Butler Books

Terrific insight into W. B. Yeats and Ireland in the 30's. This book is steeped in extensive research by one who has spent a great deal of his own life studying the Poet, the Country and their times.

In reading Yeats , one comes upon so many issues of content and style. Reading this may give you a clue. It is important for stylistic interpretation, thematic analysis, and discussions or how Yeats began his career and the topics he chose. It is refreshing to think of Yeats as an extension of Shelley. Hopefully , our generation may develop writers and philosopers with links to Yeats. This will give you ample time to reflect on the issues. It is not light reading.

This book will prove a pure delight for the person who loves Yeats.

Dr.zilbergeld

". . . a well edited and critically important collection" --The Irish Times

"It will surely be assigned widely as a required text in undergraduate seminars focussed principally on Yeats, and should be essential reading for anyone embarking on a fuller engagement with the poet's cultural and political self-positioning." --Bullan: An Irish Studies Journal

"This volume is a well-conceived and very useful collection of important, even classic, essays on Yeats . . . This is certainly the first source to which one would now direct anyone interested in Yeats and politics." --South Atlantic Review

"Yeats's Political Identities will interest a wide range of readers. . . . The volume invites a graduate course based on its title, with the selected annotated bibliography serving as a list of valuable supplemental readings." ---Irish Literary Supplement

"The emotional quality of these essays is extraordinary: they are emotional in their relation to Yeats, as to a father of great legacy recently bereaved, and they are emotional in their relation to one another, since the quarrel in print is also often a dispute with the professor in the office across the hall." --ELT (English Literature in Transition)

This book was published first in 1835 but as 19th century novels go I found it fairly well-done, and holding my interest. There is a lot of melodrama, and the Indians are portrayed with some balance. There are some racist-like views, and a silly scene where Hector, a slave, begs his good master not to set him free. But the account is fast-moving and event follows rapidly on event. The scene is 1715 in South Carolina, and involves an Indian insurrection which actually happened, tho it is pretty hard to find much about it in history sources. Some of the speeches put in the mouths of characters in the extremely stressful situations in which they find themselves are not without humor to today's reader. It is said this is the best of Simms' novels, and knowing that makes me think some of his other novels might be fun to read--this one is.

This is a clever compilation of six bedtime stories with unusual interaction between the characters in each story. The authors have tweaked some tried and true stories about bears to enable the parent to read & interact with his or her child/children; the endings turn out differently than previous stories of a similar nature, thus providing the parent with a story that will spark the child's interest, as well as test their listening skills. Just "as in life", the outcomes vary and the child's interest will be enhanced when they realized that the outcomes of any story may be different, and "you never know what's going to happen."
The first, "Beware of the Bears!" is a variation on Goldilocks & the 3 Bears, but in this story, Goldilocks continues to outsmart the audience with her clever behavior and unpredictability. In "Big Bear, Little Bear", a mother's unconditional love is a forever feeling; it could also be a father's unconditional love, depending upon the circumstances.
A third story, "Who's Been Eating My Porridge?" is a creative take on encouraging a child to "try eating something new", or someone else might enjoy eating it for you.
There's reason for simple & good conversation before the children fall fast asleep, remembering the pleasant antics of the featured bears in six delightful stories.

I can't believe this book is still available! I remember reading this book when I was in elementary school. To be honest, I can remember reading and reading and reading it countless times until I knew every page and picture by heart!

I still have my family's fingerprints that I took using the book's instructions (about 20 years ago!). I also remember making my mom pretty mad when I dusted everything in the house for fingerprints (again, using the book's instructions). I think that any child, boy or girl, will really love reading this. They'll start looking for mysteries and detective work everywhere!

If you can find an old audiotape/book titled "Mrs. Wigglesworth's Secret," probably long out of print, it is the perfect companion to this handbook.

If I still remember all the fun I had with this book after more than 20 years, you see what I mean!

Zaki's Ramadhan Fast is an excellent book for non-Muslim children to learn about the fast of Ramadhan and for Muslim children to see their lives depicted in mainstream literature. I am an educator with 4 children of my own, and we are Muslims. My children love this book whether the oldest one reads it to younger ones, or the younger ones read it to themselves. The book is perfect for a short read - probably about 10 minutes - the ideal bedtime story. However, the story can generate a great deal of discussion, so 10 minutes might not be sufficient.

The illustrations are realistic, colorful, and attractive. The situations are reflective of the true homelife of a Muslim family and show insight into how a young child experiences fasting. The dialogue is genuine, and the emotions Zaki and his family go through are sincere. In addition, there is a separate final page that offers a great deal of explanation about Ramadhan to non-Muslims. This book is particularly good for school libraries and classrooms, and I urge parents to purchase an extra copy to donate to their school or local library. It is a book to keep on your shelf to read and re-read over many years. Both you and your children will enjoy it.

What girlhood is complete without the charming adventures of one of literature's most spritely heroines, Anne [with an e] Shirley? I've read this book time and time again since I was a child, and I still cannot get over just how much character and heart can be splashed into a single novel.

In the lovely world of a Victorian Canada the Cuthberts, an elderly brother and sister, decided to adopt a boy to help with farm work. However, there is a mistake and instead the awkward, idealistic Anne winds up in their home. She's an orphan who lives romantic dreams and is not afraid to speak her mind. She sounds irritating, but she is a fantastic, well-rounded character, as is everyone else. Anne quickly makes a name and a place for herself in her new home as she grows up through all the usual horrors of adolescence.

I had never read this book for fear that it would be too much like Little House on the Prairie which I had heard were heartwarming books where nothing much ever happened. Though Anne of Green Gables is certainly heartwarming and describes the interesting but not action packed life of a young girl, Anne's character is not the ordinary sweet little girl that you might expect to read about. Though wanting to be good, Anne spends most of her time dreaming about "romantic" things such as a beautiful pond near by which she named the Lake of Shining Waters, and the demons and goblins that live in the Haunted Wood. Her chatter fills the entire book and barely a page goes by without her contemplating some fantastical thought. This is a beautifully written novel and there needs to be no wondering as to why it has endured for the one hundred years that it has.

This full-length play, adapted from L.M. Montgomery's novel, has roles for 6-12 men and 12-19 women, with extras as desired. The time period is the early 1900's. The place is Avonlea and other locations on Prince Edward Island, Canada. All locales in the play can easily be performed on a unit set, however.

This dramatization faithfully conveys the spirit, events, and characters of the original novel, from her youth to early adulthood. The flexible casting and simple unit set make this play an ideal choice for community and school groups to produce.

Book arrived in good condition and in a timely manner. Excellent rating for seller. Would purchase from seller in future.

No matter what age you are or what genre of book you usually read, this is a terrific work of art. Everyone should take a rainy afternoon off to sit back, relax and read one of the greatest novels ever published. (And all other novels in the Anne of Green Gables series is just as exceptional!)

As a fantasy genre lover, these books were really good. They were well written and the authors did a good job in developing the characters, which is not often seen done well. I was hooked from the very beginning and read all 3 in about a week. I am now onto the Legends trilogy. I hope it lives up to the standard set in Dragonlance. I highly recommend this series!

The trilogy starts ok, a band of friends meet together after a long time and plundered into a long and hard fought adventure.
The story is good, the characters at most are very lame, i will go from the worst:
1. Laurana - The most beatiful, wise, brave, good-hearted , lame and boring character. Turned from a spoiled baby princess to a hard fought warrior that beats multiple life expierienced veterans on the field of battle. Unlike Kitiara who grew up by the sword, laurana is the next door girl, other than go shopping for Tanis, i wouldn't make any mention of her.

2. Tika - Ok, she started good as a simple barmaid, i could have accepted that, but suddenly turned to a fierce gladiator that OGRES from all over Ansalon fear. Soldiers train all their lives to excel in their combat art, how come a barmaid who wash dishes manages to survive so on the combat scenes other than cower behind the more expiuerienced warriors?

3. Fizban - Ohh please, ohh come on, if i would see him, i would turn to takisis for mercy immediatley. If you are not funny, dont be ridicilous.

The best characters are Raistlin which remained true to his character and realistic view, tas and flint for their funny addons and sturm which i really felt sorry for due to his stubborn ideals and lonliness And Kitiara of course which described as a good villain and trained soldier.

The charcters that were ok are Tanis who is quite common, riverwind and goldmoon are ok, they dont bring too much to the story as being ordinary people.

The first book was easy to read, fun, other than some nuisance from laurana and fizban, it turned out to be very fun and funny with Tas and Flint as the best characters there.

The second

I've been reading fantasy for 30 years and gaming for 25 years, so I'm not sure how I made it so long without reading what I thought was a classic fantasy series. I don't know if my expectations for these books were too high, or if I waited too long to read them and they're oriented towards a younger audience, but this is some of the most disappointing writing I've encountered in quite some time.

I really wanted to like Dragonlance, but the writing was incredibly simplistic and most of the characters too one-dimensional. Time after time, solutions to problems simply appear out of nowhere. It's not quite deus ex machinas, but it's close.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by the intricate plots and rich characters of Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, and Robert Jordan, etc., but I almost didn't make it through. I did finish the trilogy as the storyline does improve a bit towards the end, but, with the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't have chosen to read them.

As such, I can only recommend Dragonlance for younger fantasy readers or those gaming in the Dragonlance world.

The basic storyline, although not particularly inspiring or memorable, is entertaining and absorbing. To their credit, the authors have attempted to give their world color and texture and have likewise attempted to give some depth to their characters. Unfortunately, they aren't really good enough writers to pull it off. Descriptions of places tend to be gaudy, garish, and implausible. Their effort to create emotional depth in their characters manifests itself in gross, oversimplified ways, resulting in unbelievable, one-dimensional characters. For instance, the hero of the series, Tanis Half-Elven, struggles with his mixed parentage. Okay, well and good. But the authors failed to give him any other personality traits, so Tanis' responses, to everything from being attacked by a dragon to be offered a cup of tea, are limited to absurdly overblown fits of racial angst. A for effort, C for execution. Similarly, the dialogue between characters is unfailingly forced, contrived, and comically melodramatic. At times, I find myself wondering whether English is perhaps not the authors' native language, as they seem to frequently employ words which don't fit the context, suggesting that they either don't understand the meanings of the words they're using, or simply have adolescent stylistic tastes.

Still, I've come to realize that one cannot expect Tolstoy in the fantasy genre (although I keep hoping that one day a serious writer will undertake it). And, for a trash novel, it's makes for a decent read.

Let me start by first outlining the conditions under which I endeavoured to read the Dragonlance Chronicles.
Relatively recently I developed an interest in the Fantasy Genre and thus decided to explore its various sub-genres; immerse myself in Fantasy's myriad "worlds".
So, having done some preliminary research on the internet, and diligent perusing in my local Borders bookstore, I came to appreciate the fundamentals of the genre: Sword & Sorcery Vs Epic Fantasy; the 1960s and 1970s Vs the 1980s; biblical length trilogies Vs Short story masters etc etc.
My introduction into fantasy began with Stephen Donaldsons 'Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'. The first trilogy, though controversial and much debated by the genre's enthusiasts, I found to be superb. Soon, however, the intricacy and scope of "Epic" fantasy faded into the pretentiousness and monotony of unnecessrily LONG books.
Having felt that I had strayed too far in one direction, I next turned my attention to the other end of the spectrum.
Fritz Leiber's 'First Book Of Lhankmar', though extremely well written and undeniably witty, rang too hollow for my taste. Robert E. Howards legendary 'Conan' stories, though hinting at something amazing in numerous stories, I found too "pulpy" nonetheless. I tried reading 'The Lord of the Rings', and twice got halfway through, but I just couldn't finish it.
At last I came to understand what it was I wanted out of Fantasy fiction:
1) I wanted a world I could immerse myself in, withouting drowning in unnecessary details.
2) I wanted a darker, more realistic treatment of characters and characterization.
3) I was willing to follow a trilogy or long series, provided that each successive novel was not a repeat of the original.

So, having read the 'Dark Elf Trilogy' in its entirety (Forgotten Realms), I decided to give 'Dragonlance' a fair chance even though
a) The cover art I found to be quite off-putting.
b) I was worried the books were more for children than adults
and
c) I have a great dislike for all things elven and dwarfish.

I must be honest, I only got halfway through the first volume of the 'Chronicles','Dragons of Autumn Twilight', before I just couldn't go on. The reasons are as follows:

1) The characters are terribly mono-dimensional and cliche beyond description. Consquently the dialogue, in which it must be said the story drowns, is as captivating as watching drying paint. I became so adept at predicting EXACTLY what a character would say that I began to wonder if or not I was psychic.
2) Cliches, cliches, cliches. The story died of cliches.
3) It seemed as if Hickman and Weis deliverately tried to make the story as trivial as possible. But, there is a clear difference between banality and light-heartedness. The authors simultaneously sell this book as Epic and grand, yet they emphasize the happy-go-lucky nature of the characters and plot.

In the final analysis I must advise against purchasing the 'Dragonlance Chronicles'. This book is not for adults. End of story.

Thankyou for your time.