Rich Books

I have the cd size of this book & I think it's great. Very informative & entertaining. Lots of great photos, chronology, & discography. Starts at the very beginning from when they practiced in an old spoon factory up til the release of the RetroActive album...world tours, Steve's passing, Vivian & Phil joining the band, Rick's accident, and many, many other interesting articles. This is their story about triumph over tradgedies. Very detailed & interesting. A superb book about one of rock's most inspiring & greatest bands ever.....Rock On Def Leppard!! : )

and Rich is. Probably right now. He now edits Modern Drunkard Magazine.
but back to the book.

Titles:PseudoBiblical
Hero (singular and serial): Expansive emulation of quickwit/hardass/mahoganyliver/noemotion gumshoes, Spade and Marlowe nod off and wakeup 100 years from 30s SF and LA in Denver (poor Sam, lucky Phil) as Jack Strait. Dames and Drunk ensue.
Why you should put down Cosmopolis or Seabiscuit and pick this up:
1. Its cheaper.
2. Its weirder.
3. Its about a science fiction private eye. Listen, Jack, its a formula, just like the one about the child whoes ethnicity conflicts with her surroundings is a formula and those consumerland fairy tales are a formula and because those all are crap and Rich's formula is better. Take a second, grab a (lot of) drink(s), screw what they say you should read and spend some time with something different.

I am not a big reader, ask anyone who knows me. Dichotomy of the Dog is one of two books I read from cover to cover in one sitting (The 12th Angel, Og Mandino, being the other). Being the same gereral age as the author, gave some very common insights about life and local suroundings. Rich's views on music (I agree, The Allman Bros., Jessica, is the best summer song ever), Bar-B-Que's, suburbs, and friends were very thoughtful and warm. If you are in your 30's and/or from the the Philly area, you owe it to yourself to pick it up.

An A-to-Z checklist of over 800 scrap items found around the home, garage, barn, school and camp ... with more than 8,000 useful things you can make from these discards. Over 200 how-to-make-it drawings.

Will Power can only do so much - there's a point where temptation can break people. "Dieting, Overweight, and Obesity: Self-Regulation in a Food-Rich Environment" examines why self-regulation is such a difficult thing for so many people in America and the World. The World Health Organization has declared Obesity a global epidemic and author Wolfgang Stroebe, a professor of social psychology, explores the idea that the major obstacle for dieting is the desire to enjoy good, tasty food, and that being around so much of it is what is fueling the epidemic. "Dieting, Overweight, and Obesity: Self-Regulation in a Food-Rich Environment" is highly recommended to psychology shelves and health shelves alike for the dual take on the nuances of America and the world's growing waistline and obesity problem.

I love a good mystery and, of course, a twisting, turning surprise ending. I found all that and more in this wonderful first novel. Thankfully a friend recommended this book and said I wouldn't be sorry I spent time and money to read it; he was so right. The author has managed to weave a mystery among characters and locations so ordinary they could easily be my neighbors and so extraordinary they kept me turning pages until I finished this book in a single sitting - no small feat considering my busy schedule. I was sorry to finish as soon as I did because I wanted it to go on and on. Marianna Rich's character sketches remind me of an Oriental painting. With very few strokes of her pen, she is able to develop characters that come alive with depth, color and energy. I hope Marianna is at work this very minute on the next Lonnie Briggs mystery.

William Parker. Bassist, Composer, Song Poet, Peace Warrior, Spirit Warrior, Rhythm Junkie, World-Class Appreciator of those who have come before, and those of the now. William is one of my favorite musicians of all time. It is through him and his great willingness to point towards those who have fanned his fires that I came to find June Jordan for myself. His "Poem for June Jordan" on the great albums, Corn Meal Dance and Sound Unity are what brought her name to my attention. I could never thank William enough for all the things he's given to me. Now along with Mayor of Punkville, The All-Star Game, Palm of Soul, Alphaville Suite and Raining on the Moon, the work of June Jordan is one of the major things.

I checked this out from the library just thinking hey I've never heard of her so I'll give her a shot. I was hoping for the best but if I didn't like it, no harm done. Directed By Desire was on my Christmas List before my first day with it had ended. I stressed it. If I get it, it'll be the big gift. If I don't get it, it'll be what I buy the day after Christmas. As it stands now, I just pour over the library copy everyday. It's way too clean. Way too untouched. She has hit me like a hurricane. Based on the power of what is inside, this library copy should be tear-stained, dirty, battered and bruised.

I don't get all the poems inside. As a writer she was beyond me. As a human I'm sure she was beyond me. The ones I don't yet get... the ones I may never fully get... they don't hurt the book. The way Who Look At Me, The End of Kindness, Kissing God Goodbye, Poem Because the 1996 Poet Laureate..., First Poem After Serious Surgery, etc... get to me... man. June was amazing. Alot of what's inside this book has me wiping tears from my eyes and saying again and again, "How is she not everywhere? How is it possible to go through school without a teacher, an older student, someone's parents telling me "hey kid, you might dig this June Jordan woman!"? I'm disappointed in myself for not finding her earlier. I want her to be in your life.

So much of this is so personal. I don't mean personal in the oft heard "It's like she/he is saying what I wish I could say" sort of way. I mean there are poems where she's sitting 2 feet away from me, looking me right in the eyes and laying it all out in front of me with love. Or she's calling me out when I'm full of it. Some of you have been reading June's work since before I was born. I'll not pretend I know her the way you know her but for me, this book is huge. Even for you I'd say it's essential. It says the "Last Poems" were previously unpublished. I love many of those so for me, it'd be worth it even if I already owned everything else.

This woman was a Goddess among us. It's a shame she had to live in our ugly world, but she didn't run from any of it.

(2/9/08 edit - I got it for Christmas! It's even better when it's at your fingertips whenever you want it.)

I read this book in 1 sitting. I made the mistake and let a friend borrow it. She moved and took it with her. That was over 10 years ago and I still hold a grudge! I am dying to find a copy!

Very interactive with young tots who love the sea creatures

Travis Rich is a new southern writer who has burst upon the scene in New Orleans. The natives (and not so natives) are passing his book from hand to hand, amazed that he hasn't been picked up by a major publisher or gotten a movie deal. Travis comes from Alabama with a strange tale to tell. This book is a southern epic where the characters roam the territory of the human heart. They live and die searching for some ultimate human awareness...all against the backdrop of the old South, which somehow, mysteriously, exists in all of us Americans no matter where we really come from. You won't forget this book.