Owen Chase is the consummate bachelor, raising his dead sister's children while running a ranch. He wouldn't mind being married, but hasn't the time for courtship rituals and doesn't care for the fact that he's at the top of the matchmaking list. Also doesn't have the time to be the subject of Suzanne article; that is, until others offer to step in for the privilege.

A WIFE FOR OWEN CHASE contains a wonderful premise. With a card club devoted to playing hearts and matchmaking, an eighty-something senior citizen ready to find a man, and a man who loves children, fun is had by all. Unfortunately, the plot's a bit thin, lacking the conflict to create a truly dazzling read. Nevertheless, A WIFE FOR OWEN CHASE is light, pleasant entertainment for poolside reading. Recommended.

Owen Chase has no time for dating because his plate is overflowing with responsibilities from his ranch and caring for his deceased sister's children. In spite of his situation, many of the ladies in Bliss, including a visiting reporter, consider him prime marital beef. If he will only find the time for Suzanne and if she will only move past her previous rejection, this duo could share a lifetime of happiness together.

Kristine Rolofson writes an amusing light romp that stars two nice lead characters and a cast of eccentrics. A WIFE FOR OWEN CHASE is funny because of the antics of the ensemble that enables the humor to overcome a shallow story line. Fans who enjoy an agreeable contemporary romance filled with mirth and a wink or two will want to relax with Ms. Rolofoson's cheerful tale.

Now, Wilfred Owen is one of the best poets of WWI, and his carrer is interesting and, above all, intriguing. Up until he's 20 or so, he's not a very likable character. His mother was a prudish Calvinist, tyranical and at times over-protecting, but she also supported Wilfred at every stage, especially in his early ambitions to be a great poet.

The interesting change is the one Wilfred experiences after he decides to volunteer for the Army. He changes, from being a pretentious, pompous and picky young man, to a courageous, strong, enduring leader. This change is best reflected in his attitude towards war itself: at first, he sees war as a glorious thing, a wonderful place to show grandiosity. Then, after bitter experiences, he realizes that war is not wonderful, but horrible, cruel, unjust. So the tone of his poetry changes from epic to lyrical. The interesting thing is that he is against war and its continuation, but in the meantime behaves bravely and disciplined in battle.

Another good thing about this book is its ability to capture the way of life, places, activities and feelings of that era.

This is, then, a book of interest for lovers of poetry and people who like to read about WWI.

Generally, this book does not try to "sell" the schools, as all viewbooks directly from the colleges tend to do. The quotes from the students seem honest, from points of view on how challenging the workload is, to how diverse the student body is, to how much school spirit the kids have. Everything in the book is pretty candid, and I feel like the information is trust-worthy.

Overall, I feel much more informed about the colleges I plan to apply to after reading about them in Princeton's Guide. For another perspective, I'd also recommend "The Insider's Guide to the Colleges," which is written by college students. But overall, The Best 331 College is a good buy for anybody entering or in the middle of the college process, parents and students alike.

Rand T'Ash and Danith Mallow are two strong-willed individuals who are each struggling with their own unique magical/Psi abilities and all the ups and downs associated with being from two different social classes. Rand can't quite understand why Danith doesn't readily accept the love which fate has predestined for them. He must learn the hard way that love from the heart is stronger than any bond fate or magic might provide.

Nothing comes easy for the inhabitants of Celta, a trend which lends itself to more tales from this fantasy world where not everyone is capable of magic but where everyone is vulnerable to the power of love. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Danith was a common, plain nobody, hidden in the world of nothingness. She couldn't see the true love before her -- the person who could heal her aching heart and complete her inside and out.

Rand and Danith find each other with the help of a familiar with a taste for luxuries and a magical cat called Princess. When Rand tries to give Danith the HeartGift, she rejects it and then it is stolen which is tricky since it should not have been able to have been seen to anyone else but them.

HEARTMATE was a marvelous, refreshing romance and Robin D. Owens should be commended. It was futuristic, magical, filled with love and set up for more books to come which is all my favorite things. I'm hoping for a sequel or more!

"The Ghost Road" ends the 3-book cycle written by Pat Barker of her study of World War I, the men who were part of history in the form of Dr. Rivers and Siegfried Sassoon, and some fictional like William Prior. This also marks the book that added The Booker Prize to her list of achievements. This work differs from the first 2 as a good portion consists of the flashbacks of Dr. Rivers. These are experienced while he is suffering from Influenza, and the fever induced memories the illness recalls.

No one comment can summarize his experiences as an Anthropologist living among a tribe that he studied, but the one I mention above does justice, if incomplete. This is an anti war trilogy of books, so to find one of the main players reliving his past while tortured by his present, witnessing his society's destruction by war, as another was destroyed from the lack of it, is interesting counterpoint to say the least.

Like the second volume, Billy Prior lays a prominent role in this final installment as well. He remains an interesting character, but his obsessions, which at time are in conflict, became a bit tiresome. His personal life that once offered a continually more complex and disturbed man began to be repetitive.

Ms. Barker brings her work to a close as late as the 3rd of November in Prior's journal, and implies some of what is read is even later. By resolving some lives, and leaving others to continue to deal with the madness they will never escape, and doing this in the last week of the war, is acutely cruel. It is also appropriate as when the fighting ended on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 in the morning, the weapons may have stopped, but the damage had only begun.

The War did not end for those who survived, and a second war was to appear in the lifetime of many of those we met. And perhaps that was one of the points she wished to make, nothing was accomplished, millions died, countless numbers who lived were permanently damaged. And the final Treaty Of Versailles ensured it would all happen once again.

Dr. Rivers helped men only to send them back to the cause of their terror. Other soldiers returned to the front to meet what fate had to offer. But futility was the result, for what did Dr. Rivers have to show that he was productive, that he as a Doctor had healed? And how did the patients that were in his charge benefit from his care and the decisions that followed from it.

A tremendous piece of writing.

Barker's restrained style is extremely moving -- far more so than the florid prose of Sebastian Faulks' World War I novel "Birdsong." Every time I've read this novel, I've been moved to tears.

P.S. The reader from South Africa who was so incensed at Ms. Barker's "factual inaccuracies" might want to check again: There were indeed air raids over England in World War I -- they were carried out by the infamous Zeppelins! Also, Dr. Rivers was living amongst the head-hunters of Melanesia in the Pacific (probably Borneo or thereabouts) NOT Africa.

This alone carries the series through the first two books. Unfortuantly the storyline lets the rest of the series down. The more I read this book the more it became clear that there were no real characters just a bunch of odd fighting machines that seemed to choose sides almost at random. But even with this the world kept me enthralled enough that I managed to read through the third book. The only reason I couldn't read on was because the characters just simply became too strong. By the second bood six people are attacking armies and winning without breaking a sweat.

Too bad, this had the makings of a trully great pulp action sereis.

Green weaves a rather loose plot in this first book and also introduces a rather confusing array of "undefeatable warriors" that will become clearer as you read the other books in the series. if you are looking for another epic to keep you up late reading and daydreaming...please don't expect too much from owen deathstalker.

As with most novels, I read page after page anticipating the "big moment", the "turning point", a "climax", anything to cite as the work's purpose or point. I never did quite accomplish that.I found myself reading and rereading looking for the part that I must have skipped over accidentally. I have yet to find the secret chapter.

But what I accomplished wasn't known to me at the time but became clear after reflecting. The goal of the book is to help its readers acquire an inner peace within themselves; one that I found to be best appreciated in one's older years. I dont think that I was ready to read the book presently, but can see myself one day rocking in a glider totally enjoying and appreciating Jewett's novel.

A collection of quiet "sketches," this volume is a reminder of the fine writing produced by some of the earliest American realists. Critics have recently revised their first opinions of the book as a "small success" and now consider it a classic of American literature. The stories revolve around a young writer who goes to the coastal town of Dunnet Landing, Maine. In the company of Mrs. Todd, a venerable and locally revered herbalist who gives her lodging, the writer comes to know and write about the people of the area. The result is a fascinating look into personalities shaped and distilled by life on that severe coast into persons of rare character. This edition also contains eight of Jewett's best short stories, including "A White Heron" and "The Queen's Twin."

No plot devices or car chases here--this is a book to read on a rainy afternoon when nostalgia and melancholy threaten to overwhelm. It's comfort food like grandma used to make--reassuring, soul-fortifying, and full of the capacity to cheer. It's also addictive--once you take a bite out of Pointed Firs, you can't stop.

Similar author: Mary Wilkins Freeman