English Books

All this book is, is a collection of the daily comic from the last book with very little new material. I don't think they've created any new material for this strip sense Liz and John ended up together.

This is a great book. I hope Jim Davis makes a 50th.

Other than now being in full color instead of black and white, Garfield hasn't changed much over the years. He still picks on Jon and Odie, sleeps all the time, loves food, and can't help being nasty, incorrigible, and hopelessly loveable. This book is a thick, beautiful, and easily readable tome to everybody's favorite cat.

Highly recommended.

I have been reading Garfield books for a long time now, and I have wathched him evolve in his animation and personality. He is truly still just as funny as he was when he first started. He has made us laugh through all these years, and is still making books. The book was truly classic Garfield. I hope Jim Davis makes a 50th.

Okay, there's not many days left until Xmas but let me assure you that this Garfield book makes an excellent last-minute gift. Everyone I know loves Garfield and would be thrilled at getting a book like this.

It's rather thick and taller than usual. Plus it's in full color. As long as I can remember I've loved reading Garfield, even when I was a little kid reading the black and white pocket books. So kids will appreciate this too. Trust me.

It opens with 'Garfield's code of Nevers', such as 'Never Eat the Mystery Meat. And ends with 'Garfield's Top Ten Suggestions for New Athletic Events, such as 'The Fridge Lift' and 'Eat till you Explode'. Crammed inbetween are hundreds of hilarious comic strips. Plus there is information on the last page on how to join the Garfield fan club. And why not?

I'm the pastor of a Wesleyan church in the US and I have been learning to pray the Daily Office - morning and evening prayer. This little book is great for a travel prayer book, as it is smaller and much less complicated than the Benedictine Daily Prayer.

As a protestant, I have to adjust some of the wording about Mary and the saints, but that is a small sacrifice for the joy of praying with the larger church throughout history!

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who seeks to deepen his or her experience of God through dedicated times of prayer each day!

This book is a perfect introduction into the liturgy of prayer. It is basically a simplified version of the Liturgy of the Hours (simplified in complexity, not content). Each day of the week has morning and evening prayer. There are also prayers for mid-morning, noon, afternoon and evening. Also included is a very nice selection of traditional prayers (the Creed, Act of Contrition, etc.) as well as prayers for various occasions. At the end of the book there is a selection of quotes from the Rules of St. Benedict.

This prayer book is put out by the Benedictine community of Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. The book is a slim volume and is easily carried around. It is perfect for someone (like myself) who wants to develop the habit of prayer and needs a nice introduction to it. There is only one ribbon to move around and it just goes from one day of the week to another. The prayers and liturgies are fairly short and can be done in five or ten minutes. The prayers for mid-morning, etc., are perfect for doing in your car before or after lunch (in the parking lot, not propped up on your steering wheel).

If you are looking for a great tool to help you develop the habit of prayer and that is easy to incorporate into your home and work life, this is it.

Simple reverant prayers in the Benedictine tradition that brings the holy to the every day. A wonderful book to bring along whenever one is seeking a practice to remember the art of spiritual surrender.

I have been looking for a good benedictine prayer book that is easy to follow, and practical for my Oblate studies, and the Glenstal book fits the bill. The monks of Glenstal really put clever thought in putting together this book of prayer for non-monks. Thank you for an excellent tool for lay-monastics, and anyone interested in a solid book of christian prayer.

The secular prayerful person may find in this prayer book a schema of prayer accessible to and useful for the person who cannot give up their day job for contemplative purposes. I keep a copy on my prayer table at all times, and find it very useful for constant prayer.

Unlike other such Books of Common Prayer or Monastic Diurnals, it is not overwhelming in its requirements. It gently and lightly suggests a system of prayer for every day of the week, and for the holidays, morning and evening, following the traditional monastic format which dates back before Saint Benedict. No wonder as Glenstal is a Benedictine Abbey.

It also includes much of the traditional prayers once so well known but now difficult to locate, in a very useful and handy lay out. Many of those traditional prayers heard at your grandmother-s knee and not heard since but cherished in memory are represented here, as well as suggestions for prayers at every occassion of the day.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to introduce regular prayer into their lives (or the life which God has so generously lent to us) as a centering worship of recollection and peace in God-s love. An urgently necessary element of any prayerful life.

No matter how many times I read this to my son, I never tire of it. He loves the beautiful pictures and I love those plus the clever, sweet, soothing bedtime story. This is now one of my very favorite children's books.

Goodnight Mr. Night was an instant hit for both my children. They have never been afraid of the dark knowing Mr. Night is looking after them.

A beautiful bed time book that the entire family can enjoy. This is one of my all time favorites.

Good Night, Mr. Night is a book that was written as a night time aid to parents of small children. Some children are very reluctant to fall asleep and this book, with its somber mood and colorful yet peaceful drawings, is intended to be used as a means to get little children to stop resisting the inevitable, close their eyes, and get a good night's sleep.

What I like best about this book are the drawings. Each drawing is colorful, but yet the mood of the book remains somber. And the drawing of Mr. Night is very effective. Instead of drawing this figure as a cartoon- like person, the illustrator of the book wisely decided to add some creative flair by depicting Mr. Night as a person whose body is comprised of stars set against a black background- just like looking at the night time sky. Mr. Night even has crescent moons for his eyes. This creative angle on the drawing makes Good Night, Mr. Night, a better book than it otherwise might have been.

The message of falling asleep is pretty clear in this book and reading it to little children usually accomplishes the book's main goal. However, the writing of this book isn't really anything special. Not only are the words very bland and lacking creativity, but there is also no rhyming or rhythm. Kids generally enjoy rhymes, and it would have taken little effort to add rhyming patterns or something rhythmic to the book. This would have improved its effectiveness.

There are several good books to read to little children to get them to go to sleep. Good Night, Mr. Night is one book in a large market that continues to grow as more and more individuals come forward with books designed for children. This book isn't the greatest in its class, but that doesn't mean it has no useful value. It is still a good book for small children and it does accomplish its main task. It offers a good degree of success at getting youngsters to fall asleep and for that reason alone, it is worth buying.

I agree with the previous reviews that this is a great bed time story with stunning paintings.
But.....I personally preferred hard cover stories for kids especially when it will be read at bed time.

I use this book as a grammar reference and conversation stimulus in my ESL classes and private tutoring.
It's very well organized although the cd only contains every 4 chapters which is a bit disappointing. However the students like it which is essential.

I love this book. It should not be used as a reference but for practicing your American English. Perhaps the exercises should be a little harder. It is well organized into sections and explains things in a clear way.

Great grammar book for anyone whose grammar is rusty. This would be a great tool for ESL teachers because each 2-page lesson is self-contained with grammar explanations and exercises. I like the format that lets someone do one lesson at a time at his/her own pace.

Students love this book and so do I as their teacher in English as a Second Language or ESL in the El Paso TX area. This puts the polish on the vocabulary, comprehension, pronunciation, and confidence I attempt to instil in my students...the answers are in the back to aid self study and the CD allows them to hear correct pronunciation prior to coming to class so the class acts as a review for thier homework. Thank you.

My children studied the basic version of Grammar in Use. As non-English speaking family, I am happy that our children are enrolled in GT classes or in a Magnet school. They have gotten 'A's in Reading and/or English. Now they are learning this version. Well organized expressions and rich examples are guiding them to the 'fast track'.

This was a great resource book- and I am not one to read teaching books!

Couple this with two great literature books for all beginning teachers.
Life's Little Lessons: An Inch-By-Inch Tale of Success
and The Big Squeal: A Wild, True, and Twisted Tail...each come with a wonderful 10-page guide with strategies and activities for teaching reading built around these lovely stories. Every fall I recommend them to parents to share and use with their kids at home.
Written by two teachers, they are great tool for the classroom as well.

This book has many great ideas! It is very simple and to the point. YOu can turn around and use these lessons tomorrow.

I wish every teacher in America could teach reading this way- we would have classrooms full of kids who LOVE to read instead of kids who get DRILLED to death with phonics and word attack skills.... phonics is important but learning to choose appropriate books and LOVING them will create LIFE LONG readers... this author knows that and shares her thoughts in a fabulous way :)

We just finished a Book Study @ school using this book! We all thought her suggestions were great (especially the one about not ONLY using running records & DRA levels to "label" readers) but using individual conferencing also.
Mini Lesson Ideas abound! Specifics are included throughout! A must-have in your personal/professional library for ANY Elementary School Reading Teacher!

This is a very simple and eloquent little book, covering a topic I have not seen covered elsewhere. The book is filled with poetic wisdom and delightful graphics that can be enjoyed by seekers on any spiritual path.

I love this book. I found it in a book store and decided to buy it on Amazon to get a cheaper price. It is a beautiful, simple and extremely enjoyable guide to prayer. It has thoughtful and touching images on every single page, and guides you through the steps of prayer in the Muslim or Sufi way. I feel this prayer practice is appropriate for all faiths, however. Performing this prayer, in the right way, meaing with the intention to reach God, leads to stable calm and sustainable peace throughout your day. The practice is not too strenuous, though it does require effort and mindfullness, which makes it worth all the more. Highly recommended!

This is a great book not only for Muslims but for anybody who wants to learn the basics of Islam. I have my own copy and bought a copy for a Christian friend who loved it. Check it out...the language is easy to understand and the illustrations are very nice too!

simply excellent as amalgamated text/image gestalt.

there ought to be a video/film version...

this is the islam that does not divide.
this is judaism and christianity and paganism.
this is where why when spirituality is all One (the Unity...),
and all sects etc are merely flavors that are freely admitted
into the the cave, the (sweat)lodge, the temple, the masjid, the cathedral, the adobe, the sound chambers...

super book. get it and ... don't FOLLOW it....orbit it....and let it orbit you. then together, orbit the next dozing set of shadows who forgot about Unity..........and they'll orbit you when you forget...

yes, the compassionate roshi whack zikr

I am generally a fan of Coleman Barks work; this book, however, was a disappointment. The jacket cover says of Michael Green "is working to create a new kind of sacred art for our time." This is an accurate description - he is still "working" with some successes and some failures. The net result is that pursuing the volume's art, one is encouraged to explore further.

Coleman Barks' text interweaves Jellaludin Rumi, who is translated well, with Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a contemporary Sufi teacher. Unfortunately, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen does not fare well in the comparison. Bark's descriptions of personal experience and renderings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen evoke thoughts of many of the South Asian "mystics" who arrived in the US in the late 60's and early 70's. While there are teachers who impress me in under 16 pages, this teacher leaves me unimpressed in 140.

This book does have value in its explanation of the ritual prayer of the Muslim Sufi. It deals well with the relationship between the physical and mental aspects of prayer. It raises some interesting questions regarding the relationship of revealed scripture (the Koran) and the interpretation of the scripture, especially mystical meaning.

The net result is a book that is interesting reading for the insights into the followers of a particular teacher, one easily representative of a class of teachers. It shows both the spiritual needs and the "leaps of faith" taken to fill those needs. In that, Coleman Barks has performed a service for us.

This is a classic book, in the sense that it addresses one of the many topics forever dealt upon by humankind in all form and manner, but in a refreshing light. The style is elegant, the prose superb and the story itself is extremely charming and interesting. I read the book when I was barely 11, and to this day I keep a copy on my book shelf (albeit now in sight of grown ups!).

I recently ordered the 1965 paperback version of this book, even though a newer version exists. I vaguely remembered the cover of the book I read when I was maybe ten, and I want to read exactly the same one. It was a woman or maybe not, but it was someone's face coming at the camera, all misty around with aquamarine--vegetation? I decided I would recognize it when I saw it.

Amazon quoted this opening line: "I was born into a devout Roman Catholic family, and spent a great part of my first ten years among kindly Franciscan monks..." and it starts in Hungary, I believe. So wait, it happened in another country? Obviously, for as much as I remembered of this book, I might as well not have read it.

But I know I did, repeatedly, and I passed it back and forth with my older sister, so she could read it and look at me, round-eyed and scandalized. We couldn't TALK about it, but we could share the unspoken, forbidden thrill of looking at the cover of this thin paperback on our parents' bookshelf and knowing what was in it, reveling in the fact that the other knew, too. We had free range on our parents' bookshelves, and I read some strange stuff. As I ordered the 1965 paperback, I prepared myself for the disappointment of finding it dated and quaint and silly... oh, but in 1970, when I first read it? It steamed. It glowed. It rocked.

The book arrived, and the cover was instantly familiar to me. A blonde woman reaching for a branch, not looking all that old but definitely incarnating the epitome of sexual beauty in 1965. I'm happy to report that this book lives up to and in places surpasses my memories of it. It has its moments of uncomfortably politically incorrect anachronism (he expresses a desire to rape a woman, and it is taken as a compliment) and there are turns of phrase I take to be clumsy translations (what is a twisting buttock?). But it's a paean to sexual awakening and the varied and maddening charms of experienced women. And it's such a portrait of the different kinds of love; romantic, obsessive, domestic, protective. And every type is viewed as ephemeral.

It's also distinctly European. It's refreshing to read of the older woman as an object of desire. In America, most sexually interested older women are seen as fearsome harpies of the Mrs. Roper/ Peg Bundy variety. And the author is a philosophy professor, so as part of his erotic memoirs, he offers some interesting insights. Here's a thought-provoking passage:

As love is an emotional glimpse of eternity, one can't help half-believing that genuine love will last forever. When it would not, as in my case it never did, I couldn't escape a sense of guilt about my inability to feel true and lasting emotions. This shame was surpassed in intensity only by my doubts as to whether my lover had ever really loved me, when she was the one who had ended the affair. In this I'm like most of my skeptical contemporaries: since we no longer reproach ourselves for failing to conform to absolute ethical precepts, we beat ourselves with the stick of psychological insight. When it comes to love, we reject the distinction between the moral and the immoral for the distinction between "genuine" and "superficial." We're too understanding to condemn our actions; we condemn our motives instead. Having freed ourselves from a code of behavior, we submit to a code of motivation to achieve the sense of shame and anxiety that our elders acquired through less sophisticated means. We rejected their religious morality because it set man against his instincts, weighed him down with a burden of sins which were in fact the workings of natural laws. Yet we still atone for the creation: we think of ourselves as failures, rather than renounce our belief in the possibility of perfection. We hang on to the hope of eternal love by denying even its temporary validity. It's less painful to think "I'm shallow" "She's self-centered" "We couldn't communicate" "It was all just physical" than to accept the simple fact that love is a passing sensation, for reasons beyond our control and even beyond our own personalities. But who can reassure himself with his own rationalizations? No argument can fill the void of a dead feeling--that reminder of the final void, our final inconstancy. We're untrue, even to life.

A code of motivation rather than a code of behavior--I find this a fascinating idea to consider. It's a good book, well worth the read. It holds up under the weight of its years, just like some older women.

I read with amusement the comments about how Americans haven't picked up on this book. Hate to bust some Euro-cherries, but I read this in the Fifth Edition (1969) in high school in rural Colorado in about 1970.

In its time, it was a good book. I had my son read it, and discovered my old copy while cleaning out his room (he's off to University). That in turn, sparked my interest to see if it was still in print.

I liked Vizinczey style when I first read it. It would be interesting to pick up on Andras in his later years, just to see how the character evolved. It's one thing to be unattached and picking up what you can, it's quite another to have been in a sustained relationship for more than a few years.

After +30 years I have found his descriptions of women superficial. Most of the 'older' women I know today, post birth control pill, post mass access to University education, post establishment of career (and the subsequent disillusionment), would make quick hash of Andras.

My comment refers to the second FRENCH edition of this novel, paperback edition. I was curious to read comments of readers oversease and came to this site ...

I am a "post birth control pill, post university education, post career establishment and delusionment woman". Yet, I LOVED this novel and found these women so close to what we still are. Times have changed, life has become much easier for women - and maybe more difficult for men ? - but one thing has not changed : the relationship between men and women. When it comes to sexuality, men know exactly what they want, and from an early age, whereas women have to learn this gradually (if they are given a chance of course and are open to "learning" ...)This is why in 2006 you still find giggling silly teens like in S. Vicinzsey's book, adolescent older women (30 - 40, but also 40 - 50 ... Why should sexuality stop at ANY age ?), frigid younger women, and women of all ages who know what they want ! Nowadays most of the married women in the book Andras Vardas had a relationship with would get a divorce. However, they may first start with a lover and some will even chose to have a lover but not to divorce ... And of course this lover would look like Andras, a man who has learnt "not only to speak to women but also to listen to them." So have times changed? Hardly.

The book takes the form of a series of small adventures, one in each chapter on the background of Stalinistic and opressed but sexualy liberated Hungary in the 1950s and poltically free but puritan Canada. The anecdotes and the historical perspective enhance the interest of the stories.

This is why it is a wonderful little unpretentious book, not a milestone of the world literature (this is why I dump one star), yet a book to recommend for reading to anybody interested in men - women relationships, what erotism is all about.

I have just read In Praise of Older Women for the second time. Many reviewers have drawn attention to the wisdom contained in this little book, which slyly presents itself as a breviary for young men without lovers. I am reluctant to insist on its status as "an erotic classic," for fear that to do so would confine it to a very narrow context. Indeed, the erotic scenes do not constitute the heart and soul of the story, nor do they even take up very much room. Rather, the book brings some very subtle psychological observations to bear on human relationships. Note, for example, the analysis of the "rapport des forces" between the older women and the younger hero. Zsuzsa, a "small, colourless woman," struggles to overcome her pride. Her coyness turns to compliance only when Vajda snaps at her, showing his passion (one recalls a scene in The Red and the Black: playing for somewhat higher stakes that Vajda, Julien tears a sword from the wall, imprudently displaying his passion before Mathilde, who briefly sees that he loves her). Other women aim stinging remarks at the young man only to succumb to his advances; or else they are guarded and surly the morning after, suspicious (and, in many case, rightly so) of the young Don Juan's motives. In another case, it is Vajda who is prideful. In his efforts to keep up with an energetic violinist whose relentless athletic pursuits and strange sleeping habits he takes as a challenge, the poor Casanova wears himself down to the bone. Vajda also writes of the anonymous onanists, versions of Dostoevsky's "underground man," who keep to themselves and satiate their erotic cravings in solitude. These misanthropes belong to the category of men who have not opened themselves up to women, who want to seduce and dominate the opposite sex, unlike Vajda, who looks on women as "accomplices." The book is a very strong and subtle critique of pride. When I think back on its contents, I remember not only the pleasant watercolors of Hungary and Rome, the descriptions of bodies and faces, and the maxims worthy of La Rochefoucauld ("Whatever is sanctioned by society as a principal good also becomes a moral imperative"), but also the wry humor that examines human interaction with sympathy and insight. While desire plays a large role in the recollections of the hero, the extent to which the author soars above his past is quite remarkable. To be invited to partake of his calm gaze is a pleasure worth repeating. One can read this book again without tiring of it.

The book was very well received in France. "Un bain de bonheur" was how one reviewer described it. How to account for its popularity in Europe (the book has been a best-seller in Spain and elsewhere I believe)? It is true that eroticism has been raised to the level of a value in France, which deploys its Catholic moeurs like scud missiles against a monolithic (and not wholly imaginary) American puritanism. Ideology aside, the fact remains that France knows how to appreciate good literature.

I see that the author himself has posted a review translated from the French. Good for him. America should know about the European point of view.

Basically it is a mix between the original 2 scripts for the movie, making it pretty much twice as awesome!

Those random small things that left you hanging in the movie such as where does the Left Knocker lead?

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Ah, another George Lucas movie. Well now its a awesome book. I personally love it as much as Star Wars. Its a strange tale, of a strange girl, who gets trapped in a strange land....wow, does that sound familiar. This is my favourite book! I love it more than Interveiw with the Vampire! and thats alot of love!

If you liked the movie, then you'll love this book. I bought a mint condition copy for about seventy dollars last year, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Like the movie, the book tells of a young girl draw into a fantasy world by her own overactive imagination in order to save her little brother, who has been stolen by the goblin king, who says he is only seeking favor in her eyes, and seems to have fallen in love with her.

The book follows the storyline of the movie exactly, but offers more insight into the characters thoughts and actions. I can remember in particular that the ballroom scene was quite staggeringly more descriptive. A wonderful book, worth the price; espescially if you can find one in good condition.

this book is worth every penny... its a story about a day dreaming girl who wishes her little brother to a land of goblins castles and of course the labyrinth. if you dont want to spent 50 dollars on this book you CAN GET IT FOR FREE.. just google it and youll find the transcript of the book that you can print out and read.. its not like having the book... but its way cheaper..

gosh, i was six when i first saw the movie! now that i'm eighteen makes no difference how i love this enchanting story.

smith brings the story up to another level, as he dwelves deeper into sarah's feelings... and also jareth's. the chemistry between the two is undeniable. i would like to think that in another situation both of them would be together, albeit the fact that she's mortal and he a goblin prince.

smith's writing is of course, very detailed and deep, and he tries to explain all the different meanings and reads between the lines of the movie. he has us vying for the king, and rooting for the good guys, too. he makes us want jareth to have a happy ending, and perhaps one with sarah. he makes us want to see the movie.

well, maybe the movie IS old, and the special effects kind of horrid by today's standards, but truth be, enchantments are timeless.

Big tough talking penguins and talking never ending desserts, what more could you want? Ok, that, but this is a kids book, and one you should get if you have some (kids, that is, not talking penguins and puddings). There are the good guys, and there are the bad guys. Both are hungry, but the bad guys want to put out tasty pudding friend to nefarious ends, while the good guys just want enough dessert. Needless to say, the pudding is cantankerous.

The Magic Pudding is a fun-and-nonsense tale that has become my nine-year-old son's favorite book. It deserves to be published in the US so that American children can enjoy what has become a classic in Australian children's literature. If you enjoy Roald Dahl's books, "The Phantom Tollbooth," and "Alice in Wonderland" you'll enjoy this.

Bunyip Bluegum the Koala leaves home because he can't stand the sight of his uncle's whiskers in the soup any more. He meets Barnacle Bill the sailor and Sam Sawnoff the penguin, who own a remarkable pudding. Every time you cut a slice from the pudding, another one grows in its place, you can eat as much as you like, the pudding lasts forever. What's more, you can change the pudding to any kind you like, it can be steak and kidney or plum duff or jam roly poly. The pudding is apt to get discontented and starts complaining if it isn't eaten enough. Such a desirable pudding is naturally at constant risk from pudding thieves, and the three friends have their work cut out trying to outwit the sneaky Possum and Wombat who are always trying to steal it. This is a very funny story with lots of action and a great many fights, it should appeal to anyone who likes humorous fantasy.

Honestly, I'm no read-aloud wimp! And my kids are usually up for anything. They giggled like mad at the pompous puns of Mr. H.M. Wogglebug T.E. in the Oz books, and urged on my faux-Yorkshire accent in the Secret Garden. The century-old Australian slang and endless sea shanties of the Magic Pudding, though, just about did us in. It really is a magnificent flight of fancy, but there were just too many incomprehensible sentences to paraphrase and longggg songs to make up tunes for. Save this for when you're at your most daring and energetic, read-aloud parents!

This book is part of the wonderful new series of republished children's books from the New York Review of Books. Over 80 years old, "The Magic Pudding" describes the adventures of a koala bear, named Bunyip Bluegum - the kind of koala who wears a high collar and spats - who falls in with a crazy cowboy sort of fellow named Bill Barnacle and a penguin named Sam Sawnoff.

Bill and Sam are possessed of a magic pudding (named Albert, if you can believe this), who regenerates every time you take a bite of him and changes into whatever flavor you like. Albert the pudding is much coveted by two evil villains who are constantly tricking our Heroes into giving up the Pudding, whereupon they must go and re-re-re-rescue it.

The characters and style are very reminiscent of "Alice in Wonderland," with Bunyip seeming a little White-rabbitish to me, and Bill and Sam sort of Mad Hatter and Dormouse-y. The effect is somewhere in between "Alice" and an old Loony Tunes in which Bugs Bunny constantly bewilders Elmer Fudd.

The whole narrative is punctuated with many whimsical song lyrics, like the poetry in Carroll's book. The lyrics make it a great read-aloud for the younger set, although older kids might be a bit puzzled by its style. However, everyone will be charmed by the Pudding himself and want one of their very own.

As a former student of Ms. LaPlante's, I have first-hand knowledge of her teaching talent. She has somehow managed to get her priceless lectures into a book that is thorough and accessible. Teachers and writers of all shapes and sizes will find a way into their material with Alice LaPlante's guide. Not all teachers are excellent writers and not all writers are excellent teachers. Alice is uniquely both. Lucky us that Alice decided to write this book. Enjoy!

Alice LaPlante's "The Making of a Story" is textbook-length (well over six hundred pages), and should appeal not only to serious writing students, but also to teachers and readers who would like more insight into how writers create. Creative writing is not for the faint-hearted; that is clear from the outset. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when staring at a blank page or screen, trying to come with original ideas and fresh ways to express them. LaPlante gently and slowly guides her readers through the entire process from getting off the ground to putting the finishing touches on the final draft.

LaPlante's scope is encyclopedic. She includes such topics as: making the ordinary extraordinary, employing imagery effectively, writing a good opening, developing plot and characters, choosing a point of view, writing believable dialogue, generating suspense, and revising one's work. She also discusses the strengths and limitations of writing workshops. The author emphasizes that there are no hard and fast rules; rather, she is passing on "conventions" that have worked for many but not all writers.

How does this work differ from others of its type? "The Making of a Story" covers more territory than most writing handbooks. Part of the book's length results from the inclusion of quite a few full-length classic stories, such as Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," John Cheever's "The Swimmer," James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," and a non-fiction piece, Barbara Ehrenreich's "Welcome to Cancerland." Each work is followed by thought questions such as "How do the opening paragraphs set the tone for the story?" and "Can you point to some sections of narration that are convincing because of their specificity?" There are also dozens of exercises sprinkled throughout the book. For example, the student should pretend that she is a camera and record everything that she sees in a place rich with visual stimulation.

"Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose is another excellent work of this type; in fact, LaPlante quotes Prose and even uses the phrase "Reading as a Writer" repeatedly. "The Making of a Story" is well organized into fourteen carefully constructed chapters. There is a useful table of contents, a glossary of literary terms, a bibliography, a list of stories, and a thorough index. This guide cannot be absorbed in one sitting. It should be savored slowly and kept as a ready reference book. Used judiciously, it can serve as a source of inspiration to help writers bring out the best in themselves.

This book has great insight into what it takes to be a creative author. My only complaint is the content of some of the sample stories. I realize they are very well written and serve the intended purpose. However, when limited pieces of suspense and crime stories are included it leaves the readers (who are simply trying to to get an education) with a terrible feeling in the pit of their stomach.

The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante is the BEST BOOK I have read on creative writing--a truly "modern" version of older books like Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction and John Gardner's The Art of Fiction. The book is broader and deeper than previous books: for example it contains information on writing creative nonfiction as well as fiction; it describes the traditional models of shaping a story (conflict-crisis-resolution model, epiphany and change models) but is inclusive, allows for a wider, organic, more creative definition (stories must surprise us and convince us at the same time Alice says); it contains 26 complete short stories from outstanding writers (Baldwin, Carver, Cheever, Chekhov, Cooper, Didion, Ehrenreich, Hemingway, Johnson, Lamott, Oates, O'Brien, Packer, Sharma, and others) AND has exercises for writers at the end of each chapter--and examples of each exercise completed by students from Alice LaPlante's classes whose writing excellence is equal in many cases to that of the published authors in the book. What is really helpful is the ability of these exercises, or "constraints" as she explains, to help writers (beginners or advanced) access their personal, authentic, most inspirational material. This book teaches how to combine method (craft) with madness (inspiration) and is fascinating to read! I recommend it to anyone who loves stories--readers and writers.

Alice LaPlante's THE MAKING OF A STORY: A PRIMER lucidly explains the craft basics of fiction and creative nonfiction, presenting numerous examples from both genres. However, this massive book's subtitle, " a primer," led me to expect a multi-genre approach as in Burroway's IMAGINATIVE WRITING: THE ELEMENTS OF CRAFT, which covers not only fiction and creative nonfiction but also drama and poetry. (See my Amazon review of the second edition of Burroway.)

Several of the illustrative short stories LaPlante includes are the same as in the classic WRITING FICTION: A GUIDE TO NARRATIVE CRAFT by Janet Burroway and in Tom Bailey's ON WRITING SHORT STORIES.

For introductory writing courses that discuss fiction and creative nonfiction (but exclude drama and poetry) LaPlante's detailed primer could well be a better choice as it is relatively cheap, nearly one-fourth the price of the two Burroway books. For teaching yourself the basic craft aspects of creative writing, I recommend Burrroway's concurrent multi-genre IMAGINATIVE WRITING as the best primer. For the beginning short-story writer, I recommend Tom Bailey's ON WRITING SHORT STORIES & SHORT-STORY WRITER'S COMANION.

-- C J Singh