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The GUIDE TO LARRY NIVEN'S RINGWORLD
David B Stein
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Ringworld Engineers (Ringworld)
Ringworld's Children
Ringworld
Ringworld Throne

ASIN: 0671722050

Writer's Guide to Places: A One-Of-A-Kind Reference for Making the Locales in Your Writing More Authentic, Colorful and Real

Average customer rating:

Ugh!
Don't waste your time or money
Bad book
Seemed like a good idea at the time
Skip it

Writer's Guide to Places: A One-Of-A-Kind Reference for Making the Locales in Your Writing More Authentic, Colorful and Real
Don Prues , and Jack Heffron
Manufacturer: Writer's Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Careers for Your Characters: A Writers Guide to 101 Professions from Architect to Zookeeper
Writer's Guide to Character Traits
The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook
Creating Character Emotions
45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters

ASIN: 1582971692

Book Description

Writers who want to craft richly detailed settings for their characters can either spend lots of time and money researching dozens of travel guides, or they can get all the facts they need right here. Writer's Guide to Places provides information on all 50 states and more than 80 cities in North America, encompassing all the details writers need to develop convincing characters and realistic settings, including:

• Basic ethnic, religious and economic issues that shape their character
• Regional history and facts their character might know
• Their character's favorite food and drink
• Things their character may be proud or ashamed of concerning his or her birthplace
• Interesting places to set a scene
• Myths about the state
• Resources for further research

Within each detailed state characterization, readers will find dozens of cities profiled for easy referencing—from major cities to smaller towns of interest, including New Orleans, Birmingham, Honolulu and Chicago.

Customer Reviews:

Ugh!.......2006-08-10

What a complete waste of time. If you just have to see what this volume has to offer, save your hard earned money and get it from the library.

As other reviewers have noted, it only has info on the 50 states and a few Canadian provinces. Not only that, but after reviewing cities listed that I have lived in or spent much time in, there was incorrect and misleading info. I wouldn't dare trust this as reference.

Do yourself a favor and just get a guidebook to the location and check out the local websites as well.

Don't waste your time or money.......2006-01-28

Writer's Guide to Places by Don Prues & Jack Heffron

I bought this book for obvious reasons suggested by the title. I should have read the previous buyers' reviews first!

The first thing I did when I received it was to compare the cities covered with places I've lived. For Honolulu and Oahu, for instance, no mention is made of the palaces, the Bishop Museum, the Pali, Diamond Head Park, the North Shore, Haleiwa, Sunset Beach, Sandy Beach, the Blow Hole, Mokuleiea, Valley of the Temples, Fort Shafter, Tripler Medical Center and maybe another hundred places that are all part of the very fabric of the place, even part of the air one breathes on Oahu.

I could go on for pages, but I won't. I did, however, check the other areas where I've previously lived and the same applies as the Honolulu comparison. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington DC and Milwaukee are just as pathetic and outdated in their coverage.

Don't waste your money!
Lou Novacheck

Bad book.......2005-09-23

Don't bother. It's not a great resource at all. You'd be much better off deciding on which city you'd like to set your novel in, then pick up a dedicated travel guide for that location. You will never have the need, nor desire, to use 99% of the filler in this book.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.......2004-07-20

What a good idea;a guide that lists both the chamber of commerce facts (like "the city was founded in...") and great local information (where to hang out, what the neighborhoods are like). What a shame the author has clearly never been to some of these places and that much of the information is wildly inaccurate. The Jacksonville [Florida] section for example lists Orange Park as a family oriented suburb, yet makes no mention at all of one of the main drivers of the local economy, Dog Racing at the big track on Kingsley. That's like describing Elmont, NY and not mentioning that little Triple Crown/Belmont Stakes thing. And imagine my horror on reading the Los Angeles [California] section, which tells me that my cute San Pedro home is like a third-world country! That will be news to the Mayor of LA, who also lives here, and to the literally dozens of movie and TV shoots that happen in San Pedro every year. I shudder to think of the thousands of copies of this "guide" out there being used as reference, with people assuming that the information is correct, just because it's in a book. It just goes to show you, there's no substitute for real research.

Skip it.......2004-07-05

Writer's Digest comes out with a lot of helpful books, but this one isn't one of them. I'm glad the book description here explains that the book only covers the United States and Canada. In the Writer's Digest ads, it doesn't. So if you want to set a story in Venice or Cairo, you'll get no help.

A lot of the information the book does have seems more appropriate for a rather unexciting history book about the states than something that helps create a setting. I don't see myself writing anything where a character says "Virginia is the second largest seafood processor in the nation" or "The Pennsylvania Turnpike was begun in 1940 and completed in 1956." If this is the kind of information you need, it's available on the internet.

There does seem to be some helpful information about some cities that would tell you which neighborhood your character would live in if he's rich or middle class. However, after looking at information that I know a bit about, there's a lot that's wrong or out of date. For example, the book describes New York City's "Hell's Kitchen" as bombed out and full of gangs when actually it's gentrified to the point that realtors have renamed it Clinton and it's pretty upmarket. On the other hand, the book says Houston's Sharpstown is a good place to raise a family. Nope, it's dangerous to the point that people are warned not to go to the mall. It makes one wonder what one can trust in this book.

Book Description

London has stimulated and fascinated writers from Chaucer, Dickens and De Quincey, to Orton, Orwell and more recently, Peter Ackroyd. Both a bedside companion and an imaginative travel guide, it leads you through the literary history of each district. Discover Boswell's Fleet Street, the Dickensian London of The Pickwick Papers and Little Dorrit and look at London Bridge through the eyes of T.S. Eliot. Packed with anecdotes about the lives of the city's writers, the book allows you to locate Dr. Johnson's favourite haunts and drink in the same bars as Dylan Thomas and Jeffrey Bernard. Accompanied by specially commissioned photographs of London today, and hundreds of illustrations of writers, manuscripts, prints and memorabilia, A Reader's Guide to Writers' London is a must for any lover of either literature or London.

A Journey into Flaubert's Normandy (ArtPlace series)

Average customer rating:

Rare combination
an excellent quick read on flaubert and normandy

A Journey into Flaubert's Normandy (ArtPlace series)
Susannah Patton
Manufacturer: Roaring Forties Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Journey into Matisse's South of France (ArtPlace series)
A Journey into the Transcendentalists' New England (ArtPlace series)
The Diana Chronicles
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Water for Elephants: A Novel

ASIN: 0976670682

Book Description

Richly illustrated with maps, historical and contemporary photographs, and period artwork, this guidebook takes tourists and armchair travelers on a stimulating journey through the small towns, rolling hills, and windswept coast of Flaubert’s Normandy. The novelist’s homes and the locations that are prominently featured in his controversial works are the focus of this pictorial travel guide, and include the ancient town of Rouen, where Flaubert was born in 1821; the resort town of Trouville and its frequently painted beach; Croisset, where Flaubert’s riverside house gave him the refuge to write; and the quiet country town of Ry, which claims to be where the real Madame Bovary lived and died.

Customer Reviews:

Rare combination.......2007-05-06

Ms. Patton's book is a rare combination of travel guide, literary criticism and biography penned in an engaging and witty style. It even has a section on Normandy cheeses. Yum. Read it before you read Flaubert, or while you read Madame Bovary, as I did. Read it before visiting Normandy. Or just read it because it's so enjoyable. The type of book that brings a place to life more than your average travel guide.

an excellent quick read on flaubert and normandy.......2007-03-16

My brother gifted me this book after he found it an excellent armchair companion. (He's been there before, reads Flaubert, the whole deal.) I found the book a great combination of biography (of more than one notable personage), travelogue, history, culture (present and past). Very good layout and photos, handy maps to check where you'd be when she writes of a town. Her writing style is light and flowing, so I finished it in a few hours, and am comfortable with the idea of returning to it as needed... maybe even one day, managing to get to France, to Normandy, to Ry and the rivers and cheeses of the region.

Average customer rating:

Disjointed anecdotes: interesting but not worth seeking out
A beautiful book for literature lovers
Enchanting

A Reader's Guide to Writers' Britain
Sally Varlow
Manufacturer: Not Avail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Reader's Guide to Writers' London
Pride & Prejudice

ASIN: 0233000690

Book Description

This captivating, region–by–region guide to literary Britain features 600 color photos, extensive information for travelers, maps, and a wealth of detail on the writers, their homes, and the landscapes that inspired them. Now revised and updated.

Customer Reviews:

Disjointed anecdotes: interesting but not worth seeking out.......2007-04-28

I'm planning a vacation to the UK, this fall, so on a whim I took this book out of the library. After all, I'm an avid reader and professional writer, so a literary view of the country was appealing.

I do like the premise of the book: that, as you travel around Britain, you can soak up the writer-centric people and events at the places you travel. It'd be cool to learn about Steinbeck's exploration of Stonehenge, for instance. So, in a section about London's Whitehall and Westminster districts, you read short essays about Pepys, Donne, and Peter Ackroyd, all of whom had connections to the area.

And, indeed, there are a few sections that generate "oh honey I have to read this to you" delight. One of them, set in Oxford, connects William Morris (in his Icelandic translation guise, not his Arts & Crafts persona) to JRR Tolkien; apparently the latter was seriously inspired by the former.

But, ultimately, I found the book unsatisfying. I've read a little bit about Tolkien in Oxford (see The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends). That book obviously went into far more depth, but the snippet here tells so little that... well, so what? It didn't inspire me to read more, and a mention of the pub frequented by Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Inklings doesn't give me the sense of place that might bring the anecdotes alive. (It'd help, too, if I saw a map where I could actually *see* the shrine.)

In the end, I'm glad I looked through this book, but I'm very glad that I took it out of the library rather than purchasing a copy. I do note that Amazon has another version available from only a few years ago; perhaps that one addresses the problems.

I liked this book. It was okay. But it was just okay.

A beautiful book for literature lovers.......2004-11-23

I bought the British edition of this book while visiting Jane Austen's house. Lavishly illustrated throughout in full color, it's a wonderful book to peruse. Background information is given on houses and places with literary connections throughout England, as well as biographical tidbits on the authors themselves.

It isn't a practical travel guide, being difficult to navigate and lacking reference materials such as maps, addresses and contact information of many of the places. However, it is a good place to get a general idea of places to visit, or just to educate yourself before a trip (or do some armchair travelling). It is also the most comprehensive and only recent book on British literary travel I've been able to locate. The only other title that comes close is ONCE UPON A TIME IN GREAT BRITAIN by Melanie Wentz, which focuses on children's authors.

Despite not being a travel guide, it is still a beautifully presented book packed with information and illustrations.

Enchanting.......2000-01-27

I bought Sally Varlow's book in 1997 in a bookshop in Groningen, Holland. It gives me, everytime I read it, very much pleasure. The beautiful pictures and illustrations makes it even nicer to read it. Very recommendable!

Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings

Average customer rating:

Excellent Resource
Knits up the ravels
A Radiograph of LotR.
Splendid Tolkien Reference Work
a giant mass of undifferentiated trivia

Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings
Michael W. Perry
Manufacturer: Inkling Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's the Lord of the Rings.
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Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings

ASIN: 1587420198

Book Description

Here is the book that Tolkien fans have needed for half a century--a detailed, book-length chronology of J. R. R. Tolkien's complex tale. Whether you are a serious Tolkien fan or simply someone who enjoys reading the story over and over again, this is the book for you. It's the first totally new reference for The Lord of the Rings since the 1970s.

Beginning over 1400 years before the major events in Tolkien's epic, it describes, year-by-year, the amazing and imaginative background history that Tolkien created for his masterpiece. Then for the main narrative, it becomes a day-by-day reference, describing what each character does on that day and all the places where those events are described in Tolkien's writings. You can find out, for instance, what Merry and Pippin are doing as Sam perpares rabbit stew on the morning of March 7.

Probe deeper into Tolkien. See why someone as serious as Gandalf was interested in fun-loving Hobbits. Discover an exciting new plot, based on Tolkien's notes, that begins when Aragorn captures Gollum. Follow along as the Black Riders and Gandalf race for the Shire. Decide for yourself whether Sauron and the Ring have any ties to Hitler and Stalin. Explore what Tolkien believed about nature and technology.

A few facts illustrate how helpful this chronology is. Most of narrative is a deliberately confusing sea of next days and third days that leave readers as confused as the tale's main characters.The middle 60 percent of The Lord of the Rings gives the current date only once. In the narrative as a whole, the date is given only 23 times, or once for every 43 pages, and most of those come when the plot is moving slowly. That's why those who want to dig deeper and understand better what Tolkien was saying will find this book a must-have.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Resource.......2006-12-10

Perry has done a wonderful job in untangling the very intricate tale woven by J.R.R. Tolkien. Of particular help are the copious margin notes which reference exactly where Perry is drawing the information contained within that section of his book. The commentary made by the author is a welcomed pause for reflection on the events that are taking place and keep the book from being a mere listing of dates and events. I teach a course on J.R.R. Tolkien and have found Untangling Tolkien a valuable resource, since it covers the entire history of Middle-earth: what comes before The Hobbit and what takes place after The Lord of The Rings. Bravo Mr. Perry, I look forward to reading your other books.

Knits up the ravels.......2004-10-31

An amazing accomplishment by a dedicated Tolkien fan.

That is how I'd sum up the book Untanging Tolkien. Michael Perry has first unraveled all Tolkien's "dates" -- which can be extrapolated from phases of the moon -- and then knit them together again in a cohesive outline, presented in much greater detail than Tolkien's own timeline (found buried in Appendix A of LOTR). By incorporating information from other Tolkien writings, the author of Untangling Tolkien collates additional facts about all the characters and the circumstances surrounding the War of the Ring, folding them all into this detailed chronology. He includes material that sheds light on possible parallels between Tolkien's work and events that were contemporary, and he provides original commentary that suggests some additional motivations for Tolkien's characters. Sidebars offer references to every source for the information presented and for each conclusion the author has drawn.

I found the format, with quick-reference bulleted lists and clearly delineated sections and subheadings, well-organized and easy to use.

NOTE: I read the third printing that was published in May 2004. Apparently the author has corrected many of the errors that David Bratman objected to (below). You won't find a better overview or a more throrough treatment of time and dates in LOTR than Perry provides in this book.

A Radiograph of LotR........2003-12-27

This book is layed out as a chronological record of the events covered by Tolkein's masterpiece with prefaces that explain the calender system created by Tolkein and its conversion to our more mundane (and possibly inferior) system. The type is clear, and margin citations clear and present for every entry. It's primary utility, at which it succeeds admirably, is as a kind of radiograph of Tolkein's work that reveals its astonishing complexity more clearly and allows one to admire, and more importantly, explore the book itself more quickly, easily, and deeply.

The book also contains copious notes inline with the chronology. These vary from informative to tangential, but at worst do not detract from the book's primary function. Mr. Perry is perhaps foremost as Lewis scholar, and so C.S. Lewis, a close acquaintance and friend of Tolkein, makes a number of appearances. Also making appearances in the notes are William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill.

All in all, a unique book which will save anyone who wants to do an in depth study of LotR a lot of time.

Splendid Tolkien Reference Work.......2003-12-21

Superb, exhaustive chronology of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga. Perry does a superior job in untangling a number of thorny chronological issues in Tolkien's narrative, and he employs some fine literary detective work in reconstructing what events are happening across Middle Earth on any given date. Especially admirable is his reconstruction of how much moonlight there was during each day of Frodo and Sam's journey into Mordor.

In addition to chronology, Perry supplies a lot of background information about Tolkien's themes and sources, as well as biographical tidbits about Tolkien. For example, there are fascinating discussions of Tolkien's views of technology, freedom, and totalitarianism. Perry also discusses Tolkien's stance toward the misuse of Germanic myths by the Nazis.

This is a great resource for Tolkien-lovers everywhere.

a giant mass of undifferentiated trivia.......2003-12-21

A year-by-year, later day-by-day, chronicle of the war against Sauron from the founding of the Shire to the glorious conclusion seems at the outset like a good idea. Perry calls LOTR's Appendix B, the Tale of Years, "far from complete" but it covers the whole period: what he means is that it's not detailed enough for him. Appendix B won't tell you which day Sam cooked coney for Frodo; Perry will.

But alas, the book does not stop there. The entries are written as bullet lists like a PowerPoint presentation, and many add pointless little flowcharts such as two-generation family trees. They reduce Tolkien's magnificently complex subcreation into a giant mass of undifferentiated trivia. And each yearly or daily entry comes with its commentary, whether directly relevant, side points, broader considerations, or dogmatic essays in applicability. The unrelieved banality and inappropriateness of these must be read to be believed; as also the author's clumsy, grammatically inept style, and his smug superiority to the characters. (He frequently criticizes the good guys' "blunders," all of them more complex than he implies.)

There's actually some good chronological analysis and speculation hiding in here. But how can someone who knows his Tolkien that well say that the wizards were Valar, or that Rohan gave Isengard to Saruman (it wasn't theirs to give, and Saruman was made its warden, not a freeholder), that Boromir and Faramir had a sibling rivalry (Tolkien specifically says not), or suggest that Galadriel should have sent daily eagles to check up on the Fellowship?

Book Description

One of the most important literary works of the twentieth century, Ulysses is also one of the most realistic novels ever written. The characters, some of them Dubliners appearing under their own names, visit shops and pubs that can be located precisely in the streets of the city in which Joyce grew up. Despite the renovation of Dublin in recent decades, many of these neighborhoods and establishments remain.

Published to coincide with the centenary of Bloomsday on June 16, 2004, this unique study uses more than 100 maps and photographs to examine the importance of Ulysses's basis in physical fact, showing how characters move around the city and how the novel works in terms of time and place. The accompanying texts include an analysis of Joyce's use of Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, an account of the characters' movements episode by episode, an alphabetical list of the addresses of characters and places, a timetable of corresponding events, a note about unresolved problems, a detailed set of maps based on originals from early in the twentieth century, and a selection of historical illustrations. These tools enable the reader to approach more fully the perspective of the native Dubliner in 1904 and enhance the delights—and the understanding—of Joyce's great novel. 113 illustrations, including 79 maps.

Religious Writers Market-Place: All-New Fourth Edition, Completely Revised and Updated
Average customer rating:
Religious Writers Market-Place: All-New Fourth Edition, Completely Revised and Updated
William H. Gentz , and Sandra H. Brooks
Manufacturer: Abingdon Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0687360528

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