Block

Children will love these out of the ordinary poems based on the book. Most are in song form, so it keeps the kids entertained. This is a great tape to listen to in the classroom while doing art work or any type of seat work because it kept my students very well behaved. It also entices children to want to read the book

I have got to say...I am an adult, and I absolutely adored this book. I was, am, and always will be a huge fan of the New Kids on The Block, and this book brings all of their musical wizardry, and derring-do to life page after page. I keep it on a shelf with all of their CD's...in fact, I bought two copies so I could make a collage with some of the really cool pictures.

The calendar will put a smile to your face every morning, particularly to those lawyers out there (you know who you are) (like myself). Can't wait to order one for 2004.

"Once Around the Block" is my favorite book. It demonstrates my lifetime goal of helping people on a daily basis in a simple, humorous, heartwarming manner. This book provides an excellent social studies lesson for children, but kids will enjoy the book for its cute story and fun illustrations.

Zoe Dunham crashes through time and lands on Black Jack Alexander's privateer ship. Zoe thinks its a scam as Black Jack looks just like her ex-husband, Jonathon, who is a descendant of Black Jack. Eventually, Black Jack (Winn)convinces her she's in the right time and place. Meanwhile...Jonathon has his own troubles as he fell through the same hole in time Zoe did. Two Black Jacks? Read it...its great!

words just cannot describe it (the fact that it's my sister who wrote it has got nothing to do with my enthuuusiasm

When you're sitting in the dentist's waiting room or passing 20 minutes while your car's oil is changed, a novel seems like a hassle. Just when you start getting into the story, it's time to put your book away. That's where a short story comes in handy. Your commitment is to a few thousand words that take you from beginning to end in less than 30 minutes.

Once upon a time, many magazines published at least one short story per issue. A few - Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - were dedicated to short mystery fiction from cover to cover. Alas, advertising space took precedence and few magazines today even consider the lowly short story, let alone a devious one. Now they're generally found tucked away in the pages of anthologies such as Opening Shots.

The beauty of this particular book is that not only are these shorts by known mystery and crime authors, but they are their first published short stories. Some land at the beginning of the writer's careers, such as David Black's "Laud," which later became the opening chapter of his first novel, Like Father. Others, such as Susan Isaacs's "Compliments of a Friend" came after a series of novels.

Editor Lawrence Block gives an excellent brief history on short fiction followed by 18 pieces plus one of his own. The stories are fun, provocative, twisted. All of this in 385 pages.

I sat down with the book and couldn't stop reading (kind of defeats the purpose of a short story, huh?) until I'd finished them all. Not one of them stunk and none of them left me feeling like I'd wasted my reading time. Block knows how to pick 'em. (As well he should. He is a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and has taken the Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus Awards four times.)

Original publication dates range from 1952 to 2000. Styles vary widely, as one would expect. There are a couple with a tricky Hitchcock twist, two or three with a Stephen King ending, and one that features a cat as the detective. Because I haven't read most of these authors yet, I can't say whether or not the short stories are a fair representation of the authors' styles in longer works. I suspect the novels are nothing like the shorts. But I look at this as a way to pick new names for my library and the opportunity to get a taste of a certain writer before making a commitment to a full-length book

Who are these authors, you ask? In addition to those mentioned above, the contributors are Donald E. Westlake, David Morrell, Sara Paretsky, James Sallis, Simon Brett, Max Allan Collins, Loren D. Estelman, Peter Lovesy, Peter Robinson, Margaret Maron, Joan Hess, Susan Moody, Justin Scott, Minette Walters, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, and John Harvey.

Would I recommend this book?

If you like crime fiction, definitely.

If you're a mystery writer, absolutely. Writers in this genre should take a look at how these stories are put together and what makes them work. Several of the authors admitted in their introductions that a short story is much harder to write than a novel.

And by the way, if you like what you see in Opening Shots, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine published quite a few of these short stories. Both still feature short mystery fiction.

i thought that this cd was real inspirational and i believe they should keep doing this and making such great cd's

Out The Window is a great short Matt Scudder mystery told with precision by Bruce Weitz. Having devoured all the Matt Scudder print mysteries available and often passing them on to friends I was intrigued when I saw this Lawrence Block audiobook. I had never seen his work on tape and never seen this title in print; and I had a new vision-impaired friend that craved audiobooks. I bought it for her, but couldn't wait to listen to it myself. Weitz is the fine actor who played Mick Belker in Hill Street Blues, and I hadn't had any new Scudder since Everybody Dies. Bruce Weitz does an incredible job of telling Scudder's story of a murder investigation. He "is" Matt Scudder and he speaks to us in Matt's NY west-side ex-cop voice. He switches to other character's voices seamlessly and tells the tale fast and well. This Hell's kitchen murder mystery is early Scudder, the bourbon is flowing as fast as the story. Enjoy!

Dorothy Sterling describes the Outer Lands (The Cape, Long Island, Nantucket, etc.) very eloquently, using understandable, interesting language. She adds charming local folklore and local sights, as well as maps and drawings that contribute so much to the book. This book is great for leasure reading as well as a textbook for a marine biology class.