The Audiobooks Reviews

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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! …”

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

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

This book was incredibly helpful for me when I first started in Children’s Ministry–and beyond! Each chapter covers a different area of Children’s Ministry and helps lay a solid foundation for your ministry. I’ve re-read most chapters to help me evaluate our ministry. All ages are covered and there are things for churches of any size. A must have for anyone in Childrens’ Ministry!

Zip file of the entire book

The Upskirt Exhibitionist by Ray Gordon

Turned out is a new term for me and one that is perfectly understandible especially after reading this wonderfull book. Its kind of every guy/girls fantasy rolled up into one story and you cannot put it down. I have had conversations with people about said book and truly believe girls who are sluts, but some one you can bring home to mom, would save numerous marriages. Not to be hypocritical, but if guys acted this way a bit it would probably make things better in a relationship.
I highly recommend this smart and erotic smut for any one who enjoys new and exciting stories.

Start Your Own Adult Web Site Business by Stephan Kent

Not a bad book. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed it just didnt have what I was looking for. It seemed to be outdated.

“… content. Ebony content and sponsors work nicely with ass content. Upskirt and panty sites work well with a butt site. 51 …”

How To Get Your Own Groupies: The Groupie Manual by Peter Bawls

So raw!! This book talks about how guys can go downtown and actually get groupies (girls that are sort of looking to go home with the best “partiers”). Some very useful info and tips on how to get the most out of your experience when you go out on the town. Not the longest book, but the few pictures in this book are so funny! I have never seen guys actually lift 2 girls at once and seemingly make a sport out of it. I am dying to go use some of the “how to get free drinks” tips!

“… steal from bars. 3) Take an up-skirt photo of a girl. If you do this it is usually a hot girl. …”

Turned Out! by Reggie Chesterfield

What can I say about this book? It’s filthy, it’s vile, it’s uncompromising, it’s disgusting, and it’s disturbing. It’s taboo in EVERY way, AND…it’s one pretty quick read, also.
In a word, it’s PERFECT!!!
Dave thought he had it ALL. But then, his buddy Charlie set his ass straight. And then together, they sent Dave’s love Julie down the road of complete sexual EXCESS. This book is phenomenal, IMHO.
It pulled together many things in my head that I have always wanted to see written about, and it put it all together in a way that is intelligent and honest. Mr. Chesterfield writes about Julie (near the end), ‘A lot of people would not like the way she was, but she didn’t care.’ He tempers this though, by adding, ‘Most people can’t handle honesty especially when it deals with human honesty and desire.” I know for a FACT that this is GOSPEL.
This book breaks MANY socially accepted norms, but does so with the undercurrent of THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH SEEKING OUT YOUR OWN PLEASURE AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT HURTING ANYONE.
Charlie and Dave DON’T turn Julie out just to turn her into a slut…they do it to help her enjoy life more, which she (and many others) does because of this.
Julie: “I’m kind of mad at myself because of all I was missing out on.”
The Librarian: “People really limit themselves by not considering all of their options…” is the TRUE undertone of this novel. People DO limit themselves, and not just sexually, within the IMAGINARY confines of what is PERCIEVED to be ‘Normal’ (I know I have), and I’m SICK of it.
Who says a book about sex and ‘perversions’ (although happy ones) can’t change your life, and make you see things in a new (and MUCH more enjoyable) way.
To Mr. Chesterfeild, if you ever read this, I want you to know that I have TWO copies of this book. The digital version was just NOT enough for me; I just HAD to have it in my hands to be able to read it again and again and again (and I’ve read it FOUR TIMES already) it’s THAT good.
Be prepared to have what you BELIEVED to be ‘normal’ living challenged, because, THIS BOOK is NOT about to take ANY prisoners of your preconceived notions of life, in general.

A Certain Chemistry: A Novel by Mil Millington

This book captured the complex creature known as man. The author does a tremendous job of involving us in the life of Tom, his girlfriend Sara, and his mistress, George. Through his relationship with these two women, and also the wonderful supporting characters, we see Tom at his best (and his worst). Tom is a ghostwriter with a vivid imagination, and we’re treated to some of his musings through some hilarious scenes - the book is witty, at times laugh out loud funny, and yet the writing still maintains class and even a `message’ about human nature. In fact, some of the best portions of the book are the introductions to each chapter, which are written by “God.” I’m very pleased to have found this book and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for quality reading material with an edge.

Vanity Fair August 2008 Kristen Stewart. Blake Lively, Emma Roberts, Amanda Seyfried Hollywood’s New Wave by Vanity Fair

WordTheatre Presents: Fatso by Leelila Strogov [MP3 Audio Download] by Leelila Strogov and Amanda Seyfried

This is an audio download. Written by Leelila Strogov. Performed by Amanda Seyfried. WordTheatre’s Love Hurts series focuses on souls dazed and confused by this thing we call ?love?. MTV Movie Award winner AMANDA SEYFRIED gleefully portrays a high school beauty who, quite unexpectedly, finds meaning and possibility with the fat boy in her class, in Leelila Strogov’s ?Fatso?.

Teen Dreams: Reading Teen Film and Television from ‘Heathers’ to ‘Veronica Mars’ by Roz Kaveney

This book contains an interesting analysis of teen movies and television. It mentions 86 films&shows, and of these the following get an in-depth treatment:
10 things I Hate About You
Adventures in Babysitting
American Pie
Bend It Like Beckham
The Breakfast Club
Bring It On
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Clueless
Cruel Intentions
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Girl Next Door
Heathers
Mean Girls
Popular
Pretty In Pink
Saved!
She’s All That
Sixteen Candles
Some Kind of Wonderful
Veronica Mars
Weird Science

There’s an index, which considerably increases the books usefulness. Reading the book once from cover to cover gives an overview of the genre and made me decide to check out some movies I hadn’t seen, while the index let’s you find the analysis for a specific movie.

“… Gretchen are a comic turn, but so well performed by Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert as to come across as figures of …”

Play the Songs That Inspired Mamma MIA! by Abba

Wonderful sheet music-just a joy to play. I’ve been playing piano for about 8 years (about 2 very seriously) and this book was still a good challenge. The arrangement isn’t annoyingly jumpy or easy-it is simply hard to play the songs at a fast tempo with the left hand. In comparison with other sheet music, it is a little higher than “RENT” and “Footlose”. All the main songs are here, and great value

Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You?: The Inside Story of Mamma Mia! and the Songs of ABBA by Judy Craymer, Benny Andersson, and Bjorn Ulvaeus

After reading the 1994 book “ABBA-The Complete Recording Sessions” by Carl Magnus Palm, I thought I read all I ever would about how ABBA recorded some of their best known songs. However, this coffee table size book delves into greater detail on the origins of the 22 ABBA songs in the worldwide smash musical “Mamma Mia!” as well as great detail on the origins of the musical itself. It also goes into great detail on the foreign language versions of the musical. Any dismissive critics of ABBA (and you know who you are) would have to admit that Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (the two “B”s of ABBA) really knew what they were doing when they recorded all of those songs, based on all of the comments the 2 former ABBA members made regarding the ABBA recordings in this book. Hopefully it will be updated to include more info on the Russian language version that opened in Moscow in the fall of 2006.
And yes, the book contains plenty of photos of ABBA and the Mamma Mia! musical!!!
I also hope they update the book for the summer 2008 release of the film version. Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnin will star!!!

The Very Best of Abba by Dannhauser, A. L., and A. l. Dannhauser

This folio has a few things going for it: great photos of ABBA and a great transcription of ABBA’s music. The songs sound wonderful. But…

The lyrics are totally wrong for some of the songs. One major song with multiple lyric errors is “I Am The City.” This is a song which I’ve never seen in any other folio so I had to have this folio for the music. But the lyrics are laughable. Who came up with some of these?

I recommend it if you’d like to be able to play great-sounding songs of ABBA, but ignore the lyrics.

Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA by Carl Magnus Palm

BRIGHT LIGHTS DARK SHADOWS is absolutely compelling; although the chapters are largely self-contained, the hooks leading into the next chapter (and the opening paragraphs of each chapter) are irresistible. I often found myself beginning to read a new chapter when I swore I would stop at the end of the preceding one.

Part I is gripping from the start of Chapter 1. I was impressed for several reasons. First, the personal and industry backgrounds on the four members and Stig are usually glossed over in other books. Here, the sketchy details are fully filled in, and it’s
fascinating reading.

Second, Carl Magnus Palm puts everything in its cultural and historical context with information about the regions where each member grew up, the origin of the various Swedish charts etc. He expresses an authentic feel for the times and for his country
and its people.

Third, the narrative flows beautifully. Although it’s largely chronological, it feels fresh - the first four chapters don’t just go through each member one by one, the book has been better planned. It seems perfectly natural that we don’t arrive at the childhood of the youngest member, Agnetha, until we’ve learnt about Stig’s background and followed the others into their teenage years.

There isn’t as much public information available about each member’s childhood, which must have made it difficult to piece a lot of these facts together. The book really begins to hit its stride with the early chapters of Part II. In Chapter 12, Palm
begins to weave the various stories together. There’s such a lot that isn’t known about ABBA’s formative years, there’s a real joy of discovery in these chapters. Palm’s tone is also more assured at this point - he slips in some reasoned criticism of each member’s early recordings - and he injects some satirical, but affectionate, humour into the reportage. I loved the style on pages 177 and 178, for example, when Agnetha recounts her “baking accidents” and the bemused tone when Frida decides to throw it all in and “become a clothes designer”.

An impressive feature of the book is its succinctness. That may sound funny, since BRIGHT LIGHTS DARK SHADOWS is over 500 pages, but it’s a fair assessment. The Habari Safari movie takes up about a page; the progg movement is concisely charted and explained in a few pages. He sums up the sound and limitations of Gemini in one pithy phrase - “studio product, shoulder-pad music sorely lacking in soul” - and is equally spot-on with Agnetha and Frida’s 80s solo efforts. Although I didn’t accept his criticism of Djupa Andetag, it is a rational critique, and I admittedly suffer the disadvantage of not being able to understand the album’s lyrics in their natural language.

Part III - The Time is Right - covers Waterloo through to 1982. The material is generally more familiar here; for instance, I could usually be sure of what incidents would be included in each chapter (other fans, as opposed to the general public for whom this book is also written, may be as acquainted with this part of the ABBA story to feel the same).

Fortunately, although a large part of this slab of the book is taken up with recounting events, Palm is not writing a mere overview of the ABBA years. He’s writing a biography, and the significance of events on ABBA as people is analysed; he keeps
sight of the biographer’s purpose in representing the big picture. Occasionally, this is of necessity a little strained - the psychoanalysis of Frida (p. 508) didn’t entirely convince me, for example.

After reading BRIGHT LIGHTS DARK SHADOWS, I’ve learnt as much as I think I’ll ever know about the people that make up ABBA. Ultimately, it’s eye-opening and - towards the end - dispiriting reading. But you get a real sense of the demands and pressures that they were going through - the chapter on 1978, supposedly a quiet year for ABBA, makes this plain. As the business side of Polar consumed Stig, and the marriages collapsed, I think it’s clear that the ABBA “magic” was a relatively short-lived
alchemy of personality, managerial drive, talent and determination in a specific historical and cultural setting. But it wasn’t a fluke - it wouldn’t have lasted as long, over as many unambiguously great albums, if it was.

You’ll understand a lot more about ABBA, and I think you may even better appreciate the music, after reading BRIGHT LIGHTS DARK SHADOWS. It’s the first real biography of ABBA but, more than that, it’s the definitive biography. And it’s the standard against which all future attempts at retelling the ABBA story will be judged.

ABBA: The Book by Jean-Marie Potiez

If you are an ABBA fan, then you will love this book. The book takes you into the lives for 4 very special musicans.

Robin has been saved from the Sheriff of Nottingham’s trap by a good knight , who gave him protection in his castle. The sheriff rode away to London to seek the help of King Richard.

How King Richard Met Robin Hood

With the Sheriff gone, it was safe to leave the castle and Robin returned to Greenwood with his men, many of whom had been wounded. A day or two later, the knight went out hunting along the river with his hawks.

But the sheriff was waiting for him. His archers caught the knight at a bend in the river, and there was no escape. The sheriff took him back to Nottingham as a prisoner, bound hand and foot. When the knight’s wife heard the dreadful news, she rode out to Greenwood to find Robin Hood and to beg him for help.

‘Dear Robin Hood,’ she said, ‘For our Lady’s sake grant me this boon. Never let my wedded Lord be shamefully put to death like a common criminal.’

Robin, who himself was no common criminal, would not leave his friend to such a fate. He chose twenty of his best archers and they rode straight into the City of Nottingham, not even bothering to wear disguises.

They found the Sheriff and his bodyguards on the steps of the law courts.

‘Good sir, what news of the King?’ called out Robin. But he did not wait for a reply. He fired his arrow directly at his enemy, the sheriff, and struck him dead. Then his men attacked the guards with their swords and put them to flight. They rushed into the courts and down to the cells, where they found their friend.

‘Good Sir knight,’ called out Robin, ‘Come with me to Greenwood through the moss, the mire, and the fen.’ And the Knight was only too happy to ride with Robin to the forrest and to freedom.

News of this lawlessness soon reached the King in London, and he decided to waste no more time in coming to Nottingham to restore order.

When the King Richard reached the city, he called all the elders and local dignitaries to a council.

‘This is my decree,’ said the King. ‘Who so ever shall bring me the head of the errant knight will receive his castle and all his lands.’

Many around the table murmured their approval, and only one wise old knight dared to speak an opposing view:

‘My liege. There is no living soul in this country who may enjoy the lands of my fellow knight while Robin Hood rides free with a bow in his hands.’

And all had to agree that the wise old knight spoke nothing but the truth.

‘So does anyone have a better plan?’ asked King Richard. But no one around the table could think of one.

That evening, a forester asked permission to speak to the king. He was brought before his majesty and spoke as follows:

‘Sire. If you wish to meet with Robin Hood, you should take five of your best knights and ride with them to the Abbey. There, put on monks’ habits and then make your way to Greenwood. You will meet with Robin Hood soon enough.’

The king saw the cunning of this plan, for surely even the lawless Robin Hood would not fire their arrows into a group of traveling monks.
Later that night, The king and his five best knights rode over to the abbey to borrow some clothes. The king chose a broad hat, which he wore over his crown, so that he looked like the abbot. His knights pulled monks ‘habits over their armoured breastplates.

The King did not have to travel for very long through Sherwood Forrest before he met with Robin’s men. Naturally, the outlaws believed him to be the abbot - who was famous for his high living and his greed. They brought him, together with the five knights dressed as monks, to their leader under the Greenwood tree.

Robin declared that the abbot must stay a while in Greenwood, and hand over some of his gold for charity.

The King in disguise replied that he was carrying but forty pounds, adding:

‘For I have been in Nottingham this past week, and I have spent much gold entertaining the king.’

Robin divided the forty pounds, half for the families of his men who had recently been killed or wounded, and the other half he returned to the man dressed as an abbot saying:

‘Keep this for your spending. We shall meet another day.’

The King replied with an invitation to Robin to come and dine with him in Nottingham. Robin admired hisspirit and replied:

‘Indeed I will. But for now, Sir Abbot, stay a while and dine with me under the yew tree.’

Robin blew his horn and seven men came and kneeled before him. He commanded them to stand up and draw their bows. The King thought that they meant to kill him but happily he was mistaken. Robin declared that there would be shooting match, and who so ever would miss the target should receive a blow. Will Scarlet, Little John and Gilbert all hit true but Robin missed his target by three fingers width. And Gilbert said:

‘Master. You must pay.’

‘Indeed I must,’ said Robin, and turning to the abbot said:

‘My honoured guest. Do me the service of a blow.’

The King protested that he would do no harm to a good yeoman of the forrest, but Robin said: ‘Dear Abbot, you hit me with my full permission. In fact, I insist.’

Then King Richard the Lionheart rolled up his sleeve and gave Robin such a blow that he laid him out on the ground. It was almost a minute before Robin opened his eyes and was able to sit up. He was about to congratulate his guest on the strength of his arm when the king through off his hat and revealed his crown. Robin and the Knight recognised their king right away and kneeled before him. And shortly after, so did all of his men.

‘Good sire,’ said Robin at length, ‘If I have shown you hospitality, grant me this boon. Pardon me and all my men for our crimes’

And the king gladly granted his Royal Pardon to Robin Hood.

And that’s the story of how King Richard met Robin Hood. Bertie says that most of our stories about Robin Hood come from an ancient ballad called ‘A Gest of Robin Hood’ that was written around the year 1450. And although Robin Hood was a real outlaw who committed crimes, he was supported by the people because the Sheriff was unjust.

h o r r o r . a d d i c t s: people who are physiologically or psychologically dependent on items depicting macabre events.

Horror Fiction Stories:

http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/119929/horroraddicts-119929-07-25-2008.mp3

http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/124855/horroraddicts-124855-09-04-2008.mp3

http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/125521/horroraddicts-125521-09-11-2008.mp3

http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/126154/horroraddicts-126154-09-18-2008.mp3

http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/126825/horroraddicts-126825-09-25-2008.mp3

Down Came the Rain : My Journey Through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields

WARNING! Depression hurts and those who do suffer depression may not enjoy this because the main content is her struggle downward. The majority of this book is on the downward trending patterns. This is not happy reading. Do not read this if you just had a baby; do not gift this book to a person who you think has post partum depression and you just want them to “see” that depression is treatable. This is definitely NON-pregnancy reading.

If you have never been able to explain the magnitude and self loathing of depression, Brooke has done it for you. She spends a lot of time describing the slippery slope of feeling out of sorts and not very excited into feeling your absolute and unexplainable worst. In the audio version she reads the story herself and it really does get across the stymied feelings of those around her who could not understand what was going on. She should be on top of the world. Instead she felt it was on top of her.

She documents her way through the maze of depression and page after page you keep saying to yourself “And the Doctor was not on to this???”. I think that is part of the point of her writing this, normal healthy people can get very serious depression and the people around them do not know how to react and they do not put depression into the mix. They just work around the equation hoping that this will pass. In her case it was never going to pass on its own.

She covers the awful trip back to herself and how as a person she was as perplexed at how to “feel better” as those around her were to have her be better. This is at times a story you want to speed up and skip over more and more of the exhaustive recounting. Again that is the point of the story- depression is an exhaustive journey.

We recommend the audio more that the written word because it has Brook telling her own story and you can feel her emotions as she tells her story. We also recommend that you buy this discounted because it is not a body work that you keep in your collection unless this topic is related to your field. For the average reader: this is a read and pass it along to another book or an ah-ha! reading to explain something that you may have already have gone through. RICH CHICKS specializes in independent reviews to help you invest in the right product for your dollar. We have left many reviews all over this site.

Redbook September 2007 - Brook Shields (Vol 209 No 3) by Stacy Morrison

TV Guide Back Issue 1984 Brook Shields Cover (October 27-November 2, 32) by Staff of TV Guide

Words from the Stars: Quips and Quotes from Mae West to the Backstreer Boys by Trevor Hunt

From poignant to silly, brilliant to ridiculous, here are hundreds of quips and quotes from movie stars, musicians, singers,stage actors, comedians then and now arranged by subject matter including Fame, Success, Family, Sex, Aging, and more.

“… us could have made it -Buddy Holly The Russians love Brook Shields because her eyebrows remind them of Leonid Brezhnev. …”

Biography Magazine (Biography Magazine Brooke Shields, Spring 2005) by various

Playboy December 1986 Brooke Shields Gala Christmas Issue

Rolling Stone Issue #744/ Brooke Shields Cover (Rolling Stone Magazine, 744) by Jann S Wenner

Brooke Shields - Rolling Stone #262 April 1978 by ROLLING STONE

PLAYBOY Magazine March 1978 BOB DYLAN interview, Brooke Shields by Hugh Hefner

Shape Magazine October 2008 Issue Features Brooke Shields Cover by Editors of SHAPE Magazine

Fitness Magazine - October 2007 - Brooke Shields Cover! by Denise Brodey

Reading Brooke Shields: the garden of failure (Native Agents) by Eldon Garnet

Reading the back of this book alone, I would have never purchased it- But in the bookstore I read the first page and the writing style was the thing that sucked me in- A self depricating first person narrative of a very neurotic man– very intriguing- almost page turning– ending a bit disappointing but besides that, i recommend it wholeheartedly– Its an honest narrative with a narrator who makes no apologies for his many shortcomings…

On Your Own by Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields and I are the same age. I read this book when it came out, when Brooke and I were both twenty, but unlike Brooke, I was not studying at Princeton. I was graduating from a secretarial school and getting my first job. Therefore, a lot of the advice about the horrors of dorm life went right over my working-class head.

She does have some good things to say and some good advice to give. It’s just that the idea of a twenty-year-old gracing us with the wisdom of her accumulated years is a bit of a scream.

Vogue Magazine April 2003 - Pregnant Brooke Shields Cover by Anna Wintour

Seventeen Magazine - October 1978: 13 Year-Old Brooke Shields Cover and Photo-Feature! (Single Issue Magazine) by Editors of Seventeen Magazine

Vanity Fair Magazine - November 1984: Brooke Shields Cover, Prince, Nancy Reagan, Diane Sawyer & More! by Tina Brown

The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker

This book starts out with a really interesting example of a woman who is accosted by a “kindly” stranger in her apartment complex, who talks his way into her apartment and then rapes her. After he’s done raping her, he leaves her in the bedroom and tells her to stay put, that he won’t hurt her. She realizes that he’s going to kill her (he closes the window and assures her he’s going to get a drink - but why would he close the window if he doesn’t intend to kill her? he has a gun, but he probably doesn’t want to make noise, so he’s going to the kitchen to get a knife). She sneaks out behind him instead of staying put, so even though she’s been raped, she doesn’t get killed. It turns out that they catch the guy and find out that he has raped and killed other women.

The “Gift of Fear” in the title refers to the intuitive ability of human beings that allows them to detect danger quickly, without conscious, logical thought. There’s some good stuff in the book about how to recognize intuition, and also (in the very last chapter) how to distinguish real fear of real dangers from worry about hypothetical dangers.

The rest of the book, the swollen middle, would probably be useful if you are a wealthy, famous person or a large corporation that is in a position to enlist Mr. de Becker’s security firm’s services. There’s a lot of stuff about how a business can detect problem employees, and some other stuff about how movie stars can recognize dangerous fans.

There are a few good tips on how to get a stalker to leave you alone, and how restraining orders might cause more trouble than they solve. But there’s precious little else in the realm of practical measures. In other words, let’s say my intuitive Gift of Fear has told me that the guy following me on the trail I’m hiking is bad news. Now what? What do I do next? This book doesn’t answer that.

“… ACKNOWLEDGMENTS m 331 Brad Cole, Brooke Shields, Dr. Harry Glassman, Jennifer Grey, Michael Fox and Tracy Pollan, …”

How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better by Charla Krupp

I am very happy with this book. There are so many useful, smart and once you consider it, obvious ways to improve and most importantly, update your look. I’m a 39-year old brunette and as much as I am determined to age gracefully and above all with dignity, I would also like to continue to possess some style and a certain current hipness. I have read the reviews for this book and was a little surprised by some of the comments. Krupps’s recommendation to lighten-up your hair shade after a certain ago is actually good advice. I have seen the results on my sister and it was quite dramatic. I believe the choice to lighten your entire hair base shade should be made based on the condition of your s