Shadow Baby (Today Show Book Club #14)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Disappointing
  • move over Holden Caulfield!
  • An Odd But Moving Story
  • Shadow
  • Wonderfully entertaining! I loved it.
Shadow Baby (Today Show Book Club #14)
Alison McGhee
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312423772
Release Date: 2003-08-14

Book Description

Eleven-year-old Clara is struggling to find the truth about her missing father and grandfather and her dead twin sister, but her mother refuses to talk. When Clara begins interviewing Georg Kominsky--her elderly neighbor--she finds that he is equally reticent about his own concealed history. Precocious and imaginative, Clara invents versions of Mr. Kominsky's past, just as she invents lives for the people missing from her own shadowy history. Her journey of discovery is at the heart of this beautiful story about unlikely friendship and communion, about discovering what matters most in life, and about the search to find the missing pieces of ourselves.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Disappointing.......2007-10-02

I am stubborn, and read on, always hoping a book will get better. Often, they do. This one just plodded on.

I like quirky books, quirky characters...I did not like this book.
The characters, especially the main character, was just annoying.

This was the first and most likely last time I will purchase a Today show book club book. I will take is as a warning to keep away!

5 out of 5 stars move over Holden Caulfield!.......2007-09-05

Written in the voice of 11 year old Clara winter (with a small "w"), this is the story of one girl's struggle to uncover the secrets of her family. Who is her father? Where is her grandfather? Did she really have a sister? If so, what happened to her? Clara's mother refuses to discuss anything that really matters to Clara, so the young girl is forced to look elsewhere, and in so doing befriends an old man who has some secrets of his own. No spoilers here. McGhee's a master story-teller, and the secrets of Clara's life unfold bit by bit. This story's got heart, texture, life. I absolutely loved it.

Alison McGhee's one author to watch.

3 out of 5 stars An Odd But Moving Story.......2007-07-27

This is the story of 11 year old Clara Winter (who prefers to be called Clara winter, with a small w). Clara's mother Tamar refuses to tell Clara about her family history despite her relentless questioning. Clara wants to know about her father and her twin sister. Because her mother will not talk to her about these things she imagines the details.

Clara meets an elderly neighbor, Mr. Georg Kominsky and begins interviewing him for a school project. He to is reluctant to discuss his past and Clara envisions a past of her own making for him as well.

Clara is a clever and imaginative young girl who loves words and language and reading. She establishes a deep friendship with Mr. Kominsky. She is an odd child as her mother states repeatedly and given that she is our narrator perhaps that is why I found this to be an odd book.

I thought the events that occurred and the past that is eventually revealed were all very moving. But overall I felt like there was too much missing from this story to leave me with a feeling of satisfaction after having read it.


3 out of 5 stars Shadow.......2007-07-17

For such a short book, it took me a long time to get through it. Although beautifully written, it's a dull story. However, it's basically two stories written in one; and if you can get past the dull part, you'll love Clara's story.

4 out of 5 stars Wonderfully entertaining! I loved it........2007-06-28

I loved this book. It was wonderfully written and wholly entertaining. I didn't mind that it was narrated by the precocious twelve year old Clara nor that she seemed too adult-like. Her words made me see the story from the perspective of both herself and her mother, like there was really a narrator and a half. There were some sad parts of this story that were somewhat unexpected but which served to keep your interest through the end of the book. McGhee developed very touching insights into the world of each of the characters that made them feel real. She ended this book with a subtle wrap up of all of the plots that made you feel satisfied with its ending. Great book!
Dark Shadows Episode Guide (Dark Shadows Fan Club)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Dark Shadows Episode Guide (Dark Shadows Fan Club)
    Dark Shadows Fan Club
    Manufacturer: Dark Shadows Fan Club
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
    Soap OperasSoap Operas | Shows | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
    1950's & 1960's1950's & 1960's | Shows | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0317056220

    Book Description

    Episode guide for the original gothic television soap opera from the 1960s "Dark Shadows" with the character Barnabas Collins.
    The Shadow Club Rising
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Try this book
    • Great Book!
    • The Shadow Club is back. Or is it?
    • Creepy as the title
    • Beware The Shadow Club and Your Past--it could haunt you.
    The Shadow Club Rising
    Neal Shusterman
    Manufacturer: Puffin
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    FictionFiction | Friendship | Social Situations | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0142500895

    Book Description

    The Shadow Club doesn't exist anymore. The group of second-best kids used to play anonymous practical jokes on their rivals, until things spiraled out of control. Now Jared and the ex-Shadow Club members are having a hard time shaking their reputation. And when the new golden boy at school is the victim of a series of nasty pranks, everyone's convinced Jared is to blame. Determined to prove his innocence, Jared soon becomes wrapped up in a nightmare worse than anything the Shadow Club ever caused.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Try this book.......2005-05-18

    The book was a ok book.The boy was in a club that was not for fun or anything like all the other club here. The boy want to get out but he couldn't.So they start to hurt him and they want to kill him know.

    5 out of 5 stars Great Book!.......2004-06-24

    I thought this book was great. It was much better than the original Shadow Club and is filled with suspense. Sometimes it may seem violent but it was pretty good. I would reccomend this to anyone who liked read the original Shadow Club or just likes stories filled with suspense.

    4 out of 5 stars The Shadow Club is back. Or is it?.......2003-07-22

    This is a sequel to The Shadow Club. In the first book, a group of students who seem to always be second best and never first, get together to form a revenge club. They pull a Hitchcockian maneuver where they each play pranks on one of the others' foes. But then things get out of hand.

    In this sequel, the school hosts a new student. He is impossibly good at anything he tries. He has bested all of the best. Now the best are second best. Then the pranks starts and everyone thinks it is the work of The Shadow Club.

    Jared, the ex-leader of the ex-club comes under the heaviest suspicion. He must work to try and clear his name but learns that no matter what you do, people will think what they want.

    Is it an impossible task? Maybe. But you will have to read how Jared deals with it and how everything plays out. It is a page turner right to the end.

    I remember a similar story on Disney's Recess, but here Shusterman takes the hard and serious line instead of the happy-go-lucky tone of the cartoon. Shusterman is so straight in this book that there in not even a single mention of Ralphy Sherman.

    An excellent book that just might be better than the original.

    3 out of 5 stars Creepy as the title.......2002-03-21

    I thought this book, well, downright creepy. I mean- Shadow Club Rising. Already sounds creepy. But the story just backs it up. I can't believe the cruel and sick things that those kids do to eachother. To heavily dislike someone because they're better than you and to keep it to yourself is ok.... but hating someone so much that you could seriously hurt them and not care... just because they're better than you.it's wrong. i think that if this is really what kids are like today, than our earth has no future.

    4 out of 5 stars Beware The Shadow Club and Your Past--it could haunt you........2002-03-05

    Having not read The Shadow Club (1988), I found this sequel able to stand on its own. In October, Jared and the six other members of the Shadow Club were suspended when the school discovered the devious doings of the Shadow Club--kids who were always second best in the student body.

    It's February now, and Jared has changed his ways. The problem is no one believes him. When Alec Smartz ("It was one of those cruel parental jokes a that would be an eternal mystery. But then on the other hand, it was so obvious that only a moron who try to take advantage of it. Whenever someone called him "Smart Alec," he would say .... 'Gee that's clever...'") comes to school and is perfect at everything, the student body takes note.

    Practical jokes start to plague Alec, and all fingers point to Jared. Jared tries to re-convene the Shadow Club in an effort to find the source of these attacks but the six other members want to stay as far away from their previous deeds. Jared is on his own. As the practical jokes get worse and worse, Jared discovers that sometimes telling the truth isn't enough. The Shadow Club has taken on a life of its own.

    I don't want to give away the important aspects of the story, so I will jump past the exciting and surprise ending and say that I found "Shadow Club Rising" a great and believable story. Many authors would have gone over the top and made this a tall tale, but Shusterman respects his characters. I love books that feature mean kids at this age level. It is so much a part of the daily life of a junior high student. The relationship Jared has with his guidance counselor is credible. It's good to see adults who aren't caricatures.
    The Shadow Club
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Practical Jokes Gone Awry
    • Wow... You got to read this book!!!
    • My favorite book to read aloud
    • The Shadow Club
    • When Revenge Goes a Little Too Far...
    The Shadow Club
    Neal Shusterman
    Manufacturer: Puffin
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0142300942

    Book Description

    The Shadow Club starts simply enough: the kids who are tired of being second-best get together and, for the first time, talk about how they feel. But soon the members decide to play practical jokes on the first-place winners they envy, and things begin to spin dangerously out of control.

    "This is a provocative novel . . . The plot is ingeniously simple and the course of events compelling. Brisk enough to snag a popular audience, but forceful in impact, it will leave readers thinking." (Booklist, starred review)

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Practical Jokes Gone Awry.......2007-07-01

    Jared, a ninth-grader, is so sick of always being the second-best runner on his team. No matter how hard he pushes himself, he is always beaten by Austin. To make things worse, Austin loves to rub it in when he beats Jared.

    Jared's best friend Cheryl knows how he feels. Her cousin Rebecca, who is a year younger than her, is a better singer than Cheryl and she seems to be constantly rubbing Cheryl's face in that fact. Jared and Cheryl are both fed up.

    When they feel they can't take it anymore, Jared and Cheryl decide to start a secret club to vent their feelings--The Shadow Club. They invite Cheryl's little brother Randall, who is the number two swimmer on his team. They invite the second best trumpeter, the second prettiest girl in the class, the second best basketball player, and the second best student to join.

    All of the members of the club get together and at first aren't sure what to do besides say bad things about those who are beating them all of the time. Then they decide that more needs to be done. Jared comes up with the idea of playing practical jokes on those students they detest. He thinks if no one knows about the club and no one plays a joke on his or her own enemy, all of the club members will escape being suspected of playing the jokes. So it starts.

    Green slime shows up in a trumpet before a big solo. The best student's pet tarantula is put in the hood of the best runner's sweatshirt. The best swimmer has his toenails painted bright red while he's asleep.

    The members of the Shadow Club are thrilled with their accomplishments. But then things start getting out of control. Jokes are being played that no one seems to know about, and they are getting meaner and more destructive by the day. Could someone be trying to frame the members of the club?

    I thought this book captured the attitude of many junior high school students--it highlighted the feelings of competition and the petty nastiness that occurs in students of this age. I thought Jared should have been able to see when things were getting out of control, though, and should have been able to stop the club before anything bad happened.

    4 out of 5 stars Wow... You got to read this book!!!.......2007-05-25

    The Shadow Club
    By: Neal Shusterman

    Review done by: A Mid-Prairie Teen Student

    You would have no idea what you would be expecting if you got a book titled The Shadow Club, I sure didn't. The Shadow Club is a great book having middle school to high schooled aged students making mistakes and seeing the consequences in the end.
    Jared, a middle school aged kid, is the main kid in this story. He is the second best runner in his school and hates being second best. He absolutely hates Eric, the best runner in school, and would do absolutely anything he could to be better than Eric. This is where the trouble started.
    Jared's friend Cheryl, the second best singer, wanted to start a club called the Shadow Club. This means for people to come to this club if they're second best in something. Like second best singer, second smartest person in school, and even second prettiest girl in school. All these second best kids formed this club and got themselves into trouble without even knowing it.
    This is quite a story and it is written by Neal Shusterman a fantastic author. He is an American author of books for young readers, and also a screenwriter. He has won and award called the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for The Schwa Was Here, and he was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He now lives in Orange County, California with his four children. So as you have seen he has a busy life but he has certainly used some of his time to write great books.
    This is an amazing book but I'm not going to tell you what happened in the end. Once you read it, it will shock you incredibly as you will see. I will tell you though that it teaches great things like making friends, the trouble you can get yourself into with just starting little things, and how much hate can really hurt someone else's life.
    I dare you to read this book even if you think you're the best person in your school. Just go and read this book so that you can see the secrets some second best people may be thinking right now.

    5 out of 5 stars My favorite book to read aloud.......2006-07-29

    I have been reading the Shadow Club to my 7th graders for more than 10 years. The humor, especially in the character of Ralphy Sherman, keeps the class listening. The suspense builds to the point that I have students begging me not to stop reading. Many students tried to buy the book because they just couldn't wait for me to finish reading. I was happy for a few years that it was out of print, so they couldn't find it to read ahead of me.
    There are many lessons that apply directly to children of middle school age, and my favorite is looking at how the students laughed at Tyson McGaw at the beginning, but feel for him at the end of the book. Hopefully they will look closer at individuals and not make fun of them because they are different.
    I have never had a student who didn't like this book and it is the only one that I have read that when I finish, the students applaud.

    5 out of 5 stars The Shadow Club.......2006-07-19

    There are the winners, the people who are first all the time, never losing. Then there are the second bests, almost coming in first. That is what the book 'The Shadow Club' is all about, beating the best.

    Jared Mercer is the second best runner, second best to Austin Pace. This Austin teases him everyday, until one day, it's too much. That was the start of the Shadow Club.

    Jared and Cheryl, best friends, decide on five other people to be in their club. Randall is the second best swimmer, Jason, the second best trumpet player, Abbie, second most popular girl, Karin "O.P." Han, second smartest, and Darren, the second best basketball player. They play small, seemingly harmless pranks - painting the swimmer's toenails, giving out pages of the most popular girl's diary - but then someone listens in on a meeting, Tyson McGaw. Tyson is a foster child with no friends. Then when someone starts to frame hime, things go spiralling out of control Tyson is all to blame. But are things really how they seem?

    Shusterman is a great writer. You can really relate to the book which has a ton of detail. It keeps you on the edge and so does the following book, 'The Shadow Club Rising'.

    ~AD

    5 out of 5 stars When Revenge Goes a Little Too Far..........2006-02-24

    Meet the second-bests: a group of kids who, although they have one thing they're best at, still get beat daily by the "unbeatables." Although these kids are good kids, well-behaved, smart, athletic, interesting, their lives are being ruined by those who always seem to be one step ahead, stealing the limelight and rubbing it in until you just wish they'd never been born.

    Thus is the basis for THE SHADOW CLUB, a secret group of seven kids who decided to get back at those who make their lives miserable by playing harmless pranks on them--pranks that will embarass them before their admirers, and give the second-besters their just due.

    Except revenge, as revenge always seems to do, comes back to bite you in the butt. Pranks start getting out of control, even though they're not being comitted by the Shadow Club members. Someone's out to sabotage their club, and one of the "unbeatables" could wind up getting seriously hurt--even killed. As the Club seeks to get the biggest loser in school, Tyson McGaw, to confess to the pranks, the Shadow Club comes to realize that they might not be the all-around good kids that they thought they were.

    What started out as fun is turning into something darker, and no one seems to know how to make it stop.

    THE SHADOW CLUB is a great read by Neal Shusterman. Dealing with human nature, the fact that kids can traumatize each other more than anyone else can, and the fact that we all have anger inside of us is forefront in the story. A great read!
    Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake (Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, 8)
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Wow!
    • Exciting and fun...who knows what will happen?
    • The baby-sitters are having more fun and excitement here!!!
    Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake (Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, 8)
    Ann M. Martin
    Manufacturer: Scholastic
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    Action & AdventureAction & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0590449621

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Wow!.......2005-02-25

    The Baby Sitters are at Shadow Lake. There are campfires, lakes, boys and foods, the baby sitters are going to see it all!.

    4 out of 5 stars Exciting and fun...who knows what will happen?.......1998-01-04

    Baby-Sitters At Shadow Lake is a very exciting super special of the BSC. It is when they spend vacation at Mr. Brewer's cabin. They find the vacation impossible to resist. Exciting, fun, laughter, and enjoyment will fill your mind when you read this book.

    5 out of 5 stars The baby-sitters are having more fun and excitement here!!!.......1997-03-08

    A simply great book, lifting up reader's minds. This storybook tells of Kristy and her gang, who were at Shadow Lake in Kristy's father's cabin. They never knew what they were gonna get!!! Dawn, totally "mystified" over the "monster" in the lake, finally finds the answer to her questions. The rest find romance, (especially Stacey who hooks up with Sam) laughter, joy (spending a night alone!), and of course - fun! Together with the younger kids (Karen, Andrew, etc.), they form a splendid story one must never miss
    The Shadow Club: The Greatest Mystery in the Universe--Shadows--and the Thinkers Who Unlocked Their Secrets
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • An erudite look at shadows
    • A lot better than your average pop science.
    • Everything about shadows, but what is the target audience?
    • An intriguing blend of history, science and anthropology
    The Shadow Club: The Greatest Mystery in the Universe--Shadows--and the Thinkers Who Unlocked Their Secrets
    Roberto Casati
    Manufacturer: Knopf
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    1. Shadows: Unlocking Their Secrets, from Plato to Our Time Shadows: Unlocking Their Secrets, from Plato to Our Time

    ASIN: 0375407278
    Release Date: 2003-08-12

    Book Description

    A remarkable exploration of how shadows have forever fascinated us: their extraordinary hold on our fears and imagination; their importance to astronomers, scientists, philosophers, and artists; their influence on myth and religious beliefs.
    What’s stranger than a shadow? Shadows are messengers from the world of darkness, images that we can’t shake off, black spots that have troubled our sleep through the ages. And yet shadows have been the key to unlocking some of our toughest scientific problems: the reason for eclipses, the distances between planets, the shape and size of the earth, the structure of the solar system, the nature of time itself. In this unique study—combining history, science, and anthropology—Roberto Casati discusses the famous and the obscure who, armed with imagination and creativity, struggled with the concept of shadow and provided us with explanations of and uses for our constant companion. Among those who were part of this “shadow club” were Eratosthenes and Galileo, ancient Arab astrono-mers and modern mathematicians, classical Greek painters and Leonardo da Vinci. And now, the name Casati—who has given us the first book devoted to the subject—can be added.


    Roberto Casati was born in Milan in 1961. A research director at the Centre National de la Réchérche Scientifique, he lives in Paris and works at the Institut Nicod, a laboratory of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and of the École Normales. He studies the cognition of strange things—images, colors, sounds, places, holes—and shadows. With Achille Varzi he is the author of Holes and Other Superficialities and Parts and Places.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars An erudite look at shadows.......2006-06-09

    An erudite and fascinating look at the role shadows played in the development of philosophy, psychology, astronomy, the hard sciences, and the arts.

    5 out of 5 stars A lot better than your average pop science........2004-11-06

    Ignore the hideous subtitle forced on the book by some idiot editor; "The greatest mystery of the universe" --- give me a break.

    We've all read pop science books that include a mixture of anecdotes and history along with their main subject matter. This book is of that genre, but is far superior to most of them, largely because of the intelligence, scepticism and wit of the author, an accomplished scientist. Unlike most writers, rather than simply informing us of each anecdote or historical fact, he frequently then explains issues around the fact, and concludes with a summary as to why the supposed fact, the received wisdom, is nonsense. This could be tiresome in the wrong author's hands, but is really works well here.

    As other reviewers have noted, the subject matter is indeed something of a random mixture, perhaps a third dealing with cognitive issues surrounding shadows (things like how do babies perceive shadows, or how does the language we use to discuss shadows tell us something about how we naturally classify the things and the naive physics of the prescientific mind), perhaps a third deals with how shadows (for example eclipses and transits) helped advance the science of astronomy, and a third is misc other things like how shadows helped renaissance artists come up with a theory of perspective. It's rather a strange mixture, but if, like me, you're broadly interested in psychology, history, astronomy and just the world at large, every chapter is fascinating.

    4 out of 5 stars Everything about shadows, but what is the target audience?.......2004-01-12

    The target audience for this book is unclear to me. There is something of interest here for psychologists, artists, art historians, science historians, classical historians and perhaps others. As a professional scientist, I mainly enjoyed the few sections dealing with the history of astronomy. Although the writing is generally clear, the style could be more engaging. Is this because the original Italian text was like that, or did it lose its spark while being translated into English (?) I suspect that the latter is more likely. Anyway, because the book contains such a hodge-podge of information, all centering around shadows, at least parts of it should be of interest to almost anyone; I'm giving it as much as four stars mainly because of this.

    5 out of 5 stars An intriguing blend of history, science and anthropology.......2003-11-06

    Roberto Casati's Shadow Club about shadows goes far beyond their usual definitions to probe shadow's legends, influence on myth and religious beliefs, and changing scientific concepts of the shadow both on Earth and in space. Shadow Club is very highly recommended as an intriguing blend of history, science and anthropology which presents unusual insights into shadows and their lasting impact on mankind.
    The Beatles Shadow: Stuart Sutcliffe and His Lonely Hearts Club
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • Vital info
    • "The Beatles' Shadow"
    The Beatles Shadow: Stuart Sutcliffe and His Lonely Hearts Club
    Pauline Sutcliffe , and Douglas Thompson
    Manufacturer: Pan Books Limited
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | Composers & Musicians | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0330489968

    Book Description

    The poignant memoir of forgotten Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe, and a remarkable chronicle of the early days of the world's most influential pop group. Stuart Sutcliffe is the most famous contender for the crown of 'fifth Beatle'. One of the founding members, a close friend of Lennon, he left the band after their Hamburg sojourn in order to pursue his promising career as an artist, dying shortly thereafter of a brain haemorrhage. For years his sister Pauline has tried to protect his memory against the Beatles' need to sanitise their early history and now she is ready to tell the real story. In so doing she sheds new light on their formative period-the rivalry with McCartney, how George Harrison tried to keep the peace, the truth about Stuart's intense relationship with Lennon and why Lennon was haunted by guilt over her brother's death. And she describes what it was like for those like herself and Cynthia Lennon who have had no choice but to live with the Beatles all their lives. 'Gripping.... the story of Stuart Sutcliffe.... holds the key to the birth of pop's greatest group.' - Daily Mail 'An odd, fascinating book.' - MOJO

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Vital info.......2005-07-14

    Well I totally disagree with the previous reviewer. I think it is interesting to know, for instance, about John and Stuart's intimate relationship, and all the historical factual material that is in the book, including photographs. I also think it is vital to know about the uncertainty and bouts of aggression that John had, also in relation to his feelings for Stuart. And the suggested relationship between this and Stu's untimely death is interesting, to say the least.
    I'm not a big reader, who is these days, but this is one of the rare books I read in one go. Because of the suspense, the verifiable facts, the background, and the human factor that shimmers through the story between the lines, as it does in good work.

    2 out of 5 stars "The Beatles' Shadow".......2003-08-13

    I became interested in Sutcliffe several years ago when some documentary on PBS was aired, around the time Backbeat was in theatres. His art, his looks, immediately captivated me, and I had wanted to learn more about him. There weren't any books, and the only way you could read about him was through Beatles books rather than a stand-alone, and I wasn't interested in that. So, my interest in Sutcliffe's life fell to the backburner. Until recently, when I saw this book was going to be published in paperback.

    Written by his sister, it's advertised as a biography, but is clearly a memoir. To me, a biography is researched extensively with quotes from letters, interviews from friends and associates and whatnot. Not rememberances of how cool it was to have a Teddy boy ask you to dance at one of your brother's early gigs in Liverpool.

    That's problem number one with the book. Problem number two is apparently Pauline Sutcliffe is a psychotherapist who is smitten with analyzing her brother and John's life based on 40 year old memories, clearly prejudiced by time and death. And to make it worse, she's Freudian. Witness this line she wrote about her brother's relationship (she, as well as other biographers, assume that there was a sexual relationship between John and Stuart):

    "The origins of male homosexuality are supposed to be tied up with the relationship between boys and their fathers. Or the failure of that relationship in some way, or the boys picking up some ambivalence in their fathers and all sorts of messages. I am not convinced about such theories, but let's characterize John as a boy looking for a father's love.[...]"

    Here's what I knew about Stu before reading this book:
    - he gave the Beatles their name and look
    - he was a talented artist
    - he was friends with John
    - he met a blonde German girl
    - he died too young

    After reading this book, here's what I knew about Stu:
    - he was a momma's boy
    - he gave the Beatles their name and look
    - he was a talented artist
    - he was friends with John
    - he met a blonde German girl
    - he died too young

    One day, I hope, a talented biographer will pen an excellent biography about this interesting fellow. Unfortunately this book is nowhere near that goal.
    The Berenstain Bears and the spooky shadows (Berenstain Bears cub club)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The Berenstain Bears and the spooky shadows (Berenstain Bears cub club)
      Stan Berenstain
      Manufacturer: Western Pub. Co
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Unknown Binding

      GeneralGeneral | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
      Berenstain BearsBerenstain Bears | Book Characters | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
      ASIN: 030723178X
      Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake: The Baby-Sitter's Club Super Special # 8
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake: The Baby-Sitter's Club Super Special # 8
        Ann M. Martin
        Manufacturer: Apple Paperbacks
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback
        ASIN: 0590462687
        The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special Series (No. 8 and 9) Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake;  Starring the Baby-Sittes Club!
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special Series (No. 8 and 9) Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake; Starring the Baby-Sittes Club!
          Ann M. Martin
          Manufacturer: Scholastic, Incorporated
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000X1JQQA

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