Leigh Books

The author brilliantly tells the story of a cucumber falling and how the various groups of insects/bugs work together to lift the cucumber...from the lady bugs to one tiny flea. As each insect is introduced in the story, true facts are given on the opposite page. Numbers 1-10 are also used throughout the text. Students can count the total number of insects it takes to lift the cucumber and then graph the data.

I think that this is a very innovative book. The illustrations are gorgeous and the integration of math is great! I think that this book could be used to student's benefit when introducing class rules and presenting the idea of teamwork in a classroom. It is good for younger children because of the repetition.

I thought this book was delightful! The counting reinforcement is excellent for children and including facts on the insects involved is a neat idea. It does not take away from the story because they are off to the side and you do not need to read them each time through. This story teaches a great lesson that even those small in size, can complete mighty tasks. Wonderful idea to include a recipe. What child isn't going to ask what cucumber soup is and how to make it! This book has nice illustrations!

Finally...something that makes fun of the whole diet nonsense in a truly funny way. This book is hysterical and a must read for any person who has ever tried to lose weight, or watched somebody else try. I read this book when I was in the middle of dieting the boring way, and now I'm throwing out the food scale, and just laughing my way thin, thanks to Leigh Anne's hilarious suggestions. I highly recommend reading it and will continue to make my fat cells angry and visualize "cottage chi."

"The Feng Shui Diet" is a hilarious satirical diet advice book by award winning humorist Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant. You'll burn a hundred calories reading it and another thousand from laughing and slapping your thighs. Best of all it doesn't require a scale, counting carbs, calories, or consuming cottage cheese.

Leigh-Anne cracks me up....I laughed 10 pounds off just reading her ideas!!! I'd love to see her perform this on stage!!! She's very funny even without cottage cheese. Love the idea of Chi--I must have fat Chakras!! I feel inspired to go change the color of my kitchen and dishes!

Fleur De Leigh In Exile is a novel by Diane Leslie, this book is the sequel to the book Fleur De Leigh's Life of Crime. This book is a story of the fifteen year old Fleur who got sent to a bad and cheap boarding school called Tucson Rancho Cambridge in the middle of no where. Her mother is an actress and likes to tell Fleur what to do. Also her high class friend Daisy comes to the same school. Things go bad but in the end they it is all good. I would recommend this book to other readers. You should read the first book first so you know the background of Fleur and her life. The writing quality is very good. I like the style of writing. The woman's issues that are addressed in this book are issues of acceptance by the girls in the new school, and academics. When fleur first gets to the school she in not accepted, and she doesn't like it. While being showed around the dorm by the other girls one of them said, " Gosh! Wow! You aren't a snob!(10)" That girl didn't like Fleur because she was wealthy and had different customs then them. The other girls need to learn how to respect Fleur and her differences. An example of an issue of academics would be when Fleur was asked to pick a book from the library, "To be honest, I chose Noblesse Oblige because it was the least batter book on the shelves.(36)" They had the problem of using old weathered down books and not being able to use new and good books. Women should be aware of this book because it will teach them good life skills. Overall this book was very good and is a good book for teenagers.

This is such fun - the sequel to Fleur de Leigh's Life of Crime is just as polished and rewarding, though structurally it's more of a traditional novel than the nanny-driven, short-story-like chapters of Life of Crime. Abruptly exiled from Hollywood by her parents to an Arizona boarding school, Fleur ("the de is silent") Leigh continues on her life's journey in her enchanting and word-wise manner. Ever determined to apply what she has learned both in school and from her resoundingly in-their-own-world parents about the proper ways of wending herself in the world, Fleur is a delightful narrator through her school-year-of-horrors at the "cheapest boarding school in the United States," providing a reading experience of the highest order: entertaining, enlightening, heartening.

Fifteen-year-old Fleur De Leigh is back in this new novel, which has her leaving her posh Hollywood home, and trekking all the way to the cheapest sleep-away academy in America. And boy are there some peculiar things happening. Her roommate enjoys sleeping in the barn with the horses, and the headmaster's ambition is to play Abraham Lincoln in the movies.

Fleur De Leigh is a likeable character, who I'm sure many females between the ages of 12-18 can relate to. She's humorous, and gets into plenty of mischief with her best friend, Daisy. Diane Leslie has created a character that we can all laugh at, with her crazy antics, whether at home or at sleep-away school. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a fun read.

a book of lists is a way to get your history in nice little nuggets. it will give you great conversation openers as well.

now, the big challenge is to find someone that will want to discuss topics like gifts of love, penis size and semen amounts as willingly as our man leigh rutledge has complied them. three times, to boot!

Truly funny, well-researched look at gay culture and history with an emphasis admittedly on sex (one of the funniest lists, for example, involves quotes from really bad gay porn). Also, there's bizarre historical information on topics like '6 Creative Uses for Semen, '5 Very Bizarre Sexual Fetishes,' and '13 Objects Removed from Men's Rectums in Hospitals.' Not for the faint of heart, or the politically correct -- but very entertaining.

My favorite lists are "14 Objects Removed from Men's Rectums in Emergency Rooms," "20 Famous Well-Hung Men" (Jim Carrey?! -- who knew?), and "9 People Who Had Surefire Ways to Tell If Someone Is Gay." I left this book on my coffee table, and when friends came over, they immediately picked it up, and we couldn't put it down. It's kind of weird, and sexy, and something I would never ever want my mother to see. It's also serious and very angering at times: the lists about how badly people with AIDS were treated early in the epidemic, and some of the lists about discrimination. But I loved this book. I wished there were more.

A large number of excellent recipes. A must have for those who enjoy culinary adventures.

No, I am not Irish, but sometimes I wish I was, and this is one of those times. Margaret M. Johnson captures the charm and essence of the style and simple beauty of the Irish countryside and traditional Irish desserts without making them sentimental, or, heaven forbid, contemporary and up-town. These are comfort-food recipes that make me want to sit at a simple wooden kitchen table covered with a cheery tablecloth and a well-laundered napkin and be served a plate full of something gooey and rich and warm from the oven by my 'Irish' mother. I plan to make most everything in this book, but I started with the Simnel Cake because I liked Margaret's head-note about it, and, as she states, it is lovely to seve at tea ( and is a keeper ! ) and the Jameson Chocolate-Walnut Caramel Tart because,well, it sounded so.....good ( which it was. )

`The New Irish Table' and `Irish Puddings, Tarts, Crumbles, and Fools' by Irish-American culinary journalist, Margaret M. Johnson who seems to provide low end books covering Irish culinary practice, beginning with her `The Irish Heritage Cookbook', also from Chronicle Books. The middle ground, being the `Julia Child' for Irish cooking is Darina Allen, along with husband, Tim Allen and mother in law, Myrtle Allen, all of the Cork culinary powerhouse, Ballymaloe House and Cooking School. The high end of modern Irish cooking is held by Irish-American culinary academician and chef, Noel C. Cullen. The ethnographic corner of Irish / Celtic foodways is filled out by `Celtic Folklore Cooking' by culinary writer and folklorist, JoAnne Asala of Chicago. There are many more Irish cookbooks to cover between now and St. Patrick's Day, but this pretty much covers most major points on the culinary compass for Irish cooking.

`The New Irish Table' and Cullen's `Elegant Irish Cooking' complement one another pretty well, as they both present recipes from modern Irish hospitality centers. The difference is that where Johnson is covering pubs and `bed and breakfast' style eateries, Cullen is covering dishes from Michelin one and two star restaurants in Ireland, as well as many of his own creations as a working chef, before he took up teaching at Boston University.

Between these two featured books, Johnson's Desserts book is a much more valuable addition to your cookbook collection, as it includes a lot of fancy and holiday desserts which I have not seen in any other good book on Irish cooking. The best thing about this book and its companion is that like a lot of Chronicle Books, it seems to be on a fast track to the Bargain Book table, both real and on-line. That means that at half price, this book is a real bargain for the cookbook collector with a genuine interest in dessert baking.

On the surface, this book seems to feature four basically different kinds of baking. The six chapters are:

1. Puddings
2. Tarts
3. Crumbles and Crisps
4. Fools and Flummeries
5. Tea Breads and Cakes
6. Christmas Treats

Anyone familiar with English cooking will recognize in the first chapter a wide range of desserts which the Anglo-Irish all lump together under the name of `pudding'. Actually, most puddings remind me a lot of French Toast, more properly called `pain perdu' by the French. They are all different ways of combining day old bread, custard, dried fruits and the like into a treat for the sweet tooth. Puddings and tarts, together, form a collection of dishes very familiar to those who know English sweets.

Crumbles and Crisps and Fools and Flummeries all seem remarkably like a style of dessert which is very popular in the United States and commonly associated with both the Pennsylvania Dutch and southeastern and south central styles of cooking. In Ireland, as in the United States, they are all primarily ways of combining stewed or jellied fruit with oats, milk and perhaps some custard. The thing that distinguishes `fools' from other similar desserts is the fact that they are made with gooseberries. A gooseberry, according to my `Berry Bible' illustration, looks a lot like a current, and just a bit like a blueberry, and seem to be common in the United States only in the northern west coast.

The breads and cakes chapter visits the most widely familiar realm of Irish baking, the world of soda breads and scones. This realm is covered much better in Tim Allen's `The Ballymaloe Bread Book', but the last chapter in this book makes the whole book worth the budget price of admission.

This last chapter is a bonanza for those looking for something interesting to bake for Christmas, especially if you are fond of confections which include a bit of stout or Irish whiskey in the ingredients. This chapter brings the tired old fruitcake into a whole New World of cakes, puddings, ice creams, breads, mince pies, and cider sauces.

The second book, `The New Irish Table' has but 70 recipes, all of which seem to be high end bar food, especially since about 75% of the pages are dedicated to appetizers and side dishes. The five chapters on recipes are:

Small Bites with 9 recipes for crackers, tartlets, pates, crostini, cheese bites, and chutneys.
Starters with 15 recipes for soups, salads, souffles, charlottes, sauces, and sabayon.
Main Courses with 16 recipes for fish, duck, chicken, lots of pork, lamb, venison, rabbit, and pheasant.
Side Dishes with 13 recipes of old standards such as colcannon, champ, boxty, cabbage, turnips, and leeks.
Sweets with 17 recipes for puddings, custards, brulees, cakes, tarts, cobblers, and crumbles.

All in all, if you already have one or two books on Irish savoury dishes and you get Johnson's dessert book, this volume becomes largely redundant. A lot of the sidebars between the two books are the same and the `Irish Table' simply confirms everything I already know about the heavy Irish use of apples, pears, berries, dairy, beer, whiskey, pork, and lamb.

Since you can get this cheap, I will recommend it as a small, inexpensive addition to your Irish cookbook collection. It may, however, be the first in line for regifting if you already own a few Irish cookbooks.

stephen leigh's contribution to the asimovian Robot City is splendid--convincing aliens, lots of thoughtful interaction and robots who respect the Three Laws of Robotics. Not to be missed.

this really captures the feeling of asimov's laws of robotics and provides an interesting glimpse of what happens when aliens are entered into the equation. Bravo, Leigh!

If you are expecting a new book based round the 3 laws of robotics, by hte great writer Isaac Asimov, whoops. Each book has a different writer, Stephen Leigh the first, and COrdell Scotten Book 2.
A man who has forgotten his name, a city that changes itself to fit the occupants, a robot form shifting robot. A tower that holds the keys to Perihelion, which is a stop in a galaxy wide warp point instantaneous transport system. This will certainly stretch your imagination.
Book One starts off OK, but by book 3 you're getting bored and confused. It never seems to be going anywhere or to get tehre. I have all 6 books in hte series, but have never botehred to read past book 4.
It's a shame that he has allowed this.
The parallel series which is just called RObot City was better, but that was also published some time ago, and I never found beyond book 3 of 6.

Jack Thurmond takes an undetermined leave of absence from his make-up
artist position and flees to Paris at the direction of the psychic,
Miss Ruby, whose wisdom he's sought in order to find the elusive
vampire Lars. Lars, the man of his dreams since childhood, appeared
suddenly on Halloween. Lars made love to him after Jack's lover
stormed out, but found when he woke up that Lars had disappeared.

Jack stops into a hotel run by an expatriate baker, Miss Flora, whom
the psychic has told him harbors a collection of vampires in a type of
safe house. Miss Flora herself is somewhat of a psychic; she
immediately recognizes Jack and the rose quartz pendant given to him by
Lars. Miss Flora identifies Jack as the reincarnation of Lila
d'Aubigne, the great love of Lars Ullson, during the reign of Louis
XIV. Jack finds much more than he expected on his hunt for the lost
Lars. He discovers a lot about himself and his capacity for love and
finds, what he thought to be a simple trip to locate his
once-and-future lover, instead, embroils him in a maze only partially
of his own making.

There is much more plot line and mystery in Jack of Diamonds than in
the previous Jack of Hearts, which kept this reader turning pages,
racing to the end and maneuvering to follow the twists and turns of the
story. Again, there is explicit intimacy in Jack of Diamonds with
both m/m and m/f, with a cliffhanger ending. This one, in addition to
its prequel, Jack of Hearts, is a definite re-reader. I look forward
to the next in Leigh Ellwood's "Jack" series. This novella can be read
as a stand-alone, but is more enticing when read following Jack of
Hearts. I really identified with the characters, the "good" ones and
the "evil" ones alike, because Ms. Ellwood made me understand their
motivations. In addition, the roller-coaster plot had me finishing the
book before I'd even realized it.

Annie
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Lars is a two hundreds years old vampire who has lost his love, Lila, the same night he was turned. He has waited two century to find again his Lila, reincarnated in another body, but with the same soul. What he doesn't aspect is that Lila is now a man, Jack.

Jack has the same colour of Lila, and shares her memories. Till his childhood he has dreamed of Lars, his dream lover, and now that he has found him, he not loss him.

But Lars is not sure to could possibly love a man, and if he manages so, he wants to be sure to love him, and not the ghost of Lila.

Despite the different strenght between Lars and Jack, they are a matched couple. I can't find one of the two that overwhelms the other: it's a game of exchange

Jack of Hearts & Jack of Diamonds are two brief novel, but I recommend to read them as a whole, cause they are strictly related.

I'm decidely split over this follow-up to "Jack of Hearts." On the good side, there's an added plot development concerning a plan for revenge against Lars from another vampire, and an enemy disguised as a friend, and Jack's memories as Lila resurfacing. Jack tracks Lars down in Paris with the help of the same pyschic woman (Ruby) who revealed Jack's existence to Lars in the first story. Lars and Jack are reunited and accept their love for one another - and conummate it with a couple hot sex scenes. So, why am I undecided?

There was too much time spent building a heterosexual relationship between Ruby and a vampire. Their interaction, and two sex scenes, nearly eclipse those of Lars and Jack. Now, that's not to say I don't enjoy straight romance. I do very much. I just don't usually want it side-by-side, and even overshadowing somewhat, the gay romance I wanted to read. Additionally, I felt the author should have expanded the conclusion more. In particular, Lars should have made Jack into a vampire (instead of just implying that he would). This would have resolved the question that Lars loved Jack for himself and not just as Lila's reincarnation. Ruby's story would have been better served as a separate novella, allowing more time spent building Jack and Lars' relationship than happened here. I recommend this story, I was just a bit disappointed in its execution.

Two hundred years ago Lars and Lila were engaged, and she wore the rose
quartz pendant he gave her as a promise of impending marriage. Their
plans go awry when Lars is changed into a vampire and Lila is killed
attempting to protect him. Lars retrieves the rose quartz and searches
for her reincarnation through the long, lonely centuries. Finally, a
psychic card reader, turning over three hearts, assures Lars that his
beloved has indeed returned, but she is not the same. Lars doesn't
care! He loves Lila's soul, if she has extra poundage, or a facial tic,
so what? Lars is determined to find her, and change her, so that they
can live together through eternity. She plants the rose quartz pendant
Lars gave Lila on the Jack of Hearts, and tells him, Jack is the name
that Lila is now using. Lila is now a man, and a gay man at that. Well,
Lars remembers, the ancient vampire who turned him warned him that
reunion with Lila would mean more strain than joy.

Interestingly, in all the possible ramifications Lars has dreamed of
Lila's reincarnation, he thought he would be able to accept any change,
any deficiency. Now that he is confronted with Lila's return as Jack
Thurmond, gay male, he suddenly decides he will NOT fall in love with
this particular version. Lars comes upon Jack in the throes of being
dumped by his current lover, and recognizes Lila's soul in the young
man's eyes, in his voice, in his stance. Lars is smitten all over
again. Clearly the survival of the personality has taken precedence,
and this is indeed his Lila. Jack's spirit recognizes the existence of
Lars, and calls out to him by name, knowing he exists, even if not yet
tangible.

This is a quick short read with an encouraging theme. It ends with a
cliffhanger sufficient to make the reader anticipate the next "Jack"
installment. The m/m intimacy is detailed but not overdone. I liked it.
I'm glad I read Jack of Hearts it'll be a re-read. Ms. Ellwood writes
characterization and plot very well; I identified with all the
characters, because she makes their motivations easily understandable.
Even characters such as the psychic, who might seem peripheral, are
fully fleshed out. This is a writer whom I anticipate reading.

Annie
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Lars is a two hundreds years old vampire who has lost his love, Lila, the same night he was turned. He has waited two century to find again his Lila, reincarnated in another body, but with the same soul. What he doesn't aspect is that Lila is now a man, Jack.

Jack has the same colour of Lila, and shares her memories. Till his childhood he has dreamed of Lars, his dream lover, and now that he has found him, he not loss him.

But Lars is not sure to could possibly love a man, and if he manages so, he wants to be sure to love him, and not the ghost of Lila.

Despite the different strenght between Lars and Jack, they are a matched couple. I can't find one of the two that overwhelms the other: it's a game of exchange

Jack of Hearts & Jack of Diamonds are two brief novel, but I recommend to read them as a whole, cause they are strictly related.

Hmm...this was an unexpected delight. Lars was sired on his wedding night - the night his beloved Lila died even before they could consummate their union. But, vampires do not die and he has been waiting for Lila's reincarnation. He never imagined that incarnation would be Jack, a man.

This short story has a lot of promise. Ellwood carefull avoided the trap of having a straight man turn gay for love, but only barely. Lars is horrified at first and burdened by stereotypical prejudices. The pull of Lila's spirit is undeniable, but in the end he is still undecided and readers are left on the proverbial cliff for the much longer sequel. Though the story ends with a steamy encounter, there is no intercourse. It was worth reading, but I look forward to see where the author takes these two men.

And this has to be the best CGI cover for a story I've ever seen!

This book is divided into three parts. The first section is a history of managing computer applications and an explanation of why JMX is needed for Java applications. The second part goes into detail about JMX and the third section is about JMX applications.

The first section is an informative history of managing computer applications from mainframes to present day applications. I the reader can skip this section, if he or she just wants to understand JMX.

The second section explains Means and the tools behind JMX-based management. MBeans represent a resource that a management system will monitor and control. The MBean is the resource according to the management server. The book goes into great detail in creating and using MBeans, including the MBean notification events. In this part, as throughout the book, the explanations are clear and comprehensive. The examples fully show the user how it works and are explained completely by the authors.

This book has a serious and comprehensive style. The authors assume that the reader has a fairly extensive knowledge of Java. This book is an excellent introduction to JMX and is comprehensive in its coverage of all topics related to JMX. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in learning about JMX.

Unlike "JMX in Action" from Manning, this book goes beyond the How To of JMX.
It introduces the reader to the fundamental problems of systems management, before jumping into concrete implementations.
It explains the history of the industry from the days when hundreds of people shared one mainframe and sys-admin was the same as god, to the present days when everyone has access to hundreds of computers.
It also gives an overview of the numerous system management standards and explains why some of them were successful while others were not.
Before I got to the JMX chapters I understood how the veterans in the industry with decades of experience distilled the scope of systems management to a few basic concepts that define it.
It helped me make a better choice when thinking about which parts of an application should be manageable.
Very strong book.
Just be aware that it is not a very fun reading. The book uses a tight, dry and fast style. You better be serious about it before turning the front page.

Remember when java burst onto the scene on 1996, and you could write cool applets that showed animations on a web page? Well things have progressed vastly since then, and especially after the dotcom crash, being essential is far more important than being cool. The emphasis with java has shifted from towards backend, web server-type applications, when you have to interact with legacy databases and management tools. The problem with the latter is that if you are writing a java application that is to be controlled by some management level software, this latter item could be furnished by several companies. It is expensive to customise your code for each management package; but not to do so may severely restrict your sales.

JMX, Java Management Extensions, arose to solve this puzzle. It is still fairly new, and not many java programmers may be familiar with it. If so, this new book [2003 vintage] will help educate you. The authors point out a simple analogy that may clarify. Shortly after java was introduced, there was a need to let java programs access data in databases made by various
vendors. The solution was an industry standard API, called JDBC. Each database vendor wrote an implementation of this API, which was hence called a JDBC driver. This let java programmers program to that interface and ignore any lower level details.

So if you can understand that, you can understand JMX. The difference is that here your java application will be controlled by some management software, whereas with JDBC, your java program would have been the controlling entity.

The bulk of the book goes into the details of the JMX API. [Ok, it may not be literally an application programmable interface, but conceptually you can think of it that way.] The exposition is straightforward and logical.

A nice resource for the aspiring JMX developer.

The Men to Do series is about a group of women who meet in an internet chat room called Eve's Apple. The founders of the group came up with idea of a Man to Do. Every girl needs that one no strings attached fling with a man totally inappropriate but majorly attractive. ~ a man to do.


A Lick and a Promise by Jo Leigh
Harlequin Blaze # 165 - January 2005
Men to Do multi-author mini-series

Margot's a food stylist for advertising campaigns, and she's just been given her first in charge assignment. Which is great because Margot is a very in charge kind of girl. Daniel's an architect, looking to become partner, and he's excited about his move into the trendy apartment complex, it's closer to work and it's in a much more livelier neighbourhood. Daniel didn't bargain for Margot though and the rest of his odd ball neighbours. Margot's take charge personality grabs a hold of Daniel and next thing he knows he's got a new wardrobe, a new haircut and a vivacious woman in his bed. When the changes in Daniel start affecting his job, Margot begins to wonder if maybe she's gone too far.

I love these two! Margot awakens in Daniel the creative free spirit that he's been suppressing. And Daniel sparks in Margot the seductress that she can't believe she's become. This is a fun, sexy read. Ms. Leigh has a talent for creating delightful characters. Even the oddball neighbours were fun to read about.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Some Blaze authors treat the story as just a vehicle for the 'naughty bits', but this story is a complete package, with great characters, who you get to know and love.

With plenty of humor and contemporary, sometimes almost casual language, Leigh keeps the story moving while enriching it with colorful details of her character's lives.

The love scenes are certainly spicy, but and work as an integral part of the story, well handled and true to the characters' personalities. Well worth the cover price (heck, I'd buy it in hardback) - I'll certainly be looking out for more of Jo Leigh's novels.

Margot Janowitz has finally landed a gig that will put her on staff at a company that pays top dollar for food stylists like her. She's expected do a commercial with minimal staff, not enough time and other constraints. Work stress aside, Margot's doing pretty good and looking forward to the weekly tenants' dinner, especially since she's heard there is a new guy who's rumored to be pretty hot. When she does meet Daniel Houghton III, she can't resist him, and can't resist the idea of making over this conservative architect into the hot stud she's sure is beneath that buttoned up shirt.

Daniel had made the move to Chelsea to add a bit of missing flair, and meeting Margot and his other new neighbors show him he's in just the right place. Before he knows it, he's shopping with two of his gay neighbors for new clothes and lusting after the vivacious Margot, who also seems quite interested in him. She's like no other woman he's met and he finds himself addicted to her very presence. She makes him open his eyes and really look at where he's going in life and what he wants out of it.

A LICK AND A PROMISE is a very entertaining story of friends who eventually realize they're meant for each other. Friends who eventually become more is one of my favorite premises, mostly because you know these two will have a fairly solid framework to make their relationship last. Margot is a one of a kind. She's got a flair for style and a great outlook on life. She's also not the stereotypical size zero heroine. Described as "ample" early on in the story, she seems to have embraced her curves and enjoys her body. She also has several piercings in some interesting places that just add to her outrageous, but fun, personality. Daniel's an all-around nice guy, if somewhat stuff early on, but with some hidden depths that make him intriguing. He's a great counterpoint to Margot and they work great as a couple, in and out of bed. There are also some wonderful secondary characters that you won't want to miss. I very much enjoyed reading A LICK AND A PROMISE and I believe you will to. Pick this one up, you won't be disappointed.
Nicole Hulst, CataRomance Reviews