No comments about Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box.

5 comments about The Power of Now: 50 Inspiration Cards.

1. I like pulling a card at the beginning of the day. I focus on that concept throughout the day. The cards are an easy way to work with the concepts vs. carrying around the book.



2. Do not get lost in the words that these cards convey. As Tolle would say;"the words are only pointers, they point to the truth, but are not the truth that they point to." Let each card inspire you to go beyond the words and you will feel your Being that is always there yet obscured by identification with the mind.
   You don't really need these inspiration cards because you are always already free. You are the deep peace, space and love that you search for. That is already the case. If you are not experiencing peace, sapce, love, a lightness in evrything that you do, feel, or say, then allow these cards to take you to the cliff and then let go of the saftey net. You already are!



3. "Acceptance of what is immediately frees you from mind identification and thus reconnects you with Being. Resistance is the mind." - Eckhart Tolle
   
   The profound truths found in the bestselling book The Power of Now has transformed many lives over the last few years. Author Eckhart Tolle experienced a profound, instantaneous awakening and now shares his wisdom with millions across the globe both in person and through his books and audios.
   
   The Power of Now deck is comprised of 52 cards; the words on these cards were chosen by Tolle to convey the power of the book in a few short sentences. You can pick a card at random to contemplate its message, choose one daily and reflect on it throughout the day, or even pick a card once a week for meditation. Once you've worked your way through the whole deck, profound insights will permeate your consciousness, resulting in more joy and light and less trauma in stress. In fact, it's quite possible your entire life will change as a result of digesting and applying the wisdom found in The Power of Now deck.
   
   The 52 cards are divided into five themes:
   
   * Rising above thought
   * The joy of being
   * The power of being present
   * The power of now
   * Portals to the now
   
   The cards feature the same green and yellow color scheme as the book jacket, with the theme printed on one side and a piece of wisdom or experiment on the other. The Power of Now deck is encased in a sturdy flip-top box that opens to the side, like a book. Some examples of these inspirational ideas include:
   
   Try A Little Experiment: Close your eyes and say to yourself, `I wonder what my next thought is going to be.' Then become very alert and wait for the next thought. Be like a cat watching a mouse hole. What thought is going to come out of the mouse hole? Try it now.
   
   Wherever You Are, Be There Totally - If you find you're here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences.
   
   Observe How the Mind labels an unpleasant moment and how this labeling process, this continuous sitting in judgment, creates pain and unhappiness.
   
   Are You Worried? - Do you have many `what if' thoughts? You are identified with your mind, which is projecting itself into an imaginary future situation and creating fear. There is no way that you can cope with such a situation, because it doesn't exist. It's a mental phantom.
   
   On a personal note, I have found the profound yet simple wisdom of The Power of Now to be utterly transforming. The insights found in the book and in this deck lift burdens, promotes clarity, and results in peace. Tolle has provided amazing tools to transform your life into one of grace, ease, and lightness. I know it's been true for me, as it has for millions of people worldwide.
   
   (To see 3 card images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at http://JanetBoyer.com)



4. I love Eckhart Tolle's work, his profound messages, and how much of a positive difference they have made in my life. Any time I pick a card from this beautiful deck, it reminds me of the peace and stillness I can have when I am completely living in the moment. Each card brings a wonderful message that is far more than simple inspiration, they are the tools to help you strengthen your inner transformation so that you CAN attain a level of inner peace, and thus be able to share it with others in your personal relationships, you career, your home, thereby making a genuine difference in our world.
   Highly recommended for people on the go who could always use the profound wisdom Eckhart Tolle brings us all.
   
   Barbara Rose, Ph.D. author of Know Yourself: A Woman's Guide to Wholeness, Radiance & Supreme Confidence and Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE



5. This book points to so much truth it is amazing.
   I think it is well written and written in a way that makes what is very philosophical easy to understand.His message is so simple yet so profound.
   I have read many, many books on spirituality and the teachings of the great teachers and none has hit home as much as this.
   I think this book could easily guide someone to a life changing way of Being. It has made me want to see the world in a whole new light. I feel enlightened just writing this!!!
   I highly recommend it.

3 comments about Halloween Romantic Art and Customs of Yesteryear.

1. Not quite as good as her second book: "Halloween Merrymaking," but still absolutely beautiful. The layouts and pictures of the Victoriana are crisp, clear and totally enchanting. There's only so much you can do with virtually the same poems and romantic prophesies, but who cares?



2. When I first got this book, I flipped through it and thought,"hey,where's the 'wish list' postcards(Winsch,etc.)?". After I started reading it I realised that the postcards shown were perfect in illustrating the subject matter in each chapter. Also, the "reason" for some of the unusual images (cabbage people, etc.) I had seen on Halloween postcards became clear. A fun and informative book.



3. Halloween in the United States wasn't always a children's trick-or-treat holiday. In the beginning of the 20th century Halloween was a time when young adults peered into the murky haze of things to come and used all manner of methods to try to prophesy their romantic futures. Parties were the rage where bobbing for apples wasn't just a game but a chance to search the omens found in apple seeds and peels. Auguries in candle flames, in pumpkins, seeds, nuts and mirrors all were employed by the curious. This wonderful book uses the illustrations of full-color vintage postcards that were the rage in the early 1900s to show the many delightful and quaint oracles that were consulted. It includes numerous Halloween poems and party ideas from a bygone era, even some super costume ideas that could be used today to stunning effect for a nostalgic Halloween celebration. The text is filled with detailed history about the customs of yesteryear and the abundant appeal of the postcard images, pictures of antique table favors and invitations is sure to delight. Do not miss out on this book if you love Halloween. It contains a forgotten and very charming aspect of Halloween and Americana that I found very enjoyable and I think you will, too.

5 comments about Antique Advertising Postcards in Full Color: 24 Ready-to-Mail Postcards from the Bella C. Landauer Collection (Card Books).

1. The postcards are wonderful. I have a difficult time trying to take them out without messing up the others one.



2. If you cannot afford the antique originals and you really want to know what your grandfathers neat old post cards looked like, then this is the book for you.



3. The artwork is unique. The only thing to bother me was the cards had to be torn out. I knew this when I purchased them, but didn't think it'd make that big of a difference to me. It does.



4. If you like Victorian ephemera, this is the book of postcards you should buy. A very high quality product like most of the offerings from Dover. The postcards are beautiful and interesting.



5. These reproductions of very old postcards from the Landauer Collection are great fun and might have gone UNdiscovered by me were it not for several family members who have become fascinated in A.T.C.s: 2 1/2" X 3 1/2/" Artist Trading Cards. The images are perfect to "remodel" and use for concocting your own cards /OR/ collages.
   
   PLUS, you don't have to sacrifice the actual card but can copy on lighter weight Kodak paper to cut into small images. The postcards can then be used as intended for correspondence with lucky individuals who perhaps share your taste in the unusual & colorful objects used in turn-of-the-century advertising. You may find some you can't resist for your own amusement - to decorate a window sill, for example - OR - ?
   
   The books of 24 cards (each) make interesting gifts - and even better, you can "pair" with "The Antique Advertising Paper Dolls" (isbn: # 0486240452). The cover of that collection would be a wonderful decoration for your own ALBUM of A.T.C.s. You can see how serendipitous this hobby becomes >> from postcards to trading cards to paper dolls. Reviewer mcHAIKU is pleased that each of these has an appeal even for today's teens who try to appear sophisticated/COOL yet want for themselves a slice of someone else's nostalgia!

3 comments about The Golden Age of Postcards Early 1900s (Identification & Values (Collector Books)).

1. All was as described. Very good service. The only minor problem was the length of delivery time. Order placed Jan 29, 2010, received Feb 27, 2010.



2. I both collect and sell postcard (just a beginner). The best part about this book are the illustrations--just wonderful. I wish there was more text is the only complaint I can think of.



3. Collecting post cards has been a beloved hobby and pastime from the very beginning of the American postal system and their 19th century introduction to an eager public. THE GOLDEN AGE OF POSTCARD'S identification and values for postcards from the early 1900s will prove an invaluable pick for any interested in pricing or acquiring such postcards, and is a recommendation for any library strong in collector's price guides. Color photos of cards are arranged by season and provide quick look-ups of prices and makers.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

3 comments about Erotic French Postcards.

1. This book is simply exquisite! I have problems finding the right way to define it. It is a relatively large collection of French Postcards, taken between 1902 and 1937; postcards that will take your mind to a more innocent time, where, despite the innocence, people were craving nudes as much (maybe even more) than we do today! It is amazing to see how, despite the fact that many of the criteria to judge female beauty have been redefined again and again with each passing decade, there is some ethereal beauty, some images that will attract the eye of men and women on any era.
   
   The book itself is somewhat small in size, but that is not a problem, as in any case, postcards were not larger than the book itself to start with. It contains ninety eight pictures and a few short stories and the introduction. If you are like me, you bought the book for the vintage nude photography, and not for the ten or so pages printed with short stories about postcards. Nevertheless, I would say, all but the last story are rather interesting, and the introduction itself may shed some light on things you didn't know about French Postcards (at least it did for me).
   
   All and all, it's worth every penny I paid for it!



2. I have collected French Postcards for over twenty years. I have picked up information about these cards through various postcard dealers, other collectors and a few publications on the matter. This book has some interesting details and information regarding the models, the photographers and the postcard industry. It is really a nice quality publication with a lot of thought and detail put into it. Although there are photos, I feel it is a little light on examples since there are hundreds of images to pick from.



3. This is as much fun for the ladies as it is for me. My wife loved the costuming and sets and commented that the model's shapes were natural, not the artifical centerfold type. The book is anything but pornographic, instead a celebration of a certain time in history.

No comments about The Art of Star Wars Comics: 100 Collectible Postcards.

5 comments about A Postcard Memoir.

1. If you've never read a memoir before, or you have but found it boring, you are in for a pleasant surprise.
   
   Sutin creates short (usually one page) vignettes of his life, alternating these with some of the most unique postcards you'll ever see. If you think memoir means boring autobiography, you'll rethink that after reading this book. Not only will this book give you insight into Sutin's life, but you may just be able to see yours more clearly too.



2. Sutin has great ideas for books. I've now read four of his books, and finished all but this one because the topics were so good -- Buddhism in America, biographies of Aliester Crowley and Philip Dick, and this one, the postcard memoir, should have been a terrific book and I can't really see why it's not, except in all this time i've never warmed to Sutin as a writer, and can't quite figure out why.
   
   This is a great book to get just because it's a great idea for a book, realized pretty well. Searching for one's lost family in the pile of crap that mounts up at the feet of the angel of History is another version of Dick's I-Ching driven narratives, or other books written with the Tarot or the Ouija board as coauthor. Whether you regard this as purely a chance operation or an embrace of synchronicity will have a lot to do with the outcome. I guess I wish Sutin had gotten more into the game of the thing than he did, but he had a memoir to get off his chest, and a family story, and kids of Holocaust survivors are always lugging that extra ton of inherited survivor guilt and whatnot: it makes them difficult, as friends. I have the same difficulties with Sebald. If you like Rings of Saturn, i'm pretty sure you'll like Sutin's memoir.
   
   Most people witll find this small caveat pointless, and will enjoy this book for its multiple virtues. Highly recommended.



3. Using the visual medium of postcards coupled with creativity and philosophy and memoir of Lawrence Sutin's words gives this work life, punch and texture. It's a great work to spur your own creativity - and to satisfy the voyeuristic urge in all of us. I wish there were more truly original pieces of literature like this.



4. Larry has an interesting life problem -- he's the son of Holocaust survivors. His mom and dad met behind enemy lines in Poland, hiding from the Nazis -- a remarkable story he details in his tribute to their experience, Jack and Rochelle. He reveres and loves his parents, but their experience has had the effect of throwing his life into a sort of unheroic (by comparison) shadow.

   Yet he has soldiered on. Larry is a gnostic by nature. By this I mean to say that Larry is, as near as I can tell, very brilliant, with a special knack for tackling arcane topics.

   He wrote a celebrated analysis of speculative fiction writer Philip K. Dick a decade ago , and has followed that up with something even more Byzantine, a full-fledged biography of Aleister Crowley (Do What Thou Wilt, A Life of Aleister Crowley.

   But in the meantime, he took time to create a perfectly wonderful mini-autobiography called A Postcard Memoir. It is a series of portraits from his life, thumbnails of people who have touched him, along with a few philosophical observations. The "gimmick" or hook that these 400-word wonders hang on is that each is accompanied by an antique picture postcard, which Graywolf Press has lovingly reproduced.

   It is a gimmick which works smashingly. First, it is a natural one -- Larry collects postcards, and uses favorite cards as reverie objects, staring into them until the faces and places he doesn't know and hasn't visited spur a personal association inside him. A postcard labeled "Smartly Dressed Young Man" depicts "a young man of angular but easy good looks, earnestness and wit, [and] a taste for faintly wicked pranks." The picture bears an eerie resemblance to Larry's friend Bob, who can be charged with those same defects.

   So Larry's essay describes his friendship with Bob, how they met as young writers (though "his subject matter was the borderlines of clarity and mine the chasm of chaos") concluding with the realization that "the best friends of my life were people who would let me be in their company and somewhat copy them."

   In one essaylet after another, Sutin is unstintingly honest about what he takes to be his own defects -- an obscurity of thought, a painful bashfulness, and a feeling of not being quite right for this world -- feelings alien to all but himself.

   I have only scratched the surface of his concerns. He writes about his parents, lost loves, his beloved children, his wife Mab, who from these writings appears to have been FedExed to Larry overnight from heaven, about jobs and opportunities, places that are real, and places that exist only in dreams.

   It is a book of tremendous intimacy because we get to look at Larry's life in all its pimply everydayness -- but it is magical, too, because the pictures are so beautiful, and transport us into our own unspoken memoirs. It's a wonderful gift from a talented writer.




5. I can't believe Lawrence Sutin has written another book - and this one is even better than the last two. What a fascinating way to structure the story of his life - by using favorite postcards that inspire memories of days gone by. I loved his book about Phillip K Dick - and the one he wrote with his parents, about their Holocaust experiences, is must-read stuff. But this one is the best yet - by turns fanciful, touching and downright funny. Bravo!

No comments about Six Picasso Postcards (Small-Format Card Books).

5 comments about Collector's Guide to Post Cards.

1. Collectors Guide To Post Cards/ Jane Wood.
   
   The postcards in this book are hard to see as they are not in color and instead are in shades of gray. I'm very disappointed and would not have purchased this book if I had seen it in a store.



2. Absolutely useless. Waste of money. Not worthy of its description. This is NOT A REFERENCE BOOK. This is a (poor) photographic journal of a collection, with speculative values based purely on opinion.



3. Horrible prints, can hardly see details, blury pictures in black and white (a very few colored). Set up is okay, but again, pictures are horrible and crammed into the page. A waste of money!



4. The title "Collector's Guide..." led me to believe that there would be informational text about dating, printing techniques, and other descriptive information about post cards. The book is entirely illustrations of post cards in various categories and their prices...fine for long-time collectors, but useless for someone seeking historical information.



5. This reference book for postcard collectors is entirely given over to images of the cards themselves, with no history, grading guide, or other information. That being said, it has thousands of photos of various kinds of postcards, well organized by subject (but I wish the reproduction were clearer). The prices are dated, and do not reflect the impact that Ebay, Amazon, and other online auction houses have had on postcard availability. All in all it's a nice pictorial reference, but not a must-have.