"The Good The Bad And The Goofy" by Jon Scieszka is great for a short read (It is only fifty pages.) The fights between Fred (really athletic) and Sam (really smart) are hilarious. The book starts out in Joe's attic when Fred, Joe, and Sam wish to go back in time to see the cowboys and indians using Joe's magic book. The way the book works is they say a rhyme and end it with where they want to go. I won't tell you what happens when they get there because I don't want to spoil this great story! If you don't think that you'll like this book than don't pick it up because the book is so great that you won't be able to put it down. In short, if you like magic, comedy, and suspense then this is the book for you!

Joe, Fred, and Sam are watching a western show, when suddenly they get sucked back into the book.The boys find themselves in a desert.Fred starts to hear something.It's a stampede.They are about to get hit by the stampede! Will anyone come to their rescue?
Some of the funny parts are when they almost get run over by the cows and at the end when you see the hole in Fred's hat.In one of the pictures the cow has 5 utters so tht was funny.I think you should read this book because it's just as funny as the first two Time Warp Trio books.

The Time Warp Trio is a crazy trio of a spotlight man, a brainiac, and a human pig. "Mr. Spotlight" opens The Book. He says the goofiest rhyme you can think of to send his crew back in time to the cowboys. What do you know? It works! All of a sudden, this Time Warp Trio find themselves in a "twister" of adventure. Illustrations help you imagine the story clearly. If it gets boring for a page or two, don't panic; it will jump right back into adventure. Beware, it's dynamite laughs.

This book is a wonderful reference for beginning and experienced photographers alike. Anyone wishing to make money from his/her photography needs this book. In addition to the staggering list of markets and individual sources, this book covers basics such as copyright law, license types, taxes, etc...

Although it's not a novel, I have, on occasion found myself reading each entry page by page. It's almost a lesson in itself on what to expect from a given market, and how to approach it. An indispensable tool.

Want to make some cash with your photography? Start here!

This is an excellent book for a photographer trying to break into the marketplace! I found many leads and opportunites that I never would have thought about. I was sending my photos to magazines for free - now I check the magazine write up in this book to see what the magazine may pay. I am now an informed photographer!

This book has some really detailed how-to information for those submitting their photographs to various kinds of publications and organizations.

You could probably live without a copy, but not if your goal is to make a living as a photographer.

For those of us that are interested in life beyond the original "Little House" series, this is a great book to own/read. I think that it captures the character of Laura and Rose because the stories and articles are by their own hand.

I really enjoyed the photos throughout this book because while Garth Williams' representation of the Ingalls family is lovely, it is nice to see what they really looked like. Even though they are in black and white you can imagine Pa's eyes twinkling.

Rose and Laura have very different styles, but both styles are very good. I especially liked Laura's articles because they paint a picture of farm life. The sections range in length so if you one have a few moments of reading time here and there it isn't necessary to worry about reading it in one sitting (though you may want to!).

Other things I recommend are the Little House series (of course!), and the series about Rose that was published recently (it has its slow parts but it was written by someone close to the family so there is a lot of accuracy). If you want to read more of Laura and Rose's writing this book is the perfect solution even considering the high price.

I loved the short stories by Rose Wilder Lane, (especially "Innocence") and Laura's pieces are also touching & well-written -- definitely recommended for the die-hard Ingalls-Wilder fan and for anyone interested in good short stories. Rose Wilder Lane will really impress those people who haven't read anything by her before.

This was the book 10 years ago that introduced me to the fact there was more out there beyond the Little House books written by my favorite author and her daughter. After reading her "Missouri Ruralist" writings, it puts the theories of Laura not really writing the Little House books to rest. It also introduced me to the thrilling storytelling of Rose; so much so, I broke my cardinal "no lending of Little House books" rule to disasterous results. I'm glad to finally have a replacement.

Rose's interview with her father drives me nuts! You will find yourself wishing, after reading this and other snippets on "the man of the place" that Laura and Rose would have spent more time writing about him.

This novel is somewhat slow reading, perhaps because there seems to be an excess of extraneous details, e.g., you may learn more than you want about baking fruitcakes. On the other hand, some details related to the case never seem to be fully explained. The plot is somewhat transparent for a whodunit, i.e., you can guess the identity of villains before they are exposed.

The setting is London in 1889. Five years earlier a brutal murder had outraged the public. Police were previously criticized for not catching Jack the Ripper. Pressures for an arrest in this case led to the conviction and hanging of a Jewish actor. Anti-semitism had run high with attacks on Jews and Jewish owned businesses. Now questions have been raised.

A Justice who had served on the appeals court for the case is looking into it again. When he dies during a theatre performance, Inspector Thomas Pitt is assigned to investigate, and he re-examines the old case the Justice was reviewing. There is strong pressure not to rock the boat. A reversal in the five-year old case would embarass many people from individual policemen to Justices of the appeals court. Some surprising facts are revealed as the case draws to its conclusion. As a sidelight, Charlotte's maid Gracie acquires a young admirer.

Like other novels in this series, we are provided with a picture of Victorian era society in London. The novel has some amount of violence and some references to sexual encounters.

If you are looking for a good book, I suggest getting this book, because I have only read 2 chapters and I am already captivated! I also suggest a book by Jill Jones, Bloodline, WHICH IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!

The murder of a judge is wittnessed by the Pitts. It leads Thomas to open a five year old case, a murder for which a man was hung. Step by step the author leads us through a 19th century maze of prejudices and social barriers. An additional murder ups the stakes. Charlotte has her own problems. her mother has fallen in love with a Jewish actor fifteen years her junior and to make matters worst he is a suspect in the murders. As always Anne Perry is letter perfect in her depiction of the period. Her plot is particularly puzzling. I enjoyed the twists.I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book, expecting to see both parts of "Alive!" in it. For those of you who have the Concept Cast recording, it's the second half of the song, for those with the Broadway cast, it's a few tracks later. In any case, the reprise is much more dramatic, difficult, and impressive, and some of the music is different. Boo to Cherry Lane Music for dumbing this down.

Ever since I first heard the 1994 Concept Cast Recording of Jekyll and Hyde I have been after the Vocal Selections for this great musical. So I bought this one and was slightly disappointed. However I will deal with the positives first. This book of Vocal Selections provides a great range of songs for male and female voices. For those male singers looking to test their ranges This is the Moment is a perfect choice. And for those looking for great character songs there is Alive and Confrontation. For female voices the ballads Someone Like You and In His Eyes are provided which are two very beautiful songs given justice by the very good piano accompaniment. There are also two great duet pieces, Take Me as I Am and It's a Dangerous Game. There are also some great photos from the Broadway production along with information from the Lyricist and Composer.

However I do have a few problems with this book. A few of the great songs from the Concept Album are not in this. The first major exclusion is the incredibly difficult sing, I Need to Know. The second is Transformation. The last problem is that some of the notes have been changed to make some of the songs easier. For example the last note of Alive! is no longer an incredible high "A" but an "E" Though the positives do indeed outweigh the negatives. There is a wide selection of songs (refer to song list) all equipped with great piano accompaniment.

Song List = Lost In the Darkness. Take Me as I Am. No One Knows Who I Am. Good and Evil. This Is The Moment. Alive! Sympathy, Tenderness. Someone Like You. Murder, Murder! Once Upon A Dream. In His Eyes. It's A Dangerous Game. A New Life. Confrontation

This is one of the best vocal selections I have seen in terms of difficulty. It gives me a decent quality where I don't have to play the melody when being an accompanist. However, it doesn't always follow the 1997 CD... Some things were made simpler, like "In His Eyes" that is missing some crutial piano notes. I applaud Cherry Lane's job on "Facade" and "Murder, Murder!" which are both excellent piano versions.
If only there could be a vocal score for this...

Many memoirs have the benefit of allowing us a personal interpretation on events we have observed in the media on a more superficial scale. The main attraction of this memoir is being able to catch a glimpse of the real life events that later shaped Vargas Llosa's amazing fiction. The fact that his early life was the foundation of many of his great works (Conversations in the Cathedral, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter etc)is perhaps suggestion enough to the avid Vargas Llosa reader that the accounts of his childhood, adolescence and early manhood are sure to be fascinating, and indeed they are.

The stories of his early life are interspersed with his ill fated run for Presidency in Peru much later in his life. Although this section is also well written and offers an insightful if rather bleak view of the politics of the third world it doesn't match the magic and narrative interest of his earlier memoirs.

Overall this book presents a portrait of a wise, humble and compassionate man who struggles to come to terms with his ambivalence for his homeland.

Mario Vargas Llosa's account of his presidential campaign, interwoven with a memoir of his childhood and young adulthood, is compelling. It is a shame that someone with such a practical, intelligent and courageous plan for governing Peru was not elected. Vargas Llosa has serious doubts that Peru will ever become a "serious" nation, and after reading A Fish in the Water it's difficult to disagree. The insights into racism in Peru are fascinating, and the story of his young life is entertaining and at times moving, especially as it concerns his abusive father. This work is not at all self-serving, and yet the reader cannot help but admire (and like) Vargas Llosa. My only quibble is that some of the passages of his college days are overlong with lists of friends and acquaintances, some of whom are not remarkable and could have easily been left out. But Vargas Llosa, as usual, has produced a work of rigor and grace.

A Fish In the Water is Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa's bittersweet tale of the three years he spent in public life and of his quixotic campaign for the presidency of his native Peru.

His candidacy, he says, all came about "through the caprice of the wheel of fortune." At the time, he thought his decision to run for president of Peru was a "moral" one. "Circumstances," he writes, "placed me in a position of leadership at a critical moment in the life of my country." But Vargas Llosa is first and foremost a writer, not a politician, and so he has been willing to dig a little deeper into the reasoning behind his decision. "If the decadence, the impoverishment, the terrorism, and the multiple crises of Peruvian society had not made it an almost impossible challenge to govern such a country, it would never have entered my head to accept such a task." Motivation doesn't get much more quixotic than that.

Even more engaging than Vargas Llosa's revelations about his unsuccessful foray into the political world, are his reminiscences about his childhood and youth, which he intersperses throughout this book. He begins with a vivid and traumatic memory: the revelation by his mother that his father, whom the author thought had died before his birth, was, in reality, alive and waiting to meet him in a nearby hotel. It was a revelation that Vargas Llosa did not greet with joy.

In fiction, the cruelties experienced in childhood might be used to help explain the adult who survived them, but Vargas Llosa wisely makes no attempt to connect the two. The sections regarding the presidential campaign and those on his youth run along parallel tracks, but the story of his early life trails off after his graduation from college and his decision to go to Europe to write. The matter-of-fact air about the stories suggests that Vargas Llosa is more concerned with remembering than with interpreting and analyzing.

While the personal memories make for the most compelling reading, the campaign memoir does offer a convincing self-portrait of a political innocent sinking under a tide of democratic absurdities. Wildly popular at first, Vargas Llosa presented a coherent, but harsh, economic plan to his fellow Peruvians and rapidly became Peru's sacrificial llama. Near the end of the campaign, he endured catcalls, stone throwing and scurrilous allegations about almost everything, including his books.

Those of us who know and love Vargas Llosa and his books greeted his loss to Alberto Fujimori with more than one sigh of relief. But anyone who has an interest in the gorgeous landscape of Peru, Latin American politics, or the magnificent works of Mario Vargas Llosa will find this book essential reading.

I'm certainly going against the grain with this review, but I felt the need to speak out. I very much looked forward to this book because Mr. Matchett does such an excellent job commentating on Formula One races for Speed Channel. His technical knowledge and articulate manner add a great deal to the broadcasts.

Perhaps I should be fair, in that I was expecting something more along the lines of what other reviewers have said about the book. Yes, there are some fascinating bits about the drivers he's worked with, and there are some humorous pieces as well (especially the part about Piquet's antics when Matchett had to stick his head down in the foot box with Piquet still buckled in). My complaint about the book is that it tends to go into great detail regarding the periphery of Matchett's journey into Formula One, and not enough into the technical acrobatics the mechanics have to perform, both in the garage and on the track. If you want to hear about the quaint little towns, the drives up the country on vacation, and the pub down the corner from Steve Matchett's point of view, then get this book. I feel it concentrates too heavily in these areas, and I was frustrated for it. Why, I recall perhaps the most compelling chapter wherein Matchett and crew are furiously chasing a hydraulics gremlin that is wreaking havoc with the car's variable suspension. He describes in excellent detail the agonizing frustration of checking each component, over and again with no success. Because of the enormous pressure the mechanics are under, this section starts to read like a suspense novel. In the end, though, after building us up to share the unbearable frustration he feels at the time, he doesn't let us know how the problem is fixed, or how the situation turns out. He just ends with saying something along the lines of "see how frustrating it gets?"

Frustrating, indeed.

As another reviewer has noted, this book is more about the peripherary of F1 than what really goes on in the pits. I was looking for a bit more technical insight into what goes into a winning F1 effort -- how, really, does a team go from also-ran, to winner, and back to also-ran in a few years -- but instead there was much more about the travel schedule, working conditions, and atmospherics. Matchett is a good commentator, seems like a likeable fellow and has written a plesant enough book, but the insight into F1 technology and team dynamics is only so-so.

Steve Matchett's "The Mechanic's Tale" is a great read. It cover's everything from his apprenticeship to his winning the WCC with Benneton. Matchett tells his story with an insider's view and with a lot of humour (I still smile thinking of his first experience using titanium). He also gives the right amount of technical information, so any average F1 fan should learn a thing or two about the cars, but it shouldn't bewilder any new F1 fans. This is a must-read for all F1 and motorsport fans.

Anthony Lane is the reason I subscribe to the New Yorker, and I regularly tell anyone who'll listen that he's a god, but until this book, I didn't even realize the breadth of his talent and knowledge. The amount of entertainment minutiae he can store, and his ability to choose that perfect tidbit every time, is both endearing and awe-inspiring. His one-liners (often self-deprecating) stay with me like delicious little gifts. A couple of people in these Amazon reviews have called him sneaky, smart-alecky, and the like, and I must say how strongly I disagree with these statements. Anthony Lane gives us his close to flawless taste with generosity and warmth, without regard to whether a movie is "supposed" to be good, or important, or arty, or whatever it is we're supposed to like. To people who feel he won't review blockbuster movies, I'd like to point out that two reviews caused me to begin following Anthony Lane: an approving, positive review of "Halloween" and a pan of a French art film.

If you love movies, you will love this book. Simply put, Lane shares his love of movies with open eyes, well-trained, observant, and critical eyes. He looks at mostly American movies but throws in some foreign ones too. When a particular aspect of a film is achingly bad, he lets you know. When another aspect is delicious, he cooks up the casserole, and celebrates its smell, appearance, and taste.

There are also some essays on people and places, but the positive emotions I feel when reading are the right ones, the ones we all feel because we are human, and fortunate to be living in the right place at the right time. I intend to get myself to my nearby Hollywood Video and rent the ones that Mr. Lane blesses with his incredible insight. And, oh, yeah, I'm getting over to the "alternative" video store to find those gems that the "Young Adult Male, 18-25" would never appreciate, because those are the gems that make life worth living.

Thank you Mr. Lane.

I can't remember when I have read such a delightful fun book. Anthony Lane writes with such wit, insight and playfulness I had a hard time putting it down.

His range of subject matter is extensive and well researched. From Movies to authors and profiles his observation are wonderfuly writen.

Mr. Lane understands the importance of real helicopters in Apocalypse Now, that Nabokov and W.G. Sebald are remarkable writers, that cookbooks are full of great things besides cooking, That Best-sellers and their list are full of bad writing, that we should know about John Ruskin, Evelyn Waugh,Andre Gide,and Matthew Arnold. He also understands what an incredible Movie The English Patient is.

My favorite book of the year.

Kathy Ross helps fill in the gap for Sunday School teachers. Sometimes our church cirriculum falls short on craft ideas. Kathy has shared her creativity for craft fun for kids and teachers alike. As a first-grade Sunday School teacher, I look forward to having her books in our Sunday School resource room and to see new craft books in the future!

Kathy has done it again! Wonderful, creative ideas throughout! My daughter really enjoyed working on these projects and I'm sure your kids will too!! My daughter and I love getting her books and have spent many weekends working together on these creative projects. Kids learn while they work on the crafts, too. We find the projects are often the stepping-off point for discussions about the bible stories. Kudos to the author for yet another job well done!!

I bought this book and thought it was great. My church is using it in their Sunday School. The ideas are so fun and clever. Thanks to Kathy Ross for another wonderful craft book!

There was only one thing wrong with this novel: There wasn't enough to it. Not enough about the heroine, her travails in starting a magazine, how she came to be the Martha Stewart of the deep South. Not enough of the hero, of his accomplishments, and his compassion, and how he evolved into the fine man he became. And not enough backstory foreshadowing the mystery, which turns out to be rather tame. From where, exactly, did the heroine's sister turn up in order to resolve the conflict? Fleshing out any of these issues would have made for a better romance, and addressing all of the issues would have made for a great novel.

Still, SWEETHEARTS OF THE TWILIGHT LANES is a charming novel, well-written, and with endearing characters. Having been raised in New York City myself, I loved the glimpse it offered into small-town Southern life.

I hope that with her next book, Luanne Jones' publisher and editor will allow her to tell more of a tale.

Tess and her friends, the Sweethearts, are bright and witty and ready to face anything but the truth of their own past. Flynn Garvey is a genuine southern bad boy turned gentleman. The small town setting and the connection between the characters as they faced the past and looked toward the future created a wonderful chemistry.

The scene in The Lure (a strip club and bait shop) had me laughing and the friendships between the women warmed my heart.

I can't imagine what the reviewer who was so harsh to this perfectly sweet story was reading but it couldn't have been the same book I read. I liked it enough it will be shared with my friends.

I didn't realize this was a romance novel when I ordered it. Good thing, too, or I'd have missed out on a light, fun book that made me feel really good for a long time after it ended. If this what a romance novel is like I may need to read some more.

The characters had both humor and style. The southern flavor was a very nice touch. The girlfriends were just like a group of friends I would have known in college. I loved that their lives were not neatly packaged or overwrought with tragedy. The lovers, Flynn and Tess, were not one bit sappy but bright and funny. That they came off in the end better people than they were in the beginning really brought this book together.

This was a terrific introduction for me into romance novels and to this author. Buy this book and be prepared to fall in love!