Authors Books

Hi Huda,

I was really honoured to know you in person and seat with you in acafe in Damascus last summer. Actually what amazed me is your humble character and your imaginative mind. You have the potential and the capacity to be a great writer known worldwide. I promise you will have a very brilliant future. Keep writing and God may bless you.

The character Marc (or, Marco) drifts through Orfali's stories, bringing hope and compassion to often hopeless or brutal situations. Orfali is the real Marc, in that she gives a devastatingly honest view of life's cruelty, yet brings optimism to that view. However, she does so without giving easy, contrived solutions. She also does so with charming characters and believable dialogue.

Her poems range from depictions of her Syrian homeland to scenes from treasured myths and legends. My favorite of the poems is "Flip, Flop." The narrator of that poem forces us to consider the results of violence, who is to blame for it, and who can help stop it; yet the poem also manages to surprise the reader. For that matter, Orfali's work is a constant surprise.

Blue Fire is one of the most wonderful story books I've ever read. It deals with all aspects of our lives. I certainlly beneffited from the medical information. This new way of handlind illness and death is certainly interesting. death is just a "flight unto the sun", a new beginning. I wish the author good luck in future writing. I hope she will be more optimistic in her future writing.

Blue Fire is one of the most wonderful story books I've ever read. It deals with all aspects of our lives. I certainlly beneffited from the medical information. This new way of handlind illness and death is certainly interesting. death is just a "flight unto the sun", a new beginning. I wish the author good luck in future writing. I hope she will be more optimistic in her future writing.

Excellent Work. Orfali is a great storyteller. HOLLYWOOD-take a look at this book! What wonderful movies it could make! I highly recommend Blue Fire to anyone looking for a good story. I hope to see more from Orfali.

If you are a girl, know a girl or have ever been a girl, this is the book for you. This anthology of the collected writings of teenage girls and their women mentors uplifts, inspires and transforms.

Also, when you purchase a book you help support a noble cause and allow this non-profit mentoring program to continue providing its much needed service.

This is a great book filled with every emotion under the sun! It made me laugh, cry and sing. I applaud the women and girls who gave so much of themselves to make this book a reality. A definite must read!

I am one of the writers in BOLD INK and i would just like to say that i had an wonderful time working with my mentor. Writing the pieces that went into the the book as well as the ones that didnt. I would also like to thanks everyone who left a comment. Now I can only speak for myself but i enjoyed hearing good feedback about the book. Please enjoy and thank you very much.

This book is just as other reviewers have said, inspiring. I have to add something that the other reviewers haven't said, which is that the design is one of the best I've seen for this type of book. It's a real pleasure for the eye, and very imaginatively done without distracting from the reading.

This book is so beautifully put together. I was looking for a writing guide for my 12 year old daughter -- at first, I did not think this book was it, but I'm a teacher and I was curious. BOLD INK is truly amazing. there are poems and stories from young girls, but there are also little blurbs explaining how they went about the writing process. My daughter devoured this book and has written so much more than she ever has. I think that adults can teach children all they want, but it is the lessons from their peers that they really take to heart.

by Judy Bart Kancigor, author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

from The Orange County Register
March 8, 2007

It's a simple idea. You read a good book and you just have to share. Some credit Oprah with starting the phenomenon, but, according to Rachel Jacobsohn, author of "The Reading Group Handbook," there are approximately 500,000 book clubs in the United States, double the number since 1994. And those that combine great books with great dining come away doubly nourished by sharing ideas as they break bread together.

Enter The Book Club Cookbook (Penguin), which pairs 100 popular book club selections with the recipes they inspire. Authors Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp sent thousands of surveys to book clubs across the nation to find out what they are reading and how they dine, and the response was overwhelming.

"When we started hearing the same book titles over and over from many different clubs, we knew those titles would make our list," said Krupp. "We also tried to balance the list by genre. We included fiction, non-fiction, history, memoir, even short stories. We included books highly recommended by African-American book clubs not found on other lists. Some L.A. Asian professionals read only books with Asian themes. Women of the West in Boulder, Colorado, read only books with an American Western woman protagonist or author."

The books are arranged alphabetically, and each section includes a brief synopsis - just enough to whet your appetite but not give away the story - a profile of a book club reading that book, and a recipe to pair with the selection: Tandoori Shrimp for "Life of Pi," Death by Chocolate for "The Da Vinci Code," Honey Cake for "The Secret Life of Bees." In many cases the book's author contributes a recipe or comment.

"The most elaborate and elegant dinner we heard about was served by The Dallas Gourmet Book Club for their discussion of `Personal History' by Katherine Graham," noted Gelman. "It included champagne, wine, Caviar Pie, Sausage Pinwheels, Shrimp Curry, Saffron Rice, Green Bean Bundles and Chocolate Raspberry Tarts. The group even printed a menu to look like headline news in The Washington Post."

The oldest club Gelman and Krupp found, the Wednesday Club of Fort Smith, Arkansas, has been meeting for 106 years! "It started as a literary society dedicated to self-improvement of the members," said Krupp. "Just recently the women decided to stop referring to each other as `Mrs.' and to start using first names. They read only nonfiction and serve dessert and coffee or tea with silver and linen napkins."

The cookbook's web site (www.bookclubcookbook.com) is an invaluable resource for readers. Want to speak personally to an author with those burning questions that only the author could answer? The "Invite an Author" page enables you to contact such luminaries as Chris Bohjalian, Jackie Mitchard and Kathryn Harrison for a phone discussion during your meeting. And sign up for their newsletter "Book Bytes" for reading suggestions and coordinating menu ideas.

Fullerton's own Taal Restaurant (on Nutwood across from Cal State 714-871-7846), my favorite for Indian cuisine, contributed a recipe for Chicken Biryani to pair with a discussion of "A Fine Balance" by the local Second Wednesday Dinner Book Club.

TAAL RESTAURANT'S CHICKEN BIRYANI
From "The Book Club Cookbook" by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced, or 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
2 teaspoons garam masala* (This Indian spice mixture can be found in Indian markets.)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 to 4 teaspoons red chili powder
2 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt (divided use)
1 1/2 pounds skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 bay leaves
2 cups basmati rice

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions until beginning to soften. Add ginger, garlic and tomatoes; cook 2 minutes. Stir in spices and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until done but tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Bring 3½ cups water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon oil. Stir in rice. Simmer, covered, until rice is tender and liquid absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Combine chicken and rice (discard the bay leaves) in large serving bowl; toss to mix. Garnish with raisins, cilantro, and mint.

Have you ever wondered how to serve a suitable meal for a book discussion at your local book club? Whether you can serve a meal which is thematically related to the book being discussed? If the answers to both are yes, then the perfect solution is acquiring a copy of Judy Gelman's and Vicki Levy Krupp's "The Book Club Cook Book". The authors contacted members from over one hundred book clubs within the United States, soliciting comments not only the books themselves, but also on the meals served at these discussions (For the record, I am an outgoing coordinator of a book club, and am quoted in several entries.).

Each book listed is accompanied by a brief summary, including comments from book club members, and a recipe for an appropriate dish (For example, for Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes", is a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.). There is also an in-depth profile of a book club. So if you are wondering what to serve for a discussion of Yann Martel's novel "Life of Pi", then a suitable dish might be the Tandoori Shrimp featured for this entry.

This is a fun, highly informative book which will interest long-time book club members and those who are just joining. To their credit, the authors also provide some excellent tips on how to organize your own book club. Without question, "The Book Club Cook Book" may become the essential reference guide to serving meals at book club meetings.

This book is exceptionally interesting - combining details about the books, recipies that relate to (or are included in)the books and details about book clubs all over the country...This is my second copy - I bought this one as a birthday gift for a friend!

This book is great for starting up a book club and trying to think of recipes that co-inside with the book. Some of them were very imaginative. I enjoyed the reviews of the books, and how they decided on the recipes for the stories they were reading.

I am sorry I really didn't try many of the recipes.

This book gives you some great suggestions for book clubs. I bought two copies to give as gifts...something I never do. Haven't tried the recipes--I just loved hearing how other bookclubs from all over the U.S. handle their meetings, their menus and their choice of books. Very readable,

Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories

Zara Stevens's Boy Meets Girl is a unique and, I think, valuable addition to the pre-marriage literature for young women. As with the book's protagonist, Sophie, Boy Meets Girl could relieve the anxiety of a bride-to-be (or groom, for that matter) by putting the nature of weddings into perspective. More positively, the book's wedding stories could contribute to the romance, ceremony, and anticipation of the affair.

Sophie is contemplating her imminent wedding and concludes: "Weddings are just our way of making sex more respectable." This is her defense against the frustration of preparing her own wedding and fear that it might not turn out as she wants.

Sophie has, in six years working for the U.N., made good friends with young women from around the world. At her "Hen's Night" (Stevens is Australian--in the U.S. this would be the bachelorette party), Sophie's friends tell the stories of their own weddings. Told in third person and presented as short stories, these vignettes accomplish two major purposes in addition to the ones mentioned above.

First, they convey information about the wedding customs of India, Vietnam, Mexico, Italy, Iran, Kenya, and Japan. Interesting as this is, it would still be pretty dry if presented as plain exposition. Stevens, however, makes the information an integral part of the stories, and it's the stories themselves that immediately become the source of interest.
One quickly becomes involved in the tale of Ashna's, who despite having a successful career as a modern Indian woman, at twenty-five is an embarrassment to her family, who pressure her into an arranged marriage. The tension of this arrangement turns the reader's thoughts to the nature of marriage and how it ought to be.

The stories continue, some of them joyous, some of them tragic. The one from Kenya, which begins with the fourteen year-old bride-to-be undergoing female circumcision to prepare her for her marriage, is guaranteed to provoke a strong reaction and some serious thought.
The writing, here, is simple. The stories are allowed to tell themselves without a lot of floridity or intervention of author's opinion, and the wedding information fits seamlessly into the narrative. The combination works well. The reader becomes easily involved in the women's stories, but not so much so that she can't quickly switch back and compare it to her own story.

The one caveat I have with Boy Meets Girl is that while it purports to be about weddings, it strays implicitly into the idea and nature of marriage. This could be a bit confusing. Though weddings often are reflections of the principals' idea of marriage, they certainly aren't always in the U.S., and I'm sure this is true around the world. The good thing is that Boy Meets Girl ought to get readers thinking about both.

After reading Zara Stevens, Boy Meets Girl, A Pocketful of Wedding Stories, I am very proud for my first review to be this book!

It is many wonderful stories of eight friends and their individual wedding experiences. Some beyond beautiful, almost like a faery tale, some very sad, but all in their own very unique traditions of the countries they are from!

First the book begins with a girl named Sophie, an Administrative Consultant for the UN, who is in the process of planning her own wedding, then in turn tells the very different individual stories of her 7 friends (Ashna from India, Mai from Vietnam, Lucia from Mexico, Antonia from Italy, Aliyeh from Iran, Kanida from Kenya and Mayu from Japan) weddings. She ends the book back at Sophie's Wedding, which I felt made a very nice closure to the book!

You will find parts where you want to laugh out loud and other times that may bring tears to your eyes from the sadness, but most of all you will see all of the similarities to our own traditions, and the very different traditions of many countries that we have trouble understanding.

I must praise Zara Stevens's unique and very detailed way of bringing these eight women to life, so that we are able to feel that we are right there and a part of the festivities!
Great book Zara, I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it !


Deborah Lorraine Olsen

I have just enjoyed a most poignant account of meetings, love and marriage in several cultures. How clever the author has been to capture such feelings and relate them with such insight within short stories...I have purchased 3 more copies to include with wedding presents for family and friends. Looking forward to the next book by Zara Stevens....Pamela

If you have yet to read something by Zara Stevens it's high time you did. In Boy Meets Girl, she'll evoke emotions you'd thought had long since become defunct.

The book is comprised of several short stories. Stevens begins by introducing us to Sophie on the evening of her "Hen Party" prior to her wedding, then enchants us with tales of seven of Sophie's closest friends, and how each of them reached the pinnacle of holy matrimony.

These stories will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you truly understand the bond that comes from women sharing their deepest feelings.

This would make a fun and unique gift for a bridal shower! (After all, just how many toasters will one bride need?) Wrap it up in a gift basket with a bottle of wine or champagne and a duo of fancy flutes. Yours will be the best loved gift at the party!

Zara has a gift for story telling and a gift for understanding other cultures. I really enjoy the way she makes me understand other points of view from around the world and I am a sucker for a happy ending. I think she has captured the joys and fears that seem to go with all the weddings around the world. It is both informative and moving.

Thank you Zara

Fellow play readers say that this is one of the best plays they ever read. It made them weep, it changed their lives, it is the only the play they've ever loved. You can't argue with that. I have read this play several times myself, but for me it is a play that works but it does not work wonders. I am a great admirer of the Mel Brooks, Wood Allen, Neil Simon school of comedy. There should be a plaque on the Cross Bronx Highway alerting people that they are approaching the stomping grounds of America's greatest comedic generation. Of course, we know that it was the depression that incubated this batch of comedic geniuses. Simon, more so than the others, has mined this era, tapping his memories of love without any trace of irony or insight. His is one big sloppy family kiss on the forehead. Still his memories clearly are those of millions, and what seems corny and undramatic to one reader clearly has the power to bring others to tears. All the power to you, Mr. Simon.

I remember watching the movie version of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" years back and thought it was fantastic. Now, years later, I decided to pick up the play and read it.

As usual with the written version, there is quite a bit more detail in the play. Eugene is the story's main character, and while his family struggles with all sorts of family issues. His brother Stanley comes to him with his dilemma about possibly being fired from his job. His cousin Nora, her sister and her aunt Blanche all live with the Jerome family in their Brooklyn home. Eugene's main concern is dealing with the rigors of growing up--and winning the World Series for the Yankees. His character really comes out in the play; there is the sense of witty spirit that he has in dealing with his family and his own problems. Another great aspect of the play is the sense of family spirit it evokes, especially in troubled times, and you see that in the final act when Eugene's dad is able to talk some sense into his wife and her sister, but Stanley as well.

Neil Simon's ability to create funny and memorable characters and a story that is both insightful and humorous makes this a fantastic read. It is easy to see how this play got adapted into a full length film. This play is the first in a series of three plays covering the life of Eugene Jerome.

If you enjoyed this book, another great movie or book to check out is Biloxi Blues, which is the second installment of this series. If you watch the film, it stars Matthew Broderick as Eugene, and narrates his exploits as he goes into the military.

Easy reading, but also very meaningful for the family.

The first of his three semi-autobiographical plays about the "Jerome" family, Neil Simon's BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS takes place in Brooklyn, New York toward the end of the Great Depression. Fourteen-year-old Eugene Morris Jerome (Simon's alter ego) is the protagonist and narrator of the play. Struggling to find his niche among his large, extended family, Eugene writes his own witty observations about them in his journal, sharing them with us as he does so. Yet the focus of the conflict is on the older family members (including Eugene's parents, Kate and Jack; his brother, Stanley; his cousin Nora; and his widowed Aunt Blanche), all of whom struggle daily to make ends meet. Though a comedy, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS asks a serious question, one posed in earlier eras by playwrights like Clifford Odets and Arthur Miller: that is, how can one preserve one's morals and integrity in difficult economic times, when it is all one can do just to put food on the table? BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS is an affectionate though often painful family comedy; in it, Simon establishes characters for his two later "Jerome" plays, BILOXI BLUES and BROADWAY BOUND, while anticipating the impending WWII era, the setting for the former title.

"Brighton Beach Memoirs" by Neil Simon is just superb! I saw the movie before reading this play, and I love it, so I knew I would at least like the play. I *love* the play; it's become one of my favorites. I fell in love with all of the characters and just adore the feeling of family that comes through while reading it. With witty dialogue (that can truly be appreciated my by people of the Jewish faith), I couldn't stop laughing, smiling, and just enjoying myself. I recommend.

Brighton Beach Memoirs is a play about a fourteen-year-old boy growing up in 1937. The boy's name is Eugene Jerome. The play is divided into two acts. The first act is one night in Eugene's house. The second act is a week later in his house. Eugene is growing up in a hectic and eventful household of seven family members. He writes memoirs in his journal about his family and different events occurring in his life. During the play, Eugene share's his own personal thoughts with the audience. This really gives the audience an inside look on Eugene's life. I reall liked having this inside view. It really kept me into the book. Brighton Beach Memoirs was a real page turner. I highly recommend it!

Author Lisa Borders' novel, CLOUD CUCKOO LAND, the winner of the prestigious Fred Bonnie Memorial Award for Best First Novel, will introduce its readers to a talented writer with a gift for portraying the depth of emotions stored in Miri's tumultuous journey through life. Miri,the protagonist,who s abandoned by her mother, makes her way from childhood through adolescence using her amazing singing voice as her tool for survival. Miri is a paradox in the roles she plays; sometimes passionately in love with Juan and making out on the beach, sometimes a mistress for Ian a fading Rock star, and finally sharing a life with Jamie, a Gay musician. CLOUD CUCKOO LAND will take you on an emotional Roller Coaster ride. I heartily recommend this book as a must read . . . it is in fact a "page turner."

Lisa Borders debut will be remembered for generations as a paradigm shift in the art of writing. As I read this incredibly seductive novel, I recognized a wave of comfort not felt since reading McMurty and Cormac McCarthy. Ms. Borders managed this feat while drawing me in, and spitting me out into the hyper-urban music scene. I am at a loss for words in describing this transition. The novel is a gem, and I take extreme pleasure in knowing that Ms. Borders has many years of writing ahead, which will fill out her literary tiara! Bravo!!!

This book made me laugh and cry. I loved the references to the underground music scene of the 80s. I loved the realistic treatment of these complex characters, straight and gay alike. Miri, the main character of this richly detailed novel, will stay with you long after you've finished the book. She's handed some of life's worse misfortunes and a gorgeous singing voice and must somehow make the best of it. The most refreshing aspect of the book? It does not succumb to the tell-all mentality of much of today's fiction and memoir. Its portrayal of teens who trade home violence and dysfunction for the dangers of the street is real more so because of details the author chooses to leave out. With this finely written debut, the author has proven herself to be a wonderful, talented storyteller. Read this book and keep your eye on Lisa Borders. She'll be back.

Cloud Cuckoo Land begins life as an engaging coming of age story, told in a fresh and authentic adolescent voice. It's impossible not to be drawn into young Miri's world as she describes her chaotic childhood, nonexistent father, irresponsible mother, and frequent moves. We're there with Miri as she finds a sane refuge with her grandmother in Texas, and there with her as that refuge is taken away. Unlike some coming of age novels, however, Cloud Cuckoo Land doesn't run out of steam as its heroine grows up. As Miri moves from child to homeless teenager to young woman finding her way as a musician, her voice stays strong and her journeys and struggles are painted just as vividly.

Some books seem to evoke their own soundtrack, and this is one of them, from an old Patsy Cline song heard from a passing Cadillac on a flat Texas highway to early REM drifting out of a diner at 5 a.m. on a grey, haunted Philadelphia morning.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is realistic fiction that isn't mundane. Like the mythical place recalled by its title, this beautifully written novel has a strange magic that can't really be defined; it's hard to categorize and just as hard to forget.

Remember when you were young and first discovered a favorite author or book? I remember I was nine and it was Agatha Christie. I read every single installment, and then I longed for the time when I hadn't discovered her, just to have that first-time pleasure all over again. I recall actually feeling a gritted-stomach jealousy of people who still had the chance to uncork the bottle and have that first delicious taste.

I feel that way again now about those of you who have yet to read Lisa Borders' Cloud Cuckoo Land. Miri (short for Miriam) Ortiz has everything you'd ever want in a protagonist. She's lovable, smart, flawed, authentic, and layered as an onion. Experiencing the twisting road she traverses, starting with her less-than- perfect childhood in Prairie Rose, Texas, means not only the discovery of unknown and resonant worlds (foster homes of varying degrees of heartbreak; street life, at turns shadowy and joyful; the Philadelphia music scene in the 1980s) but also an opportunity to know these worlds through Miri's compelling and wholly original viewpoint.

And then there's Borders' language. Oh. So often we read books that feel affected, too self-aware, "workshopped" to death. Borders' prose, on the other hand, is at turns skippingly light and hauntingly fragile. There are turns of phrase in these pages that make you have to run and tell somebody.

Maybe I should stop being jealous, though, because the best thing about Cloud Cuckoo Land might be the feeling the author leaves you with after the book is done. Even in the face of Miri's upheavals, Borders manages to uplift with a non-saccharine kind of hope. In scenes that hover and drift back into the mind long after the cover is closed, Borders restores one's faith in in the power of human connections -- wherever and however one finds them.

This two-story collectio by two of my favorite authors has made it to the top of my "hot reads" pile and is likely to live there for a while.

1) Her Wildest Dreams by Shiloh Walker - Definately a five star read. I'd give it six or seven stars if I could. This is a sequel to "Good Girls Don't" (which I have only been able to find in e-book form). As a warning, Allie and Alex like sex rough, raw and no-holds barred. This story is one of the hottest I've ever read and at the same time the love story aspect is very emotional. In my opinion, this is Walker's best.

2) Cowboy and the Captive by Lora Leigh - This one would rate about four stars for me. While the storyline is good, I didn't like the premise, but Leigh is a good enough writer she could have pulled it off had she expanded this into a longer, book-length story. In direct contrast to Walker's story, this one takes a huge step back from sex. Because Leigh is so known for her sexy stories, and because EC teamed it with such an over-the-top-hot tale, I really was expecting more steam from this one. Leigh kept the focus firly on the storyline, though, which involved twin confusion (one of my peeves) and pulls in a cameo from one of the August brothers.

No matter your mood, this two-in-one will have a story to suit you. if you want drama, read Leigh. If you want sexy, read Walker. It's an excellent duo and well worth the purchase price.

I am not going to go into detail, I see this has been nicely done. Lora and Shiloh do not disappoint with these erotic tales. Both stories were compelling with hot erotica. I recommend this compilation.

I bought this book for the Lora Leigh story (Cowboy & the Captive) but staid for the Shiloh Walker story. Don't get me wrong Leigh's story is good but I gave the five stars here for the first book;(Her Wildest Dreams). I liked the fact that the heroin did not cower away when she was pushed aside in the beginning by her hero and that she took herself on a trip purely for self redemption. The love scenes are scalding hot and the chemistry between the two is so strong you can reach out and touch it. I simply fell in love with Ms. Walker's book.

I adored both these stories and found them to be pure escapism. I would recommend them to anyone over 18. Fabulous writers!

Lora Leigh fans will not be disappointed! The Alpha Males in this book showed compassion and tenderness to Cat's situation where she is once again being punished for her evil identical twin's ruthless actions. The sex scenes were erotic and even had the main Alpha character proposing to get the woman who has stolen his heart. I am a fan for Victorian romances and I love the way that Cat had that touch of innocence. Anal scenes were not kinky but a touch romantic as well. I have read this book over and over.

...The gist of it was this: Crow is one of the best books of poetry published in the last 50 years...

As an English major in 1973, one of my professors recommended this book of poetry. None of our textbooks contained any of Ted Hughes' work but I jotted his name and this title in the margin of one of my books. After graduating, I spent very little time reading or thinking about poetry. But I recently revived my interest in poetry, specifically after reading several biographies of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. I pulled out my old poetry textbooks, found this note and immediately ordered Crow to read it for myself.
What an experience. The work is fantastic - the images, the rhythm, the concept. Amazing, entertaining, and relevant.
I highly recommend this book.

A brilliant work! Honest, straightforward, raw and hardcore poems
that will knock your socks off. This is the only work I recommend reading by Hughes.

I first read this in the late 70's. The harshness, the brutality of it all was a punch in the stomach. An overturning of how i imagined poetry to be. Poetry because of this could belong to me too. It was a similar sensation to the crashing, nihilistic verve of early punk records. It will always remind me that poetry can be as powerful as a 3 minute, 3 chord record, and just as accessible. It did not have any of the cultural baggage of TS Eliot's Wasteland,for example, Which to a provincial boy stuck in a Comprehensive School, belonged to a diferent, musty world .

"Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow" is a collection of poems by Ted Hughes. The copyright page notes that the book was first published in 1972. This is a remarkable book that often reads like some apocryphal sacred text. The book is dominated by its title character, who is the focus of a significant number of the poems. Crow is a multifaceted character with mythic heft: he is a warrior, theologian, trickster, and partner with God in creation. He is both heroic and ridiculous, foolish and wise. He's a compelling and delightful character who ultimately transcends all cultures and historical eras.

The collection as a whole is whimsical, witty, apocalyptic, bold, revelatory, irreverent, visceral, horrific, and playful. At times, Hughes' poetic marriage of the earthy and the mystical reminded me of Walt Whitman. The book also calls to mind traditional Native American animal stories.

Many of the poems in "Crow" touch on the magic and power of words. The natural world is another key recurring motif. Hughes delivers some striking images and some interesting arrangements of words on the page--many poems really engage the eye. Many poems read like religious litanies. Overall, an impressive and enjoyable poetic achievement.

I found this book around the house, no idea who bought it or when, and read it over the last week in bits before falling asleep, or waiting in the car, then finishing the last 100 pages this afternoon.

Sam Shepard tells the kind of stories we all wish we had experienced - acting in movies, serious action, funny exploits, deep emotions. Lots of surprising twists, the narrator often detaches himself from the callow preoccupations of lesser mortals.

The brevity of some of the tales and the lack of continuity are offset by the continuing exposure of novel incidents and thoughts. It reminded me of sitting in front of a TV and flipping through the channels.

It was good enough that I ordered more Shepard writing from Amazon.

Through Cruising Paradise the voice of Sam Shepard kept me company during a week or two. I read his fragmented stories before falling asleep and felt at ease. I think it's the way he uses the language; lucid, clear, to the point, intense. The language flows and takes you to the images of endless roads, wide open spaces and the people who live there or just drive through it . You can feel the heat, you can hear the conversations, while all the time, in the back of your head Shepards voice leads you. He doesn't describe the situations in very much detail, he just lets the people talk, or think and that's enough. Wonderful experience. I believe it is the art of leaving out, to show what's there, in language and in imagery. Hope to find this again.

What can I say! This is simply the best book I've ever read! Shepard's short stories strike you right in the hart in a way other authors only can dream about. Who can for example ever forget about the boy with his drunken father in the desert, or the actor who travels by car from L.A. down to the djungles of Mexico? No other author I have read have so completly spellbound me before, and I have read all of the so called great authors. One can only hope that the Nobel foundation discovers the greatness in Shepard.

Cruising Paradise is a lean muscular book. The writing is sometimes brutal and always powerful. His writing is reminiscent of Hemingway and Jim Harrison, but with a Southwestern flair and a stronger sense of immediacy. It is not the plots or so much the characters in the story that drive the book, but the sense of movement and restlessness in the stories peppered with stoicism that make his stories so interesting. His stories seem to be autobiographical, even those he clearly passes off as fiction. Recommended stories in the book are Nuevo Mundo, A Small Company of Friends, and Cruising Paradise. If you are sick of reading books that seemed contrived or cliche' give this one a look.

While reading this book, I had to stop more than a few times either to catch my breath or close my eyes and let what I just read sink in. I grew up down on the Mexican border, and Shepard's descriptions of events in that part of the world rang true, and were written in a terse manner, as is appropriate for the setting and characters. Brilliant.

I was captured by characters that inspire, questions that are timely if we are to create the future we want, and a land and culture that is timeless. A masterful work.

The Kresny's have combined scientific and spiritual knowledge, with a strong dash of imagination and common sense, to craft a novel that is as enlightening as it is exciting.

Darkness of Dawn is an absorbing fiction set in the locale of Albuquerque and the beautiful mountain areas of New Mexico. The authors have woven the plot on a pioneering theme of the sudden collapse of civilized life of the entire world from its zenith to a primitive low caused by a natural phenomenon. The story is the saga of struggle and sacrifice of a group of motivated intellectuals led by an Asian Indian and an American Indian in back-starting the process of recovery of civilized life from the abyss. The authors have concocted an ingenious blend of a science fiction and a thriller. The title of the book is apt as it depicts a journey in pursuit of light and hope in a condition of darkenss and despair. The characters are vivid, as if drawn from real life. The language is lucid from beginning to the climactic situation. A recommended reading for all book lovers.

Hans and Ann Kresny bring new meaning to "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" with their excellent word crafting of "Darkness of Dawn". They skillfully position you to experience a future where, in a fraction of an instant, life as we know it suddenly stops - the power plug is yanked out on the whole world and nothing works. The stoppage doesn't come from outer space invaders, or from an overheated greenhouse effect, or from some monster computer running wild - in fact, every computer has stopped and won't reboot ever again. Those fancy do everything smart chips are nothing more than cubes of worthless sand - and to make matters worse, humankind has brains that have turned mostly to cold mush. The majority of society has surrenered their individual abilities to do creative thinking, because all those collective computers apply the logic of sound reasoning to do almost all the thinking about things that need to be thought about and done. There's no need for mind control when the simple act of thinking through a problem can quickly be done for you - of course that was before the darkness came like a modern day black plague. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and the Kresny's depict people living in a future where their minds have gone barren of basic knowledge - knowledge is seen as being old fashioned, because anything you want to know is waiting in your computer. However, vast parts of basic knowledge are missing - like primary survival skills. Even in this dark mindless future, there are sparks of thoughts that come together to light anew the torch of learning as the olden ways of doing life become the dawn of a hopeful tomorrow. This futuristic page-turner is set in the beautiful Land of Enchantment that the reader can see with word pictures, and all the highly techno stuff is based on technologies presently in the early stages of development. The Kresny's have created a unique blend of spiritual myths that help to restore the balance which thoughtlessness has taken away. Their cast of players becomes real in this unreal world that's warped back in time -to a time when time is once again told by the sun and the moon.

The book allowed me to become a participant in a world brought to a complete technological halt. I was there through experiences of panic, tragedy, and every kind of personal loss. I observed selfless giving of time, talent, possessions, and I rejoiced in the acknowledgement of the wisdom of an old soul. Perhaps the greatest gift I received from this volume was the reminder that 'BALANCE" is of major importance in our lives, never to be neglected. Yes, "Darkness of Dawn" is timely, sensitive and often beautiful. The authors allowed me to be an active participant.