Paper The Books

I stumbled upon Bob Greene's All Summer Long a couple of years ago when I read his "Hang Time" book about Michael Jordan. The subject matter of several friends putting everything aside for a Summer and roadtriping around the country has always been appealing to me and this story didn't disappoint. Although this is a fictional account, you really feel as if the author is recanting a journey that he actually took. I found myself really wanting to do something like this someday as well. I highly recommend this book.

Bob Greene takes you back in time to a summer that you will never forget and in his usual way tugs on the memories and heart strings that remind you of the best that was. I couldn't wait to pick it up and was upset to put it down when I was finished.

With so many authors aiming for your wife's interests, it's great to finally have a novel written for a male's summer reading enjoyment. The book is an excellent summer escape -- it will take you back to long ago times that still seem so near and will keep you hopeful about the future. If you're a fan of Greene's columns or you just want to feel better about life, then you have to read this book!

This book will take the male reader - from 18 to 80 - on a fantasy ride that will hold his interest from page one to the end. This wasn't written to be considered "literature;" it simply entertains very well and gives the reader's his money's worth.

I'm now reading it for the second time. How many books get THAT award from readers?

No wonder Bob Greene's so much more well known as a columnist than a novelist. All Summer Long, while full of good writing and interesting situations, seems to me to be self-serving and melodramatic. If only this had been written as non-fiction, I would have not only believed it, but would have respected it. Instead, I could predict what would happen pages ahead of time and kept thinking that maybe I have can have career as a novelist after all. It's just not very interesting to anyone but the characters. If I ran into any of these guys in a airport or at a ballgame or in a hotel lobby, I'd not only think them quite unspectacular, but wouldn't dig too deeply into their lives, as I'm sure I'd be bored before they got around to reliving their first "adventure."

Oh, woe is the forty-three year old Midwestern male, who can't face the reality of everyday life. Sure, there isn't a person alive who wouldn't like to take the summer off and travel, but I don't know how many of us want to do it with a bunch of people that we were really only close to 25 years ago. Forget my friends from high school, I want to take off with the people who mean something to me today -- people with whom I have something in common besides having attended the same school two and a half decades ago. This is exactly why we have reunions every five years, not every day. For the most part, they have no relevance in our daily lives.

That said, I still enjoyed the escapism this book offers. Greene offers simple, but significant insights into human nature, especially those that I imagine for men in their mid forties. The trio's travels are both funny and sad, and Greene doesn't necessarily push the reader one way or another. Things just happen and the summer is over, just like it is for you and me. And just like yours and mine, no one can really say they're interested in these sad sacks.

Greene steals the title from the Beach Boys song, although a song more representative and equally sappy might have been Terry Jacks's Seasons In The Sun. They had joy, they had fun, they had a season in the sun. Big deal.

I must respectfully disagree with the reviewer who called Creating Keepsakes' Award Winning Scrapbook Pages "seriously outdated." I purchased this book just a few months ago and read it cover to cover, using up an entire package of post-it flags in the process. This is a fabulous idea book, and I would consider it a must-have for your reference shelf whether you're brand new to scrapbooking or a seasoned veteran.

This book is a snapshot of some of the best work of several amazing scrapbook artists during a specific window of time - 2001 to 2003. It doesn't set itself up to be a source for the newest products and latest trends. If you want that stuff, pick up a magazine or browse the internet. What you will find here are tons of great-looking scrapbook pages that do what they're supposed to - capture the stories and moods behind photos of a specific event, person, or everyday moment through color, design, and creative use of available supplies. There is a great mix of single photo and multi-photo layouts, single-page and double-page spreads. I loved reading the little bios about each featured artist and seeing how each woman's style played out in their various pages. Some layouts are very simple, some are quite detailed and heavily embellished. Whatever their style, these pages are TIMELESS. Whether you look at this book today or ten years from now, the pages will still be meaningful and beautiful. Trends come and go, but good scrapbooking is good scrapbooking, period.

The photographs are exquisite. The color schemes are lovely. And the embellishments are amazing. These artists took tools and techniques that are available to all of us (brads, eyelets, charms, craft wire, beads, buttons, paint, vellum, tags,transparencies, colored pencils, digital photo editing, computer fonts, stamping, die cuts, patterned paper, rub-ons, stickers,calligraphy, doodling, memorabilia, embossing, fibers, scissors, adhesive, etc.) and used them to create artwork that's uniquely their own. I was continually inspired to incorporate their ideas into my own pages, and every so often the featured artists give you a little how-to lesson for some technique they used on a layout.

While this book certainly doesn't contain some of the trendiest stuff on the market today, I was totally confused by comments about the scrapbook pages in this book being limited to construction paper and magic markers. Are you sure you're reviewing the right book?! This isn't the Joy of Scrapbooking 1987. The artists featured use ALL of the "new" stuff listed - brads, circle cutters, patterned paper, tags, fibers, stamps, textured cardstock, die cuts, etc. The materials are archival quality supplies from reputable manufacturers still in business today. While the pages in this book may not lean toward what I would call the bohemian, free-style esthetic that is so popular right now, I personally think the layouts still look fresh and offer a variety of styles and perspectives on how and what to scrapbook.

This is one of my favorite books. It is also my inspiration when scrapbooking. Even though it portrays pages from actual handmade albums, I use it in my digital scrapbooking since I can virtually re-create anything I see on my computer. Highly recommended!

If you are like most scrapbookers sometimes you need a little help to get inspired or you need something to "scrap-lift". I do not like everyone's layouts. Everyone has different tast and that is why the Hall Of Fame books are great because you get many layouts from many artists.

This book is amazing!! The ONLY problem I have found is that there are so many great ideas that I dont have enough time to do them all! I would suggest this book to anyone that just needs to look at really well done pages but not someone that is just beginning scrapbooking because the book does not come with how to instructions.

Want inspiration? Look no further - here it is! This book is filled to the brim with all sorts of techniques and ideas for every scrapbooker. I have purchased quite a few books in search for one that gave me inspiration. Generally they were full of these weird totally-not-me examples that while they looked good were impractical for everyday use. In this book, you get all sides of the creative spectrum. You get the far-out-there looks, to the homely looks, to in-between. You can turn page to page ohh'ing and ahh'ing over the pages but you'll find you wont - you'll bookmark the page and start scrapping immediately. I've had this book for a year and still haven't finished looking through it. It's definetly a keeper and one of my 2 favorite books!

This is a great book for quilters of all levels. The blocks are relatively easy to piece and the birds are beautiful! The book has so many great ideas of how to use the quilt blocks. I am going to get a lot of use out of these patterns - both for myself and gifts for others.

I am giving this book 5 stars, in part because having picked up the book at the quilt shop I could not put it down. I just had to own this book. The photos of finished projects are varied enough to give you some great ideas of your own. I can't wait to get started on some of these birds!

Having said that, I agree with a previous poster that the instructions for the actual sewing together of the projects are very confusing. I read through the complete instructions for several of the projects and I can see a beginner having a heck of a time with them.

Recently got this book for myself and was very pleased after having a look . The projects in the book are foundation paper piecing which gives very accurate results . The Birds given are just soo beautiful , I am looking forward to complete a sampler quilt with all the birds in it . There are various other projects too. If you are looking for a book with complete instructions and variety of projects , with paper piecing and birds ...this book is for you !!

I really enjoy this book and have shared it with bird loving friends and relatives! My daughter wants crib bumper pads made with these birds on them for her infant daughter. It is a fun book to look at and I can hardly wait to get started making some of the blocks. Only down side is I wish there were MORE birds in the book. I will be looking for vol.2.

The directions for the paper piecing are awesome. That said, the sewing instructions for the projects in the book have a lot to be desired. I sew a lot so I was able to make my way through making a pillow out of a bird block. I started out following the directions in the book but finally gave up and went my own route. Beginner sewers would have a lot more trouble. I gave it four stars because it is mainly a paper piecing book and it does that part well. I would have given it five if the directions for sewing the actual projects would have been better.

'Balthazar' picks up where Durrell left off in 'Justine' not chronologically, but from a different perspective. The doctor Balthazar has paid a visit to the narrator of Justine, and gives him a text called the Great Intilinear, which details what has already unfolded in the previous novel. The fact that Lawrence Durrell was trying to explore the idea of relativity in the Alexandria Quartet is almost completely inconsequential to what makes it any good. What remains interesting in this text is his rich prose and broad canvas. He his building a world that is situated in both the real and the imaginary. Even as 'Balthazar' devolves into elements of Orientalism, it remains an extremely fine novel.

"Balthazar" is the second of the sibling tomes of Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet". The novel allows the reader to dive again deep into Alexandrian life and see everything what happens already in "Justine" from a different angle.

Darley, the narrator, still living in seclusion on the remote Greek Island, has sent the story (i.e. Justine) to one of the Alexandrian friends, Balthazar, the Jewish, gay doctor interested in philosophy and theology, initiator of the Kabbalah group, suspected of spying activity. Balthazar during his short visit on the island gives Darley the manuscript back together with a substantial amount of notes, which (with Darley's comments) are reconstituted in this volume. Darley was prompted to add a lot of the notes, as, reflecting upon them, he realized that despite his doubts, expressed in "Justine", many things he took for granted are completely different than he thought.

Balthazar sees the events described in "Justine" from his own point of view, and, having often more information or just different sources than Darley, his versions of events add to or change the descriptions from the first volume. New characters are introduced, and those, who were merely mentioned or hinted upon (Pursewarden, Mountolive, Leila, Narouz), become central, and their preoccupations and emotions are at the first plane. These shifts, instead of clarifying things that were blurred and mysterious in "Justine" make the narrative even more slippery and allusive. New avenues open for each event, tales within tales are discovered, which need their own explanation, and the atmosphere is even more dreamy... The motivations of ome characters, especially Nessim, seem to change completely from what Darley perceived, as new events are revealed. The search for the truth obviously cannot end here, so the reader needs to proceed to "Mountolive".

Alexandria becomes even more of a main character in this novel, and definitely the one with the strongest and versatile personality. Most of the other characters, struck by destructive love (again the analysis of love is one of the main themes, although the secret service intrigue gets more momentum), are impressionable, prone to spontaneous, sudden behaviors, and transient. The climactic event, as the hunting party was in Justine, is this time the carnival ball, where the reader roams the streets together with the characters in disguise... and is a witness to another death.

"Balthazar" is even more full of aphorisms than "Justine" - there seems to be a sentence for any occasion, and whereas the generalizations of love may appear trivial, childish even, the truths about literature and theoretical background of Durrell's enterprise to create a novel which would reflect its times, are amazingly formulated and put into the mouth of the surprising number of the writer characters (look especially for what Pursewarden has to say).

In summary, this is another delightful volume, different than "Justine" and only giving the reader the appetite for more of Durrell's Alexandria!

BALTHAZAR, the second novel in Lawrence Durrell's ALEXANDRIA QUARTET, is a less daunting proposition than its predecessor, JUSTINE. The author points out that the first three novels (these two plus MOUNTOLIVE) all overlap in time, looking at the same events from different perspectives; only the fourth book, CLEA, is a true sequel. Nonetheless, it is essential to read JUSTINE first; the greater clarity and expansiveness of BALTHAZAR is possible only because the reader already knows most of the characters and events; there is not enough explanation for the story to stand on its own.

The set-up is simple. The narrator (who now has a name, Darley) receives a surprise visitor to his Greek island, Balthazar, the doctor who had played a secondary role in the earlier novel. He bears with him the manuscript of JUSTINE, which Darley had sent him for comment, and has just time to return it together with his own interleaved notes and marginalia, before his ship leaves again. So Darley/Durrell is left with this huge volume of new material, which he calls "the great Interlinear" as though it were a sacred text. He realizes that several of his assumptions in the original story were mistaken, and so is forced to tell it again, sometimes quoting Balthazar directly, sometimes reimagining it in his own voice.

The book is clearer than JUSTINE in several respects, as though emerging from smoke into light. Durrell seems to use fewer unexplained foreign words, though he still breaks into French at the drop of a hat. The chapters are shorter and more clearly marked. The narrative dwells longer on a few connected characters, or a linear sequence of events. While the climactic duck shoot was the only action set-piece in the earlier book, there are many here: Nessim's ride into the desert with his brother Narouz, the street festival of Sitna Mariam, the Venetian-style masked carnival, and several others. The effective addition of a second narrator (Balthazar) means that not everything is filtered through Darley's sensibility, so other characters develop greater individuality through the cross-lighting. I am not sure that they all become more likeable -- in particular, there is one scene with Clea near the end which strains my previous view of her as a hovering angel -- but it is easier to understand them. There is also more use of direct speech, so that the two older British characters, the writer Pursewarden and Scobie the old sailor, develop distinct (and rather funny) voices.

Add there is still the rich color and cadence of Durrell's descriptive language, a little overdone perhaps, but full of surprising word-choices and sharp observations, especially when capturing sounds: "From the throat of a narrow alley, spilled like a widening circle of fire upon the darkness, burst a long tilting gallery of human beings headed by the leaping acrobats and dwards of Alexandria, and followed at a dancing measure by the long grotesque cavalcade of gonfalons, rising and falling in a tide of mystical light, treading the peristaltic measure of the wild music -- nibbled out everywhere by the tattling flutes and the pang of drums or the long shivering orgasm of tembourines struck by the dervishes in their habits as they moved towards the site of the festival." No longer does this writing overwhelm the narrative it contains, nor does it merely decorate; rather, it articulates and propels the action, as this four-book sequence comes to seem less an outré experiment and more like a true novel of impressive scope.

Like "Justine", written in a hauntingly sensual style, but far more readable. Took me a much shorter time to read it. There are so many memorable passages of beauty and wisdom in both, one could fill a small notebook - on love and the human condition, and the beauty of nature. Durrell certainly had an alert and unusually articulate mind, writing both with poetry and precision. Published in 1957, yet timeless, as all classics are. I think it is supposed to take place before World War II. "Balthazar" has far more excitement than "Justine", moves at a quicker pace. Here we see all the same characters, yet all in a new light; we see farther and grasp what we see with new understanding. We get fresh info about Pursewarden, Nissim, Narouz, Justine, Darley (the narrator), Melissa, Clea, Pombal, Amaril, Leila, Mountolive, and the outrageous comic scenes built around Scobie. Throughout the entire four volumes that comprise "The Alexandria Quartet", Durrell is constantly backfilling, a technique I particularly love, until at the last, all is revealed. That same technique was also used by Sir Charles Percy Snow in his 11 volume series "Strangers and "Brothers", but perhaps to a lesser extant. Durrell is the master here in letting us see only so much, no further, until the last volume. A rave review

I admit that I have not read "Justine", the first novel of Durrell's famous Alexandria Quartet. Perhaps if I had started at the beginning, I might have had a more favorable impression. Yet I do feel that BALTHAZAR can stand alone as a novel, even if a reader were to be better served by reading all four in order. Durrell's writing is fabulous. Lemon-scented, mauve, pearly Alexandria with the white stalks of its minarets, "the town that breaks open at sunset like a rose"; beggars beside the Rolls Royces, the human flotsam of the Mediterranean, the tawdry revels of the Christian carnival---all appear so pleasingly haunting and decrepit. Durrell's novel is full of "wisdom"--perhaps a lifetime's supply of epigrams on every conceivable subject, saved over the years by the author as he thought of them on sleepless nights, or written down as he heard them at the cafes and salons of the Middle East. To paraphrase the author, "reading joins you to a work, then divides you". I plunged headlong into BALTHAZAR, hoping for a good read, but came out worse off. I felt I had been offered a plate of decadence and cynicism, and not wanting to play the chicken, taken several bites. I didn't like the taste. What I felt, most of all, was that I was an outsider; the observer of a clique or in-group. The author/narrator knew, all the characters knew, but I didn't know. The prose was designed to keep me from knowing. I had to guess or intrigue with myself in order to find out where this novel was going and who all these people were. I did not enjoy the experience very much, though I admit that it might be just the ticket for some. I repeatedly asked myself, "Is it worth finding out ? Do you really care ? Or are these just a bunch of people hopelessly sunk in jealousy, perversion, sex and substance abuse, who prize infidelity above all ? Is this what the author considers usual life ? Why should I try to discover who really loved or cared about whom ?" I concluded that it didn't matter to me very much.

The group broke apart through death, anger, jealousy, and fatigue. BALTHAZAR traces the collapse of this in-grown little society within colonial Alexandria, before the tides of nationalism drowned its international, "Levantine" character forever. If you admire style, eliptical narrative, and skillful description laced with epigrams, this could be a five star novel. Not for me.

My boyfriend bought this book for me 22 years ago and it has followed me around through seven changes of address. I can honestly say that but for this book, I don't think I would have read Crime and Punishment or The Grapes of Wrath. I wanted to be sure I was getting all the jokes. It was funny in 1984 and it is still funny.

To save the Cleavers from the network axe, past and contemporary literary giants pour forth their own "episodes" for the Beave and crew. Everyone's character --including Eddie Haskell--gets fleshed out in ways you'll never see on Nickelodeon. Personal favorites include Tennessee William's turn on Miss Landers and June. Brilliant and absurdly funny blend of high prose and Americana 50's schmaltz. Made me laugh out loud at every read.

When I first read the Dostoevsky episode ("Hey, Wally, do you think it's OK to kill an old lady?" "I don't know, Beav. We haven't gotten that far in civics."), I was in convulsions. This is the funniest book in the history of Western Civilization, even funnier than "The Lazlo Letters," and that's saying something. That it is out of print is some kind of culture crime.

In an attempt to save "Leave It To Beaver" from going off the air in 1963, famous authors submit scripts hoping their influence will persuade the network from dumping the show. Scripts include "Lady Cleaver's Beaver" by D. H. Lawrence, "Beavermorphosis" by Franz Kafka (where Theodore actually transforms into a giant beaver), and my personal favorite "And Thus Spake Beaver" by Nietzche ... "And Beaver descended alone from the house encountering no one, and all at once there stood before him Larry Mondello who bit into an apple. And thus spake Beaver unto Larry Mondello, 'Shared cookies make a friend, not getting in trouble together', and he punched Larry Mondello in the stomach." If you love the Beave and love Literary Parodies, you'll love this book.

Wow -- it's nice to see that there are other people out there who have read this book and loved it as much as I did. I bought the book when it first came out in 1985 and I was in college. I almost peed my pants reading it in the bookstore, so I figured I'd better buy it before they threw me out. I still have it on my shelf, and it's provided countless hours of amusement ever since. About the only books I would consider funnier than this one are George Ade's "Fables in Slang" and "More Fables in Slang", which are sadly almost unknown today. They should really reprint this, because it's as hilarious today as it was almost 15 years ago.

P.G. Wodehouse is truly a master wit, evidenced in his novels, especially those that feature Jeeves and Wooster. "Bertie Wooster Sees It Through" is his typical hilarious romp through misunderstandings and shady dealings, chock full of literary allusions and laugh-out-loud moments. Wodehouse is a true joy to read, in any society or generation.

As with most of Wodehouse's plots, "Bertie Wooster Sees It Through" hinges upon the best laid plans that go mightily awry. When Bertie Wooster grows a mustache, he suddenly finds himself the object of affection of one Florence Craye, and the object of desired pummeling by her jilted fiance, Stilton Cheesewright. During a visit to his Aunt Dahlia's, matters become even more complicated with his aunt hoping to sell off her weekly magazine to buyers who are more anxious to spot theft than buy the paper. Bertie is called upon to help his aunt out of several fixes while trying to extract himself from Florence's clutches and to prevent bodily harm to his own dear self. And of course, every solution to every problem can be found in the astute mind of Jeeves.

"Bertie Wooster Sees It Through" is a fast-paced, delightful read. Wodehouse has created an almost idyllic England, where the most confusing of misunderstandings is quickly set aright with the slightest amount of discomfort to all parties involved. Bertie Wooster is a straightforward narrator, addressing the reader directly, and admitting his own faults along the way. Without Jeeves, his know-it-all valet, he would be completely at the whims of outrageous fortune with all its slings and arrows, if that is what I mean.

As Evelyn Waugh points out, Wodehouse's world is idyllic. It is not our world. It has a different set of rules, for instance, the fate of its characters are determined by silver cow creamers and French cooks. Call it absurd or trivial, and you would be right. If you are tired of "serious" literature and the "real" world, this is a wonderful place to escape to!

Typical of the Jeeves and Wooster tales, Bertie Wooster Sees It Through begins (and ends) with a trivial yet heated battle between the sage valet and his woolly-headed charge: Bertie's newly acquired mustache. Jeeves can't stand the thing, and Bertie is to be damned if he is going to have his face edited by a hidebound gentleman's gentleman. Of course, the plot thickens, involving unwanted engagements, jealous lovers, police raids, and fake pearl necklaces. This is an extremely funny and charming book. The ending breakfast scene is one of my favorites.

Towards the end of his career, P.G. Wodehouse found himself charmed by the idea of reprising the characters who and plot lines that provided the greatest triumphs in his earlier books. Bertie Wooster Sees It Through is a worthy sequel of that sort.

In the earlier book, you may remember that Stilton Cheesewright and Bertie Wooster had been schoolmates in preparatory school, at Eton and at Oxford. Stilton chose to become a policeman and his career led him to become very serious and strict in his outlook, so that Bertie thinks of him as "that blighter Stilton." Love transformed his life when he fell for the writer, Florence Craye. But Florence is also apt to respond well to Bertie, and Stilton takes that personally. When we last saw them, Florence and Stilton were engaged.

In this story, Bertie's Aunt Dahlia enlists him to come to her country home, Brinkley Court, to help her entertain a family by the name of Trotter. The assignment seems to be off to a rocky start, however, when the Trotters' stepson, Percy Gorringe, calls Bertie to hit him up for 1,000 pounds. That seems like too much entertaining and Bertie declines.

In the meantime, Bertie has started growing a mustache and Jeeves doesn't approve. In fact, no one else does either . . . except Florence Craye. That enrages an already touchy Stilton, who fears that Bertie is trying to steal Florence. Soon, Stilton is also sporting the hairy stuff on his upper lip. To make matters worse, Stilton has a large stake on Bertie in the Drones Club dart championship and decides that Bertie should starting keeping regular hours and keep off the sauce. And that's just why Bertie doesn't want to have anything to do with Florence, she's not only brainy . . . she also likes to improve her men. And Bertie likes himself just the way he is.

Stilton is also the jealous type and quickly turns suspicious when Bertie is picked up after a raid on a late-night bistro where Bertie had taken Florence at her request to do some research on local color.

But Aunt Dahlia has an even more serious problem. She has pawned her new necklace to buy the serial rights to a new story, and her husband, Uncle Tom, is about to have it appraised. She has been hiding the fact by wearing cultured pearls instead, but is about to be caught. Naturally, she decides to have Bertie steal the cultured pearls. And equally naturally, that proves to be more difficult than anyone can imagine and with unexpected consequences. And so the country farce begins!

Bertie Wooster Sees It Through has that nice combination of serious pending threats, irrational fears and hopes, and muddle-headedness that makes for such good social comedy. Like all of the best P.G. Wodehouse books, the language sparkles with original similes, metaphors and allusions.

Jolly good show!

Previous: The Mating Season

Bertie Wooster Sees It Through surprised me a great deal. I had read almost all of the Jeeves books by the time I got to this one, and I had no idea that I could still be so utterly and completely charmed by Wodehouse's words. Of all the Jeeves books, this one is probably the funniest, with the most laugh-out-louds-the knee slapping, snorting, tears-streaming-down-your-face, scaring-the-cat-out-of-the-room kind. I can't praise it highly enough. First, the setting is a breath of fresh air. After visiting such horrific places as Steeple Bumpleigh and Deverill Hall, going back to Brinkley feels like going home, complete with Aunt Dahlia and all her warm endearments ("Bertie, you revolting object."). One delightful twist after another brings Bertie to the brink of disaster and back again, as he is faced with the prospect of having his spine broken in three, four, or five places by the oaf Stilton Cheesewright and, worse yet, marriage to Florence Craye. Couple that with Bertie's new mustache, Aunt Dahlia's pearl necklace, a somber chap by the name of Percy Gorringe, and the Drones darts tournament, and you have the funniest thing ever written in the English language.

And that, by the way, is what makes Wodehouse so wonderful-it is not the characters, nor the stories, nor the settings, but the language he uses, and the way he forms sentences, and the vocabulary which is an eclectic mix of colloquialisms, literary references, foreign phrases, and Woosterisms. Until I read Wodehouse, I had never dreamed that the English language could be rendered so beautifully, and so, so, so brilliantly funny. It is like nothing else I have ever read.

Next: How Right You Are, Jeeves (Jeeves in the Offing)

When there's one too many Adam Sandler flicks out, and you are just tired of flatulence humor then this is the best book to pick up. Wodehouse's dry British wit shines through as bumbling Bertram Wooster fights through life (and a new mustache) with his trusty butler Jeeves there to save him. The lead character, Wooster, has a serious problem as an intellectual woman chases after him as does her ex-fiancee. Only Jeeves can save his arse.

This book will bring a smile to the reader regardless of his state of mind. I think that it should be placed in psychiatric offices around the world.

And if after reading through this book, please please read Wodehouse's dedication if for anything else than his poem. This a great book but be warned, only those who are lovers of the dry wit will enjoy it.

Sorry but you can't just shut down your brain in order to enjoy this book.

I really liked this book. It has so many clever ideas on using simple techniques for creating some lovely greeting cards. I have used it extensively and feel it is well worth the cost. The ideas are easy to use and there are many illustrations to guide you.

This book is spectacular. It provides easy to read and understand strategies to create creative cards. I particularly liked the pictures of the different approaches for each sample. It let you know you can create more than one type of card from one simple template. I found the templates for the envelopes confusing but still need to play with them to see if I understand how to set up the size, etc. Definitely worth the purchase if you enjoy a quick yet creative approach to making cards.

As a graphic designer, I like the outlines for the card layouts. They are asthetically pleasing, and could inspire you to design a multitude of two-dimensional art pieces such as cards, scrapbook pages, ads, wall displays, etc. However, many of the examples given are over done! In addition, they use store bought embellishments, so they are not very original.

This book is great... I have been looking for a card sketch book for some time now. Tons of amazing ideas! Every cardmaker needs this book today! I love that it is broken down into different size cards to make choosing a sketch even easier!

Loved this sketch book! Besides giving you the sketch, it
also gives you a few card ideas for each. Totally helps you think outside of the box. Get ready to create lots of fun new cards for family and friends!!

Another classic story by author/artist Graham Oakley. The church mice books are his best, the artwork is priceless (and hilarious!). Check his other books out too. They are great.

I first came across this book when my daughters were very young. We checked it out of the library and read it over and over again. The inventive approach to getting things done by the mice must have inspired me because I conveniently lost the book, paid the library for it, found it and kept it. I'm so pleased to be able to get some of their other books now because I've looked for them for years without success. Now that I have a grandchild, he will need to hear these tales too.

I definately have to agree with the 5 star rating that other people are giving this book. It is quite complex. However I was reading them in grade 1 so how complex is that. I'm trying to remember exactly how the story goes because I read them like 13 years ago. Needless to say I love this series, my brother in-law is about my age and he remembers reading these books (Church Mice at Christmas was his very favorite). I've been searching for this series for a year now since my son was born because I would like to own the whole set so he can read them. Lastly if anyone at all knows where I can get these in hardcover I would greatly appreciate it! I wish they would reprint them. My brother in-law does, too. My email address is emeraldeire@hotmail.com

As a writer of children's book myself, I was enchanted when I found this book by Graham Oakley in a used book store. I had not read anything by him before. Now I am actively seeking his books. 'The Church Mice at Christmas' is the hilarious story of church mice who are inventing schemes to finance a Christmas party. The text is charming, but the pictures are fabulous. His attention to detail is equal to Graeme Base, author of 'The Eleventh Hour' and 'Animalia'. The pictures have so many bits of humor dabbed about, you have to look carefully or you might miss a real good laugh. This is truly a 10 stars book! It was published in 1980. Hopefully it will be printed again soon.

Young children like these stories, but older kids and adults get the most out of them. Most of the humour is in the fantastically detailed funny pictures, which clash delightfully with the serious-sounding text. This is my favourite of the Church Mice stories. Some wonderful scenes include the Mice raffling-off Sampson (the Church Cat) to raise money for their party, their hopeless attempts at carol-singing for the same purpose, and the burglar dressed as Santa (he has a bag on which he has crossed out "Swag" and written "presents"). Also look out for the bizarre Christmas window displays in town.

If you can't find them here, many of Graham Oakley's books are now in print through Amazon.co.uk

This is a book for re-reading over and over. Each time you look at it you find more wonderful detail. Church Mice are for life, not just for Christmas.

Dr. Kate's book is outstanding. She goes into the different stages of relationships and helps to navigate the process. She also offers tips on flirting and dating in general. With advise and also actual questions from real people and her replies. A great book for anyone seeking to be in a relationship as well as even if you are in one as well.

THIS BOOK HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE! Whether you have a mate or not, you can learn from the experiences of others and Dr. Kate's wisdom. While this book targets the "love cycles," many of the lessons learned can be applied to all relationships. For example, the chapter entitled, "Communication" is full of excellent principles that are useful for communication between all people. Likewise, the "Happiness & Relationships" chapter is a beneficial lesson on life in general. This book speaks to every stage of adult relationships and more.

It is evident that Dr. Kate herself has applied the skills of communication to her practice and her AOL column! The book is written in an easy-to-read style and language that everyone can understand, and demonstrates that she has a keen understanding and acute awareness of the various stages of relationships. I recommend this book for EVERYONE.

This book is very informative and useful. I have certainly been in and out of relationships, and I enjoyed Dr. Kate's concept of The Love Cycle -- a series of relationship stages we go in and out of over our lifetime. Thinking about my relationships in that way was very helpful. This book is really a primer -- outlining the basics for how to enjoy every relationship stage -- from finding someone, to making the relationship work, to solving the problems, and if necessary, to starting over again. Dr. Kate's insights are realistic and refreshing. She is a psychologist-matchmaker with a fascinating background, and she certainly has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to us. Yet her cheerful, supportive and straightforward style makes the book easy to digest, and her practical tips are easy to read and remember. It's obvious that Dr. Kate knows what she's talking about, and I enjoyed learning from her. In my opinion, this book is great for everyone. A+++

This book is very informative and useful. I have certainly been in and out of relationships, and I enjoyed Dr. Kate's concept of The Love Cycle -- a series of relationship stages we go in and out of over our lifetime. Thinking about my relationships in that way was very helpful. This book is really a primer -- outlining the basics for how to enjoy every relationship stage -- from finding someone, to making the relationship work, to solving the problems, and if necessary, to starting over again. Dr. Kate's insights are realistic and refreshing. She is a psychologist-matchmaker with a fascinating background, and she certainly has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to us. Yet her cheerful, supportive and straightforward style makes the book easy to digest, and her practical tips are easy to read and remember. It's obvious that Dr. Kate knows what she's talking about, and I enjoyed learning from her. In my opinion, this book is great for everyone. A+++

As a divorced woman, I have been around awhile and have my own observations about life. So I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book. It truly is a book for anyone who has ever been in a relationship or who ever wants to be. Reading Dr. Kate's communication, marriage and divorce chapters brought back memories of life with my ex, and I was able to better understand what happened between us and why. I loved the communication and compatibility quizzes, and her techniques for how to grieve more efficiently. There's even a chapter on Happiness and Relationships and another on Starting Over. I wish I had read this book when I was first divorced -- I could have saved myself a lot of grief! If anyone wants to find and keep a good relationship, or if you're trying to survive a breakup or divorce, this is the book for you!

S. Domino, Oakbrook, IL

Michael P. McGarry has provided the necessary and useful lists of essays on all 6 of the Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks, edited by Joseph Campbell. I only wish to add a few comments on Volume 6 since I finished reading all of the essays in this volume today.
There is a good amount of information by Gilles Quispel in his 37 page essay "Gnostic Man: The Doctrine of Basilides" and in the impressive 68 page essay "The Concept of Redemption in Manichaeism" by Henri-Charles Putch. However, the literary prize in my opinion goes to Erich Neumann for his wonderful 41 page essay "Mystical Man." This is a distinguished piece of essay writing, worthy of an Emerson. It is the only essay that is wholly Jungian in approach, and he does a magnificent job of presenting the concept of mysticism in strictly Jungian terms. He proposes man as "homo mysticus" for whom the mystical experience is not something distant or rare but a part of the normal human experience. "The reality of this encounter is one of the fundamental facts of man's existence . . ." I found Neumann's essay to be very inspiring, which is something one does not often find in academic papers of these kinds. To me, it was worth the price of the entire book.

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 3, "Man and Time". The twelve papers include: Erich Neumann, "Art and Time"; Henri-Charles Puech, "Gnosis and Time"; Gilles Quispel, "Time and History in Patristic Christianity"; Louis Massignon, "Time in Islamic Thought"; Henry Corbin, "Cyclical Time in Mazdaism and Ismailism"; Mircea Eliade, "Time and Eternity in Indian Thought"; Carl Jung, "On Synchronicity"; Hellmut Wilhelm, "The Concept of Time in the Book of Changes"; Helmuth Plessner, "On the Relation of Time to Death"; Max Knoll, "Transformations of Science in Our Age"; Adolf Portmann, "Time in the Life of the Organism"; and G. van der Leeuw, "Primordial Time and Final Time."

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 5, "Man and Transformation". The eleven papers include: Mircea Eliade, "Mystery and Spiritual Regeneration in Extra-European Religions"; Fritz Meier, "The Transformation of Man in Mystical Islam"; Henry Corbin, "Divine Epiphany and Spiritual Birth in Ismailian Gnosis"; Paul Tillich, "The Importance of New Being for Christian Theology"; Daisetz T. Suzuki, "The Awakening of a New Consciousness in Zen"; Ernst Benz, "Theogony and the Transformation of Man in Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schilling"; Lancelot Law Whyte, "The Growth of Ideas"; Jean Daniélou, "The Dove and the Darkness in Ancient Byzantine Mysticism"; Adolf Portmanm "Metamorphosis in Animals: The Transformations of the Individual and the Type"; Heinrich Zimmer, "Death and Rebirth in the Light of India"; and G. van der Leeuw, "Immortality."

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 2, "The Mysteries". The fourteen papers include: Paul Masson-Oursel, "The Indian Theories of Redemption in the Frame of the Religions of Salvation" and "The Doctrine of Grace in the Religious Thought of India"; Walter F. Otto, "The Meaning of the Eleusinian Mysteries"; Carl Kerényi, "The Mysteries of the Kabeiroi"; Walter Wili, "The Orphic Mysteries and the Greek Spirit"; Paul Schmitt, "The Ancient Mysteries in the Society of Their Time, Their Transformation and Most Recent Echoes"; Georges Nagel, "The `Mysteries' of Osiris in Ancient Egypt"; Jean de Manasce, "The Mysteries and the Religion of Iran"; Fritz Meier, "The Mystery of the Ka'ba: Symbol and Reality in Islamic Mysticism"; Max Pulver, "Jesus' Round Dance and Crucifixion According to the Acts of St. John"; Hans Leisegang, "The Mystery of the Serpent"; Julius Baum, "Symbolic Representations of the Eucharist"; Carl Jung, "Transformation Symbolism in the Mass"; and Hugo Rahner, "The Christian Mystery and the Pagan Mysteries."

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 4, "Spiritual Disciplines". The twelve papers include: Heinrich Zimmer, "On the Significance of the Indian Tantric Yoga"; Erwin Rouselle, "Spiritual Guidance in Contemporary Taoism"; Theodor-Wilhelm Danzel, "The Psychology of Ancient Mexican Symbolism"; John Laynard, "The Malekulan Journey of the Dead"; Carl Kerényi, "Man and Mask"; Martin Buber, "Symbolic and Sacramental Existence in Judaism"; Friedrich Heiler, "Contemplation in Christian Mysticism"; Maw Pulver, "The Experience of Light in the Gospel of St. John, in the `Corpus hermeticum', in Gnosticism, and the Eastern Church"; Fritz Meier, "The Spiritual Man in the Persian Poet Attar"; Rudolf Bernoulli, "Spiritual Development as Reflected in Alchemy and Related Disciplines"; Carl Jung, "Dream Symbols of the Individual Process"; and M. C. Cammerloher, "The Position of Art in the Psychology of Our Time".