly.

Since reading it, we have moved twice, and amidst the laughter of my family, I made sure we had a dark and handsome man as our "first-footer", for good luck. And I cannot read MacBeth without remembering the line where Gillan,reading it for the 3rd time underground, suddenly found Shakespeare to be beautiful....

I want this book again, to read again and to pass on to my boys.