Smith Reviews

Fantastical Adventures of Sleepy Steve (The Fantastical Adventures of Sleepy Steve)

Published in Paperback by Infinity One Publisher (2005-10)

Author: Deronte Smith

List price: $9.95

New price: $9.95
Used price: $0.74
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

(RAW Rating: 3.5) - Truly an Adventure

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-14

Deronte' Smith introduces young readers to a most unlikely hero in FANTASTICAL ADVENTURES OF SLEEPY STEVE. The book opens at the beginning of a new school year, and Steve is more nervous than usual because he will be attending a new school where he will make new friends. The morning is a disaster but somehow he manages to make some friends during the bus ride to school. He immediately explains to his new friends that he suffers from a sleep disorder, and as a result, he often falls asleep at the most inopportune times. As readers follow Steve on his day-to-day activities, they will soon discover that he and his group of friends, all of whom don't quite fit in, find excitement in even the most mundane of situations. Whether going to find the school's maintenance man, discovering a first crush, or visiting a museum, the character's vivid imaginations (and Steve falling asleep at just the wrong moment) add humor and interest to the plot.

FANTASTICAL ADVENTURES OF SLEEPY STEVE presents a fun and engaging story while highlighting the power of imagination. The children in the book found excitement in the least expected places. I enjoyed the way the author incorporated Steve's sleep disorder into the story to add humor, but I would have liked a little more emphasis on explaining how the disorder works. I also would have liked more depth in the characters. The plot, filled with humorous antics, is what drives the story, but better characterization would have made readers more invested in the unfolding events and better able to relate to the characters. Overall, FANTASTICAL ADVENTURES OF SLEEPY STEVE is an above average read with lots of laugh-out-loud moments.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

son couldn't put it down

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-16

I purchased this book at the GHEA conference.
> I paid more for that reading book
> that I did any other book
> that I purchased; because I knew that my son would
> enjoy reading it. Well,
> I was correct. He picked it up the day I brought it
> home and didn't want to
> put it down. Every chance he had to read it, he did
> until he finished it
> and has now asked if we can buy more of that kind.
We look forward to more!
>
> M Layton
>

incredibly funny!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-26

very funny, and very well written. Obviously enjoyed by the writer and all readers. I have suggested it to all my family and friends. The characters have been brought to life, as well as every setting in the book. My friends and I agree, it is a great book and can't await more from Deronte Smith.

daniel J carr

The Fantastical Adventures of Sleepy Steve

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-08

I truly enjoyed reading this book. The author did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life, describing every detail in it's entirety, which made you feel as if you were in the same room with them. Each chapter ignited such excitement about what was going to happen next, causing me to reflect on my earlier days in elementary school. We all can relate to having at least two friends (bully & brainiac) in our circles while growing up like these, as well as dealing with some of the realities they faced.

I'm looking forward to the next book! Great job Deronte!

Sleepy Steve is anything but

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-01

The Fantastical Adventures of Sleepy Steve is a fast paced, well written book. I read it in little under 2 hours, but could not put it down once. I know it is for kids under 13, but it put me back in touch with my own childhood, the pranks, the idea that the janitor was a monster, the floating turds....

I recommend this book to all Parents and Children alike and I myself am putting in an early order for book 2.

Great work Deronte, keep them coming.

Andrew.

Fashion doll fun: A collection of patterns and instructions for creating a fast and fun wardrobe for 11 1/2" fashion dolls

Published in Mass Market Paperback by Possibilities (1999)

Authors: Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith

List price: $15.95

Average review score:

Very easy patterns.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-13

I like the very easy patterns. You could teach a girl to sew with it. The patterns are quick and easy. I'm glad I bought it.

Barbie Clothes So Easy A Kid Could Make Them

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-24

Did you ever have a favorite kid - maybe a daughter or a granddaughter - come to you begging for clothes for her Barbie doll? And you thought to yourself, I'd love to make them but all those tiny little pieces and seams! Oh! I could never do that.

Well! Buy this book and your worries are over! There are about 34 patterns in this book for simple, contemporary clothes for Barbie. (They have to say "Fashion Doll" but it's Barbie!) These are just the kind of clothes kids like to put on their dolls - because they look like what the kids themselves wear.

The patterns are almost all just one piece. There are no set-in sleeves. There are very few - if any - snaps. Most of the closures are simple 1/8" ribbon that you can buy at the local fabric store for 25 cents a big roll.

The sewing methods are geared for beginning sewers with most finishes being as simple as turning under 1/4 inch and stitching it down. Plus, the clothes are easy for little fingers to dress with the elastic and waistbands wide enough to pull over those humongous Barbie hips.

You can make them as fancy as you please with easy embellishments like buttons and laces. Or fabric paints. There is lots of room for you and your favorite child to do designing.

In fact, this is a terrific book for beginning sewers to use themselves - so if your child wants to learn to make her own things for Barbie, she'll have instant success.

And the clothes are great: shorts, pants, palazzo pants, straight skirts, sarongs, dresses, jackets, coat, nightie, robe, I counted and there are at least 34 pieces.

Experienced sewers: I did everything in the book - twice - in four easy evenings with scraps and small pieces from my fabric stash.

This is a wonderful book for the money. Go for it!

Great - Sew Easy

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-10

A collection of patterns and instructions for creating a fast and fun wardrobe for 11 1/2" fashion dolls. Patterns for 30 outfits and accessories. Includes Bridal Gown, Sheath Dress, Warmup Jacket and Pants, Lined Coat, and much more. Clear, easy to follow instructions with illustrations. Eight color pages of finished projects.
If you sew for fashion dolls, this a "GOT TO HAVE"
BEAUTIFUL ENSEMBLES!!!

Simply inviting, great for customization

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-09

This is such a neat book. It has really really simple patterns that can be enlarged for the Tonner dolls and so forth. I want to try some of these for the bbi Perfect Females and CY Girls and Get REAL Girls and others of that articulated ilk. I don't sew very well, and I like that there are things here which I can cut out of a non-fraying fabric (or leather, or what-have-you) and add embellishment to. Does anyone know to whom I lent my copy? !!

Excellent sewing directions!!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-03

I LOVE this book. It has 30 patterns and a great color section on how to combine them for numerous looks. It has some unique patterns as well as some very similar to commercial pattern companies, but THESE have MUCH more sensible sewing directions. Out of print or not, if you sew for 11.5-inch fashion dolls, you MUST get this book!!

God and Mr. Gomez, (A Fawcett crest book)

Published in Unknown Binding by Fawcett Publications (1975)

Author: Jack Clifford Smith

List price:

Used price: $8.50
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Building your home in Mexico

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-26

Anyone contemplating the construction of their home in Mexico MUST red this book. It is extremely humorous and an easy read, but it exposes the many pitfalls of attempting to build your dream home in Mexico. BEWARE!

Great summer reading!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-16

I have another, older, copy of this book and have read it several times. This was a replacement for the old one, which is worn out! If you've ever been to Baja, you will totally love hearing Jack and Denny Smith's experiences with purchasing a home there. If you haven't, you will still love hearing the story AND you will want to go there and find your own adventure.

I love it.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-11

I have traveled to Mexico for over 25 years, and own a home there. This story is only too familiar. I am buying a copy for all of my Mexico loving friends and family.

a wonderful, easy, entertaining read.

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1997-07-02

"God and Mr. Gomez", while not a recent book by a long shot is a timeless read. It is written in the hilareous style that only Jack Smith can pen. You blend in with the characters and it being a true story makes it all the more interesting and satisfying. A great read for summer, or anytime

Go Gomez!

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-07

Both Jack Smith and Mr. Gomez have passed on from this life. Thanks to Jack's gifted writing ability, you can experience the culture, beauty and patience pace still to be found in Baja California. I have been there and seen the house, the road, the federalli check point, the cliffs and the fishing village. I have had the good fortune to have stayed in a home near Jack's and met others who followed Jack's column in the LA Times during those years of construction of his "mansion". I have searched used book stores and bought on-line used copies while new books have not been published since 1997. I am so glad it is back in print so I can recommend it to my friends. Great reading and funny too!

Final Justice: The True Story of the Richest Man Ever Tried for Murder

Published in Hardcover by Dutton Adult (1993-09-08)

Authors: Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

List price: $24.00

New price: $1.99
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Collectible price: $24.00

Average review score:

money does not buy happiness

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-12

ALL I CAN SAY IS " WHAT A STORY" .

Vivid and very well written

Helpful Votes: 13 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-27

This is a fascinating and disturbing tale that illustrates just how hard it is to convict somebody who has a lot of money and power. Cullen Davis, warped little rich boy dominated by his incredibly wealthy and megalomanic father, grows up to inherit most of the fortune and position. What does he do with it? He chases sex kitten type women, showers them with lavish gifts, and abuses them.

Naifeh and Smith raise the true crime genre to something close to literature here. We have the usual litany of sickies and psychopaths, the usual police incompetence, prosecutors who can't prosecute, etc. The "final justice" in the title is somewhat ironic since multimillionaire Cullen Davis is never found guilty of any of his crimes, the worst of which was the cold-blooded murder of his wife's 12-year-old daughter; the least of which, perhaps the killing of her kitten. The juries in Texas just would not convict him (although they have put a number of poor people on death row). Instead they admired him for his money, stupidly since he just inherited it. And before the book is over, he blows most of it.

We get a terrible sense here that people with riches in positions of power really can get away with murder. People look up to them regardless of their crimes. It helps us to understand how murderers like Sadaam Hussein and what's his name in Yugoslavia continue in power. It's not just that people are afraid of them, they look up to them and find ways to excuse their crimes. This is the human tribal mind at work: better our corrupt and evil leader than theirs, and better a corrupt and evil leader than no leader at all. The women in this one come off as particularly subject to manipulation by power and money, although that was not necessarily the authors' intent. They wanted to show just what a sick, sick man Cullen Davis is, and they succeed in that. But incidentally they revealed the women around him, especially his gold-digging wives, as sad, sad creatures who would be abused and wallow in it for the sake of being close to all that money and power and maybe getting a little of it. One has the sense that they couldn't help themselves.

This is a good read that will rouse your sense of indignation.

The OJ Trial 20 years before...

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-06-15

it actually happened!!!

Don't look at the facts. Facts are **BAD***!! Let's attack the victims and divert attention away from what the case was all about...the murder of a twelve year old girl and a family aquaintance.

OJ's "Dream Team" (what a joke) must've used this case as a template for OJ's defense, because the similarities are eerie.

Highly recommended.

Truthful

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-03-04

This book is really, the most precise account of the murders and trials. Some of the other books on the murder trials of Mr. Davis are very goddy and don't focus on the facts of the case. I really think that Mr. Naifeh did an excellent job with the content and details of this novel.I hope that people will not simply judge a case or story by one book, and know that you must have a numerous amount of facts and reality before you try to judge someone or something.

Scary and true to life

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1998-09-16

At the time of the Davis murders, I was living in Fort Worth and had a second-hand acquaintance with some of the people involved. Smith and Naifeh got it exactly right: not merely the facts but the "feel" of the case. Texas is a microcosm of the U.S., with all our best and worst qualities exaggerated. The Davis case exemplified our fascination with sex and sleaze, our love/hate relationship with the wealthy, and a legal system that's as much showmanship as The Majesty Of The Law -- and the results were an ironic commentary on what we truly value. (Somehow, the fact that Priscilla Davis was a mother whose 12-year-old daughter was brutally murdered got lost in the shuffle.) The book is engrossing and truly scary, and I highly recommend it.

Finding Your Perfect Soulmate or Business Partner: Finding That Perfect Someone Through the Science of Numbers

Published in Paperback by Destech Press Publishing (1998-03)

Authors: David E. Smith and Bernard Adolphus

List price: $14.95

New price: $41.75
Used price: $3.22
Collectible price: $14.95

Average review score:

The only book that can really help finding a mate for life!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-26

This book is a treasure...it will actually do what it says...find the perfect mate....it did it for me..it will do it for you!

I highly recommend this book -- superb.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-10-20

After years of fruitless dating, constantly yearning for that special someone, a friend recommended that I read this book. My initial reaction was Numerology, that's a bunch of bunk!!! But after reading it, and employing the Science taught in the book, I found my "Perfect Soulmate" within months. Thank you David Smith!!!

I didn't believe it worked until I tryed it on my friends!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-02-18

When I bought this book, I thought, "Yea, sure... I'll find out everything I need to know about a person by the date and year that they were born...that's crazy." And then I read the book. It caught my interest, so I TESTED it... on over 25 close friends and family, just for "fun". To my absolute shock, each and every number fit with those people's personality, work ethics, family beliefs, how they feel about love, and just what they were all about in general... Absolutely amazing!

You must get this book. It's a quick read, and it's fun. You can get alot of information on a person from this book, even if they don't want you have it!!

Very Good.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-01-16

I thought it was just another book that would give me basic thought and philosophy. I truly believe now that the title is all that it says it is. I recommend it to anyone that can't understand their partner or friend for that matter. Buy it!

Excellent Book! All you need is your birth date!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-01-08

The content is very precise, easy to read, and can be used at any time or anywhere. My friends and relatives find it to be accurate and at social gatherings, it comes in quite handy. The reason that this will become a bestseller is because it contains no nonsense information that relates to all that read it.

Fire Beneath The Ice (Arabesque)

Published in Mass Market Paperback by Kimani Press (2001-11-01)

Author: Linda Hudson-Smith

List price: $5.99

New price: $207.22
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Melting Hearts

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-07-03

After overcoming several hurdles in life, Olympic figure skater Omunique Philyaw marries her soulmate Kenneth Maxwell, Jr., in a fairy tale wedding fit for an ice princess. Haunted by events from her past, Omunique decides to face her fears alone, thus shutting out her loved ones.

Kenneth is the happiest man alive, until his wife starts acting strange. When he discovers Omunique's lies and deceptions, he decides to give her a dose of her own medicine, and moves out. He soon realizes that he cannot survive without Omunique, so he is determined to make their marriage work.

In this much anticipated sequeal to Ice Under Fire, Linda Hudson-Smith has wooed her reading audience with a novel filled with high drama and steamy sex scenes. FIRE BENEATH THE ICE is well written and as always, I look forward to reading other titles by this author.

Reviewed by Pamela Bolden
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Loved it

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-20

I have the first book "Ice Under Fire" and I loved that one, it was very good. When I found out there was a sequal, I had to get it, no ifs, ands or buts about it. I'm glad that I got it too, cause this one was just as good. Omunique and Ken make a great couple.

Little White Lies

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-09

I enjoyed this book. It had some very realistic moments. This book definitely makes you aware of the fact that secrets will ruin a marriage, no matter how much you love that person. Nique and Ken's problems were dealt with nicely by Ms. Smith. So called "little white lies" can cause "big" problems. I was somewhat disappointed that the book ended without Ken telling Nique about the marriage counselor he was seeing.

LOVE AND TRUST WILL MELT ICE

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-09

With the end of the winter olympics,Omunique Philyaw can look foward to a long and happy life with the second most important man in her life Kenneth Maxwell. After the wedding the two set out to start living their fairytale life together. There is no end to the love they have for each other, when in the heat of passion Nique says she is ready to start a family. Knowing that her mother died in childbirth Kenneth ask his love is she sure? Even though she says yes, panic sets in and she changes her mind but does not tell him. An accident takes Nique to the hospital where in the bed next to her a young girls dies giving birth. This only causes her fears to become stronger, about not having a baby. The small white lie has now started to grow and cause problems in the fairytale marriage. Will their love stand the test? Through test and trials the strong love they have for each other stands, they are able to get back to the FIRE that is BENEATH THE ICE. Ms.Smith told a wonderful touching story, and the fact that the baby in the story has the same name as her grandson really touched my heart.

Beautiful love story

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-09

I admired the love that Ken and Nique shared during their marriage, but was a liitle upset of Nique's immaturity. She shouldn't have kept secrets from Ken. She needs to first share her life with her husband before going into motherhood. I admired her desire to bring joy and love to Scott Brian's life, but she's not ready for such a large responsibility. Yes, she has the love to care for him, but just not ready for the responsibility. Maybe in 2 years, she will be ready for motherhood. I would love for the author to continue this beautiful love story. I am looking forward to seeing Ken and Nique with children. This book is beautiful. Everyone should read it.

Fire Hawk

Published in Paperback by Topaz (1997-07-01)

Author: Janice Davis Smith

List price: $5.99

New price: $3.20
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $22.41

Average review score:

Yet another GREAT story by Justine Dare

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-27

I so love this author. And this story, yet again, does not disappoint.

Kane, The Warrior, is reclusive, and rightfully so. He's seen enough death and destruction (by his own hand) to last a lifetime. The very first person to die because of him was his own sister. He has emotional wounds that go way back, and has withdrawn from the world to protect it from himself. Jenna has found herself thrust into a leadership role - that of The Hawk, leader of the clan of Hawk Glen, a magical place that normally is hidden from discovery by powerful magic. But an enemy approaches, one who has already killed Jenna's remaining family. The clan and their entire way of life is threatened unless Jenna can persuade the legendary Kane to come out of retirement.

Kane is intimidating and forbidding (not to mention drop-dead gorgeous). He's built a lot of walls. But Jenna is persistent. Desperate to keep his walls from cracking, Kane offers a bargain he doesn't expect her to take, a trade of sexual favors for his teaching her the arts of war. Jenna has no choice, and her spirit of self-sacrifice is like global warming, melting the glacial ice that surrounds his heart.

The story is about an emotional awakening for the cold and forbidding Warrior, Kane, as well as a sexual awakening for Jenna. Their story is helped along significantly by a mysterious secondary character who might be a wizard, might be just a traveler, might be just an old storyteller ...

Justine Dare weaves these stories of wounded people finding love, family, and healing so well. This one is in the same vein as The Sky Pirate (by Justine Dare - another of her pen names), Lord of the Storm, or Mine to Take. If you enjoyed any of those books, you'll enjoy this as well.

Wonderful Read

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-13

I loved this book and as soon as I finished it I read it over again. I also wanted to know more about Tal - Please Justine, give us his story!

Sizziling!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2000-01-11

Fire Hawk was a pleasure to read. This book held my attention from the first page to the last. Fast paced, well written with sizzling emotion, and a hero & heroine that you will love.

Great story!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-19

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are well drawn and believable. I would also like to hear the story of Tal!

Magical & Emotional Historical Romance

Helpful Votes: 27 out of 27 total.
Review Date: 1997-07-18

I hesitated reading this book, not because I have anything against Justine Dare/Davis (she is one of my favorite authors) but because FIRE HAWK is the third in Dare's Hawk trilogy, and I have a thing about reading books in order and I don't yet have my hands on the 2nd book HEART OF THE HAWK yet. When I heard Dare was taking a different approach to the trilogy - writing them backwards - I decided to take a chance and read her latest FIRE HAWK first. And I'm real glad I did because, IMO, I think this book should be read first (not to mention it's a WONDERFUL read!). To my understanding all of these books are related by a mysterious tome that appears in each story when there is only one member of the Hawk line remaining. This book, FIRE HAWK, explains the origin of the mysterious tome that guides the Hawk family and introduces the characters who began the Hawk line back in the tragic and brutal medieval time period.

Jenna and her clan have managed to live in peace for years in their magical glade while the world around them is torn by war and death. But all of that comes to an end when an evil Warlord sets his sights on their glade and slowly begins killing them off as they wander from their safe haven ignorant of what awaits them. After her Brother is murdered Jenna is named Hawk - leader of the clan - an honor she never wanted. With this heavy responsibility on her shoulders, fear and anguish in her heart, she realizes the only way to save the few remaining members of her clan is by seeking out the mystical warrior known only as Kane, a man she fears may not even exist except in legends. She hopes he will teach her people, who've never learned how to fight, how to defend themselves and possibly save their magical land from invasion.

Kane has escaped his brutal and haunted past and found solitude on his isolated mountain. He is less than thrilled when Jenna shows up and asks him to don his warrior garb and help her out. He repeatedly refuses but her persistent arguments and his increasing attraction to her force him to take drastic measures to get her the heck away from him ASAP. He's bad for her and he knows it so he offers her a bargain that is sure to have her running in terror. But he screws up big time because he misjudges her courage and love for her people and she accepts his very ungentlemanly deal. Now he feels guilty and is in one heck of a mess but he can't take back his offer so he begins her lessons and puts his his heart in danger.

Kane and Jenna's love story is not an easy one. They have a lot of pain and obstacles to face before they can find love but with the help of Kane's gorgeous wizard friend, Tal, they get a little magical push to help them along. Both are strong, couragous and likable characters. And although the book is filled with adventure the story never loses focus of the love story. The sensual tone and the heartwrenching emotions it tugged out of me kept me anxiously turning the pages and dropping everything to get back to the book. If I have anything to complain about it would be that Tal's interesting past is never fully explained. I'm going to be really bummed if Dare doesn't write his story!!! Anyway, I very highly recommend it, especially to those who like wounded/tortured heroes and couragous heroines

Fluffy Meets the Groundhog (Hello Reader Level 3)

Published in Library Binding by Fitzgerald Books (2007-01)

Author: Kate McMullan

List price: $15.00

New price: $15.00

Average review score:

Great Groundhog Day story or any other day

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-09

Again, Fluffy the classroom guinea pig gets into a spot of trouble when he comes face to face with a groundhog! Of course, all ends well, but the story is quite humorous and kids love to read this story, as well as the rest of the series. Fluffy and the other classroom guinea pigs are outside when Fluffy goes down the groundhog's hole.
The reader can share Fluffy's thoughts since he cannot talk, which usually leads to laughter. Fluffy is quite a character!
The series is gentle, non-threatening read in which the classroom guinea pig gets himself into all kinds of situations which always turn out fine. The situations can often serve as a springboard to discuss topics with your child or student (in this book, for example, you could use it to talk about stereotypes, mediation or so forth) as well as Groundhog Day. My students love Fluffy and often do not want to stop reading--they want to know what happens next. These books are level 3 readers, grades 3-4 really like them. They are easy to read, 3-4 chapters and 40-50 pages with larger print than most books. I highly recommend them to all kids, especially those who need encouragement to read. Funny, clever, good illustrations and enough silliness to keep it from being too sweet!
Get this book and read!

mom of 3

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-29

This is the summer before second grade for my son and Fluffy books are perfect to keep him reading throughout the summer. Fluffy is a guinea pig who lives in a classroom. He is very funny and witty. Fluffy will keep your child laughing and interested.

Fantastic!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-15

I love all the Fluffy books! Fluffy figured out that the groundhog was nice.

Fluffy wants to be a groundPIG

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-20

Fluffy is a guinea pig who spends his days in an elementary classroom. As part of their lesson about groundhogs and Groundhog Day, the children bring three additional guinea pigs to school to stage a GroundPIG Day race. Fluffy breaks away from the pack and darts into a hole that turns out to be a real-life groundhog burrow. There the groundhog admits that he's shy and doesn't want to face the media. Fluffy, our hero, takes his place. His family at home is later surprised to see Fluffy on TV that night, not seeing his shadow.

This is a fun Level Three book for 1st and 2nd graders. The illustrations are comical, and the storyline is amusing and discussion-provoking.

I like fluffy meets the groundhog.

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-25

I thought it was funny when Fluffy pretended to be the ground hog. Easy to read. I like the worm on the cover. I think its a good book.

Forever Red: Confessions of a Cornhusker Football Fan

Published in Hardcover by University of Nebraska Press (2005-09-01)

Author: Steve Smith

List price: $23.95

New price: $7.64
Used price: $7.29

Average review score:

I know he was writing about me.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-25

I read this book early in the mornings before the newspaper arrived. I found myself getting up earlier and earlier each day so I could read more. I saw myself many times. I thought I was unique; however, after reading this book, I realized that I was just like other Husker fans. I started following the Huskers in the mid 50's. I have had season tickets since the 70's sometime. Thank you for such an entertaining book.

The key to understanding the madness that is Husker Football

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-29

This book is great key to understanding the mind of a true Husker fan. If you grew up in Nebraska, you share an unspoken bond with the football program. One sport, and one sport only, dominates the airwaves, broadcasts, and conversation all across the state. Steve does a phenomenal job in describing his feelings, thoughts and emotions of growing up in Nebraska with football evrywhere you look.
When reading this book, you get an understanding of what it is like to be a Nebraskan, and why we have such a passion for football. The book helps make you understand why it much more than just a game, it is a way of life. Nowhere in the nation, does one team serve as the lifeforce for an entire people. Growing up in Nebraska, I have experienced and shared the same feelings and emotions. Husker football has been an emotional rollercoaster from the disappointing close calls of missed 2 point conversions and field goals that cost national championships, to the nail biter games with Oklahoma on Thansgiving, to a 60-3 record over 5 years with 3 national titles. Nebraska football means so much more than can be imagined to its fans and the residents of the great state of Nebraska. Steve lets you into the life of a Nebraskan growing up and becoming a Husker fan more and more along the way.

Required Reading for Everyone Who Considers Themselves to be a Sports Fan

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-25

Steve Smith is a gifted writer and he has captured his love of the Huskers in this witty narrative. I simply could not put this book down. Mr. Smith's true gift is his ability to translate the emotions of a die-hard fan-the very definition of fanatical-into a character set that leaves the reader both relating to, and endeared by his love and devotion for Nebraska Football. This book isn't just for Huskers; every sports fan will enjoy its insight and humor.

A Must Read for alll Husker Fans!!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-07

I highly reccommend this book to all Cornhusker fans! Mr. Smith knows his Big Red football and understands the devotion they inspire because he is such a faithful fan himself. He accurately and humorously portrays what it means to be a Nebraska fan through the good, bad, and the ugly.

Great stuff-this book will last forever

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-11

If you ever wondered what draws Husker fans to Lincoln on Saturdays in the fall, author Steve Smith lays it all out in this book. It is a humorous but honest look from one fan's perspective about the passion surrounding the draw of Husker football. Husker fans will immediately relate to this book. College football fans reading it will say to themselves "Aha! That's why they're so crazy!".

I wouldn't call this a 'fan' book as much as I'd call it a personal search by author Steve Smith trying to understand his love, passion, and fanaticism for Husker football. That search leads through his life starting with his first Husker game - a Nebraska 50-0 win over Iowa on September 20th, 1980 - to the firing of Frank Solich and the initial season of Bill Callahan. It's a journey that many of us have taken, coming from small town Nebraska to attend the University in Lincoln, where we would have expected, as Smith states "like countless hicks from the sticks, I assumed everyone in Lincoln wore Husker gear all the time".

Smith's writing is always entertaining, even when he's being brutally honest about Nebraska, saying things that we all know to be true but would never say out loud. You establish a personal relationship with him as he shares his life centered around Husker football. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as many of the memories related by Smith are similar to my own. Steve Smith has lived a mirror of my life due to our shared obsession with Husker football and coming from small-town Nebraska.

Forever Red is an excellent Husker fan book and would make a great present for any college football fan.

Freedom and Destiny

Published in Hardcover by Peter Smith Pub Inc (1999-06)

Author: Rollo May

List price: $17.50

Used price: $46.75

Average review score:

No More Victim

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-09

Our freedom comes when we take up the courage to create our lives and become authentic agents. This isn't about "Dr. Phil"-ish self-help... this about the awareness that we create our lives and that it is only when we make conscious choices that we can truly be free!

Explains freedom to this reader's heart.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-06

May transcends psychology and enters the realm of our spirit and tells us that one heart must freely combine with another. And such a combination defines destiny.

existential psychology at its best...

Helpful Votes: 11 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-01

...and an antidote to so much of the responsibility-shifting, victim-thinking, lack of accountability, determinism, and just plain whining we do these days--not to mention the inflated notion that freedom is somehow an unlimited thing without conditions or limits. May's study delineates the relation of freedom to the givens of destiny.

May's mature musings on our existential dilemma

Helpful Votes: 19 out of 20 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-21

Admittedly, it has been many years since I thoroughly read this book (almost twenty to be exact), but I will try to share some of my recollections with potential readers. The central premise and fundamental focus is on the paradoxical fact that we humans are both free AND determined. Not predestined, as Hillman weakly argues in THE SOUL'S CODE, but determined by our inherent limitations, talents, vulnerabilities, circumstances, etc. These determining factors are what May terms "destiny." Freedom--true autonomy, the liberty to choose, to consciously decide how to relate to one's destiny--is to be found not in the absence of psychobiological determinism or quasi-autonomous "complexes," but in spite of them: "Freedom," says May, "is thus not the opposite to determinism. Freedom is the individual's capacity to know that he is the determined one, to pause between stimulus and response and thus to throw his weight, however slight it might be, on the side of one particular response among several possible ones." Especially important is May's recognition of how chronic repression of one's anger or rage--the daimonic--impairs one's freedom, preventing this sometimes necessary and healthy response to authentic encounters with destiny. As he puts it: "The concept of destiny makes the experience of anger necessary. The kind of person who 'never gets angry' is, we may be sure, the person who also never encounters destiny. When one encounters destiny, one finds anger automatically rising in one, but as strength. Passivity will not do. . . . Encountering one's destiny requires strength, whether the encounter takes the form of embracing, accepting, or attacking. Experiencing the emotional state of anger and conceiving of destiny means that you are freed from regarding yourself as too 'precious'; you are able to throw yourself into the game, whatever it may be, without worrying about picayune details. . . . Constructive anger is one way of encountering destiny." And all authentic creativity arises from this deeply existential encounter. A seventy-year-old May philosophically muses here on many other topics too, such as the vengeful roots of narcissism, modern sexuality, meditation, mysticism, as well as the relationships between freedom and anxiety and joy and despair. While not as rich as LOVE AND WILL, or powerful as POWER AND INNOCENCE, FREEDOM AND DESTINY is an important volume in May's valuable body of work, and can be well recommended.

As The River Needs The Banks To Flow, So...

Helpful Votes: 23 out of 24 total.
Review Date: 2000-08-19

As the river needs the banks to control its flow, so the soul needs destiny to channel freedom. This metaphor captures the nature of this fascinating book for me. May does not disparage one over the other. For him, license is the corruption of freedom, and fate is the corruption of destiny. He states that true psychological freedom grows out of destiny (or having a destination) and in having a destiny, we are free to grow in spirit and in mind.

I underlined as I read. It seems to be the best way to read a book by May. He has a cogent writing style and never lags. (I particularly enjoyed his blasting of the behavioralist school of psychology, but that's just my thing.) Any student of psychology should read this book; May has provided a balance in therapy, he writes to establish the fulcrum which should hold the conflicts and conflicting ideas in level balance.

Take the time to sift this book. I hope that you will find it as valuable as I have.

Smith Books