literature

My six month old daughter starts to giggle and shake when I pull this book out. She loves this book. I read it to her and let her feel all the animals. Everytime I turn the page she squeals with excitement. I love that it is a board book, too. She can hold it and gum it like babies do with EVERYTHING and it is not ruined. This is a real fun book to read to babies. There are never too young. This one is perfect because she can see the pictures and feel all the fur.

My 16-month old son loves this book, as well as the touch and feel book about puppies. We keep this one in the car, and he is always anxious to read it. He talks to the dogs, and talks to the chicks. He has learned to pet our australian shepherd on the tummy like he does to the border collie in the book. This book is a fantastic tool to teach children how to identify and respect animals.

My son loves this book so much he has a copy of it in the car which he often looks at it when we're going to day care or coming home.

I read this book long ago, have forgotten a lot of it, but just about every December I find myself singing "Deck the Halls in Old Crepe Paper, fa la la" etc. Used to confuse my kids no end. For those who haven't read it yet, look for the scenes of holiday celebrations in the old TB sanitaruims-- sad & funny.

This book is filled with an off beat sence of humor. It isn't the slap you in the face kind of humor but rather the kind of humor that hits you later. For example, I found myself smilingat something I read earlier in the day while cooking dinner. At the end of this book you feel like you know each of the people personally. I wanted a follow up to find out what happened to each person. It's that good.

Basically this book is about Betty MacDonalds stay in a sanitorium while she had TB. She can take such a serious topic that could be pretty morose and turn it into something interesting and funny.

When I was 15, I acquired TB and was hospitalized for 7 months. What a grim sentence for a teenager. A library assistant gave this book to me and it began my long love affair with Betty MacDonald's books. This is a favorite of mine. Her descriptions of the personnel and patients in the sanitorium are hilarious. Wit and a talent for the language makes each of MacDonald's books a treasure to be read over and over.

This book is a laugh - out - loud ride through one of the most celebrated tales of the Knights of the Round Table. You don't have to be an Arthurian junkie and already familiar with the story of Beaumain the Kitchen Knight like me to enjoy this, either. In fact, all you really need is a sense of humor.

The evil Knight of the Red Lands has lain seige to the Castle Perle, slaughtering every knight who comes his way, and demanding the hand of the beautiful but witless Lady Lyonessse. Her sister, Lynet, decides to take matters into her own hands and sneaks out of the castle (with the help of a suspiciously magical stranger), and heads for Camelot, befriending a dwarf named Roger along the way.

At Camelot, however, Lynet refuses to reveal her name, fearing that her father's part in a rebellion against Arthur will stop the king from sending her any help. Unfortunately, no one wants to follow a nameless damsel in distress on a perilous quest, so Lynet, much to her disgust, has to settle for the kitchen boy, Beaumains.

This hilarious romance about things not always being what they seem puts a refreshing spin on a beloved story and will leave you wanting to read more on Morris' Knights of the Round Table. In that case, I strongly recommend Gerald Morris' other works, about Sir Gawain and his squire Terence. All three books had me laughing 'til the end.

Oh my goodness! I stayed up real late just to finish it. I thought it was so funny. In different parts of the story, I just burst out laughing. There's this one part where Roger and Lynet discuss the vanities of men and women. I love the colored knights. It's so funny about the Blue Knight thinking that dim means courageous.

Anyway, this book is about Lynet, who wants to rescue the castle from the evil Red Lands knight who is holding it under siege. So she goes off to King Arthur's court, hoping that she can find someone to help her. But she doesn't get much help there, just from the kitchen boy. But this kitchen boy is not a nobody. He is always taking offense and needing to joust with the "offender." My favorite character was Lynet, our heroine, and Roger, the dwarf, who has a mysterious secret. This book has romance, humor, and magic. There are good fairies who help Lynet, and stories of enchantresses, and the most famous of them: Morgan le Fey. This is a greatbook for anyone, even if they consider historical novels boring, this is one that they'll like.

The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf is a humorous tale of love, character, and questing set around King Arthur's court. The main character is Lynet, an intelligent young woman whose not-so-bright sister, Lyonesse, is in a bit of a pickle. An ambitious knight by the name of Red Lands is trying to win Lyon's love by slaying every suitor that comes her way. Finally, Lynet can take no more, and she goes to Camelot to ask for assistance. The only problem is that Lynet's father died defying King Arthur. Though she's afraid of what might await her, Lynet goes anyway.

On her quest, she meets Roger the Dwarf, who helps her on the way to Camelot, as well as through the events afterwards. She also meets Beaumains, a kitchen boy who agrees to help her in her quest.(for all you Morris buffs, there is a short appearance by Terence and Eileen, Sir Gawain's squire and his lady friend). Will Lynet succeed in ridding her home of the abominable Knight of the Red Lands? Are Roger and Beaumains really all they seem to be? These are just a few of the questions that go through the reader's mind as they read this incredible story.

Like most of Gerald Morris' books, The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf is full with humor that doesn't require the reader to have read Morris' other books, or to have much knowledge of Arthurian legends. As a matter of fact, quite a bit of it is slightly reminiscent of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, except that Morris' story actually follows the Arthurian legend that it's based upon, and the humor isn't quite so silly. There's really something for everyone here. Romantics, cynics, and Arthur buffs are all going to be satisfied.

I was at a summer fair recently and browsing on the book stall when I found a very old copy of the Little World of Don Camillo dating from 1953. I had no idea what it was at the time as I'd never heard of it but i was intrigued by the blurb. this book is HILARIOUS! I kept laughing out loud and getting very strange looks! but it was worth it! I am now determined to find the rest of the books and read them although I am aware that they may cost me slightly more that my 25p find at the Fete! It's a brilliant book that transports you into another world with ease and lets you meet characters that you can believe in and love. A very well spent 25 pence!

I stumbled upon "Don Camillo and His Flock" when I was 13. I'm 25 now, and I've read it five times already. I found a first edition of "The Little World of Don Camillo" in a decripit old reading room with decaying books that were to be thrown away. I adopted it, and with it, the knowledge that for as long as I live, Don Camillo's little world will always make me smile, make me think, make me cry, and be to me, the truest example of the magic that books can weave in one's life.

I fell in love with both the priest Don Camillo and his faithful adversary, Peppone the Communist mayor, when I was only ten, and since then have read all of the books, several times. After my experiences of being in the USAF in Taiwan in the 1970s, and now a permanent resident in mainland China's Fujian Province, I can appreciate the kinds of clashes that can occur between Communists and Christians--serious, but at times quite humorous also. I appreciate the zany humor but most of all the down to earth warm portrayels of both Don Camillo and Peppone. The author shows good and bad sides of both, and Don Camillo's conversations with Christ, who speaks to him from the crucifix above the altar, are priceless. After a few stories, one realizes that neither Don Camillo nor Peppone are the good guy or the bad guy, but simple ordinary people--and though enemies, they each sometimes go out of their way to help the other (though secretly, to save face). The cast of supporting characters, like skinny Smilzo, is also a delight.
The line drawings of the angel Don Camillo and the devil Peppone are, of course, priceless. Simple and to the point, they are the icing on the Don Camillo cake, and probably the reason why I draw cartoons on everything from greeting cards to my books on China--Amoy Magic, Fujian Adventure, Mystic Quanzhou, deng deng (which is Chinese for "etcetera"). I highly recommend not only Little World but all of the Don Camillo books in print.

Reading this a age 11 changed my life. I was forever obsessed with the middle ages, and this filled every craving for my infatuation with Scotland, leaving me only desiring a sequel. Quest for a Maid is my favorite book, and I have read it over thirteen times, never tiring of it. I'm on the edge of my seat every time, and can never put it down once started. Words cannot express the wonder and magic of this book, with its quirky characters and hauntingly beautiful storyline full of humanity and suspense. More than a masterpiece, this book is comfort food for the soul.

This book surprised me and drew me in from the opening line, "When I was nine years old, I hid under the table and heard my sister kill a king." How could anyone resist an opening like that? Quest for a Maid follows its own guidelines about how a fantasy should be written. The evil villainess in this book is also the main character's idol. Our heroine has no magical powers or battle skills, only her wits and courage. Much of the book describes Meg's childhood, which lends the book a kind of innocence to contrast against the elder sister's intrigues. Meg, Davie, and Peem form an adventuresome and loyal trio. You may even find yourself liking the evil villain, though we see little of what she does. Much of this book is written phonetically, but after you get used to it, you'll find yourself thinking in a Scottish accent. This book will make you think twice about love, sin, and redemption. A rare book. Read and enjoy.

Quest for a Maid is about Meg Wright, who lives in Scotland. She lives a normal life, except that her oldest sister, Inge, is a witch. Then one day when Meg is nine years old, she hides under a table and hears Inge kill a king. Nothing will ever be the same again. There is a fight for the throne going on in the country. Then Meg gets betrothed to Davie Spens, and is sent to live with his family to prepare. (The wedding will be in seven years.) When Meg is chosen to journey to Norway to bring the rightful eight-year-old queen back to Scotland to claim the throne, she goes, but with doubts. What will happen when they get to Norway? Will the little queen even want to go back to Scotland?

Like many people who came from the upper-class, Hector Hugh Munro (pen-name Saki) was very "old school" right-wing and conservative in his political views, which would come under criticism in our more enlightened age. There's an underlying cruelty and lack of compassion and sympathy in his work, as these views and outlook of his influenced his literary work. But an author's work should be judged on the work itself, not on the man. Saki's great achievement is his short stories, which were published in a newspaper and then collected into volumes. He was enjoying his literary success when the First World War broke out. He enlisted immediately in 1914. In 1916, he was shot dead in the head by an enemy sniper while hiding in a shallow shell-hole or trench. It was this single sporadic shot in the dusk that silenced one of England's finest writers. Two more volumes of his stories were published posthumously.

To appreciate Saki, one must apreciate witty, sophisticated humor and "old world" dialogue. This author is a master of dialogue, and his short stories (often very short) are full of upper-class types who are portrayed with a delicious malice as Saki shows us their follies, eloquence, and foibles. Wit, satire, and a sort of macabre humor are characteristic of this author's work. Wickedly amusing. You won't soon forget his characters, like the opinionated and divinely dressed Reginald, or the acid-tongued and refined Clovis.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

The short stories of Saki are brilliantly written, exercises in prose art. Most stories are short and intricate pieces, and often _very_ humorous. The stories that feature Reginald and Clovis are among the funniest; other stories ('the mappined life') are almost gruesome in their ferosity and intensity. It is a real shame that the author did not make it through World War I, he could have written so many more fine stories. As it is, we will have to do with the 130+ stories in this book, which I can read over and over. Recommended to the extreme.

Saki has more twists in his tales, and injects his stories with more wickedness and biting satire than any short story writer before or since him and is truly the master of succinct, and highly descriptive writing.

He used a couple of wickedly engaging and attractive main characters for a couple of his collections - these were Clovis and Reginald. To illustrate their essential characters take this quote from 'The Innocence of the Reginald' the following discussion takes place when talking of a painting;

"Youth," said the other, "Should suggest innocence."

"But never act on the suggestion..." [replied Reginald]

The stories are marvellously un-PC - written before the First World War and probably indictive of a lost age when the British roamed country houses for most the year visiting one another and being grand. Saki, with his wicked pen and sharp wit dissects them beautifully. As there are no stories much longer than a few pages you don't have to commit yourself to a great deal of reading, but once you start reading he is very hard to put down again.

I purchased this book after reading tons of great reviews. The book has some good ideas, but it was not what I expected at all. I think there are tons of other books out there that are worth spending your money on.

Okay so you're bored. Now what? Check out Keva and Clea's book to get some ideas on turning oh-hums into a-has! These ultra-hip chicks used to run Foxy magazine, but now they're just having fun on their own. Read about George (their dog), guitar chords to learn and stickers to make. Their book, which really looks like a cool bound zine) gives you pointers of fun stuff to do every day of the year - from funky crafts to things to ponder. (...)

...the book kept disappearing. My friends enjoyed this book just as much as I did, and I heard, "Can I borrow it just for one day?" and "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot it!" more times than I would care to count. But the book's journey is certainly a tribute to just how fabulous it is. It went from Rebecca the super-vegan, to Ruchi the Hindu dance queen, to Andrew the master cartoonist, to Darryl the sports guru, to Lauren the punk princess. The book had the same effect on all sorts of people. No one can read it and not smile, or at least come out of it a little happier than before.

This is the daybook for Aquarians or for other time-impaired people. It gives you something fun to add to your daily agenda. The ideas range from deceptively simple, like pretending you're a Spice Girl; to crafty, like making a glitzy tampon case; to silly, like tying a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree. Even the title is cool! Hey Day! The Super-Amazing Funk-da-Crazing Ultra-Glazing Day Book: Things to Do, Make, and Ponder Every Day of the Year, by Super Clea and Keva Marie.

It certainly keeps its promise of being the craziest, weirdest, and most thoroughly enjoyable daybook you will ever encounter. It's a definite must for any crazy chick who's open to new ideas or for a not-so-crazy chick who wants to be a bit sillier. A great de-stresser for homework swamped friends and sisters, too. ...

Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate belongs the category of suppressed literature in the Soviet Russia. The author dared to submit the manuscript of this big book approval only after the death of Joseph Stalin. But the Party's cultural wing even then refused its publication for next 500 years! One night they took away all the manuscripts from author's apartment. Only in the 80's the manuscript was recovered and published in first time. This is a novel in a Tolstoyean mould. It has a lot characters. The story hangs in and around Victor, a nuclear physicist, and his family and friends. The events happened during the period of second world war, when Russia was attacked by the forces of Nazy Germany. The Russians called it great Patriotic War. Every problems of soviet system was swept aside in the defence of fatherland. The novel was conceived in the mind of Vasily Grossman during years of new purge against the jews in the USSR after the second world war. People were hunted down or isolated again by the soviet authorities in the name of race, religion and ationality. Vasily Grossman once a communist now understands he is a jew also. The Central character in the novel, Victor, is the alterego of the author himself. Victor works as a scientist.He has a wife and one daughter.Victor's character is always in clash with his wife.His tender relationship with his friend's wife is the only spiritual solace for him. When war broke out everybody starts speaking for the war against German forces is to protect freedom and honour of people. Vasily Grossman finds the irony of such a slogan. A People without a freedom and individual honour for many terrible years under Stalin now think they go to protect it. When Victor's political stand threatens his own existence he becomes fearful and starts to think of an apology before the authorities. Everybody treats him as an alien and people fear his arrest is near. In such a lonely and desperate night Victor got a telephone call from Joseph Stalin himself....

The narrative is simple. Victor's mother's last letter from the German concentration camp is one of the moving chapters in the novel.The scenes at the Russian labor camp are also interesting and informative. Life anf Fate gives a total, let me say, accurate picture of the Soviet Union. As some critics said, while other writers went out of the soviet system and wrote about it, Vasily Grossman lived in and through the troubles of soviet society and wrote about it. Like Dr. Zhivago this is also an important book for them who who love great fiction.

This was a wonderful book if you enjoy historical fiction. It starts a little slow and is very broad in depth and characters (which makes it a little confusing at times), but if you stick with it you won't be disappointed. It's an amazing account of the Russian side of World War II, and what's even more amazing is how Grossman manages to use this as a vehicle for an even larger theme of the rise of the Soviet State. It's a topic that few people know about, outside of the old cliches of communism being bad/capitalism being good, and it's worth reading just for the value of getting an impression of what life was really like for Russians and this crucial point in their history. As horrible as World War II was for the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and others systematically liquidated by the Nazis, few people know about the similar situations going on during collectivization and the purges in Russia prior to the war. Grossman approaches this subject from the many different views of his huge cast of characters, and the reader gets a sense for not only how awful the situation was, but also how the situation was accepted and how each person was forced to deal with it in their own way. The book is amazing for it's breadth and amount of detail (which explains the 800+ pages), and the writing is philosophical and thought-provoking without being pretentious. I've read reviews that compare it to Herman Wouk's books, which I've read and greatly enjoyed, and a rough comparison might be made in terms of detail, but Life and Fate tends to bounce around a bit while a novel such as Winds of War had a more conventional structure and was slightly easier to follow. The only criticisms I could think of off-hand would be those mentioned before, the slow start and the vastness of the plot, and the ending was a little anti-climatic, but the majority of the book was definitely worth the time. It's rare to find writing of this caliber in today's novels, but if you want to read something that is difficult to put down, that is good to read and is also good for you, get this book.

Grossman has spoken to us beyond the grave. It is with a heavy, Slavic accent in the "Russian" style - huge tomes, sweeping arcs of drama, a large cast of characters, death, repression, a cry for freedom and an attempt to make sense of both the internal and external world.

Some reviewers both here and elsewhere have taken Grossman to task for suggesting that the Soviet regime was a mirror image of the Nazi state. Both were collectivist societeis, both exalted group rights over the individual, both were run by a party apparatus, Both employed terror on their own citizens and remained in power through sheer force. Germany has had to atone for her crimes many times over but the Soviet state has yet to acknowledge the murder of up to 50 million people according to the mathematician dissident Vladimir Bukovsky.

The titantic struggle between these two forces forms the basis of the book. But it is not just the battles; Grossman allows us to see the human behind the machine, the wants and needs and hopes of common people. It is impossible for anyone who has not been in battle - particularly a siege - to grasp the futility and absolute unreality of the situation. That is why the small deeds and everyday actions seem to stand out; they are subtle reminders of a time without war, normality and reason.

And in this theater of the absurd, Grossman documents the almost insane actions of the Soviet regime: The political commander's rabid focus on Marxist theory when people are starving, the wasting of human beings as mere objects, the violence and above all else, arguing Socialist theory amidst rubble, the dreary, gray, hapless lives in a totalitarain state.

There are some who can never bring themselves to criticize the Soviet regime and Marxism's utter failure in almost every field of achievement - economic, political, artistic, financial, scientific. Grossman says yes, this is all true, but what counts are the pathetic lives of the unlucky but steadfast citizens caught in the grip of madmen; this is where the real crime takes place. It ends in a silent desolation that is almost stifling.

This is the Ramona book where all the important things happen: birth of a little sister, death of a cat, wedding of an aunt. As far as I know, this is the last book in the Ramona series, but it repeats a pattern from the first one, Beezus and Ramona (the only book from the older sister's viewpoint). Beezus had her friend Henry, and was pestered by Ramona and her friend Howie. Now Ramona wants to play with Howie, but his sister Willa Jean (who also has a friend, Bruce) annoys her. I think that in this book, Ramona becomes an older sister, not only because of Roberta's birth, but also because of her problems with Willa Jean. She goes through serious things, and she's not always seen as a pesky little sister anymore. Perhaps the reason Beverly Cleary didn't write any more books about her is because in this one, her situation changes so much that she would never have the same kinds of adventures and feelings as before. This book means the end of the series, but also the end of being "a dumb stupid little sister" for Ramona. The title might mean something like this.

We are the students of Mrs. Chaya's Fourth Grade Class, and we would like to say that we enjoyed the book tremendously. We compared and contrasted Ramona and her sister, Beatrice, and we realized that as Ramona is growing up, differences with her sister are lessening. Both are finding more in common, such as sharing the loss of Picky-Picky,disliking Uncle Hobart, and worrying about their mother. Being together after school allowed the girls to work out their differences such as the name-calling episode where Ramona calls Beazus , PizzaFace!!! This misunderstanding happens close to the time of the cat's death but also serves as a stressbuster for both. The sisters come to realize they really do care about one another. Being in a wedding together also makes everyong realize that the girls are growing up and on the way to being lifelong friends. A new baby sister is born giving the girls another reason to be united.

Romona Forever is the best book ever. I read all the Romona books when I was eight. Some of them I remember kind of but some of them I can remember SO well I could tell you right this second what the books about. This book was one of them. I'm Nine and almost ten now and I still think Romona is very good. I like Romona forever just as much as the Harry Potter 5 and all the rest. maybe I like Romona forever better!!

I stumbled on this book quite by accident, with no idea who Sienkiewicz was. What a great thing to stumble upon!
I'm a great fan of Walter Scott, and considered this very much in the same vein, a terrific adventure story with heroes and villains, although paced faster than Scott. Particularly, the first 500 pages or so of this big book move very quickly, the events leading compellingly onward through the narrative almost breathlessly.
The historical context of the book (Poles v. Germans) is interesting to note. Taking the book in the context of the development of the novel---well, Sienkiewicz isn't particularly interested in the psychology of his characters. The bad guys here are reeeeallly bad. The hero is not only good, he's unbearably handsome, too. But this is an exciting book and I will read more of this guy now that I've found him.

This is by far the best novel that I ever read,a compelling and fascinating masterpiece above literature that only Tolstoy's "War and Peace" is equal of.Even "Quo Vadis" is the most famous book of Sienkiewicz,here is proved to be more mature and describes with a perfect and understandable way,a combination of love,romance,battles,intriques,suspence,drama.All the characters are easy to be understood,interesting and you can feel them easily.Sienkiewicz manages in general in every of his books,that every page not to be boring at all and the analysis of his characters and places have some limits,so as not to tire the reader.Worth also is to be mentioned that while other famous authors of Sienkiewicz's time,wrote about their time/era..Sienkiewicz chose the difficult way to bring us with amazing detail,the Roman time,Medieval time and also the 17th century...Only Sienkiewicz could accomplish to write books about previous times,with such wonderful way.I recommend you to read all the books by Sienkiewicz,especially "The Teutonic Knights" which has many messages I believe...in our days we have lost our honour and pride...we must remeber again these gifts and be better humans...

This book was written in 1900. It took the author over four years to write it. I advise anyone interested in literature, not just historical novels, to get this book. It is a monument of extraordinary literature. It is written sharp as a diamond, and throughout the 800 pages, there is no boring paragraph to be found. The plot is so well thought-out that you will be amazed. The last words of the author in the book are "So to you, sacred past, and to you, sacrificial blood, be praise and honor for ever and ever." Not only do you get a great account of life in the middle ages, but also a detailed and fascinating tale of many memorable characters and their adventures. After you read this, I STRONGLY recommend the trilogy. "With Fire and Sword" is a very different book, but just as good, if not better, than this one. "The Deluge" is a very long book: 1800 pages. But don't let that scare you away -- just like "Teutonic Knights," every page is fascinating. And the last volume of the trilogy is "Fire in the Steppe." Right now, Amazon.com is offering the latter two. Get them. It's worth it. "With Fire and Sword" is not available through amazon.com, though, unless you want to get a used one. You might want to try doing it directly through the publisher, Hippocrene books. Once again, for anyone who loves to read, I recommend all four of these books and all of Sienkiewicz's books. Don't let the long name scare you away. In my opinion, he is the greatest author of all time.