I was extremely disappointed with this book. The essays has extremely negative view of the world without much hope. All I hear is whinning and complaining without offering solutions to anything. Give me a break! If you're going to gripe about something than offer some solutions. Anyone can gripe but not everyone can do something about it.

I wrote this book and I have no idea who Anna Novakov is. Do you?

O'Brien packs so much into these short pieces which are as laugh out loud funny as they are wildly perceptive.

I adored "The Mambo Kings," but with this book I think Oscar bit off more than he could chew. It's beautifully written, as is all of Hijuelos' books, but the meandering storyline spanning much of the 20th Century is not very compelling. Despite the brilliant prose, it becomes a chore to finish, though there certainly are passages as lovely as anything Hijuelos has written.

From the opening pages of Mr Hijuelos's epic novel, one is on a long and delightfully rich journey. The love in these pages, the humantity, the poetry and humor, are abundant and utterly absorbing. A wonderful book by a skilled author.

This book is a fluid generational narrative that traces the humorous, and occasionally tragic, milestones of a large interracial (white/hispanic) family in America. Hijuelos effortlessly combines sharp social and cultural commentary with an engrossing storytelling capability attributable to very few contemporary writers.

I really can't imagine what might have encouraged those reviews above. I found it exhausting to get through this--not particularly because the anecdotes O'Brien tells are boring but instead because O'Brien's tone itself is so off-putting, so agonizingly pretentious, that it actually ends up ruining what I think could be a very fascinating read. I can't recommend this book. Sorry.

The Browser's Ecstasy: A Meditation On Reading by Geoffrey O'Brien is a simply fascinating selection of thoughtful and thought-provoking essays about being absorbed by the written word, as well as the wonder and the pleasure of being transported by and through books to times, places, and thoughts heretofore unknowable to the solitary reader. An inspirational and welcome reflection on the pastime that marked the dawn of recorded human history down to the present day and into the forseeable future, The Browser's Ecstasy is enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone who has ever had a book transport them through journeys of the mind into lives, places, people, and events far from their own native habitat.

Books are a potential delight to all of our senses and many dimensions of our minds. It is entirely too simple and limiting to think of books as their physical embodiment of paper, ink and binding. Yet, if you are like me, you haven't exactly thought about them as potential magic carpets, strolling minstrels, and companions against the night. That's where you have stalled thinking. Mr. O'Brien's wonderful perception is about to take you outside the box (and the book) to consider what your real relationship is to these wonderful repositories of humanity.

This is one of the most imaginative and fun books that I have ever read! Mr. O'Brien takes books and turns them into metaphorical extensions of ourselves and our lives, and then connects it all back together in a beautiful stream of stories. You'll feel like you've suddenly become part of some modern Divine Comedy as you move through this fascinating book.

If we were in ancient Green times, we would think of this book as a philosophical treatment of what a book is and what bookness is, as well. Fortunately, we are in modern times, because the author can use vivid language and visions to entrance us . . . not unlike a series of tales out of the Arabian nights!

I especially enjoyed the continuing theme of whether the books are with us or not, and our connection to them.

You will never think about a book in the same way again after you read this work, and you'll be the better for your self-transformation.

I thought this collection was ace! The one set in the museum was the best. It was kind of creepy and sad in parts but has a very interesting story and the end explains a lot. If you have kids, they will like this one too.

I did not like so much "M.C. Higgins the Great" which I thought was more for boys. I didn't read this one though so I don't know what it's about except for the first five pages.

For all your parents out there my Mom liked "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler" as well. If you liked reading you will like this even if you are any age at all.

I am still reading "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimth",

I also recomend "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" in another book.

I just finshed Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. It was an ok book. It was an ok book because it was not a believable story. Another reason is because I do not like fairy tales. Rats were trained to read and write. A mouse helps a crow out of a trap. So if you like fantasy you will like this book. So go ask librarian for this book at your local libary.

I was delighted to find these three classic childrens books in one volume. I read these stories as a child and I wanted to be able to share them with my nieces and nephews. All three books teach life lessons while presenting a fun adventure. The Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is an excellent story about two children who decide to run away from home and hide in a museum. The story can be read a chapter a night. It keeps the children interested and allows them see museums in a whole new light. My second favorite book in the collection is The Rats of Nimth. The book is so realistic and compelling, you forget the main characters are rodents. Finally, M.C. Higgens the Great.The main character is quirky, fun and has so many adventures! Truly, excellent stories to read aloud to your children or as a gift.

A couple meet through the Internet. What they do not know is that they are sharing a house.

I don't think "A Reader from Iowa" can actually have read this book. The couple do not meet over the Internet - they meet when Rupe, the gorgeous sytems analyst (I know, it looks like an oxymoron), moves into one of the rooms advertised for rent by Tine, widow of a prominent artist. And Tine, at least, knows who she's cybering with - some of the time: I will admit there's a twist in the tail. I enjoyed this book. Before the erotica kicks in there is actually quite a moving portrayal of Tine's efforts to get on with her life which is good writing in any genre. There are great food scenes. There's a sub-plot about stolen art, and some interesting, sexy characters doing interesting, sexy things. This was not half bad. And if you weren't convinced that cybersex is "real" sex, this book might just make you reconsider.

I really enjoyed this book, enough to pass it on to my husband. The story evolves into an erotic who's next. I found it touched my romantic heart, with terrific sexual pleasures, as well as the awakening of a woman to life. I enjoyed the new discoveries that were played out, as if I too were experiencing them. I recommend this to any who enjoy the fantasy of opening yourself to new adventures.

This book, written in the first person narrative, was very disappointing after reading book reviews. The writing is disjointed, and I couldn't begin to connect with the protagonist, nor any other characters, for that matter. Any comparison to Mary Higgins Clark is in someone's vivid imagination. I had to force myself to finish this book.

Set in rural Cornwall, "I'll Love You Till I Die" follows 30-year-old Joanna Carr as she recovers from her 6-month-long catatonia, which was caused by witnessing her husband (David) being murdered, though she barely remembers the details now. Once released from the hospital, Joanna returns to her home where David died, hoping her memories will give her a clue as to who his killer was. But with the remembering comes the painful memories of her childhood (being sexually abused by her three older brothers), as well as the awful realization that one of her two childhood friends--Charlotte Dean, who is also her neighbor and possibly David's ex-lover; and Michael Lamb, who is now her fiancee--may be the killer.

Overall, I thought "I'll Love You Till I Die" was a great romantic mystery, though it was slightly confusing and disorderly at the end. One good thing is that I was wrong about the killer. It's somewhat difficult to figure him/her out, even after reading the book and reflecting on the clues.

This is one of the best books I've ever read!!! Fast paced, full of twists, and wonderfully plotted. I found it unpredictable. The book was so indulging and so clearly written. I'll love the book I'LL LOVE YOU TILL I DIE until I die!!! I enjoyed reading this book and made me wonder where Meg O'Brien have been all my life! I love her so much now.

The novel is complete with romance, excitment, sorrow, mystery and all that. It's like Daniel Steel meets Sidney Sheldon! I will forever love this book.

This book is usefull to birders and listers in delineating how to seek out some of the more unusual avian visitors to the US. At times though you wonder if the information provided would truly help you "get" the bird.

While there is something here for everyone, there is also info that people won't want. The choice of limiting the scope of the book to the lower 48 is interesting. It makes all the locations (relativly) accessable. It also means that some birds which are included (like Ross' Gull) are difficult to pin down in the lower 48 (they can point to no pattern of occurence) but are definitly finadable in North America (Churchill, Canada in this case).

The rarity of the 100 birds varies greatly. There are many birds which are so rare that no pattern of occurence can be given, while others are quite regular in certain areas (ie Pacific Golden-Plover). The book is most usefull for the rare birds which show clear patterns of occurence (like Tuffted Duck in the San Fransico Bay Area or Cook's and Stejneger's Petrels of the California coast). This book is just usefull for listers. Each description includes information on ID, which can be very difficult to find on some of these rare species.

Is this book a must have? No. But for many birders, who seem to lust after every bird book on the planet, this book is a usefull addition to a personal collection.

Information seems to be well organized and spelled out, but was disappointed that there were so few color pictures.

I've found most everything I was looking for all in one source! If you like collecting cars and trucks, you must have this book!

This is the story of the Columbia, Tennessee "race riot" of 1946, in which a racial incident in an appliance repair shop ended with mob violence in which scores of African American veterans of World War II defended their community with arms. A couple were killed in jail, but most escaped with their lives and their freedom. It is, as the author notes, an extremely telling moment in the history of American race relations. And it is an exciting story. Sadly, the author appears to have fallen in with sociologists and perhaps other bad company. The analytical apparatus at the front of the book will definitely prevent anyone except academics from getting to the riveting story inside, and the important historical truths it would have revealed. I am afraid that it is a good enough book to keep someone else from telling the story any time soon, but it could have been a great book, if O'Brien had just told the story and intepreted its meaning without resorting to jargon and obscure language. It is still a good book, but she needed better intellectual advice than she got--when she is writing in her own storytelling voice, it's really quite good. It could have been an enormous public service and helped generations of people understand an important turn in American racial politics. Instead, it is an academic exercise, alas.

This was a great book telling how the laws prejudeces i reccomend it to anybody interested in the truth.

I bought this book for my son to learn more about pirates in the few weeks leading up to his 4th birthday when we will use a pirate theme. It's more of a factual telling about the life of pirates vs. a story and the violence one reviewer refers to is probably based on a picture of pirates coming over the bulwarks of a boat with cutlasses waving at fleeing victims. The book doesn't sugar coat the fact that pirates were thieves and pretty "naughty." It has really engaged my son in learning lots of pirate lore like what pets they had (parrots, monkeys and cats), what kind of treasure they were interested in, and their code of honor (a great intro for discussing our house rules), among other things. The book prompts lots of questions on his part. He has clearly enjoyed it and asks for it whenever pirates is the bedtime topic of choice. If you want something more playful, try Kathy Tucker's "Do Pirates Take Baths?" or David McPhail's "Edward and the Pirates." They won't be as educational, but they contrast (and complement) the realism of this book with a traditional fantasy-oriented approach.

This is a good kids' book, with beautiful illustrations. It gives a good overview of life among eighteenth-century pirates, at a child's level, and will increase a kid's enjoyment of "Treasure Island" or Howard Pyle's wonderful pirate stories, later. This book's pirates are fascinating, somewhat romanticized, but NOT role-models (they're thieving scalawags! What did you expect?); the mentions of danger and violence were VERY restrained, however, and the sailors' folk songs on the flip side of the audiotape accompanying the book are well done, pleasantly sung and properly censored ("Fiddler's Green" has removed all references to "Hell", etc.). My boy has been singing about "Good Fish Chowdah" for days, and will enjoy this book and tape for a long time to come.

This book has nothing to do with violence as stated by the other review. I am only writing this to tell you that there IS no violence. This book is informative, intersting and factual. It had many new vocabulary for my kids to learn. My 3yr old son and 5 year old daughter beg to hear the tape several times a day. Tape has lively songs on one side and the text on the other - read by male and female individuals.