Form-T Books

The book I ordered came in a very timely manner and was in perfect shape! I would recommend ordering from Amazon.com or Guardian Books anytime! Thanks for helping make my Christmas as perfect as possible.

Don't read this in bed unless you want to get kicked out for keeping your wife awake due to constantly laughing outloud uncontrollablly! I thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories, and highly recommend it for anyone who has ever been hunting or fishing.

Bill Heavey has captured an essence that each of us can understand in this fantastically funny and heart warming book. I could see my own experiences in the wild unfolding again while reading his own mishaps, follies and occasional successes. Heavey gives a great value to the human end of hunting, fishing and prowling about in suburbia longing for the greater outdoors. His ability to explain human emotion with surgical precision is uncanny, and all the while he makes you laugh, or shed a tear as you move through the book. Wonderful!

Bill Heavey is an incredible writer. No, not everything he writes is laugh-out-loud funny...and it's not supposed to be. In so many of the bumbles, backfires, mishaps, and defeat turned to sudden and unexpected triumph, he lets us outdoor enthusiasts see ourselves. In an age of hunting where one-upmanship is constant and the magnificence of our quarry is often reduced to an antler score, we need a writer like Heavey. He captures the intangibles that keep us going out season after season...things we just can't put into words. Read the chapter "The Promised Land" to the end and tell me there's not a surge of emotion rushing over you once finished.

I highly recommend "If You Didn't Bring Jerky..." .

Stumbled across this after reading one Bill's columns in Field & Stream & having a friend tell me he had a book. Have been reading a story or two each day...makes a great bathroom book. My favorite is the one I read yesterday about Bill taking his preschool age daughter "hunting" (helping him scout for deer sign) and then coming home & watching big buck videos together. Kind of reminded me of myself when I was little. All in all it's a great book for anyone who loves the outdoor lifestyle.

We are retired and for years have been keeping a loose-leaf notebook of instructions for our adult children to help them deal with our estate. One quick look through Before it's Too Late showed us there were a number of important things we'd neglected to address. The book is extremely well organized, thorough and easy to fill out. From the location of important papers and keys to funeral arrangements and family pets, the workbook is comprehensive. We are buying copies for our siblings as well as our adult children.

During the past few years, my wife and I lost our parents, 3 by death and 1 by alzheimer's disease. How we wish we would have had a resource such as this at that time. We did not realize the amount of time it would take us to locate and sort all the documents related to our parents lives. We will not leave our children in the same predicament. We consider ourselves well organized, but this book showed us that we really are not. With this book, it took us only a few hours during the past few weeks to record a library of our financial and personal lives to give to our family. This book makes it concise and easy. Highly recommend this great organizational book to any one of any age. Buy it, complete it now and give it to your kids. - "Before It's Too Late"!

This is a fantastic book. Used it when my mother-in-law passed away, and we found out some amazing info about my father-in-law. We recently reviewed what was done in 2000 and revised the info. I advise anyone starting out to get one you can always add to it as time goes on. It's amazing at what was included in the book. I don't think they left anything out. It's a very handy guide if you want fast access.

FINALLY, the most useful tool amidst all my important documents. All in one place. I can now travel wherever with a peace of mind I never had before. Whatever happens, my loved one will be able to find everything under one "roof".

It is everything I could possible want to inform my family and friends of my intentions upon my death. I also ordered one for my son and daughter, and my two sisters and brother. They were equally impressed with the product.

This book is a great read for anybody who ever sighed as they walked to their seats as the stage/field/court got smaller with every step taken towards their seats.

The book makes for a fun read. It is written at a zippy pace with plenty of laughs. Its a fan's declaration of an unalienable right.....to get good tickets to the show without paying ticket broker ransoms.

Any book that helps us fight the power is cool with me.

See you crazy cats at the show, oh wait, maybe not, cause my seats are now up front!

This book is an entertaining read, but basically the only technique is to buy your tickets as late as possible. It doesn't matter if it's from craigslist, the venue box office, ebay, etc. The only suggestion that he has is to buy as late as possible. The day of, only hours before, the show/event if possible. Save yourself the $15 bucks.

The other sections of the book, on how to sneak into better seats is lame at best. He tells stories about when he was at one event or another, and how cool he was to sneak into better seats. But he conveniently skips over HOW he did it and what he said. He just brags about where he sat and how much better the seats were than the ones he paid for.

The book should be one page, with the words "Buy your tickets on the day of the event." in 40pt font. That's the basic concept that he repeats five or six times.

No secrets in this book. Just a few fun stories and some basic "supply and demand" logic.

Honestly, I have already tried and had already thought of a couple of the things pointed out in this book, but I still learned a LOT of new things and got some new ideas. Not only will I save money on the next event I go to, I have some new ways to get closer to the stage. Thanks, Max Deale, for writing this easy to follow, sometimes humorous book - it's about time somebody put all this great info into one place! For less than the first ticketmaster surcharge you will save, go ahead and buy this book.

I actually read part of this on the crapper at a friend's house. I was actually going to "borrow" it, but saw it was $15 so figured I would throw the author a bone and buy it. Not every piece of advice is that useful, but some of them are actually really, really good. Took my son to the Angels/Yankees series and we scored really good seats at prolly half what I would have forked out at StubHub (which is key when you have a 5 year-old who wants to leave after the 6th inning). So basically I tried one trick from the book, which cost $15, and saved about $50. It's a no brainer. Pick one up. Good book for a bad economy.

This excellent little book (you can read it in an hour) is for fans of concerts and sporting events and teaches the art of scoring tickets to sold out events and always sitting in the best seats in the house. I've been going to concerts since I was 15 (yikes, that was 1977) and had accidentally discovered and used some of Deale's techniques. However, this funny and well-written little book gave me some new ways to score tickets.

Deale, known to his friends as the "Ticket Jedi" spent 20 years perfecting his technique of acquiring "sold out" tickets at or below face value. (One of his themes as that there is no such thing as "sold out.")

My best ticket story? I scored front row center to the opening night of The Rolling Stones most recent world tour, paying face value for a ticket that the brokers wanted over ten thousand dollars for.

Scott Adams obviously sold his soul to the Devil, because no one can hit the ball out of the park every time! It's impossible.

Thanks for making the sacrifice, Scott.

You have to like Scott Adam's work to appreciate this book, but I don't know many people who don't. I think anyone who has ever been to work or had a boss will enjoy this book.

Every time I sit down and read a Dilbert book I am truly amazed by the humor portrayed and find myself chuckling at something on just about every page. Of course, what's truly funny about it is how it actually happens and many of the stories portrayed are based on actual experiences people have had with their CowOrkers and truly memorable inDuhviduals. yes, there really are people like that. Scary, but true.

I always thought Dilbert was a straight documentary, and I never laughed at it, though sometimes I felt like crying, but I never let the guy in the next cubicle see me. Then they were talking about a Dilbert strip at lunch, and somebody told me it was supposed to be funny. I became a laughing stock. Dilbert humiliated me, and now I'm getting even by giving him one star.

"Don't Step In The Leadership" is a collection of Dilbert comic strips from 1998. Scott Adams has accurately captured the idiocracy of life that is called work. Whether it's the pointy-haired boss trying (and failing) to manage his employees or Catbert: Evil H.R. Director prescribing an anti-depressant drug for Alice, you will be amazed at how much this art imitates your life.

As a cat owner, I'm very familiar with the, how should I say it, whimsical nature of my own feline, Callie Lou.

Basically, this means that I understand that she'll do what I want - when she wants to. She'll do what she wants - when she wants to. Scratch me behind the ears. No, wait, don't scratch me. Feed me. No, wait, I just barfed that up all over the living room carpet. Let me lay beside you on the bed. No, wait, I think I'd rather go play with my wind-up mouse at three o'clock in the morning until you throw things at me to make me stop jumping on your head as if you were a trampoline.

Yes, I understand quite well the whimsical nature of cats.

So, too, does author/illustrator Molly Brandenburg. With EVERYDAY CAT EXCUSES, you'll learn exactly why your cat is unable to do anything that you want her (or him) to do.

Too busy scratching, shedding, washing, sleeping, eating, chasing things, sleeping, thinking deep thoughts, playing, sleeping, oh, and did I mention sleeping? (I can attest to the fact that cats do, indeed, sleep about twenty hours a day.)

The stark, black and white illustrations are wonderful, the excuses are hilarious, and the book, overall, is a must-have for any cat owner.

Now, back to doing whatever my cat wants me to do.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

When it comes to cats, have you ever wondered why? What I mean is, why they behave the way we observe cats to behave. What are they thinking with that look that appears so enigmatic to us? Molly Brandenburg attempts to answer this age-old question with some creativity and imagination, and pictures!

I have experience with a small dog that reminds me of one of Molly's examples. The dog wants out. Then the dog wants in. Then the dog wants out again. Make up your mind!

Humor with hairballs is alternatively gross, fascinating and humorous; except when you find them.

The good: I know I smiled several times in the course of this book. The cost is low for a hardback book. Bye two and give one (or both) away.

The bad: My goodness but this book is short. The price is low, but cats are so darn funny that you would think Molly could have eked out another 64 pages.

Cat lovers everywhere will immediately recognize their cats in this book. Indeed, much of the humor comes from recognizing your own critter in these pictures. Then you might start thinking to yourself, what if that is what the cat is really thinking. Then you might start to worry. Then you might start to wonder whether a hamster might be less trouble.

Enjoy!

Note: The author provided me with a review copy of this book.

Molly Brandenburg is not only a gifted cartoonist and writer, but she is also a standup comedienne and it is this last means of communication that sets her fine little book apart. Though handsomely produced with high quality paper and clean design, the real beauty of this brief book of line drawings of cats with accompanying `cat excuses' is the amount of insight into cat behavior AND the noticeably oblique comparison to human behavior!

In addition to the very funny and very true interpretation of feline thoughts and responses to their 'owners', Brandenburg offers short scenarios of cat behavior when humans are not around. For all cat lovers this is a collection of frequently observed 'looks' we receive from our cats and Brandenburg's interpretation of those attitudes. They are smart, clever, funny, and endearing. This is definitely a book to gift to friends who cohabitate with cats. Well Done! Grady Harp, June 08

Books about pets are always popular. We cat and dog owners are always on the lookout for books that either shed light on those adorable but alien beings we choose to share our lives with ... or ones that make undue fun of them. (After all, laughter can often be the only suitable response for a pet-related situation.) This cartoon creation obviously falls into the latter category.

Following the style set by the classics "All I Need to Know I Learned From My Cat" (Suzy Becker), and "French for Cats" & "Advanced French for Exceptional Cats" (Henry Beard), "Everyday Cat Excuses" uses simple line drawings to portray the many moods and attitudes of the finicky feline. You'll recognize them all if you have a cat in your house. The featured kitty is not particularly fluffy or furry. In fact, at times it looks like a Matt Groening invention that could easily be a new addition to the Simpsons' household. Especially when it's "screeching around the house in a frenzy" or horking up a hairball. The perennial I-wanna-be-outside / inside conundrum is especially well portrayed and represents, in my opinion, the best eight pages of the book.

Cat owners / lovers go big for this stuff. Slim tomes like this one might seem too trite and frivolous to purchase for oneself; but they turn out to make the perfect presents for friends or relatives. No doubt the giver will zip through the book first before passing it on. In this case, it'll take just a few minutes. You might even smile once or twice before you close the covers and get out the wrapping paper.

"Everyday Cat Excuses: Why I Can't Do What You Want" is a charmingly written and illustrated book. Author and illustrator Molly Brandenburg perfectly captures the world of cats. Anyone who is owned by a cat or ever was owned by one will laugh at some of the excuses: I have furballs, I am sleeping, I am eating, and many more. My favorite was the "I want to go outside/I want to go inside" routine favored by so many cats (mine included). The book is relatively short, but Brandenburg cleverly captures just about every cat reason for not coming when called, including a few that my cat, at least, has never thought of. Make sure you read until the very end of the book, because the book isn't over when it seems to be - even to the very end the cats can't make up their mind! As for the illustrations in the book, they are simple line drawings - not great art, but they are very humorous and deftly capture the nuances of various cat expressions.

Cat lovers will enjoy "Everyday Cat Excuses: Why I Can't Do What You Want".

I'm not done reading, but so far little disappointed, I guess it wasn't as funny as I hoped it will be. Not bad tho as autobiography as I suppose it was intended to be.

Although I love Rita's wit, I found her book quite boring. Just stick to the "stand-up" Rita.

Never a dull moment funny stories one after another , some were so funny that I roared laughing . And there were humane and very caring moments about love and loss . A fabulous joyous enlightening read .

If you are female and reached that "dreaded" time in your life, when you

are not quite 25 on the outside, but on the inside you are roaring. Read

this, it puts it in prospective and gives you lots of giggles.

Wonderful book with many zingers I'll want to pass on to others. . . if I can remember them.

I don't know how he does it, but once again, Jack Handey comes up with some completely outlandish, unbelievable funny "thoughts". I will grant anyone there aren't quite as many of the hilarious ones as there were in the first "Deep Thoughts" book, but there were enough to make me fall of my chair laughing several times and it is still a whopping FIVE STAR laughing-out-loud-so-hard-my-stomach-hurts kind of a book.

This was a great book and a must have for all 'deep thoughts' fans. His insight can be considered literary genius. I can say my favorite is talking about his childhood friend Chris and the adventure with the ice cream in Chicago - classic! (you will have to read the book yourself to find out the ending)

Jack Handey got a lot of mileage out of his "Deep Thoughts" series, but I think the word "rejected" would be more fitting than "lost" for this fourth volume. I don't want to suggest that it's bad by any means, but it's definitely the most hit-and-miss of the series. Some of the passages are classic Jack Handey ("Toward the end of the Stone Age, I bet there was already a feeling that metal was just around the corner."), but many of them are downright lame ("Life is a constant battle between the heart and the brain. But guess who wins. The skeleton."). If you've got the other three volumes, this one is absolutely essential, but if you're a newbie, don't start here. Pick up "Deep Thoughts", "Deeper Thoughts", and "Deepest Thoughts".

it doesn't matter how many times i have read this book, every time i open it up i laugh out loud. any person who comes to my house and opens it laughs out loud. it's probably one of my top 5 books of all time and i'm an english major.

I happen to like the "Deep Thoughts" seiries, so of course I like this one. Jack's way of turning a situation into a psychobabble feel good statement is hilarious and the pairing of the nature photographs reminds me of those dumb motivational posters at work - you know, the one where it's a photograph of an eagle flying over a canyon and it says something such as "Strive with all your being to fly as the eagle does fly and makes more widgets for our company to make huge profits from" or some nonsense like that. (Okay, the signs _don't_ say the widget thing.)

It's vaguely comforting to read this book, to know that Jack's still out there (in more ways than one!) pondering his "deep thoughts" and sharing them with us. If you enjoyed the other books, you'll want this book.

Written to make the reader test his/her own thoughts on everyday topics - the life and times of the author who uses dark, strong, sarcastic wit to reveal uneven emotional yet honest feelings. This book is very funny, very honest, nothing held back, and an insight to what many of us think and afraid to speak - in thought - in dreams - OUTSTANDING !!!!

I love this book. I have shared it, much to the chagrin, of my friends and girlfriends. The humor is my favorite type, raw, hard edged, and with no appologies. Make no bones about it, Rypstat is one funny guy who is the line of no bullshit comedians, Lenny Bruce, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Martin Mull, Richard Pryor, and even Sam Kinison.

Throw away the lame mainstream humorists and bring in this gutsy sarcastic hero!

If you're looking for self-help, keep looking. If you're looking for a good perspective on life, read on.

I guess if you have a really thin skin, you shouldn't get this book. For the rest of us--I laughed my a** off--out loud, even! The humor just kept _surprising_ me; it was so unpredictable. On the down side, sometimes the typsetting is a little wierd, and I did get tired of that same graphic over and over, but it was funnier than Dave Barry's been in a long while, and that's saying something!

Rypstat writes on his back cover "It would be amazing if a crowd formed around this book." It would be, too, because the book is terrible. The author thinks he has a new look on the 90's -- there's a thousand comedians who have had the exact same take for years except they've voiced it much more humorously. It sounds to me like Rypstat bought too many self-help books himself and tried too many self-improvement seminars, and so he's trying to get back at all the people who duped him. He should have been smart like everybody else and realized it was all a big scam from the beginning. He's too neutered and regurgative to offend anybody, though he sure seems like he's trying. This book won't help you laugh. It won't help you gain any new insight. The only thing it will help you do is waste time. You'll be sorry you bought it. I am.

This book is simply a great read. Our hero fights on land and sea; there is plenty of action and adventure. The descriptions of the battles are captivating and the story never drags.
In this story, we see burden of command weighing heavily on Bolitho. He's not a hero in the traditional sense. He gets things done, but he is no super-hero. He must, MUST, perform regardless how tired or fatigued he is, the incompetence and rivalries of his subordinates, and a host of other problems. Given that, Bolitho is not only a believable figure, he's one that the reader can relate to.
If you like action and adventure and a story that moves right along, then this is the book (and series) for you. I highly recommend it.

I purchased many of these novels by Kent in Australia in 1986 but didn't have them all, so I ordered this one to help complete my set. As usual with Alexander Kent and this series it was a delight. Will want to order other novels to complete my set.

The French Revolution is tearing France apart, the British are trying to influence the battle and therefore Bolitho gets command of a new ship and is asked to go fight for his country again. By now, Bolitho is a full Captain and he has been promoted to the command of a Ship of the Line - a 74 gun double decked behemoth. Unfortunately for him, this advanced status also means that he must serve under much closer scrutiny of higher ups in the ranks rather than enjoying his relative independence as a Frigate Captain.

Early in the book he gets to almost meet another captain by the name of Nelson. He is also sent to act as the flag ship of a small flotilla that is supposed to take over a Spanish island in adjacent to France in concert with a couple of Spanish ships. The interesting kicker is that an Admiral is appointed to command the whole mission and that Admiral happens to be a career officer with precious little real command experience. When it turns out that the French already occupy the island and lay a trap for the British flotilla things turn ugly and the Admiral is killed.

Bolitho, of course, manages to take over and heroically conquers the island with the help of a few handfuls of his own shipmates. Then, he hunkers down to wait for reinforcements. When they fail to come and he is in desperate need of water, he arranges a local truce with the French ... only to be usurped by another Admiral who arrives then to take command.

If this is not fantastic enough, we are now treated to an even more bizarre turn of events: it turns out that this new admiral was actually the commander from which Boliho took over command of the Pharalope and its ensuing mutiny was due to this particualr officer. Since Bolitho rectified the situation, the now-Admiral resents him immensely and treats him as a servant and sends him to pick up his bride. In the course of the passage - punctuated by a naval battle against superior odds, Bolitho falls in love with the Admiral's bride even though he only speaks to her for one evening ... and she, of course, fall in love with him.

One thing leads to another and after many bloody battles fought by cartoon characters, Bolitho ends up winning the girl, the Admiral is killed, Bolithos uses his ship like a frigate, and actually takes over command of the whole battle fleet even though he is not the most senior officer, and he even unknowingly escorts his brother (thought dead) to a prison ship.

The descriptions of shipboard life and battles are the heart and soul of these types of novels and Alexander Kent does an excellent job of generating all kinds of excitement around them. In this novel he goes a little deeper into the ways that Richard Bolitho commands his men and wins their loyalty and support although it is very very sketchy. We also get a better taste of what naval medicine was like with Bolitho's first visit to the surgeon's station.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book is not as well executed. The romance between Bolitho and the Admiral's betrothed is absolutely unbelievable. The dialog is stilted and it is very hard to believe that she fell in love with a ship Captain and decides to marry him over her familial obligations after only spending one evening speaking with the man.

Of equal preposterousness is Bolitho's actions. He obeys the first Admiral who is killed at his side - then he saves the day by taking action on his own initiative which the French do not anticipate and the Spanish gladly join in. Then he manages to convince a whole French town to express their monarchist loyalties and help him out. Then, he fights a battle against vastly superior odds and wins it by pulling a Frigate manuever in a ship of the line that has been in the water so long that its barnacles and "beard" can be seen from above. If this was not enough, he then attacks a French town and destroys its French revolutionary force, and finally, he saves the lives of many soldiers by taking decisive action and command over a force that was essentially abandond by his own Admiral and whic had more senior officers who readily acquiesce to serve under Bolitho.

The final absurdities involve the reunion of Bolitho with his old time friend and underling Herrick who is somehow miraculously promoted to full Captain from Lieutenant at the end of the book while Bolitho himself is left in simple command of the Hyperion. Huh?

So, while the story is patently ridiculous, the passages detailing the ship's life and battles and the completely secondary characters and their fates are of enough interest to keep me reading this book and the series.

I started reading Alexander Kent's Bolitho novels because I had exhausted Forester's and O'Brian's respective series, and in doing so I had developed a strong appetite for age of sail fiction. Kent's series, by comparison to the former two, is sadly lacking.

The Bolitho series is a serial in the literal sense. This is the ninth novel I have read, and so far they have all followed the same general boilerplate plot. In some of these novels, even the sub-plots repeat themselves: the romance in this novel is a straight carbon copy from "Passage to Mutiny." In this respect, the Bolitho series is very similar to Cornwell's Sharpe series.

This would be acceptible, for a good story can be repeated dozens of times if you develop the characters and keep it fresh with new twists. New twists he does offer on occassion, but Kent fails miserably in character development. There are few continuing characters in the series, and none of them are better than two dimensional. This is a sin he shares with Forester: the only continuing character in the Hornblower novels is William Bush, who is not much more than Hornblower's shadow throughout the series. Stockdale, Herrick and Allday are all mere ciphers. After nine novels, even the tertiary characters in O'Brian's series have received more attention.

Kent also stretches credulity at times, and makes a number of historical errors. This book shows Bolitho in command of a 74 gun ship of the line, supposedly armed with 18 and 24 lbs cannon. The two deckers of the late 18th Century, however, usually carried 18 and 32 pounders as their primary armament, a fact that Kent is well aware of because he says so in his own newsletters. It is reminicent of a similar blunder in "Sloop of War," where Kent mounts 32lbs cannon as chasers on an 18 gun sloop, HMS Sparrow. I doubt very much that any sloop ever commissioned ever carried armament even remotely as heavy as the Sparrow. In this novel, the connectionless Herrick is promoted from lieutenant to full captain, skipping commander entirely. While not outright impossible, given that Herrick is utterly lacking in political influence such a promotion streches credulity to the breaking point. Kent's clumsy historical blunders wound the well-informed and alert among his readers.

Where Kent is strong is in his depiction of battle aboard an age of sail warship. The cannons roar, the timbers shudder, the splinters fly, and a fierce boarding action is never far in the offing. However, after several novels, his strongest point loses its luster because of his repetative style and lack of invention.

Overall, I am deeply disappointed in what I now perceive as Kent's systemic problems. I have read nine of these novels, and I feel like I have wasted enough time on them. I'll now be looking for another author to satisfy my age of sail appetite.

All I have to say is, this book isn't worth the time it takes to read it. I'm a huge fan of comics, especially "Foxtrot", so I thought I'd like "Zits". Don't get me wrong, there were some moderately funny parts, but overall, I wasn't too impressed. If I had to recommend a comic book for kids my age, I'd go with "Foxtrot".

Teenagers won't find Zits funny because it is poking fun at their surly, self-centered and hysterically amusing selves. Parents will find themselves saying "That sounds like my kid." Teenaged angst, embarrassing parents, reluctance to engage in manual labor at home and insatiable appetites...it's all here. I used it as revenge with my son who, thankfully, graduated from high school and is out of the house.

I first read Zits in the paper, and then promptly went out and bought all of the books. They are witty, funny, and actually have some truth about teenagers. (I would know, I am one)
I have read this many times, and each time I read it, I still get a kick out of it. Definitely a must-have for all comics lovers.

"Zits" is a comic strip that soared into popularity when it first debuted in 1997. Featuring 15-year old aspiring rock musician Jeremy Duncan, his sort-of girlfriend Sarah Toomey, best friend Hector, and the entire Duncan family, classmates, and teachers. Don't Roll Your Eyes At Me, Young Man! is a very funny collection that will be truly appreciated by those already familiar with Jeremy through their own local newspaper, and admirably serve to introduce one of the best of the contemporary comic strips to legions of new readers.

This is a fantastic book! It has a bit more of a mature style, so I don't recommned this for children under thirteen. It would also help if you are or have been in highschool. This is one of the best Zits i have ever read!!! If you get a Zits treasury then get this one!