Maine Books

This book is about Jack. The author,Elvira Woodruff,has read the book and admiring the book. This book i great. If you lke mystery books you will like this book. I like this book because it gives you the picture that you can see it in your head. Jack is sleeping in his bed when a ghostly figure was at the end of his bed! Jack found out that he was livivg but the ghost was not.The ghost name was Nathaniel Witherspoon than it said "you're the exactly the kind of boy I need" Jake woke up he found himself in a 150 secret of a ship wreck that clamed many lives including young Nataniel Witherspoons.

Moving from Iowa to Maine would be a devistating blow to me, as it was for ten year old Jack Carlton. Who is viseted by a ghost by the name of Nathaniel. And With the help of the Nathaniel Jack unravles a great mystery of time wich is 150 years old.

The Ghost of Lizard light is about little ghosts. I really like this story becaouse it is funny and sad becaouse the half grown up kide uses his own brother you probly wont late your kids read tis book. But you should ander stand that it is trying totell your kids not to play with stuff laying on the on the ground and not to pick up green glowing things. And to listen to you so I would recommend that you give this book five stars because it is so great and theirs know dout about it. So please give it five stars.

This book is one of the best books i have read. I read it to my classmates and nthey all liked it. They asked me to do this so i am! Like I said It is a great book.

I am in fourth grade and I got the Ghost of Lizard Light out from my library. I wondered how scary it would be. It was just scary enough to make me want to keep reading, but not so scary that I had nightmares. The ghost is really good and I liked that he haunted the lighthouse. I also liked Ned the lizard. I would reccomend this book to any kids who love a good ghost story. I'm going to try the author's mummy book next. Jon in Bridgewater, N.J.

This book is one of those lazy saturday reads, where you lay outside in a hammock and dream of how to live more simply. This book inspires you to live such a life. However, the inspiration comes from wishing that you could have a life in Maine, free from some of the encumberances of the world around you. Sadly, the reality is that most of us don't have the luxury of living a simple life, confined to our mortgages, buying food from the grocery down the street, and wishing that we weren't caught up in the corporate shackle of consumerism just to live. Most people can't affort property on the coastline, and certainly can't afford to live more simply -- their location, poverty, hand-to-mouth daily struggle leaves them no time to wish for a simpler life. Simply because living more simply sometimes takes money to do so. All in all, a thoughtful book and an inspiration to try...

This book is beautiful. It is well-written, and the author put a lot of careful thought into his work.

This book has much to say about simplicity and wanting less and getting more for the effort. This is one of those books that everyone should read. Especially all of us who live in industrialized nations and take simple skills and ways for granted.

This book makes you realize that sometimes buying things costs more than you bargain for and you may just be better off doing some things for yourself.

I also like the analogy of working a job you hate just for money as prostitution.

The book was not as beautiful as the experience. The first time I went I left a feather and stones and couldn't bear to leave, subsequent visits were as powerful but in the way a life is crafted, one builing upon another. Bill is superlative. The book is good but needs to be taken in small portions, savored,it added to my experience. Building a yurt should be done by any awake human. Bill's the only authentic one I know of-the rest, shallow imitations, posers, pretenders, charlatans and just plain not it. Even though I'm sure they are earnest folks.

I didn't go looking for this book. It simply fell into place. Literally. While I was browsing in the satellite branch of my local public library for books about business this volume fell on my head. It had been left precariously on top of the shelf.
Aesthetics appeal to me, to the cover was intriguing. I skipped the book about where mobile and wireless technology is taking society and immediately checked out A Handmade Life.
It is a beautifully presented book. The photographs of an idyllic life in Maine are appealingly presented. The text proposes a way of life that, even here on the paradisical edge of the Pacific Ocean, on the edge of the world, even, it is hard not to yearn for. And maybe that is true value of the book. It awakened a hankering in me for a more naieve way. Strangely it also help me make a number of business choices I had been faced with. Appropriate considering there is a side-bar in the book:

"Borrow from cultures old and new
And with our imaginations

Blend those borrowings
To Create new ways to live
That are simpler, gentler
More generous and beautiful."

Is that my cell-phone ringing?

It's funny how even a quick browsing of this book tells you it has integrity. It's some combination of the artful layout, the paper quality, and of course the author's inspiration living-the-talk life. A Handmade Life evokes a simple but deep way to live. I should confess, however, that I haven't read the whole book, but I love it anyway and keep it on my desk by computer, sipping it now and again like a wine brewed for inspiration. It's a reminder to slow down, focus more on craft than result and quality more than quantity.

Another one in this genre is The Hand-Sculpted House.

I read this book twice last year before visiting The Keeper's House. Now that I've been to their fantastic inn, I'm reading it again. It's a great way to revisit and remember the wonderful times we had there. The recipes at the end of each chapter are very good--I've made several of them. I highly recommend this book (and the Inn!) to anyone with a sense of adventure and romance.

I read this book as an ex-innkeeper and found it quite enjoyable. Jeffrey Burke does reveal himself as somewhat of a "crabby" person and I kept wondering what his wife thought of each episode. I suspect she is the easy-going wife/innkeeper. I do think the book should be put into quality paperback and it would then have a great audience among inn guests and innkeepers. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

As a former guest of The Keeper's House, I found reading about the history of the inn extremely interesting. Jeff and Judi seem to be among the few who were willing to take a chance and open this very unusual inn. No wonder the guests described in this book are as fascinating as the innkeepers.

This book chronicles the establishment, by Jeffrey Burke and his wife, of an the Keeper's House Inn, next to an old lighthouse in Maine on Isle au Haut, seven miles off the coast, with the only link to *civilization* being the daily mail boat.

With no experience and little money, the Burkes took a giant leap of faith when they decided to open this establishment. The book details many of the obstacles they had to overcome and how they dealt with them.

It is such an interesting story of ingenuity, especially how they managed to get water (having a well pounded, not drilled); survived without any electricity (except for a generator that was only sufficient for running the mini sewage-treatment facility); used a 60-year old gas-powered refrigerator; and painted the 796 windowpanes in the inn and lighthouse.

The vignettes about the guests and some of the local characters were both amusing and insightful.

Each of the 21 chapters ends with one of the inn's recipes and the book is illustrated with delightful engravings by a Maine artist. I really enjoyed this book and have bought it several times to give as a gift.

What a lovely, sweet book! I flew through it, enjoying every minute of it and wishing there were more! I agree with a previous reviewer that it should be published in quality paperback. I also would love to see a sequel from the author that goes into more depth and detail about their life as innkeepers in such a unique setting. I'm sure there are many more funny and heartwarming anecdotes about guests, as well as more trials and tribulations about their choice and experience of this life. It is my desire for greater depth that lead me to give it four rather than five stars. The recipes seem great (I have not tried any yet), although Judi sure seems to have a penchant for sour cream! Read this book and enjoy an armchair vacation!

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie is a well-written piece of historical fiction based on Abbie Burgess' own accounts and other historical sources. This information is provided in the note by the authors at the beginning of the book. All incidences appear to be very representative of the life of the time depicted. Abbie's character is developed well. The reader is able to see that Abbie is a strong young girl who does not want to let her family, especially her father, down. She faces the conflict of person vs. self and also person vs. nature is evident in the book. The theme evident in the book is bravery and strength. Abbie had to be brave to keep the lights lit. She needed the strength to overcome her fears and to live up to her father's expectations. The illustrations were beautiful watercolors that set the mood of the story.

Found this book recommended in
Great Books for Girls: More Than 600 Books to Inspire Today's Girls and Tomorrow's Women

This story is about a real girl who rises to meet a challenge that would frighten any adult. My kindergartner now holds this book near/dear as she sees it as a model of courage/bravery to aspire to. Even more exciting is that this story is based upon a real event in a real girl's life.

This book gives you an idea of what it was like to operate a lighthouse in the mid 1800's. Sure doesn't sound fun. In that sense the book is very educational, and it give hero status to a deserving individual that most people have never heard of. The only real flaw it has is in the format of its printing. I can't tell where one paragraph starts and another ends, so if I were trying to narrate this thing I would have a hard time knowing where to stop and start as far as the vocal intonation goes. I also think the introduction gives away the whole story on the first page, so it should really be put at the end of the book.

I remember watching this book on Reading Rainbow when I was little and I had to have it. I got the Audio casatte and Loved it I recommmed this book to anyone! Highy!!

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie is a well-written piece of historical fiction based on Abbie Burgess' own accounts and other historical sources. This information is provided in the note by the authors at the beginning of the book. All incidences appear to be very representative of the life of the time depicted. Abbie's character is developed well. The reader is able to see that Abbie is a strong young girl who does not want to let her family, especially her father, down. She faces the conflict of person vs. self and also person vs. nature is evident in the book. The theme evident in the book is bravery and strength. Abbie had to be brave to keep the lights lit. She needed the strength to overcome her fears and to live up to her father's expectations. The illustrations were beautiful watercolors that set the mood of the story.

Boyle's career as a journalist is evident in his novels. The Jack McMorrow tales are as gripping as any crime thrillers out there and Boyle's work on the streets ensures that his books are authentic and gritty. Read one, you'll want to read them all.
-- Mark LaFlamme, author of "The Pink Room."

Disaffected journalist Jack McMorrow, formerly of The New York Times, takes a job as court reporter for the Maine Kennebec Observer. But, unwilling to report the docket as supplied by the local district attorney, McMorrow runs a story about Donna Marchant, an abused woman, and the boyfriend the system seems unwilling to protect her from.

Threatened by the drunken boyfriend and the angry D.A. and warned off by the paper's staid editor, McMorrow finds himself getting more personally involved with Donna Marchant than his longtime girlfriend Roxanne appreciates. When Marchant is murdered, her thuggish boyfriend is the natural suspect but McMorrow isn't satisfied. And soon, he too is a suspect - and the focus of some dangerous thugs.

Boyle supplies plenty of action and a view of the seamy as well as the serene side of rural Maine life.

Once again I was drawn into the world of Jack McMorrow, journalist-turned-detective. And once again, I was struck by how I could so much come to care about a character enmired in a plot for which I cared so little. In this latest whodunnit, McMorrow again has us trudging around Maine in search of justice in a sea of lowlifes at times so two-dimensional as to be almost laughable. One cannot help but like the McMorrow character, though, whose love for nature, plain truth, good beer, dependable friends, and the written word is exceeded only, perhaps, by his taste for confrontation. The plot, however, is like a joke with a long-winded set-up and a punchline that does not pay off. It was a page-turner and I was going nuts in my attempt to solve the mystery as I read. But all of the chapters that precede the last are but a distraction and in no way drive the story. It was like searching all over the house for your keys and then realizing you had them in your hand. It doesn't all come together the way, I think, mysteries of more calibur do. Our author sets us up in the beginning and releases us in the end but uses all the intervening pages to follow his stream of thought on the subject of birds, romantic relationships, and rednecks. Maybe he thinks we won't mind because he's thrown in a house-fire and a kidnapping here and there. And by the way, I'm pretty sure this is the 3rd time our hero is abducted in as many novels. It's enough already with the abductions. Plus, the end had me, at least, a little disappointed with McMorrow's zeal for the truth because he basically winds up perpetuating a lie at the expense of another man's freedom. And even though this was done with the intention to protect another, I found it morally questionable and disagree that it was necessary. Lastly, as our author ages, too, the McMorrow character seems increasingly conservative and dull. At the end of the first book we were left expecting an end to his relationship with the redoubtable Roxanne. I was hoping for a new woman per story a la Mike Hammer. Would I read another McMorrow mystery? Will my girlfriend once again mock me for my loyalty to the series that so often disappoints me? 'Maybe' to the former question and an undeniably 'yes' to the latter.

I think that this is a great book. I am from a big city and am used to sarcasm. McMorrow takes sarcasm to its limit. Sometimes I can't stop laughing at the things he says. The action in this books just does not stop, either. I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what was going t happen next.

Boyle's evocative writing style draws the reader into the desperate lives of the denizens of small town Maine. In this, his third Jack McMorrow mystery, the dispirited former NY Times reporter, becomes intrigued by a domestic abuse victim after she shocks the district court by baring her scars before the judge. McMorrow's search for the woman behind the news story brings him in conflict with a powerful and manipulative district attorney. The intriguing young victim is found dead and McMorrow is tormented by the fear that his attention led to her death. As in his earlier novels, Jack McMorrow tangles with local thugs, who torch his house and beat him mercilessly. His faithful girlfriend, Roxanne, returns but is shaken by McMorrow's apparent attraction to the hapless people of the Maine the tourists never see. Gerry Boyle's masterful prose and insightful depiction of his characters make this Jack McMorrow series a must read for mystery fans

Am very disturbed not to have received this book as yet. Please, I don't understand what the delay iis. This author was on television in June describing her life. Can you hurry so I can have it soon? Thanks

If you live on an island, the coast or anywhere near a lighthouse you can really appreciate this book. Connie writes with a charm that warms our soul, enlightens our spirit and gives us inspiration
in a day and age where we need to slow down...HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

Although I have had this book since 1986 when it was first published, I recently read it for the first time. I met Connie Small when she was living in Foxwell Senior Citizens complex in Kittery, Maine. She was a neighbor to my grandmother and I enjoyed meeting her. I enjoyed reading about her first hand accounts of her many experiences in lighthouse keeping. I would very much like to know if she is still alive. It would seem unlikely since she would be 100, but I do know she was still living in 1998. If anyone has information about her, please email me, I would love to write her a note.

An autobiographical account of life keeping lights on the Maine coast, the author born in 1901 grew up in Lubec, Maine, married a man who went into the Lighthouse service, together they served at several light stations for decades: At Channel Light in Lubec Channel, at Avery Rock in Machias Bay, at Sequin Island at the mouth of the Kennebec River, at Dochet Island in the St. Croix River, and at the light in New Castle, N.H. Retired and later widowed, she wrote her experiences and is now known as an authority on lightkeeping on the Maine Coast. She currently lives in Portsmouth, N.H.

This is a thoroughly delightful book about a way of life that has almost become extinct, but which the memories and lessons are preserved to our great edification. -DMM

This book is loaded with charm. Highly recommend it.

"Limerock" is a very good collection of short stories. Most of the stories are set in Maine. One ("Ride") is set in Philadelphia.

The stories show the conflict between locals and "summer people"; between wealthy people and poor; between black people and white; between old and young; between gay and straight. Some stories show the difficulties of aging or illness.

I agree with the previous reviewer who praised "Detour". It's a great story about a childless man who tries to protect a little girl from her unstable family members.

"Uncle Cub at Paradise Fair" is very funny at times. The behavior of some of the characters is so appalling that it's also darkly funny.

"The Tip" is an affecting story showing the same event from two different points of view. It probably should seem corny or preachy, but the author manages to avoid those pitfalls.

You might be surprised how much tension there can be in a story set in Maine (particulary since they lack supernatural elements). "The Best in the World", "Detour", "A Clock in San Diego", and "Holly Point" stand out in my mind as tense stories.

The book is a nicely-designed trade paperback. My first copy was missing four pages. My next copy was fine, though.

I enjoyed the book. Hopefully it will be followed by an anthology of fantasy and suspense stories. I'd also like to read another of the author's suspense novels.

"Limerock" is a very good collection of short stories. Most of the stories are set in Maine. One ("Ride") is set in Philadelphia.

The stories show the conflict between locals and "summer people"; between wealthy people and poor; between black people and white; between old and young; between gay and straight. Some show the difficulties of aging or illness.

I agree with the previous reviewer that praised "Detour". It's a great story about a sterile man (?) who tries to protect a little girl from her unstable family members.

"Uncle Cub at Paradise Fair" is very funny at times. The behavior of some of the characters is so appalling that it's also darkly funny.

"The Tip" is an effecting story showing the same event from two points of view. It probably should seem corny or preachy, but the author manages to avoid those pitfalls.

You might be surprised how much tension there can be in a story set in Maine (particulary since they lack supernatural elements). "The Best in the World", "Detour", "A Clock in San Diego", and "Holly Point" stand out in my mind as tense stories.

I enjoyed the book. Hopefully it will be followed by an anthology of fantasy and suspense stories. I'd also like to read another of the author's suspense novels.

Rarely does a collection of short stories come along in which each one of them is a gem! Fahy has captured the essence of ordinary life in Maine with extraordinarily brilliant glimpses into places and personalities. "Detour" is a masterpiece. "Limerock" should be in the collection of everyone who appreciates great literature.

A welcome departure from Fahy's usual scary tales, Limerock explores a Maine many don't know exists. Carefully and clearly drawn, the characters, (and I do mean "characters") portray the struggle, tension and distrust between the Maine natives and the "out-a-staters". An eye opening and enjoyable read.

Reading Limerock is like taking a vacation to Maine, but instead of eating lobster dinners and walking on the beaches, this time you get invited into people's home. No, more like this: You marry into the family and move in. You start spending Friday nights at the Grange Hall dance, Saturday at BEANO. You drink coffee sombraroes with the cousins, drink tea with a good aunt, put up with the Connecticut people next door, watch the old barn on the hill slowly collapsing . . . and can't seem to get enough of it. Want to know what Maine is like? Read this wonderful book.

The photography exhibited here is quite good - several vibrant images of the landscape of coastal Maine in each of its seasons. What I didn't like is, as another reviewer pointed out, it is limited in that it only explores a few areas of Maine (namely Stonington, Acadia National Park, and Deer Isle). What about Western Maine and Portland area? Not covered. Overall not a bad concept (the writing is average) but could have been a lot better.

On the recommendation of a friend, my wife and I stumbled into a photo gallery in Deer Isle, Maine, last week during our vacation (we are from New York) to see the work of Terrell Lester, not even aware Knopf had recently published this book. We were, in short, completely blown away by his photos, all of which, and more, are collected in this remarkable book, along with four essays of varying interest. Lester's photos are like fine art, to be specific, like the best of the Hudson River School of painters back in the 1800s who created such vivid landscapes, saturated with reds and blues and yellow (and that's just in the sky). His photos of islands, mountains, rocks, lakes, surf, trees and spectacular blueberry fields blazing red in autumn are rich with emotion. They deserve to be, and in fact are, on museum walls. For the most part, they are reproduced well in "Maine: The Seasons," but in this case, you can't tell a book by its cover-- a wonderful (but rather too typical for a Maine book) photo of a father and a son heading off to work in their lobster boat. You won't be disappointed.

I recently purchased this book as I am about to move to New England and I am a working photographer. I must say, Mr. Lester's photographs are wonderful and the writing accompanies the images very well, making this a very nice book indeed. I am continually amazed at the quality (and variety) of light in Mr. Lester's photographs - I think I'm going to like this place. I like this book and would recommend it to others who are interested in travel/photo books related to the Pine Tree State. If I had any criticism at all regarding this book, it might be with the title itself. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on images from Deer Island and Stonington and surrounding environs. The title of the book , "Maine: The Seasons" might suggest a broader area of coverage. Maine is a big state - and it's great to see a photographer working in his own backyard, so to speak, but a more specific title reference may have been appropriate as many areas of Maine do not make appearances here. But this point is minor, and I digress.... overall I found this to be a fine book and a solid purchase. Cheers!

Stunning photographs and poetic/romantic writing. Makes me wish I had gone to Maine (during the summer of course!) while I was in college in New Jersey. This is a special book and it left me wanting more.

While the photography is great, it was limited to only a couple areas of Maine. I was hoping for more small town, quaint images. The only town featured was one that's not even on the map.

Book has loads of information and beautiful pictures. I plan on using the suggestions during my trip to Maine.

My wife and I are planning our vacation to Maine for late Summer '06. We enjoyed the book, pictures, and suggestions for "great pictures."
We'll see how it goes!

David Middleton and Bruce Morrison have created a very insightful guide to coastal Maine photographic "hot spots". I am a professional photographer based in Maine, and while I am quite familiar with most of the places mentioned in this book I was pleasantly surprised to find out about others I had overlooked or was not aware of. (I also have a few secret spots of my own that did not crop up in the book..thankfully... but that's what makes this fun - a guidebook is best put to use as a springboard for further exploration.)

Photographers who live in Maine or are planning to visit coastal Maine will find much to enjoy here. You couldn't ask for a better resource. Even non-photographer types would do well to mine the gems of this book for general sightseeing and hiking tips.
Middleton and Morrison put you smack dab in the middle of great photo opportunities. A bit of a warning here: after you get a copy of this book you will feel a sudden and intense urge to be out on the Maine coast with your camera.

PS - Middleton's guide to Vermont photo sites is excellent as well.

We followed his book to the letter and a great book with valuable infomation. Would recommend this book for anyone traveling to Maine and who likes Lighthouses. Wonderful and helpful tips.

This is a good guidebook. It has enough detail/description to allow one to rationally select "likely sites" without being overpowering. However, there are an number of annoying editing errors present. (For example, every time the text reads "this place is 0.05 mile beyond that place", what's really meant is "0.5 mile". This is wrong in every place it's mentioned!)

Nice photos. Navigation info is duplicated in most cruising guides. Still, pictures are worth ... words.

Will be a great nav aid... look forward to publications covering other areas...

I recall chartering in the British Virgin Islands over 20 years ago and being handed a spiral-bound book that showed all the anchorages viewed from a couple hundred feet above the water, looking in. Wouldn't it be great if there were something like that for the far-trickier Maine coast? Well, now there is, and it's extremely well done.

Most two-page spreads in the book comprise an excellent harbor photo, the related section from the current NOAA chart, and a description of the harbor area. Superimposed on the chart is an arrow indicating the location from and direction in which the photo was shot. Some charts also include additional arrows that are overlayed on the photo as well so that you can see, for example, how the safest route for entry as seen on the chart actually looks on the water. That is really nice.

By my rough count, there are 110 harbors covered, from Isles of Shoals (OK, they're not quite in Maine) to Buck's Harbor on the west shore of Machias Bay. Unfortunately, anchorages around Eastport have been omitted. Maybe Mr. Bildner can get to them in a future edition.

Everyone cruising the Maine coast will want to have this supurb visual guide aboard to supplement the three standard guides. I only hope that the availability of this fine work won't bring TOO many folks and boats "from away" up to crowd our beautiful coast.

An excellent publication and valuable reference manual for any 'cruiser' transiting the waters of Maine. The photos taken by Jim Bildner provide a very welcome aspect of unfamilar destinations.

This outstanding book provides substantial assistance for trip planning and cruising the coast of Maine.
Having cruised Maine's beautiful coast for several decades, planning for my next cruise this summer has already been made easier by having this fine book. Of course, one must do the usual "paper chart navigation" planning before hand, but the additional help of this book is invaluable.
This book has a permanent place both shoreside and onboard while cruising.
It also makes a fabulous gift for my like-minded cruising friends.
Captain Ken Wright
[...]