Journals Books

Crossing the Color Line is a superbly presented collection of stories by Alice Adams, Toni Bambara, and others examine the truth about the color line between blacks and whites, using contemporary stories by novelists to explore the issues and problems. The stories which comprise Crossing The Color Line provide insights more charged than debates and probe issues of politics, class, gender and religion alike.

Stories by Alice Adams, Toni Bambara, and others examine the truth about the color line between blacks and whites, using contemporary stories by novelists to explore the issues and problems. The stories which comprise Crossing the Color Line provide insights more charged than debates and probe issues of politics, class, gender and religion alike.

I could not put this book down till it was over and even then I read ti again! his first one the gypsies was jsutas interesting. He lets you in to the world of the mysterios Gypsies and let's you know how real they are. Fastinating info!

Jan Yoors was the son of a Flemish stained glass artist. At a young age he ran away with a troupe of Gypsies (more properly, the Rom) who were camping in his Belgian home town. Yoor's parents amazingly accepted his new double life, as Yoors lived on and off with the Rom for many years. His life with his Rom family is covered in his first book "The Gypsies." (which is another must-read.)

"The Gypsies" ends as WWII sweeps over Europe and catches the Rom in its poisoned grasp. Yoors then became an agent of La Resistance, and this book tells, in spare language and deep feeling, what happened to Yoors and his adopted family of Rom. Some of it was so horrific that Yoors can only allude to the events, and his emotions are so deep that we only learn a tiny bit of what must have happened to many of his beloved Rom family. The insight into the deep dedication of the Resistance leaders and fighters is unique.

Do read this book. It is so utterly wonderful that I pass copies of it out to many friends.

Are you inspired by the beauty of book covers? The picture here truly does this book justice. When it arrives, the colors are slightly less purple (see scanned picture) and a little more rose and blue, but still inspiring with a mother-of-pearl glossy sheen and silvery iridescent highlights. Unique features include a memento pouch, like an envelope at the back of the book. The pages are also acid-free.

There is a ribbon page marker, but also an elastic band the keep the book closed. This helps to keep the pages safe if you like to carry a book around in your pocket or purse. I can think of many uses for this book including collecting poetry, quotes or writing your most intriguing thoughts.

I'll be using this book to collect essential oil recipes for the bath. I like collecting oils and then figuring out which scents I like best. This is a perfect book with 176 pages that will give me plenty of room to write recipes for perfumes and bath products. Now I have to find a pen worthy of writing in this beautiful book...

~The Rebecca Review

I purchased this notebook and a Moleskine pocket sized notebook on the same day (I purchased the Moleskine first and found this one later in the day). The Paperblank mini is the same size as the Moleskine but has about 20 less pages, the leaves are slightly thicker, and the lines on each page are slightly wider. Otherwise, the features are the same: They both have a momento pocket and an elastic band to keep the books closed.

The biggest difference, however, is that this book is beautiful to the senses. It is beautiful to the touch as well as to the sight. The picture doesn't do it justice. The design on the front cover is an embossed detail of the design on the spine and the back cover. The Moleskine cover, in spite of the hype, feels like vinyl (which I believe it is).

It is a joy to keep a record of my days in this little book.

This book, Cuban Legends, is written by the brother of my Cuban grandmother, Carmen Serra, whose maiden name is Bueno. She has showed me a copy of the book in Spanish, and I have not yet been able to find one written in English. The $45 for the translation would be a good investment to me, the compiler being my great uncle.

Compiled by respected essayist and literary critic Salvador Bueno, and enhanced with illustrations by Siegfried Kaden, Cuban Legends is an anthology of timeless tales reflecting the folklore of Cuba, including stories of the Taino and Siboney (the island's original Native American inhabitants); Afro-Cuban tales; and tales that reflect the Hispanic, African, and indigenous ways of life that blend to make the nation of Cuba what it is today. A most enjoyable collection of stories that comprise an engaging and eye-opening tribute and celebration of cultural legacy, Cuban Legends is also available in a hard cover edition.

Compiled and edited in 1889 by Ednah Cheney, this book offers an interesting look into the life of Louisa May Alcott. Cheney intersperses the letters and journal entries with some biographical information. The Alcotts were very poor and lived off the money Louisa made from her writing; Alcott keeps track of how much money she gets for each story, even after the success of "Little Women". Unfortunately, the amount of time she spent writing (up to 14 hours a day), plus the illness she caught after nursing civil war soldiers took a toll on her and many of her letters, plus many of the journal entries mention her various illnesses and describe how she had to take morphine to help her sleep.

Fans of "Little Women" will be most interested in the segments regarding that book and may be surprised to find out that Alcott thought the book was boring. It's hard to believe she really meant that because it's clear from her letters and journal entries how very biographical "Little Women" is. In fact, Alcott's journal description of Beth's death in real life is used almost word for word in the book. Other elements in "Little Women" are fiction (there was, alas, no real life Professor Bhaer and Alcott included him against her better judgement - she would have preferred Jo remain single, as Alcott herself did) and Teddy was based on a Polish acquaintance, not a next door neighbor. However, the four sisters are based on Louisa and her sisters and the journal entries and letters make you realize how perfectly she caught them on paper.

This is an interesting book about not only a fascinating woman but also a fascinating family. The Alcotts' friends included the Emersons, the Thoreaus and the Hawthornes, all whose influences helped shape Louisa May Alcott's writings. Despite her success, her life was not an easy one and was often filled with sorrow. Yet, despite her sorrow and illnesses, Louise May Alcott's works enchanted children then and now.

Louisa May Alcott, when speaking of herself, writes with humility and grace. Her words are always wise and quietly moving. Her story is rich and engaging. This is an awesome inside view to an amazing woman and author.

The gift of letter-writing unfortunately is becoming a lost art?but not so for author Rebecca
Barlow Jordon. Because she understands that ?letters mingle souls,? she has structured her
new devotional, Daily in Your Presence, as a series of 365 little love letters from God?s heart
to yours. Imagine the joy of opening a personal love note from God every day for a year, that
draws you deeper into His presence, nearer to His heart. Divine love and Scriptural truth are
folded into each missive, hopefully to be tucked deep inside your heart forever. Each letter is
sealed with a meaningful short reflection called ?Simple Truth? that captures the essence of
each reading for easy recall. Daily in Your Presence is guaranteed to take you daily to the
Throne of God where your soul and His will someday mingle eternally.
?Lynn D. Morrissey, author of Seasons of a Woman's Heart & speaker

As the sun inched it's way over the dark hills on the East side of the Sea of Galilee, I sat on the balcony of my hotel room in Tiberius, Israel. I had a camera sitting ready in my lap, waiting for the exact moment deemed perfect for shooting the burst of the sun's rays once they made their grand appearance. In my hands, secured by my fingers, I held Rebecca Barlow Jordan's new book, Daily in Your Presence...and I read from page 19, "My child, sit down in the boat...I made the wind and the sea; they listen and obey My voice. I walk on the clouds, and they thunder their praise. I blink My eyes, and lightning reflects My power. I hold out My hand, and the storms are stilled. So, take My hand, sit down, and relax."

Does it get any better than that? To sit looking out on the water where Jesus walked toward His disciples during a raging storm...the place where He called them to service...the place where He pulled Peter from the water and his own momentary lack of faith? To sit and look out on all that and to read words from the Father's heart, a grateful response, and a simple truth?

Rebecca Barlow Jordan's work will sit next to such classics as God Calling and When I'm On My Knees. Her heartfelt words will remain a part of one of the fondest memories of my life, The Sea of Galilee, Summer 2002.

I love that this book gets you into the action. Sometimes without a little help (such as from this journal) you forget to do the small things that make other peoples and your day a wonderful experience.

A thoughful kindness quote for every day of the year and a set of practical kindness ideas for every major holiday. Each week, you find a guided opportunity to consider the place that some aspect of kindness has in your own life. An invaluable and growth-producing book

This is a great little book. Being familiar with the Daily Word magazine and having read the book "Daily Word: Love, Inspiration, and Guidance for Everyone," I was excited to see this new prayer journal. It has a forty-day theme with poems, articles, inspirational messages, and a place to journal for each day. It has really given me a boost each day, and as I journal I found myself learning more about myself and my God. It doesn't focus on any one particular religion, but on the bond of spirituality that we all share. I highly recommend it!

Forty is one of the important spiritual numbers...one you'll find several times in our Bible. And so a 40 day journal is symbolic. This journal has poems and devotions for each of the 40 days, but most importantly, it has space for your own thoughts with suggestions for journaling subjects if you don't already have your own planned. This is truly constuctive spirituality, and you will be rewarded for it, just through the journaling experience.

Much more interesting than I could have imagined. Written by the author of Robinson Crusoe. If I have my dates correct, Daniel Defoe was about 5 years old when the Great Plague hit London. He wrote this journal when he was 62 years old, and wrote what he recalled of the plague. It obviously left a great impression on him. (He wrote this journal 3 years after he wrote Robinson Crusoe -- again if I have all my dates correct -- he wrote Robinson Crusoe at age 59 years age.) Robinson Crusoe and Journal of the Plague Year are both on Harold Bloom's Western Canon reading list.

In this documentary novel, Defoe sketches poignantly the irrational behaviour of man under extreme circumstances, when death threatens behind every corner of the street.
People turned to fortune-tellers, astrologers or conjurers who deluded them. They became the victims of `doctors' selling `infallible preventive pills'. They `swarmed to a wicked generation of pretenders to magic and black art'.
People were terrified by the force of their imagination and saw representations and appearances in clouds. Their impudence increased by using devilish blasphemous language.
Others risked their lives by stealing and plundering without any regard to the danger of infection.
Man behaved as a mad dog.

The Government encouraged devotion, public prayers, fasting and humiliation to implore the mercy of God to avert the dreadful judgment. `Many a penitent confession was made of crimes long concealed.'
Innumerable religious sects and divisions fought for the souls of the condemned. It was `altar against altar'. The discourses of the religious ministers were full of terror, prophesying evil tidings.
Unfortunately, religion was not the solution: `the best physic against the plague was to run away from it.' People who believed in predestination (`tis the hand of God, there is no withstanding it') and stayed home, were infected too and died by thousands.
For Swift `there was no apparent extraordinary occasion for supernatural operation, it was really propagated by natural means.'

The near view of death reconciled men of good principles one to another.
But as the terror of infection abated, things all returned again to the course they were in before.
More, after the plague, `people, hardened by the danger they had been in, were more wicked and more stupid, more bold and hardened, in their vices and immoralities.'

In this impressive panorama, worth a Breughel or a Hieronymus Bosch, the only weakness is the lack of some kind of plot.

Not to be missed.

This book was a little bit more exciting than the first, My Father's World. The detail in this book is not overlooked by the authors. The characters show strong Christian values and at the same time show weaknesses, as we all have. It makes the characters seem very real and almost concrete. I recommend this book highly! The authors keep the book going, drawing you into it more and more. It was hard to put down! Enjoy!

Michael Phillips and Judith Pella have worked together well to tell the believable story of a girl and her spiritual growth. This book, which immediately follows MY FATHER'S WORLD is one of a series chronicling the life of Corrie Belle Hollister. The inner thoughts and feelings of this young woman are sensitively expressed. One can easily become absorbed in the adventurous tales involving Corrie and her siblings. I would highly recommend this book as a realistic representation of how, with careful guidance and love, a young person can be lead to a close and mature relationship with God. It truly touched and inspired me.