Other The Books

Although the famous author's last years brought her much sorrow and depression, she continued to depict the world as it once more became plunged into yet another world war. In her famous journals, she described movies she saw, including GWTW, air conditioning, and the frustration involved with generational gaps. It is a must read for those who followed the previous books.

Obviously this is for fans of L M Montgomery - if you know and love her writing, you will recognise among the friends and acquaintances of her youth the characters that people Anne of Green Gable's turbulent world. But this wonderful journal is much more than that - it is a fascinating insight into a world which is long gone.

We read of Maud's complex family arrangements, her desire to be a good teacher and disappointment with some of her placements. Her small victories selling stories to publications, and the seemingly endless stream of suitors who proclaim love for her (my favourite is the hapless Mr Mustard). It is a tale of love found and not acted on (and the agonies that accompany it), familial obligations, frustrated talents and beautiful Canadian country side. It tells of heppiness, despair, joy and nostalgia, and is as engagingly written as any fabulous novel.

By all means read this if you wish to understand the creator of one of the world's most engaging literary characters, but also to have a glimpse of a world none of us will ever see the likes of.

Poor poor woman. I could scarcely put it down. But it brings up many questions. Why did she think that Mr. Leard, the Love of her life, was not worthy of her? Why did no one ask her husband Mr. McDonald what the heck was bothering him? Why did she not know in 5 years of courtship that something was terribly wrong with him? Poor, poor woman. The synthesis of this book is when she asks herself why a woman that she felt was mean and hateful was happy and she was not. Indeed, why?

IF YOU LOVE THE OTHER DIARIES YOU WILL ENJOY READING ABOUT HER FINAL DAYS. I ENJOYED ALL OF THE OTHER DIARIES BUT THIS ONE IS THE SADDEST. SHE HAS HER GOOD DAYS AND BAD, BUT SADLY SHE STOPPED WRITING IN THE LAST YEARS WHEN LIFE BECAME SO UNBEARABLE THAT SHE COUDLN'T EVEN WRITE ABOUT IT SO THIS DIARY IS INCOMPLETE. YOU WILL LOVE SEEING INSIDE THE LIFE AND MIND OF AN AUTHOR WHO ACHIEVED SUCCESS IN HER OWN LIFETIME AND LIVED TO WRITE ABOUT HER PERSONAL LIFE FROM CHILDHOOD TO HER LAST DAYS. THIS DIARY IS HER LAST, BUT LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON IN HER WRITINGS. HER DIARY WAS A WAY TO SHARE HER INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS THAT SHE COULDN'T SHARE IN HER NOVELS. YOU TOO WILL FEEL LIKE A KINDRED SPIRIT.

These journals, are beautifully put together. I remember when I found the first one and then each suceeding volume. I knew this one was coming. I even called the author at Guelph University to ask her how much longer I would have to wait.

She said then that they had to wait for some of the people in the journals to die before they could publish them. I would guess Dr. Stuart Macdonald was one of them.

They thrill me and make me feel closer to thise amazing woman. I've read everything she's written now. The sad thing is that once this volume is finished there is nothing new to read.

My greatests thanks to L. M. Montgomery and to Drs. Rubio and Waterson for their great work.

S.C. Ringgenberg
(602) 621-6439 /sringgenberg1@cox.net



Sight Unseen Brings Terror to Light


Sight Unseen, a 2006 graphic novel from Image, written by Rob Tinnell, and illustrated by Bo Hampton is quite simply, one of the best graphic novels of the last two years, and at the same time, the scariest ghost story I couldn't put down. Tinnell and Hampton's collaboration has produced a genuinely scary and original fearfest, with one of the creepiest villains ever put on paper. Tinnell's script is atmospheric, crackles with believable dialog, and provides a number of good shocks along the way to its melancholy conclusion. Some of the protagonists survive, but this brush with supernatural forces scars them forever.
Bo Hampton eschews his usual realistic, cleanly rendered style (always reminiscent of Al Williamson and Michael Kaluta in good ways) for a moodier, computer drawn style that gives him a broader emotional palette to work with, especially in the darker range of the spectrum. Hampton captures the mood of Tinnell's script so well that I can't imagine another artist drawing this. I give Sight Unseen my highest recommendation. If you haven't read this book, don't waste any time tracking down your own copy! And while you're reading it, you'd better leave the lights on. Pleasant dreams, readers

It's disappointing how unreadable some comics and graphic novels are today. Pretentious, patronizing, overwrought, and often boring. It's a shame how art-driven the medium has become. That sounds a bit odd when you consider I'm talking about COMICS, but it's true nonetheless. If the book has a plodding script with flat characters, cheap lines and horrible pacing, then no artist of any caliber can save it from an inevitable demise. No artist worth his lead should have touched it in the first place, but unfortunately they do, and we the buyers often let ourselves be lured in by big names and lay down our hard-earned cash for worthless drivel.
But this gorgeous little book is worth every penny I laid down for it. Sight Unseen is everything I want my comics and graphic novels to be. Original without being pretentious. Intelligent without being patronizing. Thought-provoking without being overwrought. The characters are believable, likeable and thoroughly fleshed-out. The relationship dynamic between Frank, his daughter Molly, and his research partner Derek couldn't be more spot-on. Every page of this book is perfectly done, by both Bob and Bo. Speaking of which, Bo's artwork is really something to behold. Loose and organic at just the right moment, yet clean and tight right when it had to be. Not to take anything away from the guy, but a few of those panels gave me very Templesmith-esque shivers! That's definitely a compliment in my book. The complete lack of dialogue or narration in certain sequences is nothing short of brilliant...and terrifying!
Truth be told, I was hesitant at first about the glasses. While I'm familiar with some of the research done regarding the paranormal, I feared that the scientific aspects would be delved into far too much for the average reader, and would threaten to overtake the amazing ghost story that was evolving. I was quite relieved and very pleased to see that wasn't the case! Just enough information to keep the reader up to snuff, nothing more. The build-up and climax is a crash course in Horror How-To. My pulse hasn't pounded that hard in a long time.
Kudos to Bob and Bo on this amazing book. I'll be passing it on to everyone I know that loves a great ghost story. I truly hope that there is a script treatment in the works and a studio smart enough to pick it up!

When I originally found out about this book it was at the Philadelphia Comic convention in 2005. I met Bo Hampton who gladly shared some of the pages and concepts to Sight Unseen. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Tinell and together they crafted a story that frankly scared the hell out of me. The art was riveting. The fact that there were so many panels with no dialouge left the reader to truly study the panel and after looking past the obvious, the minor nuansces are what left the reader frightened. Great concept! The writing is top notch. I could not put this book down. I am not a fan of horror but this ranks with 30 Days of Night as a book that will only fuel the flames of the horror comic book comeback. If this is not made into a film it would be a travesty. This is as chilling as the Sixth Sense and makes the Ring seem tame. I would recommend this book to anyone whether a fan of horror or not. My hope is that Bob and Bo will continue to spin tales of horror and suspense for many more years to come. Dare I say that if I had a few million dollars I would find a way to make this book into a movie. That's how good it is! Read Sight Unseen.

Not a bad book, but at the same time not as frightening as i was hoping for, but it still has quite an interesting premise and a pretty suspenseful climax.

I picked up this book solely to enjoy Bo Hampton's wonderful artwork, but I was surprised at how well written the story was. You don't think that you'll be spooked by a Graphic Novel, but I read this lengthy book before bed and I have to admit that when I turned the lights out I could have sworn I was hearing things. Incredibly creepy.

No doubt, what draws you to this story is the masterful artwork by Bo Hampton, but the entire book is a treasure. Even the format of the book and it's extra behind the scenes section at the end fit in perfectly. The only thing I have to say negative about it is that I found a few mispellings and grammatical errors in the book. Strange. Usually you don't see that in a Graphic Novel. But that really doesn't affect the intensity of this book. My highest recommendation.

This book should be called "How to turn chords into chord progressions" because that's pretty much all there is. As a reference book it's pretty decent, but working through the whole book is a tedious process. Also there is no index in the back which makes it har do look up specific subjects.
As a whole, this book promises more than it delivers.

I've been playing guitar forever, and writing songs for years, but like most other writers I get stuck in ruts from time to time. Now, whenever I need some new ideas, whether an entire song, a verse, a chorus, a bridge, or a lift, I just look through this book. Even a basic I-IV-V can be made more interesting by advancing or delaying a change. I also like that he relates the CD examples to particular musical styles, which provides a good template for writing to that style.

As with Rooksby's other books, the material is presented with great clarity and is well edited. A songwriter could do a lot worse than build a library of his books.

man, this book has really really come in handy for me, expeically early chapter, good thing i have this. some of the think in here i have never seen or heard on the internet before, this book seems rare with its information.

I have over last two years developed into a real fan of Rikky's books. This one really surprised me for progressive depth in the structure of each chapter. Each chapter builds on the next. And sandwiched between the 'tips' are these gems of compositions that helps broaden and deepen the constructive elements of songwriting. The book is focused more on chord progression in songs and then the composition of the song's components, verse, chorus, bridge, etc. The great surprise, and I think, and real beauty of the book is the way he uses the CD with the last chapter. He records 12 or so songs, and then in that chapter, he breaks them down in to their component structure, and tells you why he made the choices he did. A really GREAT book. Worth the price!

This book taught me so much about songwriting, it's scary. I'm not a novice, either! It teaches you about chord theory better than any other book I've read.

I bought this book because I grew up hearing stories of Corrie ten Boom from my mother and her friends, and I wondered what all the fuss was about.

Well now I know. I couldn't possibly describe the experience of reading this book, and what it did for me, except to say that it was so much more than just a good read. I would say that it changed my life.

This book showed me that walking side-by-side with the Lord wasn't just for people in Bible times--it is meant for us today.

Corrie wasn't perfect. This book isn't about being perfect. And it isn't even about giving all you can give to God. On the contrary, it's about taking all you can take.

Her language is so simple, yet her message incredibly profound: there is an endless resource available to each and every one of us, and that resource is Jesus Christ.

Whether you're going through the most difficult time of you life, or you simply want to be inspired--Tramp for the Lord is the book for you.

I've read many of Corrie's books since this one, but "Tramp" is still my favorite. I own three copies, so I always have two to lend.

Now I'm the one telling people "Corrie stories" the way my mother used to. They are stories the next generation needs to hear.

Tramp for the lord is an eye opener for you to look at where you are, where you have been and where you are going. A good read for those moving through life and a must read for those that want to celebrate life to it's fullest.

If you read this book you will NEVER forget it. Such wonderful testimony to the miracles that the Lord is still doing in the world. I highly recommend it. It's a real page turner.

Tramp for the Lord is ONE of the most rewarding books I have ever read in my life. Everyone should read this book. She too was a human who sinned and came short of the glory of God. Corrie shares so much of her heart and life - not only because of her experiences in prison, but in every day life as she traveled the United States and to other countries to share God's work. As she experienced real life situations with ordinary people, that grew her daily in her walk with God, because as Paul learned, God's work was not easy. It was those situations that she shared in "Tramp for the Lord" that she was also growing with each situation she faced as Paul did as he continued in his day discipling for God. Corrie's book, "Tramp for the Lord," is a must read after "the Hiding Place" and will be hard to put down.

This book is a sequel to "The Hiding Place" a biography about Corrie Ten Boom's experience during World War II, arrested and sent to a German concentration camp for hiding Jews.

Corrie surrenders to God's Will for her life to take the Gospel and her story to the entire world. Because of her humbleness, she is able to connect to people from all walks of life, from royalty to prisoners. She was especially able to connect with prisoners who were hopeless because of her own experience of being locked up.

It was easy for her to minister to the victims of WWII, but Corrie resisted going back to Germany, the land that she dreaded. But she obeys and goes to Germany where she meets one of her former prison guards, one of the cruelest, walking up to her after a meeting. A chill grips her heart and bitterness wells up when he asks for her forgiveness. Leaning on the power of the Holy Spirit, she was able to forgive her enemy and found God's love overflowing.

Each chapter is a story and devotional about a situation Corrie encounters. My favorite one is, "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, Dear Lord... but Not Up Ten Flights of Stairs."

As a publicist who has worked on the journalism side like T.S. Peric, I learned that he "gets it". I devoured this book as a refresher for myself and to learn what others are doing to generate publicity for their clients. I found Peric's tips and advice sensible, simple to understand and applicable to any product or service. It's one of the most thorough and user-friendly books about publicity that I've ever read.

"Wacky Days" is a book that leads you through the many steps you can take to obtain huge amounts of free publicity.
Anyone who has a business, product, or book is sure to find this will become their Bible to return to time and again gleaming nuggets of information from it's pages.
The author uses examples from his own experiences to show how it can be done. The information can be easily adapted to fit your need for publicity.
An interesting and entertaining read that is a definite keeper which will sit on my reference shelf to be used whenever I am doing publicity. In my opinion, Tom Peric does for publicity what Dan Poynter does for self-publishing.

Great book on ideas and practical ways to generate PR for any type of business. From straight-forward tasks to some strategic planning like offering reporters story ideas for future reference or how to get seated on a Board, Peric' has something for everyone in Wacky Days.

Highly recommended.

Wacky Days... explains how to get free publicity and to be recognized as an expert in your chosen field. Mr. Peric' shows you how to approach the media through Tip sheets, professional looking Press releases, and of course the names, dates, and e-mail addresses needed to create your very own holiday!( Mine is going to be "Buy a piece of thrift store art day", 3rd Thursday in June!)his book is a must read if you spend money on advertising your business.
If you are an independent publisher, like me, YOU MUST OWN A COPY!
All fans of Dan Poynter should have this book right next to The Self-Publishing Manual.
Everyone else talks about getting publicity, but Tom holds your hand, and takes baby steps until your goals are reached, 37 small chapters.

His journalism background has really given him a true insiders edge.

At the end of the book there is a section that explains how to affordably hire Mr. Peric' himself by drawing up a plan from Wacky Days..., gathering up media list, writing your press release and allowing T. S. to assess the plan.
This book explains what journalists love to write about,(People and Ideas)

He also explains why stories get written (they were relevant, useful, or interesting!)

I fully recomend you buy this book.

I've never met or spoken with Tom Peric but as I read this book, it felt like I was listening to a trusted friend give me step by step advice on how to publicize my business. I liked his straightforward writing style and how he educates and empowers the reader so that even the most media-shy business owner can read this book and apply its suggestions about how to publicize his or her business. A great book, you'll be glad you read it.

Very comprehensive. Lots of photos, very good history. It did come out a while ago so doesn't have anything about Entwistle's death. But it's a great history of the Who!

The definitive book to have on The Who. Loaded & re-loaded with amazing photographs & anecdotes from a friend of the band who isn't afraid to point out the bad in addition to the good.

I bought this book on its original release back in the 1980's; the updated section to review the years 1983-96 is most welcome. Hopefully, Richard Barnes will release yet another edition that takes into account the years 1997 to the present.

If you're a Who junkie, this book is a must. If you're a new fan, this volume is a fantastic primer into the history of the greatest band there ever was.

This book is an excellent resource for all fans of the classic rock band, The Who. Telling the band's story from their earliest days, the reader will find plenty of detail, interviews, and wonderful photographs to enhance this "amazing journey". The author takes a relatively unbiased stance, leaving out personal opinion in favor of simply stating "the facts".

If you are a fan of The Who, this is certainly a book that deserves a place in your library.

This book is really a great overview of the WHO's career. Starting out when the band started to meet as teenagers and spannig all the way to a few years after Keith's death, this book covers every single recording the WHO did.

Aside from just following the WHO through their career, this book is also jam-packed with those crazy Keith Moon anecdotes and interesting picures.

I really enjoyed this book, and enjoyed seein what one of my favorite bands was really like. I would definately recommend it to anyone who loves the WHO.

As a HUGE Who fan, I first picked up "Maximum R&B" in the late 80's, and recently dug into the updated version.

Richard Barnes was an old art school friend of Pete Townshend's, and remained close to him and the band over the decades. His history of the Who is detailed, mixed with intimiate remembrances, especially of the early days of the band.

Barnes for the most part tells the story with a straight-forward, unbiased eye. He details the tulmultuous relationship between the band members, especially Townshend and Roger Daltrey, and draws on numerous interviews and press articles (the press materials are classic--some very early pix of a very young Detours lineup are among the entertaining bits).

Barnes also examines the Mod movement of the 60's, which was so critical to exposing the Who (for a while the High Numbers) to a hardcore audience.

For Who fans like myself, you may find some minor errors, and Barnes doesn't go too deep into some of the band member's personal lives, except where he seems to have an in. Among these would be Townshend's fascination with Meher Baba, his later drug and alcohol problems, and his later struggles with trying to deal with the Who while establishing himself as a solo artist.

In any case, a fantastic document of the history of one of rock's greatest and most talented bands.

Take the amazing Selection Test and find out the real subconcious reasons for your attraction, rejection, selection and interactional patterns.....why you pick the mates you do...
and don't....why you are attracted to the wrong type of partners, why you keep having the same problems in relationships, why opposites attract and what happens when they do, how to change that troublesome chemistry so you can live happitly ever after..........

NOTE: Check the other five star reviews on the first book listed on this site.........

This book is certainly very good and very different then any other self help book on the market. However, to gain from it you must be willing to do it's total workbook component to it which is a lot of the book. I usually like or love books like that if there really good ones however, this one requires you to be able to get assistance from atleast 2 parents and 1 previous or ex husband, wife, or significant other. Not only that but the more group help you get with this very possibly the more this book will likely help you. It also forces you to remember alot of your past so if you don't and don't have relatives to remember it for you I don't recommend this book. The advice in it could be unnusual and right but most of it is given based on your grt workbook participation. There is more then a few inventories/tests in here. Plus, it's pricy. The other good thing is most of the advice you can rarely if ever see elsewhere so the author obviously did her homework and research.So unlike most self help books this book isn't at all simple but that's what makes it so unique and such a benefit to read!

As a Masters Level trained counselor (Loyola University N.O.), and fifteen years counseling experience: Anne Teachworth's Psychogenetic Theory rocks the world for any professional counselor seeking to increase their effectiveness when providing services to couples, families, young folks just starting out their search for a mate, or divorcees who fear getting into another relationship etc... Anne's theory is truly innovative! From a managed care point of view, Psychogenetic Counseling will cut the amount of time spent in couseling. Professionals would do well to contact Anne and make arrangements to enter her Psychogenetic Training program. To those professionals who draw upon Imago or Family Systems - Anne's Theory is quit a step above!

Psychogenetics is the science of Genetic Psychology, a study of the DNA inherited personality traits that were handed down from one generation to the other.

In WHY WE PICK THE MATES WE DO, there is an 8 question Selection Test which explores the reader's inherited Inner Adult and Inner Mate personality and behavorial traits, both explains WHY and identifies HOW these imprinted Inner Couple interactional couple patterns were learned from one's parents in the first 10 years of life. Neither these adult traits nor these couple relationship patterns were a conscious choice. They are the results of a Psychogenetic trance.

Most relationships are a result of transgenerational family imprints which is what Psychogenetics is all about. Actually your problems have been around a lot longer than you think. Indeed while your conscious mind was searching for a PERFECT MATE, your unconscious imprint was searching for a PERFECT MATCH. Following its established pre-imprinted imperatives, your unconscious mind rejected some partners and selected others for you, regardless of whether that particular partner could help you live happily ever after or not. You may have gotten involved with the wrong type over and over again, gotten into the same unsolvable revolving arguments and had one relationship after another dissolve without ever knowing what happened or why one or both of you changed so much after you got married or became parents.

WHY WE PICK THE MATES WE DO contains numerous proven exercises to help you, the reader, erase your inherited negative imprints and re-imprint positive attraction, selection and interactional patterns so you can reverse the unhappy relationship pattern you are already in with your current partner or stop repeating the same mistakes in mate selection. The Psychogenetic Sysem in the book will show you how to locate and deactivate the hidden landmines left over from your parents' relationship wars, and stop 'things that go boom in the night.' The approach can also help you change your imprint if you are single now so you will automatically be attracted to the right type of partner next time and be able to interact in more successful ways than before.

One of the best uses of this book is as a pre-marital guide especially for people who are always attracted to the wrong person or whose relationships keep turning out badly. It will explain what 'chemistry' really is and how to change the type of person you are attracted to so that you can fall in love with someone who is good to you and for you, and not the same old type that is bad to and for you.

Now you can find out BEFORE you get involved with a potential partner what your relationship will be like AFTER you two get involved or married. And you can also predict BEFORE you have children if that step will improve or ruin your couple relationship. You can know ahead of time what type of parents each of you will be. Take the guesswork out of it.

If you are already in a relationship or married, WHY WE PICK THE MATES WE DO can not only help you understand the unconscious imperatives in your imprinted Inner Couple relationship pattern that forced you to pick the partner you did, but locate and deactivate the hidden landmines that have caused the trouble between you, and the imprinted trance-ferences that produced the changes in you and your partner's personality AFTER you get married and became PARENTS. The insights are amazing and the instructions on how to reprogram your relationship are specific and effective. Finally, here's a way to SOLVE your relationship problems instead of DISSOLVING one relationship after another.

DON'T JUST GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR PARTNER, GET EVOLVED!

I teach several writing teleclasses and teleseminars and workshops and I am always on the look out for writing books which will both serve me as a writer and as a facilitator AND will serve my students.

"Writing Alone and With Others" by Pat Schneider does that and more.

Schneider's tone is a perfect blend of the business of writing and the sacredness of writing and the individuality of each writer.

She writes of genius within each writer - and she goes further to say "Genius needs a lifetime of dedicated practice." In this book one would certainly find a companion to nurture that dedicated practice with such a wide variety of writing exercises that anyone and everyone would find gold.

My favorite chapters include: Chapter 3: Toward a Disciplined Writing Life and Chapter 7: Growing as a Writer. I had really looked forward to hearing Schneider's take in Chapter 9: The Ethical Questions: Spirituality, Privacy and Politics. I wasn't sure why or how Spirituality fit into that equation, and I still don't after reading the chapter.

In re-reading it, I see how Schneider speaks of "ethical questions in writing will of necessity touch our most primal spiritual orientation" so seeing that, perhaps the chapter would have been better titled differently. Even so, it doesn't detract from the content of the book, it is simply a moment of saying "Hmmm. That is interesting. I wonder what is up with that?"

I can not recommend this book highly enough for all writers at all stages of creative growth. It is expansive and expanding, intriguing and evocative. It is bound to become a classic - if the writers of the future are especially blessed..

If you have toyed with the idea of someday becoming a writer, this book will encourage you to pursue it. Many of us doubt that we can write; Pat Schneider convinces you that you already are a writer. Whether for pleasure or for publication anyone can write. This does not, however, diminish those with extensive formal educations in writing. She means to say that anyone with the ability to take pen in hand can relay information from their heads to the paper. She does not promise a career in publishing or that others with enjoy your writing; she merely strengthens your confidence in your ability to articulate your thoughts in a physical form.
This book is the text for a my college-level writing class. The encouragement in the first chapters has everyone in the class excited about writing and anxious to get started on our projects. Some of my classmates and I have even spoke of planning a trip to Pat Schneider's home town to attend one of her workshops.
I would recommend it, however, for anyone with an interest in expressing themselves in written form. Whether you want to document your family oral history or someday publish a novel, you will find something here to help you along the way.

I'm 50+, with education in creative writing. I've written privately and with others most of my life. Pat is the teacher for whom I've been waiting. Her voice and style are empowering. Her ability to cast light on creativity and how we teeter between fiction and non, is among the clearest I've read - balancing craft with magic. Her practical advice is just what I was looking for in leading writing groups - she is honest and approachable.

If you are a writer, a prospective writing group leader, or are interested in joining a writing group, do yourself the kindness of buying and reading this book by the founder of the AWA method. I have read many books on writing over the last couple of years, including all of Natalie Goldberg's and If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland, and have found Schneider to be an unparalelled treasure trove of wisdom, gentleness, and practical advice. She speaks from many years worth of experience with writing, leading writing groups, and helping underpriveleged people find their voices in writing. She is inspirational and is the most trustworthy teacher of writing I've come across so far. She is also a excellent writer and poet herself.
In the first section of this wonderful book she gives advice to the writer writing alone, including lucid chapters on dealing with fear and maintaining discipline, and practical advice about exactly how to start and keep on writing-- what to do when you put your pen to the page-- that other books rarely give. In the second section she deals with writing groups, and the ethics of maintaining safety within those groups. Even if you are a solitary writer, this section is enlightening and moving, and if you are a writing group leader, or hope to be one, or are thinking of joining a writing group, this section is invaluable. She also discusses at length writing groups focused on empowering the underpriveleged; I found this information eye-opening and incredibly moving. In the final section she offers scores of writing practice exercises developed through countless writing group sessions. These are exercises relevant to all levels of experience in writing, which can be used for the solitary writer or in a writing group.
This book is a must-have for any dedicated writer, and Pat Schneider joins Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, Brenda Ueland, Anne Lamott, Susan G. Wooldridge, Annie Dillard, and Virginia Woolf as an essential and luminous writing guide.

It was only two or three pages into the introduction of this book before I realized that Pat Schneider had given me the one book on writing I had looked for my entire life.

The great barrier between each of us and our own unique genius is fear. Writing -- at least deep, personal writing -- results from a direct confrontation with that fear. Some writers abandon their genius for fear of the pain of introspection. Others develop the courage to face themselves and move forward. Genius can flourish within an incubator of safety, self-confidence, focus, and practice. A nurturing environment allows some the freedom to take greater risks and plumb greater depths of personal understanding than those trapped within the cycle of their own fears.

By perfectly articulating the unspoken dread that many writers face when they seat themselves before the empty page, Schneider puts a face on the unseen enemy -- the writer him- or herself -- and allows one to move forward and deal with issues that otherwise may remain unidentified. Schneider demonstrates how to confront these scenarios not only to the solitary writer, but within the group workshop experience as well. As someone who has participated in workshops AND faced the terror of "alone," I can attest that her book can touch in a single sitting what sometimes years of therapy fails to unmask.

As theraputic as the book may be for one's writing, it may or may not be a therapy for the writer. As Schneider says in her book, "Whether or not writing heals the writer is irrelevant. What matters is the power of the work itself." This book is about writing and resolution, not about self-healing, though often the two go hand-in-hand.

This book should become a staple for all high school or university creative writing classes or for any writing class -- fiction or no -- that aims to put the writer in touch with his inner voice. In the beginning each of us brings so much unnecessary baggage to the pen or to the keyboard. And there is so much to regret for the needless time we lose in learning to know ourselves. Let's get on with it.

Eliezer Sobel
ISBN: 978159580028x
Santa Monica Press LLC, 2008
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 08/08
4 Stars
Insightful...
The 99th Monkey is a look at Eliezer Sobel's encounter with many spiritual enlightening movements. Sobel experimented with LSD, Ecstasy, mushrooms, and other various products. He met spiritual leaders such as: Ram Dass, Hilda Charlton, David Zeller, Gabrielle Roth, and the Dalai Lama.
Through all of this spiritual enlightenment, he proclaims that he is unchanged. The one lesson he learned was to be kind to each other. Sobel writes with a great deal of humor. I have never met Mr. Sobel, but after reading The 99th Monkey, I see him as a real person. I see him as someone willing to accept who he is and to enjoy life. I laughed, cried, and pondered when I read The 99th Monkey. Sobel demonstrates that we can accept ourselves, even though we are flawed.

"I am the 99th Monkey. If you don't get me, you don't get your critical mass, and it screws up the whole works. I seem to be single-handedly holding back the Great Paradigm Shift of the Golden Age simply through my continuing to be a resistant little putz."

Most people of the hippie/new age/spiritual enlightenment seeking ilk have heard the infamous legend of the 100th monkey. Scientists who were studying monkeys on Koshima Island in Japan in 1952 introduced the sweet potato as a new snack, which the monkeys loved even though it was always covered in sand. One day Imo the monkey got the brilliant idea of taking her sweet potato to the water and washing off the sand, making the snack even yummier. She taught this trick to her family members and soon it spread. In 1958 the number of potato washing monkeys reached a critical mass (99, they say) and suddenly every monkey of Koshima and the neighboring islands began spontaneously washing their potatoes. So if humans work this way, an idea spread to that 99th human monkey would quickly and spontaneously spread to the population at large.

Now, you would think that with all the great spiritual movements and teachers out there over the past several decades that the world's population would have gotten past materialism and greed and onto a more enlightened plane of peaceful loving existence. Well, the reason this has not happened is Eliezer (Elliot) Sobel, the 99th Monkey.

Not that Sobel hasn't tried, mind you. The 99th Monkey is a frank and funny collection of Sobel's encounters with just about every major consciousness raising movement, written as editor of The New Sun magazine in the 1960s, the Wild Heart Journal, and as a freelance journalist. But what is great and refreshingly different about this book is that Sobel ends these encounters basically unchanged and unfazed.

What encounters he has! Through Sobel we get to meet Ram Dass, Hilda Charlton, Gabrielle Roth, Rabbi David Cooper, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, Muktananda, Asha Greer, and the Dalai Lama. We get to travel to India, Israel, Auschwitz, Big Sur, Nepal, and Brazil. We experiment with LSD, Ecstasy, Daime, mushrooms, marijuana, and every anti-depressant on the market. We laugh, we scream, we trip, we cry, we vomit, and we refuse to drink the water used to cleanse the guru's sandals. And we go through primal scream therapy, EST, Landmark Forum, Moonie initiation, Daime rituals, yogic meditation of varying forms, sexual therapies of many kinds, and good old western psychotherapy.

Oh, Sobel does learn one great lesson in the end. After hearing the refrain of kindness from one spiritual teacher after the other he goes to a lousy therapy session with his wife.

"He wanted to see us regularly, at $150 a pop. We left his office and in an epiphany, we both realized that we could save $600 a month if we just tried to be nicer to one another. It definitely works."

Since the rest of Eliezer's friends have posted, I might as well, too. Yes, not only did I find his book funny, but it fills an empty space in my book shelf. The only problem with this book is it doesn't mention me (at least in the parts that I experienced as well). Ah well, Eliezer has done what we'd all like to do if we had only were as guilt driven as he is. Buy this book!

I'm the father of this genius, and so I am absolutely without prejudice! How could you not love such a person who had the good sense not to tell us about many of these escapades while he was living through them. I have enough grey/white hair as it is! I think that living Eliezer's life vicariously (+ a little help from up above) has allowed me to almost reach 85 - and getting ready to reread his book for the 3rd time. It gets better all the time and who knows, maybe I missed something during the first two readings. Seriously, I loved the 99th Monkey and can't wait until I get a chance to read the sequel. Keep up the great work El.

This is the story of a self-described scared little wimpy neurotic depressed Jewish kid who spends his whole life searching for enlightenment. It is funny but true in a self-deprecating, Woody Allen on drugs, drama queen sort of way. In the end, he is a scared little wimpy neurotic depressed Jewish adult who seems to have figured it out...but then again, maybe not. But then again, it's the journey that counts. Now I'm confused.

It is good, witty, and brutally frank. Don't miss out on this one.

The image evoked by the words on Nomi's gravestone led me into long ruminations about the ways to comprehend, and ultimatly tranform the sadness of, the death of a young life. How many of us have warded off the searing emotion of imagining the loss of a child? This is Fein's personal story as he tries to cope with his loss, honor his daughter's memory, and move foward with his life forever altered. The book is filled with a personal wisdom that is both deeply philosophical and searingly personal. To read this book is to vacillate between crying one's own tears for the loss of Nomi and being inpired by her own unique and powerful spark. The book is Fein's personal journey, but the story he tells is deeply and movingly universal.

I picked up Fein's book yesterday at the library and sat for an hour reading it without putting it down. Although I was familiar with Fein's writings within the Jewish community, I didn't know anything about him personally. I thank him for writing such a deeply personal story about such a tragic loss. I feel sorrow for his and his family/friends' loss, but also for all of those who never had the opportunity to know his daughter.

Leonard Fein's story of a parent's unspeakable loss of a grown child and the grieving that follows it begins as his personal story, gradually becomes our universal story, and remarkably by its end even fills us with hope.

The power of Fein's book was felt by me most deeply as a parent. To be presented with the portrait of this daughter, to consider the poignant relationship she had with her father and with her community, is to be called to reflect anew on the way one cherishes one's own children and the unique contributions they make to their world. The book is a nuanced, searching presentation of life and loss and love. I am augmented for having read it.

Leonard Fein finds words to express what I had thought were unexpressible thoughts and feelings. By doing so, he allows us to look at ourselves intimately, but without fear. His honesty with himself helps the reader consider and confront the difficult and painful. In the end, this book is extremely comforting.