Two young women--Meryl and Katie--move into a roomy New York loft. Meryl has basically been assigned, by her interfering father (she calls him "The Beast"), to settle into that loft and get her life straightened out after pulling out of College. But, she needs a roommate, so enter Katie, the attractive waitress, who has nowhere else to go after walking out on Colin, who is a User in just about every sense the word can be applied.

Katie and Meryl do not strike up a friendship that quickly, thanks mainly to Meryl sequestering herself in an added-on room in the loft, which contains a box left by one of the former occupants, marked Do Not Open Til Doomsday.

Meryl opens it and her whole life changes. She meets John Paul Rowan ("Jack") through her obssessive reading of his unpublished short stories--but that isn't all that's left of the author in the loft, and Katie can feel it too. It's bad dreams--the same bad dream--for both girls, and they both feel like they are being observed.

Rowan's short stories are actually represented here; we read them as Meryl reads them, and their contents are enough to make this a disturbing horror novel. But as we get a look at "Jack's" disintegration as it plays out in his fiction, we also start to fear for the women, especially Meryl, and rightly so. It seems that bitter, unfulfilled Jack is still around, somehow, in some form, and he has an awesome power that he's willing to unleash on a world that never, he feels, gave him a break. The result is a simple, but very compelling, haunted loft story.

This is not an intricate terror tale, though the inserted short stories--the wicked fictions within the larger, even more frightening, narrative--help put an extra spin on what's going on. Skipp and Spector indulge here in a stark, almost cruel style that flays everything open that it touches, including, ultimately, poor Meryl's soul. Blood, gore, and vile secretions spilling from a bitter philosophy of life that infects the innocent, even from beyond death. Be there, beware, or be square.

John Paul Rowan thinks his life is bad, so he checks out. Then he finds out what bad really is. Meanwhile, two young ladies take over his apartment (after a little cleaning and painting it looks pretty normal again) and find some of the previous occupant's stories. With a little reading and a little supernatural twiddling, the writer figuratively and literally finds his audience.

This book clicks on so many levels you'd swear it was wearing taps. From Katie's mysterious eye scar to the reprintings of Rowan's short stories this book flows and scares with ease. Skipp and Spector were always at their best writing about the Big Apple; "The Light At The End" and this are two of the best horror books I have ever read.

Find it, buy it, read it. And try to wonder what would happen if there really were Old Ones, and they really did get tired of their witching day being celebrated with Count Chocula and Austin Powers costumes....

Ah, yes, Skipp and Spector, where are they now when we need them the most? This was the fourth of their six collaborations, and as usual, it is definitely fantastic! In essence, it is a book of short stories intertwined with a framing/interlude device. The stories and the framing device are brilliantly horrifying, insightful, and at times, even bittersweet. FIND THIS BOOK AND READ IT! That goes for all of their work: The Light At The End. The Cleanup, The Scream, Dead Lines, The Bridge, and their last, but not least work, Animals. CHEERS! PJH

The testing software in this package is great - I used it extensively after studying for my A+ exams to help me realize where I needed more work. The test engine generates a variety of adaptive or regular tests and includes information about the difficulty of the questions and the areas you missed when you get your score. It also allows you to review each wrong answer and it provides a paragraph or so on why th answer was wrong or right.

The rest of the software was basically an online version of the Exam Cram book. I thought the book was fine, but I used Meyers' All-in-One A+ certification Exam Guide instead. I thought the material was much better, the illustrations were mor helpful, and it better covered the material for the two exams. I don't think an exam cram book can effectively cover all the material for both exams - maybe one, but not both.

Did I mention that this book is excellent? Before I read this book, I was somewhat knowledgable on computers. Now that I have completed it, I took both the Core and DOS/Windows and scored high 600 (adaptive). I could not have made that score without this book. This book answered so many questions I had. Even if you are not going for A+ Certification, I would highly recommend this book to ANYONE who wants to know what makes a computer "tick". The CD is nice, although the questions on the practice test seem a bit outdated. 4 stars for the CD

The book + test software? Exellent!

This was the first book I ever purchased off Amazon and I really enjoyed reading Mr. Martin's work. He does a very good job of telling you what to use and where to go in southern Colorado. I plan to take it with me this summer along with my 3wt and use it when i am on the water.

Scott Cash Thompson

This is a book to use in planning a trip to an unknown area. I've flyfished warm water for years but I know little of trout fishing and nothing of doing so in Colorado. This book provides the detail to make decisions on which drainages and particular streams to fish. It clearly points out what is public and private water, what fish are there and provides some information on rod weights and lengths (though I would like to see a bit more of this) and good information on flies and lures to use.

I ordered this book in planning a fly fishing trip to Colorado. I'm still haven't yet decided where to go but this book provides the information to make a decision. The is plenty of detail on what to expect, how to get there, what fish are in that area, how to fish for them and particularly what equipment (rod lengths and weight, leader length, tippet size etc) is needed. This was money well spent.

Getting Up explains subway graffiti in New York City mostly in the seventies. Unlike other books on the same subject, Getting Up does not come out only in graffiti's favour. By including quotes from transit police, MTA workers and even politicians, a wide range of perspective is provided. We get to learn about Mayor Koch's neverending battle against the writers, how the plague just would not die. Also worth mentioning is an interview with Lee of The Fabulous Five, going into details about the night he and his partners went out to paint a wholetrain. This is a very good book.

Hey ya if ya want to through up some fuse ya need to read dis book and catch up on some real life wisdom.Because the only one that you is heartin out ther is you, if ya just writin on walls and not knowing what ya doing ya ging to screw up agood wall ,so get the write paint get da right damn wall and most important get da right damn BOOK!!!!@#$

Getting up is one of the best book i've ever seen. It contains more about graf. so Craig Castleman had a good job for readers!

This is an interesting dip into the world of rock n' roll and rockabilly. It would have been more interesting had the copy that I purchased, not gone inexplicably from page 76 to 19!! Thus I shall never know the finer points about Carl Perkins that I was about to read!
Certainly though this book is worth getting...although a properly ordered copy might be an advantage! Deserves to be on every rocker's bookshelf!

This book is without any doubt the best out there. Besides good biographical stories about bands and artists, you get to know a whole lot about the MUSIC rockabilly. This book also covers the cultural and sociological aspects of rockabilly. I've just finnished my major essay at the University in Trondheim (Norway) - studying music - and Morrison's book has helped me a lot. From the 50s, to the revival, and up to the present. Morrison's book covers it all!!!

I enjoyed reading this book and finished it within the week. It's mostly an expanded-overview of the major figures of rockabilly from the 50's through the 70's. This isn't a comprehensive book but that's not its intent. The outline is structured by either region or eras. It also explains when and how they started, and where they are now (if they're still around). There's also a chapter devoted to the semi-recent revival (up through the early 90's, thereby missing most of the bands that sprung up after the BSO struck it big). Also includes a recommended listening chapter.

I found this book to be somewhat disappointing at best. The positive reviews that other people wrote were misleading. This book should certainly not receive 5 out of 5 stars! I myself am a beginner to bonsai, and found this book to be quite unacceptable in terms of actually instructing the beginner. In fact, after purchasing this book I was immediately inclined to go purchase another book that had more explicit instructions for different bonsai.

First off, this book contained detailed information on only a few species of trees. In general, the information presented is put out in such away that it implies all deciduous trees and all coniferous trees should be treated the same way. It doesn't even mention tropical trees, which is what I have found beginners should really be focusing on in terms of learning the basic skills required to care for a tree with a dormancy period.

Second, this book contains information that is in no way aimed towards a beginner in bonsai. The different case studies in this book include planting established bonsai in forest-like groups, performing extremely severe pruning on established trees, grafting, etc. None if this stuff is at all basic, and therefore should not be included in a book that is sopposedly geared towards beginners

Finally, this book contains information that is very poorly presented. There are certain sections of parts of the book which don't even explain what they are talking about. Coussins will explain basic procedures to complicated processes of which the reasoning for performing the procedure is not even explained. Basically, I don't even know what he is doing and why; he will explain the process, briefly, despite this. Additionally, he does not even discuss the immersion method of watering, which is the most convenient method of watering indoor plants. This is indicative of his complete lack of thouroughness on writing about bonsai.

This book does contain some great pictures, and SOME basic procedures to basic principles. However, Coussins leaves out a great deal of necessary information, and includes information that is in no way necessary; i found a good deal of this book to be completely useless to me as a beginner in bonsai. I could not recommend this book to anyone who is beginning bonsai.

I found this book a wonderful read. Excellent information, not too lengthy in detail but concise and intelligent. No information overload. Just the very thing to get a beginner interested in starting Bonsai. Sound techniques and a very friendly read throughout.The sections are well laid out and in my opinion, the book acts like a teacher of Bonsai was just behind me when I am working on my Bonsai. I have been keeping Bonsai for two years now and this was exactly the kind of book I was looking for-a book to take me from the elements to intermediate. I have seen this excellent teacher twice now and I have been inmpressed with his teaching abilities. This is clear in his writing. Succinct, to the point and no faffle! This beautifully illustrated book must obviously make one or two other Bonsai writers very jealous.

This book is excellent when it comes to giving beginners to Intermediate growers information on basic techniques. I am a Bonsai grower of nearly ten years and I wanted to review this book after reading some of the other reviews. Its clear that Craig Coussins has worked to keep such information at the introduction level and he succeeds extremely well. His section on watering, for example, does not cover bad, old fashioned techniques such as full pot immersion, which, on most trees, disturb the soil and cause damage to the fine feeder roots that need to develop in a Bonsai. He discusses proper soil requirements for most types of Bonsai. And their various needs. In a simple way and not a complicated way, unless you find such things complicated of course. He uses clear and well-tried techniques to explain the best way forward. He can not cover all species in such a book of course, after all who can, but he goes a long way towards this by explaining the general techniques for most popular species in many climates. His understanding of techniques can be applied to both indoor and outdoor trees and he discusses that in some detail. His second book, Totally Bonsai is very much a beginner's book and works well, in addition to Bonsai for Beginners which is designed to take the beginner from start to intermediate standard. Apart from being a reference book it is also a very will planned book and easy to follow and easy to read. I can not wait for his next book, Bonsai School, that he mentions on his web site.

I found this to be a wonderful, easy read. Set over Thanksgiving and Christmas in the rough and hard New Mexico territory, it tells the tale of two people, lost in their private pasts and determined not to let go. With the help of a magical wizard, disguised as a gentle old man, each overcomes to find each other and true love. Grace, a lonely widow, trying to hold on to her husband's dream and her desire to provide something for her daughter from her father, no matter what the cost or sacrifice. Noah, a survivor of the war, a survivor of the horrible Andersonville prison, but a survivor only in the physical sense. He is an emotionally damaged man who needs the very people he shuns. A truly easy read with a predictable yet none the less, enjoyable ending. A must for those of us who can suspend disbelief for a few minutes and hope that good things like this can happen to people in real life.

Emma Craig spins an enchanted tale that has a tortured hero running from humanity...and into the world of a widow and her precocious little daughter, who live in the New Mexico Territory of 1869. The story takes place at the wagon yard and mercantile of Alexander McMurdo, a wizard who loves these three humans and is determined to bring joy into their lives with a little help from his magical powers.

The mercantile and wagon yard has been home to Grace Richardson and her daughter, Maddie, since her husband was killed by lightening several years prior. The lonely widow has nearly enshrined his memory, and she is determined to fulfill the dream they had shared of building a home on their land. Noah Partridge, bruised emotionally and physically from being a prisoner of war, has also suffered the loss of his family and the jilting by his sweetheart. He has come to the remote Southwestern desert looking for a piece of land to settle on. Noah is skin and bones, and cold of mind and heart-believing his soul has been lost. Arriving at the wagon yard, he feels he has found the place where he will have the isolation he seeks.

Mr. McMurdo, also known as Mac, has other plans for Noah and Grace, however. His wizardry draws them together, and with his help these two lonely souls both realize that love can heal even the most broken spirit. Emma Craig (a.k.a. Alice Duncan) reveals in parable how forgiveness of our fellow man, as well as ourselves, can be cleansing for the soul, mind, and body, while showing us that disappointments and struggles only serve to strengthen us. ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS is a delightful, uplifting read for the holiday season or any other time of the year. Her story will touch your emotions, and the magical happily-ever-after ending will leave you with a warm, contented feeling. ~Carol Carter for Bookbug on the Web

Noah Partridge has seen enough war and betrayal and just wants to be alone. He comes to the wilderness looking for solitude. What he gets is people who care about him no matter how unfriendly he is.

Grace Richardson is a beautiful softhearted woman who lost her husband when he was struck by lightening in a storm. She's trying to make a life for herself and her daughter Maddie in a barren land.

What these two have in common is a piece of land that Grace owns and a loneliness as desolate as the land they live on. What they gain is something to last a lifetime. Noah wants Grace's piece of land that was given to her by her late husband for her daughter Maddie. Grace doesn't want to part with the land because it's the only legacy she has left of her husband to give to Maddie.

A whimsical tale of magic and laughter, with wonderfully written characters full of life. A hardened hero whose heart is softened by the beautiful heroine and her lovely daughter. A heroine who must overcome the fear of loss and love again. Ms. Craig has created a well blended story with enough laughter and magic to make for an excellent read. I look forward to the second book in this series.

Craig Bolland's first novel tells the story of Mark Heron, technical writer and aspiring author, who after being dumped by his girlfriend moves into a ramshackle house of apartments to drop out. His fellow tenants are an eclectic bunch, each representing a particular philosophy of life. Over the six months he spends with them, Mark gradually recovers a sense of self and, most importantly, the ability to live in the moment - to do nothing, but do it very carefully. He learns to 'knit water', as one of his new friends explains it. There's a lot to like in this novel. The physical and emotional 'space' that Mark finds himself in will be familiar to most semi-professional twenty-somethings who are too intelligent to be content with the vacuous routines of contemporary life but too inexperienced to know what to do about it. The characters aren't cliched, but nor are they so irritatingly quirky and original as to preclude all empathy. And Bolland clearly has something important to say. I just wish he'd said it a little differently. Most of this novel is written in a kind of middle-Australian laconic voice, much like the G-rated humour you might find in the back pages of the magazine that comes with the weekend paper. Intercut with this are some painfully confessional or philosophical passages which read like they're torn straight from the author's diary or writing exercises. Juxtaposing these is an odd choice and it doesn't entirely work. While one could argue that it deftly captures the mental landscape of the twenty-something urban intellectual, it doesn't always make for good reading: each can become an ironic counterpoint to the other, draining both of credibility. For me, the laconic voice sometimes sounded forced, and the confessional one self-indulgent. I wish Bolland had chosen one and stuck to it. This hesitancy might result from nervousness on the part of a young writer. Bolland seems to lack the confidence to let the story speak for itself. He can't help jumping in to explain things for us just in case we've missed the point. Quite often he presents us with a well-crafted vignette, the emotional significance of which we're quite capable of understanding unassisted. Yet the narrator intrudes and explains it all for us. This might be a deliberate technique: after all, this is a novel about self-discovery, told in the first-person. But I don't think that's the reason, because Bolland sometimes even has inarticulate characters burst into effusive lyricism to ventriloquize on his behalf. At those moments, it feels false. Good writing trusts the reader. Good writing leave us with something to do. As the narrator, recalling Henry James, reflects towards the end of the novel: "...life doesn't mean things. It is things." So it is with a good novel: it gives us people, situations, events, but their meaning is something we work out for ourselves. If the writer is careful enough, we get his or her intended meaning without it having to be explained. Not trusting the reader might also account for Bolland invoking Calvino: the epigraph is his, as is the old trick which links the final paragraph to the chapter titles, turning them into a kind of prose poem. Such lofty bookends irritate, not only because they come from works which are so very unlike this one, but because they aren't necessary. Bolland's novel can speak for itself. Despite the problem of tone (which I've probably overemphasized here), "I Knit Water" is a solid effort. It was refreshing to read a novel about contemporary Australian life that dealt frankly with the frustratingly indefinable angst felt by so many of us. I look forward to reading more of Bolland's work.

This book has just been shortlisted for the 'One Book One Brisbane' campaign, and it's no surprise why. I've just finished reading 'I Knit Water' and I loved it. I really feel that it's one of those rare, beautiful bittersweet books that don't come along too often. The subtle use of humour in the book really touched me. Definitely something I'll be recommending to my friends.

This is such an intellectually profound book..doesnt back away from the big issues. just finished reading kafka's 'the trial' and dostoyevski's 'the idiot' and they have nothing on this book in regards to psychological profundity
wa-hoo

When they burned down the library at Alexandria, The excuse was if it is in the Koran than we already have it; if it is not, then we do not need it. What was true for them is true for us; if it is not in this book, then we do not need it. Or as Ed McMahon would say on the Johnny Carson Show "everything there is to know is in this book"

I will not give you a blow by blow description of all the features in this book, as it would weigh as much as the book. Let's say it covers everything you need to get off the ground or expand your existing knowledge. One usually overlooked feature that is well covered is [Connecting Using ODBC (with Microsoft Access)]. What I really want to do is tie this back to my Unix applications, as this is the only program I use that is not UNIX at this time. My best guess is that AutoCAD can not afford to keep their UNIX experts. That is no excuse for lack of information in this book. So five stars for coverage of almost everything and minus one for lack of UNIX information.

The book itself is an amazing tool to have at ones side while learning this complex program. However, I see I'm not the only one who had problems with the CD. Most unfortunate as the files that do work are an excellent match with the scripted tutorials.

I have found the book to be an excellent source of information. The only problem I have found is that the CD that comes with the book locks my computer when autorun is turned on, and will not let me access the CD.