Product Description
"You'll definitely see elements of yourself and your girlfriends in this terrific novel," is how Redbook described Best Friends-which may explain why this first novel from an unknown author has been quietly building to a surprising hardcover success. It's the kind of book that is shared among friends, an instantly familiar and emotionally immediate story of two women who become college roommates, confidantes, and friends for life.

Clare, from a working-class Protestant family, has never met anyone like Sally: wealthy, pretty, and Jewish, barely emancipated from her close-knit Los Angeles family. Over the decades, Clare is drawn deeper into the circle of Sally's family-until she uncovers the kind of secret that no one wants to tell a best friend.

"A valentine to the staying power of women's friendships." (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

"She captures the feel of things, the complexity of human lives, and the ability of time to expose and to heal." (Josephine Humphreys, author of Nowhere Else on Earth)

"So freshly observed and gifted with such a powerful sense of the ravages of time that it feels utterly new...The book never loses its edge, at once compassionate and humorous."(Publishers Weekly, starred review) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (102)

A Valentine card perhaps, but nothing sweet inside.
I tried so hard to love this book, especially as it was given to me by my best friend as a summer read.She and I agree that although it is somewhat painful to get there, the realization at the end is worth the journey.I am referring to (stop reading now if you don't want to know what happens) the fact that Sally is always looking to be part of a unit through her various relationships with men.At the end she finally realizes that the unit she is part of is the connection between her and her best friend.This is a valid point for many women, as it is for my best friend and I.

That being said, I did not like the odd possessiveness Clare feels for Sally, it did not ring true for me at all.I also did not understand the complete lack of moral structure the women seem to share while judging the other continuously.The whole story of Ben just gave me the creeps.I certainly felt the twist--if there was supposed to be one--was obvious.As soon as one hears the term "magazine distributor" one knows it's going to be porn, at least I did.

I guess I'm saying I liked the message, but didn't get much out of the medium.I'll pass on her other books.The excerpt from Office of Desire didn't leave me wanting more.Thanks for the card, but next time I want candy, too.

Entertaining and human!
I found this novel very entertaining and human. The main theme is about the friendship between Clare, a native of Ohio, and Sally, a native from LA.Both are first roommates at Oberlin College in the early 1970s and form a friendship that lasts many years. I was completely drawn in reading about these two women's characters, the family turmoils, marriages, divorces, children and also about the many topical issues of the 1970s through the 1990s, e.g. the drug use, gay rights movement, HIV/AIDS, suicide, pornography, etc.

Joyce Akesson, author of Love's Thrilling Dimensions and The Invitation

An engrossing novel of enduring friendship
I'm surprised to see the many negative reviews of this novel; I found it quite engrossing and thoroughly enjoyed it.The book centers around two women, Clare, a native of Ohio, and Sally, who is from LA but who looks more like a mid-westerner herself.The story is told from Clare's perspective, starting with when she is first introduced to Sally as one of her three roommates at Oberlin College in the early 1970s.Initially, Clare finds Sally a bit odd, but the two somehow find their way past their differences to form a connection--one that lasts beyond college and through various factors which threaten to draw them apart, including actual distance, family turmoil, marriages, divorces, and children.

First-time author Moody does a nice job in carving out the characters of Clare and Sally.At times, both women make decisions that are frustrating, and both can come across as unlikeable, yet both maintain a basic relatedness that is likely to drawn forth empathy from most female readers.Moody also has a habit of foreshadowing plot elements in advance--there are times when she actually tells the reader what is going to happen before it does, a writing device that some members of her audience may not appreciate.Yet there were times when I found myself to be completely surprised by twists of the storyline as well.One final objection that some might have with this book is that virtually every topical issue of the 1970s through the 1990s--for example, drug use, the gay rights movement, HIV/AIDS, Karen Carpenter's death, suicide, the pornography industry--finds its way into this book somehow.Personally, I thought Moody handled these cultural references well, but others might think she tried to do too much.

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much, and even though it was a bit long for a novel of this type (almost 500 pages!), I found myself engaged until the very end.My final rating is 4 1/2 stars.

Incredibly Depressing
I like reading about friendship between women but this one was too long, too heavy and too much going on with not enough substance regarding the friendship. You have one girl, Clare, from the Midwest, who just is an enabler for her best friend, Sally, a rich girl from California. Sally's family falls apart and Clare is always there for her but she never tells her friend to stop dealing with drugs, enabling her brother then her father and more.

What started out to be a promising premise of a novel became this snare trap of so many subjects: unfaithful men, children, drugs, heroin usage, pornography, AIDS, gay/bisexual sex/relationships, and absolutely nothing positive or redeeming of these two women especially by the end of the book. Like an idiot, I kept plodding through the book hoping for something positive ... and nope. It was just not a good book to read. This book is definitely going into the good will bin.

Don't get me wrong. I love lengthy novels and love reading them but this one failed to interest me at all. It was just too long and too far from the point that I am still struggling to remember what it is about those two women who had everything at their feet in college only to wind up single, divorced, harried mothers so far removed from their dreams of their youth. It is one of the most depressing novels I have ever read. Definitely not recommended.

7/25/09

Flat Characters
A book about enduring friendship through the years sounded like my kind of summer read!I really wanted to like this book, and really tried to.

My biggest issue was that the characters were flat.I don't know that I even liked the main character, but honestly, I felt like I hardly knew her.I don't know if I've ever read a book where I've walked away feeling like I couldn't relate to the protagonist in some small way.Even though I read the entire book, Claire is still a stranger to me.I never warmed up to her.

Secondly, the book tries to pack in a lot of "issues" to keep the plot moving and interesting.Sex, drugs, AIDS, murder, homosexuality, single parenthood, divorce, suicide, STDs, dementia, infidelity...it's all there.And it's too much.The driving force of the plot was not the characters and their relationship to each other, but various crises strung together.

Lastly, I'm not even sure why Claire and Sally are friends.There are no touching scenes between them that give the reader a glimpse at their bond.It seems to be a friendship of convienence...neither seems to have any other real friends besides each other.

I was hoping this book would be like Judy Blume's Summer Sisters.If you're looking for a book about the bonds of female friendship, try that book instead. ... Read more

Product Description
Meet Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin - two women born centuries apart, yet bound by a fateful family legacy. When Ella and her husband move to a small town in France, Ella hopes to brush up on her French, qualify to practice as a midwife, and start a family of her own. Village life turns out to be less idyllic than she expected, however, and a peculiar dream of the color blue propels her on a quest to uncover her family's French ancestry. As the novel unfolds - alternating between Ella's story and that of Isabelle du Moulin four hundred years earlier - a common thread emerges that unexpectedly links the two women. Part detective story, part historical fiction, The Virgin Blue is a novel of passion and intrigue that compels readers to the very last page. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (176)

A FEEBLE FABLE
The author seems uncertain whether she's writing a novel or a fable, and its her failure to resolve that issue which detracts from what could have been an enthralling book. She uses two storylines, one mediaeval, one modern, as the vehicle for the narrative. This can work well when both are proceeding to a climacteric and thence a denouement that will suddenly reveal the relationship between them. Unfortunately in this instance the device detracted from the flow, and the revelation could be seen clearly from quite some distance. Matters are not helped by the introduction of unlikely common factors, e.g. hair changing colour, shared dreams, and wolves. Nor were any of the characters sufficiently well-drawn as to engage this reader's sympathy, which was a disappointment.

A decent quick read
I'm more used to Chevalier's heavier writing (like Fallen Angels), but this was an ok story. I did enjoy the medieval story line much more than the modern day counterpart. I did not like the heroin Ella very much, nor did I identify with her problems and choices. I was also a little disappointed that the end was so ambiguous, but overall the writing was good and so my breakdown is 5 stars for Isabella's story, 3 stars for Ella's, an average of 4 will have to do.

Chevalier.. give me more!!
This, Virgin Blue, is the second audio book I've listened to while traveling It is written by Tracy Chevalier and again the trip went too quickly. I needed to keep listening and was upset when I had to get out of the vehicle for any reason. Virgin Blue is engrossing and highly entertaining.. no wonder it was a winner!! I've picked up more of her works for future trips and look forward to traveling with her... Remarkable Creatures was my initial introduction to her work. It too is fantastic.

Six degrees of separation
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed, "The Girl With The Pearl Earring", it had been so many years ago that I really didn't have any expectations going into this book.I knew it was the author's debut novel and reviews were mixed.
I have become quite a fan of novels with parallel story lines, with one thread taking place during one time period and another thread taking place in a more recent, or current era.The beauty of such a tale is when the novel nears the end, it's as if both threads that had been woven together, chapter by chapter, magically come together.Centuries seamlessly unite the two central characters and you see how one event or decision ripples through time and lays the foundation for impacts to be felt for generations to come.
I was enthralled with the novel to the very last page, but once the final sentence was read, I was left feeling like the ending had been thrust up on me .Not enough of the fine details, so meticulously laid out for the reader throughout the book,were explained.The story line that took place in the current era was extremely interesting, but I found myself really wanting to read more about the history of the characters from four centuries prior, rich with superstitions and old religious beliefs.
A word of warning, there were a lot of divulgation thrown into sentences here and there, and if not careful, some shocking revelations can be missed. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but I would have preferred to have the author extend the length of the book a little longer in order to tie up all the loose ends.

Beautifully painted story
Ella, an American woman, goes to France with her husband and tries to uncover her family's ancestry. She begins having dreams of a vivid blue and begins reciting a psalm in French, a language that she still is grasping to master. During her search for her roots, she meets Jean-Paul, the handsome local librarian with a sardonic sense of humor but a good heart and a willingness to help her find her roots and herself.

The book parallels the story of Isabelle du Moulin, who has married into the same family, but several hundred years earlier, around the time of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew and the fleeing of the Huguenots. Isabelle is very different from her husband's family, who sees her as a witch because of her midwifery skills and her vivid red hair. She struggles to keep her children safe from her husband's wrath, and a dark secret between her husband and his mother that she is not given access to.

Both Ella and Isabelle's stories interweave nicely, with quite a bit of overlap as Ella gets closer to discovering her family's past. It was fast-paced and a very engaging read from start to finish.

This is the second book I've read by this author (the first being The Lady and the Unicorn) and I really like her style. I will be reading more by her in the future.

A bit about the author:
Tracy Chevalier is a novelist born in the US but of Romande Swiss descent (with possible French Huguenot ancestry) on her father's side, and lives in London with her husband and son.

Chevalier was raised in Washington, D.C and graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland. After receiving her B.A. in English from Oberlin College, she moved to England in 1984 where she worked several years as a reference book editor. Leaving her job in 1993, she began a year-long M.A in creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

The Virgin Blue is her first novel, and it closely resembles Chevalier's own connection with and research into her own French/Swiss Huguenot roots. She, unlike Ella, did not find any documented roots in France, as many records just don't go back that far.

A bit about Huguenots and the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Since the eighteenth century, Huguenots have been commonly designated "French Protestants", the title being suggested by their German co-religionists or "Calvinists". Protestants in France were inspired by the writings of John Calvin in the 1530s and the name Huguenots was already in use by the 1560s. By the end of the 17th century, roughly 200,000 Huguenots had been driven from France during a series of religious persecutions. They relocated primarily in England, Switzerland, Holland, the German Palatinate, and elsewhere in Northern Europe.

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy in French) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations, followed by a wave of Roman Catholic mob violence, both directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed to have been instigated by Catherine de' Medici, the massacre took place six days after the wedding of the king's sister Margaret to the Protestant Henry III of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France). This marriage was an occasion for which many of the most wealthy and prominent Huguenots had gathered in largely Catholic Paris.

The massacre began two days after the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, the military and political leader of the Huguenots. Starting on 23 August 1572 (the eve of the feast of Bartholomew the Apostle) with murders on orders of the king of a group of Huguenot leaders including Coligny, the massacres spread throughout Paris. Lasting several weeks, the massacre extended to other urban centres and the countryside. Modern estimates for the number of dead vary widely between 5,000 and 30,000 in total.

Other books to consider:
This book reminded me a little bit of Anya Seton's Green Darkness, which I heartily recommend. Other good books about different periods in French history are the Lady and the Unicorn by Chevalier and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, although the characters are fictional, it does give a good picture of what life was like in Paris during the 18th century. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the 1989 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Awardfor best first novel, this exquisite bookconfronts real-life issues of alienation and violencefrom which the author creates a stunning testamentto the human capacity for mercy, compassion andlove. Amazon.com Review
Oprah Book Club® Selection, November 1996: The Book of Ruth is a virtuoso performance and that'sprecisely why it can be excruciating to read. Author Jane Hamiltonleads us through the arid life of Ruth Grey, who extracts what smallpleasures and graces she can from a tiny Illinois town and the brokenpeople who inhabit it. Ruth's prime tormentor is her mother May, whosehusband died in World War II and took her future with him. More poorfamilial luck has given Ruth a brother who is a math prodigy; Mattsucks up any stray attention like a black hole. Ruth is left tosurvive on her own resources, which are meager. She struggles along,subsisting on crumbs of affection meted out by her Aunt Sid and,later, her screwed-up husband Ruby. Hamilton has perfect pitch. Soperfect that you wince with pain for confused but fundamentally goodRuth as she walks a dead-end path. The book ends with the prospect ofredemption, thank goodness--but the tale is nevertheless much morebitter than sweet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (298)

This book is awful
After the first few pages, I had to force myself to read this book. It is boring and delves into the monotony of the protagonist, Ruth's life. I kept reading, waiting for something to happen because the author did a good job offoreshadowing something that happens to the characters in the book. In my humble opinion, the story did not represent hope at all and the main character does not emerge "a butterfly" like some other reviewers have posted. She remains in a life of monotonous boredom and is only saved from the abuse she participates in because of pain and sorrow brought on from abuse. This read was a complete waste of time and has left me feeling depleted and empty, not uplifted and full of hope like I had anticipated.

Depressing Book
I read this book several years ago, and I've never forgiven Oprah for recommending it.I read it in one long sitting, from cover to cover, waiting for the hope to come.It never did.

The characters have stayed with me, but it isn't in a good way.It is an example of painting a picture of a life with words, that's why I gave it 2 stars.The fact that it wasn't a life worth writing about is why I recommend you look elsewhere.

This is as depressing and pointless of a story as I have ever read.I suppose if you are looking for a reason to wear black and cry in the corner it would be a decent read, but I found nothing of value in it.There are no lessons learned, and nothing of substance to be found in this story.

It is a shame to see such literary ability focus on something so meaningless.

Great storytelling!
I've read several books from Oprah's Book Club, and I have to say that "The Book of Ruth" is by far the best book.Jane Hamilton has a great gift to let the reader really step in the characters' shoes. If the same story was told by an less capable author, the first part of the story would seem very boring, and the second part would seem too far-fetched.However, Jane Hamilton made the characters come alive, and you see parts of the characters in yourself and in people you know.By reading "The Book of Ruth", you go on a journey with Ruth, going through life with her emotionally abusive mother and her talented but emotionally unattached brother, and feeling trapped. Her correspondence with her Aunt Sid is one of the only bright spots in her early years besides reading books with a blind lady.Ruth's journey does not have a happy ever after ending, but you will not regret getting to know Ruth and her life story.

There's a Ruth everywhere
This book was not a turn pager in the beginning however in the last chapters I could not put it down. Not a complicated read. Basically, the life of a disadvantaged girl trying to make the most of it. A girl who gets left behind as her peers have "tools," to go beyond their landscapes and make changes that put them in the direction of a better life.

It was OK
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars because I really didn't love it. This book was chosen for my book club so I had to read it. I think if it wasn't for my club I wouldn't have finished it. Despite not enjoying the book we did have quite a good conversation about this book. It brought about a lot of good conversation and discussion. The characters were complex and well-developed in my opinion, but they were overall very sad folks. You kept waiting for things to get better for them. I felt like the entire book I spent "waiting" for something to happen that never really did. Without giving too much away, there was a climatic moment in the book that was dramatic and shocking. I suppose it is worth it to read it to get to this part. It's at the very end though. It is worht a read if you like to analyze different people's personalities and what makes them how they are. That was mostly what our discussion was about, just talking about why these people were the way that they were. ... Read more

Product Description
From the author of A Gathering of Old Men and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman comes a deep and compassionate novel. A young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting.Amazon.com Review
Oprah Book Club® Selection, September 1997: In a small Cajun community in 1940s Louisiana, a young blackmanis about to go to the electric chair for murder. A white shopkeeperhaddied during a robbery gone bad; though the young man on trial had notbeen armed and had not pulled the trigger, in that time and place,therecould be no doubt of the verdict or the penalty.

"I was not there, yet I was there. No, I did not go to the trial,Idid not hear the verdict, because I knew all the time what it wouldbe..." So begins Grant Wiggins, the narrator of ErnestJ. Gaines'spowerful exploration of race, injustice, and resistance, A LessonBefore Dying. If young Jefferson, the accused, is confined by thelaw to an iron-barred cell, Grant Wiggins is no less a prisoner ofsocial convention. University educated, Grant has returned to the tinyplantation town of his youth, where the only job available to him isteaching in the small plantation church school. More than 75 years after theclose of the Civil War, antebellum attitudes still prevail: AfricanAmericans go to the kitchen door when visiting whites and the tworacesare rigidly separated by custom and by law. Grant, trapped in a careerhe doesn't enjoy, eaten up by resentment at his station in life, andangered by the injustice he sees all around him, dreams of taking hisgirlfriend Vivian and leaving Louisiana forever. But when Jefferson isconvicted and sentenced to die, his grandmother, Miss Emma, begs Grantfor one last favor: to teach her grandson to die like a man.

As Grant struggles to impart a sense of pride to Jefferson before hemust face his death, he learns an important lesson as well: heroism isnot always expressed through action--sometimes the simple act ofresisting the inevitable is enough. Populated by strong, unforgettablecharacters, Ernest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying offers alesson for a lifetime. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (522)

Simply Put - Satisfied!!!
A Lesson Before Dying was delivered in a timely manner.
Condition - like new.Only 3 slightly folded
page holders.Binding was fine. No visiable damage, no
pages missing, no personal notes in the book at all.
Was simply very satisifed with this purchase.
Thank you Amazon and thank you Book Squared.
Would definitely recommend based on this first book.

Great summer reading book
This was my summer reading book this year and i have to say im glad we have summer reading after reading this.

A big fan of Ernie Gaines
I've always been a fan of all of Ernest Gaines' writing. And I am no particular fan of Oprah. But like all his books, I enjoyed this one. I only gave it four stars because somethings I found uncomfortable from my own experiences (as a white woman living in 1940). Not untrue, just from a highly different perspective. And one of the things that I found "worrisome" was the use of Claude Festus McKay's poem "If We Must Die" as theme, with the strong "hog" imagery of the poem and the book: "IF we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot..."

Having said that, I don't for a minute think that Ernie was using it literally in the sense that Claude McKay did--as an avowed Communist, preaching revolution in the 1920s. I prefer to believe that the Hog in 'A Lesson Before Dying" related to the idea of a "revolution" of the main characters' thinking.

One reason for posting this review is that although I didn't by any means read all 500+ reviews, I think the "hog" was grossly misunderstood; and even in one review the idea that "Bayonne" wasn't a Cajun town was way off because in 1940 except in St. Martin and maybe Lafourche Parishes, there were no Cajun towns. Cajuns were looked down on as much as the Blacks--and some would say even more since they're Caucasians!

It's really sad that many younger readers aren't given more genuine background when they read historical fiction stories--especially of Louisiana. Not only do they miss a lot, they are open to formng warped judgments. That was then; this is now. I mean, Oprah and Ernest Gaines being lionized in 1940 in Louisiana? No way.

[...]

"...that's what we all are...all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood, until we-each one of us, individually-decide...
...to become something else."

It's late October of 1949 (p 87) when, grudgingly, a 28-year-old teacher named Grant Wiggins agrees to his septuagenarian aunt's request on behalf of her (similarly elderly) friend, that he meet with her imprisoned 21-year-old godson, Jefferson, to make a man out of him in preparation for his execution (p 20), "I want a man to go set in that chair..." in spite of his initial defeatist feelings about the situation (p 14) "There's nothing I can do anymore, nothing any of us can do anymore." Since obtaining his degree, Mr. Wiggins, a teacher at the same church school he attended as a child, has gained the respect of blacks, but resentment from whites. He has his work cut out for him in trying to transform this simple young man, who is understandably upset at his defense attorney's choice of words during closing arguments (he describes him as being less than human, going so far as to compare him to a hog) and holds on to that feeling in disregarding the efforts of the visitors to his jail cell. Jefferson is guilty of little more than being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong era in American history, and, in the confusion of criminal circumstances, making a foolish, and ultimately fatal, decision.

Over a period of about six months, Wiggins helps change Jefferson, local persons both black and white, and, unintentionally, himself for the better due to his efforts on behalf of the condemned man. A Lesson Before Dying, a book about capital punishment and the ruinousness of racial injustice, is a better book than Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking (which I read just prior to this one). Also good: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell.

An important story with a dull delivery
This book is often compared with To Kill A Mockingbird.They both deliver lessons of the inherent injustice of racially defined societal hierarchies.The insecure obtuse nature of whites makes life a discouraging grind for blacks.This book delivers that message well.It also makes another point clear. Young black men with potential face a choice of staying local in a certain futility of trying to make a positive change or they escape and abandon their friends and family to another generation of discouragement.The point of the book is clear but that clarity is so direct that the book is rendered somewhat dull.Harper Lee delivers similar messages with the type of irony and lovable characters that are the artistic means of great story telling.Ernest J. Gaines delivers this story with a blunt hammer, hence my assessment of 'Important but dull'. ... Read more

Product Description

Do you believe that spending $15,000 on a media center is vulgar, but that spending $15,000 on a slate shower stall is a sign that you are at one with the Zenlike rhythms of nature? Do you work for one of those visionary software companies where people come to work wearing hiking boots and glacier glasses, as if a wall of ice were about to come sliding through the parking lot? If so, you might be a Bobo.

In his bestselling work of "comic sociology," David Brooks coins a new word, Bobo, to describe today's upper class -- those who have wed the bourgeois world of capitalist enterprise to the hippie values of the bohemian counterculture. Their hybrid lifestyle is the atmosphere we breathe, and in this witty and serious look at the cultural consequences of the information age, Brooks has defined a new generation.Amazon.com Review
You've seen them: They sip double-tall, nonfat lattes, chat on cell phones, and listen to NPR while driving their immaculate SUVs to Pottery Barn to shop for $48 titanium spatulas. They tread down specialty cheese aisles in top-of-the-line hiking boots and think nothing of laying down $5 for an olive-wheatgrass muffin. They're the bourgeois bohemians--"Bobos"--an unlikely blend of mainstream culture and 1960s-era counterculture that, according to David Brooks, represents both America's present and future: "These Bobos define our age. They are the new establishment. Their hybrid culture is the atmosphere we all breathe. Their status codes now govern social life." Amusing stereotypes aside, they're an "elite based on brainpower" and merit rather than pedigree or lineage: "Dumb good-looking people with great parents have been displaced by smart, ambitious, educated, and antiestablishment people with scuffed shoes."

Bobos in Paradise is a brilliant, breezy, and often hilarious study of the "cultural consequences of the information age." Large and influential (especially in terms of their buying power), the Bobos have reformed society through culture rather than politics, and Brooks clearly outlines this passing of the high-class torch by analyzing nearly all aspects of life: consumption habits, business and lifestyle choices, entertainment, spirituality, politics, and education. Employing a method he calls "comic sociology," Brooks relies on keen observations, wit, and intelligence rather than statistics and hard theory to make his points. And by copping to his own Bobo status, he comes across as revealing rather than spiteful in his dead-on humor. Take his description of a typical grocery store catering to discriminating Bobos: "The visitor to Fresh Fields is confronted with a big sign that says 'Organic Items today: 130.' This is like a barometer of virtue. If you came in on a day when only 60 items were organic, you'd feel cheated. But when the number hits the three figures, you can walk through the aisles with moral confidence."

Like any self-respecting Bobo, Brooks wears his erudition lightly and comfortably (not unlike, say, an expedition-weight triple-layer Gore-Tex jacket suitable for a Mount Everest assault but more often seen in the gym). But just because he's funny doesn't mean this is not a serious book. On the contrary, it is one of the more insightful works of social commentary in recent memory. His ideas are sharp, his writing crisp, and he even offers pointed suggestions for putting the considerable Bobo political clout to work. And, unlike the classes that spawned them--the hippies and the yuppies--Brooks insists the Bobos are here to stay: "Today the culture war is over, at least in the realm of the affluent. The centuries-old conflict has been reconciled." All the more reason to pay attention. --Shawn Carkonen ... Read more

Customer Reviews (194)

Well-written and a little acerbic.
"Bobos"is a fun read.It's informative too, but I didn't take it too seriously.It is largely one writer's musings on a cultural phenomenon.I particularly enjoyed that the author mentioned Northampton, Massachusetts as a hotbed of the Bobo lifestyle.Since I live in close orbit to that little hippies-with-money paradise in nearby (and gritishly downmarket) Easthampton, I get to bask in the reflected glory of a genuine Bobo paradise without the sky-high housing costs.

I don't think of myself as a Bobo, but I like and admire them as a marketing niche and I am intensely interested in the ways in which they spend their money.This Bobo phenomenon is people who are restoring a farm house and drive SUVs, not folks who live in a mansion, drive a yacht and have a metal barn for their collection of hot cars.For that, read "Richistan".

Bobos vastlyoutnumber Richistanis and they are much simpler to locate and mingle with because they hang out in places you can go without getting thrown out by a giant gorilla.Some Bobos may live in gated communities but they also buy their own groceries some of the time and most, if they have them, don't call their hired help "servants" or "the help".We are, in short, talking about the marginally affluent or, by near-billionaire curmudgeon Felix Dennis's definition, "the comfortably poor"(having less that $400,001 in easily liquified assets and cash).

While the really rich are interesting because they have the means to blow insane amounts of money on a single transaction, say a $140,000 piece of jewelry, they are in much smaller supply than the comfortably poor Bobos who have been known to splurge on extravagant contraptions like the $14,000 R.O.M. machine and the best big-screen TV you can buy.It's interesting to note that the wide availability of huge TVs and other gizmos to the comfortably poor and marginally wealthy is deeply disturbing to the truly wealthy class who, in order to locate where they stand in the social continuum, are forced to invest in ridiculous-but-impressive liabilities like 7-foot yachts.This insecurity of the truly wealthy is covered pretty deliciously in Dan Kennedy's "Marketing To The Affluent" and in "Richistan".

You might, if you lean to the right, be a little annoyed by the Bobos's blue-streak politics but you'll have to get over it.They're smart, well-educated and their influence is growing. I'm not saying they'll win the war over America's values, but their influence is formidable and they are inclined to vote with their wallets.

I thought the author actually looked on the Bobo's a bit disdainfully. I don't know about his politics but I thought he came off as a bit threatened.Could be just me.

Well-written and a little acerbic.

The Brilliance of Comic Sociology
David Brooks' "Bobos in Paradise" is outrageously funny and uncannily perceptive.Bobos is Brooks' highly ironic name for America's educated elite who have co-opted the bohemian values of their intellectual ancestors while replacing the WASP ascendancy in power, influence, and wealth.The phrase "Bourgeois Bohemians" gives much away about the book:"Bobos in Paradise" is about the happy transforming of extreme contradictions into a neat paradox via irony and self-mockery, the two basic ingredients of all postmodern Bobo thought.

Since the birth of capitalism, writers, artists, and academics have defended the thinking culture by ignoring, criticizing, or mocking the potent bourgeois class.We last saw this great resistance in the 1960s when the bohemians dominated discourse.The rise of Reagan marked the cultural response of the bourgeois.Although Brooks would not say this, the nineties saw the M&A of capitalism and intellectualism, or the capitalist co-optation of the intellectual class.Although Brooks does not mention this, this M&A was made possible with the collapse of the Soviet Union; ideology became a bankrupt enterprise, and America entered into an age of immense and seemingly endless prosperity.America in its hegemony now had the generosity and tolerance to embrace and subsume all contradictions and conflicts, and there was no greater contradiction and conflict than the Bobos.

In 6 different chapters, Brooks analyzes the various aspects of the Bobos.In the Consumption chapter, we learn how annoying and hypocritical the Bobos are, as they seek peer approval through the expensive accumulation of the simple things in life that demonstrate their individuality.(If you like this chapter read "Stuff White People Like.")In Business Life, we learn how self-righteous and spoiled they are.Bobo entrepreneurs now seek not only employees' time and energy but also their mind and soul.They have in fact written their own version of Orwell's "1984" as their corporate creed:"Work as Play, Consumption as Creation, Employee as Employer."

The Intellectual Life chapter is wickedly funny, and is the book's mantelpiece.Here Brooks ridicules the game of intellectual life by channeling "Yes, Minister" to re-write Machiavelli; Brooks presents us a guide on how to become an established intellectual the quick, easy, safe way.In Brooks' formulation, whichever intellectual appears on the most conference panels wins, and undoubtedly Bobo entrepreneurs will use this chapter to create the highly ironic and highly profitable "The Game of Intellectual Life" board game and videogame.What makes this chapter, and indeed this book so funny, is that Brooks is at his most ironic and self-deprecating because he and his readers are all Bobo intellectuals.This chapter can be disconcerting and perturbing because it's so true and accurate, but I for one was laughing and nodding throughout the chapter.

We then progress to learn about the Bobos' Spiritual Life, and our exuberance drops steeply into poignancy.The triumph of reason and individuality necessarily means the loss of meaning and community.Unfortunately, no matter how they try to spin it, Bobos cannot capture the same effect of mass organized religion by creating their own personalized spirituality; armed with self-reflecting intellect and postmodern irony intellectuals will never again submit to a higher authority that will ease and calm their metaphysical angst.

There's a lot of cultural allusions in this book (as you would expect from a Bobo intellectual writing for Bobo readers) but nowhere does Brooks mention Aldous Huxley, and I think "Brave New World" is really the best analogy for the life of Bobos - except nowadays, because Bobos have done their research and cost-benefit analysis, the drug is exercise and nutrition, the mantras of moderation and balance

Brooks mentions Edmund Burke and Alexis de Tocqueville throughout the book, and these two great conservative writers would have been horrified by the Bobos.Burke would have bitterly mocked these bastard children of the Enlightenment for being so enchanted with their own sophistry in the pursuit of numbers and profit.

Alexis de Tocqueville would have offered a balanced and nuanced analysis that would be no less condemning.The America he visited over 150 years ago was an open and tolerant nation obsessed with utility and practicality; Americans had a love of discourse and debate, of constant self-invention and self-learning and self-improvement, of what is practical and useful.In his analysis the fading of the WASP ascendancy naturally means the rise of a multicultural meritocracy obsessed with productivity and practices, management and metis (the word to describe learning and understanding through close observation and interaction with organic systems, a practice best exemplified by Jane Jacobs).And this multicultural meritocracy in turn means overwhelming stifling mediocrity that works and feels good - that what is "shallow and insignificant" in Brooks' words.De Tocqueville would have concluded that the potential of America has been bloodily murdered by small minds and little habits.

Both Edmund Burke and Alexis de Tocqueville would have questioned Brooks' Bobos formulation of the ruling elite.For them, Bobos are not a new being but rather just the educated American elite in a time of immense technological wealth and progress.Bobos may be for Brooks comic sociology for readers, but the American elite for Burke and de Tocqueville is a tragic inevitability for humanity.

Where have allthe Bobos gone?
One writes a book at one time and sees one reality. When one comes back to look at it from another, say even only ten years later one might very well see another. David Brooks is an erudite, humorous and intelligent observer of American social- realities. A mild - conservative who does not demonize the other side. In this study he claims that America has put aside the old division between Bourgeois and Bohemian and formed in effect a new culture which blends the two. He argues that the Old almost exclusively Wasp Elite lost its monopoly place through the transformation made by opening up higher education to the great mass of Americans. An Elite of merit and achievement came in place of the Elite of privilege. As Brooks saw it in the 1990's it looked like American prosperity was an achieved goal, and the world was something to be largely optimistic about. The great Meltdown and the financial corruption behind it shows that there was a lot of dubious achievement in the new Paradise. But can still learn and enjoy much from this book even if it now seems somewhat of a period piece.

Great all the way around!
I received my purchase very soon after ordering it. The seller seems very conscientious, and I enjoy this purchase greatly!

Understanding social trends
The book was an unread hardcover at a very good price (less than a new paperback.)Brooks draws together many seeming unrelated phenomena into a coherent picture of the new upper middle class.You will gain a better understanding of our society from reading this book. ... Read more

Product Description
The New York Times bestselling sensation that's "Steel Magnolias set in Manhattan" (USA Today)-now in paperback.

Juggling the demands of her yarn shop and single-handedly raising a teenage daughter has made Georgia Walker grateful for her Friday Night Knitting Club. Her friends are happy to escape their lives too, even for just a few hours. But when Georgia's ex suddenly reappears, demanding a role in their daughter's life, her whole world is shattered.

Luckily, Georgia's friends are there, sharing their own tales of intimacy, heartbreak, and miracle making. And when the unthinkable happens, these women will discover that what they've created isn't just a knitting club: it's a sisterhood. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (342)

Trite and insipid
I listened to the audio version of this book from audible because it was picked by my book club. I did think the idea was cute, and to be fair, there is some fairly well-done character development in Georgia and Anita, but that's about all the positive news for this book. The other characters are basically caricatures. The plot is a (bad) Lifetime movie that doesn't even get to the point until 2/3 of the way through the book. When the point is made, it's so overdramatic and trite that it made me groan out loud. I don't want to spoil it, but some of the things that medically happen to a main character are very unrealistic--no "top doctor" would do what a "top doctor" in this book does to manage a patient with an acute emergency situation. The writing is mediocre and riddled with cliches. The first few chapters are a total backstory dump. SHOW us, don't TELL us!

Don't waste your time. If you want a feel-good chick flick fluff writer who at least makes you laugh with her wit, try Jill Mansell.

The Friday Night Knitting Club
A Great story about women for women. Its about the type of friendships that we all need for good times and not so good times.

passion knitter
Book was received in great shape.
Just love "browsing" thru used books and can always find
one particularly which has to do with knitting.

Horrifically Bad.
How this appalling excuse for a novel fooled its way on to the NYT Best Seller List baffles me. I guess legions of half-literate bored housewives eat this tripe up. The language is uninspired, the writing nearly unpalatable, and the plot so contrived that if this weren't for an office bookclub, I would've tossed it in the garbage. I understand the need for chick lit, the need for airy, light reading--none of that is what Jacob's delivers. Instead we have a cheesy Sex and the City knockoff that embodies everything literature should reject: embarrassingly self-indulgent prose, one-dimensional characters with no semblance of real women or men, and a ridiculous perpetuation of American Dream fairytale stereotypes--that dowdy single moms have a chance at that prince charming if they wait long enough, that aging widows may yet love again. Sure, that might happen, but we have enough rom coms and Disney films that are done well than to bog down impressionable, listless minds with something sugared, empty, and devoid of substance.

Cheesy, predictable, and not worth the paper it was printed on. Save your money for something worth while.

A fun read. Who wouldn't want to be in a club like that?
The Friday Night Knitting Club is a fun slice-of-life story about a handful of New York women (and a few men on the peripheral) whose paths intersect around a knitting shop and the club the regulars keep on Friday nights. The camaraderie of the group is believable and enviable though the story itself drifts toward melodrama on occasion. This is especially true at the end where it seems most of the characters receive tied-with-a-bow happy endings. Too unrealistic.

A fun read, nevertheless. Below is an exchanged between the main character and a passing priest. It sums up what I believe to be one of the book's more powerful themes.

"No, no, that's not what I mean at all. Praying isn't a form of divine insurance. It's just a way of communicating, just a way of opening your heart."
"By that definition, an honest conversation with anyone is a form of praying."
The priest tapped his nose. "You're right on there, Georgia Walker." ... Read more

Product Description
From one of America's best-loved storytellers - the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller WHERE THE HEART IS - comes a tale of a small Oklahoma town and the mystery that has haunted its residents for years.

In 1972, windswept DeClare, Oklahoma, was consumed by the murder of a young mother, Gaylene Harjo, and the disappearance of her baby, Nicky Jack. When the child's pajama bottoms were discovered on the banks of Willow Creek, everyone feared that he, too, had been killed, although his body was never found.

Nearly thirty years later, Nicky Jack mysteriously returns to DeClare, shocking the town and stirring up long-buried memories. But what he discovers about the night he vanished is more astonishing than he or anyone could have imagine. Piece by piece, what emerges is a story of dashed hopes, desperate love, and a secret that still cries out for justice...and redemption. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (94)

Shoot the Moon
Haven't read the book yet, but know it will be good as her books have been.

Shoot the Moon not where the heart is for me
I loved Where the Heart Is. I reread it every so often, and the characters are well-loved friends. In Where the Heart Is, Billie Letts managed to focus completely on lovable small town eccentrics and make it believable, even while in my experience, small towns have no greater a preponderance of strange names than you'd find sticking a pin anywhere in a map of the USA and going through a phone directory. So the names in Shoot the Moon actually detracted from the story for me, as Letts' doesn't know when enough is enough.

Plotwise, Shoot the Moon plays as a cross between Fried Green Tomatoes in the Whistlestop Cafe and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and for me, simply didn't succeed. The eccentricities seem forced, the characters are never fully realized, and I failed to feel more than a tepid attraction between Mark/Nick and Ivy. I would have been happy with a decent romance, romantic-suspense, or mystery, but it felt far to much like Letts watched the last ten years of daytime soaps and picked up the seven or eight most common plot threads (evil sheriff - check, unsolved murder - check, kidnapped baby - check, return of said baby to town after endless absence - check, don't forget rich - check). If only he'd had an evil twin, separated at birth. It was not a terrible book. But oh, I'd expected better.

And what I did find terrible was the glorification of unwed motherhood and the depiction of adoption as a cold and heartless process in which the adopted children are inevitably scarred because they're missing their true and rightful heritage. I'm an adopted child, born the same year as Nicky Jack, and adopted at the age of four weeks. My parents (my adoptive parents, who I have always considered my real parents, thank you), never concealed it from me. I located my birth mother because my adoption was closed, and I felt she should know that I WAS ALL RIGHT. Adoption is such a hard choice to make, not for the child, but for the parent. It's not as hard with open adoption these days, but I know my birth mother has told me how glad she was that I decided to find her, because it's truly hard not knowing what's happened to your child. And yet, she made that decision because she was eighteen, uneducated, and unable to care for me in the way my adoptive parents could. I have a chronic illness diagnosed long after my adoption, and no birth mother could have loved or cared for me more than my adoptive mother has. I deeply resent Letts' choice to vastly oversimplify such a complex decision of love and sacrifice. No mother who chooses to give a child up for adoption can be said to love them less than a mother who chooses to keep them. I always knew from the time I was a very small child that my birth mother could not have chosen a more powerful way to exhibit her love than by giving me up for adoption. It takes a special kind of person to look beyond their own pain to decide if the life they can offer is the one they want their child to have, and a mother shouldn't be judged for determining that she wants something more for her child than what she can provide.

I can only wonder what Lett's experience with adoption is that she's so utterly biased against the institution, and felt it necessary to reinforce that with the cliched stereotype of the ugly duckling discovering his true heritage. Not to mention how she determines that daddy is just a sperm donor because he's an evil bastard but an equally unknown mother inspires her character to literally change the name he's been known by for 27 years because she was pure, good, and so very like him. Do genetics only tell when you're looking for good traits? Just....wow. All in all, I found the entire adoption storyline pretty hard to swallow. Not a bad book. Just not a good one, either, and Letts is capable of a great deal more.

Hate to leave the book
Spent the whole weekend reading this book in between things I had to do, it's intriguing!I really like the characters, and the story is definitely a winner.I usually don't want to read anything Oprah promoted but I found this one in a thrift store and it sounded so good (I also liked the cover design and the author's name and title) I decided for 99 cents to try it.Now I plan to read MORE Letts!!I recommend this book, it's just delicious.

Shoot the Moon
This was a quick and easy read.The story was interesting but you could guess what would happen at the end of the book.I would recommend it as a fill in for more interesting, suspenseful writers.

A Gripping Read with Characters that Really Breath
In 1972 DeClare, Oklahoma Sheriff O Boy Daniels arrested Joe Dawson for the murder of Gaylene Harjo and her ten-month-old son Nicky Jack. However when Gaylene was found brutally murdered in her trailer, there was no sign of the boy, the baby had vanished without a trace and though the townsfolk searched high, low and long, he was never found. Twenty-seven years later Californian Dr. Mark Albright comes to town seeking clues about his birth parents as he's just found out he'd been adopted and that Gaylene was his mother. He is saddened and shocked when he finds out his mother had been murdered and now he wants to find out about his father. His digging upsets a lot of people, including the killer who would rather the past stay buried along with Gaylene Harjo.

This was an attention grabbing story, one that kept me reading thoughtout the night and one that seemed, to me at least, to be very different from Billie Letts' other stories, not different in a bad way, just different, almost like a mystery thriller. I think I expected something like Ms. Letts' superb "Honk and Holler Cafe, Opening Soon," which I dearly loved. This story is not like that, but it is a gripping read with characters that will live with you for a very long time. Different it is, a wonderful story it is, too. ... Read more

Product Description
DESCRIPTION: #1 bestselling fitness guru Leslie Sansone turns her expertise and experience to teaching her fans how to develop the healthy eating habits that work for her.Despite hundreds of fad diets and get-thin-quick schemes, the only real way to be fit is to exercise and eat right. #1 fitness video instructor Leslie Sansone has developed a highly successful walking exercise program. Now she turns her pen to the secrets of her personal diet habits. In LESLIE SANSONE'S EAT SMART, WALK STRONG, she applies her proven six-week plan format to reforming the way readers eat. Each week will cover a different habit (such as portion control) with numerous tips on how to apply it. Each week also has a focus food (such as whole grains) explaining its benefits and providing smart and tasty ways to incorporate it into your diet. The point of the book is not to make readers conform to a rigid plan, but to allow them to experiment with different methods and adopt those habits that are most effective. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Well worth the time
Leslie Sanson is one of the best!Love the book and well worth the read.Helpful and easy program.

Leslie Sansone Book
This book is really helping me to stay motivated.I really like her balanced approach and the recipes are yummy.Some seem a little strange,but the flavors really blend well and tastes good.

eat smart
This book is a very straight forward, easy to follow, sensable weight loss book.Recipes are easy and healthy.It recommends gradual change so bad habits can be replaced with healthy ones. I have used many of Leslie's tapes and was encouraged by her book.

Greating Reading
This is the second book I have read of Leslie Sansone.I found the book to be very straight forward and informative.I would recommend this book.

Looking to get started??
If you are looking for a simple, thoughful guide to help you get started in the right direction towards better health, this book is perfect for you. It's easy to read, easy to follow along, and very inspiring! I really liked the Quiz in the book that helps you figure out what your problem areas are with your eating and how to develop healthier habits. I like Leslie's whole body approach. She connects emotional fitness, spiritual fitness, and physical fitness into a complete program.

I think this book is great for beginners because it builds upon simple goals and concepts day by day. You don't have to completely change your whole life and way of being, you are making small changes to make a big difference overall. I think this is a non- intimidating approach to fitness and eating smarter and being more thoughtful with both. Leslie's recipes might also encourage you to try foods you've never had before.

Leslie encourages using a pedometer to keep track of how many steps you walk in a day. You would not believe a difference this makes! This book and approach will open your eyes to things you may not have thought of before. The nutrition and fitness facts in the book are also very powerful and motivating.

Leslie's products are always great for boosting your mood and inspiring you to continue doing good things for yourself. It's definitely worth a shot!! I like this book because it helps you create good habits and stick to them.

If you are looking for a quick fix I wouldn't recommend this because it's a gradual approach. However, you will see and feel results if you do the program, which is six weeks. I saw results in about 10 days after starting the program.

One piece of advice: When it comes to Leslie's recipes, I feel some of the recipes could be cleaned up a bit. For example, try for brown rice, or whole grain pasta and low fat cheeses. She has many recipes that just say "pasta" or "cheddar cheese" but if you want to be more productive, I recommend substituting a low fat dairy product and whole grain products for any pastas she lists in her recipes. She also mentions adding in some fruits that are high glycemic. I recommend instead using a sugar free substitute or non-sweetened apple sauce in place of those things. None of the foods she lists are BAD for you....the recipes are very tasty and great! I simply recommend considering these substitutions to speed up your weight loss. She mentions them in the chapters in the book but then doesn't list them for some of her recipes.

I think Leslie's book is more for someone who is looking to get started and maybe has not tried a lot of varieties of foods. It's a gradual approach and perhaps after doing the six week program you will consider adding in the whole grain products and low fat dairy products instead of other foods. It will help you.

I find Leslie to be refreshing and her spirit is really wonderful. She motivated me to get off the couch and actually do something to benefit my health. I recommend her if you need a boost or a gentle push in the right direction. There's more than enough room in her program to make the program suit your needs and your lifestyle. It's small, gradual changes that make the bigger, long term change! All of these together will help you achieve your goals. This book is worth buying and the program is worth your time and is worth doing.

... Read more

Product Description
“A feverishly paced action adventure” (The New York Times) about a long-lost Shakespeare work and a killer who reenacts the Bard’s most bloody murders

Jennifer Lee Carrell’s highly acclaimed debut novel is a brilliant, breathlessly paced literary adventure. The action begins on the eve of the Globe’s production of Hamlet when Shakespeare scholar and theater director Kate Stanley’s eccentric mentor Rosalind Howard gives her a mysterious box, claiming to have made a groundbreaking discovery. Before she can reveal it to Kate, the Globe is burned to the ground and Roz is found dead…murdered precisely in the manner of Hamlet’s father.

Inside the box Kate finds the first piece in a Shakespearean puzzle, setting her on a deadly, highstakes treasure hunt. From London to Harvard to the American West, Kate races to evade a killer and solve a tantalizing string of clues hidden in the words of Shakespeare, which may unlock one of history’s greatest secrets. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (96)

Da Vinci Code meets the Bard
Shakespeare Scholar turned director Kate Stanley is happily immersed in her duties directing Hamlet at the Globe in London when she receives a visit from her old mentor, Harvard's Shakespeare Professor, Rosalind "Roz" Howard. It seems Roz has a mystery on her hands and seeks the help of Kate due to her knowledge of occult Shakespeare. While waiting for her rendezvous with Roz, a fire breaks out at the Globe, reminiscent of the fire that claimed the famed theatre in 1613. Once the fire is extinguished, Roz's body is discovered within, murdered in the same manner as Hamlet's father in the Bard's play.

Kate knows that the mystery Roz presented her with is what led to her death and following the clues Roz left her-a catalog card and an old brooch, she embarks on a quest to find out what was important enough to have Roz killed. She soon has her answer-a priceless lost play by Shakespeare may have been discovered. Kate, with the help of famed actor sir Henry Lee and Roz' nephew Benjamin Pearl sets out to track down the lost play, pursued by a ruthless killer who murders all she comes in contact with in manners set forth in various Shakespeare plays. Will she find the play in time or become a victim herself?
I can see where this book merits comparisons to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code as it has the same fast pace and is full of twists and turns. I loved that even though I haven't read much Shakespeare, the author explains everything in such a way that I could understand what was going on. I also liked the interludes at the end of each section where the author flashes back to 1613 and give us a glimpse of Shakespeare and the woman and man he was torn between. Also the story explores the question of whether or not Shakespeare really wrote the plays or whether it was one of several candidates: Edward de Vere-Earl of Oxford, Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, Queen Elizabeth, or several people writing together to create them. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The only thing that really bugged me was for such a smart girl, Kate was a bit too trusting. This one kept me guessing til the end.

Stopped trying to keep track of clues
I just finished the book this morning. I didn't really like it, but gave it 3 stars because I was able to finish it. I couldn't keep up with the convoluted clues and historical characters. I decided it didn't matter if I understood who was writing to whom or how it all connected to who wrote Shakespeare. The characters Ben and Matthew seemed interchangeable at times. He's good; no, he's bad; no, he's good. Whatever. Kate was brittle and two-dimensional. Running from the cops was stupid. None of the flashbacks really made any sense. I was expecting some huge revelation and nothing really emerged. The only part of the story I kinda enjoyed was how the priest and the conquistadors ended up dying in the cave with the manuscript. But Kate, et al. crawling on their bellies through a tunnel the size of a chimney with tiny flashlights for half a mile with no idea what lay ahead? Ridiculous.

Similar to the Da Vinci Code
I'm surprised this wasn't written by Dan Brown as it was so incredibly similar in style.The author clearly did an amazing amount of research into Shakespeare and recounts this research in the book, almost to the point of over load.I enjoyed the mystery and the who-done-it while on the quest to find the lost play, but at times it was very easy to put the book down as my head felt like it was going to explode with so much information about Shakespeare.

It's complicated
I love mysteries, thrillers, and historical conundrums. However, in my opinion, this book was a non-stop avalanche of confusing facts and convoluted theories. In fact, it was so hard to follow I couldn't listen to it as a CD book, but had to read the hard copy. Plus, I knew who the killer was from his/her first entrance in the book--not fun. It also bothered me that, as others have commented, the heroine (and all the other characters, for that matter) just lacks flesh-and-blood realism. Perhaps the author should stick to academia--where she obviously shines--and leave popular fiction to others.

Definitely Five Stars! :)
This was an excellent book.I was hooked from the very beginning and stayed hooked until the end.I loved it.Definitely worth buying! ... Read more

Product Description

Finally...a fun, easy-to-use guide to potty training any child in just ONE DAY

Just think, from the time babies are born until they are toilet trained, they use an average of 4,000 diapers! Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day is the helpful guide you've been waiting for to get your child out of diapers and turn the potentially terrifying process of toilet training into an effective and enjoyable bonding experience with your child.

Teri guides parents to the successful one-day potty training of their child by teaching them how to:

• Look for the signs that your child is ready to be potty trained
• Make the potty connection by using a potty-training doll
• Create incentive through consistent positive reinforcement
• Use charts, quizzes, and checklists to help with every step of potty training
• Know when it's time to bring in a potty pinch hitter
• Complete your potty training -- no more accidents

Once Teri teaches you her techniques, she shares her secret -- potty parties! She has carefully designed twelve imaginative themes for parties, such as a seriously silly circus, a cartoon character carnival, or a magic carpet express, and supplies parents with everything they will need. Teri has proven that a potty party day engages a child in potty training in a way that no other method has before -- by speaking a toddler's language. A party may translate to fun, games, cake, candy, presents, and prizes to a child, but with Teri's expertise, parents can use it as a tool to motivate their child to want to go to the bathroom -- and to keep on going. That's why it works in just one day! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (101)

Working for Wee Wee!
This book really did help me potty train my daughter! We had our potty party 1 week ago and now she pees mostly in the toliet-maybe a few dribbles here and there! We have yet to poo poo on the potty; but it will happen. I did elimination communication with my daughter early on and she did great. After some major family stresses and moves we stopped. I tried taking her to the potty and she would just fuss and scream; so I left it alone for a few months. My daughter is 23 months old and doesn't talk a lot but she says "pee pee" and "potty"-so we went for it. I bought her doll at Kmart is was around $15.00; it is not as good as the corelle dolls but it did the trick. We had a "Princess party" I bought cheap party favor Tiaras and Disney princess panties. Princess fruit snacks, punch, etc. The first day she had 2 accidents in the morning and 2 pees on the potty in the afternoon. My daughter doesn't really care for stickers yet; but the do entertain her. She really liked M&M's! All of the supplies can seem costly-I got a lot of stuff at TJ Maxx and Big Lots-discount stores! Yesterday we had no accidents; even after a 1 hour trip to the park; she was dry! I highly recommend Pampers Easy ups over Pull ups-My daughter has worn Huggies all her life; but the Pull ups are a rougher material and gave her a rash if she woke up wet. The Pampers Easy ups are great, she likes them and she seems to know if she is wet or not! Great Book; I recommend devoting 3 days to not leaving the house when attempting to train.

Sets false hope
While I do think it's a good idea to have a party to kickstart the potty training process, the title alone of this book makes you believe you can potty train your child in one day.It says in the book that after a couple of days if the child is still having accidents they should be medically checked out.We did the party, which helped get things started.After 5 days our son still has a few accidents a day, which is perfectly normal-I do not think he has a medical problem, but thinks that is just a nice disclaimer for the author if the book does not work. The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Potty Training Problems (The Pocket Idiot's Guides)is much better for addressing various issues and for being realistic.This book does not address problems like what to do if your child doesn't want to go.Also, given the amount of stuff I needed to buy for the party, it was a big let down.

Worked for My Daughter But Not My Son
I got this book figuring I would just get some hints from it and continue at the snails pace I was progressing with my boy/girl almost 3 year old twins.My daughter had been doing "ok" and my son just screamed every time we tried to get him to sit on any type of potty or potty chair without a diaper.It seemed simple and easy enough - one day to devote to potty training.My daughter did great, and while we're still working on the pooping, peeing is going GREAT!My son, on the other hand, spent the whole morning doing great with his party and the doll but fell to pieces when it was his turn to start.And then fell to pieces again when we tried again, and then when the doll tried again . . . So rather than loose what little sanity I have left we called it quits for the day.I have to say the hardest part was just getting the other kid out of the house for the whole day.My son is making small progress in his own way now, and I do still attribute that to the work we did during the potty party - the doll worked better with him than it did with my daughter interestingly.And I gave them some little 25 cent presents or an easter egg filled with maybe 4 M&M's (ah, behold the mystic power of the M&M when potty training! Works a little too well) because they go nutso for the chocolate (just like Mom).They both love opening little presents. Enough.Good Luck.If you've tried everything else, give this a shot.

Not a miracle book
This title is so misleading. Maybe some parents can potty train their child in one day, but it wasn't the case for us. I read this and did everything the book outlined and it was still a process of trial and error to find what worked for my almost 3 year old son. It is a good resource but I encourage parents not to be discouraged if her potty party doesn't work for your child. 3 weeks into the process we're having success with an extremly stubborn little boy.

Not successful
I followed this book with my 2 yr 3 mth old boy.It didn't work for us.I am going to try again in a couple months. ... Read more

Product Description
"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver’s license...records my first name simply as Cal."

So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.
Amazon.com Review
"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." And so begins Middlesex, the mesmerizing saga of a near-mythic Greek American family and the "roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time." The odd but utterly believable story of Cal Stephanides, and how this 41-year-old hermaphrodite was raised as Calliope, is at the tender heart of this long-awaited second novel from Jeffrey Eugenides, whose elegant and haunting 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides, remains one of the finest first novels of recent memory.

Eugenides weaves together a kaleidoscopic narrative spanning 80 years of a stained family history, from a fateful incestuous union in a small town in early 1920s Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit; from the early days of Ford Motors to the heated 1967 race riots; from the tony suburbs of Grosse Pointe and a confusing, aching adolescent love story to modern-day Berlin. Eugenides's command of the narrative is astonishing. He balances Cal/Callie's shifting voices convincingly, spinning this strange and often unsettling story with intelligence, insight, and generous amounts of humor:

Emotions, in my experience aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in "sadness," "joy," or "regret." … I'd like to have at my disposal complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic traincar constructions like, say, "the happiness that attends disaster." Or: "the disappointment of sleeping with one's fantasy." ... I'd like to have a word for "the sadness inspired by failing restaurants" as well as for "the excitement of getting a room with a minibar." I've never had the right words to describe my life, and now that I've entered my story, I need them more than ever.

When you get to the end of this splendorous book, when you suddenly realize that after hundreds of pages you have only a few more left to turn over, you'll experience a quick pang of regret knowing that your time with Cal is coming to a close, and you may even resist finishing it--putting it aside for an hour or two, or maybe overnight--just so that this wondrous, magical novel might never end. --Brad Thomas Parsons ... Read more

Customer Reviews (928)

Uninspiring long story
To me there was nothing exceptional about this book. It was a long, unemotional story that lacked characters with any real depth. The narrative was boring from start to finish but I forced myself to finish this book. I would not recommend this book for a any reason to anyone.

Completely different and fascinating family story
Gathering my thoughts together about this novel has taken me several days. Obviously Calliope Stephanides is no ordinary girl. Eugenides surrounds the reason for this with 80 years of history and an intimate look at the Stephanides family. Calliope, our plucky narrator for the journey, relates the events to us in a matter of fact and relatable way. The story of the family itself and how her grandparents fled from Smyrna to start life anew in Detroit and were involved in all sorts of interesting endeavors (liquor runners during the prohibition, silk worker for the nation of Islam, military men, a hippy, and the family business) is just as interesting as Calliope and the confusion she experiences growing up.

You really feel for Callie-hiding in the back of the locker room so no one sees her, constantly wondering why her body is not changing like others her age and then finally discovering why she is different, being treated like a science experiment by the doctors and ultimately deciding how she is going to live her life. Eugenides doesn't use Callie's being a hermaphrodite as shock factor. He just spins the story around her and lets her experiences speak for themselves which makes it so much easier to connect with her.

Of course I am a little biased in this being a native of the state but I really enjoyed that the majority of the book was set in and around the Detroit area. Seeing Detroit before it was Motown and experiencing it right on through the race riots of the 60's and the turbulent 70's was enjoyable for me.

There were a few issues I had with the book though. I cannot quite put my finger on why but this book took me about 100 or so pages to get into. It's not that I was bored with the story or anything like that. The narration and Callie's grandparent's escape from Smyrna were interesting but it just didn't click with me right away. Personally, I am glad I stuck with it but I think many would have tossed it aside before they got to the point where it really picks up. Also when Callie is going through her crush on her friend she has her first sexual experience with her friend's brother. This is the first time she's ever had someone pursue her like that and she gives in without much fuss? I hate that the author would use the "I was drinking and doing drugs" angle as the excuse for this happening. I heard that enough from certain friends in high school. I thought it was crap then. I still think its crap now. I do not see someone who is so self conscious about their body having sex with the first boy who pays attention to her. Despite those few hang ups I had it was an interesting story. I like this author's writing style and the quirky characters he creates. I think I will definitely be giving his first book The Virgin Suicides a try at some point. I hope it's as good as this one was.

A new favorite
The first word that comes to mind when I think of this book was WOW. This is an amazing coming of age story set in Detroit. It follows three generations of a Greek family who was just a little different than other 'traditional' families, but definitely had their fill of family drama and angst. The story is narrated by third generation family member Cal, formerly Calliope, who is the result of the 'close' ties within the family. It is a story of strength in adversity, and of personal discovery with a backdrop of turbulent Detroit as it goes through a Genesis of its own, from motor city to motown to the riots and finally to decrepitude. Cal's narration is witty and delves into the many layers of the family members he focuses upon, which includes for a large portion him/herself and all of the difficulties he faced in learning about who he was. The story moves at a good pace and is compelling throughout-there were no 'lag moments' for me. I can see why this book is on the 1001 books to read before you die list, and I look forward to reading more by Eugenides. What a wonderful author!

You should read this!!!!
This novel is wonderful and original.I find it harder and harder to find a good book in a world of vampires and werewolves.However this book is interesting and entertaining.

Should Have Been a Trilogy
Eugenides creates a fascinating back story for his main character that stretches over three generations.In fact, he does such an excellent job, that our expectations are high by the time we get to the life out narrator.Eugenides does such a good job of exploring the psychological workings that explain how two people leave the Old Country as brother and sister and arrive in America as husband and wife that it's unfortunate that his treatment of Calliope's coming to terms with her gender identity is so cursory by comparison.

The books reads as if Eugenides had a self-imposed page limit, got to the end, and only had a hundred pages left to give to Calliope's story.

A few additional problems:Eugenides employs an omniscient first-person narrative.Okay, okay, I know its just a piece of fiction, but it was distracting having the narrator not only narrate the external events of her grandparents' youth but also the internal world of her grandparents' thoughts and motives.

Also, Eugenides has Calliope narrate the story in the past tense.But when he wants to make sure we are really paying attention and wants us to feel the urgency of the events that were unfolding, Eugenides would switch to the present tense.A little sophomoric for a Pulitzer-prize-winning book.

Just when he has us genuinely caring for and rooting for Calliope, Eugenides spends four pages describing a slow-speed car chase that belongs in a completely different book.This brilliant start of a book degenerated into platitudes, flattened out characters, and just plain silliness.

Eugenides would have down better to have broken this multi-generational story into a trilogy.Perhaps then he would have been freed up to give Calliope's story the pages she deserved. ... Read more

Product Description
AN IMAGINARY FRIEND
Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, the powerful head of a New York theater company, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewelry at Tiffany's. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He's perfect. But only she can see him. Michael can't stay forever, though. On Jane's eighth birthday he leaves, promising that she'll forget him soon. He was there to help her until she was old enough to manage on her own, and now there are other children who need his help.

AN UNEXPECTED LOVE
Years later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets Michael again--as handsome, smart and perfect as she remembers him to be. But not even Michael knows the reason they've really been reunited.

AND AN UNFORGETTABLE TWIST
Sundays at Tiffany's is a heart-wrenching love story that surpasses all expectations of why these people have been brought together. With the breathtaking momentum and gripping emotional twists that have made James Patterson a bestseller all over the world, Sundays at Tiffany's takes an altogether fresh look at the timeless and transforming power of love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (282)

Probably the dumbest book I have ever read
I like a light read as much as the next person, but this book goes way beyond that. The storyline had potential to be good, but the writing was so awful, I could barely finish the book.The book felt way too rushed, especially at the end and left me with so many questions.There was absolutely no character development at all. I have never read a James Patterson book before and now I know I can stay away from any of his other books in the future.

SUNDAYS AT TIFFANYS
James Pattersons book Sunday at Tiffany's was a page turner. I love reading books about love and mystery, but that make me think a little. In the book I got a little taste of everything; love, humor, sadness, happines all mixed in one which was really interesting to read. In the beginning I couldn't put the book down. The way Jane had a special connection with her imaginary friend Micheal really felt like I was inside of it and the way everything was described was also phenomenal . But on her ninth birthday Micheal disappears and Jane is crushed inside. She doesn't have many friends so without Micheal she is usually by herself not interacting with kids her own age. Jane's mother is only around her once a week because of her huge job and busy schedule she has as head of a theatre company. When an imaginary friend leaves you, your supposed to forget about them forever, but for some strange reason Jane doesn't and she can't get him off her mind. Those years are tough for her, but 23 years later he runs into her. They re-connect and never stop talking. Each day a new subject rises and are not able to keep their mouths shut. They actually start to fall in love, but will he disappear again like he did the last time? Is she really ready to settle down with him? Each chapter a new problem comes abroad which makes you keep wanting to reading even more. It's a quick read, but one defenitly recommended. Jame Patterson is able to make the childhood friend feel realistic in numerous ways, it warms your heart, and is a great read for kids in middle school and above.

Good premise, poorly executed
I had high hopes for this book. The first third is actually quite good, probably the section the publisher read, but from there, it starts to really disappoint. I actually wanted to like this book so I was especially frustrated when it started to tank.

It's a very short, spendy little book with undeveloped characters and more flaws that I care to dictate. The invisible childhood friend turns out to be a complete flop, and the relationship between the girl and her mother has no substance. They spend their lives unable to get along and then, voila, everything is fixed. Not very realistic.

I think this book would have worked better for young adult audiences, especially since it's written at about a fifth grade reading level. But then, there's that stupid sex scene, so I can't even recommend it to a kid.

Easy read
On one of my short backpacking trips, I had to pack light, physically.So I went to the library and saw this book.It did not feel heavy and looked like a light read, which is what I wanted after hiking 10 miles a day.This book kept me entertained throughout the trip.It was complete fluff and the character developments are rather poor (like who exactly is Michael...?).
But I am giving it 4 stars because this book fulfilled my requirements for my trip.
I did read one reviewer say that "The Time Traveler's Wife" was much better.Somewhat different premise, but I did get the same sense as I was reading it.And yes, I agree that "The Time Traveler's Wife" is a better written book.

This was a lovely and romantic story!
I have read the negative reviews of Sundays at Tiffanys and am really surprised.

This was a charmingly romantic love story about a girl whose dream comes true.The imaginary friend who left when she turned 9 was supposed to have been erased from her mind as well as from his mind.When this doesn't happen, magic instead happens!I read this in one afternoon and thought it one of the most romantic love stories I have read in a long time.

I am one who reads a lot of 'heavy' books that have profound meaning, but something like this was a refreshing change.Don't analyze its simplicity....just enjoy the sweet ride! ... Read more

Product Description
The women of Freesia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delectable desserts, and a strong shoulder can t fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial club that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline. Holding on through forty eventful years, there s Faith, a lonely mother of twins who harbors a terrible secret that has condemned her to living a lie; big, beautiful Audrey, the resident sex queen who knows that with good posture and an attitude you can get away with anything; Merit, the shy doctor s wife with the face of an angel and the private hell of an abusive husband; Kari, a wise woman with a wonderful laugh who knows the greatest gifts appear after life s fiercest storms; and finally, Slip, a tiny spitfire of a woman who isn t afraid to look trouble straight in the eye.

This stalwart group of friends depicts a special slice of American life, of stay-at-home days and new careers, of children and grandchildren, of bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that mends broken hearts and shattered dreams. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (210)

Friendship at it's best
I cannot add much more than has already been written about this wonderful book of friendship and love.The transformation of each 'housewife' was fascinating to read as it unfolded each season, each year.The children and husbands are not ignored by the author and add to the story of this wonderful group of women.
If you value good neighbors, women and friendship, especially if you have
lived the baby boom generation,you will love reading this book.

would like a sequel please :)
loved it, loved the woman and how they were all so different but were friends despite their differences. I felt like I was there with them in their houses, sharing their laughter, tears and snowball fight.Just loved it and was sad when it ended.Kind of like hanging with girl friends on a vacation and having to leave early.

YUMMY BONBONS...
LANDVIK DID A SUPER JOB WITH STORY STRUCTURE & VIVID CHARACTERIZATION, COMEDY & TRAGEDY. LIKE STEEL MAGNOLIAS THIS STORY CONFIRMS THAT NOTHING TRUMPS THE LOVE, THE SHARING & THE SUPPORT OF THE GIRLFRIENDS.

Bored reader needs a good book!
Trite, silly, sophomoric!This choice was a summer book club selection and so I plowed through it.It is easy to read because it is simplistic and predictable.The 5 women who form this book club would be about my mother's age and they live in the Twin Cities - a place I know very well having grown up in the midwest.So I thought those 2 things might be a hook into the book, but that was a mistake.I did remember (and read) many of the books mentioned in this story - however, there was rarely a thought-provoking connection between the title being read and the actual story being told.

nothing special
I thought that the title of this one was very catchy and it would be a fun read.I read it mainly because a friend liked it.While reading it, I found that I had to actually write down the names of the main characters, husbands, and kids in a flow chart because every time one was mentioned, I couldn't remember who was who.I thought it was just me, but maybe the author tried to introduce too many characters but none of them were very memorable.At the end the book group questions include "who was your favorite character? your least?"I really didn't feel anything for any of them.And, I still don't know why they called themselves "Angry."I didn't get that connection at all.

The strong messages I got were conservatives = bad, liberals = good.Straight men = cheaters, beaters, deadbeat dads, gay men = fun reliable companions that blend in well with an all women's book group.It wasn't so awful that I didn't want to finish it, but I got so bored with the last 50 pages or so that I mostly skimmed it.I found at the end, the only good takeaway is that if you're going to be in a book group, being in the same area (block, complex, etc.) likely adds to the longevity.Agree with the previous comments that it does make you long for lifelong girlfriends.

This read more like a script for a TV movie.I don't think I'll revisit this author.



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