V Books

The stories are wide ranged in nature but sorted in chapters where you can identify with your specific cat joy or sorrow. Some of the authors are well known. Others are amateurs who love a cat. The list of Contributors and Permissions speaks for itself. This book is truly literature for cat lovers. I read every story and love them all.

What a wonderful collection! It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me grab my own 2 kitties for a big hug. I like the idea of an anthology. I can take the book to work and read a story or two during lunch break. I also bought "A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers." If you like stories about cats you'll like that book as well.

I had recently lost my favorite cat, and was looking for something to help me get over my lost. I came across this book & reading stories of other people and their cats helped me get over my loss, especially the part about other people losing their cats! It does help your soul, when you lose your one true friend. I recommend this book highly!!!

Being a Lover of Cat's when I saw this Book--it was a "must have" for myself. Each story is true and has its own uniqueness just as every Cat does. It is simply a fun book to curl up with, you will laugh, cry, sigh and definately agree with, for one way or another you will understand and learn through each story about how amazing "Cat's" truley are. If you are a Lover of Cat's you will enjoy adding this Book to your Home Library-------this one you won't regret. MEOWWWWWWWWWW.

My little one is a big cat lover. Although her allergies forbid her to own a cat, this book helps her to receive a better love for them. We have many of the chicken soup books and this one is her favorite. Also.... shop for the book "The Secret" it has some footnotes from this same author. The Secret is a must for children too. Of course, we all want our children to grow up with a world of knowledge, well it starts with what us parents buy our children. Books...Books...Books.... people. Turn Off the TV's...

I love dogs. Each little story was heartwarming, entertaining, caught my attention and mostly heartbreaking/bittersweet (in the endings). It is about dogs relationships with people and other animals and peoples with dogs. I cried so much I ended up with a tension headache/migraine and was in bed for a day on medication to relieve the pain. I dread the day I loose my litle Teddy (Maltese) + know how I rescued him. Not meant for the little ones-they may cry more than I did.

We love dogs especially and we used to have a beautiful black lab but she's gone to heaven now! Our children got this lab for their stepfather years ago for Father's Day and of all the pets we have had over the years; this one was extra special to us! The book is great but the hubby cannot read much of it right now as he misses lady a lot. But, from what I've seen, I like it and believe others will too! I am a big fan of the Chicken Soup books and have always been impressed with their books and this one is no exception!

Haven't had time to read a book in quite some time. I made time for this one. If your a dog lover, you can't go without reading this book. LOVED IT.
Purchaed 3 copies and gave two away.

This book is for you! Typical Chicken Soup fare but on the plus side, dogs are the lead characters. Lots of tearjerkers, heart warmers and amusing anecdotes. The format makes for perfect short reads (bathroom, waiting for appointments, lunch breaks). I recommend it highly.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I love the stories and many of them bring me to tears. They're all great & really show the unconditional love of our dogs.

It took me a long time to get through it but I found it was worth the effort. In my business, it's important to keep abreast of what's happening globally and Haley came through. Very insightful.

This is a serious book with some counter-intuitive conclusions. Logical, easy to read and based on a solid theoretical foundation - I recommend "chinese tao" heartily. At a minimum it will force you to think -- at its best it should bring about a serious retructuring of what it means for us to do business in China, and vice versa.

So you are doing business in China and are spinning your wheels. You've read the culture and etiquette books and the ones on market potential. STOP! Read no further until you read the Chinese Tao. This unassuming (though not little) book packs a punch. If you want to make money in China as a private business, everything is conspiring you -- history, culture, laws and managers -- and mastering them, or atleast anticipating the punches, is key to success in China. A thoroughly enjoyable book, and Usha and George display wry humor through the sometimes weighty material. Recommended reading!

I found this book very well-written, full of anecdotes and personal nuggets as well as statistical backing. In sum, it explained for me the contradictions, opportunities and pitfalls behind the "China miracle". I have read several books on China and I recommend this one over the rest.

A book of this kind is very difficult to write, as the authors chose to incorporate history, culture, modern business practices and the law (among other things!) to explain business success and failure in China. However, depsite their tall task, they did a good job. I especially liked the historical and political grounding combined with really fabulous personal interviews with CEOs. Some of the stories were fun (the golf story with Li Ka-Shing) and some were insightful (Pan Shi Yi's rise). I found the chapter on legal affairs in China useful but heavy going. However, regulatory risk is a big component of operating in China (just ask all those companies that have lost their patents there) and there is probably no "fun" way of communicating this. The authors' insights and recommendations were very useful.

This book should be read carefully and digested. I certainly do not advocate an overnight read (300+ pages!) but some chapters must absolutely be read before foriegners go to China -- and I think before the Chinese go abroad. George and Usha Haley have cut behind the hyperbole to reveal some very disturbing truths about this super power and the global business environment which it has changed for ever. More importantly, they have given us some ammunition to help us to control our destinies in this brave new world. A must read!

I found some information useful and interesting. However, what was disappointing was the stilted writing of the authors. I often got the impression that they were too repetitive and presented the work as if it were an instructional manual. Also, there was the feeling that the book was edited in a cut and paste format. Overall, there were interesting anecdotes, but this book will never be a THE reference for foreigners trying establish businesses in China.

Imagine swimming in a deep cup of dark brown coffee. The smell of the thick liquid tantalizing to the olfactics, the taste rich and bitter all at once to the buds on the tongue, the visual of the slopping liquid so mixed with light creams and dirty mochas that it creates such an immense combinations of feelings deep in the mind. The emotions and feelings brought about from this book, are felt just as the feeling of, perhaps, swimming in coffee.
It's hot and sticky, steaming and burning, deep and dark, troubled and comforting, rich and bitter, light and dirty, staining to the mind and scalding to the senses. You're reaching for the edge of the cup (the pages) every second that passes, only to fumble back into the darkness so comforting and mind-numbing. This book will wrap you in it's liquid so drenching and overwhelming, you will beg for more.

'Coma Therapy' is both hopeful and cynical; witty and serious; and brings all the boyish charm in the world with every brightly delivered line. With each story, Victorino pulls you into his past and makes you taste every detail as if the memory was yours. The entire book leaves no room for disappointment, and keeps you entertained until the very last word. From simplest of experiences to the most epic of events, whether it be about turtles in a pond or an unforgettable friendship with a drug addict plumber, 'Coma Therapy' flashes you a devilish grin and practically dares you to read on. And if you have any sense in your head, you will.

Victorino takes on the world in this book. With stories about sex, lies, death, drugs, love, friendship, and religion, it covers the spectrum of all human emotions and thoughts. I smiled, held my breath, laughed and was nearly brought to tears (not an easy feat, mind you). Currently on my fourth or fifth time through I still do all of those things. The descriptive nature of his writing, and the journalistic diary type content will keep you reading it over and over. BUY THIS BOOK.

Coma Therapy is a window revealing the true inside of an amazing author who hides nothing. The incredible sense of bare emotion and honesty written on each page hooks a reader deep into their heart, leaving no chance of release. Eric Victorino is an amazing artist and inspiration; Coma Therapy is my evidence.

Eric Victorino is one of my favorite vocalist/lyricist and this is his first stab at a book of thoughts, stories, poems, and ideas.

"Come Therapy" is easily relateable and most of the stories are short, concise and void of any babble.

Eric rants about many things including apathy, the truth about being on the road, our need for true and sincere feelings and relationships, meeting the "devil" and how their are "monsters everywhere."

He helps you see the beauty in the little things in life.

You can feel every word and after reading this you will definitely not feel lethargic, unconscious and unable to feel as if you were in a coma. You will be alert, appreciative, and ready to arise to the occasion that is life.

Simply put "Coma Therapy" is a journal of thoughts and stories about life and all its' splendor and sadness but it never dwells on the sadness. Come Therapy appreciates the sad, happy, dirty, seedy, and beauty that is our life.

5 out of 5 and everyone should buy this and then check out his new book coming out very soon.

- Patrick

This book is sheer fun. I discovered it in a used book store and am buying the rest of the trilogy immediately. Before I was through with the book, I was looking into a vacation in Maine. Excellent.

The Moosepath league series are fast becoming my favorite books after a lifetime of avid reading. The characters are joyfully delightful and woven into a yarn that is amusing, enchanting and at times magical. Take Charles Dickens Pickwickians, add some "Three Men in a Boat" charm, a liberal sprinkling of P.G. Wodehouse's comic situations, a little Jane Austen romance, a dash of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"'s magic; mix well and spread over a 19th century Maine landscape and you'll end up with this wonderful book. You must read it - however many stars I had to give, I'd give them all.

Van Reid is an amazing story teller. There are many great stories within the larger story. This book was great, albeit a little slow in places. If you liked it at all, you should continue on to the other two books in the triology which just keep getting better.

Van Reid has a magic way with words. In "Cordelia Underwood" he has created each character (and there are many of them)with wit and insight. His characters understand the importance of kindness and respect. They are also, with a couple necessary exceptions, game for adventure, especially when that concerns helping a friend or rescuing a "damsel in distress" (who turns out pretty good at helping herself). There are stories within stories and intersecting adventures, and I found each a delight. They all fit together into as pleasurable a novel as I have ever read. You won't regret reading this.

Van Reid has crafted a delightfully charming work. CORDELIA UNDERWOOD actually made me, a deep-fried Southern Belle, dream of adventuring in the very New England setting inhabited by the members of the MOOSEPATH LEAGUE. I look forward with great anticipation to reading all the books in the series and sincerely hope that there will be many more escapades to read about in years to come. If you are a fan of Miss Read's English villages, Jan Karon's Mitford, and L.M. Montgomery's ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, then Van Reid's Maine missives are for you!

My freshman calculus teacher read this to her class ~40 years ago, and I LOVED it. It helped me understand that math isn't the boring exercise that so many think it is. Recently I had the pleasure of re-reading this delightful story and found it every bit as wonderful as I had 40 years ago. I have been reading it to young grandchildren lest they become squiggly lines instead of seeing the benefits of being straight ones. This book is a timeless classic that should be read widely by all ages.

There really isn't much math in this book, but then the book is for young children, so that is not a valid criticism. It is a book about a male straight line that is in love with a female point that prefers a chaotic meandering line. He is distraught at his unrequited love and his straight line friends try to cheer him up. They tell him things like: "She lacks depth", "They all look alike anyway." This does not help, his response is, "She is perfect any way I look at her."
Many illustrations are included to further the "point." My favorite is the illustration that has the point in question on a pedestal with the inscription, "Ultimum punctum", Latin for "Ultimate point." After an enormous effort, the straight line manages to bend himself into angles and suddenly he is capable of making precise geometric shapes. This thoroughly impresses the point and she joins forces with him to make an exclamation point. The story closes with the moral, "To the vector belong the spoils."
Given the complexity of the mathematical satire, this is a book that can be enjoyed by everyone from children to sophisticated mathematicians. Amazon.com lists it as a book for the ages 4-8, but that is much too simple way to look at this gem.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission

This is a sweet little book that will appeal to the engineers and scientists among us. You, too, can change! Or, Love conquers all! The illustrations are fun, and the writing intelligent and clever.

Enjoy!

I was given this book as a teenager, and never forgot it. I used to ask other people if they knew about it, but few seemed to have ever heard of it. I am an artist, and in spite of the use of 'math' in the title, thought this book was about art.
I missed ALL the math info and puns. (It was interesting reading the reviews of the math and science readers.) I can only tell you that the cleaver drawings tell stories that are universal. They work as well for art and life as they seem to work for math.
I have now given this book to many people. Every one of them has thanked me.
This is my favorite gift to give away for Valentine's day.

Norton Juster wove more than puns and visual gags into this short book. Not to take an ounce away from those fantastic double entendres ("drawn and on edge").

There are references to social commentary "they all look the same anyhow," "freedom is not a license for anarchy," "why don't you find a nice line and settle down." There is amazing (for kids) vocabulary: quintessence, vector, potent, paralleliped. If you want to go there, there is also out of date vocabulary "Oh, what a head!" This book is rich.

Most of my high school math classes read "The Dot and the Line" at some point during the year, often as a read-aloud before a holiday. We find the puns, I explain the jokes, we discuss (briefly the social commentary), someone looks up the hard words, and they read a little boy-girl love story. It's the best kind of learning, the kind that happens when they think they are having fun!

I found this incredible interview regarding how the game of Golf has changed over the years. You wouldn't believe the evolution! If you have any interest in the history of Golf, this is a must read. If you want to become even more knowledgeable on the subject, scroll to the bottom of the interview and get in touch with the author. After reading, I guarantee you will be able to lead the most interesting discussions and impress your friends!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/interviewroden.html

Curt Sampson has done a really fine job with this book ! I really like his idea to interview Valerie Hogan. Hogan wrote Power Golf NOT 5 fundementals, he brings this out in the book.

Few people, even non-golfers, can escape ever having heard of Ben Hogan. Maybe you don't know exactly who he was, but the name is oddly familiar.

To golfers, Ben Hogan is as close to legend as anything. Other players, even Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods, lack the mystique which has encompassed Hogan, even many years after his death.

What few of us know is just who he was. This information may not be so pertinant to people who play the game, since they are mostly interested in his swing. However, anyone who has touched even in a small way on part of his career realizes the great mysteries that lie in his life and being.

"Hogan" may not answer everything satisfactorily, but it comes as close as any are likely to get. This covers his life in as much informative detail as could be needed, and presents Hogan not so much in a less-than-glamorous light, as is common to biographies, but rather in a "judge for yourself" presentation of evidence for what made the man what he became.

Anyone curious about this modern legend will get more than he bargains for. Where perhaps the book does not go into his game to the extent golfers may want, the story of Hogan's life is engaging enough without it.

In my very large golf library this is clearly the best book on golf
I have read period. For the first time you get an insight into the "wie ice mon" in what reads like a novel.

When I was growing up the names of Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino, Player, and their generation were the top competitors. Ben Hogan was a revered name, but one of past glory. His great year of 1953 was in the past. I had heard about his auto accident and his amazing comeback, but this book helped me see the man who "dug it out of the dirt" through hard work, discipline, and ferocious tenacity.

Mr. Hogan started out with less than most. His father's suicide and the family's subsequent poverty didn't leave him with many open paths to success. He found golf and found that it not only matched his physical skills, but was an even better match for his nearly obsessive temperament.

The swing he developed has become the pattern millions of us try to emulate, although he would find our haphazard approach to the game less than useless. Why we love being duffers would be beyond him. He knew how to work and to practice. I still cannot fathom the kind of internal strength it would take to come back from that terrible leg shattering accident when his Cadillac was struck by a bus. He played in great pain for the rest of his life and had four surgeries on his left shoulder. When I realize that his greatest achievements and most of his wins at major tournaments were after the accident I am simply dumbstruck.

Mr. Hogan was a very private and enigmatic figure. Mr. Sampson does a good job in teasing what facts we know into a good story. We get interesting stories from the golf side of his life (mostly stories told about Hogan by others) and those are very enjoyable. However, I like the way Mr. Sampson puts all that in the context of a real person - a real man. Ben Hogan wasn't a fictional character even though the media version of him was a distortion of the actual hard working man who practiced, practiced, and then practiced some more, who loved his wife, Valerie, and built a successful golf equipment business.

Ben Hogan made a long journey through life and I think this book tells the story well.

This is probably one of my favorite books in the series (so far). I love how something different actually happened... Gaia is making new friends, she's developing as a character... And it doesn't hurt that her relationship with Sam is changing, either... but still, I'm definitely hooked to the series now. Not like I wasn't before, I'm just even more hooked now.

Its thanksgiving and Gaia is on a runner! This book is a fantastic book and i was hooked. Gaia finds out a hurting secret of her freind. Gaia has a lucky turn from a planned death by an enemie. She had her first kiss but not like i imagined. And i hate ELLE how bitchy can she get. Its very annoying how whenever somethink happens to Gaia it always turns into a bad situation or she thinks it as not a good thing. How bad can her life get! But i enjoyed it it made me cry and smile!

After reading so many great books, I believed that there weren't any more good books out there. WRONG!! The fearless series has quickly become one of my favorite series, and Francine Pascal has become one of my favorite authors. This book in particular stands out among her books, and i know u will enjoy it as much i as did. Happy reading!

I loved this book. It had loads of action and tons of twist. One of the best books in the series so far.

First kisses are one of the most exciting things in a teenage girls life. Gaia has waited 17 long years for her chance to finally be kissed. She's heard so many things about kisses. How when you kiss a man, you can learn everything about his heart. All it takes is one kiss. Now Gaia will see if that myth is true.

This was one of the best FEARLESS books in the series. Gaia is plagued with facing something that all teenage girls worry about, their first kiss. Teen girls across the nation will identify with Gaia's worries, and pleasures about being kissed for the first time. A must-have book.

Erika Sorocco

I didn't know what to expect, and it far surpassed my imagination! My 6 year old autistic Granddaughter LOVES Leonardo!

We've heard this one so often we almost are forgoing getting our own copy :) (I did say almost - I intend to get one of our Very Own as soon as I remember!)

I do agree with a previous poster that the moral of the story seems to be "If you're really bad at scaring people, you should quit your day job and start being nice", but I don't agree that every story should have a moral. This one, therefore, is more like a cute story that ends on a nice note, with no moral needing to be attached.

Your and your children will be so happy the bought this book.
Mo did it again....another great book We love all the books Mo writes .
You should also read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and all the other pigeon books by Mo. He is very talented.

Leonardo the Terrible Monster is another wonderful book by Mo Willems. I purhcased this book to help my two year old daughter conquer her fear of Monsters. I recognized the author's name and trusted she would appreciate this book as much as she had the others by Willems, and she did. The book is large, but most of the pages are blank with muted tones of grays and blues. The color pallet creates a calm feeling which is nice considering the subject matter. The illustrations are adorably detailed and offer many opportunities for exploration and interaction between the audience and the characters. The book tells the story of Leonardo, a monster who is terrible at being a monster. All he wants to do is be horrifically terrifiying, but instead he discovers his ability to be a wonderful friend. My daughter loves this book, and without ever directly discussing it, she is no longer afraid of monsters, instead, she believes monsters are our friends. Parents can use this book to help their toddlers overcome the negative connotation of the word "monster" by putting a face, adorable Leondardo, to the word.

I decided to get this book when I saw Julia Roberts reads it to her kids. It is such a cute book. My kids love it too. There's a part where he says "scare the tuna salad out of him" and I just think that's great. It's really cute. Littles ones would love this book.

This book is so wonderful it falls in my top five most favorite books. Dylan pulls the reader in right away at the beginning and cuts right to the chase. The book remains focused throughout. I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happened with Gordy and his trial and his big gig. Once I got towards the end (last 3 chapters or so) I couldn't read fast enough to find out what was happening. I found myself constantly laughing out loud and gasping. (Although, during the case I would've handled things slightly differently.) The characters are real, they could be you or me and you get attached to them. Not only can I picture them but I've fallen in love with them. There is absolutely no lag time in the book. Everything that happens occurs for a reason and is important. I never found myself going alright already, can I just make it through this chapter and get back to the story. For all you Barry Manilow fans out there, Dylan really hits the nail on the head in Chapter 20 and I really wish this book had been around when I was doing Speech and Debate (Poetry and Prose) when I was in high school. I would have LOVED using the two pages as my prose piece! Read it and you'll understand!

"For a guy who isn't me, Schaffer can really write."
--Kinky Friedman

I have no idea how you get a better recommendation than that. Not even at gunpoint. One of the back cover blurbs calls it "thrilling, funny and heartrending in turn," which is also true. Schaffer does them all equally well. Real people, too, not cutout characters. Depth. Insight. He happens to be a lawyer, and the best of the bunch are very able communicators, so he brings that to the book as well. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

And, since we're talking about the first book in what I hope will be a long-running series, let me add this. Some authors of series tend to work from a little timeline of what will happen to their main characters. Book one gets this, book two gets that, etc. They stretch it out so thinly that what can carry only a book or two lasts for ten or twenty. Then they fill the silences with two-dimensional stereotypes and weak one-liners. Schaffer doesn't do that. He blasts you will both barrels, empties his mind, and assumes he'll come up with something else next year. He has no idea how much I appreciate that. This is simply excellent. Plus, I have the sequel on my shelf (unread) and you don't, so nanny nanny boo boo.

Finally, I'll probably go to my grave hating Barry Manilow, but I genuinely enjoy watching Schaffer defend the guy. Talk about an unwinnable case...

Gordy Seegerman is definitely an "everyman" we can feel for...especially if you love whodunits - and music (whether or not Barry Manilow is your favorite singer). Dylan Schaffer's writing is wonderfully witty, his characters unique, and his storytelling will have you turning pages eagerly, usually with a smile on your face. The sequel "I Right the Wrongs" follows up and doesn't disappoint!

I'm not a huge fan of legal mysteries, but Schaffer doesn't write your average courtroom potboiler.

First of all, this book is funny as hell. Gordy is a great character, a perfect combination of pathos and humor, and I was rooting for him from the first chapter on.

The lawyer aspects engaged me more than I would have expected---being a lawyer himself, Schaffer takes us through a trial that is both realistic and fascinating. This isn't TV melodrama; this is the real deal, described by a pro in layman's terms with a smattering of sarcastic wit.

But beyond being a funny, compelling book, Misdemeanor Man also has real heart. Gordy's family life and romantic life are just as important to the reader as the against-all-odds case he must win, as is his affinity for Barry Manilow.

It's a testament to Schaffer's writing that I actually revisted some of Manilow's greatets hits after reading the book. Sure, I may have downloaded them from a file-sharing network on Kazaa, but even the fact that I'm giving the guy a shot should be worth something.

The sequel is going on my to-be-read pile, and Schaffer is now on my must-read list.

If you like the Fletch series by Gregory McDonald, or the funny caper novels of Westlake, check this book out.

I picked up this book while browsing in a local book store, and I was hooked from Page 1. The characters are so true-to-life that I felt like I had to say good-bye to co-workers and friends when I finished the last page. This author is equal in every way, and a little better in some ways, than John Grisham. I am very excited to see that Mr. Schaffer has written a sequel to Misdemeanor Man. I have read the excerpt, and once again I am hooked; doomed to not wash a dish or a load of laundry once I start Book #2 until its completion.