Entertainment Books

As a life long Osmond fan, I was captivated by this book. Donny really put himself out there, the book was honest, written with feeling,I really understood the grown up Donny and felt the fear he must have felt when he was going through his Social Phobia. I am glad that he wrote it the way he did. People get the wrong impressions and they run with them. I feel that fans and the entertainment industry let Donny down. Everyone wanted the gorgeous teen aged boy, he grew to be a handsome man, a loving husband, a good father and a fantastic artist. This book gave you a true picture of who Donny is and that above all he is human just like the rest of us. I have even read this book again because it was very interesting. We see the glamour and the fun part of being famous, but it has its nightmares and is very hard work. What I admire about Donny the most is that he hasn't let success change who he is, he could have done something drastic to be in the front pages amd he has chosen not to. As of this date he is married to Debbie for 30 years now, how many celebrities can say that.

Am not a big reader but loved to hear how Just like others Donny has not had a perfect life, A must for all Donny fans and those who just want a insight into his life.

LIFE IS JUST WHAT YOU MAKE IT: MY STORY SO FARas I read donny's book, i couldnt help but feel partly responsible for Donny's downfall from super stardom. I was devastated to learn of Donny's marriage to Debbie and felt so betrayed by him that i put my Osmond albums and posters away and turned my back on him for what I vowed would be forever. It made me sad to read how hard it was for him to go from being on top of the world to a has been at the age of 21. And a broke has been as well. At times through out the book, i felt Donny was feeling sorry for himself but then, thats understandable too. Something I was absolutely delighted to read about was the family home. I always pictured the Osmond clan all living in one big giant mansion. As each brother got married, he'd just move his wife in. Well that wasnt quite right. they bought an entire apartment building and knocked out some walls to accomadate them. I also was touched by the story Donny wrote about briefly about the relationship between his mother and Elvis Presley. I am glad i read this book. although i dont listen to or care for his music anymore, I do, from time to time see him on TV and will watch. I was very disappointed in him when i saw him insult Rosie Odonnel about her weight. Totally rude and uncalled for. He explains in his book that he thought her words of praise and love for him was her way of mocking him and he lashed out. I don't buy it. He said too it was a joke. Ask any fat person if they've ever heard a fat joke that was funny. I lost alot of respect for Donny that day. However i was amused at Rosie. She over exaggerated his comment and for weeks, every guest she had on her show, she'd ask them if they saw the show where donny called her a big fat pig. Guess he picked the wrong fat girl to pick on. I would definately recommend this book to Donny fans.

I truly enjoyed reading this book as it showed a side of Donny that I assumed existed but didn't believe until I read his book. The book is honest, truthful and forward about his life, family and how he got where he is now. Eye opening in a lot of personal stories. I got a sense that his father was more of a disciplinarian than was let on and this affected Donny more than we knew. If you really want to know more about Donny and what makes him tick, read this book. I read it in 2 days.

I read it in 3 days. Just a great book (I don't think I would make it as a professional reviewer)!

Very informative, and a lot of fun.

Along with brief episode descriptions and information there is a whole lot more fun stuff to be found in this look at the first couple of seasons of the tv show.

Informations on the various quips and references made by the characters, and also some quotable quotes will come in handy for fans, no doubt about it.

Plenty of other bits and pieces following the characters and their relationships.

Good stuff.

The watcher guides are great. But The Big Book Of Buffy Bites 2008 contains things even they missed. For Buffy collectors the Watchers Guides are must have and great reads. But for the avid fanatical BtVS fan who wants it all I highly recommend The Big Book Of Buffy Bites 2008. This book is up to date (2008 and season 8 info), and contains everything you could possibly want to know about Buffy the Vampire Slayer...and more. One feature I have not seen in any other book, is a detailed time line of all the slayers...from the First Slayer...all the way to Buffy. This was a pleasant surprise.

This isnt the best book if you're looking for a behind the scenes one. But it is great when it comes to quotes. Behind the Scenes is more in the 2nd volume.

This has an excellent array of quotes from seasons 1 and 2(which is what this book covers). It also has pretty good episode reviews, with some deleted scenes usually showing up along with some unknown facts.

But it also has some information that I found boring, which included a tour of Sunnydale.

But on the whole, not to bad of a book.

I like the books by Kenneth Topping a lot more than the official guides. They are more fun, more informative, and because they aren't "official" can be fans more than authors maintaining an official relationship with the show. But having said that, this and its companion volume are both really informative. And although I knew all the quotes anyway, it was a lot of fun reading them all. The best part of the book is the interviews with people you normally don't hear as much about, like set designers and associate producers and such.

Any serious fan of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER will want this book on their shelf, along with its sequel THE WATCHER'S GUIDE II. The first volume contains a wealth of information about the first two seasons, while the second does the same for Seasons Three and Four. Unfortunately, there has not yet appeared a volume for the last three seasons. Hopefully that will be forthcoming.

These volumes are valuable for a variety of reasons. First, the early sections give a summation of each major character along with a collection of humorous quotations. It then proceeds to an episode-by-episode summation, which is great because it provides a lot of information that is otherwise not that easy to obtain. But far and away the best part of the book--for me, anyway--is the final section, which contains a host of great and informative interviews with actors, directors, writers, and technical folk. This final section is great because while Joss Whedon is widely acknowledged to be the main creative force behind BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, he has always ruled with a light hand. BUFFY is clearly a team effort, and it is great to see the roles the various team players play in the construction of the series.

Although the final episode of BUFFY has been shot, I hope this won't dissuade the publishers from producing a final WATCHER'S GUIDE to cover the final three seasons. I ardently believe that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is the new STAR TREK. Just as STAR TREK managed to attract more and more new fans over the decades, I believe that BUFFY will have an ever expanding fan base, as more and more people are persuaded to give it a try. The shows of the seven seasons will be in syndication for years, each season will be available on DVD within the next year and a half, and spin offs like ANGEL and the other projects that have been mentioned will keep the interest in BUFFY alive for years.

This book was first published in 1993 and like with all Simpsons' merchandise and books back then changes to the show over time have left these items a bit dated. Published three years after Do the Bartman swept to the top of the charts this book represents The Simpsons' in the early 90s, when the show was more about Bart rather than Homer. Bart had a lot of catchphrases which have not continued onto modern times which are in this book for example in the first lines Bart speaks to the reader as he introduces forgery he tell us "Okay, Listen up man!" Obviously he no longer talks like this so the vocabulary of Bart is a bit dated but the Matt Groening humour isn't.

Bart teachers the reader about personal enrichment through his eyes teaching us how to cope with the different aspects of life such as School, Food, Health, Money, Work, Parents, Art, Culture, Science, Psychology to name but a few of the vast topics covered. Like the vocabulary a lot of other characters hadn't become mainstream or even created in the first few seasons when this book came out so in the school yard there are a lot of illustrations of kid characters we are unfamiliar with but these are little things in no way retract from the overall enjoyment of this book. With the book being so old too, like I did you'll probably find it for a cheap price in many a second hand book shop.

Bart Simpson's Guide to life is a wee handbook for the perplexed to learn how to get through life the way Bart does it. It includes scenes with other family members too like Lisa, Homer, Marge, Maggie, and of course Bart. It has different subjects including school, love, money, food, and after hours. The funniest scenes are forgery, how to cheat in school, and Bart's Dream Bedroom. My personal favorite scene is Bart's Dream Bedroom because it has a bunch of stuff in it that I like including an observatory with an intergalactic telescope, a wrestling celebrity bedtime reader, a personal fridge stocked with junk food, a giant comic book collection along the walls, a Spinal Tap World Tour poster, an electronic automatic wardrobe selector, a private basketball court, an E=MC2 snooze time sleep helper, a heavy metal band alarm clock, an alien life form chart, a Tinkle-Matic TM bed wetting sheet absorber, a waterbed with piranhas in it, a 50" thick lead door with a giant ant farm in it, two guard dogs in front of it, a little sister early warning detection system, and a thumbprint identifying lock.

Not really. In addition to MAD magazine, this book was integral in my life as a kid through high school. It was given to me by my mom many years ago and I still keep it on the shelf next to my "big kid" books. It is fun to pull out and read a few pages from time to time. Heaven vs. Hell, Sex, Money, School, and everything in between.

This book taught me what auf Wiedersehen means. Go ahead, wiki it.

If you are a Simpsons fan, this is an important addition to your collection especially if you are like me and grew up watching the show.

Bart Simpson's Guide to Life is undoubtadly one of the best books to be based on The Simpsons that I have read.

The laughs keep on coming all the way through to the last page thanks to Matt Groening's pointed wit and satirical look at modern life.

A must for every Simpsons fan.

Not only is Bart Simpson's guide to life funny it also has great drawings, and comical jokes, such as the ingredient list on the back of the book. Buy it and you'll be reading it over and over again!

Jackie Chan has had a very eventful life. When he was a child he lived in on an ambassadors mansion in Hong Kong. Soon he was sent to a Cantonese Opera school, which was a boarding school where he was trained, day and night for over 10 years of his young life, in the ways of Chinese Opera. Chinese Opera is not the same Opera you and I may think of it as, but instead is a very acrobatic physically demanding show. He then went into the stuntman business, which was a very difficult road for him. For many years he struggled with finding work but he soon became a much wanted stuntman. Eventually he went into small acting parts, which led to bigger acting parts. Soon enough he was a huge success in Hong Kong, and eventually got married to a famous Chinese actress. Jackie still travels a lot and his wife is a stay at home wife who raises his son.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. It is full of constant action and keeps your attention. I Am Jackie Chan is an easy read and fast paced I was unable to put it down, except of course when class was over.

I Am Jackie Chan My Life in Action 1998 5/5
Written by :Jackie Chan & Jeff Yang

Easily one of the best books I have ever read. This books contains 398 pages of pure joy. Seriously I read this book In one sitting . I was already a fan of Jackie Chan now I have so much respect for him. The copy I own includes a extra chapter, I would say it's worth buying again to read that extra chapter. Jackie Chan had a very interesting upbringing filled with beating and let downs. I mean he was abandoned by his parents who essentially sold him to the Peking Opera. Where they had the power to punish him up till death.

In here Jackie talks about the makings his earlier films. I really enjoyed this book as much as I enjoy his movies. Jeff Yang has said in interviews that there is works to release a second volume. Lets hope for that!

my wife's english is not good. but she found that it is very easy to understand this book as Jackie's movie. She has fun with it and use it to prove her english.

Dood tottally I'm not kidding, Jackie Chan is like a god amongst men, a god who makes flawed movies in his old age (flawed is polite considering the horrible movies he's currently putting out). Man Jackie Chan is so great it makes my balls sweat whenever I think about it, in this book he talks about how he and his crew broke into an amusement park to steal... not money but bread crumbs!!! Becuase Master wanted his students to work hard, this is not a book for weaklings, they will fret and feel weak as they learn of the heroic and disciplined exploits of my man JACKIE FING CHAN! Man in this book he talks about how some dudes wanted to fight, but he didn't cuase Master taught him only to fight for show and not fight for violence. Man the world would be a better place if we all had to read this book. Mandatory reading for High Schools this should be.

A fascinating insight into the mind and career of the world's biggest movie star. With exhaustive (and exhausting!) descriptions of Jackie's brutal Peking opera training and early days as a stuntman and actor, almost everything you want to know about Jackie is here.

Not that there aren't omissions - his illegitimate son Jaycee, now trying to make a name for himself as an actor, is never mentioned. Jackie is also quick to take credit (he claims 'Half a Loaf of Kung Fu' and 'Snake in the Eagle's Shadow' were the first kung fu comedies, which they weren't) and slow to give it out (he describes his opera brothers' film 'The Prodigal Son,' arguably the best kung fu movie ever made, as "solid"). But Jackie's charisma and determination shine through on every page, and you can't help but admire the guy. A must read for Jackie fans and aficionados of Hong Kong cinema.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Lucy fan. Knowing that it is an autobiography makes it more interesting. You can almost hear her voice as you read through the lines. Her life wasn't all roses. Lots of pictures for us to enjoy. Get the book. You won't put it down.

I quite enjoyed this one. It is Lucy's "lost" autobiography--that is, it was only discovered and published after her death in 1989. It was found tucked away in the files of her former attorney, discovered when her children were processing her estate. Apparently, Lucy had begun an "as told to" book by dictating for two years to a talented secretary who transcribed her tapes and even traveled to her hometown to interview her childhood friends for their memories. The resulting product is the history of Lucy from her birth in 1911 to Christmas of 1962. It is written in the present tense, and many of the readers who knew her commented that it was in her "own voice." When Lucie got to listen to the tapes, she even discovered that her mother had been accurately quoted for once! A warm picture emerges of an ambitious but essentially normal comedienne who was very family-oriented and hard-working. Her father died before she had a chance to know him, but she was raised lovingly by her mother and maternal grandparents. She goes through stints of modeling and starring in movies, about which time she meets Desi Arnaz. He played the Cuban firecracker to her more low-key character, and the sparks flew. They went on together to produce the most beloved television show of all time and to rule over the empire of Desilu Productions. But they found themselves not too compatible in the end--he was working too hard and given to explosive rages, and his drinking and many infidelities didn't help matters any. He humiliated her publically on many occasions, and that was why she eventually wanted a divorce. But she remained fond of him, and put this book away because she was afraid that its revelations would hurt him. She went on to meet and marry Gary Morton and found happiness with him for many years until her death. But Gary is only a small part of this book--you walk away struck by what Lucy and Desi achieved together that neither could have achieved alone.

Lucille Ball abandoned this book in 1964, out of concern that its contents would hurt Desi Arnaz. She then forgot about it (as did everyone else in her life, it seems), and it sat neglected in a box of papers until the mid-1990s. This is a phenomenal book, and easily the best I've read so far regarding Lucille Ball.

Love, Lucy should be read along with other biographies in order to get a balanced perspective (Miss Ball tends to be a bit circumspect, though not as private as I expected her to be, regarding her own shortcomings and her private life), but on the whole it is a fascinating glimpse into a legendary life when it was far from over. She had only recently divorced Desi Arnaz and was in the heart of working on The Lucy Show at the time she abandoned the project, and was still terribly active in the running of Desilu.

Lucille sometimes remembers things in a way that makes her seem a bit more moral than she really was. She doesn't discuss running wild and being naughty in her teen years, but since she had young children of her own at the time of the writing of Love, Lucy, I don't suppose I should have expected her to do so. Who wants to display their shortcomings to their kids and then say "don't do that!"

What is most beautiful about this book is the discussion of her love of Desi Arnaz and their marriage. Even though the marriage didn't survive, they adored one another and continued to do so until the ends of their lives. The quote that made me laugh out loud, and I could HEAR Lucy saying it was "It was not love at first sight; it took five minutes."

This is a wonderful book. I hated for it to end. You should read this and A Book, by Desi Arnaz. I was captivated.

I just received my copy of Lucille Ball's autobiography "Love, Lucy" last night and I have not been able to put it down since. The Forward by Lucie Arnaz in the beginning of the book made my heart melt and once upon reading the first three an four chapters, I felt like I have got to know Lucy better. I highly recommend this book to any Lucy fan. You won't be disappointed.

Jeanne Boylan could be a movie star or model. She is tall, slim, and blonde. She began her artistic career by doodling in notebooks as a child. Her art career is really based on getting serial killers, mass murderers, and criminals brought to justice. Her relationship to Marc Klaas, the father of murdered victim Polly Klaas who became an activist seeking justice for the victims. The book's narrative is taken by the author's perception and experiences. The Smith case rendered the same feeling that the mother was involved in her sons's abductions and murders. Reading about how Jeanne and Marc learned about their fates were both horrifying. They still had hope that a mother would not have gone so far or over the edge of the unthinkable. We all think that the criminals can be monsters but Susan Smith was also the mother to two innocent young boys, Michael and Alexander. Nobody believed her story of an abduction in a rural road in the middle of the night. Most motives behind carjacking is the car itself. Carjackers don't want two babies in the backseat. Sadly, a carjacker would have probably returned Michael and Alexander safely somewhere but Susan's story never washed out. Her sons' bodies were in the bottom on John D. Long Lake. Of course, Boylan writes about her failed marriage, her background in Montrose, Colorado, and how she became known as the woman behind criminal portraits which led to the captures of the Unabomber or Ted Kaczynski and others.

I became interested in this author after seeing her speak about eyewitness memory on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I found the book, read it and then noticed a composite drawing in the Elizabeth Smart case that seemed to bear no likeness to the man arrested for the kidnapping. Jeanne Boylan's name was periodically associated with the case and I felt let down that she'd so badly erred in doing the less than stellar drawing. (Though now we know that the man was caught because the Smart family realized his religious name, announced it to the public and then were given real photos by the man's own family that were aired on TV which then resulted in his subsequent identification and quick arrest.)

Now, in more recent news reports, I found out that Jeanne Boylan actually interviewed the younger sister of Elizabeth about her memory of the abduction night and that the poor suspect drawing the media was showing was not from her interviews, but was from a local portrait person and was not taken from the little sister's sighting the night of the abduction but rather was taken from the family who knew the man and had spent many hours with him. Now I understood why the descrepancy.

I felt relief. I momentarily thought Jeanne Boylan had lost her skills. Now I understand the difference between her interview and the drawing that is now linked to the case but does not look like the kidnapper.

I look forward to the sequel of 'Portraits of Guilt' and to reading more about what happens to eyewitness's memories when the sightings are endured during moments of fright and fear and how that forces their vision very deep into the recesses of their mind as it did for Elizabeth's little sister.

Praise the Lord that with help and encouragement, Elizabeth's little sister finally remembered the religious name with the help of the loving Smart family, the apparently astute police and Jeanne Boylan who all had fiercely guarded the young child's evolving memory while it was gradually surfacing so that the kidnapper was finally caught. Good things come to those who wait!

I found this book on Oprah's website under "Oprah's Books" and think highly of her choices so ordered it. I'm happy I did. It was a fast moving, compelling read and gave me a view into a world I knew nothing about. I feel entertained, educated and wiser from reading it. What more could you ask... I endorse the book, author and Oprah's good taste.

I've read a lot of good books about healing from trauma and the effects trauma has upon memory. I've also read a lot of books about the fallibility of memory that do not correctly take into account the actual experience of the trauma. Jeanne Boylan has succeeded in writing the first book that accurately addresses both sides of the understanding of memory. She clearly illustrates the way that traumatic memory can be malleable in the presence of suggestion. It is through the insight of Jeanne Boylan's work that we can keep the innocent people out of jail and the guilty people can be handled accordingly.

She succeeds at what she does because she has both a natural ability and a deep understanding of trauma and memory. She also succeeds because she knows how to reach the heart. She works from her intuition as well as her logical understanding. Her kind and gentle nature is a true asset in the work that she does, and she could not achieve what she has achieved without it. In addition to all of this she has the added gift of being an incredible artist. Jeanne Boylan was born to do the work that she does; it is an inborn gift, which was further honed by her own personal experience of trauma and surviving a crime.

Jeanne Boylan describes traumatic memory as being like a fifty-cent piece that has been tossed below eight feet of water. The memory gets buried by the intense emotional trauma, but at the same time is locked into memory. As the emotions arise our minds protect us by blurring the image, like the movement of water. We can still see it, but it is distorted. With the right approach the memory of the trauma can be brought back to the eyewitness's conscious memory in it's original condition, just as the fifty-cent piece can be retrieved from the water fully intact.

Jeanne Boylan works with survivors to draw near perfect portraits of the criminals. Her technique is the art form. She says, "The answers to uncovering memory reside in understanding the powerful inner workings of the human mind-- and more importantly, in the power of the human heart. (p. 11)" She says "The higher the degree of personal trauma, the harder the mind works to discard or bury the image, but, also, the more likely it will have been encoded into memory in the first place, even if it is housed at a much deeper level of recall... Sometimes if we can coach the conscious mind to move aside we can still access the original untainted image--if there is reason enough for it to have been retained in memory. (p.13)" It is the release of emotions, no matter what form, that helps reach the image. She uses an interview technique, which brings the person into a safe space in order to access the memory without the emotions blocking it, and she uses carefully worded questions to prevent suggestions from distorting the original memory.

During her chapters about the devastating kidnap and murder of twelve year old Polly Klass, she provides new insight into how to recognize the veracity of an eyewitness account. She explains that when witnesses remember the trauma or the attacker differently that this is actually a sign that they are telling the truth because no two people remember an experience identically. The discrepancies help to validate and preserve the images and details of the memory for later needs (as long as suggestion has not been introduced). There is usually one stronger witness, however that witness will often have a degree of self-doubt that can be increased when she/he encounters discrepancies among the other witnesses. Jeanne Boylan was the first person on the case of Polly Klass to treat the witnesses (also twelve years old) with the validation and support that they needed.

The chapter about the abduction and torture of Sister Dianna Ortiz was the most powerful aspect of the book, for me. Anyone who has experienced a similar trauma will find a lot of healing and peace in reading this chapter. We watch Sister Dianna Ortiz work through the intense PTSD, become empowered, speak out and overcome the accusations that her experiences were a figment of her imagination. Sister Dianna Ortiz speaks of her healing, "Healing comes in many forms. I know I will always carry the memory of what happened to me on November second, 1989. For more than six and one-half years I have allowed my Guatemalan torturers and Alejandro to haunt me. Many times, I've felt like they danced within me. Many times I've felt that if I got close to anyone, I was going to contaminate them with the evilness that they left inside me. But today, I can sit here and say that that evil does not exist inside me anymore, and that is because of the work that I was able to accomplish with Jeanne Boylan. (p.282)... The images of my torturers and Alejandro have always stayed within me, and I have held myself responsible for the horrible things that happened on that November day, but today, because I was able, with the help of Jeanne Boylan, to put a face to these monsters, I can put them away from me. They no longer live in my soul. Until I faced them, I could never be free. (p283)"

In the next chapter called Awakenings Jeanne Boylan says, "Though I knew instinctively the importance of freeing a victim of the evil left from an attack, never before had I realized so clearly the emotional power that floods the soul when the residual grip of an assailant is finally loosened, and gently removed from the heart. (p. 286)"

Jeannie Boylan ends the book with the conclusion she left us wanting to hear since the Prologue. She weaves in her own experience, and powerfully does for herself what she has already done for so many others.

I am a reseacher in the area of human memory. My university studies and thesis are in the area of crime victim recall and memory malleability. I was given Miss Boylan's book by a fellow doctoral student who said simply, "Read this. This woman gets it."

To my astonishment, this was true and to know that there is a woman struggling essentially all alone to enlighten police about the seriousness of memory malleability made me want to jump into the pages of this book and yell to the police she works with that there is scientific data backing up every word she says about this topic.

Miss Boylan unfortunately writes in too kind a fashion, seemingly concerned about offending the masses, but sometimes creating change requires the proverbial 2 X 4 to create the desired impact. Although I appreciate Miss Boylan's subtle and polite manner, my only complaint about this book and her story is that she should and could have been much more hard hitting in her critique of what has historically gone wrong in criminal investigations. With what she's experienced, she is entitled to be direct.

With the knowledge we in the academic world have now of how memory works, there is no excuse for the mistakes made in past cases to continue to take place. Jeanne Boylan should scream her message and take her lumps. I'd rather see her save lives than to worry about winning a popularity contest. She can speak from inside the world of police, whereas "us" in our ivory towers, don't have access to the real world as she does.

Boylan relied on us to give her the foundation for her work and my predecessor's findings of three decades now, but those of us doing the empirical research have to rely on people like her to deliver our findings to the point of practical application in the police world. She can be the go-between from our world to inside real life criminal investigations.

Overall, Portraits of Guilt is a great book, great 'on the mark' insights into crime victim memory and some lessons in Boylan's stories that had better be paid attention to before we lose more lives such as Polly Klaas. (Her book is dedicated to the Klaas girl's memory.)

I give this book a five star rating for it's general level of readibility and for her stunning insights into trauma victim memory malleability, but Miss Boylan, if you write a second book, and I hope you do, next time, take the gloves off and try to come out swinging.

I am a U2 fan, but by no means am obsessed (trust me, I have friends who do fit that description). This book has become one of my favorites to just flip open and read and enjoy. Its passages are simultaneously humorous and sagacious. That is saying nothing of the artful layout, design and photography of the volume. You won't be disappointed.

My husband and I are big U2 fans. We both are really enjoying this book. It has an intimate feel to it. The pictures are great, too. It makes a nice coffee table book, too.

For any U2 fan, this is the real thing.
From their early years up until 2005, the band share every single moment, plus a collection of pictures that complement very nicely the entire book.
100% recomended.

The book is great as far as the content and such. I was disappointed in the shipping because of the book cover being torn on the one corner. I wanted to have a new book with no flaws. I value such things and want my things to be in mint condition when I receive them, especially when I pay top dollar for them. I expect such things if I am being used, but not new.

This book is one of the best U2 books out there!
Definately a must for any die-hard U2 fan. Perfect for putting out on your coffee table. I bought one for my husband for christmas... he's going to love it!

I bought this book after seeing a spice girls documentary. Even though I wasn't a big fan of the Spice Girls I always found Geri likable and decided to read her book.
The book is awesome. She takes you from her childhood up until she left the band. She and her friends reminded me of my friends and I. The book is very frank, down to earth and fun. I highly recommend reading this one and then following it up with her second book, Just for the Record. The second one starts right where this ones leaves off.
A great fun interesting read. This Girls is great!

If Only by Geri Halliwell is her account on life as a ex-Spice Girl and so much more. Halliwell actually has some talent as a writer, this book was hard to put down. Geri talks about her issues with food, her rise and exit from being Ginger Spice, and the death of her father. Geri doesn't leave anything out, she is open, frank, and quite hilarious as she goes deep into her past. I highly recommend checking this great book out. It was a pleasure to read it. Enjoy!

Geri Halliwell shocked many of her fans when she left the Spice Girls in 1998 after a 2 year mega successful time. The Spice Girls were the biggest girl band in music history.... and Ginger Spice (her moniker back then) was the most exciting personality. Like her childhood idol Madonna, Geri Halliwell grew up in a working class suburb and had a dream to be famous since she was 12. She got it and yet she found that fame had an interesting impact on her life. This book answers a few questions as to why her sudden departure happened at the height of the Spice Girls fame ... and it reveals more of Geri underneath all the Ginger.

This book reads like a very tedious conversation with Ms. Halliwell over a long lunch that you can't get away from until she finishes her dessert.She writes about her early impoverished childhood and how she craved the attention of an audience and wanted everybody's approval which sadly most people of any maturity know that this is something you will never get. Ms. Halliwell's "definition" of her "Personal Growth" is when she tries on an outfit which is too small so she asks for a bigger size.The last time I saw Ms. Halliwell in a photo she was being carried away to her limo by a big bodyguard after suffering from "Champagne Fatigue". The only good thing about this book are the revealing photos that were taken during her days as a "Glamour Model". It is no wonder that this woman likes living in Los Angeles.Her greatest accomlishment in life was to stop singing in a Pop Group and start singing solo. Big Deal.

I really enjoyed this book. It was awesome to see into the depth of Geri's life. I had no idea that she actually had eating disorders while she was a spice girl. It really helped me to understand more about her and that she really worked hard for her career. I would love to meet Geri although I don't know that that will ever happen. Her book makes me want to meet her even more if only to say that she did a great job and I understand some of the things she went through. I've been there. I highly recommend this book.

DRAGONSINGER shows off sci-fi/fantasy writer Anne McCaffrey at her best and most accessible. Of the three books which make up the Harper Hall trilogy, this one is my favorite and a book to which I've returned a bunchful of times. Only thing is, whenever I dust this off (or, come to think of it, any of the early Pern novels), I tend to go ahead and re-read the whole friggin' series. The Harper Hall trilogy, more so than any of the Dragonriders of Pern novels, is targeted towards a young adult audience, but it'll certainly charm a reader of whatever age. And if one is looking for a capable, extremely engaging role model, then look no further than Menolly of Half-Circle Sea Hold.

DRAGONSINGER picks up almost immediately from where Dragonsong left off, with Menolly arriving at the Harper Craft Hall to begin her harper's apprenticeship. A gifted songwriter/singer/musician and the young accidental mistress of nine gluttonous but ever loyal fire lizards, the shy and vulnerable Menolly finds herself near overwhelmed by her new circumstances. She's very conscious of her horribly scarred hand (which prevents her from playing her music) and her still woefully tender feet (from having outran Thread, deadly silver spores which periodically rain on Pern). At Harper Hall, Menolly meets and is intimidated by an array of stern and skeptical teachers. She faces the scorn of her fellow female students, with whom she must share room and board. Her unconventionality and her rare fire lizards mark her as a target of curiousity and envy. For Menolly, all this is almost too hard to bear. But she loves music and loves her fire lizards. And, it turns out, she has more friends than she thinks...

DRAGONSINGER, first published in 1977, is the second book in the Harper Hall trilogy, and, in my opinion, is the best of the three. It continues Menolly's coming-of-age tale and introduces the readers to a gang of winning characters, such as the quiet journeyman Sebell, the majestic, offbeat Master Shonagar, and the impish and ingratiating Piemur (who would take center stage in Dragondrums). Of course, the awesome and perceptive Masterharper Robinton figures in most of the Pern novels, and he makes his presence vigorously felt here. Who wouldn't want to work for someone like him?

Another neat thing about the Harper Hall trilogy is that it allows the reader to relive events in McCaffrey's other novels. Specifically, the timeline of DRAGONSONG and DRAGONSINGER coincides with that of Dragonquest (Dragonriders of Pern), so that, just as we revisited Jaxom's impressing of Ruth thru Menolly's eyes in DRAGONSONG, here, we get Menolly and Harper Hall's horrified reactions to F'nor's disastrous foray to the inhospitable Red Star. Later, the third Harper Hall entry, DRAGONDRUMS, would touch on events occuring in The White Dragon (Dragonriders of Pern Vol 3).

McCaffrey warmly covers a span of seven eventful days in Menolly's life, chronicling her transitioning from an uncertain, bashful young girl to a confident one with the world opened up before her. Menolly is tall and gangly and unsure, and so appealing. It's a joy reading of her overcoming her challenges, making new friends, and impressing just near everyone with her musical talents. My favorite moments would have to be the ones in which she's engaged in her music or spending time with her fair of fire lizards (and, believe me, both activities take up huge, huge chunks of the book). Scenes to look out for: the first time Menolly feeds her fire lizards at Harper Hall, the impromptu Hall concert during Threadfall, all the moments with Shonagar, and Gather Day. As ever, McCaffrey peppers her book with sightings of benevolent dragons, who constantly guard Pern against Thread, and their miniature and inquisitive cousins, the fire lizards. Actually, in this Harper Hall series, the focus is more on the fire lizards than on the dragons. McCaffrey lends Menolly's fire lizards their own distinct personalities, from the imperious Beauty to the nagging Aunties One and Two, to the beleaguered Uncle, to the aptly named Lazybones.

Compared to the other, more adult-oriented novels about Pern, DRAGONSINGER is a lighter, more intimate read, and not as intricately plotted. The stakes here don't shape the world, just Menolly's personal universe. But, I'll tell you what, you'll get caught up in it. DRAGONSINGER (and a whole mess of McCaffrey's novels, come to think of it) fits cozily on my shelf of comfort books. I normally have two copies of books which I particularly love. With DRAGONSINGER, I have three, two of which are pretty threadbare. Such a good read.

The harper Hall Trilogy is my favorite set by McCaffrey and interestingly the first books I read by her. I love dragons and there for dragon stories, particularly ones were dragons are not mindless monsters of destruction, so it would be odd for me not to like these books. The story is very original and the characters well written. If your not sure of getting into the Pern books, this is the series to read! Dragonsinger is a really strong book, despite being in the middle of a set. The story keeps going strong and the characters stay true to themselves.

I know I wasn't supposed to read this book first, but it was on the free book cart at the library. And I've wanted to read McCaffery for some time now. I'd give this book four a half stars. I'd like to have given it five. But I'll get to that in a minute. Her prose is elegant. Each of her characters is clearly defined. The main, Menolly, is strong and modest, but often bleek and insecure because of her background. Thus her behavior makes sense at times when she is overly passive when she shouldn't be. As well as apologizing for every little thing. However, her giving a shiner to Benis was priceless. I love the tiny info on the Fort Sea Hold, and look I look forward to getting clear description when I read DragonSong. The only problem I had with this book was there was no real action, besides the brawl at the Gather. Though I must say, the book was not boringt any time. But I did have to put it down from time to time because its lack of action.

Can't wait to read more McCaffery. I see why she's one of the leading authors in the SciFi/Fantasy genre.

Menolly is now at the Harper Hall. However, she is a geek/nerd and doesn't fit in with all the girls who like doing the standard chick things. Plus there just happens to be a bunch of fire lizards following her around.

She also has to deal with the problem of choosing or being asked to choose a specialisation and someone to be a mentor.

Menolly has achieved her dream of living in Harper Hall, despite the disadvantage of being born female. But she does not know how she will fit in and the fact that she accidentally Impressed nine fire lizards causes disruptions in class and jealousies from the other students. That she comes to realize her full talent as a musician, singer and songwriter and revel in the company of other musicians is the delight of this perfect fantasy novel.

This gem of a story is appropriate for creative girls and women of all ages, all creative endeavors because it says that the barriers the world puts in your way won't stand up to friendship, hard work and talent. I wore out two paperback copies before breaking down and buying it in hardback. Highly recommended.

When speaking of the Algonquin Round Table of which he was a member for years - he claims his only contribution was to be a listener among all the great talkers. He lies. His storytelling, practical jokes and childlike sense of fun were an essential ingredient of that famed circle.

No other book, not even Groucho's own autobio, conveys the early 20th century world of Vaudeville in all its raunchy splendor as this book does. There was never so amazing a place as New York of that era. Its a fun read throughout.

Surprisingly, at the heart of the book is the unlikely pairing of best friends Alexander Wolcott and Harpo Marx. Wolcott, sexually neutered by a glandular condition or mumps as his story went, obese, ridiculous and brilliant, saw in Harpo the image of freedom he could never know. Harpo, a second grade drop-out who at fourteen was playing piano in a whorehouse, was perhaps the only human being who really understood his friend.

this was a very entertaining book. I never knew how intelligent Harpo was despite quitting schoool in the second grade. He met a great many well-educated people in his life and had a way of being accepted into their inner circles. He was able to describe these relationships in a way which brought these people once again to life.

The title is just as clever as the man himself. Harpo, the silent clown of the Marx Brothers movies, finally gets to tell his own story after years of witnessing the antics of some of the most famous people of his time. Adolph "Harpo" Marx grew up in the poor Jewish slums of New York, quit school in 2nd grade, and proceeded to become one of the most famous and lovable faces of the movies. He led a colorful life influenced by his four famous brothers and the people he associated himself with. His childhood is perhaps the most interesting segment, filled with hilarious anecdotes that spring to life thanks to excellent storytelling. A chunk of Harpo's adult years were spent with Alexander Wollcott, an interesting and lovingly portrayed writer with a penchant for the odd. The years spent with him during the 1920s were wild, but Harpo managed to extend the fun through the rest of his life.

Very little of this book is spent scrutinizing the films the Marx Brothers made. In fact, only a few are even mentioned at all. Harpo took more pride in the people he knew and his other accomplishments. His movies were a small part of his existence.

Coming away from this book, one feels incredibly close with the author. Harpo manages to vividly portray his life and in doing so, paint an intimate portrait of himself as well. He was a lovable man with a great attitude toward life. This book is a treasure, and a great memory of a great man.

What a great look into an interesting life of the silent one. I read it twice!!

This book should be standard issue to every human being who wants to know what a well-lived life consists of! What an extraordinary person graces us with the story of his life and a look at the lives of his famous family members! Told with such engaging warmth, Harpo's story continually challanges us to wake up and realize that, like the author, it isn't so much whether you're sleeping in a palace or a harp case...eating caviar or turnip soup...that determines what your life is worth and how fulfilled you are. Nearly indescribable in its charm, this is a books to be read again and again.