AudioBooks

Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder Buy Now

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

I went 40 years without knowing about Adult ADHD. At first I was relieved to know that I wasn't crazy or the only one with these thoughts. But after learning more about it I felt sad. I wished I had known about this earlier in my life to prevent the many pitfalls and pain I and others suffered at the hands of my undiagnosed ADHD. And many of the books, although very informative, made me feel bad about myself. I had been told by my therapist that I should read "Delivered from Distraction". She felt it would really help and speak to me. So after weeks of procrastination I finally picked it up. This book was exactly what I needed! Hallowell not only wrote it with the ADHD reader in mind - you can and are enouraged to skip around to chapters that appeal to you - he was very encouraging about living with ADHD. He pointed out all of the positive attributes and illustrated the benefits with easy to read references of creative types, stories and his own successful life iving with ADHD. Hallowell's humorus, honest and direct approach really worked for me. Everything from questions, tables, outlines, etc. helped me understand my problem with getting past the negative feelings of having ADHD. At times, sections of the book sounded as if they were pulled from my mind and printed onto the pages. It was comforting and validating to read that many of the addictive thoughts I have had were due to ADHD and that I can overcome them. If you want to feel better about yourself and learn in the process, I highly recommend this book. I have read six others and I have found this one to be the most helpful. Good luck!Get more detail about Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Echo Burning Order Now

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 05:16:00 +0000

I listened to the audiobook and Dick Hill could read the telephone book and make it exciting and enjoyable. However, I wish I had known that the central premise of the book was in support of illegals living in the United States without legal documentation and remaining that way. And bashing the State of Texas and its government. I am not swayed by the author's misuse of the bully pulpit and I hope other readers and listeners are not influenced by the not so subliminal political tripe. To accuse the U.S. Border Patrol, fictional or real, because they do their job is disgusting. If other of Childs' books embrace this same or like premise, I for one will not read or listen to any of his written words. Come on, Lee, get off your high horse and write fiction w/o the political BS.Get more detail about Echo Burning.

Leading Change Decide Now

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Leading Change gives the reader the eight steps believed necessary toward creating change in an organization. From the steps given, they are plausible and realistic.
While the author gives the steps for change, the premise of the book is based on the fact that before you can create change you have to have a Vision that your organization subscribes too. Therefore, while you may want to create change in your organization, don't even bother that effort unless you have a specific Vision for what you want the organization to become.

My challenge with the book is the Vision concept. Working in the government space where I want to create change, it is unknown as to what Vision the organization should adhere too. I think if I were to apply this book to the campaign theme of President Obama which was "Change", this book would not help, since Vision is the key to the change.
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The end of the book gives the reader a chapter on leadership. I believe a chapter should have been dedicated to Vision. After all, the author encourages those at the top to embrace the change, but yet left out the road map to get there with Vision.

If you have a vision, and want to instill it in your organization, Leading Change will offer you the steps to get there.

Get more detail about Leading Change.

The South Beach Diet CD Right now

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:14:00 +0000

Good book and definitely a great diet! The book arrived in used condition with writing on some of the pages but the price was outstanding for a used book. I was not expecting it to be in perfect condition for the price but it was fairly good in my opinion.Get more detail about The South Beach Diet CD.

Lowest Price The Last Surgeon

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Michael Palmer and Robin Cook are the kings of medical thrillers. Robin Cook arrived first and Michael Palmer came in after him, and some say surpassed him in offering his readers an engaging, suspenseful, and tense novel. Medical thrillers differ from crime fiction in that the heroes and generally also the villains are medical personnel and institutions. The stories describe medical situations in a non-gory fashion, usually with current social medical problems being the prime focus.

This tale begins with a sadistic killer-for-hire who specializes in murders that appear to be suicides. He mockingly calls them "non-murders." He offers a nurse a choice of either killing herself or see her beloved sister killed horribly and painfully, and then be brutally murdered herself.

We meet a doctor, Nick Garrity, the hero of the tale, who behaved heroically and with compassion in Afghanistan, and is called Dr. Nick Fury by his friends, after a comic book hero. He runs a mobile medical unit with an unusually compassionate nurse, who has a computer genius foster child. The unit helps people in need who are unable to use a hospital.

Garrity suffers from post-combat-stress because he saw a suicide bomber kill his fiancée and two dozen other hospital personnel. He was saved during the bombing by a friend who disappears after returning to the US. Garrity tries to find him. He discovers that another ex-soldier disappeared in the same way, both saying that they were recalled by the military before they were last seen. The person in charge at the VA, the second villain in the thriller, after the sadistic killer-for-hire, refuses to help Garrity locate either man, just as he had been refusing benefits to soldiers who fought for their county in Afghanistan and are now, like Garrity, suffering post-stress-syndrome. But Garrity finds the other ex-soldier who, surprisingly, acts like a zombie. Two other medical institutions are soon revealed as third and forth villains.

We meet Jillian Coates, the very attractive and resourceful sister of the murdered nurse, who is also a nurse, and who is convinced that her sister was murdered. Julian finds many Nick Fury comic books in her murdered sister's home and is puzzled about their significance. She goes on an all-night call-in radio program and tells her sister's story, and her home is burnt down the next day. However, an ex-soldier who had served with Garrity, who heard Jillian's broadcast, tells her that Garrity had been called Nick Fury.

The sadistic killer sees Jillian and is attracted to her. He decides that he needs to have sex with her. So begins this marvelously constructed and engrossing tale.
Get more detail about The Last Surgeon.

Low Price It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Accomplish Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:16:00 +0000

One of the greatest things I like about Joel Osteen is that in such a negative and pessimistic world we live in he continually reminds us that God is still on the throne and that He wants the very best for our lives ... we just don't happen to believe it. Daily we are bombarded with negative messages that constantly push us back or knock us down, and I find it extremely refreshing to hear a voice of one crying in the wilderness that God is wanting to lift you up ... God is wanting to push you forward .... God is desiring to carry you to greater heights than you could ever imagine. Many complain that Joel accentuates the positive and never mentions the negative ... and that it is just not realistic ... that it is just too simple ... that it is childish and not mature. Well ... I am constantly reminded that to enter the kingdom of heaven we must come come to it as a little child. Joel Osteen's constant reminder that we can take God at His Word and be like a little child again, and simply believe that He truly loves us and wants the best for us ... then it really will be "Your Time"!!!Get more detail about It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Accomplish Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor.

Save Thirteen Reasons Why

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:18:00 +0000

Gut wrenching, heartbreaking and thoughtful! Thirteen Reasons why is centered on the suicide of Hannah Baker - Hannah leaves thirteen recorded reasons for her suicide. Each tape deals with a specific event and person who adds to the snowball that eventually leads her to give up on her life. Clay Jensen (Hannah's crush) is one of the several people who will be receiving the cassette tapes, and who takes us along the journey of a girl's emotional trauma and ultimate choice to end her life. I felt for Hannah's pain and also Clay's. It is a book I highly recommend although it is a teen read it would serve some adult to read as well.Get more detail about Thirteen Reasons Why.

Discount Tish (Classic Books on Cassettes Collection) [UNABRIDGED]

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:16:00 +0000

I actually didn't read the book, I gave it as a gift, but the receiver was very pleased and enjoyed it.

Get more detail about Tish (Classic Books on Cassettes Collection) [UNABRIDGED].

Cheapest ChiRunning: A Training Program for Effortless, Injury-Free Running

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:17:00 +0000

One section of the book referred to ligaments and tendons being like "rubber bands" in that they would store and release energy when stretched. Ligaments hold our joints together. If they were to stretch like rubber bands, they would not provide stability for our joints. Tendons connect muscles to bones. If tendons were like rubber bands, the contractile force developed by our muscles would not be transmitted to the bones to cause movement. I have played with some of the running technique and have found them very helpful. Brian Lambert, PTGet more detail about ChiRunning: A Training Program for Effortless, Injury-Free Running.

Cheap Lift

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:14:00 +0000

My grandmother lost a son during WWII, when his plane went down. He was twenty years old. She marked his birthday and death-day until her own death at ninety-nine years. Did that influence the way I raised my children? The first thing I did when my son was born was to look at the lifeline on his palm to see if I could determine how long he would live. Is that silly? Or is it part of being a mother?

Then there's the other question--will I be alive to see my children grow up? My own father died when he was forty-five and did not see any of his five children grow to adulthood. Having each of my children growing up to adulthood, getting married, and having their own children was a huge relief to me.

I didn't really like my emotional reaction to this sensitive book because I like to avoid those feelings. However, this is the type of writing I might also do for my children. Raising children is challenging, for many reasons, but especially the emotions it brings out of us. Kelly Corrigan writes about motherhood and having to love, protect, and discipline without being a helicopter parent--hovering and overprotective. She also deals with how a mother constantly questions her decisions and judgment.

Corrigan expresses many of my own unvoiced concerns in Lift, a letter to her daughters on their first day of school. She examines her life before and since they were born and critiques her mothering skills. Tender, thoughtful, and courageous, Corrigan gives a voice to our inner joys and fears as mothers. This little book would be a wonderful Mother's Day gift.

by Susan Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about womenGet more detail about Lift.

Buying A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:16:00 +0000

I bought this audio which is the third in the series of George Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" for my daughter as a birthday gift. She has the other two of these and loves listening to these as she travels back and forth to work. She goes on and on about how great this series is..and this audio set (third of series) is in excellent condition. Its arrival was as stated and no problems with delivery and the condition on receiving was excellent. Thanks again.Get more detail about A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3).

Buy For Women Only CD: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 05:17:00 +0000

Should be required reading for women. Maybe for men too (I'm a guy and found it fascinating). Author did an incredible job of putting honest and accurate info into a clear and simple book. This is the best relationship book I've read so far. I highly recommend it.Get more detail about For Women Only CD: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men.

Purchase The Old Man and The Sea (Annual Review of the Institute for Information Studies)

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:17:00 +0000

Classic Hemingway - great story, depressing ending. This book was published in 1952 and was his last work of fiction to be produced and published in his lifetime. The success of this book was a significant factor in Hemingway's selection for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. The book centers around an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago who has one of the great struggles against a giant marlin. For days he battles with this great fish and once he lands the prize and begins his journey back to land the story turns to his battle with the sharks who attack the great marlin which is strapped to the side of his little boat. Santiago does not win the battle with the sharks and returns home with only the skeleton of the great marlin in a quasi-victory to demonstrate not only his own personal achievement, but also the greatness of the sea itself.Get more detail about The Old Man and The Sea (Annual Review of the Institute for Information Studies).

Order God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 05:13:00 +0000

Hitchens' treatise on religion discloses the truly wretched mindset that religion requires, and the book explores the terribly tragic and horribly grotesque practices of modern religion. I was atheist before I read it, and even I will never look at religion the same way again. Given what happened to Rushdie (who is a friend of Hitchens) and Islamist success in bullying Comedy Central into silence JUST THIS WEEK, this book is desperately needed . . . and Hitchens is definitely courageous. I thank him for taking on the biggest bully the world has ever known - religion - and for doing it with such sharp wit.Get more detail about God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

Where To Buy Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:17:00 +0000

I find that Glen Beck must have a very devoted and efficient staff to be able to collect and document every point that he presents. It is enjoyable to read his books because of the interesting way he presents and documents his points.
He is apparently an History buff and firmly believes that the Constitution of the United States is an inspired Document. He also firmly believes that this nation is on a downhill track and that the Constitution can be made to hang by a thread.Get more detail about Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government.

Shop For Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Your Coach in a Box)

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:17:00 +0000

If it wasn't already obvious that exercise is good for you then this book will demonstrate how it is also good for the brain. The book is loaded with lots of details about exactly how exercise stimulates and maintains our brains. It also details how to train to achieve optimal brain functionality.

The book contains plenty of medical evidence (the author being a doctor and all) that certainly adds a good deal of credibility to something that seems very obvious. The chapters cover a range of ailments and how exercise has been shown to overcome them. Even though some activity is better than no activity (which is the norm these days) the book demonstrates how you must push yourself physically to get the most from the grey matter between your ears. This is probably the hard part but the benefits seem well worth it.

Generally the book is a good read but there is plenty of medical terminology mixed in which can make it a bit hard to follow. However, if you did want to really investigate the processes detailed here then it seems that the specific mentioned in the book are a great place to start any research.

Although the thesis of the book can be summed up in one simple common sense phrase for those that are interesting in understand better how the brain works and how it responds to physical activity then this book is a recommended read.Get more detail about Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Your Coach in a Box).

Loving Frank

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:18:00 +0000

Love affairs are not for sissies. The infamous, much publicized affair between master architect Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright and Mrs. Mamah Cheney, typically reported by historians clinically and with moral judgment, is finally expressed over 100 years later through Mrs. Cheney's voice. Mr. Wright and Mrs. Cheney find themselves transcended from an architect/client relationship to soul mates struggling to find the courage to live their lives with a purity and truth that embraces love, beauty of the natural and built environment and women's place in society. This well researched novel tells Mrs. Cheney's believable story of the couple's journey of love, beauty, heartache and tragedy. A "can't put down" book!Get more detail about Loving Frank.

The Piano Teacher: A Novel Review

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:16:00 +0000

This book was a huge disappointment. It had an interesting premise and an exotic locale, but the characters were completely unbelievable, so it was impossible to care what happened to them. Claire, the piano teacher of the title, is boring to boot. She goes from an unsatisfying marriage to an affair with a man who isn't very nice to her. As she wonders why she is doing this, so does the reader. Trudy Liang never comes to life as a real character, nor does Will Truesdale, the man they have in common.

The writing is cliched and amateurish. The author doesn't seem to know how to write about seduction or passion, so the characters go suddenly and jarringly from early encounters to already having slept with each other. The truth about the parentage of Locket, Claire's piano student, can be seen coming a mile away, i.e., the first time Will Truesdale asks about the child.

The descriptions of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Will's stay in an internment camp, and what people do to survive--or thrive--during the occupation are interesting, as are depictions of the social structure of Hong Kong with its snobbishness, class system, and underlying racism. This attempt at a novel is doomed, however, by its clichéd characters.
Get more detail about The Piano Teacher: A Novel.

Case for Christ, The Top Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

If you're not already a Christian nothing this book insists is evidence is even slightly convincing. If you are a Christian don't give this to you're non-Christian friends to try and convert them, you'll just annoy them (and waste your money).

It is obvious to any skeptic reading this book, that for all of Strobel's insistence that he was a hardcore atheist and bristling skeptic he has absolutely no idea what sort of questions and answers matter to skeptics. Nor does his interaction with his all Christian interviewees suggest anything but compliant and soft handling. He appears to be wearing two or three pairs of kid gloves. He'll say that he can't let them off the hook and that he's going to give them a tough question and then lob some sort of crackpot theory no self respecting skeptic would ever take seriously.

The formula it this.

1. Start chapter with an exciting, but irrelevant anecdote about criminal investigation. It's a terrible and transparent gimmick aimed it showing that investigating the Bible is the same as investigating contemporary crime, even though there aren't any witnesses, material evidence, forensics or really any means at all to demonstrate anything concrete whatsoever.

2. Talk about the dude you're going to interview. Spend a page talking about his credentials, but then tell us not to worry about him bein' some unrelatable academic snot. He likes hockey! And has pictures his kids drew! And and he looks like a nice guy! Frankly I'm surprised he never got around to comparing them to lovable pop culture icons.

Reading this ridiculous dribble about why I should like this academic every-man I couldn't help wondering what he would have said about skeptical academics had he actually interviewed any. I doubt that he would talk about them in such sappy heartwarming language. Would he simply omit the gratuitous page of leg-humping (which really didn't need to be there at all) or would he mention the "cold uncomfortable feeling he felt in their presence" and describe the "lack of human touches in their office"? I don't know. It's one more reason I wish he had included interviews from people that weren't all presenting the argument he was selling.

3. Next you dive into the interview. This involves Strobel asking a question involving the theme of the of the chapter and immediately accepting whatever answer is given. Sometime he admits that that was enough to convince him, but asks a few more softball questions anyway to demonstrate his commitment to academic pursuit. Almost all examples of scholarly opinion and evidence is only vaguely referred to and lacking reference. They say things like "every one agrees that..." but fail to say who everyone is, or more importantly why they agree. It is assumed that hearing that some unknown theoretical scholars think it is as good as actual evidence and evaluation. It's not uncommon for them to insist that agreement is unanimous in the academic community regarding an issue when a simple google search shows it isn't. I shouldn't need to point out that conducting a criminal investigation or trial in this manner would be a joke.

4. Having declared the previous claim fact without actually applying any sort of rigorous evaluation or providing any evidence Strobel then uses it to prove more claims. This is basically all the book is. Making a claim, not really investigating it, declaring it inequivocally proven and then using it to prove other claims.

5. Throw in some strawman versions of skeptic arguments and you're good to go.

In a nut shell, this book argues that what the Bible says must be true because the Bible says it. It never addresses any real arguments against religion in general or Christianity in particular and on the occasion Strobel accidentally raises a legitimate objection his subject wasn't prepared for it is dismissed with a wave of the hand rather than actual logic or evidence. Unless you already accept the Bible as fact this is just going to be a lot of self appreciative nonsense and a giant waste of time.

Some of you may be wondering why someone like myself that so clearly didn't like the book felt the need to read it and review it. It was given me by my mother. She was completely convinced it would show me the light and save me from my atheist ways. This is the third book I have read that was given to me to these ends, and while none of them has come even remotely close to addressing the sort of the things that me make an atheist rather than a Christian, this book was by far the worst of the bunch. I don't recommend giving your atheist or agnostic friends religious books or attempting to convert them, it is more likely to strain the relationship than make good Christians of them.

Get more detail about Case for Christ, The.

Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5) This instant

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:14:00 +0000

Yep, this series, specially the last two books have been all about contradictions. They're in a sub for most of the time and there are a lot of contradictions about water pressure, first the shoot a man put into the water and he's crushed. Then angel comes out into the water and she's fine. then, towards the end, max says that she shouldn't go out of the water because she'd be "crushed like a pancake" seriously. That just pisses me off. And the fact that they're still messing around with the global warming crap? ugh. I only listened to this because my boyfriend bought it (hes been reading the series since they came out) and even he was disappointed with everything after the 3rd book. I honestly think Mr. Patterson should just write one last novel (I'm not sure if the 6th is the last) and end this series with the little dignity it has left. Reading these books used to be exciting. Now all I'm getting is global warming and pollution propaganda, what's up with that? If I want to read about global warming I will go buy a book that was written by scientists, people who know what they're talking about. Not get informed through a damn children's book.Get more detail about Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5).

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk Immediately

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Great book whether you're having big or small problems with your child's attitude. Great for all ages. I highly recommend it to all parents,teachers and child-care providers.Get more detail about How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.

Kindred in Death Best Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:13:00 +0000

In Robb's latest book "Kindred in Death" we find Eve still fighting crime and loving Roarke! Having recently solved a case that involved the death of her close friend, Chief Medical Examiner Morris' lady love (Amaryllis Coltrane), Eve is all to willing to relax and enjoy a Sunday at home with her husband. Unfortunately, as the fates would have it, Eve is called in to work the death of the daughter of a NYPSD Captain MacMasters. And the Captain has requested her personally to work the case, and since he is close friends with Chief Whitney called in a favor. While he was away enjoying the Peace Day Holiday, his teenage daughter, Deena McMasters is raped and strangled in their home. Returning home early, MacMasters' and his wife are devastated to find their only child murdered. Navigating a complicated crime scene, and looking for a phantom motive, Eve leaves no stone unturned as she struggles to understand one of the most diabolical and cunning murderers she has faced in a long time. As the killer takes careful steps to prevent his capture, while planning more deaths, Eve realizes that this may be one of the difficult crimes to solve because Deena's last moments in life mirror events that happened in her past. As usual, Eve's ugly childhood rears its ugly head in her present case. And while Eve may be reliving her childhood experiences and coming to terms with it, Summerset and Roarke are thinking about someone they both lost in the same manner. So who is behind this senseless crime and why? Following the leads to a conclusion that will surprise them all, Eve and her "solid" group of dedicated workers will bring this case to a close in a very satisfying end.

What I enjoy about the "in Death series" is the opportunity to see all the usual characters that I have grown to know and love, and honestly can't wait to get more of. Pesky Trina, energetic and colorful Mavis, understanding Peabody, e-geek McNabb, steady Trueheart, loveable Baxter, wise Mira, sassy Nadine, dedicated Feeney, stern Chief Whitney, and even Jaime Lingstrom, a survivor from a previous novel are all present and accounted for. We see Morris' still recovering from his lost love, but even more dedicated to his job of being a voice for the dead. And then there is Charles and Louise's who are preparing for their wedding day and taking steps to make their life together. And we get to see Eve's continuing evolution on the job and in her relationships with those people in her life who mean the most. Just what isn't there to love? And yes, I know I always say this, but I think this may be one of Robb's (AKA Nora Roberts) best in the series to date. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next one.
Get more detail about Kindred in Death.

The Lotus Eaters Get it now!

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

The death of her brother haunts Helen Adams. Taking an instamatic camera with her, she journeys to Vietnam determined to photograph the war. From an initial viewpoint of innocence and naivete, Helen becomes drawn into the drama of the war and the lives of the soldiers and the Vietnamese people. Like the lotus eaters in Homer's Odyssey, the war intoxicates Helen, compelling her towards it despite its horrors. Anxious to make herself accepted by the men photojournalists, Helen must prove her toughness. She develops close relationships with Sam Darrow, famed and experienced war photographer and Linh, a Vietnamese photographer and assistant. Beginning with a powerful account of the fall of Saigon, Helen looks back on Vietnam and the two men.

Tajana Soli's THE LOTUS EATERS is a novel that will provoke several responses depending on one's point of entry. For those readers who lived through the times, The LOTUS EATERS recalls the period with its conflicting emotions without becoming a pawn for current political motivations. Tatjana Soli does not simplify or idealize the war, nor does she make Helen's story a pretense for anti-war sentiments. To readers who lived through the period, Tatjana Soli does an excellent job of evoking the internal confusion and conflicts that unfold. Although the author's bibliography and notes give the reader an idea of the research that underpins the novel, historical fiction lovers might find themselves craving more history within the story. For readers whose young memories of the period are vivid yet ungrounded by being too young to truly grasp the actual events unfolding on the news, THE LOTUS EATERS does a better job at evoking the feel of the period than the history. Readers who approach the book from the point of view of photography and the extensive study in Vietnam photojournalism as I did might find themselves overly troubled by a couple of inaccurately described details that jolt one out of the story and the ability to believe in Helen's character. Leaving those moments aside, at times, Tatjana Soli captures perfectly the spirit of the photographers and their drive and yet I found myself wanting more of a visual emphasis in the narrative given Helen's job. As a whole, the reader does see the development in Helen from a naive inexperienced photographer to a photojournalist through the space of the narrative. Several moments provide a keen sense of the visual, such as Helen's sense of location from the helicopter views, yet as a whole the narrative lacks the desired emphasis and continuity of visual perspective.

Like the conflicts of war, Tatjana Soli's portraits disturb. Helen's relationship with Darrow feels destructive and yet her feelings for him draw her to him much like the compulsion of the lotus eaters. At times, I felt repelled by Helen's overwhelming attachment to Darrow, wanting to see more of Helen as an individual in her own right rather than Helen as attached and focused on Darrow. Certainly, Helen and Darrow's relationship is not the idealized war romance! Perhaps the power in the writing is in the author's ability to provoke such strong emotions, positive and negative, in her portrayal of relationship dynamics. Several key moments in Helen's relationships with Darrow and Linh crystallize the scene and the emotion with a poetical precision. Despite some missed potential in some of the details, THE LOTUS EATERS clearly shows a powerful author in the making.Get more detail about The Lotus Eaters.

Columbine Buy Now

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:13:00 +0000

Dave Cullen wrote a book for many that will be taken as a book that depicts everything that happened involving Columbine, and how it came to be. It will be taken as pure fact and entirely true by most who haven't seen or heard about more of this tragedy than what a normal viewer or reader has seen or heard. Maybe as a high school student, my views on this book are different but I thought the book itself was great. The thing that frustrates me was that Cullen tried to explain everything clearly and easily with one answer for everything when there was more than one problem. After reading the book, and many of the reviews others have written I am stuck on what to say, yes Cullen made many mistakes in his grammatical side of this story, and yes Cullen left out some parts of what happened but in total Cullen has made so much clear, that wasn't clear before. It makes me wonder though, why some people feel like critiquing a book about its grammar and language when the message the writer is writing about is so strong and powerful. Many reviews have said that the book saddened them and made them wonder why things like this could happen, or that it scared them and made them hate what happened, but many other reviews said he lied about things, or didn't tell the whole truth. I can see both sides of these reviews, but I think we should be looking more at the factors Cullen was aiming to connect with. The problem with many of the reviews saying that Cullen missed parts of the story or over simplified, was that he had too when writing this story. So much of what really happened is still unknown, whether still kept secret, or not remembered because of time, and it will never get better. So much of what happened, happened so long ago that we may not be able to find out the truth, and the only truths left to find out, will never be known because the only two that know what really happened, were the cause of this tragedy and are both dead. This tragedy had so many aspects to it that Cullen had to simplify it and had to make it readable and understandable without, outright lying. Bullying was a big aspect of the tragedy and was left out. Maybe the bullying was left out because Cullen didn't have enough information, or not enough sources to help him with that, that he felt it was easier to leave out. Overall though, the book was an outstanding depiction of what happened, the most clear and overall public description of what really happened. The book is the greatest description of this event available to the public ever made and has helped me see the whole tragedy as a whole.Get more detail about Columbine.

The Last Detective Order Now

noreply@blogger.com (Petch) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:13:00 +0000

Elvis Cole is watching 10-year-old Ben Chenier, the son of his girlfriend Lucy, who is away on a journalistic assignment. Ben wanders out behind the house one evening while Cole is on the phone. When he's finished with the call, Ben is gone.

A man calls and says he has the boy and that he is acting in revenge because Cole got some rangers and innocent civilians killed in Vietnam. Cole denies the accusations, but now he's got something to work with.

Cole and his lethal pal, ex-marine, ex-cop Joe Pike learn that the kidnappers are three soldiers of fortune whose leader is wanted as a war criminal for his part in genocide in Sierra Leone. The man was a ranger, like Cole. He's one tough character and he's buried Ben in a box with a tube for him to breath by. Ben is brave, but he is no match for his kidnappers.

Cole's enemy is younger and better trained and he has two professional aides. But that doesn't matter. Cole and Pike live by a sort of Hemingwayesque code combined with a warrior's pride. Like Rambo, they don't back down and like Rambo, when ticked off, they leave violence in their wake.

In the "The Last Detective" Robert Crais takes his readers on a wild, twisting and tension filled ride that will have them reading throughout the night. He expertly uses flashbacks to give his readers Cole's back story, something many of us have craved. The flashback's also serve to humanize Cole in a that we haven't seen before.

There are a lot of tough guy characters out there who are fun to read about, Jack Reacher comes to mind, but for my money Elvis Cole is the king of the hill. Well, his sidekick Joe Pike is one pretty tough mutha too, good thing he fights with Cole and not against.Get more detail about The Last Detective.