I Books

Pride and understanding of the past wars is something I never had before I read this book. It gave me the same feeling I felt the day I walked through Arlington National Cemetery. It warmed my heart and made me want to cry in rememberance. This book is wonderful and should be read my the rest of my young generation to acquire knowledge, pride and understanding of our nations past.

Pride and understanding of the past wars is something I never had before I read this book. It gave me the same feeling I felt the day I walked through Arlington National Cemetery. It warmed my heart and made me want to cry in rememberance. This book is wonderful and should be read my the rest of my young generation to acquire knowledge, pride and understanding of our nations past.

Mr. Coffman was a friend of my mother's growing up in the hills of West Virginia. This book for me was so informational about her childhood area. Unlike the other reviews, my interest was not the military aspect of Mr. Coffman's life, but his early years. So many memories of childhood are lost over span of time, thank you for bringing them back to my mother. I most enjoyed reliving those times with her.

The fortunes of war brought Warren Coffman and me together in the Channel village of Swanage, England over fifty-seven years ago. I found the story of his life to be most interesting, especially the periods before and after WWII. As a veteran, I was amazed at his excellent memory of so many past events. His coverage of the action at Diepenlinchen, Germany in September, l944 is most outstanding. One should also be impressed with his comparison of soldiers' outlook and morale in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Our presidents, present and future, should read this and, hopefully, come to understand why police actions and limited wars do not work.

It was one book that I just could not put down. I just wanted to read and read to see what would happen next.

As a new Mom I can completely relate (and respect) the hilarity of this book. Jen tells it like it is and her honesty is refreshing. After reading the great stories I've found myself telling my husband "I read it somewhere" stories... Staying tuned for the next installment and sharing this with friends who need to know that parenting isn't all textbook.

i thought, "this will be great for my two week vacation." I read it in two nights. It makes you say things like, "Thank God it's not just me!" and "Well, at least I'm not THAT crazy!" It's just plain old fun. The perfect gift for going to visit friends with kids or moms to be.

Fun and easy read; light hearted with lots of laughs in between... Great with a cup of coffee in the morning!
Jen Zajac's wit and humor are entertaining and hits home when it comes to family living and daily life.
Two thumbs up and keep em comin'!!!

This book made me laugh, both at the author's life and at my own. The book is a collection of humorous, clever and insightful commentaries on simple aspects of life that myself and every mom I know can relate to and appreciate.

I'm sure every child has a stuffed animal called "Duck", or "Bear" or "Kitty" whose absence can bring on screaming fits and equally panicked search & resuces. Perhaps my favorite chapter was "If you Give a Mom a Cookie" which made me laugh out loud. Every mom who has asked for a recipe and received it, has at one point or another followed it up with an organization/cleaning/shopping frenzy to make the perfect home for that special recipe. It was nice to read that I'm not the only person who does this!

This book was a clever and funny celebration of the silliness in our lives. A very enjoyable read.

This book will be appreciated by anyone who's had experience with children in any capacity, not just as a mother or father. Jennifer Zajac's writing is concise, sharp-witted and insightful. Her satirical views on parenting and popular culture alike will keep you grinning to the very end.

Although I wasn't there myself, I'm pretty sure this book is one of the most vivid, absorbing and true-to-life accounts out there of psychedelic hippy life in the late 60's East Village (with bits of Haight Ashbury). But the historical details (and the drugs - plenty of them) are a small part of the pleasure of reading (and re-reading) this memoir/novel. It's the perceptions of the human emotion - the uncertainty, anxiety, and occasional moments of almost mythic connection and becoming - that make this book so compelling and universal. Being young, on your own, a little lost and perhaps hungry, but with a pocket of pills and the address of the pad at which some friends are crashing, never sounded like so much fun or so much like the fundamental human predicament.

The gestures, the little turns of phrase or cheek or leg are so intimate, sometimes you feel almost like a spy, looking out from behind Peter's glasses as he weaves through a maze of tenement hallways, turn-ons and near misses. The most unforgettable for me were the coming-of-age epiphanies, including the first time on acid and the first time.... not to mention the down moments, sudden realizations of total directionlessness, or of homesickness for a for a temporary home you had fled just days or weeks earlier. Books and movies are full of cookie-cutter or melodramatic portrayals of life moments like these, but seldom do we actually see or read what thoughtful, self-aware and imperfectly graceful people (i.e. most of us) actually think or feel at these moments. From an LSD-induced realization of 20-something mortality while wandering alone along Ave. A at dusk, to appreciating the silent coaching of a more experienced lover, "I think, therefore who am I" is full of unflinching but tender accounts of why we actually do what we do, and what it feels like.

Having been in the East Village during the last stages of the 60s, I found "I Think Therefore Who Am I" an impressive recollection of what still lives inside me like a dream. But within that dream these memoirs felt like they resurrected real people, real imaginings, real drugs, real doubt and real angst. By turning on and tuning out, the world described here is seemingly more paradoxical than ever before: the author's predilection for capturing the essence of the countercultural revolution of the hippie world is strung alongside the existential mood of the characters who we find are often not that idealistic at all. Descartes' "cogito" started out as a dream that, when he woke, gave him the essential surety of his own self's ability to doubt. That kind of self-reflective keenness, taken into the poignant musings of a good observer and writer like Weissman, takes the question of "who am I" and surrounds it brilliantly with the aura of a particularly intoxicating time.

Utterly engaging and one hell of a lot of fun, I found myself genuinely unable to put this book down. I am a fan of Kerouac, Tom Wolfe (both Tom Wolfes, in fact), and Hunter S., and to me this book contained scattered elements that recalled all those writers, yet Weissman's achievement stands distinctly apart from these others in style, subject, and form. I am a very, very slow reader, so I particularly loved how the story is broken up into manageable chapters, each one feeling complete and self-contained, yet fitting in perfectly with the whole book, scene transitioning to scene as 1967 unravels in a staggering rush. The people are real, compelling characters and the imagery is some of the brightest and most vivid I have ever read. A candle can't flicker and a beautiful girl can't blink in this book but that the reader is there also, seeing it happen. A very impressive book, I hope to see more from Weissman!

Somehow, after all these years, Peter Weissman has managed to uncannily capture the texture, the rhythm and the dialogue of stoned young people living in NYC's East Village in 1967. At a time when books on the sixties have become more common as the protagonists reach their sixties, Weissman's work is unusual in depicting the life of an everyday hippie, not a Weatherman or a celebrity.

Anyone coming of age in the late sixties drug culture will recognize the daily characters and settings of Peter's hippie life with a sense of amazement - here they are again! While this is cast as a "coming of age" story, by the time Peter goes to California and returns, the drugs have overwhelmed any sense of growing up. Luckily, Weissman has a sense of humor, and I found myself laughing out loud again and again, which was good because, while the supporting cast goes through every kind of change, Peter himself seems to be heading in one direction, - from "a sorry scene... reminiscent of the thirties" in California to being "frozen in a particular purgatory" back East on his return, despite his recurrent hope that they're all on the brink of a new and more meaningful reality.

While the humor is wonderful, it's the epilogue which makes it work in the end. Since Weissman wrote the book we know he escaped with his brains intact, but it takes the epilogue for us to really believe it. As a sixty year old myself I loved the book and found it provided a rare and gritty assist to looking back and trying to make sense anew of those years. I highly recommend it to my peers and I can't help but suspect there's an audience as well among today's kids in their twenties.

This lucid memoir captures the hippie era of the sixties, the highs and lows of the psychedelic drug scene in New York City's East Village and San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury during the "Summer of Love."

The author, conveying the shifting fortunes and mental state of his "acid head" narrator, recalls that scene and the young man he was with sardonic humor. His chronological yet nonlinear tale, covering the year 1967, is a pastiche of discrete, titled stories ("In the Realm of Mythunderstanding," "Beelzebub and His Sidekick," "The Eighth Street Commune," "Leo's Hexagram," "In Thought's Caboose"). It starts well and gets even better, as the various pieces mesh and the overall tale of transformation and disintegration moves toward its denouement with mounting dread. But the awareness that suffuses this memoir keeps it sharp and unsentimental, so that even as the protagonist loses his mind, his confusion is rarely solemn, but gritty, or hilarious, and sometimes both at the same time.

Indeed, as someone who experienced that era, I can say it was a roller coaster time when it seemed everyone was higher or lower than they'd ever been, and never one or the other for very long. For the former psychedelic drug user, or pothead, the sense of exhilaration and abject despair and paranoia will seem eerily accurate.

But finally, what most recommends this book to me, a serious reader, is how fluidly it moves, from transition to transition, through the interwoven stories about spiritual and pseudospiritual realities and assumptions, politics and the existential poetry of the moment, sex and sexuality, the grungy details of life and the daily dreams of transcendance. I highly recommend it.

The best thing about this book is the lilting happy rhyming. This book is meant to be read out loud, and it's actually a fun thing to do. Some so-called children's classics are tongue twisters, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The prose in this book floats freely and melodically. The pictures are kind of cute in their own way, but I swear I could have drawn those bunny ears! My kids don't read on their own yet, but once they do start learning to read this poem may become a favorite.

What a fantastic book- the first time I read this to my 9 month old daughter it became an instant favorite! We have read it every day since, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face- especially the lines "I will kiss you on your toes, when you're naked with no clothes, and your tiny tushy shows"! Along with Goodnight Moon, our bedtime favorite, and Sandra Boynton's "Belly Button Book" (which also always makes me chuckle), this book is on the top of my list. It is the perfect length- not too short and not too long- and full of great rhyming text and cute illustrations. I read my daughter at least three books a day, so it's important to me that I can enjoy them as much as she does. I think I probably enjoy this one more! I highly recommend it!

"It is bursting with love." - Elise, 7

In "I Will Kiss You," Stoo Hample has captured that deep emotion of adoring, delightful, absolutely complete love shared between a mother and child. His illustrations sweetly show the contentment and peace that come from such love. Well done Stoo Hample.

My daughter is a spirited 2 and 1/2 year old young lady who loves the silly rhymes and kisses all over when I read the book to her and mommy does too! We read "I Will Kiss You: Lots & Lots & Lots" over and over and over! Total fun to share this book with everyone.

We recently received this book as a gift and it has quickly become a family favorite. Our soon to be 3-year-old son likes it "lots and lots and lots" and will read it to himself over and over and over. The illustrations are darling and the text is so cute and humorous. We will add The Silly Book to our list and look forward to reading more of Stoo!

This is a wonderfully told story of life, death, despair and hope, in uncertain times of the post WWII era. The relationships between young Nova and her family and friends is realistic and endearing. I was struck by the closeness between her and her older, teenage brother. She idolizes him and he truly loves her. The most touching moments for me, however, are between Nova and Josef, each providing a source of comfort and encouragement to the other. The story of hatred, loss and forgiveness are entwined in a heartwarming lesson of God's love.

This is an incredible story of love and forgiveness. I will recommend this book to everyone I know! I can't remember the last time I read such a moving, touching story.

This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. From the first page, I couldn't put it down. It's excellently written and the characters are people I'll forever remember.

I enjoyed this book so much! A warm story of family relationships and caring friends. I will recommend this book andthis author to all my reading friends.

I didn't notice this book was from a specifically Christian publisher until I had finished reading it. (I think people of many faiths would appreciate this book, but I'm guessing atheists might not care for it.)

Unlike many religiously oriented works, this one was touching without being sappy, and inspiring without being preachy. At the time I was reading this, I got some bad news about my mother's health, and felt very depressed. Yet as I continued reading the book, I felt my spirits lift and my sense of life's meaning return.

The storyline was interesting, and the characters were very believable. I appreciated that all the main characters had the desire to be good people, but that even the most admirable of them had flaws.

I will definitely seek out Tatlock's other novels.

I'm A Girl, written by Lila Jukes, effectively delivers an important powerful message to young girls to be "courageous, smart and valuable." This, in the eyes of the author, is the inner beauty of the reader. It's a good message to young girls that is not often exposed to younger children. The book is easy to read, with a large font and the location of the words is consistent from page to page. Even though the style of writing is repetitive, it reinforces the importance of the message. One thing that seems off kilter is that the illustrations don't really fit with what the text is implying. The illustrations aren't sharp vivid images and the colors are plain yet the words are intense and confident. The girls depicted in the illustrations are young and are of different race. This is a good tactic because it involves all girls, not just one kind. This itself helps children feel like they are included in society. The illustrations also depict girls active in different kinds of activities. These activities range from sports such as sottball to spending time with a family member. I'm A Girl is a book that should be read to all young girls.

The book "I'm a Girl" by Lila Jukes is a well written book designed for children of a young age. The book is very positive with flowing words easy to read for any youngster. It describes the attitude of what a growing young girl should have. The illustrations are very vivid and help attract the reader to what is on the page. I didn't enjoy the book because it's not designed for me but I would recommend it to anyone raising a young girl. This book gets right to the point by using powerful words in its text. This book is simple yet powerful and would be a great addition on any bookshelf of expecting parents.

Lila Jukes says it all, in a flowing, basic little book which is wholly positive and encouraging. It describes important attributes of healthy, emotionally functioning girls, provides beautiful, down-to-earth illustrations, which clearly illustrate the story being read,(perfect for 'picture-reading' age girls). I recommend it be read to girls from pregnancy onward! I'm a Girl! is enthusiastic, to the point, and uses specific words: 'independent', 'powerful', and 'valuable'--great for readers who wish to expose their girls to the capabilities of language, not protect them from them. It's the kind of simple, universally understandable book which makes perfect bed-time reading, and it will have an effect far beyond its size! Query as to how this book can possibly be out of print????

What a simple, yet powerful book. It takes the reader into a world where they can make anything happen. Any girl will feel good about themselves after hearing this story. Any woman will also feel good about being a girl! We are beautiful.

It is a thrill to see these wonderful comments. The "girls" portrayed in this book are all young friends of mine....beautiful, smart, great individuals quickly growing into young women. I'm glad to have been able to portray them in a book. I, too, think a reprint would be great. Frequently, I run into people who've looked--unsuccessfully--for copies to give to loved ones. Thanks for your support. And, if you liked this book, please take a look at The Piano!

Byrd Baylor's book "I'm in charge of Celebrations" is the best "any age" book I've ever known. Everyone I know has started keeping a celebration book modeled after hers! What an absolutely marvelous journey! And Parnell's illustrations are magnificent!!!

This is a memmorable book for a child

I use this book in the beginning of each school year with my fifth grade students. It always leads to great discussions about what is important to them and leads into interesting writer's notebook entries. The book is a great tool for inferencing, noticing details, and celebrating the little events in our lives that make us who we are. A good book to use when teaching about differences that make each of us unique and how we all have our own set of priorities.

One of the best picture books ever. I'm one who believes picture books are not just for children and this one proves it! It reflects a wonderful attitude that there's always something out there to celebrate. A most uplifting book. Byrd Baylor is really tuned into nature and Peter Parnell turns those words into unforgetable images.

I stumbled upon this book recently and, as an avid reader of children's literature, believe it is one of the most amazing books I have seen -- for readers of all ages. It is lyrical, humorous and quiet. The illustrations are spare--and that's all that's needed. Life in the desert is depicted beautifully. I felt like the book was speaking me, calling me to a more mindful way of life. I plan to buy it as gifts for all my friends this year, no matter their age.

This book is good. More for 5 year olds and up, I would think. I do have to explain a lot to my 4 and 2 1/2 year old what the words mean. But still, this is a nice book. Loving and fun! Pictures are bright and cheery!

This book is a perfect way to teach children how to be thankful for all the wonderful things God has given us. It shows that we should be thankful for non-material things. It is a precious book for parent and child to read together. It reminded me of a few things I needed to be thankful for!

I found this book at Marshalls, who knew that this author has other wonderful books. I have been reading it to my infant every chance I get - it really reinforces a lot of healthy attitudes and the basic tenets that I want to instill in him. It highlights a personal relationship that you can have with your God.

This book is wonderful. My daughter and I read it every night at bedtime, and I never get tired of it. Now, I am on a mission to collect ALL of PK Hallinan's books. I think they all have a great message, they are well written, have beautiful pictures and are just all around the best kids' books I have encountered. Definitely a must have for all toddler moms-- and moms with young kids!

This is one of my favorite books to read to my son (almost 3 yrs. old). I love how the author reminds us to be thankful for the things that are easy to overlook, like the power of the mind or the look of an autumn day. It's helped everyone in our house to stop and be thankful for even the little things in our lives.

I loved The Rock Orchard and had to read something else by P.S. (Paula) Wall. If I Were a Man, I'd Marry Me is a collection of short stories taken from a column she used to write (or still writes, not sure) that center on quirky southern characters and situations. She does the same here as she did in The Rock Orchard -- write some quirky, surrealistic takes of ordinary, every day people. Her wit is priceless in this collection and I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed her novel. My favorite stories are "Maxine's Diet," "Faithful," "The Mortician," "Harley," "Warming the Bench," "Topless," "The Ghost of Elvis," "Chivalry," and "Fruitcake." I guess the one disappointing thing about this collection is that the stories are very short -- about three or four pages each. Other than that, I loved If I Were a Man, I'd Marry Me and I hope to read more stuff by this talented writer.

After a tough day I can count on P.S. Wall to lift my spirits. Wall has a gift for putting everyday occurances into a humerous perspective. Reading her stories makes you feel like you are a part of her group. And what a fun loving group it is! You go girl... and take me with you.

P.S. Wall is just as funny in person as she is in print. She's the kind of storyteller that you want to take home, sat her on the hearth and let her entertain you for the rest of your life. This writer is a well kept secret who is destined to become one of the great Southern humorists of all time.

The other day, my husband and I got a crazy waitress at a Shoneys. As we walked outside after lunch, we burst into laughter and agreed that we'd just had a Wall Moment. I could almost read the article she would have written about the incident. Buy this book, and soon you'll be having Wall Moments too.

If I Were A Man, I'd Marry Me draws you into P. S. Wall's slightly skewed universe. The same things happen to her that happen to all of us -- she finds and writes about the absurdity, the humor and the craziness of ordinary life. I'll never look at a dipstick or chocolate brown shoes the same way again.

Wall's book is filled with friends and family you want to be part of. You follow Rosie and Maxine and even Cat from adventrue to mis-adventure with constant chuckling, but also a growing sense of familiarity. These are your people. I met Sweetie once at a conference -- believe me, he lives up to his hype.

Though consistently out there, Wall's universe remains grounded in reality. She doesn't avoid tough questions -- "If you dream about another man," one character asks, "is that being unfaithful?" Of course, the man they all dream about turns out to be Al Gore -- go figure. Wall tackles emotional insecurity, the tribulations of being single, the difficulties as well as the rewards of marriage. Perhaps that's what makes these essays more than just fun to read once. Like Mark Twain or Erma Bombeck, P. S. Wall writes about our real lives, and we want to return to her again and again.

You can catch P. S. Wall at uexpress.com, and I'd travel 1000 miles to her her speak in person -- she's that good. But right now, for a good healthy dose of vintage Wall, buy If I Were A Man, I'd Marry Me. I guarantee you'll laugh on every page, and pretty soon you'll be having Wall Moments too.

Walls takes life and makes it into stories you can laugh about. The hooker story is the first and it is hillarious as the others. They are cleverly written. Read all of her works with girl friends.

I literally just put down this book!!! If you are living with an ostomy, cancer or other health issue and could use a good laugh...this is your book.

Be ready to laugh and cry as Brenda takes you along on her journey through colorectal cancer. Be ready to read some of your own thoughts and experiences in this book. Reading this book is like talking to a good friend.

I genuinely appreciate how Brenda can share with us her thoughts and experiences with amazing openness and candor.

As the voice of experience...Laughter truly is the best medicine!!! Try it!!

Brenda's communication skills make her the perfect messenger to deliver a touching, humorous yet medically accurate tale of her own experience with cancer, surgery and healing - both physically and emotionally.

Her story was especially touching since we went through similar experiences two years ago. Her story and ours had many parallels, with nearly the same characters in each part of the story - the accuracy of her account is amazing and truthful.

A "must read" for anyone living with an ostomy or colorectal cancer as a patient, family member or friend.

Insightful, accurate, touching, and funny!

Humor is where you find it. Brenda Elsagher has the amazing ability to find humor in a most difficult journey through colorectal cancer. She encourages the reader to use humor as a survival tactic to combat cancer. This book presents a sensitive portrayal of the immense challenge to the human spirit posed by cancer diagnosis and treatment. It also contains a powerful message of hope for life after diagnosis as readers follow Brenda's transformation from hair stylist to comedian. Brenda's description of her treatment for cancer "back there" under the capable hands of her surgeon "the rear admiral" is incredibly funny. It is likely to cause the reader to laugh out loud. For cancer patients that is a very good thing as laughter is good medicine!!!

Although I have known Brenda for 25 years and know what she has been through, the book was very hard to put down. It is an inspiration to survivors and caregivers alike. I am a caregiver myself and she really touched home on many points. It is a must read, especially if cancer has touched your life in any way, shape or form. A definate must for your bookshelf!

Brenda Elsagher is living proof that if you're determined (a feisty attitude is a bonus) and armed with a brutal sense of humor, the spirit of a fighter won't be defeated. And Brenda is a fighter. Diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1995, she shares in If The Battle Is Over Why Am I Still In Uniform? her private war with a deadly enemy; one she was determined to beat.

After reading this book I will never think about my colon, or any other body part for that matter, in the same way again. I learned that screening for colorectal cancer is important, because if caught early enough, it can be cured.

If The Battle Is Over Why Am I Still In Uniform? is filled with wit, wisdom, and the stark realities of cancer. I laughed often and my eyes misted more than once. It is a well-written book of one woman's cancer reality. It is also the story of that woman's determination to grow old with her husband and meet her grandchildren.

This book will provide you with information that might just save your life. If you know someone with colorectal cancer, sharing this book with them will let them know that they're not fighting the battle alone.

Also, if you know someone (maybe you) who is long overdue for their colon screening, this book will encourage them with reality. Get your doctor's number handy and call now!