Full Books

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER!! THIS SERIES WAS BY FAR THE BEST I'VE EVER READ!! It was funny, then sad. It sent me through a rollercoaster of emotions. I laughed, I cried. It's so..difficult to express just how much I enjoyed this series. The characters are unforgettable. The ending is original and satisfying-there's an unexpected twist, it's really happy..yet sad D: *sigh* I really can't explain how wonderful the series was, so you'll have to read it yourself to find out.
*This series was EXTREMELY GOOD, but really sad too!! Books 3-7 had me crying throughout almost the whole things-but it was a good thing!! trust me (Although crying usually isn't associated with good, but really, it's great!!)

erm...well, in short-READ THIS SERIES!! IT IS THE BEST, I PROMISE, AND I'VE READ 'EM ALL :D

I loved this story and the final one had a twist I trully didn't expect. It was exciting and wonderful. I hope others enjoy this story as much as I did.

A master of language and emotional nuance, Caley's poetry is something you must experience. I was lucky enough to have shared a couple of creative writing classes with Caley back in high school, and even then he was nothing short of brilliant. As a teen, he wrote: "I rember when childhood flowed like rings in wood", or something like that...causing me to abandon the idea of writing poetry, just like the art of Jimi Hendrix compelled players to hang up their guitars. I'm proud to see his work published. He will amaze you.

What amazes me about this collection is its ability to connect with the reader on so many different levels. O'Dwyer evokes a psychological landscape with honesty, humor and generosity. But these are not sentimental poems. The beauty of the language carries with it a sense of urgency that give the poems edge. O'Dwyer's subjects are diverse as well. He explores relationships concerning family, childhood, love and geography (Texans, take notice!). However, the poems delineate a space that transcends these categories, a truly incredible feat for any book of poetry. These are the kind of poems that do not get old, that keep on giving through third, fourth and fifth readings. After each reading, I am gratified that the world can be re-made into something quirky, unexpected and new.

After admitting I haven't tried all the recipes, I have eaten at a new restaurant at Downtown Disney, an Irish Pub, Raglan Road, where it's Chef is Dundon. Shepherds pie was wonderful as was the fish chowder, though it's called 'Not fish chowder". They were out of the cookcook so I came to Amazon.
I can't wait to try more... Nice reworkings of Irish cuisine and a beautiful book, too.

`Full On Irish' by Irish Michelin starred chef, Kevin Dundon is the third book of Irish `haute cuisine' recipes I have reviewed and it comes the closest to what I would expect from such a book. It is definitely superior to `New Irish Cookery' by Irish / Canadian chef / restauranteur / culinary TV hosts Paul and Jeanne Rankin, but a bit less rich in information than `Elegant Irish Cooking' by culinary scholar, teacher and professional chef, Noel C. Cullen Ed.D, CMC, AAC. But, it is by far the very best cookbook if all you want is modern Irish recipes.

One immensely refreshing fact I have seen with several Irish cookbooks recently is that they typically have a relatively low list price. This book, which, if done by a notable chef from Chicago or Savannah or San Francisco, would easily cost $35 or more, lists for a mere $25. Since this may be construed in part as an advertisement for the author's restaurant, Dundon is following Emeril Lagasse's model by keeping such books with promotional content relatively low. The amazing thing is that there is practically no self-congratulatory material here. It is all about the recipes and the Irish artisinal products, which is largely based on farmhouse cheese production, free-range poultry, and seafood farming.

The heart of the matter, of course is the recipes, and this is what impresses me most about the book. For starters, the book has been edited carefully to adapt all measurements and terms to an American audience. Second, and probably more importantly, these recipes are exactly the kind I look for in such a `modern take on traditional cuisines' book. All the recipes are based on both strong Irish raw materials doing variations on a lot of traditional Irish dish styles and cooking techniques. My favorite is the new take on boxty, the Irish potato pancake, done in the form of a potato salad. Third, almost all recipes, especially the ones for soups, starters, and `light bites' are relatively simple, and virtually all recipes seem to follow a similar style of execution.

My only very minor complaint about the recipes is that either by chance or by a little cultural borrowing, chef Dundon gives us a potato omelet which is virtually identical to the very famous `tortilla a la espanola' or potato frittata of Spanish tapas bar fame. The recipe is given with not a wink or a nod to the fact that this is a very famous Spanish dish, and the fact that Irish potatoes are its main ingredient is simply a coincidence.

In every other way, this is an excellent book for fans of Irish cooking. I was especially intrigued by the kitchen garden vegetable stock, which is correctly cooked only a short time, but held to infuse for several hours before filtering. This star of the larder chapter may in itself be worth the price of the book for serious foodies.

If all you want is a few traditional Irish recipes for the middle of March, this may be just a bit too much, but even if that is what you want, this book will still stand you in good stead with useful year round recipes, especially for shell fish, cheeses, and vegetables.

Highly recommended.

Amazon doesn't seem to like my review of THE FULL SPECTRUM, so please check it out on the TeensReadToo dot com website. This is a great book, and you deserve to read the review.

So what happens when you gather up a group of young, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and other label-full or label-free writers and ask them to share a real life experience to be published in a book?
ANSWER:
The Full Spectrum.
A collection of non-fiction stories that can be found in the fiction section of your favorite library or bookstore.
Why the fiction section you ask?
Fiction sells.
Anthologies come and go, come and go, usually unnoticed and dammit!- we don't want this book to just `go'. We need its readers to find it first. This book is out there so that you realize, finally realize that you're not alone. Oh sure, your closet's cramped, there's no leg room in that 4X4 box that only fits you and your fears but...the book is small. Structured perfectly to fit the hands of anyone who wants to let a little laughter, a little heartache, a little hope and reality into their life.
The writers...yes, we're young. Teenagers and random 20-somethin' year olds, but our stories(experiences) are ageless.
So, look for the heartbreakingly beautiful book chock-full `o non-fiction in the fiction section of any store that sells books.
We wanted to share a little piece of ourselves with you and if you go to [...], you're welcome to share with each of us as well.

Full Story Inside is easily the best book I have read this year. It is best described as a fast action packed thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Just as with Dan Brown's work you are left to ponder over a number of messages here - i.e. the power of the Media to manipulate and destroy individuals and then secondly to read up some more on the historical conspiracy theories surrounding Mary Queen of Scots. The plot knits together really well and keep you intrigued throughout (I really did not guess who The Mole was going to be). The central villain (Arturo Tabb) is a wonderful creation and you really do live out the whole fugitive on the run feeling of Alex Hart, with a deadly assassin in pursuit. Despite the Dan Brown type theme, I would hold up the writing of Full Story Inside as highly original. Boy would this make an amazing movie!!

Full Story Inside is a snappy fast paced thriller not dissimilar in style to a Simon Kernick novel. It starts with the trademark modern day thriller opening, a dead body. The Police seem to be happy to write it off as an accident, but a local journalist digs a little deeper and soon he's got more than he bargained for.
There are a lot of characters popping in and out of the story but it's never difficult to keep track of who they are. It's working out what their dirty secrets are that provides much of the fun in this book. The second half is very much a race-against-time action piece, with the main character Alex Hart and his ex love Jane Coker being chased by a ruthless assassin to stop them uncovering the truth.
Although the author doesn't have the military background knowledge of someone like Kernick he more than makes up for it with some excellent historical reasearch which is ultimately at the core of the story.
Overall a very decent modern day "hunt for the truth" type thriller. Well recommended.

A 50 year history of the development of the Medical Specialist, and the role of the General Practitioner of Medicine, from the experience of an 80 year old Physician MD, who has continued his medical education, and has maintained his license to practice.

Details of the practice of medicine in Norfolk, Virginia, including the major hospitals and many prominent MD's. The chapters are diversified dealing with the Art and Practice of Medicine, emphasizing how experience creates the very best Physicians. Educational to pre-med and medical students, as well as graduate MDs, and yet is written so that a lay person can easily comprehend.

It's all non-fiction with chapters on fascinating, rare, complex, or very interesting medical cases, many of which remain relevant in the practice of medicine today. Dr. Whitmore expresses opinions and beliefs based on his experience as a classic MD, who made "house calls", a concept all but eliminated by the norms of medical practices today. The chapter on "Allergy To What?" illustrates that only by making a house call can physicians discover the problem allergen. There are chapters on humor, and a beautiful love story entitled "My Wife", all making for a comfortable arm chair read, and a wonderful tribute to the practice of medicine by M.D.'s who could take the time to get personal and involved with their patients.

Physicians and health professionals, regardless of their areas of expertise, will undoubtedly benefit from the medical experiences and opinions that Dr. William H. Whitmore portrays so effectively in his book entitled Full Time Doctors An Endangered Species. He acknowledges that before the birth of "specialists," physicians with less experience would seek help from older, wiser, and more experienced colleagues if they could not deal with a specific problem. After thirty-five years as a General Practitioner where he treated patients wholly, doing minor surgeries, delivering babies, and diagnosing health problems, the author retired due to some serious health problems. The period of time during which he and many others practiced medicine is often referred to as the "Golden Years." Although, there continues to be wonderful advances in science and medicine, this era that he refers to is over. The author reminds readers that too many doctors just "don't do windows," and instead of treating individuals in their offices for conditions that they are quite capable of handling, they often choose to refer patients to one or more specialists.

Dr. Whitmore describes the changes that have progressively taken place throughout the years in regard to how and where physicians are trained and how and where patients receive medical care. With such evolution, some changes, such as the advances in technology are exciting; however, others convey a personal sense of loss. Because my doctors don't do windows, I have been referred to specialist after specialist for various health problems, and since none of these physicians truly knew my entire medical history--or me--there have been some negative results.

Even though I am not a physician, I found many of the medical cases that Dr. Whitmore writes about to be fascinating. Reading how he solved medical puzzles was entertaining, educational and personally reassuring. He honestly states that he "learned" the art of practicing medicine and, just as he sought advice from more experienced physicians in his early years of practice, he was soon sharing his insight and experience with newer generations of physicians. In writing Full Time Doctors An Endangered Species, he continues to do this, offering life-saving lessons and his own unique medical experiences that need to be passed on to today's medical students. This book is a valuable resource that, in my opinion, should be required reading for students who wants the benefits of Dr. Whitmore's years of "learned expertise" before they even began the art of practicing medicine.

Whether reading how the author assisted physicians in diagnosing members of his own family, participated in some rather unusual autopsies, showed examples of effective "old time" remedies, communicated with patients as he diagnosed their conditions, dealt with rare diseases and infections, described how one patient was scared to death, reminisced about former employees, shared stories of memorable recoveries as well as the emotions involved in losing patients, readers will respect this doctor and his contributions to society. He describes his relationship with his father, who was also a physician, and the wonderful life that he enjoys with his wife of fifty-five years. Not surprisingly, he continues to keep up with all the medical advances, and, although retired, maintains his license to practice medicine and surgery.

When Dr. Whitmore describes his own serious illnesses, he is open and honest. I was intrigued that he admitted not having good rapport with a particular neurosurgeon and thus engaged the services of a different physician in this field. This sends an important message to all readers of this book. Don't settle when it comes to your health!

This is a book that I highly recommend; within the pages, there is wit and wisdom that needs to be absorbed and utilized. As I read each chapter, I found myself wishing more and more that I could find a physician who practices medicine as Dr. Whitmore did until his retirement. But, as the title suggests, he is "an endangered species." I find this sad and also more than a little frightening.

An Independent Professional Reviewer

Susan Mallery is one of my favorite authors once again she didn't disappoint me...

I have this book in it's original Silhouette version. It is on my "KEEPER" shelf. I am considering buying the newer and possibly updated version to KEEP. Mallery is a writer that keeps you engrossed in her books...you can't put them down.
Lighthearted..Sexy...Suspense in some of them, but, this is the book that got me hooked on reading her books.

This book is a great story about Sunday dinner at Grannie's house. Jay Jay's mother drops him off at Grannie's house one morning while she goes off to pick up his father. Jay Jay helps his grandmother set the table and feed her fish, but he's quite hungry. Finally, the rest of the dinner guests arrive and they sit down to enjoy a spectacular feast together. After dinner, everyone is full, happy, and tired. The book is engaging and not at all scary. It has about 500 words.

Very sweet book with beautiful illustrations. My "almost three year old" loves it. We cuddle and hug while we read it like they do in the book. The author portrays the importance of family gathering for dinner and bonding with one another.

I haven't used any of the pictures for projects yet but I have enjoyed just looking at the beautiful, romantic vignettes.

Im new at decoupage and finding good images in the craft stores in my area is not a good thing..Im so glad I found these books..this one..is sweet..precious,very useful...colors are perfection as well as the images..Im so glad to have it now.B.W.

This is one of the best books by Ms Grafton. The images are colorful, sharp, and clear. Ms Grafton provides authentic advertisements from the turn-of-the-century, as well as furniture, cars, luggage, and cigar ads. Many of the graphics are old photographs. This decoupage book is simply beautiful and very useful, also containing the old stand-bys such as holidays,butterflies and flowers. Highly recommended!

These quaint old victorian vignettes in bright colors are perfect for collages and scrap books. Victorian era lovers, this is for you!