Ball Books

Having missed most of the tv show, i decided to read the Dragonball manga.
I had a very claer understanding of the story, but it contained some rather explicit sexual humor. I wasn't surprised that... wait gotta go. Lupin III is on...

Dragonball is a great manga!It's about a monkey tailed mountain boy named Goku who meets a girl by the name of Bulma who is searching for the the seven mystical "Dragonballs" which when all gathered together,will grant the posseser any wish.Seeing how strong Goku is,she convinces him to join him.The art is very humorous and so are the characters(especially Goku).A word of caution however.I do not recomend this to young children seeing as how there is some nudity and potty humor in it.Still though,it has great humor and art and I reccomend it to anyone,espcially to those who like adventure.

Having missed most of the tv show, i decided to read the Dragonball manga.
I had a very claer understanding of the story, but it contained some rather explicit sexual humor. I wasn't surprised that... wait gotta go. Lupin III is on...

what a cool comic its so cool but this i for ages 18+ it contains blood strong vilonce languge strong sexuly content sex sceans nudity and a little boy pulls of a women underwhare and its shocking it also contains lots of boob seceans but its cool but it contains adult content it says on back of comic so get ready for sex vilonce and nudty with dragon ball uncensord

I'm going to start it off by saying this: Don't buy this because you watched and liked the Dragonball/DBZ episodes you saw on Cartoon Network. Instead buy it because Toriyama's art and writing are great. It's a solid retelling of the myth of the monkey king, Goku, and his journey to please the great dragon Shenlong, with some changes and comedy thrown in. The fluid art keeps one reading, despite the unfamiliarity with the format (the book and its panels all go from right to left).

I suggest picking this up. Get this manga, then get the others. They blow the anime out of the water if you can read, and if you can't, then just look at the pictures, because those are good too.

Excellent, funny read for all minor league baseball enthusiasts. The book also points out the sleazy side of local politics which prevented two individuals from preserving an historic landmark and satisfying the wishes of local residents. Minor league baseball in its original form is a throw back to a simpler time when strong family (and community) values were important. Just as major league baseball is leaving average fans in the lerch due to high prices, much of minor league baseball is moving in the same direction. Thankfully, there are independent teams who are not beholden to major league organizations who will move a team at the drop of a hat for a better stadium deal elsewhere.

I am reluctant to give and am usually suspicious of gushy, mushy reviews about books, but I have to make an exception for this extraordinary book mostly because of the risk that Bouton and his courageous friends were willing to make to their families' personal risk and financial future. I was also delighted by the details of the interchanges between the unstoppable guys and their pragmatic wives. And the support they gave each other. As with all of Bouton's books the story that is told is much more inclusive of our society as a whole than the mere retelling of a particular episode in the lives of teams whether in Seattle or in Pittsfield, MA. They are really books about what 1)we value as a society, 2)about our need for idolatry with sports persons, and 3)With the amount of denial we want or need to maintain our personal self-images. If someone needs a bogus hero-worship identity to maintain their self-esteem then they should not blame or demonize the people who show them a mirror. They should look clearly in the mirror and take responsibilty for their own lives rather than living vicariously.

I couldn't put this one down and read the entire book on one long day of traveling cross country. The book is about a lot of things. Love for the game of baseball, if not the business of baseball. What kind of crooked nonsense goes on in thousands of small towns across the US every day with bogus politicians defying the will of the people they are supposedly there to serve. How companies that screw all of us somehow convince people and politicians that they are looking out for our best interests. But most of all, this book is about the absolute need all American citizens have for a free press, and a free press that is intelligent, well-informed, willing to take risks, and willing to do its damm job. When the press rolls over, there really is no hope of outing the kinds of crooks and morons Bouton smokes out. It's a very compelling read and I comend Bouton for writing it (even if his originally publisher wimped out).

As a resident of Pittsfield and a fan of baseball I fully supported building the new stadium. Pittsfield is awash in drugs, crime and economic stagnation. A new stadium would have brought in a new minor league franchise, a venue for concerts and other sorts of activities. In the end a great thing for Pittsfield. But thanks to Jim Bouton and other non residents (or part time "summer" berkshire residents) the initiative was defeated, Wahconah park was never renovated it can't attract any minor league teams because it is so far under code it is helpless. So now it sits there unused and decaying like the rest of our once great town.

Thanks alot Jim.

This book is Erin Brockovich, the Insider, It's a Wonderful Life, A Civil Action, and Field of Dreams all rolled into one awesome book. I just read this in two days. It is both fantastic and infuriating. I am so mad I want to go up to Pittsfield and shoot some of these people. The situation faced by Bouton is so frustrating; yet this kind of behavior goes on every day all over America. The book is both inspiring and discouraging. It makes me want to go full bore for a similar cause; but it also reinforces what I already know: That it's almost impossible to change anything. But this book has an unknown (at the time of publishing) happy ending. Read the book and then check out Bouton's www.foulball.com for the latest news. Anyway, this is an absolute must read for ANY AMERICAN. You don't have to be a baseball fan, or even know what a bunt is to appreciate it.

I have been in the herb plant business for 28 years, and find this to be the best general reference for herbs, especially for customers. I took it to farmers markets, where I was a vendor, and customers could look up recipes, cultural intructions, soil and growing tips, plus the wonderful color pictures. This book has always held a prominant spot in my herb books library. Sidebars--such as "chefs' tips","soil requirements",etc. One of the best publications from Rodale Press. (Multiple contributors.)

A truly informative herbal book. The uses for herbs are endless. I enjoy the quick reference this book provides.

I love this book. Not only does it tell you all about the herb it tells you what food it go's well with. I bought this book for my daughter when she started to grow her own herbs.

This book has almost every herb you can think of with sugesstions on how to grow them and use them. It's awesome.

Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs is the best of the bunch. It gives a bounty of information on each of the many herbs listed: origin, uses, cultivation, lore, and much more. The illustrations, both drawings and color photos, are superb. The book does contain errors; it says, for example, that sassafras extracts are carcinogenic. But on the whole this book excels.

Lauren M. review of White is for Magic by Laurie Stolarz,
March 8, 2008.

This book is about a young girl named Stacey in boarding school. Last year she started having dreams about ghosts of people she knew who were brutally murdered. A little girl she used to baby-sit named Maura last year was kidnapped and killed. Before this event Stacey was having dreams about her before she was abducted were clues about how to save the little girl..
When she started having dreams about one of her close friends being murdered she followed the clues and saved her. Now that it is senior year she needs to be focusing on school, but now she is having dreams which she believes may be suggesting her own death. Her horrifying dreams say" only less than a week," so Stacey thinks she has less than a week to save herself.
Her boarding roommates Amber and Drea and her boyfriend are all supporting her. Then she meets a guy name Jacob, who says that he has been having dreams about her death for months and he moved from Colorado to try and save her. Together they figure out some clues that they think will be helpful.
Notes Stacy has been receiving say to meet the person who wrote the not at the very place Veronica, a former student of Stacey, who was murdered in the French room. Stacey decides to go alone and face her biggest fears. When she arrives the guy who murdered Maura is on the intercom. Some of her friends had recorded his voice at the jail, where he was being held and made a tape of his voice. It was just a fake reenactment.

Amazing book, it was so suspenseful. You are pulled into the story and doesn't let you out. Unfortunatly, I did not read the first book and had to catch up on the story. If you plan on reading this, which you should, read Blue is for Nightmares first.

White is for Magic by Laurie faria Stolarz is a thrilling adventure, sure to keep you turning the pages. Stacy Brown, a sophomore in an English Prep school, has reoccurring nightmares. But this time, they're not predicting future deaths of classmates, but merely inhabited by the people of Stacy's past. Little does she know, her dreams are trying to tell her something. Of course things just get worse when a student mysteriously appears on campus to warn Stacy of her troubles soon to come. Together, they have to use magic to help them survive.
I loved this book because it was near impossible to predict the ending. Right when I thought I had it all figured out, I realized, I was completely off. When Stacy met Jacob, the mysterious new boy, I couldn't make up my mind! Was he there to help? Why show up at all? He didn't even know her! I would recommend this book to any reader who loves a good mysterious read. (I also recommend the other books in the series. Blue is for Nightmares, Silver is for Secrets , and Red is for Remembrance. White is for Magic is the second book in the series.)
This book has small amount of mature material but the story itself is strong and powerful. Read this brilliant book and travel with Stacy through her adventures and enjoy.

I am pleased with the time that it took to get this book. My daughter enjoys reading and re-reading the series. This book was a good choice for a young teen as a gift.

White is for Magic by Laurie faria Stolarz is a thrilling adventure, sure to keep you turning the pages. Stacy, a sophomore in an English Prep school, has reoccurring nightmares. But this time, they're not predicting future deaths of classmates, but merely inhabited by the people of Stacy's past. Little does she know, her dreams are trying to tell her something. Of course things don't get better when a student mysteriously appears on campus to warn Stacy of her troubles soon to come. Together, they have to use magic to help them survive.
I loved this book because I couldn't predict the ending. When Stacy met Jacob, the mysterious new boy, I couldn't make up my mind! Was he there to help? Why bother? He didn't even know her! I would recommend this book to any reader who loves a mysterious read. (I also recommend the other books in the series. Blue is for Nightmares, Silver is for Secrets , and Red is for Remembrance.) This book has small amount of mature material but the story itself is powerful. Read this brilliant book and travel with Stacy through her adventures and enjoy.

I loved it. Its so nice to read a romance that is actually romantic. No nasty villian, no sadness, no tortured hero, no abuse....etc etc.
Very nice writing for a debut author. Wonderful characters and a very sweet story.Looking forward to more from Ms. Parker.

I liked this book! I don't care about a few errors if I really like the story and I enjoyed this one. I've read so many books lately by veteran authors that were absolutely boring and completely cliche, so this was a step up. The duke was lovable and he loved his heroine and we didn't have to wait til the last line of the book to hear him say it. This author has promise and I'll definitely buy more of her books.

This was a wonderful read! Fun, entertaining and exciting from beginning to end! Although at times it may have been somewhat predictable, it was such an enchanting read that it didn't matter to this reader! It was just so fun to read! Made me smile all the way through and I was so sad when the book ended.....!!

I had an enjoyable time reading this book. It was very well written and fun to follow the two main characters to the expected finale. Especially nice to sit back on a warm summer evening and immerse yourself into the lives of the group with all their worries during courtship so far removed from our daily chores and high gas prices. Great debut.

I finished this book in one day because I couldn't put it down. I read a lot of books in a month's time and this one by far has been my favorite this year. I loved Madelyn that she wasn't perfect and clumsy and different from all the other women. Gabriel is my dream book hero! If Olivia Parker writes the rest of her novels like this one, she will have a permanent fan!

Pilates on the Ball: A Comprehensive Book and DVD Workout

I take Pilates from an excellent instructor 2x/wk. I supplement it with the exercises on the DVD that accompany the book. The instruction is very precise. There is consideration of back and neck injuries.

As a Pilates instructor, I always like reading more about other people's experience in Pilates, deepen my knowledge and enlarge my repertoire. This book has helped me do so.

For those just getting into Pilates, this book is an invaluable training tool. This manual will teach you all the basic exercises.

I really love this book and DVD. The book is considerate of people with all levels of fitness. The book begins with an introduction to Pilates and working with an exercise ball. She moves into a bit of history of Joseph Pilates and Breathing Exercises. Each chapter begins with a short story about a client she has worked with, a person she has met or herself. After several chapters with descriptions and pictures of exercises, she has several workout programs like a restorative program for people that have injuries, a basic ball workout and even an intermediate ball workout. Recommended for all!
Chapter Titles: Postural Exercises, Abdominal Exercises, Extensions, Pilates on the Ball Arm and Footwork, Restoration and Rebuilding, Stretching, Stress Management and Cardiovascular Exercises

If you have ever used an exercise ball, this book has nothing new to offer. I bought the book specifically for the CD. The CD is terrible - really no program to follow. It is so basic and doesn't take you through an organized routine. I looked through the book; watched the CD one time, and the book is now in my garage sale pile!!

Ball of Whacks, A Creativity Workshop in a Ball by Roger von Oech

I love toys and this one has me hooked. Thirty-six plastic pyramids are fitted with magnets so they stick together with a satisfying "clack" to form a variety of geometric shapes. The possibilities for creating stars, polygons, patterns, and random forms are limited only by imagination and accident. I mention imagination because you can try to recreate the designs in the accompanying 96-page information booklet. But accident, I found, was a much more satisfying process. The pieces seem to "jump" into place forming surprise designs that, like a stream of consciousness, lead to further discoveries. And this is one of the major intentions of this kinetic toy.

Roger von Oech is the author of A Whack on the Side of the Head, a book which describes the creative process and offers exercises to flex the inventive muscles. He designed the Ball of Whacks to take advantage of the connections between the hand, the brain, and the creative process. As our hands manipulate the whack pieces, our brain slips into a state of flow - critical for creativity. So simply maneuvering the pieces becomes the most obvious way to make this toy an essential part of your creative work.
In addition, the information booklet gives more than a dozen suggestions for inducing the creative process for individuals, partners, and small groups. Use it as you meditate. Think of it as a metaphor for a problem. Start a brainstorming session. Or just take a mental stretch break!

Learn more at www.thefirefly.org

The Ball of Whacks can be a valuable tool for distraction and refocusing the mind during pain due to illness and disease. My teenage son has suffered a condition that causes him intermittent pain, anxiety and distress. I am continually looking for something to occupy his attention during such painful times.

I have noticed that in mild to moderate pain, playing with the Ball of Whacks beautifully distracts him. His face relaxes, and he is engaged in creativity more than reactivity to pain, which seemingly allows his body to regroup as the pain often dissapates.

I suggest that the Ball of Whacks be more broadly considered a tool in 'pain management' for certain people and conditions. I could also imagine its usefulness in a hospital or clinic setting, like for individuals waiting to undergo chemotherapy. We are very grateful for this addition to wholistic care for our son!

I'm a tacto-phile, as well as a magno-phile, and this 'toy' is an excellent blend of creativity, simplicity and fun! The look and feel of the individual pyramids is very pleasant, and the fun of being able to take it apart and see what you can create is a blast! I wish I had two (or three!)

One word of warning to parents: Kids will want to play with this. I make it a point to never let my kids play with mine unless I am watching them closely, because the pieces would fit in a mouth, and are pointy enough that they could cause pain if applied incorrectly.

Magnets are just plain cool. We have our Ball of Whacks sitting on the coffee table and all of my son's friends pick it up and start messing with it. The challenge is to come up with a new design - it's not easy! There's a flying squirrel in the book, but we've not even got that far!

My kids love this toy. There are so many ways to play with it -- the magnets add an extra dimension to the creativity.

I have read over 50 of Agatha Christie's books. My goal is to read all of them. I was anticipating with pleasure the reading of this book because of the good reviews that it has received. I was very disappointed. There were far too many characters, and it was hard to keep them straight. The protagonists Bobby and Frankie were not particularly likeable. The mystery of who Evans was also turned out to be a disappointment. I had to force myself to finish it.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R20YQ5NGZIHQE8

The premise is a bit silly. Stop looking elsewhere; look nearby. But a bit thin. Other than that, everything quite good--and typical. Which is really good for fans.

While golfing during a foggy morning, Bobby's ball fell off the cliff. Instead of his ball, he found a dying handsome stranger whose last words, much to his wonderment and disappointment, were 'Why didn't they ask Evans?'. Armed with this query and his friend, the strong-willed Frances, they began to unravel the mysteries surrounding this man's death. What they only began to uncover proved to be dangerous and deadly.

With a lot of discussion and cloak-and-dagger-ish snooping around (there was a moment when Bobby had to climb on a tree and nearly fell) this novel is arguably Christie's fastest-moving novel. While she did give her characters some time to flesh out, the rest of the story sprinted past. In short, this novel can be finished in one sitting, but that one sitting, my friend, is the most fun sitting you'll ever have!

If you are looking for a challenging classic mystery problem try one of the next two, (MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS or THE ABC MURDERS) because this one is a light hearted romp.

The detectives in this story are Bobby Jones, 4th son of the local Vicar and Lady Frances Derwent, wealthy young socialite. The two had been childhood friends have renewed their relationsonship while dealing with the mystery. Bobby found a dying man while out golfing. The man's dying words were "Why didn't they ask Evans?". That simple question led the two detectives to ask many more, about the photo in the dead man's pocket, the family that came to claim the body and just who was the mysterious Evans to name a few. The answers takes the two from their hometown in Wales, where the mystery starts to London and then throughout the English countryside ending with a dash via car and airplane back home again for the final answers.

WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? is in the same spirit as THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT, THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY, THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS and the Tommy and Tuppence series. There are exciting adventures, false identities, kidnappings, fantastic coincidences and more which make this just FUN!

Tintin is a great comic book ... funny, witty, adventurous, and with clean language. These are classics! I used to read them growing up in Europe, and I am glad that I can have my children read them too.

My kids are voracious readers, and my son in particular loves the Tintin books. He began reading them in 3rd grade, and he still reads them all the time, over and over. I love these adventurous stories.

Many of us grew up on Tintin and love them for their great nostalgia value, and reminisces of childhood, as well as the brave values of a simpler, more clarified world of yesteryear.
This volume brings together three of the best loved Tintin classics in one handy volume- and for not much more than the price of one.
They are:
Red Rackham's Treasure:
Tintin and Captain Haddock prepare to depart on the search for the hidden treasure of Red Rackham, and are approached by an eccentric hard of hearing inventor, Professor Calculus, who simply won't go away.

His shark submarine is to prove invaluable in Tintin and the Captain's search, and Calculus will be a constant figure in all subsequent Tintin books.
They are also joined by the irrepresible Thomp(s)on twins.They take a ship to a remote tropical island and come across all sorts of interesting things like skeleton human remains of pirates, and parrots that have handed down from generation to generation, Haddock's vocabulary.
After much adventure they return home, where the real treasure is waiting and where Captain Haddock inherits the mansion Marlinkspike, his ancestral home, which was previously owned by the criminal Bird brothers (See the Secret of the Unicorn).
Another courful and action packed Tintin classic:
Tintin and Captian Haddock prepare to depart on the search for the hidden treasure of Red Rackham, and are approached by an eccentric hard of hearing inventor, Professor Calculus, who simply won't go away.

His shark submarine is to prove invaluable in Tintin and the Captain's search, and Calculus will be a constant figure in all subsequent Tintin books.
They are also joined by the irrepresible Thomp(s)on twins.They take a ship to a remote tropical island and come across all sorts of interesting things like skeleton human remains of pirates, and parrots that have handed down from generation to generation, Haddock's vocabulary.
After much adventure they return home, where the real treasure is waiting and where Captain Haddock inherits the mansion Marlinkspike, his ancestral home, which was previously owned by the criminal Bird brothers (See the Secret of the Unicorn).
Another courful and action packed Tintin classic.

The Seven Crystal Balls

On a train to Marlinspike, Tintin is reading an article about the Sanders-Hardiman expedition which has spent two years excavating Inca tombs.
A gentleman on the train warns that a nasty end will await those "busybodies violating the Inca's burial chamber", comparing their predicted fate to that of the archaeologists, involved in the Tut-Ankh-Kamen affair.
On his visit to Marlinspike, Tintin is re-united with Captain Haddock, who is playing the role of the country lord of the manor in his newly inherited mansion of Marlinspike.
Tintin and the Captain go see a show at the Hippodrome, of magic and mystery, where the psychic Madame Yamilah has a vision of the serious illness of the husband of one of the audience, who hapens to be the photographer of the Sanders-Hardiman expedition.
The psychic revelation proves to be correct.
One after the other each of the men involved with the Sanders-Hardiman expedition falls into a coma, with fragmented crystal shards next to them, in each case.
Tintint and the Captain then accompany Professor Calaculus to his friend Professor Tarragon, and in a strange occurance the Rascar Capac mumy on Tarragon's posession mysteriously disappears, and each of the guests is visited by a frightening dream of Rascar Capac entering their guest rooms and smashing down a crystal ball on the ground.
Professor Tarragon soon also falls into the mysterious coma, and then Professor Calculus disappears, leadin Tintin and Haddock's investigations to lead them to plan a trip to Peru, which sets the stage for the sequel to this comic, Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin).
The Tintin adventures are amazingly detailed and intricate for a graphic novel, and this one is filled with much intrigue, suspense and action failing to disappoint, and reminding us why Tintin remains popular after nearly 8 decades.

Prisoners of the Sun

First published in the original French in 1949 as Le Temple du Soleil (The Temple of the Sun), Prisoners of the Sun is the sequel to The Seven Crystal Balls.
After Professor Calculus is kidnapped in The Seven Crystal Balls, for putting on the bracelet of the mummified Inca Rascar Capac, Tintin and captain Haddock travel to Peru to find him. After getting no help from the police, and after an attempt on Tintin's life, Tintin and Haddock come across a young Indian guide by the name of Zorrino.
They then travel through mountain and jungle and eventually stumble across the hidden mountain temple where Calculus is imprisoned.
Sentenced to death by the Incas for defiling their Temple, Tintin tricks the Indians by timing their execution (of which date the condemned are allowed to choose) to coincide with the solar eclipse.
The terrified Incas then are convinced that Tintin has powers to control the sun, and release Tintin and his friends, giving them gifts and sending them home with Calculus.
The eclipse incident is a misnomer as the Incas, as s worshippers of the Sun and experienced astronomers, the Incas would have been able to predict a solar eclipse almost as well as any modern scientist.
Zorrino chooses to stay in the Temple.
Full of action. adventure and colour.

The Tintin series is a must have for everyone, especially parents. My children devour these books, and their reading scores are 2 grades higher. The stories are somewhat scary, but nothing compared to what's on T.V.

This collection includes 'Red Rackham's Treasure', which is the conclusion of The Secret of the Unicorn. It is a great story that changes the lives of Tintin and his friend Captain Haddock for the better.

I read these stories as a kid. They were already 'classics' then. They are even better now.

A very good book for those who enjoy the adventures of Tintin. It was in great condition.

This book is amazing! Every single story is a joy to read! I'm largely a fan of her "Hainish" work, and the stories set in that universe are a real treat. Le Guin applies her usual intelligence to all of these stories, but she also succeeds in giving voice to some of these characters. She develops theme without sacrificing character. This is evident in "Mountain Ways" and "Solitude", where she gives us glimpses of these societies and their customs, yet she also gives us access to the characters and what motivates them. At Le Guin's current age, some writers have reached their peak and slowed down (or even have stopped altogether). However, Le Guin's still going very strong, even stronger, as this collection of novellas shows considerable growth in her writing since those important novels from decades ago. Also, she's been quite prolific over the past few years, also a very good sign.

Sci-fi book covers can be problematic at times. Some of them are downright cheesy. However, the design of this cover is brilliant! A human face with the eyes obscured doesn't allude to any particular character in any story. Plus, it is difficult to tell if the face is male or female, black or white. The face is simply human, and it emphasizes the humanity of the characters, which is very present in all the stories.

Overall, a must read! You won't be sorry!

This book is brilliant, a perfect combination of revisits to old worlds (Gethen, Werel and O) and introductions to completely new ones. "Unchosen Love" was just beautiful, as was "Paradises Lost", and the tales from Seggri were fascinating, if slightly disturbing. Although "Old Music..." (actually Werel in general) didn't do much for me, I've read all the others over and over. Highly recommended - I think this is easily on par with "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed".

Le Guin is a fantastic writer who deftly weaves a beautiful story of characters, plot, and setting with wholesome, open-minded moral messages. You feel like she's exploring the moral issues alongside you. Her explorations of gender, sexuality and diverse sexual relationships strike a chord with me as a gay man. Le Guin approaches diverse arrangements with an open mind, repeatedly bringing us to the point that love in any form is a wonderful thing.

Her story about a generation ship, Paradises Lost, turns the sc-fi cliche on its head. Living in such different conditions than we do today would certainly change a people in much the fashion that Le Guin imagines.

A highly evocative read, I don't just suggest you read this, I feel it should be required reading for everyone. It would certainly open many minds.

I tend to prefer novels to short story collections. I find short stories to largely be less satisfying and engrossing than novels. However, as a great fan of Ursula K. Le Guin, I could not help but pick up this collection. I recommend this book for fans of Le Guin's novels set in the Hainish universe. 6 of the 8 stories are set in different planets of the universe, some of which have been visted in previous works. If you haven't read Le Guin before, I recommend you pick up some of her earlier works, particularly The Left Hand of Darkness, before reading this one, to familarize yourself with the concepts, because she doesn't fully explain them here.

I like to term Le Guin's work as "creative anthropology." Ever since I read some of her nonfiction works about her life, particulary growing up with an anthropologist father, her fiction has made more and more sense to me. Instead of writing about actual societies, she invents societies and gets us inside of them, exposes to us essentialities of human nature via the alienness of different cultures. The stories are not plot-focused; instead you spend a great deal of time just getting to know these different places and people.

"Coming of Age in Karhide"
This story is a perfect complement to fans of The Left Hand of Darkness, as it takes place on the same planet of Gethen, where no one is either male or female; instead they take on male or female characteristics during "kemmer," 3 days of the month during which they mate. The rest of the time they are genderless and do not have sex. The story concerns the first kemmer of a young child on Gethen. The story is mainly a lighthearted look into Gethenian society, a somewhat different perspective than The Left Hand of Darkness.

"The Matter of Seggri"
This takes place on a world in which females vastly outnumber males. The sexes are strictly segregated and "men have all the privilege while women have all the power." It comes together in snippets from different Ekumen visits to Seggri and some inhabitents of the planet themselves, exposing the situation from several different angles. To me this story exemplifies the cruelty of trying to fit people into gender-based boxes, preventing them from growing into who they really are.

"Unchosen Love" and "Mountain Ways"
Both of these stories take place on the planet of O, in which marriages consist of four people (2 women, 2 men). Le Guin masterfully untangles the world of people for whom marriage is intertwining love triangles, exposing the core of emotion within.

"Solitude"
Le Guin terms this story a tribute to introverts. The people on this planet gain their energy from being alone rather than being together. For the Hainish mother of two children who comes to study this strange society, it is stifling, but her younger daughter manages to find the meaning in the solitude.

"Old Music and the Slave Women"
For me the most difficult to get into of the collection, this story takes place on Werel, which Le Guin previously wrote about in her collection Four Ways to Forgiveness. I think had I read that, I would have enjoyed this story more. It takes place on a world broken by civil war, a civil war focused on (you guessed it) slavery.

"The Birthday of the World"
Le Guin flips her usual trend of looking at other societies from the aliens' point of view, and instead looks at the aliens from the native's point of view in this story.

"Paradises Lost"
Although not at all similar to the other stories in a number of ways, this novella-length story is the gem of this collection. A group of colonists from earth is seeking a new planet to live on hundreds of light years away. But instead of putting themselves in deep freeze during the flight like in so many movies, Le Guin questions what if actually lived out their lives on the ship--bore children, died, then their children bore children and died, and by the time the ship reaches its destination, none of the people on board remember anything about life outside of the ship. A fascinating premise, this story is written in a totally different style than the rest of the collection and could probably stand on its own.

"Birthday of the World" isn't up to the usual standard of Ms. LeGuin's writing -- not in its present form, at any rate.

So, you might be asking: why do I feel this way?

Simple. It's too graphic in spots, and it's way too violent, and finally, the "f-word" is used repeatedly in a jarring manner for no apparent reason other than to shock.

Ms. LeGuin is above this sort of thing; she doesn't _need_ to make her points this way, and further, it wasn't at all what I expected when I opened this collection.

I'm a big fan of her work; I love "Lathe of Heaven" and "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" and "The Wizard of Earthsea," and enjoyed everything else she's ever written.

And I suspect that if I had encountered these stories one on one, I would have liked them very much, and would have considered them thought-provoking and interesting (and probably wouldn't have been as put off by the graphic violence and swearing, either).

However, only three of these stories _work_ in this collection; the one about the kemmerhouse and the two about the folks living on O (the ones who make four-sided marriages). The other five all need expansion, in my opinion, and four of the five look like they could and should have been made into novels. The fifth, the final story (a novella, "Paradises Lost"), also needed at least 5,000 more words to explain various things left unfinished in the story, such as why the woman in it made the marriage she did and the like.

Those five stories, if I'd read them separately, might have evoked some of the same responses -- after all, I'm not _used_ to graphic violence in Ms. LeGuin's work, and I don't like the unnecessary bad language, either. But all five of 'em put together made me viscerally dislike and despise this book far more than I have disliked anything in the past ten years, mostly because there's just _too much_ going on.

Also, there's an odd juxtaposition of "message stories" going on. Simply put: I do not need to be bludgeoned about the head and shoulders to get the point, and so many "message stories" and stuff being _told_ to me rather than being _shown_ to me was distracting and displeasing.

And finally, between all the swearing (really, why did Ms. LeGuin have to use the term "f***ery" anyway? Why not just say "male brothel?" It's the same thing!) and the unnecessary uses of the term "be aware" in the last four stories (in one story, fine, but all the rest of 'em? Please!) which threw me right out of the reader's trance every time I saw it, I absolutely cannot recommend this work.

If you want to read it anyway, be aware that there is graphic violence in at least three of the stories, bad language in most of 'em, and that it is absolutely _not_ recommended for children under age 16 without parental supervision.

And if you're still insistent on reading it, my advice is to take these stories separately, and read 'em one at a time. Preferably one every few days to a week; that way you won't be _as_ upset when you're done reading this book.

Two stars.

Barb Caffrey