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News Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

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If You Only Knew (The Friendship Ring Series)
Published in Paperback by Scholastic (1998-07)
Author: Rachel Vail
List price: $4.99
New price: $0.01
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

great short chapter book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-29
It was a great book! i read it when i was 11. I could really connect with Zoe (the main character). It doesn't talk about boys. so, if you want a kind and nice friendship book you should get this one!!!! I loved it, so, so will you!!!

Love It!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-02
I read this book when I was 13 years old. I absolutely loved it at the time. I could relate to all of the characters because they were just like my friends. And the plot completely reflected life as a preteen or how I wished my life could be. I will be 20 next month and I still remember this series of books being one of my favorites as a young teen. I would also recommend the California Diaries to anyone who enjoyed this series as they were also a favorite of mine.

zoe gradon is the kewlest!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-20
on reading this book you would seriously have the feeling that you are actually reading a secret diary of a 12yr old. anybody from age 10-14yrs can relate to zoe's character of being tomboyish and feeling clumsy & unpretty at some stage or the other.this is a must read for all the teenage crowd who have less than sqeaky clean lives.rachel vail is the best!

Too Good!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-03
This book was awesome. It is about a girl who was always considered one of the guys. All of a sudden, she finds herself becoming attracted to Tommy Levit, her next-door nieghbor, and wearing tight tops to school. She asks Tommy who he likes, and it turns her life upside down, because CJ Hurley, who she wants to be her best friend, likes him too. Did she make a big mistake?
I think that Rachel Vail is an awesome author. If you like this book, you should read all the books by her.

Helen's review of "If Only You Knew"
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-02
"When you're the yougest of five girls,nothing's your own" that's the first sentence of the book.Zoe Grandon is the fifth child in the Grandon family. she has heroldest sister,Anne Marie's mouth, her second oldest sister Bay's hair. But unfortunately, she has her mom's behind. Zoe is friends with everyone.Even boys.Zoe is kind spirited and friendly.Zoe has a crush on herf riend,Tommy. But her almost best friend, C.J,has a crush on him too! Zoe can't decide whether to she should go after Tommy or let C.J have him. But she finally decides that since C.J liked him first,C.J should have Tommy. But does Tommy like Zoe? Or does Tommy likeC.J? What if he doesn't like any of them?

I first chose this book when I saw my friend reading it. The cover was a picture of a girl holding a tennis racket in her hand.I read the blurb and I was hooked. But I was confused too. In the blurb,there was this word, hormones.What does it mean?I asked my teacher, Mr.Carbone.I found out that hormones means something in your body that makes you act differently and behave differemtly.I was still puzzled.As I read more, I understood what it meant.I really like this book and I want to read the other books in the series. It's a very good book and I know other people would enjoy it.

When Zoe let CJ have Tommy, I was angry.If Iwas Zoe, I would go after Tommy. After all, so what if CJ liked Tommy first? Zoe KNEW Tommy first. Zoe is just too friendly to hurt CJ's feelings. Another book, "Kitty in High School" is about the same thing. Kitty likes a boy named Skip. Kitty wasn't sure if she should ask Skip to the dance, and when Kitty makes up her mind, Skip is taken by her best friend. So if Zoe doesn't go and try to win Tommy back,she'll never get the chance!

My favorite part in this book is the whole book, so there's not much to explain, is there?

I would recommend this book to people who are ready to learn about growing up. If you are like zoe and you have a crush on someone, read this book and you might learn something.

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In This House of Brede
Published in Paperback by Loyola Press (2005-02)
Author: Rumer Godden
List price: $13.95
New price: $8.00
Used price: $4.99

Average review score:

Life in monastery
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-14
Rumer Godden is one of those female writers who from the very early age was exposed to life overseas (India). From then on, she sets on a path of being one of the writers like Isak Dinesen and Doris Lessing. Woman highly sensitive to people and cultures around her, who really has no land of her own but is curious about anything and eevrything around her. Her personal life was equally difficult, so it is interesting to read the book about the Catholic nuns living in monastery in England, traditionally protestant country. In this book we come across main character, Phillipa Talbot, 42 year old professional woman who decides to leave her worldly life and high position in order to pursue contemplative life a monastery. This is a big step for her as she decides to leave her job, relinquish all of her personal possesions and submit all her property to the church, not to mention her conversion to catholicism. Surely, most of the nuns are skeptical about her actions as she is considered "too old" for vow of poverty and obedience and this huge personal transformation. But Philippa has her mind set and she is sure that this is due to her personal convictions not due to her sorrow, guilt, regrets or any other emotions that may be distractions from a true vocation of leading meditative life for the rest of her natural life. Over a course of a decade we observe Phillipa's transformation. It is an interesting novel. For non-catholics, like myself, I recommend reading notes first that explains monastery life, monastic orders, greetings, vows, dowries, etc. before reading the actual book.

a page turne!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-19
I'd heard about this book from various sources, and finally found it on Amazon. I am completely thrilled with it's ability to tell a great story, it's attraction as a spiritual journey, and it's honesty about living with others in cloister is no different that with our famiies. A wonderful read! But, be forwarned...you may be 'encouraged' to vocation!

So much to review...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-09
First off, there is no question of Rumer Godden being a master story teller, a woman skilled at the crafting of words, of putting pen to paper and creating a world so detailed you would step into. A world, in this case, centered on the religious life of a Benedictine community and all who live in it. The abbey, the House of Brede, is a place where cloistered nuns turn out to be very, very human. With a history of pain and sin these women have to find themselves, to find love, joy, and balance in serving God. It is not easy and a few will fail. To try to review this book, this work of art, is beyond me. It really touched me in many ways yet also made me ponder about what kind of lives the women would have had outside the walls of the Brede. Would they have had families? Would they have run simple shops or would they have gained great wealth? Would they have made the world a better place? Or would they have just added to the pain and waste?
Philippa Talbot, a woman who was successful, intelligent and respected, enters the abbey at an age much later than most. She journey from one stage of development to another is amazing but also slightly sad. Change can be both and sometimes is. Birthdays, weddings, and graduations are happy and sad, full of laughter and crying. So by the time we reach the end of the book we find ourselves wondering about life, ourselves and the What Ifs of our own choices in life.

Great depiction of cloistered life
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-23
This book does a good job of showing the struggles and triumphs of cloistered life. The day to day life of these women, although seemingly boring from an outsider's view, is anything but. I really began to care for the characters and the recognized the importance of the lives they led. I love reading books on cloistered nuns because you feel like you've been let into this secret, magical existence and this book did just that.

I have read this book over 20 times
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-08
My first copy of this book was a used paperback that was given to me when I was about 10. I read it and read it until it was falling apart. (I was excited when I found a hardback copy in a used bookstore a few years ago.) To this day, (30 years later) I still love this book. I can pick it up and read it cover to cover, or just open it and read from that chapter. I am not a very spiritual person, but there is just something about it that keeps me reading.

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Last Shot
Published in Library Binding by Rebound by Sagebrush (1999-10)
Author: Darcy Frey
List price: $21.10
Used price: $3.49

Average review score:

Last Shot makes you know what C.I. is like...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-14
Coney Island the basketball playground of America is the setting for the Last Shot: City Streets and Basketball Dreams. 4 stories of H.S. basketball players who goto Abraham Lincoln H.S. and play for the might basketball team the Railsplitters (What a cool name). I mainly bought this book because Stephon Marbury is featured as one of the four people in it. I myself grew up in Brighton Beach one town away from Coney Island so I know how life is... This book is true and real and I recommend this book to any sports fan or anyone who is looking for a real treat.

Coney Island B-Ball
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-25
A classic piece of sports writing, but for everyone. The author is a writer for the New York Times Magazine. In this book he writes about the lives of some high school basketball players/high school students (in that order).

Like the other posters have noted, it's not just for basketball freaks. It's a well written story about some kids in the 90's who live in the projects in Brooklyn, Coney Island for the most part, and how much basketball means to them. In the book it seems like basketball is their only path to success. But they are up against the recruiters, hustlers and the SATS (which they need to get a 700 on but that's just out of reach for most).

You get to meet the student athletes, Russell, Corey, Tchak, and Stephon, their parents, coaches, recruiters, local prophets, etc, and the author treats them all with a level of respect the New York Times Magazine accords the suit wearing sharks.

If you get this book, you won't have to read long before you're committed to reading the whole thing. It's a very rare book indeed that leaves me wanting more. I would have loved to read a sequel. Alas, we only get an afterward, but the story had to end somewhere and the afterward was, well, quite the shock.

Hoop Dreams
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-29
If you like hoops you would love this story. Darcey frey the author who's also a sports writter follows the life of three young men who's dream is to become professional basketball players.Living in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn these three men are faced with durgs violence, and everything you see on the streets of Brooklyn. A very inspirational story, and a indepth look on the career of Stephon Marbury.This is a book you would want to share with a friend.

Symphony of words
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-27
This book should be a classic, if it isn't already. As someone who hasn't a great deal of interest in basketball, I can throughly recommend it simply for the author's style. The man's prose reads like a dream as he brings the characters to life in an inimitable way. He enables you, the reader, to go right into the streets of New York and live the lives of each of his main characters, to get to know them, understand them and - in a sense - to *be* them. A definite must for your library.

Reality Check--I LOVED this book!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-16
The book, The Last Shot, journeys into the streets of Coney Island in New York City, and into the lives of four young men aspiring to become basketball all-stars. These boys of Coney Island are Russell Thomas, Corey Johnson, Stephon Marbury, and Tchaka Shipp, all of whom are "to-be" high-school seniors with the exception of Stephon who is yet a freshmen. Corey, Stephen, and Russell live right in the Coney Island "projects", or districts, amidst the violent gangs, drug dealers, and drunks of New York. We learn that even the police are rarely seen in this area although a reason for that is never provided. It seems as if the only way for boys to focus on positive things is through basketball. Numerous basketball courts exist in the projects but one, in particular is important to these four boys called the Garden. Countless hours are spent on this court, practicing shots, dribbling, playing pick-up games, and organized tournaments. Also playing basketball for their high school Varsity team, these young men are recruited by a large amount of NCAA basketball coaches. They all have the potential to play college ball at Division One schools but how do they deal with the negative influences that surround them daily? Missing the required 700 point SAT score would mean, sadly their hopes and dreams of playing high-level college basketball would be shattered. This story reveals the riveting truth behind where many of our NBA all-stars originate from.


S.K. --Grand Rapids, MI

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Life and Fate (New York Review Books Classics)
Published in Paperback by NYRB Classics (2006-05-16)
Author: Vasily Grossman
List price: $22.95
New price: $9.35
Used price: $7.24

Average review score:

A better than you'd expect soviet era novel
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-27
With the exception of Bulgakov I don't care much for Soviet literature. I could never finish Dr. Zhivago or Quiet Flows the Don. This book I did enjoy. Particularly the parts that dealt with the jewish physicist (I forgot his name) and his family. The letter he receives from his mother before she's deported is probably the most memorable part of the novel. Some people compare it to War and Peace. I wouldn't go that far but it is good enough that you might want to read it again as I plan to some day.

Matchless
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-10
One of the most relevant, startling and magnificent novels never read. Awe-inspiring from start to finish: for the characters themselves, their historical counterparts, the author's world and the world at large. Evokes the Greek idea of "necessity;" no understanding, truth without any value, no solid principles, no foundation. You don't read the story: you tumble through it, terrified, grasping blindly for something to stabilize the free fall.

Read it.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-17
Read it. Completely compelling. If you think the Russians are a mystical and unknowable depth, this book will not disabuse you. Best war novel I ever read.

Read it.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-13
How should you read this novel? In a time frame that's as condensed possible. It is not a book that can be picked up at intervals, as you will lose track of the characters and their complex, interwoven stories. Why should you read this novel? Here are a few reasons. First, for its depiction of the German concentration camps, where Grossman's own mother perished. Second, for the equation it establishes between the crushing power of the Nazi state and the equally destructive power of the Soviet state. Particularly poignant is the fate of the commissar Krymov, an old Bolshevik whose dedication to the state lands him in prison, in the Lubyanka. He comes to understand Stalin's method, to realize that "the hide was being flayed off the still living body of the Revolution so that a new age could slip into it; as for the red, bloody meat, the steaming innards--they were thrown onto the scrapheap. The new age needed only the hide of the Revolution--and this was being flayed off people who were still alive. Those who then slipped into it spoke the language of the Revolution and mimicked its gestures, but their brains, lungs, livers, and eyes were utterly different" (841). Finally, read the novel for the story of Shtrum, the scientist, and its examination of what happens when science must serve the state.

An epic and vivid depiction of moral pollution
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-10
The publication of the massive novel LIFE AND FATE by the Soviet war correspondent and novelist Vasily Grossman was a major event in the West when it was finally published in 1985, twenty five years after it was written. LE MONDE called it "the great Russian novel of the 20th century"--which it is most certainly not. Why would somebody read a Social Realist novel almost as long as the Old Testament (Grossman = 880 pages, God = 996 pages)? In my case, it all started with an interest in the relationship between scientific creativity and literary creativity. One of the most interesting thinkers on that subject is the great Hungarian chemist Michael Polanyi, who shows that spontaneous order can be seen in political, social and economic behaviour. Underlying this order is an ethical foundation which Polanyi identifies with truth and human freedom. Everything else, as Polanyi sees it, is a consequence of the initial decision to choose truth or falsehood, and freedom or constraint. Polanyi was therefore very interested in what was in his day the greatest enemy of freedom and truth, the totalitarian political systems of National Socialism and Leninist-Stalinist Socialism. And this is where LIFE AND FATE, and Grossman's own interests, intersect with Polanyi's thought. Polanyi, himself a great research scientist of the first order (and his son was to win a Nobel Prize), recognised in Communism and Nazism a distorted, materialistic scientific world view that had flourished like a weed within the dramatic rise of science and technology over the last 400 years. Polanyi made the passing remark in MEANING that "There were people who actually transformed philosophic error into destructive human action . . . [they developed within] the intelligentsia of central and eastern Europe. They are the nihilists." Grossman must have been on a similar track in this novel about the rotten foundations of the Soviet system, because he makes a physicist one of his most important characters. The key fact about Grossman was that he was an insider and, for most of his life, a supporter of the Stalinist Soviet system. Unlike Pasternak, Mandelstam, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn and the other great Russian poets and writers of the 20th century, who suffered persecution, imprisonment, torture, death and / or exile, Grossman was for most of his career a pet of the senior Soviet heirarchy. Trained as a chemist (like Polanyi and the chaos / complexity theorist Prigogine), Grossman was a feted war journalist like Ilya Ehrenberg--and like Isaac Babel a generation before, although Babel was executed in one of Stalin's early purges. Grossman is almost as good a writer as Babel, but he survived long enough to have a crisis of conscience and write about it, unlike Babel, who disappeared into the Lubyanka. So the great interest of LIFE AND FATE is this conflict between lies and truth that Grossman is struggling with personally as a human being and writer throughout the novel. Fortunately for me, before beginning LIFE AND FATE I had started Nadezhda Mandelstam's memoir HOPE AGAINST HOPE, and was half way through, before I started LIFE AND FATE. Mandelstam's memoir provides a clear perspective on the corrupt ethical environment of the Soviet Union which, in LIFE AND FATE, remains murkier. The novel is deeply flawed as a literary work because of its author's unresolved struggle, but as a document of the human spirit trying to overcome its crippled and diseased state, it is fascinating. LIFE AND FATE opens with a powerful evocation of a Nazi concentration camp, and almost the last chapter is a nightmarish vision of the future in which Stalinist gulags merge with global society into an indistinguishable system in which not just manual labour, but all intellectual effort and creativity, is enslaved to the State. In between Grossman makes increasingly explicit comparisons between Leninism-Stalinism and the Nazi system, which was no doubt a major reason the novel couldn't be published in the Soviet Union during his life time. The over-arching plot is a dual track account of the defense of Stalingrad in 1942 and the establishment and operation of the Nazi extermination camp system. Yes, a big downer of a book. On the surface, Grossman would appear to be contrasting the heroic Soviet defeat of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad with the industrial-scale moral obscenity of the Nazi's Final Solution, but in fact the entire novel demonstrates the numerous similarities between the two arenas and the systems that created them. Grossman depicts a kind of anti-Polanyi universe. Polanyi famously described a Republic of Science in which tens of thousands of scientists around the world, each individually commmitted to the truth, continually share information and calibrate their own personal understanding of nature by freely sharing information and interpretations with one another, and then checking this against the data that new experiments report about empirical reality. Grossman shows a Soviet system in which millions of people lie and denounce one another in order to avoid personally coming to the attention of the vast secret police network as an "enemy of the people". Instead of a continous flow of truth and new information, Grossman shows how a vast ocean of lies swirls through the Soviet system, putting literally everyone at immediate risk of arrest, humiliation, torture, imprisonment and / or execution, a fate which millions of innocent people suffered. LIFE AND FATE is a strange book, because in large sections Grossman still writes like a convinced Bolshevik, in others he appears to be trying to write in such a way that the book will slip through the censors, and in many passages he just takes the gloves off and writes about the truth--ie in a way which indicts the murderous nature of the Stalinist system. To untangle these different sections, it would be helpful to read Strauss's PERSECUTION AND THE ART OF WRITING before taking on LIFE AND FATE. For example, a scene in which the characters toast a portrait on the wall of Stalin and refer to what a wonderful leader and great human being Stalin is, almost imperceptibly turns into subtle, but strong, criticism of Stalin. At other times, Grossman puts some of the strongest criticisms of Stalin and Stalinism into the mouths of crazy, criminal, or doomed characters. But the overall comparison between Stalinism and Nazism is so obvious that it is hard to imagine how Grossman thought he would get away with it. In addition, however, there are numerous passages which justify terror as a legitimate tool against real "class enemies", if not necessarily all the "excesses" commmitted against imaginary class enemies. Grossman is himself clearly deeply conflicted, as a prominent writer of the Soviet era, who benefited for most of his career from its system. He seems to have gone along with the nightmares of the late 20s and the Great Terror of 1937, only becoming disillusioned when the murderous, and potentially mass-scale, anti-Jewish persecution ("the so-called 'Doctor's Plot'") was about to be unleashed by Stalin just before Stalin's death. Because Grossman supports terror as a legitimate tool against class enemies, LIFE AND FATE stands as a tainted monument to its era, and to the moral corruption of its author. LIFE AND FATE ends rather abruptly without completing the many plot lines or resolving any of the tensions in its pro- and anti-Soviet depiction of reality. Grossman himself, by the time he died of cancer in 1964, was apparently deeply depressed, just like many of the characters he depicted in LIFE AND FATE who suddenly realise that the ruthless ideals to which they had devoted their lives, and sacrificed their family and friends, were nightmarish lies. Perhaps Grossman did finally recognise and accept the full truth, but if he did, he wasn't able to write about it in a document that survives. By comparison to LIFE AND FATE, the tragic clarity of Nadezhda Mandelstam's HOPE AGAINST HOPE is like a glass of pure water.

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Love Life for Every Married Couple: How to Fall in Love, Stay in Love, Rekindle Your Love
Published in Paperback by Zondervan (1980-10-26)
Authors: Dr. Ed Wheat and Gloria Okes Perkins
List price: $9.99
New price: $0.46
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

every marriage needs this one
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-25
A marriage counselor suggested I read this book. I had been married for 12 years at the time and we let things go. We needed some direction. We will be married 18 years this summer. It was wonderful. It gave me new hope and a new perspective. I have given several copies away to friends whose marriage was in trouble and a few as wedding gifts. It's great for the newly married couple to the oh boy our marriage is in serious trouble. I have re-read it a few times, and each time I pull something different from it. I highly recommend it!

I still recommend it,
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-14
I highly recommend this book. If it's not on the rocks, then I still recommend it, as it shows you specific biblical references to marriage and how to treat your partner.

Love Life for Every Married Couple
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-28
I recommend it for those contemplating marriage and who are already married. Dr Wheat's books can transform any marriage into one made in Heaven.

This book saved my marriage
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-16
For a christian, it is literally amazing how very far I was from the biblical principles for marriage. This book showed me how to act in accordance with these principles and I found nothing vague about it! It clearly outlined the appropriate behavior for a married christian and I go back to it again and again to remind myself of the good that god has in store for me as a partner in a christian marriage. I continue to buy this book in volume and share it with everyone I know, as my marriage was so close to the edge that I am still in awe of the blessing I've received from this book. Putting biblical principles to practice in your marriage can produce amazing results! May you be as blessed by the biblical wisdom explained in this book as I have been.

Love Life, for Every Married Couple
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-10
This is a good and easy read for all christians. It would be good for people not married yet, newlyweds, and married people. Love Life talks about the bible's guidelines for our relationships. The book has many useful ideas. I just disagree with the author's stand on divorce. I believe that divorce has it's place and time.

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The Read-Aloud Handbook: Third Revised Edition (Read-Aloud Handbook)
Published in Paperback by Penguin (Non-Classics) (1995-08-01)
Author: Jim Trelease
List price: $13.95
New price: $0.95
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $13.95

Average review score:

There are so few "educational" books that are this much fun
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Any edition of this masterpiece is a must-have for any teacher, parent, or human being connected with reading in any way, shape, or form. Mr. Trelease presents a convincing argument for the importance (and joy!) of reading aloud, with plenty of case-studies and touching stories to give an emotional and logical edge.

Trelease says that reading aloud is something that should continue beyond the early childhood years of bedtime reading; just because a child can read on his own does not mean reading aloud is a bad thing--quite the opposite! Reading aloud is a pleasurable activity for people of any age. After all, who does not love to hear a good story? Reading aloud also shares a correlation with improved individual reading skills and overall intelligence. Maybe we can't prove anything, but there are absolutely no down-sides to reading.

This book extends the read-aloud concept to all aspects of learning, from childhood to special education.

Another bonus is a list of recommended read-aloud books.

This is a well-researched and very convincing book that is written with a sparkling syntax. Heck, it's just as fun and fascinating to read as anything else. Definitely a keeper.

The Read Aloud Handbook
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-04
This book is a must have for every parent, grandparent, teacher, administrator out there! I went to a seminar in our area that was based on this book and immediately ordered it. I read this wonderful guide and talked my school into having the speakers come to our school district for a Family Night to spread the word about this book!

The parents and teachers who attended our school's program loved the presentation and we gave out copies of the book. Sometimes we know we should do something (like drink 8 glasses of water a day and exercise 30 minutes/5 days a week) but how many people do it until someone, something really drives the message home? Everyone knows or should know that as parents we are supposed to read to our children. It's common sense right? But how many people actually do it regularly and at what point do parents stop reading TO their children? It isn't surprising that most parents QUIT reading aloud to their children as soon as they themselves can read. This book shows the benefits of continuing to read to our children as they mature into teenagers. It does a great job in showing how much children who are read aloud to throughout the grades benefit and how the children who are left behind are usually the children who never were taught how to appreciate the art and pleasure of reading.

It is frightening to me as a parent that alot of parents leave it up to our schools to do it all. We as parents need to take up the responsiblity of helping our children succeed by arming them with the best tool known to education--- READING! If parents can't help their own small brood at home how on earth can they expect a teacher to succeed with a classroom of 20 children?

My family started a Read Aloud program in our home the very evening I attended the seminar and we have gained so much. Not only does it help our son learn but it gives us family time that we will always remember fondly as we grow older.

I recommend this book most definately! ENJOY!

This book never leaves my van!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-16
I always carry this book in my minivan so that I'm never without it in the event of an impromptu stop at a bookstore or a library. And I always give it as a gift at baby showers (along with some board books recommended by Jim Trelease as well). Clothes get outgrown, toys break, but books are gifts that just keep on giving --- especially this one. My three sons and I have been introduced to authors and illustrators we would never have even heard of if it wasn't for good ole J.T. Highly recommended; you won't be sorry!

EXCELLENT BOOK!!! A must have for all parents
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-24
What a wonderful book!!! And what a fantastic resource!! I am so glad I found this while my children are still babies. Their father is grateful as well since this book has inspired him to take an active part in reading aloud to them.

I do wonder if I read the same book as some others!?!? Trelease isn't against phonics. (He says over and over that he's not suggesting we do away with worksheets entirely.) Nor does he push whole language instruction. He simply suggests that the traditional methods of piling worksheets in front of children be balanced out with reading aloud and sustained silent reading. Perhaps some people will find that a scary or threatening proposition. In that case... BEWARE! I for one find it quite refreshing though I don't agree with every one of his social positions. Even if I'm wrong about his positions on phonics, I'd still recommend this book. Regardless of how you choose to teach your child to read, reading out loud to them is STILL a wonderful, vital, bonding thing to do. Kudos to the author for driving that point home.

I have been reading to my babies since the day they were born and I plan to continue through the grades. I thank Jim Trelease for an inspiring and wonderful book.

This may be the best book I have ever read
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-21
I read to my kids and I read for pleasure (a lot!)but this book rocked my world. Someone loaned an older copy to me and I thought "Why do I need this? I already read to my kids." I did need it and every parent and teacher needs it too. This book does far more than telling you to read to your kids. It shows you how to do it the right way and it shows you what reading can do for everyone, the very poor, the prison population, special needs children, etc. I have never been so moved by a book. I am not sure how or where but I feel a calling to start or participate in a read-aloud program. This is an excellent book for parents and teachers. I plan to give it again and again.

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Some Assembly Required
Published in CD-ROM by New Tear Publishing LLC (2007-04-06)
Author: Thom Singer
List price: $19.95
New price: $19.95

Average review score:

Easy read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-02
This book is a quick and easy read. Really like the "take aways" at the end of each chapter. Thom reminds us of the basics of networking while including information on networking in this milenium - using the internet and social networking sites like Linkedin. This book is a great tool for anyone wanting to build their network and their business.

Buy The SECOND Edition
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-13
Some Assembly Required is now available in a SECOND EDITION here on Amazon.com. It is "new and improved", so be sure to buy that one (Red Cover!!!)

Thanks,

Thom Singer (the author!)

Thom Singer Does It Again
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-29
Thom Singer is one of my favorite networking authors. Why?

He practices what he preaches. He not only tells me how to network, and how to get more out of business and professional relationships, he does it himself. Other network authors are too busy networking with "important people" to network in my space (with the average, hard-working professional that we all work with) to really be able to connect with me.

Thom is all about building relationships, and giving value to relationships. This all comes out in his books.

When I speak I always recommend his book as a guide that is full of tactical ideas and examples that we, as professionals can use right now, today.

Nice Upgrade from the Original Book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-12
I have read Thom's other 2 books and liked that this is an excellent upgrade from the original. The new cover and format look great and I especailly liked the online chapter that includes explainations to sites like LinkedIn and Friendster. I see that Some Assembly Rewquired for Women is coming out and I look forward to more titles as well.

We Have The Technology, We Can Make It Better Than It Was - Better, Stronger, Faster!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-10
Like everything in life, I believe one must always be looking for ways to improve, and thus I have now released the SECOND EDITION of "Some Assembly Required: How to Make, Grow and Keep Your Business Relationships". It still has the same message and great stories that were applauded in the first edition, but now has a new cover, a new chapter focused on online social networking, and more stories about successful networking and business development.

I would like to thank the thousands of readers of the book (and the blog) and the seminar attendees who have listened to the message live, many of whom emailed me with suggestions about how to make the book and presentation more effective. Your input has been invaluable.

I am proud of the SECOND EDITION and hope you will read this book and NEVER STOP NETWROKING!!!

thom

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Tarot Plain & Simple
Published in Paperback by Llewellyn Publications (2002-09-01)
Author: Anthony Louis
List price: $16.95
New price: $5.37
Used price: $2.47
Collectible price: $16.95

Average review score:

Best Tarot Book Out There
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-26
This is the best Tarot book out there and I have a few ..smile.. This book gives simple words for each card to remember that will get you reading in no time.

Rave Reviews
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-04
I must say this is one of the best books on interpreting the Robin Wood deck that I have found. I have been reading with the Robin Wood deck for going on 12 years and the explanations that the author gives are great. His meaning of the cards has enhanced what I have learned from the book written by the author. So the only thing you really need besides this book is the one written by Robin Wood.

A Must Have
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-28
When I was gifted my first deck of cards 6 (almost 7) years ago, I purchased this book, as it was highly recommended. I haven't purchased another book about tarot in all this time. And even though I've been reading cards for awhile, I still check this book out on occasion. I think it's an excellent book if you're just starting out. Although I've never purchased any other books on tarot to compare it to, I've never had the need to. Personally, I think that says a lot for this book's perspective and content.

The only additional information I've really ever looked up was spreads. Although this book has a few, it doesn't have very many. (But google can take care of that matter with ease.)

As much as reading cards may be intuitive, I'd still recommend any beginner to have this book on hand. The books that come with tarot decks generally don't have information comparable to this one. And considering how inexpensive it is to buy this book used, you'll more than get your money's worth!

My Beginning Tarot Students Turned Me On to this Book
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-29
My beginning students were showing up to class with this book and I found that their instincts about it were right - it is clear and comprehensive. The author has some wonderfully keen insights, easy to understand card meanings, including reversals, and thought provoking exercises. He used the Robin Wood deck for illustrations, a deck that could be termed a Waite-based deck, and this is refreshing as it is a personal favorite of mine and is one of the most popular decks available -- even after all these years.

User-friendly and very thorough!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-08
This is an excellent book for learning the meanings of the cards. It has key phrases for memory, as well as extensive explanations for both the upright and reversed meanings of the cards. Also, it relates the cards to the types of people they might represent. I highly recommend it.

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Wonder's Promise (Thoroughbred Series #2)
Published in Mass Market Paperback by HarperCollins (1991-09-15)
Author: Joanna Campbell
List price: $4.99
New price: $1.74
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

GREAT! :)
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-16
this is probably my favorite book of the whole series!(not that i've read them all) It's great, great, great! So...I would defintely reccomend this to any1!

Magic in the Attic
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-16
A boy, Digory, and a girl, Polly, are friends who have a secret place by Digory's uncle's attic, and they accidentally stumble into his attic. Digory's uncle is a magician and he uses Digory and Polly as an experiment on his newest trick. He brought them to a different world and when they came back, Digory's uncle went with them for a second trip and ended up in a place called Narnia. They met talking animals and the king of the beasts have a mission for Digory and Polly. When they finish, they find out a witch has followed them and she is trying to take over that world. Digory and Polly make things a little easier on the animals, and bring Digory's uncle back home. Digory's mother was very sick, so he and Polly went back and got some healing medicine for her, but will it work?

Animal Bond
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-13
Ashleigh is worried about Wonder after failing to get trained by somebody other than Ashleigh. When Wonder's trainer gives up, Ashleigh tries to train Wonder and soon she succeeds. At first Ashleigh was worried because Wonder threw her. It was hard for her to believe that the horse she had raised would do such a thing. When Wonder proved she could be a racehorse like her owner had hoped, he agreed to let Ashleigh train her thoroughly. Asheigh couldn't have been more happier till a jockey friend, Jilly, was chosen to race Wonder. The End.

GO WONDER!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-06
This is a amazing book about hope for a little filly that only one girl has. Any horse crazy girl should read this book.

Faith in Wonder kept Ash going, even when all seemed lost.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-01-24
This is the second installment in the amazing Thoroughbred series. In this book, Wonder has been put into yearling training under a rough trainer. Jennings thinks that Wonder has been babied all her life and it's high time she learned to be treated like a race horse. Wonder becomes a totally different horse as she he manhandled and whipped. Ashleigh and Charlie can see that this sort of "training" is ruining Wonder before she even has a chance to prove herself on the track.

When Charlie and Ashleigh are given permission to exercise Wonder over the winter, they begin to plan a way to undo all that Wonder had been through. Ashleigh was terrified of her filly at first because Wonder was beyond control. It took a lot of guts and perseverance for her to climb up on that filly's back after she'd been thrown. The end result of all their hard work? Wonder was able to turn around and become the amazing horse that Charlie and Ashleigh had seen since the day she was born.

This book is a perfect example of why the Thoroughbred series must be saved! This series began with so much promise during the Ashleigh/Sammy years. Yes, the series has changed many authors and there have been some major bumps in the road, but the faithful readers of the TB series can see through all that to what promise the series still has. There are new characters and plots that could be made into great new books, but Harper Collins is planning to end publishment of this series after book #72. If you want to help save this amazing series, go to www.whitebrookfarm.com to find out more. Be sure to sign the petition also (only once please!). Ashleigh knew Wonder had the potential to be great and we know that the TB series has the potential to bring great stories and characters back too! HELP SAVE THOROUGHBRED!

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Vengeance in Death (Eve Dallas Investigation)
Published in Paperback by New English Library Ltd (1999-01-21)
Author: J.D. Robb
List price:

Average review score:

Good book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-03
The J D Robb series has me hooked. I was very happy that Amazon has back copies on had at a reasonable price.

Great
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-19
I love this series... you must read it to understand. It's all about a homicide detective named Lt. Eve Dallas and how she goes about solving a case which always seems imposibble to solve at first.

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-09
I love all of the books in this series ! The book was received in perfect condition.

Vengeance
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-24
This book is well written. I do not enjoy reviews that give too much of the storyline away, suffice I should say this book does not let me down from the previous Lieutenant Eve Dallas series. However, it will stand-alone, you do not have to read any other book in this series to know what is going on with it. I would not spoil it for you if I were to tell you that the murders start off extremely grisly and get very personal to the investigator. You gotta' love this book because, Lt. Eve will not stop until the killer is found. The suspense kept me going till the end.

Never saw it coming
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-11
The past always comes back to haunt you.... those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Luckily, both Roarke and Eve have learned from their checkered pasts.

When a mad man decides to punish Roarke for the sins of his youth, Eve becomes a pawn in a game of cat and mouse...but is Eve the pawn or is Roarke? To answer that question, Eve must hunt down a criminal as merciless as the devil himself.... Vengeance is the game. Death is the solution.


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