Wagner Books

I have been in a Cartland mood lately and just want to read some quick, sweet romances. Sometimes all her rhetoric about "divine, magic love" gets to be a little tedious but I still enjoy the stories.

This was a rather interesting tale because the heroine's father was an Ornithologist and we were introduced to a lot of bird lore. Mina (our heroine) was a very petite woman who could pass for younger than her eighteen years. Her close school friend, Christine, is in a fix. Her stepmother plans to have her current lover, the Marquis of Ventnor, host the sixteen year old Christine at his country home for a year as a companion to his grandmother and also teach her some town polish. The ultimate goal is for him to marry her step-daughter. (We do find out later that he did not agree to this - and the arrangements cannot be undone by the time "Christine" is sent to him.) Christine sends Mina in her place, while she herself travels to Italy to her Uncle's home to marry her true love, Harry, the younger son of Lord Hawkstone.

Since Mina has just lost her father and as an orphan has few options left, she reluctantly travels to Vent Royal to stay with the Marquis. Once there, Mina charms all on the country estate including Tian, the Marquis. She has a mystical quality with animals and tames the many birds and other animals on the estate. She calms one of the feistier horses and enjoys spirited horse rides with the Marquis. The Marchioness (grandmother) turns out to be a lovely woman. She raises doves, which of course enchants Mina with her love of birds. The birds gather around her and land on her shoulders and hands (hence the cover picture actually matches one of the scenes!).

It was nice that you got to glimpse the Marquis' psyche and come to understand him somewhat. Also, Tian seemed to realize he had fallen in love long before Mina and I liked that aspect. But Mina's previous arrangements with Christine force the visit to end and endanger their fledgling love. Of course, we know the situation will resolve itself and a happy ending inevitable! But I enjoyed this pleasant tale, which had other interesting scenes with animals, angry ex-mistresses and discussions about birds.

Although this book describes the lives and relationships of only 3 Women, it mainly discusses the reasons why Woman is granted on earth to be "The Great Inspirer!"

I was facinated by many unknown details in the love lives of Richard Wagner and Schure himself!

This book shows Man a new way of appreciating the greatness of Woman!

It isn't very often i feel compelled to write a review on amazon.com, but i simply have to recommend this book.
Here's something for everyone. From surreal ("Lord of Infinite Diversions") to "X-files"-ish ("The Deliverer") to psychological ("The Confessional") to zombiesplatter ("Jerry's Kids Meet Wormboy"), this collection probably has at least one story that will thourougly please you!

Wagner has compiled another really good collection of some really good stories. There are plenty here that I considered to slowly sneak up and scare me. Then to top it off, Wagner, while providing a biography for each author, comes up with a theory involving cats and coffee that is as fun to read. I found myself looking forward to the biographies as much as I was looking forward to the stories. Consider this collection recommended. Some of my favorites are below.

"The Ripper's Tune" by Gregory Nicoll - Jack the Ripper lays claim to a rock song.

"One Size Eats All" by T.E.D. Klein - A typo? Or not?

"Resurrection" by Adam Meyer - A scary tale of life after death, after death...

"David" by Sean Doolittle - A stranger has a request which he insists gets done.

"Ridi Bobo" by Robert Devereaux - It's a clown's world after all.

"Momento Mori" by Scott Thomas - The dead speak through tombstones.

"Ice Cream and Tombstones" by Nira Kiriki - A story most people can probably relate to.

I AM NOT A FAN OF WILLA CATHER - HAVING CONSIDERED HER WRITING TOO SIMPLISTIC, COMPARED TO SAY, THOMAS HARDY OR BALZAC. HOWEVER, THESE SHORT STORIES WERE QUITE BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. ALL DEALT WITH THE ARTS AND ARTISTS. WHAT I ESPECIALLY LIKED WAS THE FACT THAT, UNLIKE SOME SHORT STORIES WHICH SEEM ONLY TO BE A SLICE OF LIFE, HAVE NO PLOT OR RESOLUTION, THESE STORIES ALL HAD AN INTERESTING STORY LINE AND A CLEVER OR INTERESTING RESOLUTION. I FOUND ALL OF THE STORIES TO BE ENTERTAINING ... AND THEY HELD MY ATTENTION TO THE END. I WANTED TO KNOW HOW EACH STORY WOULD BE RESOLVED. DO HAVE A LOOK!

Although later found out to be a fictional piece, this book was still worth the read. This book kept me reading.

This book I read before I saw him on Oprah about the validity of his book. His writing style is amazing and will draw you into this 'story' of his life. It was very believable down to the smallest of details, while keeping your attention. It was hard to put down!

He definitely has a talent for writing captivating 'stories'.

Merna

Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!

I just finished this book, and I while I had heard about the controversy surrounding this book before reading it, and taking everything written with a grain of salt, this book is still incredible!!! Even if the arrest and some of the deaths in the book were not completely accurate, the descriptions of what he and other people addicted to drugs must go through HAS to be real, and thus, his book is still an amazing literary accomplishment. It truly is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It inspired me and is a book that I will probably think about for quite a while, especially those times when it feels like my life sucks. It could be worse! ;-) So, to everyone that thinks that this book is not worth a read because of all the controversy... open your world to just experience the emotions of the story and learn a little more about what "humanity" is... We all need each other and although we can only truly depend on ourself in life, without people caring about us, and people to care about, life could be very difficult. This book made me doubly appreciate the good things that I still have. This book is now one of my favorite books! Excellent read!

Regardless of how I feel about the whole controversy surrounding this book, it turned out to be a good story and I'll rate it for what it is...A work of fiction, based on a true story.
As a story is wasn't bad - not bad at all, especially after the first couple hundred pages.

For me, the beginning was so redundant that I came close to giving up on it. The first 200 pages could have easily been summed up like this...My name is James Frey and I'm a total mess. I'm 23 years old. I've been an alcoholic for the last ten years. I'm a drug Addict, and a Criminal. I'm currently in a treatment facility. I hate myself and deserve whatever physical and or mental pain and agony that comes my way. In fact, I'm such a crazy alcoholic, such a tough drug addict, such a hardened criminal, I'll take any pain you got - bring it on!

The rest of the novel is a compelling story about the author's time spent in a treatment facility for drug and alcohol addiction. It is a story worth the cost of the book and the time spent reading it.

As far as the hullabaloo - I knew all along that many of the facts presented in this memoir were not true; the author himself has admitted to lying. Therefore, I didn't experience that surprising feeling of betrayal when you believe something to be true, only to find out otherwise. However, when schools, universities, colleges, newspapers, etc. are so intense about not tolerating plagiarism, why do publishers, editors and most of all readers accept any lack of honesty and integrity when it come to labeling literature? Why sort literature by genre at all if we aren't going to have some standards set that we can trust? Yes, I guess it (labeling this book a memoir) really does bug me.

I wrote a review years ago after I read this book.
Still today, regardless of all the notoriety, I give thanks to James for writing this book. Unless someone has walked in the shoes of very early sobriety and recovery from drug addiction as well as alcohol abuse there can be no understanding of how powerful this book is.
Bottom line: it saved my life and my MIND. Without this book God only knows if I would be here today 3 years later, clean and sober, to write about it.

I love this book but wish Penguin would put a bit more effort into a decent binding job. Charging $9.00 for a slim paperback that will often not survive a single reading in the hands of one of my students seems excessively high.

I'm 13, and I read this for school. It's a wonderful parable.
Kino is a poor Indian who lives with his wife, Juana, and his son, Coyotito. They are superstitious people that hears songs, when they experience feelings, like the "song of the family."
The first conflict arises when Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. (Where Kino hears the "Song of Evil) Juana quickly sucks out the poison, but they still take him to the city doctor. The doctor publicly refuses, so Kino goes out to sea to try to find a pearl to pay the doctor with. News soon spreads that he has found the pearl of the world,(Where Kino hears the "Song of the Pearl") but Kino fails top sell it because the pearl buyers have put a ridiculously low price on the pearl. The greedy doctor then visits Kino's hut, even though Coyotito is better. The doctor then tricks Kino and Juana by making the baby worse, then making him quiet.
That night is the first night when people try to steal the pearl. It stirs greed in Kino, though Juana wants to take it back to the ocean. When she tries Kino beats her up, and kills a man that same night. Becuase of that, Kino and his family run away. After a while, three men, one of which who has a rifle, try to find them, and his pearl. At one point, Juana and Coyotit hide in the mountains, while Kino attempts to kill them by creeping up on them. However, he hears the sound of Coyotito crying, which the three men also hear. The man with a rifle assumes it is a baby coyote, and shoots in the direction. Kino, enraged, attacks them.
In the final chapter, you learn that Coyotito's head had been blown apart. Kino and Juana return, but act almost dead.
They then return the pearl, and the "Music of the Pearl" disappears.

I think that it is a very interesting book,though it is short. I would recommend it to people of all ages.

I give this book one star not because it is depressing or somber - but in virtue of it having a message bordering on something like nihilism. The book is about a man who is presented with sudden wealth, and of the downfall it brings him. Were he a man of already sufficient means who was presented with a fruitful lottery ticket it might be one thing, but what disturbed me about this book was that the protagonist, Kino, is a man of indisputably wretched means who initially is glad to happen across a gargantuan pearl in order that he might provide a better life for his family and rise above the unjust socio-economic caste he's been trapped in his whole life.
But in the end, after the pearl causes terrible greed and destruction to both him and his loved ones, both internally and externally, he tosses it back in the ocean. The general message is clear enough: avoid potential sources of greed and materialism, and be happy with what you've got. Intrinsically, a perfectly sound message.
But again, what is abhorrent about this book is it's about a man who's trying to RISE ABOVE, not gratuitously or materialistically get ahead. Unless to Steinbeck, 'rising above' in Kino's case really is just a subcategory of 'getting ahead' as opposed to 'being content.' If that is the case, that strikes me as a dichotomy unsound on every level. Or perhaps, Steinbeck's message is, or in addition is, 'don't fight the system.' (So, when people treat you like horse dung you just take it, right? Take it lying down, even if it means your children die of starvation or scorpion bites).
If 'don't fight the system' is NOT the message of the book, then Steinbeck should have been more clear about what his message WAS. At best he's a confusing and ambivalent writer. At worst he's a nihilistic, sociologically sick person who can't even make a story enjoyable.

Kino, his wife Juana, and their baby son Coyotito, live a simple life in an ocean-side village in Mexico. Kino pearl-dives for a living. He and his family are native people of the original Aztec stock. Life for them is not perfect, indeed, the injustice of subjugation to the Spanish sometimes burns fierce in their hearts, but much of the time their existance in their small brush hut is sweet. Then one day Kino brings to the surface a huge pearl, a perfect pearl, "the Pearl of the World". This discovery promises many changes to the better, and it seems Kino's every dream will be fulfilled, but as news of the find spreads the forces of evil stir as greed and malice build.

In this novella Steinbeck uses simple language to create some of the atmosphere of a folk-tale. He has, however, combined this atmosphere with the character development and dynamism of plot expected of a modern work. At its worst this book is predictable. Virtually from the start of the story I was able to predict generally how the plot would turn out. Steinbeck's own narration, indeed, more than hints at what the future holds. But the success of this novella is in the working out of the details of the plot. Steinbeck manages to surprise us again and again with dramatic plot twists and exciting developments. I certainly cannot say I was bored by this book. It entertained me, while at the same time making a 'moral' point.

The world portrayed in THE PEARL is that of the helpless, exploited, and disinherited. It portrays the lives of people being forced to live closer to nature than most of us care to, of people who somehow don't fit into the social structure, of people who do not understand the boundaries and rules of governments and nations, and of people forced to be on the run.

Steinbeck paints a beautiful family with hope and joy, but he promptly dashes all hope these people could have. It is a beautiful but dark tragedy written in poetic prose.

The story is a parable with two-dimensional characters. Reading the story, I felt that these events were happening to me. There is a strong sense of universality. THE PEARL shows the best and the worst of humanity, and it displays much of Steinbeck's greatest ability to write.

After looking at the way Tiger has taken HIS game to the NEXT LEVEL, I know one factor is his level of fitness that is undoubtedly surpassing the rest of the field. This book has given me a new body and a new attitude toward the game of golf as well. I am playing with much more energy and control, both physically and mentally than ever before! If Tiger can be the example for being in great shape, why can't WE ALL learn from HIM??? I know I HAVE!

Compared to other books like Complete Golf Conditioning, etc, this is really generic fitness with the word golf added. I was really disappointed in the nutritional section as I am diabetic and there were only high-sugar options which I had to make. Out of all the golf fitness books I bought in the last 2 months, this was the worst by far.

Don Tinder's book gives the best golf fitness tips in the sport. Add this to the book, Nutritional Leverage for Great Golf which tells us how to improve our game through diet, and you have two books that can give you the edge you need to lower your score. Tinder is a master at swing technique and practices what he preaches.

I follow the recommendations in this book and feel great. I don't want to be bored with useless information, and this book hits at the heart of what to do both in the gym and on the golf course. The author has motivated me to work out again! Thanks Don!

The title of this book says it all. I am feeling better, looking better, and I play with more strength and energy than ever before. This book is the answer for my fitness and golf game too!

This is an enjoyable, comprehensive study of all of King's writings and how they intertwine, especially in connection with the Dark Tower. If you're a fan of the series, you should NOT miss this book, as it points out many interconnections and minor characters and names dropped here and there that you might not have noticed, depending on the order in which you've read King's large body of work. A must-have for D.T. fans.

Enjoyed it because it went down a different road. Found that certain things stimulated my mind and got me to think and research new material! Found some good stuff and some bad stuff.

What King did for me was open my mind to `What if' situations and that lead me to read The Rogue Warrior, which was way out of my league, and then recently Tom Patire's Persona Protection Handbook which I must say was quite excellent in regards to safety.

If Steven King took some of the Tom Patire's real life stories and added his magic we would have some more good reading.

Overall I love King and his work and look forward to more!

Deb

The Stephen King Universe is a pretty decent attempt to consolidate all of the best-selling Author's stories and characters into one cohesive "Universe", I.E. all of his stories and characters exist in the same reality, and the various struggles between good and evil that King relates are all skirmishes leading to the eventual war that will be fought for control of the mythical Dark Tower. (Comic Book fans are familiar with this type of scheme- The Marvel Universe, The DC Universe, et al....)Sounds good.

There are a few problems, though: 1)- Die-Hard King fans, like me, already know pretty much everything they have to say in this book. That's ok, though. Sometimes it's nice just to see that someone else agrees with you. 2)- There are some glaring errors, most of which other reviewers have spoken about, so I won't. (Well....just one! It drove me NUTS that they say on one page that Mike Hanlon, from IT, lives in Hemingford Home, Nebraska. A few pages later he lives in Derry. Come on, guys...Where's the Editor? There are a LOT of little things like that.) 3)- Towards the end of the book, the Authors seem to just lose interest in tying all King's work together, and just start summarizing stories. The Richard Bachman chapter especially suffered from this....

King Fans will probably find The Stephen King Universe a pleasant way to spend a few hours, kind of like a trip down memory lane. Everyone else should probably just go right to the source, and pick up one of Mr. King's books. Ain't nothing like the real thing.....

Although the book does mention a few connections that I had missed, I was immediately turned off by the large number of errors. The entries for Cujo, IT, Needful Things, and Salem's Lot all contained errors, including wrong names, dates, and plot lines. For a book that is supposed to tie everything together, the errors are confusing and misleading. At this point, with the Dark Tower series coming to an end, the book is obsolete. The newest book it mentions is Bag of Bones. I would look for an updated version, or another book entirely, if you want to have an outline of the Stephen King Universe.

Contrary to many of the other reviews, and regardless to the fact that I'm only giving this book three stars, "The Stephen King Universe" isn't a complete waste. The biggest problem I'm already having with the book, unfortunately, is that it's already becoming a bit dated and by this time next year (when the next two Dark Tower books are on the shelf) it will surely need updating. The authors may have jumped the gun a little bit to get the book out on the market, and I can understand the motivation.

Since this book was released before Black House, the sequel to Talisman, there is a lot of useful information left out. Black House revealed lots of background on the Dark Tower, the Crimson King, The Breakers and a whole slew of stuff integral to the King universe. You can tell the authors have their own ideas about where the series is going, but to me, Black House was the most important book to the Dark Tower series outside the Dark Tower books themselves.

Stangely enough, I'm probably one of the few people out there that was looking for a book exactly like this, so I'm not disappointed. Having read most of King's books, I was interested in having a handy reference, and now I've got one. I avoid reading any of the synopsis for books I haven't read yet, and for those of you who feel cheated because you read the synopsis before the book: what were you thinking?

The book is far from perfect and far from an encyclopedia. It's more of a thesis that attempts to tie all of King's books into his Dark Tower series in whcih King himself admits is sort of all inclusive. Sometimes it works, someties it doesn't. I would have liked a cyclopedia type section for something other than just characters though, especially for the Dark Tower section, which seems surprisingly thin considering the wealth of information in the books themselves. Outside of making connections to the other books, the authors seem oblivious to lots of details that I would find important, and if I had the patience, foresight and time to make something like this myself, I would have done it a bit differently.

Having said that, this is the best third party source on the King Universe outside of the books themselves, and it does fill a niche. I think about ten years from now we can expect a vast librabry of similar books like the many Tolkien cyclopedias and guides (maybe even a "Roland Lives" trend?). Hopefully when the series is completed in a few years, the authors will go back and create an updated version to include all the new books. If and when they do this they can fix some of the continuity errors, expound where needed and create the ultimate reference which, as of this writing, does not yet exist.

this book didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from doing a little research on the web. It's just like the 'natural cures' book... you get it and inside it's just a big advertisement trying to get you to buy more... buy more. Try going to your local bookstore and ordering it from them. When they call you to pick it up just tell them you want to thumb through it first and make your decision from there. I mean unless you have piles of cash to burn. You don't need any flippin tachyon disks. Just start investing in some personal development. DO something and stop reading about it or buying things to do it for you. Invest in yourself. You'll never go wrong there.

Drink only pure,unfluorided water, eat only whole fresh raw fruits and vegetables, exercise every day, get some morning or late afternoon sun everyday, and get enough sleep and rest. If this doesn't help, -then- start looking for the wierdo cures if you must, but nothing will undo the problems of the Modern Western Lifestyle except no longer living the MWL. I think Gabe must have been fasting a little too long when he wrote this book. Fantasy. To those who testify here on behalf of Tachyon products: I've happened upon a few 'Tachyonized' items, and gave them a try...nothing happened. Your results are the exception, not the rule.

I think a tachyon exists, and I am excited about the idea, but there is no evidence of a patent on Tachyonization Process, and no evicende that the aura pictures are even real. If the technology worked, there would be a patent for it, the FDA would make them do trials, and it would take a year to get it onto shelves and into hospitals. Here's a pet rock that's an antenna for Tachyonized energy--someone's got to do the proof. I do not recommend Tachyonized products--especially the 15 drops of Tachyonized Water (from sugar).

If you are interested in energy healing and all of that - wonderful. I am too. After having studied at Barbara Brennan School, I was curious about tachyon crystals. When initially installed in the room - at the four corners - the feeling was almost giddy. But quickly my heart chakra closed up and I was unable to expand. The crystals created a sort of prison. I am very worried about this technology becoming prevalent. It is not hocus-pocus. It does have an affect. In some situations it may be healing. However, please note that this is not something to use if you are a seeker, or if you are spiritual in any way. This creates an energetic PRISON! You are much better off to use naturally created (grown from the earth) crystals that have not been "infused" with anything!!!

Its like so often in "real" life - some dude has an insight and doesn't get it that he does not need to bend science and common sense in order to construct a new world-view (or, in this case almost a religion with the inventor as the savior) around it. I have used "tachyon" products - they work for selected issues (mostly muscle and tendon problems). Truth is, nobody knows on what principle this stuff works - but rather than being honest and admitting it a hair-raising new world-view is invented with quotes from "real" science to support it not only out of context but also WRONG. The latest I have heard is that Mr. Wagner, the top honcho, has now become a professor in his self-made university (no joke, check his website!). I was personaly witness of Wagner's dishonesty on more than one occasion and can only suggest to stay away from him. This book contains no valuable information whatsoever.