Things Fall Apart: A Novel

Amazon.com

One of Chinua Achebe's many achievements in his acclaimed first novel, Things Fall Apart, is his relentlessly unsentimental rendering of Nigerian tribal life before and after the coming of colonialism. First published in 1958, just two years before Nigeria declared independence from Great Britain, the book eschews the obvious temptation of depicting pre-colonial life as a kind of Eden. Instead, Achebe sketches a world in which violence, war, and suffering exist, but are balanced by a strong sense of tradition, ritual, and social coherence. His Ibo protagonist, Okonkwo, is a self-made man. The son of a charming ne'er-do-well, he has worked all his life to overcome his father's weakness and has arrived, finally, at great prosperity and even greater reputation among his fellows in the village of Umuofia. Okonkwo is a champion wrestler, a prosperous farmer, husband to three wives and father to several children. He is also a man who exhibits flaws well-known in Greek tragedy:

Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.

And yet Achebe manages to make this cruel man deeply sympathetic. He is fond of his eldest daughter, and also of Ikemefuna, a young boy sent from another village as compensation for the wrongful death of a young woman from Umuofia. He even begins to feel pride in his eldest son, in whom he has too often seen his own father. Unfortunately, a series of tragic events tests the mettle of this strong man, and it is his fear of weakness that ultimately undoes him.

Achebe does not introduce the theme of colonialism until the last 50 pages or so. By then, Okonkwo has lost everything and been driven into exile. And yet, within the traditions of his culture, he still has hope of redemption. The arrival of missionaries in Umuofia, however, followed by representatives of the colonial government, completely disrupts Ibo culture, and in the chasm between old ways and new, Okonkwo is lost forever. Deceptively simple in its prose, Things Fall Apart packs a powerful punch as Achebe holds up the ruin of one proud man to stand for the destruction of an entire culture. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

This is Chinua Achebe's classic novel, with more than two million copies sold since its first U.S. publication in 1969. Combining a richly African story with the author's keen awareness of the qualities common to all humanity, Achebe here shows that he is "gloriously gifted, with the magic of an ebullient, generous, great talent." -- Nadine Gordimer

Customer Reviews:

True to it's title.......2007-09-22

It is amazing how a novel first published in 1959 about a Nigerian village, pre-colonization, still has relevance today. Talk about transcending time as well as cultures! Chinua Achebe is a magnificent story teller. I love authors who have the ability to transport me to worlds that seem so different from my own.

Okonkwo was a man that was obsessed with masculinity and the "power" of being masculine. Although I could see how harsh, abusive, and unyielding Okonkwo was towards his family, oddly I felt sympathy for the man. He was the product of his environment and culture. Apparently his callousness was worsened because of his fear that he should become like his father ----- a man with no title, in his culture, the equivalent of being a woman.

How many of us struggle to balance the new with the old? And how often do we question or all out resist changing times.... be it attitudes or ideas, advancements in technology, religion, policies, music, etc. Most of us reach a certain age where we would prefer our traditions be left alone. In some instances there should be no room for compromise, but in other instances perhaps there truly is improvement/advancement to be gained.

Okonkwo's struggle is exactly that. He strives to leave behind a proud legacy. However, he makes bad decisions along the way. The more he tries to make things right the more it seems that misfortune comes his way. He's angered and confused about the changes that come upon his village but that combined with his pigheaded demeanor make for a disastrous result. It's a good book to take up beyond school required reading. Achebee gives his readers a great deal to consider.

Things Fall apart audio.......2007-09-11

My son had a senior project to do over the summer, he had to read this entire book and the first day back to school, he had a test on it, my son does not do well on reading, he can read great, but he has trouble remembering what he read, so I thought if he listened to it being read to him, he could follow along better, well he did, and he done well on his test and essay, I would recommend this product to anyone with similiar problems as my son has with reading.......

Things Fall Apart.......2007-09-10

My son needed this book for school and we received in time for school. Great service!

All you never wanted to know about yams... and other such things........2007-08-08

I had to read this for my high school advanced English class. I regret ever having picked it up. I feel very lucky that my brain was not fried after reading The-book-that-should-not-be-named. In short, if you want to read a bizarre book about African people and yams, then read this book. If not, go read something else.

It Drags.......2007-08-07

While the story itself is useful in giving a student the right mindset for African studies, the story itself lacks much of the marvel of other historically-based books. While the book is pointed towards lower-classmen in high school, the true audience should be college, where adults can completely analyze and idnetify the key points and emotions of the story.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel (Perennial Classics)

Average customer rating:

Oh how it made my heart ache
Bring a pencil
In life, everything matters.
Unbearable Infidelity
Weights and measures.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel (Perennial Classics)
Milan Kundera
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Love in the Time of Cholera
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.)
Immortality (Perennial Classics)

ASIN: 0060932139

Book Description

A young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing; one of his mistresses and her humbly faithful lover -- these are the two couples whose story is told in this masterful novel. In a world in which lives are shaped by irrevocable choices and by fortuitous events, a world in which everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose its substance, its weight. Hence, we feel "the unbearable lightness of being" not only as the consequence of our pristine actions but also in the public sphere, and the two inevitably intertwine.

Customer Reviews:

Oh how it made my heart ache.......2007-09-27

I read this book with a heavy heart and loved every moment of it. I love when a book can affect me so deeply. I felt the pain of the woman in the story and understood her completely. So tragic, yet so good. Thanks Kundera!

Bring a pencil.......2007-09-26

I finished reading this book about a week ago and still haven't been able to put together a review for it. The book is just too difficult to describe in a short review. There are so many philosophical points that Kundera is trying to make, and he never really gets around to answering the difficult questions that he brings up.

At the root of the philosophical inquiry is the question of whether lightness is good and heaviness is bad or vice versa. It's difficult to explain the problem, and that's probably why I can't find the right words to put together a good review for the book.

If you do intend to read it, I recommend having a pencil nearby to keep track of your own ideas and opinions of the problem, not to mention tracking Kundera's own usage of the characters (including the various government systems in which the human characters live) and how the philosophical question is answered for each of them.

I enjoyed the book immensely, but felt that I needed more time (and perhaps a study guide) to really get all the depth of the book.

In life, everything matters........2007-09-17

Milan Kundera (1929) is best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979) and The Joke (1967). Because Kundera is more interested in the themes his characters represent rather than their physical appearance, his philosophical novels tend to challenge the reader, though always in a worthwhile way. He believes the reader's imagination completes the writer's vision by filling in the missing details The Art of the Novel.

Set in 1968 Prague, The Unbearable Lightness of Being tells the story of a womanizing surgeon, Tomas, who loses his employment because he is critical of Czech Communism (he compared the Soviets to Oedipus Rex). He has had more than 200 lovers in his lifetime, and is determined to live his life unfettered by things like commitment. "Kundera's Quartet" of characters also includes Tomas's wife, Tereza (a photographer), his mistress, Sabina (a painter), and her lover, Franz (a university professor). The title of Kundera's novel refers to the idea that because each of us has only one life to live, life is ultimately insignificant, and our decisions do not matter. Because our decisions do not matter, existence seems to lose its substance or weight, making our being unbearable. Tomas represents this philosophy in the novel. He feels that nothing matters, that his life has the lightness of mortality. Conversely, enigmatic Tereza carries with her the weight of the world and is heavily impacted by life. She does not judge Tomas for his infidelities, because she knows that although he sleeps with many women, he loves only her. She is fond of animals, particularly her dog, Karenin, and a pig named Mefisto. Her relationship with Tomas is the center of Kundera's novel. After meeting her by chance, Tomas gradually begins to understand through his love for Tereza that, because we only live once, everything matters. The inscription of his grave reads, "He wanted the Kingdom of God on Earth." Sabina lives her life in opposition to "kitsch" in any form, whether it is domesticity, unoriginality, mediocrity, or untruth. Her lover, Franz is a Geneva professor who seeks lightness of being through books and academia, which Sabina also considers kitsch. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a profound novel, and among my top ten favorite novels of the last 25 years. I also recommend the currently out-of-print film adaptation of the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Two-Disc Special Edition).

G. Merritt

Unbearable Infidelity.......2007-09-05

This book is filled with erotica and infidelity. That just totally distracted me from the message. I could not relate at all. The author seduced me with his introduction about Nietzsche's Eternal Recurrence. Infinitely many times? Nay, this life only occurs once and perhaps should be as nonce. Heaviness? NO! It is unbearably light! FORTUITOUS EVENTS! Anyway, random philosophical bits were interspersed throughout. I suppose I just rather read what people consider straight boring philosophy books.
Oh, wait just a minute. You are saying I did not read? Well, maybe I did not read deep enough, but I did read this book. Where is my girl that I can sleep with(not sexual relations)? I felt bad for the commie idealist Franz who married a wicked deceptive woman he never wanted to be with. Thanks alot for giving more propaganda for vegetarian fundamentalists. And those dogs, those slavish beings who people like so much just because people can pretty do what they want to the dog. Oh don't we wish all people were so pure and easy to manipulate to obey our every call!

Weights and measures........2007-07-09

Whatever I'll write won't do this book justice. It's a classic, plain and simple.
A great Jewish teacher -- Rabbeinu Avraham ben Ha GRA (youngest son of the saintly Vilna Gaon, or "Genius from Vilnius") -- once wrote of he and his forebears -- "We wrote tersely in order to provoke deep thought (in our readers)." Milan Kundera has done that in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being."
Flashes of mental and spiritual wrestling illuminate every page. Religion is judged to be merely a consolation. So says Dr. Tomas in discussing his son's embrace of Roman-style Christianity --
"He was down and out. The Catholics took him in and, before he knew it, he had faith. So it was gratitude that decided the issue, most likely. Human decisions are terribly simple."
But the results of human action are not so simple, as the book demonstrates. Each choice makes a ripple -- picture a stone being tossed into placid water in light of Kundera's arrangement of chapter headings. The headings appear to fan out from "Words Misunderstood" (Chapter 3).
"Lightness and Weight" (the headings for chapters 1 and 4) is a recurring theme. Yet the discussion goes beyond usual freedom-vs.-responsibilities notions. Concepts present in the lives and work of Parmenides and Beethoven are really what's being weighed.
Kundera brings us back several times to the idea that events only happen singly and incline a person toward "lightness" or "heaviness." Kundera seems to favor "heaviness" judging by the book's title and the author's implicit approval of Tomas's "descent" to "heaviness" late in the book.
"Lightness" is a consequence of our lack of knowledge for decision-making due to the fact that presumably we've never lived before and won't live again (meaning we have only "one life to live." By the way, there's an ABC soap opera with that name.)
But is that really all there is to it? Kundera doesn't probe the Jewish idea of the resusitation of the dead, in which souls from "heaven" will be reunited with their bodies and reconstituted mankind will live on a higher plane. The author doesn't hold by the reincarnation of souls -- a different idea that Judaism doesn't rule out but is more prevalent in some other religions.
Perhaps Kundera didn't explore these ideas because they are outside his own and his characters' experiences. Admittedly, the ideas are difficult to get in touch with through physical sense experience. The Communist milieu lived in by Kundera, his characters, and all of us between 1917 and 1989 (and still around to an extent) ruled out everything except that kind of experience. And, when convenient, the Communists even voided that.
An interesting idea for our gifted author and others to take up is "Does reincarnation mean that past lives and lessons learned are imprinted on the soul even if the mind isn't acutely aware of them? What are the implications of this, if any, for our current lives?"

Average customer rating:

Astounding
So many pages, so little plot
Wow.
Cause with effects that are wide-ranging
Probably the best book I've ever read.

Atonement: A Novel
Ian McEwan
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Saturday
On Chesil Beach: A Novel
Amsterdam: A Novel
Enduring Love: A Novel
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

ASIN: 038572179X
Release Date: 2003-02-25

Amazon.com

Ian McEwan's Booker Prize-nominated Atonement is his first novel since Amsterdam took home the prize in 1998. But while Amsterdam was a slim, sleek piece, Atonement is a more sturdy, more ambitious work, allowing McEwan more room to play, think, and experiment.

We meet 13-year-old Briony Tallis in the summer of 1935, as she attempts to stage a production of her new drama "The Trials of Arabella" to welcome home her older, idolized brother Leon. But she soon discovers that her cousins, the glamorous Lola and the twin boys Jackson and Pierrot, aren't up to the task, and directorial ambitions are abandoned as more interesting prospects of preoccupation come onto the scene. The charlady's son, Robbie Turner, appears to be forcing Briony's sister Cecilia to strip in the fountain and sends her obscene letters; Leon has brought home a dim chocolate magnate keen for a war to promote his new "Army Ammo" chocolate bar; and upstairs, Briony's migraine-stricken mother Emily keeps tabs on the house from her bed. Soon, secrets emerge that change the lives of everyone present....

The interwar, upper-middle-class setting of the book's long, masterfully sustained opening section might recall Virginia Woolf or Henry Green, but as we move forward--eventually to the turn of the 21st century--the novel's central concerns emerge, and McEwan's voice becomes clear, even personal. For at heart, Atonement is about the pleasures, pains, and dangers of writing, and perhaps even more, about the challenge of controlling what readers make of your writing. McEwan shouldn't have any doubts about readers of Atonement: this is a thoughtful, provocative, and at times moving book that will have readers applauding. --Alan Stewart, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

Ian McEwan’s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives–together with her precocious literary gifts–brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

Astounding.......2007-10-05

Many reviews of praise have previously been entered for this book. I agree with them all. Quite simply, this book may be one of the best I've ever read. And what makes it even better is that it's great literature that is also very, very readable.

McEwan devotes about the first 100 pages to character development. Conceivably, that might become quite mundane to read, but I found myself drawn in, interested enough to keep reading, wanting to know more. I was richly rewarded by a wonderful, astounding story. The characters became so real to me I genuinely cared about them. I found myself relating to them personnally, feeling their frustrations and anguish as events spiraled out of control. As 13 year old Briony's crime was beginning to develop, caused by youthful naievete, ignorance, and immaturity, I found myself wanting to just reach into the pages and strangle the girl to stop her from carrying out a great, irreparable injustice against innocence.

The stories within the story are told largely through the presentation of the psychology of the characters, through introspection and self reflection, presentation of their thoughts, hopes, dreams and despair. Anyone expecting to find large amounts of dialogue between the characters will be disappointed. It's simply amazing how McEwan's writing was able to absorb me into the mind of each character and how he presented the reality of their worlds and environments so eloquently. There is an incredible depth to it all.

In the end there is a twist of irony, somewhat shocking to me when I read it, even disappointing; however, upon reflection it all made sense and was quite appropriate.

I give Atonement my highest recommendations.

So many pages, so little plot.......2007-10-02

Atonement is a novel about... well, nothing. This book isn't all that thick, but reading it feels like an eternity. This is supposed to be a tale of love, a tale of two characters who are brought apart by horrible circumstances. So why is it that I never actually did find a semblance of love in this story? Or a semblance of plot for that matter? The characters are always interrogating themselves, to the point of being very annoying.

The book starts with an incredible chapter where a young girl is tryin to stage a play for her brother who she hasn't seen in ages. But that afternoon, Briony sees her older sister Cecilia swim naked in front of their neighbour and hired hand Robbie. That event changes her life forever.

And after that? Well, the book falls into an oblivion of tired cliches. A young girl is attacked and Briony falsely accuses Robbie of the crime. Of course, every one believes her even though everyone knows this young girl is a dreamer and has a tendency to lie. Worse, we never actually do feel the love between Cecilia and Robbie. They are supposed to be lovers, and yet Cecilia only discovers her feelings for the boy on that very doomed day? They spend seconds alone together and that makes them lovers?

The book then brings us through a series of cliched war events. Robbie, after a jail stint, is brought to fight for London. Cecilia becomes a nurse. Soon enough, Briony follows in her footsteps. Nothing new is offered here. I'd seen it all before, and much better written. Pages after pages of meaningless battles, of nursing dying patients... in these parts, it's almost as if the first half of the books if forgotten and put aside simply to incoroporate these war events in the story.

There is a very interesting chapter in this novel where Briony has sent a story to a magazine and receives the notes from the editor. The editor tells her that the story was nicely written, but to not 'dwell for quite so long on the perceptions of each of the these figures. Simply put, you need a backbone of a story. Our attention would have been held even more effectively had there been an underlying pull of simple narrative. Development is required.' I wish McEwan would have read his own notes, because this represents the book's problem. This is all talk, all thoughts, and no action. No real plot. No real narrative.

I love literary novels, but I still need an ounce of narrative to make me care about it all. No matter how great the writing it, without a plot, you story means nothing. Strip away all the introspection from this story and you are left with a few pages of plot. That's simply not enough to sustain a novel that is nearly 400 pages long. Atonement has some good ideas, but they are lost in a rambling, repetitive and meaningless narrative.

Wow........2007-09-21

Literate, literary story of mistakes and their consequences that reverberate through the years. Not as gory as McEwan can be sometimes. The horror is more psychological than actual, unlike other books of his. A beautiful, moving and compelling work of fiction. Very, very good.

Cause with effects that are wide-ranging.......2007-09-21

Children can be capricious. This novel illustrates what can happen when one child's actions set in motion a chain of events that will momentously change the lives of many of those around her. The changes are not for the better. Many people suffer and the nature of the suffering differs between them, as does its duration.

Thirteen year old Briony is the catalyst for the life-changing events that happen in 1935 at her family's country house in England. In part one of the book I vacillated between understanding Briony's behaviour and wanting to castigate her for her willfulness. In the following parts we move forward in time and see the repercussions of Briony's actions and how her regret and guilt grows into a need for forgiveness, and a determination lasting reparation for her offense. The novel finishes in 1999 with devastating revelations.

McEwan's characterization and evocation of the various eras that the story spans are wonderful. The story has a powerful impact because of the care taken in its writing; believable characters & plotting and vivid period details. It makes you pause to reflect on how your actions today may bring grief for many years to come. It also shows how distance in time from one's actions doesn't necessarily assuage guilt, it may compound it with heightened empathy for those wronged. It is a gripping story and a definite must-read.

Probably the best book I've ever read. .......2007-09-19

And I read a LOT of books.

At turns I found myself audibly gasping, laughing, and crying.

This is an amazing read full of deeply realized characters whose internal dialogue captures what it is to be a human being.

Yep. I've just decided: "Atonement" is definately the best book I've ever read.

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story (Deluxe Edition)

Average customer rating:

Not quite "leather" bound -- but a great collection!
For those who love hardbacks
Great Quality Book
Incoherent is the best!
Excellent!

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story (Deluxe Edition)
Douglas Adams
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

General | Literature & Fiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul
The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things There Aren't Any Words for Yet--But There Ought to Be

ASIN: 0517226952
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Customer Reviews:

Not quite "leather" bound -- but a great collection!.......2007-10-09

This is a nicely bound, leatherette covered book. Great to have the series together for easy access. Unlike another reviewer, I really liked the little ribbon marker! Beware though -- it looks a little like a Bible when you carry it around -- ! But I got a kick out of that. I felt the typesetting could have been a little nicer than what looked like just a photocopy of the pages of the original printing. All in all though, I am very happy with the purchase. A really great value.

For those who love hardbacks.......2007-08-31

Most of us who have read and enjoyed the Hitchhikers books (I won't say trilogy) have reached a point in life where getting by on 30 Altarian dollars a day and reading paperbacks has lost some of its charm. I'm in the process of cleaning up my bookshelves by replacing all the battered paperbacks of my youth with real books. I saw this omnibus edition and thought it was the perfect thing. One book with a pleasant appearance to displace a large number of ratty paperbacks. I almost didn't buy it because the price seemed to low. I thought it would sit pleasantly on my bookshelf until I was in the right mood, but I found myself diving right in and enjoying things I remembered and remembering things I forgot. The quality is much higher than I expected. The binding is very solid and the pages supple. I consider this one of my best book purchases of the year.

Great Quality Book.......2007-08-08

For the price, this book is incredible. It's a nice leatherbound copy, and shipping and everything was extremely quick. Couldn't be happier.

Incoherent is the best!.......2007-07-31

This book was introduced to me by one of the craziest persons I will ever meet in my life: My good canadian friend Amber. Once I read the first page, I was hooked. It's so incoherent, it makes you see your life in another perspective, plus the new vocabulary it uses makes you want to review your dictionary! If you have an open mind, read this whole book. Only one isn't enough (this book has 4 stories and one novel). Amazing, just amazing

Excellent!.......2007-07-25

I've always been meaning to read the Hitchhiker series, and now I have it all in one book, and get to look suave and sophisticated reading it with the impressive binding and annoying little ribbon bookmark!

Plus, it came in good condition and time, so I needed waste no time both diving into the amusing stories and flaunting about it's shiney cover n' pages.

Average customer rating:

The Handmaid's Tale, a Unique Book
Disturbing but a great read
captivating, didn't care for or feel satisfied by the ending...
A Future All To Close...
Liked it.

The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel
Margaret Atwood
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Handmaid's Tale (Cliffs Notes)
The Handmaid's Tale
Brave New World
Oryx and Crake
1984 (Signet Classics)

ASIN: 038549081X
Release Date: 1998-03-16

Book Description

In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.

Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

Customer Reviews:

The Handmaid's Tale, a Unique Book.......2007-10-08

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, is a unique book. Even though it was written over thirty years ago, the politics come through to me as very similar to some of the world's current governments. It is a hugely realistic fantasy book, one that has parts I can see coming true very soon. Margart Atwood's descriptions gave me a detailed picture of the hard, limited, and completely controlled world in which Offred lived in. The way she told her story made me think that she had so much spirit in her life before she became a handmaid, and to read the descriptions of her life made me think, "Oh yeah, I do that." Or, "I dress like that all the time." Things that we take for granted were things of the past in this book. The descriptions of places, however ordinary, were rich and detailed. I loved how towards the end of the book, the reader gets more of her story, and the whole thing gets involved and complicated, at least compared to Offred's life earlier in the book.
I would recommend this book to people who like almost disturbingly real novels, suspense, or science fiction. This would also be a good book for people who enjoyed The Giver, but The Handmaid's Tale is much more advanced, and is probably not suitable for people under 12.

Disturbing but a great read.......2007-09-23

Chilling and upsetting, this book shook me up but it was a great read. Very well-written, very powerful. I had to take a break from reading after finishing this. Loved it.

captivating, didn't care for or feel satisfied by the ending..........2007-09-22

heavy at times, but I love Atwoods books. I would recommend this book.
I did not care for the way the book ended, but I did learn a lot from it. It is eerie how close to the edge Atwood's stories go and yet as we peer into the future still believable. Atwoods dark imagination keeps me reading more and more of her books.
My favorite to date: The Blind Assassin
Least favorite to date: Cat's Eye or the Edible Woman

A Future All To Close..........2007-09-14

i may not be a graceful reviewer, but if you somehow stumble on this book the way i did...you will love it and want more. I love how strange this world was and how corrupt. Society and life has been altered...You feel like its the past only to discover that was our country in the future...
LIKE CHILDREN OF MEN!

Liked it........2007-09-05

But I didn't love it. The ending drove me nuts (but I won't blurt it out, for those who aren't there yet). Overall, it was well written, if a little trite.

Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume Two

Average customer rating:

Basically just the scripts -- not what I expected.
What a hoot! Get this if you just "liked" Firefly
Shiny!
A Great Companion
Shiny.

Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume Two
Joss Whedon
Manufacturer: Titan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Guides & Reviews | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One
Serenity (Collector's Edition)
Serenity Official Visual Companion
Done The Impossible: The Fans' Tale of Firefly & Serenity
Those Left Behind (Serenity)

ASIN: 1845763726
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Book Description

Before the smash hit movie Serenity came Firefly, the cult TV series which started it all and became a DVD phenomenon, selling almost half a million copies.

Set 500 years in the future, Firefly centres around Mal Reynolds, captain of the ship-for-hire Serenity and its eclectic crew of galactic misfits. When he takes on two passengers, a young doctor and his mysterious, telepathic sister, he gets much more than he bargained for…

This official companion is just what the show’s fervent fans, the ‘Browncoats’, have been waiting for, with unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including of course creator Joss Whedon.

Contains the second part of an extended interview with Joss Whedon, as well as exclusive new interviews with the cast, executive producer Tim Minear and many other writers and crewmembers; the full, uncut shooting scripts for ‘Jaynestown’, ‘Out of Gas’, ‘Ariel’, ‘War Stories’ ‘Trash’, ‘The Message’, ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Objects in Space’, annotated with memories from the cast and crew; extended behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew behind Firefly, including sections on the production design and visual effects, illustrated with unseen imagery; in addition a section on the Firefly fans and of course Vera...

Customer Reviews:

Basically just the scripts -- not what I expected........2007-09-19

Just to let future buyers be aware....this book (and Vol. 1) are basically just the scripts to the (REALLY FUN) shows. As my husband put it, "It's just the lines, without the wonderful delivery the actors achieved in the shows." I thought it would be more like the various other "about" books that exist about popular movies/TV shows - full of pictures and other fun "about" stuff. In my opinion, these two books were not that.

What a hoot! Get this if you just "liked" Firefly.......2007-09-09

I missed Firefly, the first time around, and didn't discover the series until after I'd rented Serenity. I can't call myself a confirmed browncoat, though I really *really* liked everything about the show.

But when I saw this book on the library's New Books stack, I grabbed it. I think you should grab a copy, too, even if you're no die-hard fan. Because this book is _fun_.

Most of the book is episode scripts (half of them; the other half are in Volume One). That's worth the price alone, because the scripts are immensely readable. Like other intelligent shows, the dialogue is both fast and thoughtful, and you might not have caught everything when you heard it the first or second time around. In particular, the scripts include the translations from the Chinese expletives, and most of them are _very_ funny.

And the "stage direction" is not the dispassionate descriptive sort ("Man enters, wearing a hat"). It reflects the entire mood of the show:
INARA walks towards them, heading for the stairs up to the shuttle catwalk. She's dressed with stunning elegance.
KAYLEE: Hey there, 'Nara. Heading off for some glamorous romance?
Simon turns, momentarily stunned by her elegance.

If you're a screenwriter, this is absolutely a must-have.

The book is also peppered with cast interviews, stories about the creation of Firefly's theme song, production explanations on how, for example, they created Niska's Skyplex. In this book, you can spend an enjoyable few hours investigating how a show can be done *right*...even if the network screwed it up.

Shiny!.......2007-08-23

This is the follow-up and completion of companion books to the cancelled-but-still-growing-its-fanbase Firefly television series. It provides the shooting scripts ans photo stills from the remaining episodes, as well as numerous sidebars featuring backstories and insights into the actors, crew, props, and the inner thoughts of series' creator, Joss Whedon. This glossy volume is heavily laden with color photographs, costume concept designs for the various characters, and pre-production sketches. If you have a love for the series and the Big Damn Movie ("Serenity"), you will feel compelled to buy this book.

A Great Companion.......2007-08-14

For anyone charmed by the short-lived Firefly series, this book is simply great. Besides having the screenplays of the programs in the second half of the series, it is full of pictures, interviews, storyboards, and various tidbits relating to the series. If there is a school for Browncoats, this should be required reading.

Shiny........2007-08-13

Please, what's not to like here? Just the fact that it needs more seasons of episodes to include...

Average customer rating:

I'd Rather Have a Root Canal
Yes, Zadie Smith IS that good!
Simply Superb
Great
90% Brilliant...

White Teeth: A Novel
Zadie Smith
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

On Beauty
The Autograph Man
Saturday
The History of Love: A Novel
Zadie Smith's White Teeth: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

ASIN: 0375703861
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Amazon.com

Epic in scale and intimate in approach, White Teeth is a formidably ambitious debut. First novelist Zadie Smith takes on race, sex, class, history, and the minefield of gender politics, and such is her wit and inventiveness that these weighty subjects seem effortlessly light. She also has an impressive geographical range, guiding the reader from Jamaica to Turkey to Bangladesh and back again.

Still, the book's home base is a scrubby North London borough, where we encounter Smith's unlikely heroes: prevaricating Archie Jones and intemperate Samad Iqbal, who served together in the so-called Buggered Battalion during World War II. In the ensuing decades, both have gone forth and multiplied: Archie marries beautiful, bucktoothed Clara--who's on the run from her Jehovah's Witness mother--and fathers a daughter. Samad marries stroppy Alsana, who gives birth to twin sons. Here is multiculturalism in its most elemental form: "Children with first and last names on a direct collision course. Names that secrete within them mass exodus, cramped boats and planes, cold arrivals, medical checks."

Big questions demand boldly drawn characters. Zadie Smith's aren't heroic, just real: warm, funny, misguided, and entirely familiar. Reading their conversations is like eavesdropping. Even a simple exchange between Alsana and Clara about their pregnancies has a comical ring of truth: "A woman has to have the private things--a husband needn't be involved in body business, in a lady's... parts." And the men, of course, have their own involvement in bodily functions:

The deal was this: on January 1, 1980, like a New Year dieter who gives up cheese on the condition that he can have chocolate, Samad gave up masturbation so that he might drink. It was a deal, a business proposition, that he had made with God: Samad being the party of the first part, God being the sleeping partner. And since that day Samad had enjoyed relative spiritual peace and many a frothy Guinness with Archibald Jones; he had even developed the habit of taking his last gulp looking up at the sky like a Christian, thinking: I'm basically a good man.

Not all of White Teeth is so amusingly carnal. The mixed blessings of assimilation, for example, are an ongoing torture for Samad as he watches his sons grow up. "They have both lost their way," he grumbles. "Strayed so far from what I had intended for them. No doubt they will both marry white women called Sheila and put me in an early grave." These classic immigrant fears--of dilution and disappearance--are no laughing matter. But in the end, they're exactly what gives White Teeth its lasting power and undeniable bite. --Eithne Farry

Book Description

Zadie Smith’s dazzling debut caught critics grasping for comparisons and deciding on everyone from Charles Dickens to Salman Rushdie to John Irving and Martin Amis. But the truth is that Zadie Smith’s voice is remarkably, fluently, and altogether wonderfully her own.

At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn’t quite match her name (Jamaican for “no problem”). Samad’s late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal’s every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith. Set against London’s racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future, White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.

Download Description

Zadie Smith's dazzling debut caught critics grasping for comparisons and deciding on everyone from Charles Dickens to Salman Rushdie to John Irving and Martin Amis. But the truth is that Zadie Smith's voice is remarkably, fluently, and altogether wonderfully her own.

At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England's irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn't quite match her name (Jamaican for "no problem"). Samad's late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal's every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith.

Set against London's racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future, White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.

Customer Reviews:

I'd Rather Have a Root Canal.......2007-09-26

I think I might have liked this book a lot more if I hadn't listened to this audiobook version. 22 hours of stereotyped Indian and Jamaican accents was enough to drive me up the wall. I'll have to wait a while and read the actual book without the distraction of grinding my teeth at the bad accents.

In the meantime, someone in a writer's group suggested this book should get the Nobel Prize--I wouldn't go nearly that far. I know what I'm supposed to say about how it's a wonderful portrait of the immigrant's dilemma of assimilation versus maintaining tradition and the second generation immigrant's confusion about his/her roots. And how it illustrates modernity versus antiquity with the whole FutureMouse debacle. And I should say how relevant the conflict between Muslims like Samad and Millat and Christians/atheists is in the post-9/11 world. Finally, I'm supposed to say how magnificent it is that the author wrote this magnificent book at the tender age of 23.

Having mentioned all that, I still didn't like this book--and not solely because of the problem I mentioned at the beginning. I think what was missing here was that most basic, primal need: to actually LIKE someone in this book. Simply put, I wouldn't want to know any of the characters in this book. Samad, Alsana, and Millat are loud, pushy, and often obnoxious while Maggad is stuffy and dull. Archie and Iree are timid and weak, with Iree being especially whiny to boot. Clara is practically nonexistent after the first couple chapters. As a reader, was there one person I could latch onto and root for? Not a one.

That was the most grievous problem, but not the only one. The constant authorial intrusions into the narrative became quite irritating, interrupting the flow of scenes with snide comments and sidebar discussions. The lengthy histories of just about every minor character and organization also became tedious, also making for too many characters, none of whom I could care less about. Then of course one of those minor characters makes a sudden reappearance at the end, which really didn't make much sense and seemed like a clumsy attempt at unleashing a surprise plot twist. I was also confused at the rather abrupt way in which Iree rapes one of Samad's sons. Again, this is probably another clumsy attempt at a plot twist. It certainly made me lose whatever sympathy I had left for Iree.

For the obligatory plot summary, this is the story of two families. Samad is a Bengali who immigrated to London and eventually was arranged to be married to the much-younger Alsana, who gave birth to twin boys. Samad is torn between his Muslim beliefs and the temptations of the non-Muslim world, especially a music teacher. This transgression leads to guilt that he partially alleviates by sending one of his boys back to Bangladesh, while keeping the other at home. One boy turns out to be a secular atheist and the other a fundamentalist Muslim who joins a group known as KEVIN, sort of a poor man's Nation of Islam, not to be confused with terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, Archie Jones was left by his wife and determined to kill himself until Fate intervenes and he winds up at a New Year's Eve party where he meets the young Jamaican woman named Clara, whom he marries and they have a chubby daughter named Iree, who loves one of Samad's boys but feels ashamed by her weight and half-Jamaican heritage. Eventually a third family is drawn into this with the father of that family genetically engineering a mouse called the FutureMouse that is opposed by Samad and one of his sons and supported by the other. And that leads to a final epic showdown of sorts settled by the aforementioned secondary character appearing out of left field to wreak havoc.

So as should be obvious, I really didn't like this book. Maybe if I read it again I'll feel differently--that's happened before. In the meantime, I'd recommend another stunning book by a 23-year-old woman: "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. Also, if you want a better book on Muslims around the Indian subcontinent I'd recommend "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie.

That is all.

Yes, Zadie Smith IS that good!.......2007-09-24

I loved this book so much, I wanted to beg all my friends to read it so I would have someone to discuss it with!

Zadie Smith is a superb talent.

Simply Superb.......2007-08-26

"White Teeth" came highly recommended by a trusted reader and I've finally gotten around to reading it. The story revolves around three families, three cultures, three religions (Chalfenism among them) and three histories. Is it good things or bad things that come in threes? Set in London yet rooted in Jamaica and Bangladesh, "White Teeth" is a convergence of class, history, and culture. The Jones' are an interracial English/Jamaican couple brought together by their individual need to flee. Archibal fleeing the chaos of a marriage seized by mental illness; Clara escaping the grip of the Jehovah Witness religion that threatens to permeate all aspects of her life. The Iqbals' are an arranged marriage, brought together by cultural and religious history. Samad conflicted by a history he fears will be erased by the present; Alsana, strong and willful, yet unable to absorb aspects of western culture that are foreign to her religious beliefs. The Chalfens are an agnostic English couple brought together by the desire to further a tradition of intellectual and liberal empire. Marcus, a scientist from a long line of intellectuals, is engaged in research that could alter the genetic makeup of humanity in ways that could eliminate the randomness of genetic mishaps and malfunctions (the very randomness that is seen by some as the will of God); Joyce a horticulturalist and essayist with an overbearing need to nurture and cultivate everything and everyone around her.

Although the interactions of the parental units creatively and humorously explore the historical affects of colonization on the colonized and the colonizer, it is the lives of the next generation of Iqbals, Jones and Chalfens that allow the author to explore issues of cultural, religious and class differences between the western and eastern hemisphere. Irie, the biracial daughter of the Jones', is burdened not only with the trials of adolescence within the pop culture of a modernized England but also with the history of colonized Jamaica and the salvation sought by her grandmother through the doctrine of the Jehovah Witness faith. Millat and Magid, the Cain and Able offspring of the Iqbals' are challenged with questions of identify in the face of an Islamic tradition that seems at constant odds with the more liberal communities within which they live. Joshua, the Chalfens' progeny is also trying to navigate the choppy waters of puberty as he realizes that the lineage he's inherited may be at stark contrast to the person he's becoming.

"White Teeth" is a spectacular debut novel. Smith has unleashed a level of creativity typically found in seasoned writers. She has created memorable, lively characters each with a unique voice that highlights the diversity of London while simultaneously calling attention to the commonality of experience inherent in the legacy of oppression. I particularly enjoyed the cleaver way in which Smith uses teeth as a metaphor throughout the novel. For certainly history is deeply rooted in who we are as individuals, a people, a nation. While there are times when we must extract ourselves from our history to forge a path that allows us to live up to our full potential, our history will always be the pulp at the center of who we are and invariably impacts our future. This is great text for group discussion. Highly Recommended!

Great.......2007-08-23

Paid for expedited service & I received that & more. Would definitely recommend for purchases. Fast & efficient service.

90% Brilliant... .......2007-07-24

Zadie Smith is very, very funny and extremely imaginative. This book has many moments of genius. Most seasoned writers do not have a quarter of her talent.

The terrific characters are laced with sorrow, irony and pettiness. She creates worlds within worlds and shattered dreams within dreams. Almost perfect, and then the last 50 pages or so go off track. I suspect the author was just plain exhausted and couldn't fathom how to tie everything together. Why couldn't an editor tell her to go back and fix it? Such joy and then such sorrow.

Average customer rating:

Good writing. Unbelievable insight.
It was OK
Loved It!!
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
a little too dark

The Nanny Diaries: A Novel
Emma Mclaughlin , and Nicola Kraus
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Devil Wears Prada
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Everyone Worth Knowing
Bergdorf Blondes : A Novel
Good in Bed

ASIN: 0312291639
Release Date: 2003-03-18

Amazon.com

The Nanny Diaries is an absolutely addictive peek into the utterly weird world of child rearing in the upper reaches of Manhattan's social strata. Cowritten by two former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, the novel follows the adventures of the aptly named Nan as she negotiates the Byzantine byways of working for Mrs. X, a Park Avenue mommy. Nan's 4-year-old charge, the hilariously named Grayer (his pals include Josephina, Christabelle, Brandford, and Darwin) is a genuinely good sort. He can't help it if his mom has scheduled him for every activity known to the Upper East Side, including ice skating, French lessons, and a Mommy and Me group largely attended by nannies. What makes the book so impossible to put down is the suspense of finding out what the unbelievably inconsiderate Mrs. X will demand of Nan next. One pictures the two authors having the last hearty laugh on their former employers. --Claire Dederer

Book Description

The Nanny Diaries has become an international phenomenon. Reviewed, featured, mentioned, or dissected in every major newspaper, magazine, and on every national and local television show, The Nanny Diaries has struck a chord with readers everywhere. With more than 650,000 copies currently in print and atop bestseller lists nationwide, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus' biting satire of the glamorous life on Manhattan's Upper East Side offers both an insider's view and a great read. 'Addicting,'* 'delicious,'** and 'diabolically funny'***, The Nanny Diaries is sure to be the must-read paperback of 2003. Struggling to graduate from New York University and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a job caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved in ensuring that a Park Avenue wife who doesn't work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day. A poignant satire, The Nanny Diaries punctures the glamour of Manhattan's upper class to reveal the truth behind the Park Avenue veneer.

Customer Reviews:

Good writing. Unbelievable insight........2007-10-07

Wow. This book touched me because I know it's based on reality. The two authors experienced the surreal world of rich, non-feeling mothers serving as the inspiration for the book.

*spoilers to follow*

I was floored when Mrs. X became pregnant again. Completely self-centered and trying to hang on to the last thread of her marriage to her obviously cheating husband.

How she couldn't stand to be alone with her son.

How she couldn't even begin to understand the bond her young son had with Nanny. And it was more important to punish her for not respecting her authority than the devastating impact it might have on her child. (How dare her want to attend her own college graduation??)

The best laugh out loud moment for me was when Nanny was completely trapped in Nantucket for over a week I believe ... and took advantage of Mrs. X's "post-coital glow" and actually asked permission to leave early. I think it was the only time in the book Mr. X paid any attention to Mrs. X so of course, the answer was "yes." Too much.

I thank the authors for the insight into this interesting / sad world.

As a deep-feeling, very involved mother, I'm floored that there are mothers out there like Mrs. X. You can have your Park Ave. apartments and unlimited bank accounts and french "lavender water." I'll keep my coupons, Walmart and beautiful babies' hugs and kisses. :) :) :)

It was OK.......2007-10-03

Wasn't thrilled with the book. I had heard wonderful things - people raving about this book & with the movie coming out, I couldn't wait to read it. But it wasn't as great as I had antisipated, nor as great as people had let me to believe. It was OK - took me a while to get into it. Then I thought it kind of ended abrubtly. But it was OK. Amusing at times to see what Nan had to put up with, but not alot in it to keep me coming back for me. It actually took me a while to finish.

Loved It!!.......2007-10-01

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down! It's a must read for anyone who works with children and enjoys it like I do!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-09-27

Nanny is going to NYU to get her degree in child care, but first she must deal with the X's.

The X's are a typical rich New York family: Dad is a workaholic; Mom doesn't have a job but is too busy shopping and running her social life to raise her child; Grayer (nicknamed Grover/Grov) is the four-year-old who wants nothing more than his parents' attention.

Nanny becomes very attached to Grayer, who is absolutely adorable and really likes Nanny because she is the one raising him. Nanny and Grayer go on many adventures together and Nanny must deal with the crazy Mrs. X, who doesn't come home when she says she will, doesn't pay within a normal time frame, and is just downright mean to Nanny -- and to her own child.

This is a great story of love and affection, and also the lack of it. I really liked reading this book because Nanny has a life outside of her job, like falling in love with H.H.-Harvard Hottie. Nanny and Grayer are realistic and the parents are the crazy people in the book, which makes this a great view for teens.

I had a lot of fun reading THE NANNY DIARIES, and will recommend it to all of my friends who have ever babysat for crazy parents!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

a little too dark .......2007-09-27

I read this book expecting to get a good laugh, but instead found a very dark tale about a girl who discovers the struggles of being a nanny for New York high society. While the novel is very well written and quickly grabs one's interest, I didn't find the book at all funny. If you're looking for an amusing story, you're not going to find it here.

Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2007 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)

Average customer rating:

Just Google
Good reference for fiction writers
More Helpful Information
2007 Novel & Short Story Writers' Market
Novel and Short Story Writing Markets

Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2007 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)

Manufacturer: Writers Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authorship | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Directories | Catalogs & Directories | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Marketing | Promotion | HOWdesign Studio | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Writer's Market 2007 (Writer's Market)
Guide to Literary Agents 2007 (Guide to Literary Agents)
Poet's Market 2008 (Poet's Market)
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
Childrens Writers & Illustrators Market 2007 (Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market)

ASIN: 1582974306

Book Description

The Only Book on the Market Expressly for Fiction Writers Looking to Publish Their Work *Features 1350 market listings exclusively for fiction writers *Includes a new section on Graphic Novel and Comic markets *Highlights genre opportunities for writers

For twenty-six years, 2007 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market has been the only resource of its kind for fiction writers. Perfect for anyone writing novels and stories--whether romance or literary, horror or graphic novels--this packed resource also features how-to articles on the craft of fiction and the business of getting published, as well as new interviews with Bret Lott, Judy Budnitz, Aimee Bender, Mark Childress, Sonny Brewer, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Just Google.......2007-10-01

This book takes people's money and uses up trees. Just use the Internet and you'll get a lot more information, and for free. People in the publishing industry--editors and agents--move around like gophers, popping up here and there on a regular basis. No book is going to be reliable, and a book made up of sloppily acquired information is going to be worse than no book at all, because you'll think it's right. Even the Internet sources can steer a writer to obsolete information, but at least you have numerous sources to draw from.

Good reference for fiction writers.......2007-08-19

If you're a fiction writer, you'll find all sorts of useful information in this book. Especially if you're relatively new to the scene and not an experienced insider. The first 150 pages consist of interviews and articles about writing, some of which were not of interest to me. But these pieces covered many topics and included materials for literary writers and genre writers too.

The Resources section at the back of the book included a highly useful glossary of genres, in case you're one of the many confused by the proliferation of sub-categories and markets in this area. Also, on page 544, there was a listing of corporate behemoths and the presses they own. (OK, this info changes frequently, but this will give you a place to start tracing who's really in charge.)

The listings of agents, lit magazines, genre markets, mass market magazines, workshops, prizes was comprehensive enough. (Of course, you'll want to go to their individual websites to check for recent staffing changes and detailed submission guidelines.) I was happy to see a section of online magazines too.

There are lots of lists and indexes sorted so that you can find information quickly. This book is well organized and easy to use.

If you ARE an insider with a long history and lots of literary contacts, you may not find this book as helpful; save your money and go to the websites. But for the rest, I'd recommend this book.

More Helpful Information.......2007-08-08

I checked this book out of my local library -- I've not used this particular edtion of these books put out by Writer's Digest. They aren't repetitive though. Each has a specific focus. I'm beginning to think I like these annuals as much for the insightful, encouraging and informative articles that they always contain, as for the listing information! I don't have a writer's group that I belong to, so reading these articles is uplifting. I enjoy reading the thoughts and insights of people for whom the writing life is of utmost importance. So these books are are a learning experience in many ways.

2007 Novel & Short Story Writers' Market.......2007-05-20

This book is just what the doctor ordered for this aspiring beginning writer. Having no idea where to submit, nor the in and outs of submission, this is proving to be an invaluable resource. I am grateful it exists!

Novel and Short Story Writing Markets.......2007-05-19

This book provides an invaluable service to writers in the fiction genre. It contains markets for those interested in writing a full length novel, as well as those who pen short stories. I find that it extremely helpful to narrow down markets to help the writer sort out which publisher is best suited for the manuscript at hand.
You will enjoy reading this book, and learning about the markets that are contained within it.
Woman Reclining

Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction)

Average customer rating:

For those who seek clarity, you may begin here.
The first book that you must read
An Invaluable Writing Tool
Great book!
the best book! Get this one!

Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction)
James Scott Bell
Manufacturer: Writers Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fiction | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint : (Techniques and exercises for crafting dynamic characters and effective viewpoints) (Write Great Fiction)
Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue (Write Great Fiction)
Description & Setting (Write Great Fiction)
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing)

ASIN: 158297294X

Book Description

The second book in the Write Great Fiction series, Plot & Structure offers clear and concise information on creating a believable and engaging plot that readers can't resist. Written by award-winning thriller and suspense author James Scott Bell, this handy instruction guide provides:

* Easy-to-understand techniques on every aspect of plotting and structure, from brainstorming story ideas to building scenes, and from using subplots to crafting knock-out endings

* Engaging exercises, perfect for writers at any level and at any stage in their novel

* Practical and encouraging guidance from one of the most respected writers publishing today

Full of diagrams, plot brainstormers, and examples from popular novels, mastering plot and structure has never been so simple.

Customer Reviews:

For those who seek clarity, you may begin here........2007-10-08

Not having the luxury of an MFA, I struggled to create my interpretation of a marketable novel until I finally faced the truth. I didn't know what I was doing.

"Okay then," I thought, "what exactly am I lacking?"

I attended a very good workshop which revealed what I had already come to suspect. My writing had too much imagery and not enough, plot or structure. I went looking for a solution and, would you believe it, I found there was a book written just for me.

"Plot & Structure, Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish," by James Scott Bell was the first step on my road to literary recovery. I followed this wonderful little book with another, "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain. The two volumes go together well, in my opinion, complimenting one another on a common list of topics.

I'd recommend them both as well as the rest of the "Write Great Fiction" series from Writer's Digest Books. You might also consider, "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, How to Edit Yourself Into Print" by Renni Brown and Dave King.

I needed to find better footing, to bone up on fiction basics. These books plus a subscription to "the Writer" magazine have been my school. If you desire a better grasp of the basics, you might want to start here.

Michael, doing better, in Seattle.

The first book that you must read.......2007-10-03

This is a good introductory book, and works for various types of media, like cinema (screenplay) and comics.

It's a simple and objective book, direct to the point. It's interesting to note that other books like Screenplay by Syd Field and Story by Robert Mckee will be more valuable after you read Plot & Structure, because now you will have a better understanding of story construction.

It's not a revolutionary book, but it's very solid and highly practical.

Recommended.

An Invaluable Writing Tool.......2007-09-08

This book is a must have for every fiction writer, non-fiction writer who wants to try fiction, or for someone who dreams of becoming an author.

I write my books intuitively. Then my first publisher suggested I start teaching creative writing workshops.

"Great idea," I told her.

But deep inside I was scared silly. How the heck would I go about teaching something that I was doing intuitively?

Thank goodness for this book! Now I can see and understand the process that I've been using as a writer. This is not only helping me improve my skills, it's also helping me have a lot more fun writing my next book.

Great book!.......2007-09-02

This is the only how-to book on writing that I have actually finished! I found it to be very entertaining, and SO useful! I am a very unorganized plotter; I just write the story. He actually had some tips for writers just like me that didn't entail "write an outline or else"!
I would definitely recommend this book!

the best book! Get this one!.......2007-08-25

If you want to write a great book- this is a must! I bought this book because of all its great reviews- and they are right! Wow! Its the best book out there for all to-be authors! Plus it was fun to read- most books on this subject are not!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books