The Audiobooks Reviews

Mr. Lorry is a wealthy American who lives off of his parents and has no desire to work. Although he lives in America where this is not acceptable behavior, he makes his excuses by comparing himself to a European gentlemen. Lorry meets a mysterious woman on a train ride in America and then finds a way to follow her to a country named Graustark. He and his friend Anguish go to this place to find that the mysterious woman, Miss Guggenslocker, is actually the princess of Graustark. By then Lorry has fallen in love with the princess. Unfortunately, her little country is indebted to a nearby country. She is to marry the prince of this other country and raise a large sum in order to repay the prince. If the money is not raised by a certain date, the country will have to give up more than half of its kingdom. Graustark does not have the money to repay the debt. In the meantime, Lorry is framed for killing the prince of the country that they owe. Lorry is arrested and then the princess sneaks him out of captivitiy. She hides him at the monastery. There is a large reward for his capture and he knows that if he is seen, he will be executed. The princess has a plan for Lorry’s escape out of the country. However, he is so in love with the princess that he refuses to leave her. In the middle of the night, Lorry sneaks back to the castle to be with her. He decides to turn himself in. On the day that the debt is to be paid and the country must give up its land, Lorry appears. During this time, Anguish has been secretly trying to find out who really killed the prince. He manages to expose the true killer. Because Lorry turned himself in, the princess’ attendent receives the reward money, which she uses to repay Graustark’s debt. Lorry and the princess announce their undying love for one another publically. It is decided that the princess can marry Lorry, but he is not allowed to claim a title. I thought this book was a lot like a fairy tale. Lorry’s love became more intense and reached the point where his actions were totally irrational. Also in the book, things that should have been obvious to the characters were not. This led me to believe that the characters were very simple-minded. I did not enjoy this book because it was not very realistic, but since it was written at the end of the 1800’s it is possible that people could be so blinded in their love for each other.

Zip file of the entire book (302 MB)

For a world of devoted readers, a much-awaited new volume of absorbing stories and inspirational wisdom from one of our best-loved writers.

Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou’s path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories: guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight.

Here in short spellbinding essays are glimpses of the tumultuous life that led Angelou to an exalted place in American letters and taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude: how she was brought up by her indomitable grandmother in segregated Arkansas, taken in at thirteen by her more worldly and less religious mother, and grew to be an awkward, six-foot-tall teenager whose first experience of loveless sex paradoxically left her with her greatest gift, a son.

Whether she is recalling such lost friends as Coretta Scott King and Ossie Davis, extolling honesty, decrying vulgarity, explaining why becoming a Christian is a ‘lifelong endeavor,’ or simply singing the praises of a meal of red rice-Maya Angelou writes from the heart to millions of women she considers her extended family.

Like the rest of her remarkable work, Letter to My Daughter entertains and teaches; it is a book to cherish, savor, re-read, and share.

Get it from Librivox

Here is the first chapter.

The Red Badge of Courage, written by Stephen Crane in 1987, depicts the life of Henry Fleming, a young Union soldier, in the Civil War. Henry Fleming, always referred as “the youth” by Stephen Crane, enlisted in the Union after hearing of daring battles and glorious victories, despite the discouragement from his mother. After he joins the army, his regiment doesn’t see battle for months, and when the time comes to fight, a nagging thought enters the youth’s mind, what if he runs when the real fighting begins? If he does run, he will be labeled a coward, but if he stays, he may be killed, the thought haunts him the rest of the story. As the battle begins, he stays and fights until he sees other soldiers start to flee, fear takes him and he runs with them. After the battle, he learns that his company held off the Confederates and Henry becomes afraid that if he returns, he will be labeled as a coward. He finally decides to go back to his regiment, so he travels along the wounded where he meets and witnesses the death of his friend, Jim Conklin. After the death, he is asked where he was hit, and without an answer, Henry backs off, soon realizing that he desired to wear a “Red Badge” or wound. This is a story that displays loyalty and courage.
When the Union goes to war with the Confederates, the call goes out to the country. Will Henry Fleming be loyal to the country and serve in it? After much decision, he decides to fight in for the Union despite all of his mother’s discouragement. He is also loyal to his comrades when he fought later in the book, because he stayed by their side and rallied his compatriots to keep fighting, even though many of them had died or ran. And with loyalty, Henry Fleming also had courage.
When courage is needed, Henry overcomes the cowardice inside him. Henry had doubted himself before fighting the battle and actually ran off during the battle. When Henry finally becomes pooped out, he stops and regrets ever running away. He even heard that his regiment had held the Confederates off, which adds even more guilt on to him. He feels that he must proof himself, so he heads off to the sounds of battle, but gets lost on the way and ends up with the wounded where he witnesses his friend, Jim Conklin’s, death. As he keeps walking, a wounded soldier comes by and asks Henry where he was injured. Henry, embarrassed, just walks away and then secretly desires a Red Badge, or wound, to show his courageous. Then, he gets in a tousle with another soldier and gets his head hammered open. When he reaches his regiment, his regiment recognizes the head wound as a “Red Badge” and pampers Henry, who enjoys the thought of heroism and goes along with the thought of being shot in the head. Later, a chance for Henry to redeem himself, he fires his gun in frenzy at the enemy so much, that his gun was burning his hands afterwards. Later, he picks up the Union flag from the dying flag carrier and swings it valiantly. Thus, overcoming his weakness of cowardice, and gaining the courage he needs.
The book portrays a youth in the Civil War with setbacks to overcome flawlessly. The story is suspenseful, and enthralling to all readers looking for a good fiction Civil War novel to read.

“… THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE furniture. They were grouped about the fireplace. A picture from …”

MAXIM Magazine October 1999 Melissa Joan Hart Sabrina cover feature by Mark Golin

Melissa Joan Hart (Celebrity Bios) by John Giacobello

John Giacobello’s biography of Melissa Joan Hart is nothing short of astonishing. With clear prose he relays the struggles beset upon the star of “Sabrina the Teen-Aged Witch” with clarity, lucid detail, and not a little empathy.

From the early years of her Dickensian childhood, through her proceeding years as triumphant television star - we feel we’ve met Ms. Hart intimately, profoundly; had fries and Pepsi with her; spent quality time with a quality teen. The controversially “disputed facts” alleged in the cannon of Melissa Joan Hart biographies are laid to rest once and for all by John Giacobello.

The book is a revelation, and certainly the definitive biography of one, if not perhaps our most talented actress.

“… MELISSA JOAN HART a wave of her hand. She has wacky friends and …”

Melissa Joan Hart (Real-Life Reader Biography Series) by Ann Gaines

I thought this book wouldn’t be very good (as its not a biography written by Melissa herself), however, it has a lot of information that’s very interesting about Melissa’s career and family, some of which I did not already know.

This book is well written, concise and up to date. It could only be better than it is, if it was written in a few years time (after all Melissa’s only 24) and it detailed more about her flourishing acting career and her recent venture into producing and/or directing Sabrina the Teenage Witch and other projects.

Melissa’s works alongside her Mother, Paula Hart, who produces many films eg. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (tv series and 1996 film), Sabrina Downunder, Sabrina Goes to Rome, Two Came Back and Silencing Mary and two new projects, The Batchelor and the Bobby-Soxer and Backflash Blues which are produced by their production company, Hartbreak Films.

It would be nice to read about Melissa in a follow up book by this author when Melissa’s in her thirty’s, or read an auto-biography written by Melissa herself. I’d also like to see more merchandise become available eg. posters, calendars, sabrina tv series videos and dolls as well as an official website where we can contact Melissa at Hartbreak Films.

Thumbs up for a great book with an interesting topic.

100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) by Bernard Goldberg

I’m quite sure that the number of stars in each person’s review of this book is based more upon political ideology than the merits of the work. Liberals and their ilk will absolutely detest it, and conservatives will simply love it! Since I consider myself a conservative, my rating should come as no surprise, but I honestly believe that I based it on the merits rather than on the book’s politics. There are a lot of fringe loonies on both sides of the political spectrum, and they should be skewered for how they have contributed to the coarsening of what passes for “debate” in this country. We all have to tone down the rhetoric, and seriously attempt to regain some civility toward each other. I would agree with most of the names on the List, and also for the reasons given in the book. Neither side has the edge on virtue, but we must begin by being willing to treat each other with kindness. Calling President Clinton a “murderer” (as some conservatives have) equates with calling President Bush a liar and a traitor (as some liberals have). Both sides are wrong, and should look deeply inside themselves to see where their particular bias is leading them, and this wonderful country in which we live.

“… Ali McGraw, Marisa Tomei, Edie Falco, Melissa Joan Hart, Teri Hatcher, Julie Kavner, Claire Danes, Sharon Gless, …”

Rose’s _Handbook_ is written in narrative chapters, more or less chronological and thematic, rather than in encyclopedic form. This makes it great for a newcomer to Greek literature who needs someone to explain the background and principal players.

The literary figures discussed are described in terms of their biography and also summaries of their work, in accessible and delightfully opinionated prose (Xenophon has “a mind which it would be flattery to call second-rate and a character hide-bound with convention”). Major issues (the “Homeric Question”) are touched upon, and lost works are also described and named, to the extent possible.

A good index means that the book can also comfortably be used as a reference work, to be consulted for information on a particular writer.

Zip file of the entire book 1 GB

Forgive me if my critique is not “pithy”

I couldn’t wait to read this book. I bought it this morning and left work early so I could read it. Why? Because Bill Oreilly fascinates me and I thought his memoir would give some real answers as to how this man, who truly is an American original, thinks.

First off, I actually had the privilege of meeting and briefly working with Bill Oreilly. After graduating college in the early nineties, I wrote to Mr. OReilly and asked him for advice on getting a job in television. I knew nothing about him, only that he was a fellow graduate of my high school (Chaminade High in Long Island) and that he was the anchorman of some show called “Inside Edition” (which I had never even watched)

To my surprise, Mr. OReilly not only responded but invited me to the studio, took me to lunch and offered me a temporary production assistant job for Inside Edition. I began a career on Wall Street shortly after my stint with Inside Edition ended, but I have always been grateful to him for helping out some kid he didn’t know. He is a man of character.

And let me tell you, the man is fearless in every way and he is not a phony. He is exactly like he is on screen (albeit more reserved). Which is why I wanted to read this. I wanted to know- what makes this man tick? How did he come to be the person that he is today?

Does this book answer these questions? - Sort of

Not really a complete life memoir(by his own admission),”Bold Piece” is a kind of “Thoughtography”-a collection a remembrances of his early life followed by essays on how they shaped his current actions.

With chapter titles like “Politics” “Fear” “Saving the World” and “Standing for something”, Mr. Oreilly intersperses stories of his early life with how they affected his later life dealings and adult philosophies.

Does it shed light on the inner life of the man? To a degree, yes.

The book has many entertaining and insightful highlights including:

1) A story about a grammar school classmate named Norma was especially touching. It will make you understand his sometimes-heated anger at injustice.
2) As a graduate of Chaminade High School, I especially enjoyed his thoughts on class warfare at the school. It is a subject rarely discussed to any effectiveness. His story about the “Levittown Sandlot- Chaminade football game” could be an entertaining Disney Movie
3) It gives a sense of the importance of his life experiences. Unlike Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, who I doubt have EVER sought to expand their horizons, Mr. Oreilly has walked the walk. He has traveled to 70 countries, received 2 graduate degrees, and even taught at an inner city high school. His stories about a student named “Miss Jones” and his exposure to Anti Americanism while studying abroad will help you further understand his self reliance and love of country view point.
4) His stories about friendship are especially touching. An expansion of his “Friendship Factor” chapter in his first book, he gives examples of why his friends are so important to him. The Joe Spencer - Peter Jennings story is especially moving. He really should write an entire book about the importance of friendship. It is his most astute chapter.

But the big question I wanted to know -why is this man so confident and fearless?- Is never quite answered. Having grown up in his native Long Island, I have known many a person like Bill OReilly. You could magically drop them onto the far side of the galaxy and they will always espouse hard work, faith, family, and the goodness of America without the slightest doubt. After reading this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that Mr. OReilly simply is one of those men and probably always will be. No matter what their experiences in life, some people are just born that way.

A few critiques-

1) I do think Mr. OReilly should fess up and admit that he took a teaching job in the early 70’s partially to avoid being drafted (he quits the job in 1973 just as the war ends) . It is clear that that was at least a strong possibility.
2) I also think he should have elaborated on what I think is his greatest dichotomy. Why does he have so a low opinion of the competence of federal government yet sincerely believes their actions in Iraq at the time of invasion were not to be questioned?
3) I think he is a little too hard on Katrina Victims. In one section, he explains that he would have “gotten in his car and left” in the same situation, never once thinking that most of the people couldn’t do that because they didn’t HAVE cars.
4) I also think he was just a little too hard on the movie “Love Story” (you have to read the book). I loved that movie!

All in all - a good enlightening read but not the “Window into the Soul” that I was hoping for.
“… me like a mongoose. â?œWilliam,â? she shouted. â?œYou are a bold, fresh piece of humanity! …”

We use this book as part of our home school curriculum (Ambleside Online) and love it… the stories are short, some illustrated and have historical significance (pulled from many sources, greek and roman history, bible, great figures in American and European history etc). James Baldwin’s book are a SURE Thing when it comes to value for dollar. He write so simply, but yet, there is no “dumbing down” as it is called. He doesn’t substitute easier words for the harder ones and my children’s already large vocabulary expands every day we use any Baldwin book. Other books by him are highly recommended to help round out more “liberal” educational systems.

Zip file of the entire book 100MB

Zip file of the entire book 139 MB

A very well documented biography on a genuine American and French hero. Unfortunately he was born during the Jim Crow era in the south (even though the constitution which was written over 100 years before his birth mentions “all men are created equal”, this did not include any non-caucasian’s or women, did it? Did not use the word minority since it denotes less than some majority, there are more non-caucasian’s in the world anyway and what is really meant by that word is just that, non-caucasian. I find it odd that the USA was founded by European descendants like the English, French and even though the country prided itself on it’s progresive nature, it did not include equality, even though Europe itself did not practice racial discrimination). He was born the seventh child of a large family and his father always had a premonition of a very distinguished future for him and let it be known to him when he was young. Talks about his travel through the south after he left home and was told early by his father of a country (France) where all men are truly free. This had a profound effect on him because he eventually made it to France via England first.

He began his livelyhood as a theatre performer and boxer; two opposing and similar avocations. He joined the military and became the first Black American and Black Frenchman aviator and was awarded medals for his bravery, dedication and skills. Very well liked, he had a contagious personality and started working at a famous Paris club later in life and eventually became a club owner himself. He met the famous of the day like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Bricktop and many others. This biography also got me interested in Jazz age Paris to request both autobiographies of Hughes and Bricktop.

Slowly (too slowly) more is being known about this man and his acomplishments and contributions to the human race.

You won’t be able to put it down. Jack Johnson’s autobiography “In the Ring and Out” is another good bio of that era too.

There is so much to be said for this novel that it’s difficult to know where to begin. It is a superb evocation of a time and place; it is a complex, detailed character study; it has a believable and compelling plot; and, more than anything else, it is a magnificent love story.

Of course, love stories are the common denominator of human existence and have been the subject of literature since mankind first put charcoal to rock, so the fact that Jane Eyre is a love story is nothing terribly significant. No, what makes this novel so special is the thoughtfulness with which its narrator, Jane Eyre herself, documents her love affair. She is extremely intelligent, she carefully analyzes her feelings and actions, and she is scrupulously honest with both herself and her reader. This is what sets it apart: it is the depth of these thoughts and feelings that make the novel interesting. Beyond that, though, it is the character of Jane, slowly revealed, that makes the novel a delight.

The plot is Jane’s story. Orphaned, she is sent to live with her cruel aunt and cousins. At the age of ten she is sent away for good to a charity school, at which she gets her education, but which is run in such a miserly fashion that many of the students there actually die of disease and starvation. Jane survives, and at the age of eighteen, is able to secure a position as a governess to a child in a great house of England: Thornfield Hall. It is owned by Edward Rochester, the man who will become the centerpiece of her life.

How the two begin to slowly realize their affection for one another, how they then cautiously begin to act on their feelings, and how they must then surmount the obstacles in their path–both societal and self-inflicted–are what make up the bulk of the novel. There are at least a few surprises along the way. The strong-willed Jane’s moral code requires that she respond to these difficulties in certain ways. It is to the novel’s and the author’s great credit that these decisions are never simply made; Jane agonizes over them in heart-wrenching fashion. As in life, the standards one chooses to live by can be difficult to maintain.

This defining tension is what drives the novel, but that it is delivered in such a skillful and assured way is what raises it to its lofty status. The dialogue, particularly, is fantastic. It is the stuff of an actor’s dream: much of it can be interpreted in several different ways. Jane describes Rochester as being moody and tempestuous, and he often is, but at the same time–particularly after Jane agrees to marry him–he is hilariously wry and bemused. Jane comes across as being earnest and pleading, but she can be very playful and is often flirtatious. As mentioned above, these are deep, achingly human characters.

The setting is also very evocative. The English countryside, class system and moral understanding were obviously familiar to those who read the book in Ms. Bronte’s day, and probably familiar to many of us in this day and age. Nevertheless, Ms. Bronte took the time to document these things carefully. The descriptions of Rochester’s home, the lanes in front if it and its orchards and fields; the destitute and grimly cold school for girls; and the small country town where Jane makes the acquaintance of a small group of benefactors towards the end of the novel are all a testament to life as it existed at this distant time and age.

The novel is looked upon as a classic and should be. Ms. Bronte not only created a beautiful piece having to do with the nature of love–personal to her but universal in nature–but did so in such a spectacular way that she actually makes the reader feel this love, both for her creation, and for her.

Zip file of the entire book 536MB

Sex and the Japanese: The Sensual Side of Japan by Boye Lafayette De Mente

This short book is a real eye opener. It could more properly be called a guide to having sex with Japanese women. It’s well written, insightful, and hard to put down before finishing. The first line of Chapter One reads “The Judeo-Christian concept of recreational sex as sinful and abhorrent in the eyes of an all-powerful god is, I believe, one of the biggest con-jobs every foisted on any group of mankind. The ulterior motive of the creators of this concept was, of course, political and social control (especially women), and had nothing whatsoever to do with morality or saving `immortal souls.’”
The author then goes on to provide the historical and religious reasons why Japan missed out on the guilt trip associated with any kind of sexual pleasure. He gives a brief account of Japanese history and relates it to present day Japan. He believes that some knowledge of Japanese is necessary for westerners to properly seduce, or be seduced by, modern Japanese woman who have absolutely no guilt feelings about sexual experimentation. The book’s introduction is a primer from pronouncing Japanese words, which are remarkably easy to pronounce. The language of love is a very important part of Japanese art and culture.
The last forty percent of the book is a dictionary of the Japanese Language of Love and sexual terms such as “Love Hotels” as well as how to pronounce the various terms. These words are as easy to pronounce as Spanish. Compared to the similar book “Making Out In Korean” by Peter Constantine and Gene Baik, it’s easy to pick up the necessary language skills to converse in Japanese. While Korean is a very tough language to pick up, Japanese is easy.
“Sex and the Japanese” is a fun read. I suspect that it may exaggerate just how anxious the average, very innocent looking and wily Japanese woman is interested in jumping into bed, it does explain why the Japanese have little of the sexual baggage of most cultures. Sex was a normal and desirable part of both Shintoism and Daoism and has greatly affected Modern Japanese culture as well. It’s nice how the author manages to briefly explain the historical roots of Modern Day Japan. I can hardly wait to read some of the author’s many other books. He has a remarkable ability to communicate.

“… reason why the comic-book characters were made to look so young is that Japanese men are fascinated by girls with baby faces who look and act infantile, …”

Off the Rails in Phnom Penh: Into the Dark Heart of Guns, Girls, and Ganja by Amit Gilboa

As a Thai raised in Bangkok and educated in NYC, I thought I had seen it all. But working in Phnom Penh threw even me for a loop. What’s great about Off the Rails is that it captures the anarchy that Phnom Penh is full of. And Gilboa captures the essence of the sexed out, drugged out foreigners that we see all the time in Thailand and who now have “discovered” Cambodia. Off the Rails doesn’t dwell on the mundane aspects of Phnom Penh, but goes straight to the heart of the story. I read the book in one sitting. It’s funny some of the “professional journalists” (who haven’t published any books on Cambodia) on this site complain about the writing. But the straightforward style works really well for this story. I suppose it wasn’t written like (yawn) the New York Times would have. But maybe that’s the whole point. I do wish that Gilboa could have included more about the Cambodians. Anyway, I hope he writes another book, but this one about the terrible things that go on in places like Thailand’s own Pattaya.

The thinnest girl alive: diary of a young dancer by Alissa Hall

This book dealt with a very serious subject matter in an enlightening way. The descriptions of dance were beautiful, and the diary-like narrative made the book extremely readable. However, PLEASE get an editor! There were so many punctuation errors (the author had no idea how to use a semi-colon), and there were WAY too many grammatical errors - the wrong “affect” was used over and over, the wrong “to,” etc.; it made it extremely hard for this English teacher to make it through the book!

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen

Loose Girl is a well focused look at one woman’s journey through insecurity, dysfunction and unhappiness. It reads a lot like many other ‘addiction’ books but since the ‘addiction’ it covers is sex, the highs and lows are a lot less extreme. Author Kerry Cohen does a good job of drawing the reader in and
creating a very vivid and engaging world. Her writing is clear, flowing and polished. I found myself zipping through the book fully engaged with Cohen’s journey. My biggest gripe is that the book has almost no third act. Cohen’s story has a very distinct beginning, middle, but a very soft end. I felt there was more book in Cohen and she stopped short of where the story could have taken her. The writer’s Bio indicates that Cohen is now married with children, but the book never really ventures into how her past has shaped her present or now how reflecting on all this has impacted her as she moves forward. Even with a less than full ending, I still did like Loose Girl, it’s well written, engaging and worth reading especially for fans of the genre.

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook by Izumi Evers, Patrick Macias, and Kazumi Nonaka

I lived in Japan for a long time, and while I got used to many strange things something that never ceased to turn my head was when a tribe of schoolgirls would come walking by dressed in bizarre outfits that looked more like Halloween costumes than actual clothing. I’ll never forget my first encounter with the kigurumin, groups of girls dressed in full-length pajamas of popular characters like Pikachu and Winnie the Pooh. The nice thing is these girls are always happy to pose for pictures with an astounded foreigner, and I took more than a few over the years.

“Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno” is a fashion-guide to some of the more outrageous outfits to come in and out of popularity over the years. I know from personal experience that these are all real styles, worn by guys and gals who put considerable time, energy and money into creating the perfect effect. As is true in most Japanese culture, it is all about fitting in with the group, and making sure that everyone is matching. They might like to stand out, but individualism is the last thing on anyone’s mind, with choreographed dance moves and coordinated colors declaring your membership in each tribe.

The book starts in the 1970’s, with the Sukeban fashion inspired by and inspiring the Pinky Violence genre. These tough and sexy girls were the devils of Japanese streets, managing to be both cute and dangerous at the same time. The trends continue with the Takenoko Zoku in the 80’s, the schoolgirl prostitutes known as Kogals, and the incredible Panda-women that haunted Shibuya, Tokyo and were known as Gonguro. All of these fashions were supported by the infamous Egg Magazine, which laid out the rules and costumes for each group.

After seeing these fashions live and in person, it was cool to get the run down on the styles and attitudes behind them, as well as the history and inspirations. “Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno” is more than just a photo book, and does a great job showing the culture necessary to spawn these complicated fashions. Of course, there are photos as well, as well as fantastic illustrations by Nonaka Kazumi that give greater details on the costumes, the type of guys favored by each tribe, and the era in which they were popular.

Their differences ignited their passion! Lowell is a double-digit millionaire, a proud member of the beatnik generation who never dropped the slang he adopted in Greenwich Village, 1965. Young women love hearing him talk, and he loves young women. But he would gladly trade in his eternal bachelorhood and playboy lifestyle if he could find one girl who embodied what he calls his “vision.”

But now that he’s sixty, Lowell thinks that even if he did find her, he’d be too old for her. Peggy is a twenty-six-year-old marketing representative for the San Diego Padres. She has a petite body, blonde shoulder length hair, Skyy Vodka bottle blue eyes, and a consistent problem of picking boyfriends who are assholes only interested in themselves.

After Peggy kicks her latest self-centered, cigarette-smoking, letch of a boyfriend out of her apartment, she makes a vow to her roommate that she’ll never fall for another young louse again. She says that she’s going to find someone who’ll sweep her off of her feet and who’s enamored with her from the very beginning and who isn’t so wrapped up in his career as to want her only for how she can make him look better.

When Peggy and her roommate walk into the same country club lounge where Lowell and his best friend Larry Feathers are having drinks, Lowell and Peggy find themselves wondering if their sudden and intense attraction to each other is real.

Here’s my quibble, and it’s a quibble against the genre more than this book: I’m not sure how I feel about the ’short’. (I know, so why’d I buy the dang book?) Part of me distrusts the genre as pandering to the ever-shrinking attention spans of our culture. We get our news in disconnected soundbytes, the average news story is 30 seconds long…you know the ‘crabby old timer’ diatribe. So, I’m ambivalent about the genre.

That being said, this is a great book. It has consoled me that not everything short is shallow. I keep it by my computer to leaf through when my ancient dialup is cranking its way to the hinternets, and have found the nibble-sized essays to be just the ticket to turn a wait into a refreshing pause. The editors took enormous care in sequencing the selections, and part of the enjoyment as a reader for me has come from tracing themes (birds, gender, death, etc) as they pop up like threads in a tapestry throughout the book as a whole. It’s best read in little nibbles, with a bit of thought after each piece.

Now, I’m not crazy in love with every selection in this book. There are some standouts (can anyone make it through “Tino & Papi” without getting choked up?), a good number of very good essays, and a few ‘ehh’ pieces that left me unmoved. (That may be just my taste, though).

The benefit of ’shorts’ is that in a relatively small space, the editors can give you tons and tons of range. You get essays that strike your heart. Essays that get your brain working. Essays that cause you to well with nostalgia. Essays that bring you peace and calm.

Creative nonfiction has in the last five years (since I started teaching–whoa, that makes me sound like I’m somehow instrumental in it. I’m not!) begun to grow as a genre. Memoir, reflection, meditation, personal essay are represented in this book. Literary journalism is not. But there are at least three massive LJ anthologies I can think of, while this is one of a kind, and specializing in the supershort. It’s a good addition to the library of anyone teaching the genre, as well as anyone who wants to experience the wider horizon of creative nonfiction.

Zip file of the entire collection - 179MB

Rubén Darío’s works are widely known, and so are his letters. However, this volume contains previously unpublished material, exposing the intricate web of relationships between the poet and his fellow Modernists.
Truly invaluable.

Zip file of the entire book

It’s always a joy to return to the works of one Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was Rome’s greatest orator, and anyone who has ever read his works can certainly see why. In the present work he discusses the concepts of friendship, moral virtue, one’s duty to the state, one’s duty to one’s friends (and what to do when these come into conflict), oratory and the famous “Dream of Scipio.” I have little doubt that Dante used the latter as inspiration for the 3rd canticle of his DIVINE COMEDY (Paradise).

In reading of Cicero’s thoughts on morality, it’s easy to discern the influence that Cicero had on Immanual Kant. Kant extrapolated and expounded on a lot of Cicero’s basic ideas. The dialogue on friendship is a good complement to the writings of what Plato & Aristotle had to say on the subject.

The works are translated and edited by the venerable Michael Grant of Cambridge university. I consider myself pretty well read when it comes to the personages of antiquity. Still, Cicero loves to name-drop and frequently his allusions are beyond my grasp. That’s where our good buddy Michael Grant comes in. Grant’s footnotes do a terrific job of clarifying who Cicero is referring to, and makes Cicero’s writings far more cohesive & easier to understand. I would gather that Grant’s elucidations would even be apt to assist people with doctorates in history who wish to engage the Roman writer.

There is one mannerism of Cicero’s that is bound to rub a lot of readers the wrong way, and that is his being convinced that the world revolves around Rome. In this way, he reminds me of how modern day New Yorkers believe that the world revolves around NYC. It is helpful, however, to remember that in his day the world basically DID revolve around Rome. The Romans truly saw themselves as a beacon of light in what was largely an uncivilized planet. Whether one likes or dislikes the Romans, of course, is a different matter entirely.

If you’ve never read Cicero before, this would be an ideal place to start. It is a far easier read than his ON THE ORATOR and other works. It will also be a nice introduction into the milieu in which the orator lived. Anyone who has any passing interest in the world of antiquity would be highly urged to read this book.

Zip file of the entire book (316 MB)

Into Hot Air: Another “Novel” by Chris Elliott by Chris Elliott

I loved Chris Elliot in Get a Life. I didn’t know he was also a talented and creative writer. This novel is just plain funny. Elliott takes a serious, introspective topic - ascending Mount Everest - and turns it into a laugh riot. The story, despite its outlandish plot, flows well. Every page made me laugh on some level of the laugh scale - from guffaw, to chortle, to laugh out loud. Elliott takes us from the genesis of his journey, when he discovers his great-uncle Percy’d diary, who presumably summitted Mouny Everest, through his gathering of a team to climb with him - including a mix of celebrities, each with their own particular role to play on the climb, especially as foils to each other, to the inevitable hazards encountered on the ascent, including some outrageous episodes that could only have been conceived by Elliot’s mind. If you read the book now (March of 2008) there is an eerie sense of prophecy in some of the events that unfold. I don’t want to give it away, but if you are keeping up with news about Tibet (where Mount Everest is located) you’ll know what I mean. If you want to laugh consistently while reading a humor book, pick up (and read) Into Hot Air.

Shroud of the Thwacker, The by Chris Elliott

The Shroud of the Thwacker is the debut novel from the not-so critically acclaimed Chris Elliot…and, well, it’s actually good! I’ll admit that I got this book as a present, and probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own. In fact I read it half as a favor to the person who gave it to me, and half out of boredom, but I must admit that I actually enjoyed it.

This book outpaces all of Chris Elliott’s other works. That’s right, it’s better than Cabin Boy! All right, I know what you’re thinking, Cabin Boy sucked. How about this: it’s better than There’s Something About Mary! Not your cup of chai, then I have one more for you: The Shroud of the Thwacker is even better than Get a Life. Yes, you heard me correctly, and I know I might get tarred and feathered for this but Chris Elliott’s new book eclipses that flash-in-the-pan 1990’s sitcom.

Now that I have your attention I can tell you a little about the book. The set up is this: Chris Elliott (the author) is investigating the notorious Gilded Age murders of the Thwacker. We follow both Chris’ investigation in the present as well as that of several “historical” characters (including a pre-presidential [and pre-Spanish American War] Teddy Roosevelt) who were hot on the trail of the infamous serial killer.

The Shroud of the Thwacker is basically a parody of Caleb Carr’s Alienist novels, historical fiction, popular history, fictional history, and steals a bit of From Hell. The book is crammed from first to last page with jokes, and if one doesn’t strike your fancy the next one probably will. He manages to fit wry literary allusions (”the price of oil had skyrocketed ever since the sinking of the Pequod”) next to a running gag about Teddy Roosevelt’s flatulence. Elliott’s main purpose is to tell jokes, but at a certain points he lets a bit of social commentary slip through. He skewers historians who often wear rose colored glasses when writing about the past (one of my pet peeves) by playing up the most unpleasant aspects of late 19th century New York. Instead of the Statute of Liberty, Elliott instead claims that New York had a statute of Nathan Forrest, the leader of the Ku Klux Klan. There are also giant wooden cell phones, time traveling, Yoko Ono, and other bits of wackiness.

Of course, the plot makes absolutely no sense, but in the end it doesn’t really matter (several plot holes are actually made fun of). Chris Elliott manages to write an imaginative, joke filled, crass and clever book. Hey, maybe I’ve been underestimating this guy. Maybe I’ll go out and rent Cabin Boy again. (”Would you like to buy a monkey?”) On second thought, maybe not.

Daddy’s Boy: A Son’s Shocking Account of Life with a Famous Father by Chris Elliott

And that’s the reason Chris interpolated THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE into DADDY’S BOY. Pamela Sue was at the apogee of her scrumptiousness in 1973. In the squeezy-wet summer of her sweet goosey youth. Don’t be fooled by Chris’s distractionary references to “the leggy blonde in the wedgie sandals”. Carol Lynley means nothing to Chris. There’s only you, Pamela Sue. Only you.

If Bobby Darin was a triple-threat, Bobby Elliott was a megatuple-threat: “When I entered his world, he was at his height. You couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing his deep manly baritone belting out a lilting romantic lullaby. You couldn’t go to the movies without seeing his rock-solid shoulders and receding hairline fill the screen, and you couldn’t go to the supermarket without seeing his cherubic face emblazoned on the labels of Bob Elliott’s Famous Salad Dressing, or Bob Elliott’s Popcorn, Chewing Tobacco, and Turkey Franks. He monopolized the talk shows and gossip columns. His appearance could turn a boring party into an ‘event’. He composed, he performed, he lifted weights, and he painted all the murals in the lobby of the RCA Building. He was King of Comedy, King of Drama, and Teen Beat’s Hunk-of-the-Month at age 53.”

Let it also be known that Chris shamelessly borrowed a bit of shtick from THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE: “He [Wulfgang Herbert] also felt that since there were no right angles in nature, there should be no right angles in anything man-made, including architecture. Every attempt at constructing a Herbert school without right angles met with disaster before the school could be completed, and so classes were held outside, literally on 68th and Lexington.”

Chris appropriated Monty Python’s Trim-Jeans joke with complete peace of mind: “Still later that night, with my mind lost in the parking lot of the Bates Motel, my nostrils filled with the familiar Mum aroma. I woke immediately, and there, standing in the doorway, was Daddy. He was naked except for a pair of inflatable undershorts. (The undershorts were something he had seen advertised on television. Supposedly, if you wore them to bed, you could lose weight in your sleep.) He stood swaying in the doorway for an eternity. Then, in a hushed voice, almost a whisper, he implored: ‘If you eat spaghetti, please watch out for the bay leaves!’ He turned and was gone as suddenly as he had appeared.”

But the best reason to hate Chris is for the following passage: “The twins, A and B, shaved their heads, moved to Iran, and opened a chain of Bob’s Big Boys, and the rest of the thugs were at Stanford Medical School trying to come up with a cure for those obnoxious people who insist on closing their eyes whenever they talk.”

It just so happens that some of those eye-closers are thinking of Pamela Sue Martin. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Isn’t that right, Chris.

Buttery Wholesomeness by Christopher Elliott; Todd Shaughnessy; Daniel Thron

What could make HoL better? More rules, more fun and more of the most incredibly clever writing in an RPG! All of that can be found between the slick covers of ‘Buttery wHoLesomeness’. The simple rules of HoL are expanded with more options, more fun and more incredible surprises. I gave my copy to my daughter and will be buying another copy for myself!

Biography - Elliott, Chris (1960-): An article from: Contemporary Authors Online by Gale Reference Team

Every doglover will be swept away by this captivating audiobook of John Muir’s adventure with STICKEEN. I had never known the story before I listened to the tape, and I was completely captivated by the bravery and heart of STICKEEN - and by the voice of Lee Salisbury. John Muir’s words capture the innate goodness of EVERY dog - and somehow explains why we can’t help but love them so!! I bought 5 copies to send to my dog loving friends, and I’m sure I’ll be buying more! This is a story you’ll want to share with everyone who loves animals.

Zip file of the entire book