Form-T Books

I'm bullheaded and will finish most every book which I did here but came close to putting it down for good.
I guess the thing I got out of it was the Chinese thought of "saving face" no matter how unredeemable the
situation is.

Don't Call Me Human is a shockingly fun read filled with off-color humor and disgusting detail. The plot revolves around a shady Beijing organization called MobCom, which is desperate to vindicate China's humiliating loss at the hands of an oafish American wrestler. MobCom's search for a modern-day Chinese hero who knows the secrets of the Boxers (who, among other things, mistakenly thought they were immune to the power of firearms) finds its unfortunate object in a Beijing pedicab driver named Tang Yuanbao. Written by China's most famous liumang (low-life slacker is an acceptable translation), Wang Shuo,the novel follows the miseducation and shameless promotion of Tang by MobCom, an endeavor which requires multiple press conferences ridiculously devoid of content, ballet lessons given by an octogenarian in an abandoned art gallery, an unbelievable mock-military excercise in which Tang single-handedly defeats more than one battalion, and even an eventual sex change. The rise and fall of Tang and his backers (who manage to consume 7,000 packages of instant noodles, 100 kilos of tea, and 14000 cigarettes in their first week of hardly working) is the best-told tale of slacking off and deep national/personal humiliation you're ever likely to read.

One of the funniest books I've read in a while, "Please Don't Call Me Human" goes way beyond being a satire of Chinese nationalism--it's an hysterical condemnation of how far people will go for fame. So original, each outrageous event is a huge surprise.

Cosmic Tales II: Adventures in Far Futures tells tales of humanity when it escapes the bounds of Sol system. Each story is an exploration of a trait that may define us as a species and how it could affect our lives once we reach beyond our Earth.

Cosmic Tales II contains six short stories and one non-fiction essay. It was refreshing to find that all the stories were strong and held my attention. "The Tree of Dreams" by James P. Hogan offers us a glimpse of explorers looking for worlds to conquer with consumerism and greed. Interestingly, the natives are not as docile and innocent as first suspected and some of the crew view the natives' lifestyle as better than the dog-eat-dog life they lead. Mark L. Van Name's "Bring Out the Ugly" gives us tantalizing hints of a man's past when he is hired to save the daughter of the head of a planetary corporation. This story has some interesting asides on the use of AI's in everyday home appliances. "On Suivi Point" by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald gives the reader a view of how much trouble two spacers can get into on shore leave without even trying. "Genie Out of the Bottle" was a frustrating story of a young man with more money than common sense getting in over his head with a 'sweet young girl' who wants power and money. He finally finds himself as he learns to care about others and to think for himself. This story also gives the readers some interesting ideas to consider about uplifting animals for our convenience.

Paul Chafe in "Botany Bay" gives an interesting twist on a murder mystery. A serial killer is stalking the colony and they need to find out who, before anyone else gets killed. The twist revealed in the story's title is that all the colonists are criminals sent to this planet as a second chance. They must work together to find the killer and determine what rules of law will be adopted for their colony and its future. The non-fiction essay was an overview of the science used as a basis for the story "Botany Bay".

In "Beyond Pluto" by Gregory Benford, we are at the edge of our solar system and life or something close to it has been found on Pluto. Two scientific expeditions work together to try to learn where the life-forms are coming from and are they related to the cascade of energy approaching our system.

This is a strong collection and one that is sure to please the reader who enjoys hard SF. There are good strongly drawn characters, well thought out plots, and ideas that you can think about for a long time after you finish the story. I know I'm still worried about what my washing machine might be telling other appliances about me.

Toni Weisskopf is the Executive Director at Baen books, one of the premier Science Fiction publishers. She also appears to be a SiFi fan and has been collecting short stories to anthologize. In this Cosmic Tales series she first collected a series of stories about Adventures in Sol System. Now she has collected stories set further out. As she says in the Introduction - I share with you stories about what happens when we escape the Sun's pull and explore the galazy, fulfilling our destiny.

About half of the authors come from the Baen stable of writers: James P. Hogan, Dave Freer, Eric Flint, Gregory Benford. Other writers are: Mark L. Van Name, Debra Doyle, James D. Macdonald, Paul Chafe.

The stories have a broad range, with the only common thread being that they are located outside the orbit of Pluto, outside the Oort Cloud where the comets live. Enjoyable reading.

75 of the most famous Old Testament stories. Some with great illustrations, others...not so exciting. I'm not a religious person and do not know much about the bible, I found this book is a great starter for the older learner interested in reading the 'classics' of the bible. The stories have been adapted to our modern 'tongue' allowing smooth reading. An additional benefit of this version is the illustrations give an interesting (the artist's) perspective on the various themes. The print is easy to read and the paper quality is excellent.

Still, with a text of this sort, I would have expected more. Their is only the briefest of commentary by the author. I find commentary the most interesting aspect of the bible as each story has layers of meaning and multiple interpretations. Additionally I would have enjoyed more about the work of art being displayed, historical context, bio of the artist, etc; some tangible information to bring further meaning to the subject matter art and artist.

In short, for those with an eye for art, it's a great for read of the classics of the bible.

The thing that I liked most about this book is that the artwork was exceptional. The stories have been told again and again, but the visual images bring the stories to life. The geneology chart in the front is a nice touch for anyone interested in passing the book down as an heirloom. Overall, it is a priceless purchase for any Jewish family.

As a point of sale book this is ok. It's a nice sized compilation of jokes tht make men look bad. Good for the traveler looking ro kill a few hours on a plane, train or bus. Perhaps something to carry around in a purse or bag for killing time while waiting for an appointment. A gift, perhaps, for the person who gets a joke book every two or three years.
James Buffington, author
Politically Incorrect Liberal Obama Jokes: Funny Liberal Bashing Done in Good Humor; Barack Obama Jokes, Congress, Rev. Wright, & Democrats

This is screamingly funny, and you don't even have to worry if the men in your life see the book lying around--they won't get most of the jokes!

RhodeIslandiana is a humorous satire of Rhode Island. It is a contemporary and historical miscellany written as memoir. The incidents have been collected from more than thirty-five years of observation. The book is a roast of Rhode Island with the serious intent of reform of a culture of corruption but in which humor predominates---and expressed in a drollery that befits the state. All the episodes are true and really happened. Rhode Island is a funny place. This is not known among the states of the Union. Some Americans doubt that it is legally a state, and suppose it to be an aprocryphal small place. RhodeIslandiana resolves the issue with panache.

TR Cattan knows his subject matter. Interesting read with some historical tid bits thrown in for good measure.
Whether or not you are from the State you will enjoy the humor poking fun at Rhode Islanders being Rhode Islandiana's.

If you are mildly depressed, irritable, out of sorts, impatient with employees or your partner, and it has gone on for a long, long time, you may have dysthmic disorder. DD is a low level, chronic mood malfunction, nowhere near as severe as a major depression, bi-polar disease, or other macro-behavioural problems, but it is real and persistent and does not usually go away on its own. Whereas other disorders come and go over months, DD trudges on for years. As with other psychiatric problems, it is difficult for the affected individual to recognize that it is happening, but it can wreak havoc on a life. Alcohol or drug abuse are not infrequent results. An estimated 3-5 percent of American adults, twice as many women as men, suffer from this illness. A low self image, inability to finish tasks, bristling defensive behaviour and other symptoms can make the DD sufferer a royal pain in the butt to live with. Hirschfield offers effective self-help advice, and information about professional treatment and medications available if that is your bag. If you or someone you love might have DD, check this one out. It worked for me.

I bought this book because there was a point in my life after 4 kids and a divorce that I felt "blue" most everyday. This book was very helpful with tips and insight, After a second marriage where the blended family thing was a problem, I read this book a lot. It has been was a very hekpful book for me to read to understand depression and the different causes and types.

This work will guide you into the massive amount of ancient textual material that is relevant to understanding the ancient world of the Hebrew Bible and the resources that are available with respect to such literature. In addition to extensive bibliographic information regarding the resources available in multiple languages, Sparks provides relatively brief descriptions of various resources and categories of resources, which is very helpful as an introduction.

In addition to summarizing the ancient literature, he sometimes comments on the particular significance of such literature for the study of the Hebrew Bible (eg, love poetry). He seems to have a predisposition to conclude that the Hebrew Bible is specifically modeled on other similar literature, sometimes based simply upon such similarity (eg, king lists and geneologies) but the bottom line is that this is a valuable reference guide whether one agrees with Sparks' suggestions or not. In the preface, he says there will be a forthcoming companion volume in which he will focus on examining the Hebrew Bible in light of the literary context referenced in this book.

A nice collection of drinking jokes, witticisms and 'toons. Nut much of a drinker myself, but for those who appreciate the beer culture this looks like an excellent volume. Good as a gift, I think, as well. recommended.
James Buffington, author
Politically Incorrect Liberal Obama Jokes: Funny Liberal Bashing Done in Good Humor; Barack Obama Jokes, Congress, Rev. Wright, & Democrats

I had read many CGI and Perl books and I found this is one of the best. Most books give you either CGI or Perl, not both. This book comes really handy if you are using CGI and Perl to build interactive forms for the web. You will become an expert in no time. Some books just give you too much detail and the reader have to filter out the contents. This one points directly to the important elements and believe me; it saves me a lots of time. The examples also took away the complexity and makes CGI and Perl feel right at home. This is the only book that brings to a happy marriage of CGI and Perl. I highly recommend it to anyone from beginning to advanced.

I recently attended a talk given by Dr. Jerry Pournelle, the science fiction and popular science writer. He told us about attending a conference on colonizing the moon in which the then head of NASA made the comment that he could not imagine how anyone would want to live on the moon. Pournelle said he felt like a provincial bishop who went to Rome and discovered that the Pope was an atheist. The editor and contributors to this original anthology are on Pournelle's side. In these stories and articles, they imagine what it would be like to live and work in the Solar System.
The contributors are a mix of science fiction writers who were both familiar and not familiar to me. I have read novels by Charles Sheffield, James Hogan, Jack McDevitt, Allen Steele, John Ringo, and Gregory Benford. The ones not already familiar to me were Travis Taylor, Margaret Ball, Wen Spencer, Rebecca Lickiss, and Paul Chafe. In addition to their stories, Taylor and Chafe contributed articles explaining the science behind their fiction.
Some of the stories are parts of a series. "McAndrew and THE LAW", which would be significant if only because Charles Sheffield finished it shortly before his death last year, features a character, Arthur Morton McAndrew, whom Sheffield used in many stories and considered his alter ego. A physicist, Sheffield's fiction is solidly grounded in contemporary science. "Jailhouse Rock" by James Hogan features a character he created for a series inspired by "The Saint", created by Leslie Charteris. It takes place on a future Mars that is the site of a thriving colony. Allen Steele's "High Roller" is part of his "Near Space" future history, and the setting is a casino located on the Moon.
The funniest and shortest story is "Moon Monkeys" by Wen Spencer. It concerns the attempts to import monkeys into a moon colony. The story that affected me the most was "Windows" by Jack McDevitt. It takes place entirely on Earth, but in a future in which humanity has completely withdrawn from space. "Time in Purgatory" by Rebecca Lickiss is a western transplanted to the Kuiper Belt, the region of space between Neptune's orbit and true interstellar space, and the main character is the female sheriff of a space station.
On the other hand, "Earth's First Improved Chimp Gets a Job as a Janitor" by John Ringo really does not fit the theme, although it is a good story. The two main characters are a human being and a chimpanzee. Both of them have been genetically engineered, making them social misfits, and they become friends. My only objection to its inclusion is that it has nothing to do with the future of space exploration and colonization. The only story I actually disliked was Gregory Benford's "Blood's a Rover", which I found unreadable. It is an excerpt from a forthcoming novel that I'll remember to avoid.
However, it is rare that I like all stories in any anthology, so I feel I can recommend this book. Most of the stories are enjoyable, and the reader may actually learn something.