Bell Books

"Silver Bells" combine three novellas of a warm and loving combination of the holiday season, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Years.

In "Christopher's Gifts," Ms. Forster combined three spirits together -- a child's view with that of a businesswoman and a father. Sometimes it takes a child's wisdom to shed light on a situation. In this case, Christopher, aka Chris, is a child who is confused by his view of his father, Wade. The confusion comes about through what Chris has seen or heard all his life from his mother and Wade's ex-wife. However, it is through Chris that other lives are changed. When Chris comes to live with his father, who Chris refers to as "Wade", Chris also meets the woman Wade is "working" for, Nadine Carpenter. A relationship develops between Wade and Nadine. However, Nadine has a secret and so does Wade. Through Chris, the secrets are unfolded. Nadine's secret is something she has been hiding for years, although no fault of her own. She feels self conscious and wants to hide behind her cloak of hair.

To Nadine, Wade appears to be more than meets the eye. Wade is on a mission to gain something that is more precious to him than his life, the love and respect of his son, Chris. Wade would do anything to make this happen, even if it means stepping down in life, staying put, and being around when needed. Wade also has another objective after meeting Nadine, a woman who has also changed his life.

However, Chris is in for some surprises also. Chris has a secret too. One that once he faces, he in turn, is able to help Nadine overcome a similar situation. Also, a young child, Chris not only learns about life and its values, but he also learns what it is to love someone and have that love returned.

In "Christopher's Gifts" love and happiness await Chris, Nadine, and Wade. Truly, the gifts shared with the trio, were priceless gifts. Great story of love, hope, and happiness.

Iman Parrish and Cedric Hamilton heat up Carmen Green's story, "Whisper To Me" during the Kwanzaa celebration. Iman and Cedric are a great couple. Iman teaches not only about Kwanzaa, but she teaches Cedric a lesson in love and life. Cedric is a man, who in the past had to face hard times, so he is wary of his future and strives to gain all he could. He wants to make the best for his daughters and ensure that they are never without. Cedric is a little overanxious where money is concerned, but it takes Iman to show him that money does not always mean happiness and there is more to life than money. Love can also mean happiness and security. Iman turns Cedric's life around with just the soft whisper of words, until he says, "Whisper To Me."

"Happy New Year, Baby" was great. It covered the political and social issues involving a city that brought Shani Moore and Eric Aucoin together not only in the public, but also in their private lives. Shani and Eric had to deal with events that left their personal lives upturned. Could their new found love withstand the obstacles they were faced with involving community action or would their love slowly dissolve as the old year goes out and the New Year comes in with a bang?

"Happy New Year, Baby" was a wonderful story. Loved it, Ms. Emery.

One of my favorite of Gwynne Forster. The story line is well written with affection and love. The characters demonstrate warmth and pride. Whenever I need a pick-me up I reach for this book.

This is THE book to read. THat is all i have got to sa

This book together with THE ROBE and QUO VADIS are the GREATEST of Christian literature that brings not only the early Church and its people alive but makes you forget you are reading and causes you to fall into the book almost.
Great.

This is a great book, very clear explanations, helpful tips and illustrations.

This book is a pretty good one for beginners. The pictures are excellent and very helpful in trying to do the poses. The instructions for doing each pose are rather clear. Most of the poses include variations and modifications for doing the exercise. Some of the poses suggest using props (blanket, wood blocks, chair) to help you in achieving the pose which is especially good for those of us who are a little less flexible or new to the yoga practice. There are several practice sequences detailed at the end of the book, and the sequences vary in difficulty. One of the best features of this book is that it is spiral bound and has tabbed dividers which make it easy to quickly refer back to a pose or grouping of poses. Any yoga book is no substitute for a good teacher, but this book is a blessing when you want to refresh your memory on a pose or poses you may have learned in class.

A resource for early English/American geneological research. Great asset, opened a new chapter for us.

The Book "Sir Robert Bell and His Early Virginia Colony Descendants" is a most throughly researched tome. It is a well written history of this clan of Bells. There are dozens of interesting Maps, Charts, and Photos that augment the history. The time line, "Bell Britain-American History, 1520-1790", is helpful relating a time in history with various Bells on both continents. This book has already helped answer a number of questions I have had in my research, and I'm sure it will be of further use in the months to come. I highly recommend the book for those researching with lineage to Sir Robert Bell.

Having first discovered Vanessa Bell through an interest in her sister, Virginia Woolf, I consider myself entirely unqualified to judge her status as a painter. The woman who emerges from these short pieces, however, is witty, honest, and deeply intelligent. The memoirs of her childhood, which comprise the first three selections, are filled with humor and warmth, with the sharper side of her wit directed chiefly at her elder half-brother, George Duckworth. George is also the primary subject of the fourth essay, and it says much of Bell's writing that he comes across as ludicrous (at best) and yet utterly believable. The remaining memoirs are more generous and less acerbic, particularly one about Bell's friend and former lover Roger Fry, recalling the ways in which their love converged with the expansion and evolution of Vanessa's painting. The portrait of Fry is that of a kind, open-handed man, brilliant as a teacher if not as a painter; Vanessa, despite being "not a writer," manages to convey deep emotion with dignity and a wonderful lack of sentimentality.

Perhaps my favorite piece is the final one, a lecture Vanessa gave to students at her son's school. In addition to being hugely amusing, it's one of the clearest and least pretentious discussions I've yet seen on what it means to be a painter.

Read this book--not for the sake of Bloomsbury hype, or for the gossip-value of Bell's unconventional personal life; read it because she was an exceptional woman and artist in her own right and this is as close as we can come now to knowing her.

Having first discovered Vanessa Bell through an interest in her sister, Virginia Woolf, I consider myself entirely unqualified to judge her status as a painter. The woman who emerges from these short pieces, however, is witty, honest, and deeply intelligent. The memoirs of her childhood, which comprise the first three selections, are filled with humor and warmth, with the sharper side of her wit directed chiefly at her elder half-brother, George Duckworth. George is also the primary subject of the fourth essay, and it says much of Bell's writing that he comes across as ludicrous (at best) and yet utterly believable. The remaining memoirs are more generous and less acerbic, particularly one about Bell's friend and former lover Roger Fry, recalling the ways in which their love converged with the expansion and evolution of Vanessa's painting. The portrait of Fry is that of a kind, open-handed man, brilliant as a teacher if not as a painter; Vanessa, despite being "not a writer," manages to convey deep emotion with dignity and a wonderful lack of sentimentality.

Perhaps my favorite piece is the final one, a lecture Vanessa gave to students at her son's school. In addition to being hugely amusing, it's one of the clearest and least pretentious discussions I've yet seen on what it means to be a painter.

Read this book--not for the sake of Bloomsbury hype, or for the gossip-value of Bell's unconventional personal life; read it because she was an exceptional woman and artist in her own right and this is as close as we can come now to knowing her.

I can't say enough good about this work. This is an example of two talented people who collaborated to create a work of art, far greater than simply the sum of "writing" plus "illustrating." This is magic. It is honest. It is challenging. And it's totally life- and spirit-affirming! It is not to be missed.

The message and presentation are absolutely not "dumbed down" for kids! (Thank you, thank you!!!) Yet it IS accessible to the preschool set. At the same time, I can imagine this book used with great success as a learning tool/discussion starter with older kids---and even on college campuses and in adult workshops!

Bell Hook's poem goes straight to the heart of the matter---what does define a person? And how do I understand who I am and who you are? Chris Raschka's illustrations reflect the complexity (and simplicity!) of this particular mystery.

What a joy to make a "find" like this!

This book is great, like anything by bell hooks. My kids love it. It leads to some excellent conversations with them. :)

My 3 year old absolutely loooooves this book. Each page has about 3 or 4 pieces of packing tape on it because it has been read, re-read, over and over again and it's only 6 months old. It's the MUST book for reading at night, and she carries it around the house non-stop. She's memorized every song and poem, recognizes which song goes with which picture. She's going to learn to read with this one I'm sure. For the parent, it's pretty enjoyable and contains quite a few familiar "mature" holiday songs. There are quite a few I don't recognize but it doesn't keep us from making tunes up. There are one or two blaring Christian poems/songs, but if you don't mind it, it's a great book.

Geared for youngsters ages 4 and up "Sleigh Bells and Snowflakes" is a happy collection of holiday poems and songs.

Young eyes and ears will joyfully respond to the perceptive and perky words of the beloved Ogden Nash: "Smooth clean and frost white The world looks good enough to bite. That's the season to be young, Catching snowflakes on your tongue," and learn to hum along to the familiar lyrics of "Silver Bells."

Whether witty or moving there is something for everyone to be found in this treasury of the familiar and the new.

Linda Bronson used clay, collage and paint to artfully bring these selections to life.

This was quite a strange book with an ending that leaves you surprised. I've never actually read about aloser so enthralled.

Malta Police Inspector Cassar takes Mr. Blum in for questioning because the "tourist" has quite a record according to Interpol. Blum hides his tourist vacation of not finding a buyer for his illegally obtained collection of Danish pornography. Though his one month visa expires in three days, Cassar informs Blum to leave before the expiration for one hour past will lead to his becoming a guest of the island's civil prison Kordin.

Through an Aussie friend, Blum meets fellow illegal dealer Rossi, who likes his women more girly that adult. Blum offers his classic collection from the late 1960s for sale, but soon after attending a party on Rossi's boat, Blum ends up with a train station luggage ticket that leads him to five pounds of Peruvian cocaine inside the suitcase he picks up. However, instead of easily selling the flakes, Blum's luck remains bad as the German police, drug traffickers, and cocaine users want what he possesses gratis. If killing him is needed so be it.

THE SNOWMAN is an excellent wild crime thriller starring an unlikable hardboiled anti-heroic con artist who lands in one increasingly more difficult scenario after another. The police procedural story line is told mostly from the perspective of the pursued making for an intriguing upside down twist to they sub-genre. Fans will appreciate this terrific action-packed look at those beneath the German societal food chain by a talented deceased author who apparently observed much of his cast first hand as THE SNOWMAN feels in some ways autobiographic fiction.

Harriet Klausner

I have just about every wildflower book on Colorado that has ever been written, and this is one of my favorites. The author did an exemplary job of researching the facts, including good photos, and fitting it all into a manageable sized book. Because it also includes wildlife, I keep it in the console of my vehicle, a handy identification guide to most everything, particularly birds. It is specific to the Aspen area, but the info applies to most of the high valleys of the state.

From photographs to descriptions to layout, Janis Huggins' book is a work of art. It details the flora and fauna of Colorado's high mountains with such detail, clarity, and beauty that it received the 2005 Colorado Book Award for Non-fiction. This book would make a very thoughtful gift for someone you know loves the mountains of Colorado -- or it will bring about that love.

I am doing research on the Wiener Filter, and this book is a great introduction. Go get it!

... and teachers of the deaf.

Both Peter Denes and Elliot Pinson were communications scientists at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. Dr. Denes was Head of the Speech and Communication Research Department; Dr. Pinson was Head of the Computer Systems Research Department.

Very useful material: In its own words, this book is "an explanation of processes involved in spoken communication, from the speaker's production of words, through transmission of sound, to the listener's perception of what has been said. The mechanism of hearing is also described."

Highly recommended for teachers, researchers, students, and workers in this field.