Speak

Amazon.com

Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

Awards for Speak

A 2000 Printz Honor Book
A 1999 National Book Award Finalist
An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
A 1999 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Quick Pick
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Top Ten First Novel of 1999
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare Title

Customer Reviews:

Pick this book.......2007-10-17

The book "SPEAK" is about a girl in high school that had something bad happen to her over the summer. She thought that it would all disappear of the course of summer but it didn't. she comes back to school and all over her friends are all mad at her and people she don't even know are giving her bad looks and calling her names. She wants to tell some one but she cant work up the nerve to tell some one until its to late and she gets attacked by a guy because he says she is making up a false story when he gets caught attacking her.

I enjoyed reading this book in class. I felt my self being drawn in to the book. Every time my teacher said it was time to quit I just wanted to keep reading. Cause I just wanted to no what was going to happen next. But now we are done with the book.

There was just one thing I didn't like about the book just one thing. It was the ending of the book. Me not knowing you but if you read this you may be just a little disappointed with the ending but that's just me.

Like nothing else I've read.......2007-09-19

If there is a canon for contemporary teen literature, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is in it. A Printz Award honor book and a National Book Award finalist in 1999, this book is, quite frankly, awesome.

The story follows Melinda Sordino during her first year in high school. Starting high school is hard enough, but for Melinda it's even worse. Over the summer, Melinda became a social outcast and now watches the goings at school from the fringe. She also doesn't talk to anyone if she can avoid it.

The reasons for Melinda's shunning by the rest of the school and her reticence are revealed as the novel progresses and Melinda tries to define herself in light of that summer. Along the way, Melinda finds the outlet she needs in an unlikely place: her high school art room.

Anderson's writing voice is utterly unique, making this novel a real experience to read. It is one of the few novels out there that is completely conversational while maintaining an absolutely realistic voice. Melinda's narration is snappy and caustic. Being written in the present tense adds to the immediacy of the novel.

In addition to dealing with Melinda's trauma and her healing process, this book addresses a lot of common issues for teens. Anderson aptly portrays what it feels like to be the outcast with no one to sit with on the first day of school. And how hard it is to realize that sometimes having no friend is better than having a bad one.

Strangely, for a novel where the narrator doesn't speak to other characters, one of the best features of this novel is Anderson's dialogue. Even though Melinda rarely has anything to say to other characters, the dialogue flows, Anderson making used of ellipsis and asides in the narration to fill in Melinda's half of the "conversations."

Even though Anderson is writing about a narrow experience, this is a book that everyone should read. Even if you don't usually read "chick lit," check out Speak for the excellent writing. I have never seen a character that sounds as real as Melinda, or a writing style as fresh as Laurie Halse Anderson's.

A couple years ago, this book was made into a movie for the Lifetime network. If you plan on reading the novel, do so before you see the movie. The events of the story are much more powerful if you read it without knowing what's coming up next.

Also, after you finish Speak, be sure to check out Catalyst--a novel set a few years after Speak in the same community/high school.

Speak? How About Shout!.......2007-09-18

A National Book Award finalist from 1999, Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK really is a cut above your average YA novel. Though it deals with a highly-charged issue, it does so sensitively and in such a manner that both teens and adults can learn from it.

Protagonist Melinda Sordino's is a beguiling voice that will win readers' hearts from the start. With only her loneliness and her fear left for friends, Melinda details her freshman year in high school -- a long year in which she is burdened with a secret wrapped in guilt. Nevertheless, she's funny, with a wise and sardonic sense of humor that will have you chuckling despite the book's somber topic.

Melinda sends up high school, cliques, and teachers as you remember them no matter HOW young or old you are (either a testament to how well Anderson stays up with the times or with how poorly education does). It's all there -- the politics and the scary geography of who sits where in the cafeteria, the lectures and lame one-liners of frazzled teachers, the treacherous passage of homework, grades, and parents.

Though it's Melinda's book to the core, some supporting roles earn a nod as well, including her old best friend Rachel, her new-kid-in-town, pain-in-the-butt NEW best friend, Heather, and her brainy lab partner, David. Among the staff, art teacher Mr. Freeman (the choice in name is no coincidence) stands out as the man who tries to get Melinda to speak her mind and soul through the medium of art (her project's focus is a tree).

Anderson wisely nurses the suspense along by keeping Melinda's secret from the reader for some time in the narrative. Then, to add plot frosting to the characterization cake, she enters the dragon in the form of "IT" (a.k.a. Andy Evans), the source of Melinda's psychological solitude. The ending is both dramatic and memorable, leaving the reader with a satisfied feeling that really speaks -- no, shouts -- on many levels. Highly recommended.

A captivating book.......2007-08-06

Without saying much about the book it is very informative. The book has a way of drawing you in everytime you read a line. I love the events as well as the characters, it is a easy but great read !!!

Read with your Teen.......2007-07-31

I bought this book for my daughter, who is about to enter high school. After she read it, she seemed to have a lot of questions, but was a little shy to discuss them with me. So I thought I would skim through the book in order to help her with her thoughts. Well, I couldn't put the book down! A lot of bad memories came back to me from my high school years, and I knew exactly the questions she had on her mind. The author certainly knows the subject!

After I finished the book I was able to sit with my daughter and discuss the issues that are so pertinent to her age and so hard for girls that age to ask their parents about. I recommend all parents of teen girls to use tools like this if they are uncomfortable themselves with communication of this nature. I think if my mother and I had been able to read something like this together, I would have been able to be more open with her when I was in unfortunate situations at that age.

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The Amazing fever
What Would You Do?
Fever 1793
Predictable Historical Fiction
Fever 1793

Fever 1793
Laurie Halse Anderson
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689848919

Amazon.com

On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors.

In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Book Description

During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.

Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.

Customer Reviews:

The Amazing fever.......2007-08-03

A well written book. This story is about Matilda, a teenage girl who survives the fever of 1793. It is surprising how many people the fever killed. I think this is a very good historical fiction book.

What Would You Do?.......2007-06-21

I live near Philadelphia. 1.5 million people live in philly these days, and if the epidemic that Fever 1793 describes were to happen today, in 90 days, 150,000 people would die and 700,000 people would flee. Look at those numbers and ponder - if you lived there, what would you do?

The story is told, as was Speak, from the point of view of a very believable teenaged girl. From her fights with her mother to her flirts with her beau to the very way she survives the plague and finds herself in the process, Mattie is a compelling heroine. In fact, I have great respect for Ms. Anderson; she writes the point of view of a teenaged girl so well that I almost feel 15 again.

Though some would call the story predictable, I found that the (very well researched) historical perspective and plethora of factual information was almost overwhelming. If the plot had been too intricate, the book would have been lost. As it is, through the comfort of a steady plot, a fantastic story is told.

(*)>

Fever 1793.......2007-06-05

Fever 1793 is a book about a teenage girl growing up in Pennsylvania in, of course, 1793. Mattie Cook was living a perfectly normal life when one day a very bad fever starts to spread, and Mattie's world turns upside down.

I think that Fever 1793 is a very well written book. The way Laurie H. Andersen describes things is wonderful. It is the kind of book that once you pick it up, you can just not put it down. The beginning doesn't grab you so well but once you read a few chapters, you get more of a feel for the characters. I enjoyed this book because it seemed to pull me into the pages like I was right there when it all happened. I would recommend this book to people who like to be sucked up in their reading. However, I would not recommend this book to people younger than 7, because some of it is sad, and some is a little scary. As the New York Times Book Review says "the plot rages like the epidemic itself."

Predictable Historical Fiction.......2007-06-04

Mattie has never been much of an independent girl. She hasn't had the opportunity to be, with her mother always on top of her, telling her what to do. Her mother is a widow who runs a coffeehouse in Philadelphia. The year is 1793 and there is always much work to be done. Mattie's mother is used to ordering Mattie, Mattie's grandfather and the two girls who work there, Eliza and Polly, around. Then in August of 1793 the yellow fever comes to Philadelphia. At first just a few people are sick here and there. Then they begin to die in hundreds and thousands. When several people they know have been struck by the fever, Mattie's mother begins to worry. When she herself is struck, she sends Mattie and her grandfather out to the country where they will be safe from the sickness.

But other towns know about the fever and they have guards posted at the entryways of their towns. They are suspicious of Mattie's grandfather's cough, and don't allow him in. Mattie and her grandfather are abandoned by the people in whose wagon they had been traveling, and Mattie herself begins feeling sick. The next thing she knows, she is recovering in a public hospital with other fever victims. She has been one of the lucky ones to survive. When she makes her way back to Philadelphia, she finds that her mother has gone to the country to meet up with her. She has no way of getting there and no way to inform her mother she is alive. Now may be her chance to take care of things at home and prove that she is an adult.

I liked the historical aspect of this book, and especially the appendix, which told about the history behind the things mentioned in the book. The story was a bit predictable, though, and I didn't like the romance between Mattie and Nathaniel. There was no real explanation for it and it didn't really develop.

Fever 1793.......2007-05-19

Fever 1793 is one of the best books I've read. I love all of the books that Laurie Halse Anderson writes. I love how they relate to teen life and what teens are going through.
It would be tough living during such a big epidemic, like having your family members die one by one or right in front of your face. Imagine how hard it would be if you had do try to survive during yellow fever.
What I don't get is how yellow fever spread so fast. And if you got the fever from mosquitoes then how could you get it from other people?
If you liked this book I would recommend reading the books Speak or Prom also by Anderson.

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Yeah
Stunning Inisght and story
twisted indeed
Captivating
Not the best.

Twisted
Laurie Halse Anderson
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670061018
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Book Description

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn't believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father's boss's daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler's secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world. In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler's pitchperfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author's award-winning, widely read work.

Customer Reviews:

Yeah.......2007-10-16

That's what I thought when I put this book down.
Yeah.
That's how it was. How it is. There's a choice before everybody: life or death, going back to hell or becoming someone new.

My daughter is a junior in high school. On most days, we are at opposite ends of the earth, shaking our heads at one another between hugs, rolling our eyes between the laughter. But every time we read a Laurie Halse Anderson novel together, we're one for a while. We get it.

Yeah.

We were intrigued to see Ms. Anderson writing from the male perspective this time. She did a brave, honest job and my daughter and I have lots of fodder for discussion once we stop nodding and our knowing smiles slip away.

There were some echoes of Speak in this for me, only through the eyes of a male character. For me though, that was a plus. We're looking for to the next one. In the meantime, we'll be reading this and the others again.

Stunning Inisght and story.......2007-09-29

Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of 5 novels and 3 picture books. Her books have been nominated for numerous awards and many recommendations. Each of her books that I have read has been excellent and this one is no exception. The dust jacket states "Everybody told me to be a man ... Nobody told me how." Anderson captures the essence of the journey from a boy to a man.

Tyler Miller had been caught defacing school property, and now he is a hero to some, and an outcast to others, and is trying to find his way in the world. He has done community service all summer at the school, and worked for a landscaping company.

Now he must return to school and face the students and teachers who know what he did and the punishment he received for it. The school year begins badly; at a party he is knocked into a tray of glasses and cuts the feet of the Alpha female of the school, who happens to be the women of his dreams, Bethany Milbury.

Tyler is forced to take Bethany a cake as an apology for the accident. They become friends, and seem to be sort of dating. Then Bethany gets trashed at a party, and Tyler does the right thing. Yet Tyler broke his curfew from the court and that is just the beginning of some serious problems in his life. Unfortunately someone takes advantage of Bethany while she is drunk and most people think it is Tyler because of his reputation.

Most people think he did it. The cops keep coming by. He is attacked in school and out of school. He struggles with what to do, how to be a man. Can he learn how to be a man; can he take control of his life that seems completely out of control?

This book does an amazing job of capturing the angst of growing up, of finding your place in the world. It shows clearly the transition from boy to man, and then end of high school and moving on to the rest of life.

Anderson, as a woman, surprised me with he ability to write about becoming a man; her insight and clarity are awesome. This book should become a classic. Much like her earlier novel Speak I believe this book should be on the reading list for every high school or university Children's Literature course.
The book leaves you wanting more. The reader will want to know what happens next. Where is Tyler in a year, 3, 5 or 10? These questions will haunt you after you finish the book.

(First Published in Imprint 2007-09-28 as 'Short Titles With Varied Depths.')Speak

twisted indeed.......2007-07-28

Tyler Miller, former nerd, returns for his senior year with a new buff bod, courtesy of the manual community service he was forced to perform for graffitting the school. To his surprise, school Queen Bee Bethany Milsbury starts paying attention to him. This causes conflict with his nemesis, Bethany's twin brother Chip, and is complicated by the fact that Bethany's dad is his father's boss. When he rejects her (drunken) advances at a party, things become complicated when anonymous nude camera photos of Bethany wind up on the Internet. Suddenly, the police are paying attention to the former school defacer and he faces hostility from the other students. Like Melinda in "Speak," he has a dysfunctional family and minimal support from peers and adults. As he begins to implode from the pressure, finding a way to clear his name and stand up to the bullies in his life looks more and more difficult.

Pros: The sympathetic characters (Hannah and Yoda) were appealing, but the bullies and Bethany, the school princess, were stereotypes. Other messages were basically what we've seen in teen movie after teen movie. Abusing your kid is bad because he will eventually snap. (Ferris Bueller's Day Off). Messing up in Little League scars child and dad for life. (Parenthood). Rich people are soulless, decadent zombies. (Virtually every movie ever made.) I wish the author had tried to turn the formula a little more inside out, the way the "Ordinary People" author did when she made the Bad Dad a Mom. I enjoyed the book until the end, but felt it painted an inaccurate portrait of what recovering from clinical depress is like. It's usually two steps forward and four steps back at a time for the average person. You don't just reach a turning point, gain the ability to stand up to anyone in your way, and then your tormentors start backing down in record numbers. Melinda's journey from victim to survivor in "Speak" was far more believable because it took place over an entire school year, not a semester like in "Twisted."

(This is where the review loses objectivity.)
Some reviewers have written about the great message this book sends. I disagree. Standing up to one's abusive parent is NOT the same as facing a school bully or even a school authority figure, like a principal, and to imply that it is does a disservice to people who are victims of child abuse and who have to co-exist at least until they come of age. Threatening one's father with a baseball bat probably won't have the same effect as it does in the book, i.e. Domineering Dad bursting into tears and apologizing for years of cruelty. If they were capable of feeling such remorse, they probably wouldn't be abusing you that badly in the first place. Right?. Taking Tyler's route might make you feel like more of a "man," but you're likely to wind up on the streets or in the hospital. At least outside of YA lit or Hollywood. Maybe this isn't what the author intended at all, but it's what I wound up taking away from the book.

Captivating.......2007-07-01

Captivating is overused when it comes to describing books-- except for this one! I didn't think that Anderson could top "Speak", but she did!I read it and could barely give myself time to sleep. I loaned the book out to several of my high school students; they, too, read it in a couple of days, loved it, willingly discussed it with me and other readers, and kept passing it on. A wonderful book to "hook" high school age kids on reading. My only caution: buy two copies. If you loan one out, you will not get it back.

Not the best........2007-06-26

This book had a good story line but lacked detail, always led up to what was gonna happen, and left at a very blank point. It needed a more interesting ending, and it needed to describe everything a lot more. It was an alright read but too predictable. I have read a lot of books and this one wasn't one of the tops.

Scanning: The Aberrant Architectures of Diller + Scofidio

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The Aberrant Architecture of Diller + Scofidio

Scanning: The Aberrant Architectures of Diller + Scofidio
Aaron Betsky , K. Michael Hays , and Laurie Anderson
Manufacturer: Whitney Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0874271312

Book Description

Among the most talked-about names in contemporary architecture, the firm of Diller + Scofidio has for the last two decades redefined what architecture can be. Through site-specific, highly conceptual works such as the acclaimed redesign of the famed Brasserie restaurant in New York City's Seagram Building, to the "Blur" building, created for the Swiss Expo 2002 and composed entirely of mist, the firm has consistently challenged and expanded the role of architecture and design in our technology-oriented environment.

In this first-ever comprehensive survey of the work of this internationally recognized firm, published to accompany a traveling exhibition organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, 10 of Diller + Scofidio's most important site-specific pieces are examined, along with several of the artifacts they have created in order to examine issues of gender, surveillance, place, and travel. With essays by respected scholars and a contribution by contemporary artist Laurie Anderson, this fully illustrated volume offers a compelling look at the work of Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio.

Customer Reviews:

The Aberrant Architecture of Diller + Scofidio.......2003-06-08

The companion book to an exhibition at the Whitney, which runs through June 1, is a work of art in itself. The lenticular plastic cover shimmers enigmatically; folded pages with elliptical cuts allow you to peer inside, propelling you through the book in search of what can be imperfectly glimpsed. It's an appropriate, teasing metaphor for this collection of installations, exhibits, and as yet unrealized projects, plus Blur from the Swiss Expo 02. Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio ponder our obsession with display and call everything into question. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

Average customer rating:

Good but not great
A Wonderfully Written Book
Great beginning but where'd the plot go?
Catalyst is a good book..........
Catalyst

Catalyst
Laurie Halse Anderson
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142400017

Amazon.com

Chemistry honors student and cross-country runner Kate Malone is driven. Daughter of a father who is a reverend first and a parent second ("Rev. Dad [Version 4.7] is a faulty operating system, incompatible with my software.") and a dead mother she tries not to remember, Kate has one goal: To escape them both by gaining entrance to her own holy temple, MIT. Eschewing sleep, she runs endlessly every night waiting for the sacred college acceptance letter. Then two disasters occur: Sullen classmate Teri and her younger brother, Mikey, take over Kate's room when their own house burns down, and a too-thin letter comes from MIT, signifying denial. And so the experiment begins. Can crude Teri and sweet Mikey, combined with the rejection letter, form the catalyst that will shake Kate out of her selfish tunnel vision and force her to deal with the suppressed pain of her mom's death? "If I could run all the time, life would be fine. As long as I keep moving, I'm in control." But for Kate, it's time to stop running and face the feelings she's spent her whole life racing away from.

Catalyst, Laurie Halse Anderson's third novel for teens, is a deftly fashioned character study of a seldom explored subject in YA fiction: the type-A adolescent. Teens will identify (if not exactly sympathize) with prickly Kate instantly, and be shocked or perhaps secretly pleased to discover that life is no easier for the honor roll student than it is for the outcast. Anderson earns an A plus for this revealing and realistic take on life, death, and GPAs. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Meet Kate Malone-straight-A science and math geek, minister's daughter, ace long-distance runner, new girlfriend (to Mitchell "Early Decision Harvard" Pangborn III), unwilling family caretaker, and emotional avoidance champion. Kate manages her life by organizing it as logically as the periodic table. She can handle it all-or so she thinks. Then, things change as suddenly as a string of chemical reactions; first, the Malones' neighbors get burned out of their own home and move in. Kate has to share her room with her nemesis, Teri Litch, and Teri's little brother. The days are ticking down and she's still waiting to hear from the only college she applied to: MIT. Kate feels that her life is spinning out of her control-and then, something happens that truly blows it all apart. Set in the same community as the remarkable Speak, Catalyst is a novel that will change the way you look at the world.

Customer Reviews:

Good but not great.......2007-10-04

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson is a sequel/companion to Speak. It's set one year after the events of Speak. This novel is narrated by Kate Malone: straight-A senior, science and math whiz, and daughter of the local reverend. Kate's also a great runner, which is good because Kate's been running from a lot of things:

Kate has been the family caretaker since her mother died. She hasn't been sleeping as she waits to hear from her dream college (she runs instead). And now Teri Litch, Kate's nemesis, and Terry's little brother are living with the Malones. Kate tries to ignore all of these problems by running and keeping her head in the sand. Besides, things couldn't get any worse. Until they do.

You'll have to read the book to figure out what happens next because I don't do spoiler reviews.

So now we can talk about the book in technical terms: The book is broken up into elements (solid, liquid, gas) and features quotes from an AP Chem prep book. Most of them are straightforward enough to be understandable and relate to the story. Kate also makes use of scientific elements for her narration without being overly scientific (AKA confusing/boring).

I greatly admire Laurie Halse Anderson. She's a great writer and she never comes off as smug or pompous in her interviews at the back of her books. Even better, Anderson is a fresh voice.

That said, the voice here was not as fresh as it was in Speak. In other words, Kate's narration sounds a lot like Melinda even though they are completely different characters. That bothered me. I like that Anderson's prose is so snappy and often sarcastic, but it was weird having two disparate characters narrate in almost the same voice. Given the connection between these two books, I suppose comparisons are inevitable so I'll finish the thought: Melinda is a more likable narrator than Kate. That makes a difference.

Ironically, the increased dialogue in this book (Melinda does not talk throughout most of hers) doesn't make the characters more developed. The minor characters, particularly Sara and Travis, remain flat: developed enough to be quirky but not present enough to be memorable. This might be because Kate's social circle is larger, giving Anderson more characters to fit into the narrative.

The other thing to bear in mind about Catalyst is that it is not the same kind of book as Speak. Kate's path throughout the narrative, and her way through her problems, is very different than Melinda's. (If you haven't guessed yet, Kate's path involves a lot of running.) This book also has a different appeal. Speak seemed more universal, the scope for Catalyst is more narrow. Anderson does a great job of capturing the anxiety and drama that surrounds the college application/acceptance process. She also creates a compelling study of the silent, overachiever that seems to be at every high school. More importantly, Anderson shows that those achievements don't always come without a cost.

Overall, Catalyst is a good book. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it. But Speak was a great book that was, overall, more powerful than its sequel.

A Wonderfully Written Book.......2007-01-22

Kate Malone, a senior in high school, is a science and math geek waiting to hear from the only college she applied to: MIT. On top of balancing school and a social life, Kate has been caring for her family since her mother's death nine years earlier. Kate thinks she can handle anything, but then her neighbors' house burns down. Teri Litch, a tough girl who lives for trouble, and her little brother, Mikey, move in with the Malones. Kate and Teri are enemy's and cannot find away to get along. At school they ignore each other and at home they always argue. Kate's father, the local minister, organizes a group to help rebuild the Litch house. On day, when the house is about half way completed, everyone is sitting outside eating lunch. Kate and Teri, who are supposed to be watching Mikey, turn their heads for only a minute and Mikey disappears. Soon after, he is found upstairs in the unfinished house electrocuted and dead. This horrific event saddens the community, but brings Teri and Kate closer together. Mikey's death also leads to the unveiling of a shocking family secret. Catalyst, the wonderfully written book by Laurie Halse Anderson, will keep a person reading for until the very last page. I found this book hard to put down. The characters were very realistic and the book was very contemporary, confronting many issues of today's lifestyle. I would recommend any teen into realistic fiction read this book.

This book is definitely a page turner. Once I began reading, I couldn't stop. Every chapter leaves the reader hanging and wanting to know more. Will Kate get into MIT? Will Teri and Kate get along? What is the Litch's huge secret? These are all questions that will keep the reader engrossed and longing for more.

The multi-dimensional characters make this book very interesting. The reader gets an insight into both of the main character's minds and lives. Anderson does a great job describing the characters and making them seem real. Because Teri and Kate are complete opposites, the reader gets to see all the events that take place in different points of view. Because the characters all seem so life like, the story seems truer.

Many issues of today's teens are brought to light in this book. First, there are moral issues. Kate usually tries to do the right thing, such as be nice and obey her father. Teri, on the other hand, could care less about what's right and what's wrong. She is mean to everyone, ungrateful to the Malones for taking her in, and skips school. When forced to live in the same house, Teri and Kate must work to create a balance between them and also end up learning from one another and growing as people. This book also briefly touches on the issue of religion. Kate's father is a minister, yet Kate refuses to believe a thing he preaches. Because of the topics brought up in this book, the life of an average teenager is well illustrated. Catalyst is a book that I think every teen could learn from. Once begun reading, this book will be hard to put down. I recommend all teens read Catalyst.

S. Leser

Great beginning but where'd the plot go?.......2006-12-31

I read Speak a little over a year ago and immediately fell in love with it. Laurie Halse Anderson's depiction of high school was dead center the whole way through, so of course when I saw Anderson had written another novel, let alone one set in the same place as Speak, I just had to order it.

Catalyst starts out great. Kate is a realistic character, as are her friends, and her crisis over MIT is something very easy to relate to. The format and incorporation of scientific principles is also engaging, even if you're not much of a science person. It's when the focus of the novel shifts about midway, however, that the plot begins to unravel. Kate becomes completely consumed in the Litch situation and the MIT issue seems temporarily put on hold, as if it's not her entire future possibly hanging in the balance. I really also did not get the feeling that this was the same town as the one in Speak, even though Melinda makes a cameo appearance. Perhaps it was just the way I saw it, but Anderson seemed to describe it in very different ways.

I really would've liked to have seen this book continue along its original path, rather than being deflected by the various surrounding events. The whole reason I was so eager to read it in the first place was mainly because I had that same feeling of anxiety about applying for college in a few years. What if they all rejected me? What if I only got into my "safety" school? What if I concentrated too much on the application process and flunked all my courses? I had hoped Catalyst would help to answer these questions, or at least to give me a worst case scenario in place of my own speculation, but unfortunately it did not.

Overall, a decent read and one that was enjoyable, but it just didn't measure up to expectations. Wonderful characters, great writing, unique idea, but poor follow through.

Catalyst is a good book.................2006-11-20

Catalyst
Laurie Halse Anderson
Published by Penguin Group

Everyone dreams of getting into their top college. This is what Kate Malone, a senior at Merryweather High, dreams of. She has a busy life: she's on the track team, she has a boyfriend who got into Harvard, friends, a car named Bert, her father is a reverend, she loves chemistry, and she's a straight A student. Kate seems to have what some would consider a perfect life, but everything takes a turn for the worse when Teri, a rough girl in Kate's class, and her little brother Mikey, a two year old boy, come to stay at Kate's house after their barn and part of their house burn down to the ground as a result of bad electrical wiring. Catalyst is set in the same high school as Speak, a book much like Catalyst, by Laurie Halse Anderson, also the same author who wrote Fever 1793.

Kate and her family are the main characters of the story. Her family is often described as holy, and somewhat strange. But Kate herself is described as tall, athletic, and has blonde hair. She wears either glasses or contacts, often glasses. Kate's father, the "do'er" of all this except the fire is described ( by Kate herself) as short, with tons of gray hair, but has a strong willed personality. Teri, the girl who stays in Kate's home, is often described as big, wrestler like by Kate, and has somewhat long, blonde-brownish hair and wears nothing but a red flannel shirt, pants, and boots. Teri's little brother, Mikey, is described as small, with glowing eyes and a personality to match, short blonde hair, and wears a lot of red and loves trucks, so he carries a toy truck around as often as he can. Teri's mother, Mrs. Litch, is described as small, dainty, like a doll, with bright blonde hair and has a soothing, light, quiet voice and fairly poor vision making her have to put her hand out to feel things so she doesn't hurt herself.

Catalyst is a very good, realistic fiction book. But there are a lot of things to dislike about it. One thing is the fact that some parts of the book are so boring that you feel like you could skip over them and then get back into the more interesting parts of the book. Another thing is that some of the other non-main characters pop up in the book where they don't really seem to belong, mostly in the more interesting parts in the middle of whatever problem or event is going on. One more thing that you could really dislike about the book is the fact that in some parts, the author would either give very little, or too much detail and it would be rather distracting from what is suppose to be going on. But there are things that people could like about this book too. It's set in high school and many people could relate to many of the events in the book , like not getting accepted into your top college or having a house burn down, or having a family member die. But not just that it's how the people act like humans, people who aren't in some magical land killing fairies and dragons and eating magical food that makes them live forever. And there is a lot of people would like this book, but people who would really this book are people who are really into realistic fiction as well as a little suspense, seeing as there are a lot of suspenseful moments in the book.This was a fantastic book, that if I didn't know what happened I'd read it again, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who is willing to read it.

Catalyst.......2006-10-30

I read the book Catalyst, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Catalyst is a book about a girl, Kate, in her senior year of high school, and she has her heart set on going to MIT, and MIT only. However, when she doesn't get into her dream school, and has no safety schools, she's really stuck. Not to mention the fact that she now has her long-time enemy, Teri, and her brother staying at her house, after theirs is burned-down. So, through-out the book, Kate faces the challenges of accepting the fact that she didn't get into MIT and trying to help Teri and her family after their loss.
This may sound terrible, but my favorite part of the book was when Kate's enemy Teri, has her house burned down, and her and her brother have to move in with Kate. I liked this part not because it was tragic, but because it changed the story around. It starts to make Kate's life much more exciting and demanding, becasue that's how Teri is, demanding. Of course, in the beginning, Kate and Teri "bump-heads" on a lot of issues and can't seem to get along, but as the story progresses, they start to agree more and more on the issues that occur in the lives of both of them.
I would definately recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading about realistic fiction and events that happen to everyday people. For a girl, it is very easy to relate to Kate, and the things she goes through. Although some events may be more extreme, others are simple to relate to.
I mean every girl has an enemy, or someone they just can't seem to get along with, but has to deal with them anyway. So, as you can see, this is a great book for anyone who likes real life events about the regular kids in school.

Average customer rating:

not your typical Laurie Halse Anderson
Prom
Realistic Prom Novel
My daughter really loves this author
Jackie J.-Prom

Prom
Laurie Halse Anderson
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142405701

Amazon.com

Ages 12 and up. Who would have thought the author of the gritty classic Speak had a gift for comedy? Here she demonstrates her comedic talent in the warm and witty story of Ashley, who is definitely not a prom-type person, and her best friend Nat, who lives for the prom. When the math teacher disappears with the funds just eleven days before the dance, determined and organized Nat goes into high gear to find alternative ways to make the prom happen and drags an unwilling Ashley into the flurry of urgent details.

Ashley has enough problems in her life already, starting with the complexities of her crowded but loving working class family -- her extremely pregnant mother and her three exuberant and prom-crazy aunts, and her cab-driving father and three younger brothers, who think nothing of happily trashing the kitchen in a game of hot dog baseball. Then there's Mr. Gilroy, the evil vice principal of discipline, who has Ashley on endless detention, her awful job at EZ-CHEEZ-E, where she has trouble seeing the customers through the eyeholes of her rat costume, and her good-looking but lowlife boyfriend TJ, who wants her to join him in a future as depressing as the dank one-room apartment he has so proudly rented for them. Not to speak of Nat's loony grandmother, who wears her red bathing cap even when she's not doing the backstroke in a wading pool, babbles at Ashley in Russian, and spits on the floor to show her disapproval.

But in the end it's grandma with her skill at baking (pastries to bribe the custodians) and sewing (a magical prom dress) who saves both the prom and Ashley's belief in herself and her future in this delightful and heartfelt novel. --Patty Campbell

Book Description

Philadelphia high school who doesn't care about the prom. It's pretty much the only good thing that happens there, and everyone plans to make the most of it—especially Ash's best friend, Natalia, who's the head of the committee and has prom stars in her eyes. Then the faculty advisor is busted for taking the prom money and Ash finds herself roped into putting together a gala dance. But she has plenty of help—from her large and loving (if exasperating!) family, from Nat's eccentric grandmother, from the principal, from her fellow classmates. And in making the prom happen, Ash learns some surprising things about making her life happen, too.

Customer Reviews:

not your typical Laurie Halse Anderson.......2007-06-14

If you are expecting another "Speak" then you will be disappointed, but if you are looking for some fun you have come to the right book. The characters in this book are what make it so much fun. I just loved Ash, the voice was just perfect for a "normal" high school girl. Although the story takes place in a large city, my rural students will be able to identify with her and the other students at the school.

There was nothing Earth shattering in this read, but it was a nice quick fun read with likable characters. There was a little bit of drugs and sex, but not enough to warrant concern to teachers who want to recommend this book. It would be a great book to use to teach about the use of voice when writing.

Prom.......2007-06-14

"I'm not going to prom." Yah that's what I said too. In this funny and surprising book called "Prom" it is a story about a teenage girl who does not want to go to prom, but what happens when half of your prom money goes missing because your math teacher can't pay her bills. And they need you to help plan for prom all over again. Laurie Halse Anderson the amazing author of the book Speak has now out done herself with this book called Prom.
At high school is where everything happens if you don't believe me then just read prom. In current day Ashley is with her boyfriend that is already out of high school. When she gets to math and her friend sitting next to her talking about how great prom is going to be. Ashley rolled her eyes and turned her head. But once they find out that there math teacher has taken half of their prom money they need her to help to get prom going again. Will it work? Maybe. But in the end Ashley's mom just might make her go to prom.
Ashley really does not want to go to prom and I don't blame her I don't want to go as well. But when her mom comes home with a new baby in her tummy and with some sisters or as known as Ashley's aunts. Ashley walk's into the living room and sees that her aunts and mom are laughing and having a good time and they want her to try on dresses and shoes Ashley freaks because she wants to know who told her mom. They make her try on the dresses and at this point she does not like her mom at all.
The theme in this book to me is that we all have to do something that we don't want to do. And some times when we do these things we are helping so many other people and I think that just by doing one thing that you don't want to do then you can help so many other people.
I really liked this book and I would not change anything about this book. And I think that all teenage girls should read this book because they can really connect with the book. And it does have drama in the book with her school and prom now and even her boyfriend and family. And this book just goes to show that there is a lot of drama in high school and that a lot of crazy stuff happens in high school. And like I said everything happens in high school.
By kassy green.

Realistic Prom Novel.......2007-04-12

Ashley doesn't really care about prom. It's her best friend, Natalia, who's into that kind of stuff. But somehow, Ashley gets roped into the prom committee, and before long, thinking about prom and graduation makes her realize that maybe her current vision of the future (living in a cramped apartment with her hot-and-cold boyfriend, TJ) isn't exactly what she wants for herself. Ashley is a good kid, and helps out her working class family, whom she loves a lot, despite getting into trouble at school, and overall, is a realistic teen who has a lot of redeeming qualities.

My daughter really loves this author.......2007-04-11

I am reviewing this on my daughters behalf. She is not a big reader, but she loves this author. If my daughter will read these books from start to finish without bribery, they are worth their weight in gold. Great for a tween or a young teen.

Jackie J.-Prom.......2007-03-19

Prom is a great book to read for entertainment. I thought this book was really good and fun to read. The plot kept me reading all the time. I never wanted to put the book down! I loved the main character, Ashley Hannigan, because she seemed like a real person; not perfect.

Although this book was good, there are a few things I would change or add. I think it should have introduced and gotten to know more of the main character's classmates [the ones who were not best friends or family]. I think this would be a good idea because there were only a few main characters and you did not get to see how the other people around them acted or felt. Also, I think a nice touch would have been a "mystery man" at the dance that Ashley would have met afterwards. These would be just a few things I would have added or changed but the book was still great without these things.

I would recommend this book to almost anyone. Anyone that is at least 13 that is. I would not recommend this book to kids any younger than 13. Also, this is one of those books that would only be appealing to girls not boys. However, I would recommend this book to girls who are mature and enjoy reading funny books. One thing I really liked about this book that may be appealing to some other girls is that there were not actual chapters. Instead of chapters, there were just numbered sections. This made it really easy to read but really hard to want to stop reading. Therefore, if you are 13 or older, a girl, and enjoy reading funny books, Prom by Laurie Halse is a great book for you.

Average customer rating:

Must have
good job Roselee and Laurie
Highly recommended reading for all Laurie Anderson fans.
Monograph template
Don't ask why!

Laurie Anderson
Roselee Goldberg
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810935821

Book Description

Laurie Anderson is one of the most acclaimed and innovative performance artists working today. This book, written by a leading authority on performance art, delivers a comprehensive look at Anderson's multifaceted career, from her performance pieces of the early 1970s to her 1999 electronic opera,

Songs and Stories from Moby Dick. Filled with photographs of Anderson's performances, sculptures, books, installations, instruments, and inventions, stills from her films and videos, reproductions of her drawings and sketches, and including song lyrics and excerpts from many of her stories, the book vividly conjures up the artist's achievements. It also offers fresh insights into her pioneering multimedia pieces (such as United States and Stories from the Nerve Bible), her musical recordings (including the pop hit "O Superman"), and her provocative collaborations (with William Burroughs, Spalding Gray, and Lou Reed, among others).

Prepared with Anderson's cooperation and participation, this book will be the ultimate gift for her many fans and will gain her many new ones.

ROSELEE GOLDBERG is the author of Abrams' definitive books Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present and Performance: Live Art Since 1960. The former curator of the Kitchen Center for Video, Music, and Performance in New York City, she contributes to Artforum and teaches at New York University. Goldberg lives with her family in New York City.

320 illustrations, 117 in full color, 203 in black and white, 9 7/8 x 9 7/8"

Customer Reviews:

Must have.......2003-04-21

No LA fan could be without this book. The bio part is excellent and gives another dimensions to the artist we love, the photos are great (Laurie with long hair!) and it has lyrics for hard-to-find songs.
I would have been a little bit more happy (and given 8 stars) if EVERY lyric, poem or shopping list Laurie wrote was here, but, well, I am asking too much.
Spend your money here, you won-t be dissapointed.

good job Roselee and Laurie.......2001-03-12

If it says Laurie Anderson on it I'll probably buy it. This is just another example of the great work they both work towards and accomplish.. If i may digress, the first time I heard Laurie was at a party before Big Science was released. Rick Wakeman (YES) was the guest DJ at the radio station..Talk about a brick wall ! the party came to a complete standstill during O Superman. I swear nobody said a word except for wow! As far as this book goes..yeah get it before it gets hard to find..United States is hard to find now, and its a great companion to United States Live (the CD)

Highly recommended reading for all Laurie Anderson fans........2000-06-04

Blend a social history with a fine survey of complete panoramas and you have an elegant, sophisticated presentation. Roselee Goldberg's Laurie Anderson covers the works of the multi-media performance artist/pop star, moving beyond her rock image to establish her skills in art and performance pieces alike.

Monograph template.......2000-05-18

Wow. This sumptuously illustrated monograph has redefined the manner in which monographs will probably be executed in the twenty-first century. How fitting that RoseLee Goldberg, who penned and organized the equally breath-taking "Performance: Live Art Since 1960," has joined forces with maverick Laurie Anderson.

Ms. Goldberg not only unravelled the complexity of Laurie Anderson's works, but did so without jargonizing. She, instead, chose wisely to tell Laurie's story through pictures with extended captions. She was spare with her words--something few art historians can claim to do.

On that note, I better stop writing, myself....

Don't ask why!.......2000-04-26

I can't say exactly why I like this book. It's difficult for me to determine if my passion for L.A. overides my ability to be objective about it. The info has been mostly done before in other books, but none have been any better laid out nor more complete.

This book's major value to me is the validation of why L.A. -- and especially her live performances -- continues to intrigue and challenge me after all this time. Few artists in any medium have matured so completely yet unpredictably. This book catalogues her sustained growth while never falling into the biography trap of idoltry.

Unfortunately, since L.A. tours so infrequently it's difficult to study her creativity at close range. We're forced to make broad artistic assumptions about L.A. on very limited exposure.

Amazon.com

Wouldn't it be nice to have a handy collection of highlights from the Dalai Lama's writings and teachings? Renuka Singh, a student and friend of the Dalai Lama, brings together a sampling of his words for each day of the year in The Path to Tranquility. In her selections you can sense the intimate encouragement of the student-teacher relationship. The Dalai Lama's words are not distant platitudes or profound proclamations but rather small insights and patient exhortations to keep trying. "We can deny everything except that we have the possibility of being better." "As a spiritual trainee, you must be prepared to endure the hardships of being involved in a genuine spiritual pursuit." "Nothing is more important than guarding the mind." These thoughts are germane to practical cultivation, and pondering a daily passage is a great way to keep the mind coming back to its center. Take a page from the Dalai Lama, and set yourself on the path to tranquility. --Brian Bruya

Book Description

The Dalai Lama, a living symbol of holiness and selfless triumph over tribulation, has shared his philosophy of peace with today's turbulent world. Yet rarely do we hear him speak with such directness as in this collection of quotations drawn from his own writings, teachings, and interviews.

The Path To Tranquility, a fresh and accessible introduction to his inspirational wisdom, offers words of guidance, compassion, and peace that are as down to earth as they are rich in spirit. It covers almost every aspect of human life, secular and religious -- happiness, intimacy, loneliness, suffering, anger, and everyday insecurities -- with endearing informality, warmth, and practicality.

Download Description

"December 29. The essence of all spiritual life is your emotion, your attitude toward others. Once you have pure and sincere motivation, all the rest follows." The Dalai Lama, a living symbol of holiness and selfless triumph over tribulation, has shared his philosophy of peace with today's turbulent world. Yet rarely do we hear him speak with such directness, intimacy, and immediacy as in this collection of daily quotations drawn from his own writings, teachings, and interviews. The Path to Tranquillity, a fresh, wonderfully accessible introduction to his inspirational wisdom, offers words of guidance, compassion, and peace. It covers almost every aspect of human life, secular and religious--happiness, loneliness, enlightenment, suffering, and anger--with endearing informality, warmth, and practicality. How can we resolve painful memories? Awaken our minds with meditation? Heal by expressing our inner conflicts? Overcome ignorance, self-delusion, and excessive attachments? Here, day by day, are answers as down to earth as they are rich in spirit. Elegantly designed and hand-sized, The Path to Tranquillity includes a special foreword by His Holiness on the power of compassion, meditation, and personal responsibility. It is a gift to be treasured by the novice and seasoned practitioner alike.

Customer Reviews:

Good.......2007-05-13

This is good to read every morning, an inspiration from Dalai Lama. It is short however but can be use over and over again.

Great Wisdom.......2007-03-15

This book is a daily reader. The author's words are at once educational, spiritual, and humane. Whatever we failed to learn through our formal or informal education and religious training can be made up for in this book.

I cannot envision ever outgrowing this book. For, as I grow and develop through the years, the words will have different meanings for me.

This is an excellent book.......2005-06-26

The Dalai Lama is one of the wisest and most successful people on this Earth. Any of his books is worth buying. This one is particularly useful, because it is a mix of several different, more specific writings. Its daily format is very helpful. Buy it and read, keep it and read it again.

Daily Wisdom for daily people.......2002-11-06

This book gets you through your day and your life better. May you find your way to enlightenment. Get Buddha in Daily Life.

A Piece of Peace.......2000-07-31

The daily wisdoms of the Dalai Lama have inspired me each morning . The last thing I do before heading out the door is read my wisdom for the day. It has inspired me, made me think before I act and, most important, made me think about how and why others act. This is the first book by the Dalai Lama I have owned. I am so inspired by it that I have given it as gifts to my friends. His Holiness has such insight and is an inspiration to read. I reccommend this book to everyone, religous or not, as I believe we all need a positive thought to begin our day.

Average customer rating:

Pieces and Parts
Dream of the Brave
Haunting drawings, fascinating dreams
Over Priced Curiousity

Night Life
Laurie Anderson
Manufacturer: Edition 7L
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3865213391

Book Description

"For the last year I've been on the road with a solo performance. Every night another theater, another hotel room. Gradually my dreams became wild, vivid, more and more relentless. Headless singing squirrels, vast empty spaces, bizarre clatterings and invasions. My own dark and private theater was slowly taking over. I began to draw these dreams literally out of self-defense. I kept the computer drawing tablet next to the bed and tried to capture them in their most raw state. After many months of drawing my dreams I was drawn into the odd language and logic of the images. Often I drew my own head in the foreground. What did that mean? Who's watching who? Often the dreams were alternate versions of the day's events. Sometimes they were heavily charged atmospheres, sensations, emotions. Depictions of bewilderment, ecstasy, weightlessness, abandonment, freedom." Night Life is Laurie Anderson's diary of a year of dreams. Its pages re-create each night's mental show as a work of art, employing Anderson's skill in theater, lyrics and narrative to investigate the workings of her mind in the languages of dreams, drawings and text.

Customer Reviews:

Pieces and Parts.......2007-09-04

If you buy this book it is because you enjoy Laurie Anderson's work. Don't buy it to interprete her dreams, buy it because you like her art and her work, and feel like maybe she has something to say. In this case her message might be more vague in in her other works but they're dreams, the playthings of the mind while it is sleeping. She writes that these drawing, this book was written out of "self-defense." It's just a piece of her. It's just art.

Dream of the Brave.......2007-06-28

There
is
something about
this storyteller
this
artist
this visionary
that
I
groove

with

Haunting drawings, fascinating dreams.......2007-03-26

Expectations -- any Laurie Anderson fan knows that it's best to leave them behind. She will constantly surprise, amuse and intrigue. These images were first shown at the Sean Kelley Gallery in New York as part of an installation called "The Waters Reglitterized," a "kind of diary of dreams and their literal recreation as works of art."

As with all of Laurie's work, these drawings raise more questions than they do provide answers. They are a look directly into her subconscious and the process of how her dreams manifest as art. She has said that she began to draw these dreams out of self-defense, so wild and relentless the dreams had become.

It's fascinating to watch her chronicle her dreams during the course of a year on the road. The drawings are entertaining, haunting and beautiful -- headless singing squirrels, a visit to her childhood home, a mid-air collision and PR people. In her own words: "'Not every show needs a plot!' I keep shouting."

Over Priced Curiousity.......2007-03-18

Most people who buy this book will buy it for the same reason: To get inside the quirky mind of artist and musician Laurie Anderson. What better way to gain an intimate understanding of her then to explore her dream life? I'm pretty good with dreams. For years I ran a dream interpretation website. However, when I read her mostly one line descriptions I didn't get the feeling that the universe was talking either to her or through her. If these were real dreams then she has left out all of the content you were hoping to read.
While Salvador Dali could go on endlessly about the dreamlike meanings of his paintings, Laurie Anderson gives most of her small scratchboard etchings little more than a title and never more than a bland description. "I stand on a balcony while Paris is Burning," is a good example, along with, "Everything I look at is dazzling." Even though I am a fan of her work, I only flipped through the volume once before shelving it. This roughly 7 by 9 inch book is only a little over a half inch thick making it a poor choice for your coffee table and given the price, your pocketbook as well.

The Thinkbin Family Calendar 2006/2007, 17-Month Deluxe Wall Calendar

Average customer rating:

My favorite calendar
Great Family Calendar - I would recommend it
thinkbin family calendar
Fantastic Calendar
Perfect

The Thinkbin Family Calendar 2006/2007, 17-Month Deluxe Wall Calendar
Susan S. Anderson , and Laurie J. Fu
Manufacturer: Thinkbin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar

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ASIN: 0974306665

Book Description

It's about time! We can't help you find more of it, but we can help you keep track of it!

A Thinkbin Family Calendar is just what you need to organize your family's busy schedule. This new 2007 edition (starting with August 2006) features the same great "family friendly" layout that made this wall calendar so popular, and will help you get organized for the new school year and beyond.

Leave it to moms to create the perfect wall calendar for busy families. They know that "timing is everything" when trying to coordinate their family's busy schedule. So the creative Thinkbin Moms came up with a unique "time of day" grid (with special sections for morning, afternoon, and evening activities) to make it easy to record the whole family's schedule chronologically in one day block. With a Thinkbin calendar, you will know, at a glance, when you have free time - or need to be two places at once!

This Deluxe Large edition (17" x 24" when opened) features 9 lines of writing space per day so everything stays neat and readable. There are sections each month for recording important "To Do" lists and "Reminders". The inside back cover features a convenient organizer for recording all the information that changes each year - teacher's names and emails, school bus route information, coaches' phone numbers, etc. All these features, plus a handy pocket on the inside back cover, make a Thinkbin Family Calendar the perfect organizer for your busy family.

Your family's time is important. It's time to try a Thinkbin calendar!

Customer Reviews:

My favorite calendar.......2007-05-07

This calendar has plenty of room to organize all of our family activities. It has a pocket for storing misc. paper work and handy spots to write reminders and things to do for the month. My only caution is that it is BIG. We had to hang our calendar in a new spot because it takes up much more room than any other we've ever owned.

Great Family Calendar - I would recommend it.......2007-02-26

I buy this calendar every year. There is plenty of space to write in appointments and family planning. I like the reminders section for each month and the to do this month section. A great calendar.

thinkbin family calendar.......2007-02-03

this is the best calendar ever for a busy family with lots of space to write!

Fantastic Calendar.......2007-01-28

With our busy and ever changing schedule, this calendar is by far superior to any other wall calendar we have tried. We really like that we have plenty of room to write and can even use a pencil! Hooray for Thinkbin! Thank you!!!!!!!

Perfect.......2007-01-17

Just what I need.
Large, simple, and non-decorative.
This is the second year I've owned this and will continue to purchase this!

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