Clubs Books

This is a lovely story set in a town in Ohio during the '40s. Lentil learns to play a harmonica and there are sweet scenes of small town life as well as a marching band. My 3.5 year old son loves this book, along with all of McCloskey's books. What has been wonderful for us about this book is the character of "Old Sneep", who grumbles and does mean things. This has really hit home with my son regarding our teaching of having a joyful heart and not complaining. Great literature at its best.

As a retired preschool/ daycare administrator I never hesitate to say that McCloskey is one the all-time great writers . Lentil has always been one of the best books to read at story time . You can't go wrong with buying this story for your favorite 4 or 5 year old, but even my 9 year old grandsons love this tale, and it got them interested in playing a harmonica!

This is an excellent book for the musically inclined child whose singing voice is a little less than melodious. In the book, the vocally challenged Lentil finds his mantra through the harmonica and ends up saving the day with it. My father gave me this book along with a harmonica when I was seven years old in response to my wobbly warbling, and I've been playing harmonica and many other instruments ever since. I just can't 'harp' enough on how great of inspiration this book was to me and could be for other vocally vexed children. -stephen

I've just finished Book I of Cellini's two book autobiography. I have Symonds' translation in a single volume published by the Book League of America in 1937. Having been to Florence, Rome and Milan recently, Cellini's stories about himself and his adventures become truly vivid. At first, I could not imagine anyone being so self-agrandizing and so unabashedly boastful about his intentions, his artistic abilities and his view of his world. The man becomes so endearing through his writing, however, that I was not put off; rather, I found myself chuckling at his gall and style. His relationships and adventures with Popes Clement VII and Paul III, the Medici families, other artists, cardinals, dukes and jailors make for hilarious reading. His genius comes through and lingers as the reader ponders the historic figures and politics of Renaissance Italy. I'm beginning Book 2 today with great anticipation. What an ego! Symonds translation in 1937 is fine. He offers footnotes that aid the reader's following of the chronology. Further, Symonds often gives the phrase as Cellini wrote it, should there be different nuances in translation.

One of the first and yet one of the greatest autobiographies of all time. Any celebrity or would be celebrity thinking of dashing off a quick "life" or apologia pro vita sua could do worse than start by reading or re-reading this fantastically intense and life-enhancing book

This piece is an excellent portrayal of life during the Italian Renaissance, but more importantly, the book is purely entertaining. Benvenuto Cellini tells the story of his life in a vivid tale of kings and prostitutes, artists and dukes, soldiers and necromancers, all the while proclaiming himself the absolute protagonist of his world. Cellini's autobiography is filled to capacity with egotism, but this only makes the story more interesting. In a good piece of literature of this type, a person wants to see a main character with absolute confidence in himself; a superhero if you will. Benvenuto may not be a superhero, but he tells his life story as if he was the greatest of all such legendary folk heroes. If children read this book or were read this book during their childhood, perhaps on the playground at recess, kindergartners would say: "Hey let's play superheroes, I get to be Superman, I get to be Benvenuto Cellini." With the master goldsmith's stories about fending off six armed men with a single dagger, without a thought of fear in his mind, who wouldn't be solidly entertained?

Like the greatest music, the best poetry comes straight from the creator's heart and soul. Luke Kurtis' book is a revealing trip into the author's emotions and lays bare his passion for life and love. "with all the world against my back, and nothing but a prayer in my hand, i walk away in hopes of seeing you." I hope we'll see more poetry in the future by this talented poet.

The next best think to sitting down and having a conversation with Luke, is reading his book. For someone who really is not fond of poetry, I must say, it was a pleasure to read. My personal favorites were: "Welcome Here", "Good Morning Dear Heaven", "Animal Crackers", and "The Timbre of her Heart". There were more, but I can't go on forever. "Like an Angel Dead in your Arms" is a wonderfull addition to my already crammed bookshelves.

Luke's book, his first, is deep and provocative. Since my first inclination when reading poetry is to try and "get it right", I was especially grateful for his "instructions" in the introduction reminding me that there is no right or wrong way to read and understand his poetry. Not only does his work give you an insight into his mind, but it makes you see into your own.

I have finished The Lobotomy Club and Liquid Earth, two of the four books in Pickover's Neoreality series. I can't say which book I like better. The Lobotomy Club was cool. In this book, people perform brain surgery on themselves to allow them to see religious visions and a "truer" or "higher" reality. As they explore a world filled with monstrous Biblical visions, Adam, Sayori, and their friends encounter a vast conspiracy and hellish dangers. Like Liquid Earth, this book had a fast pace and is filled with quirky, serious, and funny tidbits. One of my favorite scenes occurred in Sayori's high-tech apartment in which Adam meets the other members of the Lobotomy Club. They all have special talents, and many seem to be named after items you'd find on a sushi menu! Other favorite scenes involve a large insectile creature that stalks throughout much of the book.

As with Liquid Earth, Pickover's books make you question reality. The books in the series also make you wonder about religion and how we might open our minds so that we can reason beyond the limits of our brain. Pickover has a way of getting inside your head and scrambling it. Quirky, mind-expanding, emotional, creative, fun. (People who like The Lobotomy Club will also like Pickover's Liquid Earth, Heinlein's Job and Number of the Beast, Greg Egan's Diaspora, Philip K Dick's Ubik, and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.)

Lobotomy Club is a wonderful sci fi novel that will attempt to entertain you and push your notions of reality all at the same time. The subtle blending of truth with fiction will leave you contemplating how much of what you have read is true, and how much is part of the wonderful environment you have been drawn into. One of the greatest parts of this book is its strong use of allusion which displays Pickover's adeptness with more subtle humor.
This is a wonderful read for most levels. You can take it at face value for a wonderful ride through a bizzare sci-fi adventure, or you can delve deeper and be rewarded with various little treasures for your efforts.

In The Lobotomy Club, a "cerebral Mobius strip" (brain rewiring) lets people have strange visions. This book has something for people with different tastes, from UFOs to insectile aliens to prodromic dreams, to reality shifts. The lead woman has an artificial arm that is quite versatile, as you'll soon find out. I'm trying to determine which member of the Lobotomy Club intrigues me most -- probably it's the woman who always wears sushi jewelry.

To appreciate the Neoreality book series, I found that I had to open myself up to the strange sensations I felt while reading them. Go with the flow. Enjoy the oddness. Don't bother reading these books if you just want a standard novel. But if you enjoy fun and strange concepts, these are certainly a delight.

Steven Hammond is a Gifted Writer. The Craft Community is lucky to have such a gifted author among its ranks. This book is a Must Read for Everyone who is in the Craft or thinking of joining the Craft. In fact it's a Must Read for anyone who Likes Fiction!
Looking Through The Horns is written in the format of Fiction but based on Life Experiences. This book is so well written and gripping that I was unable to put it down once I started reading it! So- 48 hours later with very little sleep I finished reading this MasterPiece! I believe that this book has the potential to be the first Craft Authored Book to make the New York Times Best Seller List! -No JOKE - It's that good. If Steven Hammond starts writting main-stream Fiction, Steven King and Dean Koontz are likely to be blown out of the water!

Steven Hammond is a most gifted and honest writer. The work he has produced with his book has been written as a fiction, however, it is the truth and very factual in its presentation. If any attempts to publish this work in its true raw form would have been set forth, it would have never been published. It was politicially correct to write and publish this book as a fiction. The advanced aspects of the 'craft' in this book have never been published by any other auther. Only a teacher, healer and a true 'Witch' in the craft, approching Elder status could write and publish a true work of 'fact and 'truth' as Steven Hammond has. This book should be considered a best seller and I would be surprised if it does not make the 'Times Best Seller List'. Thank you for such a wonderful work. Eye opening, could not put it down.

Steven Hammond is a Gifted Writer. The Craft Community is lucky to have such a gifted author among its ranks. This book is a Must Read for Everyone who is in the Craft or thinking of joining the Craft. In fact it's a Must Read for anyone who Likes Fiction!
Looking Through The Horns is written in the format of Fiction but based on Life Experiences. This book is so well written and gripping that I was unable to put it down once I started reading it! So- 48 hours later with very little sleep I finished reading this MasterPiece! I believe that this book has the potential to be the first Craft Authored Book to make the New York Times Best Seller List! -No JOKE - It's that good. If Steven Hammond starts writting main-stream Fiction, Steven King and Dean Koontz are likely to be blown out of the water!

Love, Miracles & Medicine Men is an energetic account of how two spirited friends explore the unfamiliar. Their extraordinary journies lead them to incredible encounters with the yet inexplicable. Their Medicine Man possesses benevolence as well as a sence of humor. With love, respect and much perserverance these brave women find vision, trust, confidence and truth in miracles.

If you are a non-fiction reader that enjoys a true human experiece that opens doors for you that you didn't even know exsisted. THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I read the book in 1 day on an airplane in flight. Now I think my next trip will be going out to the Native American Grounds to visit with some of these fascinating people.

I was lucky enough to get a copy last month and read it straight through in one evening. It was recommended to me by a friend who had read it and was amazed at what insights into healing the Native American Culture has to offer. Above all, it was very informative to the non-native American. I grew up trusting in doctor's and hospitals, not knowing about any other alternatives. Native American's treat illnesses in a holistic way, healing the mind, body, and spirit. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in how other cultures approach the healing process. Especially to non-native American's such as myself who grew up without a clue to alternative medecine.!

This book is actually a reprint of an issue of a literary and political journal called Wild Duck Review which focused on biotechnology. The writing is top-notch and some of the discussion is downright scary. For example, some people have proposed the creation of a new species of human being that has an extra (24th) chromosome that would contain specially engineered genes. The so-called GenRich people could only mate with their own kind, and could not reproduce with the so-called Naturals. As author Richard Hayes notes in the book, "Few people outside the science and biotech community are aware of this." Highly recommended.

I had to read Made not Born for a class in Biotechnology and although I liked it, I hope I will not be tested on it. Made not Born offers plenty of deep but simple analysis of biotechnological controversies - from religion to genetically modified games - which are in the forms of essays, interviews and even poems. The major ideas are sometimes repeated in the essays and interviews which further emphasizes the conclusion of the book - that we are tampering too much with nature and this process may have become irreversible. One of the greatest thing about Made not Born is that you do not have to be a biology major to understand the text.

Casey Walker has gathered intelligent and insightful essays and interviews about a technology that has arrived and has awesome implications for the future of life on earth as we know it. Having poisoned the very biological ground of our being with persistent organochlorine pollutants like dioxin, having adversely altered global climate with our fossil fuel pollution, having created nuclear wastes nobody can abide and that remain deadly for 20,000 years, corporate science is now poised to tamper with the genetic codes of life itself. Intuition should tell you this is not wise, but effective opposition requires more. Casey Walker succinctly outlines the issues at hand and the arguments that matter. This is a must read, a cogent primer, and a thought provoking tour de force.

Chapter by chapter, volumes 1 and 2 just get better and better and I can hardly wait for volume 3! I'm torn between wanting to read on and on past my bedtime (uh oh!) or limiting myself to one delightful chapter at a time. If you've ever found a spanking story arousing -- or have wished to be involved in adult spanking -- this is the series for you. The spanking activities and reactions of all involved are quite realistically presented and the characters grow and achieve more depth throughout the series. The author really does understand the female point of view, but I can attest that it comes from his being a wonderfully bright and funny, safe, sane, and consensual, experienced male top who definitely knows how to spank a bottom!

Devlin's first novel is a definite 'must-read' for the spanking fan. The characters are believable, as is the dialogue. You'll laugh and cry with Lisa...and you'll feel every swat she gets.

Now that the book has been selected for book club distribution by Venus Books and Doubleday Books, I'm sure that it won't be long before Devlin O'Neill becomes a best-selling author.

Keep up the good work, Devlin!

The Maid for All Seasons series is an exciting blend of erotica and fetish based in a plot line that is written not to frame the sexual scenes but to drive them. O'Neill has taken a taboo subject and written it not only for men but for women as well. Not crass or harsh it focuses on those subtle nuances that will appeal to women, though men will enjoy the theme and detail given to the story's more basic desires. Written the way foreplay should feel this series should establish a fan base that crosses gender and lifestyle boundaries.

If you are at all interested in bibical history, then this book is for you. Mr Yadin writes extremely well and there are innumerable pictures to support the text

This is an excellent book about the "dig" at Masada and the history of that dominant piece of rock in the Judean desert. I have been there and "kicked the tires" in May 2007 and was interested in expanding my knowledge of what has transpired there over the centuries. Excellent historical, archaeological narrative and pictures and as the Israeli Soldiers say when taking their oath on the rock..."Never Again".

Yigael Yadin is a gifted author who narrates history with captivating excitement. I have read several books and articles on the subject of Masada over the past several years and would recommend this as the most informative and understandable of them all. The before, during and after, excavation photos are amazing and contribute volumes in giving the reader the "Masada Experience." This book is valuable for both the novice and the scholar. It's an excellent introduction to what Masada is all about for the novice. The scholar will find Yadin's love of history details and his awesome photo illustrations compelling and helpful for instruction as well as understanding.

This is a delightful tale of Josh McBroom and his family as they move west (to Iowa to be exact) and take up the honest work of farming the land. Of course, they meet up with tricky Hector "Heck" Jones who attempts to cheat them. However, from that point on, McBroom and his loving family are overwhelmed with the great abundance that the land yields. Watch out for the watermelons and pumpkins! This is a great American tall tale that should keep both young and older readers smiling.

I read this book repeatedly throughout my childhood (probably the first printing),and I think that the essence of the book is that you can make it through anything life throws at you if you have a positive attitude and the will to succeed. I recently repurchased this book to read to my nieces. A "10"

I'm 34 and can still name all McBroom's children, can envision the moth's flying from his change purse, and have wonderful images of his children "riding" the produce as it springs out of the top soil. Very colorful and endearing!