New York Books

I came of age as a homo in Boston circa 1987-1991.

Cyclizen is the best account of the political, sexual, and social fulcrum for 20 something gays in New York at that time. Sex and empowerment were in the air and Provenzano captures both in this novel. A great read that includes generous helpings of the events and flavor of the time and believable accounts of the romantic and erotic adventures of Kent a complex but likeable protagonist and narrator. Provenzano also pulls off a novel that has substance and graphic sexual encounters. Highly recommended.

"Cyclizen" is something of a sequel to "Monkey Suits" and continues on the theme of a rather ordinary guy who was swept into AIDS activism. Kent is a peripheral member of ACT-UP, but a more worldly person than the protagonist of "Monkey Suits". The book deals directly and sensitively with the difficulties of sexual relationships between gay men, especially where their HIV statuses differ. It also deals with effort to come to terms with the kind of relationships that a gay man may seek, although this is never fully resolved, much as many men never really figure this out (or they choose a sort of freedom that isn't entirely freeing, as is the case here). Kent seems to enjoy the jailhouse hookups as much as any other aspect of activism and the book captures the varied motives that brought people into ACT-UP and kept them involved. As such, it will disappoint those who want an elegy on a past era of engaged activism.

"Cyclizen" has gotten far less press than "Monkey Suits" or "PINS", which seems odd to me. Structurally, it is a much better written book than Provenzano's two previous efforts. He uses a straight forward first person narrative and builds that character more fully than the poorly developed Lee of "Monkey Suits". It seemed apparent that Lee was underdeveloped as a way for readers to impose some of themselves on the character and let the story build around him--unfortunately, it just seemed like weak character development to me. The "Wall Street" subplot of "Cyclizen" is the most poorly developed aspect of the story, although it helps provide a narrative that comes to a less rushed and neatly tied ending than "PINS" or "Monkey Suits". Given its brief length, this is more of a novella than a novel and this form may be better for Provenzano, who seemed to treat his other two books like short stories in terms of resolving their plots.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable read. It realistically captures the middle period of AIDS activism and provides a perspective on gay men's relationships. It continues Provenzano's exploration of characters who aren't quite the usual gay lit guys, which is one reason why I look forward to what ever he does next.

Written in a seat-of-the-pants tenor, "Cyclizen" evokes the mood and tone of the times in which it is set. In a basic, sort of scruffy narrative, he tells a very sweet story in the context of a time when a movement was gaining its footing and becoming a "community."

The backdrop of activism, the journey through the edges of Gordon Gekko's Wall Street, the exploration of feelings captured, recaptured, sought after and lost all come together in a narrative that is compellingly evocative; especially if you were around, during those times...

There are some powerful moments, articulated throughout the book; and the end was, to me, quite moving. It won't be moving, though, if you go right to the last pages; you must READ THE BOOK!

So buy it. Read it. Keep Provenzano fed.

While Cyclizen is the third novel by Jim Provenzano, it's the first novel of his I've read. Written in a first-person narrative (a writing style I enjoy immensely), it's set in New York City in 1992. Gay activism, such as ACT UP and Queer Nation, were at their peak and the start of the "greed is good" Wall Street days.

Kent, the protagonist, becomes a bike messenger, and with that he recounts his adventures -- sex, friendships, and even gets wrapped up in the "greed is good" Wall Street of the day. One of aspects of first-person writing, fiction or non-fiction, is the writer can fully explain what's really going through the character's mind. I know what Kent is thinking about more fully when he is by himself or interacting with the other players in his life.

Cyclizen is mean to be an entertaining read without hitting the reader over the head with a specific point (or issue). Kent's passion about his activism is apparent, but it is his own, not meant to "teach a lesson" to the audience.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an example of gay fiction that isn't heavy or moralistic, but simply a good novel!

Cyclizen is another stylistic departure for one of my favorite gay fiction writers.



While it's a far veer away from "Pins" (there aren't any teenagers or wrestles), it seems a good follow-up to "Monkey Suits," which had its flaws, but focused on the same time and setting. This seems to be the downtown version.



"Cyclizen" is much more personal; a first-person telling leaves you wondering less about the main character, who provides a lot of personal details, and more about the wider world of activism and bike messengering he inhabits. New York itself becomes a character.



I got a lot of poetic passages, some sexually explicit yet written with a motivation, a why, why his hot ex-boyfriend activist clone dumped him, and why Kent is hesitant to connect fully with Ness, who could be his true love. All of this is told with a wry combination of humor and bluntness.



His affair with Sheets, the closeted marketing guy with a scheme, embodies the 80s corporate gay white guy. It's interesting to get his naive perspective to counter Kent's almost cynical tone about his years spent in ACT UP.



This was a breeze to read, with action, politically charged sex, and a bit of old mythological stuff woven in, too. I look forward to reading it again on a hot beach.

Eric Gutierrez has written an original and important book. The odd-couple pairing of Kurtis Blow and the Reverend Timothy Holder of Trinity Episcopal Church in the south Bronx is a scoop any journalist would drool over--and the author, an accomplished journalist, does this story proud. But Gutierrez also brings another element to his narrative: a keen sense of the spiritual and scriptural precedents for Father Timothy's mission. The result is a fascinating and provocative narrative, much more interesting than most readers will expect and much more profound than its scoopworthy subject matter initially suggests. Highly recommended.

Not a hip-hop fan and not interested for a variety of reasons? Then all the more reason to pick this book up. I learned about the origins of hip- hop and the accompaning culture and like many of the characters in the book, I made peace with certain aspects of hip-hop and continue to be perplexed by others. Certainly the read is a mind opening and balanced account of the struggling sub-culture of religious hip-hop to reclaim its roots. Gutierrez's writing is a refreshing look through all eyes focused on the illusive prize.

Not so much in the born-again sense but in the living-in-the-now sense, this book chronicles a specific rebirth of organized religion, with all the disorganization, mess, and glory it entailed. This story is complex and multi-sided, and the writer possess an admirable (and humbling) ability to listen and record. Most writers would be injecting their own feelings and opinions everywhere, but this author listens. His attention to detail and nuance is wonderful. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. That's rare.

Fascinating story full of big personalities. Whether you are into hip-hop, or not, the story of the people in Disciples of the Street will appeal to you. I really enjoyed this book!

I came to this book not expecting much but found the characters rendered in complex and fascinating emotional colors. God--and love--comes from the most unexpected places and faith seems that much stronger when it springs up in a weed-strewn, neglected, drug-fueled community. Great read!

To read this book reveals not only plenty of interesting and quite often surprising information on fashions past and current but its text and pictures are highly complementary. In addition a lot of the provided information gives insight into social structures of the centuries referred to - and once more it is proven that fashion is one of the quickest instruments to testify social and historical changes to the world.

Harold Koda's Extreme Beauty surveys concepts of fashion and beauty. Koda considers the evolving, changing strategies of beauty around the world, focussing on different body parts and how they are accented and displayed through varying uses of clothing and cultural perception. Black and white and color photos of unusual fashion choices and styles make for some eye-opening insights.

This is a beautiful book illustrating the different ways cultures reform the body and for what reasons. It is just like actually visiting an exhibit at a major museum. But this you get to take home and enjoy over and over. The photos are plentiful, full color, large and professional. The text is not overly scholarly, but informative and intelligent. It does leave me wanting to delve deeper into the subject intellectually.

Sentient humans with brains as well as bodies have always been fascinated by the way we adorn ourselves and why. Once we can get past the cultural anthropology of fashion, and the fads that make it a billion-dollar world industry, we can dig down to discover the roots of historical and current adorned beauty, and EXTREME BEAUTY does this . . . beautifully.
It is pleasing--in an era in which physical beauty and adornment typified by fashion have been roundly rejected by most of the jeans-wearing public--to find a book that lets beauty out and helps us exercise our sense of mystery and wonder, based in no small part on human sexuality and attraction. Harold Koda (curator of the Costume Institute at New York's Met) has mounted a show and created a book with marvelous insights and passion, and the illustrations are wondrous--consider, as a case in point, Thiery Mugler's 'Chimere,' with its savage eroticism.
One could quibble with Koda's arbitrary division of the body into 'neck and shoulders,' 'chest,' 'waist,' 'hips' and 'feet,'
and his exclusion of the fascinating face/head/hair perplex, and the hands, with their magical touch and allure. But this book and its illustrations will become a benchmark by which human adornment is judged, and is a keeper of power and importance.

Extreme Beauty is a wonderful book that celebrates the Metropolitan's equally brilliant exhibit about fashion and it's different preoccupations with the body. The exhibit was magnificent, and the book truly honors the tone and feeling of it, while being extremely informative in it's own right. The book is divided into different chapters such as neck and shoulders, waist, chest, etc. Each chapter features photos of the garments displayed in the original exhibit, as well as additional historical drawings and photographs of the various fashions and cultural trends that have celebrated the parts of the body. And, as promised in the title, the book explores the cultural foundations of bodily transformation and mutilation(?) through everything from extreme corsetry, [..] footwear and peircing to the tribal women who use metal rings to actually elongate their vertebrae. Harold Koda's insightful and meticulously researched commentary is just the icing on the cake. This is a must for any fashion library, but also of great interest to non-fashionistas.

Well written and amazing to read. Author captured the moment and took you there. Book was flooded with facts.

I would highly recommend this book, it is not only for the history buffs.
If you do enjoy history, you will love the author's details.

I very good book that gives the reader an interesting twist on what was believed to be gospel. The author's research is convincing.

An awesome book....definitely a different view .... a must read for anyone seeking to truely understand Benedict Arnold's story.

Who would have thought that what was assumed by the average student of American history to be an open and shut case against Benedict Arnold could be brought into question. And, furthermore, to do so with such detailed facts woven into a rather gripping novel format. Mr. WIlczak has laid out a compelling case that Arnold was not a traitor but a collaborator with George Washington to ultimately fool the British. This book could be the basis of an excellent movie.

This book expresses a thoroughly researched, fresh approach to one of history's most infamous legends. When I began to read the book I felt my feelings regarding Benedict Arnold could not be swayed. The author, however, through meticulous use of timeline, documented fact, and letters of many of the involved, opened my eyes to the possibility that Arnold may have been the protaganist in a great scheme to free the colonies and help create the United States. I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks the truth instead of the commonly handed down history stories we have been fed since childhood. AAAAA+++++

Juan Gonzalez was the first journalist to grasp the impact of the environmental disaster of 9/11. His article on October 26, 2001 said what some of us already sensed: Contrary to the 'good news' being sold like sugarcoated poison by government officials who wanted Wall Street back up and running, the air was dense with astronomical levels of asbestos, lead, dioxin, mercury and hundreds of unpronouncable contaminants including some that had never previously existed.

Fallout is in this tradition of groundbreaking journalism.

Unfortunately Gonzalez is so ahead of the pack that when I showed his article to my son and exhusband, whom I was trying to convince that our son should not remain at Stuyvesant High School, four blocks north of the World Trade Center, they dismissed it as a red herring.

Fallout is a compelling account of this environmental disaster which may ultimately claim more lives than the attacks themselves.

Jenna Orkin
World Trade Center Environmental Organization

Finally someone has the guts to print the truth about the toxic air at Ground Zero. For those of us who were there and who are experiencing the medical consequences of having been exposed to these toxic chemicals, Gonzalez's book explains in understandable language why we are sick and what we are likely to experience in the future. Americans need to know the truth, especially the thousands of men and women from around the country who volunteered their time at Ground Zero and are likely to suffer the medical consequences of having done so, either now or in the future. Fallout is a must read for all Americans.

This is an extremely disturbing book. Perhaps because along with the well-documented facts concerning the unprecedented toxic environmental fallout from 9/11, it is the shocking realization that it's not just the NYC and federal goverment cover-up of this story -- it is the citizens themselves collectively turning away from the horrible reality of this disaster.

The national media has not pursued the obvious leads -- the common sense questions -- but Mr. Gonzales has. And the logical conclusion of this story, in the not-too-distant future, is a public health nightmare that will have the media self-righteously condeming Giuliani and Whitman in hindsight as bearing responsibility for perhaps thousands more deaths.

The story from 9/11 that the media immediately created was of the heroes and victims. We remember them, and try to forget the horror of the collapsing towers. But if we are a truely a courageous nation, we will look clearly and not turn away from the terrible reality that ground zero represents. That is what I think this book is really about -- there are facts and consequences of 9/11 that have not yet been dealt with. And closing our eyes and wishing them away simply won't work.

Americans are being deceived. In this stunning piece of investigative reporting which should be awarded a Pulitzer Prize, Juan Gonzalez reveals the horrible truths about the environmental impacts of the 9-11 disaster. Asbestos abounded. The many heroes who helped to clean and console may face excruciating deaths thanks to suppressed and inaccurate information.

Our sacred institutions are rotten. Every American citizen should read this brief but incendiary work which speaks truth to power unflinchingly. If we do not quickly institute major changes which make our leaders and representatives truly responsible for telling the truth to the American public, however unpleasant, we may be facing the end of American democracy as we have known it and believed in it.

Where are the Thomas Paines and Thomas Jeffersons of the twenty-first century? We desperately need your voices and leadership!

I live 5 blocks north of Ground Zero and have attended hearings and forums and read hundreds of articles, studies memos and reports about the post 9/11 environmental issues in Lower Manhattan. But my jaw dropped when I read Juan Gonzalez' book - here are the missing pieces, the things I'd heard but was never able to find in print - and lots of insider information that only someone as dedicated to this story as he was could have. It is a clear, readable summary of the case against the EPA, OSHA, NYC DEP - and, de facto, an indictment of all those newspapers whose reportage consistently minimized the issue. Not since the Vietnam War has there been so much media "disinformation."

If you live or work in lower Manhattan and/or have any interest in the true story of how our government knowingly and intentionally jepordized the lives and health of the rescue workers, residents and workers downtown after 9/11 while ensuring that their own health was well protected, this book is a "must read."

Juan Gonzalez is to be commended for his courage in bucking his editors to continue to cover this story.

I have read lots of Joanna Hurwitz's books and i must say this is one of her best. Haddasa [Dossi for short] has nobody but her sister Ruthi and her friend Mimy. Dossi 's parents have passed out and so has her sister . Dossi and Ruthi live in a crowded tenament with just one room too do everything : Eat , Sleap , Sit , Stand ....... Ruthi works in a sewing factory. The tenament smells of sweat and OF COURES They dont have a single toy. When Ruthi signs Dossi up for a Fresh Air Fund ,Dossi objects . But when Dossi starts to like , even befriend the family she is staying with ..............

Dossi is a poor girl who lives in the city.Her parents and younger sister,Velvel have passed away.Dossi's sister,Ruthi is the one who will take care of them.She works in the factory.When Ruthi signs Dossi up to be sent to the country,on a Fresh Air Fund vacation,Dossi is terrified and surprised.Soon,the day had come to go to the country.Dossi packed her bags and brought along a library book which was a new one.She and her friend,Mimi, didn't tell the librarian that Dossi was taking it away.Dossi prommises Ruthi that she will send a postcard to her as soon as she reaches her destination.In the country,she meets the gentile Meade family.Nell and Emma are around Dossi's age.Mr. Meade and Mrs. Meade also have two sons,Timothy and Edward.Nell chats nineteen to a dozen.Emma doesn't.There are a lot of things that Dossi hasn't seen.Like fireflies,cows,two yolks in one egg and many other things.She learns about a man named Snowflake Bentley.He is mad about snowflakes.Snowflake Bentley also takes photos of snowflakes not people.Dossi likes Nell but she wants to befriend Emma too.But Emma treats her like if she is not there.Will Dossi be able to befriend Emma before her holiday in the country ends?

Haddassah (Dossi for short) is a Jewish girl lives in a cramped apartment in New York City. Her sister (Ruthi) signs her up for a Fresh Air Fund which sends poor children too the country for 2 weeks in the summer. Dossi leaves excited and yet afraid to go on vacation with a family she doesn't know in Vermont for 2 weeks. She is stunned by things in the country and doesn't even know what fireflies are. This is one fault that I found with the book, she seems to know NOTHING of the country, now I can believe she's never milked a cow, but some of the things she had never seen are unbelievable. Anyway during the book she sprouts friendship and learns new things of her trip. She meets new people and learns what the lovely countryside is like. This is a really fast paced book, you should be able to finish it within an hour or so, but nonetheless it is worth reading.

This is a good story about a girl who spends a few weeks with a family that is very different from her own. Dossi learns other people have alot to offer her and she has alot to offer in a friendship,too. Hurwitz is a wonderful author; she makes the characters and situation come alive.

This was a great book. It is about Dossi, a poor Jewish orphan from New York City who is able to spend two weeks in August of 1910 in the Vermont countryside through the Fresh Air Fund. Dossi learns about country life from her hosts' two daughters, and Dossi in turn teaches them about city life. I highly reccomend this book.

It is simply one of the most inspiring and novel books ever written about film production: Jean-Pierre Geuens' FILM PRODUCTION THEORY. This is not a "how to" book, it is a book that raises strategic questions about what we perceive as standard filmmaking practices and accepted aesthetic (professional) norms. What Geuens sets out to do is to open the potential filmmaker's mind to alternate ways of "skinning the cat" or alternate approaches to filmmaking from various significant aspects: screenwriting, composition, staging, sound, editing and even direction. The book is literally a testament to the benefits (and the pain) of thinking differently- of going against the grain and standing your ground. Geuens reveals the real reason anyone should go to film school and it is not to make a delightful reel of your work that imitates hollywood production values and conceits... He reminds us that what we love about certain filmmakers was born from those particular individual's unwillingness to conform- to challenged the pre-existing notions; so therefore this book inspires you to challenge, to explore, to take risks and more importantly to appreciate the risks and challenges taken by others. It is the kind of book that could be read simultaneously with any "standard" required film production book. Geuens repeats the rules and then reveals to you how others have broken the rules and still made provocative,groundbreaking and classic work. For graduate students, Geuens puts various thinkers (Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Nietzche and Bazin) to great use and allows their thoughts to be easily understood in the context of film production. For the practicing (struggling) filmmaker, Geuens renews your faith in the differences between your work and "hollywood", your work and the conventional, the unique experiences of your soul and the "system". The lignt that permeates Geuens work is that he forces you to decide whether you are trying to really make films or trying," to use filmmaking to secure the easy life." (pg. 256) All in all this was a compelling, throughly engaging and necessary read for anyone interested in film, films studies, film production and film criticism.

I picked up this book thinking it would be a dry treatise about lighting and camera direction etc. But having not attended film school I thought it'd be good information to lay under my practical film Production experience.

...and it certainly opened my eyes.

This is a book for filmmakers, film critics, and those with a deep interest in film.

It does NOT tell you HOW to make a movie. It provides food for thought about the major production decisions that the Producer and/or Director considers when making a motion picture.

It is an extremely "thinky" book. Moored in the French New Wave, American Zoetrope and to a lesser extent Spanish and Italian cinema. It praises experimentation and asks the reader to consider the effect of everything that they will put into the film. Likewise, the author derides "Hollywood" for sacrificing the potential of the motion picture as art form in order to accumulate as much money as can be made. While this feeling is prevelant throughout the text, it is refreshingly not overbearing.

The book reads like a series of lectures about film theory on such topics as Film School, Writing, Directing, Framing, Lighting, Sound and Editing. In this format it is digestible in small chunks and allows the reader to process what they have read before taking on the next topic.

As an Independent Producer, I found the points in this book to be worthy of consideration as I develop, plan, shoot, and finish my projects. I don't agree with everything he says, but he says it in such a way as to help me understand the impact of my decisions (e.g. to shoot on location vs. on a soundstage). I could easily see myself skimming through this text before any project to help me frame my approach. This is as much a testament to its depth and density as it is to its worth.

It is a new century, a new reality... Hail the new art form! one that will only 100 years of life awaits to be fully and beautifully exploited by new kinds of filmmakers, artists, philosophers, dreamers and siners!

This is the one book you need to read to fully understand the capabilities of Cinema as a true art form, not an obscene business.

Thank you Mr. Geuens, blessings to your creatively anarchic mind.

BUY THIS BOOK!!!

First I thought what could this book tell me what I didn't know already. But then I realized this is not just about filmmaking, this book is about you and me and what we call life. It's a story of looking behind the curtain and seeing the wizzard but not giving up your dream. Deeply inspiring and ultimatly insightful, this is the one text everybody who cares about movies should read. I read this book in a day and I hope Mr. Geuens will continue to write. So fasten your seatbelt and be prepared to see your preconceived ignorance shatter into a thousand little pieces and out of it will rise a new outlook on life and the movies.

Film Production Theory is an exciting and important book. Most importantly, the book outlines what is at stake aesthetically and philosophically in what appear to be merely technical considerations that enter into the making of film. Unlike many other works that focus upon the finished product, or, upon the personalities behind the product, Geuen's book focuses upon the techniques of cinema, with an eye to clarify what are the assumptions about the nature of cinema that are implicit in those techniques. For example, with respect to screenwriting Geuens points out that the standardized approach to screenwriting, in which dialogue is the most prominent feature and camera movement and angles are for the most part deliberately left out, implies that film is about story first and image second and also implies a less than fully collaborative relationship between writers and directors. Of course some writers and directors do collaborate very effectively -- but in doing so they are going against a trend that is implicit in the mainstream traditions of filmmaking, traditions that make it difficult for filmmakers to, say, let images and settings be the impetus for a creative and improvisational approach to telling stories. In addition to screenwriting, Geuens gives very helpful and detailed analyses of the nature of film school, the techniques of directing and lighting and cinematography and sound and editing. In all this, he is not simply aiming to criticize the way films usually get made, or the techniques that get applied to filmmaking, but primarily to show that such techniques pretend to be the best and only professional way to do things when in fact there have been remarkable films made differently and with far different results. In fact, the first few chapters of the book are attempts to understand why and how the "Hollywood system" came to be what it has become, what impact it has had culturally, and along the way to consider and highlight paths that were never or rarely taken. Sometimes Geuens can get a bit heavy handed and he is certainly not without his own strong views, but the book as a whole works to open up and clarify and illuminate the process of filmmaking. He is extremely well read in philosophy and critical theory and film theory, and draws upon ideas from people like Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty and Deleuze and many others, but never simply in the form of obscure name dropping. His references to such thinkers almost never fail to be both extremely helpful on the nature of film and quite clear in its summary of the often obscure thoughts of difficulty philosophers. The book is both an exceptional guide for the aspiring filmmaker and a powerful complement to works of film theory that focus on the product rather than the process. I consider the book the most important book on film I have read in a very long time, and can't recommend it highly enough.

Darcie Denkert has given us a gem. Her lavish book with its incredible photographs tells Broadway and Hollywood tales with purpose. She discusses the influence of Broadway on filmmaking and the all-important connection between the two art forms in highly intelligent and most enjoyable prose. Her knowledge of the genres is huge, yet she lays it out in a natural way, never inserting herself into the stories, although she no doubt has many of her own across a distinguished career. Her passion for the subject is palpable. The people and places come alive in the telling.

This book is required reading for all budding theater impresarios and filmmakers.

You might expect that a work filled with such brilliant photography in the coffee-table sized format to be all fluff. Wrong, Ladies and Gentlemen. This work actually has something to say and does it in an intelligent fashion! Not for just anyone, but if you truly Love the American Musical it is a Must Have. Since I teach Musicals, both Broadway and Hollywood, this is a welcome reference work. Besides the photos are wonderful and many not seen elsewhere.

I couldn't agree more with the other two reviews. This is a marvelous book that any musical and/or movie musical fan will devour. And the design, layout and pics are all sensational. If only "A Chorus Line" had been included, the book would be perfect. (Maybe Denkert was precluded from writing about it for some reason.) In any event, this is a reader-friendly (not to mean dumb) coffee table book that won't break your wrists or the bank.

Being an observer of plays and movies with a particular interest in musicals I've long been puzzled by the difficulty there seems to be with moving a musical from Broadway to Hollywood. Why does a smash hit like Gypsy, sometimes called 'The best damn musical ever,' basically flop on screen?

Darcie Denkert is an expert on both Broadway and Hollywood. In this book she has carefully researched a series of the most famous musicals that were made into movies. Sometimes, like with Gypsy, the play simply doesn't translate into the big screen. The scene at the train station, for instance when Rose is shifting her attentions to Louise after June left in the play works well. The train station doesn't look like a train station, it looks like a set. The orchestra is visible, the song works. In the movie, at a real train station, you don't just burst into song. And the stars, great movie stars, just didn't fit.

This is the kind of information that only an insider with a foot into each camp could get and then put into a book. Referring to Gypsy again, the author also tells us how the stories got written, who did what, how did the music get written, what did they do in the screenplay to adapt it?

The book covers 6 big plays: My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Gypsy, The Sound of Music, Cabaret, and Chicago, and 8 smaller ones. This format gives all the space that is needed to completely tell the story. Gypsy, for instance gets 38 pages, and they're big pages. To we outsiders, not plugged into either Broadway or Hollywood, this is an absolutely fascinatin book.

darcie denkert has done a fabulous job talking about the great shows of broadway and their translation to the screen. i love this book--the illustrations are insightful and the text is very well thought out. it should be a great addition to any college course on musicals.

it is also a great thing to see a woman's voice come through on this subject that is dominated my many great writers such as ethan morrden and mark steyn.

go, darcie!

Reynolds uses a panoramic camera for the views in this book. Whether one cares for this sort of photo with itsunconventional proportions may be a matter of taste. The subjects represented are fairly conventional for this sort of picture book, and several similar volumes about the Finger Lakes are available. Little textual information is provided. On the other hand, Reynolds is a photographer of the first rank, with a good eye and technical command of the medium. The book is handsome. For this reader, it is less rewarding, however, than his subsequent "Wine Tour of the Finger Lakes," where the pictorial subjects are less predictable, while the informative text by Grady Wells makes the content more substantive. That one is a full five stars!

I live in the Finger Lakes area (Elmira) and I have either driven, hiked, or bicycled around all the lakes and sailed across several. This is a wonderful piece of work and all scenes are easily recognized. A great compilation.

The pictures are beautiful. Mr. Reynolds is a top knotch photographer. You can tell much time and effort was put into this book.

As a previous resident of the Finger Lakes area, I can personally vouch for the beauty of the area. Mr. Reynolds has captured it as well as any human being can capture the glory of nature's beauty. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a taste for looking at beautiful places, beautifully photographed. Mr. Reynolds has presented an excellent talent with this beautiful book. I look forward to his next effort.

This book reminds all of us who live in the Finger Lks, how beautiful this area is, and how lucky we are to live here. GREAT JOB KRIS!

All I could say when I was finished was "why didn't I see that coming?" A great story by a very talented writer. I was going to give this 4 stars out of anger, because Ferrenz didn't give me MORE!!!

One writer to another -- Great job Barb!

If you've ever thought of being a horror writer, or if you ARE a horror writer, I think you'll really enjoy this book. I'm a struggling writer myself, and I couldn't believe how much I identified with the protagonist and how real the conventions seemed. The strains our solitary avocation put on a marriage seemed too familiar, too.

Since I don't normally read mysteries, I can't comment on how well it fits the format of the genre, but I will say that it held my interest, moved swiftly, and didn't disappoint.

In Edgewater, Maryland, Mary Kate Flaherty has problems with her husband Chuck and her two children over the time she spends on writing and selling her novels as well as their belief she writes trashy erotica vampire tales. Known as the Queen of Vampires with the alias Theodora Zed, her family members also resent her attending conventions though that is what sells the books and buys their luxuries like designer sneakers.

Currently, in her Theodora persona, she attends Bloodcon in Atlanta where wannabe writer Randall Valentine disparages her work as trash in a public panel. Not long afterward, her shoe is found near the corpse of Randall, who has two small puncture wounds in his neck. The police question Theodora with only fellow writer Connor Drake, who has loved her forever, on her side. When a second murder similar to the first "Vampire Killer" slaying occurs in New York while Theodora is in town, the author knows she must risk her life to uncover the identity of a murderer even as her marriage is collapsing.

Though the identity of the "Vampire Killer' seems unreasonable and Mary Kate's husband is an idiot, WORSE THAN DEATH is a pleasant amateur sleuth tale. The story line allows the audience to see behind the scenes at a convention and the impact on a family when a member attends a lot of these. The two bites are cleverly explained and the heroine's willingness to risk her life to solve the case makes for a fine reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

Worse Than Death is a glimpse into the bizarre subculture of the devotees and the wannabe authors of the horror writers convention circuit. The protagonist of this interesting and well-plotted story of deceit, infidelity and homicidal pathology is an anonymous mother and housewife, Mary Kate. She haunts the meat counter at the Farm Fresh supermarket and strip mall pharmacy blighting the tranquil tobacco country of her southern Maryland suburb. But Mary Kate bangs out pulp vampire novels in the upstairs chambers of her old house. The reader is warned early in the story of the strains in her marriage. She has kissed her husband, hugged her children and flown off to a few too many conventions. There she squeezes into thin black leather and balances on stiletto heels and joins her fellow struggling authors. As vampire author Theodora Zed she stokes the fantasies of the fans who swarm like flies to themes of sex and murder.

Barbara Ferrenz crafts a very creditable story as neck-punctured bodies follow her to city after city. There is no shortage of suspects. Her husband has grown distant. A former priest pilgrimages against her brand of Satanism. Her fans only just contain their adolescent sexuality as they gaze on Theodore's tightly wrapped chest. Her best friend's boyfriend lusts for her, protecting her even as they are stalked by an unknown killer.

The story is a quick moving engagement of the unexpected with the ordinary. In the end everything is as it should be, but nothing is the same.

Mary Kate, also known as Theodora Zed, Queen of the Vampires, is a mid-list writer of vampire romances. Theo promotes her books at weekend horror conventions and bookstore signings, much to the disgust of her husband, who would much rather have a conventional wife, and the embarrassment of her children, whose friends pass around her books at school. For Theo, promotion is just part of the job.

But, when a writer who insulted her at one of her panels turns up dead, though, Theodora has a motive and looks like a suspect. Or perhaps she's being targeted as one of the next victims. The Vampire Killer always seems to know where she is, and strange things keep happening when she and fellow writer Connor are in the vicinity.

This is a fun, fast paced mystery with unexpected twists and turns. The central characters are well drawn and credible. Mary Kate, although perhaps a bit naive, is a woman of integrity, determined to do the right thing no matter what. Descriptions of her circle of friends and acquaintances in the writing and publishing community struck a familiar chord. I am looking forward to reading more books by Barbara Ferrenz.