Grayson

Book Description

Grayson is Lynne Cox’s first book since Swimming to Antarctica (“Riveting”—Sports Illustrated; “Pitch-perfect”—Outside). In it she tells the story of a miraculous ocean encounter that happened to her when she was seventeen and in training for a big swim (she had already swum the English Channel, twice, and the Catalina Channel).

It was the dark of early morning; Lynne was in 55-degree water as smooth as black ice, two hundred yards offshore, outside the wave break. She was swimming her last half-mile back to the pier before heading home for breakfast when she became aware that something was swimming with her. The ocean was charged with energy as if a squall was moving in; thousands of baby anchovy darted through the water like lit sparklers, trying to evade something larger. Whatever it was, it felt large enough to be a white shark coursing beneath her body.

It wasn’t a shark. It became clear that it was a baby gray whale—following alongside Lynne for a mile or so. Lynne had been swimming for more than an hour; she needed to get out of the water to rest, but she realized that if she did, the young calf would follow her onto shore and die from collapsed lungs.

The baby whale—eighteen feet long!—was migrating on a three-month trek to its feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, an eight-thousand-mile journey. It would have to be carried on its mother’s back for much of that distance, and was dependent on its mother’s milk for food—baby whales drink up to fifty gallons of milk a day. If Lynne didn’t find the mother whale, the baby would suffer from dehydration and starve to death.

Something so enormous—the mother whale was fifty feet long—suddenly seemed very small in the vast Pacific Ocean. How could Lynne possibly find her?

This is the story—part mystery, part magical tale—of what happened . . .

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful story.......2007-09-28

This is a great story, I love the book and have given it to many friends

More self-absorbed than interesting.......2007-08-30

From the black, inky black, so very black ocean at the start to her misunderstanding of gray whales and sonar at the end, Grayson romps along but never quite gets there. I found myself repeatedly flipping to the author biography on the jacket flap, wondering how on earth Lynne Cox ever got published in The New Yorker...and how she could have apparently spent so much time in the ocean without learning very much about its inhabitants.

From the reviews, I was prepared to read about a singular connection between a human being and a gray whale made one lonely morning...instead I found a self-absorbed "true" story about a young woman's encounter with a young whale that wandered off course for several hours, then met up with its mother again. Despite Lynne's self-proclaimed connection with the ocean, she doesn't even realize the young whale is swimming near her until pointed out by her friend on the pier. And then suddenly she feels she is the one totally responsible for the whale, even swimming insanely out to an oil derrick offshore to stay with Grayson. Although she places herself front and center, this event involved many people, including dockside workers, lifeguard patrols, fishing boats, and even the ship Queen Mary. This comes as a slight shock to the reader, as her emphasis on the singularity of her swim with the whale initially has us believing the book is about her interaction with the whale, rather than a multi-pronged rescue effort. It would have read better as a simple narration of what happened, instead of her projections of what the whales were thinking, complete with dopey imaginings of telepathic whale-human connection.

I think there is a nice little story in here somewhere, but Lynne Cox desperately needs better editing, and would have done better to have written it as "based on a true story", which would have allowed the plethora of animal description and interaction without causing readers familiar with marine fauna to suffer from eyeroll strain.

Good read aloud.......2007-08-20

Because of the music of the prose here and the subject matter, this is a great little book to read aloud to kids. It's a charming little story, with a bit of oceanography thrown in.

For an afternoon on the sun porch..........2007-07-31

Greyson is a tale by Lynne Cox in which she has a close encounter with a large ocean dweller. Having taken place in her teens, this story is her "coming of age" in a few short hours. This book probably won't change your life, but it might just shift your perspective a little - and that is a good thing.

A bit of a disappointment.......2007-05-22

This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. I was hoping for a story about a whale, but got the reminicenses (sp) of a woman remembering...well, herself rather than the whale. She prattles on about her open-minded thinking and brash individualism. Whatever. I wanted to hear about the whale and the ocean. I suppose this could be taken as a motivational speech; but, again, I was hoping the whale would take center stage. I also wish she had written this as a younger woman so that we might have experienced some of her wonder and awe (at the creature -- not herself).

Average customer rating:

Reeks of Southern California
Entertaining reading
California Girl
Excellent novel for those readers who want something more than a quick read
A GOOD READ

California Girl
T. Jefferson Parker
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0060562374
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Book Description

The times, they are a-changin' . . .

The Orange County, California, that the Becker brothers knew as boys is no more -- unrecognizably altered since the afternoon in 1954 when Nick, Clay, David, and Andy rumbled with the lowlife Vonns, while five-year-old Janelle Vonn watched from the sidelines. The new decade has brought about the end of the orange groves and the birth of suburban sprawl. It is the era of Johnson, hippies, John Birchers, and LSD. Clay becomes a casualty of a far-off jungle war. Nick becomes a cop, Andy a reporter, David a minister. And the decapitated corpse of teenage beauty queen Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned warehouse.

A hideous crime has touched the Beckers in ways that none of them could have anticipated, setting three brothers on a dangerous collision course that will change their family -- and their world -- forever.

And no one will emerge from the wreckage unscathed.

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The times, they are a-changin' . . .

And no one will emerge from the wreckage unscathed.

Customer Reviews:

Reeks of Southern California.......2007-08-13

Worth a read. A tale of brothers and families and a grisly crime. Lots of red herrings. The Southern California atmosphere is captured well. The second book by this author that I have read and i will read more.

Entertaining reading.......2007-06-21

It is quite good mystery novel, it definitely keeps you going, I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anybody who is looking for entertaining read. It might be a little bit slow in the beginning, but then it picks up and keeps going.

California Girl.......2007-05-15

California Girl is a period piece wrapped in a detective novel. It takes place in Orange County (Tustin and Laguna) starting the late 1950s and ending at the close of the century. The bulk of the story is in the 1960s at a time when Orange county was losing its orange groves, America was at war in Viet Nam, LSD and marijuana were drugs of choice and baby boomers were practicing free love.

Some reviewers on Amazon have complained that the book has too many white characters and the Civil Rights movement is never mentioned. In Parker's defense that area was predominantly white and was until recently. That the characters never discuss the Civil Rights movement is in keeping with the character of the area.

Another comment I saw on Amazon was the repeated mentioning of modern forensic tools. I didn't mind them because they drew attention to just how difficult solving a crime can be and to the possibility that the wrong person can be convicted on inconclusive evidence. The story was more interesting that the typical who-done-it where the evidence lines up like a perfect trail to the criminal.

There is just one problem with the story; the identity of the actual criminal. The person behind the murder of Janelle Vonn is the most obvious person. Although with the recent scandals among various Republican lawmakers, I had to chuckle at life almost imitating art.

Excellent novel for those readers who want something more than a quick read.......2007-03-24

Atmosphere, characters, mood, setting(remarkable: the reader becomes fully engaged in the time and place of the novel), and an excellent plot combine to create Parker's second Edgar winner in three years. Most writers, often very popular, never win an Edgar, or they win one for their first novels.

As I state in my title, this novel is not for those who want to rush through the formulaic plots of most mystery/suspense writers. This is a thoughtful story which adds something meaningful to the responsive reader's life. It reads smoothly and can be read quickly, but the reader loses a lot if he rushes through it as if he were reading James Patterson.

I have read all of Parker's novels, and he is inconsistent, but his best work is the best. Read Silent Joe, the other Parker Edgar winner, certainly one of the top ten mystery novels in the past 20 or 30 years (close to being #1).

A GOOD READ.......2007-03-08

I liked this book. It's about a teen beauty queen found murdered in an old building. It dragged a bit in parts but I liked the story though. It's also about two families growing up in California starting in the 50s.

Average customer rating:

is the writer on a word-count or what?
Is Harry Getting Too Self-Righteous?
Why does Everyone like this Book?
Forgotten Voices
Hard to Put Down

The Closers
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316734942
Release Date: 2005-05-16

Amazon.com

"A city that forgets its murder victims is a city lost. This is where we don't forget," Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is told by his new boss, as he ends a three-year retirement and rejoins the Los Angeles Police Department at the start of The Closers, the 11th installment of Michael Connelly's Edgar-winning series. Having long ago demonstrated his knack for cracking previously unsolved homicides, Bosch is assigned to the newly re-branded Open-Unsolved Unit (aka "cold case" squad), and charged with resolving the 17-year-old abduction and slaying of a mixed-race teenager.

Rebecca Verloren, 16, was discovered missing from her Chatsworth home on a July morning in 1988. Her corpse and the gun that ended her life were later found on a hill behind the house. An autopsy revealed that she'd recently undergone an abortion, and a piece of skin tissue--presumably the killer's--was found trapped inside the murder weapon. Only now, though, has DNA science matched that tissue to Roland Mackey, a dyslexic 35-year-old tow-truck operator with no obvious connection to the deceased. It's up to Bosch, once more partnered with Kizmin Rider, to determine whether Mackey offed Becky Verloren, or was at least an accessory to that tragedy. But the more Bosch and Rider dig into this dusty crime, trying in part to determine whether racial animosity might have been involved, the more pain and resistance they encounter. Becky's white mother maintains the teen's old bedroom as a shrine, while her shattered father, an African-American chef, has vanished into LA's homeless community. Of the two original investigators on the case, one has since committed suicide, and Bosch suspects that the other--now a police commander--is helping to keep the lid tight on some old departmental secrets, perhaps linked to our hero's nemesis, Deputy Chief Irvin S. Irving.

Understandably rusty after three years sans shield, Bosch makes his share of personal and professional mistakes here--including one that supplies The Closers with a lethal, plot-turning climax. But the greater problem is that Connelly exhausts so much time and effort following his protagonist through the tedium of modern police procedures, that he neglects what readers have liked more about this series in the past: its persistently deft exploration of Bosch's lonely, haunted soul (which remains mostly out of sight in this tale), and the author's frequent flights of lyrical prose (also not much in evidence). Would-be novelists wanting an example of a solidly constructed cop tale need look no further than The Closers. But readers hoping to learn why Connelly is so well-respected in this genre should turn, instead, to previous Bosch titles such as The Concrete Blonde, Angel's Flight, or City of Bones. --J. Kingston Pierce

Book Description

The death of a teenage girl almost two decades ago comes back to haunt all of L.A.-and detective Harry Bosch-in this spellbinding new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years.The Poet has returned.Years earlier she worked on the famous case tracking the serial killer who wove lines of poetry into his hideous crimes. Rachel has never forgotten the Poet-and apparently he has not forgotten her. Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call, too, from an old friend whose husband recently died.The death appeared natural, but this man's ties to the hunt for the Poet make Harry dig deep.What he finds leads him into the most terrifying situation he has ever encountered. So begins the most deeply compelling, frightening, and masterful novel Michael Connelly has ever written, placing Harry Bosch squarely in the path of the most ruthless and ingenious murderer in Los Angeles's history. This spectacularly dramatic and shocking novel will have Michael Connelly's readers desperately hungry for the next book from 'one of America's best writers' (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

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In Los Angeles in 1988, a sixteen-year-old girl disappeared from her home and was later found dead of a gunshot wound to the chest. The death appeared at first to be a suicide-but some of the evidence contradicted that scenario, and detectives came to believe this was in fact a murder. Despite a by-the-book investigation, no one was ever charged. Now Detective Harry Bosch is back with the LAPD with the sole mission of closing unsolved cases, and this girl's death is the first he's given. A DNA match makes the case very much alive again, and it turns out to be anything but cold. The ripples from this death have destroyed at least two other lives, and everywhere he probes, Bosch finds hot grief, hot rage, and a bottomless well of betrayal and malice. And it's not just the girl's family and friends whose lives Bosch is stirring up afresh. With each new development, Harry Bosch finds increasing resistance from within the police force itself. Old enemies are close at hand. Even as he pushes relentlessly to find the truth, Bosch has to wonder if this assignment was intended to be his last. Digging up the past may heal old wounds-or it may expose new, searing ones.

Customer Reviews:

is the writer on a word-count or what?.......2007-08-23

I have enjoyed most of this author's books, especially Lincoln Lawyer...but this one is poorly written. The author explains almost every sentence he writes with three more sentences as though the reader could not possibly "get it" unless he does. It is driving me crazy. Also, he injects far too many personal moments into the cop's daily work that make no sense and add nothing to story-a toy reminds him of his daughter...big deal!
Also explains the LA riots and racial issues as if no one else has ever heard of such a thing-instead of just moving the story ahead.
I am losing interest fast but have nothing else to read in the house-i am really disappointed with this book...

Is Harry Getting Too Self-Righteous?.......2007-08-12

This is a tight, tense entry in the series. One of the best, and I've read them all. But Harry seems never to give the benefit of the doubt to other cops. Why not just stick him in IAD and get it over with?

Why does Everyone like this Book?.......2007-08-08

Honestly, I thought it was a little boring. I wish I could agree with the others, but I labored to finish it. Maybe this writer is just not for me. The book certainly didn't make me want to turn the pages. I know the author has a huge following but this one didn't do it for me.

Forgotten Voices.......2007-08-03

Harry Bosch is back. He's been retired for three years after 25 years with the L.A.P.D. Now he's the new kid on the block working with the Open-Unsolved unit. It used to be called the Cold Case file, but L.A.P.D. is changing it image. For those of us who love Harry Bosch, we've followed this independent minded cop through many a case, looked over his shoulder at many a murder book, watched him defy authority, were with him in his relationships with women, up to his retirement. He has a brief stint as a private eye, which to me wasn't the same, but now our Harry has reemerged.

What I like about Michael Connelly's writing, besides the realness of Harry Bosch, is his knowledge of L. A. cop-dom. It's a confidence that he bestows on the reader, that this is the way it's really done. We can almost see the dust flying as we flop open those murder books. Harry seems as real as an fictional character we've ever read.

The addition of DNA testing to the police investigation of these old cases, has allowed for some of the Open-Unsolved cases to be re-looked at, and this is right up our man's alley. The novel is called "The Closers" because now the cases can finally be re-worked and finally closed, but to Harry it is the opener, since he can re-open books that have been long closed. He is the one who listens to those forgotten voices. Harry still has his runs ins with the established ruling class, still bucks the system, ruffles the feathers of even those he is closest to, but that's just Harry for you.

Hard to Put Down.......2007-07-23

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it. The characters and development of this book was fun to follow. It was hard to put down.

Women without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity

Average customer rating:

Good Point, Painful Read
best book I've read all year
Great Read for those working with Teens

Women without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity
Julie Bettie
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520235428

Book Description

In this examination of white and Mexican-American girls coming of age in California's Central Valley, Julie Bettie turns class theory on its head and offers new tools for understanding the ways in which class identity is constructed and, at times, fails to be constructed in relationship to color, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Documenting the categories of subculture and style that high school students use to explain class and racial/ethnic differences among themselves, Bettie depicts the complex identity performances of contemporary girls. The title, Women Without Class, refers at once to young working-class women who have little cultural capital to enable class mobility, to the fact that class analysis and social theory has remained insufficiently transformed by feminist and ethnic studies, and to the fact that some feminist analysis has itself been complicit in the failure to theorize women as class subjects. Bettie's research and analysis make a case for analytical and political attention to class, but not at the expense of attention to other axes of identity and social formations.

Customer Reviews:

Good Point, Painful Read.......2005-03-03

What really endangered the success of Bettie's message was not humanly bias, but her writing style. Bettie tries so hard to convince the reader that her study is important that she becomes verbose; she spends so much time telling us everyone else has it wrong (except for her) that her tone goes from conviction and pleasantly tenacious to grating. The complexity of the issue need not result in literary inaccessibility. Bettie's sentences stretch into several lines and her chapters become bloated when they could easily be summed up by what most people already know: we're missing the rest of the picture if we just focus on gender--it's a more complex issue...otherwise known as: you can't see the forest for the trees.

best book I've read all year.......2003-07-10

"Women without Class" is a tour de force of exceptional scholarly research and keen social observation. Bettie does a tremendous job exploring how class operates in many powerful, yet subtle ways in the lives of young women in one California high school. She highlights the role of economics, but also addresses issues of race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Through sustained, in-depth ethnographic research, Bettie illuminates the complex social dynamics of a community and brings the personalities, experiences and worries of these young women to life. The book is honest and sharp, reading almost like a novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sociology, education, youth, race/ethnic relations, or gender.

Great Read for those working with Teens.......2003-07-03

As a person who works daily with young people both in and out of academic settings, I found this book gave a fresh perspective on how we view teenagers (both men and women) and the influence we have on their lives; especially those influences that are unconcious on our part. It changed the way I perceive my students and gave me new tools for communication. I also thought it was a terrific read; often dramatic and moving. I highly reccomend this book to anyone whose work or lives are connected with young people in America.

Along Came Mary : A Bad Girl Creek Novel

Average customer rating:

Another good one from Joann Mapson
Love the Bad Girls
One of the best....
Can't Wait for Earl....
Another great one!

Along Came Mary : A Bad Girl Creek Novel
Jo-Ann Mapson
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743224612
Release Date: 2002-12-24

Book Description

USA Today called Jo-Ann Mapson's national bestseller, Bad Girl Creek, "a valentine to oceans of good women who survive bad beginnings and worse men." Now the author, hailed as "one of the most gifted writers of the contemporary urban West" (Los Angeles Times), brings back the hard-luck women of her acclaimed previous novel -- and introduces another indelible character into their midst.

"Me, I need a map to tell which town I'm in. I feel like ten miles of bad road, wondering how I got to where I am...." After finally wising up to her drunken rodeo-crooner lover ("Imagine Kevin Costner with an overbite"), Mary Madigan saddles up her twin Border collies and takes her act on the road, leaving miles of heartache and highway behind. Maddy's journey takes her across the South -- singing in and winning one karaoke contest after another -- and inexorably closer to a dreaded showdown with her past.

In Oklahoma City, she meets Rick, a journalist haunted by his own ghosts. After he loses his job, he travels to his childhood home to set up camp. When he first runs into Maddy, she gives him the cold shoulder. But he's charming, and persistent, and before Maddy knows it she's got a travel companion and a new lover (with an all-too-familiar set of tricks). Their travels will ultimately bring them to Bad Girl Creek, where the ladies know him as "Rotten Rick" -- because he broke Nance's heart -- and where the waters have already been troubled.

Phoebe's pregnancy is life-threatening, Nance's breakup diet has turned dangerously successful, Beryl is still struggling to adjust to life after prison, and HIV-positive Ness is distancing herself from the "healthy" world -- if you can call it that.

But these are the Bad Girl Creek ladies: they are resilient. They have character. And, above all, they love each other. The ways they all pull together, cheer each other on through good times and bad, and cope with every curveball life throws at them make up the heart and soul of this powerful new novel, a bighearted book certain to win this exceptional author a new legion of devoted readers.

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"USA Today called Jo-Ann Mapson's national bestseller, Bad Girl Creek, ""a valentine to oceans of good women who survive bad beginnings and worse men."" Now the author, hailed as ""one of the most gifted writers of the contemporary urban West"" (Los Angeles Times), brings back the hard-luck women of her acclaimed previous novel -- and introduces another indelible character into their midst. ""Me, I need a map to tell which town I'm in. I feel like ten miles of bad road, wondering how I got to where I am...."" After finally wising up to her drunken rodeo-crooner lover (""Imagine Kevin Costner with an overbite""), Mary Madigan saddles up her twin Border collies and takes her act on the road, leaving miles of heartache and highway behind. Maddy's journey takes her across the South -- singing in and winning one karaoke contest after another -- and inexorably closer to a dreaded showdown with her past. In Oklahoma City, she meets Rick, a journalist haunted by his own ghosts. After he loses his job, he travels to his childhood home to set up camp. When he first runs into Maddy, she gives him the cold shoulder. But he's charming, and persistent, and before Maddy knows it she's got a travel companion and a new lover (with an all-too-familiar set of tricks). Their travels will ultimately bring them to Bad Girl Creek, where the ladies know him as ""Rotten Rick"" -- because he broke Nance's heart -- and where the waters have already been troubled. Phoebe's pregnancy is life-threatening, Nance's breakup diet has turned dangerously successful, Beryl is still struggling to adjust to life after prison, and HIV-positive Ness is distancing herself from the ""healthy"" world -- if you can call it that.

Customer Reviews:

Another good one from Joann Mapson.......2006-11-02

I just wrote a review for another of Joann's books called A Bad Girl Creek Novel, this Book and Good-bye Earl are a set of 3 books that go hand in hand with one another. You won't go wrong with purchasing these books, this set is one that should definately be made into a movie.

Love the Bad Girls.......2006-02-14

While I did not enjoy this as much as Bad Girl Creek, I still found it a good read. (I absolutely hated the way this began. What a shocker.) The characters are still as wonderfully flawed and we have added a new main character, Mary. And we have gotten some new insight on Rotten Rick. The Bad Girl books are about true friendships. Don't you wish we all had a Phoebe or a Ness in our lives?

One of the best...........2005-08-21

This book was one of the best I've read so far. While "Bad Girl Creek" wasnt one of my favorites, this little gem sure was. I couldn't put it down, I was so intrigued by it...especially Phoebe and Sally. Can't wait to read "Goodbye Earl."

Can't Wait for Earl...........2005-01-28

Having read wilder Sisters, Bad Girl Creek and Now Along Came Mary I'm waiting not so patiently for Good Bye Earl! My favorite so far as been Bad Girl simply becuase I feel like I "Know" the characters...to me they are so typical of they way good friends see eachother, need eachother...and just know eachother. Mary was great with the added characters and dogs! Maybe someone will give me Earl for my birthday!!!

Another great one!.......2004-11-30

She has done it again! Another great book in the Bad Girl series. It is true, although we don't get but glimpses here and there of our fav girls, we do get enough to feed the question of what is going on with each of them. This book only took me a couple of hours. I can't put them down! You won't be able to either! Enjoy!

What a Girl Wants (Ashley Stockingdale, Book 3)

Average customer rating:

Single and Loving It?
What a minute, this is wrong!
Sort of snobby and aggravating
Fabulous!
What a girl wants to read

What a Girl Wants (Ashley Stockingdale, Book 3)
Kristin Billerbeck
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0849944589

Book Description

Ever felt like the last item left on the clearance rack?

As a successful patent attorney, Ashley Stockingdale has all the makings of a perfect catch-the looks, the brains, even a convertible. But at 31, she's beginning to wonder if she's been passed over for good.

Deciding to adopt a new attitude, Ashley suddenly becomes the romantic interest of three men within a matter of days. While her heart enjoys turning the tables on the dating game, the rest of her previously predictable world is being turned upside down. Is it more than Ashley can handle? Or is it exactly what she wants?

Award-wining author Kristin Billerbeck combines comedy with spunk to create a memorable story in What a Girl Wants--an all-too-realistic picture of a single girl's search for being content with who she is...with or without a man.

Customer Reviews:

Single and Loving It?.......2007-08-07

I picked it up when I saw that the protagonist was about my age, single, and in a similar situation in life. I felt like I was reading my life story at times. It was hysterical and thought-provoking. I'm constantly having to remind myself that it's okay to be single, and that I can find contentment at whatever stage in life I'm in. Instead of other chicklit fluff out there, this story incorporates faith and Christian morals that are so rare in other stories. This was a wonderful blend, without being preaching or cheesy as so many other Christian fiction novels that I've read throughout the years.

I'll definitely be loaning it to my other single girlfriends.. The few left that are still single.

What a minute, this is wrong!.......2007-08-07

Hey,
They put these books in the wrong order!
1: What a girl wants
2:She's out of control
3: With this ring, I'm confused

Anyway, It's a wonderful book, none the less!

Sort of snobby and aggravating.......2007-06-18

i thought that the description of this book made it look so cute -- i am also an attorney so i thought i would really relate. i was willing to give the whole christian genre a chance...let me just say the book was pretentious. i was annoyed by all her high powered attorney references and the fact she seemed really hypocritical. still, i read the book and thought it was okay/cute, but not okay enough to read any other books by this author or in this series. i gave the book to my friend from mississippi, who is actually a more devoted christian, and she couldnt get through the book because she was soo annoyed. if you read this, expect to ignore your annoyances and just read it to pass the time while laying on some beach somewhere...You will want to know what happens, if you can manage to get into the book.

Fabulous!.......2007-04-27

I loved this book and can't wait to read the others in the series. A friend gave it to me as a gift because the main character's name is Ashley just like me. Anyway, it was a super funny and easy read -- I finished it in one night. It is definitely similar to the Shopaholic series, which I am a huge fan of -- but it is nice to read a funny and entertaining story with a Christian perspective. I would recommend this to women of pretty much any age, either single or married.

What a girl wants to read.......2007-03-24

Being something of a cynic anyway, I'm leery of Christian-themed "chick lit," mainly because much of what I've tried to read in the genre has been unintelligent tripe. I picked this book up from a friend's coffee table and hadn't read two pages before I knew I had to have it. Billerbeck's novel sincerely and practically hashes out real emotional issues in the lives of young women, using a Christian context that is discernible but not overbearing. And she does it all with outrageous humor! I found myself more than once slapping my knee.

Women born in the 70's and maybe early 80's will appreciate the contemporary references (e.g., Ricki Lake, Dance Fever, Super Mario). If you are a woman (esp. Christian) who no longer passes for a "young adult" and is frustrated with the single life, this book will make you laugh, lift your spirits, even prick at some important issues of the heart -- but ultimately, it will encourage you. Reading a book won't necessarily change your life, but this book might help you appreciate it a little more.

Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It in Hair Metal L.A.

Average customer rating:

Not bad but...
Nerd Girl does rock!
Keëping it Nërd
I knew you when
Not your typical memoir

Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It in Hair Metal L.A.
Anne Thomas Soffee
Manufacturer: Chicago Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1556525869

Book Description

After college, Anne Thomas Soffee journeyed to Los Angeles to start a career as a rock journalist and small-time heavy metal flack. This hilarious peek into the early years of the hair-band era reveals the hierarchy of fishnets, bustiers, and chicks with the Holy Grail—a backstage pass. A taste for other people’s prescriptions and too much beer edges her freelance journalism work right off her schedule. She struggles with not being thin enough, pretty enough, or cool enough when, in the midst of the L.A. riots, Soffee is offered a coveted slot in Virginia Commonwealth University's MFA writing program. Determined to pull herself out of current habits, Soffee starts turning her life around, making a stop at rehab before she heads off to graduate school. Her quarter-life crisis is packed with offbeat characters that prove that fact is often funnier than fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Not bad but..........2007-02-05

...not great either. I think I was expecting a real rock and roll expose but only got a few hints and snippets of what really went on in that world at that time. Most of the story takes place at a bar and focuses on the author's increasing disillusion with her chosen life, and her subsequent substance abuse -- unfortuantely a tale that's been done to death nowadays. I liked "Snake Hips" much better, if only because it was not the story of a drug-and-booze-fueled downfall, but of a woman finally finding herself and some insights on life and creativity. Anne's style, I will say, is very engaging. Truly she comes across like your "snarky best friend" and the text pulls you right into her world. I read this book in one sitting because I literally could not put it down, and yet I was left wanting more from the story than she gave. She's got sarcasm down to a science, but I kept waiting for something to really *happen* besides a few brushes with lesser-known musicians and a disastrous affair with a name-deleted "punk icon". C'mon, Anne, if you're really THAT hardcore of a rock chick you'd name some names here, lawsuits be damned. And you'd give a lot more gory detail on the naughty bits, too. The drag queens were hilarious but we never really got to know any of them up close. You circle around the edge of telling us what really happened out there and how it made you feel, but always pull back before we can get to see the whole picture. I was expecting a rock documentary, but only ended up with a few fuzzy snapshots. Oh well. Better that you're now a sober bellydancing author than just another street kid in L.A. who becomes a statistic. I will say that Glenn Danzig sounded like an interesting guy... but again, too bad you didn't get close enough to him to get more details. I would say to Amazon customers that this book is an OK read, but it's not a real "insider tell-all" if that's what you're looking for. And definitely don't read it if you're looking to be inspired by the rock scene, because you will come away depressed. In the end you will start to root for Anne's family, who keeps trying desperately to get her to come home. (And a good thing she did, otherwise we'd never have had "Snake Hips".) Call me square but I like her tale of bellydancing sobriety much better.

Nerd Girl does rock!.......2005-10-06

I read a lot of books where the writing is good, but the subject matter isn't so interesting and vice versa, but this is a gem. Anne's writing style is like a welcome letter from your favorite snarky friend. Well-balanced self-deprecation (no one can accuse her of being self-aggrandizing, but it's no pity party either) carry the reader through her attempts to go from small time VA press to journalist at the major rock rags. In her adventure, the reader is treated to dish about small time industry insiders, Glenn Danzig, Kelsey Grammer, Riki Rachtman, a certain unnamed (but easily figured out) skeezy figurehead of the punk rock scene, GWAR, and a host of catty drag queens.

Never a dull moment! As a former Richmonder, I admit to having a soft spot for the cracked out wanna-be boyfriend story, involving a member of a well known local band. Names withheld to protect the less-than-innocent.

If you liked Snake Hips, you'll like this. If you like tell-all punk and metal bios, you'll like this. If you like both of those things? This is the book you've been waiting for.

Keëping it Nërd.......2005-09-15

... Ms. Søffëe delivers another laugh-your-brains-oüt memoir. Armed with moxie and idealism, the author heads for Los Angeles to make her mark in the music journalism world, determined to keep it rockin' while hair metal is on its last gasp and being supplanted by grunge and alternative. While slightly more discreet than in her previous Snake Hips, Ms. Soffee names names which had me crowing in recognition. Her ability to laugh at herself in hindsight and make others follow her through the bum boyfriends, getting leeched by a Big Name and the benzos chased with beer without feeling like they're watching a trainwreck and gorefest. I highly recommend!

I knew you when.......2005-09-11

OK, I haven't read it yet, but I intend to. The thing is that I went to high school with the author and am thrilled to suddenly discover what has become of her.
The last I saw her I was running from a Grateful Dead concert having a severely bad acid trip. That was over twenty years ago.
I expect to enjoy her writing and look forward to the adult who has emerged from the teenager of my memory.

Not your typical memoir.......2005-09-10

Another memoir of a pivotal time of her life, but certainly not the same old memoir you find on bookstore shelves today. This one addresses the author's attempts to make it in LA as music journalist, and true to her chosen career path, the book is written less as an angsty, emotion laden memoir and more as a review.

This is not to disparage the book or to say that it is emotionless, because it's not. It just doesn't bog itself down with so much extraneous whining like many of the 400 page pity parties that are in print now. She doesn't back away from sharing intimate details, but she also doesn't feel the need to delve endlessly into the why and wherefor of her actions. She is unapologetic in her life recap, and that is something that is hard to find in the modern memoir.

If you remember the age of the hair bands, you will love this book for its insider information as much as for the overall story. This was a lot of fun to read.

Amalia, Diary Three (California Diaries)

Average customer rating:

Wonderfull!
WOW
Waste Your Time If You Want To!
California Diaries:Amalia Diary Three
Fantastic, but...

Amalia, Diary Three (California Diaries)
Ann M. Martin
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0439095484

Book Description

When Amelia is verbally assaulted in a racist incident, it affects her deeply. Her family, friends, and new boyfriend help heal her self-confidence - and restore her faith in other people.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfull!.......2003-06-21

This book demonstrates the horror of racism. And when you read it you get deeper and deeper into Amalia's thoughts. Don't pass this book up. I recommend this book for all ages, all races, and both male and female.

WOW.......2002-10-26

Ok So I have read so many books in my life and when I read this book. It was one of the best books I have ever read. I mean I was reading the reviews and some girl said it was for 10 year olds? Well I want to say that 10 year old girls do not get stalked. The book was great and talked a lot about real life situations. I mean getting stalked is not a good thing and it can be terrifying! So this book gets a 5 star rating for me, but DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT read it until you have read books 1-13 in order!

Waste Your Time If You Want To!.......2002-04-17

I read a different number of the California Diaries of Amalia. On the back of the book I read, it says: Sorry Nbook, I lied. But I couldn't help it. I was in no condition to write last night. I feel like I'm living in a nightmare that gets worse and worse the more I try to wake up. I am scared. Sounds like this person has a HUGE problem like she has some horrible disease or she's doing drugs but that is not the problem, she's being stalked. Okay... she's in the eighth grade and her life was just dull. Not what expected to be. I should give the author credit for putting some dramatic content in the book like violence but I need more other content. I've read better diaries. I recommend this book to six and seventh graders. I'm an eighth grader so I would give this book 2 stars. If you have a HUGE heart for people's everyday problems, this book is for you.

California Diaries:Amalia Diary Three.......2002-01-15

This is pretty sad that this is the second to last book in the series(I have all of them)but the book is good and deals with a rather big issue.
Many people could find faults with this book such as the short story length and the excessive amount of pictures.If you read the first Amalia diary(no 4)you would understand that she is not much of a writer.But the pictures help to understand better.When Amalia has her dreams about how everyone else saw the attack,it made it easier to understand.Sure some of the pictures are messy but in a journal you're not always going to be neat.
There are really good bits in here like the usher for one.Amalia had just been beaten up and it showed to her(even though she was still in a state of shock and she probably didn't realise)that not all strangers are going to be racist and mean.Another good part is when Amanda spoils the very first idea for Dawn's party.
Ann Martin has always been a favourite of mine and these books just help to prove it.Amalia is a good role model(friend fights and all)because she can move on.Shes realises her mistakes and fixes them and she is a good friend.
I recommend this book and the rest of California Diaries.Please,please,please do not get put off by the teen drama blurbs on the back, they are just to get you interested(even though they tend to put most people off because they think it is not suitable reading.)
Happy reading!:)

Fantastic, but..........2000-12-17

It's quite good, but: 1. The layout--its just the same. 2. Problems don't change. 3. Story output is unsatisfactory. 4. Details and characters do not blend in. 5. The idea is not clear. May be mixed up.

Hope this helps in a professional's bird eye view!

Enjoy.

Average customer rating:

EXPECTED MORE!!!

The Romances of a Poor Girl

A Pretty Girl Gone Wrong

POWER, SEX AND MONEY

TRUE STORY

Beautiful Bad Girl: The Vicky Morgan Story
Gordon Basichis
Manufacturer: Santa Barbara Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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An Inconvenient Woman

Fatal Charms and Other Tales of Today/The Mansions of Limbo (Omnibus)

This Crazy Thing Called Love: The Golden World and Fatal Marriage of Ann and Billy Woodward

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles

Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments

ASIN: 0915643146

Book Description

Vicki Morgan, mistress to department store heir and Ronald Reagan confidante, Alfred Bloomingdale, lived beyond her years and died before her time—the victim of a brutal murder. Seething with power, intrigue, sex and obsession, it's a ringside seat into the darker habits of the world's rich and powerful.

Customer Reviews:

EXPECTED MORE!!!.......2006-07-07

"I know one thing's for sure," Vicki declared. "I'm not staying here anymore. Alfred wants this and Bob wants that. Meanwhile I'm stuck in here (Mental Health Center) with no place to go. To hell with it! I'll check into the L'Ermitage. With what it costs for a suite there, somebody better do something."

I finished reading The Vicki Morgan Story last night, and I can only say that I was disappointed. I thought that there would be more substance and more excitement but no way. I guess having a love for Hollywood stories I cast my expectations a bit too high; no fault of the author of course.
It is sad that poor Vicki lacked the proper guidance to pull her into adulthood, relying on the pockets of older men and as far as I could see anyone who would give her money,she never worked and counted on her looks to get her by. I cannot fault her if she knew no better but the older men whom she hung withand who desperately wanted her, should never have taken advantage of her for sexual favours and attention.
May God rest her weary soul.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 06/07/06)

The Romances of a Poor Girl.......2004-08-26

Young Vicki Morgan wanted to escape from her working-class surroundings in the Valley. She was exceptionally pretty, shrewd, and had native intelligence. Her charms attracted rich and powerful men who catered to her desires. Yet she became another victim trapped by greed and exploitation. Beauty does not trump class distinctions (p.7). Vicki lived fast and died young. The author compares her to Dorothy Stratten, Colleen Applegate, and Edie Sedgewick. Vicki got close enough to corporate rulers and political leaders. Did she know too much and become a threat to the established order (p.8)? Did Vicki's absent father affect her interest in older men? This book lacks a table of contents and an index.

After Vicki sued Alfred Bloomingdale, the tawdry sex life of this intimate adviser to Ronald Reagan was exposed. The author was introduced to Vicki by a movie producer, and began talks to produce a book. Vicki met Alfred Bloomingdale at 17 and became his kept mistress; she then learned the manners and morals of the upper class. Alfred Bloomingdale was a member of Ronald Reagan's kitchen cabinet. He was a co-founder of Diner's Club; personal information about the lives of the rich and famous were useful to intelligence services (p.41). Alfred Bloomingdale could have been a perfect case study for psychiatrists (pp.66-67). Alfred had the money and power to indulge his whims (p.60). Vicki stayed with him because she needed money to raise her son (p.63). But her spending habits suggest she considered it something to get rid of as fast as she got it (pp.81-82).

Vicki tried living with other men, but always came back to Alfred Bloomingdale. After he died, Vicki was left with nothing but shame and despair (p.87). When Betsy saw Alfred and Vicki together, she ended the affair (pp.110-103). Alfred gave Vicki a settlement. The rest of the book tells of Vicki's continued used of drugs and the ensuing decadence. The last 100 pages are a sort of low-key horror story that lead to Vicki's death. President Reagan appointed Alfred Bloomingdale to the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; what kind of pay-off was this? Vicki's suit against Betsy created a scandal, and her friends departed. Needing money, Vicki took in Marvin Pancoast to pay expenses. But she had been warned against him! One night Marvin turned on Vicki and killed her. This book could serve as a warning to teenagers, but those who could benefit probably won't read it.

A Pretty Girl Gone Wrong.......2002-04-03

This is absolutely one of the wildest biographies I have ever read. If it wasn't true it would make great fiction, right up there with the sexy potboilers and confessionals I so love to read. This is the story of Vicki Morgan, longtime mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale, and the loved they shared, a strange and crazy kind of love that would lead to their mutual destruction. Here he was, scion of Bloomingdales Department Store, industrial magnate and member of Ronald Reagan's kitchen cabinet; and here she was a naive but gorgeous small town girl come to the big city.

This book has an epic sweep as Vicki Morgan, in a vain attempt to escape the married Bloomingdale, encounters a series of adventures with some of the world's most wealthy and powerful men. And women. It is not a tale for the faint hearted, but there are strong moral lessons--mainly there is a steep price for the glamour and the money men give for sexual favors.

The story is told from the author's point of view. He spent nine months with Vicki Morgan and was one of the last people to see her alive. The author, Gordon Basichis, gives us intimate insight into the making of a wordly rich girl who knows how to manipulate men for money, only to be trapped in the game she has profited by for so many years. Through the seventies and into the eighties she was getting at least a quarter millon dollars from these different lovers.

It's rare that I find a book so compelling. I love how the story describes the high life of power and money while showing, also, how this glitzy path leads to destruction and, in this case, murder. This was truly one of a kind.

POWER, SEX AND MONEY.......2002-03-19

Power, Sex and Money
I was totally caught up in this true tale of a naive and beautiful young woman, trapped in a world where power, sex and money reign. As the mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale, the department store heir and member of the kitchen cabinet, Vicki Morgan lived a life that few can imagine...a wild and ultimately tragic journey that ended in her brutal murder. What I loved about this book was its unwillingness to rely on predictable cliche. The author's insight sheds new light on a very old subject -- sex and power. The writing is personal, intimate, at times humorous and always engaging. If this book were published today, it would be a bestseller

TRUE STORY.......2001-12-04

this book was very moving. the story of a mistress, who never can seem to find her way, but found love in a married man. the author got to knew vicki before her murder and this gives us great insight into her thoughts and feelings. i highly recommend this book, a great read from beginning to end.

Average customer rating:

Come on, Sunny and Ducky...yous coulda gone further!
See a Penny, Pick it Up...
Ducky+Sunny=????
Okay
could have been much better

Ducky, Diary Three (California Diaries)
Ann M. Martin
Manufacturer: Little Apple
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0439095492

Customer Reviews:

Come on, Sunny and Ducky...yous coulda gone further!.......2004-11-07

This book was ok. I have one very improtant thing 2 say:
DUCKY MUST BE GAY!!!! how could he not like sunny? hes pathetic!
Sunny coulda gone way further. Just a kiss? THAT was what all the turmole was about? COME ON! i mean, if she'd done something worse...you kno what i mean. but a kiss...get outta here.
ducky was funny at times but it was pretty obvios that he is a homosexul. he doesnt like sunny, he hates sport, and he hangs out with girls! its sooooo obvios. Ann, get a grip. your readers desrerve to know duckys sexual likings!!!
anywayz this was an ok book but dont buy it. cos theres nothin' realy special about it. the kiss was gay - too brief -, who cares about maggies mom, and the whole brendan/amalia thingy was pathetic.
the only reason i gave this book 2 starz was cos it was good in some parts, like when ted thinks maggies spent the night at ducky's house. that was funny. go ted!
without that scene i woulda given this book 1 star. the kiss was lazy and there were no hot chix.

See a Penny, Pick it Up..........2003-03-15

... And all day long, you'll have good Duck!
This book was awesome. It was hilarious and clever and so very familiar in a few different ways (at least for me, anyway). I love the way Ducky writes in his journals - the oddball titles he gives his entries, the movie-script-format he jots scenes in sometimes and his never-ending struggle with the Point-Of-View format of his scribbling. There were some very creative things written in here... some of the most hilarious observations. ('Dance of the Shop-Lifter', 'Stomach Supplies', etc.), as well as a particularly irresistible display of innocence and honesty that Ann M. Martin has carved into our Ducky. Honestly, if this boy were a real person, I might be in love!
So, you see, I don't blame Sunny at all when she developes a crush on her best friend in this book and begins dropping subtle hints to him about her feelings lately. Poor Ducky doesn't have any idea what's going on with his best pal, however, and it takes some advise from an unexpected source (Amalia's current boyfriend) to wisen the poor boy up.
But does the Duckster feel the same??? I tell you, the answer surprised me!!
I definietely recommend this book! It's funny, cute and communicates to anyone and everyone that true friendships are special enough as they are - so if they ain't broke... don't try to fix 'em!

Ducky+Sunny=????.......2002-03-27

i totally loved this book. it was Ducky's best one. He really started to show us where he thinks friendship takes a stand. i loved the way he really thought about the pros and cons of being w/ Sunny. I LOVE DUCKY! the only dissapointments i had were that he and Sunny didn't get together, and that would've continued this amazing series.

Okay.......2001-06-24

This book was not the best out of the series, but i thought it was pretty good. I dont know why everyone thought it was so bad. What is wrong with a guy who's sixteen and doesn't want to be a jock and doesn't have a girlfriend? But, the book was about Ducky falling in love with Sunny but feeling weird about it. He likes her and doesnt want to ruin their friendship. I didnt think it had the best ending, though.

could have been much better.......2001-05-29

In this book you can plainly see that ducky is in l o v e. but he doesn't want to destroy the friendship that he has with sunny, and it is disapointing to the reader because when the book reaches a certain climax( such as sunny coming on to ducky) there is always that downfall;which i have to say is very, very dissapointing. i hope that in her futuer books she will add a little more zest. by the way it has been a while since her last book was published, and i would like to know why she stoped!she is a very good writer.

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