Amazon.com
Bestselling author Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle is a metaphorical journey through Dante's Inferno, told through the eyes of a small Maine family whose hidden demons haunt every aspect of their seemingly peaceful existence. Woven throughout the novel are a series of dramatic illustrations that pay homage to the family's patriarch (comic book artist Daniel Stone), and add a unique twist to this gripping, yet somewhat rhetorical tale.
Trixie Stone is an imaginative, perceptive 14 year old whose life begins to unravel when Jason Underhill, Bethel High's star hockey player, breaks up with her, leaving a void that can only be filled by the blood spilled during shameful self-mutilations in the girls' bathroom. While Trixie's dad Daniel notices his daughter's recent change in demeanor, he turns a blind eye, just as he does to the obvious affair his wife Laura, a college professor, is barely trying to conceal. When Trixie gets raped at a friend's party, Daniel and Laura are forced to deal not only with the consequences of their daughter's physical and emotional trauma, but with their own transgressions as well. For Daniel, that means reflecting on a childhood spent as the only white kid in a native Alaskan village, where isolation and loneliness turned him into a recluse, only to be born again after falling in love with his wife. Laura, who blames her family's unraveling on her selfish affair, must decide how to reconcile her personal desires with her loved ones' needs.
The Tenth Circle is chock full of symbolism and allegory that at times can seem oppresive. Still, Picoult's fans will welcome this skillfully told story of betrayal and its many negative, and positive consequences. --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
Fourteen-year-old Trixie Stone is in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father, Daniel's life -- a straight-A student; a pretty, popular freshman in high school; a girl who's always seen her father as a hero. That is, until her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. Suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie. Could the boyfriend who once made Trixie wild with happiness have been the one to end her childhood forever? She says that he is, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a seemingly mild-mannered comic book artist with a secret tumultuous past he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back to protect his daughter.
With The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult offers her most powerful chronicle yet as she explores the unbreakable bond between parent and child, and questions whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime -- or if your mistakes are carried forever.
Download Description
Jodi Picoult, the New York Times bestselling author of Vanishing Acts, offers her most powerful chronicle yet of an American family with a story that probes the unbreakable bond between parent and child -- and the dangerous repercussions of trying to play the hero. Trixie Stone is fourteen years old and in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father's life -- a straight-A student; a freshman in high school who is pretty and popular; a girl who's always looked up to Daniel Stone as a hero. Until, that is, her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. . . and suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie. The Tenth Circle looks at that delicate moment when a child learns that her parents don't know all of the answers and when being a good parent means letting go of your child. It asks whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime or if your mistakes are carried forever -- if life is, as in any good comic book, a struggle to control good and evil, or if good and evil control you.
Customer Reviews:
I'm Glad I Discovered Jodi Picoult.......2007-10-04
So, Jodi has written a ton of books, and I finally got around to reading one... I picked up The Tenth Circle when Amazon recommended it because I liked "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates. Plus the Dante reference really piqued my curiosity. While it dealt with a violent crime and the enduring repercussions (topics Oates often tackles), it was a completely different story and occurred a generation later than Mulvaneys. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that never stalled. The additional graphic novel illustrations were a great supplement. I look forward to reading more of Jodi's books and enjoying her great narrative style.
Unrealistic Characters.......2007-08-30
I have read two books by Jodi Picoult, The Tenth Circle and Nineteen Minutes, and I don't plan to read any more of them. In both books, the characters seem exaggerated to the point of being caricatures. They're just not believable as real people. Also, in both books, there is a plot twist at the end which I found completely out-of-character and unrealistic, with very little explanation given by the author.
Bit Too Melodramatic For My Tastes.......2007-08-29
This is hard for me because as much as I loathed certain aspects of this book, I couldn't put it down. Despite my best efforts, I got sucked in and had to know what happened next. That says something, doesn't it?
Okay, the premise ... turn on Lifetime or an after school special and you'll get the same kind of story. I won't spoil anything about the book, but Picoult managed to throw in every possible trauma a family could go through in an amazingly short span and then make sure we learned our lessons by practically beating us over the head. But, perhaps such escalation of eccentric plot devices was the point. The mother of her main character is a specialist in Dante's Inferno, and so part of me wonders if this story is supposed to mirror the nine levels of hell, but if so, I think it was done rather melodramatically.
One interesting tool used in this book, however, is actual comic book pages "drawn" by the main character's father who is a renowned comic book artist. Shocker, the comic book is called The Tenth Circle as well. At the end of each chapter are components that make up a larger comic book, which parallel the actual story and play off of Dante's Inferno. I'll admit, Picoult had some impressive concepts going in this book; I simply didn't care for her style of execution.
Listen, I know a lot of people really like this book and love Jodi Picoult, and I can't deny the fact that I could not stop reading. I slapped my forehead the whole way through as the plot got more and more outlandish, but I couldn't stop reading. If an author can keep you going even when you don't want to, they're obviously doing something right.
If you're into Picoult, you'll probably dig this. As for me, as good as she was at hooking me, this'll probably be the last book of hers I read. Just a tad too heavy on the family drama and forced "life lessons" for my tastes.
Not great.......2007-08-27
This novel sounds promising, but there were too many things going on with not enough explanation or reasoning - it was hard to be sympathetic to the 14 year old daughter - or to the mother, both of whom made terrible choices - and neither really faced up to the consequences personally (the mother, clearly, had to pay some dues for her crime) - but I didn't feel the characters grew over the course of the book, with the exception of Daniel, and frankly, I didn't believe in his angst. Overall, disappointing.
Love this author, but not this book.......2007-08-25
I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books, and truly appreciate her mastery of characterization. In this one, however, I feel that there was just too much going on. The premise was promising, and the storyline started out to be very engrossing. I found the whole parallel of Dante's circles of hell with what the father was going through to be very clever and interesting. I thought the concept of using cartoons (since the father was a comic artist) interspersed throughout the book was fresh and new. But overall, there was something missing, a link that would somehow pull it all together. Even though the characters were complex and had intriguing backgrounds, I just couldn't connect with any of them, especially Trixie, who was at the heart of the story. Maybe if I could have felt some sympathy for her, there would have been that emotional attachment to a character to help, but instead I felt nothing. Overall, the story seemed too long and drawn-out and then abruptly came to an unsatisfying end. When I turned the last page, I was left with this empty, unsettled feeling. I realize that I'm not going to love every book by a certain author. I commend Picoult for tackling a very difficult and sensitive subject matter, but this definitely was not one of my favorites.
Book Description
In the spirit of How to Make an American Quilt and The Joy Luck Club, a novel about friendship and redemption.
After the sudden loss of her only child, Stella, Mary Baxter joins a knitting circle in Providence, Rhode Island, as a way to fill the empty hours and lonely days, not knowing that it will change her life. Alice, Scarlet, Lulu, Beth, Harriet, and Ellen welcome Mary into their circle despite her reluctance to open her heart to them. Each woman teaches Mary a new knitting technique, and, as they do, they reveal to her their own personal stories of loss, love, and hope. Eventually, through the hours they spend knitting and talking together, Mary is finally able to tell her own story of grief, and in so doing reclaims her love for her husband, faces the hard truths about her relationship with her mother, and finds the spark of life again. By an "engrossing storyteller," this new novel once again "works its magic" (Sue Monk Kidd).
Customer Reviews:
Story of Loss and Recovery - but Enjoyable (Not Difficult/Painful).......2007-09-23
While it is probably unavoidable for a book about loss and recovery to be sad, I didn't find reading this book to be either difficult or painful. Instead, I found myself having to wrench myself from the book. I also felt thoughtful and a bit grateful as well.
The central character, Mary, has suffered a devastating loss and has been coerced into joining a knitting circle. Each member of the knitting circle has a story of their own that we learn about as Mary gets to know all of them. Along with loss or difficulty, knitting as a form of therapy, coping or salvation is the common bond between them. I don't knit, but there is something about the description of wool, its color and even what is being knitted that is so inviting and warm that it's as if it adds a texture to the book itself.
The author has done a beautiful job of capturing the nuances of emotions and feelings that make Mary seem very real. The stories of the knitting circle members and even Mary's co-workers are varied and interesting and make for what I found to be an engrossing book that I very much enjoyed.
Painful but beautiful.......2007-09-10
The knitting blogs have been listing books with a knitting theme, and I've read a few. Generally they're pleasant little reads, sometimes with a pattern or two printed in the back, and I expected something like that when I picked up The Knitting Circle. Clearly I had not done my homework: this book by Ann Hood is richly textured and beautiful, if emotionally wrenching to read.
Hood lost her own young daughter to a sudden infectious illness. In this book she writes a compelling story of Mary Baxter's grief and recovery after the death of her five-year-old daughter Stella from bacterial meningitis. Mary is immobilized by her loss, and learns to knit through the long-distance machinations of her mother. The rhythm and predictability of knitting gradually begin to give her a focus; one stitch after another, one row after another, until a fabric is created. Time passes and something is achieved.
Mary soon learns that each of the other knitters meeting weekly at Alice's "Sit and Knit" has a tragic story. From lost wartime lover to brutal assault to recurring cancer to loved ones lost on 9/11, each knitter's story unfolds in turn. Their stories are linked through the knitting circle and Mary's slow, slow progress through her grief. Mary's relationship with her husband and her mother suffer from her lack of engagement, as well as her relationships at work. Gradually, like the fabric of knits and purls, Mary begins to be whole again.
Through most of this book there was a feeling of not much actually happening, but an intensity of feeling being expressed as the back-stories unfold; a darker, more introspective Decameron. Beautiful to read, painful but beautiful. Gradually the separate strands become more closely intertwined and in the last part of the book, by comparison, the action becomes more pronounced. This transition is a good fit if the reader sees it as a parallel to the stages of Mary's grief; though it could be seen as many loose ends being tied up in a rush.
You may read books more smoothly constructed and edited, or with more thorough development of the secondary characters. You may read memoirs that make your heart break over the death of a child -- the classic Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther, for example, or April Fool's Day by Bryce Courtenay. But if you are looking for a book tagged as a novel that rings painfully true, that takes you from deepest grief to the tendrils of healing and renewal, then this is the book for you. Knitting is optional, but you WILL want a box of tissues.
Soap opera for knitters.......2007-09-10
I picked up this book on CD because I love to knit and I like to have a book to listen to in the car. I wish I had read some of the reviews before I started listening, though, because as each character's tragic past was revealed, I began to roll my eyes and think, "Oh, not ANOTHER sob story!" I certainly don't mean to be disrespectful of other peoples' grief (I've experienced some myself, over the years), and I can certainly see why this novel would have been very therapeutic for Ms. Hood to write---but it was absolutely not what I was expecting. I was disappointed that it had less to do with people who love to knit than people who are using knitting to assuage their grief, in some almost mystical fashion. Maybe if I had read the book on the printed page rather than listening to it, I would have had a different reaction to it. The reader did a great job with the different voices and accents required for the various characters, but there were times when Mary sounded like such a spoiled brat that I wanted to tell her, "Oh, grow UP!" and I don't think that was really what the author had in mind. Also, I think the reader could have done a better job of transitioning between paragraphs; I sometimes found it hard to follow a change of scene or a transition from one time period to another, if they weren't specifically set off with a chapter or section change. At any rate, I did finish listening to the book, so I guess that shows that I found the story engaging enough to want to hear how it ended. It just was too sloppily emotional for me to find the characters truly believeable.
Wonderful Book.......2007-09-06
I probably shouldn't have read this while pregnant with my second child, as I was often crying on my commute, but I couldn't stop reading once I started. A wonderful, heartbreaking book, and I'm thankful Ann Hood shared this with us.
Knitted Quite nicely.......2007-07-24
I'm over 1/2 way through this read and enjoying it very much.
Although, I find the swearing not necessary for the any of the characters.
It is somewhat "blurted out" and distracting, because it is "thrown in",
for effect, and the characters don't need it to "authenticate" themselves and
color their personalities. They seem very authentic without it.
...and I'm enjoying it very much.
Amazon.com
Amy Tan, who has an unerring eye for relationships between mothers and daughters, especially Chinese-American, has departed from her well-known genre in Saving Fish From Drowning. She would be well advised to revisit that theme which she writes about so well.
The title of the book is derived from the practice of Myanmar fishermen who "scoop up the fish and bring them to shore. They say they are saving the fish from drowning. Unfortunately... the fish do not recover," This kind of magical thinking or hypocrisy or mystical attitude or sheer stupidity is a fair metaphor for the entire book. It may be read as a satire, a political statement, a picaresque tale with several "picaros" or simply a story about a tour gone wrong.
Bibi Chen, San Francisco socialite and art vendor to the stars, plans to lead a trip for 12 friends: "My friends, those lovers of art, most of them rich, intelligent, and spoiled, would spend a week in China and arrive in Burma on Christmas Day." Unfortunately, Bibi dies, in very strange circumstances, before the tour begins. After wrangling about it, the group decides to go after all. The leader they choose is indecisive and epileptic, a dangerous combo. Bibi goes along as the disembodied voice-over.
Once in Myanmar, finally, they are noticed by a group of Karen tribesmen who decide that Rupert, the 15-year-old son of a bamboo grower is, in fact, Younger White Brother, or The Lord of the Nats. He can do card tricks and is carrying a Stephen King paperback. These are adjudged to be signs of his deity and ability to save them from marauding soldiers. The group is "kidnapped," although they think they are setting out for a Christmas Day surprise, and taken deep into the jungle where they languish, develop malaria, learn to eat slimy things and wait to be rescued. Nats are "believed to be the spirits of nature--the lake, the trees, the mountains, the snakes and birds. They were numberless ... They were everywhere, as were bad luck and the need to find reasons for it." Philosophy or cynicism? This elusive point of view is found throughout the novel--a bald statement is made and then Tan pulls her punches as if she is unwilling to make a statement that might set a more serious tone.
There are some goofy parts about Harry, the member of the group who is left behind, and his encounter with two newswomen from Global News Network, some slapstick sex scenes and a great deal of dog-loving dialogue. These all contribute to a novel that is silly but not really funny, could have an occasionally serious theme which suddenly disappears, and is about a group of stereotypical characters that it's hard to care about. It was time for Amy Tan to write another book; too bad this was it. --Valerie Ryan
Book Description
“A rollicking, adventure-filled story . . . packed [with] the human capacity for love.”
–USA Today
“A superbly executed, good-hearted farce that is part romance and part mystery . . . With Tan’s many talents on display, it’s her idiosyncratic wit and sly observations . . . that make this book pure pleasure.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco art patron Bibi Chen has planned a journey of the senses along the famed Burma Road for eleven lucky friends. But after her mysterious death, Bibi watches aghast from her ghostly perch as the travelers veer off her itinerary and embark on a trail paved with cultural gaffes and tribal curses, Buddhist illusions and romantic desires. On Christmas morning, the tourists cruise across a misty lake and disappear.
With picaresque characters and mesmerizing imagery, Saving Fish from Drowning gives us a voice as idiosyncratic, sharp, and affectionate as the mothers of The Joy Luck Club. Bibi is the observant eye of human nature–the witness of good intentions and bad outcomes, of desperate souls and those who wish to save them. In the end, Tan takes her readers to that place in their own heart where hope is found.
“Amy Tan is among our great storytellers.”
–The New York Times Book Review
“Amy Tan has created an almost magical adventure that, page by page, becomes a metaphor for human relationships.”
–Isabel Allende
“With humor, ruthlessness, and wild imagination, Tan has reaped [a] fantastic tale of human longings and (of course) their consequences.”
–Elle
“A book that’s easy to read and hard to forget.”
–Newsweek
Customer Reviews:
Amy Tan and Geoffrey Chaucer: Soulmates.......2007-10-03
Amy Tan bows to Geoffrey Chaucer by imitating Canterbury Tales both in structure and subject matter. Saving Fish from Drowning and Canterbury Tales probe the mystery of human life, the pain and joy, the humor and drama. Tan and Chaucer unravel complexity. Chaucer structures his work around a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury. He writes descriptive portraits of each pilgrim and lets them interact. Harry Balley, the tavern owner, challenges the pilgrims to a competition: who can tell the best story? The competitive tales are told with humor, drama, pain and vulgarity, a reflection of the human situation. Underneath the stories Chaucer examines major questions, the questions we still struggle with. What do men want? What do women want? How does gender affect life? How do humans deal with evil? What is the cause of evil in the world? How much control do humans have? Are we programmed by the gods, by biology, by the mysteries of our own inconsistencies? Canterbury Tales is relevant today, not because Chaucer answers these questions, but because he asks them. In 2007 Tan asks the same questions.
She puts her characters in a contemporary setting, but borrows Chaucer's structure and subject-matter. Tan leaves no doubt that she parallels Chaucer's structure when she creates a group of travelers on a trip to Asia. Just like Chaucer she writes a portrait of each traveler and sets them up to interact. If that is not enough to tip the reader Tan names one of her leading characters Harry Bailey. She changes the spelling, but still gives a big hint. She is a good student of English literature.
Like Chaucer Tan also explores ultimate human questions. She explains her title choice with a story and an epigram. The story describes Myanmar fishermen scooping up fish, bringing them to shore while saying they are saving fish from drowning. Sadly the fish die on shore, and all the fisherman can do is to sell them for profit. Tan copies an epigram from Albert Camus. "The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding." By giving the reader two thought provoking selections at the beginning of the novel she establishes a thesis. To Tan each human being has a limited perspective, and acts with multiple blind spots. Human limitation can make good intentions as destructive as pure evil. Beware of do-gooders.
Tan's edgy opinionated narrator Bibi Chen, who unfortunately died after arranging the trip with a group of her friends from San Francisco, comments on her friends from a broad Olympian view. This narrative technique works well for Tan because while stating her thesis--humans have limited perspective and often create chaos because of that--Tan allows Bibi to see the whole chaotic mess and serve it up to the reader. Bibi, like the rest of us, is powerless to effect change.
Saving Fish from Drowning and Canterbury Tales make Tan and Chaucer literary soul mates. They go after the same truths, are both fascinated by flawed human nature, and are able to see humor and pain without moralizing. They celebrate life; they leave the mystery in tact.
Excellent story teller.......2007-09-26
Amy Tan is an amazing storyteller. This book is so rich with detail for the setting and for her characters. Take a leap, read it!
Floundering.......2007-09-20
So many folks told our Book Club how much they enjoyed Amy Tan's other works such as The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife, that choosing Saving Fish from Drowning as our September 2007 read was an easy decision. We were ready for a good read. Certainly, the title was intriguing. What could it mean? How will it apply to the story? Tell us more. Writing from the perspective of a dead woman, Bibi Chen, Tan expertly began to reel us in with a quirky story set in odd places filled with unusual characters. It was exactly what you'd expect from a writer of her renown. For about a hundred pages we were hooked.
About halfway through the book, we began to have some doubts. For some, it started with her use of foreshadowing. Forget subtlety. Think Yogi Berra meets Burma Shave: When you come to a fork in the road, take it. For others, the problem was plot, or more accurately too many sub-plots and no main one. In the end, most of our readers didn't care a fig for any of the characters or the various stories. Mercifully, the book does have an ending. Even better, there is an Epilog. So if you really want to know if the tribe ever finds their lost God or if they end up massacred by the Myanmar military, or more important, if Harry gets Sally, Tan is there to wrap it all up for you. In Burma Shave lingo, we think her sermon says: Western do-gooders are like so many fishermen who spend their days saving fish from drowning.
A Masterpiece From Amy Tan.......2007-09-12
It's interesting to me that the reviews are all over the map for this one, but I'm firmly in the "5 star" camp, since "Saving Fish From Drowning" is easily the best book I've read all year.
I'd read Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club" years ago, and though I enjoyed it, I was pleased to learn that she is not limited to the topic of mother/daughter relationships. There is a bit of that subject early on in "Saving Fish", but the novel in its entirety is SO much more. Heads up - this book is not in any way to be categorized and/or dismissed as "chick lit".
In a nutshell, the story involves a group of American travelers in China and Burma/Myanmar who are (mis)lead off the beaten track, shall we say. The person who had carefully planned this trip for them and was to be their guide dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, shortly before the tour was to begin. Having failed to purchase cancellation insurance, the group is resigned to go ahead with the travel plan anyway. Their would-be guide, an erudite art historian-type named Bibi Chen, goes along with the group "in spirit", making observations about the people and places along the way.
This most clever ruse on the part of Tan succeeds exceptionally well. "Saving Fish" is full of laugh-out-loud humor, as well as adventure and suspense. Anyone who has ever traveled anywhere with a tour group will recognize the various characters and some of the predicaments they get themselves into. In addition, the story is an eye-opener on the politics and military regime currently still in power in Burma/Myanmar.
I was beginning to think that perhaps I am too critical a critic, since many books that I've read of late were (in my view) mediocre at best. Now I feel redeemed, since "Saving Fish From Drowning" makes suffering through a dozen of those turkeys worthwhile. I'd recommend SFFD to all thoughtful readers aged late teens and up.
Excellent and fun to read.......2007-09-05
I am also glad I didn't read any negative reviews before I picked this book up. I also had difficult time getting through the first 150 or more pages, but being a fan of Amy Tan, I trusted she would make this work, and SHE DID!! Fantastic book, exceptional writing, funnier in the last 100 pages. She got me hooked. This book is not for the light hearted reader, but for the reader who likes good writing as an art and for provoking thought. Don't read the end, just read it straight through from page one to the credits.
Average customer rating:
- WOW!!!
- Good ingredients, bad recipe
- Outstanding!!
- Get the whole series
- exciting
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Red (The Circle: Book Two)
Ted Dekker
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White (Circle Trilogy)
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Black
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Three
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Showdown
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Saint
ASIN: 1595540342 |
Book Description
"We have stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness."
The mind-bending pace of Black accelerates in Red, Book Two of Ted Dekker's groundbreaking Circle trilogy. Less than a month ago, Thomas Hunter was a failed writer selling coffee at the Java Hut in Denver. Now he finds himself in a desperate quest to rescue two worlds from collapse. In one world, he's a battle-scarred general commanding an army of primitive warriors. In the other, he's racing to outwit sadistic terrorists intent on creating global chaos through an unstoppable virus.
Two worlds on the brink of destruction. One unthinkable solution.
Enter an adrenaline-laced epic where dreams and reality collide. Nothing is as it seems, as Black turns to Red
Customer Reviews:
WOW!!!.......2007-07-12
I read this book in about a week. It is an excellent bridge between Black and White. I was sitting in the lunch room reading and the book revealed a plot twist that I expected... but I exclaimed out loud when the other twist hit and then they kept coming. It ended leaving you wanting more and I jumped on the third book of the series! This is a MUST READ!!!
Good ingredients, bad recipe.......2007-06-25
"Red", continues the "Circle Trilogy" begun in "Black", but the alternate reality that Thomas Hunter visits in his dreams has radically changed. The innocent people of the Colored Forest are now under the dominion of the evil Shataiki, and have developed a skin disease that also fouls their minds. Living in the desert, they are called "Scabs" by the few humans who have escaped their fate. Led by Thomas Hunter, the non-Scabs are forest-dwellers, and have to bathe regularly in a lake to keep the dreaded skin disease that lurks in all of them at bay. Meanwhile, in our world, Armand Fortier and his minions continue their plan to blackmail the world with the Raison Strain virus.
Anyone familiar with major Bible themes will instantly understand Dekker's allegory. For the most part, I found his analogies very creative, although there is some repetition from the first book. I applaud Dekker for writing a fantasy that is distinctly Christian, even if the symbolism is a bit obvious. What bothers me, theologically speaking, is that one element of the plot seems to involve the re-sacrificing of Christ (a criticism that could also apply to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), a sacrifice that the Bible says only needed to be made once. Also, Dekker's version of salvation seems to be motivated more by love for God than for sorrow and repentance for sin.
While the ingredients of a good story are here, Dekker doesn't assemble them into a compelling yarn. The fantasy world of Hunter's dreams is flat and dull compared with Middle Earth, Narnia, or EarthSea. There are only two cultures living there, and they both speak the same language. The land itself is also generic; other than the rhambutan fruit, there are no interesting creatures or plants that you couldn't find in our world.
The villains are similarly bland. The bat-like Shataiki who terrorized the fantasy world in the first book are almost completely gone from this one. Valborg Svensson was the incarnation of evil in "Black", but here he's just the henchman of a nondescript European internationalist who's about as menacing as your average politician. Well, okay, maybe that IS pretty scary...
It's also hard to care much about a hero who keeps getting killed and coming back to life (as we saw several times in "Black"). It almost plays like black comedy. "Oh no! Thomas is dead!" Yeah. Whatever. On the other hand, that last bullet to the head apparently made him a lot smarter; in the first book the dolt couldn't remember that splicing the fifth and ninety-third gene in the Raison Strain would make an antidote to the virus. In "Red" not only can he remember the recipe for gunpowder (including how to find, mine, and process the necessary ingredients), he can also make a batch big enough to blow up a cliff -- all in one night, with no previous experience! Thomas Hunter, super genius!
Although Dekker plays with some interesting and innovative ideas, the story has too many irritating flaws to recommend it. I give 2 stars to "Red" and to the trilogy as a whole.
Outstanding!!.......2007-06-12
Ted Dekker writes beautifully and his plots are magnificient. RED had depth and emotion and intensely driven scene after scene. A keeper.
Get the whole series.......2007-05-13
fascinating... worth the read.... I enjoyed the series so much I bought a second set as a gift even before I finished Book 3
exciting .......2007-03-31
but not for me....It is kinda eerie to read a man throw in romance in the middle of a book with so much violence.
Book Description
Many famous antique texts are misunderstood and many others have been completely dismissed, all because the literary style in which they were written is unfamiliar today. So argues Mary Douglas in this controversial study of ring composition, a technique which places the meaning of a text in the middle, framed by a beginning and ending in parallel. To read a ring composition in the modern linear fashion is to misinterpret it, Douglas contends, and today’s scholars must reevaluate important antique texts from around the world.
Found in the Bible and in writings from as far afield as Egypt, China, Indonesia, Greece, and Russia, ring composition is too widespread to have come from a single source. Does it perhaps derive from the way the brain works? What is its function in social contexts? The author examines ring composition, its principles and functions, in a cross-cultural way. She focuses on ring composition in Homer’s Iliad, the Bible’s book of Numbers, and, for a challenging modern example, Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, developing a persuasive argument for reconstruing famous books and rereading neglected ones.
Average customer rating:
- MUST READ!!!
- Disappointing conclusion leaves unanswered questions
- Book Three is worth the wait
- Top notch!!
- great series
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White (Circle Trilogy)
Ted Dekker
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Suspense
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General
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Black
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Saint
ASIN: 1595540350 |
Book Description
"Never break The Circle."
In this final installment of Ted Dekker's groundbreaking Circle trilogy, Thomas Hunter has only days to survive two separate realms of danger, deceit, and destruction. The fate of both worlds hinges on his unique ability to shift realities through his dreams.
Now leading a small ragtag group known as The Circle, Thomas finds himself facing new enemies, never-ending challenges, and the forbidden love of a most unlikely woman.
Enter the Great pursuit, where Thomas and a small band of followers must decide quickly who they can trust--both with their own lives and the fate of millions. Dreams and reality quickly bleed into each other as time runs out. And neither the terror of Black nor the treachery of Red can prepare Thomas for the forces aligned against The Circle in White.
Customer Reviews:
MUST READ!!!.......2007-07-12
You have GOT to get this book! Get the first two and read them... or get them all at once because you will go from one to the other right away not wanting to wait.
Disappointing conclusion leaves unanswered questions.......2007-06-26
In "White" the "Circle Trilogy" reaches a disappointing conclusion, and while a slam-bang final volume could have saved the trilogy, this effort only sinks it further into mediocrity. Combine Dekker's dangling plot lines with a questionable portrayal of the nature of God, and you have a book that avoids a one-star rating by the skin of its teeth.
For example, in "Black", Dekker hinted at a connection between Teeleh and Svensson (he describes both as walking with a leg-dragging limp). I kept waiting for some kind of payoff or revelation, but nothing ever comes of it. It's as if the author simply forgot what he had written earlier. In fact, most of the villains either disappear (Teeleh only has a cameo) or are quickly dispatched with no final battle or confrontation.
The biggest plot problems, though, surround the "Books of Histories". First, Thomas discovers that anything written in the blank books comes true -- it literally becomes history. So if anything goes, why doesn't Thomas just write "Armand Fortier and Valborg Svensson dropped dead"? If that seems too merciless, why not write "Monique discovered the antidote for the Raison Strain"?
Second, about half way through the book, most of the Histories suddenly vanish. Unfortunately, Dekker forgets to tell us why or how, and their disappearance plays no further role in the story.
Third, one of the blank books -- almost unlimited power -- falls into the hands of the bad guys. Does Thomas mount a desperate and daring attempt to retrieve the book? Do the bad guys gloat over the perfect weapon and try to use it for evil? Nope. Nothing happens. Literally, NOTHING happens.
Despite being a powerful allegory of God's love, the book fails on the spiritual front, too. Portraying God as "desperate" to win the love of sinners is almost blasphemous. Since God has absolute foreknowledge of the future, He isn't desperate about anything. It's fine for Dekker to remind us that God is an emotional Being, but His emotions do not control Him the way the author presents. Thomas' love for Chelise is problematic, too, as impressionable young people could see it as encouraging "missionary dating".
Lacking a satisfying climax, and filled with plot holes and confusing theology, "White" rates 2 stars. Barely.
Book Three is worth the wait.......2007-06-25
I picked up Ted Dekker's book to see what all the fuss was about, and discovered a well-written, complex story that drew me in instantly. Dekker's parallel story of romantic love, sacrifice, and resistance is at times puzzling and intriguing, but overall a fascinating read.
Top notch!!.......2007-06-12
Wonderful in so many ways I can't even tell you. But once you read the first in the series you will be hooked.
great series.......2007-05-13
fascinating... worth the read.... I enjoyed the series so much I bought a second set as a gift even before I finished "White" (Last book in the trilogy)
Average customer rating:
- Great Trilogy
- Super Reader
- I wish it wasn't over......
- Trilogies Rock
- poorly read
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Valley of Silence (The Circle Trilogy, Book 3)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Jove
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ASIN: 0515141674
Release Date: 2006-10-31 |
Book Description
The battleground has been chosen for the final showdown between those selected by the gods and the minions of the vampire Lilith. But there is one vampire who dares stand against her. And his love for the scholarly queen of Geall will complete the circle of six-and change the face of eternity.
Customer Reviews:
Great Trilogy.......2007-09-16
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and the two preceding books in the series. It was hard to wait to read the next book. I was able to really connect with this story and found it very interesting.
Super Reader.......2007-08-31
A pretty average and very light fantasy. It seems a group of vampire hunters from our world have gone to another to help a queen fight an evil vampire queen. Including a vampire nightclub owner, and a couple of other supernatural types.
For a war against an evil vampire queen, well, there really isn't much war. The evil vampire queen is pretty lame, too. Probably because she is a crazy girl that became a vampire, not really Lilith.
The battle at the end is over in about two eyeblinks. Pretty much it seems all this is kept out of it to have space for the romance parts.
Other than that, Roberts seems to be a decent enough writer, but I doubt she grew up reading about medieval warfare or monsters.
I wish it wasn't over.............2007-07-26
As I read the last few pages this afternoon I was caught in a bittersweet battle of not wanting the story to end and yearning to read the finale. What a great book and a great trilogy.
With the complex nature and background of Cian I would love to read about his journey through his life of being "damned" and his transition into "normal" society. I think we need some more of him. What an amazing character.
Trilogies Rock.......2007-07-19
Nora Roberts is the best a trilogies. They all have a good ending but you cant wait to read the next one. This book will hook you.
poorly read.......2007-07-16
I truly enjoy all of Nora Roberts books, and I read the first 2 Circle Trilogy books. The Book 3, I did not realize was ordered as an audio book. The story is great, the reading terrible. I would not recommend anyone getting the audio unless this is really your thing. I like to read and imagine what someones voice would sound like, not listen to a man try to read a woman's part and sound like a female. Terrible reading!
Average customer rating:
- Who knew she wrote more than Gooey Romance.
- wonderful book, especially if you enjoy fantasy and romance!
- Dance of the Imagination...
- Very enjoyable, even if it's a little too much like Buffy!
- Such a letdown!
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Dance of the Gods (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Jove
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ASIN: 0515141666 |
Book Description
Second in the new paranormal Circle Trilogy.
With one vampire determined to rule the earth, the Circle of Six prepares to battle for their lives-and their hearts.
Customer Reviews:
Who knew she wrote more than Gooey Romance........2007-09-18
This series was my first exposure to Nora Roberts, I have to admit I never gave her books a second look, why would I read a trashy romance novel. Well I found I had been painting her with a very prejudiced brush, what a mistake! This is a great fantasy series, and the romance there is is very fun and not over the top. I will definitely look for more fantasy books from Ms. Roberts.
wonderful book, especially if you enjoy fantasy and romance!.......2007-08-19
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had the perfect mix of fantasy and romance. Blair is not your typical romance novel heroine. All of the main characters contribute to the story with their unique personalities and style. This is a great trilogy!
Dance of the Imagination..........2007-08-16
Not as superb as the first book of the triology, but still fabulous! The story had some lags and the romance between the two was just not as intense as that of Hoyt and Glenna, but still another smash hit filled with all awe! Fantasy and reality have a heavenly mix once again! A MUST READ TRILOGY!!
Very enjoyable, even if it's a little too much like Buffy!.......2007-06-08
It took me a long time to get into the 1st book in this series, but after I did I couldn't put them down. I read all three back to back and really enjoyed them. I am a huge fan of Buffy and Angel, the shows, and found a lot of odd similarities between some of the characters from the TV shows and in the books, but oh well. All in all, enjoyable. If you're a Nora Roberts fan, give them a chance, I'm sure you will enjoy!
Such a letdown!.......2007-05-26
Hello,
Im bucking the trend here...but I hated this book! Don't get me wrong NR is an excelent wordsmith, however Blair and Larkin's story was so...BLAH!
I can't think of anything good to write- oh yes it made me anticipate Moira and Cian's story all the more
Average customer rating:
- Ghettos, War, Angels, Jackboots, and a Boy named Stopthief.
- Perfect
- superbook!
- Milkweed was a Great Book!
- Milkweed
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Milkweed (Readers Circle)
Jerry Spinelli
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
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ASIN: 0440420059
Release Date: 2005-09-13 |
Amazon.com
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli (Maniac McGee, Stargirl) paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naïve orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or, maybe he's a Gypsy, because his eyes are black, his skin is dark, and he wears a mysterious yellow stone around his neck. His new friend and protector Uri forces him to take the name Misha Pilsudski and to memorize a made-up story about his Gypsy background so that no one will mistake him for a Jew and kill him. Misha, a very young boy, is slow to understand what's happening around him. When he sees people running, he thinks it's a race. Nazis (Jackboots, as the children call them) marching through the streets appear to him as a delightful parade of magnificent boots. He wants to be a Jackboot! (Uri smacks him for saying this.) He compares bombs to sauerkraut kettles, machine guns to praying mantises, and tanks to "colossal gray long-snouted beetles." The story of Misha and his band of orphans trying to survive on their own would have a deliciously Dickensian quality, if it weren't for the devastation around them--people hurrying to dig trenches to stop Nazi tanks, shops exploding in flames, the wailing of sirens, buzzing airplanes, bombs, and human torture. Spinelli has written a powerfully moving story of survival--readers will love Misha the dreamer and his wonderfully poetic observations of the world around him, his instinct to befriend a Jewish girl and her family, his impulse to steal food for a local orphanage and his friends in the ghetto, and his ability to delight in small things even surrounded by the horror of the Holocaust. A remarkable achievement. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
Book Description
He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He's a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He's a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He's a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He's a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable -- Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II -- and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
Customer Reviews:
Ghettos, War, Angels, Jackboots, and a Boy named Stopthief........2007-08-27
Call him whatever you'd like. Everyone else does.
Stopthief. Jew. Gypsy. Fast. Happy. Runt. Filthy son of Abraham. Misha Pilsudski is the name that Uri, the leader of the street orphans, finally gives him, along with a made-up story about his past and his family history. It's the name that sticks. For a while.
This orphan boy from Warsaw, U.S.S.R., figures if someone calls him a name, it just might mean that it's true. Take "Fast," a name Uri calls him. If it wasn't true about him, how else would he explain how good he is at stealing bread from women walking on the street? Bread which he faithfully shares half with Doctor Korczak's orphans at the group home. He wouldn't be able to outrun the venders, the police, or the Jackboots. That's his name for the Nazi soldiers that can be seen marching around town. Someday, he'd like to be a Jackboot.
Then a Jewish girl named Janina from a poor neighborhood befriends him. With Janina, Misha feels he has a real family, a place he can belong. When families all over the city, Jewish families at first, start getting relocated into the walled-off ghettos, Misha moves in with her. Spinelli's sings the despair of the ghettos with a raw and tragic melody of characters. Outside the ghetto walls they call Heaven. Food is rotten and scarce. New bodies lie covered in the streets each day. And angels are everywhere, if you know how to look.
They call him Stopthief. Catch him if you can.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens
Perfect.......2007-06-19
Jerry Spinelli does a perfect job portraying the hardships and struggles of the Jewish people during the most unfortunate of times, the Holocaust, in a manner in which younger readers can relate. Appropriate for almost all ages [I wouldn't read it as a bedtime story], this book had me hooked. It entails the struggles of Misha Pilsudski [later Misha Milgrom, and finally Jack Milgrom] through the Nazi invasion of Warszawa [Warsaw] Poland. I recommend anyone looking for a good, quick read to buy this book. I read it for a book report assignment back in 7th, and it was definitly well worth it.
superbook!.......2007-04-18
Milkweed was the best! I didn't really like it for any particular reason. it was just a great book. It was very exciting! Milkweed was cool because it felt like I was in the book itself! If you don't like books that are sad, then I suggest that you don't read this book. Milkweed is a book about a boy who lives on the streets. He spends his days stealing food because that's the only way he could get it. He is an orphan and he doesn't have a name, but his friend gives him one. Misha. It was one of the best books I ever read!
Milkweed was a Great Book!.......2007-03-16
He had been called many things - Jew, stopthief, happy, runt, fast, filthy son of Abraham. He lived on the streets and steals food to survive. He believes in bread, mothers, and angels. He wanted to be a Nazi someday , with tall jackboots and an eagle cap - that is, until the day that suddenly made him change his mind. When the trains came to empty the ghetto, he's a boy who realized it is safest of all to be a nobody.
A young, swift orphan arrived on the streets of Warsaw with no recollection of his past - not so much as his name. He began living with another orphan in an abandoned barbershop, and together they stole everything they needed. The other orphan, who went by the name Uri, named the nameless child by the name of Misha Pilsudski. Misha and Uri had a decent life - they were never hungry, they hung out with other orphan folk, and Misha even had a rich friend (Janina) - until the day the jackboots came. The men in "jackboots" were actually Nazis, and they came to raid Warsaw. Soon the town was in shambles and they began to round up all the Jews to send to the ghetto. Misha claimed he was a Gypsy (although he had no idea whatsoever what he was), but went to the ghetto anyway because he thought it looked fun. He visited Janina's family many times while the wall was in the process of being built, because he could just step over it. However, once the wall was finished, Uri stayed out while Misha lived there full time. In the ghetto, the conditions rapidly degraded and soon, everyone was starving. Misha found a two-brick hole in the wall he could fit through, so every night he slipped through this miniature escape route and get food for Janina and her family. This system worked pretty well, and soon Janina would even come with him on his adventures. One night, at a hotel in Warsaw where Misha was trying to steal rations, he saw Uri for the first time in a long time, who worked for the Nazis. Uri warned Misha about the plan to send the Jews to the ovens, so he would have a heads up. Sure enough, the next day the soldiers began loading the Jews onto trains to the ovens. Janina's father warned Misha and Janina to get out and stay out, so the two left and ran towards the countryside. Janina, who was in an unstable mental state after the two years or so in the ghetto, ran away. Misha tried to follow her, but a farmer stopped him. The farmer kept Misha for three years, and at night, they would have to tie him up so he would not run away to the ovens, where he desperately wanted to see his friend. Then the war ended, and Misha came to America, where he married and then divorced. Misha kept a quiet life and did not meet his daughter, Katherine, until she had a child of her own. Katherine left her daughter Wendy's middle name blank for Misha to name. He chose Janina.
Milkweed was an excellent story. It had happiness, but some sad parts too. In addition, it's filled with historical references, even though it was a fictional book.
A few examples of happiness in Milkweed include the time when Misha has to play on the carousel, when Janina gave Misha a piece of his favorite candy, and when Misha saw Uri again. One time, before the jackboots came, a carousel with beautiful painted horses was built in Warsaw. Uri advised Misha to stay away, as "street filth" such as Misha was unwanted at places like that. However, one day, the temptation was just too much for Misha, so after hours (they kept the carousel running all the time) he climbed on and had the time of his life. Another example of happiness included the time when Janina snuck out of the ghetto using the petite hole in the wall and looked all over town for buttermilk creams with hazelnut hearts, Misha's favorite candy. She came back and gave a single piece to him, as that was all she could find, and Misha was delighted to taste that luscious candy after eating ghetto food for so long. The last good example of happiness was when Misha saw Uri in the fancy hotel. Misha ran up to him and asked if it was really Uri, with joy glittering in his eyes. Uri was not as happy as Misha was - he could have gotten in serious trouble if caught talking to him. Misha was even happier later when Uri's tip about the ovens saved his life.
Milkweed had its fair share of sadness, however. The saddest part was when Janina ran towards the ovens and Misha never saw him again. In fact, he wanted to see her so badly that the farmers he stayed with tied him to the barn every night for three years to prevent him from running to find her. Another sad part was when Misha's wife in America, Vivian, divorced him after a few short months because he was going crazy. The last significant sad part of the story was when Misha had to say goodbye to Janina's father before running away from the ghetto and the ovens.
Although Milkweed is a fictional book, it still has many examples of history tied into it. The whole time era was World War II, when the Nazis tried to win power and superiority. The book specifically mentioned the times when the Nazis marched into Poland and the bombing of Warsaw. Another historical reference were the Jewish ghettos, which were not uncommon in Europe at the time. The last major historical reference were the ovens where everyone in the ghetto was sent to die, which were a fixture in death camps at the time.
Milkweed was a really well written book and is perfect for anyone who like to read but does not mind a little grief. It had happiness, but there was some sadness as well, and it even mentioned some major points of history.
-Elizabeth H =]
Milkweed.......2007-03-15
Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli, is book is the best book I have read all year. When I sat down to read milkweed I thought it was going to be another boring WWII story . Man was I wrong. Within the first 30 pages I realized Spinelli's book was going to be different. Milkweed tells the life of a young Gypsy boy, Misha, who is taken in by a Jewish family and lives with them in the ghetto created for them by the Nazis. As the story progresses Misha grows older and more knowledgeable of the world around him. He learns that the Nazis don't like him, that the people under the news paper are NOT sleeping, and that Mothers, Angels, and Oranges really do exist. The story of the life of Jewish people living during WWII are not uncommon, but none have captured it quite like Milkweed has. Having grown up as an orphan, Misha is ignorant to the world, but that is one of his wonderful qualities. When he learned what "Happy" was, during Hanukah, He tried to fill Janina's with the "Happy" that he had. My favorite part of Milkweed was when anyone would ever call Misha Jewish, he would turn around and angrily shout, " I'M NOT JEWISH! I'M A GYPSY!". In the end , After he was adopted by the Milgroms, when someone called him Jewish he just ran. At the end of the book, after WWII had ended, it told how Misha moved to America, was named Jack, and married and met his great granddaughter , Janina.
I believe anyone who is looking for a good read should read Milkweed, its like a Butter Milk chocolate in a box of chocolates.
Rose M.
Average customer rating:
- Morrigan's Cross
- Morrigan's Cross
- Neat Series
- Not as good as it could have been...
- Excellent story
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Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Jove
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Dance of the Gods (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2)
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Spellbound
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ASIN: 0515141658 |
Book Description
As a storm rages, the tale of a powerful vampire's lust for destruction-and of the circle of six charged by the goddess Morrigan to stop her-begins. One of the chosen is a medieval sorcerer whose quest will take him through time-and into the arms of a woman courageous enough to link her destiny to his own.
Customer Reviews:
Morrigan's Cross.......2007-09-24
The characters in this story are extremely well done. Would love to meet them - if only it were possible! the scope of the story is exciting and intersting as Nora Roberts expores the characters and their fight to understand each other and become what they need to be.
Morrigan's Cross.......2007-09-15
This was the beginning of one of the best trilogies I've ever read. If you like to get away from the everyday dulldrums and reality, ths is a good place to start. It only gets better with The Dance of the Gods and Valley of Silence.
Neat Series.......2007-09-11
I love that this book was so reasonably priced on Amazon! The story was better than others I have read in the same genre. Anyway, decent story, good price. What more can a person ask for?
Not as good as it could have been..........2007-08-25
Speaking as someone who prefers Nora Roberts when she writes as J.D.Robb - I thought the story was fine but it didn't leave me with a burning need to go out and get the second book.
Part of this might be down to the fact that it's the first in a trilogy, so the story has a lot to do - we need to be introduced to the characters, to the world they live in and the circumstances they find themselves. I thought the set-up was interesting and the circle of 6 a clever idea. I very much liked the poetry of it - (the sorcerer), "the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms and the one you've lost". However, I found the characters (with the exception of Cian) didn't hold my interest. One of the problems with an ensemble cast, is that some characters are neglected.
There are moments where the dialogue sparkles - Cian especially, has an acerbic wit. And some of the set pieces are beautifully written, for example - Glenna's arrival at the club and her first (proper) meeting with Cian, Hoyt and King.
In the second half of the book following Blair's arrival there are scenes reminiscent of what the group already experienced in the first half before she turned up. I ended up with the feeling that the characters should have learnt these lessons already.
If this had been the first paranormal romance I'd ever read I think I would have been impressed with the world building and story structure, though the characters would still have left me slightly disappointed.
Excellent story.......2007-07-24
I can't wait to read the rest of this series. Roberts does a wonderful job of pulling the reader in and keeping their attention. A softly blended story of romance and drama that will keep you until the end.
Books:
- The Tenth Garfield Treasury
- The Undomestic Goddess
- Tickle His Pickle: Your Hands-On Guide to Penis Pleasing
- Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 2: Learning Curve
- What's Wrong with Timmy?
- Whitethorn Woods
- 100 Butterflies and Moths: Portraits from the Tropical Forests of Costa Rica
- A Complex Fate: Gustav Stickley and the Craftsman Movement
- A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward
- Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer
Books Index
Books Home
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