Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Book Description

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard

Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't put it down.......2007-10-18

This amazing story will capture your heart and keep you glued to your chair turing page after page. Hats off to Dr. Greg and all who help allieviate the worlds problems one person at a time.

Great Book.......2007-10-18

This is a great novel, I also recommend "Detained Differences" by J. Robert Rowe. That is also a great Afghanistan novel as well.

Three Cups of Tea.......2007-10-17

It was a book required to read in an English class. The book has a good message.

Admire the Commitment and Accomplishments, but..........2007-10-15

What Mortensen accomplished with commitment and perseverance is undoubtly a great humanitarin effort. However, the book is irritating to read. Mortensen's name is used so many times over and over it is distracting. "Mortensen this" and "Mortensen that"! It reads like Mortiensen is a demi-god and it really presents like this when you realize he is a coauthor. Why not write this inspiring story in "first person"?

The humanitarian effort is inspiring if you can get through the book!

A book every American should read.......2007-10-15

An excellent story and very well written. It is particularly timely today given what is going on in that part of the world. It certainly gives much to think about. I would recommend this to everyone I know.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding!
To Kill A Mockingbird
Significant and Memorable
bought to kill a mockingbird
Loved Loved Loved!

To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446310786

Amazon.com

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.... When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out."Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. --Alix Wilber

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding!.......2007-10-17

This is at least the third time I have read this book, and I loved it even more than the other two times. Whole passages are burned into my brain. This time when I read it I could see Gregory Peck as Atticus in my head...an added plus.

To Kill A Mockingbird.......2007-10-08

I read this book in my English class before I saw the movie, and I must say I was amazed enough to actually continually read this novel as opposed to going to the cliff notes. It is rather engaging, and Gregory Peck, although giving one of the greatest performances of all time, did not give Atticus Finch the justice he well deserved.

Highly recommended.

Significant and Memorable.......2007-09-30

This ever-popular, Pulitzer prize-winning novel is written from the first-person perspective of "Scout," a young girl growing up in a small, segregated Alabama town during the Great Depression. I did not read any descriptions of the book before I began it, so it was fascinating as I began to realize what it was about. Its gentle, childlike, Tom Sawyer, heart-of-America cadence drew me in, but provided a counterpoint to the hypocrisy, racism, and bigotry that was revealed in the town little by little.

The writing itself, of course, is excellent, telling the story subtly but powerfully - or perhaps the power is in its very subtlety. In my opinion, this is not the most compelling book I've ever read on this issue, but it is significant and memorable.

bought to kill a mockingbird.......2007-09-27

i bought the book to kill a mockingbird. it was in excellent condition. the price was also very low.

Loved Loved Loved!.......2007-09-23

Anyone who gives this book a chance will absolutely love it! It starts out with childhood memories of Scout Finch that seem to be completely unrelated, but Harper Lee cleverly weaves them together to make a great novel. The novel's point of view is unique and is probably what makes this book a classic. The story is seen through the innocent eyes of a six year old, but is being retold by an older, more mature woman. This allows the novel to have more mature language and ideas, but everything is seen through an innocent child's eyes. It's the best of both worlds, and I promise you, you'll be in tears by the end. It's a heart wrenching novel, and though it may sound repetitive, you'll love this book if you read it!

Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (Fancy Nancy)

Average customer rating:

A must for any little girl!
Printed in China XXXXXX
A very "posh" book!
MISSTELV
"I LOVE this book!"

Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (Fancy Nancy)
Jane O'Connor
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060542136
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

Fancy Nancy is back! And when her family decides to get a dog, she's certain she can be fancier than ever. After all, a papillon—a small, delicate, fluffy dog—is the ultimate accessory. But her family wants a large, plain dog. How unglamorous!

With Fancy Nancy's trademark humor and warmth, Nancy discovers that real fanciness does not depend simply on appearance but more on a genuine joie de vivre, which is a fancy phrase for having lots of fun.

Customer Reviews:

A must for any little girl!.......2007-10-02

I got my daughter her first Fancy Nancy book when she turned 2, and now everything that is girly she calls fancy Nancy, shoes, purses and anything sparkley! Great to read for bedtime too. I can't wait for the next books to come out!

Printed in China XXXXXX .......2007-09-26

I Can't understand why the first book was printed in the USA and this one is printed in CHINA! Is there lead in this book like many of their toys??
I think Amazon should list this if this is the case

A very "posh" book!.......2007-09-26

I purchased Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy to go along with the original Fancy Nancy book for my 5 year old granddaughter . . . I had them sent directly to her house while I knew I would be visiting so we could open them together and start reading. My granddaughter loved them and I had to read them several times during our first sitting! The story is very cute and age-appropriate, and the illustrations and colors are perfect for little girls her age. I wish these books had been out when my girls were little! I love the word "posh" because I was born in the country where it's most popularly used.

MISSTELV.......2007-09-25

I bought this for my 4 year old grandaughter. She loves to dress up and play she is Fancy Nancy. The book is simply written and wonderful illustrated. I highly recommend it!

"I LOVE this book!" .......2007-09-15

That title is the opinion of my six-year-old granddaughter. She and her mom re-read it every night.

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists

Average customer rating:

One of the few books I've found that was interesting enough to read completely
Lecherous Men Who Need This "Book" For Advice Aren't Real Men And Deserve To Be Lonely, Frustrated & Lacking Self-Worth!!!!!!!!!
Compelling tale - couldn't put it down
Great lessons in personality transformation
The game

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
Neil Strauss
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Imitation Leather

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ASIN: 0060554738
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com

Are you just another AFC ("average frustrated chump") trying to meet an HB ("hot babe")? How would you like to "full-close" with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss's entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant--complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like "half a man." That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss's life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America's most suave gents--including the best of them all, the God of the pickup "community," a man named Mystery.

Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he's turned seduction into an effortless craft--even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman's tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC--find, meet, attract, close. He employs the "three-second rule"--always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like "Do you think magic spells work?" or "Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?" And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist--smile.

After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. --Alex Roslin

Book Description

Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year -- guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.

On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange -- and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince -- to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.

Customer Reviews:

One of the few books I've found that was interesting enough to read completely.......2007-10-17

Fascinating book about the PUA subculture. Love the black leather like binding and the red bookmark. Highly recommend reading for any man that wants to broaden his horizons.
I've read similar books and I'll share some observations to aspiring PUA's : All the good PUA guys either are either somewhat naturally charismatic, or have higher education and / or have established careers with significant incomes. While I'm not suggesting that you have to be rich or handsome to be a successful PUA, you will need to be getting a paycheck somehow. And higher education is a definite plus. Odd how all these books seem to leave out this essential fact.

Invest in yourself. Material things come to those that have self actualized.

If something has a direct benefit to an individual or a class of people, and a theoretical, abstract, or amorphous benefit to everybody else, realize that the proponent's intentions are to benefit the former, not the latter, no matter what bull they try to feed you.

Don't take proffered advice without a critical analysis. 90 % of all advice is intended to benefit the proponent, not the recipient. Actually, the number is probably closer to 97 but I don't want to come off as cynical.

As a young man, you're on your own. Society divides and conquers. Unlike women who have advocates looking out for them (NOW, Women's Study Departments, government, non-profit organizations, political advocacy groups) almost no one is looking out for you. Know that few people have your best interests at heart. Your mother does. Your father probably does (if he stuck around). Your siblings are on your side. Everybody else worries about themselves.

Remember, 97% of all advice is worthless. Take what you can use, and trash the rest.

Lecherous Men Who Need This "Book" For Advice Aren't Real Men And Deserve To Be Lonely, Frustrated & Lacking Self-Worth!!!!!!!!!.......2007-10-17

US culture has coarsened. Republicans are 100% correct in citing this trend that exploded since the 60s, liberal "revolution." Nowhere is this ghastly reality seen worse than The Game and its subordinating, brownnosing, 5-star reviews. Reading these 5-star ratings, the unsuspecting surfer would misconstrue The Game possesses virtue, entertainment and usefulness. My skewering review will disprove the 5-star reviews' fraud and divulge The Game as debauched, sadistic, sophomoric, misogynistic, underhanded, lecherous!!!!

The Game's the libertine story of an LA Times writer who longingly plots to "correct" his frustrated teen and twentysomething years spent without success in "getting laid." He's also insecure and awkward around women; he spends his waking hours longing for tail. His "solution?" Frequent the underground, pickup artist community--via internet groups--to procure tips on seducing, then bedding women. So, he becomes the pupil of the misogynistic and emotionally stunted man-child Mystery, self-proclaimed master of picking up women.

The "star" (Mystery) of Strauss' writing is one of the worst lowlives you'll ever witness. At first, Mystery's in his thirties YET LIVING WITH HIS PARENTS in an underprivileged, Toronto apartment!!!! He's emotionally retarded as evidenced in his confession that he never received love from his father--German immigrant-alcoholic who beat Mystery!--and how he yearns for a polygamist relationship with two lesbians. Mystery's pickup artist routine involves seducing many women to ineffectively battle to bring up his insecure sense of self-worth; underestimating the intelligence of women; and lecherously fu**ing as many women as he can pick up.

Mystery's routine is so elementary that it involves thoughtless, robotic patterns Mystery claims work on all women. From the seedy places described, it appears his routine only works if you target lowlife establishments (bars, clubs, Hollywood parties) and loose women. I repeat: The Game is misdirecting since Mystery's coarse pickup routine is never attempted on women of better breeding, ie., those with education, self-worth, class, morals--in short, conservative-leaning. His routine's only applied to liberal women he finds in the meanest of skid row locales. If one subserviently and errantly uses Mystery's pickup routine on women in normal places--away from the liberal skew of places like Hollywood parties and seedy bars--like malls, parks, offices, community/recreational activities, functions, etc., you'd get slapped in the face, and rightly so.

Mystery's tactics are misogynistic because they devalue women as fu**-buddies (actual term from The Game!) and conquests to be had; Mystery/Strauss admit many times picking up women is an addiction to satisfy their egos. Mystery's tactics involve going into a bar with his insecure, lowlife co-sargers and approaching women within three seconds of eye contact. It continues with pretending to be disinterested in the targeted woman ("negging") while the PUA's wing distracts whoever else in her group. It then, if need be, also resorts to ludicrous magic tricks and calculating demonstrations of value to the targeted woman. This combination of BS is alleged to result in quickly getting an indiscriminate, liberal woman's phone number, or even getting laid that very night!!!!

It's obvious Mystery's game is to be the poor man's Machiavelli, as The Prince dealt with manipulation too; only in The Prince, manipulation was applied intelligently and observed properly. These BS-routines are absurd and untrustworthy that only lonely/mousy nerds desperate for a woman's sexual touch, or sophomoric teenagers should/will bother with them. The censurable absurdity is Mystery proposes women will fall for elementary magic tricks done in bars!!!! Strauss alleges women are like crows hopelessly attracted to shiny objects, that if one ludicrously does magic in front of her, or asks her value-demonstrating questions, she'll put out like a sl*t!!!! No human's that insanely stupid, though liberal women in LA may well be.

Strauss also introduces other characters in the pickup community. There's Papa, Tyler Durden, Ross Jefferies, Sweater, etc.. Like Mystery, ALL suffer from irreversible, emotional damage. Papa's a rich college kid obsessed with scoring; Durden doesn't like girls but lusts for power over women; Jefferies hates women due to a life of rejection; and Sweater naively wants to find a wife. Due to the soulless PUA lifestyle, most of these characters met with misery by the book's conclusion: Papa dropped out of college where he was studying law; Sweater was trapped in a loveless marriage; and even Strauss, the author, was pining for Lisa (Courtney Love's guitar-player) who disdained his lifestyle.

I'll stereotype the demographic of verminous male who basely reads The Game. You're a life-loser who isn't getting any; loathes women; feels inferior; and cannot relate to women in healthy, emotional terms. I bet I'm 100% correct!!!! Ironically, Strauss terms the Alpha Male of the Group as the man who competes with the PUA, yet I feel I'm the Alpha Male of all who've read The Game because I refuse to be so desperate to pick up women by resorting to this BS. I, as the normal, healthy and well-adjusted man, simply relate to women as the human beings they are, and that works a zillion times more effectively than Mystery's BS.

Compelling tale - couldn't put it down.......2007-10-15

Neil Strauss, who co-authored bestsellers about Motley Crue and Jenna Jameson, nails it again with another great tale into the bizarre worlds most of us never visit. This isn't so much a how to pick up women guide. It's a captivating story line as he ventures into the seduction community and grows his skills and insight into his own existence. Truly fascinating. Much of the material the average guy cannot relate to, or will ever experience, but as a page turner it is truly masterful.

I would couple this book with one recommended above by Amazon, The Professional Bachelor Dating Guide - How to Exploit Her Inner Psycho. As you read them, you realize the techniques they teach parallel how to "win friends and influence people", along with how to seduce the babes. The skills dissect and perfect being charismatic and comfortable in new situations with strangers. Get both books, they will accelerate your self-confidence to a very high level; for me it's been life changing.

Great lessons in personality transformation.......2007-10-12

Having seen Neil's interviews on the chunky feminist TV circuit and he how handled the bitter hens with ease, I bought The Game. A very intriguing and unusual tale told with some ingenious to bizarre characters throughout.

Neil's written for Rolling Stone and had other great books like The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band; this book carries on with his engaging writing style. Highly recommended.

The game.......2007-10-11

Good story. However, if one listens to Mystery's tale about the scorpion, which can't change its nature even if it has to die, then how on earth a male in his thirties (fourties?) is able to transform his habits in couple of years? A reader is being familirized with the PUA terminology like - elicit values, field test; fluff, opener etc., where talking is the most essential part. But hey, then Style brags about picking up a Czech girl who "has no more than a dozen words of English in her vocabulary"! Bars and clubs are where the action here goes on, yes, but what about everyday environment like a store, shop, show, queue. Unfortunately, in the book those are just couple epizodes.
And finally, Neil Strauss says that a shrunken-apple face betrays one's Eastern European origins (p.406). Interesting. It reminded me of an Italian prison doctor Cesare Lambrose, who in the 19th century suggested that physiological traits such as the measurements of one's cheek bones or hairline, or a cleft palate were indicative of one's atavistic criminal tendencies.

Average customer rating:

perfect
book "Fancy Nancy"
Great Read
Great children's book
A very "fancy" book

Fancy Nancy
Jane O'connor
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060542098
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Book Description

Meet Nancy, who believes that more is ALWAYS better when it comes to being fancy. From the top of her tiara down to her sparkly studded shoes, Nancy is determined to teach her family a thing or two about being fancy.

How Nancy transforms her parents and little sister for one enchanted evening makes for a story that is funny and warm -- with or without the frills.

Customer Reviews:

perfect.......2007-10-18

this book is perfect for any litle girl who likes to dress up and be a princess. Our daughter absolutely loved the book-as it fits her perfectly!!

book "Fancy Nancy".......2007-10-02

WOW - the book came in just a few days. Great service. The book was in good shape and packaged well. THANK YOU!

Great Read.......2007-10-01

My 3 year old absolutely loves this book. The first time we checked it out from the library I didn't really think she cared for it much. But, then I happened to order it for one of her little friend's birthday and she was sooo excited! She ran around saying, "it's Fancy Nancy mommy!" It took some convincing to be able to wrap it up for her little friend. Everybody needs a little "fancy" in their life.

Great children's book.......2007-09-30

I bought this book for my four year old grandaughter and it is now her favorite book. We are now going to have a 'fancy' party at a local restaurant just like Fancy Nancy did. Well written with nice illustrations.

A very "fancy" book.......2007-09-26

I purchased two of the Fancy Nancy series for my 5 year old granddaughter - she loves them! When the book arrived, along with it's counterpart "Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy", she couldn't wait for us to read them together. She loved the story and the illustrations, and was attracted to the "girly" colors and the "before" and "after" drawings of Fancy's Nancy's bedroom! I think my granddaughter may be a "fancy" girl at heart!

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Book 4)

Average customer rating:

I liked the others better
Sisterhood
So Long Sisterhood
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
One too many

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Book 4)
Ann Brashares
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385729367
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Amazon.com

Ann Brashares has created a wonderful, heartfelt series for teens (and adults) around a pair of pants. In her breakout bestseller, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Brashares introduced readers to four girls, Lena, Bridget, Carmen, and Tibby, and to the magical pair of jeans that fit them all perfectly, and inspired them to live their young lives to the fullest. Forever in Blue, the fourth and final novel in the series, promises a dazzling finale--one "last glorious summer" for the four girls, and their fans. See a note from author Ann Brashares, below.--Daphne Durham

A Note from Ann Brashares

December 1, 2006

Dear Amazon Reader,

Well, here we are together again. If you are getting ready to read the fourth book, Forever in Blue, that means we've probably spent some time together. I hope you've enjoyed it. I know I have.

We don't know each other and we may never get to meet, but I feel like we are connected nonetheless. We've spent time with four fictional girls together. We've puzzled over their lives and their choices. We've rooted for them and sometimes felt annoyed by them. We've shared some hopes for them, I think, and in the process for ourselves.

So thank you for being part of the sisterhood with me. I have really appreciated your company along the way.

Happy reading,

Ann

Spend Time with the Sisterhood

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Boxed Set

Girls in Pants

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Book Description

With unraveled embroidery and fraying hems, the Traveling Pants are back for one last, glorious summer.

Lena: Immerses herself in her painting and an intoxicating summer fling, fearing that the moment she forgets about Kostos will be the moment she sees him again.

Carmen: Falls under the spell of a sophisticated college friend for whom a theatrical role means everything and the heritage of the Pants means nothing.

Bridget: Joins a dig for an ancient city on the coast of Turkey and discovers that her archaeology professor is available in every way except one.

Tibby: Leaves behind someone she loves, wrongly believing he will stay where she has left him.

Join Ann Brashares's beloved sisterhood once again in a dazzling, fearless novel. It's a summer that will forever change the lives of Lena, Carmen, Bee, and Tibby, here and now, past and future, together and apart.

Customer Reviews:

I liked the others better.......2007-08-10

This was the book made to tie up loose ends. Everyone came to a conclusion about their life and the pants. The whole thing was sort of boring. Yes I liked the book, but in a way everyone was the same as they started. I suppose the point of it was to show how they had grown up and still stayed the same. Maybe it was that there wasn't enough excitement or maybe it's that I'm tired now but i thought it wasn't as good as the other books.
-cdm

Sisterhood.......2007-08-04

I have enjoyed this entire series...takes me back to my Judy Blume days. The girl in all of us can identify with these characters as they grow, change, and try to not lose themselves or each other in the process. The earlier on you learn that nothing means more than your girl friends...the better off you are! I think the quotes between the chapters are insightful, and I enjoy finding their relation to the story as I read on. That brings a literary aspect not often found in young adult novels. I appreciate that this book and its prequels can be light and real at the same time. A book about pants sounds like fluff, but you feel with these girls as they deal with real issues both internal and external. Real doesn't have to be dark...bittersweet seems more fitting. These books capture the laughter through tears that is what sisterhood is about. I highly recommend reading them all.

So Long Sisterhood.......2007-07-26

Although this wasn't my fave Sisterhood book, it deserves kudos for not only reflecting the maturity of the characters at this point in their lives, but also the realities of growing up and growing apart. This is the fourth and supposedly final chapter of the Sisterhood tomes, and is likely to provide a conclusive feeling for the readers of the series.

To recap, the Travelling Pants series details the summers four best friends spend, sometimes apart, sometimes together. They are of course, as per the legend, bonded together by a pair of 'magical' pants that give them the strength of the love they feel as friends even when they aren't together.

In all fairness I read the third book quite some time ago so reading the new fourth one was a bit of a cognitive leap - I could barely remember a lot of what happened in the past! Anyway in this one the girls are bridging the gap between their first and second year of university. They've actually shared the pants year-round this time because they have spent the year at different colleges etc. That should be your first clue something is up - the girls are very very much so a lot more individual characters this time around, which was both refreshing and problematic. Of the latter, it was good because I was sick and tired of how cheesy and overemphasized their relationship was - although some sappy moments still exist towards the end, they are certainly toned down. But in the absence of their friendship it almost defeated the purpose of the book, and the pants of course.

This time around the girls spend most of their summer apart. Tibby is still in New York working and taking a summer class and wondering whether she has made the right choices when it comes to her relationship with Brian. Bee (my fave as always) is in Turkey getting back to basics on an archeological dig site and wondering whether the best alternative to missing her boyfriend is not missing a single thing her hot professor does. Flamboyent Carmen has surprisingly shrunk into her shell over the last year, and fallen under the wing of a supposedly protective, glorious friend, who turns out to be anything but as their summer continues. Lena is at art school and enraptured with a guy, shockingly this time, not the love of her life, Kostos.

As I mentioned earlier, the book definitely took on a more mature tone than the others - most of it dealt with sex and relationships and very little of it focused on friendship and personal self-growth - although most of the storylines evolve to give the girls those girl power moments of epiphany. Although I enjoyed the storylines a lot more this time it almost felt like the characters were under-used and less developed because there was far less crossover opportunities given their summer was spent so far apart emotionally and physically.

Brashares does a good job wrapping up the series in a realistic way though - Upon finishing it, I realized why she decided to do a fourth (I completely assumed the third would be the last) as each book is kind of meant to represent each of the four girls.

All in all a fitting conclusion to the series that represented, quite honestly, the realities of growing up and moving away when it comes to those true blue friends you thought you'd never forget, and those true blue jeans you thought you'd never lose.

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants).......2007-07-19

OMG!!! I loved every single one of the books preceding this book and this one hit the mark! It is so wonderful, and though it is so sad that it ends the series the finish is remarkable. Brashare's masterpiece is complete!!!

One too many.......2007-07-15

I thought the prime qualities of the first three books of this series were charm and innocence. For the fourth installment, one of our heroines poses nude for a male art student and another falls for a married man with children. Whatever other qualities the book may have, charming and innocent it is not.

Average customer rating:

A fun legal thriller
Daddy's Girl
Sliding Through This One
Fun and substance!
Flying thru the pages at the edge of my seat.

Daddy's Girl
Lisa Scottoline
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060833149
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Book Description

Natalie Greco loves being a law professor, even though she can't keep her students from cruising sex.com during class and secretly feels like Faculty Comic Relief. She loves her family, too, but as a bookworm, doesn't quite fit into the cult of Greco football, headed by her father, the team captain. The one person she feels most connected to is her colleague, Angus Holt, a guy with a brilliant mind, a great sense of humor, a gorgeous facade, and a penchant for helping those less fortunate. When he talks Nat into teaching a class at a local prison, her comfortably imperfect world turns upside down.

A violent prison riot breaks out during the class, and in the chaos, Nat rushes to help a grievously injured prison guard. Before he dies, he asks her to deliver a cryptic message with his last words: "Tell my wife it's under the floor."

The dying declaration plunges Nat into a nightmare. Suddenly, the girl who has always followed the letter of the law finds herself suspected of a brutal murder and encounters threats to her life around every curve. Now not only are the cops after her, but ruthless killers are desperate to keep her from exposing their secret. In the meantime, she gets dangerously close to Angus, whose warmth, strength, and ponytail shake her dedication to her safe boyfriend.

With her love life in jeopardy, her career in the balance, and her life on the line, Nat must rely on her resources, her intelligence, and her courage. Forced into hiding to stay alive, she sets out to save herself by deciphering the puzzle behind the dead guard's last words . . . and learns the secret to the greatest puzzle of all—herself.

Filled with the ingenious twists, pulse-pounding narrative drive, and dynamic, flesh-and-blood characters that are the hallmarks of her bestsellers, Daddy's Girl is another wild, entertaining ride about love, family, and justice from the addictively readable Lisa Scottoline.

Customer Reviews:

A fun legal thriller.......2007-10-19

I have a soft spot for Lisa Scottoline. Many years ago I was working in a used book store when I ran across her first book, 'Everywhwere that Mary Went' and I loved it. We had two copies of that book and we must have re-sold them a dozen times after I started recommending them to people who asked for someone new to read. Pretty soon, Lisa Scottoline was one of our hottest items - we even special-ordered in some new copies! I like to think that I had a very, very small part in her success, even though the used book store is now defunct.

"Daddy's Girl" is a fun read as are most of Scottoline's books. This time she strays away from her old standby, Bennie Rosato & company. Even though she introduces a new character, young law professor Natalie Greco, the territory is still familiar - Philadelphia.

While not the deepest book in the world, it is fun, full of lots of action and it keeps you reading.

Daddy's Girl.......2007-10-13

WOW this was a terrific murder mystery. I could not stop listening to it.

Sliding Through This One.......2007-10-06

Lisa Scottoline has a long line of fast-moving thrillers filled with gutsy female protagonists and clever one-liners. This one has what turns out to a female law professor who becomes brave, and a number of somewhat half-clever lines, like the very first one: "Nat Greco felt like an A cup in a double-D bra." Dare I say that falls flat?

But for me the most serious problem was that the book didn't seem to move; it dragged along. Quickly yes. But nonetheless, it dragged. This may be because of no solid base. Was anything near believable? Again, maybe halfway. And I think one has to go right over the top into never-never land or stay rooted. This one hedges, and thus left me unsatisfied at the end. I have to say that not wanting to give away endings, I will only add that it bothers me that there was really no good guy anywhere here. That may be life sometimes but, hey, this wasn't reality to begin with! She's done much better!

Fun and substance!.......2007-09-20

I only discovered Scottoline this year, and I am really enjoying her works. My life is busy, stressful, and hectic, and these stories about brave (and nosy) female protagonists are fun, quick reads. This one was my favorite so far because of Nat Greco's fun, interesting family dynamics and her passion for teaching and justice.

The thing that I am liking most about Scottoline's work is that she writes an exciting novel that is easy to follow and to read -- so much so that I don't want to put it down -- but there is always something positive and substantive about the "lessons" that the character is learning. In DADDY'S GIRL, the distinction between what is "just" or justice and what is "legal" turns up over and over again, in the law school, in the police procedures and investigations, in the discussions of legal history and legally related literature, and in the discussions of the the Underground Railroad. This repeated theme give the novel a passion and a purpose that lets me forget that I am reading a murder mystery.

Overall: A fun, easy weekend or vacation read and a real page turner.

Flying thru the pages at the edge of my seat........2007-09-10

This is the first Scottoline novel I have read and it certainly won't be my last. This was an action packed, suspenseful, romantic novel that was very hard to put down. Natalie Greco is a law professor who accompanies a colleague to a prison for a class he gives as part of a program affiliated with the law school. While they are there, a riot breaks out and Nat finds herself fighting for her life. She receives a dying wish from a CO who is fatally wounded. The wish is a message to give to his wife. "Tell my wife It's under the floor". This sets off a wild and action packed tale with twists and turns that will have you at the edge of your seat. Mix that with a very protective family and boyfriend. Add a little bit of lust for the colleague and you have yourself a great thriller.

The Book Thief (Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Literature (Awards))

Average customer rating:

A great Journey
Five stars reserved
A truly remarkable book
A New View on a Bad Time
good book

The Book Thief (Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Literature (Awards))
Markus Zusak
Manufacturer: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375831002
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Book Description

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Customer Reviews:

A great Journey.......2007-10-17

Marvelous use of language. Imaginative formating. Death is a terrific character. Old subject matter looked at in an inventive way.

Five stars reserved.......2007-10-17

I read maybe one book a year that would deserve five stars...and I read a lot of books. This book ranks right up with Lonesome Dove, Life of Pi, and Left Hand of Darkness as one that will transcend genre and time to become one that is read over and over.
What is particularly striking is Zusak's very accurate descriptions of a very difficult place in history, and the emotional makeup of the people who went through it. He has layered this with contemporary sensibility by using Death as an omniscient narrator. At the beginning of the book, I was somewhat put off by this as he uses the same visual cues as Terry Pratchett in putting the words of Death in boldface, but eventually it became clear that the conceit was necessary and serves as a distancing device. If the story had been told as a first person narrative from one of the main characters, or even from multiple viewpoints, it would have been too sentimental. As it is, it unflinchingly shows tragedy and brutality, kindness and humor, leavened with just enough irony to make it one of the great novels.
My 95 year old aunt is also an avid book lover, and even more particular. Luckily this book has made it easy to pick out her Christmas present. My only hesitation in buying it for her in audiobook form is that this book relies on its physical presence almost as much as a graphic novel. It would take a very skillful reading to put this across.

A truly remarkable book.......2007-10-15

"A human doesn't have a heart like mine. The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."

So muses the narrator of Markus Zusak's powerful and moving bestselling novel of 2006, THE BOOK THIEF, which is now out in paperback. As you might guess, this is no ordinary narrator. The contemplative first person guiding you through this book is Death, an at-once fitting and ironic vanguard for a tale that both celebrates the power of words and agonizes over the consequences of their use.

Set against the tragedy-stained canvas of World War II, Death tells the story of young Liesel Meminger (the eponymous book thief) growing up in Nazi Germany under the watchful eye of a staunch foster mother and kindly foster father who teaches her to read. She attends meetings of the BDM, a youth group aimed at indoctrinating young girls into Hitler's ideology. She plays soccer with the boys on her street, holding her own in any disputes that arise. And all the while, dreams of her dead brother haunt and goad her into a fascination with reading and words that inevitably leads to her life of crime.

As she settles into her new home, Liesel befriends Rudy Steiner, a boy her age who becomes known for his love of Olympic runner Jesse Owens (Rudy paints himself black and runs through the town's streets). Together, they navigate the confusing world set before them by the adults in their lives and attempt to come to terms with the racism prevalent in their homeland's current political state. Liesel also makes the acquaintance of the mayor's wife, whose pristine library astounds Liesel and becomes an open playground for Liesel's "thievery."

It is a meeting with Max Vandenburg, a 24-year-old Jewish man being hidden in Liesel's basement by her compassionate foster parents, that alters the course of Liesel's life. Max, too, is haunted by nightmares of a family he lost in the harrowing aftermath of Kristallnacht. Together, Max and Liesel discover a shared love of words that leads to a decisive understanding about the role words play in both bravery and cowardice. Each, in their own way, sets out to use this knowledge to shape the world around them.

While other writers have employed Death as a narrator, Zusak makes his own indelible mark on the technique in the dimensions he gives to the character. Death is simultaneously dispassionate about his work and the impact it can have while striving to understand humanity's resilience. Death boasts an omniscience of what will happen in life but also a naivety about what can happen in the human heart.

In the ultimate expression of his dichotomous theme, Zusak creates a touching love letter to books and writing, framed in arguably the most horrific period in human history. But his greatest triumph is delivering a reminder that no writer enters this world quietly. Writers are born of eruptions and detonations, and the truly exceptional ones, like Zusak, continue to channel these explosive energies to craft a truly remarkable book that will be admired for generations.

--- Reviewed by Brian Farrey

A New View on a Bad Time.......2007-10-14

The Book Thief was one of my first ventures from my warn cocoon of fantasy adventure novels. I must say I was left... amazed.

Markus Zusak manages to weave a beautiful story with the not-quite-real settings and characters. But manages to put them into terribly real situations with the nitty gritty of life.

The story tells of the holocaust from a different perspective. Whereas we find most books such as The Diary of Anna Frank telling the story from inside the Ghettos and concentration camps, this book shifts your view 180 degrees. Looking at the situation from the other way around. Seeing as I've grown up in Israel, this is a view very rarely acknowledged.

The storytelling is flowing and engrossing. It takes about 50 pages to take off, but when it does. You get caught in the slipstream and are just dragged from page to page.

I recomended this book to many people and have passed it around to my family, people from work... Everyone thought the same thing - 5 stars!

good book.......2007-10-10

The book was in good shape. The print was large enough to read comfortaby. I liked the book.

Average customer rating:

I feel validated in my disappointment...
Enjoyable erotica
Absolutely brilliant
A solid piece of erotic fiction
Not what I hoped

Lost Girls
Alan Moore , and Melinda Gebbie
Manufacturer: Top Shelf Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover Comic

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ASIN: 1891830740

Book Description

For more than a century, Alice, Wendy and Dorothy have been our guides through the Wonderland, Neverland and Land of Oz of our childhoods. Now like us, these three lost girls have grown up and are ready to guide us again, this time through the realms of our sexual awakening and fulfillment. Through their familiar fairytales they share with us their most intimate revelations of desire in its many forms, revelations that shine out radiantly through the dark clouds of war gathering around a luxury Austrian hotel. Drawing on the rich heritage of erotica, Lost Girls is the rediscovery of the power of ecstatic writing and art in a sublime union that only the medium of comics can achieve. Exquisite, thoughtful, and human, Lost Girls is a work of breathtaking scope that challenges the very notion of art fettered by convention. This is erotic fiction at its finest. Similar to DC's Absolute editions of Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Lost Girls will be published as three, 112-page, super-deluxe, ovesized hardcover volumes, all sealed in a gorgeous slipcase. It will truly be an edition for the ages.

Customer Reviews:

I feel validated in my disappointment..........2007-09-11

When I first read Lost Girls, I was so deeply disappointed in the flat, amateur artwork that it took me a while to realize how flat and unexciting the storytelling is as well. I can't believe that the book made it to production with the ridiculous dialect Alan Moore assigns to Dorothy, which is tremendously distracting in and of itself. I was expecting a magical experience from this collaboration - and to me magical doesn't mean it can't also be creepy and disturbing, which Lost Girls definitely is - but found this book to be the least imaginative of any Alan Moore I've read. At one point I thought the creepy factor might be clouding my view, but after reading other reviewers' comments, I felt validated to see that others share the same opinions about its shortcomings.

Enjoyable erotica.......2007-09-01

OK, some will balk at the premise. We all know Dodgson's Alice, Baum's Dorothy, and Barrie's Wendy as little girls, in the familiar fictions built around them. This takes the fiction a step beyond, imagining the girls as grown women, thrown together in an isolated resort on the eve of the first world war. Alice, the grande dame, stands aloof from political unpleasantness. Wendy is wed to an industrialist more interested in armored boat hulls than in breakfast (or in her). Dorothy appears as a plain old farm girl, who can't imagine that grand duke Ferdinand might affect her little life. Geographically isolated at this odd resort and culturally isolated by their individual circumstance, they break their personal isolation in each others' company.

They succeed, and break each others' inhibitions as well. With Moore's script and Gebbie's delicate colors, we follow a delightful debauch. Alice takes the two younger ladies under her opium-scented wing, for languidly choreographed affections of the sapphic kind. Dorothy brings her farm-girl awareness of livestock breeding to her human relations, male and female. Wendy, the ignored housewife, blossoms under any attention at all. Other characters round out the goings-on with straight, gay, and solo loving. The happy and consensual tone could appeal to readers who've been turned off by harsher kinds of erotica, and Gebbie's delicate artwork treats it all with lucious respect.

Make no mistake, this is smut. Decide whether that's what you want. It's good smut, though, of a female-friendly kind - the kind that also appeals to men tired of all that negative imagery. If you often find your genitals requesting the company and comfort of your hands, this could be a story for them to read to each other.

-- wiredweird

Absolutely brilliant.......2007-08-10

A must-read for anyone who can handle it -- this is not "erotica," this is porn. The stories and illustrations are EXTREMELY graphic. Some of them are unbelievably hot, some are unbelievably disturbing, many are both. Not all the sex in this book is fun.

It's also a brilliant piece of literature. What Moore did previously with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, he does again here, on a grander and more ambitious scale. He deconstructs these tales with a ruthlessness that is both horrifying and inspired.

A solid piece of erotic fiction.......2007-04-02

While the art style may not appeal to everyone, "Lost Girls" is certainly worth a look if you like erotic fiction with a little more substance. The books provide an amusing interpretation of the "real" events behind "Alice in Wonderland", "Peter Pan" and "The Wizard of Oz". While the first two books do not appear to be particularily thought-provoking at first, they set the stage for some potent character development in the third book, when the formerly frivolous stories are cast in a harsh, new light.

Of note is that while events take on a darker tone in the third book, "Lost Girls" does not contain any particularily violent scenes. Unlike in most adult media, the focus of these three books is not the gratuitous depiction of extreme sexual acts, but raising questions and telling a solid story with believable characters. Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie have done a great job, showing that pornography doesn't necessarily belong in the gutter.

All things said, "Lost Girls" is a charming, bittersweet tale about saying goodbye to your childhood, leaving your make-believe world and growing up, and well worth the price.

Not what I hoped.......2007-03-06

I thought it was boring and a bit pointless. The illustrations were childish but the story line was interesting if a little disjointed. I wouldn't recommend these books unless you're somewhat innocent and looking for a thrill.

Average customer rating:

Great Writing, But Lackluster Characters
Horrible
a classic young adult novel
Disappointed
I liked it

The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679734775
Release Date: 1991-04-03

Book Description

Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros's greatly admired novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics.

Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong--not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.

Customer Reviews:

Great Writing, But Lackluster Characters.......2007-09-22

The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza, a Mexican-American girl growing up in a "ghetto" area of Chicago.

But instead of being your typical novel, this book is a collection of vignettes, each focusing on one specific character or event, with few of them mentioned in future chapters. And instead of being in a typical prose style, the book is more of a combination of standard writing and poetry together.

With the way the book is written, we are allowed a very intimate contact with Esperanza's mind. Sandra Cisneros blends that with a skillful use of metaphors to create a very detailed and personal world.

But that's pretty much what I like about it.

On the other hand though, I was very disappointed with who was telling the story - Esperanza. Despite the writing, I didn't really care for her that much.

Even worse was the Esperanza got very whiny towards the end of the book. For some reason I can't fathom, she simply decides to hate her house, insisting that it isn't her home. But even before that, Esperanza continually self-pities herself for a variety of things, falling into a boring humdrum of angsty teenage melorama. And then we have the (vaguely described) rape scene.

I didn't find the other characters very rememberable, either. Most of them just them were one shot characters who wouldn't affect the story at all if they were removed.

In conclusion, I think this is a good book to read, but not really that great as everyone else says it is. (It's a good thing that it's short.)

Horrible.......2007-09-07

This book is most overrated. Yes it is a great remark on culture and growing up Latino, but ignorance of simple writing styles and grammar is no excuse. Not to mention that the book is not even remotely interesting. The main character is confusing, rambles on, and Cisneros always tries to draw pity for her. This is the worst book I have ever read.

a classic young adult novel.......2007-09-03

I first encountered this book while scoring tests for an educational testing company... the first chapter was used as a prompt for a reading test. The kids saw the author's Hispanic name and jumped to the obvious conclusions... that the family is desperately poor and oppressed (and also many kids concluded that the family lived in the Southwest or even in Mexico, whereas Mango Street is in fact a real street on the North Side of Chicago.)

This is in fact very much a structured novel, even though it is written in an episodic and impressionistic manner: it is a classic coming of age story. The family is certainly not wealthy, and they go through crises like any other family --- but this is actually a fairly happy and average American family.

Disappointed.......2007-08-23

After reading the positive reviews on this book, I was disappointed. I found the book boring and a waste of my time.

I liked it.......2007-08-22

I had to read this in my English Composition class and I thought it was very good and interesting. The characteres and story are both well-told. Cisneros is a good writer and she doesn't bore the reader to tears like cough cough John Steinbeck cough. This was the first book by Cisneros that I read and I am interested in her other works. Hopefully they will be as good as hers.

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