literature

A CHAIR FULL OF HEART is a beautifully illustrated. Through the author's words, women of all ages can identify and share the mother/daughter relationship--the struggles to reach womanhood, being on opposite banks of raging rivers during the journey, and, when blessed, coming together again as adults and the sorrow of losing a mother too soon. The illustrator caught the essence of the story's mother and daughter with beautiful accuracy and attention to detail.

A Chair Full of Heart is a heart-rending tale of the ups and downs a daughter and mother go through until they come full circle to realize what's really important. It's a there-but-for-the-Grace-of-God-go-I kind of story.

I highly recommend it for mothers, daughters, granddaugthers, and sisters.

Don't miss out on a Chair Full of Heart. I'm sorry it took me a year to find it!

A realistic story...the struggles, love, depth, warmth. A real tribute to your mother, who was your inspiration to write.

Who could ever forget this heart-warwming, honey-loving bear? All the familiar characters are here, Christopher Robin, Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. With Christmas just around the corner, what a delightful gift this would make for that special child on your list. The beautiful hand-painted, watercolour illustrations are of very high quality. This is a collector's item of tales and poems that your child can treasure over the years and one day pass on to his or her own children. For Pooh-lovers, this is truly a treasure to behold.

No childhood - or adulthood, for that matter - would be complete without the adventures of wonderful Winnie and his friends. This 75th anniversary edition is beautifully presented, and readers used to Disney's glossily commercial drawings will be amazed by the original Ernest H. Shepard illustrations featured here. Coloured by Shepard when he was in his 90s (!), Pooh, Piglet, Christopher Robin and co have never seemed more endearing and vivid.

But the greatest credit should surely go to A.A. Milne for creating some of fiction's most delightful characters. Reading this collection today after a break of 30-odd years, Milne's gentle wit and enthusiasm seem as fresh as ever. What a wonderful sense of life (and fun) the man must have possessed.

Pooh is the perfect antidote to today's cynical times!

I loved Pooh as a child and know have been able to introduce Pooh to my own kids. It has a generational appeal. A few years ago, a friend of mine lost a 6-year-old son through an accident where older children were playing with a handgun. The funeral featured the boy's favorite poem from Milne with the final line, "Now that I'm six, I'm as clever as clever. I think I'll stay six forever and ever."

The double meaning and emotions from the loss of this young Pooh fan will always be with me. Another book for bedtimes that is full of love, adventure, and wisdom is Original Animals by Horton. I encourage you to check it out. You will be glad you did.

"Raintree County" by Ross Lockridge, jr., which I first read when I was 14, is the best book I have ever encountered. No other book has ever impacted me in such sweeping, all-encompassing fashion. Lockridge's masterpiece novel is epic in scope and feeling, utterly magnificent. Midwesterners in particularly will be struck by its magic and eloquence. There is not a prosy sentence in all of its 1,000 plus pages. Since I found "Raintree County", all discussions/debates about "The Great American Novel" have been irrelevant. This is it. Lockridge sits next to Shakespeare on my bookshelf and in my heart.

When averring that Raintree County is such a "Good" book, I find myself searching for words to accurately convey my meaning. The lyrical gift of Mr. Lockridge is "good," though not great as is the case with the brilliant Thomas Wolfe, the American novelist his writing most resembles. The story, complete with flashbacks, is engaging through all its over 1,000 pages. The philosophical sections are good as well, and the "Perfesser" Stiles is one of the most comically and wittily astute Menckenesque characters in all of American fiction.

One thing that I certainly do NOT mean by "good" is that the book is some sort of sentimental whitewash of American history and archetypal American characters. They are presented here in all their selfishness, avarice and mean-spiritedness. Yet, the novel ultimately has such a Whitmanesque all-embracing quality that these human traits dissolve into the rich tapestry of the story, which I found a page-turner despite its length.

Ultimately, the novel of which this book most reminds me is not an American, or even English, one at all. It is Tolstoy's War And Peace. These books both narrate the human capacity for evil and good, for love and hate, the chaos caused by the greatest war either of the two countries had fought at the time, the enduring value of friendship, all spread out over a vast panorama of intricate relations. In short, Raintree County is America's most epic novel: Not the greatest perhaps, but the most epic.

But there's something more: At one point in the book (p. 934 in my edition) Shawnessy reflects that, "A human life had a dimension that wasn't perfectly understood." Through reading this book, one somehow comes away with the feeling that one has at least brushed against the boundaries of this mysterious dimension.---No small feat, this.

You may have once wandered through an art gallery and
while walking between images both beautiful and banal
happened upon a painting unlike few you have ever seen before.
It was found placed in a more remote part of the exhibit
and poorly lit thus causing you to give it a brief glimpse.
At first glance, the quaint simplicity caused you to smile yet upon
a second look you noticed the unmistakable quality, the rich
shadings, the subtleties, the emotion upon the faces of the characters,
and within a short time you realized that the artist had captured the
very essence of humanity. Shades of life both light and dark and all
the hues in between, this is what Ross Lockridge has placed upon his canvass for
posterity. This is Raintree County.

Raintree County; a mythical place, a gentle and beautiful tale of an
age and culture that has long since been harrowed under and paved over.
A verdant and pastoral county whose heart is found at the crossroads of
two dirt roads, whose inhabitants are poised at the intersection between a young
and thriving republic and greatest wrong every allowed to fester within
its expanding frontiers. The sunny days of community existence intertwined
with the political complexities surrounding the greatest rift ever to divide a
nation. A portrait of the land and its people in the midst of life and the
trials and tribulations of life's inescapable vicissitudes.

Within the covers of this book are found the joys of love upon the banks of
a river, the excitement and pride of a community during the celebration of
Independence day, the pungent smells and prolific yet depraved lifestyle during
the last days of antebellum New Orleans, and the songs of the slaves in their
agony, joy, and uncertainty. An epic, a day in the life of a ordinary man and
how he came full circle-if that is indeed possible. A reminder of the nation and
her people who were deeply shattered by the violence of a Civil War.

Within the prose are whispers of Plato, Poe, and Shakespeare. Characters
of well developed intellect and humor coexist amid the turgid and the
unlearned. At its core is love, insanity, birth, death, family, war,
and a river that courses through the county to both nourish the smiles and
drain the bitterness. Indeed perhaps the "Great American Classic," and a
sadly overlooked book. Lockridge is of the same ilk as Wolfe, Faulkner,
and Emerson. It has been said that each of us contains a book. To have this
as your only book is a majestic feat. Raintree County can be analyzed at many
philosophical levels and I am sure subsequent readings will reveal a multitude
of lessons. To me, my first time just staying at the surface brought me
the great joy that a masterfully written novel must impart.

This book is worth the buy. if you are a depressed teen like i am i recommend this book for you. it has alot of survival tips,stories from teens who suffer and suffered from depression like me and you. reasons why we become depressed. different types of depression bipolor,major depression,dysthymia, and it also tells you ways to cope with your depression. this book is a survival guide indeed. it helps you understand your depression and it let's you know that your not the only one suffering from this illness. and there is help out there so if your a depressed teen please buy this book. it's worth the money and it will start you on the path to a better life.

Of all the self-help books I found, this one struck me the most.

Bev Cobain doesn't treat us like we're five years old or treat us like we're idiots for being depressed. She gives us help, and advice in an organized handbook like format. She steps this into two phases - What's Wrong and Getting Help and Staying Well. I also like how she makes it personal - adding things about her cousin Kurt Cobain but also including other depressed teen stories - proving I'm not alone. I'm almost finished with the book and am into getting some help for my depression.

I'd recommend this book to any depressed teen, any school councelor, or any one interested in teen depression and want to be informed on it incase they stumble upon it sometime in their lives. Good Book -.

The day that i started reading this book i couldn't put it down because it was teaching me about my depresion. Now that i have completed it i feel that i know more about depression then i knew before.I shared it with my mom who is also depressed and she wants a copy of her own. iI think it is a very good book and i would defently would think that this book should be for depressed teens that want to learn more about depression. Even a teen without depression that wants to learn more about depression should read it. Thanks bev for writing this wondreful book.

This book, along with C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed, are two of the best books ever written about love and loss. L'Engle's characteristic style of inspired wanderings brings you back gently and eventually to her main discussion of her courtship and 40-year marriage, and to the inevitable and tragic ending thereof. While certainly saddening, this book is not about wallowing in grief, but is a celebration of the non-traditional (in many ways) life that she and Hugh built together, and how the strength and love of their relationship rippled outward to affect all they came in contact with: children, god-children, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.

Madeleine L'Engle once again lets her readers into her own personal struggles, and details her faith and grief during her husband's fight with cancer. There is a strong similarity between "Two-Part Invention" and C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed" and this book also describes the triumph of faith and love. In a time when terminal illness is a common denominator for many families, this book is a touching testimony to strength of resolve and the real love possible in marriage. For anyone who is a frequent L'Engle reader, this book gives great insight into her personal journey.

(Two Part Invention) I was touched by the way this woman thought as she entered marriage; how she considered the marriage before any other factor in life. As someone born in the last 40 years, I have honestly never heard a woman talk about her marriage in those terms. I was humbled and thought what a shame...we have lost something very special and gentle: honoring marriage. I never did, never knew anyone who did, marriage for myself and those in my circle was more of a nuisance. After two painful divorces I could finally hear Madeline's voice and everything she said made such beautiful and perfect sense. I long for that type of life and marriage and never realized all along it had to come from me. I also cried after putting the book down and a tear often comes when the book comes to mind. I always remember her thought about moving into the city - where she didn't particularly want to live - so that she could be the wife "hosting the slumber party" when they were snowed in, rather than being the wife getting the call when the husband wouldn't be coming home to the suburbs. And how she adjusted her whole sleep schedule to accomodate her husbands' late work nights. Sigh. Thank you Madeline, thank you for a voice that is not often heard.

A story about two sisters and their 2 cousins that spend a summer they'll never forget. The most exciting part of the book when one of the left out sister(Sarah) try to prove she can be a rimmwalker. It was a life and death situation. To find out if she lives or dies reed the book or even bye the book.

Victoria Moore and her sister Sara,have to spend the summer with their grandparents and two cousins.After about a week,victoria has made a bond between her cousins and has discluded Sara which soon leads to a blood curdling experience that changes Victoria and Sara.It's emotional and greatly interesting.Vicki Grove has done a good job on this book that has now become my favorite!

The book Rimwalkers by Vicki Grove is about two boys and a girl finding out who they are over the summer, which has its ups and downs, its goods its bads, they bond and figure out a mystery that has been haunting the farm for years.
I would recommend this book to fifth or sixth graders. It has just what kids this age are looking for: adventure, mystery, friendship, and danger. I am a sixth grader and I really enjoyed Rimwalkers. It has two hundred and twenty-three pages. It teaches an important lesson to never judge somebody by the way they act or the way they dress. One should take risks, and not always stand on the sidelines, but jump in the game.
The book Rimwalkers by Vicki Grove is an all around good book. Even though it might be aimed more for fifth or sixth graders, readers of any age would probobly enjoy it. So go ahead, get your copy of Rimwalkers, I promise you will enjoy it.

This is the fisrt time that I read this book and is't a very good book, I m on the last chapter and so far I love it. Sherry Garland did a great job on this book! I love the way she had Alyssa not talking and her plot!

This book is about a young girl Alyssa who after her fathers death stops talking. "Don't say another word until I get back ok?" Those were the words her father had said to her. She had kept her promise but her father had never returned so her promise still lives on and she never talks again and no one knows why. I'ts bad enough she has to deal with her bratty cousin. But a big storm hits the Island and her granfather will not live without her help. But to save his life she needs to talk. Will she keep her fathers promise in hope someday he'll return or will she finally grasp the reality that he is dead and talk to save her grandfathers life? this book is one of the best books I have ever read!

It was an exiting book! At first it seemed a little boring because there wasn't much action. But then when Alyssa and her brother get stuck on that one shrip boat, that made it intresting enough to encourage me to read more. I thought that it was sad when Alyssa found her grandpa laying by the wrecked jeep because he was looking for Alyssa out in the hurricane. It was the BEST book I ever read! I want to buy the book for myself to read whenever I want!

Although it is not as famous as some of his earlier science fiction books (or "scientific romances", as they were then called), and is not an absolute classic like those books are, The First Men In The Moon is nevertheless a delightful and important satrical SF novel. Also, its importance in the development of modern science fiction cannot be overestimated. Although numerous books before had dealt with a story set on another world (let us here, for the sake of convenience, refer to the Moon as a "world"), Wells's book is the first to make it convincingly real. Although, one hundred years on, much of the novel's science is dated and Well's Moon is far different from how we now know it to be, nevertheless, Wells here created a world out of his own imagination, and describes it with such a convincing level of detail that one actually feels like they are there. And the science, indeed, was, in fact, quite up-to-date for the turn of the century. The structure and format of the novel also was highly influential: one will see immediately upon reading it just how much modern science fiction owes to this novel, and to Wells (and yet, Wells himself borrowed prodigiously from previous books on the subject.) The book was originally supposed to end at Part I: Part II was added later by Wells after the book was already in the process of serialization. I think that the addition of Part II is what makes the book good instead of great. If it had ended as it originally would, it would still be a good book - a rousing adventure, an interesting yarn - but it would not be great. The second part makes the book a full-on satire - something that the earlier portion had merely hinted at. It sharply and bitingly satarizes manking and his many follies, particularly war. This addition of satire and borderline philosophy makes the novel a truly great one. I read an essay on this book that said it differs from Wells's earlier SF novels because it is not grim. I beg to differ. The ending, to me, seems quite grim, indeed. Although it does not involve the imminent extinction of man himself as earlier works did, it is nonetheless quite pessimistic and grim. The addition of the second part of the novel and the ending also pave the way for Wells's later works - ... This is a true science fiction classic that deserves to be more highly-regarded than it is.

What always gets me with Wells is the forcefulness of his imagination -- his ability to construct powerful, symbolically resonant setpieces based upon the scientific ideas of his time. In the final pages of "The Time Machine" he gave us one of the great apocalyptic visions in all of literature. In "The First Men in the Moon," he gives us a magnificently alien setting, full of bizarre moments -- jumping about the lunar surface in 1/6 G; the Giddy Bridge and the Fight in the Cave of the Moon-Butchers; the bizarre lunar ecology, in which all the plants die every night and are reborn each dawn.

Scientifically, much of this stuff doesn't hold up after a hundred years. And the device he comes up with to get his characters to the moon -- Cavorite -- is without basis, an arbitrary magical tool not unlike the time machine. Even when Wells' science is iffy, though, he presents it in such a clear, convincing fashion that you are only too glad to suspend disbelief while the story unfolds.

In the Selenites we have a metaphor for a different type of society -- rigidly hierarchical, with the needs of the individual sublimated to the whole. The metaphor obviously comes from social insects; though it became a sci-fi cliche, it was still fresh circa 1901. In the remarkable last section of the book (Cavor's communications from the moon), Wells describes the Selenite society with delightful attention to detail. He ends with a haunting, unforgettable image, and probably the best closing sentence of any sci-fi novel.

When the young and penniless Mr. Bedford meets an eccentric scientist, Mr. Cavor, who doesn't realize the importance of his own inventions, it seems most fortuitous. Of greatest interest is Cavor's realization that he can create a substance that shields against gravity. Together, they come to the conclusion that, with this new substance, they can make ships to take them to other planets within the solar system. And so, with Cavor dreaming of scientific breakthroughs and Bedford dreaming of wealth, the two build such a ship, and set off for the Moon.

Arriving at the Moon, the two quickly realize what a strange and amazing place it is. During the lunar day, there is a breathable atmosphere on the surface of the Moon, and their investigations soon demonstrate that the Moon is inhabited by a race of intelligent beings. An insectoid race, the Selenites (or "Moonies" as Cavor whimsically dubs them) have a highly-organized caste system much like terrestrial ants. Can our heroes escape from the Selenites and return to Earth? And, what are the long-term affects of this new meeting of societies going to be?

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) is often remembered for his late-nineteenth century science-fiction, including The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds. This book was first published in 1900, and shows a different side of Wells. Whereas his earlier book were rather preachy, this book is more light-hearted, telling a cracking good story for its own enjoyment, rather than being a vehicle to teach a lesson.

Yep, this is a fun read, and a fascinating sci-fi book. As might be expected from such an old book, the "science" that Wells used is extremely out of date. But, if you are willing to practice a little suspension of disbelief, you will be treated to an excellent story. The story hangs together well with then current science, and shows you science-fiction from an entirely different angle. I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to you.

This book is perfect when getting more than acquainted with Edgar Allan Poe. You get to taste all of his works. If you don't think that you would enjoy his style, then you should think again because this book is so genius that it is for anyone and everyone. When reading his stories, many things about his life are revealed. If you research his life, you will find that many of his stories are written relating to something from his life. For example, Annabel Lee is a story directly from the death of his wife. His complicated mind can begin to be decoded with this book. There is no other better way to go than to have his COMPLETE works of tales and poems. I am currently trying to finish this book, but I don't plan on reading it just once. If you decide to get this book, be sure to thoroughly understand each piece because it is the only way to completely enjoy his writing style and apparent partial insanity. I personally enjoyed the way it warped my mind to think like a madman. My personal favorites also end with the failing of someone's mental stability. The way he portrays his characters is brilliant, and he doesn't fall short of making each character real and seem even three-dimensional. I recommend starting with the story "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and "Berenice." Amazingly insane characters fill these stories and you will not be able to put the book down. I give this book, and especially Edgar Allan Poe, 5 out of 5 stars. I believe it to be a "must-have" novel in your collection.

Everyone has read Poe's most famous stories and poems. The Pit and the Pendelum, The Tell Tale Heart, The Raven etc. But few ever venture deeper into his lesser know works. The fact is that there are many other stories and poems which are equally impressive. And you don't need to be a horror fan, his stories are really more of a fantasy. He describes every little niche to the finest detail. So if you love his works but think you've read them all, I would suggest you buy this book. There are many stories and poems that you've have never heard of that will stay in your memory for quite some time. Personally, I found The Angel of the Odd to be quite exquisite.

A GREAT BOOK. THE BEST SCARY STORIEZ.
A ONE OF THE BEST AUTHORS WHO EVER LIVED.

I am not going to go over the contents of the book, or much about Charles Bukowski, because if you are considering this book you must know something about the man and his work. I will just give you my impression of this collection of work.
No collection can ever really be complete, there are always new things to add, new commentary, newly discovered works, transcripts of records and unpublished letters, but this book does an excellent job in its attempt.
To me Charles Bukowski will always be one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, because of the sheer brutality and honesty his work emanates. It is funny, sad, sadistic, cruel, scathing, enlightening and thought provoking. Everything I like to read. This is poetry for people who are disgusted by verse of flowers, trees and Greek mythology. This is RAW human emotion and experience smeared out onto paper. It is not perfect, and it is not trying to be. It doesn't always work, but there in lies the subtle beauty of Bukowski's efforts. the guts to try. The attempts at honesty, clearly blocked by his unwillingness to divulge everything, and his cynicism of man.
This collection is shocking in its beauty, and inspiring by its simplicity. Enjoy.

To a kid growing up in a small town in Norway, Bukowski was definitely a voice from another reality. In many ways, his prose and poetry showed that the bums and the lowlifes - in other words; the hunted - actually had a voice, and a strong one at that... The greatness of Bukowski lies in his ability to tell extremely complex stories in a straightforward, deceptively simple language and style. The poetry is also very sharp and precise. Whatever the man did to himself with regard to drink and drugs; it never took away a smattering of his ability to observe the human predicament in all its glory - or terror, depending on whom you might ask... This 'reader' is a good place to start for anybody who would like to get acquainted with Bukowski's work. It contains poems and stories that stay on the reader's mind for a long time. The writings are also a reminder that no matter how hard a person might believe in the American dream, the dream doesn't work for everybody.

This recording is a MUST for all those, like myself, who regard Bukowski as the one true voice of the fringe-dwelling dispossesed. People focus on his hard-drinking, his 'bum-like' persona, but what makes him remarkable is how his fiction and poetry reflects REALITY: the 'failure' and humiliation of being an artist (and essentially voiceless) in America. I listened to this recording with friends -- and we all agreed that it captures the man.

Also recommended: ... Run With the Hunted, Post Office, Ham on Rye, Factotum, Women by Buk, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez