Blake Books

I own both her French and Italian vegetarian books, and while my cookbook library comprises about 150 volumes, they are in my top 5. I've never made anything from a Paola Gavin book which wasn't excellent! (My husband regularly requests the Leek Tart from the French book.)

Fellow vegetarians are familiar with the sorts of "ethnic" recipe variations which merely exclude the meat, or add some goofy substitute, like tempeh (sorry, tempeh fans), but these are nothing like that-- instead, Gavin has sought out GREAT recipes which are vegetarian from the outset. She gives all kinds of background on the various regions of France and Italy in the aforementioned 2 volumes; in "Mediterranean," she expands into Turkey, Greece, Spain, Croatia and North Africa, and gives similarly excellent info about the histories (and presents) of the various cuisines. You can't go wrong buying this for yourselves, my fellow vegetarians, esp. L/O, as there are are loads of great cheese and egg dishes (but quite a bit is vegan, too)! If you're looking for a gift for a vegetarian-curious person, this should be it. If you're looking for a cooking gift for a PERSON, period, this should be it! My only disappointment in my experience with Paola Gavin's books is that I haven't figured out how to contact her personally-- I would like to fall at her feet, weeping with gratitude. Perhaps she'll see this slavish tribute someday. Paola Gavin, you reign supreme!

The cookbook is exactly what it says it is: a vegetarian cookbook. In that regard it is excellent. We found that many of the ingredients were the same, or very similar, from recipe to recipe. I suspect, however, that is a function of what was/is available to rural Mediterraneans with limited financial means. Our main problem is that I am allergic to eggplant and my husband is sort of a picky eater and, therefore, there are few recipes that he is willing to try that are not potentially fatal to me. I would not have purchased this book if I had been able to look at it in a bookstore where I could have reviewed the recipes for ingredients.

Yes, I read the description. I consider myself a mediocre-at-best guitarist, with almost no flatpicking ability, so I was hoping this would be a little push in the right direction. This says "intermediate level" but as long as you can read tab, you should be able to handle this.

Melody lines *only* don't tell you much that you couldn't figure out on your own, even if you're pretty novice. Melody lines aren't even that interesting: Really, would you rather have just the melody as Blake sings it or would you rather have some pointers on his ornamentation? Even just a few pointers? (Why would you want to sing it *exactly* as he does, anyway? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of this kind of music?)

I'm still glad I got it, but I'm not blown away.

Oh, and mine DOES NOT have a spiral binding, which is a royal pain in the neck. Music books and cookbooks should ALWAYS have spiral bindings so they lie open on their own.

This book is very accessible.

For each tune presented, it gives first the guitar chords and melody (including a TAB rendition of the melody), then the complete lyrics, then the guitar TAB. This allows you to play the song at any level of complexity you like, up to Norman's own, without requiring of you the ability to read standard musical notation.

The spiral binding allows the book to lie flat when open, making it physically very easy to use.

Throughout there are photos of Norman, Nancy and friends, making the book an aesthetic delight.

The pieces transcribed include a selection from throughout Blake's career, and both songs and instrumental pieces. They are: '76 Blues (+2); Back in Yonder's World; Billy Grey; Blake's Railroad Blues; Charlie Gaither; Chattanooga Rag; Chattanooga Sugar Babe; Church Street Blues; Crossing No. 9; Down At Milo's House; Ginsing Sullivan; Green Light On The Southern; Greycoat Soldiers; The Highland Light; In The Spring Of The Year; Jimmy, John and James; Lincoln's Funeral Train (The Sad Journey To Springfield); Lonesome Jenny; Macon Rag; My Old Home On The Green Mountain Side; Ol' Bill Miner (The Gentleman Bandit); Old Ghost's Cry; Old Time Farmer; On And On And On; Paramount Rag; The Railroad Days; Randall Collins; Ridge Road Gravel; Savannah Rag; Slow Train Through Georgia; Southern Railroad Blues; Uncle Sam; The Weathered Old Caboose Behind The Train; We're Living In The Future; Whiskey Deaf and Whiskey Blind; Last Train From Poor Valley; Uncle; Tin Foil And Stone.

Enjoy.

At the time, I could not understand anything about poetry. And today, I still do not understand it. I have been re-reading this book lately (yes, I still have it 15 years later!), hoping to understand the appeal of poetry. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is in this one!

I got this book for a class and then lost it, since then I've been looking everywhere for it. All your favorites, and some new ones to treasure. One great little book!

I was going to give this book three stars because I didn't see much development in the beginning. As the story progressed however it started to take the shape of a story I liked. It was cute and the characters lovable. It wasn't a great, awe aspiring novel or anything, but it did lighten my heart by the time if finished it.

Write on, read on
N.M. Phillips

One of the things I have enjoyed about the shortie romances I've been reading lately is the way the authors have made history between the characters viable, so that the romance bringing the two together has enough back story to make it believable.

This story is a prime example.

Harry was Emma's brother's best mate. (this is Australian, folks, and you can practically hear the story being told with that brogue, as the terminology and slang is very not-American!) Harry is now a big web business winner.

Emma is an artist with an advertising firm. She's been in love with Harry forever, but he's always seen her as a little sister.

There's a mystery/tragedy in the past that the two must overcome. There's a burgeoning awareness on Harry's part that he struggles against - she's his little sister practically!

The plot is strong enough to carry the story, but doesn't intrude on the real meat of the romance.

The reason I've subtracted a star? It's so obviously one of a series. There are back stories hinted at that you'll have to read the other books to tie up the loose ends. Blah. I'm not doing that. But this story? Totally worth the read!

(*)>

Great book! After reading it I had to go buy another Richards book. It was the second that I read by Blake. Better than most movies.

I read this book in it's spanish edition, and I found it great, Jennifer Blake has always been one of my favorite authors and her works has been always good. The way she presents the characters has always been one of my favorite things about her work, because the regular guys are the ones that always do the right things, and then giving the highborns a lesson :).

The girl in this book Pilar is really an interesting character, to strongwhiled but with the kind of mind that makes her interesting and not spoiled. El Leon is really a great man, but also with his pride problems that get him and Pilar into a lot of drama twists. I found this novel to be not only a great reading, but also fun.

I am so enjoying reading through Jennifer Blake's backlist - especially those from the eighties and those that may have been originally written under the name of Patricia Maxwell. As well as I can surmise, Spanish Serenade was originally published in 1990 under Blake's name. These older romance novels of hers are definitely worth the search to find them.

Refugio, also known as El Leon (The Lion), is a nobleman turned into a Spanish Robin Hood of sorts. He is an outlaw who champions the underprivileged and leads a band of men to accomplish his kind acts that may be outside of the law. He is especially opposed to Don Estaban, his sworn enemy, who is responsible not only for stealing his family's wealth, but also the death of a family member. He is a dashing figure, multi-talented in weaponry, and the ladies love him. In the opening scene of Spanish Serenade, Refugio is coming to investigate a possible rescue of a damsel in distress, Pilar, Don Estaban's stepdaughter.

Pilar is a young lady in dire straits. Her mother had married Don Estaban years ago and he had treated her mother horribly and immediately sent Pilar to live at a convent. Pilar's mother has just died and Pilar suspects that her stepfather, Don Estaban, has murdered her. Pilar is a beauty who greatly fears her stepfather but is brave enough to attempt to escape her enforced confinement at his order. She sends a message to Refugio, El Leon, asking him to rescue her and in exchange for her rescue; she will give him her dowry.

Don Estaban is a really mean villain - just too mean for believability. He has told Pilar that he is returning her to the convent and will provide the church with a large sum of money to keep her there indefinitely. This money is the dowry that Pilar offers to Refugio. Refugio decides to help this damsel in distress and attacks the caravan escorting Pilar back to the convent. Inside the carriage which carries her and her lady's companion, sits the cache of gold which will be paid to the convent upon their arrival. Refugio and his band successfully take Pilar and the trunk of gold, leaving Don Estaban wounded on the road and swearing to get even with Refugio. When the outlaw band had attacked the caravan, Estaban had ordered his men to kill Pilar. For some incomprehensible reason, Refugio does not kill Estaban - only wounds him. Why he didn't is a mystery to me. As I indicated earlier, this is one very mean villain and does not deserve to live. Also, the trunk of gold has no gold - only a few pieces of silver.

The first portion of Spanish Serenade takes place in Spain. After several more despicable acts by Don Estaban, Refugio and his band, with Pilar, sail to America following Estaban to New Orleans. The latter half of the book takes place in Louisiana and Texas territory. It is an action filled book with many fun and dangerous pages. Refugio and his band remind you of Zorro and all have their moments. When Blake writes a book, you don't feel like you are reading a book about the leads with secondary characters used to fill out the story. You feel like you are reading a book about a family where many are involved equally. However, Refugio and Pilar's romance definitely does steer the bulk of the interaction.

Refugio and Pilar are romantic leads that are both very likable. He is really a man of honor and she is truly a kind-hearted lady. Although they both are definitely romantically interested in each other, they do not voice it often. Their romance is a slow build. Refugio is more vocal in his care of Pilar but she does not believe that he can ever be interested in her for the long haul. Besides there is always the possibility that Refugio will be captured and tried as a criminal. The sexual chemistry between Refugio and Pilar shoots off the page but the sensual scenes are rare and rate a 2.5 to a 3.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).

Spanish Serenade was a feel-good read with an enticing story line. Each time I picked it up to continue reading, I felt like I was picking up a comfortable companion that would provide me with gentle enjoyment. I have purchased many of Blake's older novels and anticipate relishing each one.

David Gardner can write, and he does express the anguish in Hanks' life and the good times well - he misses out some of the extra-film things Hanks does - not only his choices of charity work, but his comic work on Saturday Night Live which should fill out the career of this rounded entertainer - he leaves out earlier films that i discovered elsewhere. so, if he is marking out the territory to be the only biographer who knows it all, he should include more of the career. (Why did he and first wife adopt when they had a son already? what is it about Hanks and his wife that lead them to do this? but none of that is mentioned.) Maybe he was blocked, but he has not been a good journalist in doing what is essentially a cut-and-paste job that is very selective. Hanks' brilliance as an entertainer is of a particular American brand, and, here i am, an American based in Europe, and I'd like to have read about that a little. so, this is disappointing finally.

I began reading this informative biography, thinking it was probably just the typical filmography most books done on Tom Hanks are. The author has done a tremendous amount of research and, although I thought I was a well-informed fan, learned quite a few revelations. Anyone who loves Tom Hanks will be thrilled with this book and those who are only curious will also enjoy it.

The whispers you have heard for years are finally coming out, according to 'Kevin Fulton'. This guy went deep undercover & for what, Saving lives? No, massaging ego's if what you read is true. The book takes you along at a very good speed & is in essence, a very good book, a bit short, if I was to be cynical. There are not a lot of real surprises in this book, just confirmation that trust was weak on the ground & in some cases, confirmation that there were more than one enemy in this god forsaken war.

good read, it informs the reader just how corrupt the british system really is. a must read for any one that thinks the ira are terrorist.it will show you that the brits may be the real terrorist.you will leave feeling bad for the agent even if you are pro ira.

Well, it's funny, despite it's being a short book, it was too long.
It was very much like Mark Twain's joke about the sermon: he was listening to a sermon and thinking this is great, I'm going to give five dollars when the collection plate comes around. After a while, he thinks, well, maybe I'll just give a dollar. The sermon goes on longer. Finally, when the collection plate goes by, Twain steals a dollar out of it.
Chesterton starts off brilliantly, illuminating Blake - his poetic/artistic genius as well as his madness, seeming to capture the essence of the man in a few well constructed paragraphs. He had that extraordinary talent of being able to put into words sentiments you have never been quite able to articulate. But then he goes on. Inevitably, we must hear about the Catholic Church. And Western civilization generally. And oddly enough that discussion of where Blake is in relation to all that marginalized him. From that point of view, from a contribution to civilization point of view, Blake is no where. Fortunately, civilization is not a road we are paving with paving blocks consisting of people's life work. So, you may continue to admire him and love him, if you do.
It's certainly worth reading. As always, there is as much Chesterton as there is biographical subject. But this can be a relief after all the virtual non-entities who write so much biography and art history, prolific non-entities on all subjects! Still, he always gets tiresome, sooner or later.
Years ago I read his book on Dickens, which is superb. I wish that were re-published.

Chesterton was a Catholic. Blake was anything but a Catholic. Chesterton makes his case clear. Blake's obscurity rivals the alchemists. Both were British. Both, I think, were geniuses. And Chesterton would be the first to admit that Blake's genius was at a level worth writing books about.

Chesterton's views about Blake have been neglected for their audacity and controversy, ironic since Blake was neglected for the same reasons. But after having trudged through Blake scholarship for several years, I just ordered this book and read it twice through and marked it up constantly. Chesterton is a show-off with his cleverness, but he's a very good show-off, and he overflows with insight even if he can outrage with his assertions. So you may find this book maddening, or refreshing. But if you can follow his train of thought and precise-but-highly-developed vocabulary, you'll never find it boring. And I found it the most eye-opening of everything I've read on Blake so far, and by far.

Chesterton had what one of my students called a "healthy dose of common sense" and that when you read him "you're constantly replying, 'Oh, of course!'" Considering that Blake is on the opposite extreme and can confuse his most devoted readers, Chesterton bridges a gap. He also entertains and challenges. So if you care to hear an alternative view, this book is the alternative view worth hearing.

I was attracted to this book by its cover which is very prette. However, the real reason why I don't give this book 5 stars is..not all stories are excellent. The firt story, Piece of Dreams, by Jennifer blake is just OK.. It's my least favorite of all three. The plot is kind of a bit boring although I love the idea of one main character has an identical twin!. It's fun to have two of a kind. However, I found that conversation between characters was not really appealing to keep you going until the end. I ended up skipping to read the second story before coming back later. The second story, Liar's moon, is my most favorite. I considered this story is one of the best romantic novellas I've ever read. Kristin Hannah is capable of making an ordinary plot into an enchanting, fun-to-read story. It made me laugh and smile the whole time. Two main characters are so adorable.. And not only romantic true-love feeling you will feel while reading this story but unconditional family love as well. Excellent job on this one!!. The last story, A midsummer's day dream, is fine. Not so good but not so bad either. To me, time-travelling concept is fun. However, in my opinion, this story could be better if it's not a novellas but a real, nice, long novel. Feeling between two main characters is too superficial (although, in the book, it said that's 'true love'). I kind of feel that they're attracted to each other by only physical appearances. There're a lot of questions about some other characters need to be answered and the story ended by leaving many questions about Who, Why, How did those things happen??.. So although, by overall, it's not a superb book, I like it. At least, it's good for a 'stress-free' day!!

This book contains three tales of love and desire.

1st "Pieces of Dreams" by Jennifer Blake

In 1843, four bridesmaids gather together to stitch their best friend's wedding quilt. But instead of thinking of her shy groom, the bride turns her attention to his unruly twin brother...

It's a cute story!

2nd..."Liars Moon" by Kristin Hannah

A farm girl masquerades as a rich woman to win the heart of the man she corresponded with for years. But she can't help wondering what will happen when the truth turns her riches back into rags...

It's a sweet tale!

3rd..."A Midsummer Day's Dream" by Linda Lael Miller

A vintage dress-shop owner embarks on a passionate journey through time-and lands in a castle in medieval England, where a handsome duke awaits...

It's a charming saga!

If you're looking for an easy, fun and quick read, this is one you'll enjoy!