The Summer I Was Seventeen, by Gerald Coomer, is one of the few light novels I've enjoyed reading recently.
Vicariously trekking an old mountain trail, unknown to me, but rich with history and lore, I could savor John Hunt's experiences-replete with sensory delectation.
Gerald Coomer masterfully opens a portal where both he and the reader can project themselves into the persona of the fictional character, John Hunt.
Here is an idyllic setting that becomes more and more intriguing as the days and weeks of summer vacation pass, along The Appalachian Trail, to reveal the building of a youth's delicate character.
Tooley, the warm, charismatic, fatherly yet enigmatic adult leader of the group, subtly delivers lessons of life and love to all, but especially to John, who has not only shown a need to return Tooley's affection, but who has opened himself up as the quintessential seeker.
I applaud Gerald Coomer for literarily taking sensitivity and caring a notch higher in this too often insentient and insusceptible arena of life that has been sadly referred to in song as "teenage wasteland".
I would not at all be surprised if, in the near future, this novel were to be assigned as supplemental reading for either college Adolescent Psychology or Philosophy courses, where it could be more fully understood, discussed and appreciated.

Herman Melville would like this story; it has all the elements requisite for the kind of tale he loved to tell--an all-male cast of characters, a long journey (in this case a trek in the mountains), a variety of adventures, an examination of the human psyche, and a young hero who is wrenched into the first stages of maturity.

Indeed, the narrator in The Summer I Was Seventeen seems to be an amalgamation of Ishmael and Billy Budd. John Hunt comes to the trail as uncomplicated as any one of Melville's heroes. If he is tainted with "original sin," he doesn't know it yet. If nefarious experience has darkened his heart, it is not an articulated darkness. He comes "fresh from the coinage of man"--to borrow an expression from A.E. Housman. He is Adamic.

Unlike Melville's fellows, however, John is fortunate to fall among companions who are trying to be decent human beings--who are eager to help him make the razor's-edge transition from innocence to goodness. And that entails certain realizations about the nature of existence, realizations that are always painful, always traumatic: that the world (here, the wilderness) is not always what it seems; that pain is not punitive so much as it is random; that love has a reverse side which is something akin to suffering.

What would Tooley do?
James Tooley Madison is the organizer of the hike in this book for coming-of-age boys. These boys can follow the adventures and feel the pains and joys of young John Hunt, a counselor on the hike, for it is his summer we wander in this tale of the Appalachian Trail.
But since coming-of-age boys rarely read what they should, the book works too for the parents and caregivers of those boys, who might find answers in the example set by Tooley when their sons stumble on the dilemmas of human relationship, whether they're far from home or in the next room.
Tooley is just one of the life-changing influences John Hunt walks with when he signs up as a helper on this month-long trek through the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Tooley is a college professor in the off-season, but he finds his rhythm and sustenance in his summers on the trail. His love of teaching invigorates and embraces the small group of hikers in his charge. His goal is their personal growth, and if the woods and the companions don't offer enough for the hikers to think about as they traipse, Tooley is OK with interjecting. Each of the hikers emerges a more worldly person than the boy who began the hike.
But this is John's Hunt's tale. We follow his sorting of teenage feelings and emotions with a nearness sometimes painful. The journey may be more stirring for a parent who has had to weigh the choices John Hunt confronts than for a teen about to make them, but the wisdom comes through, regardless.
What should happen in the life of a teenage boy in the United States often doesn't happen. The mentor, the guidance, isn't there when he needs them. John Hunt is lucky. He's on the right hike at the right time.

Someday I'd like to read a real biography of Wodehouse (as opposed to the dreadful "fan" bios out there) and find out what was happening to him around 1936 -- when he wrote the scathing, angry "Laughing Gas" and this one. "Summer Moonshine" uses Wodehouse plot A: boy-chases-girl-at-country-house. Yet strange feelings of hopelessness and despair creep into it, and when boy loses girl there's a bitterness like in no other Wodehouse novel. It's not bad, but you definitely get the sense that, as the author himself might put it, something's up.

I first read this book when I was 18, and like the hero, fell in love with a "not too tall girl with an upturned nose". I must have read this book atleast 200 times. You really do wish you were part of the happenings. I wish I could also howl like a wolf in a restaurant. The mysterious American uncle Sam chewing his gum, Tubby going back to his room with a Union Jack for a towel after he finds that his clothes have vanished while swimming, the house of red glazed brick, the Princess.. This is the book which made me fall in love in an Indian Summer.

The first thing that has to be mentioned about Summer Moonshine is the hero - Joe Vanringham. I think he is the best hero that Wodehouse ever created - tough; street-smart; not at all the usual 'silly ass' and yet not overly romantic or anything like that. (In fact, if you read Bachelors Anonymous you'll realise that Wodehouse's Joes generally tend to be very good!) The plot is extremely complicated as Wodehousian plots tend to be, but even more so than usual. One finds oneself flipping back to check up on what happened where. And then, on finally figuring it out, laughing like a lunatic. It's a charming book, as economical with space and as funny as one has come to expect Wodehouse to be. Sir Buckstone Abbot is one of the best characters Wodehouse has ever come up with - ditto to Sam Bulpitt, and one wonders why they couldn't become recurring characters. But Joe is the best ever! All hail Joe Vanringham! (Forgive my babbling; this is my favorite book ever, as it's not that difficult to figure out.)

I bought this book about 10 years ago... Kept it ever since.. Been waiting for a sequel for the longest time..

The book is unique and different kinda remind you of a whole new world to be at then the realty we are in lol........

Read the book.. Believe you would want a continue on that story very much..

This book is just magical. I owned it about ten years ago and lost the copy. I looked for a copy and luckily I got one. I would love to read a sequel to this great book! It has all the right ingredients to a truly great love quest. I particularly liked the woman in this book because she is not only beautiful but she is also strong, loyal and courageous. This book has unicorns, dragons, mermaids, etc. It really is quite fascinating. I would also love to see this made into a movie just like Legend.

I read many great authors. This book has always held a special place in my memories. I wish she would write a sequel.

Summer Souvenirs by Ken Haak is basically a book chocked full of half naked men, many in bikini briefs and speedos, many all of them good-looking. For women who enjoys watching men, and gay men, this book will fulfill your every fantasies.

Well, almost every fantasy.

A book that certainly rates a spot on your coffee table right next to Home and Garden, House Beautiful and Architecture for the Ages! That IS beautiful architecture. Awesome fact is that the architects, builders and the finished product are one and the same. After you turn a few pages, you will agree that those individuals added to your Home and Garden would certainly make a pleasing picture. True, eh?

It's been almost 19 years since I posed for that book and every Labor Day I think back to that day on the beach working with Ken. I looked great; I felt great. I'm not 5% body fat anymore, but not too far off, and sure don't look 41.

I do expect that men and women alike enjoyed looking at the pictures in this book as much as I did being in it. I was extremely flattered that although I did not make the cover, (good for you Russell), one of my picutes was used in promoting it.

Best wishes,

Tom

After Stevie has a mishap and suffers a bad bruise, not serious that will keep her out of the saddle, Carole and Lisa take a vow that they will not ride horses until Stevie's injury is healed. And if they should break this SOLUMN oath they have to ask Veronic to join the Saddle Club. Even though Carole and Lisa go to completely different states they can't keep their promise. I rated this a seven because it does not illustrate the kind of "together forever" mood in the other books.

i liked this book a lot but... i thought it was kindda dumb that Lisa didn't take the horse Sky tried to give her I mean really a horse crazy girl refuse the perfect horse? other than that this was interesting and fun to read

When horse-crazy Stevie Lake gets hurt and can't ride awile, her two best friends Carole Hanson and Lisa Atwood agree that it isn't fair for just Stevie to not be able to ride. So they decided that they wouldn't ride either. For a whole month. There's even an "or else." Lisa goes to L.A. with her mom. Carole goes to N.Y. City with her dad. Stevie stays to help out at Pine Hollow, the s' riding stable. But can three horse-crazy s stay away from riding so long? Find out in this incredible, fantastic, horse-crazy, first Saddle Club Super!!!

I liked this book alot it was really good. I would suggest you to read this book if your into adveture book,because there is this girlnamed Nelly and she wants to be a scientist. Her grandmother takes her on a vacation. She takes a bunch of with her, and when they get there she finds a scientist kit. She wants to make a potion that makes her Granma grows younger. But from there on your going to have to find out the rest by reading it.

The summer I shrank my grandmother BY: Elvira Woodruff

I really enjoyed this book! It is a fiction story about a girl who wishes her grandmother would get younger. Therefore, she creates a potion that she shampoos into her hair. Then her grandmother keeps getting younger and younger until she is almost not born. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a short funny story. I enjoyed this book because it was unpredictable you could never tell what was going to happen next!

Have you ever wondered what your parents or grandparents were like as children? Well, in this book Nelly Brown is playing around with her Grandmother's old chemistry set and shrinks her Grandmom. Instead of getting older and older, her Grandmother keeps getting younger and younger. Will she shrink into nothing, or will Cousin Ben come and save the day? Read this wonderful book to find out.

An innovative idea drives this book, since canning single-jar and small-quantity preserves or pickles is a great way to keep up with a small garden's produce. The chapter called "Single Jar Pickles" contains 27 recipes for preserving a wide variety of vegetables in hot vinegar. The "Salt-Brined Pickles" chapter outlines ...well, pickling in salt brine, of course. The "Relishes and Chutneys" chapter and the section on "Quick and Easy Freezer Pickles" also cater to the home gardener who wishes to put up small harvests without much fuss. A couple of recipes for baked fruit butters eliminate much of the mess and fuss (and second-degree burns!) associated with open-kettle preparation. :) If you are interested in these topics, then by all means give this book a try. HOWEVER...if you intend to concoct jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves or conserves, you may want to seek another source. The low-sugar, no-pectin-added fruit preserves taste less like premium home-made jam than like barely sweetened mashed fruit. Leaving out commercial pectin, and cutting WAY down on sugar, necessitates steps like these: long boiling times (10-30 minutes versus 1 minute with added pectin); use of a jelly thermometer or other lower-tech method to test for gel stage; and an addition of diced tart apples to nearly all jams and jellies. Since the rest of the book is filled with recipies modified for modern needs, it seems anachronistic to revert to this older, messier, less convenient form of jelly-making. IF YOU NEED LOW-SUGAR JAM recipes for health reasons, this is your book. If you want soft-spreading fruit with a barely sweetened flavor, use Summer in a Jar. IF ALL YOU WANT IS SWEET, EASY, REGULAR OL' JAM, get another source--like the Ball Blue Book.

This is fantastic! I've started canning just this year. I bought four canning books, and 90% of the canning I've done has been from this one. Super for small batches, but they're easily converted to larger ones. Fantastic for the home gardener--even if you have a small garden. There are great recipes for salsa, tomato sauces, pickles of all flavors, hot peppers, &jardineres.

This cookbook does not look like much from the outside, but the recipes inside are a must for anyone who makes their own pickles, jams, or jellies. The recipes are simple to follow and there is a lot of variety to choose from. The Tarragon Green Beans are always a hit for me.

I ordered "Summer Madness" a couple of weeks ago and read it the night it hit the doorstep. As a former player who won an NCAA championship with the Texas Longhorns (for which she was named MVP) and a WNBA title with perennial champions, the Houston Comets, Harris writes from personal experience with the greats of the game. As a sports commentator, Harris is an entertaining writer with unvarnished opinions (which she gleefully shares) on the WNBA and its big-name players.

Which team was so cheap it rationed sweat socks? Would you like to know a little more about the enigmatic four-time Championship MVP Cynthia Cooper? Be warned that "Summer Madness" is more akin to a Fran Harris autobiography than an objective examination of the league, but that lends the book a straightforward charm. An entertaining mix of thoughtful essay, personal memoir and dishy gossip, "Summer Madness" is a must-read for anyone who follows the WNBA.

There is a photo section, an enlightening forward written by WNBA star Tina Thompson, and plenty of stuff not already published in Harris' columns. There also are several laugh-out-loud passages (don't read it in your cubicle at work) and a very touching remembrance of Kim Perrott, Harris' Houston Comet teammate.

Well worth the shipping wait! If you enjoy Fran's straight-forward, witty columns then you will love this book. It was insightful and entertaining. Part autobiography, part documentary, and part commentary. A WNBA book like this was long overdue. I've recommended it to all the women's basketball fans I know.

All it needed was a little proofreading :) , but the content and style were da bomb. Can't wait for her novel!

Finely written & empathetic fictional account of a mysterious episode in the lives of poets Laura (Riding) Jackson & Robert Graves, told from the point of view of the real-life Katherine Jackson, a woman whose husband, children, house & all possessions were divested from her in a single month by the aforesaid poet-houseguests. The author, a prominent biographer of Graves, obviously detests Riding (as did quite a few of her contemporaries); yet fails to create a convincing fictional character to account for these nearly unbelievable events. The book remains a kind of literary Gothic, with its subject no less shrouded in mystery than the principals (who contradict each other completely, or have categorically refused to talk about it) left it. Katherine, however, got the last laugh: she outlived them all, & recent biographers are tending to support her side.

I wish there were half star ratings because I would really give this book 4 1/2 stars -- I reserve 5 stars for only the best of the best -- but I would be doing this book an injustice to only give it 4 stars and thus the 5 star rating. Prior to reading this book, I knew nothing of Robert Graves and his relationship with the poet Laura Riding. I'm glad I didn't because this book was such a surprise to me. It is so well-written and you turn each page with such dread knowing that something bad is going to happen but not knowing exactly what it is. Seymour's fictionalization of Grave's and Riding's visit to America during the summer of 1939 is masterful. She's taken the liberty of including some things that add to the understanding of each character. Throughout this book, I was behind Nancy Brewster 100% hoping above hope that all would turn out well for her. The author has done such a wonderful job of turning fact into fiction that I will always believe in my heart that this is truly the way it happened. I recommend reading this book to find out for yourself how powerful evil can be and if it can be humanly overcome.

I hadn't read enough about this book before I read it to know it was based on a "true" story, but I found it to be a compelling read that told of seemingly mundane events, all the while heightening my sense of dread. Good book. It made me want to read more about Robert Graves and Laura Riding.

Great summer read, especially if you are familiar with the northern Michigan area. Good characters and an ending you don't expect. Enjoy!

Aaron Stander does an admirable job developing a sympathetic protagonist and supportive characters. All the elements for a good murder mystery are present including an appealing story line. For those looking to find a book that reminds them of the relationships within and among the peoples that are vacationers or "townies" of Summer resorts, this book examines the tensions from a unique perspective.

A great setting, some suspense and very well-fleshed out characters make for a great summer read. The Sheriff is a very compelling and engaging character, and anyone who's ever spent any time "up north" will enjoy the wonderful descriptions of that area.