Q Books

I read this book when it was first printed, and I was disappointed. It's one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. (In a word: amateurish.) I couldn't help thinking, "Shouldn't this book have been edited?" Typos, and plotholes aside, it just wasn't very good storytelling.

I've always enjoyed books on the subject of passing. However where books like "Life on the Color Line" and "The Sweeter the Juice" are like meteors (sure both are non-fiction, but they're fine examples of storytelling), "Color Struck" has the impact of a pebble. It just simply failed to strike me as impressive.

Colorstruck and Skindeep were truly excellent. I'm sad that they are out of print. Ms. Porter brought the characters to life. This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster with tricky turns on the way. Everyone that I have loaned this book out to has said how marvelous it is. I'm in the process of trying to locate another copy for a gift and I can't blame anyone for not giving up their copy, because I know I won't.

Ms. Porter's trilogy is simply one of the very best I have had the pleasure of reading. I unfortunately loaned my books out and have been actively searching the bookstores to replace them as well as trying to find what I know now is the unpublished third book.I consider myself to be an avid reader and usually dislike to reread books,however,Colorstruck and Skindeep I could read again and again and never tire of the lively characters. Ms. Porter has truly found her life's calling.

Color consciousness is one of the most difficult things for Americans to deal with, despite being in contact with it on a daily, moment to moment basis. Benita Porter's Colorstruck is the first and only novel I have ever read that effectively deals with the issues of "passing" and familial allegiance in a bold and eloquent manner. A history lesson and a great novel all in one.

This book is truly a scholarly tome for academia. It is intended for the true biblical researcher. Lay people, those taking Bible classes in church, etc, will find no practical value or use for this book in those studies. However, this is an execllent resource for the professional Bible researcher, educator, or clergy members with a background in this type and depth of study.

The Critical Edition of Q : A Synopsis Including the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark and Thomas.

This is an exceptionally clear and easy to use book.

The section on the history of "Q" research is a splendidly clear and concise review of the work done today and would bring you up to speed very quickly.

The layout of the synopsis in 8 columns is actually a great deal easier to understand than at first glance and quickly becomes user friendly.

The Synoptic Gospels, Q and other canonical texts are paralleled in Greek with the gospel of Thomas being paralleled in Coptic. Q is translated into French, German and English with the parallels of Thomas being translated into Greek, French, German and English.

I would not hesitate to recommend this work to anyone who is studying in this field or has an interest in it.

A master work which starts off slowly and then fizzes into unexpected space. Pregnant with insight.

This newest updated version of Q is a MUST read for all!

Informative and thought provoking;for all serious thinkers..... this book clearly settles the case....once and for all.

Mike in Melbourne,Fla.

Just getting started collecting Morgan Dollars and I can't begin to tell you what a treasure this book has been. Every year and every variation is given it's own separate page with all the info you need to know...things to look for, variances, etc. A GREAT book if you're just getting started.

If you think your a Morgan Silver Dollar collector and you don't have this book then your NOT a Morgan Silver Dollar collector. Much more than just a book on Morgans, this is a true reference piece that you will refer to again and again. A bible of Morgan Silver Dollars if you will. I find myself refering back to this book not only for new information but also to verify details I have found elsewhere.

Very well written, very comprehensive, very well organized. A natural flow through to the book from the history of dollars to a detailed analysis of each date and mint. Highly recommended.

This book offers year-by-year information of the mintage, auction, ms population information. Some useful information, but not that useful. You can find most of these info online. Just a collection of basic info.

An excellent publication in terms of breadth of coverage from both a historical and a collector's standpoint. With the help of this book, one could almost become an instant expert in the field. As for myself, however, I'm content to have learned enough to establish reasonable goals (in terms of condition, availability and cost) for date & mint selections when acquiring companion pieces for my 1884-CC Morgon Silver Dollar.

Roger S.

I ordered book on 1/3/08 and did not receive it until 1/23/08, which was the only problem I had. The book was in new condition and has been very helpful in reveiwing for the CEN.

This is a great book. I have bought over 10 CEN review books and reviewed them all. This one is tops!. Good questions/answers and sample tests. Good CD-ROM included. Very thorough. [...]

This was the most recently published review book I found. It includes an excellent CD with 400+ additional questions, although there were some redundant ones from the book.

My only complaint with the book is the format. Each question has the correct answer with the rationale right next to it on the same page, which makes it difficult to read the question, work through it in you head, and answer it without seeing the correct answer first, which made it hard for me to study. Even if the correct answer was below each question, that would be easier on my eyes than having to rush to cover half the page before reading each question...

All in all, I passed the test on the first try, which is as good a recommendation I can give any book. It did it's job!

Great book!. Easy to read and understand. Great source for studying for your CEN exam. Nicely organized. Answer and rationale next to each question.

This book is a great resource for a wide range of mind/body health issues. Although there are some sources/references that aren't as "legit" (previous reviewer's comment), there a ton of scholarly articles. And this book compiles most of the good literature and research that exists on mind/body health topics.

Yes this is a very long and intense book. And costly. Covers topics from how emotions can harm you to how simple things like prayer can help you. Each chapter has numerous footnotes referenced with the information for the various studies on which the information is based.

I have lent it out to family and friends and it truly contains unknown and not mainsteam health information. I do believe our emotions are largely at work in our overall well-being, and this book cemented that belief for me and enlightened me in other ways.

this is a very good book for introducing body/mind health issues. it covers a lot of territory. only thing is, is the references. the references used in this book are mostly from "pop" magazines such as psychology today, time, u.s. world, readers digest (!), etc. i personally do not consider these publications too legit, but that is my opinion. i got this book through the local library, i would recommend you do the same to see if you want to shell out the big bucks. or get it used, there are a lot of copies for sale.

This book shows the relationship between the way one thinks and the way the body feels. It is a very clear and easy to understand book showing the way that certain actions, functions and thoughts can change the way a person's body feels and the health of the person. I found it very interesting and helpful to what I was wondering about. Expensive though.

This book was a disappointment. Not sure what Nadia knows best. Her family are more interesting than she is, but then even they are dull. Nadia's sister is nasty and bitchy but then she is in a relationship with a womaniser that is clearly using her which is apparent to everyone but her! The mother is a cow of a woman and is claerly not mother of the year material. Nadia's boss and love interest, is boring. This is a really light read and midly enjoyable.

I find nothing wrong with curling up on a hot summer's day in my garden with a delicious serving of good old British chick lit, and this book more than fills the bill.

It is not on the calibre of Marian Keyes or Jane Green, but "Nadia Knows Best" is a fun, frothy romp that kept me smiling from start to finish.

Our heroine, Nadia, is a landscape artist with a family that defies imagination...three sisters (including herself), a 72-year-old grandmother who still keeps the suitors flocking, a lovely dad who is looking for love--and a boyfriend who lets her down in a major way fairly early in the book.

Nadia tries to overcome her heartbreak over losing boyfriend Laurie while becoming increasingly and disturbingly interested in her new boss Jay, whom she has met previously under very compromising circumstances.

Sound interesting? It is--the plot is fun, fast, lovely and very readable. No major surprises, no life-changing revelations, nothing too taxing for the summertime brain. I say give it a chance. I found it absolutely charming and will definitely look for more by this author.

Briefly, Nadia Knows Best is the story of a late 20's professional gardener who is engaged to the perfect man. This is a predictable enough story line that we know that he's going to dump her, going to want her back, and she's going to be tempted by an equally perfect guy she meets while getting over Stud #1. This story works because it is predictable and because the characters are so charming. Nadia is likeable. Her family is also predictably eccentric. No surprises here, just a relaxing read. And some days that's just what I'm looking for.

I've probably read this book 10 or 15 times. It's funny, flirty, and quirky all at the same time. You'll love Nadia, feel sorry for her, and fall in love with her family. Read this one!

Although the book is good, I agree with one of the other reviewers, the print is really bad. It looks like somebody has printed the book at home with a printer that has an empty ink cartridge.

This is one of the best books I have ever read
on personal development. Ever page has amazing
insights. You will not be disapointed

The print is so poor I have not been able to read it. I felt inmensely cheated

This a an incredible book about improving your life and attitude. It is a must for anyone wanting to know what it takes to be successful. This is what sets the Wealthy apart from the other 90% of america.

I AM NOT A MAJOR BOOK READER, BUT DO ENJOY BOOKS LIKE THIS. FOUND IT TO FLOW WELL. LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE FROM THE AUTHOR

Michael Grant Jaffe's honorable and thought-provoking "Skateaway" treats the theme of growing up in unusual family circumstances with sensitivty, compassion and anger. The three Boone children, Clem, Garrett and Samantha, yearn for a normal, invisible childhood. Instead, they are compelled to confront the invasive abuse of anti-abortion protestors who regularly disrupt their home life out of anger at the childrens' mother, Mercer, who provides abotion services to the blue-collar town of Lukin, Ohio, in addition to serving as a conscientious OB/GYN. If that weren't enough, the children's unstable father, Kendall, slowly and inexorably slips into insanity. Thus, the three children never experience the delight of family tranquility or the stablity of relative anonymity.

Jaffe's significant talents find best expression when exploring the psychological consequences of growing up in an environment which permits neither ease or coherence. Despite learning, at an early age, the notion of social responsibility, the children "had rubbed against things too sharp for the hands of the young. They'd been spittoons for words of terrific cruelty, they'd felt the sting of noses turned bloody. Awfulness that usually began in defense of things they didn't completely understand: their mother's work or their father's mind."

In addition, the author skillfully interweaves Mercer's anxieties about the ramifications of her life's work on her children's safety. "...This is what worried Mercer most: someday, intelligently, one or more of her children might come to the decision that their mother had placed them all in trouble's way for a belief they did not share." Kendall's increased instablity further isolates the Boones from a neighborhood steeped in hypocrisy and isolated anger. Jaffe's subtle depiction of the Boones' neighbors is superb. Lukin seethes with intolerance, disdain and fear at the Boones, a family that simply does not fit in with the truncated hopes of a working-class community. After Kendall's institutionalization, the neighborhood heaves a sigh of relief, however guiltily, that at least one detriment to community stability has been removed.

As the children age, their realizations mature. Garrett "accepted the parallels in his parents' lives: one needing protection from others, one needing only protection from himself." Not until young adulthood does Clem have a serious conversation with her mother about Mercer's decision to provide abortions, and the mother's measured response is one of the most eloquent defenses of the right to choice imaginable. "'I'd imagine no one wishes there weren't a need for abortions more than the doctors who perform them...But I can't just hide my eyes and hope it'll disappear. The only satisfaction - if that's even the word - I can take from doing abortions is knowing I gave the patients the best medical care I was capable of. A proficient set of hands.'"

"Skateaway" is not without its flaws. Written in three distinctive parts -- childhood, adolescence and adulthood -- the novel never fully coheres. Jaffe also has difficulty with the narrative; constant flashbacks tend to interfere with understanding rather than enchance it. The writing tends to be uneven as well; some pages have lyrical beauty while others are mundane. Nevertheless, the strengths of the novel far outweigh the weaknesses. A devastating conclusion reaffirms the undercurrent of fear swirling in "Skateaway." Jaffe poses very troubling questions and does not flinch in attempting to provide thoughtful and compelling answers. His characters' unique personalities and utterly believable means of responding to their unusual home circumstances elevate the importance of this novel.

If you're looking for a book that doesn't test you one whit, something you can easily consume on the beach and forget about on the car ride home, this is your book. Jaffe's trio of characters are all underwritten and his attempt to create a dynamic family that shatters under the weight of its "sins" fails in every attempt. His characters are transparent non-entities not because he spends so little time with any of them. He tries to give the reader each character's point-of-view rather than focusing on one character and how growing up with a mother who ran an abortion clinic (at some indeterminate moment in time) shaped his/her life. Instead, Jaffe skips through the lives of these characters as if they were little more than points on a classroom agenda intended to illustrate what happens to people over time, but he spends none of his writing on what happens to any of the characters and why they react the way they do. The writing is passable, even if Jaffe tends to use some "odd" words too frequently. The story moves along briskly enough, but, if you're looking for something with depth, this is not your story.

The novel takes three sibblings: Sam, Garret and Clem - victims of tragedy, violence, and injustice, and depicts their lives through three stages. Beautifully written - their lives seem more interesting and full of thought-provoking dilemmas than the lives of many real people

Michael Grant Jaffe proliferates colorful incidents and crotchets of character. . . . with an astounding amount of artistry and ingenuity

God becomes bored and decides that she will end the multiverse. Q sets out to rescue everything, and finds himself repeatedly bumping into Picard and Data. The storyline is confused and confusing, and the characters are pitiable caricatures of themselves.

After this outpouring of scorn let me say that somehow the authors succeeded in keeping me listening. There are two things that makes this audiobook worth listening to, and that is Q and John De Lancie himself. Peter David (one of the authors) and John De Lancie (author and reader) succeed in producing a Q at his quirky best. Therefore, if you want a good story don't stop here, but if you love Q then this book is one you should check out. [Q-Squared is much better.]

Also, I must say that I love listening to John De Lancie's voice. He does a masterful job with this audiobook. Overall, I give this audiobook a guarded recommendation.

Having John DeLancie, "Q", narrate this book on tape really brings the story to life. Anyone who has read the book should definitely get this CD and listen to it. It is one of the more enjoyable books on tape I have listened to.

All in all, this is the one audiobook one should acquire if one is a fan of Q. Written by the actor who plays him, you need never worry that he will act out of character. The way that Q's journey goes is an intriguing philosophical journey. The problem is that the begging secion and the next section is done by someone else, and it justs drags the overall stry down, to the point where it seems it hardly has an ending at all.

For the record, the story takes place after the episode of ST: Voyager where Q and another have a baby.

I am reviewing the audio cassette version. John de Lancie created the character Q in the Star Trek, TNG TV show. He was always funny, fun interesting and engaging. He is all that here and he leads us and his old buddies Picard and Data on a romp across the universe to solve a mystery, and maybe even prevent the end of time itself! 3 stars is for good. 3 star uis for fun, and having delacie read the book himself, just made it fun to listen to. Sometimes the plot just got stupid. I went from laughing and smiling to Ughhhhh back and forth listening to this. In the end i liked it enough that i have listened to it several times now. It does get even better with a second listen, but it was 3 star on the first listen. Now if you like wierd sci fi... You may want to give this a 4 or 5.

Not a real/serious how to kill book, but more of "I wish I could kill this way" book. This is very much in the same style as Gary Larson's The Far Side except with a bit of wishful violence.

If you like this genre of comics, you must get the classic "The Official I Hate Cats Book" and "The Second Official I Hate Cats Book" by Skip Morrow. They're even more like The Far Side style, with a lot less (or no) words, and a lot funnier and more creative. Another book called "101 Uses for a Dead Cat" by Simon Bond. It isn't as well drawn, but the ideas are much better which makes it pretty funny.

This book, although intriguing from the title, does not show you how to kill your girlfriend's cats. Comic pictures at best describe something that should be given a step by step manual. Like: use rat poison in the water. Put in microwave. Hold underwater. Don't feed. Any of these ideas are not given the proper explanation.

Excerpt from the Introduction:

"After all these years, you've met the girl of your dreams. She's beautiful. Brilliant. Fun. Sexy. No old boyfriends darken the picture. No mother shows up six times a day. No annoying habits intrude. Unlike your last girlfriend, she does not practice the Ninja Death Strike while asleep.

The fact is, you've fallen in love. Now only one problem threatens your bliss. You ignored it at first, but that phase is over. You can't stand it anymore. Your girlfriend has a cat ..."

I bought this book nearly 12 years ago and laughed myself silly. Replete with illustrations, this book lists dozens of great ways to rid yourself of the pesky feline that stands between you and your girl. From "Catsorcism" to "Return the Cat to Its Homeland (Catmandu)" to "Take a Taxi to the Dentist? I Thought You Said Taxidermist!", this book will have you in stitches... Hire them as a cook or handyman for a day. Around these guys, nine lives just aren't enough.

If you love the girl, you'll buy this book. You want to stay with her, don't you? Remember, behind every successful relationship is a dead cat.