5 comments about Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible: Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God.

1. Excellent book! It was very encouraging to see how even the "best girls" in the bible made mistakes, overcame them, and how God loved them and helped them through their mistakes. Loved it!



2. I always get a lot out of Higgs' materials. Her wit and wisdom (thru her own Bad Girl experience) never fail to show me new ways to grow in my faith.



3. If you've read the other books in this series, you might understand where I'm coming from... this book goes into such detail, over chapters of the lives of 4 women - where in her other Bad Girl Books it's a new woman each chapter.
   B/c I only met and learned about 4 main women, I didn't enjoy it as much, I reached the point where I was like "when will we be done with Sarah." It may have been immaturity, but I loved meeting more women, and seeing more modern stories that I can relate to!



4. Oh, I cannot stress how WONDERFUL this book is...I am not a 'reader' I tend to find books, read a couple chapters, and then put them down...usually never finishing them...but I COULD NOT put this one down. It was GREAT! God really spoke to me through this book...it was humorous, serious, remarkably enlightening, and easily the best book (besides the BIBLE) I have read! I HIGHLY recommend this book!
   
   5 STARS from me!



5. I actually picked up all three of the "Bad Girls of the Bible" books at once, having never heard of them before, and decided to start with the "Slightly Bad" girls and work my way up. First of all, I love the subtitle of this particular installment--"Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God". That really hit me where it hurts, if you catch my drift. I also enjoyed learning more about Sarai/Sarah, Hagar, Leah, and Rachel and seriously believe that this book would be great for new Christian women, while to someone who has studied many different facets of Christianity and the Bible for most of her life, it's pretty much just an easy read that may or may not bring up some great new things to think about.
   
   My main complaint with this book was what I would call the "filler stuff"--I feel as if there were way too many direct quotes from Mrs. Higgs sources. I really think she could have re-worded a lot of the quotes and made them more her own. It also bothered me that she repeated whole verses or parts of verses from numerous different versions of the Bible. Although I believe the King James to be the "best" translation, I am not averse to *all* other translations...still, it got to be almost confusing, especially when she was quoting certain verses from three or four different versions and those versions were saying some VERY different things. She really should have picked one translation and stuck with it.
   
   My favorite part of the whole book? The comparison between contemporary storylines and Biblical stories! Mrs Higgs left me wanting to learn more, especially about Sarah's and Leah's contemporary characters. Overall, I'm glad that I picked this up because I do feel as if I may have learned a little bit from it, and even that little bit is something. I'm also looking forward to reading the other two books in the "series".

5 comments about A Small Place.

1. If you expect a well-reasoned and persuasive essay, look elsewhere. At best, this is the mindless rantings of somebody who's been through a lot and really needs to vent. The only thing she was able to persuade me by the end of the book was that I was an evil person.
   The book is divided into several chapters. The format is fairly simple: in every chapter, Jamaica Kincaid hates on a different group of people. In the first chapter, she rants about tourists. In the second chapter, she rants about British people. If she focused on one group of people, her argument might make sense, but when she focuses on them all it becomes clear that she just hates everybody. Because she writes the entire book in second person, every insult is directed straight at the reader. I left the book feeling extremely guilty, while at the same time not exactly sure what I had done wrong.



2. Published in 1988 Kincaid's "A Small Place" is an unflinchingly angry portrayal of post-colonial, post-slavery life on the island of Antigua. To put it simply: Kincaid is as mad as hell, and she's not going to take it anymore. If you're white and can shelve your defensiveness for a moment this book is actually really enjoyable, it's written in first person and directed at "you," the British colonizer and/or the fat white tourist. Kincaid's sense of humor is wonderfully dark, and there are a lot of moments of humor if you keep an open mind. Still, at the heart of the matter is the story of Antigua's decay, left to rot by the British colonizers, with a population that doesn't vote openly corrupt officials out of office. She openly points out the irony of the celebration of emancipation alongside the valorization of the Hotel Training School, which teaches the residents of the island to be servants. In the end Kincaid concludes that no one is to blame, that after slavery the masters are no longer evil and the slaves are no longer "noble," but that everyone is merely human. She problematizes the matter, but offers no solutions, which might irritate those concrete sequentials among us. Also, she refers to Columbus, and the explorers in general, so adored in American culture, as "human rubbish" on multiple occasions. You might not agree with Kincaid, but this is one topic someone should be angry about, and her unapologetic narrative is about as honest as you can get.



3. I had to read this book for a Multicultural Literature class at my Uni, and, far from being informative, all it did was fill with me a contempt of my own. I am not a racist by any means, but when confronted with such a bitter, snide voice as the one Kincaid displays, I find myself unconsciously getting defensive. When she says, "you are a tourist; you are ugly," I find myself saying, "Fine, I'll keep my money and let you trade with seashells and beads." Kincaid is a master of the self-fulfilling prophecy: she says Antiguans are so oppressed and so downtrodden and so angry, and rather than doing anything to help it, she's exacerbating it by using such a bitter, over-the-top voice.
   
   Other reviewers have stated that the vision of Antigua portrayed is a warped and extremely limited one, biased by Kincaid's apparent small mindedness, and I must confess that I'm glad to hear that. To think that the entire island is solely occupied by bitter people who imagine themselves to be ex-slaves would make me steer clear of the area any time I go on vacation.
   
   Because, yes, I am a tourist. And no, being a tourist does not automatically make anyone ugly, despite what Kincaid's bitter rant might say.



4. A major failing of this essay, which claims to be non-fiction, is Kincaid's sole reliance on her own memories of Antigua. As an eye-witness, Kincaid has the chance to provide a unique perspective on the issues of slavery, corruption, tourism, colonialism, and SIDS (small island developing states). Yet, she ruins this chance, in my opinion, with her complete disregard of any perspective other than her own.
   
   A Small Place presents a biased and incomplete account of many of the issues facing Antigua and other islands in the Caribbean. Some of Kincaid's criticisms are certainly valid; however, others have been blown completely out of proportion. If one really wishes to know the history of Antigua and to understand the lingering consequences of colonialism, I suggest looking elsewhere.
   
   What this book lacks in factual information, it does not make up for with a strong emotional appeal. Kincaid's story line is incomplete and unengaging. She repeatedly wanders from topic to topic and back again, giving no sense of what is most important or relevant. Additionally, whatever sympathy she may gain from the Western reader is repeatedly lost with her hateful generalizations.
   
   I am sorry that I have to write such a negative review of this book. I believe that it is important for people in the West to understand the plight of developing countries, especially SIDS. However, I do not believe that A Small Place is at all helpful in promoting this dialogue.
   
   It is important to understand the past. And I can sympathize with Kincaid's intense hatred of those who have and continue to oppress "her people". However, I think this text is short-sighted in its desire for change. After repeatedly criticizing tourists for their greed and laziness, does she really expect them to want to understand Antiguan society? I see the hatred and dualism expressed in A Small Place as a major obstacle in achieving a better tomorrow.



5. Antigua, an awe-inspiring vacation spot for Europeans and North Americans, takes on a different aura when discussed by native Jamaica Kincaid. Ms. Kincaid describes how the Antiguans feel about the tourists who visit: ugly people. Ugly because they invaded, then brought slaves to work for them so they could become rich while ignoring the needs of those who made them wealthy. Ugly because of what they've done to the island and the people who live there. Jamaica talks about the corrupt government and the hand that North Americans, British, Syrians and Lebanese play in that corruption. She describes how England paved the roads the Queen of England would travel when she visited, but left everything else in poor condition. Ms. Kincaid also mentions the drug dealers that the government ignores and those who build ugly condos for the wealthy and rent business space to the government who should be building their own space.
   
   In a very few pages, Jamaica Kincaid says what a lot of former slaves would like to say but are perhaps too politically correct to utter. She does the job for us. Ms. Kincaid does not mince her words when it comes to what the British Empire did to the people of Antigua and the world for that matter. Frequently, I found myself wanting to stand up and cheer as I read her words of disgust and anger. While Ms. Kincaid is specifically speaking of Antigua, her words describe the slave trade and the destruction and poverty left in the wake of it no matter what country. It is well worth reading - more than once.
   
   Reviewed by alice Holman
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

5 comments about The Writing Life.

1. This book is a gem - the best book I have yet had the privilege of reading about the craft of writing. When finished, you are left with a sense of many aspects of being a writer - the mystery, the satisfaction, the needed humility, the sublimity... and most of all, the work and the waiting.
   
   Though it may seem at times that Dillard makes the craft of writing too ethereal, too abstract, this is counterbalanced by austere sensibility. Her voice, though exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, is surprisingly conversational. One feels as though she is not writing artificially.
   
   My favorite quote from The Writing Life has to be, "Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case" (68). Though Dillard does not write from a noticeably Christian perspective, this rings true for me in so many ways, including spiritually. She says, "Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed?" (72).
   
   And just when you think she is becoming too sublime, she says something like, "It is no less difficult to write sentences in a recipe than sentences in Moby-Dick. So you might as well write Moby-Dick" (71). She has an enviable power to say things in simple, precise, but imaginative terms. Her analogies are strong and brilliant - biting at one moment, dazzling at the next. She is a master at showing instead of telling.
   
   Full of personal anecdotes, colorful imagery, and striking insights, The Writing Life is the perfect companion for anyone who cares about giving voice to his or her way of looking at the world.



2. I recently received this book in the mail.
   
   I opened the package and sat at my desk in my college dorm room; I had no idea what was about to happen.
   
   The clock read 11:46 pm as I started into this short read, and I seemingly did not take a breath until I was finished with the last page over an hour later. Annie Dillard once again captured every exciting aspect of writing in one of her works, and she managed to contain it all in little over a hundred pages.
   
   Dillard is one of the best American writers of our time, and this book proves it. It is worth ten times what you will pay for it.
   
   If you have any passion for writing, you will love this book.
   If you would like to get inside the head of the great Annie Dillard, you will love this book.
   
   Buy it, check it out, borrow it; read it somehow.



3. The 'Paris Review Interviews' which were started by George Plimpton interviewed over at least two decades scores of writers on questions of their writing habits and practices. Hemingway sharpened dozens of pencils before beginning the day's work, and Faulkner told us about how he read no contemporary authors but only returned again and again to the eternal favorites to Shakespeare and Cervantes. In her essay here Annie Dillard discusses her own unique habits as a writer, and tells how she thinks about it, and practices her craft. She discusses the difficulties for her of the writing life, and the intense and painful practice of bringing work to the level she finds right. A longtime reader and interpreter of Thoreau she has something of his devotion to nature, and his solitary reflectiveness. She hears her own drummer and has beaten a path to the heart of many readers.
   But every writer has of course to find their own way. So not the whole of the story but some hint or suggestion along the way might well prove useful to the many aspiring writers who might read this work.



4. This is a charming little book--honest, somewhat lucid, and, at times, helpful. "The Writing Life" is Dillard's reflections on her writing life, written in a way that is quite conversational. For those of you who are finding your way through your own writing life, and, as I do, often need a little encouragement, then this is a neat little book to have on your nightstand. Relax, pour yourself a cup of tea, and read a chapter or two; perhaps then take a little nap--you'll feel better in no time.
   
   My only caution is that this 'genre' of writing is growing in strength, summoning forth both astute and sophomoric writers to join its ranks. You'll find yourself spending more and more precious time reading about the 'theory' of writing, rather than working through the pain of your own creative process. Hence, I'd suggest only engaging in this type of writing once in a while; and perhaps have only two or so of these books in your library. I recommend both this one, and a little gem by the great Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood, entitled, "Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing".



5. While this book is sometimes inspiration, as I would hope it to be, it also wanders off subject in ways that are only distracting. Any book on the craft of writing is liable to have lofty portions that make great analogies between the craft and other things, but Dillard stretches things much too far while spending much too much time on it. Hearing the details of a writer's life, their quirks and struggles, is heartening and it is in this that Dillard enlightens, but I also expect a book on craft to spend more time on craft. While I want to hear how hard it was to find time to write and how priorities shift when in the throes of creative vision, but I also want to consider the details. I want to hear what other writers think about the use of first person, on whether or not one must like or at least sympathize with a protagonist. The Writing Life did none of these things. It left me feeling pretty hollow. At least it is a thin little book.

5 comments about Jane Austen: A Life.

1. 1997's "Jane Austen: A Life" is Claire Tomalin's highly readable, even dramatic account of the life of the ever-popular romance novelist. Jane Austen left little for her future biographers beyond her published novels and some surviving letters and manuscripts. Tomalin approaches her subject by addressing Jane in the context of her large and interesting Austen family and their Hampshire friends and relatives. The result doesn't necessarily add a great deal to our limited store of knowledge about Jane Austen, but does provide some interesting insights into her context, and should bury forever any concerns about where Austen might have drawn her acute understanding of human nature or the material for her novels.
   
   The good news about "Jane Austen: A Life" is that Claire Tomalin is a gifted writer and her book will be a page-turner for many fans. Tomalin has done her extensive research. In addition, Tomalin is not shy about speculating when it comes to the signficant gaps in our knowledge of Austen's life. Her speculation is generally reasonable and plausible, and almost always fascinating to read. It is less clear how much of the book is reasonable inference from the limited record and how much may be closer to historical fiction.
   
   Tomalin includes her own literary criticism on Jane Austen's various works. This criticism is frankly hit or miss. Her comments on "Lady Susan" are interesting with respect to its unusual leading character. Her analysis of the novel fragment "The Watson" provides a reasonable explanation of why Jane Austen never finished this novel. However, she unfairly slights one of the two main characters in "Sense and Sensibility" on thoroughly modern grounds, misreads the fate of Mr. Wickham and Lydia in "Pride and Prejudice", and perhaps misses the point of "Mansfield Park." Readers familiar with Jane Austen's novels can draw their own conclusions.
   
   Jane Austen is as vivid as Claire Tomalin can make her in this biography. The Jane Austen we find here is a clever and acutely observant woman who must on occasion have been a little intimidating in person. She is also very much a family person, at the beck and call of brothers and cousins, nieces and nephews all her life. We come away from the narrative with a real appreciation for how difficult Austen's life must have been, especially after her father died. After she failed to marry, she, her spinster sister Cassandra, and her widowed mother were left in genteel poverty, dependent on support from her brothers and with few choices about where and how they would live. Unfortunately, Jane's writing did not begin to produce real income until after her early death in 1817.
   
   "Jane Austen: A Life" is highly recommended as an interesting, even dramatic biography. The book includes an excellent selection of portraits of Jane Austen's family members. It is perhaps ironic that the one portrait of Jane Austen in life was acknowledged by her family to be inadequate, just as the person behind the novels continues to be elusive to biographers and fans alike.



2. Claire Tomalin in Jane Austen: A Life really delivers a wonderful story, not just a boring listing of events from the author's life. I've used this book for research before, and finally decided to buy it for my own collection and read it just for fun. I recommend this to anyone that has been curious about the author's life or any serious Janite.



3. Claire Tomalin is one of the foremost biographers in the world today, in an exclusive group that includes Peter Ackroyd, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and a few others. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed her recent books on Samuel Pepys and Thomas Hardy, I purchased this book to look at one of Tomalin's older works. I also knew next to nothing about Jane Austen. I was not disappointed on either count. The book is outstanding, and I am currently in love with Jane Austen.
   Jane Austen was a brilliant, witty, unsentimental woman who led a remarkably unremarkable life. One expects great writers to live dramatic lives, but this just isn't true in Austen's case. She had written her first three novels by age 24, but wouldn't publish them or write another for ten years. She would never get rich off of her writings.
   Though she certainly drew on characters and scenes in her own life, much of Miss Austen's novels come from her vivid imagination. For instance, Jane Austen didn't socialize with the rich upper crust, but many of her books are about them.
   It seems Jane was a bit of a tomboy as a youth, and her high intelligence and biting wit often intimidated potential suitors. She was apparently in love only once, and this didn't work out. So she became, like her sister Cassandra with whom she was very close, a spinster. At least she was able, in her thirties, to support herself through her writings.
   Jane Austen died young, at age 41. Thus her life, her career, and Claire Tomalin's biography end prematurely. But as Jane Austen herself wrote, "If a book is well-written, I always find it too short."
   This book ended too soon. It is a beautifully written biography, highly recommended.



4. Although there have been many biographies of Jane Austen, few of them are as good as this one. I bought the book both because I love Jane Austen's novels and because I had just read Tomalin's biography of Thomas Hardy (Thomas Hardy, The Time-Torn Man) and hadn't been able to put it down. It's easy to see why she is considered Britain's foremost biographer. Her subjects are fully imagined and consequently come to life on the page as real people, rather than remaining dry studies. In this book, Tomalin's approach is to take issue with the received wisdom that Jane Austen's life was remarkable only in that nothing of importance happened in it.



5. I could not find a good biography of Jane Austin at any of our local bookstores....this item was exactly what I was looking for. It arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

5 comments about Forget Me Not: A Memoir.

1. Jennifer Lowe-Anker's wonderfully woven tale poignantly describes the emotional heartache experienced by Alex Lowe as he battled daily with his two loves, climbing and his family. I knew of Alex only as a climber, yet this tale describes his immense love and devotion to his wife and family, and his struggle to balance these two oft-competing passions.
   
   As a climber, husband and a father, both my wife and I have struggled with the issues described here, and Lowe-Anker's heartfelt prose brings home the harsh realities of a life lived with love, and the ultimate consequences that can occur as we pursue our dreams.
   
   This is a wonderful book, which causes us to ponder the big questions of love and life, and the true value of every second we have in our hands, and our hearts.



2. I loved this book. I spent a stormy afternoon finishing it last week, unable to put it down, swept along between enviable loves, heart wrenching losses, and, of course, climbing expedition dramas; all my favorite components for a great read.
   Jenni Lowe-Anker changes mediums from paints to prose with unequivocal success in her rendering of mountain landscapes and the people compelled by them, of whom she is clearly one. She climbed hard with
   Alex, raised three boys, and forged a successful career with her painting to help support them. Now, trading
   brush for pen, she has written their story.
   Jenni's indomitable spirit shines from every page with warmth and genuineness as she navigates the complex loves and losses of her life. She courageously shares both with candid honesty, first through her own
   story, then through Alex's letters home from the mountains. These letters are a highlight of the book, an amazing gift she chooses to share.
   This is a book about hope. It is a lesson in picking up the pieces and moving forward, moving on with
   strength and grace, and an absolute lack of self pity. It is an inspiration to follow one's dreams with passion and originality, to love hard, mourn hard, and love hard again.



3. Finally being able to read the Alex Lowe story was an exciting experience. His wife does a great job of cataloging Alex's life and his strive to do what he loved. This book does a fantastic job of keeping the morning to a minimum and really celebrating Alex's lifelong pursuits in the mountains and talking about the many people he touched along the way.
   
   Lowe-Anker takes a courageous step by allowing us to read the letters Alex wrote home when he was away. I was captivated by Alex's private thoughts as he realized his passion and purpose in the mountains. As a climber myself I could directly relate to some of this but I believe anyone could find enjoyment out of this book. Forget Me Not is an epic tale of the life of one of the greatest alpinists of all time. Full of love, courage, and devotion, I hope this story leaves the reader with a renewed positive outlook on life.



4. In Jennifer Lowe-Anker's captivating life story, she not only tells of her own life in poignant detail but those of so many intertwined. From the beginning as a reader it is hard not to be taken by the passionate relationships between climbers, lovers and friends. Lowe-Anker reminds us of our own loves and losses as she describes falling in love with one of the finest Alpinists of this time. When she writes of his loss, the pang of that raw anguish hits the reader, even though it is mentioned from the beginning.
   
   Death is never an easy thing, but as the author points out it is all around us, ebbing with the tides of life on this earth. As someone in a climbing relationship as well, I particularly related to the fears and elements described in the relationship that Jennifer and Alex Lowe shared, though even if you aren't involved with climbing it captures the core of all human relationships. Reading about the life she lived after she had thought it ended was a show of confidence and courage that everyone can use a dose of.
   
   This book will take you on a journey through many high summits, and a story of how some may find themselves despite the ever changing tides that life brings us. Above all else you will leave the last page rejuvenated to live and love every day to the fullest from reading this heartfelt story of the Lowe and Lowe-Anker family.
   
   The center insert of black and white photos are particularly absorbing.



5. The cover flap almost scared me away with words like "...takes readers inside a woman's heart..." I was thinking oh no, "chick book"! But the book really put me in touch with my feminine side, which my wife thought was a good idea :) Ok seriously, I really did enjoy reading this book. You don't have to be a mountain climber to enjoy this book (I'm not) as any terms specific to climbing are explained. Jennifer does a good job of telling her story and engaging the reader and made me remember what is important in life (family). I also like how Alex's expedition notes are woven into the story.

5 comments about Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir.

1. I just finished reading this novel yesterday, I loved the novel and how Johnson describes life in that inner circle. I agree with other reviews, do not read this book if you're only interested in Kerouac. What I came to realise was Johnson's point of view was not only to the idea of being a "minor character" in the history it self, but the fact that women during that time frame were only considered minor characters in life. I highly recommend this novel to any.



2. Baby boomers will recognize the freewheeling emotions and impulses described in this book about the late '50s, because these were ours in the '60s and '70s. Joyce Johnson's own transformation, and her close observations of her beat companions and the intellectual stew of NY in the late '50s, give hints of what will happen to America in the following 15 years.
   
   In particular, the author has a unique ability to articulate the feelings female baby boomers absorbed growing up, before the feminist revolution swept us away in the early 70s. As a small example, she points out how girls reading adventurous novels (like On the Road) didn't separate themselves from the guys but fully inhabited the male characters. Male narrators are not a problem for women the way female narrators can be for men.



3. This was the third book I bought at the City LIghts bookstore when I was there in 2005 or so. It was this one, a book of beat poety and a collection of San Francisco short stories. I read the beat poetry and this memoir at about the same time, which was a good way of doing so, as many of them dovetailed. I bought it for Joyce, not for Kerouac, as I'm not his biggest fan anyway and have never read On the Road. Was very impressed. It does a good job of showing the lives of the beats and how they lived and the insanity moments of them. Captured the feel of it. But sad. I liked Elise and Hettie a lot and kinda want to read Hettie's memoir too. And probably the dudes at some point too. I like when she's talking about beatnik as a commodification situation.



4. This memoir recounting a young woman's years spent in the inner circle of Jack Kerouac is well-written and gripping enough to hold its readers' attention. Placed firmly in the center of the Beat Generation, her story teems with indecision and insecurity, the desire to get up and go, leaving responsibilities at home to see the nation and experience life.
   
   -- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens



5. Joyce Glassman's memoir is very well written and is truly a fascinating account. She manages to describe a scene and give the reader a glimpse of a particular era--long gone. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the 1950's, the beat generation, women in the 1950's, and New York City at that time.

5 comments about Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I went from Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair.

1. What a refreshingly funny, sincere, and insightful read. I laughed out loud so many times I lost count. I loved the way he included just the right amounts of different aspects of his life, none dominating the story - his work in television, his adorable chocolate Lab Ubu, his friendships, and his heartwarming relationship with his wife Diana. It was simply delightful cover to cover. I read few books more than once; this will be one of them.



2. I've read sooooooo many books in my day, but this one has the charm, warmth and insight into Gary's humanity, that I couldn't put it down. Now what do I read????!!!! Please, Gary, write another one!!!



3. Sit Ubu Sit is a heart warming,entertaining and thoroughly engaging memoir. The life experiences of Gary David Goldberg are interesting in and of themselves and the lessons learned from his life's path are invaluable to just about everyone.The book is like a Philosophy 101 course putting into perspective the priorities of life using Hollywood and Brooklyn as two polar opposites of life's spectrum. Gary Goldberg is the friend we all want...........the father we all crave........the husband we all dream of......His warmth, sense of humor, family devotion,intelligence and uniqueness all interplay to make this a fabulous read.



4. Reading this book feels like watching a sitcom, but you don't have to wait from episode to episode to get a few laughs. You get a concentrated dose of humor mixed with some tragedy. Another reason it is better than a sitcom is that all of the stories are true. The book is hard to put down and when you are finished it leaves you feeling uplifted, despite the parts that make you cry.



5. Wonderful book, very well written and a fun read. Gary David Goldberg tells the best and the most challenging about Hollywood, his wonderful family and especially his wife Diana.
   
   But, when will Brooklyn Bridge be available on DVD?

5 comments about Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split.

1. there are some books that just are a great comfort. this is one of those books. thank god charlie left!



2. Saw myself in the first two to three years after my husband suddenly died. (Ernie's my pooch.) Made me appreciate the pain that divorce causes - grief is grief.



3. I loved this book! I appreciate the author's witty writing style and explanations. I think every woman could relate to this book whether they are a knitter or not.



4. I loved this book! I bought it (and a copy for a friend) after coming across her blog one day. I am happily married, enjoy my wine now and then and, like Laurie, am usually wearing black pants covered from the knees down in hair from my mostly-white cats.
   
   I like that this book is not just a rehash of her blog, and I like having all of her knitting "recipes" together in one place.
   
   Laurie's writing can move you to laughter and tears, sometimes in the same sentence. Her words apply no matter what life situation you're dealing with, and her story is an inspiration to anyone who contemplates making a life change or has one thrust on her. Like knitting, if it's not working you can rip it out and do it over and even though it doesn't always turn out as you think it will, it's almost always better than it was! Read this book and give it to friends - it will resonate with all of them!



5. I recommended the authors knitting blog to a friend of mine. My friend surprised me by buying the book and having it sent to me. It was a great weekend read. I think anyone who's gone thru a breakup can relate to this book and have a great laugh too.

5 comments about Prozac Nation.

1. This book is a memoir that holds true today. Anyone dealing with depression themselves or in their family must read this book. It helped me realize many things about myself that were critical to my healing. I loved it. It was real, raw, and interesting.



2. This is one woman's memoir of severe depression, dating from her teenage years though young adulthood in the days before prozac. Elizabeth Wurtzel was a young, talented, and deeply depressed student and writer in the 1980s. This is a memoir with little happiness and hope, much like depression itself. In order to cope with the pain Wurtzel drowns her sorrow in drugs, alcohol, and sex. She acts out in inappropriate ways. There's no nice ending, at least until the epilogue. Wurtzel's memoir shows how hard and despeate depression can be.
   
   Elizabeth Wurtzel is clearly a very smart woman and a talented writer. That said, the most difficult part of this book to stomach is not the gut-wrenching descriptions of major depression, but rather, Wurtzel's refusal to recognize the significant socio-economic advantages she has had. Most significant of these are her Harvard education and her plum writing internships. The issue is not that she "should have been happy because she had so much," rather, its the fact that Wurtzel paints herself as a disadvantaged young woman, which she simply does not appear to be. Presenting herself as something of a child of deprivation simply doesn't work, and the book would have been stronger had it not made such suggestions. Much more interesting is how the culture of high expectations shaped her depression.



3. I thought that this book dragged quite a lot in the middle...I got rather bored of reading about how terrible everything was for her, especially since I didn't have half the amazing opportunities that she had. However, the narrative redeemed itself by offering such an honest, inside view of how depression really feels. I believe I know better how to behave towards friends and clients who suffer from depression after having read this book.



4. this book is so raw and honest , yet funny and enlightening.
   it really shows people what its like to live with clinical depression...
   basically the walking dead as she writes...
   i feel like i wrote this book or someone knew about my life and my struggles because i relate to this book on so many levels
   its nice to know your not as crazy as you think...



5. I had seen the movie with Christina Ricci and Michelle Williams prior to reading this book, and I enjoyed the film much more than most seemed to. While the movie is fairly short, the book drags on and on in comparison, since the film adaptation is able to cut out so many of the passages that seem very similar to something only a page earlier. So much of the book revolves around Wurtzel crying in bed or on the floor, and while she clearly writes with a unique and intelligent voice, it gets to be a bit much before long. She is aware of the fact that her actions alienate others and that her behavior is destructive and repetitive, but it makes for a read that is difficult to finish.

5 comments about Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II.

1. An inspiring story of a young missionary woman and her complete surrender to the Lord under unbelievable adversity. God's tenderness and mercies are real in her life and it encourages every believer to move into such intimacy with the Lord. One biography you will not want to put down!



2. This is one of the BEST books I have ever read. The evidence of God's work in the lives of the people in the book is amazing and inspiring!!



3. Darlene Rose is so real in this book, just as her faith and her God are. She never pretends to be more than human, which makes her story even more amazing. This book never stays on my shelf long. I keep giving it to someone to read.



4. This is an excellent book about the consequences in a fallen world of holding on to the faith. It is proof positive that faith in the one and only God sustains even through the most difficult circumstances.



5. I read this book several years ago and will never be the same because of it. Darlene Deibler Rose's story is burned into my heart because it changed my view of God and how He deals with His children. Her wisdom gained through intense suffering rings true to what I read in Scripture, and how wonderful to hear someone whose faith has been severely tested come out on the other side and say to the rest of us "what the Bible says is TRUE!" A loving God sometimes allows us to suffer and yet never leaves us nor forsakes us, all the while causing our faith to truly grow and be perfected as we trust Him. Quite simply, Darlene Deibler Rose is one of my heroes of the faith, and her story is not to be missed!