Classics Books

I purchased this book simply to replace my original copy, which I loaned out and which was never returned. Reading this book has been a favorite part of my Christmas for many years. While I regret losing my old copy, I am thankful I will now be able to carry on this tradition.

It's a fun story about an untraditional Christmas play. It shows how good can come of seemingly negative changes and find some unexpected, meaningful outcomes.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The worst kids in the neighborhood decide to be in the annual Christmas Pageant and turn the weeks leading up to the event into a very funny, read. I've read this book to many classrooms of children over the years and it's guaranteed to make them listen and laugh.

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I like books and I don't know if this is my favorite book but it is excellent. We read it as a family every year at Christmas. It never fails to touch me. It is fun with a redeeming message.

I have read this book at least once a year for 15yrs and now I'm reading it to my kids. It's a quick read, I can't put it down.

Oswald Chambers gives the awesome truths of the Bible and God's character in this easy, daily study.

If I had to make a choice of only one book that I could have in addition to my Bible "My Utmost for His Highest" would be it. Next to the Bible, this book has had the greatest impact on my understanging of what is means to walk with Jesus.

I have an old copy of this book and love it, but it was bulky to travel with. I love the paper back version of the book and the new updated language. A wonderful companion for my spiritual journey.

I have been studying this book for 6 years and sharing it with others. Oswald Chambers was an exceptional writer, bible scholar, and teacher. This book has given me great insight and direction to walk as a Christian daily.

I highly recommend this book for everyone! The lessons really hit home and are applicable to all lives at all stages.

Marcella Hazan's cookbooks are all great. This is the BEST. The characteristic that sets her book apart from all others is not the ingredients and not lucious looking pictures (there are no photos), but rather the important processes she describes in clear detail. I bought this as a gift for someone but have owned this version for five years and its earlier edition for 25 years and have never been disappointed. She is the best. Period. You'll never need another Italian cookbook.

I only received this book a couple weeks ago.
The 3 recipes I cooked were okay.
I had reservations about the two chicken breast filet recipes:
cooking times requested are very short and your filets can come out raw.
-She should've been more specific on to tell when its done by detailing the weight of the breast filets to use.

However, other recipes, especially the pasta ones, look really good!
Looking foward to using this book more.

This is a hefty book - lots of detail, lots of instruction and pretty strict about how things need to be done. As someone who hasn't ventured outside of my comfort zone for cooking, this structure can be very helpful - but it can also complicate things as I have to prepare everything in advance and rarely can pull off a recipe in this book with a low stocked pantry.

Still, I can't fault the book for my need to prepare - overall it's great and when I do have the time to make a special trip for all the right ingredients I know I'll have everything spelled out for me. The thing is huge so it's not easy to move around a kitchen counter with a couple of fingers in the middle of cooking, but like my title indicates, it's like a text book. There's more than just recipes, there's reference information, instruction on preparation and history. A very well rounded book.

...I've referred to this book over the years for technique and authenticity of Italian cooking...it is a wonderful book. I agree that it is on par with Julia Child's French cookbook. I've made many of the recipes and they are fabulous....the poached shrimp, easy and delicious...the grilled shrimp with flavored breadcrumbs is another favorite, the Lemon, garlic & parsley chicken cutlets is marvelous...her focaccia recipe is the best...fried tomatoes......I can go on and on. Ms. Hazan has given us a remarkable gift.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the depth of her knowledge of Italian cookery is amazing, on the other, the lack of specifics and inaccurate cooking times can be quite frustrating. This caveat should suffice: when making use of these recipes, make constant use of your tasting spoon!

I made Pasta e fagioli with fresh cranberry beans according to Ms. Hazan's recipe, and, because of Ms. Hazan's widely-acknowledged eminence, I followed her recipe precisely, something I rarely do, as I am an experienced cook. Her time for cooking the beans (45 minutes), left me with undercooked beans; they should have cooked for at least an hour and fifteen minutes, if not an hour and a half. No big deal, except I added the pasta at the point Ms. Hazan recommended.

I am sure that this book will be an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to learn Italian cooking, just make sure to test and modify these recipes as necessary ahead of time; following them as is can result in flubbed meals.

Simply one of the best books I have ever read. It has the rare ability to put me in this mood: when I stop reading, I feel like the world has somehow changed. It's just that good.

This is my favourite book, it is amazing. I read it online as he posted it chapter by chapter and loved it, I bought the book when it was released and it's to this day the best story I have ever read. I don't even like horror and I loved this. It's got a perfect mix of creepy horror stuff and comedy, do yourself a favour and buy this book.

Great book. Scary and hilarious at the same time. Love the characters. To bad it's not currently being printed. I can't wait for the film.

The tone of this book is perfect. The way Wong (author Wong, not character Wong) blends his asides and internal monologues is great. The plot, I thought, could use a little more refining, at times it does read like an internet serial mashed into a book. The scene that stands out in my mind is when David is in the trailer and the soy sauce is trying to get out of the fridge. It was a delicious blend of well executed suspense and humor, which is a challenge to do.

Not perfect, but I loved it, thus I give it five stars.

Reading JDATE is like riding a roller coaster, first you slowly climb the hill, then zoom you race to the bottom and around the curves, but on this ride, the wheels come off and you find yourself flying through the air, about to slam through the roof of the snow cone booth, then suddenly for no apparent reason, you are back on the tracks and climbing the next hill.

After reading Brian Keene's The Rising and Conqueror Worm, I though I might not enjoy a book so much, but hey, a door appeared out of nowhere and i stepped through it, and there I was in the middle of David Wongs imagination with white rod shaped insects invading my flesh.

If you want to sink your mental teeth into a story that you can "see" while reading it, this is one awesome book, and with the movie rights now in the hands of Don Coscarelli (Phantasm) , the movie should be a real mindblower! To tell a story like this on the screen will either have to be in 2 or 3 parts or an all nighter.

But that's OK, bring it on.

Great book --compelling and one of Dostoyevsky's best. The conversation between Christ and the Grand Inquisitor is a passage for all human kind.

With this book, Dostoevsky makes a brilliant social critique spanning over religion, family, social caste, and existential thought. His characters are passionate and real. His observations are apt and moving.

I found the beauty of this work to be that I appreciate its darkness and let it depress me only because it is timeless and relevant still.

When first in Russian business, I was told to read "Brothers Karamazov" to understand the Russian. As always, there are three sides to the Russian coin and this masterpiece reflects this fact about this land of 1000 years. The chapter "The Grand Inquisitor" is to me one of the greatest tracts in the world's literature and reflects on organized religion as well as a Russia about to implode. Absolutely essential.

Frederick R. Andresen, Author of "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia."Walking on Ice: An American Businessman in Russia

In my opinion Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" is a seismic event in world literature because it puts God at the center of the discussion during a highly secular time, it is a tremendous piece of existential-psychology, and the characters are so unforgetable. Plus, it is a great murder mystery with several surprises and unforgetable scences. This is a must read!

At the beginning of my freshman year at college, a girl told me to read this book, it would 'change my life'. She wouldn't elaborate further. Now that I've read it, maybe I shouldn't either.

Read it.

Odd, its one of the most painful books I have ever read, it left me a wreck when I finished it.

But its...comforting. Not in the story, in my own life. That won't make any sense till you read the book. (And every synopsis/interpretation on the web misses the whole meaning completely.)

Take it as the last testament of a man who bounced from Christian to Socialist and back, "tormented by everlasting sin and injustice--both of one's own, and the world's" (quote from character in BK). "Thirsting for belief" and simultaneously very much "I will be a child of this age--a man of unbelief--till the lid of my coffin closes", and asking 'the parable of the prodigal son' to be read to him as he died.

The story is like life in general...beautiful and then ghastly, painful, loads of hatred and love twisted and not so twisted.

It hasn't got any pat answers, beautiful explanations for tormenting questions, or happy endings. But its...comforting. Read it.

________________________________

Actually, I couldn't stop crying for awhile after I finished The Brothers Karamazov. It was weird, it hurt so much, and yet it felt so true, like real life is like that. And then I felt this love welling up inside that didn't leave for awhile. Its like TBK hurt so much and at the same time gave this love inside and felt so true that the book was devastating and painful and comforting all at once.

This book will probably give you these common symptoms of many readers of the books. Namely:

1. took 3 weeks to recover from one of the books and become a functioning member of society again. Couldn't talk about the books with other people during that time, because it felt so intensely personal.
2. wanted to change your life after recovering from TBK.
3. shortly after recovering from TBK, found oneself choking up about the meanings of things too heavy for words.



******spoilers ahead****************
It says so much about life, and it is so true. Especially what it says about shame, hatred, strained virtue (Katya), torment, injustice, hope, and love. At the end of the book, I was bawling so hard because it felt so real. This sounds weird, but the book is so comforting precisely because parts of it are so painful and raw like life. I felt like it was saying: yes, there is so much wrongness, there is so much pain and defeat and death, and we have the choice to rage against earthly injustice like Ivan, or like Mitya and Alyosha, put all our hope in that inexplicable love that rushes into our heart at the darkest moment....to put our hope in it, and to love and forgive. Oh dear, I'm slaughtering it, this post doesn't do it justice at all.

Sorry, but the glut of coincidences and melodramatic writing was just too much. I'm going back to my nonfiction now.

I just read this book and what can I say except that it was amazing. I actually prefer Neil to David. David was never very consistent in his faith he was good talker but he had no understanding. I recomend this book to anyone who already has faith or is struggling to find theirs. Read this book! You won't be sorry!

I really enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed the fact that many of the events in the book are in the series released on DVD. I would have preferred if certain subjects had not been discussed in this book so that it would be more appropriate for younger ages. Other than that it was a really enjoyable read.

This is one of my very favorite books! I've read it over so many times and never get tired of it. It's just so interesting, captivating and touching.

This is one of those classic novels that you could read again and again. I hadn't read it since high school twenty years ago and just re-read Christy last week. I like it even better now than I did then (and I loved it then, too). I would have loved to have had Catherine Marshall's version of a sequel (hopefully it would have consisted of a continuation of Neil & Christy's romance), but I guess we get to imagine the "happily ever after" instead. It's a great read!

I was given this book by and friend, and I have to say, it may be the best gift I've ever been given. I have since purchased several cases, giving it out to many people that I care about. It provides inspiring, comforting and empowering thoughts for one to digest daily. Plus, it's supple leather cover and convenient size make it something for you to carry with you throughout each day. I cannot say enough about the power of this book!

This is one of my favorite books of daily devotions.
I've been through it several times and never tire of it.

I use this every morning along with another book by Joyce Meyers called "The Secret Of Speaking God's Word". It is amazing that no matter what day it is the message always seems to speak to something going on in my life during that time. It allows me to better identify certain area(s) I want to focus my prayer and meditation on. Joyce Meyers book give specific scriptures outlined by subject, "Fear, Anxeity, Depression, Hope, etc. . ."

I have purchased at least 6 copies of this book in the past three months because I have friends I knew would benefit and enjoy them as I do.

I had a paperback copy of this book, and it really helped me to grow closer to God. So, I bought the journal..one for myself and a couple as birthday gifts for my friends. If you are searching for a closer walk...this book will help you find it...

I have been reading God Calling ever since the early 1970's. This book has helped me to know God in a personal way. I have given many copies away as gifts and worn out 3 paperbacks. I just received the Devotinal Journal and will now write in it along with my meditations. Every person I have given God Calling to has found peace, joy and guidance in their spiritual life and thanked me for introducing this timely book to them.

What more can be said about this lovely collection of thoughts? Even as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, it is as fresh as the day it was penned. This book is a keeper if ever there was one, a volume to be read and re-read and handed down to one's children, which is what I intend to do with the most recent Gift from the Sea that I bought.

Listed as a 'summer read' in a local magazine list - I hadn't heard of this book. I picked it up and finished it from one afternoon into the next morning. And -- there was nothing surprising or new to be found here in the book - the pace at which its written and the uncomplicated natural way Lindbergh examines her life and her impressions of life's stages will have me passing this book on to many people in my life.

What timeless wisdom there is in this little book. Although it was written many decades ago, the challenges and issues faced by Anne Morrow Lindbergh are the same ones faced by women in today's crazy, bustling world. In fact, although women in Siberia, Cameroon, or Ceylon might not have her specific set of circumstances, they can still identify with Lindbergh's ponderings about a woman's life, her obligations, her relationships, and her needs. She lived in an upscale suburb of Connecticut and was the mother of five children, and yet there's something in her writing that can touch the souls of women everywhere whether in a grass hut or trailer beside a busy highway

The chapters in Gift from the Sea center on Lindbergh's musings during a two-week vacation at the shore. Leaving husband, children, and house behind, she lives in a bare beach cabin without heat, telephone, plumbing, hot water, rugs, or curtains. She finds simplicity beautiful and longs to take it home to Connecticut when her vacation ends.

Lindbergh takes a shell at a time and describes it in relation to other things in a woman's life. For instance, the moon shell reminds her that quiet time, solitude, contemplation, and "something of one's own" is needed. The double-sunrise represents the pure relationship found in early stages of friendship and marriage, and she reminds the reader that there is no permanent return to an old form of relationship since all are in the process of change. The oyster bed symbolizes the middle years of marriage and family, especially as the home itself grows and expands to accommodate the growing family.

I first read this book when I was a young mother and could readily understand Lindbergh's comment that saints were so rarely married woman because of the distractions inherent in raising children and running a house. "Human relationships with their myriad pulls--woman's normal occupations in general run counter to creative life, or contemplative life, or saintly life." Now in midlife, I can better understand her affinity for all the shells as reminders that each cycle of the wave, the tide, and the relationship is valid.

This book came very highly recommended by two friends who are avid book readers. However I hate to admit that the book did not move me as much as my friends claimed that it moved them. I was more interested about the background references to the author's personal life and how the book came into being. That I would have read voraciously. The book is short but I don't intend to read it again to see what I missed. I believe a book either moves you or it doesn't. This particular book despite other rave reviews did not move me despite my great affinity for the sea and women writers. I wonder if perhaps if the book would have touched me differently if I read it in the beach rather than on a plane which I did.

I have never been a big fan of books on CD. This changed with Gift from the Sea with the forward by Reeve Lindbergh and beautifully read by Claudette Colbert. This is a beautifully written and recorded book. I keep it in my car and play it quite often. I have orderered additional copies to share with friends. It is indeed as relevant today as it was fifty years ago and probably even more pertinent in today's fast paced world where we fail to slow down give ourselves alone time to comtemplate our lives. Reeve Lindbergh's forward about her mother was a lovely bonus. Although I have not read any of her children's books, I have read everything else she has written that I can find and encourage anyone who has not read her books to check her out on [...].

Caputo's account as a combat officer is the best book on direct experience in Nam. It ranks up there with Normen Mailer's The Naked and fhe Dead and Audie Murphy's WW2 account of his combat experience in To Hell and Back superbley written--gripping. Maurice

I thought this book was the best book on Vietnam that I have ever read. Its a facinating look into life as a line officer in a front line Marine Infantry batallion during the early part of the war. Caputo holds nothing back when it comes to describing life on the front line and what goes through the minds of these young, too young Marines who fought on the front line. An excellent read and I highly reccomend it.

Its a page turner from start to finish. A very unique view of the war.

I assigned this book to my college students for a closer glimpse of the Vietnam Conflict. I had not read it before, but had done research and study on the subject. I found Caputo's book to be insightful, controversial and thought provoking. He doesn't glamorize the war but explains how it effected soldiers and one of the many reasons it was such a mess. Throughout the book, Caputo shows how the conditions changed the average American teenager into a robotic killer and how their experiences stayed with them. In the end, he speaks against the war, but not in the normal Jane Fonda version of bashing the military and labeling them rapists and baby killer. Caputo talks about how the government was at fault and created the situations that lead to PTSD and other issues for returning soldiers.

A must read to understand the war and its effects on our soldiers.

Caputo wasn't much of a marine. He started complaining about Vietnam before he arrived. Every page is filled with criticism, cynicism, griping, complaining, and self-serving tripe. He wanted to be a hero, but he didn't have what it took to be anything but a whining wimp. Certainly he writes well. But writing well and living well are entirely different. He doesn't understand honor or duty. Sure the war was politicized, but so is every war. Sure the rules of engagement were stupid, but a soldier serves. Caputo did not serve; rather he whined. Many of us who served in Vietnam believed there were many things that made no sense. But we didn't turn tail and run. We served. For those who want to understand what is was like to be a soldier in Vietnam, read "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young" or "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts". If you want to know what is was like to be useless in Vietnam, read this book.

So B. It is such a creative story. Telling the story of a girl and her dysfunctional mother, this is the kind of story that makes even the strongest eyes weep like you've just stuck them in a vat of the strongest onion juice.
Okay, that was lame. But, 'So B. It' is an amazing novel, especially to read to classrooms of YA readers. Even some guys I know have read the book and liked it!
'So B. It' is an exceptional book and I would recommend it to anyone. It's a short, quick read, and is definitely worth your time.

My twelve-year-old daughter loved this book and nagged me for months to read it. I wasn't expecting it to be so compelling and rewarding. Sarah Weeks has a great ear and heart, and her characters are eccentric and vividly drawn. I highly recommend this book for teens and their parents.

This book was on a reading list for my teenage daughter. She seemed to enjoy it.

I enjoyed this book very much! It's a little different. I agree with Amazon on the age range, sort of. I'm not sure about nine year olds but maybe 5th through 7th grade?

I like this book because it is like a mystery because she wants to know her mom but she is living with a girl that they lived next door to. Will she saw pitchers of her mom and was disarmed to find out were she was at. She found out were she was and wanted to see her so she razed money she got a bus ticket and went to were her mom was and could not finder for a long time and then one day she figured out how it was. And then her mom died.
So I thank you should read this book If you like mysteries. It is the best book in the world!!!