Fan Pages Books

You will absolutely love this book! Ross is both insightful and humorous as he writes about: Michigan football (why their offense is really neither "conservative" or "too predictable"), Michigan basketball and the player who averaged 15 fouls per game (I remember him), Big Ten basketball officiating (he says it is getting better; I'm not sure), Tommy Amaker (he should have asked him who did kill JFK), why UCLA was so good for so long (it actually has less to do with John Wooden than you've been led to believe), and who was the greatest Michigan quarterback ever (read it to find out; Tom Brady is #3). More than anything else, this book reminded me that college sports are supposed to be FUN, no matter who wins. Ross' final chapter in this book is a classic by itself. Buy this book and savor every chapter. The best sports book I've read since "Ball Four" (yes, it's THAT good).

I join my fellow alum Mr. Heston in giving high praise to Obscene Diaries. At college I became quite interested in football, and particularly enjoyed Northwestern's successful skirmishes against the University of Michigan. Mr. Ross successfully reveals football as a particularly American blend of theatre and sport, personal drama and statistical analysis, quarterback thrill and coach agonistes.

This wild comic rant about sports is also startlingly original. For hard core sports fans, the book is packed with the kind of fresh insightful analysis of football strategy that is so completely missing from the work of the paid media pundits. (College coaches are already taking this book very seriously, because it shows why they should go for it on 4th down way more than they do.) But for non sports fans, this is also a great book, because Craig Ross really talks more about life than he does about sports -- and he's a fabulously witty writer.

As packed as it is with painstakingly researched sports statistics and wild, wonderful analyses, this book is a humorous and delightful read. Attorney Ross argues the facts, argues the law, AND attacks the opposition, entertaining us all the way.

As an alum of Northwestern, a school whose original nickname was The Fighting Methodists, I can appreciate the quasi-religious fervor of Wolverine fans. Craig Ross joins the ranks of Voltaire and Jonathan Swift in effectively (and humorously)skewering this (large) slice of American culture.

I love this book, but someone ought to tell Bill Goldberg (The Whistle Story)that the Bucky Dent playoff game was 1978 not 1977. What true NYY fan - from the Bronx, no less - not only doesn't know that, but let's it get to print??????????? Pretty shameful if you ask me.

Chicken Soup For The Baseball Fan's Soul is one great book. The stories are about personal experiences, humor, sportsmanship, life lessons, and the fun that baseball provides.

Some of the stories are actually written by the athletes themselves with others by journalists who have covered the games with their views on the game and the players, and other stories by the everyday sports fan just like you and me. Some of the stories are very humorous while others touching. Before each chapter are very inspiring quotations. Added between some of the stories are baseball comics that will make you laugh.

Every story in this book is well worth-reading from the humorous to the serious stories. This book made tears swell in my eyes and laugh out loud in some stories as a baseball player. This book will inspire the true baseball player or fan. This book is easy to get into it and want to keep reading for a long time, but is also a great book to read one story at a time.

This book really shows how hard you have to work to get better at baseball or any sport and how it can pay off. This is a must-read book for any baseball fan who wants to enjoy a great book about a great sport.

this book was very inspiring. The stories are all well written and ammussing. I haven't read any of the other books in the series and I don't plan on reading them either but I really enjoyed this one though and I recomend this book to all baseball fans

As a baseball fan, I thought it was wonderful to read about the many sides of baseball. There are stories from both fans and people actually involved in the baseball world. With baseball having such a depressing last couple of years, and not having the results as we have come to expect, it was wonderful to know that there are people in the world that still love this sport! I am one of them. :o)
(I would have said still the American sport, but since I am Canadian I don't think that always applies...)

The Essential J.R.R. Tolkien Sourcebook by George Beahm is a superbly presented, fan-centered guide to the fantasy world of Middle Earth, a magical land originally envisioned by celebrated author J.R.R. Tolkien in his famous trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" and his other thematically related writings. Featuring information about Lord of the Rings merchandise and collectibles, books about Tolkien, computer software, Tolkien-themed websites, and other online Tolkien related resources, The Essential J.R.R. Tolkien Sourcebook is highly recommended (indeed, an essential reference) for anyone seriously interested in learning more about the fan-culture surrounding this epic and enduringly popular literary saga.

George Beahm's love for Tolkien's work shines through every page of The Essential J.R.R. Tolkien Sourcebook.

Beahm starts with the Lord of the Rings books themselves and their various editions, from "the most elegant edition" to "the cleverest packaging." From there he branches out to chronicle related works by Tolkien and about Tolkien and LotR, and of course he examines the visual adaptations. He is both reverent and critical. He has harsh words, for instance, for the "full-screen" version of The Fellowship of the Ring, which is "severely cropped to fit the conventional television screen," and warns that the binding of one lavish edition "will not hold up after repeated readings." Audio adaptations, printed products, book- and movie-related collectibles, ring replicas, games and miniatures, websites...these and more fall under Beahm's Sauron-like all-seeing eye.

Then there's Chapter 11, my favorite, that delves into Tolkien-inspired art. Illustrations by Colleen Doran, Tim Kirk, David Wenzel, Steve Hickman, and Donato Giancola enhance an informative chapter on Tolkien artists from the Hildebrandts to Michael Whelan. Doran contributes a number of lovely and delicate full-page illustrations to the book and also provides spot art and illustrated chapter headings, elegant touches that give evidence to Beahm's genuine love for the subject matter.

For fans of Middle Earth, George Beahm's The Essential J.R.R. Tolkien Sourcebook is just that...essential.

George Beahm's new book takes a long overdue look at the world of JRR Tolkien: not the world of Middle Earth itself, but rather the extraordinary industry which has grown up around the writer's creation. Upon perusing this book the Tolkien fan, both expert and novice, will find a wealth of information regarding just how much is available to them. Beahm provides clear and concise reviews of all manner of Tolkien books, art, games, DVDs, collectibles and merchandise; and provides details of various rare editions which the true fan may want to track down.

All this is backed up with in-depth interviews with the best of the Tolkien artists, including Michael Whelan, Tim Kirk and Colleen Doran. Indeed, Doran provides a host of new drawings especially for this book - and magnificent they are too!

For the Tolkien fan wondering where to go next, this book is a must.

This book has just average recipes. No tips or instructions that I can't easily get on line for free. Cooks Illustrated has much better instructions on how to make to die for creme brulee.

If you LOVE Creme Brulee and want to make it yourself - this is a great cookbook! This book is very small - and fits nicely on my cookbook shelf.

The recipes: From the classic creme brulee to the more exotic recipes including Fruit or Liqueur variations of creme brulee. I've already tried the classic recipe and it is wonderful.

There are some other "unique" creme brulee recipes, but that just opens the door to try new and creative ways of making creme brulee (example: Sweet Corn creme brulee or the Red Bell Pepper Creme Brulee).

The book also includes a section on cooking methods, equipment needed, ingredients, etc to make it easier for the novice.

Overall a great book and a great gift for a Creme Brulee lover! If you buy it as a gift - you may want to include other items to go with it such as the Williams Sonoma Creme Brulee kit complete with the torch and small dishes for serving. I believe you can buy all those separately on Amazon.com as well.

One of my all time favorites for dessert, after a fine dining experience. I have enjoyed Creme Brulee, Flan, custards of all description all over the dining world, and this little gem of a book has captured ALL of the varieties known to the culinary world. I can hardly wait to get my eggs, creams and such together to start experimenting with the many techniques and ingredients that are suggested in this little book. Congratulations Debbie on a masterpiece!

The author was a bit ahead of her time with the popularity of creme brulee being at an all time high in the U.S. (The pub date is 1998.)

I had creme brulee for the first time just a few weeks ago. I had heard of it, but had no idea what it was. I came home, did a internet search, found the book, and also found out it's such an easy dessert to make at home.

I love creme brulee, but I was a bit dissapointed with this book. I was also disspointed by the author, Mrs. Debbie Puente, since I love her other book, Elegantly Easy Liquor Desserts.

First of all, the book is very small in size, making it very unpractical. The layout of the book is difficult as well, being that there are only two chapters; The Basics and the Recipes.

In the Basics Mrs. Puente goes over cooking methods for creme brulee, ingredients, equipment and techniques. This is all listed in the table of contents, which is more like an index.

In the Recipes chapter, Mrs. Puente starts with two traditional creme brulee recipes, one for baked, and one for stirred.

There is then six fruit recipes, which are just variations of her classic creme brulee recipe. She then has twelve liquor variations, but I hardly count them as seperate recipes either, since again, it's just added different type of liquors to the classic recipes. All of the different variations are listed seperatly in the table of contents, making it even more like an index.

The book goes on like that, with apparently no logic to the order of the recipes, making it quite confusing for finding a specific one. Each recipe is listed seperatly in the table of contents, along with any additional recipes needed, i.e. crusts and sauces.

Some recipes included are; Lavedar Creme Brulee, Eggnog Creme Brulee, and Lemon Custard Creme Brulee.

There are also some savory recipes, including Sweet Corn Creme Brulee and Garlic Creme Brulee. There is also a recipe for Ginger Chile Creme Brulee, which is mixed in with the savory recipes, although Mrs. Puente's description of it is sweet, it only makes it more confusing to find it mixed in with the savory recipes.

The book abruptly ends with the last recipe, and lacks an index. I believe it would of been better to have the book seperated into chapters; i.e. the basics, classic creme brulee and variations, sweet recipes, savory recipes, accompiements, and a chapter for misc recipes, like the Chocolate and Blackberry Tart and Crossiant Pudding.

The recipes themselves are good, but the layout of the book makes it difficult to use. There are a few nice photos as well, luckily the ones for the more complicated recipes, like the Stacked Banana Creme Brulee Tostada, are included.

This book was truly interesting - I told several of my friends to read it so that we could discuss it!!

I tried reading this book when I was about 19. My Mom had bought it and told me to read it since it was really good. I got about half way through and I couldn't handle it anymore. The thought of a little girl getting killed, the emotions her and her family went through etc. tore my own heart apart. I knew the story was 'fake' but children get killed everyday so it def. got to me. I then picked the book back up in early winter of 2008. I told myself I would read it from front to back no matter what. By this time I was taking care of a 2, 4 & 6 yr old (daycare provider) little girls so it made it even HARDER to read it! It took me about a month to finish and I'm pretty glad I did. The ending wasn't what I expected but I would read it again. The few negative parts during the book was how the only person that cared was really the Father. The Mother was very in-sensitive and the sister seemed to move on quickly. Oh, and how they never found the body! I guess over-all I would recommend this book, but be prepared to tear up a couple times!

With over 2500 reviews already, it is hard to add something meaningful to the evaluation of this book but hopefully some people will find the following useful.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a difficult book to read with any enjoyment. The thing that mars the book for me is the way in which the young girl who narrates the story from heaven, Susie Salmon, is killed. She is brutally raped and murdered and then her body is dismembered by a sadistic neighbor who is not immediately apprehended and who consequently haunts the book with his presence. In my view it was not necessary to the basic theme of the book--dealing with loss--for Susie to die in this fashion. A more ordinary death--accident, illness--would have served the author's purpose just as well. Thus it seems an unnecssary bit of sick sensatonalism to have her die in such a gruesome manner.

As I started to read the various responses of the family to Susie's death I was reminded of the opening lines of Anna Karenina: "Happy families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Clearly the Salmon family has a right to be unhappy., but one wonders about the impact the death has on them, particularly, Jack the father. The death of one's child is perhaps the greatest sorrow one has to face in life, yet Jack Salmon had two other children and should have remained strong for their sake. In a family that is fundamentally happy and strong, such would have been the case. Thus the way the family comes apart is indicative of a fundamental flaw in its makeup. The one member who comes across as the strongest is a bit of an outsider--Grandma Lynn.

The strength of the book is in the matter-of-fact teen age tone that Sebold is able to give to Susie. She is able to comment on the events that occur on earth with that still-innocent manner of a young girl who despite experiencing the ultimate tragedy and despite being unable to impact what happens to the living remains optimistic. It is the response of Susie's friends and peers that comes across as most appropriate and realistic, while that of the family seems more stereotypical.

The comments on the back cover (from Time magazine's review of the book) may best describe the book: It is, above all, a novel which finds light in the darkest of places, and shows how even when that light seems to be utterly extinguished, it is still there, waiting to be rekindled." If you can see the book from this perspective it can have meaning for you.

This story was all over the place. It started out with a bang and it was all down hill from there. It was not a mystery. It was not a love story. It had NO POINT! I am sorry I purchased the book and I would not recomend it to anyone!!!

This book was interesting to me in some ways, and confusing to me in others. Watching the people below, growing and changing was neat, nut I didn't understand the concept of the 'individual' heavens and things like that. Also, towards the end, my mind was beginning to wonder; like it was starting to draw on...but besides that, it was a great book!

Hopefully someone who is interested in or disappointed by the movie The Fan will stumble upon this review and take my advice. READ THE BOOK. The movie falls flat despite some good casting and fancy costumes but this book will not disappoint.

It is a creepy, disturbing story of a fan who becomes obsessed with an actress. Sounds pretty run of the mill, but this book kept me up all night and gives me the willies just thinking about it. This author went over a line with this character and turned out something very haunting. People think the movie is dull and slow, and I agree, and I would love to have seen the movie go more the way the book does but on the other hand I am not sure I'd even WANT to see some of this stuff on film. It would be too much. Although it would have been amazing to see Michael Biehn given the opportunity to play the character the way it should have been played and I am sure he would have been unbelievable. But alas the movie studio/writers pussed out and went with safe, boring and unimaginative. Too bad but at least Randall's book is still in existence.

Too bad most people will not read it but instead will see the movie--they are missing out!

If you were disappointed in the movie The Fan, please just find a copy of the book and you will probably feel better because at least the movie will have led you to the book as it did me!