Byrne Books

Not only is this book a no nonsense in-depth approach to Sitcom writing, it is obviously written with a great deal of knowledge acquired through a genuine love of the subject. The authors share their experience of actually having written Sitcoms and also provide us with the results of their detailed analysis of the structure of a successful script. It's also a very good read.

I just finished the book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher. The story revolves around Eric Calhoune and his long-standing friendship with Sarah Byrnes. Both are social outcasts, Eric being extremely overweight and Sarah Byrnes being horribly scarred from a childhood burn incident. They grow up together fighting the school bullies and a society that doesn't accept them. As Eric begins to lose weight from joining the swim team and gaining a normal life, Sarah's life becomes more complicated, until she winds up in a psychiatric unit, not speaking. Eric must get to the bottom of her troubles and secrets before she is silenced for good.

There were things about this book I loved and things I hated. I loved the overall story of Eric and Sarah Byrnes, their friendship. Lots of stories focus on the well-adjusted, "popular", "pretty" people. This story looks at life from the perspective of those that are shunned, those that don't fit in. Sarah Byrnes is so strong and full of life. I love the way Eric sees her in the story. He doesn't pity her, he sees her as his equal and respects her. The reader definitely feels the love these characters have for each other. I also loved the mystery and suspense. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I didn't love how Christians are potrayed in this book. They all seem to be one-sided, over-critical, mean, and shallow. Being a Christian myself, I really bristled at those parts in the book. It seemed as though Chrisitanity was being attacked. As if the other characters in the book were better for not being Christians. But that is just my opinion.

Overall, the story was good, if a bit over-dramatic. Go into it expecting a lot of language. If you can overlook those parts, the story really rings true.

I read Staying Fat for Sarah Bynes by Chris Crutcher.I would definitly rate this book 5 stars. It was truely a great read and has a lot of life long lessons that can be learned.

This book is about two friends, Eric Calhoune and Sarah Bynes, who have been close since middle school. Sarah Byne's face is burned from an incident when she was three and Eric is overwieght.Despite their differences, they stayed friends through most of thier high school years. Trouble hits though, when Eric makes the high school swim team and starts loosing his difference that contributes to what makes Sarah and his friendship special. Then another problem strikes when Sarah's memory of the incident that happened when she was three catches up with her. She suddenly stops talking and is sent to a rehab center. Eric then realizes that the incident made a dramatic effect on Sarah and he wants to know what really happened. When he starts to find out the truth, he faces danger from her over-protective father and is put in life threatening situations.

This book shows how a real friend finds out the truth and faces the consquences to save another friend they truely care about. It has a lot of things anyone can relate to and has a way of showing the value of a true friendship.

I recommend this book truely to anyone just because it is a wonderful book. It has parts that have you flipping the page faster than you are reading it, there are parts that have you sobbing, and there are parts that just make you stop and think about all the people you know that would do the same thing for you as Eric does for Sarah. Also, this book doesn't go towards a certain gender, so it id a good book for both boys and girls.

One thing to point out though,is that the reader should be at least 12-13 years of age or older before reading this book. Although it is a great book, its covers many adult situations and subjects (birth, abortion, being at gun/knife point,smoking,etc.). Also, this book includes some foul language that isn't exactly good for young readers.

Staying Fat for Sarah Bynes is an amazing story and is definitly worth reading. I believe it is one of the the best books Chris Chrutcher has ever written.

OK, more than enough has been said about this book already, so I'm just gonna share my feeelings.
At first, you need to get used to the characters. After that, you feel so close to the characters; you connect to them, and then it all just swoops you away to a world full of tears. Well it was that world for me. I was weeping so bloody bitterly at some moments of this novel. It's got so much depth. I know you don't wanna miss this novel for the death of you. Man, if all books could do what this book did to me. I'm so thankful to Mr. Crutcher for his ability and strength. Eh, God bless this book.

When I reached the end of "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes", I nearly started crying. The ending touched me more than all the friendship moments in the book combined. And that's saying something, considering the fact that I liked this book very much.

"Staying Fat" is very much a friendship story. It's also a story about relationships, high school in general, and problems people have. It has in it many different social problems that people would rather not face head on. I especially liked the class discussions involving religion, abortion, and various other topics. It made the book a lot more interesting and real.

The thing is, the storyline isn't that amazing. It's good, but not great. What makes this story good is that the character's are great. They're very real and wonderfully drawn out. I connected to each character and felt what they felt, making this story more emotional and real. The story alone was sad, but wouldn't have meant much without these characters.

"Staying Fat" is really a very good book, but at times the plot doesn't move anywhere. If the book ran a little smoother and faster, it would be a 5-star book - no questions asked. I recommend this to teenagers interested in social issues. It's a very good book that should be read.

Just out of curiosity, I picked up this book from my 15 year old's pile of summer reads. I didn't put the book down until I finished. The only time I put it aside was to wipe the tears from my eyes or move to a quieter location. At 43 years old, I have to say that this was one of the most moving books I've read (younger audience genre) - it is a book that will inspire any age. This story is about friendship, loyalty, life, God, free speech, free thinking, and most of all, compassion. The subject matter is sometimes difficult - as a mother of 3, it was hard to read about the abuse. Sarah's father, as someone mentioned in another review, is one of the scariest characters in fiction - there are parts of the book which will keep you at the edge of your seat. This book has a life lesson for any age!

..Really enjoyed this film.

(May contain spoilers.)

This film is not a Talking Heads film. It is a movie about a bunch of people in the fictional town of Virgil, Texas. One of the main things that makes this film really enjoyable is the brilliantly casted assemble of characters. Among the movie's talented cast is "Rosanne" star John Goodman. in one of his earlier roles. Among the cast of quirky characters are the Culvers, a happily married couple who haven't spoken directly to each other in years, a woman who is in love with love, a woman who is so rich she doesn't have to get out of bed and a Latino who can see the future. But the real highlights of this movie are John Goodman's portrayal of a country music loving single man who just wants someone to love. Jo Harvey Allen plays "The Lying Woman" who gets through life telling outrageous lies. Last but not least, David Byrne's unnamed narrator character.

Scenes that make this movie fantastic are the wild fashion show, the narrator's dinner with the Culver's and John Goodman's character's performance of the Talking Heads track "People Like Us". This movie was not a box office hit perhaps it was because of the misconception that this film was ver much like the Talking Heads' 1984 concert film, "Stop Making Sense". But the film became very popular with the great souls that bothered to see it.

Like many others, I believe that this film was cheated of a proper DVD release. This DVD has no special features and barely contains a main menu. I would suggest getting the VHS. I think the picture is sharper and the sound is clearer. Hopefully, the movie will get better DVD treatment. Overall, this film is highly recommended for Talking Heads fans and for fans of very funny 80's films.

Film: A+

Music: A+

DVD: C-



Taylor Hodgkins 6/12/2008

I've just read that, though this version is 1.33:1 full-screen, it is not Pan-N-Scan. It is actually an "open matte", meaning this is the ratio of the camera negative, and that any widescreen version version would be cropped from this image. I was also bemoaning the lack of a widescreen edition, but if this is really open matte, then we have here more visual information than a 16:9 ratio would have.

However, I got this from a poster on the IMDb messageboard for the film, and he did not provide proof. I'm still searching for documentation, but to no avail.

I saw this movie in the theater when it first came out. I must admit that I didn't get it at first. I quess I didn't know what to expect. But I rented the movie and I was hooked. Watched it over and over. I have recently been listening to the CD, I love the music, and I have been recalling the scenes in the movie. That made me realize that I had to add this movie to my collection. David Byrne was truly inspired when he created this great mix of music and movie story. It's no wonder that he was on the cover of Time Magazine that year as a true renaissance man.
I am looking forward to recieving my copy and watching it over and over again.

I first saw this film on cable back in the early 1990's and taped it and it's one of those films that I watch from time to time over the years.

It helps to be a fan of the Talking Heads as it's essentially a T.H. film due to the fact that their music is featured within it and they are featured in a video montage of various "commercials" in the middle of it and David Burns plays the lead.

Based on a virtual town in Texas named Virgil and it's celebration of specialness, that is, showcasing one's unique talents in this small community, the film takes us through the days leading to the parade and show that is held in a field at the end of the week. We see various quirky characters like Lewis Fine, a large panda shaped guy who is basically a nice guy at heart but really wants a wife and spends his time in the film trying to get one. Lewis is superbly played by John Goodman and by the end, ends up marrying the laziest woman in the town, a well to do gal played by Swoozie Kurtz. She spends her days in bed eating, watching TV, reading and what not and she never lifts a fork but has a machine turn her pages, feed her etc - that's how lazy she is.

The match making is done through mystical powers of prayer by an African American man in a modest little house with his family who does a ritual in a special room he created for such a purpose and it's that and a chance viewing of Lewis singing at the show from the lazy woman that sparks the relationship and marriage of the two.

What I love about this film is it's offbeat characters during the mid 80's when that part of Texas is booming as people move down there for the semi conductor industry that sprang up down in those parts. I love how it portrays some of the characters, the mayor, Earl Culver, played by the late Spalding Gray, was almost evangelical in his zest for things such as the semi conductor industry, he's rich, the mayor and the emcee of the talent show and seems somewhat at odds with his family as they are presented in a stiff fashion.

There is the lying girl, who works at the semi conductor plant who is always telling tall tales of she doing this and that and people listen to her sceptically. Then there is a scene at a Fundimentalist church where the preacher is discussing through a song about things he fears in the song, "Puzzling Evidence".

All in all, a cute, quirky film that is well worth a viewing, or more.

While I will admit there are better-made films out there, True Stories remains my favorite movie of all time. I like it because, much like its themes and characters (and life itself), it is imperfect. But its imperfection becomes part of its genius, especially on repeated viewings. It's not really a movie with a plot, except maybe Louis' search for love. It illustrates ideas, themes and moods through a series of arresting images, narration, dialogue, humor and music. The film looks at its subjects with Byrne's mixture of bemusement and satire, both handled with the sort of wide-eyed innocence of an alien visiting Earth from another galaxy. As a result, we see this town and its people through the eyes of Byrne, and therefore start to look at the familiar and mundane in new ways. I will not bother to spend a lot of the time others have spent talking about the plot or what makes this film great--just buy it. It's only 10 bucks. Some favorite quotes (spaces inserted correspond to pauses between phrases):

"Freeways are the cathedrals of our time, someone said. Not me."

"I have something to say about the difference between American cities and European cities but I forgot what it is. I have it written down at home somewhere."

"You like music? I know. Everyone says they do."

"Yep. It's fancy drivin' all right."

"You know, things that never had names before are now easily described. Makes conversation easy."

"They're calling it a celebration of specialness. But this place is completely normal."

"I'm really getting used to these outfits. They sell a lot of 'em, but I don't see anyone else wearing them."

"Most people around here have eaten dinner already. Don't want to be late. Know What I mean? Or do you?"

"I personally believe I can see Fort Worth from here."

"You gotta see this. This might be part of Virgil's Specialness. Or it might not be. You might have seen it on television. Or maybe you missed it. Hope you like "LOUD" music."

"You know the astronauts didn't read poetry. But that's changing."

"Computers are as much a means of expression as language."

"These people have too much metal on them. They are reflecting kind of people."

"I tried a computer dating service once--wound up with a midget. I mean, I'm not a fussy man, but..."

"Marriage is a natural thing, and I am a natural man."

"This is the Vericorp building just outside Virgil. It's cool. It's an all purpose shape--a box."

"Shopping is a Feeling"

"What time is it? No time to look back."

"If I ever went downstairs I might be surprised, huh? It's clean down there, right, Roberto?

"People here are inventing their own system of beliefs. They're creating it, doing it, selling it--making it up as they go along. Driving---not only driving, but parking."

"Hi, twin."

"Um, did you just fart?"

"Linda! Larry! There's no concept of weekends anymore."

"Of course nowadays not eveone's having kids--what with the end of the world coming up and all."

"Metal buildings are the dream that modern architects had at the beginning of this century finally come true, but they themselves don't realize it. That's because it doesn't take an architect to build a metal building."

"This is not a rental car. This is privately owned."

"X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga" is by far one of the most emotionally gripping superhero comics ever. Jean Grey is a very power-ful mutant, and when she uses her powers to it's maximum potential, her personality gets controlled by the phoenix, and this is the story of what happens.

This is the 1st trade paperback I remember reading as a kid. Some kids had Archie & Jughead; I had Dark Phoenix! It's still considered a classic today...

Highlights here for me...
Issue 129- Battle in an ice cream shop. Kitty's 1st appearance; classic X-Men.
Issue 130- Dazzler's 1st appearance; I actually like her as a character.
Issue 131- Phoenix vs. White Queen. Phoenix demonstrates her abilities.
Issues 132 to 134- It's X-Men vs. Hellfire Club, with Wolverine stealing the show.
Issues 135 to 137- Phoenix problem explodes. A battle with cosmic proportions.

Byrne's artwork is highly detailed, yet it's very much early eighties here; some people like it, some people don't. If you already know you don't like early eighties art, this may at least be worth checking out for the famous storyline. Think about it: stories are introduced in comics every week, every month, year after year. How many are truly memorable? My guess is: not many. Yet it amazes me to think of the impact this story has had & continues to have in comics. I can't even fully explain why it's been so successful, other than to say that all the elements of good comic-making came together really well: writing, art, characters, and story. It's still solid reading today!

Related products: 40 Years of the X-Men; Wizard X-Men Masterpiece Edition Volume 1; X-Men: Days of Future Past; Uncanny X-Men Omnibus; and Fantastic Four Visionaries - John Byrne, Vol. 7.

Pretty much the best X-Men story, period. More than happy to have this in multiple formats. Whether in the middle of an essential, in the issues, in Classic X-Men, or in a trade paperback format such as this, this is one story that is worth the paper it is printed on, and worth being delivered to you in more than one way.

Even coming from a diferent comic era, this history still retains lots of its glory and strenght. Nice to realize that TV show described this story almost faithfully.

Forse la saga più importante per la continuity mutante fino agli anni '90, quella di Fenice Nera potrebbe essere considerata a ragione la vetta insuperata del lavoro di Claremont, affiancato da mostri sacri quali Byrne e Austin.
Il presente volume raccoglie gli episodi 129 - 137 della collana UNCANNY X - MEN, riportando anche le copertine originali oltre che quelle della riedizione nota come CLASSIC X - MEN. Chiudono il tutto alcune tavole in bienco e nero di Byrne e Austin, per un totale di 200 pagine.
In una nuova, graditissima veste con colori rinverditi abbiamo la possibilità di rileggere l'ingresso nel gruppo di Dazzler e Kitty Pride mentre Jean Grey, la Fenice, viene lentamente ma inesorabilmente corrotta dalle proprie debolezze e da una oscura presenza che sembra seguirla ovunque, causandole allucinazioni destabilizzanti. La Regina Bianca, alias Emma Frost e il resto del Club Infernale con un agguato agli eroi mutanti danno il colpo di grazia alla già fragile psiche di Jean, facendo si che ella si trasformi nella devastante e invincibile Fenice Oscura.
Possono gli X - Men superstiti, nonostanta le dure sconfitte subite, lasciare che la malvagia ex compagna semini morte e distruzione nell'universo senza tentare di fermarla? Ovviamente no, per cui si scatena una battaglia che coinvolge anche l'impero stellare Shi'ar oltre che l'anima buona di Jean, impegnata in un tentativo disperato di riprendere il sopravvento sulla sua nuova, impietosa personalità. Inevitabile la finale presa di coscienza da parte di Jean delle atrocità commesse e successivo epilogo tragico dell'intera vicenda...
Che dire? Il disegnatore e l'inchiostratore sono in gran forma, X Chris è più ispirato che mai, regalandoci emozioni e colpi di scena degni del miglior feuilleton ottocentesco (ma con superpoteri!)...certo, alcuni dialoghi e situazioni tradiscono l'età di questi albi ma in generale penso che gli autori di oggi farebbero bene ad andarsi a ripassare questo gioiellino del fumetto popolare americano.
"Sono il fuoco! La vita incarnata! Ora e per sempre...io sono Fenice!"

I was 11 - 12 when I read these stories. I'm 40 now and that shows how far back they go. Yet they still hold up. I can remember wanting (and not able to) read the Proteus Saga for the longest time and taking issue 137 with me to school. The Hellfire Saga marked the point when I started reading the X-Men seriously, and # 138 helped me to understand their history. And of course "Days of Future Past" started the time travel mess of later stories. I think this is required space for any serious X-fan, but for anyone wanting to see the best that mainstream comics can offer should start here. There are purchases on Amazon that I truly am thankful I made. This is one of them.

The Marvel Essentials program is a fantastic idea, and a great idea, and here is why. You get the classic storylines in this volume and a hell of a lot more for a great price. You can get these for about the same price as 3-4 comics new, here, so it is pretty clear why these are a good idea and why DC copied them. If you have all this material and can get it to your readers, why not do it?

This is the second Marvel Essential to chronicle Chris Claremont's record-setting 16 year continuous run on The Uncanny X-men.

This essential chronicles what is often sited as one of the best comic story arcs ever written: the Dark Phoenix Saga.

In this arc, we see the introduction of the Hellfire Club, including their White Queen, Emma Frost, a character that has become incredibly important to current X-men continuity, especially to Grant Morrison's acclaimed run on New X-Men.

We also see the introduction of Kitty Pryde, a character featured in the white hot Astonishing X-Men by Buffy scribe Joss Whedon and the death of Jean Grey.

In short, you have one of the most beloved comic arcs of the last 30 years and the introduction of characters that today's hottest comic writers come back to again and again.

If you call yourself a comics fan, or even just a fan of great storytelling, you owe it to yourself to get this essential. Even better, it's less than 15 bucks. You can't go wrong.

Ok, ok, I should say comic book junkie, because that's what they were called when I first started reading them some decades ago. This whole series of Essential X-men books are a fun read unless you get bogged down in details. I never did, I just enjoyed reading them. This is a great book. Enjoy

This is a great book in the Marvel Essentials series. It has over 20 editions of the Uncanny X-Men comics, with the introduction of Kitty and the dark Phoenix. A great book for the avid X-Men fan!

Any of you who thought that these were the first adventures of the X-men are in for a rude awakening. The X-men were created in 1963 by the man himself (drum roll please) Stan Lee. The adventures of the original team can be found in essential Uncanny X-men vol.1, Classic X-men vol. 2 and the last volume of the X-men Marvel Masterworks series (please forgive me, I forgot the exact number of that last one). That series was canceled in 1971 (don't ask me why it didn't sell, because I love it). These are the first adventures of the new X-men (who premered in 1975):

Cyclops: He is the leader (he was the leader of the old team too). He can fire laser like beams from his eyes.

Wolverine: He's probably the one you've heard the most about. I like him, but he has never been on of my favorites. Most people like him because he's a lot more violent than most superheroes. His bones are covered in adamantium (an invinceable metal that only exist in the Marvel universe) and he has razor sharp claws made out of the same stuff. He has enhanced senses and a healing factor that allows him to heal any wound (that includes poison).

Storm: The first black lady superhero. She can control the weather (trust me, it's a lot cooler than it sounds).

Colossus: The first russian superhero (thats quite a feat for a comic written during the cold war). He can change his body into an invinceable organic metal (no, not adamantium).

Nightcrawler: He may look like a demon, but he's actualy the most religous superhero ever (and since he's german, we can safely assume he's lutherian[just like me!]). He's very acrobatic, has a phrensile tale, can become invisible in shadows, and has limited teleportation ablities (he gets better at it as the series progresis).

Jean Grey (formaly Marvel Girl): She was a member of the orignal team and returns to the group several issues in. She is a phsycic who can also move things with her mind.

Last and certainly least is Thunderbird. I won't even bother to describe him because he dies on his second mission.

The X-men as a team were all gathered by Professor Xavier (he's the most powerful phsycic there is) to protect mankind. If you don't already know, there all mutants.


Anyway, just buy the dang book because it's just plain spectacular!!!!!!!!!

Here is the beginning of the rise to greatness and immense popularity of the team of characters known as the X-Men. Claremont masterfully reinvents a cosmopolitan team of mutants from around the globe, after the east coast wasp whitebread incarnation we had known previously. Adding a more adult edge to their relationships is something that worked, big-time.

Ok, ok, I should say comic book junkie, because that's what they were called when I first started reading them some decades ago. This whole series of Essential X-men books are a fun read unless you get bogged down in details. I never did, I just enjoyed reading them. This is a great book. Enjoy

I honestly don't get the appeal of these books. Why bother making (or reading) black & white reprints of classic four-color comics...? I mean, yeah, the stories are still great and the original comics are hard to find, but a huge part of what made these comics great was the eye-popping artwork, including the bright primary colors: reading them in dull B&W is just plain wrong. Sure, the printing costs are lower, so you can get more pages for your money, but it's more pages of boring, not more pages of fun. It's really a travesty.

On the other hand, it recently occurred to me that these could be used as coloring books... Maybe you could buy a box of crayons to go along with all the artwork that the publishers ruined in this format. (Axton)

Finally, after a very long wait of ten years, THIS reprints the contents of X-Men volume 1 issues 94-119--plus the main feature of Giant-Size X-Men 1--in its "most essential" form: in glorious black and white (the emphasis were on the script (Claremont) and the inked pencil art (Cockrum and Byrne)). When the first ESSENTIAL X-MEN came out [circa 1996], it contained very obvious misprints:

(1) Instead of X-MEN issue 113, the reprint came from the version excerpted from the first story of Classic X-Men 14: Witness these glaring markers:

a.) The first page single panel
b.) the segue to Asteroid M wherein Magneto is almost swallowed by thought balloons.

(2) Another reprint-editorial mishap is the last page of issue 119 where the epilogue featuring Proteus smothering the poor Angus MacWhirter was missing.


This, however, is corrected in the reprint edition of ESSENTIAL volume 1 (published 2002, complete with new cover) which finally reprints the missing page. But the contents for X-MEN 113 remain the same.

This NEW EDITION will be a good buy if you are a late completist of the pre-postClaremont X-Men stories so that u won't have to buy the much expensive UNCANNY X-MEN OMNIBUS #1 (which contains the original x-men 113-in color, though), or MARVEL MASTERWORKS featuring the UNCANNY X-MEN (Volume 3).

This is a really great read. The story is gripping and original and the characters are ones you don't see in every novel. The story is unique and untold with it's own interpretations of love and hate, excitement and suspense.

You fall in love with the main characters, both their positives and negatives, but in the meantime there is a whole array of background characters and events that find their way to the surface with an exciting electricity. If you are a woman you'll find yourself relating to Violet's pining for the bad-boy w/ a good heart character of Kjel (Shell).

I also really like the way in which the story is presented. At the beginning of each chapter an elderly Violet (main character) addresses you, the reader, to recap some era or events. Then it moves onto the past where, from a narrative standpoint, Violet's story is told as it occurred.

My only fault is that the recaps are entirely in italics, sometimes a page and a half. I personally find italics a little difficult to read in great lengths, but other than that everything was great!

Wonderful book written by a great author!
Lorna Landvik is a great storyteller. My biggest problem is putting the book down to get anything else done. I've just ordered another book by her.
"Oh MY Stars" captivated me from the first page. I felt like I had lost a good friend when it ended. Very very enjoyable.

A woman I worked with lent me this book and I read it in two days ... it was EXCELLENT. My favorite authors are Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Janet Evanovich, Sandra Brown ... I'm now adding Lorna Lanvik to that list!

While the book started out somewhat depressing, I think it was overall an uplifting story. Like with Janet Evanovich books, parts of this book actually had me laughing out loud (then laughing until I cried, as my husband looked at me like I was nuts!)

This was one of the best books I've read in a while. Wonderful, richly developed characters take you on an incredible journey from heartbreak to triumph. I read this all in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. You can bet I'll be checking out the rest of Landvik's work!

Hands down, Landvik's best work. I loved it, everyone I've loaned it to loved it, you will too!

good book. read it after i read gilbert sorrentino's piece on it from "Something Said".

Out of all the novels I read in my modernist college course, I found this one among the two most enjoyable. Though I'm of Irish decent myself, I'm far enough removed from the mother country that many of Joyce's themes, motiffs, and dialogues were completely lost on me. Plus, Joyce is extremely difficult to read in my opinion, and sometimes pages took hours. I barely survived the sermon and kicked and screamed the whole way through.
Not so with Flann O'Brien. Though the style shifting was somewhat hard to follow, I found "At Swim-Two-Birds" much more accessible than the other great modernists, even easier to digest than Faulkner (I believe I grasped Faulkner easily because being a southerner myself, I understand his accent). I also enjoyed the book because I entered a career in literature through a love of mythology and the fantasy books that I grew up with, and Finn McCool and the Pooka were welcome characters. Also, I was in college and the psychedelic dreams-to-reality theme sparked my interest as well. Plus, O'brien's sentences are riotously funny and his rebellious parody is a blast. I think this might be better as a first book in an English 301, rather than a last, because if I had read it first I might have been more able to digest Joyce, and wouldn't be so afraid of him now.

Brian O'Nolan, born in Strabane in 1911, wrote under a number of pen-names - although Flann O'Brien is probably the best known. He studied at University College Dublin and spent nearly twenty years working in the Irish Civil Service. He also spent thirty years writing a column - The Cruiskeen Lawn - for the Irish Times under the name Myles na gCopaleen. "At Swim-Two-Birds" is his first novel, and was published in 1939.

The book's narrator is a university student who lives with his uncle in Dublin. His bedroom is permanently locked, whether he is in or out - an arrangement that allows him to occasionally take a day off and stay in bed, with his uncle thinking he's gone to college. (Well, when I say take a day off, he actually spends winter and early spring in his bedroom). While our hero doesn't have a very high opinion of his uncle - at various times, he describes his aged relative as rat-brained, cunning, concerned that he should be well thought of and abounding in pretence - his aged relative is a Holder of the Guinness Clerkship (Third Class) quite correctly thinks he doesn't study enough. Although he claims to reads James Joyce and Aldous Huxley, he appears to be more interested in backing the horses, and subscribes to a very dodgy tipster based in Newmarket. On the few occasions our narrator leaves his bedroom, there's a fair chance he wind up in the pub drinking porter with Kelly - a fellow student, though later a soldier. One such session leads to a three day hangover and - thanks to an impressive bout of vomiting - a very smelly suit.

In his spare time, our narrator is writing a book. One of the main characters is an author by the name of Dermot Trellis. Trellis lives at the Red Swan Hotel on Lower Leeson Street and, like our narrator, is rather fond of his bedroom - having spent the last twenty years in bed. Trellis, who considers evil to be the most contagious of all diseases, is writing a book on sin. The story will feature one villain after another - the most depraved of which is called Furriskey - and a woman of exceptional virtue, by the name of Sheila Lamont. Naturally, after a great deal of drinking, debauchery, high living and colourful language, Ms Lamont is eventually corrupted, ravished and killed. When Trellis starts working on his story, he decides all the characters from his book should also move into the Red Swan - to prevent any unauthorised boozing, he wants them locked up and asleep before he goes to bed himself. (It's a rather strange world our narrator has created : not only does Trellis have the cast from his book living with him, but - in Trellis' world - children need not be born young. For example, Furriskey was born at the age of twenty-five and a heavy smoker from the moment of his arrival. Furthermore, the Wild West exists in Ireland, and the Circle N is considered one of Dublin's more venerable old ranches). Although Furriskey, Sheila Lamont (with whom Trellis, inevitably, falls in love) and the Pooka Fergus McPhellimey (a magical Irish devil) are Trellis originals, several of the characters to feature in his book have been `borrowed' from other sources. Several cowboys were created by William Tracy, an author of Western romances set in Ireland, while the legendary Finn MacCool also features. Meanwhile, the cellar is apparently full of leprechauns.

Given the book's reputation, I came to it with high hopes - even more so, given how I had enjoyed "The Third Policeman". Unfortunately, I was badly disappointed. I've seen it blurbed as "a brilliant impressionistic jumble of ideas, mythology and nonsense", while others have referred to it as O'Brien's masterpiece. These assessments put a very positive spin on what I found. The book's narrator seems to have quite an opinion of himself, and I found myself occasionally wondering just how much of O'Brien there was in the character. He describes one of the stories featuring Finn MacCool as a "humourous or quasi humourous incursion into ancient mythology" - naturally, none of the sections that featured Finn were remotely funny. In fact, it appeared to me that these sections were rather high-handed attempts to mock Lady Gregory, and possibly even WB Yeats. Sections of the book are convoluted, over-long and tedious - even when he comes up with something that could have been funny, O'Brien generally kills the humour by labouring the point. One of the few things that did raise an unintentional smile was a conversation between Furriskey and Shanahan : "But the man in the street, where does he come in ? By God he doesn't come in at all, as far as I can see...Feed yourself up with that tack once, and you won't want more for a long time." With that, O'Brien has given a perfectly valid assessment of "At Swim Two Birds". Probably a good book for an Irish Literature course - but not necessarily one you'd read for pleasure.

Nabokov said, of the praise lavished on a book he hated, that it amounted to, "an absurd delusion, as when a hypnotized person makes love to a chair."

I can think of no other way to describe the discrepancy between the highfalutin praise given this book and my experience of actually reading it.

At Swim-Two-Birds is probably the dullest, most slipshod, most irritating novel that I have ever read; a scattershot gallimaufry of bad jokes, turgid nonsense, purple prose, and long, long-winded creatures of Irish legend carousing like the phantasmagoria of a tedious nightmare, or the cast of an overlong piece of impromptu theatre presented by the worst students of a high school drama class for St Patrick's day--where each character jostles for centre-stage with a kind of histrionic imbecility, and each crude gag falls flat on its face. Its defenders will say that this is all parody. Perhaps. But the primary victim of O'Brien's writing is the helpless reader.

Two years before his death a purblind James Joyce read this book with a magnifying glass. He called it a funny book. James Joyce is my favourite writer. I do not know how to explain his remarks. Perhaps his magnifying glass was defective. Perhaps it's all an elaborate Irish in-joke. Perhaps he was throwing a dog a bone. (O'Brien went on to waggishly slag Joyce off in anonymous newspaper columns anyway).

"Feed yourself up with that tack once," says one of O'Brien's characters (who? about what? this reader could not possibly care less), "and you won't want more for a long time."

That much is true, faith.

My friends thought it would be a great idea to start a book club. Our first assignment: At Swim-Two-Birds. Not knowing what to expect, we all found it quite odd that the book was so hard to come by. It was not readily available in any library or book store. After having ordered this book of the 100 All-Time Best Novels, we each set out to read the book with some difficulty.

I enjoy reading as a hobby, however, unless forced or tricked as the case may be, I would never have read this book after the first 20 or so pages. There is something to a manner of textbooks and technical manuals that causes me to suddenly fall into a deep slumber when attempting to read them with intent. This book falls into this category. I cannot read more than a few pages without suddenly feeling drugged to the point where my brain ceases all function and I collapse in a drooling heap.

I would not be so pretentious as to wax on about the literary genious of this book, as it seems so many others have done. While there have been some interesting points and even some chuckles to be had, for the most part this text is loathsome to read. I also have to point out that being Irish by birth, this review saddens me to write, but it is all true. I feel that I must warn others who may be deceived by the great reviews regarding this book.

Having read The Secret and enjoying it I bought this book. Basically, it is a journal to write down what you are grateful for. It is designed beautifully and has inspired me to write down these things and rereading what I have read warms me. The book serves its purpose. Another book that also has a journal and which served my purpose as an interactive workbook with so many exercises to choose from is Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbook. A wonderful read.

This is the companion book to The Secret which I thought was a great idea. As an exercise you write down all the things you are grateful for and this is such a warming experience. However, in the book, Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbookthat to me is a follow-up to The Secret also gives you a journal at the end of the book to write what you are grateful for and anything else. But this is a beautiful journal.

The Secret Gratitude Book is essential to anyone living The Secret life. I highly recommend it.

I use this book as a daily journal for writing what I am greatful for as well as future goals and aspirations. It's an excellent companion to "The Secret."

I respect all of my fellow reviewers here on amazon - even if some of their views may be a little skewed - but I had "challenges" with David Hooper's review of this particular journal. To me, it really isn't the "most powerful book on gratitude". And even though he explains why it is, I just can't help but think that the most powerful book on gratitude that you will ever own is the one you create yourself.

No doubt about it. This book is beautiful. It's filled with quotes from the book, the Secret, and it's small enough to take with you anywhere you go...but I prefer the little leather bound journal I bought at Costco for $12.95. In it I not only include quotes from the book, The Secret, I also include quotes from others that I resonate with whether it be Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry David Tyler - the man who delivers my bottled water - because I believe at our very core, each one of us is a fount of wisdom, inspiration, and beauty and Truth is so much with us, that we often forget that it is often disguised as "unlikely sources".

In short, I try and make this particular journal MY journal from start to finish. I will even include pictures from magazines that I find particularly inspiring. Most of all, I write in my own language about the Law of Attraction and the "future me" I am even now evolving into. I create "scripts" that I rehearse and practice and attempt to act out. I figure that I am acting anyway, so I might as well act what I want to be.

I have nothing against Rhonda Byrne or The Secret. I loved her movie and created a workshop around it and I formed two study groups based on her book. The challenge I have with this particular item is that in a way, it still belongs to Rhonda Byrne. She has included quotes that resonated with her. Everything is geared toward her and what she feels are "key points" in remembering and they may very well be but do you resonate...do you gravitate...do your vibrations align with the content she has included or do you vibrate with something other?

Am I making sense here?
Do you understand what I am trying to get at?

I have hundreds upon hundreds of books with various parts of the book underscored and highlighted and encircled with arrows and stars but until I put those words into my own language and make them my own, they do not belong to me. I must embody them, experiment with them, apply them, speak of them...I MUST BECOME THEM...and when I do, I will remember a part of me that always was. I am no longer attempting to make something happen, I am letting what ALREADY is, be.

That's the challenge with the Secret. People are trying to be wealthy, healthy, and successful instead of remembering that they already are WEALTH, they already are HEALTH, they already are SUCCESS and FUlFILLMENT and BEAUTY and TRUTH. But I guarantee if you start creating your own journal and embodying that which you truly desire, those desires will come forth for the simple and wonderful reason, you already are that which you desire.

Again, I'm not knocking the product. I'm not knocking the reviewers who found this useful. I'm not knocking you if you decide you're going to make this purchase. I'm just giving you a few suggestions of things you just might be remembering as true.

After reading this review, burn it from your mind...burn it from your sight...and from those ashes, just BE the information you wish to convey. Do that now with all the things that seem to give you inspiration, hope, and joy because in a very real way, the only reason why you gravitated toward this review and those books is because YOU gave them life in the first place.

Whatever you decide to do, just know that Love, Light, and Laughter are ALWAYS on your side.

Peace & Blessings,
john, 'the Light Coach'

Hellboy Seed of Destruction wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I thought it would follow the original Hellboy movie. Not exactly. But wow, if you love the dark creepy and cool you will love this! I am not going to go into a lot of detail about the story-I would not want to spoil any surprises. What gets me is the artwork-that and I can't get enough of Hellboy,Abe(my favorite) and Liz-for any of the reasons listed above, you can't go wrong. Now here's my problem-I bought two Hellboy novels graphic novels. They didn't last two days before the spine cracks and pages started coming loose. I am not careless with my books either. I have many other graphic novels, these are the only books I've had come apart like that. If the book held together it would get 5 stars from me.

I just got back into comics recently and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get this book. As I've noted elsewhere, Mignola's plotting and art is just phenomenal. One of the reasons I love Hellboy is because I love the old Hammer horror movies from the 60s and 70s (Horror of Dracula), the Corman "Poe/Lovecraft" movies from the same time like The Haunted Palace / The Tower of London or The Fall of the House of Usher /The Pit and the Pendulum.

This is a great book that follows the story line of the character. If you've seen the movie, you need to read this story to get a complete background of the character.

"Hellboy." I first heard the title quite a number of years ago when I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation in a theater. I pretty much scoffed, rolled my eyes, and said "Hellboy?" under my breath. Long story short, time passes, I got into comics, and began to hear a lot of good things about "Hellboy." I even read some quotes from the actual book that intrigued me. However, it was the trailer for the second movie--sheer, unadulterated awesomeness--that pushed me over the edge and made me buy the first volume of the comic series.

Creator and artist Mignola enlisted John Byrne to write the first script for this series, and the team works together very well. Hellboy's attitude and way of looking at things is very entertaining (which keeps his internal dialogue always interesting), but the mythology of this series is pure magic. The sorcerers, Liz, Abe, Hellboy himself, the Lovecraftian beasts, all of it works together, forming this very dark yet attractive story. The main story arc, "Seed of Destruction," is very much an origin story for Hellboy, but you can tell how well-read both Byrne and Mignola are from the brilliance they churn out here.

Apart from the main four issue story arc, there are two short Hellboy stories in the back, as well as a cover gallery. The two shorts were promotional pieces, and they were interesting little tidbits to give us an idea of who Hellboy is and what he does. That part of the TPB was great, but I also have a huge complaint that has nothing to do with the story or the art. The binding was horrible. As another reviewer mentioned, the cover simply falls off when you're reading it. There will be an audible crack, and the cover will simply separate from the book. As a fan of Dark Horse's books (I've gotten many of their TPBs and this has never happened before) I was quite upset with that.

7/10

Great story, great art, book fell apart in my hands on the first read through - something that's *never* happened to me before.