1 comments about You Can Always Get What You Want.

1. I have found this book to be motivational, inspiring, and very practical.

   Aftert practicing some of the ideas, I have achieved success at work, in my social life as well as personal relationships.

   Now I have a better spirital understanding which allows me to relax and remain calm under stressful situations.

   Thank you Phil.

5 comments about Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book.

1. It tells us secrets about Jenny never evealed before.It's a little costly but well worth it.



2. I found the book to be a great information resource into her life and career start. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the out of order details, found to much jumping forward then back, or back then forward, but other than that, I thought is was a great book and I still love jenny in a big way, she is the greatest.



3. The title should tell it all: Jen X. It should read Jen O because she is a negative interger. Take away those breasts, and she is just another annoying self serving celebrity with little talent. This book is a must read for airheads, retards, mutants and crackheads. Enjoy!



4. When my boyfriend gave me this book as a joke for my birthday, I didn't find it very amusing! You see, up to this point, I was one of the hopefully few "Jenny-haters" out there. But I decided to give the book the benefit of the doubt and give it a whirl, and I have to say that I was more than just pleasently surprised! Jenny McCarthy is not only very down-to-earth, but she's witty, hilarious, and quite frankly...normal! It was so refreshing to read that she isn't perfect after all - that she had acne, and stretch marks, and bad hair days, and bozo boyfriends. This book flys by, and I really didn't want to put it down. I am so glad I decided to read this book, not only because it was 100% entertainment, but because it gave me a chance to meet the "real" Jenny McCarthy. I loved it!



5. I think the book was one of the greatest books i have ever read. i could realate so much to her. she is my like idol and i was so happy when i found out she had a book coming out. i bought it the very first day i saw it at the mall. one day i hope i can meet her but i know that will never happen but all in all the book was really good~! i think everyone needs to buy this book and see just how much she is like anyone of us!!! well if your out there jenny mccarthy i just wanna say hi and maybe i will be lucky enough to see you one day! i love you! you are so cool! well people i have said enough, now you need to go get the book that i am raving about!please buy it! it will make me happy! well cya people! hope you read this jenny!!!! from: Your biggest fan in the world!!!!jenny h

3 comments about Story of a Soul.

1. In terms of her ability to maneuver words in the written form, Saint Therese of Lisieux was not as established as other writers such as St. Augustine or Thomas Merton. For this trait, she often apologizes in her writing. However, her insight in developing a relationship with Jesus and her devotion to that relationship make a profound statement. Even in the littlest of sacrifices, she shows herself growing closer to Jesus. The message outweighs the writing style in terms of importance.
   
   The product of three separate journals St. Therese kept during her short life, the book can be divided into these sections: The story of her life, the letter written to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, and the notebook written for Rev. Mother Marie de Gonzague. While each of these writing tasks were given as an assigned task, they had a greater purpose and may have been the most important work of St. Therese's life. Even at a very young age, St. Therese showed strong devotion to the Lord. The story of her life makes up the greatest percentage of the book. Despite the death of her mother at a young age, St. Therese seemed happy and her devotion led her to pursue a devotional life at an unusually young age.
   
   In her short life, St. Therese saw the unbelievable and was touched by the hand of God. She showed her devotion even in the smallest of sacrifices. Still I believe that nothing is more touching than the initial pages of the book. It is perhaps one of the best explanations of God's love.



2. This is a wonderful book! It's St. Theresa's own story of her childhood, written at the request of her sister who was the Mother Superior of her Carmelite Monastery at the time. She tells about her mischievous activities as a charming little girl in the midst of her extraordinarily loving family. A most engaging story.



3. This is a lovely book by 'the greatest saint of modern times.' read any chapter and you will see the heart of Catholicism. You will learn catholic spirituality and the reason why Therese was a saint. Some men have said they are improved every time they read this book. It is true. Besides the Eucharist itself, St. Therese is the saint that drew me into the Church. Her Little Way gives me hope that perhaps we all have a chance of getting to heaven.

No comments about Bury My Heart in Bermondsey.

No comments about I Think There's Another Terrorist in My Soup.

5 comments about Unzipped.

1. I picked this book up for the same reason that I pick up a Cosmo at the grocery store checkout every once in a while -- to get a flavor for what hip young women supposedly think about relationships and sex. I was not disappointed . . . at least at first.

   I zipped through the first 100 or so pages, enthralled by the insidious, gossipy quality of it all. The wry humor was initially amusing but eventually began to wear on me. I think maybe it was just too much of something best imbibed in small portions. For example, I love "Seinfeld" but don't think I would be able to stand a feature-length movie starring those characters.

   I think what soured me on the book in the end was the realization that I really didn't LIKE any of the characters. The women were all neurotic, self-obsessed, and shallow. The guys actually come off much better (which I DO NOT think was the author's intention) because they seem comfortable with who they are.

   As a thirtyish guy who is suddenly "out there" after a failed ten-year marriage, I found this depiction of single life depressing. While I realize that it was at least partly fiction and probably intended as satire, its depiction of the relationship games that singles play (especially women) made me want to flee to a monastery.




2. An interesting non-fiction book on "the extraordinary sex lives of ordinary people".

   Perhaps it's the openness in our society now, but I've failed to see what was so "extraordinary" about the sex lives of the people in the book.

   Take Marie, a hairdresser who encouraged her husband to look for sex with others during her pregnancy, albeit jokingly, and got what she wanted. It is in my opinion that such things are happening all around us and that there is nothing shocking or alarming to it.

   Guys and girls looking for a partner but at the same time sleeping around, women trying to find a husband and going through relationships that fail one after another; these are all nothing 'extraordinary'. I would think that the 'e' word was used with injustice for this book.

   The main theme of the book is not about sex, but the role of it and how sex changes a relationship and the dating game.

   I got tired of the book after awhile and there is nothing "funny" in it, as the backcover claimed. It is, however, fast moving but not an easy read.

   Read this to help you get to sleep.




3. Reading Unzipped is like following someone around for awhile and just observing their life. It's written in a Helen Fielding/Brigit Jones type format although not as funny but interesting just the same. It's basically a bunch of girlfriends, some married some not talking about sex or lack there of. It's honest and sometimes a bit shocking,(as with main character Courtney's friend who leaves her husband to become a slave in the S & M culture) It's a very easy, fun read.



4. This book is funny and charming and as I was reading, it seemedobvious that Courtney Weaver was the model for Carrie in HBO's series"Sex and The City." If you enjoy that show, you will enjoy this book immensely. Weaver writes in a breezy, conversational style that is light and easy to read. The book isn't about sex, per se, although there are many references to it, but about relationships and being single in your 30's. Very enjoyable.



5. Utterly contemporary, intelligent and witty, Courtney Weaver's "Unzipped" is a delicious page-turner. Sex and mating rituals are explored with a clear, ironic eye, and though she boldly mines her friends' private lives, I never had the feeling she was exploiting them. As she reports from the front about what it's like to be a single woman in today's confusing world, she comes across as strong yet vulnerable, charming and good-humored. She is also pitiless and self-deprecating in chronicling her own neuroses, which makes her all the more endearing. Telephone dispatches from her diverse friends, from San Francisco to New York to London, were endlessly fascinating installments of their latest dramas. I've already given the book to two of my girlfriends and they also enjoyed it enormously. Weaver's fresh, insightful voice made me eager to read a follow-up.

5 comments about Maggie's American Dream.

1. I read this book for a college class this past semester and was truely amazed at how well this book was written. This book is basically broken down into three parts, all equally intersesting. The first part is based in Maggies story, her life, struggles and amazing accomplishments. The second part is all about the author, James, who is also Maggies son. The story of "Maggie's American Dream" is an excellent representation of a family that went through tough times and prevailed through a combination of church, education as well as being "taught and strongly encouraged to develop the needed social skills and personal controls." Maggie raises her family during a time when it was difficult to be a black person in America. Maggie was ridiculed and pushed away from any opportunities simply because of the color of her skin. Maggie became a wonderful mother, which I feel is the most important part of this story. Her son James tells the stories of how he was raised. These are stories of a mother that attended all sporting events, assisting her children in becoming talented at several different activities ranging from playing the piano to playing sports. Maggie was always there for her family. She taught them right from wrong as well as a strong sense of that "never give up" attitude. These children continue to strive to do their best in anything they did, even during a time when they were held back from doing just that. This is an example of how a family can make it through most adversities as long as they all stick together and work towards their goals and dreams.
   
   Wonderful book Mr. Comer and thank you for opening my eyes to a great story.



2. Comer tells the story of his family by focusing on the remarkable life of his mother, Maggie Comer, whose determination helped her survive poverty and segregation in the South and discrimination in the North to raise of family of successful children. The first half of the book is told in Maggie's own words. The second half is in Comer's. An excellent example of the broader social migration of black families from the South to the North following Reconstruction.



3. I did a research study on American Dream in America during the 20s-30s decade. I've read a lot of books concerning the subject; literary works, forming the main portion of my resources. These ranged from Fitzgerald's 'Great Gatzby' to Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath', from Dreiser's 'An American Tragedy' to Lewis's 'Main Street'. In addition to these quite old literary works, I collected statistical, analytical information about the particular decades, to verify what I've acquired from the novels. It was a hard study, but I managed to write a reasonably concise thesis, with the help of not the sources I listed, but with this book, 'Maggie's American Dream' instead. Why?

   Almost all of the books I've read were productions of imagination. Even Dreiser, who was inspired from a real account, did not stick to facts in his book, but altered them to create a fiction. However, 'Maggie's American Dream' is a true story. It is told from James Comer's point of view, in a very poetical fashion. The second part of the book is his mother's story, which is again expressed by James. The book also contains a nice section of pictures of the Comer family, which are quite interesting after reading about the family.

   James P. Comer had a very hard childhood, as it could be expected during the years of never-ending racism issues. Comer beautifully expresses how they managed to stand tall, and get their share in the competition of living. Mr. Comer is now working as a psychiatrist in New Haven, after having completed his doctoral work in Yale University. It is a dream that is realised, indeed.

   This book will provide you with a lot of insights about the lives of black families, American societal norms, family relations during the 20s and 30s, which you cannot find easily in any other source this clearly and truely.




4. What a wonderful book. Very easy to read with lots of short chapters so that even the busiest of us can get through it quickly. And of course Maggie and her family are so real that you find you can't put the book down...you just have to find out what happens to them all next.
   It's a great story, and worth reading from that angle alone. But all the way through this book also gives you plenty to ponder - whether you are someone with an interest in education (and doesn't that include all parents?), someone who wishes that all people had an equal opportunity to realise their potential, or someone who really wants to know what life is like for others from different backgrounds and countries. The author also inspires us to think about how we can make a difference, in some small way, wherever and whoever we are.



5. This book I have read is the best book I have ever read. It has inspired me by not being mad ever time someone gets in my face and be racis toward me. I really like this aurthor he is a very insperational writter. I would tell everbody who is going through something very hard, reconmemd this book to any and every one

No comments about Terrible Liar A.

No comments about The Triumph of Narrative (Mossey Lecture Series).

5 comments about Riders on the Storm: My Life With Jim Morrison and the Doors.

1. This was an interesting book. Interesting because Jim Morrison was an interesting person. What's sad is that it seems that John Densmore had a great deal of respect for the talents of Jim along with a great deal of jealousy. So many parts of the book were John talking about HIS great drumming and how he and Robby and Ray were so "Doors oriented" and Jim wanted nothing more than to drink and ruin their reputation. I love the Doors. Talents like that are few and far between lately. It's sad to me that John Densmore still has so much resentment toward Jim Morrison. If not for The Lizard King there would have been no Doors. If not for Jim Morrison even now, 37 years after his death, the Doors would be unknowns from the 60's. He was controversial, he was gifted and very intriguing. I like John Densmore but he needs to get over it. Jim Morrison is the reason that everyone else is receiving royalties now....almost four decades later. Be thankful that he was as controversial as he was!



2. First off I love The Doors, any account of them I can get my grasp on, every album, the poetry of Jim Morrison, biographies gets me off.
   
   But John Densmore's account is confusing.
   I can't tell if I care enough about the Door's through his eyes. He insults Jim, makes himself the protagonist of "The Doors" drama, tells us about his wet dreams, and clearly shows Jim Morrisson as a callow, shy, unprofessional, whereas he was the almighty musician. First off Drummers in any Band, get replaced more than any other instrument and band member and where does John Densmore get off that he is behind the genius of the Doors and was a pillar to the slow demise of the band.
   Clearly he is Jealous of the legacy Jim left behind and tried to make his own with this book.
   The tone is confusing and will at some point make the reader go wtf?
   
   Also
   Anyone who is anyone cannot remember the sixties. Densmore was on Acid, Shrooms, and Weed and he admits to it. Who could remember every detail of interaction with people 30 years later? He tells us how Morrison swallowed a Quarter and he calls him a hick.
   
   It was a painful read, it has a 5th grade reading level.
   I finished it because it got me closer to the genius of Morrison.



3. This is a good read for all Doors fans. Some unseen photos of the band and the gorgeous Jim Morrison. I have read many books on The Doors and this gives a different perspective on their relationship and life in LA in the sixties.



4. Excellent work by Densmore in this candid biography. You not only gets under the skin of the author, but also gets an excellent account of the day-to-day ups and downs of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Densmore is as good a writer as he is a drummer. An important document that you can't do without, if you're into the life and times of The Doors.



5. I feel sorry for John Densmore. Despite having been a rock star, the member of what was one of the world's top half dozen rock groups, with all the groupies and money and glamor that that entailed, he remains at this book's writing phenomenally insecure - a nebbish who never found himself despite immersing himself in the California human potential culture purported to deliver exactly that.
   
   He's insecure about girls, insecure about who's his friend, insecure about his drab middle-class roots, insecure about his life prospects and failure to have accomplished much of anything until he became part of the Doors. Some of the introspection in here is so bare and revealing it's almost embarrassing to read. The picture of this naïve Everyman locked into a creative foursome with Jim Morrison, the quintessential dangerous and destructive rock star, is priceless.
   
   America was transiting from harmless British Invasion into superficially benign Flower Power, but Morrison meanwhile was wearing black, singing about sex and death, leading concerts that were like dark seances with somber endings, and challenging bandmates and audiences alike to confront their darker selves and deeper fears. He scared the hell out of the likes of John Densmore.
   
   Morrison, as we know from organist Ray Manzarek's book "Light My Fire", once demanded that Densmore be kicked out of the group; he was just too neurotic and got on Morrison's nerves. Densmore found Morrison, particularly as his alcoholism and erratic behavior grew, so disturbing that Densmore had chronic skin rashes from the stress.
   
   Densmore represents a certain sad byway of that era - people whose pursuit of peace and love, meditation and marijuana, sought to cover or compensate for intense feelings of inadequacy. Many young people who haven't quite found their way in life can feel lost in this way. Marijuana seducing them into compulsive introspection certainly couldn't have helped much. But accomplishing something - like, say, being a pretty fine jazz-rock drummer as Densmore was and putting out a unique body of work like the Doors' music - ought to have helped someone get past that. Densmore doesn't seem to have done so, remaining both lost and searching well into middle-age, and failing to see that maturity required moving beyond that. (Although later chapters touching on his men's movement involvement with Robert Bly suggest that perhaps he was getting a clue about this.)
   
   Densmore's insecurity notwithstanding, this is still a worthwhile book. His painful honesty renders his memoir less varnished than Manzarek's and occasionally more convincing. Densmore gets us a little closer to what really happened with Morrison's death. Most signs point to an accidental heroin overdose, with the heroin provided by girlfriend Pam Courson, who later OD'ed herself, and who was being pursued by a French count who also used and also died of it. Densmore also gets us closer than Manzarek to the tragic sense Morrison projected and held of himself, that he told people he didn't think he'd live beyond youth, that he started every day rebelling against the universe before breakfast. Densmore found playing live behind him "intoxicating ... my new religion," but saw what a price Morrison paid for the edge-living that fed his fire, too brightly and too quickly consumed. A Doors concert, Densmore says, left "everyone in attendance ... cleansed - security guards included. What a show. A truly religious experience. Much better than church. Almost as good as sex! Better! A communion with twenty thousand people."
   
   Densmore loved him as well as fearing him; some passages of the book are written as the letters Densmore would be writing him, if he could. Densmore finds common themes in Morrison's self-destruction and the suicide of Densmore's own mentally ill brother, including his own survivor's guilt and wondering if he could have done more to have saved either - concluding, ultimately, that no, he couldn't. Morrison in a later age might have gone through rehab, but at that time his associates had no clue about what he was doing or how to deal with it. A pity. There have been many dead rock musicians but few took so much potential with them when they went.