This is NOT your typical "romance". This is not sentimental fluff without substance. It will make you laugh and leave you crying.

Gil and Sunny's love for each other is one which is often viewed as scandalous, taboo, and yet absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching... They are first cousins.

This is certainly nothing new. Cousin romances have existed since the beginning of time, and are not all that uncommon, even in today's world. However, the subject is one that few authors have the courage to write about. Cindy Bonner handles a difficult subject with grace, compassion, sensitivity, and realism.

Set in the early 1900's, Sunny and Gil face tremendous prejudices against them. Yet love is something that can not be denied, and is worth sacrificing everything for. The couple overcomes every obstacle imaginable, and their love endures through the best and worst of circumstances.

Never has a story touched my heart like this one, and never has one echoed the thousands of voices of cousins who find themselves in similar situations so clearly.

I thought that this book was incredibly well written, and very original. I picked it up in the library never having heard of the author, and I didn't put it down until I finished the entire book in one day. In a day where it is hard to find something new and fresh, this book meets those expectations. I highly reccomend this book, and it's author to anyone looking for a fresh mind!

If you want to be swept away, and get deeply immersed in your charactors, this is the book for you. The WWI setting, the forbidden love story, the broken dreams and hearts, all add up to a delicious story! I can't wait to read more from Cindy Bonner!

After falling in love with an outlaw, Lily Delony must battle an internal conflict growing inside of her. It is a fight for true love against her family and the whole town. Her heart belongs to Marion Beatty, the youngest brother of an outlaw gang. When the town of McDade sets up to capture and hang the Beatty gang, Lily discovers that her father is part of the vigilante group. Marion and Lily have hidden their love long enough. On the night of the captures Lily and Marion run off togerther hoping to start a new life. They did not leave the town alone though. Marion was wanted for murder and abduction, and the sheriff was hot on his trail. After getting married, both move in with a family member and begin their life. When Marion runs into the sheriff, he turns himself in and is takin back to McDade. Lily is reunited with her father, but is sadden. Her father does not recognise the marriage license and burns it. Lily rides into town with only one motive on her mind, how to get Marion out of jail.
This book is a wonderful love story. It has suspense and romantic love scenes. The authors descriptive form of writing places vivid pictures in your mind. Teenagers and young adults anre recommended to read this novel. It is a page tuurner that will not allow you to sleep.

I just have to say, I was given this book 9 years ago when I was only 13 years old. It captivated me then and it still does to this day. I re-read it at least once a year, every year since then . I never get tired of it. With each year of new maturity, I understand and love this story even more. Thank you, Ms. Bonner, for writing this marvelous story. Your writing paints such a detailed picture and brings the reader in and I can almost feel the cold in the air and the smell of gunpowder around me. I only wish such characters really did exist. Thank you!

I am a 32 year old college graduate and mother of two. I have always loved to read, so I've read a LOT of books. This book remains one of my all-time favorites! It has a wide age-range of appeal. I discovered it at age 24, and would wholeheartedly recommend it for any female age 12 or so and up, right on through adulthood. It's filled with the sweetly romantic love that young girls crave, and for those of us who hate the "adult" romance novels for their annoyingly stereotypical scenes and descriptions, this is a delightful change of pace. It's not inspidly sweet and juvenile by any means, though. If you can find this book, even at a public library, get ahold of it and enjoy it!

Simply put, this is by far the BEST poetry compilation that I've read in a very long time. 2 syllable word: Awestruck. Feelin'Blue and Black all over is a breath of fresh air....after reading this book, my respiratory system has not been the same. And if breathing means being without this book...then let me take my last breath now! The passion and energy that was placed into this book can not be explained in mere words, and to attempt to do so would slight Brett Bonner's efforts. So I will just say MMM. Because those are the ONLY words that you will be able to bellow once you put this book down. IF YOU CAN! I DARE YOU! Mr. Bonner, if you read this...A job well done! My hat goes off to you. A revolutionary after my own heart. Keep the movement moving brother! Lead us to that land brother...lead us on!

I have to preface my review by saying it was hard for me to put this book down. Not only did the author speak to my spirit, and pierce my soul he awakened in me my ancestral connection. From the horrific events of slavery to the heartache of lost love, Mr. Bonner addresses a range of emotion. He forces you to deal with your own idiosyncrasies, and challenges your thought process, as well as whom and what you assimilate with. Being a writer myself, I appreciate Mr. Bonner's work, and applaud the fortitude and courage that is required to open up to the masses, and invite them inside of your secret place......your mind's eye.

Although I don't consider myself to be a poetry reader/lover, this book is very meaningful to me. The writer has a way with imagery that takes me from love and compassion to anger and discontent. Certain pieces seem to capture that which has been repressed and has made me feel things about my being that I hadn't discovered about myself. It's a must read for anyone that has ever felt abused, loved, tired, and/or triumphant because it encompasses the best and worst in all of us. It's the best poetry book I've ever read. My personal favorite is a poem titled "Summur's Time". It seemed to read my soul inside and out! I think anyone who reads this will feel the depth of this author's sincerity, passion and pain. I emplore you to pick it up!

To read Home in the Village is to be transported to a slower, simpler way of life seldom found anymore. The people of McClellanville are basically good, solid, hard working, God fearing, salt of the earth folks, who struggle through hard times, supporting and accepting each other as best they can. Dr. Bonner has effectively taken us into homes where everyone is considered family, either by blood or long term proximity and has given us a close look at what community really means.

author of George A. Trenholm, Financial Genius of the Confederacy

Dr. Bonner has described the people of McClellanville, a fishing village on the coast of South Carolina. His story goes back to the early history of many of the groups of people including the native inhabitants and the first European settlers including Huguenots and Anglicans.
The book describes the participation of the residents in wars and shows the way that economic factors affected the lives of the people and influenced where they made their homes. Young people often moved to other areas for financial survival after the Civil War and the great Depression in the 1920's. Both hit McClellanville hard.
Churches and education played a large part in the history of "The Village". Educated women worked at teaching jobs and in local businesses to help support their families. The seventy pictures in the book bring the village people to life. They help the reader to understand why young people in the families have continued to return "home" to visit, raise their children, and often to retire after having careers elsewhere.
Dr. Bonner has written a readable, practical account of one family that is related to most of the McClellanville people, past and present.

I passed by McClellanville every day on the way to Georgetown, SC on business and always admired the natural, untouched beauty of this community and the tenacity of the residents in this tiny southern town to keep the gentile, uncomplicated lifestyle that made the South THE place to live. This book is a well written, accurate and touching compilation of the history of this remarkable village and its people. Definitely a great read.

This is the original volume of a series featuring the wry exploits of Decius Caecilious Metellus, a noble ancient Roman and a snoop. At the beginning of his career up the Roman political ladder he is a ward conmmissioner in a murderous sector of the city of Rome, c. 70 B.C. during the fall of the Roman Republic. Beginning from a little murder and a small arson, Decius gradually links and unravels a horrendous plot to undermine the state, against many hazards to his morality and his health. Along the way we are introduced to major historical and series characters who oppose or further Decius's inquiries and ascension, from Crassus (the Richest Man in the World) and Pompey (self-proclaimed The Great), ambivalent Julius Caesar, to lawyer Cicero and useful figures from the underworld of Rome. Decius recruits and adopts several independent assistants who promise to be of help in the future, either forensically or as smart muscle.

There is more of Roman administrative intrigue here than in most mysteries set in ancient Rome, because Decius is pursuing a political career, is himself a noble from an exalted lineage, and his father is already a high official (but frustratingly remote from his son's endeavors and progress). Decius is too old-fashionedly morally upright for his own good, but--happily for us--he is pleasantly cynical in his outlook and in his historically informed asides to us. This story is spendidly written, marvelously worldly, and rich with historical and archaeological detail that actually moves the story along. I disagree this is a fantasy; it is a fictional but plausible mystery set in a solidly realized historical context. Roberts writes this series in a rather more breezy style than the parallel Roma sub Rosa series by Stephen Saylor. Roberts depends too much on an illogical climactic confession by the villain to wrap up the many loose ends he has creatively developed in this story. (St. Martin's Press has republished the first two books in this apparently intermittant series. This as SPQR I: THE KING'S GAMBIT, q.v.)

It disturbs me that many SF/Fantasy books contain pathetic explanations like "Being a product of the (non-democratic or whatever) society I was born in, I was so stupid as to actually believe everything he (a bad guy) told me." JMR does nothing like that. His characters really act, talk and think like ancient Romans are supposed to. They don't apologise to 20th century American readers for not being politically correct. That's one thing I love about this book - it's so realistic! You'll get the feeling of actually being there, you actually start seeing things through the eyes of that Metellus guy.

The other thing that makes this book so great is the brilliance of John Maddox Roberts' writing. He has written other great novels too, but SPQR is his best book I have read. If you like historical fantasy and you're interested in ancient Rome, this book is a must-read for you.

(I'm sorry to tell you, however, that JMR wasn't able to maintain this high quality through the whole SPQR series. Don't buy them all now, just read one book before you buy the next one.)

I have read all of the SPQR-Series and can only recommend them both to the informed and the lay(wo)man. Being a student of Roman archaeoloy myself, I have seldom found such a good historical FUN novel, where you get to know all in IN men and woman of Rome at one of the most interesting times in her history.

This game has an excellent RPG system and storyline.
I like the 'random # table' and 'combat results table' Dever uses in this book (and other RPG books of his). The book is just like a video game with all the options that you can do (Which makes those "Choose Your Own Adventure Books" I played as a kid a big joke) and many options in the battles (fight, cast a spell from your staff, flee, use item, etc.). The story is gets a little complex as your character uses his newfound powers of the moonstone to defeat an evil wizard in book 4.

the whole series is great! I wish there were as many sequels as in the original lone wolf series!

Grey Star has his work cut out for him. As the finale of the series, Dever and Page really went the full nine yards to create a quest that is not only suspenseful, but challenging. I would have to say that my favorite moment is when you are being chased by a thousand ugly demons and your horse is put out of commission. You are left with two options: run 20 miles to safety, or die! There are new challenges around every corner. I wish that more of this series was written.

After years of running into this name, "Borges," I felt as though I were falling short of my expectations as a reader to ignore this man and his colossal reputation. Ficciones seemed to be his most widely read and critically acclaimed book, and so I inevitably found myself reading it.

To try to capture the essence of Borges in a handful of words is like trying to capture the Lochness Monster on film: impossible, but frequently attempted. With that understanding in mind, here's my assessment:

All of Borges's stories are very different, and yet they all share a common sensibility, one of understated but very deeply felt anguish. This is not the anguish of an ordinary writer feeling sorry for himself and his fate. This anguish is deep, metaphysical. You get the sense that Borges views life and his fellow human beings at a distance, and yet is able to see more and understand more from this distance. He does not attempt to explain; he simply wants to impart his sense of awe, wonder, and inevitability.

The subject matter varies widely: an infinite library, a scholarly review of the life's work of a fictional writer, a boy with a perfect memory. Some of his stories are Kafka-esqe in a nightmarish sense, while others have the intellectual playfulness of an M.C. Escher drawing: what you thought was 'up' is really 'down,' and yet once you see the big picture you realize that this is the only way it can be. The endings are as inevitable as death, and yet you rarely see them coming.

I'm not so sure that Borges wrote his stories with a specific point or message, although many of them seem to have one. I believe that most of these stories are simply meant to inspire thought and contemplation of the very issues that Borges had been thinking of when he wrote them. One could do a lot worse than to see things through the eyes of this great thinker.

My only complaint is that his stories are not as accessible as they could be, and his scholarly manner may be problematical for some. But the most effective pills are often the hardest to swallow...

If you are lucky enough to read Spanish well, you might you want to try Borges in Spanish. That's not to say that this is a poor translation but rather there are so many minute details in Borges' prose that they are sometimes lost in the translation. Regardless, this collection of stories represents one of the greatest literary accomplishments in 20th century latin-american fiction and beyond. Borges is a writer of the mind, and that's where most of his stories live. You'll find yourself asking questions about what is real and what is not; what is a dream, what is a nightmare. Borges prose is flawless and his imagination is like no other's. Influenced by philosophy, history, and art, Borges captures a piece of humanity into a collection of stories and he only leaves you wanting more and more.

This collection of Jorge Luis Borges' "fictions" brings together incomparable masterpieces of contemporary world literature. No other writer I know of has been able to muster up the sheer creative energy and intellectual power necessary to mold into shape such magnificent ideas and stories. Borges mixes the realms of mystery, mythology, adventure, metaphysics, human misery and compassion, and literary criticism into an awesome whole. His manner of prose-writing is almost equally as impressive: journalistic, balanced, eloquent, evocative. Borges' "Fictions" has had a profound influence on my way of looking at literature and the world. He has evoked an abiding interest in the mythological and historical roots of contemporary writing and, by extension, a deeper understanding and appreciation of the mysteries and meaning in the visual and musical arts, as well. I highly recommend this book (or Andrew Hurley's more complete collection) for an outstanding read.

On Growth and Form written by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson is a classic and should be found on the bookshelf of any well read person.

This book sets our mind up for an education in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and physiology with form and function. Language skills are needed for reading this book as the author uses the original Greek in places for explaination and emphsis. Aristotle comes to mind and German is used for emphsis.

If you want to get the full extent of the text and you are not up to speed on the subjects mentioned or you'll find it hard to read this book. This could be read by a junior or senior in high school. But, I think it would be more appropriate for college.

This book is the study of organic form using methods found in the physical sciences. This book is a challenge to read, but it is very logical and straight forward.

Biologists currently believe that DNA 'codes' 'information'--you can see the garbage we impose on these little hydrogen bonds--everything from your eye color to your ability to speak language.

Yet Physicists now believe that there are universal aspects to phase transitions, which make no reference to their constituent parts. I read Thompson as saying something similar: forms such as the spiral and hexagonal array are displayed in wildly disconnected systems, because they solve an optimization problem that is commonly seen. We may -not- describe a shell with reference to its DNA--not only would it be tremendously difficult, it would be impossible! These forms make -no reference- to constituent parts, only to the very high-level enviornment.

If this is correct, biologists may be barking up the wrong tree! Whatever made them think that DNA 'codes' anything? We know perfectly well that tiny changes in initial conditions can radically change the final product, but in a totally unpredictable way! Better to ask, why do so many things in the world--'living' or not--take on the form that they do? What is this urge to 'live', that is (in physicist's terms) to self-assemble? And, is our instinct correct, that life's form displays the same kind of universality that we know exists for phase transitions?

Thompson's reference to Leibnitz (usually taken as kooky classicism) is hand-in-glove with this argument. His discussion of effective versus final cause reads like a manifesto for a new (or long ignored) science. Wolfram take note: this guy beat you (was genuinely original, and even wrote beautifully) by about 100 years.

This book is a classic, no two ways about it. It is really the first credible attempt to start taking a quantitative approach to biology, and despite the developments of the past century (molecular biology, etc), the problems raised in this book are just as pressing as they were when thompson wrote it. Anyone working in cell biology nowadays will immediately see applications of the ideas in this book, for example to organelle morphogenesis. The genius and erudition of thompson shine through on every page, making the book inspiring to read.

I like this book! First, a boy named Gregory sent a balloon up in the air and it landed in Mr. Mayfield's wheat farm. They both play a guessing game and send mystery gifts to each other. I think the neatest gift that Mr. Mayfield sent was a canine tooth from a Saber Tooth Tiger. My most favorite thing that Gregory sent was a wasp nest. It was cool! Gregory goes to the library alot in the story to figure out the mystery gifts. He got a book there about knots, tents, and other camping stuff too. I think he has alot of fun at the library. he finds interesting stuff that he never knew before. I like it when Gregory sends the balloon. I keep wondering what Mr. Mayfield was thinking when he found the balloon!

This is a really great book about a boy named Gregory and a wheat farmer named Pete Mayfield. Gregory lives in the city with newspapers flying around the sidewalks, buses with bus tokens, and streets with manhole covers. Mr. Mayfield lives in the woods with rivers where he goes fishing and camping.
One day Gregory decided to write his name and address on a silver balloon. The balloon floated away to another place where Mr. Mayfield found it. Mr. Mayfield sent a letter back to Gregory along with a piece of wheat. Gregory has to figure out what it is. After that, they start sending mystery gifts to each other. My favorite mystery gift is the Saber Tooth tiger's canine tooth. I loved guessing what the gifts were. I learned so many things in this book like you can find arrowheads and tiger's teeth in the middle of wheat fields. That shows that ancient animals and Plains Indians once lived there!

The Silver Balloon is a quick read, but what a great read. I never expected the pen pals to become detectives along the way. Ms. Bonners has a strong sense of what kids are like and it is so nice to see a book that young boys will enjoy. We need more like this one!

This is not a formula romance. It is deeper, better written, and more realistic than most so-called romance books. I absolutely loved this book and recommend it highly. It is written in the first person, and with such charm and honesty, I immediately cared deeply for the characters. I hope this auther writes more novels. She is an extremely gifted story-teller!

I think that this book is one of the best romances that I've ever read. I have also been charmed by the character Marion Beatty. He's 6'0 and I love guys at that height! Well, as far as Texas goes, this is pretty much in short of what it really was like back then. It felt as if I were right there with them. I imagined that I was Lily all the time and when they stopped in that one barn that was owned by someone off on Christmas vacation, and made love with each other. I was scared when Lily was, loving when she was, but angry at her when she got mad at Marion for little things. I felt so sorry for him at those times. if ever someone wants a comedic, romantic, and a little saddening tale about after the Civil War, this is the perfect one.

This book is GREAT! It has action, romance, and a little bit of comedy in it. You now from the start of the book that Lily will go with Marion, the "outlaw".