Chocolate Covered Forbidden Fruit

Book Description

Thalia, a 25 yr. old wild girl gone good, moves back to her old neighborhood after a failed engagement and manages to catch the eye of the town's most wanted man… the middle aged, incredibly sexy, single, devoted, and charismatic Reverend of Mount Pleasant. To add insult to injury Rev. Isaac Flack happens to be the father of, Madison, her best friend since Junior High, who isn't trying to deal with her father dating anyone after her mother's death.

Since Thalia was a teenager visiting his house to do math homework with his daughter she was intrigued by him, and now that she is a woman he wants her beyond reason. Thalia asks Isaac to remain her secret, but he wants the world to know. However, when tragedy strikes their love is exposed to her family, his colleagues, his congregation, and her best friend… his daughter. And when the holier than thou older church sisters gets this gossip in the wind, after years of schooling their daughters in Pastor's Wifeolgy, the Holy Ghost just won't move in Mount Pleasant.

The word is out but that's not all they had to overcome, there is still a secret behind door number three. A former lover rears his ugly head and forces their relationship to change for the absolute worst.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2007-10-08

I really rooted for this couple, did not think I would considering the age gap of 25 year old woman and 45 year old man, thought it would be sleazy but it was a beautiful love story. Good read, sexy, funny and sensual.
Would love to read a sequel about some of the other characters.

Tmoegoody .......2007-10-05

A little discouraging in the beginning because I really did not want to read about another spring break fling, but the only reason I kept reading is because my girl Trista be putting it down and once again it was a great read.

she did it again............2007-09-23

She did it again. Another EXCELLENT book. I loved this book from beginning to end. Only upset about her books is when it ends. You always want more. What i love the most is that each story is different and each story gets better and better. I cannot wait to see what Trista Russell has next. God has bless you with a talent......

"If loving you is wrong ...who cares".......2007-09-12

i really enjoyed the story of Thadia's and her friends and the Rev. Issac. I was completely wrong about this book, when I first read the back cover of this book I thought I was going to be reading a drama filled book about this young girl messing around with the Rev. I was completely wrong!!! This is truly a Romeo & Juliet story about 2 adults who are looking for love and find it in each other, but at the cost of possibly a friendship and a close father & daughter relationship. I have enjoyed all the books that have been written by this author. I am now reading going broke, and really enjoyed Fly on the Wall!!

Thanks Mrs. Russell.......2007-08-20

This book has really given me hope for a better day. If only everyone could find the happiness that Thalia found the world be a better place.

Average customer rating:

Have You Ever Read A Book You Just Didn't Want To End?.......
VERY good book!
Very Spicy
***Warning***Warning***Warning***
HOT!!!

Fly On The Wall
Trista Russell
Manufacturer: Urban Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1893196313

Book Description

His Story: "I could have any chick at West Dade Senior High, but I went after the one I was told couldn't be broken, Ms. Patrick, my English teacher and my coach's ex-wife. It started with me proving something to myself, but ended with me trying to prove to her that I was all the man she'd ever need."

Her Story: "I struggled to treat him like any other student. All I asked was that he arrive to class on time and I encouraged him to complete class assignments. However, the lustful way he looked at me, the intimate things his words implied, and the way his fingers taunted my skin, was powerful enough for me to put my career on the line."

The Truth: A thirty-two-year-old teacher entered an inappropriate relationship with a student, but what the headlines didn't say was that the student, Theo Lakewood, was eighteen (of legal age), extremely handsome, a senior, and a star basketball player at West Dade Senior High, relentlessly pursued her, ceaselessly studied her, and painstakingly seduced her. Of course she could've ignored his advances, but she welcomed him with open arms. Only a Fly on the Wall would know exactly how he conquered her.

Ever wish that you were a Fly on the Wall? Wish no more. Spread your wings and get ready to read all of the juicy forbidden details from behind closed doors with Theo and Paige.

Customer Reviews:

Have You Ever Read A Book You Just Didn't Want To End?..............2007-09-03

.....If not, then this is the book. This book was INCREDIBLE an AWESOMELY written love story. "Fly on the wall" is one of the best books I've read. This book test on so many emotions, it will have you hooked from the beginning until the end. This book will have you thinking about the characters well after you have read it, it will leave you yearning for more. This book NEEDS to be adapted into a movie, so I could watch it over and over. For all you out there that enjoys reading Love Stories, this is a MUST READ. The ending was the GREATEST. I usually dont write reviews, but HOW COULD I NOT FOR THIS BOOK?

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK, DON'T READ ANY FURTHER. I DONT WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING FOR YOU.

For those that have. Who could agree with me, when I say my heart was pounding NON-STOP when I thought Theo was dead? I literally did not want to continue reading if that was the case. The book ended beautifully, but who wanted to read about the graduation, the draft, the wedding and the baby? Trista, deserves her props for this book, because I just can't get it out of my system. I trully can't get ENOUGH.

VERY good book!.......2007-06-25

I actually found this book while I was searching for another book! I'm glad I clicked on the link because this book was REALLY good. The best part (also the funniest) was the fly!! It didn't have a big part but stole the show when it did. "Ripped from the headlines" is the cliche' on this book but don't let that deter you.

The author actually has a plot with this story and the sex scenes are extremely hot!! Each of the main characters has some serious flaws and that is why you'll love em. Put this one on your "to read" list.

Very Spicy.......2007-06-18

If only I could be...a fly on the wall. A great book with unexpected plot twists right up to the very end. I love Trista Russell as an author.

***Warning***Warning***Warning***.......2007-06-08

Do not read this book at work because you will be screaming out loud with shock and excitment!! I love this book so much it is very well written and you will love it I promise. You will think you are actually the fly on the wall eavesdropping!!

HOT!!!.......2007-05-29

This book was good from front to back. I enjoyed this book it was GREAT! Keep up the good work Trista.

Color and Light: Luminous Atmospheres for Painted Rooms

Average customer rating:

A unique and wonderfully inspiring book
The World of Color
Useful and Illuminating
A dismal failure
YUK

Color and Light: Luminous Atmospheres for Painted Rooms
Donald Kaufman , Taffy Dahl , and Christine Pittel
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0517704013
Release Date: 1999-04-27

Book Description

"Human beings feel a universal attraction to light. It is the source of life-giving energy . . . and where there is light there is color."

"Color is light made visible," says Donald Kaufman," and the atmosphere of the air we breathe and the quality of the light passing through it affect how we see color." A wall painted terra cotta in Santa Fe will look very different than a wall painted terra cotta in New York. By understanding the nature of the light and atmosphere in the place where you live, paint palettes for rooms can be selected that will enhance the light and create luminous effects.

In these inspiring pages filled with breathtaking rooms, Kaufman and Dahl have visited homes in different regions of the country and explored the particularities of the light and air in each to show how colors were chosen to enhance the available light. Whether it be the veiled light of the South and Northwest, the dry air and harsh light of the desert, the misted light of northern cities, the incandescent light over water, the clear light of the mountains, or the glaring light reflected from snow, each has its own way of interacting with color indoors. The reader also learns that, just as colors change with the region, they vary with the seasons and times of day. Molecules of air, water vapor, ice crystals, nearby buildings, or the tree branches and leaves we see outside our rooms all interact with painted interiors. We come to understand that the colors on our walls need not be fixed but can reflect the subtle changes that happen outdoors.

In Kaufman and Dahl's Color: Natural Palettes for Painted Rooms, the authors transformed forever the way we see colors in nature and in the paint on our walls. In Color and Light, they take us one step further to help us understand the role of the kinds of light we live with and how we can bring the sun's warmth and luminosity inside.

Customer Reviews:

A unique and wonderfully inspiring book.......2004-06-01

Two reasons to write this review. One is to counteract, or attempt to balance, the negativity of some of the other reader's reviews. The other is to bring to notice this exceptional book. The ideas that atmosphere, air and geographic location can influence color are not novel thoughts - Dutch master painters and the Provence of Van Gogh come to mind. But to apply such theories to the architectural and interior use of color has not been explored by enough people. Donald Kaufman was first an artist - this obviously influences his perception and methods of working with paint. The book is fascinating for the way it balances ethereal ideas with practical suggestions. The power and influence of localized light is described with excellent prose as well as lovingly selected photographs. Alongside such beauty are supremely helpful suggestions for using color and light in your own environment or in the spaces you are creating for others to enjoy. I have all three of Donald Kaufman and Taffy Dahl's books. Now I await a fourth!

The World of Color.......2002-06-29

This and the two related books (Natural Palettes and the Suzanne Butterfield book on palettes based on D. Kaufman colors)should be read attentively by anyone faced with painting a room. As beautiful as some of the illustrations are, these are NOT coffee table books to browse through. They are full of practical information for painting rooms, including rooms like mine with dark woodwork, hardwood floors, uneven walls, odd-shaped and leaded glass windows, etc. For example -- balancing cool and warm, contrasting or matching color values, using hue to stand up to strong trim, using flat paint to create a soft, smooth wall surface, what to do with dark rooms (Don't paint them white -- the resulting shadows emphasize that they are dark.), the importance of mixing paint colors without using black pigment and the importance of having the full spectrum of pigments in any paint hue, the effect that the color of light in the room will have on the wall color, and much more. The room descriptions are not prescriptions for what one must do but rather examples of the many different effects that can result using fully-pigmented paint of different value, hue, contrasts, etc. under different light conditions. The Butterfield book is a fairly simple presentation. "Natural Palettes" and "Color and Light," particularly the latter book, are sophisticated illustrated explanations of the basic "rules" of light and color through some of the myriad possible results. Read these three books with attention and be rewarded with an appreciation of color and light everywhere(in every house, apartment, store, restaurant, office, etc., on the street, the highway, in the sky, city, country -- you won't be able to help it!) Read these books and you will see, know and care about color and light forever. You'll also have no problem painting your rooms.

Useful and Illuminating.......2002-03-14

Beautiful book with great practical advice about how to choose colors for your home. I've gone gaga over Donald Kaufman's paints, and, although they are expensive, they are only a fraction of the price of Martha Stewart's line for Schreuder.

A dismal failure.......2002-02-27

I love color. I love light. So, I thought I would love this book. Wrong, wrong, wrong. This book is a borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring read. It's like a bad term paper. I dare you to find one idea to take away and use in your own life. The author talks AT you, pontificates, lectures, never asks you a question or makes room for you to react. Talk about over-intellectualizing a topic and taking the fun out of design! Bleah!

YUK.......2001-09-06

THIS IS REALLY UNAPPEALING. THEY SHOULD HAVE CALLED THE BOOK "ATMOSPHERE FOR BEIGE ROOMS." IF YOU WANT A HOUSE WITH ALL THE CHARM OF "BUILDER BEIGE," THEN GO FOR IT. OTHERWISE, KEEP LOOKING FOR A REAL BOOK ON COLOR. (I HAVEN'T FOUND ONE I LIKE YET.)

Average customer rating:

THE PATH OF LIGHT
An extrodinary book of Truth

Path of Light
Regina Eveley Lorr , and Robert Wall Crary
Manufacturer: DeVorss & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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jp-unknown2 | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0875165206

Customer Reviews:

THE PATH OF LIGHT.......2001-01-05

IN BRIEF DETAIL;IT'S ABOUT RISING ABOVE LIMITATIONS,STRUGGLES,AND HARDSHIPS OF MANKIND INTO A WORLD OF FREEDOM FROM CARE,WORRY,AND SORROW,INTO THE ABUDANCE OF ALL GOOD THINGS WHICH WAS INTENDED BY THE DIVINE CREATOR FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME.

An extrodinary book of Truth.......1997-04-14

The Path of Light is an astounding book of self-actualization. It is a must for anyone interested in living a higher and holier life. It breaks life down into 7 departmants; Spiritual, Mental, Health, Financial, Vocational, Personality and Domestic. It gives the keys to unlock and perfect yourself in all seven departments. It is best summed up by the Credo: "IT IS MY DESIRE TO SIT CALMLY UPON THE THRONE IN THE TEMPLE OF MY OWN BODY BETWEEN THE TWO GREAT PILLARS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE VIBRATION, BALANCING THEM TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN RADIATE THROUGH MY TEMPLE OF LIGHT, TO ALL WHOM I CONTACT, THE WONDERFUL PEACE,POISE, POWER, WISDOM,LOVE, AND HARMONY OF GOD." It has had a greater positive effect in my life than any other single book.

Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light 2007 Wall Calendar

Average customer rating:

Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light 2007 Wall Calendar
Amcal
Manufacturer: Amcal
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar
ASIN: 0768873932

Average customer rating:

I loved it.
A wonderful conclusion to the trilogy !
Kirkus review

A Wall of Light (P.S.)
Edeet Ravel
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060761474
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Book Description

A powerful and unforgettable story of secrets, family, love, and destiny set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Following on the heels of the critically acclaimed Ten Thousand Lovers (finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award) and Look for Me, A Wall of Light tells the story of three generations of a Tel Aviv family. Meet Anna, whose passionate letters to a lover she left behind in Russia describe the experiences of Israel's postwar immigrants; her grandson, Noah, who in his diary documents his uncertain sexual identity and his idealism in the face of the tense political climate; and finally, Anna's daughter, Sonya, who takes us through one momentous day in August, a day on which she "kissed a student, pursued a lover, found her father, and left her brother."

Customer Reviews:

I loved it........2006-03-19

This is the third book I have read by Edeet Ravel, and I loved each of them. I'm Israeli, and I find the characters real and complex, not cardboard stereotypes like so much literature set in a political context. All the books are a very good read, and left me thinking and caring about the people whose story she tells. This book would be a great gift for people who care about Israel.

A wonderful conclusion to the trilogy ! .......2006-02-17

After reading Edeet Ravel's first published novel, "Ten Thousand Lovers" last winter, I was delighted to read her second novel, "Look for Me." (Lucky for me, both had already been published!)

During the period of waiting for novel #3 to be published, I took my family on our first trip to Israel. Our first stop was Tel Aviv, the setting for all three books. How exciting to be in the city where 'Ami,' 'Lily,' 'Daniel,'and 'Dana' "lived." I emailed Edeet (via her website), and she graciously replied, informing me that the Italian restaurant where we'd just dined was the setting for Dana and Vronsky's weekly Wednesday dinners! Too cool!

We travelled with a private guide through Israel for 2 weeks, just before the removal of the Israeli settlers from Gaza. We were struck by the peaceful attitude of the Israelis and Palestinians we met -- many people wore either orange or blue ribbons to announce their feelings re: the pull-out, but there was no violence, no problem. EVERYONE has at least one opinion, but most manage to live fairly peacefully with the situation - perhaps because it's been going on for so long. Our tour guide, an Israeli, made a point to expose us (safely) to Palestinians -- food vendors in Akko and Jerusalem's Old City, shop-keepers everywhere. Of course, most of these Palestinians were Israeli -that is, they spoke Hebrew and were desirous of living within the borders of the State of Israel. We had many friendly discussions with many people; politically, our tour guide apparently is close to Edeet Ravel's position.

Individually, the Arabs seem peaceful and reasonable. I think that a large part of the problem is that they do not have organization, and a leader who is democratic. Democracy is not on the anti-Israel Palestinian agenda. Neither is "recognizing" the State of Israel.

Back to the book:

Well, I've waited anxiously for the third in the series to be published, and was not disappointed even one whit!

The brilliant conceit of this book is the revolving sequence of chapters, each using a different, but consistent, point of view. One chapter was a piece of Sonya's story (which collectively detail just ONE DAY!!); then, a bit from Noah's diary; then one in a series of letters written in 1957 by Sonya's mother to the lover she left behind in Russia. The sequence of authors continues through the book; we are able to get a view into the heart of each writer, and are also able to see the same events through different eyes.

I also loved that Ravel "recycles" several characters through the books. I was so happy to "see" Lily, from "Ten Thousand Lovers" again! This seems entirely plausible, as Israel is a tiny country, and, really, everyone is connected somehow!

A lovely story, about characters you will love and care about!

I recommend reading the series in the order written, but it is not imperative. You probably will re-read them all anyway!

Kirkus review.......2005-06-23

From Kirkus: "The last of a trilogy (after Ten Thousand Lovers, 2003, etc.) portrays the emerging character of Israel through the relatively low-key, emotionally limpid diary entries of three characters from different generations.

An epiphanic day in the life of a deaf Tel Aviv University math professor, Sonya Vronsky, holds center court, while Sonya's mother and cousin also offer journal entries containing some family history. The mother, Anna, a new refugee to Israel, writes to her lover back in Russia during the late 1950s, while her cousin, Noah, in his youthful diary reveals the milieu he and Sonya grew up in during the 1980s. First, though, Sonya, at 33, has been living with her attentive older brother, Kostya, in a gorgeous house in Tel Aviv he purchased out of guilt for the defining catastrophes of Sonya's life: her deafness, caused by an overdose of medicine given when she had a kidney infection at age 12; and a vicious rape she survived as a young student when twin drugged-out teenagers broke into her deserted university classroom. Sonya, as she reveals in her breezy journals, is a remarkably resilient character devoid of self-pity or sense of entitlement; she is determined to live her life her own way-that is, lose her virginity properly and take a lover. Goaded by a flirtation with one of her students, she proceeds to seduce the Arab taxi driver who brings her home, and afterward she convinces her brother and friends to help her find him again. In her journal, Anna, newly escaped from the Soviet Union and living with young son Kostya, records her involvement with an amateur theater production; Anna will learn of her lover's death, precipitating her dark journey into alcoholism. Noah, in turn, will venture into adolescent flirtations and the trial of serving in the Israeli army.

Handling a tricky juxtaposition of three disparate lives with grace and wit, Ravel shows her characters forging a country out of trauma."

Time-Saver Details for Exterior Wall Design (Time Saver Details)

Average customer rating:

Great technical handbook

Time-Saver Details for Exterior Wall Design (Time Saver Details)
Fred Nashed
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0070460825

Book Description

Draw and detail exterior walls with ease Accurately specifying and designing exterior walls can challenge even experieced architects. That's why you need Fred Nashed's Time-Saver Details for Exterior Wall Design. The most comprehensive single source available for hassle-free exterior wall construction, this plain-language guide offers easy-to-follow strategies for calculating loads and stresses--ranging from concrete and steel bearing walls to glass curtains--as well as expert tips and techniques for avoiding common problems and pitfalls. Regardless of your experience, you'll find authoritative data you can use right away to solve virtually any design challenge, such as: cost, durability, redundancy, and maintenance issues; selecting the most suitable products and systems; types of walls and windows; pros and cons of common wall assemblies; drafting methodology; defelection on wall panel and window frames; and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Great technical handbook.......2005-03-08

A must have for all architects in the 7-14 yrs experience range. If you are fixing to take the Architects Licsensing test then you would be well advised to use this book as it is pertinent to at least three exams

Average customer rating:

A great colorist.
Sean Scully in the right place, right time

Sean Scully: Wall of Light

Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0847827836
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Book Description

Sean Scully is one of the best-known contemporary artists to carry the painterly tradition into the 21st century. For more than thirty years, Scully has produced a vibrant and compelling body of work that is widely collected and internationally exhibited. His familiar signature style of lines or bands of color, alluding to architectural elements such as portals, windows, and walls, is one of the most instantly recognizable in contemporary painting. More than any other artist of his generation, Sean Scully combines formal European traditions of painting with forms of aesthetic experience whose roots lie in American abstract painting.Sean Scully: Wall of Light will present paintings, watercolors, and pastels from the artist's Wall of Light series. In the 1980s and 90s, Scully embarked on a significant body of work following a number of trips to Mexico, entitled Wall of Light. In this series, Scully transcribed his experience of color and light as he traveled through Mexico and witnessed the interplay of light and shadow on the stacked stones of ancient ruins and architectural formations. The resulting paintings combine color and shape in a way that is more airy and balanced than his earlier work. These paintings confirm Scully's position as one of the world's foremost abstract painters. Scully continues to work actively in his studios in New York, Barcelona, and Munich, where he is a professor of painting.

Customer Reviews:

A great colorist........2007-08-16

Scully's grid patterns give him a flexible organizational tool to create an infinate range of color exploration.
He is an incredible colorist, rich, handsome and painterly. A body of work that rivals Rothko.

Mike kelly

Sean Scully in the right place, right time.......2007-02-13

I love his work but I wonder if it is anything REALLY unique. He found a formula....and he is running with it.

Average customer rating:

Fast, Funny, and Fascinating
Wonderful, and yet so disappointing
The Rock Orchard: A Novel
A most enjoyable read
Entrancing

The Rock Orchard: A Novel
Paula Wall
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 074349623X

Book Description

Some women can touch a man and heal like Jesus. The man who sees sunrise from a Belle woman's bed will swear he's been born again.

When it came to men, Charlotte Belle strictly ascribed to the law of catch and release. As soon as she could get a man out of her bed, she threw him back in the stream. No, Charlotte did not need a man. She had money. She had her driver, Mr. Nalls, for heavy lifting. Sex? Her pond was well stocked. What else does a woman need a man for? And so it comes as quite a surprise to Charlotte that she can not stop thinking about the Reverend Thomas Jones.

In The Rock Orchard, debut novelist Paula Wall uses sexy, lyrical prose -- and throws in a dash of magic -- to create a truly unique and hysterical love story.

Customer Reviews:

Fast, Funny, and Fascinating.......2007-06-15

I was new to Paula Wall's work, but I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Ms. Wall's narrative is wicked fast and utterly engaging. Come to think of it, so are her characters. That said, there is no hint of shallowness or taking the easy way out. Her characters are just that...characters, true to themselves and therefore intoxicatingly easy to believe in. Their observations about life, love, sex, religion, men and women ring true and will stay with you long after you've raced through the book. I was so impressed, I ran out and paid waaay too much for her second book, Wilde Women, which is also excellent. (Hint: Buy it from amazon.com and save yourself some money, but by all means, buy it, read it and enjoy.)

Wonderful, and yet so disappointing.......2007-05-12

I was really enjoying this book. The character development was such that I could identify with several citizens in the town of Leaper's Fork and their fascination with the Belle women. I had several good chuckles, just like the reviews had promised. I was totally there in the town watching the characters interact, into the gossip, and wondering how the main characters would solve their dilemmas when wham, bam it ended. What a train wreck of an ending.

I hate it when it seems as if an author just got tired of writing a book and wraps everything up in just a few pages. This book is 244 pages long. I would have gladly read another 100-200 pages just to have walked the path with these characters as they fulfilled their destiny. Instead, I am meandering through the town watching everyone start to find their place in life when whoosh, Paula Wall writes in an event and seven pages (some of those only half pages) later the books is over. Everything is wrapped up nice and neat, but I didn't get to take the journey with the characters. So dissatisfying, so many lost laughs and tears. Sigh.

I'm glad I read it. I just wish I had stopped seven pages before the end.

The Rock Orchard: A Novel.......2007-02-18

This was one of our book club books for February. We enjoyed the way Paula Wall intertwined her characters, story line and southern wisdom. This book brought forth a lively discussion on southern living, southern morals and some of the best quotes we have had in our book discussions.
We liked the way Charlotte gave advice to Mila and how it turned Mila's life around for the better. As Charlotte said, "we are what we are, until we decide to be different."

A most enjoyable read.......2007-01-16

This is not normally the kind of book I would choose, but it jumped from the library shelf into my arms after I opened it and read a line or two. The author cannot just write; she can paint phrases on a page that are both profound and funny enough to make you laugh aloud. To the point of tears in a few spots. Good story, many surprises, good ending. If I could write like Paula Wall I could better express how much I enjoyed her writing as well as the story she told.

Entrancing.......2006-08-07

I'm not going to rehash the plot or the characters-other reviewers have done that.I found this book entrancing.Laugh-out-loud funny in spots,uniquely spiritual in others and down-to-earth pragmatic in still others,the story was trulyspell-binding.

But,of all the things that made me love this book,it was the author's often unique phrasing that drew me in.Her choice of and arrangements of words often just pierced my heart.Made me want to use a highlighter!!If for no other reason,this makes a compelling reason to reread this book numerous times!

A standing ovation for this author's debut!

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Story
not great
How to become the real you before you turn 50
One Woman's Solitary Struggle
A fine story of courage against almost overwhelming odds.

If Love Were All: A Novel
Judith Henry Wall
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 068483765X

Book Description

A novel for anyone who remembers first love -- and who wonders what might have been...

There is life after death. Or at least that is what one recently widowed woman discovers in this poignant and contemporary novel about old love lost and new love found.

After twenty-seven years of being a devoted wife and mother, Charlotte Haberman suddenly finds herself alone. With the death of her husband after a long, painful struggle with cancer and all three of her children off to college, Charlotte realizes that she is not only alone -- she is free. And she is young enough at forty-seven to want more than memories.

She had loved and admired her husband, Stan, as did almost everyone else in their small Nebraska town where he ran the local newspaper. He was a truly good man, and an especially good father. Now, as Charlotte grieves, she also forces herself to look ahead to a future as a single woman. But her three children are devastated by his loss; they can't imagine life without him, and they can't imagine their mother's life with anyone else. They resist any suggestion that she might eventually date other men, and are horrified when Charlotte announces she is going to sell the family home.

Nervous about the future, but determined not to be buried with her husband, Charlotte remains firm in her resolve to start over again with or without the approval of her children. First however she must banish a memory that will not die: Cory Lee Jones, the boy she loved before Stan. She had known Cory Lee for only one summer, but she remembers it as the most glorious and most passionate summer of her life, never forgotten and perhaps never gotten over. But Cory Lee went to Vietnam, and when he returned to America, he did not come back to Charlotte. Free now to explore the past, she sets out with renewed purpose, both to find him and to put to rest at last any lingering doubts about what might have been.

In the course of her search, Charlotte encounters many obstacles -- the romantic problems of her children (especially Suzanne, the youngest, who recently suffered a miscarriage, and whose hopes for a career as a doctor are put on indefinite hold when she marries), her sister's disintegrating marriage, and her mother's sour disapproval of virtually everything Charlotte says and does. In between, there are her own entanglements -- a brief, bittersweet romance with a younger man who reminds her more than she'd like to admit of Cory Lee, and a genuine, gradual attraction between her and a retired military officer. And finally there is Cory Lee himself, to whom she makes a final pilgrimage in her search for herself, so that at last she can get on with her life.

With a warm, appealing heroine who unflinchingly faces every curve life throws her way, If Love Were All will speak to any woman who has ever yearned for a midlife romantic adventure, or daydreamed about her first love.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Story.......2003-07-14

I had never heard of Judith Henry Wall. I came across her book in my local library. I read it in one day! More often than not I find myself flipping to the last few pages of a book to see how it ends because I have become bored with what I am reading, or I can see the outcome in the first two chapters. Not so with this well written novel. Wall has taken the things in life we all must face in time and woven them into a well defined story line. Charlotee Haberman is a woman in change, Her husband has died and she wants to sell the family home and move into a smaller place. This does not set well with her three grown children. Besides them she must deal with a difficult mother and a sister who has her own corss to bear. I expected it to end one way but was not disspointed when it ended quite another. I admit I cried more than once while reading it. I had flash backs to my own life and relationships and home, places and people that are no more. Let the nay sayers have their time at bat.. however I think you will enjoy reading this book, and gain some insight to your life along the way.

not great.......2003-05-26

I wasn't too enthralled with this book. It was kind of hard to keep reading, but I make myself finish any book just in case things get better or there is a poetic phrase or two that I love and want to remember.
So, I kept reading, but really didn't enjoy the story. It was too contrived. And in parts, the writing seemed so juvenile. I did find a couple of good statements to make me think about religion, so I am glad I read the book.

How to become the real you before you turn 50.......2002-06-23

Maybe it's because I recently turned 50 that I found this book to be a real wake-up call and an incentive to examine my own life and the perceptions/expectations I (and my family) have about me. [...] a story of a woman who would "pine for what could have been" because the whole point of her journey--both physical and spiritual--was to put the past aside and live a life that would fulfill her needs rather than continue the pose her family and community expected. I appreciated this book's gentle reminder that we can't please all of the people all of the time and that the bonds of love don't have to be chains that imprison us.

One Woman's Solitary Struggle.......2001-01-09

Charlotte Haberman has spent her adult life being a good wife to Stan and her three children. Now, still in her 40's, Stan dies of cancer and her three grown children seem to want her to stop living and be a memorial to their father's memory.

But, Charlotte has other ideas. A long-ago, pre-Stan lover has haunted her. Why did Cory Lee, the love of her life, not return to her when he came back from VietNam? Charlotte decides to put an end to the fantasy and find Cory Lee. She embarks on a journey in which she discovers a lot about herself. Unfortunately, Charlotte has no one in her life who is sympathetic to her. Her children are furious that she sells the family home, her sister is condescending, her mother is downright hateful. It is only when Charlotte removes herself from the small-town she has lived in all her life that she feels she can truly be herself.

Judith Henry Wall has done an excellent job of defining many of the characters and places Charlotte in interesting situations. However, Charlotte never seems to see herself as anything other than victim. Will she find Cory Lee? Will he change her life? Will her children ever ease up on her? Will her sister and mother ever offer her an ounce of support? Read the book and decide if it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

A fine story of courage against almost overwhelming odds........1999-02-09

The negative review above, written by the reader from Pennsylvania, finally persuaded me that people as frightened, narrow-minded and selfish as the ones depicted in this book, and towns dominated by such people, must still exist in the modern United States. But even as I read, convinced that Judith Wall's portrait of life in a small Nebraska town was overdrawn, I was fascinated. Ms. Wall can write.

And the "soap" dig in the Kirkus review above, probably written by some over-educated, actually quite unsophisticated, recent graduate of Vassar, is quite undeserved--unless, that is, you consider sad, complex, lifelike dramas of courage in the face of almost overwhleming odds typical soap opera fare.

This very well-written, gripping book has only one flaw that I can see, and I may, again, be refusing to face reality. Charlotte, the appealing, confused, stubborn and very attractive heroine of this story has no friends, no allies, absolutely no one on her side. Could this be? Are there really places and people that bad? I do sincerely hope not.

I told my wife, who is tougher than I am, something about this book as I was reading it and she said, "Why doesn't she tell 'em to shove it and take off?" Well, I can see why she doesn't, and that's one of the things that makes the book so good--Charlotte is herself part of this milieu, and, no matter how she tries, she can't help seeing things from the point of view of her tormentors.

Oh, yes, this is a very good book.

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