Sharon Olds Books

I came across this book in one of my many sessions of surfing for books on Amazon. This book is worth more then 5 stars! It is an easy read and the ladies give you so much information in a simple format. If you have any spiritual leanings and know anything about the law of attraction I suggest getting this book in conjunction with "Attracting Perfect Customers." This second book helps you really flesh out a mission/vision statement for your business and is also written by women.

Don't let the title deceive you because it really should have been called "Entrepreneurship for Dummies." It explains everything you need to know about launching a company but didn't even know to ask. A must read before you start writing your business plan.

Ok..Close your eyes. What would the world look like if women had access to capital markets and economic empowerment? It would look far different and we know it. Now close your eyes and cultivate that business concept that stops you working for a paycheck and gets you into that morphic, entrepreneurial state. Please feel free to move forward and change the world with confidence. Why? Because these authors, these mentors, these thoughtful women have shown up and delivered a superior "play by play" manual. This manual includes all the tools and examples you will need to get started, stay strong, and finish first. Make no mistake, these women are out to change the economic environment for all women. What legacy will you leave the women in your life? Buy the book, and cultivate your dream to life!

Don't be fooled by the title of this book. This is not another "networking" book or a simple "how to start a small business" book. It is also not a feminist propaganda disguised within a business development manual. If you are serious about starting, expanding, or reinventing your business consider reading this book. If you are a woman, definitely read this book!

From page one, the angels (read the book to understand why I refer to them as angels) who wrote this book make some basic assumptions: the reader is interested in paving a way in the business world, the reader has the drive to make their dreams come true, and the reader has passion, vision, a pioneering spirit, and the tenacity to make it happen.

But be prepared for lots of hard work. This isn't a read me and set me on the bookshelf type of book. The toolkit provided in the appendix (58 pages) includes checklists, to dos, and touch questions that need to be addressed. The Digging Deeper sections in each chapter provide expanded definitions of important concepts and the Summaries at the end of each chapter provide an easy way to review the important points.

Thanks to all that made this book a reality! It has a permanent place on my desk as I move my business to the next step and is already highlighted and dog-eared.

This book is jam packed with advice on every page. The inspirational stories give insight on "how it is done" as well as showcase highly successful women entrepreneurs; the tool kit provides a useful blueprint to follow right down to sample legal forms; and the down to earth style makes it easy for women just starting a business to easily follow along. That is not to say seasoned women business owners will not benefit from reading the book to take their business to the next level with the "how to's" spelled out for you.

Sharon Olds is an incredible poet, and should be read by anyone interested in current poetry. The poems in Strike Sparks are powerful language evoking clear visuals and strong feelings. The seeming simplicity of her writing style, coupled with her focused attention, leaves one wanting to turn each page and absorb yet another. At the same time, she has a wonderful sense of humor--the first page that flipped open when I first picked up the book was "The Pope's Penis." How can you not explore further after that?!

After reading her letter to Mrs. Bush, I'm supporting Sharon Old's rejection of Laura Bush's invitation to participate in the National Book Festival and breakfast at the White House by buying one of her books. Thank you, Sharon Olds for making this brave and costly stand. I hope others will buy your books to support you and your honesty. I look forward to becoming acquainted with your poetry.

I have to admit I was not familiar with the work of Sharon Olds before today. Today I read her moving letter to Laura Bush explaining why she was declining her invitation to the National Book Festival in Washington.

If her poetry is one tenth as moving, heart-felt, and true as that letter, she's gotta be one terrific poet, and I look forward to the volumes of her work I ordered from Amazon this evening. If you've not yet read her letter yet, I urge you, do so.

Her father is dying, and her plane's been cancelled, but there's another, leaving in just a few minutes, not in this terminal, but it will get her to her father before he dies, and so Sharon Olds runs --- I swear to you, she runs as no woman has ever run before.

She's making love. Though it looks like she's having sex, because the writing is so specific. But as much as Sharon Olds revels when he does [redacted] to her and she [redacted], she's clear what's really going on. ("How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?" she wonders.) And so, after, she knows what women know after.

Her son, he's so big now. And her daughter --- brushing her hair, Sharon Olds can't help thinking: What does it all mean?

Parents, lovers/husbands, children. Sharon Olds deals mostly --- I could almost say: deals only --- with the big topics. At least, the big topics if you have parents, husbands/lovers and kids. And she deals with them so directly, so bluntly, that it may come as a surprise to those who do not know her writing that she is a poet, and, for my money, the best we have.

The subject of a lot of poetry is poetry: the poem taking its place --- or wanting to --- in the great chain of literature. Sharon Olds has done her reading. And she has her influences. But the beauty of her writing is that you see none of that. All you get is a woman, looking and listening, and then talking. "Do what you are going to do, and I will tell you about it," she writes at the end of a poem about her parents, and that's the strength of her work --- it's just the facts she thinks you need, plus her take on them.

Sharon Olds can go this deep because she lives this deep. She does not read newspapers or watch TV. "The amount of horror one used to hear about in one village could be quite extreme," she explains. "But one might not have heard about all the other villages' horrors at the same time." Also, she doesn't drink coffee or smoke, and she limits her wine. Her life is marriage, kids, work. Which, she says, accounts for accessibility of her poems:

"I think that my work is easy to understand because I am not a thinker. How can I put it? I write the way I perceive, I guess. It's not really simple, I don't think, but it's about ordinary things -- feeling about things, about people. I'm not an intellectual, I'm not an abstract thinker. And I'm interested in ordinary life. So I think that our writing reflects us."

"Strike Sparks" is a selection of her poems from 1980 to 2002. It tells a story, though that wasn't her intent along the way. ("I'm just interested in human stuff like hate, love, sexual love and sex. I don't see why not.") In these poems, we follow the dying of a father, the growth of children, the deepening of love through sex. And more. Because Sharon Olds mostly does what the greatest poets do: She knows what you feel, but can't find the words to say.

As one of Olds' fans for many years, I am the owner of most of her books. Her book The Father still brings me to tears. I want to buy this additional one in support, as are others, of her letter to Laura Bush--and of her ongoing brilliance and honesty as a poet.

Sharon Olds delves deeply into the heart of what it means to be human in her collection of poems, "The Gold Cell." I am continually amazed as to how she deals with taboo subjects, such as sex, religion, and morality, with direct and shockingly vivid language. In this particular collection of poems, Olds uses the image of blood to represent various motifs; the blood between family ties, its relation to sex and the body, and even the patriotic sense and the "Americaness" of blood. Using this single word, Olds is able to create an infinite number of images and meanings that go far beyond the common notion that blood is what supplies the body with life. This is by far one of the most influential books of poetry that I have encountered in my career. I do not recommend it to those who are squimish or who are prone to heart-failure at the mention of the word "sex" or "penis." While most of her poems are alluring and evocative, many will shock you with their unabashed treatment of sensitive subjects. For those of you who wish to divulge into the mind of what it means to be human, I whole-heartedly recommend this collection of poetry. Olds' poems not only examine what it means to be human but what it means to be moral beings. Prepare for a journey that will reveal the emotional and raw psychology of the human mind.

As in her other volumes of poetry, Olds is a masterful documenter of the flesh. No living American poet writes as authentically about the body as she does -- the exquisite descriptions of sexuality (First Sex is particularly good), motherhood, and aging are not easily forgotten. In my favorite, California Swimming Pool, she captures adolescence so succinctly and alluringly that my own experience of 13 came rocketing back into my consciousness with an intensity which shocked me. Of all her volumes of poetry, this is my favorite.

Stars are little for this book. There is a raw solace, poems become picked scabs.

I've never read poetry this honest, this heart-wrenching, this intense, this passionate, this realistic, this humorous, this painful... I could go on for ages, but it would turn into drooling dribble. Olds is amazingly talented. Her work is graphic, as real life is, and not to be taken lightly. Buy it, commit to reading it, appreciate her world view.

Emily Dickinson once said something to the extent of, that when she felt that the top of her head had been taken off, she knew that was true poetry. That's how I felt while reading The Gold Cell, and I assure you, that's a great thing. This is an incredibly powerful read and well worth your time.

MacQuarrie tells it like it is about the true meaning about adventures in hunting and fishing and the impact they have on life. There are certain methods of putting proper priorities in life and MacQuarries brings them out. Every sportsman has someone like the President that does things to bring things into perspective.

As soon as I finished the three books, I started over.

This is the best outdoor writing I've ever read. Awesome storie

Most outdoor writing is a bit boring: ". . . and then he hit my Royal Coachman like a freight train,[etc.]. . . ." Not these stories! MacQuarrie puts you right in the stream or field with him, without effort and with great, subtle humor. Only when he mentions an automobile do you realize these were written in the 20's and 30's. He wrote with the parsimonious beauty of Hemmingway. Read only one story per night, lest you get through the three volumns too fast.

For anyone who has spent any time in the outdoors or wishes they could, these stories are great. All three books are a collection of Gordon MacQuarrie's short stories that appeared in print in the 1930's through the 1950's, in outdoor magazines, ie Field & Stream. The stories take place in northwestern Wisconsin, and include duck and deer hunting, as well as many fishing stories. Having spent time in this great area, the author paints great pictures of the country, as well as bringing out the true appreciation of the outdoors. These books also show the views of true sportsmen in regards to conservation, and the understanding of our responsibility to nature. And lastly, quite a few chuckles along the way. I can tell you that I have re-read these stories many times through the years, and will again... enjoy.

This trilogy is probably the best rendition of hunting fishing adventures that I have ever read. These stories contain no grandiose panoramic gushing descriptions of landscape or sunsets, just simple, clarity. A great read.

The Old Woman's Cat is a delightful collection of 12 short stories, some wickedly funny, some full of dark revenge and tasty justice. "Spectre", a romance, was one of my favorites but "Demise of a Vampire" had me laughing and wanting more. "Mother Mouse", "Skeleton Key" and "Images" could be about the family next door (oh, you hope it isn't!), and "Identity" comes from our deepest fears of losing our own identity.
These are delicious stories of ordinary folk just like you and me--with a twist from a good author. These stories will keep you shivering and looking at familiar things with new aprehension.
It's also a must-have book for campfire nights!

Sharon King-Booker's, THE OLD WOMAN'S CAT, AND OTHER STORIES is an intriguing collection of short stories on a variety of themes. The stories are of varied length as well as subject matter, but all are fast-paced, with twists and surprises interwoven. Ms. King-Booker has created believeable characters who do seemingly ordinary things--however-- For good light reading, THE OLD WOMAN'S CAT is a delightful choice.

This book was difficult to put down once I began reading. Ms King-Booker has the ability to build suspense and hold your attention without a doubt. I will be waiting for her next book to come out.

THE OLD WOMAN'S CAT AND OTHER STORIES is a sharp and chilling collection of stories that will truly make you afraid to sleep with the lights off. Along with other ones that will have you reaching for the tissue.

In THE OLD WOMAN'S CAT is Charlotte Stanfield's ramblings strickly in her head or was her family stalked and terrorized by a real cat with a score to settle?

Problems from this vampires former life have eventually followed him in his life of the undead. In DEMISE OF A VAMPIRE we share his time as he writes his farewell letter.

Suzanne and her husband Ted move to Arizona in THE HOUSE ON THE CORNER. When Ted's job relocates them to the dying town that his company hopes will grow once again his wife Suzanne experiences some unexpected and supernatural roommates that are trying to tell her something.

Reeverend Cory Cameron feels a sense of loyalty to an old dying town in the story SPECTER. But what he see's late at night at the old mortuary has him hightailing out of town for good!

In SKELETON KEY, Penny has such fond memories of her time on her grandparents farm when she was a child. When she returns as an adult, memories that have been long buried start haunting her. And so does a beloved relative.

Little Danny wants one thing in life more than anything else. A dog. If he had clean clothes to wear, warm food to eat and a mother who didn't drink and let her boyfriends beat on her and him, that would be nice too. In the story FRIENDS, Danny may just get one of his wishes just in time to save his life.

Dr. Wendell Grimes is having a heck of a time keeping his dead patients to stay in one place in PLASMA FACTOR. He is bound and determined to find out how they keep getting up and leaving the hospital.

OBSESSED is the story of Charles Winslow and his persistent plan to get rid of his wife and hook up with Carla Pennington. But life has a very strange way of turning the purfect plan to horror.

Jennifer Castle went to sleep just like she did every night in IDENTITY. When she woke up the next day she had no idea where she was or who the strange man and two little girls were that walked into the bedroom she woke up in. Why was he calling her Tracy and why were they calling her mommy?

When a father and husband feels he has lost everything in DRESS ME IN PINK he'll make an absolutely devastating decison.

Andrew has spent his life romancing and marrying rich woman in SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE. After years of saving all the money left to him in their wills he's ready to settle down and enjoy his life. When he meets and falls head over heals in love with Angela he gets his just deserts.

A young boy grows up with a horrible knowledge in WINTERKILL. With this knowledge he accepts the fact that it's his job to protect everyone in town when winter comes.

MOTHER MOUSE is the story of a bully husband and a mouse of a wife and mother. When the last child has grown and leaves home it's time for the mouse to bite back.

David wakes up one morning with the ability to see what appears to be the future in IMAGES. When he looks into a mirror a scene will play it's self out. Is this a good thing? Or will it destroy David's sanity and his families happiness?

Sharon King-Booker has writen such a clever book! I loved all of these short stories. Ms. Booker has the ability to scare the socks off you, make you wonder what's real or imagined and even make you choke up in deep sorrow for her characters.

One example of Ms. Booker's talent shines through in DRESS ME IN PINK. I would never have thought it possible but this short story is only one page long. She has chosen these few words with such care and purpose that I was hysterically crying when I finished this one page.

I'm very excited to have found such a talented author in Ms. Booker. I plan to read every book she writes in the future.

If you love a good scare, a good cry and stories with such imaginative twist and turns you should really pick up THE OLD WOMAN'S CAT AND OTHER STORIES.

Moffat writes a compelling story about war, love, and life. Rett's character is well written and developed, and really pulls you in to her reality. Excellent book, I definitely recommend it!

The characters in this book live and breathe, and the world in which they exist is so compellingly drawn that the reader can easily forget that this is not a real place. Rett is such a wonderfully developed character, and her interactions with those around her are wonderfully rendered. Moffat is a talented author, writing great characters, constant action and a compelling story that draws the reader along Rett and Pam's journey, making it a difficult book to put down.

Book one of Journey to Nyorfias is the most enjoyable fantasy science-fiction book I've read since this genre was at it's peak 15-20 years ago. I've waited for a story like this for a LONG TIME! Not only does it have all the elements necessary to make a truly great fantasy/sci-fi classic, but has almost non-stop action and adventure that keeps you turning the pages and makes you greedy for more. I was NOT able to put this one down, and am really looking forward to the next installment. Highly recommended to all fans of fantasy and science fiction!

I personally know Sharon O'Bryan and have read her book. This is a great, back to the basics, approach to FUN!!! Its educational, fair and most of all FUN!!! I would suggest this book to anyone involved with children, whether it be ina school, daycare, or camp type setting.

What a precious book. From the day I read about it in the paper, I was interested. Several of my friends look for ways to entertain our kids at their birthday parties. This book itself is a birthday parthday theme. I ordered two just from reading the review in the paper. I just received them today. I have read it and are now at the computer ordering more for several kids birthday's. Kids spend to much time watching games on TV and not enough time playing them. The book encourages family time, too. You can tell it was written from her heart with the true love for children and their happiness. Thank you for writing this book!

GAMEKIDS, international natural play webmagazine and club highly recommends this book to our members. The book features some of the best games for children of all ages to play. The book contains some of the classics - many of which children today perhaps have never heard of (i.e. kick the can, run sheep run, horse, etc.)

There are over 200 games: outside games, car games, card games, singing games and campfire songs, and some of the best party games we've seen!

This is truely a classic which every family, school, and library should have!

DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND is a lap-heavy, huge tome of the creative photographs of Nan Goldin, many of which have never before been published. Goldin is know throughout the museums of the world as a photographer who knows no barriers for her subject matter: AIDS victims, mental patients, transvestites, poor families, rural landscapes, constructed still lifes - these are but a few of the categories studied and captured by Goldin. For this full color volume Goldin selected the layout and the progression of sections, making the flow of the book even more fascinating; the book is one where she is both artist and curator and the result is a powerhouse of statement.

For devotees of Nan Goldin's work, this book is a must. And for viewers marginally approaching photography as an art form then look no further. A magnum opus of the work of one of America's more significant contemporary artists.

No other word for it except MAGNIFICENT!!!

A very readable memoir; well written. Good bits of real life in the years around 1900. Some good humor as well. It gave me a feel of the time as I read.

Born in 1871, Edward J. Farlow left his Iowa home at the age of fifteen to follow the life of a cowboy in Wyoming Territory. This colorful tale is footnoted with historical documentation that will delight and surprise the reader. The author includes history capsules of the Hollywood film industry, the government's attempts to "tame" the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians, his experiences with Native Americans at a time when they were being "reservationed" and his interesting accounts of cattle ranching as it blossomed in Fremont County. WIND RIVER ADVENTURES brings to life an era of misunderstanding, great promise and what would eventually become the western way of life. It takes the reader through territorial times, statehood for Wyoming and the plight of two small tribes of Native American Indians as seen through the eyes of an adopted son of the Arapahoe Tribe. As a memoir this is a great read and as a reference tool it is well-documented and very well indexed. I recommend this book to any person interested in western history.

Recently I asked Prof Brueggemann for one of his lesser known writings on Justice or Injustice. This request came for a friend who as a non-violent protester at Ft. Benning GA was convicted to serve a six months sentence at a Kentucky Federal Prison. Without hesitation our good professor came up with the single chapter in this little gem of 65 pages! He simply repeated the names of the writers - Sharon Parks and Thomas Groome and their conference on Spirituality in Portland Maine in 1983. His valued contributions are the Preface written in May of 1984 and the first Chapter with the title of "Voices of the Night - Against Justice."

Since Brueggemann is the Theologian of three writers he sets the stage with the technical issues and background of Micah's tradition among the Old Testament prophets of Justice, Mercy and Compassion. As only our favorite OT Prof can accomplish he makes the case for Micah's program of poetry as a guide for our ways in education. As in his teaching he outlines the texts with headings of Economically, Epistemologically and Linguistically. Along the way he briefly focuses on Torah of Yahweh and the Exodus Memory: "Micah offers a vision of the nations submitting to the torah of Yahweh." He relates theology behind textual interpretation with doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. As one of my Chaplain friends notes, "most every exposition of Brueggemann comes out like poetry!" He is first and foremost a Poet.

I will send my friend this powerful, mediating, spiritual force for supporting those who stand-up for the rights of those who are dis-enfranchised. Another parallel book title that comes to mind is "Jesus and the Disinherited" by Howard Thurman! It was said to have been constantly carried around by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood