Books

Average customer rating:

Better Than I Thought It Would Be.
Boring sort of novel
One of the best I've ever read
Wow
Definetly the best book I have read this year!!!

The Book Thief (Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Literature (Awards))
Markus Zusak
Manufacturer: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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I Am the Messenger
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The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
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ASIN: 0375831002
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Book Description

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Customer Reviews:

Better Than I Thought It Would Be........2007-06-27

I chose this book as a selection on the summer reading list I gave to my Sophomore English students, and their response to it has been very positive. I thought it was a bit slow at the beginning, but by the middle of the book, I was hooked. The main character is very likable, and, by the end of the book, I even ended up liking her foster mother who is thoroughly unpleasant in the beginning. There is a bit of bad language (espcially from the foster mother), but it is mild. The story of the main character's journey more than makes up for that. I wouldn't really call this a children's book (although I know it received children's awards) just because of the contenet (war, death, etc) and the complex emotional issues. The reading level ranges from high 6th or 7th grade and up.

Boring sort of novel.......2007-06-26

This is without doubt the worst book I've read so far this summer. This book was pointless and so boring, and I love reading. I found myself struggling to keep going on because the plot is pointless and very boring. I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless they like reading long, boring books.

One of the best I've ever read.......2007-06-23

As a librarian, I read a lot. Tons. I just finished this title and am beside myself with raw emotion for the amazing story Zusak created. After enjoying his first novel, I was excited to read his second...they are not even in the same category. I can't wait to share this book with anyone who will listen to my recommendation.

Wow.......2007-06-22

I rarely ever pick up a book relating to WWII, it's a touchy subject...but I could not put this book down. It was absolutely amazing, especially because it was narrated by Death, which made it all the more interesting. Excellent book.

Definetly the best book I have read this year!!!.......2007-06-20

I never write book reviews but this special book deserves all the attention I can give it. My own review cannot say any more than all the other reviews but I can say this, the other reviews are dead one.(Sorry for the pun)I cannot understand why this book is not being talked about and pushed as a must read. I promise you this, if you are a book lover and open minded, read this book. It will make you love books and hate books at the same time. You will hate that there are not more books like this and that some of us follow like sheep to purchase books that are all fluff. I will do my best to purchase a few copies and give them to all the book lovers I know.

We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States

Average customer rating:

Nice!
FREEDOM RULES OR RULES FOR FREEDOM
Super discussion starter!
Disappointed
What It All Means.....

We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States

Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142402761

Amazon.com

Sooner or later, just about every American kid is required to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. And until now, it was one of the more boring, meaningless assignments. But artist and political cartoonist David Catrow (Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon) has changed all that with his witty, clear-as-a-Liberty-Bell picture book. For him, the Constitution is "a kind of how-to book, showing us ways to have happiness, safety, and comfort." With laugh-out-loud cartoony illustrations, and the actual words of the Preamble as the only text, Catrow depicts a camping trip taken by a diverse, bumbling group of friends, demonstrating the rights and responsibilities the Constitution places on all Americans, young and old. In one especially winning picture, the kids' long-nosed, long-eared pooch provides "for the common defense," keeping lackadaisical guard over the camp as the three human friends yuk it up in silhouette inside the tent. Readers will never yawn at mention of the Constitution again! (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

A long time ago some smart guys wrote the Preamble to the Constitution. You have probably read it before, but do you know what it means? And did it ever make you laugh? Now it will! Perfect for inspiring discussion in classrooms and around kitchen tables, this fun-filled and cheerfully illustrated look at the Preamble provides an accessible introduction to America's founding ideals for citizens of all ages.
Includes a glossary of terms and a foreword by the artist.

Customer Reviews:

Nice!.......2006-01-05

I haven't read this book in a long time, but I plan on picking it up on my next visit to the library!
I love the illustrations, so funny! The kids on the cover, too!
If you like this book, I suggest The Kennedy White House, 1961-1963!

FREEDOM RULES OR RULES FOR FREEDOM.......2005-09-17

As a librarian, I recommend this book for everyone from 5 to 105. All right, this is actually a picture book that depicts some wonderful insights into our freedom and basic tenets of this great nation from a child's viewpoint. The hilarious illustrations by David Catrow will delight readers of all ages and will be fun for those who are not even studying the Constitution. For those students who are studying the Constitution, this book would be a great visual aid to memorizing the Preamble. I have not met a teenager who didn't enjoy a quick read in a great children's picture book. Teachers: Why not reduce your stressed out students and let them begin their studies with this light-hearted look into some very serious words? Buy a couple of copies and circulate them through the class. Everyone will love them. For the younger reader, ESL or special ed student there is one page explaining the basic meaning of these words and another page and a half explaining why anyone bothered to write the Constitution of the United States. It's ALL GREAT!

Super discussion starter!.......2003-05-18

This fun book helped me to reach my fifth grade class in a way their social studies text never would have! Catrow finds a way to take the elegant (and sometimes difficult to translate into kid-talk) language of the Preamble and not only make it simeple to understand, but really helps put the kids right in there.

He makes it clear that this is a document for all Americans, not only including kids, but maybe especially for kids.

His buddy 'Bubbs', is pictured throughout so even the less than interested can be drawn in by finding the dog...

So glad I found this!

Disappointed.......2003-04-03

My husband who is off fighting for the Constitution sent this book to our daughter. If he had not sent it, I would want a refund. My daughter and I sat down to read the book together. She thought the drawings did not match the words and thought the author still did not like the Preamble. (HE makes mention in the begining that he was forced to think about the Constitution). There was no inspiration from this book and she hasn't picked it up again. The pictures are not exciting to children and only vaguely connect to the words. She loves the Freedom Rock version of the Preamble and and really enjoys Lynn Chaney's "America A Patriotic Primer", so I understand why he made the purchase, however it is not inspiring or uplifting or interesting.

What It All Means............2002-08-07

As David Catrow tells us in his introduction, "...For me, the Constitution is a kind of how-to book, showing us ways to have happiness, safety, and comfort...", and he uses his immeasurable talents as an artist and cartoonist to teach an inspirational and unforgettable lesson that is sure to open interesting discussions at home and school. Following a glossary of what the actual words in the Preamble of the Constitution mean, (e.g. "IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION: To come together and make things better for everyone who lives in our country. INSURE DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY: To make sure we can all have a nice life and get along with one another. TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY: For kids, parents, other grown-ups, and all the people born in our country after we are."), Mr Catrow details the meaning of these important ideals, phrase by phrase, using his marvelously bold and busy cartoon illustrations. Each two page spread is a clever feast for the eyes, rich in engaging details, manic energy, and droll humor. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, We The Kids is a witty and memorable treasure, and one of the real winners of 2002 that shouldn't be missed.

Average customer rating:

Not one of Baldwin's best
Just ok
A Romance Thriller
Riveting Read! Fantastic!!
good entertainment

Flight Risk
Kim Baldwin
Manufacturer: Bold Strokes Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Target
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ASIN: 1933110686

Book Description

For Blayne Keller, being in the wrong place at the wrong time just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Once she stops running for her life.

A typical day at a Chicago travel agency turns deadly when Blayne Keller witnesses to a mafia murder. Overnight, her life is turned upside down and she is thrust into WITSEC, the Federal Witness Protection Program, against her wishes. But the mob is determined to keep her from testifying and has someone on the inside leaking information about her every move. Only Alexi Nikolos, an alluring but dangerous WITSEC Inspector with an agenda of her own, can keep Blayne alive--but it's not an easy task when the sparks between them are flying faster than the bullets aimed at their heads.

Customer Reviews:

Not one of Baldwin's best.......2007-05-27

"Flight Risk" wasn't a bad book...just a bit unbelievable and a bit out there.

Blayne witnesses a mob murder and goes into Witness Protection. And, as you can guess, she's not safe in that Witness Protection. So enters Alexi.

Sparks fly and attraction is mutual between the two women. Blayne, however, is a pain in the butt. And that begins to get annoying after awhile, especially when Alexi pulls Blayne's butt out of the fire again and again and again.

Not one of Baldwin's better books. Her earlier published books are better than "Flight Risk," especially the book about the firefighter (the name slips my mind at this moment).

Just ok.......2007-05-17

It was a good read. I just kind of lost some of my interest towards the end. It started to feel drawn out. Action was good and the conflict of the main characters. Just did not resolve itself quick enough for me.

A Romance Thriller.......2007-05-10

This lesbian romance is also a thriller, similar in story to The Bodyguard. It's pure entertainment that will keep you riveted for hours.

Riveting Read! Fantastic!!.......2007-05-06

Kim just gets better with each book she writes! This book is no different, she takes you on a heart stopping ride of thrills and spills, and thats just the action, not to mention the emotion in this book.

Flight Risk will have you exasperated along with its characters, and leave you wanting more... You won't want the story to end.

This is a must read book!

good entertainment.......2007-05-05

This thriller was pretty good. Blayne witnesses a mob killing and is put in the Witness Protection Program. Her sexy bodyguard is Alexi, who gets dragged back into the job she left when she discovers the witness is being hunted by an old enemy. The plot is about the relationship of Blayne and Alexi more than the mob, even though they are on the run and their lives are at risk. This book was entertaining and enjoyable, although a bit unbelievable at times. My only criticism is that I found Blayne annoying and childish a bit too often and though the writing flows well, the style seemed dull. As far as lesbian romances go, I would put this one in the top 25%. It was worth the money spent on a few hours of reading pleasure but it is not a keeper.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction
Provocative, appealing and controversial
pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Provocative, appealing and controversial.......2006-08-02

Fomenko has succeeded to convincingly demonstrate the misconception about what "history" factually is... It is fiction and -like we can read and judge for ourselves- no science. It indeed is "make belief" only. I "discovered" Fomenko while studying the "old" history of Al Andaluz, Spain. Having found too many contradictions in available data, having seen too many forgeries as to pretend the importance of christianity for its decline, I ventured out to find Fomenko, who convinced me that we know little if anything for sure of the epoch before the XI-century. However, the integration of the Arabic-Islamic cultural history into the heavily distorted Western fails... There are some attempts to fit "the budding new religion" (Islam) into Fomenko's scheme, but they are too weak to be taken seriously and too often focussing on Turkey as the region where things started to influence the West, which is untrue at all.
Islam certainly was no "new religion" in the X-century. That the highly cultivated Al Andaluz ruler Mohammed-I could have been "mirrored" down in time into some myth about the "illiterate" founder of Islam itself is highly speculative. Nevertheless, Fomenko convinces me about the processes that were involved in forging a christian history. Intriguing and controversial as his books are, I recommend them as to rethink our current position in time and space and simply verify what was claimed. It is a "good" book, but not for bedtime reading... Mundus vult decipi, the world wants to be cheated. Fomenko's readers will understand why.

pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.......2006-02-16

Traces of white wine were found in Tutankhamen's tomb however there were no record of white wine in Egypt until the 3rd century AD, 1600 years after the young pharaoh died according to the traditional chronology. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925395.400
It can be interpreted as a contribution towards New Chronology theory that pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.

Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4)

Average customer rating:

Good Reading
The Grimmest Adventure Yet!!
Fun For All Ages

Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4)
Michael Buckley , and Peter Ferguson
Manufacturer: Amulet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1)

ASIN: 081091610X

Book Description

In the long-awaited fourth book in the New York Times bestselling series, the Grimms take on New York City!

Surprises abound for Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, fairy-tale detectives extraordinaire. When they venture into the big city, they stumble upon a murder, face betrayal by a friend, and discover an amazing secret about their mother, Veronica.

Sabrina just wants to be normal—no detecting, no dangerous escapes, and especially no Everafters. Unfortunately, New York City is a hiding spot for many famous fairy-tale folk. And there's a murderer in their midst! The girls and their friends must figure out who killed Puck's father, King Oberon, while coming to terms with their mother's secret life. Will they stop the murderer before he or she can strike again? And will Sabrina ever accept her family's destiny?

The colorful world of the Grimms expands in new and hilarious directions in Once upon a Crime. Critics and readers alike have embraced the Sisters Grimm series and its independent, quick-thinking heroines.

Customer Reviews:

Good Reading.......2007-06-12

I brought this book for my granddaughter, but I read it and enjoyed it very much

The Grimmest Adventure Yet!!.......2007-06-01

When I found out that The Sisters Grimm: Once Upon A Crime wasn't at my bookstore, I was so MAD! But luckily, my mom ordered it on Amazon for me!!

In this fourth installment of the fanstasy adventure, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm head back to their native New York City. Granny Relda, Mr. Canis, and Hamstead come along for the ride to save a dying Puck. When the gang comes across Puck's hometown of Faerie, they meet Oberon and Titania, Puck's parents. Everything seems to be fine until Oberon is unexpectatly murdered. It's up to the Grimms to find the culprit, and on the way they find out an amazing secret about their mother that may change Sabrina's perspective on whether she wants to retire or not.

I thought this book was really good. I loved the development in the character of Hamstead, because he's a really good character. I also liked how Daphne developed as well. And with all the new Everafters introduced in this book. But some things I didn't like was the fact that Puck was not in a lot of it. He shows up at the end, but that's it. Also, I missed Snow White and Mayor Charming, beause they are cool characters. But, Michael Buckley is definitely one of my favorite authors. He has written such an amazing and creative series that I love. He inspires me to keep going on the book I'm writing. But in conclusion, I can't wait for Book 5: Magic and Other Misdemeanors to come out this December! A great read!

Fun For All Ages.......2007-05-21

Descended from the Brothers Grimm of fairy tale fame, eleven-year-old Sabrina Grimm and Daphne, her seven-year-old sister, have had all kinds of adventures since they went to live with their Granny Relda after their parents disappeared. Although Sabrina loves her grandmother, she's not happy that she lives in a town filled with fairytale characters. While it's a dream come true for Daphne, Sabrina wants out since it seems like her family is constantly in danger. This time is no different - their friend Puck is injured and they go to New York City to find his family. While there his father Oberon is murdered and Sabrina and her family barely escape being charged with the murder. While Granny Relda, her friend Mr. Canis, Daphne, and Moth, Puck's would be girlfriend, try to find the murderer; Sabrina wants no part in the detecting. But Sabrina is learning more about her parents especially her mother, and when Sabrina and Daphne are taken away from their grandmother, Sabrina finds out how important family really is.

"Once Upon a Crime" is the fourth book in Michael Buckley's charming The Sisters Grimm Fairy Tale Detective Series. Buckley fills the books not only with characters from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but lots of characters from fairytales and literature including the Wizard of Oz, the Big Bad Wolf, one of the three little pigs, the seven dwarfs, Scrooge, and Tiny Tim. Buckley has fun tweaking some of the fairytale elements: Mr. Canis is the Big Bad Wolf; one of the three little pigs is a policeman called Mr. Hamstead; and Scrooge runs a financial and spiritual advice shop that is haunted by the ghosts of Easter, Passover, Thanksgiving, etc. Other fun characters in the book include fairy godfathers and Wall Street Pirates (literally!). There's a wonderful sense of humor and play on words throughout the book like when one characters says of the cantankerous gingerbread man "he looks sweet, but he's really hard to swallow". One funny but creepy scene, which might remind readers of Lemony Snicket, happens when Granny Relda is considered an unfit guardian and Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with a reformed serial killer. Newcomers to the series should start with the first book as this book continues events from the third book. Since this book is part of a series, not everything is resolved by the end, although Sabrina and Daphne do find out who kidnapped their parents.

"Once Upon a Crime" is fun for readers of all ages.

Average customer rating:

dark and beautiful
Pleasing suspense and great literature
russian writer
To Forgive Is Divine
The Essense of the Criminal's Conscience

Crime and Punishment (Bantam Classics)
Fyodor Dostoevsky , and Constance Garnett
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553211757
Release Date: 1996-10-15

Amazon.com

The talented Alex Jennings creates an atmosphere of gripping psychological tension and brings a variety of characters to life in this new audio edition of a crime classic. When the student Raskolnikov puts his philosophical theory to the ultimate test of murder, a tragic tale of suffering and redemption unfolds in the dismal setting of the slums of czarist, prerevolutionary St. Petersburg. While Jennings's adept repertoire of British accents works to demonstrate the varying classes of characters, it occasionally distracts the listener from the Russian setting. However, Dostoyevsky's rendering of 18th-century Russia emerges unscathed, bringing the dark pathos (such as wretched poverty and rampant suffering) to life. (Running time: 315 minutes; 4 cassettes)

Book Description

A desperate young man plans the perfect crime -- the murder of a despicable pawnbroker, an old women no one loves and no one will mourn. Is it not just, he reasons, for a man of genius to commit such a crime, to transgress moral law -- if it will ultimately benefit humanity? So begins one of the greatest novels ever written: a powerful psychological study, a terrifying murder mystery, a fascinating detective thriller infused with philosophical, religious and social commentary. Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in a garret in the gloomy slums of St. Petersburg, carries out his grotesque scheme and plunges into a hell of persecution, madness and terror. Crime And Punishment takes the reader on a journey into the darkest recesses of the criminal and depraved mind, and exposes the soul of a man possessed by both good and evil ... a man who cannot escape his own conscience.

Download Description

This epic tells the story of Raskolnikov, a student who believes he is superior and entitled. He commits a crime and the book traces his downfall. After being shipped off to Siberia for a prison sentence, Raskolnikov finds suffering to be a means by which the soul is purified of all its sins.

With the help of CliffsNotes you'll understand the overall structure of the work, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

Customer Reviews:

dark and beautiful .......2007-05-21

what can be said this is a very dark story full of pain and sorrow. But it is a beautifully written story of Russia and its common people. A must read for all lovers of great lititure.

Pleasing suspense and great literature.......2007-05-10

In this most excellent work, Dostoyevsky handily delivers us into a fascinating period of enclave urban Russian culture. I've read everything I can find in terms of Russian literature (and all other literature too!) and the writing and story in this one is just tops.

Of course, it's a story of crime but, maybe more importantly, it's an account of how human rebellion against the unjust facets of flawed leadership can culminate in tragedy for the masses and for individuals. We also get an historic peep at how anarchist and like philosophies of the period all over Europe may have been sparked.

As far as gratification for the reader goes, thanks to a shrewdly-placed epilogue, most of us are sated with an ending which we can all live with. The book is not entirely about human misery, though -- there are long moments of hope and even some intermittent humor. My favorite character of the entire work is the loveable scoundrel, Marmeladov.

So, what is the story about? The principal character, a dour, poor, off-and-on scholarly student by the dubious name of Raskalnikov (in English, it's wonderfully ironic that this name closely resembles the word "rascal"!), perhaps as a result of an entire life of pure misery, mentally evolves two demented ideas: the first is that, for certain "great leaders" (e.g., Napoleon), it's really a matter of destiny that they might, along their rise to power, kill off some of the insignificants of the world, and this is acceptable if it ultimately leads to a positive, (or even negative), notable conclusion. Raskalnikov's second idea is that he might just BE one of these fated Napoleons and, in his own rise to right all the injustices around his poverty-stricken environment, he is faced with killing a very nasty old woman whose primary offense against her peers is unscrupulous "usury" -- she's the local pawnbroker. The old woman also grossly mistreats her half-witted half sister who is clearly a decent person, and so Dostoyevsky makes it easy for all of us to hate her adequately to be coshed in the forehead with the back of a shrewdly-wielded hatchet. And it's no spoiler to say that Raskalnikov DOES murder the old woman in just that manner. BUT, an UNFORTUNATE CAVEAT immediately follows this case of "somewhat-justified homicide" in Raskalnikov's not-so-well-thought-out plan and THAT is what really gives rise to, and further fuels, the main story. The ensueing pages detail Raskalnikov's mental wrestlings with himself, his family, his friends, his enemies, and with one very shrewd "homicide detective" (examining magistrate) who is clearly and quite literally a "proto-Columbo," and notably hilarious in his own mild-mannered way.

There are multiple sub-plots as well, all of which yield ethical "flavours" and elements. In the end, the reader is rewarded with much more than s/he pays for to say the least, and will find this master-work of literature to be just a darn good read, albeit just a little depressing at particular moments. I say it's a "Must-Read."

Acquire it, read it, and keep it in the bookcase for a re-read!

russian writer.......2007-05-09

grandson has an interest in Russia and introducing him to one of its authors.

To Forgive Is Divine.......2007-04-18

I've read this novel four times now, and it grows in strength each time. I only award it four stars because there is, presumably, a five-star novel out there existing in the minds of the Olympians. The only more perfect novel I can think of is Gustave Flabuert's "Madame Bovary."

Let me say this about my first reading of "Crime & Punishment." It was my senior year of high school. My teacher, Harriet Balle of University City High School in San Diego, was largely a waste of time in terms of her ability to teach us anything useful about the book. Fortunately, she had the good taste to recognize Dostoevsky as a author worthy of teaching to 12th-graders.

Upon starting the book at the time -- keep in mind I had read most of Shakespeare's plays, Graham Greene's "Power and the Glory," as well as Solzhenitsyn's "The First Circle" -- I thought it an immense waste of time. In fact, I can honestly say that I read through the bulk of its 400 plus pages without batting much of an eye until the very end, when Raskolnikov, such a [..]through most of it, suddenly begs the forgiveness of Sonya, the prostitute.

That's when I wanted to get down on the floor myself. It was quite unlike any other sensation I've ever experienced before or since, and no other art form has ever produced it in me. It was a "riding to Damascus" experience, and I, like St. Paul, had suddenly been knocked off my horse.

Other Dostoevsky novels have almost, but not quite, replicated the sensation of shock that this one produced in me.

The Essense of the Criminal's Conscience .......2007-04-06

Crime and Punishment examines one man's decision to kill and his ultimate punishment for it. After one man who feels a sense of desperation (Raskolnikov) decides to kill an old pawnbroker, he delves into a realm of psychological and spiritual anguish and despair. Beforehand he concludes at points that his deed will benefit humanity, for the woman was a despicable person, but the repercussions in the aftermath, namely the isolation from several people of his life--his mother and sister, as well as his friend Razumihin--serve as an avenue to conscientiously come to terms with the act's immorality.

Dostoevsky's work creates an atmosphere which is part crime drama and part psychological thriller, but it also has deep philosophical undertones about man's existence---physically and mentally--after the most extreme of crimes. Yet the crime of killing is not the pinnacle of the story (it is committed in the early part of the book), but rather Raskolnikov's punishment, that is, his fall from the depths of society and his mental and physical sickness, that are the novel's essence. Raskolnikov not only deals with his own sense of isolation and delirium as well as the rising suspicion from several officials, but also tries to deal with the problems of his mother and sister, who come to visit him for a time.

As unsympathetic as Raskolnikov seems at points, there is also some evidence that he has a moral conscience, and this seems to bring him out of his mental stupor. Under his extreme nervous state he gives his last money to a poor family who eventually loses their father. He also feels a moral obligation to make sure his sister marries someone who is suitable, and that his mother is also taken care of. It takes him quite a deal to get to this point, and because of his agitation, he tells his friend Razumihim to go to his family and make sure they are comforted.

It is an association with another troubled character that aids the protagonist. Later in the novel, there is a spiritual connection between Raskolikov and Sonya, a girl who was forced to prostitute to support her family. Unlike Raskolikov, Sonya is deeply religious and moral, praying often and sacrificing and caring for her family and siblings, and seems to bring a healing to Raskolikov's troubled mind. Sonya, in a book rich in despicable characters, symbolizes the purity and saving grace in Raskolikov's world.

Dostoevsky's work is rich in philosophy about the nature of crime on one's conscience, this being the novel's crux. Raskolnikov's progression and the penance he must serve are not only in his own suffering, but in his experiences and observations of man's lowliness. The paramount flaw is his belief that he can escape his crime: "If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment..." (pg. 246).

Over all, this is a complex, deep novel that makes one think; this is one of the best psychological crime novels out there, and a superbly written book.

Average customer rating:

Almost perfect
makes me laugh out loud
Audio Book
"We tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces"
Another wonderful book from Jasper Fford

The Fourth Bear: A Nursery Crime
Jasper Fforde
Manufacturer: Viking Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670037729

Book Description

Jack Spratt and Mary Mary return in their second adventure from the inimitable Jasper Fforde

Five years ago, Viking introduced Jasper Fforde and his upsidedown, inside-out literary crime masterpieces. And as they move from Thursday Next to Jack Spratt's Nursery Crimes, his audience is insatiable and growing. Now, with The Fourth Bear, Jack Spratt and Mary Mary take on their most dangerous case so far as a murderous cookie stalks the streets of Reading.

The Gingerbreadman—psychopath, sadist, genius, and killer—is on the loose. But it isn't Jack Spratt's case. He and Mary Mary have been demoted to Missing Persons following Jack's poor judgment involving the poisoning of Mr. Bun the baker. Missing Persons looks like a boring assignment until a chance encounter leads them into the hunt for missing journalist Henrietta “Goldy” Hatchett, star reporter for The Daily Mole. Last to see her alive? The Three Bears, comfortably living out a life of rural solitude in Andersen's wood.

But all is not what it seems. How could the bears' porridge be at such disparate temperatures when they were poured at the same time? Why did Mr. and Mrs. Bear sleep in separate beds? Was there a fourth bear? And if there was, who was he, and why did he try to disguise Goldy's death as a freak accident?

Jack answers all these questions and a few others besides, rescues Mary Mary from almost certain death, and finally meets the Fourth Bear and the Gingerbreadman face-to-face.

Customer Reviews:

Almost perfect.......2007-05-21

If you have ever thought to yourself that "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" seemed incomplete, here's a book that will satisfy you. Fforde's writing, funny and sharp as usual, is a star on its own. While not exactly his Thursday Next series, this should appeal to the same set of readers. The plot of this book is not quite as meandering as it predecessor, The Big Over Easy, and is much more satisfying at the end. I would reccomend this to anyone with an appreciation of literature and a sense of humor (if you lack one, don't read this).

makes me laugh out loud.......2007-05-13

I loved it! I know if I listened again I would catch more of the jokes.

Audio Book.......2007-05-10

This series is so good, as soon as I saw it here I had to order it. Jasper Fforde is one of the funniest authors around. And I love listening to his books as opposed to reading them - which is ok too, but I like the person who reads them. As long as he writes them, I'll keep buying them!

"We tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces" .......2007-05-07

So says Lord Henry Wotton in "The Picture of Dorian Gray." He is speaking of his wife, whom he meets occasionally, when they "dine out together, or go down to the Duke's," but he might as well have been speaking of Jasper Fforde. Lord Henry, alas, does not turn up in Fforde's "The Fourth Bear," but his protege, Dorian Gray, is on hand and quite appropriately employed as a used car salesman.

This is the second novel to feature Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt, the head of the understaffed, underbudgeted and chronically short-of-space Nursery Crime Division of the Reading Police Department. Once again, Spratt is ably assisted and sometimes abetted by Detective Sergeant Mary Mary [sic] and Detective Constable Ashley, a sitcom-loving, digitally-inclined space alien presently residing in Reading, some eighteen light years from his home world (not that it makes any real difference.)

Fforde is a member of a uniquely English band of eccentrics extending from the unknown poet of "Sir Gawayn and the Grene Kny3t" through Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Monty Python and Douglas Adams to Terry Pratchett. They all tell the most absurd stories with the most serious faces.

"The Fourth Bear" has a plot, quite a serviceable one, really (not that it makes any real difference.) The function of this plot is to allow the very clever author to ring the changes out of his initial postulate that a single world can contain competitive cucumber growers, pristine and unchanging automobiles which carry in their trunks--oops, in their boots, I mean--paintings of themselves that with time grow increasingly dinted, dinged, rusted, and clapped-out; a family of talking ursines who periodically leave their secluded cottage to perform ablutions in the woods; a homicidally-inclined seven-foot gingerbread man; a theme park that reproduces the light-hearted fun of a day amidst the Battle of the Somme; mysterious Men in Green and "Bizarre and unseemly experiments of a horticultural nature."

Fforde delights in co-opting nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters into his cast list, but he does not stop there. There is the aforementioned Mr. Gray, of course, and when Fforde needs sinister operatives for his super-sinister governmental security agency, he rips off a pair of the best: Mr. Demetrios, who owns, we can be certain, both a mask and a coffin; and his female associate, Danvers, whom we can safely assume was once married.

Fforde and Pratchett are today's leading practitioners of this kind of stuff. Pratchett is the better of the two. He is noticeably the more eloquent. If Pratchett's plots originate in the absurd, his development of them is adroit and competently novelistic. Fforde's prose, on the other hand, is competent and efficient, but no more. Fforde does not allow his plots the freedom provided by Pratchett. It's one fairy tale character after another, all of them running riffs on standard fairy tale plots, and on we go past the second star on the right and straight on `til morning.

If I had to choose between Pratchett and Fforde, I would take Pratchett every time. Fortunately, I don't have to make that choice. I am free to snatch the books of either one whenever I stumble upon them. And I do.

"The Fourth Bear" is a clever, amusing book. It is better than its predecessor in the series, "The Big Over Easy," but not a match for the books of the companion series featuring Thursday Next, in which the plots are less formula-bound.

Four pleasantly amused stars.

Another wonderful book from Jasper Fford.......2007-04-14

I've read -- I should say "devoured" -- as many of Jasper Fford's books as I can find. The first one I stumbled across was "Lost in a Good Book," one of the Thursday Next novels; when I came to Amazon for more, I found the Nursery Crime Investigations, of which this is, I think, the second -- but I hope not the last. I gave it four stars instead of five because really, it's a bit over-the-top in places, but don't let that discourage you. These are brilliant books, with just a touch of Douglas Adams to them, but refreshingly original. The Jack Spratt stories are related, slightly, to the Thursday Next stories, adding dimension to the charming world Fford's created. Along with Martha Grimes (an American author who writes British mysteries), Fford's my new favorite, and is likely to become one of yours, too.

Inspector Jack Spratt is, he eventually has to confess to his wife, a PDR -- Person of Dubious Reality; but her reaction is the least of his worries, with the Gingerbreadman on a psychopathic killing spree and him sidelined as chief of the Nursery Crime division because he's suspected of being either too sane or not sane enough (after, along with Little Red Riding Hood and her gran', being swallowed whole by the Wolf) to do his job properly. And while he's arguing with the psychiatric evaluator about whether the car Dorian Gray sold him really can repair itself or not, he's trying to figure out what happened to Goldilocks, who may or may not have been murdered. Yeh. The Jack Spratt novels are good training grounds for the Thursday Next novels, which are even stranger, to understate it.

Lighthearted and literary, sort of, these are very entertaining books, and I recommend the whole of both series quite highly.

Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!

Average customer rating:

fun problem solving puzzle to introduce art to kids
Art without the "awwww Mom"
Art Fraud Detective
Art with a twist
Mystery lovers will love this book

Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!
Anna Nilsen
Manufacturer: Kingfisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0753453088

Book Description

The Museum of Art has a big problem. Some of the museum's priceless masterpieces have been stolen and replaced by cunning forgeries! Are your eyes sharp enough to spot the differences between the fake and the real Rousseau? Hone your detective skills and find the tell-tale clues that will help the police track down the master forgers, and bring back the missing masterpieces. This one-of-a-kind book combines a mystery story, fun spot-the-difference puzzles, and a fantastic introduction to some of the world's greatest art. Guaranteed to enthrall children of all ages, Art Fraud Detective includes historical information on each painting, tips on the techniques of the Old Masters, and a glossary of art terms. Features art by: Rembrandt; Constable; Monet; Picasso; Raphael; Van Gogh; and more!

Customer Reviews:

fun problem solving puzzle to introduce art to kids.......2007-04-09

This book was a lot of fun for my son and I. Readers are told that four gangs of forgers have replaced most of an art museum's paintings, and only we can help figure out which are real and which are forged. Using a magnifying glass, you compare 8" by 5" four color paintings to 4" by 4" originals, looking for changes (such as missing items or objects with different coloration). This allows you to fill in a chart which allows you to deduce the forgers, the snitch and the unchanged paintings, thereby saving the museum. 34 painintgs are here, by Van Eyck, Piero, Uccello, Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo, Gossaert, Massys, Holbein, Marinus, Brueghel, Avercamp, Brugghen, Rembrandt, Steenwyck, Velde, Hooch, Vermeer, Chardin, Perronneau, Gainsborough, Turner, Constable, Watteau, Os, Delaroche, Ingres, Morisot, Degas, Monet, Rousseau, Seurat, Van Gogh and Picasso. Each painting is accompanied by a couple of paragraphs about the artist and the painting. We both enjoyed finding the mistakes, filling out the chart and solving the puzzle; the game also stimulated a discussion of painting and artists. It took us a few sessions to solve everything, but it was enjoyable time. I would buy other books by this author.

Art without the "awwww Mom".......2006-11-10

I have found that this book sets the stage for helping children to really look at art. The "fraud puzzle" presented in the book makes the children really spot unique techniques of the artists in several different styles. They are able to see what makes one style of art unique from others over the centuries as styles changed.

Art Fraud Detective.......2006-02-26

I bought this book for my very bright 10 year old granddaughter's birthday. My friend who is a librarian had bought it for her 12 year old niece and said she loved it and has asked if there are anymore in the series which there are. My daughter taped the answer pages together so she couldn't look at the answers and says that my granddaughter can't put it down. She loves it and I am willing to bet she will ask for the next in the series when she finishes Art Fraud Detective. This book is a great way to foster interest in art and artists.

Art with a twist.......2006-02-21

This book is a great way to familiarize children (and adults) with some of the greatest artists in history. Searching for clues as to whether or not each masterpiece is a fraud causes one to closely study the pieces in great detail. My daughters love looking at the art and doing the detective work. They usually want to go through several pieces each time we pull this book out. I highly recommend it to people of all ages!

Mystery lovers will love this book.......2006-01-31

My seven-year-old son says that he wished it were more entertaining. I guess I feel somewhat disappointed that he races through to detect clues to determine the frauds without reading the artist write-ups. But it's a good introduction to art history and appreciation and it certainly captivates those who love to read mysteries.

Average customer rating:

Must Read
Lucky is just the beggining
Uncompromising, unmatchable
BEST BOOK!
Enjoy!

Lucky
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684857820

Book Description

Enormously visceral, emotionally gripping, and imbued with the belief that justice is possible even after the most horrific of crimes, Alice Sebold's compelling memoir of her rape at the age of eighteen is a story that takes hold of you and won't let go.

Sebold fulfills a promise that she made to herself in the very tunnel where she was raped: someday she would write a book about her experience. With Lucky she delivers on that promise with mordant wit and an eye for life's absurdities, as she describes what she was like both as a young girl before the rape and how that rape changed but did not sink the woman she later became.

It is Alice's indomitable spirit that we come to know in these pages. The same young woman who sets her sights on becoming an Ethel Merman-style diva one day (despite her braces, bad complexion, and extra weight) encounters what is still thought of today as the crime from which no woman can ever really recover. In an account that is at once heartrending and hilarious, we see Alice's spirit prevail as she struggles to have a normal college experience in the aftermath of this harrowing, life-changing event.

No less gripping is the almost unbelievable role that coincidence plays in the unfolding of Sebold's narrative. Her case, placed in the inactive file, is miraculously opened again six months later when she sees her rapist on the street. This begins the long road to what dominates these pages: the struggle for triumph and understanding -- in the courtroom and outside in the world.

Lucky is, quite simply, a real-life thriller. In its literary style and narrative tension we never lose sight of why this life story is worth reading. At the end we are left standing in the wake of devastating violence, and, like the writer, we have come to know what it means to survive.

Customer Reviews:

Must Read.......2007-06-13

Like many other readers, I first discovered the author Alice Sebold by reading her wonderful best-selling novel, The Lovely Bones. Upon completion, I remember thinking that this was a writer who had something to say, but also that she seemed very familiar with emotional pain. If you're supposed to write about what you know, then she certainly knew something about the pain involved in the abduction and murder of a young teenage girl.

Having just completed her memoir Lucky, the pieces have tragically fallen into place for me. Her description of her rape while being an 18 year old virgin freshman student at Syracuse University in 1981, is both difficult to read and impossible to put down. Her courage in the ensuing court case, after spotting the perpetrator on campus the following semester, is exemplary. Sadly, her life has not been a bed of roses since the trial. The post-traumatic stress has provided an endless number of obstacles to overcome. Here's hoping that she keeps writing and finds peace.

Lucky is just the beggining.......2007-06-06

Name: Brianna Gagnon
Title: Lucky
Author: Alice Sebold
Publisher: First Back Bay
Copyright date: 1999
Total number of pages: 246

Have you ever had a close call and all you could think to say is" that was lucky?" Alice sebolds book lucky is the definition of a close call.
Alice sebolds true life story is about how she made it through life with the knowledge that she was different from everyone else in the sense that she wasn't pure, whole, or wanted. Someone having the power to make you feel unwanted and useless for the rest of your life is the most unnecessary feeling to have. It tears your self-esteem down to nothing and disintegrates your confidents in yourself. This story is telling you her personal true experiences with her rape, and what she did to overcome her hard times. The feeling of importance can change everything around. This event takes place in Pennsylvania while she is away at college. Alice is the main person in her marvelously well written novel. The resolution to her troubles is that the man that raped her did not get away with it. He was sent to trial and was found guilty of raping two college girls. In this book there is a terrifying twist. Something that will make you want to keep reading.
The best part of this particular Novel was the ending. The ending was the most rewarding to me as a reader because the man that raped these girls will be in jail thinking about how he hurt these girls and there families. How he will never get to hurt another girl again. And the fact that he got what he deserved is still not enough to make the pain and destruction go away. But even with that Alice went on with her life living it to the fullest with nothing coming in her way.
To me as the reader of this book the main idea was to never let anything or anyone get in the way of living your life , and to never give up hope no matter how hard things get because you are strong .Life is an important thing to keep as your own. And you have to protect it as your own.
I liked this book a lot because it really made me think about how I have such a good life and how I am truly lucky to not of had this sad and depressing hard trouble like Alice because I don't think that I could have done what she has done. This book has made me rethink my outlook on my life as a person. I now know that I have a great life and that I that no matter what how much negativity is thrown out there, there is just as much or more optimist out there too. You just have to look for it.

Uncompromising, unmatchable.......2007-06-01

Yes, like many I bought Lucky having earlier read The Lovely Bones by the same author. The earlier novel deserves its high praise, while this one is quite different - even though it tackles a similar issue. I rarely enjoy true stories, especially autobiographical ones, but this consistently held my interest through to the end. The trial in particular was actually full of tension, all the more so because we know it actually happened like that. A powerful insight into the intense trauma of cross-examination of a rape victim and why so many such cases fail to lead to conviction. Ms Sebold is clearly a strong-willed woman, an exceptional writer and I will pre-order her next work without even waiting to find out the subject matter. She's that good.

BEST BOOK!.......2007-05-20

Read anything by Alice Seabold...you CAN'T go wrong! This book is really amazing and very true to life (well it is true). If you want to get a good perspective on what someone goes through after they have experienced a sexual assault trama, look no further. Get this book and read it now. It is a great read for High school aged girls and up.

Enjoy!.......2007-05-19

The book Lucky by Alice Sebold is a really good book. This book is a memoir. I enjoyed reading this book. The beginning part about her rape was a little graphic. A guy rapes Alice when she was an eighteen-year-old college freshman. She was going to college in Syracuse. She left and went home for the summer. She decided she wanted to return to Syracuse. While on her way to get something to eat she met her rapist on the street. What happens next, you will have to find out yourself. I think this is a good book for someone who has been sexually assaulted. Also if you like books that are nonfiction. I like this book because it draws me in. I want to know more and what is going to happen next. There are a lot of surprises in the book. Once you start reading you don't want to stop. Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

It's Hit with Teenagers
HE DIDN'T DESERVE LIFE HE SERVED DEATH!
It Could Save Your Life
How to stay out of prison
A Heartbreaking Novel

Life in Prison
Stanley Williams , and Barbara Cottman
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1587170949

Book Description

"The true stories I've written in this book are my living nightmares. My greatest hope is that the lessons the stories offer will help you make better choices than I did." Stanley "Tookie" Williams, cofounder of the notorious Crips gang, is a death-row inmate. But in his two decades of incarceration, Williams has also become a respected author and activist whose dedication to ending gang warfare in the lives of inner-city children has earned him a 2001 Nobel Peace Prize nomination. In this award-winning book which has drawn praise from educators, government leaders, and families alike Williams describes the brutal reality of being an inmate. He debunks myths of prisons as "gladiator schools" with blunt, riveting stories of overwhelming homesickness, the terror of solitary confinement, and the humiliation of strip-searches. Williams' words are a frank challenge to adolescent readers to educate themselves, make intelligent decisions, and above all, not to follow in his footsteps.

Customer Reviews:

It's Hit with Teenagers.......2007-06-11

I work with inner-city teenagers, lots of whom already knew who Tookie Williams was and an unfortunate number of whom think prison is "cool." It's fascinating to watch them as they grab this little book because of the cover, thinking they're in for an adventure ride telling them how prison is this great place to make one tougher and stronger, and then see their faces get somber as Williams describes how frightening, lonely, and humiliating prison life truly is.

If you work with kids who aspire to or who are already in the "gangbanger life," I highly recommend this book.

HE DIDN'T DESERVE LIFE HE SERVED DEATH!.......2007-04-26

In all this hype and whining over Williams, we forget that he was executed for a reason! Why do we remember the life of this brutal killer who founded a gang that is still killing people to this day, yet probably noone reading this can name the innocent people he killed. The fact that Tookie Williams simultaneous inconsistent claims of innocene and redemption were even considered is a sad commentary on American culture. My sympathies lie with the people who deserve it; his victims. Their names were Albert Owens, Yen Il Yang, Tsai Shai, and Ye Chin Lin. Remember that out of everyone in this mess, Tookie was the only one with a choice. As for those dumb dummies who think he's innocent, he had 24 years of appeals after he was convicted by a Jury of his peers( there was a black man on that jury and a Latino man so no crying racism). Hopefully his execution proved that we value human life in this country so much that the only appropriate punishment for the most brutal murderers is that they pay with their lives.

It Could Save Your Life.......2007-02-20

By Brandon Council

Life in Prison was an excellent book because Stanley lets you know how it is in prison. I recommend students and juveniles all over the world to read it. It lets you know what you have to go through in prison if you get beat up or sick. I think if people read this book and go by what it says, it might stop people that are in gangs and are on the street selling drugs or doing wrong. I also think that if people read it they won't commit crimes that lead to life in prison. So if you read this book it might just save your life.

How to stay out of prison.......2007-02-20

LIFE IN PRISON
BY: Nay-Nay Matthews

The book "Life In Prison" is a good book. I didn't think it would turn out like that, but Stanley "Tookie" Williams gives audiences a good reason why they wouldn't want to go to jail or prison.

There are many different reasons why you wouldn't want to go to jail. You have to do what the guards tell you, you have to get strip-searched, and you have a limited time to take a bath and many more things.

In San Quentin prison, they have a book called the "California Code of Regulation." Title 15-crime prevention and corrections. It is a book with 174 pages and more than 200 rules. Some people sit there in read all those rules. They are insane.

Also there is no way on earth I would be able to stay in the hole, let alone for 7 whole years, like "Tookie" did. I couldn't do it. My uncle is in prison now. He has to go in the hole and he can't call us or write us when he has to be in the hole. And I think that's hard to go to prison after reading the horrible details in "Life in Prison."

A Heartbreaking Novel.......2007-02-20

Life In Prison Review
By: Keshonda

In this novel "Life In Prison," I've personally learned a lot. Stanley "Tookie" Williams wrote this book directly for the youth, to encourage us to be something in life. This is a heartbreaking novel of how they treated Mr. Williams over the 25 years he was incarcerated. While reading this, Stanley became someone that I could look up to, even though he's dead.
I think they should've given him a chance to live again. The worst thing to happen in prison is the strip-search; its embassressing how the guards watch you while you check yourself just to make sure you don't have any concealed weapons.
This novel has inspired me to be something in life so I won't end up in jail or prison. I can read this book over and over because it's so touching to my soul. I strongly recommend that you read this novel and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

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