The French-Inspired Home, with French General

Book Description

Kaari Meng’s first-hand knowledge of what makes a beautiful, French-inspired home comes from years of combing French flea markets for unique treasures. Her popular shop, French General, offers handpicked linens and collectibles from her yearly visits to the south of France, plus an array of products to awaken the senses, from bath and laundry potions to ribbons, beads, and baubles. Here, she distills her much sought-after sensibility into 40 charming projects that capture the sights, scents, and textures of the French countryside. They include lavender sachets, lovely etched glasses, pillows, covered hangers, French potting boxes, and herbal lotions.

A Selection of the Homestyle Book Club.

Customer Reviews:

Every page is a treasure!!.......2007-08-18

I read this book from first page to last right after I opened it from the mail. It is filled with inspiration, helpful hints, decorating ideas, and an archive of full colored images that you can scan into your computer and use yourself. I love how she does not force her shop onto the reader, she states that you can find the items that she is explaining at flea markets and antique sales all over the world. I would rate this book 5 stars, for helpful insight into creating a "french inspired home." Cant wait for the next one!!

Disappointed.......2007-08-08

I must say I was disappointed in the book. I thought that it would have been more ideas of what furniture and fabrics to use to create a French inspired looking home.
I am in the processing of trying to create a French looking kitchen and I had hoped that would be inspiring.
But unfortunately for me it wasn't.

Defining What Is French Decorating or a French Home.......2007-06-12

I would have given this book 3-stars, if I hadn't read the 5-star view of C Albers. I realize that perhaps I didn't read the fine print regarding the book's description. Based on the title "French-Inspired Home" with French General -- who I don't know, I expected a book with a greater focus on rooms (a suggestion also made by Albers). In fact it is essentially a vintage crafts book with a French flavor.

I've visited Paris and the south of France well over 250 times on business and pleasure, and this particular style of French decorating is not prevalent. In fact, the most inspiring to me aspect of French decorating is the mix of old and new, ornate and clean modern. I spent two nights at the Louvre in Jan. 07 and marveled that only the French would be flashing modern blue lights on a heap (truly) of ancient Greek and Roman columns, with modern dancers and acid jazz playing to create a "new" mood for ancient art. THIS is French imagination at its best.

The photos in this book, while lovely, are stylized in a very old-fashioned attitude . . . great-grandmother's attic. Most of us don't live this way and what we appreciate are touches of these special memories, not an entire house full of them. Who has time to dust. Just kidding. Some of the bath projects look like easy pampering to make for yourself or special gifts to create.

In summary, if you know French General, then I would follow the Alber's review and 5-star recommendation. If you are expecting a sophisticated book of French home and country decorating, this is not it. Like me, you will be disappointed. A more descriptive and informative title would have saved me the money.

Bravo!.......2007-05-29

Charming book brimming with inspiration - well done! The photography is wonderful! Geared to encourage shoppers to visit Meng's store (brick & morter and on-line), you'll want to incorporate all of her ideas. Lots of how-to's. Meng's creativity and ideas are not just crafty - she looks to Europe for clues to create a relaxed French life. C'est tres bonne.

The French-Inspired Home.......2007-05-09

If you are looking for pictures of French decorated homes this is not the book you want. This was more like a craft book on how to make things for the French home. If thats what you are looking for it is a good book, I wasn't. If you want pictures and ideas buy Charles Faudree's Country French Living.

What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal: A Novel

Average customer rating:

POSITIVELY BRILLIANT...
Amazing book
The Class War Wages On
Entertaining
Talk about a teacher's pet

What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal: A Novel
Zoe Heller
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312421990

Book Description

Schoolteacher Barbara Covett has known none but the most solitary of lifestyles until Sheba Hart joins St. George's. Starting by sharing lunches, then family events, the new art teacher draws Barbara into a touching confidence. Unbeknownst to their colleagues, however, another relationship blossoms meanwhile: Sheba has begun a passionate affair with an underage male student. When the details come to light and Sheba falls prey to the inevitable media circus, Barbara decides to write an account in her friend's defense-revealing not only Sheba's secrets but her own.

Customer Reviews:

POSITIVELY BRILLIANT..........2007-08-26

This is simply a delicious book. It looks deep into the human heart, and what it discovers will keep the reader turning its pages. The narrator of the story is Barbara Covett, an unmarried school teacher in her sixties, the type who has never married, is set in her ways and opinions, and lives with her cat, to which she is devoted. She has a waspish, intense personality and is a highly intelligent, no nonsense sort of person who does not suffer fools gladly. She teaches at St. George's comprehensive school in London.

When a married pottery teacher with the improbable name of Bathsheba Hart joins the faculty, Barbara's interest is peaked by this seemingly fey, wispy and elegantly lean woman with a penchant for bohemian style clothing. Sheba (as she likes to be called) is as attractive as Barbara is unattractive. Sheba is also, as all soon discover, an ineffectual teacher unable to maintain discipline in her classroom. Still, with her posh accent, easy and relaxed, pleasant personality, she soon becomes a person of interest to those around her, including some of her students.

In fact, just as Sheba and Barbara start to become friends, Sheba is also embarking upon another relationship, one that is illicit, as it is with one of her students, fifteen year old Steven Connolly. It is, however, through Barbara's eyes that the affair unfolds, and in painting a picture of the events, she is, at the same time, painting a psychological portrait of both herself and Sheba, revealing the obsessive symbiosis that binds this unlikely pair in erstwhile friendship.

The author has created a masterful, exceedingly well-written novel, one that is thematically rich and complex. The author does this with a deft touch, as well as with humor. The characters are vividly drawn and the book is well-plotted, making for an immensely readable novel that the reader will find difficult to put down until the very last page is turned. Bravo!

Amazing book.......2007-08-23

This author is has such a gift for writing. I wasn't interested in the subject matter at all but then I couldn't put it down. Her style just flows and I can't wait until she writes another one.

The Class War Wages On.......2007-07-02

I don't know what to make of this beautifully written book. The plot device, stated clearly at the beginning, is that Sheba has told Barbara her story so many times and in so many different ways, that Barbara knows it better than she does (reminding me of Affliction, a story told by the brother of the main character).

The prose reminds me of Anita Brookner, but instead of taking the side of the hapless victim, we hear the voice of the predator for once.

My only question, is why Barbara, aptly named an incubus by Sheba's husband Richard, would want Sheba after sucking all of the juices out of her?

Why not go after fresher meat?

Entertaining.......2007-05-26

I like this book. It was purely entertaining. The author did not make any pretensions of trying to teach her readers anything. It just felt like someone was simply writing about some really good gossip.

Talk about a teacher's pet.......2007-04-10

As a high school teacher, I found this tale to be quite disturbing; it's a topic that many reviewers have already explored and critiqued, along with the motives of Sheba and Barbara. Beyond that, one must address Zoe Heller's writing style, which is simply intriguing. Her phrasing and word choice reveal that she truly has a gift with language. Her writing is exquisite and enticing through her unusual juxtapositions, imagery, and analogies. I have not seen the film, but can only imagine hearing Judi Dench speaking such mesmeric lines.

Average customer rating:

Setting up the final battle.
THE DEATHNOTE IS IN GOOD HANDS
Death Note
DEATH NOTE RULES THEM ALL
Can't WAIT for the next volume!!!

Death Note, Volume 10
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 142151155X

Book Description

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects--and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal¿or his life?

Customer Reviews:

Setting up the final battle........2007-06-26

Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Deletion (ViZ, 2003)

Death Note has become more like a chess game than ever before these days, with everyone trying to figure out who's on whose side, who can and can't be trusted, and who's about to act against whom. Because of this, the series is getting somewhat more internalized; this volume is probably the talkiest of the bunch so far, with at least a third of the book being devoted to characters having conversations with themselves. It's pretty obvious that this volume is setup (and with only two remaining, it's setup for the big climax), but it's good setup. *** ½

THE DEATHNOTE IS IN GOOD HANDS.......2007-06-02

Picking up where Volume 9 left off, an angry mob of Kira supporters is closing in on the highrise headquarters of Near, but not before he has a chance to plant seeds of doubt among Light's co-investigators, especially Aizawa. There was a whole charade played out many volumes ago that supposedly proved Light's innocence, but it was a based on a fake rule written in the Death Note, but up until this point, nobody knew that it was a lie written by Kira to mislead the authorities just in case it ever fell into their hands. Now, the case for Light's innocence is not so ironclad anymore. Always planning ahead, Light decides once again to let his Deathnote be placed in the hands of another, a loyal and devoted follower of Kira named Teru Mikami. Teru's determination to bring absolute justice to the world might even go beyond Light's. Mello is still around as well, and his driving ambition is still to capture Kira before Near.

Volume 10 of Deathnote was probably one of the best entries in the series because this manga is at its best when the characters are manuvering under conditions in which their lives are at risk. Or, in Light's case, when he is danger of being found out. This book has it all. You have Near being confronted by an angry mob that will likely tear him to pieces, you have Aizawa's deepening suspicions about Light, and then you have Light, who is rapidly being forced into a corner, even though in all his raging pomposity about his intelligence, he probably doesn't even realize it. At the end of this series, I sure hope Light gets his comeuppance, because the guy is just too full of himself. Unfortunately, Ohba's story has allowed him to become a god simply by letting him predict almost every single move the other characters make. In reality, noone can predict human behavior as well as Light, Near, and Mello do. It almost takes away from the thrills of the book because everyone reacts just as the characters thought they would react, which to me takes away a bit of the spontaneity. Still, this is one of the best books going right now.

Death Note.......2007-05-11

This graphic novel is intended for those who like to read and figure out intricate mystery plots. It's not like your typical manga, it is higher up on the scale, somewhere with Monster and Battle Royale, so if you like to figure out puzzles and are interested in killers with a higher motive than you will enjoy this.

DEATH NOTE RULES THEM ALL.......2007-04-14

Death Note has got to be the best manga written to date. The story will keep readers guessing and is very complex and interesting. Even my boyfriend, who usually likes ecchi manga and anime, loves this manga/anime. Everyone, including those who haven't read any Japanese graphic novels, should buy all the available volumes!!!! The anime is also very well crafted. The movies are ok; they deviate from the manga.

Can't WAIT for the next volume!!!.......2007-03-11

I am so hooked on this series! While it veers from my usual (I read mostly Yaoi and Shojo manga) the cover of the first volume made me curious. I bought the first volume not knowing what to expect and was instantly hooked. The next day, I went out and purchased the next 9 volumes and read them all in one night.

This is not your typical story. Imagine this brilliant high school student with a bright future who gains the power to kill anyone as long as he has seen their face and knows their name. If you think about what that really means, you'll realize the complexity of this story.

So I am reading volume after volume of this arrogant kid who considers himself a God (no joke; he really does) and he is by no stretch of the imagination the "Good" guy...but...I can't help wanting him to be victorious. That is the great thing about this story; it is more about winning and losing than good vs. evil.

I can't get into all of the things that I like about this series without spoiling it for those of you who haven't read it. But if you want a truly unique story about a battle of wills between (not good guys and bad guys) but super intelligent young men; this is the story for you.

There are only two more volumes in this series. Go out and pick up the first couple (at 7.99 each USD, plus whatever discounts you may have, you can't lose!) and you'll be glad that you did. Choose a side and we'll see who wins!

ps, There are two live action movies based on this series (but I have read that they deviate some from the manga). The anime started airing in Japan in October of last year. VIZ has already licensed it (woo-hoo!!).

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
Building the plot some more.
great story
g review
WHICH ONE IS KIRA?

Death Note, Volume 6
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421506270

Book Description

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects-and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-04

I have read the first couple, but not 3-5, so it seems this has gotten quite a bit more complicated.

There are now apparently two Death Notes around, and Light doesn't remember having one, and is actually working with L to catch yet another user of one of the Death Notes.

A girl is the other user in the past, and she is also involved with the hunting down effort, as well.

Building the plot some more........2007-04-13

Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Give and Take (ViZ, 2006)

With no progress happening on the case, L recruits Misa into the investigation as an undercover agent-- the consequences of which could be devastating, as we found out late in the last volume that the current Kira has Misa's old death note-- and we know how Rem feels about Misa, don't we? Interesting things are afoot, and the series is really picking up steam again. *** ½

great story.......2007-04-11

I love these books. They are well thought out and have great plot twists and turns. I recomend these books to anyone.

g review.......2006-08-12

this is a very good continuation of the deathnote series containing plenty of suspense and mystery. it sets up the next book prefectly with yet another clif hanger ending that the series uses so well. i would definately recomend this book to anyone that has followed the series; if you are thinking about jumping into the sereies i would suggest starting at the first book because it would be a real spoiler to read it out of order.

WHICH ONE IS KIRA?.......2006-07-26

Somebody in the Yotsuba corporation is killing off the company's business rivals and L, Light, and the few remaining detectives have figured out that someone in Yotsuba is Kira. The problem is figuring out who it is. If they try to move in on the group of seven suspects, then Kira might go into hiding or pass on his power to someone else. No, L MUST know how Kira kills before he is arrested. Misa is sent undercover with a coverstory that she was once suspected of being the second Kira and that she wants to meet Kira because he killed the murderer of her parents and wants to thank him. Something unexpected happens when Rem, Misa's ex-Shinigami touches her with a piece of Death Note, making her visible to Misa and reveals the truth about Light and herself as the first two Kiras and the identity of the new Kira! Now Misa will have to use all her acting skills to not upset Light's plans or reveal her newfound knowledge to L AND keep herself from getting killed at the same time!

Death Note is really starting to get good now. You'll pretty much find yourself sitting down and reading the whole book in one take and wanting more. One of the most interesting aspects of this volume and the previous one is to see Light playing the good guy, and perhaps he IS a good guy. I mean, would the killing of vicious criminals really be a bad thing? Everybody would probably have a different answer to that one, based on their own life experiences. Death Note is also great because over these six volumes you really get to know the characters because there isn't a ton of action. Most of it is characterization and mental chess playing, which is a welcome break from most Hollywood-type entertainment in this day and age. Death Note is a good read.

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
And it's back!
The Hunt For Kira Continues
Death Note no. 2 ROX!!!
Still inventive and fun.

Death Note, Volume 2
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421501694

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

The main character deteriorates into basically spree killing, with a purpose, alarmingly quickly. His motivation pretty much switches from wanting to off criminals to stopping anyone that might get in his way. So far, he is smart enough to stay ahead of his personal demon, too. Given this has a whole bunch of other volumes, one suspects this may not continue indefinitely. :)

And it's back!.......2007-07-09

The general summary of the `Death Note' manga: Light Yagami, a High Honors student, still maintains his cool in playing the secretive part of Kira, the murderer who kills inmates with heart attacks. This is all accomplished by the Death Note, a notebook belonging to one of the Shinigami death Gods. The Death Note supplies the rules of how to use it, and Ryuk, the Shinigami owner of the notebook that Light now holds in his possession, has to stick around Light until the Notebook is handed to someone else, destroyed, or Light himself is killed. However, notorious super sleuth known as L is hot on Kira's (Light's) heels in sending the murder to his execution.

In Volume Two, L is pushed to his limit as he is forced to reveal himself to the remaining task force of Japan as the super sleuth who is struggling to catch Kira. While L is not what anyone epected, they don't doubt his intelligence. They hope to catch Kira...and fast!

Meanwhile Light, as Kira, of course, finds out that Raye Penber's fiance has already caught the lead that Kira could have been in the bus with her fiance before he died. Light, desperately trying to find out her name to kill her to prevent her from reaching L, is having a bit of a problem. And Ryuk whispering the Shinigami light deal in his ear is no help. Will Light succeed? Heh, no spoils here. You must read that part by yourself.

The Hunt For Kira Continues.......2007-03-31

Volume 2 of Death Note picks up right where the first volume left off. Light has just discovered that he has been followed by an Agent of the FBI as members of the NPA and their families are under surveillance for suspicious activity to see if anyone might have a connection or in fact be the serial killer known as Kira. L is becoming more and more frustrated especially after all 12 of the FBI agents assigned to surveillance all end up dead. This sparks a massive uprising in the NPA as most of the detectives assigned to the case quit in fear of their own lives.

Out of desperation, L decides to reveal himself to the remaining members of the NPA task force in order to gain their trust and cooperation. To make matters worse, one of the agents killed by Kira has a fiancée who is also a former FBI agent and has information that could eventually lead back to Light. Now, Light must find a way to silence the fiancée in such a way as to keep from arousing any kind of suspicion. As L and the NPA close in on Light, he must now try harder than ever to avoid being captured by the authorities, and as the volume closes, two households are narrowed down by the task force, one of which is Light's house. As bugs and cameras are placed throughout the house, Light must try to act the typical college bound student or else face capture and almost certain death for his crimes.

There is plenty of use of the Death Note in this volume as Light begins killing anyone who has information that could lead to his capture and the suspense really begins to pick up as the Task Force closes in on the identity of the killer Kira. The cat-and-mouse game expands quite a bit more in this volume as Light tries to carry out his "goal". Plenty of suspense in this book, though there is not an additional comic in this volume, it is composed of 9 chapters (but starts at Chapter 8 and continues from there). I can't wait to read volume 3.

Death Note no. 2 ROX!!!.......2007-03-09

o holy sheep s#$t this comic rules so much i luv it alot i am so gonna get the whole set thxs a bunch

Still inventive and fun........2007-03-05

Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Confluence (ViZ, 2005)

Ryuk and Light are back. I wondered, at the end of Boredom, how this series could be as long as it is-- Ohba crammed a whole lot of action into the first volume of Death Note, and killed off (no pun intended) most of the original story arc pretty fast. So, what now?

Note: the following contains spoilers for Boredom, so stop reading now if you plan to read the series and haven't started it yet.

The FBI agents sent to Japan are all dead, thanks to Light's acquaintance with Raye Penber (what is it about Japanese manga artists coming up with "American" names no one in America would ever have, anyway? The roster of FBI agents here is hilarious!), and the task force investigating the killings is deserting out of fear for their lives. It seems as if Light will never be caught-- except that Raye's fiancee, an ex-FBI agent herself, is out for revenge, and L decides to break his rule of no contact and head up the police's investigation personally. Everyone's using unorthodox methods, so what's a boy to do? Stay one step ahead of the game, of course...

In Boredom, I liked Ryuk because, as a Shinigami, Ohba could really do anything he wanted with Ryuk's character; Ryuk wasn't confined to needing to be human-like to be a three-dimensional character. In Confluence, paradoxically, I like Ryuk even better because, having established some guidelines for him, Ohba now makes Ryuk somewhat more human. There are rules to being a Shinigami, it seems, and boundaries to what they can and cannot do that are just as binding as those on humans. Ohba reveals these to us a bit at a time, and thus continues to make Ryuk one of the more interesting characters in manga these days. Great stuff, looking forward to volume 3. *** ½

Average customer rating:

The Best thing that I have ever read.
Deathnote and the great debate
Graphic SF Reader
The Bond between Death Note and Fellow Reviewers
The Killer Cure for Boredom

Death Note, Volume 1
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421501686

Book Description

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and bored out of his mind! But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, and notebook dropped by a rougue shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal... or his life?

Customer Reviews:

The Best thing that I have ever read........2007-10-08

This series is the best manga I have ever read and maybe the best book that I have read. So far I have read the first four volums and yes it is dark but thers no nudity so if your 13 or so you should really enjoy this book because it not just your usual action manga its a deep story line with lots of twists.And instid of being able to finish it in a half hour like your usual action manga it accually takes a while to read and you will find yourself reading it a seacond time just to see if you can get more out of it. Botom line is if your over 13 and like manga your should definitely read it.

Deathnote and the great debate.......2007-10-08

Have you ever watched TV and wanted or wished to be able to just end the terror of people like Osama bin Laden? Ever wonder what it would be like to control the life or death of the people who needlessly kill and fill our world with such smut and destruction? Most people have wondered and daydreamed about this; others daydream about being those despicable people that we see in society today.

People discuss whether these actions would be right or wrong on college campuses, in churches, and in smaller social groups or even just among friends. The question has permeated for years and has dominated the minds and imaginations of hundreds or even thousands of youth in all societies and in all ages. Cops and Robbers anyone?

Well Deathnote puts a new spin on these ideals and these thought processes that we so commonly pass through. The story starts out simply enough following the life of a top student in Japan, Light Yagami. He is a brilliant student, number one in the country in fact, but he is bored and thinks the world needs a `cleansing' of all the filth in the world.

While returning from school one afternoon he finds a small black notebook on the ground that seems to have fallen from the sky and out of curiosity he examines it. After seeing the title of "Deathnote" and looking inside and seeing it written in English he makes some remarks about the sick people of the world and stuffs it into his backpack. He is later almost compelled to read the deathnote and thus begins his journey.

The Deathnote is a book that gives the previous mentioned power to the owner thereof. The possessor of the book can write any person's name in the world while, thinking of their face, and said person will die in the prescribed way, or if no way is prescribed the person will die of a heart attack. This book is everything that Light could want and he decides to begin his quest to rid the world of its filth.

Through the course of the book, Light meets Ryuk, the former owner of the Deathnote. Ryuk, a Shinigami (a Death God, to Americans Grim Reaper might be easier to understand), explains the mere basics to Light and observes Light's quest, never helping nor hindering. He explains to Light early on that he is just bored, nothing more, nothing less.

As Light kills more and more big name criminals he catches the eye of Interpol, who assign the case to the `fabled' "L," the world's greatest detective. Thus begins the battle of wits with many people being caught in the crossfire of their battle. L is trying to stop Light, while Light is killing all the criminals he can in different and unique ways, while at the same time trying to kill the FBI agents who have since been assigned to follow him.

As I said, the book is an interesting read that offers more than a few questions regarding right and wrong, moral and immoral. I highly recommend this series.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

An interesting premise, with non cheesy artwork, which was very pleasing. Supernaturally enabled wunderkind becomes sociopathic vigilante vs possibly also socipathic shut-in young Nero Wolfe type (in habit, not size), at the core. Well worth a look, even if you couldn't care for manga at all.

The Bond between Death Note and Fellow Reviewers.......2007-08-21

In Book one, Light Yagami is bored of the world and is disgusted at what he sees, until he finds the Death Note that seemed to have fallen from the sky. At first, he picks it up and scoffs at the idea that the Note is all too real and pockets it for later. Soon, his curiosity is aroused and he tries the Death Note out. After the death of two men, he is convinced that the Death Note really works, and he plans to use it to clean out the earth. Of course, after a visit from the Shinigami Rem, who is the owner of the Note, Light is still convinced that he can come up on top, despite Rem's pessimistic and clever comments. Rem is on neither side of the battle between Light, and super sleuth detective known as 'L', who is slowly catching onto Light's heels. Rem is more of the innocent standby who casually watches the battle to the bitter end.

This manga does get a lot of publicity now, and a lot of negative comments since in every volume it's packed with the same senario: Light is being probed at and he finds a clever way to escape, repeat, repeat. While it seems tedious, it never actually makes you want to simply put the book down. You have to keep reading, if only to see how this sucker ends. And it's off to a good start, and hopefully, to a good finish.

The Killer Cure for Boredom.......2007-08-21

Writer Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the artist of the award-winning manga series "Hikaru No Go," have teamed up to bring something radically different to both the "Shonen Jump" manga anthology and the reading table: "Death Note." Ryuk, a Shinigami death god, is bored. To shake things up, he drops his notebook in the human world for someone to find. Light Yagami, a straight-A student, is bored. He finds Ryuk's notebook and discovers its secret-the person whose name is written in the book dies. With this newfound power in hand, Light takes it upon himself to rid the world of evil. And the world comes to know this modern-day angel of death as "Kira." Baffled by the rising death toll, the authorities enlist the help of L, a reclusive super-sleuth who's already hot on Kira's trail. And Ryuk, bound to the human world and linked to Light by the Death Note, gets a front-row seat to an all-out battle of wits in which the first guy to be exposed dies.

Truly an original concept, "Death Note" manages to captivate its audience by adding a mythological element to the real world, as opposed to the stereotypical superheroes and cataclysmic battles of other manga. For lovers of thought-provoking stories, Ohba's story not only raises many moral and ethical questions (e.g.: Is it always wrong to kill someone? Can good truly exist without evil?), but he gives his characters, particularly Light, their own answers rather than color everything in black and white-the way Obata does! Speaking of whom, his use of realistic imagery and detail, blended with his take on Japanese mythology, remains a head above the rest.

The one problem with this title, however, is its tendency to recite the rules of the Death Note throughout the book, which is more than enough for anyone to memorize. Also, between each chapter is a summary of new rules Light discovers while testing the limits of the Death Note. While VIZ Media's translation of the original dialogue is a job well done, there are fansubbed versions that are more dramatic and to the point. Yet another setback is how much of the dialogue is squeezed into word bubbles, literally leaving room for improvement. But these issues are not of serious consequence to the reader's experience, which depends more on his/her liking of suspense and the supernatural. So if you're feeling bored, go read a book-this book.

This comic is rated T+ for Older Teen: Adult Situations.

Asterix The Mansions of the Gods (Asterix)

Average customer rating:

Another great adventure!!
Trees and Mansions
Fun to read
Magnificent - Hilarious - Superb

Asterix The Mansions of the Gods (Asterix)
Rene Goscinny
Manufacturer: Orion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0752866397

Book Description

They want to pave paradise and put up a housing development. That's why a multinational team of slave construction workers are clearing the forest just outside the Gaulish town. Will the Gauls be fast enough to stop them and prevent Roman upstarts from moving in?

Customer Reviews:

Another great adventure!!.......2007-05-14

Great adventure for a great character as Asterix! Include it in your collection, it will be worth!

Trees and Mansions.......2007-01-23

"The Mansions of the Gods" is the seventeenth comic in the Asterix series, first published in 1971. It's pretty interesting, the satire in it, with a block of flats being built by Asterix's village. Worth a look for fans.

Fun to read.......2006-03-10

Lots of fun and lots of laughs---typical of all the Asterix comic books. I loved these as a child, but still find them entertaining. I now buy Asterix comics for my piano studio waiting room and they have become the most popular books on my shelves with my students.

Magnificent - Hilarious - Superb.......2005-08-29

A classic piece of French litterature, and a wonderfull translation. Every joke, every piece of humor is adapted in this English version. A delicacy for the mind.

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
The Most Interesting Book in the Series
I can take no more of these plot holes!
Back on track and cruising along.
There are no words.

Death Note, Vol. 5
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421506262

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-13

The quality of this series continues.

L still suspects both Light and Misa of being Kiras, and as such is watching them. When other people starts to die he lets them out of captivity.

Light's father is rather stressed about the whole thing, and decides he can't be in the police to deal with it. L has him put his son and girlfriend to a serious test, as the corporate machinations of the current Kira continue.

The Most Interesting Book in the Series.......2007-05-29

As the subtitle (vaguely) suggests, Death Note 5: Whiteout is about Light/Kira losing his memories of using the Death Note and joining the investigation team to find the killer who has taken his place.

What's weird is that Light is almost a completely different person once his memories of the Death Note are erased. The once cold, calculating Light is now as honorable and friendly as he merely pretended to be in the previous volumes.

At one point, he is asked to manipulate someone for useful information in uncovering the identity of the new Kira. Although he'd manipulated that same person in the previous book, Light refuses by saying it would go against his personal code. That pretty much implies that the Death Note has almost allegorical powers of corruption (kind of like the One Ring from "The Lord of the Rings"). Of course, I don't know if Ohba intentionally put this symbolism in, but it works.

By finally allowing the reader to see the contrast between Light with the Death Note and Light without it, Ohba enables us to see him as a much more tragic character. The contrast lets us see just how much finding the Death Note has ruined his character and his life, and that it will likely continue to do so as the series progresses.

Aside from that, this volume also introduces a few new elments into the series:

A new Kira emerges with a different MO and set of ideals.

The Investigation team gets better resources and a new base of operations.

L recruits two new characters into the Investigation Team...shortly after one of its alrealy few members leaves.

This book is definitely reccommended, but only if you've read the first four in the series.

I can take no more of these plot holes!.......2007-04-27

The Death Note manga is insanely compelling. I'll finish a volume in a sitting, if given the opportunity. However, I have decided to stop reading as of the second chapter of volume five. The plot holes are enormous.

---SPOILERS---

First off: the police chief's ramming into the Sakura TV building was absolutely ridiculous. In real life he would have been thrown off the force for such an action. He could have brought the entire building toppling down. And why did he ram a building with a police tank? To stop a television station from broadcasting a video sent in by a murderer. The chief pulled a gun on a reporter and threatened his life. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPERCUSSIONS.

Secondly: The horrible cruelty dealt upon Amane and Light. To keep someone chained to a wall, allowed to move only to use the bathroom, would cause all sorts of health problems, and probably lead to insanity, considering amount of time for which she was kept in that condition. For about two months, we're supposed to believe that Amana existed in this way, believing all along that she was abducted by a "stalker." Same goes for Light; his arms were fastened behind his back and he was kept in a cell. This would cause muscular atrophy, etc. It just wouldn't work.

I love the moral ambiguity of the series, even if it does make it painful to read. But these types of plot holes make the series impossible for me to continue reading.

Back on track and cruising along........2007-04-13

Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Whiteout (ViZ, 2006)

I may have been a bit hasty when I accused Death note of jumping the shark in my Love review last month. While I'm still not entirely convinced that Ohba's thinking more than an episode ahead at least part of the time, Whiteout begins a new story arc that should definitely keep things interesting (and on point) for a while.

Light gives up the death note, and so Ryuk, and all memories of him, vanish. Light is now certain he's innocent. When a third Kira appears, L has to weigh the benefits of having Light and Misa on his investigative team against the benefits of keeping them both locked up. The team traces Kira to a corporate boardroom-- but which of the board members, if any, is actually Kira?

Ohba's got focus back again, and so the series picks up its pace and gets interesting again. The good stuff returns! *** ½

There are no words. .......2006-08-16

Death Note is amazing, read it.
There are no words.
Trees should beg to be turned into this revolutionary manga!
READ IT!

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
Volume 7 of DN
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
The story Finally gets back to being Interesting
LIGHT REMEMBERS

Death Note, Volume 7
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421506289

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-04

It appears that Light all along has been running a complicated scheme involving loss of memory and the peculiar rules and powers surrounding both the Death Notes and their users, despite working with L and the police.

Not a dumb boy, this one, it seems. Getting back the abilities he wants, he bumps off L, the Yotsuba guys, and basically goes back to the criminal killing spree, as well as getting rid of L's non-police agents.

However, L's breeding ground may provide some new opposition it appears.

Volume 7 of DN.......2007-07-02

I believe many of fan of Death Note was left broken hearted after this book was published. I am also one of them. Please don't be discouraged after chapter 58. I understand you perfectly. Personally, I stoped for three months before picking up Volume 8. However, the plot still is interwined and perfectly sturctured that it is worth reading. Death Note's line work is beautifull, and the plot is unlike any other manga you ever will read. Enjoy, and don't forget to bring a tissue. (I end up needing it)

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?.......2007-05-27

Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Zero (ViZ, 2003)

Oh, Tsugumi Ohba, I now understand why every Death Note fan reviles your name for Chapter fifty-eight. Really. What were you thinking? Well, I guess it's necessary if Light's grand plan is to advance, but jeez. Who do you think you are, Wes Craven? Alfred Hitchcock is probably a better parallel, though-- Death Note remains convoluted, complex, and compelling far enough into its run where the average manga would probably be tailing off. There are those who thought the series dropped off a cliff with this volume, but I am not one of them. I still love it. ****

The story Finally gets back to being Interesting.......2006-11-30

After volume 4 or so of Death Note, the series took a pretty boring turn when one of the two Death Notes is given to a... businessman?

Luckily, that little arc in the series at least has a very grippling ending (as seen in vol. 6). And afterwards, the story begins to pick up the pace again, allowing us into the mind of Light and what he was exactly planning when he intentionally disowned his Death Note. Not only are things explained, but the story's L character shifts to a... kid?

Regardless, this is probably one of the more interesting volumes of the series, since a whole bagload of main (and not so main) characters get axed off via Death Note (what else?). Other things to look forward to in this vooume: some background info on Watari and L, and slight character development with Rem.

LIGHT REMEMBERS.......2006-09-14

Higuchi, the would-be Kira who used the Death Note mainly for personal gain and his company's growth, is cornered by the cops along with Light and L. As the members of the Kira task force touch Higuchi's Death Note, they gain the ability to see its Shinigami and a whole new angle opens on the case, an angle that L wouldn't believe if he wasn't seeing a Death God with his own eyes! Light not only gains the ability to see shinigami but he also gets all his memories back, but the problem is that he must find some way to kill Higuchi and take over ownership of the Death Note without L seeing him write in the name. If he lets go of the Note before getting ownership, he will lose his memories again.

Death Note, even though suffering from some gaping holes in the logic department, is one of the most suspenseful and entertaining series being printed right now. The main enjoyment comes from seeing these characters manuever around each other like an elaborate chess game. This enjoyment is sometimes hindered by the writer's inability to come up with clever twists, and instead relying on arcane rules for the Death Note which get too convoluted for so simple an effect. L and Light continue to be interesting characters who still have a few tricks up their sleeves. The art is great and bolsters a superb idea which is not executed consistently. Still a great read.

Average customer rating:

good
Graphic SF Reader
The show must go on.
DOES LIGHT STILL CARE?
The first volume in this series I was not 100% satisfied with...

Death Note, Volume 8
Tsugumi Ohba
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421506297

Book Description

Target:

Light--working as Kira, the newest member of the NPA intelligence bureau, and L--has nearly succeeded in creating his ideal world. But the years of uncontested victory have made him complacent, and he is unprepared for a new attack close to home. With his younger sister Sayu kidnapped and the NPA's Death Note demanded as ransom, Light must travel across the world and confront two new adversaries, each with a very different agenda. Will Light's quick wits be a match for this new challenge, or will he be forced to choose between Kira's ambitions and his own family's lives?

Customer Reviews:

good.......2007-09-11

I'm a fan of the series and although I liked this book I did not enjoy is as much as the books involving L. The plot is good but somewhat predictable as you get used to how"amazingly" smart all of the charaters are.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-04

Light has things back where he wants them, but Near makes contact, calling himself N, and Mello has set up an organised crime power base, and even the president of the USA gets involved.

The not so bright Shinigami that lost the second Death Note needs to get it back, so something else again to complicate things for everyone.

The show must go on........2007-05-27

Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Target (ViZ, 2003)

Light and the team, though they don't know it yet, find themselves unwitting participants in the middle of a battle between the two teens who hope to be named L's successor, Near and Mello, both of whom are out to get the currently-unowned Death Note for their own ends. After the big shakeup in Zero, Ohba is still bringing the noise, though the feeling I got back around volumes 4-5 that he's grasping for ideas to extend various plotlines is starting to surface again. Still, a solid entry in the series. ****

DOES LIGHT STILL CARE?.......2006-12-11

Light's sister, Sayu, has been kidnapped by the rogue L wanna-be Mello and he's asking for the Death Note the Japanese Police have in exchange for her life. In addition, Light's dad is the one that's going to make the exchange. Light's having a hard time reconciling what is best for Kira and what is good for his family. It's been a long time since we've had to see him wrestle with such issues. He's never had to think about killing his own blood yet. Tsugumi Ohba does a good job of making us wonder whether he's making certain decisions because it seems logical or is he making them based on his love for his father and sister. Light is also having to juggle with the charade of being L to most of the world, but Mello and Near, the leader of the SPK taskforce formed by the US president both know the real L is long dead. And what's going to happen when another Shinigami arrives on the scene looking for his stolen death note?

Deathnote is strangely addictive even though at times it cries foul on its logic. It's come a long way in 8 volumes. I remember when Light was thinking small and just killing off smalltime criminals with a tv in his potato chip bag. Now he's getting miffed because someone is messing with his new world order, a world where Kira lurks in every face, killing those that would abuse the innocent. The dilemma with his sister and father serves to not only showcases how low he has sunk in terms of reverse morality but also shows just the sliver of humanity that he still has left. The characters of Mello and Near are even more intriguing than L because they seem to be willing to go much further than L ever did to catch Kira. In Mello's case, even killing people just to test the validity of the Death Note. This is a series that just gets better and better.

If you like this series I would recommend the Boogiepop novels, manga, movie, and anime.

The first volume in this series I was not 100% satisfied with..........2006-11-04

The first half of volume 8 is a total bore. The tension and suspense that I have come to expect from this series was completely lacking in the front half of the book (as well as in the back half of volume 7, but I won't get into that), despite the stakes for the Yagami family being high from the cliffhanger at the end of the last volume. It just wasn't that gripping to question whether Soichiro was going to hand the book over or not. On top of this was the awful use of a lame plot device about a third of the way in. A missle that can neither be tracked nor shot down?! Come on, Ohba! You can do better than this!

The second half of the volume picks up the pace, though. Once the threat level soars again and a new Shinigami is introduced into the mix, Light finally has a game again where the stakes are actually up to his level of playing. Mello and Near have a ways to go to live up to their predecessor, but the ride from here promises to be exciting.

In all, if you've made it to volume 8, you're already a Death Note junkie, and telling you whether or not to get this volume is pointless. If you are browsing this title for the first time, I have to tell you that this isn't the kind of series you can pick up in the middle. Go back and start from volume 1. I promise it'll be worth the wait to get this far.

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