On-the-tape

Absolute Certainty by Rose Connors is a gem of a crime novel.
It is well written, fast paced and you really feel you know the characters by the end of the book. Once I started reading it I could not put it down. The identity of the killer was an incredible surprise. I recommended this book highly and can't wait to read more about Marty Nickerson's adventures in Rose Connors' next book!

I read at least one crime novel each week to the point I have to keep a list of those read so I don't walk out of the library or store with a previously read book under my arm. This list has grown to nine pages and 74 authors. Without a doubt Absolute Certainty ranks right up there with the best of them. I found it riviting and was unable to put it down except to eat and sleep.To be sure I am a Cape Codder, and the fact that I am familiar with the locale and have served on a jury in the courthouse described perhaps heightened my interest but I can assure the next reader that the author has done a marvelous job of setting the scene, establishing the characters, and spinning a yarn that very likely could have happened here. Spellbinding.

Interestingly, I met Rose Connors at a mystery author booksigning at a little bookstore in Brewster, MA. She was there with Philip Craig whose work I have read and enjoyed. He strongly suggested Ms. Connors work so I picked it up and looked it over. On the cover is a brief review by Perri O'Shuaghnessy whose latest book was my beach read at the time! I happen to love mystery stories. Well, let me tell you, this book is GREAT! It is so well written, the characters come to life. the story is fast paced - a real page turner!! I was actually reading the book while the RED SOX game was on and I am a huge Red Sox fan!! I just could not put this book down! I cannot wait to read Ms. Connors latest work.

This book contains large amounts of interesting and important information about dyslexia, much of which is not readily available elsewhere. It will be of interest to dyslexics, the friends and family of dyslexics, teachers, education administrators, and indeed to anyone who wonders about how people learn and how people think.

One particularly attractive feature of the book is that it covers many areas of concern: not just the science of dyslexia, but also the techniques of testing for dyslexia and teaching to dyslexics, the social and personal implications of dyslexia, policy and administrative implications of dyslexia, effective advocacy for a dyslexic child, misconceptions about dyslexia, and so forth. A special treat is the epilogue, which provides the life stories of seven dyslexics who have been extraordinarily successful as authors, physicians, businesspersons, or politicians. I particularly note that many of these successful people regard dyslexia not as a burden to overcome, but as a gift that forces them to think where others rely on rote memorization.

I bought this book because my son is dyslexic. After reading it, I am also nearly convinced that I am dyslexic. (Before you read too much into genetics, let me tell you that my son is adopted.) Other apparent dyslexics I know are my father (a self-made multimillionaire who has difficulty spelling words of four or five letters) and my Ph.D. thesis advisor (a highly creative theoretical physicist, winner of the Wolf Prize and the Boltzmann Metal, who told me not to fret overly about my poor spelling, because "the ability to spell anticorrelates with intelligence").

The book does not deserve five stars, however, because it is seriously schizophrenic. Most of the book, particularly parts I, II, and IV, takes the position that there are many different kinds of students, who enter school with a variety of backgrounds and a variety of objectives, and that this variety demands a variety of teaching approaches. For example:

"Every child is different." (page 193)

"There is no one perfect school environment that will suit every child." (page 302)

"Good readers and dyslexic readers follow very different pathways to adult reading." (page 314)

They are poor schools that "pride themselves on uniformity." (page 297)

My observations, both as a parent and as a teacher, support the soundness of these conclusions. After all, every shirt manufacturer knows that it's *not* true that "one size fits all". If we need variety in such a simple thing as shirt sizing, isn't it clear that we also need variety in something as complex as thinking, teaching, and learning?

Yet part of Shaywitz's book (much of part III) flatly rejects this need for variety and replaces it with a doctrinaire insistence that there is only one way to learn reading, namely phonics:

"A young child *must* develop phonemic awareness if he is to become a reader." (page 51)

The child "must understand that spoken words come apart" into short sounds. (page 176)

"All children must master the same elements." (page 262)

Fluency training "invariably works." (page 273)

"It is only by reading aloud...that real gains are noted." (page 235)

"There is no other way." (page 263)

It is abundantly clear that such statements are dead false: deaf children do not -- cannot -- learn to read by associating letters with sounds, as phonics demands. Furthermore, I assure you that I do not read this way. I simply do not understand the complex rules about vowels on pages 200 and 201 -- rules that Shaywitz claims *must* be understood by second graders to enable them to read. (While reading these rules, I could only think that, in comparison, quantum mechanics is utterly trivial.) Perhaps this is related to the fact that I've never been able to play a musical instrument, or to sing, or even to hum. But surely I am a counterexample to this arrogant insistence that "there is no other way".

Shaywitz claims that her insistence on phonics as the only way to learn is supported by the report of National Reading Panel. In fact, that panel draws exactly the opposite conclusion, namely that "Not all children learn in the same way and one strategy does not work for all children."

It may well be that deaf people and I don't read as efficiently as other people do. It may well be that phonics is the most efficient place to start when attempting to teach a child to read. But to insist, as Shaywitz does, that it's the place to start *and* the place to stop is contrary to both common sense and the evidence.

The book's dual-headed character is sometimes frightening in its contradictions. On page 358 Shaywitz recounts vividly how awful it is for dyslexics to be forced to read aloud in class. (The same can be said for those with speech impediments, for those with non-standard accents, for poor readers who are not dyslexic, and for those who are just plain shy.) And on page 235 she writes with pride that, due to her contributions to the "No Child Left Behind Act", soon all children will be forced to read aloud in class.

The tragedy is that due to the adoption of the "No Child Left Behind Act", and due to impending changes in the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", our country is moving away from the sound practice of "one strategy does not work for all children" and towards the one-size-fits-all doctrine of "there is no other way."

Are you an otherwise intelligent adult who loses words right before you speak them, switching one word for another? Do you read arduously and slowly? Do you use simple words because you are afraid of mispronouncing the better word you are thinking of? Do you forget people's names easily? Are you a poor speller? Where you in remedial reading as a child? Are you creative and do you think outside of the box? All of these things may mean that Shaywitz's book is for you.

This book explains what dyslexia is, how to spot it in yourself and you children, and ways to help a child who has it. Educators and parents would do well to read this book and have a working knowledge of the issues at stake; lifelong patterns of frustration and low self-esteem can be averted when a responsible educator can spot and understand dyslexia in a child.

Adults with dyslexia are not given solutions in the book, per se, but are directed to important resources. For example, Thumbprint Mysteries are recommended for adults with dyslexia (books available on Amazon). In this respect, Overcoming Dyslexia differs from other books on the subject, such as "The Gift of Dyslexia" which provide exercises to assist the adult learner.

The first few chapters of the book demonstrate how dyslexia can be clinically diagnosed. Any of you who know or sense that you have dyslexia, know the frustration of having a disadvantage that can not be diagnosed. Shaywitz points to solid scientific research (brain scans and MRIs) which illustrate the reality of dyslexia.

The epilogue will be quite encouraging to anyone who has dyslexia and who wants to read the testimonies of famous and brilliant people who have also suffered with it. When I read this section, I felt like I was connecting with a secret society of friends who all shared the same feelings and setbacks I had lived with all my life. That good and intelligent people can struggle with the same thing I fight with makes for a sight of hope. Dyslexic thinkers can be quite creative as one part of their brain has been trained to compensate for the lack in another.

This book is a wonderful tool, I hope many will find it and use it.

I lov tu reed noww. Thee bok tot me howww to reeed andd wite good!

This is the best Wimsey book not featuring sometime-fellow-sleuth Harriet Vane which Sayers ever wrote. Not terribly serious, but great entertainment. I've read this book 6 times because it's just so much fun. Written in 1933, IMHO Sayers' prime, Wimsey is far more human and less of a caricature than in the early books, but much less goopy than in her latest books. The dialogue is a treat, even minor characters are exquisitely drawn, and the in-jokes at the advertising biz (Sayers worked as a copywriter herself for a while) are utterly hilarious. Plus, there's a puzzling, neatly-solved mystery. And even though I don't play cricket and don't understand the game, I adored the pivotal cricket game scene: Sayers at her best. My only complaint is the total absence of the delightful Bunter. THis is definitely the book to read first if you'r e interested in Sayers. Then read the Strong Poison-Have His Carcase-Gaudy Night trilogy. These are, IMHO, her four best books, and of the four, Murder Must Advertise is definitely the most charming and light-hearted.

Tightly written and featuring Sayers' gentlemanly sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey at his self-mocking best, Murder Must Advertise is generally regarded as Sayers' finest work in the genre. Several of Sayers murder mysteries--most notably Gaudy Night--achieve much of their effect via unusual settings and atmosphere, and Murder Must Advertise presents us with a mystery set in a 1930s advertising agency, a circumstance that not only gives the reader insight into a world that the author knew first-hand, but allows Sayers to satirize the business of advertising itself. Charming, witty, peopled with interesting characters doing interesting things, and thoroughly fun to read.

Lord Peter has the rare and highly enjoyable (for himself and the reader) opportunity to play a dual role in this book: himself and his "cousin," Death Bredon. This plot device would be perfected decades later when Peter Brady simultaneously kept dates with two girls, but Ms. Sayers acquits herself admirably in this novel.

An author who frequently made her novels deliver more than just a solid whodunit, Sayers gives the reader a fly-on-the-wall view of an advertising agency in this book. Having worked on the production side of several publications I can verify that her descriptions are spot on. Sayers also includes a couple editorial asides (in the guise of internal soliloquies) about rampant consumerism and middle-class aspirations to luxury and first class footwear. They're as true today as they were in 1930's (and probably the 17- and 1830's as well). And if you hated the idea of The Beatles' music being used to hawk cars, you can imagine how consumers of a previous age felt to see the works of Shakespeare or Tennyson used to promote nerve powder. This is all to say that this novel's verisimilitude has weathered the years exceedingly well.

The central mystery - who slew Victor Dean - gets lost occasionally in the goings-on at the ad agency, but Wimsey, er Bredon, er whoever, is always at work, picking up the odd clue here and there as he goes. Even when the depth of the crime grows - to multiple murders and drug trafficking - Sayers keeps bringing it back to Dean's murder. By the end of the cricket match I found myself floored that I almost understood the game, but also by the way Sayers expertly wove in two crucial revelations about the mystery.

I was satisfied with the story's conclusion. At first the ending seemed cold-blooded and -hearted, but upon reflection I realized that the resolution was well forshadowed - if Wimsey's middle name were Steve it'd be another matter, perhaps. Although we'd spent most of the book with the impish, playful side of Lord Peter, there's another side to his character which values honor most and is not above going beyond the law to preserve it.

If you're not a Dorothy Sayers fan you should probably get to know her detective in an earlier work like Strong Poison first. Then, once you're comfortable with his character, give this novel a read. If you are a Sayers fan, why aren't you reading this book already? 9 out of 10 readers agree, this is a five-star mystery.

Cute, funny, poignant, sad, etc.--all the adjectives you would expect to describe a book like this. Effie Wilder takes us on a tour of the retirement home and introduces us to her friends and acquaintences. Being able to take people's stories and use them to make people smile is what makes books such as this so endearing and special to read.

In this, her first book, the author uses her own experiences in a retirement home to illustrate her story. Her main character, Hattie, is a lovable & outgoing busybody, a habitual eavesdropper and journal writer, recording the day to day activities with a sense of humor and sometimes with a touch of sadness. She shows us that 's it's still possible to have a rich and meaningful life, no matter what one's age, with the right attitude. A good, clean book ( I especially enjoyed the humor and the light poetry).

I bought this book at a time when I could see that we were going to have to find a new, safe place for Mother to live. However, she resisted the thought of moving to an "Old Folks Home", as she put it. She had also fallen into the "I don't want to go anywhere, because it takes too much effort" routine. Since she has always been a very sociable person, she fell into a deep depression. As I read this book to her, we both saw that there was a better alternative for her, as she was not so far along, physically and mentally, as to need a nursing home. After she moved into The Reunion Inn, in Marshall, Tx., I started reading to the residents from this book on a weekly basis. I am scheduled on their monthly calendar as "The Whimsical Reader." The book has allowed the residents to recall a lot of memories, as well as opening their eyes to the humor around them. It has also given them ideas as to how The Reunion Inn can be improved for their convenience. They really liked the idea of the benches across from the cafeteria line. Reading to the residents has given me the opportunity to get to know them better than I probably would have otherwise. This book has given such pleasure to all of us that The Reunion Inn is going to buy the rest of the books in the series so that I can continue reading to their guests. I recommend this book to anyone facing the possibility of moving into or placing their parent in an assisted living facility. It certainly made the decision easier for us.

I agree that this is an amazing book. It is the best of the series, I think. I've read them all except the last two, so we'll see what those are like. Anyway, it's a lot like the other first people books - competition for power and competition to maintain survival of a certain kind of people and their way of life. But this is more poignant because we know that this Pueblo civilization vanished with hardly a trace. They were a great and sophisticated nation but that didn't slow down their extinction. The book is a page-turner and I highly recommend it.

People of the Wolf is such a good book. It has everything, love, adventure, hate, passion. It is mind blowing....cant wait to read People of the Lightning. I would recommend this book to everyone. The authors should take a bow...

I will read anything about the American Southwest. I love it out there, and this book took me back there to Big Sky Country. This book gets back to the old style, The One, Power, Spiral, Singers, Wolfdreamer...and a very, very, clever way to tie this story to some events in "River".
Oh yeah, along the way there is a twisting plot about a killer, a madman ruler and a mystery about who's child is that of a ruler.
Great read!

The whole Wingman series is great, but Sky Ghost and Return of the Sky Ghost really put a new twist into the story line. I am dying for the next installment to come out to find out how it ends!

I HAVE READ JUST BOUT EVERY WINGMAN BOOK WRITTEN AND AFTER I ORDER THESE MY QUEST WILL BE COMPLETE. MACK MALONEY IS A TRUE AMERICAN AND HIS BOOKS PROVE IT. HIS BOOKS WILL MAKE YOUR IMAGINATION SOAR. THANKS MACK.

I have read all 15 of the "Wingman" series books and they are great. They are the type of books, once you start reading, you can't put it down until you finish. There is never a dull moment. Again, I wish the film industry would make a series, such as they did with " Star Wars or Star Trek". I hope Mack will keep writing as I love his books.

This book is entertaining and well written. The stories used to illustrate the points made are usually an adventure in themselves. Richard Marcinko practices what he preaches and this book will tell you how to do the same. This is an easy to read guide to being successful and the best book of its' kind I have ever read. This gives the reader the no excuses, no BS way to succeed. Buy this book!

I've read them all...leadership and business books that is. They all seem to rehash the same ideas and concepts in the same way. Not Marcinko. This is the no B.S. approach to success. If you want to be inspired, and get practical ideas from someone who has acheived success against tremendous odds, this book is for you. If you are faint of heart, and can't take some straight talk, then you might want to read some scholarly piece by a Harvard MBA instead.

When I first put this tape in I thought to myself what the heck is this guy going on about. But I kept on going. It will grow on you. Richard's navy seal strategy to success is definitely one of the original motivational tapes out there. With a warriors attitude and what the author describes as "Testical Fortitude" you know your in for a ride. The author takes real navy missions and turns them into business strategies. With a philosophy of breaking rules only hurts the person who made the rules Richard just puts a foot in the face of whoever stands in the way. Dont be a follower. Set the standard not live up to it. Its a very inspiring look at a different approach to success. Exciting and motivating.

This is easily the most satisfying tale I've read in a very long time. Rambunctious and witty, vastly imaginative, racingly-paced, and always downright funny, Stolen from Gypsies is a book for anyone who loves a great yarn spun with great skill. The author is drunk like a lord on the rich, mad joy of the English language itself, but not only can he hold his liquor, he turns the wildness of our words, old and new, into pure, narrative gold. This book is no spare, dry, modern comment on our brief, contemporary moment; it's a hot-blooded, hip-wading, sly-winking romp through the rich, roiling tradition of hundreds of years of broadly comic tale-telling. Full of exaggerated characters with outrageous names who do, say, and think extraordinary things, and written with appreciable literary and historical wisdom and wit, this story is firmly rooted in what everyone will recognize and appreciate as the ancient tradition of classically good storytelling.

Have you been yearning for an irrepresibly laugh-out-loud tale which steeps you in history and adventure, cozies you near and dear to absurd characters, bashes you good-naturedly about the head with old English slang, and goads you into turning the pages in equal measure of curiosity, surprise, and happy contentment of perhaps the most familiar, well-loved experience language can give us--the pleasure of a great story wondrously unfolding? Then you'll love this book; it's a true pleasure.

Post-note for all you hybridization fans: think Anthony Burgess's "Nothing Like the Sun" (a brilliant masterpiece) crossed with something more outright comic--the Monty Python movie epics will have to do for now. Maybe another reader will come up with the perfect title here...

A completely first-rate novel, sublime in richly historical hysterical characterizations. In his first novel, Noble Smith fashions a completely original story-within-a-story. The subject, a smart and thumping love story which leaves you both wildly entertained, expanded in your vocabulary, and just a little more informed about the wild turns of history which by only the smallest chance may have turned out quite different for all of us.
Smith's 'Gypsy' character breathes hope into our sometimes gray hearts that we all have, deep inside of us, an erudite, bold gypsy inner-being longing to break free from the humps which define us to sing our passions to the world. The story is told smartly through a decrepit writer-in-exile's re-telling of this fantastic story to his servant. With joy we watch the transformation both he and his main character makes throughout the book, tying up spectacularly in the end.
Stolen By Gypsies is a read which will keep you on the edge of your seat, as empassioned as the Gypsy character who is striving to become his complete self. Highly recommended reading. Waiting anxiously for his next novel.

Noble Smith has crafted a comic gem steeped in history and infused with decadent wordplay. Daggers and tongues unsheathe with equal exuberance as we hear the tale of the afflicted (struck by love and an inability to articulate) Godfrey's transformation into the loquacious Gypsy. The characters are so richly drawn and the verbal exchanges so wittily executed that the novel plays like a film in the reader's mind ... with many a smile cracked along the way. The guilt of enjoying humour frequently reserved for 12-year-old boys - the breaking of wind, the making of water, the taking of mistress - is alleviated by Smith's brilliant use of language. A treasure tome not to be missed.

Thorne Smith's fantasy of Cosmo Topper and ghostly George and Marion Kerby is more thought provoking than one might expect. Although rich with humor, the story has pensive undertones. The story is of Topper's rebellion against his dull life and marriage. After the wild and crazy Kerby's perish in a road accident, middle-aged Topper buys their repaired sporty automobile. He discovers their ghostly presence, and joins the playful spirits in a road trip that takes up much of the novel. His flirtation with the delectable Marion Kerby may have seemed racy 'way back when, but it is mild stuff today. George Kerby is absent for part of the story. While George is away, Topper and Marion play, mostly at Marion's instigation. The snickering references to drinking, ladies lingerie, and compromising positions offers amusement. One needs to understand the old term "step-ins." Typical of the TV and movie versions, Topper deals with a number of awkward situations when ghostly happenings occur before bewildered onlookers. This evokes chuckles, but there is more of yearning in the book than laugh-out-loud comedy. This book is a beguiling relic of the 1920s. It's worth a look. To enhance your appreciation of the book, avoid the pitfall of preconceived notions based on the films and TV versions. Multiple readings are recommended. ;-)

Who hasn't fallen in love with a ghost at least once in their life?

Topper is absolutely delightful. While in some ways it was considered scandalous at the time, it certainly seems innocent today. It has a lightness and freshness lacking in his later works. Some contemporary readers may be unused to fiction that lacks violence and overt sex, but the appeal of this story is Cosmo's mid-life crisis and its sucessful resolution with the supernatural assistance of a carful of hard-drinking, carefree spirits.

Whoever coined the phrase 'witty repartee' probably had this book in mind. It's a fun read that kept me entertained all the way from Seattle to Virginia.

One word of advice before you start. Smith uses an interesting motif in this book over and over again. Keep your eyes open for it.

Having never heard of the movie, my initial attraction to this book was actually the cover art. Though there really isn't a date given, I pictured it perhaps in the early 1920's, though the depiction of the automobile as some kind of strange novelty probably sets it in the early 1910's.

Perhaps it's a reflection on myself, but I enjoy stories about ordinary people who are stuck in a rut or who have lived their lives having never followed their dreams and who are given one last chance to shine.

The characters and antics are outrageous, yet likable in a strange way. And the story reads pretty quickly.

While reading this book, I pictured elements of the 20's, 50's, and 80's. In fact, I think they should re-make a movie of this book and set it in a "timeless" setting.

Overall, if you're not prejudiced against reading a book written in the 1920's, I'd recommend it.

This is the 4th book in the Shane Scully series, a series that, I think, is getting stronger with each new book, particularly when it comes to the development of Scully, both as a policeman and as a family man. The preceding Shane Scully books are THE TIN COLLECTORS, THE VIKING FUNERAL and HOLLYWOOD TOUGH.

The story opens with all-out action when Vincent Smiley, a cop-hater, decides to wreak his vengeance on the various law enforcement agencies by shooting a sheriff's deputy who tried to serve him with a warrant. The agency actually responsible for the origin of the warrant was the ATF. What the ATF failed to warn the sheriff's department about was that Smiley was suspected of hoarding a huge stockpile of weapons and explosives in his house.

Sheriff's deputies, tactical response teams and the ATF descend on Smiley's house where he is firing indiscriminately from every window, daring the police to attack him. They finally do attack with the result seeing the house with Smiley inside, burning to the ground.

In the aftermath of the incident blame is passed between the elite forces of the sheriff's department and the ATF over the handling of the incident with neither group convinced that the other is telling the truth as to their knowledge about how dangerous Smiley was. What follows would be the police force's worst nightmare when the bad feeling between the two agencies escalates to the brink of outright war when first, a member of the ATF's SRT (Situation Response Team) is shot by a sniper then a member of the sheriff's department's SEB (Special Enforcement Bureau) is shot and killed in exactly the same way.

Shane Scully, as a homicide detective with the LAPD and consequently independent of the two agencies involved, is asked to investigate the original shooting and subsequent fire. The fact is that he is asked to investigate by his boss, who also happens to be his wife, Alexa because she can trust him over all other detectives to get the job done.

Of course, how can he refuse, but what he is not prepared for is the assignation of a partner from the sheriff's department, an IAD officer no less, named Jo Brickhouse. This partnership quickly becomes the classic hate-hate relationship that is to gradually thaw out to respect, admiration and trust. Although it's been done many times before, I thought it was a particularly strong part of the book and helps define Scully both as a police officer and as a family man.

The pressure that Scully comes under in this case is like no other he has experienced before. Firstly, Alexa continually questions his investigation techniques and second guesses him because results don't come quickly enough for her. Secondly, Brickhouse refuses to concede anything to him, particularly not that he might be carrying out a thorough investigation. All of this added pressure creates an atmosphere of desperation that had me hoping just a little harder than usual that Scully would make the right decisions. (Silly me).

I must admit, I saw where this story was going from pretty early on and so, by the time Scully had uncovered the clues and made the earth-shattering revelation, my reaction was merely one of satisfaction that my own sleuthing was vindicated. However, I will pardon Scully for not getting there as quickly as I did, considering the personal pressure he was working under at the time.

This is a highly charged thriller combining an interesting mystery to be solved with strong character interactions. It takes the usual antagonisms between different law enforcement agencies to a new level, turning heroes into villains, at times unjustly. The resolution of Scully's case provides a strong finale followed by a bittersweet ending suggesting the series won't end here.

Veteran voice performer Scott Brick gives an energetic and exciting reading to both the abridged and unabridged versions of Stephen J. Cannell's latest thriller.

In an estimable professional career writer Cannell has created over 40 TV series, including The Rockford files, The A-Team, and The Commish. Such a background serves him well as he effortless segued into novel form introducing LAPD Investigator Shane Scully who is often aided and abetted by his wife, Alexa, also with the LAPD.

Vertical Coffin, the fourth Scully novel, places Scully in a terrifying role - caught between what are apparently two battling agencies - the Sheriff's Department and the ATF.

Trouble began when a psycho with a store of weapons was trapped and evidently killed in his burning house. Shortly thereafter officials of both agencies are shot at and murdered in vertical coffins. With the LAPD the only uninvolved entity Scully enters the case.

But before he can untangle the interlocking layers of deceit he finds his hold on life becoming more tenuous with each day.

Scott Brick has provided a riveting listening experience.

- Gail Cooke

Vertical Coffin is Stephen J. Cannell's best novel so far. We once again get to join Shane Scully in a far reaching and suspenseful investigation. The book demonstrates Cannell's traditional attention to details and riveting plot and well as improved character development. This one is a real page turner. Once I started, I could not put it down and read it cover to cover in a single sitting. Don't miss it.