Active Books

A nice basic and sturdy spiral-bound running log. A great deal, probably the best around. Everything you need to keep track of 12 months of running and racing.

SOLSTICE is the sort of story you might not like at first glance.

I know I didn't. I read the first two issues at the author's urging, having been a fan of his work for some time, and I didn't get it. The art was scritchy and dirty, the plot all over the place, and the main characters were a completely overbearing father and his absolute simp of a son. It was sweaty, off-putting, and full of pain. And by "it" I mean both the book's paternal relationship and my own relationship to the story.

Yet, something about it stuck with me, and when the comic was finished and published as a single graphic novel, I decided to try it again. I don't know what it was. Distance, perhaps? Time to digest? Whatever it was, it was exactly what I needed.

Yes, I was still looking at something sweaty, off-putting, and full of pain, but that's exactly what SOLSTICE was intended to be. An easy criticism of a story in any form is to say, "I didn't like the characters." I call it easy because it's kind of a cop-out, it doesn't get to the heart of what the problem with the story might be -- or it might be cowardice on the part of the audience, afraid to dig in to a tale that may hide something uncomfortable underneath. The reality is that there is nothing wrong with stories featuring unlikable characters, we just have to be fascinated by the things that are so hateful about them. SOLSTICE is the story of father and son Waterhouse, and the horrible things that make them tick are absolutely fascinating. When I didn't run from the experience, when I put my faith in the creative abilities of writer Steven T. Seagle and artist Justin Norman, trusted them to show me something I may not want to see but that they knew I should see, I became completely involved in what made their messed-up family tick.

A lot of what makes SOLSTICE impossible to put down (a second time) is Seagle's structure. In the interview at the back of the book he calls it "structural" whiplash. The comic is narrated by Waterhouse the Younger, Hugh. He begins at the end, and then he takes us on a serpentine trek through the history that has gotten him where he is. His father, Russell Waterhouse, has a life-threatening illness and is on a relentless quest to find the Fountain of Youth (hey, I just got the clever pun in the family name). We are peeking in on their third and final expedition, and Hugh hips us to how badly the other expeditions went, the erroneous discoveries and the dubious tactics employed by his father. The timeframe and setting changes every couple of pages, never giving the reader time to settle. We are always on the move, the narrative flow mirroring the frenetic pace of the narrator, who just happens to be running for his life.

This complex story is aided and abetted by a more than capable artist, Justin Norman. Up top I called his work "scritchy and dirty," which sounds like an insult, but it's not. The Waterhouses are always in places that are scritchy and dirty (or sweaty, off-putting, and full of pain). Just as Seagle doesn't flinch by letting cracks of niceness show, neither does Norman try to pretty their world up. SOLSTICE is like story as deep immersion therapy -- you're going all the way in.

So, pick up a copy of SOLSTICE and leave your nervous-nelly reading habits in the other room before cracking its cover. You're really in for something if you do. And trust me, just as you never know where you will be from one page to the next -- Chile? Russia? the lost city of Atlantis? -- you're also not going to see the ending coming, and the emotional payoff is immense. You'll finally understand what all that digging was for.

This book consists of history and the new developments of speed reading, self tests and exercises, mixed with short essays on physiologic aspects of reading, like left and right cortical research, the number of brain cells and their interconnections, the anatomy of eyes (including the cross-section), control of eye movements t to increase the speed and comprehension of reading (with diagrams of eyes' progression while reading).

The author addressed the common reading problems: subvocalization, finger-pointing, regression and back-skipping, and presents the new approaches to overcoming them. He gives practical advises on improving your concentration and increasing your comprehension. Much attention is given to developing advanced skimming and scanning techniques, range reading skills, metronome training.

The book finishes with tips on getting control of different kinds of text: the newspapers, literature and poetry.

In addition to this book, I can recommend exercising with a speed reading audio program, that should be listened while reading. I can suggest "The Speed Reading 16-Minute Audio Program" which I have personally used.

This bright book is a fun read and teaches good health and exercise but is not preachy. The drawings of the boys and their dog are funny and keep kids engaged in the story. After finishing the book I think most kids will create their own Super Sprout cape and join in!

I think there are many examples in this book, but I found the physical and mathematical model about the cosolvent flushing is not enough, also,I belive more details about the its actual design can help me to understand this remediation methods.

I had left an earlier review mentioning that the links in the newly added Table of Contents didn't work. The publisher had left a comment as to what had happened and when a corrected edition would be available with working TOC links. I just redownloaded the book today and I am happy to say that the links now work. There is still one Kindle formatting issue and that is that the text breaks at the end of every line rather than wrapping. Still it is usable and you can jump to Books in it now from the TOC links and return with the back button. If the text wrapped properly it would be five stars. Still the price is right and it is usable as is. If you can live without line wrapping this might be the Tanach for you.

This is a really neat book that displays good old-fashioned outdoor wisdom. Learn everything from fishing tips to hunting tips and everything inbetween. I only wished it had more pictures or illustrations.

The author tells his story of being the first Canadian to climb Mt. Everest. He talks a lot about his determination and will to do more than his best, and ends the book with a very positive message. My 6-yr-old son is really into Mt. Everest, so we bought this for a birthday present. Both he and his 8-yr-old sister (who is sick of hearing her brother talk endlessly about Mt. Everest) were totally engrossed in Laurie's story.

The climb did result in four deaths, so be forewarned when reading this with younger children.

This really is what the title calls it -- a set of tools for both practical and active Christians: laity and clergy alike. This book fills in many of the nuts-and-bolts gaps of a seminary education (but with theological appropriateness!). The best book Herb's ever written...maybe that'll spur him to write some more!

Trekking on a Trail provides basic hiking information and suggestions for simple activites. A substantial portion of this book is devoted to safety information and lists of gear hikers should carry or wear. Much of this information, such as what sort of socks to wear and how to buy a pack, seems more aimed at parents than kids.

The book includes...

a section on stretches to use when warming up for a hike,
a set of suggestions for gear, clothing and food to carry,
a section on different kinds of packs,
a simple map reading lesson,
advice on staying found, what to do when lost, and what to pack for an emergency and for first aid,
a section on reading the weather,
a section on what bugs and plants to avoid,
a few suggestions for trail snacks,
a handful of suggested activities for children on hikes, such as making a hiking journal, hiking stick and skipping rocks on water.

Fran Lee provides colorful and charming illustrations throughout that may make the some of the otherwise dry material in the book more appealing to children.