Scott Thompson Books

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR A CLASS I WAS TAKING BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A PRETTY GOOD REFERENCE BOOK AS WELL.

REQUEST. I have a copy of local addition . the pictures and text are very poor. I want to buy this fantastic book(origenal copy). Could you help me? Please reply ASAP. Thanks

As an administrative assistant in a four year university I have noticed an increasing amount of students who have taken an Introduction to Computers Class and does not know how to save a document. There is more that you need to learn in that class and as seniors come to me and ask me how to do things that they should have learned, makes me recommend this book to them.

I have a copy of this book and I use it frequently when I tutor students in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I also use this book to tutor beginners who know nothing about computers. By the time I have let them read the chapters and done the work at the end of the chapters in this book, they have had a better understanding of computer concepts and terms.

I recommend this book highly as an effective tool for teaching in an Introduction to Computers Class.

I am a college student, taking an intro to Office 97 with this book. If you need an introduction to computers - this isn't the book. Just because you're not a "techie" doesn't mean you have the I/Q of a lab rat- but that's what this book assumes. He reiterates the same concepts thoroughout the whole book, recycling them until you're consumed with boredom.

To conclude: I'm sure it will not take a thousand page book for you to learn how to save a document, my friends.

I purchased this book as a text for a college-level CIS introduction course. Although it has very nice enrichment segments, great photos and icons, it is limited in actual educational effect. Many key concepts are not thoroughly taught or taught in such a manner that they are truly reinforced. Also, the quiz questions provided at the end of the chapter are poorly written and oftentimes confusing from a tests and measurement standpoint. Moreover, there are no answers supplied for these quizzes within the text itself. I find the book adequate but nowhere near exceptional.

Well presented material. Good overview of state-of-the-art Mac graphics. Simply written. Good reference.

Quartz is 2D Graphics lightweight C-based API on Mac OS X. It is by design resolution and device independent. It is based on the industry standard PDF imaging model. Is is a primary drawing API on a Mac OS X, and it supersedes QuickDraw.

Now about the book: I like author's approachable style of presentation. The content of the book is quite supplementary to the Apple's own documentation, which sometimes gets very terse. The book doesn't assume very much from the reader, so even Mac programming newbie could find it quite useful. The author made a great effort to keep the reader engaged through the examples, source code for which is available on the supplementing CD. The book has a very good layout and is very handy to use.

I wish there were more programming books like that these days.

This was great for learning quartz in TIGER but a lot of the examples don't compile in Leopard. A lot of stuff is also (bizarrely) written in C++ in Carbon. Almost the first sentence of every other Mac programming book I've ever read was "Use Cocoa and Objective C". Almost every paragraph in the book tells Cocoa programmers where to look for documentation instead. Even the examples that are written in Cocoa are in "Objective-C++" (.mm).

Granted it was a decent introduction to Quartz and drawing, but if you want to take anything out of the book you have to follow the author's links to where to learn about Cocoa, open up your developer library, and translate everything into actual Objective-C yourself.

So unless you plan on developing for Tiger for the rest of your life, stick to Apple's online documentation for learning how to write Mac OS X applications.

I just purchased this book today at the full list price of $49.99. This is too much IMO for a 300 page overview of a graphics system (no matter how well written.) That said, by chapter 2 I've already noticed a number of mistakes not picked up by editors (probably because the words substituted are not incorrectly spelled: ie. 'inherit' instead of 'inherent', or 'combing' instead of 'combining') Maybe I'm just being nitpicky, but I'm growing tired of laziness on the part of publishing houses.

All in all, this is a good introduction to the topic. For the discounted Amazon price, it's worth the money.

I thought this was a great book for Mac programmers who want to know more about Quartz. It is well written and easy to follow. There is a CD-ROM with the sample code included with the book. It covers the essentials and gives "Best Practices" advice on actually using Quartz in a professional program, including performance issues. R. Scott Thompson is a talented author and I hope he will write more programming books in the future.

It starts with a clear introduction to Quartz, but gets right to some useful techniques, such as off-screen bitmaps, writing images to a PNG file, etc. It covers the basics, like CGContexts, Affine transforms, Bezier curves, and Paths, in a clear and insightful manner. You could learn most of this material from the manuals, but Scott has a way of clearing things up and making you feel comfortable with the topic. The examples he gives are short but useful in learning the subtle points of the Quartz API.

Next comes a more in-depth look at off-screen drawing, clipping and the masking of images. Scott shows you how to work with PNG, JPEG data, and gives code for importing and exporting other image formats using QuickTime.

I especially like the chapter on Core Image, which isn't covered anywhere else. Scott shows you how to wrap the API in C to gain access to the powerful filters and transition effects provided by Core Image.

This book is not a complete reference or encyclopedia of the Quartz API, (get "Programming with Quartz" by Gelphman & Laden for that). Mac programmers will want both.

The edition is awesome, Arden is wonderful. The problem is I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED my Hamlet, only other two.. so be aware that Amazon is not perfect..

I am currently working on my MFA/Directing. I directed Hamlet and am now writing my defense of it. I have two thoughts on this third edition.

After going through this edition, from a point of view of the script, I'm not sure I understand the need to update Harold Jenkins's 2d edition. The script itself was easier to navigate in the 2d edition and I thought Jenkins's notes were more helpful. I also disagree with some of what Thompson and Taylor have to say in their editorial notes below the script. That said, I am biased because I used the 2d edition as a sort of "Hamlet Bible" as I directed the piece. Jenkins's notes were extremely insightful and useful. I became very comfortable with it.

On the other hand, this third edition has some different insight into the play in performance than does the second edition, as well as information on casting and music that was not included in Jenkins. Obviously there is much written about William Shakespeare in the world, and this 3rd edition of Arden is probably the most up-to-date resource for bibliographic material (as well as some photos of past productions of the play). Jenkins edition is 24 years old, ancient in the scholastic world's "what's new" when it comes to sifting the vast quantity of material written on Shakespeare and Hamlet.

Obviously, the needs of the theatrical world for playing Hamlet are different than that of the scholastic world (of which I am currently stuck in both). I think Jenkins is more user-friendly for the theatrician while Thompson & Taylor suit the needs of the scholastic better. My final thought is that a scholar/student of Shakespeare will want to have both the second and third editions for the differences they have to offer.

I certainly do not rate this item five stars for its stunning value. I rate this five stars because I think that if I had to pay the amount listed for any complete edition of Hamlet, I would. It is simply that good. If you have not read it, do so.

I am a Bardolator and an Orthodox Shakespearean; so that you'll know where I'm coming from. I paraphrase Whitman by claiming that Hamlet contains multitudes. And of what other literary figures can we say such things and get away with it sounding normal? Perhaps God (especially the Yahweh of the Tanakh) and Jesus (either Nazarethian or Christ), perhaps Ulysses. Hamlet is so huge a figure greater works than Amazon User Comments have been written on the mere subject of him being an influence greater than our comprehension. He transcends not only the literary but our cultural "genres", because it's in part his creation.

I don't recommend only one edition of Hamlet but as with Mozart's "Requiem", you get a richer picture by collecting publications that vary sometimes significantly and provide them as if they were pieces of a puzzle. But Arden is known for its impeccable quality and high standards in editing, so this is amongst those editions that you will find useful. I've already given my thoughts on the 1603/1623 edition, a treasure in itself, and about what makes this combination work. It's easier to read without falling under the annotations as happens with this edition, although it's necessary that the extensive web of footnotes exists right there where it's supposed to be: it's useful to have them there, and to have so extensive a bulk of annotations in the end would be a drag. I will say with a blink in the eye that they will make you educated.

This edition doesn't take sides on matters, although what I found positively surprising taking into account my own beliefs is how open-mindedly the editors Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor talk about the Shakespearean Ur-Hamlet instead of the Kydian. Ironic in itself since it was the 1982 Jenkins Arden edition that was quite aggressive about the chance of Shakespeare being the writer. I don't know if it has to do with Bloomian influence, but it's nice to see a widened perspective, considering that I'm always inclined to be fascinated by the thought of the young Shakespeare, having just arrived in London, creating this play of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark with whatever company Shakespeare was then, be it Pembroke's Men or those of Lord Chamberlain's, in the late 1580s, then it being performed and being pulled out of production. I would consider the Ur-Hamlet as being more of a collaboration in which Shakespeare wouldn't have had the complete freedom to create his vision, but a joint vision of a theatre group. It could've been pulled out because it wasn't well-received, or rather as I like to think, because Shakespeare, now in growing popularity with growing prestige and influence over his peers, felt that the play wasn't really what he had intended. If we believe that Shakespeare had his hand in the revisions of the Folio that was published in 1623, we could think that he was tinkering with the play until the very end. If we believe this to be true, it shouldn't be surprising if he had started moulding it not in 1603 but in the late 1580s or truly in the early 1590s.

We could continue of this subject forever, but then there is the thing itself: the play, the words, the beautiful narrative, the experience. "Hamlet" is so full of everything - not to mention the culture it has helped to mould - it's hard to come across unchanged; nay, it's impossible to come across unchanged, but hard not to be obsessed. If Hamlet obsesses with the ghost and revenge that transcends the mere excuse to kill, we've been trapped to obsess with Hamlet: there are cosmic things brewing in his mind, and in his words there's a metaphysical awareness, mysteriously shrouded to tingle our imagination in just the right way. He's a grand character, so much that Harold Bloom famously argues that it's in fact Hamlet that has been shaping our sense of a humanity; and ironically he's more human in his conflicted nature than any of us.

I'm also obsessed with self-reference, a term that's been losing its meaning since it first was spoken out loud. But it's a sort of phase in the process of the narrative becoming self-conscious and possibly transcending the limitations set for it by the medium and extending to the mind of the reader, becoming a lucid flow of introspection. I would like to think of "Hamlet" and "Don Quijote" as the two works most responsible for our modern notion of narrative introspection which uses self-reference to create a multi-layered reality. The basic concept, of course, is to be found in "Hamlet" where the prince sets out a play to catch the king's conscience: with "Mousetrap" we have a new reality inside the one we're dwelling, in fact geniusly reflecting the reality in which we think we live in (that of Hamlet's), yet only know because of what an infernal ghost has been telling us. Basically this means that also "Mousetrap" could be a fiction, and we could be guilty parties, as well, in believing Hamlet. Since Quarto 6 it has become standard to call the ghost "the ghost of Hamlet's father", although I think that Shakespeare enjoyed this ambiguity between truth and fiction and deliberately yet subtly referred to the possibility of the ghost being the main narrator by providing Hamlet with false information. I can't think of anything more delicious than to see Shakespeare playing the role of the ghost (as the legend tells) considering the possible lines we can draw from the ghost to Shakespeare himself as the illusionist, the mage Prospero, the possessed priest taking us beyond the cosmic doors.

This is but one way of reading Hamlet. What speaks of its importance and genius is that there are millions of ways of interpreting what the play means, and each of them is allowed their oddness because the play is so profound that it's possible to find a whole cosmos inside of it. This is a play that has grown out the concepts of a mere work of art into biblical propositions just as the Holy Writ, Iliad and Odyssey and Cervantes' "Don Quijote". This is art around which we can build our whole life, at least our literary existence. Then we become a part of something that's grander than our Zeitgeist, we arrive to the root of what has been a part of every generation's canon of literary minds. It's a legacy and a bloodline to be cherished.

With best regards,
AK

Weird Tales was a famous old magazine that turned up a lot of legends, so the title is a homage to that particular publication.

Mike Mignola lets some other people play with his character, and there are some pretty amusing things happen to him, as a girl chases him, a band harrasses him and other fun.

There are also stories featuring other BPRD luminaries.

While working for the BPRD, Hellboy and crew see a lot of action. Unfortunately for us, all this glorious information has to take a back seat to the other things pressing Mike Mignola for time. Its an understandable dilemma, mind you, and one that I?ve patiently worked around, hoping all the while for a few more delicious morsels from the Hellboy table and trying not to complain too much when I don?t get much. Still, only having one new story in 2003 come out that left my mouth watering, (in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings) reminding me of drink without quenching my thirst, wasn?t really the greatest feeling.

In order to fill in the gaps and to make us all feel better, Hellboy and the gang have been taken under the wings of mixed group of artists and storytellers, some questionable and some rather talented, allowing other people to work with what Mike started and try to give us that fix we want. And while they aren?t Mignola and you can tell it a few times way too much, some do an outstanding job of filling in and dosing up all the Hellboy junkies out there in need of a quick fix.

Now before I continue and rain praise on this parade that could be taken in many different lights, I have to let you in on a little secret. I?m actually a Hellboy junkie, fan of just about anything Mike Mignola touches, and I like following the stream that flows from that magically-tasty trough. I?ve gone to lengths to follow the BPRD sagas that have been coming out, tracking down one-shots of Abe Sapien before the TPB and finding the little hints Mignola has dropped here and there, so I?m not what you would call "unbiased party." I?ve followed quite a few forgettable drops in the artistic bucket just to catch three-four pages of a character I can?t seem to get enough of, and I?m assuming that most people that would go out and purchase this have to be at least a lower grade of obsessive like myself. For anyone that isn?t and is not familiar with the concept of the BPRD, they research the paranormal and they try to remedy those problems. More often than not that results in a little fist-to-face action, and more often than not it also involves some really strange recounts. For anyone unaware of who Hellboy is, there are a few books out there to answer a question that I?m not even going to begin tackling here.

In the Weird Tales installations, there were some rather high notes and quite a few stories. I personally enjoyed seeing a lot of them dedicated to the off-the-beaten-path characters, too, like Liz Sherman and Baba Yaga. While I wouldn?t go as far as to say that anything truly meaningful to Hellboy or the BPRD takes place in them, I?d say that they contain a lot of what you?d expect. Sometimes that unfortunately translates into something that I, as a reader knowledgeable in Hellboy, abhor because the writers feel they I have to be reminded of some of the essentials. Other times it also means that we get art that isn?t the greatest in the world (and, once or twice, that I wouldn't have let my pet use for diaper duty), and the short stories we find are just that and they aren?t really allowed to shuffle things around. A few times, however, everything hits just right, a demon kid breathes a little fire and sets everything ablaze, and I sit thinking that everything therein is just plain creepy. A little Baba Yaga comes to count the fingers of the dead, Hellboy does something interesting or recounts a tale of his youth, and Roger even finds his way into the fray. This happened enough times in the mix, at least once per comic edition to the Graphic Novel, so it made it pay off pretty well and made the other portions and complaints vanish. In fact, it was kind of surprising because I expected a disaster with Mignola off working on the Hellboy movie.

If you really don?t know anything about Hellboy and you?ve picked up on this as something of a primer, I?d advise you to go back and try on Mike Mignola?s work so you can get thoroughly acquainted with the idea. In the four main graphic novels, you?ll see what?s what and how the idea has influenced so many people, understanding what these stories are all about. These are more like tasty little tidbits to tie a person over, given to us by people that enjoy the concept but aren?t the Patient Zero of the Hellboy contagion. Its would actually be something akin to a cover in music, only its done with frames instead of melody. Also take note that this isn?t the whole collection because there are eight comics in the Weird Tales collection. That means there?ll be another graphic novel to come, and some of the stories that?ll be in it are really, really superb.

You reaction to the Hellboy compendium will have a lot to do with when you realize that none of the work included is Mike Mignola's. If you are simply a Hellboy fan and knew what you were buying when you bought it, you will most likely enjoy this effort by Dark Horse Books. If you didn't look closely (or failed to read the reviews), and specifically like Mignola's work, you may be disappointed. Unfortunately, I fall in the second category, having grabbed this off the shelves during a buying spree.

I'm not going to launch into an oration about publishers who profit by imitating (even if it is imitating themselves). There is a special place in hell for them and that will suffice. But behind the nicely done cover art there are only a few cases where the art is up to Mignola's standard - Jim Starlin, Simeon Wilkins, and Kia Amasiya. The others are pretty original, and one, done by J. H. Williams is interesting on its own right. But if you are looking for Mignola's severe, dark graphics, there isn't much here.

Writing varies considerably as well. I liked Love Is Scarier Than Death, Theater Of The Dead, and Toy Soldier the best. You get stories, some extra sketches, a long inclusion - A Lobster Johnson story - that left me cold, and some obligatory explanation about why this really is a Mignola comic book even if it isn't. Obviously there are people who would disagree with me, but this just falls short of the Mignola magic, proving, if nothing else, why he is as respected as he is.

Hellboy has become a huge success and creator Mike Mignola is busier than ever. So what do you do when the public wants more of your character than you can safely create? You invite other artists to put their own spin on things. This volume is a collection of such stories.

Midnight Cowboy - A young Hellboy gets into trouble at Area 51.
Haunted - Hellboy investigates a supposedly haunted house but finds no trace of ghosts but they find him.
Family Story - Hellboy is doing research and discovers some strange goings on in the family that owns the library.
Hot - Hellboy investigates something that is scaring people out of some Chinese hot springs. The Water Sprite he finds awakens the horn in him.
The Children of the Black Mound - Cold hard reason squares off against ghosts, legends and religion. A tale of a young historical figure.
Big-Top-hell-Boy - Hellboy investigates a cunning array of circus ghosts and find a curious property of his right hand.
Flight Risk - Aces of the jetpack vie for altitude records but some rather large bats may have other ideas.
Hellboy & Co in Downtime - Hellboy has tackled some evil entities in his time. Now he must face his ultimate challenges as he goes up against the office copier and the soda machine
Abe Sapien Star of the BPRD - Hellboy is just a musclebound bulk while Abe Sapien is the one who really brings home the sushi (I mean bacon).
Hey, Hey, Suckers! - Hellboy returns from a gala and can't help boasting and rubbing it in.
Curse of the Haunted Doily - Kate faces her mom's ghost
The Dread Within - Liz vs Possession
Still Born - Hellboy attends a dangerous birth in reality and in his dreams.
Party Pooper - Hellboy's birthday party

This is a fun collection. The stories vary between the silly to the dark and eerie. Art styles also cover most of the spectrum from the beautiful pencils of Hot to the cartoonish Hellboy and Co in Downtime. A must read for any Hellboy fan.

After just seeing Carrot Top's road show, I was hell bent on buying absolutely anything Carrotty! (He's amazing) But, when I bought this book, I was hoping for something a little more biographical. This book is full of prop pictures, and that's about it. And, it is not nearly as amusing as I thought it would be, which proves that the humor is mainly in Carrot's live delivery of the props. Not bad, but not great.

I found this enjoyable book by accident. I searched for books by "Scott Thompson" of "Kids in the Hall" fame, but I happened upon this little jewel. (It's not "that" Scott Thompson, but it's still a Scott Thompson I'd like to meet and call a friend!) At first I was a little worried. The title made me think I was going to be in for PFD humor...sort of like the Queens of Comedy (No, again, not Scott Thompson). This book is filled with good humor ideas that you can use as your own without giving credit to the author. Plus, it's not a very popular book, so no one will ever catch you. I had my friends in stiches with props I made by stitching. Literally! This book doesn't guarantee you'll become a college favorite like Carrot Top, but it won't hurt. A must have for any do-it yourselfer or amateur prop comedian.

Hillarious from beginning to end.I couldn't belive a book could be this funny, or touching I found myself being moved at least fifty times. Carrot Top is a true genius.

Julia's Uncle Barnaby is broke and 'sold' her to Mortimer Oswalt who uses virgins in a sacrifice cult fashion to cure him of his 'disease'. Julia decides that running away will not work but maybe loosing her virginity will stop the marriage. She seeks out worst rake in London who ends up being her savor! Great story and complex characters - Enjoy!

If you enjoy this genre check out the following novels; To Wed a Wicked Prince , The Naked Gentleman , Double Fantasy and Every Night I'm Yours (Zebra Historical Romance) .

Julia had no intention of being forced into A marriage with the despicable man who needed A virgin to wed. Since she's heard that Paine Ramsden is the notorious rake of the ton, she sets out to have him ruin her. Paine was shocked to see the beautiful woman asking for his assistance in her ruination, but with such A delectable prize, how could he resist? The man she is running from is also his hated enemy, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

I liked most of this book. It was A fast paced read. The writing was simple but the storyline made the book interesting enough to read. I liked watching the hero and heroine fall in love. I also liked the fact that Julia wasn't the average prudish heroine and she wasn't afraid to explore her desire for Paine even after she was ruined. I also thought Paine stayed true to his character as A rake because he had no qualms about ruining Julia because he had selfish motivations. He wanted her because he was attracted to her and he wanted to get his revenge on the man she was running from and that is one of the characterization of a rake. I also loved the fact that paine got the help of his family to battle the villain. It was refreshing to read about A family helping each other out in A romance novel. you never really see that, even though the family is suppose to be powerful.

The book started to unravel when it was close to the end. It was A bit unbelievable that the villain, A commoner, could have taken such liberties with an earl's brother. He tried to kill Paine even though his brother the earl and his whole family would have known about it and he still expected to be rewarded with A knighthood! He didn't even expect repercussions. Another thing that had me scratching my head was that no one called the authorities on this crazy man! Didn't they have Bow street runners back then or people in charge who could have been told of the villian's misdeeds? Another problem that I had was that the whole Sheath thing was not very romantic. In real life it is A must, but in A historical romance it is just not romantic. There was only one major love scene and the sensuality was about 5 out of 10. I enjoyed most of the book and didn't really start to lose interest until It was close to the end so I would still recommend it to someone who wants to read A fast paced book.

This book offers a powerfully renewing experience that builds spiritual practices to help readers share more fully in the life of Christ and to bring what is learned into all areas of church life. This twenty-eight-week spiritual journey will draw readers into daily time with God through individual reading and reflection and will gather individuals weekly with others in a faith community for deeper exploration. This book provides diverse, imaginative settings for learning the spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture, deepest thoughts and longings and recalling where God has been especially present in each life. At other times, members of the group will participate in community sharing to explore common stories, questions, and discoveries about a relationship with Christ.

This is a very detailed book. It deals with just about every phase of the aircraft. The book begins with bios on the engineers who designed the A-20 or DB-7. Included are French versions, Russian and or Foreign lend-lease versions. A nice chapter on service with US Army Air Forces includes the 3rd Attack Group (The Grim Reapers) during W2 in the Pacific. This book has a lot of very informative photos describing virtually all phases of this aircraft including uses after WW2.Appendix include A-20 specifications,Engines used on the DB7/A-20 Series and a production list that associates the contract numbers with serial numbers and contract dates. Physically, it is a well made book. The only draw back is that it only has 176 pages. At the new 2007 price of fifty dollars it is a very expensive book considering it's size. I bought it before the new price came into effect. If I had to pay the new price it would be a very hard decision and I am not sure it is worth that much.

Perfectly acceptable book if you want a fun intro about how plants grow. Shows kids making plant "aliens" with living grass for hair. Gives very basic info about what plants need to grow and photosynthesis. The book is colorful and photos where taken just for MAKE IT GROW. There is a nice illustration showing the roots, leaves, and stem. There are a couple of activities, a glossary, an index, and a few questions to think about at the end of the book. Karen Woodworth Roman, MS. Children's Science Book Review

While this book was fun to read, it is also a serious attempt into describing the definition of evil versus good. It is also a look into how rumors take hold and just how much a rumor is a rumor and what is the truth? People take different viewpoints on one another and this book shows that.

I am not sure what I expected when I read this book. I have read one other of his book in its entirety and another one that I put down because it was too crude for my liking. This book is much better than those two and definitely had me thinking. I love Wizard of Oz the movie and the book ... but this is such a refreshing change of pace that I enjoyed this book too.

Let's start with Elphaba's skin color. It's green and even her own mother didn't want to nurse her. Elphaba grew up as an intellectual. She disappeared from main society when she decided to take up a cause of saving the Animals (the talking ones, that is) and fell in love with one of her former classmates. Then there's Nessarose, her sister, who is the Witch of the East. Beautiful and beloved of her family, Elphaba had to take care of Nessa until she escaped to the university at Shiz. The comparison between the sisters is simple. One is considered to be ulgy but is the brains. The other one is beautiful but considered to be dim. Now who is the more dangerous woman? Definitely not Elphaba. Elphaba danced more in the shadows trying to avoid controversy. Nessa ruled the Munchkins and is the one that chopped off the Tin Man's arm and set the lovesick carpenter on the road to becoming a man of tin.

This is just a sampling of what went on in this book. It is a story of a woman who legend has made her into a terrible person, when in reality she wasn't. Dorothy wasn't even trying to kill her, just helping to clean Elphaba up. Yet, Maquire showed what could have been and is a different version of Baum's Wizard of Oz. He has managed to tie in the political climes of the 90s into this book and I had to keep looking at the copyright as some of his theories are still timeless that it's true even today.

I have not seen the musical and would love to. While this book is recommended that I read for a book club ... I am glad that I finally had a chance to. It is much better than I expected and definitely kept me on my toes. I love books that make me think.

9/2/08

I just finished reading Wicked at 3:50am 29 Aug 08.

This book is not my normal read. The style was much darker than I had thought it would be. In the first 80 or so pages, I could not believe how bad the book was. But as I read on I fell in love with the Wicked Witch of the West. While the book describes her as unattractive, I see her as the most beautiful creature in OZ. I wanted to cry when it ended even though we all know how it ends. I think it would hurt to much to read this again but still a must read.

The book was in decent condition upon arrival. The book itself is worth the read, I enjoyed seeing the land of Oz through the prepective of the Elpahba (the wicked witch). Gregory Maguire has become one of my favorite arthors and I am now unable to put his books down.

This book offers a peculiar mix of philosophical blather and burlesque comedy. I give it one star because the writing is good enough to draw you in but then leaves you high and dry. The other star is earned by the characters of Nanny and Amah Clutch (I'm not sure about the spelling of Amah Clutch as I listened to this book).

You can read "Wicked", as I did, with little awareness of the musical. Of course this is a clever idea, and we often find the evil or bad people much more interesting, George Lucas' bungling of Darth Vader notwithstanding. Elphaba is the center of attention, naturally, but only occasionally is actually interesting. An opportunity for true development of her character and a mission was lost.

Elphaba, never really "wicked", never really develops. She has her moments, inspired about animal rights and mildly fighting the Wizard's tyranny. I read the theme about the dysfunctional Oz and the suppression of rights and all that as a creative idea, and not as a parallel to America or anything else. Trying to compare Oz to modern times isn't that interesting and, if Maguire really meant to do that, he did a lame job. His story and writing were not nearly sophisticated enough, and he had no plot that developed the theme well enough.

I wouldn't exactly call the book dull. For one thing, I kept wondering when the development into the "wicked witch" would occur and when Dorothy would appear. Why so long in the Vinkus west - is something going to happen? How exactly was he going to hook into the movie's events? It's getting rather late, don't you think? Finally, Dorothy drops in, the action picks up temporarily, and then the novels sputters to its end.

I can see why the musical is apparently different. The novel clearly needed to be adapted for the stage, as it's too dark as is.