Powell Books

The first book in the final volume of Powell's monumental series (Book 1 of Winter). The characters that remain are almost like worn clothes, comfortable but showing some holes from the wear and tear at this point.

Jenkins is reaching beyond middle age (for the WW II ere middle age, anyway) in this first installment of the final chapter. Pamela and Widmerpool continue to be mainstays, in intrigue successful and failing. It returns to form in that little of Jenkins' direct personal life is gone into, again concentrating on the circles he runs into. The birth of another child is mentioned in passing, while the affairs of a seldom mentinoed cousin would garner pages and pages of description. I feel Isobel, his wife, remains lesser known than any of the other female characters.

Still, as much due to the previous books as any specific incidents within it, this volume seems to read faster.

There is a touch of the melodramatic to Powell's first important work and least well-received, a novel set in turn-of-the-century rural Ohio - but the darkness is sparked with Powell's unmistakeable genius. True, some passages are florid and the prose rather purple, but there is absolutely no other way to tell so perfectly a tale of deception, betrayal, and fates shortcircuited and lives barely endured. The Truelove family is almost gothic in Powell's portrayal, what with their supressed desires and outward conformity to time and place, and inward turmoils worthy of any grand opera. Powell's strength lies in her many detailed characterizations, the main ones of which are an elderly woman at the end of her days, a middle aged housewife suffering with a secret threatening to destroy her, Vera, a precocious young girl with a wisdom beyond her years, Sophie, the young bride of the title who battles her loves for two men, and Anna, Sophie's antithesis, who upheaves the well-guarded secrets that eventually destroy the family. The twists and turns of the plot kept me reading late into the night, and Powell's descriptions of time and place are provocative and weave a lasting spell. This book would be a tremendous introduction to Powell's ouvre, and is likely the truest to life of her many works, written, as it was, while the married Powell was involved with playwright John Howard Lawson.

"The Bud Powell Collection" has 9 very accurate transcriptions of classic Bud Powell recordings. I also purchased 9 more in the companion volume "Bud Powell Classics" and would love to find more. I may never have the technique to play most of these, especially not at the noted tempo, but enjoy reading along while I play the original recordings.

I'm glad that each book includes at least one transcription of a later (post-1953) recording when Bud's playing slowed down and became darker: "Danceland", "Tune for Duke", and the amazing reharmonization of Monk's "Ruby My Dear". I can now play these almost as written. I wish the publisher had combined both volumes into one and could convince Gene Rizzo, the transcriber, to transcribe a few more romps (like "Just One of Those Things" and "Buster Rides Again") or tackle some more late-period Powell and my two favorite Bud Powell compositions: "Time Waits" and "I'll Keep Loving You".

Because I'm a huge fan of Spike, I knew that I had to find a copy of this rare graphic. I'm very glad that I did. It contains 3 reprinted stories, and 1 original story.

ALL'S FAIR- takes place during the World's Fair of 1933. The story follows Spike and Dru as they maim. Slash, and slay their way through the glitter and lights of the Fair. They also encounter hideous demons from another dimension and highly skilled assassins out for blood.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS- As the pair travel to Sunnydale to be near the Hellmouth, the star-crossed lovers stop in St. Louis to do a bit of gambling and cause major mayhem on a riverboat casino. But, their blissful vacation is cut short by river demons.

PAINT THE TOWN RED- this story takes place shortly after Spike and Dru leave Sunnydale at the end of Buffy's second season. Dru's renewed love for Angel drives a wedge between the lovers. The end result is both of them trying to hurt the other as much as possible- which is a whole lot! With James Marsters helping with the writing, and Ryan Sook's artwork, this is by far the best story of all four.

WHO MADE WHO- tells the tale of Spike and Dru's final break up in Brazil. This is an epilog to Buffy's season three episode " Lover's Walk".

The only downside to this graphic is the artwork. Highly stylized, it's a deterant to fans who like Spike for his rugged good looks.

Still, if you like Buffy, Dru, or Spike and can find a copy of this graphic, than by all means buy it!

My daughter loved this book so much we had to collect the entire set. They're cute little books, the first ones where she started "reading" the pages with me. My only complaint is that they're definitely baby board books, but aren't as sturdy as most. The pages get bent up easily, because of the fabric insert.

The second novel in the 12-part Dance to the Music of Time series. I enjoyed this one a little more than the first volume. I believe this due to the first volume's need to introduce and elaborate on the four main characters. Nicholas Jenkins, our narrator, who I complained about being almost invisible in the first book, starts taking on shape here, dissembling on love and ambition. Stringham and Templar are still here, and by the end of the book, both married, but the real main character here is Widmerpool, the young man with the least social status, but with the most ambition of the four.

The first book was about the four in grade school to university; this one is about their initial entry into society, including romance and marriage. It is within the context of his feelings for the opposite sex that we finally start to understand Jenkins, but even he is overshadowed here by the fumblings and failings of Widmerpool, who first pines for the heart of Barbara, then falls in with a "bad" girl.

I'm still unsure whether Powell is a writer for me. Although I do enjoy mysteries and puzzles and admire books that are clever, I still like to get a feeling that I have solved the mystery by the end of the book. I believe that a character here gets an abortion, but as it is never spelled out (Jenkins is too much a gentlemen to actually put it into raw language), I wonder if I am reading between the lines correctly.

After the first book, I was not sure that I would continue the series, but since I have the first three in an omnibus volume, I decided to continue on. If the following books make the same jump in readability and interest as between the first two, the twelfth book will likely be my all-time-favorite novel.

Having mastered Bugs of Northern California, the perfect local book for beginners, I was ready to move on, and this book is the perfect next step--limited to California, but still very complete. There is one set of color plates, so those expecting color photos for every bug will be disappointed. However, what I love are the descriptions--they are well written and very informative. Even limited to California, there are more flies than I will ever be able to identify, yet the descriptions of their differences are still fascinating.

I just can't think of anything. This book is part of his collection of short stories 'No Comebacks', and follows Mr Sam Nutley, a mild mannered fellow if ever there was one, as he veers from the straight and narrow for the first time in his life. How does he get out from this 'intolerable and unthinkable' situation? The only thing that annoyed me was how he wanted his determinedly middle class, middle of the road, downtrodden life to continue as it was, but we are at least given some insight into this at the end. Classic Forsyth.

This book is a must have for latin american architects and architecture students. Includes great pictures to most of the relevant works of Carlos Raul Villanueva in Caracas and Maracay. The comment on every work is insightful. An excellent buy if you want to learn about modern architecture. It got only four stars because it was not hard cover.

This book was a rusult of a Masters Thesis by the author. Printed by the Indiana Geological Survey in 1961. 128 pages soft cover. 58 figures & maps plus a comprehensive map of 398 known caves. Also known as Circular No. 8.