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heartfelt and touching
High hopes
About Alice - is about love
Part memoir, part tribute, but too short...
5 Things about About Alice

About Alice
Calvin Trillin
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Travels with Alice
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ASIN: 1400066158
Release Date: 2006-12-26

Book Description

In Calvin Trillin’s antic tales of family life, she was portrayed as the wife who had “a weird predilection for limiting our family to three meals a day” and the mother who thought that if you didn’t go to every performance of your child’s school play, “the county would come and take the child.” Now, five years after her death, her husband offers this loving portrait of Alice Trillin off the page–his loving portrait of Alice Trillin off the page–an educator who was equally at home teaching at a university or a drug treatment center, a gifted writer, a stunningly beautiful and thoroughly engaged woman who, in the words of a friend, “managed to navigate the tricky waters between living a life you could be proud of and still delighting in the many things there are to take pleasure in.”

Though it deals with devastating loss, About Alice is also a love story, chronicling a romance that began at a Manhattan party when Calvin Trillin desperately tried to impress a young woman who “seemed to glow.”
“You have never again been as funny as you were that night,” Alice would say, twenty or thirty years later.
“You mean I peaked in December of 1963?”
“I’m afraid so.”

But he never quit trying to impress her. In his writing, she was sometimes his subject and always his muse. The dedication of the first book he published after her death read, “I wrote this for Alice. Actually, I wrote everything for Alice.”

In that spirit, Calvin Trillin has, with About Alice, created a gift to the wife he adored and to his readers.

Customer Reviews:

heartfelt and touching.......2007-06-13

Calvin Trillin has long held a reputation as one of the country's foremost journalists and humorists. He recently lamented that his work has suffered since the passing of his wife, the writer and educator Alice Trillin. Mr. Trillin has long made his family a subject of his writings, and he continues that pattern in his latest, "About Alice," an extended essay remembering the life of his wife.

"I wrote this for Alice," said Trillin, when he dedicated his first book after Alice's death. "Actually, I wrote everything for Alice." In his books, poetry, and work for "The New Yorker," the author mentioned his wife so many times, that upon her passing he received scores of letters from people who felt like they knew Alice. Trillin wanted to give his readers a fuller-orbed picture of who his wife really was, hence "About Alice."

On the surface, it would be difficult to understand why such a slim volume (only 78 pages) has shot up the charts. But Trillin has captured something universal in this witty and understated book. Even though his wife died at the early age of 63 - as a lung cancer victim who never smoked - this is a book that reminds us to treasure the good stuff in life. And it is a rare author who can capture said "good stuff," in such a wise and tender way.

High hopes.......2007-05-07

Thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Mr. Trillin's admiration and devotion to his wife and his family. His views on these subjects are refreshing and sorely needed in today's fast, fractured and self-oriented culture. I had however heard about much of what is in the book in a one hour radio interview with the author and felt that the subject matter should have been expanded upon to make it worthy of publication as a book. As it is, it seems to be something between a Hallmark greeting book and an in-depth piece of reporting.

About Alice - is about love.......2007-05-05

Ever since "Love Story" by Segal came out, I've never knowingly read a book where someone is loved a lot and then leaves them - via death. (It's a personal thing.) But someone suggested that I might like this book so I picked it up. Trillin, writes about their story and about his wife so beautifully that I wish I had known her. It didn't need to be any longer either. He said it all so eloquently in such a short book. You don't need a whole lot of words and lot of chapters necessarily to describe someone, or a relationship. You just have to know how to make every word count. Trillin does.

Part memoir, part tribute, but too short..........2007-04-18

The New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin has often written about his wife, Alice. While I haven't read any of his previous works, I think he must have outdone himself in About Alice. About Alice is moving, it is elegant, but unfortunately, at 96 pages, it is also very short.

About Alice is part memoir, part tribute and all love story. Trillin met his future wife at a party and instantly fell in love. Friends claimed that they were George Burns and Gracie Allen, with Alice playing George. These two opposites proved to be the perfect compliment. Not only was Alice a talented writer as well, but also a dedicated teacher. Their happiness was threatened in 1976 when Alice was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 38 and given only two years to live. Amazingly, she survived another 25 years before succumbing to heart disease--her heart being damaged by the radiation treatment that saved her life years before.

It is obvious how much of a hole Alice's death has left in Trillin's life. Not only was she his wife, but he also depended on her to proofread, edit, and critique his many works. In the dedication of the first book published after her death, Trillin writes "I wrote this for Alice. Actually, I wrote everything for Alice." Many women would be envious to have a husband who could write so eloquently about his love for his wife.

After reading About Alice, I'm impressed enough with both Trillin's writing and Alice that I plan to read some of his other works including Travels with Alice, and Alice, Let's Eat.

5 Things about About Alice.......2007-04-01

1. About Alice is a eulogy-valentine for Calvin Trillin's deceased wife, Alice.

2. Both ruminating and succinct, this short book describes the rare type of love that starts with a spark and lasts a lifetime.

3. In the age of many divorces and many choosing not to marry, it is refreshing to be reminded that such a love exists, survives and is celebrated.

4. Read with Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, About Alice reveals to us that life is long and mundane and joyful and difficult, that death and grief are deeply a part of life, and that one of the roles of our great writers is to remind us of these facts.

5. This book can be read in an hour or less, but will leave you with a bittersweet warmth for days.

American Girls About Town: They're Not Just the Girls Next Door....

Average customer rating:

Fun Fun Fun
Funny and Tender
Fun to read!!
Fun read most of the time
Women Authors

American Girls About Town: They're Not Just the Girls Next Door....
Jennifer Weiner , Lauren Weisberger , and Adriana Trigiani
Manufacturer: Downtown Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 1416507310

Book Description

Born in the U.S.A....

American gals are taking liberties -- and pursuing happiness on their own terms -- in this star-studded story collection featuring the nation's red-hot women writers.

They've declared their independence!

Jennifer Weiner (In Her Shoes) learns "The Truth About Nigel" -- and the trouble with falling for an incognito Hollywood actor. Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada) sends a single New Yorker on a backpacking trip halfway around the world -- where she sees her love life back home with new eyes -- in "The Bamboo Confessions." A harried mom with a hit novel crosses the pond in "My Great Brit Book Tour" by Adriana Trigiani (Lucia, Lucia), and turns a crumbling talk show appearance into a sweet success. Also uniting their talents in this free-spirited anthology are

JULIANNA BAGGOTT • CINDY CHUPACK • LYNDA CURNYN • QUINN DALTON • LAUREN HENDERSON • JUDI HENDRICKS • GRETCHEN LASKAS • CLAIRE LaZEBNIK • CHRIS MANBY • SARAH MLYNOWSKI • MELISSA SENATE • JILL SMOLINSKI • NANCY SPARLING • LAURA WOLF

Customer Reviews:

Fun Fun Fun.......2007-05-01

Out of the 13 short stories, I enjoyed 10 thoroughly. A great way to discover some authors I was unfamiliar with. A great investment.

Funny and Tender.......2007-04-05

I bought this book because I'm an avid fan of Jennifer Weiner. As a result I have been introduced to the fun and whimsical writing of the other authors who contributed their short stories.
Each short story is engaging and very entertaining.

Fun to read!!.......2006-11-10

The book was great- I dont usually like short stories but it was perfect for when I was working out or just needed a quick break from reality!

Fun read most of the time.......2006-11-06

Most of the short stories were quite good and left me wanting to delve into the characters more; others not so much. Overall a good, light read.

Women Authors.......2006-08-20

This was a great way to "sample" lots of new authors. The stories were well written, and I intend to read books by several of the authors, I enjoyed them so much.

About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers

Average customer rating:

Beginning Writing Workshop
About the Authors
Writing Workshop: Writing With our Youngest Writers

About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers
Lisa Cleaveland , and Katie Wood Ray
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0325005117

Book Description

About the Authors is about the littlest authors - those in kindergarten through second grade. Based on a profound understanding of the ways in which young children learn, it shows teachers how to launch a writing workshop by inviting children to do what they do naturally - make stuff. So why not write books?

Gifted educator and author of the best-selling What You Know by Heart (Heinemann, 2002), Katie Wood Ray has seen young authors do just that. And she wants your students to be able to do the same. Beautifully describing young children in the act of learning, she demonstrates what it takes to nourish writing right from the start:

a supportive environment that enables even the youngest students to write
respect and sensitivity to the way children really learn
inviting instruction that both encourages and elevates young writers
rich language that stimulates writing
classroom talk and children's literature that energize young writers
developmental considerations that shape the structure of the workshop, making it natural, joyful, and absolutely appropriate.

What's more, Ray explains step by step how to set up and maintain a primary writing workshop, detailing eleven units of study that cover idea generation, text structures, different genres, and illustrations that work with text. She also draws on data, projects, and the language of teaching used in the classroom of first-grade teacher Lisa Cleaveland. Ray allows readers to listen in to Lisa as she helps her young students learn from professional writers, work with intention, and think about their own process.

Chockfull of examples of little books by young children, About the Authors is proof positive that a primary writing workshop is a smart writing move.

Customer Reviews:

Beginning Writing Workshop.......2005-09-14

This is a great book to help k-2 teachers implement writing workshop in the classroom. It offers ideas on how to begin, units of study, and books to incorporate into your mini-lessons. I recommend this book to anyone venturing into the writing workshop approach to teaching writing to young children.

About the Authors.......2005-09-10

The book was very helpful and I got it in efficient time.

Writing Workshop: Writing With our Youngest Writers.......2005-08-13

Good Book, good way to get ideeas for writing across to children.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories

Average customer rating:

good book
Wonderful Carver
Mixed Bag
reinvented the short story
A Mixed Collection...

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories
Raymond Carver
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679723056
Release Date: 1989-06-18

Amazon.com

"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" is not only the most well-known short story title of the latter part of the 20th century; it has come to stand for an entire aesthetic, the bare-bones prose style for which Raymond Carver became famous. Perhaps, it could be argued, too famous, at least for his fiction's own good. Like those of Hemingway or any other writer similarly loved, imitated, parodied, and reviled, these stories can sometimes produce the sense of reading pastiche. "A man without hands came to the door to sell me a photograph of my house." "That morning she pours Teacher's over my belly and licks it off. That afternoon she tries to jump out the window." "My friend Mel McGinnis was talking. Mel is a cardiologist, and sometimes that gives him the right." What other writer ever produced first sentences like these? They are like doors into Carverworld, where everyone speaks in simple declarative phrases, no one ever stops at one beer, and failure or violence are the true outcomes of the American dream.

Yet these stories bear careful re-reading, like any truly important and enduring work. For one thing, Carver is one of the few writers who can make desperation--cutting your ex-wife's telephone cord in the middle of a conversation, standing on your own roof chunking rocks while a man with no hands takes your picture--deeply funny. Then there is the sheer craft that went into their creation. Despite their seeming simplicity, his tales are as artfully constructed as poems--and like poems, the best of them can make your breath catch in your throat. In the title piece, for instance, after the gin has been drunk, after the stories have been told, after the tensions in the room have come to the surface and subsided again, there comes a moment of strange lightness and peace: "I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone's heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark."

Much of what happens in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (1981) happens offstage, and we're left with tragedy's props: booze, instant coffee, furniture from a failed marriage, cigarettes smoked in the middle of the night. This is not merely a matter of technique. Carver leaves out a great deal, but that's only a measure of his characters' vulnerability, the nerve endings his stories lay bare. To say anything more, one feels, would simply hurt too much. --Mary Park

Book Description

In his second collection of stories, as in his first, Carver's characters are peripheral people--people without education, insight or prospects, people too unimaginative to even give up. Carver celebrates these men and women.

Customer Reviews:

good book.......2007-03-31

Got the book as promised in a timely manner. The book is good needed it for a class that I was behind in and was able to catch up the same day it came in.

Wonderful Carver.......2007-03-25

Carver's texts are pure American, and in their purity his characters and stories become a universal experience. His language, strong, concise and to the point is charged with emotion. He uses only the necessary words to describe and each word is there for a purpose.
This is my second book by Carver. I started with Fires and I'm anxiouslly awaiting the arrival of recently purchased Cathedrals.

Mixed Bag.......2007-01-17

All art, on some level is subjective, certain styles and artists speak more to some than others. For whatever reason this collection of stories failed to speak to me consistently.
It wasn't his evanescent minimalism or the plotlessness that bothered me; it was the lack of psychological depth of some characters that made me just not believe it.
The realistic short story can be very effective in capturing a moment in time, and I think that's what Carver was trying to do, however it must seem plausible. For example: in the story Sacks, a father and son who haven't seen each other in years meet in an airport for a drink. During the course of the conversation the father spills out, in an almost uninterrupted soliloquy, the story of how he cheated on his wife, his interlocutor's mother. It just seemed unnatural. There was no shame or awkwardness in his confession and I didn't believe a second of it. There were other moments when I felt the same way, but I'll spare you the details.
Carver did have a few gems mixed in; stories like After the Denim and the title story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love are excellent to say the least.
I get the sense that his later work was better and I would be interested in checking out other collections of his in the future, but to me this was a mixed bag.

reinvented the short story.......2006-12-20

this has been said many times before, but Carver reinvented the short story as a credible litterary genre. I recommend reading this first then diving into Cathedral. It's a delicious showcase of the author as editor and revisionist. As he ages and perspectives change, Carver adds a richness to many of the stories.

A Mixed Collection..........2005-10-23

Raymond Carver is one of my all-time favorite short story writers. This brief collection gives some of his best, and some of his lesser works. My favorite stories here include the title story, "So Much Water So Close To Home," and - perhaps my favorite - the quasi-horror story, "Tell the Women We're Going." Carver's lean style captures the feel of the America in which he is writing; his characters are usually suburban and lower-middle-class. They are cynical and frequently disillusioned by love - yet there is still hope coming through.

Some of these stories don't feel finished though. They stand merely as slices of life. ONE of them definitely isn't finished: the story, "The Bath," would later be expanded into one of his most famous stories - "A Small, Good Thing."

When I Was Your Age, Volume One: Original Stories About Growing Up (When I Was Your Age)

Average customer rating:

A WONDERFUL BOOK , ESPECIALLY FOR PRE-TEENS !

When I Was Your Age, Volume One: Original Stories About Growing Up (When I Was Your Age)

Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0763610348
Release Date: 2001-02-01

Book Description

Perfect for literature classes and beginning writers of all ages!

"Tell me a story of when you were little" is something children love to ask. Now ten award-winning writers: Mary Pope Osborne, Laurence Yep, James Howe, Katherine Paterson, Walter Dean Myers, Susan Cooper, Nicholasa Mohr, Reeve Lindbergh, Avi, and Francesca Lia Block tell young readers stories drawn from their own childhood memories. The authors have also contributed notes about why they chose particular memories to write about and what in their lives led them to be writers. In this way, the extraordinary stories in WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE bear witness to the origins of a writer’s art—and honor the courage, tenderness, and fragility of children.

Customer Reviews:

A WONDERFUL BOOK , ESPECIALLY FOR PRE-TEENS !.......2000-06-20

The original tales presented in this book are actual memories of childhood penned by notable children's book authors. Although most of the stories have 8-10 year-olds as their protagnonists, they deal with emotions and predicaments more easily understood, I think, by slightly older children.

Pre-teenage can be such an awkward time; these tales can be healing/instructive to those in this time of life. The authors all have written beautiful stories which really should not be missed. And, as an extra special "gift" to the reader, each story is followed by a one-page explanation/note written by the tale's author. It's a relief to realize that each author not only survived growing up, but also flourished. And I loved being allowed to share private memories of these marvelous authors.

As a great fan of Katherine Paterson, I was especially touched by her story, which involved her older, prettier sister. Perhaps even more revealing, however, is the note she wrote to accompany this story. I am sure that the feelings here expressed were the souce of her poignantly beautiful novel "Jacob Have I Loved." (Great for girls age 12 and up.)

This book also provided an introduction (at least for me) to several authors with whom I was not familiar; I look forward to reading more by them.

I am a 40-something, well-educated mom. I bought this book for my own family, but I will be purchasing more copies to give as gifts. And I look forward to the sequel to this book, already in print!

Average customer rating:

Now, we are two

The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss

little disappointed

the goldfish went on vacation

Useful, insightful information for parents on teaching children about death and dying

The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss (and Learning to Tell the Truth about It)
Patty Dann
Manufacturer: Trumpeter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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About Alice

ASIN: 1590304284
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

The moment when Patty Dann’s husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, she felt as though the ground had dropped out beneath her. Her grief, however, was immediately interrupted by the realization that she would have to tell their three-year-old son, Jake, that his father was dying. The prognosis gave her husband just a year to live. In that short time, the three of them—Patty, Willem, and Jake—would have to find a way to live with the illness and prepare for his death.

Written with disarming honesty, courage, and humor, Patty weaves together a series of vignettes that chart her and Jake’s eventual acceptance of their new family—through coping with the daily challenges, the sorrow, and the uncertainty, as well as embracing the surprising moments of beauty and acceptance. As much about exploring memory as it is about appreciating the moment, this captivating narrative will serve as a genuine comfort to anyone surprised by grief.

Customer Reviews:

Now, we are two.......2007-06-14

In a support group for families dealing with a terminally ill member, a woman reveals that she had to flush her son's goldfish, but couldn't bear to tell him the truth about it, so her story because that "the goldfish went on vacation."

For author Patty Dann and her preschool son Jake, as dad Willem dies of a brain tumor, "now, we are two."

It's only natural that prolific essayist and writing workshop instructor Patty Dann would publish a book on the topic of loss when she was widowed after less than a decade of marriage. The author observes that with a 3-year-old just out of a stroller, and a husband with a degenerative brain tumor, she may soon be pushing two children around. The short, delicate chapters are peppered with poignant insights and frank discussions about death, but the worth as a whole strives too hard to be "that perfect pocket book for giving to a friend coping with loss."

I personally looked for just such a book when my best friend gave birth to a baby girl doctors predicted would live less than three years. I might have been tempted by this title had it been out, but with four years of maturity (and a still relatively stable, growing four-year-old child for my best friend), I would never select such an unremarkable, silly book to attempt to comfort a friend.

Dann does deal with a unique aspect of loss--she has a year to adjust to becoming a widow and a single parent, as she watches her husband lose his mental and physical faculties. Her ideas, like having family members write letters to her son to be opened in a decade, on his thirteenth birthday, help remind the reader how much we need to celebrate and cherish those around us every day. As a whole, though, the essays add up to little more than a cute book with a fish on the cover. For hard-hitting personal soul-searching about the death of a spouse and father, I would recommend Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking.

The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss.......2007-04-05

Excellent read. Couldn't put it down. Subject close to my heart. In reading this book, at times you felt what the author was feeling. Again, it was an excellent book. I may even read it again to see if I missed anything.

little disappointed.......2007-04-02

When I purchased this book I assumed it would be more telling about how her husband's disease affected their lives, how he handled things, along with doctors diagnosis, thoughts and suggestions. This book was more about the wife and her past memories of her life. I didn't care for it.

the goldfish went on vacation.......2007-03-22

this is a wonderful book which I enjoyed reading. The chapters were very short and the book was so easy to read.
You forget the book is true and sometimes you laugh and sometimes you cry.

Useful, insightful information for parents on teaching children about death and dying .......2007-02-15

Patty Dann's memoir, which could be described as a short collection of extremely short stories (the longest spans just four pages) about life and death, is part self-help for those trying to assist a child in coping with the terminal illness or death of a loved-one; part personal history - childhood, adulthood, courtship, marriage, motherhood, (her husband's) illness, widowhood; and part death-related memories of others and excerpts from her students' written stories. The writing is clean, correct, and except for a handful of great sentences and phrases, unremarkable. Because of the nontraditional, seemingly unintuitive way she chooses to allow her three-year-old son, Jake, to be made aware of the facts concerning his father's terminal illness and imminent death, he seems to understand and deal with the situation better than might be expected. Both the author and the "Child Development/Child Life Specialist" who counseled her son, provide useful, insightful information about helping children appropriately handle issues related to death and dying.

The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life

Average customer rating:

A Tribute to a Collection of Great Writers, Who Are Women
Brilliant!
seven tastes of greatness !
Great analysis
Women Who Write and Emotions in the Individual Life

The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life
Edward Mendelson
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375424083
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Book Description

An illuminating exploration of how seven of the greatest English novels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Between the Acts—portray the essential experiences of life.

For Edward Mendelson—a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University—these classic novels tell life stories that are valuable to readers who are thinking about the course of their own lives. Looking beyond theories to the individual intentions of the authors and taking into consideration their lives and times, Mendelson examines the sometimes contradictory ways in which the novels portray such major passages of life as love, marriage, and parenthood. In Frankenstein’s story of a new life, we see a searing representation of emotional neglect. In Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre the transition from childhood to adulthood is portrayed in vastly different ways even though the sisters who wrote the books shared the same isolated life. In Mrs. Dalloway we see an ideal and almost impossible adult love. Mendelson leads us to a fresh and fascinating new understanding of each of the seven novels, reminding us—in the most captivating way—why they matter.

The Things That Matter is a book that will delight all passionate readers.

Customer Reviews:

A Tribute to a Collection of Great Writers, Who Are Women.......2007-04-02

In case you ever thought less of women writers than their male counterparts look no farther than Mendelson's review of seven classics all written by women who wrote what matters in life with vivid, vibrant language.

Starting with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that is the result of an inspirational motto by Mary Wollstonecraft: "A great proportion of the misery that wanders, in hideous forms, around the world, is allowed to rise from the negligence of parents," to early attachments in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, to early disattachment by Charlotte Bronte, to the humdrum beats of ordinary life in Middlemarch by Geroge Eliot, to the realization of life's illusions in Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, to rebellious later life to break away from the illusion in To the Lighthouse, also by Virginia Woolf, and finally to the disillusionment met in Between the Acts, yet again by Woolf.

Great books as can only be understood best by this book.

Brilliant!.......2007-02-14

I echo Tom Casey's review below. I read some of these novels thirty years ago, and started re-reading them two years ago. What perfect timing, then, for Edward Mendelson's very interesting approach on these novels. On the surface this book does not appear to be the typical academic work it is, but each chapter on its own could have been a doctoral thesis. To tie these seven novels into passages of life is quite remarkable. In addition, footnotes, though infrequent, shed light on very important issues of the times that are easily overlooked. To enjoy this book one should have a fairly good knowledge of the novels. But you can read the essays in any order that you want; each essay stands alone. Highly, highly recommended.

seven tastes of greatness !.......2007-02-10

I just read "The Things That Matter," having seen it on my library's shelf and picked it up out of curiosity. I loved this book not only for its content but for the timing with which it showed up for me to read. My brilliant-at-math-and-science-stuff child was having a challenge with English Lit class; this book has given me a way to relate to them the value of novels to real life stuff, especially thinking about how "universal ideas" in life play out in personal actual life.

I found Mendelson's critical reviews of "What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life" timely and well written. I highlight below several points that struck me.

. I have never, never, NEver realized the intricate complexities of "Frankenstein" til I read Mendelson's analysis. I had heard that the authoress (Mary Shelley) was brilliant and accomplished and connected in her time, but to be honest all I could image in my mind prior to this book was the film treatments of a) Boris Karloff, and b) Mel Brooks. Suffice it to say I have a whole new appreciation of the rich ideas and paradoxes Shelley wove into her story!

. Mendelson does a fine job of weaving seven stories into seven Stages of Life (Birth, Childhood, Growth, Marraige, Love, Parenthood, The Future). Never mind the excellence of each chapter's analyses; the crafting of the whole book, and its demonstration by example of its meta-theme that "things that matter are written about in great literature," excite my professional admiration for a job of craftsmenship and talent well done.

. Further exciting my admiration are several points mentioned in the preface and in the essays as Mendelson distinguishes "universal ideas" that these authoresses (Mary Shelley, Emile Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf) present in their narratives:

1) He chose all woman authors because "it has nothing to do with any fantasy that women have greater moral and emotional intelligence" but rather "a woman writer [in the 19th and 20th centuries] had a greater motivation to defend the values of personal life against the generalizing effect of stereotypes." This is still an issue today for ALL of us, I think, whatever our personal circumstances or lifestyle choices.

2) That opposite life principles may be equally true, that what is publically espoused may be privately doubted. Or said colloquially, "The opposite of a Great Truth may be in itself a Great Truth." Examples include, in "Frankenstein," the espoused principle that a good upbringing of a child will result in a good character of an adult. But: "The opposite may also be true."

To read Mendelson's "take" about these works and their authors has made me feel more acquainted with seven "tastes of greatness!"

Great analysis.......2007-01-06

My daughter, who received this from me, says it is a terrific book with amazing insights into books we've read in the past and couldn't analyze the way this author does so well. She says the one on Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" is especially revealing.

Women Who Write and Emotions in the Individual Life.......2006-08-24

Every so often a book appears with a fresh approach to familiar classics
which reinvigorates our belief in the importance of literature to the
experience of culture. Edward Mendelson is a Professor of English and
Comparative Literature at Columbia University. As the subtitle declares,
The Things That Matter revisits seven novels with an aim of exploring a
central theme from each that can tell us something about how to
interpret emotional challenges that beset us in the course of our
lifetime. Frankenstein is offered as an examination of birth, Wuthering
Heights of childhood, Jane Eyre for growth, Middlemarch for marriage,
Mrs. Dalloway for love, To the Lighthouse for parenthood, and Between
the Acts for the future. Mendelson's premise is flexible enough to avoid
heavy-handed exegesis; what he has given us is a literary roadmap into
moral and emotional conundrums that the authors of these books have
confronted through story and character.

The selection spans two centuries and the authors are women. Three of
the books were written by Virginia Woolf. Mendelson believes that women
"had a greater motivation to defend the values of personal life against
the generalizing effect of stereotypes..." He makes a good point:
certainly the authors of these books took great pains to examine the
emotional life and its influence on actions and choices.

One gets from his book a keen sense of Mendelson's reverence for the
individual experience, whether as a reader, a writer, an artist, or
merely a soul confronting contradictions; and he seems to be saying that
the best literature offers visions in lieu of answers, and that the
visions given here have something of emotional truth derived from what
women know especially.

Authors exist in a relationship to their characters that creates a
second dynamic to the narrative. "The novels that I write about in this
book all emerged from their authors' arguments with themselves." From
this can be inferred arguments that authors have with their characters,
disapproving of their behavior even as they create situations that allow
it, and with their readers, for whom the story is told. It is precisely
the interpersonal aspects of literature and the visions that emerge from
speculation that excite Professor Mendelson, and he has given new light
to familiar books in this thoughtfully insightful meditation.

Between Mothers and Sons: Women Writers Talk about Having Sons and Raising Men

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Something here for everyone
Memorable reading, great range of experiences
Incredible
Great writing but limited perspective

Between Mothers and Sons: Women Writers Talk about Having Sons and Raising Men

Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684850710

Book Description

The challenge for mothers of sons is to realize that because we do not share a sexual identity, that because we have not grown up in a male body, we cannot presume to understand everything there is to know about our sons' worlds.
-- Patricia Stevens

In this absolutely superb collection of mothers' personal narratives, some classic writers, as well as exciting new voices, ponder the conflicts and joys of raising sons. Patricia Stevens's Between Mothers and Sons is the first anthology in which women writers attempt to answer the question that all mothers have contemplated in the course of mothering the opposite sex: "Who is this male child who came out of my body?"

After all, the mother/son relationship is the foundation of all male/female connections. Yet in our culture, it's a relationship that has been far less closely observed than the relationship between mother and daughter.

From the earliest days of nursing to the good-byes as college and adulthood appear on the threshold, from adoptive families to biracial, from Native American to African-American mothers, these pages cover a broad range of experience. These writers collectively explore the delights and frustrations, the deep and often-conflicted emotions they feel in their roles as mothers to their male children.

"Diamonds are forever, but love can easily get lost....I picture the broken pieces of my heart inside me like the shrapnel of a war." In Jo-Ann Mapson's heartbreaking "Navigating the Channel Islands," we read of the intense pain that appears in the wake of her adolescent son's rebellion. On a more comical note, Deborah Galyan's "Watching Star Trek with Dylan" is a must for any mother who has wondered about a young son's love of things mechanical. And Valerie Monroe's bittersweet "Feet" will touch every mother on the planet: "As I unwrapped the slippers and carefully placed them on this rug, I thought, they're his feet, after all. And step by step, they will take him away from me."

Between Mothers and Sons resoundingly, if unflinchingly, celebrates this new journey that we are all making with our boys.

Customer Reviews:

Something here for everyone.......2005-03-07

As with many short story / essay collections, it is hard to review the book overall as the individual contributions are uneven.
In this case, almost all are moving and at least some will touch a heartstring (or raw nerve!) in every mother.
Many play the feminist angle, which I felt may be somewhat misplaced in a mother-son relationship.
A couple I'd already read in other collections (e.g. `Toddler'), including one of my personal favourites, Jonathan Bing by Priscilla Leigh MacKinley, about a mother who lost her sight during childbirth and has to adapt to becoming blind and the responsibility of responsibility of caring for a new baby at the same time ... the thought alone makes me shudder, but she writes about it beautifully and it was a joy to read again.
All-in-all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Memorable reading, great range of experiences.......2000-01-22

Each in her own way, the writers in this collection make complex connections -- with their sons and with readers. There's a great range of experiences here for the reader who wants to concentrate on the mother-son relationship rather than on family relationships in general.

I sometimes cried and more often laughed -- but I also thought about my female friends and their sons, and agreed with what I was reading -- then remembered my mother and sisters and their sons, and argued back -- considered my male friends, and understood more than I had before.

The authors had some great stories to tell, and the quality of the writing fully repaid a second (and for some essays, a third) reading. The author's own very moving contribution was my favorite, but months after reading the book, there are many moments I remember.

Incredible.......1999-12-04

I bought Between Mothers and Sons for myself as a Mother's Day gift when my son was 3 months old. I was moved viscerally by the essays contained in this book. Although I do agree with the reviewer from Wisconsin that the collective voice of these essays is limited, I feel that the emotional tumult felt and expressed by these very talented women is universal.

Great writing but limited perspective.......1999-07-14

Stevens has gathered a well-written and insightful collection of essays by very talented women. The challenges of raising sons are presented in sometimes poignant, frequently amusing, and generally thought-provoking ways. But I kept wishing for some other perspectives. All of the women whose writings are collected here seem to be on a single page. They're all feminists; few get any child-rearing help or wisdom from the boys' fathers; most seem to have no spiritual foundation (LaMott is an obvious exception). I would have liked to read a more balanced collection of authors.

A Short Course in Kindness: A Little Book on the Importance of Love and the Relative Unimportance of Just About Everything Else

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Is Kindness Inevitable?
Fierce Kindness
A short but powerful course in kindness
Welcome and recommended reading
Antidote for a weary world...

A Short Course in Kindness: A Little Book on the Importance of Love and the Relative Unimportance of Just About Everything Else
Margot Silk Forrest
Manufacturer: L. M. Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0970804903

Book Description

More than simply thought-provoking, A Short Course in Kindness challenges and inspires the reader to effect change through kindness. In warm and engaging prose, this book explains true kindness as opposed to mere niceness and explores its power and benefits. It motivates individuals to exhibit and practice kindness, describing in clear and simple terms ways to integrate kindness as the response of choice. Included are techniques for developing the ability to empathize with others and strategies for being kind to oneself.

Customer Reviews:

Is Kindness Inevitable?.......2005-03-22

The first thing that struck me when I read this inspirational little book was Forrest's proactive definition of kindness. Kindness is not an insincere compliment or an empty "call me if you need help." Kindness requires us to give something of ourselves. It doesn't have to be a huge sacrifice, either. It is one part empathy, one part compassion, one part charity. Kindness is giving the perfect gift without the holiday.

But more than telling us what kindness is and isn't, Forrest inspires the reader to be kind. She does so most powerfully by seeding her pages with first-hand accounts of the effects of kindness on every day people like you and me. For this reader, these stories conjured memories of kind acts that were bestowed upon me, reminding me how a smile or a hug at just the right moment got me through some of my most painful experiences. Surely, I thought to myself as I read, these are things I could do for others.

And that is my favorite part about reading A Short Course in Kindness. The feeling I come away with that kindness is inevitable. It is in our nature. Despite the horror that the news media report to us every day, examples of people being kind to each other abound. I wish this book was required reading!

Forrest's writing style is warm and humorous, and she isn't afraid to share her own painful experiences. The chapters are short, yet quite moving. I find it makes for great reading whenever I catch myself with a few minutes to spare. I'll read a few pages at bedtime, click off the light, and slip off to sleep feeling peaceful and optimistic. It's the kind of book that you will want to read more than once.

(A Short Course in Kindness is featured in the Turn On to Life! home-study course. The Turn On to Life! Free Newsletter features a new self-help book review each month.)

©2005 Curtis G. Schmitt / TurnOnToLife.com

Fierce Kindness.......2003-09-16

Kindness is not wimpy, not "nice", not for the faint of heart. In this little gem of a book Ms. Forrest shows us time after time that kindness takes courage, strength and ultimately the decision in the moment to reach out to those around us, one by one. "We can save the world, because we are the world," the author tells us. There have been a few titles in my lifetime that I have given to the people in my life who are closest to me. "A Short Course in Kindness" has joined that list. Buy this, read it, and then live it in your day to day life - you won't be sorry.

A short but powerful course in kindness.......2003-06-15

If you desire to have a kinder, gentler, more compassionate soul when dealing with others or when dealing with life itself then this book provides a roadmap to get there. "A Short Course in Kindness" points out the difference between just being nice, which many people are at times, and being truly kind. Kindness is a way of life, a way of being. The author points out techniques to learn to be kind by empathizing with others and as well as techniques to learn how to be kind to yourself (an aspect of kindness that many people overlook). Not just content to explore kindness, she also explores the enemies of kindness and how to keep them at bay. If you want to change yourself and change your world you can't go wrong with this book. "A Short Course in Kindness" is a recommended read.

Welcome and recommended reading.......2003-05-22

A Short Course In Kindness by Margot Silk Forest (Founder of The Healing Woman, a non-profit organization for adults recovering from childhood abuse) is a thoughtful and thought-provoking collection of anecdotes, insights, humor, sadness, and wisdom about what true kindness is, and how to embrace and express it in our daily lives. A gentle and uplifting self-help book offering advice to sowing and reaping the blessings of good deeds, A Short Course In Kindness is welcome and recommended reading.

Antidote for a weary world..........2002-08-07

...I read it cover to cover. I loved it. It's well-crafted and real, and has some new ideas worth considering. It opened my heart and made me feel lighter about life, which was no small task. I got a kick out of the "call to arms" in the last chapter. I'm giving copies to colleagues, friends and family. This one's a gem.

Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Great Marriages

Average customer rating:

I love this book
Surprised by some negative reviews!
good CD
eye opener
One of the best!!!!

Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Great Marriages
Robin L. Smith
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1401384153

Book Description

With a firm grounding in psychology, and an expert speaker and counselor, Dr. Robin, as she is widely known, advises couples on how to best take the vows made in earnest and in innocence to a level where they can be used to build a happy, healthy, satisfying and long-lasting marriage. An example of her approach can be seen in the classic vow to unite in marriage forsaking all others. One partner may read this as a promise not to be adulterous, but another may see it as a promise to be solely and completely devoted to the partner, allowing little room for other existing friendships or bonds with family members. Clear communication about the expectations and realities of each individual and of married life together is the key to a successful marriage. Dr. Robin leads listeners through the process step by step. Her method is appropriate for those approaching their wedding day, or those celebrating an anniversary.

Customer Reviews:

I love this book.......2007-06-26

This is a must read for anyone who's thinking about getting married. This book will covers topics/issues that are crucial in a marriage but rarely discussed before the "I Do's".

Surprised by some negative reviews!.......2007-06-14

Let me start by saying that considering I am an avid reader, this is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review for a book. Also, I'm probably one of few women who isn't an Oprah "fan". I have nothing against her but I have simply not been motivated enough to be a regular viewer of her show. A big motivation for me to write this review has been from the negative ones I have read.

I personally found this to be a very good book about relationships and facing the truth about what marriage is truly about. As a some times head strong woman (which may be putting it mildly), this book actually made me step back and examine the ways I may have sabotoge my relationships in the past. It helped me to think of ways I can improve myself to thus be a better person for my next serious relationship. Therefore, I don't understand the negative reviews about how this was a male bashing book or that it was biased toward women. In fact, this is one of the things I liked most about the book because of its ability to force me to look at myself (which is what a few of my friends enjoyed about the book, also).

Though I am divorced, I still found this to be very helpful and thus don't understand those who bashed Dr. Robin for not being suited to write on the topic. Those comments are equivalent to someone telling me to never get married again because I failed at it the first time. I mean really do people not have the opportunity to learn and grow from their mistakes? The only thing she has done is applied both her experience and profession to help others, which I thank her for.

I disagree with the person who said this book is advocating people to jump ship in bad marriages. I believe if a couple is open minded enough to both acknowledge and learn from the lies they've told themselves prior to entering into their marriage that they can learn how to improve it. However, it is definitely something each person must first admit and improve within themselves first. For that reason I do agree with a few reviews that suggest this book is probably better suited for people prior to entering marriage. This is the reason I gave it only 4 stars - since it seems a bit harder to apply after you've entered marriage (which is probably when you need help most) as oppose to before. I am however going to suggest my potential marriage partner and I read this together, so we can avoid possible mistakes ahead of time to give us a better chance of having a great marriage.

Last, I was HIGHLY disturbed by a reviewer who said she did not see emotional abuse as a reason to end a marriage. I have very strong views about the sanctity of marriage myself and mourned not just the end of my relationship but also the end of the marriage itself. I say this to say until anyone has actually experienced emotional abuse, they simply CANNOT speak to say a person should have to endure a life under these circumstances. Emotional abuse is very real and sometimes just as destructive, if not more, as physical abuse. I speak from experience.

There, I know I've said a mouth full however, I would have been remised if I didn't take the time to at least speak to some of the negative reviews to give a person considering reading this book an opinion from both ends of the spectrum. It's a worthy read - if you're willing to look at yourself and apply it to improve the person you are in order to be a better mate to someone else.

good CD.......2007-06-13

I enjoyed listening to this CD. I really like Robin Smith. She's professional and not gimicky or commercial (unlike Dr. Phil).

eye opener.......2007-06-12

I enjoyed the simple, and solid points the book made. The questions at the end are on my to do list, and I think will be a great learning experience, and save me from "wrong" or at least wrong for me relationships.

One of the best!!!!.......2007-05-23

This was a great book. I was really able to examine myself and the relationships that I have been in. I love this book, and recommend everyone to read it.

Thanks

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