REVIEWS

Arthur’s Soul Adventure

The Back Roads

"BAKING KIDS LOVE"

Beneath a Marble Sky

The Butterflies of Grand Canyon

"The Civility Solution"

Clapton - The Autobiography of Eric Clapton”

"The Elder Wisdom Circle Guide for A Meaningful Life"

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird

The Miracle Man

“Peeking Over the Edge… views from life’s middle”

THE PERILS OF PLEASURE

"Rattlesnake Rules"

“Shadows of the Silk Road”

"SHARLOT HALL ON THE ARIZONA STRIP"

"Sharlot Herself: Selected Writings of Sharlot Hall"

“Something You Forgot... Along The Way”

"Thunder Over the Prairie"

Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing from the Battle Scars of Youth

"Wonderful Tonight George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me"

 

Check it out!

BOOK REVIEWS/BOOK NEWS from Press Releases

2015 Tucson Festival of Books  University of Arizona Campus  •  
March 14 - 15, 2015  •  9:30am to 5:30pm

A personal take on growing up on Route 66 during the 1950’s & 1960’s THE 66 KID: Raised on the Mother Road: Growing Up on Route 66, the World's Most Famous Two-Lane Blacktop

 

By Bob Boze Bell | Available September, 2014

 

[Cave Creek, AZ]  It's the most famous highway in the world - find out, or remember, why.

Tens of thousands of travelers from around the world spend millions of dollars every year trying to recapture the aura of a simpler time. When gasoline can top $4 a gallon and Route 66 is, in many ways, a shell of its former glory, what keeps them coming? Author Bob Boze Bell, a lifelong resident of Kingman, Arizona (one of the quintessential Route 66 towns), has accumulated a unique sense of the Mother Road's history, not to mention friendships with folks from Kingman and other Route 66 communities.

 

Author, publisher, illustrator, and Emmy-winning director and host Bob Boze Bell puts the everlasting allure of Route 66 into perspective by showing readers what it was like growing up in Kingman, during the heyday of automobile travel in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  This personal take on the Mother Road’s History - part autobiography, part narrative history, part oral history, all beautifully illustrated – expertly weaves personal memories and observations with entertaining first-person accounts of people who lived, worked, and played along the road. Bell digs deep into the roots of the Route 66, offering insights into the people who made it run: from the neon-lit motels to the greasy-spoon diners, and even the shady roadside attractions.

 

Illustrated with personal archival photographs, maps, period advertising art, vintage postcards, specially commissioned maps and of course the author’s own fantastic watercolors, The 66 Kid is a Mother Road book like no other, offering a unique look at a slice of Route 66’s history.  Entertaining and fascinating, while making sense of the highways enduring popularity, The 66 Kid proves that you can still get your kicks on Route 66.

 

About the Author: Bob Boze Bell is the co-owner and publisher of True West magazine and the host of Outrageous Arizona, an Emmy-winning documentary about Arizona's road to statehood. He has published and illustrated groundbreaking books on Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, and Doc Holliday, as well as his series entitled Classic Gunfights. Boze’s artwork and writing have also appeared in Arizona Highways, New Times, Playboy, Wild West, and National Lampoon.

 

"Any rascal who misspent his youth in the '50s and '60s toting ice for travelers at his dad's gas station in Kingman...should have one hell of a story to tell about his life and times on Route 66. BBB's words and images are as tasty as truck-stop pie. You will want another helping."

--Michael Wallis, author of Route 66: The Mother Road and voice of The Sheriff of Radiator Springs in the movie Cars

 

IRISH LIBRARY CELEBRATES
DUBLINERS” 100-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

  James Joyce book  inspires lectures, movies, and more at McClelland Irish Library

 (Phoenix, Ariz.) The Irish don’t miss a chance to celebrate and the 100-year anniversary of the year that the book “Dubliners” was published is as good an occasion as any. The famous book which is considered one of the finest examples of the short story genre, was written by renowned Irish author James Joyce and  came out in print  in 2014.

 The McClelland Irish Library will mark the anniversary with  three months of events including lectures, book discussions and several films. Events run from Sept. 24 - Nov. 8. 

James Joyce wrote “Dubliners” before 1905.  The book is a collection of 15 short stories that was  groundbreaking because it pushed the genre while  featuring real people and real situations — something that had never been done before.  Many of the characters in the book bore a close resemblance to  family members, friends and enemies of the author.

Joyce spent almost a decade trying to have the book published in part because he refused to cut out controversial sections. After countless rejections by Irish printers who burned and destroyed pages, it was finally published in London.

The lecture “James Joyce’s Dubliners: Still Engaging Readers and Writers 100 Years After Publication” takes place from 7-8 p.m. Sept. 24 and will be presented by Irish-born poet  Adrienne Leavy. Leavy is widely published in Irish literary journals and currently working on her first poetry collection. The lecture is $5 donation for nonmembers, free for members.

 A free “Dubliner” book discussion takes place from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Oct. 11 and features the first 14 books and another discussion takes place from 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.  Nov. 8 and features both “The Dead,” the last short story in the book, and the film “The Dead,” directed by John Huston and starring his daughter, Angelica Huston.

 An independent film “Dubliners in Arizona” starring local actors and settings airs 7-9 p.m.  Oct. 22. Cost: $5-$7.50. Registration available online at azirishlibrary.org.

_____________________________

The Art of LEGO Design
New book unveils the cutting-edge artistic techniques of the LEGO masters

The Art of LEGO Design

San Francisco, CA, June 18, 2014—LEGO is enjoying an unprecedented renaissance that began well before the release of The LEGO Movie. For over a decade, LEGO artists like Nathan Sawaya and Mike Doyle have been creating jaw-dropping, museum-quality artwork by carefully piecing together those plastic bricks that we all grew up with. Their work seems truly magical. But even magicians sometimes share their secrets.

In The Art Of LEGO Design (No Starch Press, $24.95, 288 pp., July 2014, ISBN 9781593275532, 4C throughout), LEGO artist Jordan Schwartz delves into the building techniques of the LEGO masters and, with the aid of hundreds of stunning, full-color photos, shows us how the magic happens. A true LEGO prodigy, Schwartz became one of the LEGO Group's youngest designers ever when he landed an internship at the age of eighteen. Now, he shares his expertise with readers, teaching them the tricks of LEGO artists so that they can learn to create like the masters and discover the magic of LEGO art for themselves.

Readers learn to think like the masters too, through interviews with thirteen standout LEGO builders. "When you've built with LEGO for a while, step-by-step instructions just aren't as satisfying," said Schwartz. "While instructions can show you how to re-create specific models, they fail to explain how and why the original builder made certain design choices. This book reveals those thought processes."

The Art Of LEGO Design shows readers how to:

·         Create lifelike creatures using ordinary elements in unusual ways—like inside-out tires for the legs of an octopus or minifigure capes for an owl

·         Design sleek cars with smooth sides and no exposed studs on their bricks

·         Add realism to dioramas with light bricks or LEDs

·         Create real world textures like cobblestone roads and brick walls

It involves more than just clicking a bunch of bricks together to create a stunning piece of LEGO artwork. The truly great creations combine design knowledge with careful planning and a bit of trial and error. But with a dose of imagination and Schwartz as their guide, LEGO fans can finally take the next step to becoming LEGO artists.

For more information or to request a review copy of The Art of LEGO Design, contact Marlon Rigel at No Starch Press (nostarchpr@oreilly.com, +1.415.863.9900 or visit www.nostarch.com).

Sample Pages from The Art of LEGO Design

New Frontiers

Voyager1

Mammoth

VX02 Drop Ship

About the Author

Award-winning LEGO builder Jordan Schwartz was one of the LEGO Group's youngest designers when he started at age 18. While working for the LEGO Group as part of the Creator/Creator Expert team, Schwartz developed models for a number of official sets and left his creative stamp on the company and the broader LEGO community. His models are featured in Beautiful LEGO (No Starch Press) and A Million Little Bricks (Skyhorse). This is his first book.

Jordan Schwartz is currently available for radio, print, television, and online interviews. Please contact Marlon Rigel at No Starch Press to request an appointment.

Additional Resources
No Starch Press Catalog Page
Table of Contents
Detailed Table of Contents (PDF)
Index (PDF)

The Art of LEGO Design

The Art of LEGO Design
Publisher: No Starch Press
By Jordan Schwartz
ISBN: 9781593275532, $24.95  
June 2014, 288 pp.
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000



You Might Also Be Interested In:

The LEGO Neighborhood Book
The LEGO Neighborhood Book
Build Your Own LEGO Town!
by Brian Lyles and Jason Lyles

Steampunk LEGO
Steampunk LEGO

by Guy Himber

Beautiful LEGO
Beautiful LEGO

by Mike Doyle


Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from http://www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or directly from No Starch Press (http://www.nostarch.com, orders@nostarch.com, 1-800-420-7240).

About No Starch Press
Founded in 1994, No Starch Press publishes the finest in geek entertainment. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about. No Starch Press titles have won the Grand Prize at the San Francisco Book Festival and the Independent Publisher Book Award (the "IPPY") from Independent Publisher.

About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

# # #

O'Reilly is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Spreading the knowledge of innovators

oreilly.com

 

FilmCraft: Directing

 

 

Excerpt from Clint Eastwood Interview: http://bit.ly/ClintEastwoodFilmcraft

 

"These books are a godsend for anyone curious about how movies are put together [...] the interviews are carefully edited and they crackle with insight. They're perfect examples of informed cinephilia."

- Dallas Morning News, on FilmCraft Series

 

New York, NY - May 22, 2012 - From the editor of Screen International magazine, Mike Goodridge, comes the newest book in the acclaimed FilmCraft series, FilmCraft: Directing, out June 15th. The book features in-depth interviews with 16 of the world's most celebrated and respected film directors - most notably, Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Mystic River, Unforgiven), Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth and the upcoming film, Pacific Rim), Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, United 93), Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Witness, Dead Poet's Society), Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King) and Park Chan-wook (Oldboy and Lady Vengeance). In the beautifully constructed book, these directors share their true insights and experiences on development, storytelling/writing, working with actors and cinematographers, and every other aspect that goes into making a successful film. Pre-Order FilmCraft: Directing on Amazon.com, here: http://amzn.to/GoodridgeDirecting

 

Unlike the past books in the series, Directing covers all disciplines of film art that pass through the director's hands - from development and writing, to working with actors, designers and cinematographers, to post-production and distribution. The interviews in Directing go beyond the production end of directing, as they dive into the professional practice, working relationships, and advice for young directors.

 

This book is uniquely written in a format that appeals to the film student, the industry veteran and even the non-practitioner. Any fan of film will love the interview-based format with perspectives from Hollywood's legendary directors. Additionally, the book is packed with stunning images from classic films and exclusive on-set photos that will make film lovers rejoice. Those working in the film industry, both young and old, will appreciate how Goodridge supplements these interviews with sidebars that feature practical advice on topics that filmmakers can apply to their own work. FilmCraft: Directing is both a gorgeous reflection on classic films, as well as an invaluable tool for all filmmakers.

 

FilmCraft: Directing by Mike Goodridge will be available June 15th.

 

 

About The Author:

 

Mike Goodridge is the editor of Screen International and has been writing about film for over twenty years. He is an accomplished critic and has written for many outlets including The Times, The Independent, The Evening Standard, El Mundo in Spain and Sight & Sound. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the London Film Critics Circle, and FIPRESCI.

 

__________________________________________________________

CONRAD J. STORAD  Science Writer  *  Editor  *  Author

  • One Book Arizona for Kids - 2012

  • Arizona Children’s Author of the Year - 2001

  • Arizona Governor’s Book Choice Award - 2005

  • Arizona Book Publishers Association - Best Book –2008

  • USA Book News – Best Nonfiction Picture Book - 2011

  • USA Book News – Best New Children’s Nonfiction Book - 2012

  • Moonbeam Children’s Book Award - Best Children’s Nonfiction - 2012

  • IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal – Best Children’s Nonfiction -- 2012

January 15, 2013   (Tempe, Arizona)

 A brand new picture book by Arizona’s national-award-winning children’s author Conrad J. Storad is due for release by late February. Bobolink Media is publishing

Fang and Stinger (An Arachnid Tale). The new title is brilliantly illustrated by Storad’s long-time collaborator, Nathan Jensen. The story is sure to delight an entire new generation of young readers. Jensen’s bright, detailed illustrations bring Storad’s words to life on the pages. Tootie, a red knee tarantula, only has one fang. Her best friend is Hairyette, a desert hairy scorpion, who is afraid of her own tale. Together, the arachnid pals must deal with taunting and teasing and the travails of being “different.” They must also face up to the neighborhood bully, mean old Peppi the wasp. The story is narrated by Eddie the Elf Owl, a “Watcher” with many stories to tell.

 Storad will be reading this book and other new titles at schools and libraries and bookstores across the USA in 2013. Go to www.conradstorad.com for a full list of appearances. The author will present at the Fifth Annual Tucson Festival of Books on March 9-10 on campus at the University of Arizona. For more details, go to http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

_________________________________________________________

Sex, Drugs And Self-Discovery: An Existential Novel For The Facebook Generation


Houston, TX, January 7, 2013 - The Sabbatical (Createspace), by Frederick Pinto, explores the meaning of success and deep fulfillment in a fickle, continuously changing modern world. Pinto weaves his own experiences in the music industry and thoughts on Western society into a story of personal awakening after a young man loses everything he valued.

Charles Barca spent six years getting it “all”: wild success as the owner of an online music company, a relationship with a rising artist girlfriend, and local rock star status — only to see it crashing down in one day. Set in the landscape of the drug-strewn, head-banging clubs and the slick offices of the new creative elite, his social-climbing entourage vanishes as he is removed as the resident genius of the company he himself founded, and seeks sanity and purpose in the cynical worlds of modern art and business.

The Sabbatical covers the following months of Charles’ life as he deals with self-loathing, drugs, traveling and mingling with acquaintances, both old and new. He must come face-to-face with major personal decisions as well as with ones for his company, as papers need to be signed and major labels jostle for his attention. However, he will only find clarity miles away in Brazil, as the noise around him subsides and he engages in a more authentic form of deeper self-evaluation.

Set in today’s post-apocalyptic music industry, The Sabbatical is part existential diary, part hedonistic travelogue, part music business intrigue, part anti-love story, and has been said to “take the philosophical novel into the age of social media.”

“The Sabbatical is a satirical take on our notion of success,” says Pinto. “The most surprising existential drop doesn’t happen when we fail, but when we succeed by the standards of an inauthentic culture.”

Receiving rave reviews on Amazon.com and on the blogosphere, the vivid characters and exceptional story-telling in The Sabbatical make for an action-packed read that is tough to put down. Please visit: www.thesabbaticalbook.com.

Frederick Pinto has practiced, taught, published and lectured in the fields of entertainment, music law, digital copyright and high-technology law. In 2007 and 2008, he was the columnist on digital music business issues for Royalty Week, an industry-wide online publication, and has had numerous articles published in law journals, magazines and newspapers. 

Available at fine bookstores and online outlets
The Sabbatical by Frederick Pinto
Publisher: Createspace
ISBN-10: 1475004265
ISBN-13: 978-1475004267
AZPHM has received a copy of this book and will be posting a review soon!

__________________________________________________________


chrisenss.com

Cattle Rustlers, Ruin and Rugged Romance Stories Revealed in New Books About the Old West

Cherokee lawmen on the Oklahoma range, lady lawbreakers from Minnesota to South Dakota, and mail-order brides who dared to venture across the untamed plains are among the subjects covered in three new books set to be released in 2012. 

Author  Chris Enss wrote the trio of books entitled Sam Sixkiller: Cherokee Lawmen, Bedside Books of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the Mid-West, and Object Matrimony: Mail Order Brides on the Frontier.  Film producer and former Vice President of Lucas Films, LTD. Co-authored the book about the well-known Deputy Marshal Sam Sixkiller.  Howard Kazanjian is an award-winning producer and entertainment executive who has been producing feature films and television programs for more than twenty-five years. Chris Enss is an award-winning screen writer who has written for television, short subject films, live performances, and for the movies, and is the author or co-author of more than twenty books. The two also have also collaborated on books about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, John Wayne, and the Intrepid Posse.

Sam Sixkiller: Cherokee Lawmen, the story of one of the most accomplished lawmen in 1880s Oklahoma Territory, and Object Matrimony: Mail Order Brides on the Frontier, true stories of mail-order brides from the Gold Rush era through the 20th century were published by Globe Pequot Press.  They are scheduled to be released in June 2012.  Bedside Books of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the Mid-West published by Far Country Press is set to be released in the fall.  All three publications will be available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and everywhere books are sold.

Authors are available to speak at civic and community organization’s meetings.  They can be contacted via Chris Enss’s website at www.chrisenss.com or by phone @ 530/477-8859.

__________________________________________________________

A Mother's Love and Faith Move Mountains
Ellaville, GA, December 21, 2011 – Conventional wisdom holds that faith and love can accomplish anything, but rarely does a factual story prove it. But in The Bridge: Between Cell Block A and a Miracle is Psalm 91 (Xulon Publishing), Jackie Carpenter tells a tale of a mother’s love and her walk of faith. It began in June of 2008 when her son apprehended thieves in the act of stealing copper from his work site. The thefts were increasing and, on the advice of a deputy, her son armed himself to detain the thieves while he called police. Then the gun accidentally fired, and one man was shot and killed. 

Jackie Carpenter tells the powerful and compelling story of her terrifying journey that began the morning she received a frantic call from her son’s wife telling her that he had been arrested for felony murder and ended when the jury returned its verdict ten months later.

Jackie had been living the American Dream: she had a wonderful husband, good health, two married sons, and four beautiful grandchildren. But after her son was arrested and charged with felony murder, as well as four other serious charges, her world fell apart.

Jackie clung to Psalm 91, asking God for a miracle. During the trial, her son’s attorney had asked her not to bring her Bible into the courtroom for fear of offending a non-believing juror. Jackie couldn’t comply. She was asking God for a miracle – how could she take the chance of offending Him? The Bridge is the story of a ten-month journey up to that fateful day in April 2009 when Jackie got her miracle in the form of an acquittal. 

The sequel, Georgia Justice: A Story To Faith, acts as a guide for building faith in the face of tragedy and grief. Jackie had never believed that she would serve to be a resource for people facing a life crises – but it took the worst crisis in her life and the miracle that stemmed from it to drive her to write her heart-wrenching story. It is a powerful testimony to the spiritual strength this small-town lady found in the promises of Psalm 91 and how she built her faith up during the tormenting ten months leading up to her son’s trial. 

Jackie Carpenter has been a featured guest on television, radio, and in newspaper articles. Her two powerful books will be produced into a motion picture that will be in theaters the fall of 2012. For more information on this author and her miraculous story of faith, hope, and love, please visit her website at:
www.bridgetoamiracle.com.

__________________________________________________________

The Enzyme Factor

When reading Dr.Shinya's book "The Enzyme Factor" you will be awakened to an entire world of nutrition that you probably never knew anything about! No matter how much good healthy food you eat, it can not be utilized without enzymes which are destroyed when you heat food to over 118 degrees.

In his book Shinya explains the tragic circumstances that lead him to create the colonoscopy. The death of his wife and illness of his children motivated him to find a way to see what was happening in his patient's colon without the need for surgery. Today his procedures including the polopectomy have saved millions of lives and educated us how to improve our health. He graphically demonstrates how you can see a person's physically health through their colon.

Not only will you learn about your body and how to keep it healthy, you will be moved by his personal story.

      

__________________________________________________________

Just When You Think It Can’t Get Deadlier – Another Radical Force Joins The Assault On Targets of Opportunity in the U.S.

Greenwich, CT, November 28, 2011 - In Targets of Deception, which suspense master Robert K. Tanenbaum called “a fast-paced thriller,” we were introduced to CIA agent Jordan Sandor in a story praised by bestselling author Steve Alten as “terrific.”  Now Sandor is back in Jeffrey S. Stephens’s riveting Targets of Opportunity (Gallery Books; August 30, 2011; $24.00), playing for bigger stakes and facing deadlier challenges.

Whisked from his Manhattan townhouse to a gabled CIA safe house in Virginia, Sandor faces off with a top terrorist agent from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. In exchange for protection from his own side, Ahmad Jaber is offering the CIA explosive information: word of a secret, unholy alliance forged among operatives in the Middle East, a ruthless South American, and Kim Jong-II’s North Korea. Jaber claims not to know specific details, only that the strike will target the heart of America.

The fanatics stage a stunning diversion in the Caribbean, mercilessly downing a passenger jet and unleashing an assault on a French intelligence installation. Sandor, however, has already moved in a different direction. Leveraging Jaber’s information, he assembles a small strike force to penetrate North Korea. The team knows they will not all return, but the intel they gather will be vital to American security. What they ultimately discover plunges Sandor into a frantic race against time, struggling to defeat a shadowy figure—a master terrorist with a plan of destruction so perfectly disguised that even with the new knowledge he has gathered, Sandor cannot guess where or how he will strike.

As a storm rages in the Gulf of Mexico, word comes that two submarines have penetrated U.S. waters. With the U.S. military hampered by the hurricane, Sandor turns to a few daring U.S. Navy SEALs to duel with the enemy they cannot see…for now they know only that there are two nuclear weapons aimed at a target of opportunity whose destruction would change the world order forever.

Brilliantly conceived, electrifyingly paced, Targets of Opportunity captures a terrifying twenty-first century reality: terrorists can—and will—try as many times as they need to attack the United States.  For the brave men and women who defend our country, failure is not an option.  Targets of Opportunity will leave every reader hanging on for Jordan Sandor’s next step, staying with him through to the end.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeffrey S. Stephens began the Jordan Sandor series with Targets of Deception, published in 2009 to rave reviews. Born in New York City, he now lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with this wife, Nancy, not far from their sons Graham and Trevor.

Jeff welcomes visitors to his website at
www.jeffreystephens.com.

TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY By Jeffrey S. Stephens

Gallery Books; August 30, 2011; ISBN 978-1-4516-2432-8; $24.00

__________________________________________________________
  1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  3. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
  4. The Waves by Virginia Woolf
  5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  6. Rilke on Love and Other Difficulties by Maria Rainer Rilke
  7. The Colussus of Maroussi by Henry Miller
  8. The Iliad by Homer
  9. The Portable Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
  10. Night by Elie Wiesel
  11. Howard's End by E.M. Forster
  12. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  13. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
  14. Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels by John Updike
  15. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
  16. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
  17. Persuasion by Jane Austen
  18. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  19. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
  20. Light in August by William Faulkner
  21. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
  22. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
  23. The Wild Palms by William Faulkner
  24. Beloved by Toni Morrison
  25. The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa
  26. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
  27. Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
  28. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
  29. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  30. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
  31. Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
  32. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
  33. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
  34. Middlemarch by George Eliot


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If these babies shake their rattles,
you’d better pay attention!

New book helps children learn about rattlesnakes

Much maligned primarily because they are too often misunderstood, rattlesnakes have gotten a bad rap over the years. Conrad J. Storad, an award-winning author of more than 30 science and nature books for young readers, wants to do something about that.

In his just released book, Rattlesnake Rules, Conrad demystifies the world of rattlesnakes and introduces children to such topics as who, when, and what rattlesnakes eat. He shows readers why rattlesnakes have rattles and what it means if you hear one. You will learn how the snakes’ forked tongues help them survive. The delightful and colorful illustrations of Nathaniel P. Jensen help bring the story alive.

A long-time resident of the Sonoran Desert, Conrad has long been fascinated by the diversity of animals and plants that call the desert home. Some of his earlier titles are Saguaro Cactus, Tarantulas, Sonoran Desert A to Z, Gila Monsters, Don’t Call Me Pig! (A Javelina Story), Desert Night Shift (A Pack Rat Story), Lizards for Lunch (A Roadrunner’s Tale), and Life in the Slow Lane (A Desert Tortoise Tale).

Conrad is the director of the Office of Research Publications at Arizona State University where he edits the nationally award-winning ASU Research Magazine. He is also the founding editor of Chain Reaction, an award-winning science magazine written for young readers.

Rattlesnake Rules, by Conrad J. Storad (ISBN: 978-1-58985-161-0), fiction, hardcover, is published by Little Five Star, a division of Five Star Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 6698, Chandler AZ 85246-6698.  The book sells for $16.95 and will be available through Ingram and Baker & Taylor.  To request a review copy and/or to schedule an interview with the author, please contact the publisher.

"Nathaniel Jensen's delightful illustrations capture the beauty and wonder of nature. His renditions of the animal kingdom are done with a good dose of humor and love, suggesting to the viewer that these creatures are to be cared about and respected for the role they play in our world."

~Joseph Hammer, Director of Product Marketing & Licensing Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas

"My wife and I are unabashed fans of Conrad Storad, as are the many children to whom we've given his books. What always stands out is how he varies each story not just in topic but with an approach that's right for the critters we meet. That's never more true than in "Rattlesnake Rules." Dozens of fascinating rattler facts are woven into this charming tale, but no two-legger will venture too close after reading the rules."

~Ed Sylvester, Science & Medical Writer, Professor
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University

 

 
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BAKING KIDS LOVE
Reconnecting Families, One Treat At A Time

 Being a kid has never been so…yummy!  This fall award-winning authors Cindy Mushet and Sur La Table, the national culinary retail mecca, will introduce a new baking book especially for children called Baking Kids Love (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $20, October 2009).  Kid-inspired recipes such as PB& J Muffins, Brownie S’mores Bars, and Gotchya Focaccia will fill tummies and warm hearts, while providing a fun and tasty way for families to reconnect in the kitchen.

Baking Kids Love is a delicious collection of thirty recipes that will ignite children’s creativity, teach them confidence in the kitchen and create a lifetime of memories.  The cookbook’s easy to follow instructions and colorful photography offer step by step techniques necessary for creating magic in your family’s oven.  The cookbook provides baking tips that not only introduce children to the exciting world of home-baked goodies, but also take adults back to the basics, allowing them to relate to their child’s level of learning, such as “the importance of washing hands,” “how to measure liquids,” “choosing basic baking ingredients,” and “cutting in the butter.”  Special comments from Cindy’s 11-year-old daughter, Bella, about her personal baking experiences help children connect with someone their own age–she even provides a tip to make cleanup motivating!

Each recipe in Baking Kids Love is kid-tested and approved.  Cindy and Sur La Table worked closely with Bella to include recipes children actually enjoy baking and eating.  So whether you’re creating ghoulish treats such as Rattling Meringue Bones and Fingers for Halloween, baking a Rustic Apple Pie for Thanksgiving, making Be Creative Sugar Cookies to celebrate National Cookie Day (Dec. 4), or giving homemade treats such as Pumpkin Gingerbread for the holidays, Baking Kids Love is chock full of sweet and savory recipes that the entire family will love.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS  Sur La Table and Cindy Mushet wrote The Art and Soul of Baking (2008), which received the 2009 IACP Cookbook Award for Baking, was a Gourmet magazine Cookbook Club selection, and was nominated for a 2009 James Beard Foundation Award. They continue to receive high praise for their contribution to the baking world. Sur La Table is the trusted authority when it comes to all things cooking related. Recognizing the importance of nurturing young chefs, Sur La Table offers gear and cooking classes made just for kids. Sur La Table entices aficionados and curious beginners alike with its amazing selection of cookware, bakeware, tools, cookbooks, and cooking school programs designed to make any cook’s life easier. The original store and headquarters are in Seattle, WA. Cindy Mushet has been a professional pastry chef and baking teacher for over twenty years. Her recipes have appeared in publications across the country, including Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking, Country Home, the National Culinary Review, and the New York Times. Inspired by her daughter, Bella, Cindy has taught baking to many children, both in school classrooms and in summer baking camps. A fun and engaging teacher, Cindy has also taught thousands of adults nationwide. She lives in Los Angeles.

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Wikipedia has a list of the most commonly banned or challenged books in the US.
  • Title  ↓                                                        Author  ↓

  • 1984                                                                                                                       George Orwell

  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn                                                                             Mark Twain

  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer                                                                             Mark Twain

  • Alice                                                                                                                        Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

  • All the King's Men                                                                                                   Robert Penn Warren

  • Always Running                                                                                                      Luis J. Rodriguez

  • American Psycho                                                                                                    Bret Easton Ellis

  • An American Tragedy                                                                                             Theodore Dreiser

  • The Anarchist Cookbook                                                                                        William Powell

  • Anastasia Again!                                                                                                     Lois Lowry

  • And Tango Makes Three                                                                                        Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

  • Annie on my Mind                                                                                                   Nancy Garden

  • Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret                                                                  Judy Blume

  • Arming America                                                                                                      Michael Bellasiles

  • Arizona Kid                                                                                                             Ron Koertge

  • As I Lay Dying                                                                                                         William Faulkner

  • Asking About Sex and Growing Up                                                                         Joanna Cole

  • Athletic Shorts                                                                                                         Chris Crutcher

  • Beloved                                                                                                                   Toni Morrison

  • Black Boy                                                                                                                Richard Wright

  • Bless Me, Ultima                                                                                                     Rudolfo A. Anaya

  • Blood and Chocolate                                                                                              Annette Curtis Klause

  • Blubber                                                                                                                   Judy Blume

  • The Bluest Eye                                                                                                       Toni Morrison

  • The Boy Who Lost His Face                                                                                   Louis Sachar

  • Boys and Sex                                                                                                          Wardell Pomeroy

  • Brave New World                                                                                                    Aldous Huxley

  • Bridge to Terabithia                                                                                                Katherine Paterson

  • Bumps in the Night                                                                                                 Harry Allard

  • The Call of the Wild                                                                                                Jack London

  • Captain Underpants                                                                                               Dav Pilkey

  • Carrie                                                                                                                     Stephen King

  • The Catcher in the Rye                                                                                          J. D. Salinger

  • Catch-22                                                                                                                 Joseph Heller

  • Cat's Cradle                                                                                                            Kurt Vonnegut

  • The Chocolate War                                                                                                Robert Cormier

  • Christine                                                                                                                 Stephen King

  • A Clockwork Orange                                                                                               Anthony Burgess

  • The Color Purple                                                                                                    Alice Walker

  • Crazy Lady!                                                                                                            Jane Conly

  • Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat                                                                     Alvin Schwartz

  • Cujo                                                                                                                        Stephen King

  • Curses, Hexes and Spells                                                                                       Daniel Cohen

  • Cut                                                                                                                          Patricia McCormick

  • Daddy's Roommate                                                                                                Michael Willhoite

  • A Day No Pigs Would Die                                                                                       Robert Newton Peck

  • The Dead Zone                                                                                                      Stephen King

  • Deenie                                                                                                                    Judy Blume

  • Detour for Emmy                                                                                                    Marilyn Reynolds

  • The Drowning of Stephan Jones                                                                            Bette Greene

  • Earth's Children (series)                                                                                         Jean M. Auel

  • The Exorcist                                                                                                            William Peter Blatty

  • The Face on the Milk Carton                                                                                  Caroline B. Cooney

  • Fade                                                                                                                       Robert Cormier

  • Fallen Angels                                                                                                          Walter Dean Myers

  • Family Secrets                                                                                                        Norma Klein

  • A Farewell to Arms                                                                                                 Ernest Hemingway

  • Final Exit                                                                                                                 Derek Humphry

  • Flowers for Algernon                                                                                              Daniel Keyes

  • For Whom the Bell Tolls                                                                                         Ernest Hemingway

  • Forever                                                                                                                   Judy Blume

  • Girls and Sex                                                                                                          Wardell Pomeroy

  • The Giver                                                                                                                Lois Lowry

  • Go Ask Alice                                                                                                            Anonymous

  • Go Tell It on the Mountain                                                                                      James Baldwin

  • The Goats                                                                                                               Brock Cole

  • Gone with the Wind                                                                                                 Margaret Mitchell

  • Goosebumps (series)                                                                                             R. L. Stine

  • The Grapes of Wrath                                                                                              John Steinbeck

  • The Great Gatsby                                                                                                   F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • The Great Gilly Hopkins                                                                                          Katherine Paterson

  • Guess What?                                                                                                          Mem Fox

  • Halloween ABC                                                                                                       Eve Merriam

  • The Handmaid's Tale                                                                                             Margaret Atwood

  • Harry Potter (series)                                                                                               J. K. Rowling

  • Heart of Darkness                                                                                                  Joseph Conrad

  • Heather Has Two Mommies                                                                                   Lesléa Newman

  • The House of the Spirits                                                                                         Isabel Allende

  • How to Eat Fried Worms                                                                                        Thomas Rockwell

  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings                                                                          Maya Angelou

  • In Cold Blood                                                                                                          Truman Capote

  • In the Night Kitchen                                                                                                Maurice Sendak

  • Invisible Man                                                                                                           Ralph Ellison

  • It's Perfectly Normal                                                                                                Robie Harris

  • It's So Amazing                                                                                                       Robie Harris

  • Jack                                                                                                                        A. M. Homes

  • James and the Giant Peach                                                                                   Roald Dahl

  • Jay's Journal                                                                                                          Anonymous

  • Julie of the Wolves                                                                                                  Jean Craighead George

  • Jump Ship to Freedom                                                                                           James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

  • Jumper                                                                                                                   Steven Gould

  • The Jungle                                                                                                             Upton Sinclair

  • Kaffir Boy                                                                                                                Mark Mathabane

  • Killing Mr. Griffin                                                                                                      Lois Duncan

  • Lady Chatterley's Lover                                                                                          D. H. Lawrence

  • A Light in the Attic                                                                                                   Shel Silverstein

  • Little Black Sambo                                                                                                  Helen Bannerman

  • Lolita                                                                                                                       Vladimir Nabokov

  • Lord of the Flies                                                                                                      William Golding

  • Mommy Laid An Egg                                                                                              Babette Cole

  • My Brother Sam Is Dead                                                                                        James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

  • The Naked and the Dead                                                                                       Norman Mailer

  • Naked Lunch                                                                                                          William S. Burroughs

  • Native Son                                                                                                              Richard Wright

  • The New Joy of Gay Sex                                                                                        Charles Silverstein

  • Of Mice and Men                                                                                                    John Steinbeck

  • On My Honor                                                                                                          Marion Dane Bauer

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest                                                                         Ken Kesey

  • Ordinary People                                                                                                     Judith Guest

  • The Outsiders                                                                                                         S. E. Hinton

  • The Pillars of the Earth                                                                                           Ken Follett

  • The Pigman                                                                                                            Paul Zindel

  • Private Parts                                                                                                           Howard Stern

  • Rabbit, Run                                                                                                            John Updike

  • Running Loose                                                                                                       Chris Crutcher

  • The Satanic Verses                                                                                                Salman Rushdie

  • Scary Stories (series)                                                                                             Alvin Schwartz

  • A Separate Peace                                                                                                  John Knowles

  • Sex                                                                                                                         Madonna

  • Sex Education                                                                                                         Jenny Davis

  • Slaughterhouse-Five                                                                                              Kurt Vonnegut

  • The Sledding Hill                                                                                                     Chris Crutcher

  • Sleeping Beauty Trilogy                                                                                          A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

  • Song of Solomon (novel)                                                                                        Toni Morrison

  • Sons and Lovers                                                                                                     D. H. Lawrence

  • The Stupids (series)                                                                                               Harry Allard

  • Summer of My German Soldier                                                                              Bette Greene

  • The Sun Also Rises                                                                                                Ernest Hemingway

  • That Was Then, This Is Now                                                                                  S. E. Hinton

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God                                                                             Zora Neale Hurston

  • Tiger Eyes                                                                                                              Judy Blume

  • To Kill a Mockingbird                                                                                               Harper Lee

  • Tropic of Cancer                                                                                                     Henry Miller

  • Ulysses                                                                                                                   James Joyce

  • View from the Cherry Tree                                                                                     Willow Davis Roberts

  • We All Fall Down                                                                                                     Robert Cormier

  • Whale Talk                                                                                                              Chris Crutcher

  • What my Mother Doesn't Know                                                                              Sonya Sones

  • What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons      Lynda Madaras

  • What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters              Lynda Madaras

  • Where Did I Come From?                                                                                      Peter Mayle

  • Where's Waldo?                                                                                                     Martin Handford

  • The Wish Giver                                                                                                       Bill Brittain

  • The Witches                                                                                                            Roald Dahl

  • Women in Love                                                                                                       D. H. Lawrence

  • Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies                        Nancy Friday

  • A Wrinkle in Time    Madeleine L'Engle


 

 

 
Famous Posse Races After Killer of Dodge City Singer

The true story of the trek the most intrepid posse of the Old West

Famous Posse Races After Killer of Dodge City Singer
The true story of the trek the most intrepid posse of the Old West ventured on in pursuit of a reckless gunslinger is the subject of a new book entitled Thunder Over the Prairie. Thunder Over the Prairie rides into bookstores in June 2009.

The year was 1878. Future legends of the Old West—lawmen Charlie Bassett, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, and Bill Tilghman—patrolled the unruly streets of Dodge City, Kansas, then known as “the wickedest little city in America.” When a cattle baron fled town after allegedly shooting the popular dancehall girl Dora Hand, these four men—all sharpshooters who knew the surrounding harsh, desert-like terrain—hunted him down, it was said, like “thunder over the prairie.” The posse’s legendary ride across the desolate landscape to seek justice influenced the men’s friendship, careers, and feelings about the justice system. This account of that event, written by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss, is a fast-paced, unforgettable glimpse into the Old West.

Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss have coauthored three other books for Two Dot/Globe Pequot, inclu ding The Young Duke. Kazanjian is an award-winning producer and entertainment executive who for three decades has produced television programs and feature films, including Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Enss is an award-winning screenwriter and the author or coauthor of more than a dozen books on the subject of women of the Old West.

Order your advanced copy of Thunder Over the Prairie today - go to www.chrisenss.com, Amazon.com or call 1-800-243-0495.
 

 

 
 
 

"It is heartening to know that when young people seek sage advice these days, many are turning to the Elder Wisdom Circle. I continue to be impressed by the candor and insight of these Elders"  --Walter Cronkite

New Book Offers 45,000 Years of Wisdom to the Younger Generations

When the new Penguin/Plume book "The Elder Wisdom Circle Guide for A Meaningful Life" goes on sale nationwide October 30th it will feature the practical advice of a nationwide group of 600 cyber-grandparents aged 60-105. In real life, the Elders provide free on-line advice to people worldwide with most advice-seekers in their teens to thirties. In 10 chapters, these savvy seniors apply their experience and knowledge to the following topics: Overcoming life's obstacles; parent-child relationships; sibling rivalry; self-discovery; lasting love; decision-making; career; aging and loss. In the final chapter, the Elders offer their secrets and watchwords for living life the wise way.

This popular group and their website have been featured numerous times in the media, including USA Today and Time with appearances on ABC, CBS, NPR and the BBC.

FEATURE STORY IDEAS:

1. With 600 Elders across the U.S. and Canada, it is highly possible that there are Elders in your city, state or geographic region. We can put you in touch with an Elder who can talk about their experiences.

2. Observe a group: In some communities, Elders meet in senior residences to discuss advice-seekers' questions; you can usually expect the unexpected from these outspoken Elders.

3. The advice seekers: Although the advice service is strictly anonymous, in a few cases advice seekers have agreed to talk about their connection with the Elder Wisdom Circle.

4. First person: Seek advice yourself at www.ElderWisdomCircle.org    and tell the story of how it affects your own life.

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

THE PERILS OF PLEASURE

 

I will be reviewing this book soon...

an excerpt from...

THE PERILS OF PLEASURE

by Julie Anne Long
Coming February 2008!

It was early summer, and accordingly, hedgerows were a riot of Hawthorne blossoms. Horse chestnuts, beeches and the occasional old oak stood sentry over the roads, and songbirds rustled amongst all the greenery. Up ahead, around the bend, Madeleine could see the branches of an enormous oak splaying out in every direction, taking up more than its share of roadside.

"Do you know what I haven't done?" Colin said suddenly. He stopped, allowed her to catch up with him.

She sniffed indelicately. "Very little, if you believe the broadsheets."

"I haven't yet kissed you."

And then he snatched hold of her hand and pulled her behind that oak, barely giving her time to squeak.

Blessed shade the tree provided, with arms that splayed everywhere like a mad octopus. It hid two of them from the road, but not from the gaze of a gently curious sheep, who paused in its grass cropping to stare. Colin spun her about and had her up against it in a thrice, pinned between his arms, and he towered over her, staring down for a moment. At the stars in my eyes or my great white forehead? She wondered.

"Don't—" she began nervously.

"Don't what, Mad?" Colin laughed softly, in a voice that stroked up her spine like velvet. His arms dropped from the tree, went around her waist; he pulled her hips hard against his hips, very familiarly; she felt the outline of everything male about him. "Don't…what?" He whispered it this time, and when his hands went up to her face, it was she who closed her arms around his slim waist, flattening her hands to feel the hard muscles of his back, keeping him pulled close to her body, keeping the two of them groin to groin. She wanted to feel again the heat of his body over the entire length of her.

His knuckles dragged softly over her cheeks, and she closed her eyes, because his eyes were too merry and too hot and too soft and too knowing, and she, at the moment, didn't want to be known by a man who had known nearly every woman in London, if rumors were true.

She did want to be kissed.

And then his fingers opened to feather across her ears, along her throat, the nape of her neck, and she felt her head tip back trustingly into his hands.

Cradling it, he touched his lips very, very softly to the pulse in her throat.

"Oh, Mad." It was half sigh, half soft laugh.

Colin dragged his lips softly from the arch of her throat, to her ear, to her lips, which were parted, while her eyes were still closed.

"Now I'll kiss you properly," he murmured.

She knew how to do this. She'd done it before. Her body knew where it wanted to be touched, and how it wanted to fit against his, and oddly nothing had ever seemed more right. And still somehow it became a little battle, as it always was with the two of them, in part because Madeleine only felt safe in the midst of battle. Their lips brushed, bumped, nipped softly, Madeleine now afraid to surrender to this. Too late she recalled how a kiss sometimes had the power to split one dangerously, vulnerably open. More so even than lovemaking.

"Shhhh," he whispered against her mouth, although she wasn't making a sound. It was as though he wanted to soothe the battle inside her. "Shhhhh."

His hands were at the back of her neck, soothing, stroking, and he brushed his lips over hers, urged hers apart with tender strokes of his tongue, sending a rain of silver sparks down her spine, and she gave a sigh. It was part pleasure, part some unexpressed sadness. The sound of something released.

Madeleine's hands slid up to the hard blades of his shoulders, pulling him closer, and her lips fell open beneath his. His tongue, at first, was a gentle invader, warm, velvety soft, finding and twining with hers softly in a tentative foray.

He took his lips away from hers, looked into her eyes, as though looking for some sort of answer, or wanting to see what the kiss had done to hers. His own eyes were hazy with desire.

And then his firm, clever lips took hers again, more decisively this time, and she was ready. Her arms slid up his chest to wrap round his neck, and he pulled her into his body, and his iron-hard arousal pressing against her was a maddeningly erotic contrast to his soft lips, his soft tongue. He drove the kiss deeper, and she met him; their tongues touching and tangling, part dance, part duel. He moaned softly, the sound of it vibrating in his chest beneath her hands. He withdrew his tongue to bite her bottom lip gently, a sensation startling and erotic.

Then he took her mouth again, ferociously this time, and she took as much as he did, devouring, needing him deeper into her body. He tasted sweet and dark and as she kissed him everything in her was melting, dissolving, until Madeleine knew that terrifying, exhilarating sense of having no other existence outside the heady, penetrating bliss of this kiss.

And then Colin suddenly broke the kiss with a gasp.

He tucked his cheek against hers. His whiskers rasped at her delicate skin; his breath was hot and swift the crook of her neck.

He was quiet for a long time. His arms loosened on her.

Confused and strangely bereft, Madeleine's clung to him for a moment longer. Then her arms loosened about him, too, uncertainly.

"Just a kiss," he whispered, sounding dazed.

She didn't quite understand what he meant.

They remained close but not nearly as close as moments before, their breathing slowing to before-kiss rhythms.

Colin lifted his head up, looked down into her eyes. He looked as if he was considering whether to speak.

"Did you love him, Mad?"

The question surprised her so completely that she didn't have time to disguise the truth, and she was certain it was written all over her face.

Why did he do this? How did he do this?

"Life can be the very devil sometimes, can't it?" he said softly.

She stared at him.

"The very devil," she agreed thickly, after a moment.

He smiled down at her, as only Colin Eversea could smile.

And when he took her by the hand back out to the road Madeleine felt feeling as though she'd been thrown from the moon back down to earth.

*************************************
Thanks for reading! Like it?? Here's a preorder link, if you're interested!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061341584/1n9867a-20


 
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