Clubs Books

I was a little intimidated by the 700 pages and the numerous characters,but the great narration, the gritty detailing, and the fast moving pace made for a great read. I found myself quickly moving thrrough the book and regretting that the ending was coming up so fast. I loved it.

I got the book and couldn't put it down. Reads real well even though it's over 700 pages. An excellent plot with very realistic characters and some shocking story twists. The book gives a good insight into how the mob really works. If you're into reading great mob stories, then this book is a must.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about this book... never heard of Mr. DeVico; but I pickedp up a copy of his book and was very pleasantly surprised. The story really goes into the mob lifestyle, and there are some great "hit" scenes. If you like mob stuff, you should add this one to your collection. Primo stuff.

Unique offering here! I bought it for a friend's birthday in early April & she is still laughing. The Gumbo Degas recipe is one of the best Gumbos I've ever tasted. We're definitely going to collect the entire series!

A very entertaining cookbook, gay or straight you'll enjoy the spicy humor and the spicy food!

Trey Bienville gives new meaning to the phrase "Flaming Camp Fires" In addition to the mouthwatering recipes, there is the outrageous humor! A fun book with recipes like "Southern Decadence Shrimp Creole," "Mardi Gras Queen Cake," "Brandied Cherry Clafouti: From A Gay Vampire on St. Charles Avenue," & "Penelope's Pasta Jambalaya." Gay or straight, this book will keep you in stitches. Definitely the most unusual cookbook I've seen in some time. The dedication in the book reads "For Noah, Eli, Lennon & Croix, May your warm, sweet southern buns always be soft yet firm and buttered just right!" According to the book... future titles in this series will be called 1) "Gay Gourmet Goes Down Under," 2) "Trey Does Gay Paris" & 3 "San Francisco Queer Cuisine." It also says that Chef Trey studied culinary arts in the historic French Quarter of his hometown, New Orleans, Louisiana. A weird & wonderful addition to any collection!

Nice book series for my Granddaughter. I was pleased to be able to find all the titles in this series available from one source.

The Fortune Tellers Club is a delightful series by professional storyteller Dotti Enderle. This series, geared towards ages 9-12, features three best friends--Juniper Lynch, Anne Donovan, and Gena Richmond--who use divination to solve mysteries, explain relationships, and understand life experiences.

Supposedly haunted by "The Gray Lady", 701 Shady Lane is a two-story Victorian that's home to a chilling legend involving a gruesome suicide.

When the Fortune Tellers Club gets a school assignment to write a report on a landmark, Anne opts for "Boogerman's House"--the residence of the mysterious Gray Lady. Bringing along a digital camera and a good dash of bravery, Anne decides to explore the haunted house on Shady Lane. To her surprise, she sees a figure in the window--and captures it on film!

Does the image turn out to be legitimate? And what of the horrifying tale of old Mr. Nicholson where he recounts a childhood experience with the Gray Lady--complete with her bulging eyes, black tongue, and razor-sharp nails that clawed into his cheek?

Using a triple dose of divination--Juniper's pendulum, Gena's Mystic Genie, and Anne's deck of playing cards--the FTC have a predict-off to discern whether or not they should explore the abandoned house on Shady Lane.

This is by far the scariest of the series, as well as the most intriguing. A suspenseful plot, strong characters, and spooky setting make The Ghost of Shady Lane a very satisfying read. If you enjoy ghost stories, you'll love this book!

In this book, Anne has to do a report for school on a building and she decides to do it on a house that is said to be haunted. Anne, and two of her friends, Gena and Juniper are in the Fortune Tellers Club. The Fortune tellers Club always does everything together so when Anne goes to the Haunted House to take a picture of it, Gena and Juniper go along. Once Anne gets the picture developed she notices that it looks like there is a ghost in one of the windows. Anne's assignment turns into a mystery and members of The Fortune Tellers Club get frightened. Do you think that Anne saw a real ghost or that it was something else in the picture? I really enjoyed reading this book because I like taking pictures and Anne had to go to a professional photographer to find out if a ghost was living in The Haunted House. This was also a really good adventure.

I ordered this book for my adopted son who is now incarcerated. I happened upon Dr. Fauteck's book while searching for something to help my boy. He is reading it now and I will submit a review of the book at a later date. This review is for Dr. Fauteck himself. I contacted him directly for advice and requested some direct help for my son and even though he is ill and very busy he took the time to help us. It takes a special person to bless the lives of people he doesn't even know. I appreciate his time and efforts to change peoples lives by writing this book and being an inspiration to all of us. GOD BLESS HIM ALWAYS!!!

********NEW INFORMATION*******

I will just quote my son's letter to Dr. Fauteck in its entirety (I have cleaned it up a bit, though :o)

First off, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your day to write me and give me some words of wisdom. I read your book and I must say you opened my eyes to alot of things I have been worrying about lately. After reading your book I see that it's going to be hard if I really wanna stay straight, which is what I am getting myself ready for because this time around I am understanding the true meaning of freedom. This is not my first time being locked up. Since my teenage days, I have been getting locked up for packing guns, selling drugs, you name it and I had my hands in it and now I am paying for it. But, I want you to know that I am thankful for your book and if you have any other books out I would love to read them because I am really trying to get all the information I can before I am set free. This time around I am trying to stay free!!

With much respect,

Adam Wysinger

I believe in my boy and the power he has in him to change and to live a fulfilling life before it's too late. With Dr. Fauteck's help, I know he is that much more inspired.

GOING STRAIGHT is a comprehensive and exceptional self-help
manual for criminal offenders who want to build a respectable
life after punishment. This book was written by a uniquely
credible and knowledgable author-mentor, whose straight-forward
advice can be of value for both pre-release and post-release
rehabilitation.

Prisoners, parolees, ex-convicts need a role model, a mentor--
someone who can teach from similar life experiences. Someone
who can help them overcome not only society's dismal image of
offenders, but also their own low expectations and self loathing.

The author, Dr. Paul Fauteck, was an ex-con who, after doing
four years of hard time, eventually became a successful and
highly respected forensic psychologist. In his book, he shows
the offender how to adapt, to network, and succeed in a world
that few criminals hardly know exists.

Unlike some experts, Fauteck doesn't cut offenders any slack or
responsibility for making the most out of the rest of their
lives. His book teaches how to begin building a worthwhile life
day by day with practical coping skills, self awareness, and
lifelong principles. His writing contains both humor and great
insight into the hearts and minds of recovering criminals.

The text is clearly written and logically organized. The author uses a straight forward approach which he appropriately mingles with humor. Drawings throughout the text add levity. The annotated table of contents is truly beneficial.

Dr. Fauteck has thoughtfully created a practical guide for individuals who are attempting to adapt to life once they have been released from prison. He offers advice spanning the topics from family, friends, loved ones and those who offer an ex-convict assistance in staying out of trouble, to those who assist the ex-convict in maintaining criminal ways.

Dr. Fauteck points out the traps of blaming others for difficulties and firmly advocates personal responsibility. The author guides the reader toward personal growth. If the reader is able to integrate the advice given in these chapters into his/her life, the reader will find himself/herself on the road to success.

I higly recommend this book for those who are incarcerated, prison officials, counselors, mental health professionals, social workers and educators. I predict that if individuals released from prison are able to integrate the guidelines outlined in Dr. Fauteck's, Going Straight into their lives, recidivism rates will diminish considerably.

Anyone can give this reading club idea a try and Elizabeth urges that more than grandmothers do so. Maybe granddad wants to make the book link. Maybe an aunt or uncle could invite nieces and nephews. If you mentor a child during the school year, this could be a summer connection. One of Elizabeth's friends opened the book club to her sister's grandchildren who had recently lost their own grandmother. The options are endless.

Alexandra Fix, April Issue of Women's Lifestyle

It is an idea who's time has come. Grandparents can add so much to the lives of their grandchildren and for that matter, children everywhere.

Bill Duncan, Editor, Senior Times, Roseburg, Oregon

It is an idea who's time has come. Grandparents can add so much to the lives of their grandchildren and for that matter, children everywhere.

Bill Duncan, Editor, Senior Times, Roseburg, Oregon

Have you ever been so loved... that a lover would wait a lifetime to be with you? That your child would search relentlessly to solve a tragic family mystery? That a stranger would take you in and call you family? That someone would kill for you to right an unspeakable wrong?

Raines Guinn's story mingles murder, mystery, tragedy, bigotry, and hate, intertwined with tales of love - between a man and a woman, between a father and son, and between a town and its people. And no greater love prevails than that of the women of Albaville. Meet the steel magnolias of the west - feminine, proper, loyal and all the while strong and steadfast. These characters transcend stereotype, especially the pastor's wife. Mr. Guinn gives us a look inside small town religion and politics of earlier times, showing unusual insight and sensitivity to the world of women.

If you are looking for a sappy love story dripping with sentiment you won't find it in this intricate, bittersweet novel. You will find a cast of extraordinary characters, and after reading this book, you will want your own "Grandmothers Club" watching your back.

Intrigue, suspense, murder and romance. From the first paragraph the story grabs you and keeps your interest. I really enjoyed the intertwining of the past and present in the telling of the story. Looking forward to Mr Guinn's next novel.

Amidst the innocent setting of a rural Colorado town, a group of local women learn of a forty-year-old double murder. Implicating husbands and fathers, strong evidence compels a vigilante thirst. In the ensuing ethical struggle, motherhood and romance are pushed beyond traditional limits and are redefined to answer life and death questions. In the span of seventy-two hours, a crime against a child is avenged, murderers and their accomplices are sentenced, and a love once divided by the jagged line of color is rekindled. Yet, one evil man remains at large. Against a backdrop of hate crimes and uncommon blessings, The Grandmothers Club delivers its unique brand of justice.

Young Snowflower lives with her grandmother, Dame Frostyface, in a little cottage at the edge of a forest. The two are very poor, and own only a cat, two hens, a bed of dried grass, and one good piece of furniture: "a great armchair with wheels on its feet, a black velvet cushion, and many curious carvings of flowers and fawns on its dark oaken back."

One day, Dame Frostyface leaves to visit her aunt, and asks Snowflower to remain behind. She tells the girl that the fancy armchair was made by a cunning fairy, and that it is enchanted. If Snowflower should feel lonely, she should lay her head gently on the cushion of the armchair and say, "Chair of my grandmother, tell me a story. Should Snowflower have the occasion to travel, she should sit in the chair and say, "Chair of my grandmother, take me such a way."

After an interval of solitude, Snowflower's food stores are nearly depleted, so she decides to travel in the armchair along the same path her grandmother took. While journeying, she hears that King Winwealth plans to give a seven day feast to celebrate the birth of his only daughter, Princess Greedalind. Snowflower, who is quite hungry, wishes to share in the feast, and travels to the palace in the enchanted armchair.

Since the disappearance of his brother, Prince Wisewit, King Winwealth has been an unhappy ruler, especially since his marriage to the covetous and disagreeable Queen Wantall and the birth of their unpleasant child. The King's low spirits prompt his favorite page to suggest that Snowflower's chair might provide some diversion, so she and the chair are summoned to the banquet each evening to entertain the king.

Each evening, the chair tells a different story until a total of seven stories are told: "The Christmas Cuckoo", "The Lords of the White and Grey Castles", "The Greedy Shepard", "The Story of Fairyfoot", "The Story of Childe Charity", "Sour and Civil", and "The Story of Merrymind". As each consecutive evening passes, the king's depression lifts and Snowflower's situation improves, until all of the stories end happily together.

This wonderful collection of creative and pleasing stories will entertain fairytale enthusiasts of all ages.

Frances Browne, the author of this enchanting and original collection of fairy tales lived between 1816 and 1879. She was blinded by smallpox when she was a baby and so all of the vivid descriptions in this charming book are from her own memory of the tales that she heard as a child and from her colorful imagination. In 1904 Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote an introduction for a new edition of the book because as a little child she had won a copy of it as a prize for good behavior in school. It became her favorite book but was lost to her over the years. She searched high and low for it and it eventually surfaced in Boston and again in a second hand shop in London. This edition contains the introduction by Burnett that is certainly an added treat. It is brilliantly illustrated by Switzerland's Gisele Rime with her characteristic bright colors and whimsical decorative borders. Unlike other collections of fairy tales these are completely original and bring us new characters and plots with gentle moral lessons. The fame of Frances Browne may not approach the Grimms or Andersen but the beauty and cleverness of her tales will enchant and delight you just the same. Curl up in Granny's wonderful chair, snuggle close and follow the stories of Fairyfoot and Childe Charity, Prince Wisewit and Merry Mind. Meet the Lords of the White and Grey Castles. This is a grand experience not just a good book.

Do you remember visiting Grandma as a child? Perhaps snuggling into her favorite chair when you were too tired to possibly do anything else? Do you recall the comfort, the smell, the feel, the total release of 'Grandma's' chair? This was one my of favorite 'escape' books as a child. I would curl up in 'Granny's Wonderful Chair' and be transported to many a wonderous place. I have searched for many years for this title, and was so excited to see it unearthed for republishing! We will be reading it aloud as a family now. Granny's Wonderful Chair is a great addition not only to your library, but to you and your children's memory's as well!

A captivating story, with a little bit of "where's waldo" thrown in. After the pigs escape, the children can carefully look at the picture and find the missing pigs hiding or dressed up. "There's one right there!" my preschool class shouts. This book is always a fun one to read.

This book is first-rate in entertaining children 3-8. Children will enjoy following the story of Bert & Ethel, who raise some very intelligent pigs and decide it's time to sell them at the market in the morning. The pigs overhear this, and the trouble--or the fun--begins. The smart pigs escape, using clever disguises borrowed from local townspeople, and are missing untill the end of the story.

The illustrations are great and the story moves along smoothly. Your children will really like this one!

Get ready to be taken for a hilarious ride by a passel of precocious pigs! Farmers Bert and Ethel decide to take a break from growing turnips to try their hand at pigs. It's time to load up their lard and take them to market, but these savvy swine have other ideas. Our feckless farmers are unaware that their cargo has disappeared until it's too late, but you won't be if you pay attention to the pictures. Christelow combines unassuming text with not-so-unassuming illustrations in this porcine plot that is sure to tickle your spareribs and convince you that these pigs are smarter than your average root vegetable. Recommended reading for preschoolers on up, The Great Pig Escape is sure to make you chuckle if not bust your chops laughing.

I've decided that I need the same confidence that David had when he defeated the Giant. My life has been spiraling out of control recently and I doubt that I could conquer my own fears and doubts let alone a giant. Therefore I decided to order this book " A Guide to Confident Living." Only having the time to peruse a few pages it still has made me see how easy it is to erase self doubt and get with the program of Living Confidently. I'm very satisfied with this book and would highly recommend it to anyone that needs confidence in their life. It arrived in fine condition and in a timely manner as promised.

Dr. Peale begins with a lesson on listening to God in "creative silence", that in a worship atmosphere, a person can tap into God's thoughts and overcome the challenges of life. Bringing a spirit of expectancy is important if one is to achieve the desired results.
"...faith is the contact point with God's power" he tells us on page 12. He says a friend gave him a working definition of a competent church service, "The creation of an atmosphere in which a spiritual miracle can take place" (p. 12).
Dr. Peale reminds us of a theme found in a lot of his writings, one worth emphasis. He tell us to "supplant destructive thoughts with good ones, diseased thoughts with healthy ones" (p. 32).
Another one of his themes that he includes in this book has to do with the power of the mind to create. "There is a deep tendency in human nature to become like that which you image yourself to be" he quotes a psychologist as saying (p. 47).
Faith, confident assurance in God, releases powerful help on your behalf.
We're reminded of the power of the unseen in his description on page 82, "your life, or mine, is not determined by outward circumstances, but by the thoughts that habitually engage the mind." As a man thinks so he becomes.
He has such a powerful way of expressing truth. Consider the statement he makes on page 84, "A thought, properly employed, possesses a healing property."
If a person wants his life to be different, he should think different thoughts.
In a couple of places in the book he reminds us that Jesus Christ taught us to humble ourselves as children.
Toward the end of the book, a frank discussion of death is given. I strongly encourage you to get this book, if for no other reason to read this portion of it.
What you think determines what you become. What you become determines your life's work. Knowing how to live teaches one how to die.

This book can really change your life. I enjoyed every page of it.

...of course, I'm not a big Vance fan, and I'm rejoicing too. Matthew Hughe's has set his far future tales in a milieu very similar to Vance's dying earth stories. In the "penultimate age" of the earth, science is slowly losing power to the rise of magic.

A young urban decadent who spends his days drinking, eating, and scheming his way in and out of the smallclothes of young ladies, Filidor Vesh is the nephew of the vaguely all powerful Archon, but he'd rather you didn't mention it.

Vesh is sent, in the first book collected here, on a world spanning adventure through the odd countries of the dying earth. Each new encounter seems a little more unlikely than the last, with Vesh clumsily encountering sentient, giant beavers, cheerful revolutionaries and their guilt-ridden oppressors, giant, sentient ants, and a society of ultimate narcissists. Vesh gains a little from each encounter, and with the help of an ill-tempered midget sent along by the Archon, transforms himself into a hero worthy of his uncle's respect.

By the beginning of the second book, Fool Me Twice, Vesh has fallen back rather considerably. Now an employee of his uncle, Vesh eats breakfast at expensive restaurants, sleeps late, parties late, and tries very hard to avoid making any decisions that might lead to having to make more decisions down the road. (which is why he keeps an adventure book handy for times when he can't leave he office.) Little does he know he's about to suffer through an attempted assassination, be captured by aliens in league with existential pirates, join a traveling show with a penchant for petty thievery, and, in the ultimate test of his committal to noncommittal behaviour, fall in love. Did I mention he also gets a super-intelligent computer with a rather low opinion of his skills, intelligence, and outlook on life lodged in his ear?

Filled with witty, at times laugh-out-loud wordplay, ridiculous situations, and entertaining characters, these books are more than just a pastiche of Vance's works. They are entertaining, well written and enjoyable to even those who have read little Vance, such as myself.

Matt Hughes, Canadian author, has written a loving homage to Jack Vance's dying earth tales (naturally dedicated to Vance). Here are the two full length novels set in Earth's penultimate days when science is turning to magic while the landscape and creatures of Vance's dying earth are coming to life.

Although Hughes breaks no new ground in writing this dualogy prequel to _The Dying Earth_, _Rhialto The Marvellous_, _The Eyes Of The Overworld_ and _Cugel's Saga_, Vance fans have every right to expect an honorable aquittal for an author who's task it is to do what Vance can no longer do. Other authors have tried and succeeded to greater or lesser extents - Michael Shea who wrote the official sequel to _The Eyes Of The Overworld_, namely _The Quest for Simbilis_, a good effort but incompletely realized. L. Warren Douglas attempts a couple novels in the direction of Vance's Alastor Cluster sci-fi tales perhaps less well than Shea's attempts. Does Hughes succeed in his recreation of Vance? You bet your boots!

Filidor Vesh, who begins the first story, _Fools Errant_ only slightly ahead of Vance's Cugel in earnestness, poverty and honesty, and his uncle Desnehdah Vesh, the 98th Archon (of earth one presumes) are the main characters of both stories.

The second novel included in this edition, _Fool Me Twice_, takes Filidor and the Archon on even more astounding journeys and the whiz-bang ending is a joy of writing, very, very close to the grand master of sci-fi, Jack Vance.

Filidor is a hero in training but his education takes two books filled with humor, adventure and odd meetings with fantastic characters to save earth for the latter days upon which Vance's finest prose is lavished. The homage is complete, well rounded, done with a keen ear to Vance prose, character and setting. Well worth reading for those who savor Vance as well as those fantasy fans who have been living under a rock for their entire lives. Check out Vance AND Hughes.
=TD

I've already read this book twice. The writing is crisp, the story unique. The author's style is very easy to read and he uses humor effectively. The story might seem like science fiction at first, but it also incorporates some adventure elements and a bit of fantasy. Imagine a world where you can have dwarves, futuristic devices, and a life or death struggle all at the same time. The bumbling fool that is the focus of the story turns out to be smarter than he looks, or perhaps just luckier. By the end of the story, you get a glimpse of the convoluted logic the author used to lead you through a twisting path of intrigue laced with humor. I almost hoped the book would never end, but it did. If you read this book, you'll quickly become hooked and read it again.