Boston

A great book with more than 100 fast, easy-to-do yet wonderful projects in 6 categories: Crafts for the House; Flowers - Fabulous Fakes; Christmas Ornaments and Decorations; Toys and Other Kid Stuff; Pet Rpojects; And Something for You.

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the Wisdom tales(I may have accidently called the Wisdom tales Wonder tales)again, having seen Ms. Forest perform live was a great pleasure. I enjoyed all the helps provided as to how these stories were found. I hope to use these resources in my own further research. I recommend all of Ms. Forest's tapes and books for enjoyable reading and listening to teachers, parents and children. Let your imagination go and you will discover the joy of story! A great effort!

i am only curious about this book, because I have been studying at Harvard for two years and because of this reason I love Boston and their sport teams.

2 of my cousins are coming to visit from ireland in april..i wanted to take them around to some of our pubs in boston. i'm going to use this book to plan an irish pub crawl.

Zagat's provides an easy-to-use directory for all different types of food in the Boston area. If you're craving sushi or anything else, it's easy to open the guide and find the nearest or cheapest or classiest restaurant. And they're 95% accurate!

It seems to me that Tess Gerritsen is slowing changing over from the Medical Suspense category to the Suspense category. Sure, "The Surgeon" had some of the medical jargon that sometimes drove me crazy because I am so ignorant when it comes to anything medical, (of course I'm only 17), but it didn't have a fraction as much as "Life Support" and "Harvest." This book dealt with a serial killer who rapes and murders his victims. The police who are stumped, turn to Dr. Catherine Cordell, a surgeon who works at the local hospital. She was attacked a few years ago by a similar assailant in the same manner, but lived. The only problem is that Catherine killed her attacker back then. The police start to wonder if maybe someone is copying Catherine's attacker. The police find that the victims all reported sexual attacks earlier on in their lives. The investigation turns from the streets of Boston to the hospital that Catherine works in, when Catherine starts having a stalker. This novel is definitely an exciting thrill-ride with not too much medical gibberish that the book will confuse the reader who does not have a lot of medical background. I hope Tess's next book will be this good.

Tess Gerritsen's latest is a pleaser.
2 years ago, while living in Savannah, Dr. Catherine Cordell barely survived a brutal rape. The serial rapist/murderer known as Andrew Capra, aka 'The Surgeon', had previously raped and killed three other women. His last victim, Dr. Cordell, fought back and killed him.
Now living in Boston and working as a trauma center doctor, Catherine Cordell soon finds out about some recent rapes and murders happening in the Boston area that are very similar to the one's committed by Andrew Capra, the man she killed 2 years ago. This killer starts sending her clues, which causes her to recapture all those hideous moments of the past. She soon finds out that she may be the final target.

Detective Thomas Moore is a rather easygoing guy (with a growing attachment to Cordell) assigned to these recent killings, along with lead detective Rizzoli, who happens to be a women struggling to prove herself to a mostly male police force.

Filled with well-choreographed emergency room action and engrossing scenes of life and death, this novel does not disappoint. It seemed very emotional and personal due to the often-brought up issue of rape. A well-rounded medical thriller.

'Where we go depends on what we know, and what we know depends on where we go'

Recommended

The person who wrote this book is actually a real life MD (specialising in Internal Medicine) who gave up her career to write full time. This book she wrote is nothing short of brilliance. Not only was she able to use her medical expertise to write out all of the gory details of the killings, but she does well in putting together great detective work and really makes some interesting and believeable characters.

The story is centered around the search for a serial killer who performs hyterectomies on women in the Boston area while they are still alive and then kills them. The killer is called the surgeon because he seems to have skills that only someone with specialized medical training should have. The killings seem strikingly similar to the style of another killer over two years ago in Savanna, Georga. But the killer in Georga was killed by his would-be victim (Catherine Cordell). One would think that maybe it's just coincidental that another killer just happened to have the same style as another killer who was killed over two years ago. The possiblility of it just being a coincidence was shattered when the police realized that the same woman (Catherine Cordell) who killed the killer two years ago is now living in Boston. The killer starts taunting Catherine by writing her email messages and even writes a message to her on a victim's body. But what is this killer's link to what happened in Georga and why is Catherine being targeted?

Another part of the story focuses on the relationship of a male detective (Thomas Moore) with Catherine and the building resentment of a female detective. It also takes us into the world of a female detective's struggle for recognition and respect on the police force.

Firstly, I have to say that Harvest is in my Top Ten List of all-time most favorite reads (and I've been a voracious reader for forty years).........This book has it all.............thrills, chills, great twisted plots, superb character development...........bad guys, good guys....kept me guessing.......and guessing......... Abby Di Matteo was a second year resident at Bayside Hospital in Boston when she was chosen to be part of the cardiac transplant team.... When she discovered that a heart was to be given to a rich man's wife, rather than a young 17 year old boy who was next in line, both Abby and Dr. Chao, took drastic measures....which had immediate repercussions! Finding donor records as being falsified, and knowing that some hearts aren't coming through the correct channels, Abby starts an investigation........ Since I first read Harvest when it came out in hardcover in 1996, the details and characters have stayed with me....this is a book that one can't forget..........it's an "edge of the seat" thriller, which is even scarier knowing that it's so easy for this to happen in real life.............Gerritsen's knowledge of the medical field shines through without all the jargon that we lay people can't understand! No matter where I am, at weddings, wakes, bookstores, beaches, if I see or know someone who reads, I always recommend any Tess Gerritsen book, so long as it includes Harvest!! Better than Cook, Crichton, or Palmer, and they are great authors, I assure you............This book is a MUST read..... Gotta mention, I was lucky enough to meet this beautiful and talented lady, twice at booksignings.........she is such a down-to-earth, friendly, sincere person, I hope each of you gets to meet her someday also!

In "Harvest," Tess Gerritsen writes a moving and suspenseful tale of Abby DiMatteo, and Bayside Memorial Hospital. From within the first few pages, Ms. Gerritsen has you hooked, and you'll be turning pages a mile a minute. The story is basically centered upon the topic of harvesting organs. Dr. Abby DiMatteo, a second year resident at Bayside, is starting to work with the transplant team, and they seem a little weird. She uncovers some things, and learns more of the team's past history. Meanwhile, she is in love with a member of the team, Dr. Mark Hodell. When a needy boy needs a heart, Abby and another doctor think that this boy will get the heart. But it doesn't seem that way now. It appears that the team is doing some business behind the hospital's back, and are getting organs for people not in desperate need of them. This gets Abby thinking, and thus begins one of the best books I've read.

"Harvest," is first rate suspense. Former romance author and current doctor Tess Gerritsen weaves a tale full of medical wonders, intrigue, and romance. Whether a fan of a science thriller, mysteries, or just a good book, you're bound to enjoy "Harvest." This is not only one of the best thrillers I've read, it's one of the best books that I've read in mainstream fiction. The is the first novel that I've read by Ms. Gerritsen and it certainly won't be my last. This is a book that should not be missed. Need a great, entertaining read? Then this is for you. Don't miss out on this great novel.

Happy Reading!

I've had this book on my shelf for quite a while--don't know what I was waiting for! What a great storyteller Ms. Gerritsen is. This book kept me turning pages from page 1. It is very well written, even the medical terminology is done in such a way that it is easy to understand. And the story keeps you guessing right along. Having worked for doctors most of my adult life, I found the characters well drawn and believable. And the story of harvesting organs for money is probably not that far off the mark, unfortunately. I loved this book and will definitely read the rest of Ms. Gerritsen's books.

Michael MacDonald's All Souls will undoubtedly be remembered as a classic. Reminiscent of Claude Brown's Manchild in the Promisedland, this book gives a vivid description of life in a tough urban neighborhood where crime, drugs, and premature death are a way of life. Nevertheless, MacDonald also shows the readers the positive side of South Boston, an urban village where loyalty, care for one's neighbors, religious devotion, and a sense of community are highly valued. MacDonald also speaks to the issue of urban gentrification and how it may serve to undo some of these positive values of "Southie" and other old ethnic neighborhoods throughout the U.S.

While covering the experiences of one family, All Souls places a human face on the historical accounts of the struggle of Irish Americans in Boston, a struggle I am somewhat familiar with, and which I also gave some coverage of in my book Desegregation in Boston and Buffalo (SUNY Press, 1998).

All Souls will be in libraries, classrooms, and in the backpacks of college students for many years to come.

I was born just outside of Boston to a middle class Irish American suburban family, and went to college at BC, which is predominantly Irish Catholic. I have lived in downtown Boston for the past 20 years, in the Back Bay, an affluent 'blue blood' neighborhood, not far from Southie, yet planets apart. I am only 2 years older than Mike, and had no idea families so similar to mine were living in another world, yet only 5 miles away. This book made me laugh from the gut, cry real tears and feel their pain, think about social injustice and wonder what would have happened had these children lived my life, or me theirs. I can't stop thinking about this book, and everywhere I go, I look into the eyes of teens around town, wondering if they're Irish eyes, and try to catch a peak at their wrists to see if I can spot a "Southie Dot". I hope Mike writes a sequel; I'd love to know what he and Ma and the kids that survived are doing now, and how their lives have changed, if at all, after the success of this book.

I'm a Black female who lived in Boston for five years in the '90s. While I was there, I would never have dreamed about setting foot in 'Southie', which I'd gathered quite a negative, stereotyped impression about from friends, the media, and just the general culture around Boston, which seemed to regard it as some backwards, redneck inner-city hamlet. But this summer, while back in Boston for a visit, something made me pick this book up and purchase it.

I was immediately drawn into Michael MacDonald's story, and especially his description of Southie. I love his writing style, and really appreciate his honesty and his willingness to break through the neighborhood pressure to keep up that stifling code of silence about the real troubles in the area. Reading the defensive reviews of some of the South Boston natives reminds me of the same defensiveness that Black people sometimes put on, when they get angry with people who "air our family laundry" out in public. I'm going to recommend this book to my bookclub, because I feel that more people need to know that inner-city poverty and pathology belongs to no particular race or creed, as MacDonald so vivdly proves in his memoir.

This book was about the common humanity within everyone, no matter what the skin color. This is the inspiring essence that I took from this book; the reminder that, underneath all the appearances, we are all One, with similar desires, dreams, goals, aspirations. Some of us are born into comfortable circumstances, and some of us are not, but we can all learn from each other, if we are so inclined. Kudos to Michael MacDonald for writing this touching and bold book, and much gratitude to him, for making a positive difference in the world through all the amazing programs and work he is doing to help parents and kids of all colors.

The families of the Cappiacani's and the Roth's have been feuding in a Montague/Capulet sort of way for years and no one really knows how it all began. When Romeo Cappiacani and Julie Roseman Roth, both owners of local floral shops, meet at a small business seminar, the sparks fly between them and so starts a tale of forbidden love that will leave you rolling in the aisles! The two main characters are in their 60's and neither one can fathom why their families are always at each other. When Julie's daughters find out that she is consorting with the enemy, one is understanding as she has been in that same boat, and the other goes on the attack! Much the same for Romeo's family...his sons play the part of hulking thugs well, and the Italian matriarch grandmother has her own very personal reasons for pouring salt into the earth under Julie's rose bushes. Only at the end, during Grandma's birthday party, do we finally learn the real reason why the two families have hated each other for so long. This is a charming, humorous twist on the Romeo and Juliet story...compulsively readable and a satisfying tale.

JULIE AND ROMEO by Jeanne Ray

Two sixty-somethings, Romeo Cacciamani and Julie Roseman Roth, whose families have been feuding like the Montagues and Capulets for three generations, meet at a small business seminar in Boston. Both had been raised to hate the other's family, and Julie's first thought upon meeting Romeo was -"This handsome, perfectly nice gentleman is an evil Cacciamani?" Romeo, a widower with six children and a struggling florist shop, suggests dinner. Even though she is uneasy, Julie, a divorcee trying to keep her own florist business afloat, accepts.

Both Julie and Romeo have grown children, totally immersed in this family feud and dedicated to seeing that the growing relationship between their respective parents ends. Sparks really fly when Julie's ex-husband and Romeo's 90-year old mother start meddling, along with other family members.

Delighted by this chance for happiness, Julie and Romeo try to neutralize the opposition within their families, not an easy task. Their relationship just adds to the already fiery family vendetta.

Ms. Ray portrays her characters with understanding, poignancy, and humor, showing that love and passion are not exclusively for the young . Ray's work is full of sharp understated wisdom.

The novel gets funnier with each chapter and each situation that occurs. The scene in the CVS store where the couple has their awkward first "date" so as not to arouse suspicion, is hilarious, as is the scene in the cold-storage locker at Romeo's store. You will also be laughing out loud at some of the things the families do to each other, trying to "get even".

"Julie and Romeo" was a delightful reading experience, and is sure to bring pleasure to every reader.

This is a first novel by Jeanne Ray, who, by profession, is a nurse and is also the mother of the novelist Ann Patchett, bestselling author of "The Magician's Assistant" and "Patron Saint of Liars". I predict that we will be seeing more books by Ms. Ray in the future and I look forward to reading them.

Two middle-aged people who have been bitter enemies since childhood find love ~~ sounds tediously boring, doesn't it? NOPE! It is very delightful and you find yourself rooting for Julie and Romeo throughout the whole book. Where love is concerned, no one should be enemies!

Both are florists who own small flower shops. Julie has grown up with the memory of her father cursing Romeo's father so she embibed the hatred as well. Romeo is an only child who end up having seven children who play menancing roles in the book. One day, they were both attending a small-business seminar ~~ Julie's working to keep her shop open after her ex-husband walked out with a bridesmaid who had never been a bride ~~ and Romeo was there to get ideas to keep his business open and they run into each other and sparks began to fly ~~ only this time, it's the sparks from Cupid's arrows hitting his targets.

Naturally, their children and his mom become dismayed and gets involved ~~ what ensues is a hilarious book between two families. Somewhat loosely based on the traditional Shakespearan play, "Romeo and Juliet" ~~ this book is just as delightful and it's not a tragedy!

It's a fun book ~~ a quick read! Great for the flower lover in your family or just for the romantic at heart!

2-13-04

This book was recommended to me for a good read, at first I couldn't get into it, but then it became very interesting. I am not a child of an interracial relationship, but I have had a curiosity about how they live their lives. Birdie/Jesse had a very difficult time growing up because she had so many things to deal with as a maturing adolescent. To be bi-racial, to have to assume another identity, to have to live without your father and sister, to have to pretend to of another religion, to have to lie about your truest feelings and then lie about your ethnicity to everyone you meet on top of becoming an adolescent must be the most difficult thing for a young woman, especially in the 70's/early 80's. I commend Danzy Senna for writing this book, because I am sure there are a lot of young woman that can identify with the subject matter. The book got a little long winded at times, but overall it was very well written and very enlightening. Good background (Boston, MA), good time period and good story.

I have never read a book that has needed so much understanding of a subject or made me think hard about society as Caucasia. The author, Danzy Senna, portrays the racial tensions of the 1950's and 60's in 1970's Boston. Birdie and her sister Cole are the result of a biracial marriage. The racial tensions of their time eventually tear the family apart. The girls' mother Sandy must flee with Birdie and go into hiding while Cole will go with her father and search for racial equality. This book is a page turner, I couldn't put it down. It always left me with a earning for what was to come.

I was immediately captured by Danzy Senna's "Caucasia", and very impressed with her writing--the characters, neighborhoods, cities, and situations she describes are all very vivid and realistic. The story line itself was intriguing and thought-provoking; two bi-racial sisters separated in childhood by their parents break-up, the dark-skinned daughter disappearing with their Black father, and the fair-skinned daughter disappearing with their White mother. This split along skin-color lines has a huge impact on the lives of both girls, who are suddenly forced to move on with the formation of their identities without each other, when once they were intertwined with a fierce sisterly bond, and a secret language called Elemeno. I think being bi-racial myself is what drew me to this book originally, but the many different issues and themes in the book (racism, identity, political and philosophical fanatacism, etc)kept my interest. In my family, my mother is Black, and my father is White, and the book made me wonder if Cole and Birdie would have been separated the same way if their father Deck had been White, and their mother Sandy had been Black. A great read! I would highly recommend it to anyone.