Short Stories Books

David Crouse's Copy Cats is a book of fictional short stories revolving around characters that are on the fringes of society searching for their sense of self and struggling with truth and lies. Crouse's characters are unable to cope with reality, so they fabricate stories (or lies) to make their lives meaningful and justify their own actions. The structures of the stories are all a kind of twisted irony. The truth and reality the characters live in are presented very simply. By the end the reader is either extremely confused or distraught at the happenings of the story, or a mix of both. And yet, through all the darkness, confusion and irony, the reader is drawn to the beauty of the writing and the almost intimate, personal window given to the reader through his style of writing, allowing the reader to catch a glimpse of the struggle these characters endure.

Crouse writes modern tales in a modern world. His story Click, a novella, is filled with conflict, longing, tension building up to a slap in the face of reality. If you bought the book for this story alone you will come away feeling satisfied with the overall product. Crouse is an excellent writer that tells a great story.

The characters are dark and foreboding, with good intentions through every situation Crouse's protagonists deal with. The plots are cutting but believable. It is as if you were listening to a friend telling you a supremely odd tale tempting you to cry out, "No Way!" right in the middle of them. Stranger things do happen in the real world, and when they occur they are the things one talks about over and over again amongst friends and at gatherings.

I highly recommend this book.

This is an incredible collection of short stories, deserving of the Flannery O'Connor award. Buy it, it's wonderful!

The kind of book I love to savor, but can't put down. Every single story is a treat, with unforgettable characters that want to stay longer than you wish.

I think of that line, taken from a Silver Jews song, because it describes this book fully. These are real people--fringe, or whatever you want to call them. There is something true about this book that some people may not want to admit. The sometimes broken nature of our selves that plays out in unsuspected ways runs rampant through these stories--they are stories about here, about now. Buy this, you need it.

Also, look for a fun little story by Crouse in the Dark Horse Book of the Dead.

Chefitz' book is a delicious collection of sweet, subtly moving stories inside an overly pretentious wrapper. As a Jewish inspirational storyteller, I have found his tales to be powerful without being heavy-handed; two of them are now part of my core repertoire.

You don't need to be Jewish to appreciate these kabalistic stories, however. Read them out loud, savor their sweetness, and be prepared to be touched gently and deeply.

This is the kind of book you want to buy and give to everyone. I gave a copy to my mother in her 80s and she said it was the most wonderful gift she had received this year. These stories sink into your soul and resurface to uplift your days. I definitely remember more to count my blessings and to give them too and thus I receive more blessings and am open to more coming as well. Reading this book, life seems full of miracles!

I purchased this book, The Curse of Blessings, based on the reviews here. I have to say that I am very disappointed with this book. I struggled through it and found little to recommend it. For me, it didn't live up to the high ratings given here. The stories are often convoluted, flat, and without inspiration. I feel duped for having purchased a real clunker. Instead, I would recommend Irwin Kula's book, Yearnings, which I have found to be exceptional in its ability to inspire and provide insights into life's challenges.

This marvelous little collection of stories are good on the first reading, and even better on subsequent readings. Some are mysterious stories, some are sweet, and all have the ring of truth.

I liked it so much I bought other copies as gifts. Enjoy!

These ten short stories by Mitch Chefitz are meant to be read aloud. Each time, as a reader or a listener, I find the stories to be enriching, inspiring, and, in a few, delightful and humorous.

Why all the 5 star reviews? Am I really that picky or is everyone else that easy? Did we read the same book, I mean the WHOLE over 1,000 big pages? Well enough questions, there were some really excellent stories in this compilation namely "The Crowd", "The Autopsy", "Sticks", "Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper", "Dread", "How Love Came To Professor Guildia", "MacIntosh Willy", sadly those were in the minority. Some stories as in most compilations this vast were from early 1900's and the language requires careful reading to interpret the words or phrases used in those times. Also so many stories stacked side by side with winners like those mentioned above seemed to have almost nothing at all to do with horror and left me completely bored such as "The Asian Shore", "night side", others were just about unreadable and must have been included on a bet or a favor of some sort such as "The Jolly Corner" and "Larger Than Oneself". Glad I only paid over $6 from an Amazon Marketplace shop instead of the $29.95 cover price.

Part of a larger series that takes a look at various types of horror writing, with an introduction giving some detail and thoughts on the topic, as well as to each author and story.

This is a good collection, and is well to the ghost story end of the spectrum, in general.

Fabulous Formless Darkness : Smoke Ghost - Fritz Leiber
Fabulous Formless Darkness : Seven American Nights - Gene Wolfe
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Signal-Man - Charles Dickens
Fabulous Formless Darkness : Crouch End - Stephen King
Fabulous Formless Darkness : Night-Side - Joyce Carol Oates
Fabulous Formless Darkness : Seaton's Aunt - Walter de la Mare
Fabulous Formless Darkness : Clara Militch - Ivan Turgenev
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Repairer of Reputations - Robert W. Chambers
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Beckoning Fair One - Oliver Onions
Fabulous Formless Darkness : What Was It? - Fitz-James O'Brien
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Beautiful Stranger - Shirley Jackson
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Damned Thing - Ambrose Bierce
Fabulous Formless Darkness : Afterward - Edith Wharton
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Willows - Algernon Blackwood
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Asian Shore - Thomas M. Disch
Fabulous Formless Darkness : The Hospice - Robert Aickman
Fabulous Formless Darkness : A Little Something for Us Tempunauts - Philip K. Dick


Spectral look.

3.5 out of 5


Play things.

3.5 out of 5


Danger light haunting.

4 out of 5


Mythos scoffer mortality.

4 out of 5


Seance surprise.

3.5 out of 5


Ghost house.

3.5 out of 5


Poisoned woman not all gone.

3.5 out of 5


PR work not nice, free death not popular.

4 out of 5


Loopy writer problems.

4 out of 5


Nightmare rather solid it appears.

4 out of 5


Our house got lost.

3 out of 5


Invisible monster.

4 out of 5


Ghost visit.

3 out of 5


Wind in the tree monsters.

4.5 out of 5


Turkish twists.

3 out of 5


Lodging lacks lager and fun.

3 out of 5


Time to avoid own deaths.

4 out of 5

Disaster! That super-secret hush-hush Project the military was supposed to have under control has torn a rift into another dimension just ten miles from town, and maniacal flesh-hungry monsters are pouring through by the score, tearing their shrieking victims apart and turning the world as you know it into a charnel house. You've got to pack up and get outta Dodge quick---but what to take? Clothes, boots, food, hunting knife, guns and ammo, extra fuel cans, chainsaw---oh, and if you're a horror junkie like me, you've gotta have reading material during the Siege, right? And since you'll be holing up a long time---maybe forever---the tome you choose had better be a good one.

Forced to haul one single volume off your horror shelf before you pack everything into the heavily armored civvie Hum-Vee, I would choose David G. Hartwell's masterful compilation "The Dark Descent." This Leviathan of a book is chock-full of more than one-thousand pages of the best horror ever written by some of the Grand-Masters of the genre (H.P. Lovecraft, Poe, Stephen King, M.R. James) and some of their lesser known adepts and apprentices. For such a modest price, having this much shivery, ghoulish goodness stuffed between the covers is nearly an embarrassment of riches.

Anthologies are often treacherous ground, and success hinges on an editor's style and judgment. Hartwell demonstrates his impeccable taste and considerable acuity in the selections he makes; best of all he begins the collection with a remarkably astute, entertaining---and mercifully concise---little essay tracing the evolution of the terror and horror tale. Certainly we are treated to the seminal classics of the genre, and a few of the tales are overly represented in many other collections---but as horror crown jewels, they have their place here. H.P. Lovecraft is represented by two ensanguined ambassadors: "The Call of Cthulhu", a sweeping account of global panic, terror and slaughter spread by the resurgence of a primitive cult of an obscure Squid-God, and the Poe-esque "The Rats in the Walls". M.R. James has a less auspicious presence, "The Ash-Tree" being one of his less powerful works and an inadequate introduction to the Master.

Hartwell's King selections are slightly puzzling; "The Reach" is too languid for its own good, while "The Monkey" is tacky and underawing---but then Hartwell knocks it out of the ballfield with the relatively rare Lovecraftian "Crouch End" which, serves up a viciously psychedelic and very different side of King, to say nothing of providing a little side-trip to a part of London (thankfully) not on any map.

Karl Edward Wagner's "Sticks" presages by a quarter-century the discovery of liches in the woods by "Blair Witch"'s unlucky film students, Clive Barker details an experiment in mortal terror gone horribly awry in "Dread", Joyce Carol Oates proves there is a fate worse than Death in "Night-Side", and Lucy Clifford chronicles what happens to naughty little children in "The New Mother".

There are at least ten riveting tales of vintage dread here, any one of which justifies the price of admission. If you haven't met late British terror-writer Robert Aickman, you have three opportunities in "Dark Descent", although "The Hospice" is by far the most ambiguous---and disquieting. "Seven American Nights", an apocalyptic travelogue written by a young Turkish man traveling through a wasted and genetically twisted future America, is by turns terrifying, acutely repulsive, and melancholy, a peculiarly potent spiked little horror-potion cloaked as travelogue by fantasy master Gene Wolfe. Taken together with Thomas Disch's disorienting "The Asian Shore", they might make you rethink getting away from the tour group the next time you spelunk through a strange land.

Algernon Blackwood's "The Willows" conjures up the horror of the spheres that's moved its haunts to remote islands in the Danube; Walter de la Mare's "Seaton's Aunt" is a rich, deliciously unhinged little crawlfest instantly recognizable to anyone who has forced himself through an unpleasant evening with an unctuous, intimidating in-law.

Hartwell includes a number of authors who rarely ventured into the horror genre: William Faulkner does Southern Gothic proud in "A Rose for Emily", Flannery O'Connor demonstrates the wisdom of never judging a book---even a Bible---by its cover in "Good Country People", and Edith Wharton whips up a kind of delayed-blast spook in "Afteward"---to say nothing of writing one of the finest ghost tales of all time.

Hartwell makes some missteps, perhaps unavoidable in such a massive collection. Bishop's "Within the Walls of Tyre" is pretentious and dull, and "The Roaches", "If Damon Comes", and Philip K. Dick's time-twisting "Little Something for us Tempunauts" may give you chills, but they left me cold and bored. But these are forgivable lapses in a collection so varied and rich.

One story in particular that I can't stop thinking about is Michael Shea's unexpected, grisly little delight "The Autopsy", about an aging, cancerous coroner called to a remote mountain town to conduct autopsies on the bodies of miners killed in a mysterious mine explosion---and who rapidly, terrifyingly shifts roles from examiner to subject. It's not a perfect story---not in style, nor even in its final revelation---but that said it's nasty, and remorselessly surgical, and you'll never forget it. Like most of the darksome little nuggets of terror in this vast volume, it's like a tooth you've had removed---you can't stop yourself from digging your tongue into the raw, fleshy gap.

So remember---as civilization collapses and the howls of the mutated and deranged grow closer to your hideaway, throw the bolts, load the rifle, and tuck yourself in with "The Dark Descent"---at least you'll have the ultimate grimoire containing the very finest tales of terror until those crafty army scientists come up with a solution to save the day. And if they don't? Well, you *do* have 1,000 pages to tide you over.

This huge, (topping out at just over 1000 pages!) collection of some of the finest tales from the masters of horror has it all. It was wonderful to read works I had not encountered over the years, along with some of the classics of the genre. Some personal favorites were the Lovecraftian "Crouch End" (King), a truly bizarre and unclassifiable tale, "The Swords" (Aickman), a masterful work of understated horror, "The Summer People" (Jackson), and a classic ghost story, "The Beckoning Fair One" (Onions) A one stop shop for the fan of all things scary.

This publication rivals most of the horror/ mystery compilations printed elsewhere. Some of the most consequential and prolific ink slingers of the creepy and the dreary are featured here, and they don't disappoint.

Here, in this volume, you will find it all. The works of King, Bradbury, Jackson, Lovecraft, Poe and many others are at your reading pleasure. Some of my personal favorites: The Beach (King); The Call of the Cthulhu (Lovecraft); Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper (Bloch)...I could go on for ever.

I simply LOVED this book it has so many twists and turns it kept me on the edge of my seat. Congrats on job well done!!

Now, if you know me, I love my romance with drama novels right??? Well in my own personal opinion "Defenseless" by Adrianne Byrd has got to the best of all of her works that i've read so far. This book kept me on the edge from start to finish. You want to talk about twist, turns, surprises, Sonya & Dwayne took us on plenty of them. The road to the end of the book was a nice wild ride that anyone who enjoys drama with some romance will just love it. While Sonya & Dwayne are trying to save her sister from prision they are left in a state of wonder as to why things are happening to them at everyturn they take. This book will keep you on your toes and engrossed in the book, not even wanting to go to bed!!!!

Love the book Adrianne! Keep it up!!

A girfriend of mine recommend that I read this book, and I have to tell this book was so good. From the time I picked this book up I couldn't put it down I tell you the book will have your on the edge of your seat wondering what is getting ready to happen next. The suspense and romance in this book is great. Now I tell in the beginning I wasn't feeling Sonja , but she started to warm up to me but it took a minute. Sonja was a independet woman who felt that did not need any help or a man, but shr soon learn that she was wrong. It took Sonja some time to learn and trust men since your had seen so much abused in her parent marriage and her sister. Sonja tried to help her sister but some lesson your just have to learn for yourself, and that is what Laura had to do.The moment Sonja and Dwayne met you knew they were destined to fall in love. Dwayne is one of the top Lawyer and of course in the beginning Sonja had some run in with Dwayne which was all her fault. Smile. Laura was in trouble and in need of a Lawyer and Sonja friend and co-worker Sharon brother just happen to be a Lawyer and guess who the Lawyer in up being my man Dwayne himself.

Can't give to much of the book away but you will love it.


Louise

...I really did like the story and the secondary characters made the story even more interesting. It would be really interesting to see what happens between Laura and Malik.

I think my favorite Adrianne Byrd stories are: I Promise and Say You Love Me.

Sonya knew her sister's marriage was in trouble - but she had no idea that the trouble would lead to her brother-in-law's murder and her sister's arrest! So, Sonya seeks the assistance of Dwayne, a well-know criminal defense attorney (it helps that he's extremely handsome). This ful size book kept me on my toes - intrigue and great emotional scenes between the characters. Also has a bit of my favorite topic - law - thrown in =)

If you have a sincere interest in Edgar Allan Poe, you must read Silverman's biography of Poe! It is well-researched, comprehensive, and written in an accessible, understandable way (just what you'd expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner). Silverman lays down all the facts, but also makes the reader aware of the complexities of Poe's story, admitting there are certain fuzzy areas. The book interweaves Poe's life with his work, the background of the 19th century American publishing industry, and critical interpretations both contemporary and modern. Silverman has admitted he was not a Poe fan before setting out to write this book so it is unbiased. Incredibly thorough and an enjoyable read, this is the last Poe biography you'll ever need!

Poor Poe suffered a great deal of personal tragedy. Silverman's account is probably the best current critical bio around.

I bought this book primarily to find out Silverman's take on Poe's being found (just before his death) in clothes that did not belong to him (as indicated in a video in the Great Authors series). That odd fact, combined with the alter egos he created in stories like "Fall of the House of Usher" made me wonder if Poe had some sort of alter ego himself. Though the clothing issue is not completely explained (after all, who could know with certainty?), Silverman's book does offer insights into Poe's use of false identity, pseudonym, anonymous writing, plagiarism, and other identity issues (especially relating to his odd perversions of the Allan name and his brother's name). In addition, Poe's behavior, as explained by Silverman, put me in mind of a book entitled *I Hate You, Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality Disorder* by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Straus, published in 1989. I'm an English teacher, not a psychologist, and I do not know the current thinking on borderline personality disorder, but it is apparent that virtually every characteristic Kreisman and Straus identified in the borderline personality were exhibited by Poe. The next time I teach Poe, I plan to present information from both books for my students to consider (after reading "Fall of the House of Usher," Poe's story with a cross-gender alter ego). Thanks, Professor Silverman, for a marvelously researched and documented book!

i loved the honest attempt in this work to deal with Poe's alleged alcoholism,something hinted at or dealt scantily with in other biographies. As if a writer would somehow be afraid that by dealing with the alcoholism issue,Poe's works could be downgraded.(NOT POSSIBLE!!)The way this biography is presented,Poe comes off as being a seedy,yet noble character in a real life Poe tale,so as life imitates art.Lots of goodies here in this biography,if you only read 1 biography a year make this one your project.the Foster Brooks moments keep the book rolling.still this a serious work on a serious,interesting personality. Who was the real Poe,the writer,the philosopher,the seeker of beauty in all its forms,or the at times petty,vice driven man of ambition.From reading this book i would say Poe was both and maybe more as well.Ithank Poe everytime I have to absorb criticism of my amateurish attempts at poetry,i in turn read my critics material and say "well your poems aren't exactly "The Raven" either!! Poe may have been a "binge" type alcoholic,sober most of the time and then losing control at times,this would explain the discrepancies from descriptions of him as noted by numerous sources.Being sober 99% of the time,that other 1% can get you every time.Also covered in this book is a good description of Poe's service in the United States Army as an artillery seargent.Most people don't realize that he served 2 years with honors and i wouldn't have wanted to be on the receiving end of a cannon sighted and calculated by Poe!If in the .5 of the 1% chance he was inebriated even less.

This is an excellent, highly detailed and informative biography of one of the greatest American authors and poets.

Poe's life was rough from the start. His parents (David and Eliza) left him early, his father through abandonment, his mother through an early death. Young Poe was sent to live with surrogate parents, the "father" being John Allan, a wealthy merchant who wanted Poe to be something more (or at least something different) than Poe himself wanted to be.

Silverman pulls no punches, painting a most realistic and unbiased account of Poe's life. For example, he tells of Poe's troubles in his early college years, with Poe blaming his troubles on the parsimonious John Allan. In reality, however, much of Poe's troubles were caused by Poe himself, via his gambling, his habit of breaking promises, of borrowing and not repaying, and so on.

Silverman covers Poe's Army serivce, telling of young Edgar as Sergeant Major of Artillery, of Poe's few months at West Point (he did not graduate), of his work as a magazine writer, editor, and critic, and of Poe's most memorable triumphs--including the publication of the poem THE RAVEN, a masterpiece for which Poe is perhaps best known. Silverman also tells of Poe's almost constant grinding poverty, his relationships with women and family members, his struggles to start his own magazine, his depression, his alcoholism, and much more.

My overall sense from reading this bio is that Poe was certainly a tragic figure, recognized by many during his time for being a literary genius, but not often rewarded as such. Then again, Poe's boorish, drunken behavior, his near constant begging for money, his failure to repay his debts (not to mention his almost complete lack of a business sense) certainly did not help him gain positive recognition. It seems, in fact, that Poe was often his own worst enemy.

This is a real treat for not only Ellison fans, but any SF fan worth his salt. Features some of the best and worst pieces of fiction by Ellison. It could have been alternatively titled "How I became a writer - Harlan Ellison", for through the pages, we (literally) travel through time and realize how Ellison's writings matured and shaped over the years, from his early teens to the present.

I am not rating or dissecting the actual stories cos that takes half the suspense out of the plots .. Just a line of recommendation: GO BUY IT!

Here it is: 50 years of the splenetic imaginings of Harlan Ellison, who writes like an angel on speed, and doesn't care, God bless him,
if he offends you or not. Read "REPENT HARLEQUIN! Said the Ticktockman,"
and "A Boy and His Dog." Ladies, don't let Ellison's misogynism spook you: you'll be better for having enjoyed the stories of this prolific, disciplined madman.

i ordered this book because i just recently discovered the awesomeness of mr. ellison's work, and i wanted more of it. more is what i got! nobody told me how huge a tome this thing is... it weighs at least 5 pounds and it's as thick as one of those dictionaries you get at the public library! portable it's not, but if you want absolutely as much of ellison you can get for the money, look no further.

I bought this book initially so I'd have a copy of the essay 'Xenogenesis', which scared seven shades of pea soup out of me when I first read it in IASFM. Further perusal gave me a thorough glimpse of the work of an author I'd been skipping, as I considered him a product of the 'second wave' of science fiction/science fiction-influenced authors (first wave involving Heinlein, E. E. 'Doc' Smith, and so on). Good to have been proven so wrong, and now it's a book I'll recommend to those of my friends who see 'Harlan Ellison' and only think 'that guy from Babylon 5'.

For the uninitiated or causal reader, "The Essential Ellison" represents the best compilation of the author's works between two covers. With 1400 + stories under his belt, Harlan Ellison is one of the most prolific writers of any genre of fiction. The amazing thing is that all of them are good. Even better, most of them are great. And better yet, a good number of them are some of the best short stories written in the last fifty years. Though classified as a sci-fi author, Ellison writes fierce and barbed tales about the alienation of the individual in modern life, whether it's the guise of sci-fi, fantasy, or non-genre fiction. With defiant tone, Ellison passionately defends the individual against the impersonal machinations of ridged, authoritarian systems and their apathetic leaders. Unrelenting and sincere, Ellison's prose and characters take a stand for those who can't or won't. "The Essential Ellison" contains most of the author's greatest stories. From the spiritual longing of "Grail" to the utter insanity of "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream"; from the mute hopelessness of "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" to the phantasmagorical absurdity of "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktock Man"; from the prophetic frustration of "Along the Scenic Route" to the rebellious shriek of "A Boy and His Dog." Mercurial and pointed, purposeful and thought-provoking, Ellison rarely writes for bemusement's sake alone. And like all great authors, the reader leaves a story with more than they started with. So, if you're tired of the same ol' sci-fi/fantasy story of "an ambitious young farm lad who is really of noble birth assembles a cadre of trusted misfit warriors and does battle with the great evil that threatens to envelop the world" rot, then I whole-heartedly suggest you check out the work of Harlan Ellison.

EVACUATION PLAN brought me to tears at several moments throughout the book. It's dark beauty and poetic interpretation of our struggle to embrace and accept death is heart wrenching in its honesty. A true work of art and a novel that O'Connell should be tremendously proud of!

"Evacuation Plan: a novel from the Hospice" is a wonderful blend of lives ordinary but with sometimes extraordinary elements. We all share these stories of life in some way, despite moments of harshness or unforgiving pain. There is always a common thread of "humanity" and ultimately forgiveness to be found, even if it's in the last moment of life. Elaine Williams

Aspiring script writer Matt visits a hospice in order to gather inspiration for his great play. Spending the days getting to know the people staying there, Matt realized the hospice is full of stories, for anybody who cares enough to sit down and listen. From the lady whose sister ran off with a circus artist (or wanted to, anyway) to the old man who was just hoping to be reconciled with his children before he left this earth, Matt talks to them all, asking them what was their best experience in life, and hearing the stories they just have to get off their chest-before it's too late.

The idea behind Evacuation Plan is brilliant. Joe O'Connell works from the theory that "everybody has a story to tell," and you are left with the knowledge that this is without a doubt true. The book changes focus constantly with the chapters alternatingly being told from Matt's point of view, and then from the view of one of the people at the hospice.

The main thread running through all the stories is death and how to cope with it, but this is not a strong enough connection to get the stories linked together properly, and Evacuation Plan ends up feeling more like a book of short stories with a common theme, than like a full novel. This doesn't make the book any less worth reading, but it is always an advantage for the reader to know what to expect, in order not to be disappointed by the number of loose threads left hanging.

Though dealing with a sober subject, Joe O'Connell manages to be neither too somber nor engage in too much gallows humor. Death is faced unapologetically and straightforward-a very refreshing change from books that tend to either shy away from the subject, or wallow in it.

Armchair Interviews says: This is more a collection of well-written short stories than a novel, with the thread that connects are the stories at the hospice.

Hospice-----a place to die. The End. Joe O'Connell's Evacuation Plan is a beautiful contradiction to those very general concepts of human finality. For those who believe there is life after death and for those who don't, O'Connell has shown that there is life BEFORE death with each glimpse into the souls, hearts and memories of us all. Evacuation Plan reminded me of the woven potholders that my older brother and I made during our childhood-------over, under, around and through, and a final stretch to completion. Life experiences- fascinating, painful, endearing, complex, ugly, but a part of each of us, make this book a worthwhile read. Joe O'Connell's writing opens our eyes wide to see human beings rather than Hospice patients and those who are brave enough to go as far with them as mortals are allowed to go.---Eleanor Bosl, Joe's mother-in-law and very proudly, his friend.

You are in a hospice, and Rod Serling walks in and asks you to tell him a story. If you had to pick one event out of your life to tell him about, what would it be? Evacuation Plan, by Texas writer Joe M. O'Connell, is a collection of stories told to the novel's protagonist, Matt, who is a screenwriter working in a hospice so he can collect material. The occupants of the hospice -- dying residents, their family members, and the hospice staff -- are like the tattoos of Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man, each one offering a tale that stands out in their lives. Like the loser who stares at himself in childhood pictures until the pictures come to life. Or the guy who gambled his wife in a game of Monopoly at his murderer father's Christian home for the deranged. Or how fate undid the fate of a young unwed father-to-be. These are stories of reflection, of the best day in one's life, the worst day, the turning points, and the close calls, some joyous, some sad, some bizarre. Not the stuff one would discuss on a first date or a job interview. The surreal atmosphere of the hospice, where angels might be eavesdropping, drops the guard of the storytellers, and sincerity prevails. Evacuation Plan is both entertaining and thought provoking, and it is a wonderful book.

This book is really funny from a teacher's point of view. I plan on reading it the first day of school to a group of third graders. It's a great way to promote your school.

This is an excellent book. Especially in light of our demands on schools these days...with testing...the amount of information we are req'd to cover...the amount of material students are expected to know etc. This story really brings us back to the basics of living life and enjoying each day.

I love this book!

The characters and illustrations in this book develop a fun and entertaining story which carries the theme "too much of a good thing can be a bad thing." In this case, the "thing" is school. The Principal of Tillie's school has decided to increase learning by continually adding days to the school year. Tillie finds a way to gently convince her Principal that although school is a wonderful place for students to learn, there are some things they need to learn and participate in away from school.

This book has loveable and relatable characters as well as charming and informative illustrations that clearly come together to display that too much of a good thing can indeed be a bad thing. Even though there is a clear lesson to be learned, the story is also very humorous and entertaining by itself. This is a great book to read to--or be read by--young elementary students and enjoyed for years to come.

This book is a great book to ease the stress of the first day of school. It has a great repetitive text for kids learning to read and it is a humorous story so even the picky reader will enjoy it.

The pairing of children's author superstar Sharon Creech (Newbery winner "Walk Two Moons" anyone?) and New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss (the modern equivalent of Margaret Bloy Graham of "Harry the Dirty Dog" fame) was not an intuitive one. It was not a given that these two wunderkinds would find one another and produce, for the world, "A Fine, Fine School". It was even less of a given that the book would turn out to be as good as it was. It's just nice that it worked out that way.

We are introduced to the bespectacled Tillie, her oddly unnamed toddler brother, and her dog Beans. We are also introduced to Mr. Keene, the kind of guy whose first name is probably "Peachy". Mr. Keene is the principal of Tillie's school and he is just overwhelmed with delight at his fine children, their fine teachers (no winking), and the fine fine school they all work and learn in. Mr. Keene is so delighted, in fact, that one day he calls all the students and teachers together and proposes that the school be open on Saturdays too. The kids and teacher are, needless to say, not thrilled with this notion. Mr. Keene has apparently never heard of there being too much of a good thing, so he quickly makes Sundays mandatory school days as well. Next, holidays are abandoned, making this the first picture book I have ever seen containing the phrase, "Easter Schmeaster". Finally (amid much rending of hair, tears, and lapses into unconsciousness), Mr. Keene declares the summer to be a time of learning as well. Tillie, for her part, has been unable to help her little brother learn and play. It's up to her to explain, kindly, to the cheery Mr. Keene the flaws in his delightful plans.

The story, in and of itself, is fine. I mean, it's a novel idea to have a sympathetic principal character who does increasingly well-intentioned but blundering things. Also, this is the first children's book I read where the children have to take summer school because they're doing so WELL. Honestly, however, there's not much to say about the plot. I like Sharon Creech, but nothing in this storyline really blows me away. Harry Bliss's illustrations on the other hand...

Now, I should preface this a little. I grew up reading a heckuva lot of Steven Kellogg growing up. I was entranced with any picture book artist that could slip a million tiny details into an illustration that would later be found and poured over by children worldwide. I continue to be entranced by such artists to this very day, and Harry Bliss has become one of my new favorites. Under his guidance this fine fine school moves from simply being okay to becoming fabulous. Kids in it read books like, "Catcher in the Rye" and "Pleasing the Ghost". They define words like "futurism" and "cubism" and construct nine feet tall dinosaurs out of paper mache. In Bliss's world the dog Beans is near human, reading New York Times articles on Al Hirschfeld and drinking coffee. Heck, every picture in this book has a million different little details and delights to discover. Mr. Keene is the ultimate happy-go-lucky guy. The kind of fellow so nice and sweet that no one has the heart to actually come out and say that school on week-ends, holidays, and in the summer might be a bad idea. And when he announces that school will no longer fall on those days, Bliss taps into the joy and energy kids feel on the last day of school. There's a whole lot of joy going on in this book's finish.

The best way to tell if this is the kind of book your kid will enjoy is to flip through it yourself. Just take a look at the illustrations for a moment. Spend some time with this tale. If you don't find yourself charmed and delighted after a few minutes of sifting through it then this book will probably do nothing for you or your child. But if you find yourself intrigued and delighted, snatch it up tout suite and give it to a child who'll appreciate it. This is a book that understands the worthiness of school, and the ecstasy of not having to go.

How sweet the sound that saved this wreched human race. O'Connor writes of God's love and redemption of humanity. She uses exaggeration to make her point. Her characters are so very silly, obtuse, bigoted, loathsome they become cartoons, yet there is a deep integrity to their shallowness. She's not making fun of them, but giving them the justice of a pitiless description. Indeed they do not seem judged, but naked -- the fruits of their stupid, misguided ideas and actions on display. And these children of God do shocking things to others and themselves. And yet . . ..

And yet God allows them to live and learn, or not learn if that is their inclination. He gives them this freedom. He loves them. How can this be? How?

I love O'Connor for her art, her convictions, her courage, and her love. She is so very true and honest.

In addition to her novels and a thorough selection of short stories, there is a chronology of her life and a selection of her letters which are rewarding reading. The book itself is a wonderful object. The pages are of fine paper. The binding is such that you can lay it open on a table without breaking its back, and the pages will not move unless a breeze or you do so.

Now that I've read everything by O'Connor (including works that were part of her thesis for her degree in writing) I am still amazed and inspired by her work. I'm not from the south or Catholic and I was not alive during the eras of which she wrote, but her writing transcends region and time. My favorites remain A Good Man is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and Revelation, but I love all her stories, although I find the novels a bit more challenging - I think short story was her finest form. Her ability to mix desperation and violence with comedy is amazing, and often when I read her I think: "I shouldn't be laughing at that." I often wonder what additional work she would have produced if she had not died so young. Highly recommended.

I am thoroughly enjoying this authoritative collection of O'Connor's writings. The writing speaks for itself as truly great and unique. This particular book is very classy and well put together; an excellent choice for someone with a significant interest in O'Connor.

The complaints about the poor organization of the collection can be overcome by simply reading it from front to back. Surely it is that good.

My foray into the works of Flannery O'Connor, a southern, gothic author of darkly humorous novels and short stories came via a recommendation in Harold Bloom's, "What to Read and Why." As it turned ot, I had read one of her short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," in a collection somewhere and had been surprised and shocked, by the turn of events and ending of the story, so much so, that I remembered it instantly, even though it has to have been thirty years since I read it. I enjoyed everything, short stories, novellas, and even her letters. She writes about southern Christ-haunted people, most backward, all damned, but many redeemed. Bloom says that according to her, we are all damned but one should put that aside and simply enjoy her beautiful, grotesque, and wonderful comedic stories. Her protagonist is often a woman, forced to take on a role and duties she didn't sign up for but resignedly and with no illusions playing and discharging both out of a sense of morality or necessity; those women are usually the most superior beings in her stories.

Many of her insights stick with me months afterwards. For example, O'Connor says in one of her letters, "...Hazel's integrity lies in his not being able to do so. Does one's integrity ever lie in what he is not able to do? I think that usually it does, for free will does not mean one will, but many wills conflicting in one man. Freedom cannot be conceived simply. It is a mystery and one which a novel, even a comic novel, can only be asked to deepen." That brought tears to my eyes -- perhaps because it is so beautifully put.

Oh yes! I adore her, and so do my mum and dad. They talk about her all of the time, and so I grew up with the prose ringing in my ears. I am so pleased to be reading her now.

Another entertaining, stimulating and vibrant work from the inimitable Wodehouse. This book of short golf stories is the perfect gift for everyone who is a golfer, or aspires to be one. That is, if you can bear to part with such a brilliant piece of literature! Wodehouse rules!

It`s a nice hole in one , for all the 36 handicaps ! . Enjoy , read this book and your slices and hooks will be painless . Evem if you play with your wife/husband !!!

If you or someone you know likes golf,OR if you or someone you know likes P.G.Wodehouse,I promise you cant go wrong with this book. All of his golfing stories are here and they are all top notch. A keeper.

The manner in which Wodehouse has developed the characters in the stories is indeed amazing. One hilarius feature I noticed in many of the stories is the attempt made by the victim (listener) to escape from the oldest member's clutches whenever he begins to narrate a story.

Wodehouse is at the top of his form in this one. Die hard Wodehouse fans should not die without reading this one.

Great literature is supposed to bring you an appreciation of something you hadn't considered before. Wodehouse's golf stories did it for me like few others. None are terribly subtle--most are told by the Oldest Member, who on the first half-page collars a helpless younger golfer and tells him a story that turns out to be worth staying for. The narration is slightly sarcastic, and there are only two types of stories at heart: guy and girl made for each other get married because of golf, or guy uses golf to avoid girl unfit for him. There's always a subplot of a bad golfer breaking 100 or two longtime rivals in an 18 hole match, but nothing seems to get reused.

Despite using upper-crust characters in his stories, Wodehouse's work exhibits only a fake pretension. Plus there are cool names and recurring characters such as the golf champ Sandy McHoots. It's a bit more comprehensible than some Yoknapathawpa nonsense. A love triangle through three stories features a poet who(gasp) recites his poetry while people focus loses a golferess to a golfer, almost regains her, and then tries to learn golf courting her sister. Nobody is evil, although some people deserve--and get--a good comic socking.

But what makes Wodehouse appealing is how his characters are comically obsessed with golf. I have better things to be obsessed with, but I was able to connect with this and recognize how Wodehouse laughs at them. After I stopped laughing.

I've never read a collection of stories more insightful, easy to follow and enjoyable.