DearS, Vol. 1

Book Description

Aliens have landed on Earth and are now a normal part of society. These beautiful beings have been given the name "DearS" and are trusted and welcomed by most humans. In order for the "DearS" to learn Earth's customs, they are sent to random high schools to "home-stay." When Takeya helps a DearS in his school, she calls him "Master." Thus begins the humorous life of Takeya and his sexy alien follower, Ren, who tries to figure out the wacky customs of this place called Earth!

- A romantic-comedy with great art
- Adventure game for PS2, on sale June 2004 (Japan)
- Anime begins airing in Japan July 2004; radio show has aired since April 2004

Customer Reviews:

DearS series.......2006-07-27

I have read 'DearS' 1-6 and personally I thought the story was hilarius! And no, I did not buy it only to look at the pictures...I read it but hey, if your into looking at the pictures (there are many like the one on the cover...) then this book would be good for you! The story is ok if you can follow it so I don't know if that helps anyone but thats my opinion...

Nice but nothing new........2006-03-20

DearS is about aliens who crash land on Earth and are now working to become part of society. Lucky for the lonely Takeya he ends up with an alien honey, called Ren, who needs an education about how to get along with humans.
This manga reminds me of Chobits mixed with Imadoki!, or Video Girl mixed with Tenchi Muyo, or Oh My Goddess mixed with Azumanga Daioh. You get the idea, sexy alien girl meets Earth high school boy who knows nothing about how to handle a girl. In other words, same old same old.

Both Cute and Funny.......2006-02-12

The Plot is easy to follow. The characters personalities flow nicely against each other to make such a comedy as this one. I think it is a great read for those of the mature comedy persuasion.

i loooooovveeee this book but.....parents.......2006-01-17

this book is really good. the artwork, story, everything but parents need to be cautioned. THIS BOOK IS A LITTLE TOOOOO SHOWY. yes i know its a T rated book but i really think its an OT rating. if you dont want your son/daughter seeing this kind of stuff, dont let them read it. oh i forgot this book has a lot of language in it, too.

It's not Chobits!.......2005-11-06

At first look at this manga you would say, "Chobits with aliens.", but I disagree with this( Even though, I thought the same thing. ). Having aspects and a plot similar to the ever so popular Chobits, it can be predictable and sometimes hard to find the differences between the two. Many manga-ka have used the Chobits feel. But how can you blame them? It's a good theme! I'm not trying to defend them, they should try to come up with new and original themes. DearS may have ripped off CLAMP a bit however, it has a very different feel and environment. Yes, a lot of the ideas come into the story but reality and thought can only extend so far for the human mind. It's not a long extended series that keeps going on forever to get the money, it has a humble feel that has it's fans. If you have finished the Chobits series and liked it, DearS could be just for you. I also applaud Peach-Pit being females and coming up with such a perverted and fun series.

Vernon God Little: A 21st Century Comedy in the Presence of Death (Man Booker Prize)

Average customer rating:

Vernon God Little: Worth Not Very Much
Trapped
Catcher in the Rye on Crack
I don't get it
unfunny, annoyingly written

Vernon God Little: A 21st Century Comedy in the Presence of Death (Man Booker Prize)
D. B. C. Pierre
Manufacturer: Canongate Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1841954608

Amazon.com

The surprise winner of the 2003 Man Booker Prize, DBC Pierre's debut novel, Vernon God Little, makes few apologies in its darkly comedic portrait of Martirio, Texas, a town reeling in the aftermath of a horrific school shooting. Fifteen-year-old Vernon Little narrates the first-person story with a cynical twang and a four-letter barb for each of his diet-obsessed townsfolk. His mother, endlessly awaiting the delivery of a new refrigerator, seems to exist only to twist an emotional knife in his back; her friend, Palmyra, structures her life around the next meal at the Bar-B-Chew Barn; officer Vaine Gurie has Vernon convicted of the crime before she's begun the investigation; reporter Eulalio Ledesma hovers between a comforting father-figure and a sadistic Bond villain; and Jesus, his best friend in the world, is dead--a victim of the killings. As his life explodes before him, Vernon flees his home in pursuit of a tropical fantasy: a cabin on a beach in Mexico he once saw in the movie Against All Odds. But the police--and TV crews--are in hot pursuit.

Vernon God Little is a daring novel and demands a patient reader, not because it is challenging to read--Pierre's prose flows effortlessly, only occasionally slipping from the unmistakable voice of his hero--but because the book skates so precariously between the almost taboo subject of school violence and the literary gamesmanship of postmodern fiction. Yet, as the novel unfolds, Pierre's parodic version of American culture never crosses the line into caricature, even when it climaxes in a death-row reality TV show. And Vernon, whose cynicism and smart-ass "learnings" give way to a poignant curiosity about the meaning of life, becomes a fully human, profoundly sympathetic character. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

In the town jail of Martirio, Texas — under the terrifying care of the dynastic Gurie family, and wearing only his New Jack trainers and underpants — fifteen-year-old Vernon Little is in trouble. His friend has just blown away sixteen of his classmates before turning the gun on himself. And Vernon has become the focus of the whole town's need for vengeance, and the media's appetite for sensational content — true or not. When the tricky Mr. Lesdema arrives in town — with a covert mission to promote himself from TV repairman to crack CNN reporter — Vernon thinks he has an ally. In fact, Lesdema is a villain of Machiavellian proportions. Vernon soon realizes that in this modern world innocence is definitely no defense. One distasteful arrangement with old Mr. Deutschman and $300 later, Vernon is headed for the border, for freedom and Mexico, and a much-anticipated date with the nigh-mythical Taylor Figueroa. But Texas isn't finished with Vernon yet. Vital, riotously funny, and energetic, Vernon God Little puts lust for vengeance, materialism, and trial by media squarely in the dock. Vernon himself emerges as the lovable upholder of love, truth, and homespun wisdom in a world gone mad.

Customer Reviews:

Vernon God Little: Worth Not Very Much.......2007-10-13

What a strange book! A surprise winner of the 2003 Booker Prize and certainly not what I expected.

I suspect that many people, particularly the prudish and easily offended, will be aghast at the book and mark it down accordingly. I am not in that camp. The use of four letter words is fine depending on context and, in the context of this book, they are of no problem. The book, however, can be marked down for other reasons.

I found the plot to be confusing. I found the characters to be little more than caricature. In fact, except for a brief section well into the book where Vernon is arrested in Mexico, I really couldn't wait for the torment to be over. Quite simply, this book has been given way too much hype.

Having laid my cards on the table, this will still not turn people off the book. My opinion counts for little in comparison with a Booker Prize. Regardless, you have been warned!

Trapped.......2007-10-06

Vernon Little lives in a small town in the middle of Texas. His friend Jesus went on a rampage, shooting fellow students at his local school. Was Vernon involved in the massacre? Did he have any influence over Jesus? The locals seem unsure. Suspicions deepen and begin to surround Vernon. Can he escape?

It's difficult to imagine a funny novel coming out of a scenario so terrible as a school massacre, yet DBC Pierre manages it. The strength of the narrative is in Vernon's frustrations at the life he leads in a stifling small town whose inhabitants add to his sense of teenage alienation. Vernon is an acerbic observer of the quirks of the middle-aged inhabitants of the town as well as the horrifically boorish and intolerant children. There's a certain Kafkaesque feeling about the novel as Vernon becomes more and more trapped by events: just as the massacre is a nightmare for the whole town, Vernon lives through a personal nightmare as the "culprit" is sought.

Along with this, of course, the novel is a satire on modern life. Although it is set in America, it observations are valid for other societies: the febrile media, spreading disinformation; rapacious money-seekers seeking to gain from the tragedy and so on.

An interesting novel.

G Rodgers

Catcher in the Rye on Crack.......2007-05-29

I hate to be another reviewer comparing Vernon God Little to Catcher in the Rye, but sometimes comparisons are inevitable, especially when a book clearly takes influence from another. Obviously Catcher is the superior book, but thta would be obvious if you were comparing Catcher in the Rye to most books. Anyway, all comparisons aside...

Vernon God Little is the story of Vernon Little who lives in a heightened version of our own reality, in a small Texas town called Martirio. Like many people Vernon hates everything about his small town, including his house, his mother, and himself. Like Holden Caulfield before him, Vernon Little spends most of this narrative novel telling us his "learnings" on various topics while making a harebrained journey to escape his life. In Vernon's case, though, he's got more reason to escape: the cops are after him.

The first quarter of this book is a little tough to get through. DBC Pierre's writing style asks a lot of the reader. Readers must learn to accept an entirely new way of plot and character development, where little plot is given and a character we don't yet know starts right in on everything he thinks about the world around him. Only about a quarter of the way in do we find out that a school shooting has happened at Vernon's school, and that his best friend Jesus was responsible. But that leaves no one alive to defend Vernon's honor and now the police see him as the number one suspect.

With a sleazy TV repairman turned news reporter on his trail, his mother always waiting for his new refrigerator, and a girl from his high school out to seduce him, Vernon has to figure out an escape plan and high tail it to Mexico.

Vernon God Little is a hilarious, highly farcical romp through many taboo subjects. DBC Pierre doesn't stop to apologize as Vernon discusses his thoughts and experiences on every subject from pedophilia to murder to bowel movements. With an out of this world cast of characters and a brilliant sarcastic narrator, the reader can't go wrong.

The first 75 pages took me a few days to get into, but the last 200 I read all in one sitting. It's that good. If you get a chance to check the book out, go for it. Like I said, it's The Catcher in the Rye on crack.

I don't get it.......2007-05-28

Remember the scene in "Big," where Tom Hanks' character comes up with a brilliant idea for a new toy and his boss couldn't be prouder? And he has this annoying colleague who keeps saying, "I don't get it?"

Learning that this book has won a major literary prize and gotten showered with accolades, makes me feel like that annoying guy. It's a coming-of-age novel that has been compared to "Catcher in the Rye", as these kinds of books invariably do. Yes, if Salinger had been bedridden for years and force fed a steady diet of American TV. It's that bad.

Vernon God Little is a teenager who has gotten mixed up in a school shooting by his best friend, now dead. He lives in one of those strenuously wacky Southern towns that only occur in literature such as this and Hollywood movies. Everyone is overweight, talks in slang, has a colorful name, and is a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Ha ha. Aren't Americans trashy? This is not exactly new news, and cariactures may be amusing but don't make a lasting impression on the reader, at least not this one.

Little's clumsy attempts to clear his name all backfire and he winds up on death row. There, he suddenly gets fed a heavy dose of life lessons. Does he die? If you make it to the end, you'll find out, but by then you might be exasperated with the book.

Authors like Jodi Picoult, who recently came out with a school shooting novel, clearly have done their homework and interviewed people who were actually involved. Although their books are fiction, they are based on real events and sound authentic.

Also there were no real sympathetic characters, unless you counted the dimbulb blond girl who liked sex. The deceased school shooter sounded as if he might have been an interesting character to flesh out more, but he remained as sketchy as the rest. The genius of "Catcher," as dated as the slang is now is the lasting impact of Holden's desire for human connection. He loved his mom, as clueless as she was, whereas Vernon regards everything his poor one does as a "knife in his back." While this may be accurate, it wound up making me more sympathetic toward his mom, not him.

unfunny, annoyingly written.......2007-03-13

I read this novel as part of my (perhaps crazy) self-imposed plan to read all the novels that have won or been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. So far, I must say that VERNON GOD LITTLE is my least favorite. The characters are cartoonish and unreal, but that's okay--many likeable novels have been told that way. The plot is contrived and unbelieveable, culminating with an absolutely preposterous, deux-a-machina ending, unredeemed, in my view, by any real charm or humor. But I suppose the facet of the book I found the most annoying was the text itself, clunky, awkward prose trying too hard to be cute. The narrator expresses himself in a way no other human ever has, and certainly no fifteen year-old American, from Texas or anywhere else. Except maybe Pluto. I think it's unwise for a writer to attempt to characterize the inhabitants of a culture foreign to his own in such a way. A brave artisic attempt? Possibly, but a failure, to me, at least. I can only assume the Booker Prize was awarded to this book more for political reasons than artistic ones--the other nominees I've read have not let me down in this way. And yes, I understand that VERNON GOD LITTLE is meant to be a satire of America's media-driven shallow consumeristic ways, but it doesn't take much talent to hit an easy target. VERNON GOD LITTLE is about as subtle as a train wreck, and every bit as funny.

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Complete Two Thousand Year Old Man

Manufacturer: Rhino Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1568263864

Myriad-Minded Shakespeare: Essays on the Tragedies, Problem Comedies, and Shakespeare the Man

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Myriad-Minded Shakespeare: Essays on the Tragedies, Problem Comedies, and Shakespeare the Man
E. A. J. Honigmann
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312177534

Book Description

Myriad-minded Shakespeare introduces readers to a variety of approaches to Shakespeare; the political and sexist implications of the plays, their sources, staging issues, textual disputes and the dramatist's character and biography are all analyzed here, bringing out the interconnectedness of critical questions.

Average customer rating:

Like as it really is...
Not my favorite
This is Exactly What You Should Expect From It
The Mirror of Reality is cracked!
a wonderfull story

Man of La Mancha
Dale Wasserman
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0394406192
Release Date: 1966-10-12

Book Description

Winner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, 1966

"To me the most interesting aspect of the success of Man of La Mancha is the fact that it plows squarely upstream against the prevailing current of philosophy in the theater. That current is best identified by its catch-labels--Theater of the Absurd, Black Comedy, the Theater of Cruelty--which is to say the theater of alienation, of moral anarchy and despair. To the practitioners of those philosophies Man of La Mancha must seem hopelessly naive in its espousal of illusion as man's strongest spiritual need, the most meaningful function of his imagination. But I've no unhappiness about that. "Facts are the enemy of truth," says Cervantes-Don Quixote. And that is precisely what I felt and meant."--Dale Wasserman, from the Preface.

Customer Reviews:

Like as it really is..........2006-08-24

Maddest of all is to see things as they are and not as they should be.

This simple premise lies at the heart of every marriage proposal, politcal campaign, revolution and of course the birth of every religion.

That such a poignant essence was successfully reduced for theatrical presentation from the lengthy Cervantes work is nothing short of genius.

All too often its easy for story tellers, playwrights and movie makers to tease out the prurient drama of human suffering. It is so much more compelling when someone manages to capture that moment of inspiration when someone dares to believe and others chance to join.

First with Sancho, then fair Dulcinea, then ultimately maybe us, we gather eagerly to that spark of faith that grows in this play.

If you think about it, "Impossible Dream" could easily have been rendered maudlin in the wrong hands. It's a testiment to this play and this writer that it actually inspires.

Not my favorite.......2005-07-28

I found Man of La Mancha to be quite confussing. The plot is so crazy that it is hard to get a grasp on what is happening until halfway through the book. One you do figure it out, it is rather humerous, but not one of my favorites by any means.

This is Exactly What You Should Expect From It.......2002-09-20

Having performed a goodly segment of this script during an ill-fated production from hell, I must say that it was quite good to have a copy of the script that was what I was looking for. Man of La Mancha is most certainly NOT the original (Don Quixote), but it doesn't need to be. If you want the original book, you may as well read it in it's original, Spanish text (as I have). Have fun with the story, it's one of the more referenced, when dealing with insanity.

The Mirror of Reality is cracked!.......2002-01-22

I was introduced to Hidalgo Quixote, Knight of the Woeful Countenance in high school and was overtaken by the power of the music and the story. Two years later, I was living in Portugal. Though it wasn't Spain, I still felt the same breeze, and saw the same type of windmills that Quixote tilted in his tilted reason.

Joseph Smith once observed that, "by proving contraries, truth is made manifest," (History of the Church 6:428), and Aristotle once said that if you want to find truth, invert. Cervantes follows this pattern of putting things upside-down to show right-side-upness. He accentuates reality by taking an insane man as his lead character. The paradox, however, is that Quixote seems to be the sanest person in the story.

"The Man of La Mancha" has two advantages over its parent-text "Don Quixote." The first is that Wasserman, et al. did a marvelous job of pairing down Cervantes' two part book into a one act play. A lot of Quixote's adventures are funny parody, but it at times becomes a bit over-done. The play captures the essence of the Quixote-Idea without any gas. "Brevity is the soul of wit," as Shakespeare testified.

The second advantage is the music. "The Quest (The Impossible Dream)" is a triumph not only for Wasserman et al, but it is a triumph for humanity. So this book needs to be read with the soundtrack. The original Broadway is my favorite, since it captures the Iberian wind that blows over the story. The Peter O'Toole film is too produced and had too many sweet strings that drench out the Spanish guitars.

You know how good a work of art is by seeing how it is parodies. Quixote has been copied on "Quantum Leap," and Alf, and Jim Neighbors sung "The Quest" on Gomer Pyle. There is even a cartoon "Don Coyote and Sancho Panda." And, of course, there is the classic Mr. Magoo (Jim Baccus) version of Don Quixote.

So buy, and enjoy this play. Read along with the movie, and ponder reality through the eyes of an insane man.

a wonderfull story.......2001-07-13

Man of La Mancha remains my alltime favorite musical. Others such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera are perhaps better in many ways, but nevertheless, Man of La Mancha holds a very dear place in my heart. It is a powerfull tale of a man who, disalusioned with everyday life, decides to become a Knight Errant and sally forth into the world righting all wrongs. Its overall themes of good over evil, and the search for happyness are an inspiration. Don Quixote may be a bit out of his time, but is he really so insane? Perhaps its the rest of the world that could do with some of his peculuar brand of boldness.

Animal Attraction (Simon Romantic Comedies)

Average customer rating:

Laugh Out Loud Funny at Times, Seriously Romantic Throughout
YA fans will certainly find themselves attracted to Ponti's debut
loved it
HILARIOUS!!
Awesome novel!

Animal Attraction (Simon Romantic Comedies)
Jamie Ponti
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 1416909877

Book Description

The Season of (No?) Love

Jane's life is one giant Conspiracy, with the whole world plotting to keep any chance of romance far, far away. Her social history (17 years, 0 boyfriends) is proof positive of that. But this summer, she's determined to crank it up.

Jane's snagged a gig at the local theme park as part of the star attraction -- the Mermaid Show. But then the Conspiracy strikes, and she ends up starstruck in a furry beaver costume all day long. Hard to breathe, let alone flirt....Can Jane figure a way out of the beaver suit and into the arms of her summer love?

Customer Reviews:

Laugh Out Loud Funny at Times, Seriously Romantic Throughout.......2007-07-19

This book was great! I found myself seriously laughing out loud, having people look at me weird. But it's understandable when you read something like this. Jane goes through some funny stuff. She has to deal with all the problems of high school. The evil witch who used to be your best friend, the case of the crush, and more. Poor Jane. She's got to deal with all that ... in a beaver suit. Really funny and romantic! At first, you might wish for a different ending. But once you think about it, everything ended perfectly. Loved this book.

YA fans will certainly find themselves attracted to Ponti's debut.......2007-06-01

Seventeen-year-old Jane Quincy is convinced that her life is nothing more than one huge Conspiracy. Unfortunately, that Conspiracy doesn't run in her favor. Instead, it chooses to play against her, plotting to keep her from experiencing any happiness or joy within the course of her lifetime. Thus far, romance has evaded her clutches like a kindergartner evades naptime. But Jane is finally putting her foot down. Now, during the summer between junior and senior years; her last chance to taste freedom before entrenching herself in schoolwork, and bracing herself for the long road of college that lies ahead, Jane has decided to switch it up a bit. After hearing the song "Summer of Love" by the B-52's, Jane - a big-believer in Radio Karma - decides that there's only one thing to do...become Bikini Jane. With the help of her best friends, Mel and Becca, Jane concocts an alter-ego known simply as Bikini Jane, who is flirty, fun, and totally hot. Now, whenever Jane finds herself tongue-tied, or nervous about...anything, she simply has to ask herself What Would Bikini Jane Do? Luckily, Jane has snagged the job of a lifetime at Magic Waters - Tragic Waters to the locals. For once, luck is shining a bright light upon her, giving Jane the opportunity to be one of the ultra-hot, boy-enticing mermaids in the Mermaid Show. Jane can't believe her luck. Usually only girls who are surgically enhanced land a job in the Mermaid Show, and since Jane is the complete opposite, she's thrilled. Sadly, her happiness is short-lived, when she learns that, if she wants to land a swimming scholarship to USC, she'll have to kiss her fins goodbye. Now Jane is left starstruck. Craving to be a mermaid, but forced to spend her afternoons dancing around Tragic Waters dressed as Eager Beaver. It doesn't sound terrible, but it certainly is. As Eager Beaver, Jane is forced to wear a heavy, furry, beaver costume all day long that makes it nearly impossible to breathe or to see. This was supposed to be Jane's summer of flirting with countless guys as she spent her days swimming circles in a glistening pool. But the only guy Jane is able to do much flirting with is Grayson, her new pal who has played Platypus Rex for the last three years. Grayson is a fun new acquaintance, whom Jane is quickly drawn to. As a friend, of course. But she's looking for something more - with someone else. Luckily, that something more appears in the form of seventeen-year-old Alex Walker. While working her second job as a swim instructor at the YMCA, Jane is introduced to Alex, a Washington-native staying with his father and hip-talking - and totally lame - stepmother. Alex is terrified of the water since a near-drowning experience he had when he was a kid, but is determined to conquer his fear. Jane is convinced that she can work her magic touch on Alex. But the more time she spends with him, the more she begins to see him as a potential boyfriend. Someone she would certainly enjoy spending a little more one-on-one time with. But to snag him, she'll have to reinvent herself, and embrace her confident side. After all, that's what Bikini Jane would do.

As odd as it sounds, I have always dreamed of spending a summer working as either Chip or Dale at Disneyland. To me, that sounds like a bizarre, off-beat, yet totally fun way to spend your summer vacation. So when I spotted the cover of Jamie Ponti's ANIMAL ATTRACTION, depicting a teenage girl wearing a furry beaver costume at an amusement park, I couldn't resist giving it a whirl. I am happy to say, it doesn't disappoint. Jane is an enchanting character, whose determination to not only pay off a debt to her parents, but snag a great guy all in one summer shows how dedicated she is to getting what she wants; while, at the same time, displaying her loyalty, and ability to be true to her word. Her thoughts regarding Radio Karma are quite humorous, and actually plant the Radio Karma bug in the reader's mind, making it seem like the perfect way to start the day. Jane's two closest friends - Mel and Becca - add a little diversity to the tale. Becca, a bombshell with a bee tattooed on her behind, is flirty and fun, and confident in everything she does; while Mel, on the other hand, brings intelligence and logic to the table, making them an ideal threesome. While it's great to see the three girls share fun times with one another, the one thing that can make you feel slightly uncomfortable is how downright nasty they can be when they get together. Some of the comments they make about their classmates - the uber-popular Crystal Gentry, in particular - along with random girls are just downright mean, and make you view the trio in a different light. However, the fact that Ponti makes their gossip-fests more of a side-story, makes it easier to tolerate. Alex is a handsome character, who seems like the charming, dashing prince. And, while he's a smooth character, I actually found myself partial to Grayson. Grayson seems like a fun person, much like a guy you'd want to know in real-life. The fact that he's not embarrassed by his position as Platypus Rex is a great trait, and actually makes him more endearing as the book goes on. It doesn't hurt much that he has a fabulous sense of humor, and knows what he wants in life. Ponti has made it easy to love each and every character; while her ability to describe life as a walking stuffed animal seems eerily accurate and knowledgeable, making you wonder whether she has ever held a position such as Jane or Grayson's. YA fans will certainly find themselves attracted to Ponti's debut.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

loved it.......2007-04-13

this book is perfect for girls my age. it is completely true to voice as well. i found myself saying "i would do that" many times throughout the book.

HILARIOUS!!.......2006-07-12

"Look at that," Mom says. "Janey's actually smiling at breakfast. That's unusual."
"That is unusual," Dad says. "Janey, why are you smiling?"
I roll my eyes. "Because I just love my Honeycombs."
Dad nods. "That must be her pet name for him-Honeycombs."

Okay so we know the story. Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy. Girl embarrasses herself to get boy. So when girl gets boy, why does this other boy so attractive?
I've been reading this book since I woke up this morning and I cant stop laughing. I love how Jane is just like me. She's not like the Gossip Girls who are all concerned with money and the best clothes. She just wants to have fun.

Awesome novel!.......2006-06-30

Wow there are no words to describe how much I loved this book. It was awesome. For one: I loved Jane (the main character). I hate the whiny, annoying, self-involved brats that seem to pop up in teen literature so much these days so Jane was a refreshing change. Jane was very real and yet very sweet and cute. I would love to have a friend like her.

The romance - or should I say romances? - was fun and really believable. I liked both guys Jane was attracted to and she didn't come off being wishy-washy. I recommened this book to all young women. Enjoy!

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Manual/Study Guide (Manual for Access to Shakespeare)

Average customer rating:

Great edition
Great edition
read it!
It was a sensational story!!

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Manual/Study Guide (Manual for Access to Shakespeare)
William Shakespeare , and Jonnie Patricia Mobley
Manufacturer: Lorenz Educational Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1885564074

Book Description

This manual/study guide is designed as a stand-alone text or for use with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: Original text and facing-pages translation into contemporary English. (ISBN 1885564066)

It offers a wealth of material including background information on Shakespeare's life, his sources for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, suggestions for teaching and producing the play, and probing questions with suggested answers.

Detailed summaries of every scene in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM are included, together with an annotated bibliography, a guide to pronouncing proper nouns in the play, a Shakespearean time line, and an alphabetical glossary of terms, cross-referenced to act, scene, and line.

This manual is an invaluable source of information for anyone teaching, studying, or reading A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

Customer Reviews:

Great edition.......2000-07-28

This edition was very helpful to me because I didn't always understand what the original text meant, so reading the modern version right after the old version was very helpful. The book was one of my favorites - it's such a comedy! The characters are so unique and interesting. I definitely reccomend this book to everyone - it's short and doesn't take long to read, but so lasting and classic!

Great edition.......2000-07-28

read it!.......1999-10-22

I am not a very big reader. I read this book and fell in love with it. It has a lot of everthing:romance, comedy,and pure poetry. After reading the story, my class and I put on a play of this book, everyone enjoyed it of all ages. So if you are not a big reader like me read this book you will change your mind.

It was a sensational story!!.......1999-10-16

It was a riveting and classical masterpiece with an enchanted twist of creative and whimsical imagination.A timeless tale!

The Roaring Girl and Other City Comedies [The Shoemaker's Holiday, Every Man In His Humour, Eastward Ho!] (Oxford English Drama)

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The Roaring Girl and Other City Comedies [The Shoemaker's Holiday, Every Man In His Humour, Eastward Ho!] (Oxford English Drama)
Thomas Dekker , Ben Jonson , Thomas Middleton , James Knowles , and Eugene Giddens
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192828002

Book Description

Thomas Dekker: The Shoemaker's Holiday George Chapman, Ben Jonson, John Marston: Eastward Ho! Ben Jonson: Every Man In His Humour Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker: The Roaring Girl Oxford English Drama offers plays from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries in selections that make available both rarely printed and canonical works. The texts are freshly edited using modern spelling. Critical introductions, wide-ranging annotation, and informative bibliographies illuminate the plays' cultural contexts and theatrical potential for reader and performer alike. 'The series should reshape the canon in a number of significant areas. A splendid and imaginative project.' Professor Anne Barton, Cambridge University

The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories

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(Caribbean) basin full of personalities
Sail Away With Kurlansky
A joyous read
Cultural Miscegenation in Paradise
Can Journalists Write Fiction?

The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories
Mark Kurlansky
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671036068

Book Description

THE WHITE MAN IN THE TREE Tree is a comedy of cultural misunderstandings set in the Caribbean, New York, and Paris, a novella and eight stories about people who, because of their differences, misjudge each other. Whether it is a sophisticated European filmmaker, an ambitious young black Haitian woman, a promising politician obsessed with women's feet, or a fish-out-of-water rabbi in search of a kosher chicken in Curacao, each of Kurlansky's characters engages us with impulses and interactions that are by turns comic, insightful, and poignant. THE WHITE MAN IN THE TREE is an affectionate portrait of a unique society, where Europe, America, Africa, and Asia meet Latin America.

Customer Reviews:

(Caribbean) basin full of personalities.......2001-05-10

Truth is stranger than fiction. Not always. When penned by Mark Kurlansky both are equally extraordinary. Not satisfied with being a Caribbean reporter for the Chicago Tribune, he became a successful non-fiction writer (COD and THE BASQUE HISTORY OF THE WORLD). Now, with THE WHITE MAN IN THE TREE, it's fiction and very obvious that he is equally at ease in the imagination, and also very much at home in the Caribbean.

THE WHITE MAN IN A TREE is a novella and collection of other witty - sometimes wickedly so - short stories; all about life in the Caribbean, principally Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and French Guiana. What makes the book so enjoyable - besides Kurlansky's easy prose and comfort with the vernacular - is how he tackles the sociologically complex and serious issues that arise in such a potent admixture of people, places and cultures. Miscegnation is frought with portents of political correctness; rather than being shied away, Mr Kurlansky uses it as the theme to explore the misunderstandings and mistakes that are the common denominator of the humanly rich and diverse Caribbean.

For anyone who has lived in the area the tales will ring true. The complexity of motives and resulting eccentricity of behaviour that seems so weird to visitors is perfectly captured and explained, with a locals' shrug of the shoulders by Mr Kurlansky. Underlying all is the constant rhythm of the Caribbean sense of humor, which Mr Kurlansky has in abundance and with which he writes with abandon.

Misunderstandings and misjudgements aside, a sense of play is the one thing in common in the Caribbean; a necessary ingredient for living there and required of anybody who wishes to understand the region.

Sail Away With Kurlansky.......2001-03-08

A friend gave me a copy of Mark Kurlansky's THE WHITE MAN IN THE TREE while I was planning a trip to the Caribbean. Get this book. It's guaranteed to double your travel pleasure wherever you go and whether or not you leave your armchair. You'll come away from Kurlansky's delicious romp knowing yourself and your world better. And that cast of characters! This book will remind you of Graham Greene. Kurlansky sees intently, like the visual artist he is, & forgets nothing, like the journalist he is. The combo makes for some wonderfully memorable writing.

A joyous read.......2001-03-05

I had approached Mark Kurlansky's White Man in a Tree, a book of short stories by a white Jewish man about non-whites in the Caribbean, cautiously if not with trepidation. Could a white man write appropriately about Caribbean culture? Could I read this book without feeling terribly uncomfortable? Could this journalist write engaging fiction? A fact that complicated things even further, and that should be revealed in all candor to readers of this review, is that Mark Kurlansky is married to my cousin. Being a fairly critical reader, I did not want to have to conceal either my dislike, boredom, or both, to my cousin and her husband. What a wonderful surprise! I finished White Man in about four days; reading it on the subway going to and from work, in the restroom, while lying in bed late into the night. In other words, I opened it up whenever I had a free moment. When I was finished, I wanted nothing else but to sit Mark down and cross-examine him about how he came to write each of the stories--in other words, to get the stories behind the stories. The stories are all engaging, educational, moving, and beautifully written. I sometimes felt they had qualities of Sholem Aleichem, sometimes Marquez. Each story takes place on a different island, and draws the reader in almost immediately. One of my favorites, The Unclean, is about a new rabbi in a Caribbean Jewish community who discovers that even the seemingly most observant members of his congregation are oblivious to Jewish dietary laws and eat shellfish with impunity. As a result, the rabbi engages the non-Jewish islanders in his quest to bring kosher meat to his congregation. In sum, I loved this book and have been recommending it to everyone I know.

Cultural Miscegenation in Paradise.......2001-02-23

Mark Kurlansky is the gifted author of several nonfiction books, including the extraordinary Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, an eye-opening history of the Basques, and, if rumor serves, a forthcoming book on (forget it, you'll never guess) salt. It is therefore deeply unfair - appallingly unfair, really - to discover that he is a sensational, almost sui generic, writer of fiction. The White Man in the Tree, his first published fiction, is so nonfiction-like, so real in the deadpan, straight-ahead, choirboy-innocuous prose Kurlansky has invented, that it is only by conscientiously pinching ourselves every now and then that we can remember it is fiction he has turned his wicked hand to this time out, and not some mind-numbingly bizarre but nonetheless perfectly true story. Or stories. There are ten of them in White Man, each taking as its subject the comic, painful, surreal or just plain silly complications that arise from a form of cultural miscegenation as Euro-American cultures encounter the very different cultures of the Caribbean islands. Because these stories are simultaneously so real and so unreal, they make Kurlanksy's point about cultural and racial misapprehensions in a way that traditional fiction or nonfiction could never hope to achieve. They enlighten without preaching, amuse without humiliating, and establish a truth that is all the more profound and memorable for being just slightly too strange to be fully false.

Can Journalists Write Fiction?.......2000-12-22

Mark Kurlansky knows the Caribbean. This is evident from his penning of the nonfiction book, A CONTINENT OF ISLANDS which efficiently and knowledgeably introduces the West Indies to those who do not know it and offers reflection to those who are from the region or to those who care about it. In THE WHITE MAN IN THE TREE, Kurlansky tries something different. He writes short stories that take place in different areas of the Caribbean: Haiti, Curacao, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic. He works well in this area of fiction, and, as short stories, his succeed. What doesn't work quite as well is that most of the stories sound as though they are inspired from the viewpoint of a journalist and transferred to fiction. Seeing that Kurlansky is a journalist, this is understandable, but there are times when his style doesn't work. The reader can easily become engaged with a story only to feel, halfway through it, that he or she is reading an article from a news magazine. Kurlansky tries to disconcert the reader by presenting misunderstandings and cultural clashes, but there are many times in the stories when one is left feeling uncomfortable as though the author may have gone too far into another's culture. There is too much - socially and politically - that is walking a fine line here. But there is nothing to say that Kurlansky should not be writing of all these different cultures and nationalities. The rule in stepping out of oneself to write as "other" is to know one's subject, and not to portray anything or anyone in an incorrect way. For the most part, Kurlansky is on level ground here; he knows his subject matter. Still, there is a slightly eerie feeling about the entire book of stories that makes the reader think that these are stories that might better have been told in a genre other than fiction.

Mr. Mike : The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue The Man Who Made Comedy Dangerous

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Not exhaustive enough but will do
Detailed Portrait
Bland
We Need An O'Donoghue Anthology
Behind the scenes with Mr. Mike

Mr. Mike : The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue The Man Who Made Comedy Dangerous
Dennis Perrin
Manufacturer: Avon Books (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0380973308

Amazon.com

"I had a funny thought: What if Ed Sullivan were tortured? And when I say tortured what I mean is, what if steel needles, say six inches long, were plunged into Ed's eyes? I think it would go something like this...[several minutes of horrible screaming and thrashing]."

Now that the National Lampoon is virtually defunct, and Saturday Night Live has turned into just another late-night network cash cow, you can be excused for forgetting about Michael O'Donoghue. But back in the glory days of the 1970s, O'Donoghue gave both their distinctive edge of viciousness, death, and celebratory mayhem. Even though O'Donoghue died (prematurely) in 1994, his legacy in American comedy is still strong. Dennis Perrin has done a boon service by bringing this American original out of the shadows.

For the devoted fan of O'Donoghue--you're likely either one of those, or nothing--Mr. Mike is often more tantalizing than completely fulfilling. Though his life and career are described in welcome detail, the author's attempts at analysis are less sure. For example, Perrin lets O'Donoghue off much too easily when discussing the sinister elements of his work: Was his obsession with Nazis--one of his tried-and-true comic devices--anti-Semitic? What was his fascination with S&M, mutilation, and torture all about, and how much did the readers really connect with it? Was O'Donoghue a self-made artist in the right place at the right time, or did the culture around him create his distinctive double-dark worldview? Since O'Donoghue himself was highly intellectual and analytical regarding his feral art, one expects answers to these questions, but they are not forthcoming.

Gaps in analysis aside, fans of American humor owe Perrin big-time; for better or worse, O'Donoghue remains as unique and seminal as ever, and Mr. Mike goes an awfully long way towards ensuring that its subject doesn't fade into literary obscurity, at the very same time that the style of humor he created becomes more and more mainstream. --Michael Gerber

Book Description

Michael O'Donoghue's widely influential style of humor spared no one's feelings or sensitivities. John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, P.J. O'Rourke, Buck Henry, Doug Kenney--all these great comic minds and many more were affected by the acid wit of Mr. Mike. Now, critic and humorist Dennis Perrin examines the times that formed this singular sensibility and the outrageous creative work that constitutes O'Donoghue's legacy, from his early days devising confrontational theatre pieces and the brilliant underground comic Phoebe Zeit-Geist to an unprecedented string of famous and infamous pieces in National Lampoon, from O'Donoghue's breathtaking stint as the key founding writer of Saturday Night Live to his tumultuous adventures in Hollywood. Here too is never-before-seen O'Donoghue material, some of it censored by editors or TV executives, made public here for the first time. This is the unvarnished story of a towering figure in American popular culture, the prime artistic force behind an entire generation of humorist and satirists. Here is the singular, sinister Mr. Mike.

Customer Reviews:

Not exhaustive enough but will do.......2004-09-27

If for nothing else, MOD is to be cherished for a song lyric called CANCER FOR CHRISTMAS: "Santa's bringing sacks of morphine. And some cigarettes." And I almost croaked when I read about MOD's screenplay wherein astronauts get attacked by a flying horde of macaroni-&-cheese platters. On the other hand, I'm profoundly bored by a lot of MOD's theater-of-cruelty shtick. He had a perfectly good talent for silliness but insisted on flaunting his comedic machismo as if it were a form of good-for-you psychodrama. (Although better that than what someone once referred to as "good-for-you Shakespeare".) MOD used to gripe about the Greek polarization of drama into comedy versus tragedy. ("As if there's any effing difference.") And I'd be curious to read the MODwerks (if & when they ever get published) to see how MOD might have accomplished an amalgamation.

Detailed Portrait.......2003-01-07

In my younger days, I found O'Donoghue fascinating. After reading this book, I feel that I now have a good understanding of the man and of what he was doing.

Perrin covers each phase of O'Donoghue's career in depth and detail, and reveals O'Donoghue to be a performance artist working in comedy moreso than a comedian (as is, for example, Al Franken who O'Donoghue reportedly despised). This book is not a pleasant read, as O'Donoghue was devoted to offending and disturbing people. If you want to understand him, or his "art", this is the place to go.

Bland.......2000-10-21

It's strange to find that a bio of a chap so flamboyant as Mr. Mike would be so hard to get through. The context is pretty narrow, too. Better to have put the man in the framework of his times, contrasting him with his contemporaries and past wits he admired. But all that aside, to get so few laughs from a book about such an inspired satirist is disconcerting. Couldn't we just have all his scripts and poems by themselves, instead?

We Need An O'Donoghue Anthology.......2000-08-27

Problem is, this book isn't funny in its content, or even witty in its execution, let alone its overall appreciation of a master. Give us Michael by Michael, an anthology of the man's own work!

Behind the scenes with Mr. Mike.......2000-07-19

I first encountered O'Donoghue's work on the back page of SPIN Magazine (being too young to see his Saturday Night Live work live, or hear his National Lampoon work). His short pieces were caustic and bleak, black as night but as funny as death. They had me alarmed, intrigued, and in fits of hilarious tears. And then he died.

"So who was Michael O'Donoghue," I asked myself. It was not till several years later, when I found his devilish visage staring at me from the cover of this book (brandishing a butcher's knife, no less). I wanted to learn about Mr. Mike quite badly, so I bought the book. I'll make a strange comparison here. Please hear me out. The "character" of Michael O'Donoghue that emerges from Perrin's biography reminds me a lot of the "character" of John Bonham who emerges from the Led Zeppelin bio 'Hammer of the Gods'. Both are brilliant artistic geniuses (once again excuse the hyperbole... justified as it may be) who, at the drop of a hat, turn into beasts akin to the Incredible Hulk in a particularly foul mood. It says something about the need for extremity in the artistic mind. O'Donoghue is the little, balding, bespectacled shnook, who, if tangled with, will uncoil his cobra-like wit and gnash your eyes out. He is quite an intriguing character.

Perrin does a fine job recounting the history of this character, from birth to death. He also does well to include transcriptions (and sometimes reprints) of some of O'Donoghue's more seminal works. His work for the Evergreen Review is here, best represented by 'Phoebe Zeit-Geist', which I don't entirely enjoy but can still marvel at its audacity and prodigiousness. It's like something R. Crumb would do after being severely tortured by a group of radical feminists. His National Lampoon days helped launch that magazine, as did his days at Saturday Night Live. Throughout he is morbid, meticulous, and menacing, never letting good taste get in the way of a great comic moment. He leaves no sacred cow unslaughtered. I admire that.

O'Donoghue is a good indication of the heights that the bipolar artistic mind can fly to. Perrin does well capturing that quality.

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