literature

One of the best and heartwarming books I have read in a very long time. May we all be blessed to know the love and joy of a rescued animal...those of you that have never adopted a pet, are really missing something...Read the book, and your heart will know what a wonderful, loving man Jim Willis is. Then, I pray you will make a visit to your local rescue, dog shelter or SPCA and make a difference in just one little life. We can't rescue them all but we can make a difference to the one we saved...Jim's book is a true example of that! Rescue animals have a way of making you feel THEY rescued you, and in Jim's words you will see it so.

I just gave this book as a gift to a friend's thirteen-year-old daughter. (I also have my own copy!) She was mesmerized by it. I gave it to her because she has always been an "animal person" for all of her young life, and this book is the best handbook that I know of to help her understand what this calling and passion for animals is all about. Jim Willis speaks to the animal person in all of us. He beautifully describes, explores and celebrates the bond that we have with our animals. This book has something to say to just about everyone, but it speaks especially to those of us who work to protect, rescue, rehabilitate and advocate for so many animals that have no one to speak for them. It is educational - in the beautifully written words and images, there is so much information and wisdom. Anyone who reads this book will be changed by it. We all need to read it.

Jim Willis quickly joined a short list of my very personal Special People.
I haven't even finished it but am so eager to put it in writing how very lovely and touching this book is.
Jim's heart is that of a genuine animal lover - and I am an expert in telling them apart (lol).

What a wonderful idea of arranging the fund raising with the publisher - I'm definitely going to use it and telling others to do so.
Many thanks for "Pieces of My Heart" - in loving animals hearts of we are all united!

I first learned about "Pieces of My Heart" on the page of "Dominion" by Matthew Scully.
(another "must" is "Animal Underworld" by Alan Green, both an eye openers!

As to my very personal Sweethearts - they are:

Louis Dorfman,
who moved my heart with just one sentence about his domesticated animals and practically changed my life.
He posted it on a message board, not related to animals, where we were all anonymous and it took me a few months of a difficult search to find out who he was).
You will love his "Dakar, A Wolf's Adventure"! -so beautiful!

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin -
Love of my life -
not exactly about the animals, but there will be at least one person out there whose heart and mind he will touch.

This is no ordinary blood-and-glory sea story, with a ship full of heroes who can do no wrong. Here is real life - the misery of North Atlantic weather, in a small ship rolling constantly in the tremendous swell. An untried and amateur crew aboard a newly built ship are pitted against an omnipresent and invisible enemy below the waves, who is able to mark ships and sailors for death seemingly at will. In perhaps the most bitter fight of WW II, the crew adapt and learn, making Compass Rose a highly effective weapon against the German U-Boats.

Written in 1951, Monsarrat bases his story on his own experience as first officer of a corvette on convoy escort duty. He clearly identifies with his primary character, Lockhart, who joins HMS Compass Rose in 1939 as a very junior Sub Lieutenant. The people and ships are fictional, but this is nevertheless a true and moving story. A brilliant story, totally unforgettable!

This is an absolutely thrilling, gripping, involving story of war at sea. I have no disagreement with those who say this is one of the best novels to come out of WWII. I've had a copy with me through the years, ever since I first read it in high school. Monsarrat has a beautiful feel of the language, made more so by his own familiarity with the subject at hand. Every time I pick up the book and reread passages, I am still enthralled by the fine writing. There is even a lovely, poignant love story in the middle of it. Here is a passage describing nothing in particular, merely the ship "Compass Rose" when the convoy was a quiet one and the men aboard her could relax a bit:

"They found that some nights, especially, had a peaceful loveliness that repaid a hundred hours of strain. Sometimes in sheltered water, when the moon was full, they moved with the convoy past hills outlined against the pricking stars: slipping under the very shadow of these cliffs, their keel divided the phosphorescent water into a gleaming wake that curled away till it was caught and held in the track of the moon....Compass Rose, afloat on a calm sea, seemed to shed every attribute save a gentle assurance of refuge." (p 105, 1951 Knopf edition)

There was a movie made by the British earlier on, with Jack Hawkins as Ericson, the captain. The plot obviously had to be shortened, and I think the love story was changed a bit. The novel is better, still, and I do hope that they do NOT try to make another movie of it, for surely the Hollywood treatment will only cheapen this superb piece of work.

Mosarrat shows us that there is no glory in war, but much honor attached to the men and women of the armed forces. The Cruel Sea tells us how to behave during a conflict - be loyal, resilient, and have faith in ourselves and our comrades
I re-read this book every few years and each time I am impressed with the characters, settings, and the lessons that Erickson and Lockhart teach us. And each time I feel better about people and their potentials. This book stays in the current section of my bookshelf.

Edgar Allan Poe is best remembered for his weird, creepy short stories, but he was also a great poet. Unfortunately, he lived much of his life in drunkenness and poverty, and died relatively young... or was murdered, we don't know for sure. All we know is he was found dead. But he left us with some very hauntingly atmospheric tales like "House of Usher" or "Pit and the Pendulum" and some memorable poems, including the gloomy pieces "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee", a fantasy about being put in the coffin with his beloved dead wife. But Poe was a pretty romantic guy in the normal sense too, as expressed in his love poems, and people who see him as simply a dark, morbid figure have missed out on his deep understanding of beauty and appreciation of beauty clearly visible in his poetry.

The horror of being; the darkest depths of man's soul; the deepest fears brought about by darkness: it's all here. This is the work of the original genius of terror. And the most terrifying thing about Poe's stories and poems is that the threat doesn't come from a monster, or a devil, or a murderer: it comes from inside yourself, from your mind and your heart. There's no escaping them. Poe is not, of course a "terror" writer. He's just a writer, and one of the best there has been. His work can not be confined to a "genre". His tales touch horror, but there are some analytical, metaphysical, futurists, and tales of love (strange love, but love).

As correctly pointed out by other reviewers, Poe practically invented the mystery tale in which the detective is an amateur who solves the problem through reason and deduction alone ("The crimes of the Rue Morgue"). A wonderful cryptic and deductive tale is "The golden bug". "The cask of Amontillado" is a masterpiece of cruel vengeance. "The pit and the pendulum" is pure terror, like "The black cat".

The poems have even more variety. You know what the famous ones are: The Raven, The bells, Annabel Lee. Here, the most remarkable characteristics are music and rhythm. "Quoth the raven: nevermore!", and the ringing of the bells, the bells, bells, bells, etc. My personal favorite is Annabel Lee, but there are many other, less known, which are just excellent.

Poe was a troubled man, addicted to drugs and alcohol, who died in a miserable way (some thugs made him drink to use him in an electoral fraud; he died from drunkness on the streets of Baltimore). But his intellect and sensibility (hypersensibility) made him a true genius, a profound connoiseur of the human soul, up and down. His writing is superb and he will remain as a master of literature for centuries to come. In case you have never approached his work, do so now. Choose your favorite couch; wait until everybody is asleep, get yourself a good drink, and travel to the bottom of your own soul.

ok Edgar Allen Poe is a good writter no doubt and his stuff is good to read so take my advice buy it and you wont be disapointed k....

I have to hide everything!!! Its not like I get better stuff but my sister and my brother all want it if I got it. Then I found out they were looking under my bed and in my closet and I found Secret hiding places and it s a great book! I got so many ideas from the book and I use it all the time. I learned a whole new way of keeping my privacy. Thank you Mark Shulman.

Secret Hiding Places for Clever kids is a book by Mark Shulman. He writes books for children and adults. This book is small so you can hide it in your cds and it looks like another cd. The writer tells you about the ways you can look arund your house and see secret hiding places. You can read about making a box with a secret bottom. You can read about passing notes to your freinds in school. You can read about how to keep your brother or your sister away from your diary or your favorite toys. You can read about making a map and keeping all your hidden stuff oganized. You can read about hiding the book in all your cds so nobody can find it. You can read about the secret hiding places.com web site that is lots of fun too. I really like the book. I think you will too. You will like reading and learning about secret hiding places. You will feel like a clever kid even if your old! I will give it five stars on Amazon.com. Thank you. Violet G.

It is a perfect book, with everything you need to know about keeping your private things exactly that. Private!

Juniper By Monica Furlong By Sam Levine

Juniper by Monica Furlong is an adventurous book that inspires anyone who reads it. This books makes a person feel as though they cannot let go of it. Its plot grabs you and pulls you in and makes you want to finish this book as quickly as possible. This book deserves everyone's attention including mine. Juniper is the story of a pampered princess named Ninnoc. Ninnoc goes off into the outlands of her father's castle to live in a shrewd hut with her godmother because it is her destiny. There she learns helpful magic and how to become a doran. After Ninnoc completes her learning with her godmother she must go back to the castle and prevent her evil aunt from disparaging Ninnoc's cousin and taking over the castle. Juniper is a book that I recommend because shows people how they should not be afraid of things that they have not experienced and it is inspiring. For instance, Ninnoc is afraid of living with her godmother because she lives far away in the "dangerous" wilderness. Ninnoc overcomes her fear and goes to live with her godmother. In time Ninnoc adjusts to the living style and learns much with her godmother. This book also inspires people. For instance, the part in the book where Ninnoc becomes a doran. This is inspiring because it is a dramatic scene that makes you feel as though you are in the hut with Ninnoc and that that you are accomplishing what she accomplished. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for an adventurous and emotionally moving novel. This book is a great book but gender-sensitive males might not enjoy this book to the fullest. For instance in the scene where Ninnoc is asking about dorans, she asks her godmother if all dorans are girls. Her mother responds by saying "No. But there are more women to take the path. Men prefer to put their trust in weapons and fighting. They don't know it, but it makes them weaker" (43). This is a minor setback but otherwise this book is great for everyone. I, being a boy, was a little but I still managed to enjoy Juniper. This book is definitely worth reading!

After reading both books several times, I think Juniper is actually better then Wise Child, the first book written about these characters. Juniper is a more intresting character with a better story line. She begins her story as a Cornish princess who begins to learn the ways of the dorans through her godmother,Euny. I especially liked the parts of the books with Angherhad and Trewyn, with Juniper making her doran's cloak and at last beginning to understand more about magic. Although this is the better book, I would still recommend you read Wise Child first, as it makes it more of a surprise when characters from there come up in Juniper. But this book stands on its own.

A friend of mine reccomended this book to me. I started it, and was not very absorbed in the story at first. However, as I read more, I found that I cared about the characters and the outcome of the story. I would definitely suggest Juniper to anyone who is interested in fantasy, pagan tradition, or just looking for a good book to read. Hope this review is helpful.

I beleve that the book could have been better but unfortuneatly the author decited not to make it quite so exicting and have eilonwy fight and defete the dark enchantiss. I also think theat glew should have ended up as a small gnome but how can I decide how the book ends up turning out.

Eilonwy is coming of age and ready to accept her full powers but Archen has other ideas. Join Taran, Fflewdur Flam, Gurgi & others as they battle to save both Eilonwy & Prydain from the latest threats of evil.

This book, like the 2 preceeding volumes, is wonderfully written so that anyone of any age can enjoy it.

If you haven't read The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron don't read this. You will be missing so many adventures.

The third book of the Prydain Chronicles is excellent, but somehow a little awkward. It is reminiscent of the teenager that Taran has become by this time, as he learns to help an inept prince to become more of a man. It teaches excellent values that adults as well as children should have. Enjoy this book, but read it as the third, following "The Book of Three" and the "Black Cauldron" or else it may loose some of its majesty.

"Gift From the Sea" is the kind of book that makes you want to leave your life for a couple of days and find the existance that Anne Lindbergh seemed to be living in when she wrote it. When I began reading it (by accident), I felt that she must have found some secret passage into my own soul and put its meaning into words I could never even dream of thinking. Her approach is incredible- because it seems as if she took no approach. She just sat down and wrote what seemed to pour uncontrollably from her own soul. She is heroic in her honest, simple view of life and its possibilities. It is a book I advise every woman to read at every stage of her life to remind her of the opportunity she has as as woman- to not only be equal to the opposite sex, but to also delve deep within herself to be what she was created to be.

After watching _The Spirit of St. Louis_ one afternoon, my boyfriend (who is also a pilot) told me that Anne Morrow Lindbergh had written a book, which, as he was told, "every woman should read." The next time I went to his house, _Gift from the Sea_ was waiting for me.

What amazed me about this book was its timeliness, or should I say, timelessness. That a middle-aged Caucasian woman, writing during the 50's, could strike such a deeply-felt chord of sisterhood with me, a 30-something African-American woman living at the brink of a new millennium, is truly the mark of a gifted writer. We "enlightened, liberated" women of the year 2000 think, with a fair amount of condescension, that we have "progressed" so much from that time period. And yet, the issues Mrs. Lindbergh addressed are still very much with us today: how does a woman fulfill the roles of citizen, artist, wife/partner, mother, career person, friend, sibling/relative, and balance all of that with the time and self-commitment for spiritual/emotional nurturing?

I have a quote from this precious gift posted on the wall at my workstation; it is a state of being I seek as a humble pilgrim on life's journey:

"...I want first of all...to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can. I want, in fact - to borrow from the language of the saints - to live "in grace" as much of the time as possible...By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony...I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God..."

This is a must read for women everywhere!

Even though this book was written in the 1950's, it's subject matter is as current and relevant as if it was written yesterday. This is a small, sensible, gem of a book on the often overwhelming and thankless task of being a wife and mother. No, it's not a feminist rant, just a realistic look at what it means to sacrifice yourself for others. This book would make the perfect gift for every mother with young children...trust me.

While the illustrations are superb and disovering some of the clues can be great fun, solving all them is arguably impossible. For those who happen to be well schooled (certainly not children) in obscure areas of knowledge, it may be possible, but not likely given that the author makes one significant error (see page where animals discover feast is missing) and takes such liberty as making up some, but not all of the hieroglyphics (very misleading). Some COULD be deciphered, one, for the letter Q would be an extremely fortunate guess. Morse code can be translated online but will not be within casual reach of many children. The author has some brilliant ideas that are just not well suited for his intended audience. As an adult book, the conclusions are challenging, if not impossible in certain areas due to the aforementioned, however, children can certainly enjoy it if they are not frustrated by the unlikelihood they will solve the mystery based on solving each of the author's clues. If they enjoy the possibility of a correct answer based on guesswork and solving the occasional clue, it may be very enjoyable for them.

This book is a fun book to read! It has very detailed illistrations. It is about an 11 year-old elephant who wants to invite his animal friends to his birthday party. He has a grand feast, but no one can eat it until the Eleventh Hour. To take up the time they play games. When it is time to eat the feast, they find that the food has vanished! You have to solve the mystery to find out who stole the feast. It is a fun and challenging book. It keeps your mind working!

This book is not for 4 -8 year olds, they won't understand it. I'm thirteen, and my mom and I like it.
This book is a mystery about 11 animals who gather for Horace the elephant's birthday. They spend time playing games, and when they come back inside, the food is missing! The reader has to find out who took the food. There are a ton of clues on every page, ranging from all of those clocks, to nametags, to what's going on in the background. There are also many codes. We figured out the morse code page. Some other ones were written in heiroglyphics.
I highly reccomend this book to everybody!!!!!

We are grade 5T from Holland Elementary School in Holland, Massachusetts. There are 16 students in our class. Most of us are 10 to 11 years old. We read Homer Price for our first literature study book of the year.

The book is about a young boy and six of his marvelous adventures. The stories take place in the 1930's. The setting is the small town of Centerburg. Homer has adventures with the Sheriff, his Uncle Ulysses, and friends Freddy and Louis. They meet unusual people like Mr. Murphy, the Super-Duper, and Miss Terwilliger.

Here are some things our class liked about the book. We liked the stories because they were funny and interesting. The class liked all the Sheriff's spoonerisms. We liked how the stories were short. A lot of people thought that Aroma was a really neat pet. The class liked how all the stories were mainly about Homer.

Here are some things that our class did not like about the book. Some of our class did not like how old-fashioned the stories were. Some of us are more interested in contemporary stories. Some of us thought the stories were a little too long. We found some words were very long and complicated. It was kind of hard.

I read this book when I was about 8 years old. I borrowed it from my old grade school library. I was so captured by the fun, simple, but adventursome stories, that I had to go out and buy the book as an adult. Reading it brought back a flood of happy memories from my childhood. The stories of Homer Price and his small town neighbors, friends and family are a happy, refreshing look at what America is and should be all about. I'm looking forward to the day that I can read it to kids of my own!

Homer price is a book full of little storys. My favorite one is where the donut michin would not stop making doanuts and a braclet was in one of them on acsident. THere are lots of stories in it. Theres one where tow people are fiting over a women and they win the women if there ball of string is longer. The women enters the race to. There is one where Homer is a Hereo. I was reding this for battle of the Books and this was for the grad leavle 7 but evrybody who read it(at least my mom and I) ageed that it was a grade leavle 4. This book is great and easy to read so go get a copy and start reading.

Three Musketeers is on my all time best books list. This sequel is no where close - not even mildly enjoyable.

Three Musketeers is filled with action, laugh out loud humor and intrigue. This, its sequel, is filled with mind-numbing palace and political intrigue that is not very intriguing.

The only part that was mildly interesting was how the four characters turned out after twenty years. There is also an intriguing descendant of deWinter, but his role is only sporadic.

When I think of the original Three Musketeers fondly, I am sure I will have long forgotten this long interminable book of palace political maneuverings. If you loved the original and want to leave your recollection untainted - skip this one!

Unlike many sequels, Twenty Years After is just as exciting as it's predecessor, The Three Musketeers. D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis unite once more after twenty years, despite differences in their political opinions. They fight against the evil son of Milady, work to save the life of King Charles I in England, and maintain the crown of the son of Anne of Austria in France. Another wonderful book by Dumas which is captivating from the start.

Twenty years after, although not as good as the Three Musketeers, is an excellent novel. In traditional Dumas style it starts of slowly to reach the climax late in the book. Twenty Years after is the second in a series of five novels about Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artangnan. Once again I dare anyone not to get drawn in by these four characters. I recommend that one reads these five book in order (The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Vicomte of Bragleonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask). Please write back with any comments.