A good introduction to Xanth, I guess. I haven't read any other Xanth books, though. If you know, could you e-mail me at wibsatp@hotmail.com?

This is a good book for getting you acquainted with the Xanth series. I have been reading them for years, but get confused which comes next as they are not all numbered. I like them as one leads into another. Maybe someone has these listed somewhere from start to most recent? ...

The Xanth stories are full of wonderful puns and jokes. It also is filled with action, romance, and young women whom, for some reason or another show their panties to creatures. This is not a dirty book however. This is perfect from young adult to ancient adult.

In chapter 20 of this book Richard Pryor offhandedly calls his comedy style "profane and profound" and inadvertently sums up his life and this book perfectly. This is at various times the most dirtyminded, hilarious, shocking, or downright disturbing autobiography you may ever read, but always with his great dark humor. With a bizarre and damaging childhood in Peoria, Richard Pryor was raised in his grandmother's place of business - which happened to be a whorehouse with all of its shady and unwholesome characters. A violent and painful childhood full of profanity and prejudice came out in Richard's comedy, which was truly groundbreaking in its shocking honesty. He lived a wild life in the spotlight, with addictions and a constant parade of rough women, including five wives that he divorced six times. The wives are hard to keep track of, but Richard is always brutally honest about his attitudes toward women even if it's rarely pretty. He also has a very refreshing outlook on racial matters, as the prejudice that was so damaging failed to ruin his respect for all people of any color. Most of the tail end of the book concerns his nearly born again soul searching about his infamous addictions and latest losing battle with multiple sclerosis. In addition to Richard's straightforward and unforgiving narratives, there are very frequent asides from one of his stage characters, Mudbone, who here is acting as his even more brutally honest alter ego. This gives the book an often jarring schizophrenic character, and surely reflects the true workings of Pryor's dark genius.

This has to be one of the most honest and compelling autobiographies I ever read! I have an immense amount of respect for the intimate details that Rich felt comfortable with sharing with readers about his early life and personal problems. Though some parts dealt with painful issues, the comedic genius he is, he manages to have readers smiling through tears. I found it particularly painful to read his battle with MS, which I watched my mother suffer with, but again, the humor is always there. Richard Pryor is the epitomy of a survivor, not to mention one of the most talented comedians of our time. This was a very inspirational and enjoyable read and I recommend the purchase A.S.A.P.

PRYOR CONVICTIONS made have changed the names to protect the innocent, but the story that unfolded made up for it. Richard Pryor's life has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, starting with his childhood, his molestation and rearing in a brothel to his complicated teens and young adulthood, when he felt he needed everyone's approval to live his life. Even as he reached maturity, he still felt he needed to belong to someone and needed to believe in something. It is this pyschological imbalance that drives him to drugs, numerous wives, and even more sexual conquests, but, in the end, he still felt alone and lost. He found out that the only need he couldn't live without was the need to be himself and the power to love who he is. Very candid and explicit, this is the real Richard Pryor, and, for better or worse, this is his story.

Lucy learns some valuable things during the course of this book. She learns that a teacher can be a friend and confidant. She learns that writing about events and her feelings can be a wonderful release. She learns a lot about poetry, because it is her teacher's favorite thing, and he starts each day by writing a poem on the blackboard. The final thing she learns is about being judgemental. Sure, her classmate Andy is obnoxious and irritating. But once she sees why (his abusive stepfather), Lucy learns compassion.

The book I read was For Your Eyes Only (FYEO). The author is Joanne Rocklin. I give this book five stars because it is very funny. The best part of the book is when Andy writes in his notebook. I like this part because his pictures are very detailed. My favorite character is Lucy because she goes through her life in a notebook. This book is great. I really think you should read it!

This is one of my all time favorite books. It is amazingly good. There are lesson's learned, and it's really fun to read. I've read it 6 times!!!!!!! I can't stop! This is a really good book! Definately worth every penny :)

This book is about Jake Sherman. He doesn't want to
go to summer camp but his mom made him go. His friends don't want to go either but Jake's mom told their mom to go too. Jake's sister is very selfish because she took Jake's donuts. Then the bus arrives. Jake's friends' names are Josh and Andy.
While they are going to the camp, Jake sleeps. Then when he wakes up, the cool guys call him Sleeping Beauty. There is a dork named Peter that nobody likes.Jake, Peter, and the three cool guys share the same cabin. Everyone picks on Peter. The cool guys make Jake to pick on Peter too.
He puts a plastic bag on Peter's cup. Then the juice spills on him. He doesn't want to pick on Peter but he does it because he wants to fit in with the cool guys. Then when he sleeps and wakes up, he is on the bus again.He is trapped at camp. Then he knows what to do. He should teach Peter some self-defense
and everything will be back to normal.
He teaches him that. But he gets stuck for six days. Then Peter starts to defend himself. Then when Jake goes to sleep and wakes up, he is at the second day of camp. Everything went back to normal.

By: Grigor Papazyan
Marshall Fundamental/Pasadena

The book I read was Help I'm trapped in First Day of Summer Camp by Todd Strasser. I liked the story because the days keep repeating and each day it was funnier then the previous one. My favorite character was Josh. The story took place at camp and it was interesting because each day something different happened. I would recommend this book to other people because it was both funny and interesting.

My 9 yo boy loves this series so I gave this one a quick read and was very pleased. This particular book explores the problems of kids (boys in particular) as they try to firgure out how to behave when confronted with kids who seem 'cool' but are mean. The first day repeats itself for Jake until he gets it right. The first time he is mean to the oddball so he can be accepted by the 'cool' guys. The 2nd day he ends up starting a fight with the mean kids to defend the 'dork' they are picking on. The third day he gets it right by helping the 'dork' to stand up for himself and get the other kids who are standing by to unite against the two who really are mean, and force them to back off.

The book is written at just the right level for my 4th grader with a bit of humor and belevable dialogue. It amuses him and I am glad he gets an important message without feeling preached to.

I discovered Todd's books through recommendations from Amazon.com, and for that I thank them. Todd writes about a world that disappeared almost a century ago. It is due to his writing abilities that that world is recreated again for his readers. I pick up one of his books, and immediately my mind settles into a simpler, but dark time of history after WWI. Rutledge is a different protagonist, who brings with him into his cases both the knowledge of human goodness and the inhumanity of man that he learned from his war experience.

Rutledge keeps quiet concerning his shadow presence, Hamish. The world was a lot less forgiving of mental illness back in those decades then it is even now. Hamish's presence in these books apparently bothers some readers, yet it is partly his presence which differentiates these books from others of this genre. Those who have studied psychiatry and neuroscience are aware of the different coping mechanisms used by those exposed to massive trauma, and few wars have dealt out the type of trauma the young men from England were exposed to during WWI.

The plot of this book is another ripple effect of the war. Those who made it back alive, not always made it back whole...even if their bodies appeared unscathed. And the impact of the war touched all of those families and towns, including the women. Many families, mothers and wives who expected a return to normality, were asked to deal with sons and husbands who returned with massive psychological problems. Many of them had to deal with these problems on their own without professional help, and also find a way to provide for their families.

Todd does an excellent job of writing. This particular book moved slowly, but then that world did move slower than the world we live in now, with its technological marvels and information glut. He writes with intelligence and with respect for the readers, expecting us to show a modicum of interest in Rutledge's life experience and in our own history. As an American, I am pleased to see that at least one of our own native writers can write as well as many British writers do.
Karen Sadler
University of Pittsburgh

Remarkable mystery novel which makes you want to read the first two novels of Charles Todd . Post World War I years are a fascinating area in themselves and give a haunting "decor" to the Rutledge 'mysteries. Un roman et un auteur que je recommanderais a tous !

I was introduced to the this book by accident. While on vacation I picked up a book to read and it was this one. I can tell you that now on hooked on all of Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge novels! Once you start reading, you can't put the books down. I've read all in the series and I'm anxiously his latest novel.

The second book by Todd Swift, this volume is beautifully constructed. The poems are lovely and lyrical. Mr. Swift is a dedicated poet, and the book shows it!
Kathleen Spivack.

The second book by this young poet; lovely poems and well arranged. A lyrical collection. Swift is a poet to watch.
Kathleen Spivack

No less breathtaking than the most intimate gaze of Roland Barthes, Swift's new collection of poems dares to go beyond Language by leaving us to dwell, if just for a moment, in a bantam world where we graze upon nostalgia, bend with desire, feed upon the barbiturate that can only be named longing--all the while being soothed by the lifeline of the lyric. Reading Cafe Alibi, we are privileged to visit an autarkic world where the aethetics of desire establish their own sense of time and order. A chilling and stunning read!

This is probably the best book in the whole world. Kids especially like "it's okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub." This is the best approach to diversity I've ever seen, and it's cute and funny as well as having a serious undertone. Buy it for someone unique!

This has to be one of my daughter's favorite books (she is an avid reader with over 100 books in her room). The pictures are bright, clever, and hysterically funny. I chuckle every time I read the book. It teaches children to respect difference without being preachy and condescending.

Maybe some people's kids like reading old stuff like aesops fables..stuff that doesn't relate to the REAL WORLD. BUT MOST kids in TODAY'S WORLD have issues. Issues like- why do I have freckles and why do I have curly hair and why do I wear glasses and why can't I be like her... or him ...or them! That's why this book is SO WONDERFUL..it teaches a wonderful lesson - IT'S OKAY..TO BE DIFFERENT, IT'S OKAY TO BE YOU! This is certainly an enriching book for any child - it builds self esteem, self confidence, and shows kids how everyone can be different, but that's what makes us special!...

This is a real good book. The site is down so there are no examples to download. and the book has no cd.
It took longer to read and type all the work from scratch.

I purchased this Stauffer book in 1996 having absolutely no HTML knowledge whatsoever; the next night, I had a fairly nice webpage up-and-running on one of these free servers that are available. HTML By Example is incredibly easy to read and follow along, and though the book ends quite abruptly with an overview on more advanced web design, it contains enough information to make one fully comfortable with intermediate HTML.

-l-

I create web sites for a living. While this is a beginner/intermediate book, it has a number of very useful tips in it and it's much easier to scan for information than many other books I own. I also like the fact that Ann stresses browser compatibility in her HTML code. I often use this book when I need to find code that works in both Netscape and IE.

This guy appears to have borrowed everything he wrote from somebody else, and doesn't stand on his own legs. Obviously an ego-driven motivational speaker who had a ghost writer fill in the blanks for him. No real meat, don't waste your money.

Todd's power lay in his ability to nudge the READER to power through immediate action exercises. His master goal through these exercises is the construction and implementation of a Life Plan that, once intimately fashioned, begins to take on a life of its own to influence and compel the reader throughout daily life. As Winston Churchill observed, "we make the building and then the building makes us." So, too, with a Life Plan.
I have fond memories of pounding away at 4 am each Wednesday morning with a cup of coffee to create my very own Life Plan under his helpful directions. Todd is a wise and winsome advisor for a truly worthy process.

This book is right on. It is one of those kind of books that you read through to get the content and then go back and use as a workbook. Excellent illustrations and stories support concepts and ideas. The workbook section after each chapter encourages application and guides the reader into focus of direction. This is a perfect book to give to every high school and college graduate. It is full of hope, positive encouragement, and principles that work. If each of us were to pattern our lives after the guidelines and to truly implement them, we would truly have peace on earth.

An excellent book in many respects. However, Zinn falls victim to the "newer is better" (or, rather, "old is unimportant.") Lots of great bicycle fixing advice, excellent diagrams -- but you are SOL if you are trying to repair a bicycle older than 1998.

For example, Zinn only covers sidepull brakes with a quick release. Only new/expensive bikes have this quick release tab; all other bicycles require you to, e.g., deflate your tires to pull them off. If you didn't know this, you would damage your bicycle. Keeping with this ignoring of those of us who are, e.g., fixing an older bicycle, Zinn gives no help on these issues -- but does spend pages and pages on how to fix the "wireless radio transmitter transmissions".

Next time, Mr. Zinn -- try to keep the ordinary folks in the loop, eh?

All in all the book is not too bad but there aren't many books against which to compare it. I think that many adjustments and some repairs could be successfully undertaken from following the author's guidelines. But the book is uneven. Throughout the book there is a shortage of technical detail or information that could have easily been given. Sometimes it is critical, sometimes not.

For example in dealing with chains, there is no mention of chain identification such as a Hyperglide or HG chain despite the ubiquity of Shimano chains. Or it is stated that nine speed chains are more narrow than those for 7 or 8 speeds. Well, what is the measurement? Or the author instructs to drive the old pin all the way out in doing chain maintenance on an HG chain. Usually it is much easier to reconnect the chain with part of the old pin still in. It is stated that a Shimano tool does not damage the plates of a Shimano chain but others do. Well, Park tools are by the most purchased tool by home enthusiasts. Does a CT3 chaintool tool cause damage? The reader or future home repair person is left to wonder. In fact there is almost total absence of exact tool identification in the entire book. That is the kind of thing that a beginner needs to know.

In adjusting derailleurs presetting the barrel adjusters is not done. Setting the front derailleur limit screws before tightening the cable is not done. It is this kind of inconsistency in most every chapter that plagues this book. But the beginner would have no way on knowing this. So that is why I must qualify the chances of a person following this book having success in his or her repair.

A more complete book is the Barnett's Manual. But of course it is about four times as expensive and it too is not without its problems. It attempts to cover all types of bikes but its attention to detail and specifications and procedures can often overwhelm rather than really help the reader. The bottom line is that if you know next to nothing about bikes, you can learn a lot from this book. But there is still lots more to learn. Seek out other sources. Use the internet.

Lennard Zinn, revolutionary in the field of custom bike design, regular contributor to Velo-News, and sponsor of a women's racing team, joins up with well-respected wildlife artist Todd Telander and world-class racer Jonathan Vaughters to create a road bike manual that is not only clear and detailed, but manages to be an interesting read as well.

This manual helps you identify the problem, lets you know which tools you will need, and takes you through each repair with simple steps. Whether you are building up a bike from scratch, fine-tuning your derailleur adjustment, or simply fixing a flat tire, you'll find that the book has easy-to-follow instructions for your task. Todd's accompanying illustrations are works of art in their precision, and further clarify the text instructions.

There are so many benefits to repairing and maintaining your own bike, not the least of which is saving money. Invest in 'Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance' and you'll find that this task can also be quite enjoyable!