V Books
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Related Subjects: Viorst, Judith Van Allsburg, Chris
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Related Subjects: Viorst, Judith Van Allsburg, Chris
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How I Turned $50 into $5 Million in Country Property--Part Time and How You Can Do the Same
Published in Hardcover by Sheridan Books, Inc. (2004-06-01)
List price: $29.95
New price: $15.00
Used price: $11.94
Used price: $11.94
Average review score: 

History of land selling and great marketing
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09
Review Date: 2007-01-09
A great investment for anyone who wants to retire comfortably
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-08
Review Date: 2006-02-08
I am a real estate agent and I roll people's IRA or retirement funds into well chosen California Real Estate and I want to express just how great this book is. I love it! For anyone who wants to retire comfortably, I really recommend this book. It is so well written and it is very common sense. I look so forward for the new book "The Habitual Millionaire"
Personal experience
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-09
Review Date: 2006-12-09
I especially enjoyed this book because I was a small part of the country property business when I lived in the Washington D.C. area 40 years ago during the 60's. As a salesman, I sold many of the properties developed by B.K. Haynes to enthusiastic and highly satisfied buyers. My work was made much easier when excited customers asked to meet the person who wrote "those wonderful ads." Haynes has the remarkable ability to form pictures in the minds of those ad readers looking for country property. They became doubly excited when the properties they looked at were exactly as he described them and precisely what they were hoping to find. His inclusion of world historical events in this book is a valuable tool that hopeful property developers might use to gauge the state of mind in prospective buyers. The How To features in this book are so clearly defined that readers should have little difficulty adapting them to their own property development efforts. With an entertaining narrative writing style, B.K. Haynes delivered what was promised in the book's title. He explained exactly "How I Turned $50 into $5 Million in Country Property - Part Time.
Best "how to get rich quick" ever
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-20
Review Date: 2005-12-20
We recommend anyone who is interested in purchasing country property, even for personal use, to read this book. B. K. Haynes offers a lifetime of selling and investment knowledge with amusing stories thrown in! A great read, and a terrific teaching tool for all interested in land investment.
Ahmad and Linda Kangarloo, Middletown, Virginia
Ahmad and Linda Kangarloo, Middletown, Virginia
A Handbook For Success and Profit
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-08
Review Date: 2005-12-08
I bought BK Haynes book because he is from my home town and I thought it might be interesting. I am so glad I did! Not only does he share his life story but he also shares the secrets to how he went from being a poor kid in DC to being the multi-millionaire he is today. And the best part about it is that I can do the same thing! Mr. Haynes did not let small obsticles (like lack of funds) keep him from realizing his dreams. He is an inspiration and model that I plan to immulate.

I Know I'm In There Somewhere
Published in Hardcover by (2003-06-01)
List price: $24.00
New price: $10.31
Used price: $5.24
Used price: $5.24
Average review score: 

A "must" read for all ladies!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-04
Review Date: 2008-08-04
I have bought this book 4 times now. Because the book is so good, I give it to others to read, because in my mind this is a must read for all females!!! I just recently bought my last 2 books (finally got smart and saved one for me). I have read it 3 times myself and keep it on hand for a good read at any time. I recently divorced my now ex-husband, and thanks to this book alone, it gave me the inner strenghth to get out of an unhealthy relationship which I would not have had without this book. I highly recommend it for all ladies. I have learned in the past that we as women give too much of ourselves away and get so little in return - read the book, you will recognize yourself in many chapters. For me, I felt that the author was writing about my life word for word - it was creepy, but at the same time it was an eye opener for me. Needless to say my exhusband probably hated this book for many reasons - oh well, his loss. Ladies if you have lost your inner voice, find it - if you have never had an inner voice - get one - it is never to late and you will survive!!!
Every Woman Should Read This Book!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
Review Date: 2008-02-08
This book was suggested to me by a counselor. Honestly, I don't take a lot of my spare time to read books but this one was made so much sense, I could not put it down. I found myself trying to find time to keep reading it. It answers questions that women and young girls have been asking themselves for years. This book really helped me become stronger in a time when I was feeling very weak and down on myself. It seems that as women, we are taught to blame ourselves for things even if they are not our fault. Helene Brenner put things in perspective for me. This book is perfect for any woman in your life. I have bought it for co-workers, family members, friends and aquantances that I knew needed it. It's awesome!!!!!
Probably the best book purchase I've ever made.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-12
Review Date: 2007-01-12
I have read a number of "self-help" books over the years. Ms. Brenner's book is, without a doubt, the most moving, useful book I have ever read. I think every woman should read it. It impressed me so much that I bought copies for my daughter and all my closest friends!
A New Way of Looking at Yourself
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-22
Review Date: 2004-06-22
I have been in the process of "self-discovery" for the past 20 years and have read many, many books. This book by Helene Brenner takes a fresh, new approach. She helps women to let go of the idea that we are somehow flawed and need to be "fixed." From her use of words (she calls this a self-acceptance book...not a self-help book) to her ideas of why so many women are walking around striving to be perfect, Brenner has put a new face on our quest for living that life of our dreams. She makes it seem attainable because there is nothing really more to "do." There is only to "be."
I highly recommend this book and especially encourage women just beginning the process of self-discovery to read it. You will save yourself a lot of time and self-doubt.
A New Way of Looking at Yourself
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-22
Review Date: 2004-06-22
I have been in the process of "self-discovery" for the past 20 years and have read many, many books. This book by Helene Brenner takes a fresh, new approach. She helps women to let go of the idea that we are somehow flawed and need to be "fixed." From her use of words (she calls this a self-acceptance book...not a self-help book) to her ideas of why so many women are walking around striving to be perfect, Brenner has put a new face on our quest for living that life of our dreams. She makes it seem attainable because there is nothing really more to "do." There is only to "be."
I highly recommend this book and especially encourage women just beginning the process of self-discovery to read it. You will save yourself a lot of time and self-doubt.

Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal
Published in Hardcover by Bantam (2004-08-31)
List price: $25.00
New price: $11.20
Used price: $11.20
Used price: $11.20
Average review score: 

Invisible Heroes is an important and useful book.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-03
Review Date: 2008-08-03
I have just purchased my 6th & 7th copies of Invisible Heroes. The others have all been given to psychotherapy clients; survivors of several kinds of traumatic experience. Trauma survivors find this book instructive and comforting -- they read and re-read it. Sometimes we make recordings of the imagery and meditations, sometimes they purchase those Belleruth has made so beautifully.
PTSD winner
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-03
Review Date: 2008-07-03
This book contains the clearest, easiest to understand explanation I've found for how trauma affects the brain. A must read for all those dealing with trauma, trauma victims or PTSD.
Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma -- Encourages, Explains, Offers Proof
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-28
Review Date: 2008-01-28
How lucky I've been to discover this book now, years after initial publication! I second other Amazon reviews, esp. by trauma survivors. Easy read.(CD recording of it also available.) Important parts:
1) Most of the book explains PTSD and related symptoms, many which might seem at first to have nothing to do with trauma. More important to me than the rest, because of unraveling confusing experiences in my life.
2) Scripts of guided imagery. Some may be important for some trauma survivors to read before listening to them on CD, because of concern of how we might react to the power of voice and music, e.g. meditation on grief. Sleep meditation seems the most powerful.
3) Information about 11 things people who have successfully recovered have done. Validating. Offers a healing direction.
4) Unexpected information about development of gifts as a result of trauma.
5) The title might be encouraging to other survivors of trauma. Look how far we've come, rather than how much we've left undone. "I look forward to reclaiming my strength and using the full range of my gifts." It's good to know that I'm not alone in benefitting from that affirmation.
6) Those who know the trauma survivor can benefit in recognizing PTSD problems, because they can ask for specific help about how to deal with the person who has PTSD. "It ain't easy."
7) I've given the book to some helping professionals who have told me, "It sounds like I should get that book." I'm ordering more copies.
1) Most of the book explains PTSD and related symptoms, many which might seem at first to have nothing to do with trauma. More important to me than the rest, because of unraveling confusing experiences in my life.
2) Scripts of guided imagery. Some may be important for some trauma survivors to read before listening to them on CD, because of concern of how we might react to the power of voice and music, e.g. meditation on grief. Sleep meditation seems the most powerful.
3) Information about 11 things people who have successfully recovered have done. Validating. Offers a healing direction.
4) Unexpected information about development of gifts as a result of trauma.
5) The title might be encouraging to other survivors of trauma. Look how far we've come, rather than how much we've left undone. "I look forward to reclaiming my strength and using the full range of my gifts." It's good to know that I'm not alone in benefitting from that affirmation.
6) Those who know the trauma survivor can benefit in recognizing PTSD problems, because they can ask for specific help about how to deal with the person who has PTSD. "It ain't easy."
7) I've given the book to some helping professionals who have told me, "It sounds like I should get that book." I'm ordering more copies.
Facinating read
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-23
Review Date: 2008-01-23
This book causes you to think deeply about alot of things. Especially things you didn't realize were issues in your life or the life of ones you love. Read it with a highlighter and pen in hand!!
PTSD Explained
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Naperstek's book is a very readable, straightforward analysis of the symptomatology of PTSD and of the various non-verbal therapies now available to treat the disorder. It's an extremely effective synthesis of the current state of therapeutic approaches to PTSD treatment, including very recent remarkable advances in the brain scanning technologies that have given scientists and medical professionals extraordinary access to the brain's activities involving PTSD triggers, areas of the brain affected by those stimuli, and a very convincing argument for non-verbal therapeutic practices (as opposed to "talk therapy").

Jesus, the One and Only
Published in Audio Cassette by (2002-11-27)
List price: $17.95
New price: $18.97
Used price: $18.96
Used price: $18.96
Average review score: 

Love it!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-26
Review Date: 2008-06-26
This book is great. It has really helped me focus on Jesus life here on earth. It has made me dig deeper to discover and wonder about the details. Beth Moore's applications of the passages have brought it to life.
fresh perspective on a familiar story
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-14
Review Date: 2008-01-14
So far this is my favorite Beth Moore book. I've already read it twice and am sure to read it again. She tackles a very familiar story with fresh insights just about every chapter. It's not a "preachy" book. Rather she makes you feel like you're a fellow learner with a good friend. Unlike some of her other books, this does not require looking up many references which makes it ideal to read when you're reading somewhere other than your desk at home.
Excellent! As only Beth Moore communicates!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-27
Review Date: 2007-12-27
I have been in numerous Beth Moore Bible studies and this is one of my favorites! This is the study of Christ's life in the form of a daily, personal study. It is 53 short chapter messages.
Great Beth Moore study
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-18
Review Date: 2007-12-18
You can never go wrong with a Beth Moore study. She has a gift for opening the Word and revealing Truth!
I would not buy from this seller, however. It took almost an entire month for it to arrive.
I would not buy from this seller, however. It took almost an entire month for it to arrive.
Excellent and In-depth
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-07
Review Date: 2007-11-07
As always, I am very satisfied with the Beth Moore studies. She does an excellent job and everything is well researched and Biblical.
The Last Resort (Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Super Mysteries #5)
Published in Paperback by Simon Pulse (1990-04-01)
List price: $3.99
New price: $44.29
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00
Average review score: 

What About Ned !
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-26
Review Date: 2001-12-26
Hey,this is a pretty great book!Even though some people like the idea of a Nancy/Frank thing,I think its sweet that Ned cares about Nancy. I mean now-a-days,all guys are players.Where else can you find a guy who cares about you and doesn"t cheat?Answer rhat question.Anyway , even though I like the Nancy/Ned thing,there was a lot of romace in this book!Not just between Nancy and Frank. This is a definetly must read book!
Nancy and Frank please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-05
Review Date: 2004-11-05
This is a great book!!! What is with the whole "I'm sorry Nancy but I'm in love with Callie I feel terrible about kissing you,'Thats alright Frank me too I'm in love with Ned" thing Frank and Nancy are meant to be!!!!! They are so not being true to themselves. Nancy admits that she is attracted to Frank practicly in everybook and in a question of guilt Frank proves that he is jealous of nancy going off with other men!!!! Anyway a good read as useual totally recorrmend!!!!
I't wasn't Keene's best.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-15
Review Date: 2002-02-15
This was a pretty good book.It was all about how Nancy and the Hardys have to solve this case at a resort.Ned shows up in the middlish end.He sees Frank and Nancy hugging and thinks that hes lost his girlfriend.But Nancy talks to him and they still go out together.The case is eventually solved and Nancy and the Hardys go back to their regular lives then solve their next case,The Paris Connection.
Really Really Good!!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-20
Review Date: 2004-09-20
I LOVED this book! It was really good. Nancy and the Hardys get called in to help with sabotage at a rich mountain resort.It's full of mystery,romance(LoL),and keeps you reading!I loved the part in the cabin & I hate that Ned showed up.It's a Must read for any fan!
The best one yet
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-14
Review Date: 2002-05-14
I think this is the best Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Supermystery of all. I finally was able to locate it in December. I have been wanting to read it for years, but I never could find it. It has an interesting plot intertwined with just enough romance that it's not too mushy.
I agree with the other readers, Ned should have been left out. Carolyn Keene should definately write a series without Ned and Callie. Frank and Nancy are meant to be.

Live Like You Were Dying : A Story About Living
Published in Hardcover by (2004-10-27)
List price: $16.99
New price: $5.35
Used price: $4.04
Used price: $4.04
Average review score: 

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR...Michael Morris
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-12
Review Date: 2005-05-12
I met Michael Morris at a writers conference in 1999 way before he had any books out. He looked like a young John Grisham, working in a job where he interacted with Washington D.C officials. 'But, what I really want to do...' he said, with his head bowed, as if he were suddenly shy 'is write'. I looked at him and thought, 'Who doesn't, you're one of a million'. Two days later, after Michael and his wife returned to their home in the deep south, I picked up his new manuscript and began to read...and was stunned...this guy was gifted! I called my agent and said, 'You have got to sign this guy, this book is a winner.' She did. And that book, A PLACE CALLED WIREGRASS went on to win the Christy Award (like an Emmy ...for writing). Michel and his family remained friends with my family and while I was working on my forth book FLYING BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS: Flight Attendant Adventures on a Wing and a Prayer, he was working on his next novel. Then he called one day and said 'There is this song on the radio you have to listen too...it's called LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING and it's my story.' I said, 'That's great Michael, maybe you should call Tim McGraw and tell him that. Ha Ha Ha.' (I was joking because no one we knew...knew how to contact Tim McGraw') A few days later, Michael called and sounded in shock, 'I didn't have to call Tim McGraw,' he said, 'his people contacted me. Marsha, It's like it was meant to be.' LIKE YOU WERE DYING is a true story, not just for the father of Tim McGraw..but for Michael Morris as well...maybe that's why it's ringing in the hearts of so many people. And now, as this his third book sells around the world - and he is writing his forth, I don't think Michael Morris is one OF a million, but, one IN a million.
A grave medical diagnosis, the ensuing quest for adventure, mended relationships, and a reconnection with God
Helpful Votes: 15 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-03
Review Date: 2005-08-03
Michael Morris is a name well-known to fans of Christian fiction, particularly novels that cross over well into mainstream bookstores. His 2003 release, SLOW WAY HOME, was named one of the best novels of the year by two secular newspapers in U.S. cities. LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING, a 178-page novella, may well receive similar accolades for the year 2004.
As country music fans might suspect, the book is based on the lyrics from a Tim McGraw hit of the same title, written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. Morris took the lyrics and fashioned a story that seamlessly integrates all the elements of the song --- a grave medical diagnosis, the ensuing quest for adventure, mended relationships, and a reconnection with God.
In Morris's version, Nathan Bishop cheats death in an industrial accident, only to have the resulting x-rays reveal a much more serious problem. Weighing his medical options, Nathan decides it's time that he starts to live as if he were dying. That means, in part, doing risky things he's never done before, like skydiving and riding a bull, both of which are activities mentioned in the lyrics. That also means doing things he never took the time to do, like spending time with his wife and 12-year-old daughter. And finally, it means doing things he never wanted to do, like forgiving his father.
I have to confess that I was fully prepared to dislike this book. I figured that not even Morris could avoid producing a book that seemed contrived, since the content would be forced to fit the lyrics --- and the lyrics of a country song at that. But Morris proved he was more than equal to the task. Nothing about this book felt forced or inauthentic, and there's none of the "fluff" that I anticipated in a book of this type.
Among the many strengths: Morris's excellent command of the language, realistic dialogue (one of the aspects of quality fiction that too many authors fail to produce), and believable characters. In that last category, two of the standouts are Nathan's father and grandmother, two people who easily could have become stereotypes in the hands of a lesser author. Ron Bishop is reserved and remote, the kind of father who has never been able to show his affection. But Morris avoids casting him in a predictable light or overdoing it with a lot of commentary on why he is the way he is. Ron Bishop just is. And that makes him believable.
Grand Vestal, Nathan's grandmother, gets my unofficial award for "best portrayal of an elderly woman." If, like me, you've noticed that elderly women in Christian fiction are nothing at all like many of the elderly women in your life, you'll be glad to meet Grand Vestal. Morris apparently recognized the fact that older women are, well, not your father's grandmother. They aren't necessarily the sweet, simpering, saccharine women who call everyone "dearie" in too many other Christian novels, nor are they necessarily feisty, oddball characters that exist somewhere else along the caricature spectrum. They're real, multidimensional people --- just like everyone else. Amazing that so few writers seem to realize that. Thankfully, Morris does.
My first time through this book, before I knew I would be reviewing it, I made a note to myself on the end flap: "Excellent in every way." That assessment still stands.
As country music fans might suspect, the book is based on the lyrics from a Tim McGraw hit of the same title, written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. Morris took the lyrics and fashioned a story that seamlessly integrates all the elements of the song --- a grave medical diagnosis, the ensuing quest for adventure, mended relationships, and a reconnection with God.
In Morris's version, Nathan Bishop cheats death in an industrial accident, only to have the resulting x-rays reveal a much more serious problem. Weighing his medical options, Nathan decides it's time that he starts to live as if he were dying. That means, in part, doing risky things he's never done before, like skydiving and riding a bull, both of which are activities mentioned in the lyrics. That also means doing things he never took the time to do, like spending time with his wife and 12-year-old daughter. And finally, it means doing things he never wanted to do, like forgiving his father.
I have to confess that I was fully prepared to dislike this book. I figured that not even Morris could avoid producing a book that seemed contrived, since the content would be forced to fit the lyrics --- and the lyrics of a country song at that. But Morris proved he was more than equal to the task. Nothing about this book felt forced or inauthentic, and there's none of the "fluff" that I anticipated in a book of this type.
Among the many strengths: Morris's excellent command of the language, realistic dialogue (one of the aspects of quality fiction that too many authors fail to produce), and believable characters. In that last category, two of the standouts are Nathan's father and grandmother, two people who easily could have become stereotypes in the hands of a lesser author. Ron Bishop is reserved and remote, the kind of father who has never been able to show his affection. But Morris avoids casting him in a predictable light or overdoing it with a lot of commentary on why he is the way he is. Ron Bishop just is. And that makes him believable.
Grand Vestal, Nathan's grandmother, gets my unofficial award for "best portrayal of an elderly woman." If, like me, you've noticed that elderly women in Christian fiction are nothing at all like many of the elderly women in your life, you'll be glad to meet Grand Vestal. Morris apparently recognized the fact that older women are, well, not your father's grandmother. They aren't necessarily the sweet, simpering, saccharine women who call everyone "dearie" in too many other Christian novels, nor are they necessarily feisty, oddball characters that exist somewhere else along the caricature spectrum. They're real, multidimensional people --- just like everyone else. Amazing that so few writers seem to realize that. Thankfully, Morris does.
My first time through this book, before I knew I would be reviewing it, I made a note to myself on the end flap: "Excellent in every way." That assessment still stands.
Not What I Expected...It Was Better
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-24
Review Date: 2006-05-24
I read Michael Morris's other novels and loved them. The stories are realistic and the characters well drawn. When I picked up this book I was not so sure that it would be as strong. The fact that it is based on a song made me think that it would be too melodramatic. I was wrong. While the story is sweet, the characters are well drawn and the message behind the story made me stop and think about my own life choices.
A BOOK FOR THE SEASON....
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-14
Review Date: 2005-12-14
THIS BOOK SEEMED TO BE THE PERFECT STORY TO READ DURING THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. IT REMINDED ME OF AN UPDATED 'IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE'. A MAN WHO FACES DEATH MUST THEN FACE THE FATHER HE HAS ALWAYS DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM. THE BOOK IS VERY MUCH LIKE THE FAMOUS SONG BUT IT PROVIDES MORE BACKGROUND INTO THE MAN'S THOUGHTS AND THE PEOPLE THAT HE PUSHES AWAY UNTIL ITS ALMOST TOO LATE. THIS IS A FEEL-GOOD BOOK THAT PULLS AT YOUR HEART!
Live Like you were Dying: A Story about Living
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-05
Review Date: 2005-08-05
I loved this book! It was so good! The book was just as powerful as the song. It makes you realize what you have and you should not take advantage of it.

Lucy & Desi: The Real-Life Scrapbook of America's Favorite TV Couple
Published in Hardcover by (2004-09-30)
List price: $35.00
New price: $26.77
Used price: $19.35
Collectible price: $35.00
Used price: $19.35
Collectible price: $35.00
Average review score: 

Really Nice Gift for a Lucy Fan
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-31
Review Date: 2007-10-31
This was purchased for my daughter who happens to be a huge Lucy fan. She thoroughly enjoyed it as it is chock full of reproduced letters, articles and other memorabilia. It makes a wonderful gift.
Thank-You Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-03
Review Date: 2007-12-03
What a wonderful gift Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. have given to the fans of their parents. This book will warm your heart, make you smile, and bring tears to your eyes. It will make you feel like you snuck into Lucy's closet and found her scrapbook sitting on the shelf. I got goosebumps when I saw the enevelope written by Desi that said 'To my darling'. I almost felt like an intruder when I pulled out the Valentine for Lucy that was inside. There are photos, letters, clippings, and side notes, all beautifully assembled. This is a must have have for anyone who has ever loved Lucy, Desi, Vivian, and William.
A Must For All Fans
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-31
Review Date: 2007-10-31
When I received this book in the post I did not put it down for a least an hour. It was so thoughtfully put together and showed all of Desi and Lucy's fans just how much they loved and cared for each other thoughtout their lives.
My most memorable areas are the little pieces written by the couple describing their thoughts and how they felt about each other. Lucy's words about Desi's death really struck me as although she had been married for 25 years she still felt his death hard.
My daughter who is only aged 15 years also could not put it down and was especially interested in the reproductions of the important letters and documents.
We both love it and it is certainly a must for the bookshelf of any Lucy and Desi fan.
My most memorable areas are the little pieces written by the couple describing their thoughts and how they felt about each other. Lucy's words about Desi's death really struck me as although she had been married for 25 years she still felt his death hard.
My daughter who is only aged 15 years also could not put it down and was especially interested in the reproductions of the important letters and documents.
We both love it and it is certainly a must for the bookshelf of any Lucy and Desi fan.
FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-13
Review Date: 2006-01-13
If you are a Lucy Fan then you simply must buy this book! I just received mine and sat mesmorized by it, it is now my favorite Lucy item I have. I have an enormous collection of everything to do with Lucy or I LOVE LUCY you can imagine and this Scrapbook is so incredible.....it's honestly as if you are looking at the original scrapbook and you are even able to pull out inserts on several pages.....passport, letters, etc. I am not joking, if you are a collector of Lucy things and you do not have this Scrapbook then you are missing an incredible addition to your collection. The price is really great considering all you get. Words truly are not enough....I'll never ever get tired of looking at this!!!! Don't just think about buying it, buy it this minute!!!
lucy & desi the real -life scrapbook
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-21
Review Date: 2005-09-21
The scrapebook was execellent. I enjoyed every little thing about it. It was great of all the document that were in there. This is a great book.

The Mask Carver's Son
Published in Hardcover by (2000-01-15)
List price: $23.95
New price: $9.68
Used price: $4.20
Used price: $4.20
Average review score: 

A Rebirth of the Soul through Time's Fire
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-08
Review Date: 2006-06-08
`To be in a state of unawareness is the highest goal for a carver,' whispers the master, his voice already lost in the wind.
Alyson Richman wrote an especially poetic debut novel and after reading The Mask Carver's Son, I can't imagine not reading every book she writes. Her delicate writing style softens tragedy and awakens beauty.
"On the days when her early departure left a coldness and an aching emptiness in their bed, he would rise minutes after her. He would walk toward their small paper window and slide it ever so slightly to one side. Just to watch her, if only for a moment, as she glided through the garden as ethereal as a ghost."
The detailed descriptions of Kiyoki's life are inspired by Meiji period artists and will be deeply appreciated by anyone who is inclined towards heightened aesthetic awareness. There is no need to be an artist to understand the emotions and longings of Kiyoki, but you may find yourself wishing to learn to paint or to enter this fascinating world where he lives and breathes beauty as if it is life itself. The scent of cedar wood lingers throughout the pages, as does the scent of fresh paint on a canvas and plums freshly plucked from a tree. Sorrow and love mingle effortlessly and create a bittersweet story of hope despite struggle.
As Kiyoki struggles with the ghosts of his past, he comes to terms with his place in the world as opposed to his ancestor's wishes and dreams for his life. The Mask Carver's Son is not only a story of an artist's life; it is a place you may wish to live. The writing leaves you feeling nostalgic for a world you can only access through this book. If you love stories like Memoirs of a Geisha, this story may intrigue you.
~The Rebecca Review
Alyson Richman wrote an especially poetic debut novel and after reading The Mask Carver's Son, I can't imagine not reading every book she writes. Her delicate writing style softens tragedy and awakens beauty.
"On the days when her early departure left a coldness and an aching emptiness in their bed, he would rise minutes after her. He would walk toward their small paper window and slide it ever so slightly to one side. Just to watch her, if only for a moment, as she glided through the garden as ethereal as a ghost."
The detailed descriptions of Kiyoki's life are inspired by Meiji period artists and will be deeply appreciated by anyone who is inclined towards heightened aesthetic awareness. There is no need to be an artist to understand the emotions and longings of Kiyoki, but you may find yourself wishing to learn to paint or to enter this fascinating world where he lives and breathes beauty as if it is life itself. The scent of cedar wood lingers throughout the pages, as does the scent of fresh paint on a canvas and plums freshly plucked from a tree. Sorrow and love mingle effortlessly and create a bittersweet story of hope despite struggle.
As Kiyoki struggles with the ghosts of his past, he comes to terms with his place in the world as opposed to his ancestor's wishes and dreams for his life. The Mask Carver's Son is not only a story of an artist's life; it is a place you may wish to live. The writing leaves you feeling nostalgic for a world you can only access through this book. If you love stories like Memoirs of a Geisha, this story may intrigue you.
~The Rebecca Review
Poetic Prose
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-25
Review Date: 2002-09-25
I can only describe this novel as lyrical; the language sets the tone for the entire tale. A young man struggles with the decision to persue his dream even though he feels it might be disrespectful to his foster father. The artistic talent he has is both a blessing and a curse and his personal relationships suffer because of that.
Ms. Richman's writing is crisp and ethereal at the same time and the reader is transported to another time and place that is almost palpable. Ignore the editorial spelling mistakes and enjoy this book for the art it is.
Ms. Richman's writing is crisp and ethereal at the same time and the reader is transported to another time and place that is almost palpable. Ignore the editorial spelling mistakes and enjoy this book for the art it is.
Every Single Page is Stunning
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-11
Review Date: 2003-04-11
Actually, even every paragraph is stunning. This author, in a dynamic, sensual and sculpted first novel, manages to tell a page-turning story whose every sentence is beautiful. It's a book that should be read slowly and indulgently so that nothing is missed. The story's subject, among others, is art, and the prose almost reads as a series of tiny paintings, so vivid is the language and so powerful are the images. And in keeping with the tale's Japanese heritage, the prose sometimes reads as a series of haiku, so acute is the attention paid to singular moments and to essential objects and to the symbols that surround us in ordinary life. Especially as a first novel, the MCS overachieves, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
A Novel to Treasure and Appreciate - Six Stars
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-05-18
Review Date: 2001-05-18
A friend of mine recommended this novel to me. Once I began reading it, I found it hard to put it down. Then, after reading it from cover to cover, after a few days I felt the urge to read it again. This was the first time in my life that I had ever done something like that. Reading "The Mask Carver's Son" the second time was even more rewarding and meaningful for me. The images in the book, as if painted by an artist, are exquisite and the story is told in a true Japanese manner. The emotions of the characters are carefully controlled, remaining under the surface. Yet, the story is a powerful one and one that is based on the real- life experiences of actual artists. Like other reviewers that have reviewed this book, I cannot believe that the author is not Japanese. Even more surprisingly, I found that the author is a young woman. She has written a novel of unbelievable beauty - perhaps better than any Japanese author might have created. I recommend it highly. It deserves six stars.
Fizzled
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-14
Review Date: 2001-03-14
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Kiyoki (the son of a great mask carver) forsakes his family history, duty, and lover for his painting, which he pursues in Paris. There's powerful stuff here about family betrayals and about art consuming one's life. I felt so much promise with the story, and yet it seemed to lack closure at the end of the novel. The family estrangements are (rightfully) unresolved, but I was expecting a different ending. Also, I noticed too many editorial errors which I found distracting.

More Than They Could Chew : A Novel
Published in Paperback by (2005-02-01)
List price: $13.95
New price: $4.18
Used price: $4.17
Used price: $4.17
Average review score: 

Crime noir with human humor
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-19
Review Date: 2008-02-19
An absolutely beautiful novel from cover to cover. Roberge has a way of infusing the most desperate characters with a humor that allows each word to seamlessly bleed into the next. Think of More Than They Could Chew as the literary superior of great recent films like Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang and Smoking Aces.
Buy this novel now!
Buy this novel now!
AMAZING
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-09
Review Date: 2007-10-09
I heard Mr. Roberge read from this book at the library in Rancho Mirage (a treat unto itself) and I immediately bought this amazingly funny and moving book. It seems to me a next wave cross between Guys and Dolls and Big Deal on Madonna Street with characters named Maggot Arm Joe, Harry Fudge and Willie What's His Name, to name a few. Buy this book immediately! And the next time I see Roberge read, I have the perfect question to ask him. "How much of the enema scene is autobiographical." No. On second thought I don't want to know.
Eat it up!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-23
Review Date: 2007-06-23
What a great novel! "More Than They Could Chew" offers more than a mouthful of amazing, colorful, hysterical characters in an amazingly vivid, poignant, dark and tragic portrayal of an all-too-real contemporary-noir realm. A delicious pleasure, masterfully written, a real can't-put-down piece of work.
Sex, Crime and Music - What A Great Read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-07
Review Date: 2006-02-07
I don't usually read books on crime and I have to say I was addicted to this book. The characters come to life and their wants and needs truly move the plot along rather than the plot moving them. Rob Roberge does an excellent job with his pacing and dialogue. More Than They Could Chew is a true page-turner that makes you want to pick it back up after you've gone to bed to see what's happened to characters with names like Maggot Arm Joe. The writing is raw and aggressive and the story takes you places that as a reader, you would never guess you were going. Most importantly, you'll find out why there's a red gummy bear on the cover. Wow!
This one goes to eleven...
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-17
Review Date: 2005-07-17
Roberge's "More Than They Could Chew" narrator/philosopher, Nick Ray, has lived life, looked it in the eye, drank himself to sleep, and still managed to pick up a few lessons along the way --still, what he wants, even if he does not know exactly what it is, eludes him. Nick-Ray-wisdom, my favorite aspect of this 7-day Christmas-to-New-Year's-Eve tale, is weaved through the novel: "the future of the past is rarely the present" and "Doubt is weakness...To prepare for it is to pave the road and build a parking lot for all the bad news that pulls into your life." Roberge populates this story of blackmailing FBI witness-protected crooks living in Orange County (a.k.a. Reagan Country) with a concoction of memorable, 'other-side-of-the-tracks' characters comprising a disbarred lawyer-addict, a Russian thief and thug, a girlfriend with special multiple-step sexual needs involving gadgets and one gummy bear (instructions are included) and many many more side-kicks. Scenes involving a doctor's one-day cure for a facial tic and a special reenacting of the sinking of the Titanic are hilarious (even if somewhat seemingly sickening) --you'll be treated to several laugh-out-loud dark humor moments. The novel's leading lady, the Southern California coastal city of Long Beach comes alive with all its sights, smells and sounds, both its past and present, in Roberge's storytelling --it is completely absorbing. The story builds to a surprise and poetic ending that I found absolutely perfect --give us more Roberge!

Mortimer's Christmas Manger
Published in Hardcover by (2005-10-04)
List price: $15.95
New price: $9.02
Used price: $5.47
Used price: $5.47
Average review score: 

Cute and touching.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-16
Review Date: 2008-02-16
Mortimer is a mouse, living in a dark hole under the stairs. In his opinion, his hole is "too cold, too cramped, too creepy." One night, as he's sneaking around the big house looking for crumbs that the human family may have left behind, Mortimer finds what he thinks will be a perfect new home for him -- the stable in a Nativity scene. The excited mouse struggles to drag all the Nativity figures out of this stable, and he nestles himself down in the manger. The next day, as he's out prowling for crumbs, he comes back to find that someone has put the figures back into the stable! Annoyed, he drags them out again, and so it goes for several days, until one evening, Mortimer overhears the human father reading the Christmas story to his children, about how there was no room for them in the inn. The little Mouse realizes that the statue he has been dragging out of the manger each day is a statue of baby Jesus. Touched by the story, Mortimer decides that he wants to make room for the baby Jesus, and carefully puts all the figures back in their places. And in the end, Mortimer own prayer is granted. He finds a home that is just right for him!
Mortimer's Christmas Manger
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-23
Review Date: 2007-01-23
So cute!!!! The story is so fun to read and my twin girls age 6 loved to listen to it. We all loved the pictures. This will be a favorite Christmas treasure for years!!
A Blessed Christmas Story
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Mortimer's Christmas is a wonderful story about giving unselfishly and the birth of Jesus and it is told in a way even the younger children can enjoy. I read this during a Preschool Story Time at our library and several parents and grandparents asked where they could get copies. The illustations were great and the story moved along quickly. Karma Wilson has found a way to share the true meaning Christmas with the little ones.
An excellent Christmas story
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Review Date: 2007-01-10
My preschoolers sat quietly and eagerly waited to hear the whole story. An awesome story that brings in the real meaning of Christmas.
Astounding
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-19
Review Date: 2006-12-19
This is perhaps the most powerful story about the Nativity outside of the New Testament. Kudos to Karma for the way she crafted a simple yet elegant story about one of the most important events in history. And the art? Jane is splendid. This is an all-star team who have created one of the most wonderful children's books I've ever come across. I now have a gift for everyone I know with small children. Keep 'em coming!
Books-Under-Review-->Arts-->Literature-->Children's-->Authors-->V-->83
Related Subjects: Viorst, Judith Van Allsburg, Chris
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Related Subjects: Viorst, Judith Van Allsburg, Chris
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This new book has a lot of his personal history which many people looking for practical advice may not enjoy. But I enjoyed them. And mixed in with that history are absolutely great land ads he wrote. They could be used today and still be highly effective. I know I'm borrowing from them.
The rest of the book has lots of practical advice for people who want to buy and sell land from the developers stand point. He keeps it simple. And useful.
Overall, a real treat for me.