Book Description
Between the herb shop, the catering business, and a weekend paper-making class, China Bayles has her work cut out for her. And now China's half-brother is opening up old wounds, trying to investigate their father's supposedly accidental death, and her husband is taking on the case-meaning she's just bound to get involved.
To put the unsavory business out of her mind, she's gathering supplies for making paper. But in a patch of yucca plants, she finds a body-cause of death unknown. Many residents of Pecan Springs live seemingly simple lives that hide complex and dangerous pasts, and it appears the victim was one of them. Now, while unraveling secrets that hit close to home, China must set the record straight-and find a killer.
Customer Reviews:
Great info on plants.......2007-09-19
I can't say I like the busybody characters or the mawkish female bonding, but the info on Yucca plants and some of the recipes made the book worth reading. After getting a copy from the library I ordered one for myself just to keep the info on hand! Must say, Rambo was the best character in the book, with Howard running a close second.
WARM AND REWARDING.......2007-07-17
If you like comfortable, home spun mysteries (No, that's not a contradiction in terms), Susan Wittig Albert is the author for you. She laces her China Bayles series with little known facts about plants and herbs as well as recipes. One has such a warm feeling when reading this book that it's easy to forget China has stumbled across a very dead body and a killer is on the loose.
Ms. Albert's fans will remember China leads a busy life - she has an herb shop, a catering business and oversees a weekend paper-making class. What do you need to make paper? Yucca, of course, and it's among those plants that she finds the body.
While this would stun most, China has been around. As she says, "I was a criminal attorney in Houston before I moved to Pecan Springs, single, on the scary cliff of forty and desperately soulweary......" Now that she's married to a retired private investigator and has so many irons in the fire her body is the part of her that's weary.
As Albert's readers know, China will find out who dun it and why. Subplots include her half-brother wanting to revisit the circumstances of their father's death, and best pal Ruby dealing with a difficult, albeit ill, mother.
Descriptions of local vistas and small town goings-on add to the Southwestern flavor of "Spanish Dagger" (which, I've learned, is a folk name for a rather large yucca plant. Actually, I've learned quite a bit more about said plant, but that's Ms. Albert for you!)
Enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
I'm still waiting.......2007-06-25
I have read every book and I wait anxiously for each new one. This one didn't quite live up to my expectations. It was fun to learn more about Sheila, but keeping Ruby AND her husband away and acting so immature about the situation with her half-brother didn't help this story at all. I enjoyed this one the least. The only enjoyable feature is the dog. If she kills him, I am finished. I am afraid that is she is getting tired of the series, and she might start using worn techniques. I don't think that she should close the herb shop as one reviewer suggested because this series has too much potential. I will be here next year when the new book comes out.
very enjoyable read.......2007-06-01
I always enjoy reading books from the China Bayles series. If you haven't read any of them you could probably read this as a stand alone without getting to confused, but you are missing out by not reading the entire series in order and I suggest you put that on things to do list! Recommended.
A standout in the series.......2007-05-22
As an avid China Bayles fan, I look forward to each volume. I admire the way Albert has allowed her heroine to grow, yet remain independent and adventurous. Marriage hasn't slowed China down, even with a teenage stepson as part of the package, nor has the store's success.
Albert's characters and setting are so vivid it's easy to forget that she's also a gifted suspense writer. Here the plot seems to twist and turn: we're not sure who the "good guys" are till the very end.
We also have some good subplots. Ruby remains out of the action for most of the tale, while she cares for her aging mother. McQuaid goes off to help China's half-brother shake the family tree.
A good read. I'm anxious to learn more about China's colorful family - hopefully coming up next volume.
Book Description
Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.
But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?
Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional story of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader will ever forget it.
Customer Reviews:
Very touching.......2007-10-01
This is a very readable book. It is also extremely touching. Several times as I read,I found tears streaming down my face. It will restore your faith in mankind and that there is more to a person than meets the eye.
A must read book.......2007-09-29
I don't have proper words to express this "amazing" book.
I can now better understand how it used to be in Slave times,
and feel a better understanding of my own faith and life after death.
I cried at moments of revealation! Would help anyone become a believer.
This book changed my life!.......2007-09-25
It's very easy to forget that this is a true story - it is such an amazing story that it could be fiction! It's a beautiful, poignant, touching book and it changed the way I view the homeless and how I share my resources with others. LOVED IT and I've been telling everyone I know to read it too!!
book.......2007-09-18
I ordered this book for my husband who had heard it was wonderful. He thought it was the best book he had ever read and he highly recommends it!!
A Story of Redemption.......2007-09-18
If you believe in and love stories of redemption, Some Kind of Different As Me is a must. If you know someone who does not believe in redemption or who is struggling to find it, give them this book and encourage their reading it.
This engaging book was given to me by my brother-in-law who, like me, grew up in the pre-segregated South working with black acquaintances who we liked because they did our menial work and our bidding. This story helped me to realize, in a new and fresh way, the bondage they were in. The account helped me realize the desperate position of poverty and the plight of one without education.
This is a true story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore, the two extremes of our society, who found friendship and God's gift of forgiveness, grace, and fulfillment in life through a lady named Debbie.
Denver was a sharecropper in Louisiana who escaped virtual enslavement on a freight train to Fort Worth, Texas where, without skills, he became a vagrant on the streets of that city. Alcohol, drugs, and 10 years in prison hardened him to a solitary, untrusting, antisocial street person without identity or hope.
Ron was a wealthy, self-sufficient, international art dealer who began to serve food once a week in a local mission at the insistence of his wife, Debbie, who had a strong social conscience. His first service was done just to please his wife and his involvement inflicted great wounds to his sensibilities. He was surprised to find himself intrigued to get to know the most distant the of the homeless that they served. After months of trauma without success, Ron finally gets Denver to agree to have coffee with him.
At that meeting Denver asks Ron a peculiar question. "There's something I heard about white folks that bothers me, and it has to do with fishin." "I heard that when white folks go fishin they do something called `catch and release'." "That really bothers me", Denver goes on to say, " I just can't figure it out. Cause when colored folks go fishin, we are really proud of what we catch and we take it and show it off to everybody that'll look. Then we eat what we catch. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water." "So, Mr. Ron, it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon'catch and release, then I ain't got no desire to be your friend." Suddenly his eyes gentled and he spoke more softly than before: But if you is looking for a real friend, then I'll be one. Forever." (pg. 106)
Their friendship does grow and in remarkable ways they help one another overcome great tragedy. As they face these trials together, you see them grow spiritually and truly become the Body of Christ. Redemption comes to both as they find blessing in serving instead of judging. They have different backgrounds, different opportunities but they both come to expressed the love of Christ. As Denver says, "He is our hope".
Drayton Sanders, Dalton Ga. 9-16-07
Book Description
Lisa Kleypas has enthralled millions of readers with her powerfully seductive novels. Now she delivers a story featuring her most unforgettable characters yet....
SHE’S FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS
Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas---if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn’t need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.
HE’S THE ONE MAN SHE CAN’T HAVE
When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon---a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family’s past.
WILL THEY FIND THEIR HEARTS’ DESIRES OR WILL HEARTBREAK TEAR THEM APART?
Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you’ll root for every step of the way. A love story you’ll never forget.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Author.......2007-09-28
****LOTS OF SPOILERS***
Readers here are obviously unhappy with this book, many blaming it on Kleypas' change to contemporary romance. I don't think the real root of their disappointment is that this is a contemporary work. I think the real problem is that most readers picked up this book expecting her usual romance, and instead got a different type of book.
I am a reader that knew in advance that this book wasn't going to be a romance. I began reading, knowing that this was going to be Liberty's life story. Therefore, I don't feel as disappointed as some of the other readers. I was able to really enjoy her story. These characters came alive for me more than any others in her previous works. The book was incredibly well written, but I felt disappointed with how the actual story was developed.
The scenes between Hardy & Liberty are few and far between. But those couple scenes are so incredibly powerful & moving...only Kleypas could write scenes like this. These aren't "sex scenes", these are love scenes. I prefer R-rated romance, but these love scenes are so powerful they gave me goosebumps. I read (and forget) a LOT of romance but I know the emotional intensity of these scenes will stay with me forever.
Unfortunately, the very brilliance and emotional intensity of these scenes leaves the reader feeling frustrated that so little of the book involves the two of them together. In addition, the intensity of their love far outshines the scenes between Gage & Liberty. This is why so many readers feel Liberty ended up with the wrong man.
I think this leads to another aspect that frustrates readers. Hardy is an amazingly ethical teen boy/man. He knows he'll be leaving town to make something of himself. He loves Liberty so much that he refuses to get involved in a relationship with her because he doesn't want to break her heart when he leaves. After he leaves, Liberty's life story is so well done, you don't mind waiting for them to get their Happy Ever After. When that doesn't happen, and Hardy the grown man is depicted as unethical, it is really inconsistent with how his character had been previously portrayed. Maybe it would have worked better if Gage & Liberty's love story was longer and more detailed. However, we don't get enough time with them to get attached to them as a couple. Therefore, for most of us, the book ended in a really disappointing manner.
A Little Too Saccharine .......2007-09-18
I'm typically a fan of Kleypas' work, but this book fell short for me. The pacing is uneven throughout the novel. An inordinate amount of the novel is devoted to Liberty's childhood and the final chapters of the book are rushed. The characterizations also seem a bit unreal.
Kleypas also does sizable amounts of information dumping. Whole paragraphs are devoted to: "Texan Men" or "Houston Suburbs." It's clear that she loves her homestate, but it's trite and unnecessary.
It's still a good bit of escapism, but you might want to visit your library or wait for the paperback edition.
A Real Page Turner!.......2007-08-31
I saw this book featured in a magazine article about hot new books. On my next trip to the library it was on the new book shelf and remembering the magazine article I checked it out. The book was fantastic! I couldn't wait to see what life had in store for Liberty Jones! Please, Lisa, write more contemporaries!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just read the end .......2007-08-26
This book is all back story and really doesn't start until about 50-75 pages from the end. Save you time, read the end and be done with it.
Hated this haunting book!!!!.......2007-08-21
This is one of those books that as soon as you read it you want it OUT of the house!! (I donated mine to the library the very next day.) Days later I am still thinking about this dratted book and I just want to find the heroine and shake her! What was she thinking?? She chose the wrong guy!!! Right up until the last page I kept hoping something would happen - that the WRONG guy would die, or she would break up with him.
Yes, I know the OTHER guy committed a sort of industrial espionage, using an accidental, offhand comment the heroine made, but that sort of thing is a once-in-a-lifetime event. (Haven't YOU ever made a mistake that you later regretted, but yet you know that if you were sent back in time and given a chance to do it over you would make the same mistake? Something that only time and experience can teach you was wrong?) Compare that to the continuous, every day, totally-out-of-hand possessiveness of the WRONG guy. Who do you trust more? Who trusts you more? The WRONG guy comes right out and says, "Trust, but verify." That sort of behavior doesn't go away once you tie the knot - it just gets worse. That kind of man can all too easily turn into the guy that doesn't let his wife out of the house without an inquisition afterward, makes her account for every mile on the car's trip-meter, every phone call, every letter, every glance at any male over the age of 16. He's practically stalking her before they even get married!
I wish I could either rewrite the ending, or wipe this book from my memory. And I DON'T think it should count as romance. Sure she gets the guy in the end, but it's the WRONG GUY!!! AARRRRGGGHHH!!!!
P.S. I still love this author. The Wallflower quartet is fabulous!
Book Description
Phil Gordon plays poker with the best players in the world. He has won -- and lost -- in tournaments and cash games around the globe, all the while studying the game and learning from every hand dealt. As the resident expert and cohost of Celebrity Poker Showdown, Phil has quickly become one of the most sought-after teachers of No Limit Texas Hold'em. It's a tough game. But anyone can become a winning player with the right amount of courage, patience, aggression, observation, and, perhaps most important, dedication to becoming a better player.
After fifteen years of keeping notes on the things he's learned, the greats he's played with, and the celebrities he's taught, Phil Gordon has poured every single thing he knows about No Limit Texas Hold'em into this little green book. Taking a page from Harvey Penick's bestselling book of golf wisdom, Phil plays the role of both teacher and student, offering up insightful tips on how to think about poker and how to develop a singular style of play. Through philosophy, psychology, strategy, math, and the knowledge gleaned from playing poker with everyone from T. J. Cloutier and Phil Ivey to Hank Azaria and Ben Affleck, Phil breaks down the game into enlightening instructional tidbits and illustrative anecdotes that inspire the kind of persistence and motivation necessary to improve your game.
A book to rank with Doyle Brunson's Super System and David Sklansky's The Theory of Poker, Phil Gordon's Little Green Book deserves a spot on the shelf of every serious student of the game.
Customer Reviews:
Great Little Green.......2007-09-22
I have read quite a few books by the pros. However, this one is clearly the best so far. He speaks in terms that are understandable and he explains things well. I recommend this book for anyone in their early years of competing.
Gives you good advice.......2007-09-01
When you start playing Texas Hold'em, this is a good book to read now and then.
If you never read a poker book, this is a great first read........2007-08-29
If you've never read a poker book, this is one of the first books you should read. It will tell the novice how to start thinking about the game. If you ar fairly new to the game, then you will find this book a wealth of information. An intermediate player will find alot in this book as well, although it may never be 'cool' to quote Phil Gordon. Unfortunately, I think Mr. Gordon explains Pot Odds poorly. SUMMARY: For the player who wants to improve but doesn't want to get too deep into poker theory, there is no beating Phil Gordon. The Audiobook version is great for long car rides or subway commutes.
Thumbs up for Gordon's green book.......2007-07-04
Found this to be very educational and easy to follow. Actually listened to it typically driving out to a poker tournament and was able to apply some of the topics immediately.
good mix of theory and play.......2007-05-23
If you like the scenario type reading this book will help you. I get bored with just calculations so knowing the though process was helpful.
Amazon.com
On September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of some four feet in as many seconds inundated the city, while the wind destroyed thousands of buildings. By the time the water and winds subsided, entire streets had disappeared and as many as 10,000 were dead--making this the worst natural disaster in America's history.
In Isaac's Storm, Erik Larson blends science and history to tell the story of Galveston, its people, and the hurricane that devastated them. Drawing on hundreds of personal reminiscences of the storm, Larson follows individuals through the fateful day and the storm's aftermath. There's Louisa Rollfing, who begged her husband, August, not to go into town the morning of the storm; the Ursuline Sisters at St. Mary's orphanage who tied their charges to lengths of clothesline to keep them together; Judson Palmer, who huddled in his bathroom with his family and neighbors, hoping to ride out the storm. At the center of it all is Isaac Cline, employee of the nascent Weather Bureau, and his younger brother--and rival weatherman--Joseph. Larson does an excellent job of piecing together Isaac's life and reveals that Isaac was not the quick-thinking hero he claimed to be after the storm ended. The storm itself, however, is the book's true protagonist--and Larson describes its nuances in horrific detail.
At times the prose is a bit too purple, but Larson is engaging and keeps the book's tempo rising in pace with the wind and waves. Overall, Isaac's Storm recaptures at a time when, standing in the first year of the century, Americans felt like they ruled the world--and that even the weather was no real threat to their supremacy. Nature proved them wrong. --Sunny Delaney
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Reading in his signature dispassionate style, narrator Edward Herrmann brings an eerie calm to this powerful chronicle of the deadliest storm ever to hit the United States--a huge and terribly destructive hurricane that struck land near Galveston, Texas in September of 1900. Author Erik Larson re-creates the events leading up to the disaster in astonishing detail, tracing the thoughts and actions of Isaac Cline, a scientist with America's burgeoning U.S. Weather Bureau. Cline's unwavering confidence--"In an age of scientific certainty one could not allow one's judgment to be clouded..."--blinds the meteorologist to the deadly onslaught about to be unleashed. Herrmann's calculated performance reflects the impending doom and dangers inherent to an unquestioned and absolute faith in science. (Running time: 5 hours, 3 cassettes) --George Laney
Book Description
September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devestating personal tragedy.
Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful,
Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.
Customer Reviews:
NO PICTURES.......2007-09-30
My first thoughts after finishing Isaac's storm was, that for such a big and devastating storm, it didn't seem do it justice. I wanted understanding (why didn't people leave?). I wanted some PICTURES!!.
As luck had it, someone who checked out the book before me had tucked a newspaper clipping pic in the inside flap, of the Bishops Palace and surrounding survivors w/ tons of lumber stacked up against them. THANK YOU whoever you are. I returned the picture to the flap.
Whatever happened to Dr. Samuel O.Young the amateur meteorologist? Sam kept a diary. And it seems was the only proactive person in town, in that he telegraphed his wife and children warning them not to come to Galveston because in his opinion, a big storm was coming.
One reviewer here claims Cline is a hero in Galveston but "Cline gave his official meteorological opinion that the thought of a hurricane ever doing any serious harm to Galveston was "An absurd delusion". Many residents had called for a seawall to protect the city, but Cline's statement helped to prevent its construction."
"Local legend has it that Cline took it upon himself to travel along the beach and other low-lying areas warning people personally of the storm's approach. This is based on Cline's own reports and has been called into question in recent years.
Cline did issue a hurricane warning without permission from the Bureau's central office in Washington, D.C. but by that point the city was already under water. I don't recall reading that Cline actually told anyone to get off the island..
I enjoyed the book but minus one star for lack of pictures.
I hear that John Edward Weems' book 'A Weekend in September' is also recommended reading on the 1900 storm.
Erik Larson is Quickly Becoming a Favorite.......2007-09-10
"Isaac's Storm" is a fictionalized telling of a real-time tragedy. It tells the story of the hurricane that devastated Galveston and provides impressive details on the history and science of meteorology. For the story-telling aspect of the novel, Mr. Larson uses Isaac Cline, Galveston's weather observer at the time.
Erik Larson's committment to research and detail is impeccable. I wish he had been my history teacher in high school!
Book is a Category 4.......2007-09-10
I enjoyed the book. It reminded me of a hurricane, starting slow but building as it went along.
BEATS READING THE BOOK.......2007-09-05
THIS DEFINATELY BEATS READING THE BOOK, BUT TAKE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE ABRIDGED VERSION!!!
Issacc's Storm.......2007-07-23
Again, another book by a great author, Erik Larson. I couldn't put it down, but then again I live in Florida and Hurricanes are of special interest to me. I'm not sure if you didn't live in a hurricane area, example Alaska, that this book would strike you the way it did me.
Average customer rating:
- A Super Modern Western Adventure!
- Cowboys!~
- Part "High Plains Drifter" and Part "Romeo and Juliet."
- A wonderful reading experience
- All the Pretty Horses
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All the Pretty Horses
Cormac Mccarthy
Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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The Crossing
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Cities of the Plain
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Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
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No Country for Old Men
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Suttree
ASIN: 0679744398
Release Date: 1993-06-29 |
Amazon.com
Part bildungsroman, part horse opera, part meditation on courage and loyalty, this beautifully crafted novel won the National Book Award in 1992. The plot is simple enough. John Grady Cole, a 16-year-old dispossessed Texan, crosses the Rio Grande into Mexico in 1949, accompanied by his pal Lacey Rawlins. The two precocious horsemen pick up a sidekick--a laughable but deadly marksman named Jimmy Blevins--encounter various adventures on their way south and finally arrive at a paradisiacal hacienda where Cole falls into an ill-fated romance. Readers familiar with McCarthy's Faulknerian prose will find the writing more restrained than in Suttree and Blood Meridian. Newcomers will be mesmerized by the tragic tale of John Grady Cole's coming of age.
Book Description
Now a major motion picture from Columbia Pictures starring Matt Damon, produced by Mike Nichols, and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.
The national bestseller and the first volume in Cormac McCarthy's
Border Trilogy,
All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood. Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.
Customer Reviews:
A Super Modern Western Adventure!.......2007-09-22
Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews. This review of "All the Pretty Horses" is pretty good. I didn't want to ruin the story by telling too much. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated.
This memorable novel caught me and wouldn't let go. Around 1948, two teenage boys from Texas ride their horses down into Mexico. From there, the adventure begins. For a while, they live at a cattle ranch where the one boy falls in love with the wealthy rancher's daughter.
Highly recommended.
McCarthy is a powerful writer, and his novel "Blood Meridian" is the most powerful novel I ever read (see my review where I compare his prose to that of Conrad).
Blood Meridian:
"That night they rode through a region electric and wild where strange shapes of soft blue fire ran over the metal of the hoses' trappings and the wagonwheels rolled in hoops of fire and little shapes of pale blue light came to perch in the ears of the horses and in the beards of the men. All night sheetlightning quaked and sourceless to the west beyond the midnight thunderheads, making a bluish day of the distant desert, the mountains on the sudden skyline stark and black and lived like a land of some other order out there whose true geology was not stone but fear. The thunder moved up from the southwest and lightning lit the desert all about them, blue and barren, great clanging reaches ordered out of the absolute night like some demon kingdom summoned up or changeling land that come the day would leave them neither trace nor smoke nor ruin more than any troubling dream."
Compare above lines to similar lines in "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad:
"We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, , of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us--who could tell" we were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories."
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
Cowboys!~.......2007-09-18
This book is short but really interesting. Anybody can read it quickly. The only confusing part is that the book has many quotes but it doesn't say who is saying it. This is why sometimes you have to think twice about who said this and that. The lovestory is not like any typical teenage lovestory- in one word it is DIFFERENT.
Part "High Plains Drifter" and Part "Romeo and Juliet.".......2007-09-10
Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode island and grew up in Tennessee, but now lives in Tesuque, New Mexico. He is viewed by many as one of the more unusual and most talented of the current American writers. For example, Harold Bloom has written a number of things about McCarthy.
Some describe Mccarthy as a loner. Coincidentally, that is what one might call the protagonist in the present novel: John Grady. The novel is set in the 1950s time period and Grady is a young man or mature boy caught between the horse and buggy days of the old west and the new west connected by modern highways. Grady has a fascination for horses and is a talented rider.
The story is about two men who ride their horses into Mexico and work as ranch hands in Mexico. It is part love story and part a tale of justice and adventure, i.e.: Grady meets a woman in Mexico. The protagonist is a sympathetic character and most readers will find it to be a compelling read.
Some might not like it for the prose. The prose is complicated by design. I thought the first thirty pages were sometimes a bit awful but effective as well, but then McCarthy lightens up a bit on his writing. He reminded me a bit of the opening of Farewell to Arms where Hemingway tries to set the mood through the use of prose: Hemingway uses a narrative of the natural surroundings. McCarthy uses expressions such as "the sun sat blood red and elliptic," and these seem out of place when compared to the spartan dialogue of a father and son talking over a breakfast of eggs and coffee.
Also, McCarthy uses what is called polysyndeton, or the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. It is a stylistic scheme used to slow down the tempo. As pointed out by others, polysyndeton is used extensively in the King James Version of the Bible. For example:
"And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." Genesis 7:22-24
One of the best parts in the book - and exceptional writing by the way - is where he describes a dream in the middle of the book about horses running free on a plain and he does so in 18 continuous lines with no punctuation.
So, this is based on some universal themes, set in Texas and Mexico, and has some interesting and complicated prose. Once you get passed page 30 to 50, it is a novel that is hard to put down. I read most of the novel in an evening.
Highly recommended page turner: 5 stars.
A wonderful reading experience.......2007-09-09
This was one of the best reading experiences Ive ever had. What was most important to me was how true to the how people of this lifestyle actually are. I grew up in this type of atmosphere and its a big part of who I am even though it no longer defines me on a daily basis. Working with horses is a lifestyle. It what you live and breathe. McCarthy captures that. It had such an effect on me and took me back to a life I miss so much. Enjoy this book.
All the Pretty Horses.......2007-08-06
I was disappointed in the style of this book. I had just read "Water for Elephants" and was blown away. The reviews I read lead me to this author and the above book. The story line is good however he is slow to develop it. I appreciate discriptive text however a paragraph (or more) it seems to descibbe a dry river bed is a bit much especially when there is one on every page. Alas the last 1/3 of the book will go unread. And I will search for the next W.F.E.
Book Description
She was the most outlandish, outrageous, in-your-face symbol of the age - and suddenly, shockingly, she was gone. In life her antics, adventures and behavior kept a nation riveted; in death she stunned a world gripped by the surprise and swiftness of her unexpected passing. The woman was, of course, Anna Nicole Smith. This is the story of the little girl from west of nowhere, born into a broken, dysfunctional, dirt-poor family, told by the one woman who knew her best - her sister. Her fierce resolve, pluck, luck and determination allowed her to claw her way to celebrity status, becoming a tabloid staple, and to reach the potential of unimaginable wealth. And then, in a moment, she was gone, not yet 40 years old. A Horatio Alger story with a bitter ending, TRAIN WRECK- The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith, is the definitive story of the rise and swift fall of one of the most compelling characters to blaze across the American sky.
Customer Reviews:
Uhhh what?.......2007-09-28
Luckily I didn't spend money on this book because it gave me a headache just trying to get through the first chapter. The writing is SO BAD. I can't believe she collaborated with someone and this is the best they could do. It jumps around so much and alot of the book has nothing to do with Anna at all. I figure the reason for that is Donna's writing what she knows and she DOESN'T KNOW ANNA. It's all old news and assumptions. I could have written all the "secrets" that are in this book. Most of the photos are of Donna's family which sure they're partially related, but these people don't know Anna.
If you *have* to read this book, do what I did, and go to the library.
grave-robbing at its best... .......2007-09-22
one word: trash. i bought this book because i felt, well, that no one could probably tell us the personality of this strong woman (and anyone who has gone through what anna nicole smith went through is definitely strong). i figured her sister would clue me in about the culture that brought this young woman to a tragic end. i must say, it is not there. this book would probably amount to "gossip" and nothing else. if you want to read everything you have already heard in the media, it is an okay read. if you are curious about anna nicole's life, this book won't offer you much.
Train Wreck.......2007-09-12
I thought this book was very interesting. I have never been a fan of Anna but found this book to be a good read.I now understand Anna a little better and see that she really had a very sad life. If you are a fan or not this is a good book.
Love you Anna!!!!.......2007-09-09
Good book, I ordered it the second it came out. Very nice cover and image, beautiful packaging. Donna Hogan is a decent writer. I think she might have been false on a few things but over all it was good and worthwhile for Die-hard Anna fans like myself. I LOVE ANNA NICOLE!!!!!!! Been her biggest fan since she came out. She is the most beautiful creature to have ever graced this planet and it is a shame she is gone. Rest is Peace Beautiful and keep the books comin!!!!!
"User-Loser".......2007-09-08
Donna Hogan is just exactly what Anna said she was a "user-loser". She is trying to get her 15 minutes by trashing her half sister who she obviously really knows nothing about. Everything she claims to know comes from the media. She is the epitome of "trailer trash" and too ignorant to realize it. She thinks that her own sleeping with married men and whoever else will have her makes her worldly and sofisticated and that her use of Anna's name to further her causes is ok, yet she trashes her half sister who doesn't appear to have done anything worse than she herself has done. I wish I hadn't purchased this book because I hate to think of her succeeding in making money from trashing her dead sister. She is disgusting.
Book Description
Kerry Cook is an innocent man who wrongly served two decades in Texas's notorious death house for the brutal 1977 rape and murder of 21–year–old Linda Jo Edwards. His struggle for freedom is said to be one of the worst cases of police and prosecutorial misconduct in American history.
In the summer of 1977, Cook was staying in Tyler, TX. He met an attractive young woman named Linda Edwards and was invited back to her apartment for a drink and left his fingerprints on the sliding glass door. Four days later, Ms. Edwards was found brutally murdered. When the police dusted for prints, they found Cook's and immediately arrested him. Edward Jackson ly testified that Cook confessed to the murder during a jailhouse conversation. Jackson was set free, only to kill again several years later. Cook, on the other hand, was convicted and sentenced to death.
He was thrown into a world for which no one could be prepared, and he survived beatings, sexual abuse, and depression; all the while, he fought against a justice system that was determined to keep him quiet and loath to admit a mistake. Through the work of a crusading group of lawyers who forced a series of retrials, his case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the case be reconsidered.It wasn't until the spring of 1999 that Cook was finally able to put the nightmare behind him: long–suppressed DNA evidence had linked James Mayfield, Linda Edwards's ex–lover, to the crime.
Customer Reviews:
You will not be able to sleep until you finish this book.......2007-06-04
I have read the book twice. This is a first hand account of one of the worst cases of injustice in American History. Kerry Max Cook has brilliantly written his own book about life before and after death row and the scars that he still carries with him from the experience. I highly recommend this book to all. I have already bought copies for all my friends.
Moving true-life account of perfidious injustice.......2007-05-30
There have been a spate of books lately about how poorly the American criminal justice system performs. This is surely among the best, though it is not without fault.
Kerry Max Cook was convicted in 1978 of a brutal rape and murder. He was sentenced to death. Over the course of 21 years with the help of a series of committed criminal defense attorneys and capital punishment opponents, he was able to obtain three re-trials. One resulted in a hung jury, another in guilty verdict and the fourth pending trial led to an agreement that saw him released from prison and death row, still as a convicted murderer.
After 20 years on death row, several appellate court decisions and DNA testing, it is abundantly clear that Kerry Max Cook didn't committ murder, rape or any other crime against Linda Jo Edwards in 1977. It is also clear that a long line of Smith County, Texas prosecutors, police officers and others committed crimes against Cook, the least of which is perjury. Nothing of course happened to those who perpetrated frauds upon the court, violated their canon of professional responsibility or flat out perjured themselves. The man the DNA evidence and early eyewitness account pointed to as the murderer has never been charged. In fact, the Smith County, Texas District Attorney's office still maintains, despite the proverbial mountain of evidence against it, that Cook is guilty.
Cook is literate, but not overly articulate. His tale of unbelievable hardship drags in places, but the message resonates clearly: there are proecutors and cops who lie simply to get a conviction. There are criminals who will conjure up stories with the help of prosecutors and cops to get a good deal for themselves while an innocent person is condemned.
I live in the Chicago area where dozens of convicted murderers have been set free because DNA evidence, unavailable or untested at the time of their trial, has established that they could not have been the perpetrator of the crime. The man who headed the State's Attorney office that secured many of these false convictions, Richard M. Daley, has been repeatedly elected Mayor of Chicago. The media never questions him about how all these innocent men were convicted. The same holds true in Smith County, Texas: the several District Attorneys who used perjured evidence or even perjured themselves go unpunished as does the suspect most likely to have committed the murder.
With the recent case of the three Duke University lacrosse players accused of a non-existent rape by Mike Nifong, dubbed a "rogue prosecutor" by the North Carolina Attorney General, we've seen once again how easy it is for prosecutors with the help of dishonest law enforcement officers to frame totally innocent victims. (The NC Attorney General called the three accused innocent.)These three young men were fortunate in that their families had enough resources to get them good legal help and that mostly conservative bloggers investigated and started poking holes in Nifong's stories. It was months before even parts of the mainstream media began to doubt Nifong and the accuser. Kerry Max Cook and the many other convicted innocents weren't as fortunate.
Kerry Max Cook has written a compelling account of his life. That he can have any hope at all is indeed inspiring. His story is a caution that the guardians, above all, must be guarded. The innocent are, as we learn almost monthly as more convicted murderers are found to be innocent through DNA testing, condemned to lengthy prison terms or even death based upon mistaken or knowingly false testimony.
Jerry
Justice-Texas style.......2007-05-08
In March 2007, I attended a talk by Kerry Cook with a 80+year old nun who asked me to go with her. I did not have a clue the subject, I just went to drive for her. What an eye opening experience hearing Cook talk about his experiences in the small room crowded with college students, some of whom are part of various programs to help those imprisoned who are innocent. I later bought the book and I was angry the entire time I read it and ashamed I am a Texan, but relieved that Texas lawyers were the ones who finally helped Cook get free. Cook's story will change your life; if you are in favor of the death penalty, it will change your mind. If you are on the fence, you will get off it. You know in your heart and by current events that there are many more innocents wrongly on death row, put there by "evil" prosecutors, sheriffs, lawyers, etc., not to mention just sloppy police work. It's a crap shoot how you are treated. Kerry Cook is white, can you imagine how Blacks and Hispanics are treated in the criminal justice system?? I am still reeling and Kerry Max Cook has the rest of his life to have nightmares....
If you believe in Justice in our court system, read this...........2007-03-17
because you won't be a believer for long.
Kerry Max Cook tells us exactly how it is to be on death row in this country. He paints the picture of being wrongly convicted that chills one to the very core of their being.
If your pro death penalty... you won't be so sure of that belief after reading this.
One has to give this man KUDOS for enduring a 20+ year nightmare. As well as the attorney's that stuck by his side and believed in him and worked pro bono. It takes a hell of a belief system to get through what this man survived.
I recommend this book to everyone, pro or anti death penalty. It is very educational on our justice system, prosecutor misconduct, judges who are blind to "real justice" & Investigators who will stop at nothing to gain a conviction.
TRUST THE EVIDENCE, NEVER TRUST THE AUTHORITIES.
Justice?.......2007-03-15
Having just finished reading Chasing Justice I probably should be waiting a few days - or even months - to calm down a bit, but I'm finding that impossible. The anger I feel, not only for what the author somehow managed to endure for over 20 years, but how little has been done by the people of Texas to rid themselves of the continuing menace that infects their legal system makes me wonder what kind of a people we are, to continually put our heads in the sand, ignoring the continuing abuses perpetrated by the police, prosecutors, judges and politicians that are supposed to be serving us.
In one of Cook's final chapters he tells us what most of the main participants are doing today. Aside from a few that have died or retired, all police, prosecutors and judges are still doling out Texas-style justice. The person who all of the legitimate evidence points to as the real murderer is still free. Of course all of the residents of Death Row who were there with Cook have been executed. I realize that this thirst for blood is not just peculiar to Texas - much the rest of our nation isn't that much better - but one would think that if we're going to be handing out the ultimate punishment so frequently, even though it doesn't accomplish anything other than satisfying a savage hunger for revenge, it might be wise to make sure that we get it right and make sure that the innocent don't get flushed down with the guilty. One also has to wonder how the family of the murdered girl managed to go along with the charade all of this time, knowing full well that the wrong man was being persecuted.
It's also interesting that who should make an appearance in this Kafka-like saga other than George W. Bush himself. As Texas Governor between 1995 and 2000 one of the first things he did was to sign off on legislation to make it easier to execute those on Death Row by limiting the appeal process available to them, resulting in him signing off on over 150 executions in 5 years. How many of those men were innocent? Is this where he developed his officials-can-do-no-wrong attitude that he has ruled with since he came into power in 2001? In the case of Texas vs. Kerry Max Cook errors and incompetence led to lies and cover-ups which led to more lies as witnesses were coached into changing stories, forensic evidence misinterpreted and pages from witness accounts "lost." All this so officials in charge of the case wouldn't have to admit that they erred in the first place -something that they've refused to admit to this day. In the case of the Bush Administration vs. the U.S. - or perhaps it should be the World - errors and incompetence made after 9/11, accompanied by a huge dose of arrogance resulted in lies and cover-ups which have led us to where we are today. If those parallels aren't enough and we need more all we have to do is throw in a huge portion of a public that is willing to accept practically anything that is told to them because we must "trust our leaders."
Kerry Max Cook is an example of what a human being is capable of. He's managed to take those 20 years that were stolen from him and make them meaningful to all of us. He shouldn't be ignored.
Book Description
The bible of Texas gardening just got better!
Customer Reviews:
Texas Gardening.......2007-07-22
This is a great book. I had a very old book and this is an update.
Wonderful Source! .......2007-06-06
Guess my brother got tired of all my ?? so he got me this book!!
I absolutely LOVE it & recommend it!
It is filled with Texas-specifics from Trees-Shrubs-etc including great info & very nice, helpful descriptions!
I've been looking for trees & very impressed. Gives proper & common name(s), great descriptions, & really like that it gives a close-up drawing of leaf-pattern/shape & there seems to be a picture of EVERYTHING!!
This is a great one to find what/how to plant & care for Texan stuff!
A Must-Have!.......2007-05-24
I call it my "Garden Bible." My mom had the first edition, which I read when I was just a kid. Now that I'm all grown up, I still use this book! Very informative, very easy to read, great illustrations. Overall a wonderful gardening book for Texas. Texas aint easy gardening, but Neil Sperry makes it so.
Neil Sperry's Complete Guide to Texas Gardening .......2007-01-17
I have wanted this book for a very long time, and so I've have built up a lot of expectation and this book does not dissappoint. It was a little different than I expected, but in a good way. I expected a book that taught about various plants that grow well in Texas. It is that and more. This book is ALL about gardening in Texas. How to treat you soil, how to compost, how to plan a landscape, and more. It will answer just about any question you have.
Texas Made EASY.......2006-11-03
Neil Sperry definately knows what he's talking about in regards to what will/will not grow in Texas. As a recent homeowner, I needed all the help I could get. So far, all of my plants have made it two years and I've lived here for two years.
Awesome resource!
Book Description
Marly's love for Cade has spanned her teenage years, and survived strong and intact into womanhood. Her fantasies and daydreams have sustained her, but she's no longer content with merely imagining the touch of his hands, the taste of his kiss. It's time to seduce the tough, sexy cowboy. She's heard the rumors for years, the tales of his sexual preferences. She's prepared herself to accept his desires. Prepared her body for his touch. But she wasn't prepared for the choice to come... Cade's dark desires, his sexual excesses are based in the past. In a time when pain, shame, and blood stains his very soul. He carries a secret shared only with his brothers. A secret that has scarred the bond, the ability to be a brother or to accept the love of the men he was raised with. He knows the only way to prove his loyalty, his love for those brothers and Marly will be the key. She has a choice. She can surrender to Cade's needs, his soul deep desires, or she can walk away. A choice only Marly can make. A choice that will change her life forever.
Customer Reviews:
give it a go...........2007-09-05
I'm a new Lora Leigh fan and this book was recommended so many times by readers on this site that i had to give it a go. I found the book to be very engrossing as it challenged everything i believed in in romance & love. I don't understand how by sharing the woman he loves with his 2 brothers can "heal" Cade and to give him credit he did fought this with everything in him until Marly pushed him too far. The reasoning the author gave regarding the brother's twisted adultlescent years did not go down too well with me as an understandable excuse for this sharing & healing. Also outside of my expectations is the fact that Cade is very much an alpha male yet where are all these "alpha" instincts like possessiveness and jealousy and aggression that comes when sharing his woman with other males (even though they're his brothers). But that's not to say that the book wasn't a good read & it made me think quite a bit. Usually i read for entertainment only & once i've finished a book it's out of my mind but this one kept me thinking even once finished.
The other thing i found hard to swallow was that Marly was a virgin yet she was ok with this sharing of her to all 3 males in the end. And the scene where Cade almost forced her to participate i thought was NOT the action of a man who loves his woman, it was more of an alpha male intent on dominating his sexual partner by making her do what he wants. I don't regret buying this book and would recommend others to read it just for a different point of view of romance & love and of course for the great sex scenes! I like the author's other new release book of similar theme - Forbidden Pleasure much much better in term of storyline & relationship between the female & 2 male leads. The one good thing i found in this book that lived up to expectation as an erotic novel was the sex scenes, it was very very hot and steamy. As this is my first novel by this author i'm very intrigued by her theme and is in process of obtaining the other 2 books of this August Men series on Brock & Sam. Hence it's not a 4 or 5 but it's no 1 or 2 either....give it a go
Hot and good!.......2007-06-21
Not only does this excellent erotic book have great sex, it's also got a great story! I fell in love with the characters and really started to care what happended to them--esp. between te sheets!! This is my first book with this particular author, but it won't by my last, that's for sure!! I highly recommend this one, as well as recomending Erotica - My Dirty Thirties: Male/Female/Male.
Enjoy this one!! It won't disappoint!!!
Very Hot book for cool nights.......2007-05-27
Marly have been love with Cade August since the day that her mom left at the August's ranch. But Cade along with his brothers Brock and Sam share a dark secret. A secret from there childhood that if found out by Marly could drive her away. But another dark for force is the ranch, a force that might leave to Marly's death.
"Marly's Choice" was the first book that I have read by Lora Leigh and it was Hot! Cade is a pure, sexy, male who love sex in any form. And Marly is woman willing to try anything to be with the man she loves. Can't wait to read the other books in this series.
Hot and sexy .......2007-05-24
I could not put it down. A great read from beginning to the end.
Its Erotica, not Romance!.......2006-11-25
Lora Leigh is a well known writer of women's erotica, which is just a nice way of saying female porn. So if you plan on reading this book for romance or a detailed storyline -- then don't. But if you are looking for plenty of well-written, hot sex -- than buy the series!
Unlike many other 'erotica' writers, Lora Leigh's writing is actually interesting and the sex scenes are some of the best I've ever read.
As you go through the other reviews and read how some people considered the storyline 'lacking' and the reason behind the threesomes stupid, keep in mind this is not a romance -- its erotica!!!! You should be reading it for the sex and not the validity of the storyline. Who cares why they need threesomes!! I'm just glad they do!!
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