Me Talk Pretty One Day

Amazon.com

Every glimpse we get of Sedaris's family and acquaintances delivers laughs and insights. He thwarts his North Carolina speech therapist ("for whom the word pen had two syllables") by cleverly avoiding all words with s sounds, which reveal the lisp she sought to correct. His midget guitar teacher, Mister Mancini, is unaware that Sedaris doesn't share his obsession with breasts, and sings "Light My Fire" all wrong--"as if he were a Webelo scout demanding a match." As a remarkably unqualified teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sedaris had his class watch soap operas and assign "guessays" on what would happen in the next day's episode.

It all adds up to the most distinctively skewed autobiography since Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia. The only possible reason not to read this book is if you'd rather hear the author's intrinsically funny speaking voice narrating his story. In that case, get Me Talk Pretty One Day on audio. --Tim Appelo

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

"It's a pretty grim world when I can't even feel superior to a toddler." Welcome to the curious mind of David Sedaris, where dogs outrank children, guitars have breasts, and French toddlers unmask the inadequacies of the American male. Sedaris inhabits this world as a misanthrope chronicling all things petty and small. In Me Talk Pretty One Day Sedaris is as determined as ever to be nobody's hero--he never triumphs, he never conquers--and somehow, with each failure, he inadvertently becomes everybody's favorite underdog. The world's most eloquent malcontent, Sedaris has turned self-deprecation into a celebrated art form--one that is perhaps best experienced in audio. "Go Carolina," his account of "the first battle of my war against the letter s" is particularly poignant. Unable to disguise the lisp that has become his trademark, Sedaris highlights (to hilarious extent) the frustration of reading "childish s-laden texts recounting the adventures of seals or settlers named Sassy or Samuel." Including 23 of the book version's 28 stories, two live performances complete with involuntary laughter, and an uncannily accurate Billie Holiday impersonation, the audio is more than a companion to the text; it stands alone as a performance piece--only without the sock monkeys. (Running time: 5 hours, 4 cassettes) --Daphne Durham

Book Description

David Sedaris became a star autobiographer on public radio, onstage in New York, and on bestseller lists, mostly on the strength of "SantaLand Diaries," a scathing, hilarious account of his stint as a Christmas elf at Macy's. (It's in two separate collections, both worth owning, Barrel Fever and the Christmas-themed Holidays on Ice.) Sedaris's caustic gift has not deserted him in his fourth book, which mines poignant comedy from his peculiar childhood in North Carolina, his bizarre career path, and his move with his lover to France. Though his anarchic inclination to digress is his glory, Sedaris does have a theme in these reminiscences: the inability of humans to communicate. The title is his rendition in transliterated English of how he and his fellow students of French in Paris mangle the Gallic language. In the essay "Jesus Shaves," he and his classmates from many nations try to convey the concept of Easter to a Moroccan Muslim. "It is a party for the little boy of God," says one. "Then he be die one day on two... morsels of... lumber," says another. Sedaris muses on the disputes between his Protestant mother and his father, a Greek Orthodox guy whose Easter fell on a different day. Other essays explicate his deep kinship with his eccentric mom and absurd alienation from his IBM-exec dad: "To me, the greatest mystery of science continues to be that a man could father six children who shared absolutely none of his interests." Every glimpse we get of Sedaris's family and acquaintances delivers laughs and insights. He thwarts his North Carolina speech therapist ("for whom the word pen had two syllables") by cleverly avoiding all words with s sounds, which reveal the lisp she sought to correct. His midget guitar teacher, Mister Mancini, is unaware that Sedaris doesn't share his obsession with breasts, and sings "Light My Fire" all wrong--"as if he were a Webelo scout demanding a match." As a remarkably unqualified teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sedaris had his class watch soap operas and assign "guessays" on what would happen in the next day's episode. It all adds up to the most distinctively skewed autobiography since Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia. The only possible reason not to read this book is if you'd rather hear the author's intrinsically funny speaking voice narrating his story. In that case, get Me Talk Pretty One Day on audio. --Tim Appelo

Customer Reviews:

David Sedaris...........2007-09-04

...Need I say more? He is hilarious. I have many books from him and this is really funny.

WHAT A MISNOMER FOR A TITLE.......2007-09-04

Let me start by saying I am a bibliophile and will sometimes buy a book just for the look of it. I ended up throwing the book away rather than offer it to any one else. If I could have given this book something less than one star I would have given it a negative fifteen (-15). I found this book gross, crass and inappropriate. I've read books with strong language in them, but never like this one that has filthy language just for the sake of using filthy language. I wouldn't have this book in my home and am sorry that I read the whole thing, but it was a private book club choice. As it turned out no one else finished reading it. DON'T BUY, READ or OWN THIS BOOK!

Always Enjoyable.......2007-08-30

Good book. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but it is full of the kind of humor you would expect from Sedaris. Well worth the price and effort.

Hilarious!.......2007-08-19

I love this book. My copy is completely worn out - I rarely re-read a book, but I did this one. I forced it on all my friends. Very sick and hilarious!

Hysterical.......2007-08-14

I am a huge Sedaris fan. This is one of his best. I just couldn't help giggling and laughing out loud like a fool. People looked at me like I was nuts on the train as I read it. I didn't care, because it is so poignant and funny, so real! Even better, when I can hear his voice in my head, check out his audio books. He's perfect reading his own work.

Average customer rating:

the second book in the UGLIES trilogy
Pretty Special
An exciting sequel to Uglies
great book
Fresh and interesting

Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)
Scott Westerfeld
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689865392

Book Description

Gorgeous. Popular.
Perfect. Perfectly wrong.

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Customer Reviews:

the second book in the UGLIES trilogy.......2007-10-07

Tally, as her name is, is now partying in new pretty town where all of the new pretties live. She has amazing outfits, a wonderful boyfriend, and much more. She's living the dream, or at least, as far as she knows. For there's something from before the pretty operation that is inside her mind somewhere, that she can't remember, but she must figure it out, it's something important. Then, Tally and her boyfriend find a note from before Tally's operation. Once she reads it, her memory of what's wrong with this life becomes clear. Now Tally must try and forget or hide from the authorities what she knows because they don't intend on letting anybody who knows the truth about pretty life survive.

Pretty Special.......2007-09-17

This is a review on the audio book version of "Pretties" written by Scott Westerfeld and performed by the great and talented Carine Montbertrand.

This book, although disguised in Young Adult clothes, makes you think about serious issues in society today. We all watch the news and stare in horror at all the violence, and wars, and economic downfall. We wish there was a cure for disease, and a way to make everyone satisfied with their lives. We buy books on finding our true selves, and spend millions of dollars on makeup and clothes. We have all seen movies like "The Stepford Wives" and watched how dangerous it is to try and make everything "perfect". Most of the time good intentions are plagued with rotten disastrous outcomes. This book takes the "what ifs" and explores their ramifications.

Let's say our government, after looking at the state of the world, comes up with the "ultimate" plan. They want to eradicate poverty, war, disease, pollution, and unhappiness. They see the divide between the rich and poor, beautiful and ugly, privileged and downtrodden. So why not make everyone equal? It would solve everything! If everyone were pretty, and were able to go to parties and wear what they want and just be on permanent vacation than they wouldn't want to take drugs or murder or act like savages. If the government took care of everything like housing, health, and recreation we would have no worries! If we were told that we were ugly from birth and made to live in drab dorms in an even drabbier town all the while observing from arms length the Pretties who live in luxery have gorgeous faces, and are bubbly 24/7....we would count down till that birthday with baited breath.

There are of course, going to be the people who realize that this transformation is wrong. That Ugly isn't Ugly its normal, and the government is so screwed up that they have to escape and live outside the city limits even though it's hard. There are those amongst these outcasts or "smokies" who once worked for the government and they have realized that the citizens aren't being transformed into just the beautiful people; they have been given serious brain lesions to keep them good little automatons forever. But they have a Cure, and someone has to test it.

This is where Tally Youngblood comes in. In the first book she is so desperate to become pretty that she agrees to betray the Smokies, but soon falls in love with one of them and is told about the lesions. After the government's most deadly agents, the Specials, find the smokies anyway Tally has a decision to make. Stay with the Smokies, or make the sacrifice to become pretty and test the cure. The difficulty is that once Tally is Pretty, she will be Pretty-minded, which basically means Air headed. She won't want to be anything but "bubbly" as they put it. She belongs to a clique of pretties called the "Crims" because they play serious tricks, and since Tally once ran away to the smokies she is prime Crim material. Tally is friends again with Shay, who she betrayed in the first book but neither remember that taking place, she also finds a new boyfriend Zane. She and Zane soon realize that deep inside something is different about them and the Crims. They not only play tricks, they are fascinated by the Smokies, and when Tally's promise to test the cure comes back to her, Zane is right beside her to test it.

In "Pretties" we get to experience Tally and Zane and the Crims struggle to overcome their "pretty-mindedness" constantly risking their lives, risking the Specials catching them. Tally has to again choose between Shay and a boyfriend. And Shay starts to follow her own path towards change. The cure works, but something is deadly wrong with Zane and Tally will do anything to save him. I wont give away the ending, but again I zipped out and got the third book because I couldn't wait to find out what happens. I listened to this book, read by Carine Montbertrand, and I cannot recommend it enough. She puts voices to these characters so amazing well and Scott Westerfeld has once again written a book that appeals to all my senses.

An exciting sequel to Uglies.......2007-09-11

This book picks up where Uglies left off - Tally and Shay were caught and made into pretties. While going to all kinds of exciting parties and living an outlandishly fun lifestyle, there are still some memories and nagging doubts in Tally's and Shay's minds about their past experiences with The Smoke.

They hook up with a Pretty clique called The Crims, who are focused (as much as any pretty can be focused!) on becoming "bubbly", or clear-thinking, and do all kinds of stunts for the adrenaline rush that makes them able to think clearly for a few minutes or more at a time.

Tally becomes involved with Zane, the leader of the Crims and the one most obsessed with becoming clear-headed, and when the couple remaining Smokies bring Tally a note from her past Ugly self, and some pills, she and Zane each take one right before getting caught by the city's wardens...

This sequel to Uglies is a bit less action-packed than the first, but has more things to ponder, as we learn more about how their world and community works, the motivations behind the workings of the community, and the ways in which Tally, Zane, Shay, and the rest learn to take power back from the government and learn to think independently, even with the brain changes that are inflicted on pretties.

I was fascinated by the book and it was well worth reading. Definitely don't bother with this if you have not read Uglies yet. You really have to read these in order.

great book.......2007-08-16

This books make you think about a lot about body image and the value we put on beauty in our society.

Fresh and interesting.......2007-08-08

This sequel to Uglies is definitely interesting. I wouldn't recommend reading it without first reading Uglies. The story-line is YA, but as an adult I really enjoyed it. This book continues to be intriguing and makes you want to read the third book (Specials). You'll definitely be left wanting more. Not only is this an interesting story, but it has quite a bit to say on society and human nature.

Average customer rating:

A Super Modern Western Adventure!
Cowboys!~
Part "High Plains Drifter" and Part "Romeo and Juliet."
A wonderful reading experience
All the Pretty Horses

All the Pretty Horses
Cormac Mccarthy
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679744398
Release Date: 1993-06-29

Amazon.com

Part bildungsroman, part horse opera, part meditation on courage and loyalty, this beautifully crafted novel won the National Book Award in 1992. The plot is simple enough. John Grady Cole, a 16-year-old dispossessed Texan, crosses the Rio Grande into Mexico in 1949, accompanied by his pal Lacey Rawlins. The two precocious horsemen pick up a sidekick--a laughable but deadly marksman named Jimmy Blevins--encounter various adventures on their way south and finally arrive at a paradisiacal hacienda where Cole falls into an ill-fated romance. Readers familiar with McCarthy's Faulknerian prose will find the writing more restrained than in Suttree and Blood Meridian. Newcomers will be mesmerized by the tragic tale of John Grady Cole's coming of age.

Book Description

Now a major motion picture from Columbia Pictures starring Matt Damon, produced by Mike Nichols, and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.

The national bestseller and the first volume in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood. Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.

Customer Reviews:

A Super Modern Western Adventure!.......2007-09-22

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews. This review of "All the Pretty Horses" is pretty good. I didn't want to ruin the story by telling too much. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated.

This memorable novel caught me and wouldn't let go. Around 1948, two teenage boys from Texas ride their horses down into Mexico. From there, the adventure begins. For a while, they live at a cattle ranch where the one boy falls in love with the wealthy rancher's daughter.

Highly recommended.

McCarthy is a powerful writer, and his novel "Blood Meridian" is the most powerful novel I ever read (see my review where I compare his prose to that of Conrad).

Blood Meridian:

"That night they rode through a region electric and wild where strange shapes of soft blue fire ran over the metal of the hoses' trappings and the wagonwheels rolled in hoops of fire and little shapes of pale blue light came to perch in the ears of the horses and in the beards of the men. All night sheetlightning quaked and sourceless to the west beyond the midnight thunderheads, making a bluish day of the distant desert, the mountains on the sudden skyline stark and black and lived like a land of some other order out there whose true geology was not stone but fear. The thunder moved up from the southwest and lightning lit the desert all about them, blue and barren, great clanging reaches ordered out of the absolute night like some demon kingdom summoned up or changeling land that come the day would leave them neither trace nor smoke nor ruin more than any troubling dream."

Compare above lines to similar lines in "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad:

"We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, , of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us--who could tell" we were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories."
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West

Cowboys!~.......2007-09-18

This book is short but really interesting. Anybody can read it quickly. The only confusing part is that the book has many quotes but it doesn't say who is saying it. This is why sometimes you have to think twice about who said this and that. The lovestory is not like any typical teenage lovestory- in one word it is DIFFERENT.

Part "High Plains Drifter" and Part "Romeo and Juliet.".......2007-09-10

Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode island and grew up in Tennessee, but now lives in Tesuque, New Mexico. He is viewed by many as one of the more unusual and most talented of the current American writers. For example, Harold Bloom has written a number of things about McCarthy.

Some describe Mccarthy as a loner. Coincidentally, that is what one might call the protagonist in the present novel: John Grady. The novel is set in the 1950s time period and Grady is a young man or mature boy caught between the horse and buggy days of the old west and the new west connected by modern highways. Grady has a fascination for horses and is a talented rider.

The story is about two men who ride their horses into Mexico and work as ranch hands in Mexico. It is part love story and part a tale of justice and adventure, i.e.: Grady meets a woman in Mexico. The protagonist is a sympathetic character and most readers will find it to be a compelling read.

Some might not like it for the prose. The prose is complicated by design. I thought the first thirty pages were sometimes a bit awful but effective as well, but then McCarthy lightens up a bit on his writing. He reminded me a bit of the opening of Farewell to Arms where Hemingway tries to set the mood through the use of prose: Hemingway uses a narrative of the natural surroundings. McCarthy uses expressions such as "the sun sat blood red and elliptic," and these seem out of place when compared to the spartan dialogue of a father and son talking over a breakfast of eggs and coffee.

Also, McCarthy uses what is called polysyndeton, or the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. It is a stylistic scheme used to slow down the tempo. As pointed out by others, polysyndeton is used extensively in the King James Version of the Bible. For example:

"And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." Genesis 7:22-24

One of the best parts in the book - and exceptional writing by the way - is where he describes a dream in the middle of the book about horses running free on a plain and he does so in 18 continuous lines with no punctuation.

So, this is based on some universal themes, set in Texas and Mexico, and has some interesting and complicated prose. Once you get passed page 30 to 50, it is a novel that is hard to put down. I read most of the novel in an evening.

Highly recommended page turner: 5 stars.

A wonderful reading experience.......2007-09-09

This was one of the best reading experiences Ive ever had. What was most important to me was how true to the how people of this lifestyle actually are. I grew up in this type of atmosphere and its a big part of who I am even though it no longer defines me on a daily basis. Working with horses is a lifestyle. It what you live and breathe. McCarthy captures that. It had such an effect on me and took me back to a life I miss so much. Enjoy this book.

All the Pretty Horses.......2007-08-06

I was disappointed in the style of this book. I had just read "Water for Elephants" and was blown away. The reviews I read lead me to this author and the above book. The story line is good however he is slow to develop it. I appreciate discriptive text however a paragraph (or more) it seems to descibbe a dry river bed is a bit much especially when there is one on every page. Alas the last 1/3 of the book will go unread. And I will search for the next W.F.E.

Pretty Little Liars #2: Flawless (Pretty Little Liars)

Average customer rating:

Flawless: A Pretty Little Liars Novel
Namebrands Everywhere
Pretty Little Liars #2 Does NOT disappoint the reader!
Suspenseful New Installment In A Great Series
OMG!!!

Pretty Little Liars #2: Flawless (Pretty Little Liars)
Sara Shepard
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060887338
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hide the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars—Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna—have been very bad girls. . . .

Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives.

And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that.

At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultracompetitive sister? Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself? What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?

One thing's for certain: A's got the dirt to bury them all alive, and with every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message A sends, the girls get a little closer to losing it all.

Customer Reviews:

Flawless: A Pretty Little Liars Novel.......2007-09-14

This book is even more suspenseful than the first one. In Pretty Little Liars, A shows up and she's nothing but a threat. Now, in Flawless, she's carrying out her threats. Nothing is going right for the Rosewood girls. Although, they are starting to have some clue as to who A is.

But are they right?

Namebrands Everywhere.......2007-07-19

I thought the book was fantastic. Starting where "Pretty Little Liars" left off, it picks up the story of four girls, Emily, Spencer, Aria and Hanna, who share a terrible secret. The fifth girl who knew the secret, Ali, who was missing for years, has been found dead.

The girls are receiving text messages and IMs from "A.", who knows all their secrets, past and present. Does this mean Ali's actually alive? Or does someone else know what happened that fateful night?

You won't find out who A is in this book. What you will find is namebrand after namebrand, describing everything from the girls' cars to their clothes to their cigarettes. I found that to be a bit annoying, but I can get over it for a great story.

Pretty Little Liars #2 Does NOT disappoint the reader!.......2007-07-15

Pretty Little Liars #2: Flawless does NOT disappoint the reader! It is packed with more twists and turns keeping the reader guessing the identity of "A" all along the way. There are surprises that I did not anticipate.

The book is a good sequel to Pretty Little Liars #1! I can't wait for #3! This book is appropriate for high school aged girls. I do NOT recommend it for girls younger than high school due to some language and multiple references to sex.

Suspenseful New Installment In A Great Series.......2007-06-22

FLAWLESS is a great guilty-pleasure novel, full of suspense and intrigue hidden behind the perfect masks worn by the inhabitants of the perfect town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. It is also surprisingly deep.

In this continuation of the story begun in PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (DO read PLL first), Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily are still trying to keep their secrets hidden, even from each other, and discover the identity of "A." The page-turning suspense continues, and the mystery only deepens in this book.

The four girls are realistic enough characters, though they don't exactly jump off the page. The writing itself is not breathtaking, but not bad enough to distract from the heart-pounding suspense. In short, the actual writing of this book is mediocre, but the suspense is enough to keep readers hooked.

Book Two is at least as much fun as Book One.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
06/22/2007

OMG!!!.......2007-05-24

The sequel to this book was amazing! I couldn't stop reading it. It was way more intense than the 1st book. Can't wait for the 3rd book to come out.

Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets, Keepsakes

Average customer rating:

Pretty Little Things
Great for inspiration, but not a soldering how-to
Ready, Set, Solder!
A book overflowing with love for art and life.
Scrapbooking under glass

Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets, Keepsakes
Sally Jean Alexander
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1581808429

Book Description

Whimsical and Elegant Projects from Well-Known Collage Artist Sally Jean Alexander

*Shares 27 projects with 30 variations for additional inspiration
*Uses vintage ephemera to create charms, vials, miniature shrines, and reliquary boxes
*Features author Sally Jean Alexander's signature style

With Pretty Little Things, readers will find collage projects that exhibit a playful air and a sense of magic. The twenty-seven projects and thirty variations feature vintage ephemera soldered within glass, for finished works that tell a romantic or whimsical story. All exhibit Sally Jean Alexander's signature style--a style that brings new life to antique papers, vintage photographs, found projects, scavenged text, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty Little Things.......2007-10-11

I have wanted to learn how to make jewelry using a soldering gun, and I found this book very imformative. The magazine is in perfect condition and I am 100% happy.

Great for inspiration, but not a soldering how-to.......2007-10-07

What's great about this book:
The projects featured in this book are fresh, varied, and beautifully photographed. Inspiration abounds; the night I got the book I was so inspired by it that my mind felt like it was going to explode with possibilities and I ended up finally getting out of bed at 2:30am to jot down my ideas so I could get some sleep.

In the back of the book, Sally shares her favorite resources for some of the more exotic materials she uses to create her pieces - this is valuable information. She also shares tips for creating her "look" which were also helpful. Check out her website before buying the book to see if her aesthetic resonates with you [...].

What you won't find in this book:
While the author does give step-by-step instructions for reproducing the pieces featured in her book, this is NOT a how-to book. Her instructions are written with the assumption that the reader is an experienced crafter, specifically in the areas of stained glass and jewelry making and has had some experience with soldering (i.e. knows what flux is and how to use it, among other things). Although when reading the book the instructions seem thorough enough, I found that they came up very short when I actually sat down and attempted to follow them.

Ready, Set, Solder!.......2007-10-02

I originally checked this book out of the library, but was so entranced I had to order a copy for my own library. The book is filled with lots of small projects, like many others - but what's so enchanting (and different) about it is that you end up with USABLE ingredients for other projects when you're done!

Learn to solder - start small, with different types of charms. Progressively more involved pieces teach more advanced techniques. When you've completed just 2 or 3 'mini projects' you've got a set of workable charms for future work - an excellent use of the bits you've made, and SO wonderful when compared to many other books I've seen where you make weird oddments that have no other use when completed other than to have demonstrated a technique. This book builds your technique AND your supplies - a definite winner. I heartily recommend it to artists who are starting to explore other media!

A book overflowing with love for art and life........2007-10-02

I have read all of the reviews here for Sally Jean's "Pretty Little Things." One can see those reviews of the people who perceive the world as half empty.
For me, Sally's book is a glass overflowing with creativity, eye candy and the love for the art that she creates. It's a wonderful insight to see how this amazing artist processes all the inspiration that surrounds her.
Sally gives us a tour of her inner soul...that playful, joyous spirit we all see in her classes. She has translated onto the written page all of her enthusiasm for her art and life.
"Pretty Little Things" is a joy to read. I loved the way that Sally's personality shines through...something that can be lost in a "how to" book. Buy this book, then take one of Sally's classes and you'll see what I mean!

Scrapbooking under glass.......2007-08-27

This book is so much fun. I am a stained glass and scrapbooking hobbyist and have found this book to be a combination of both things and a great source for glass collage. I have had lots of fun with it and have encouraged others to try their hand at this mixed media.

The Pretty Committee Strikes Back (The Clique, No. 5)

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The Pretty Committee Strikes Back (The Clique, No. 5)
Lisi Harrison
Manufacturer: Poppy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316115002

Book Description

A tragic haircut leaves Kristen looking manlier than a New York Jets linebacker. Will she be condemned to a season of trying to find cute hats when, as everyone knows, hats are so over? Meanwhile, Claire's got everything she wants -- new camo converse high-tops, bags and bags of gummies, and best of all, her first ever cell phone, from Massie. Although Claire's now an official member of the Clique, presents don't matter to her -- all she really wants is her first kiss from Cam, of course!

Type & Layout: Are You Communicating or Just Making Pretty Shapes

Average customer rating:

An indispensable guide for typography and layout
An essential for book designers and publishers
Disappointing new edition
type and layout: are you communicating or just making pretty shapes
Beyond Ogilvy

Type & Layout: Are You Communicating or Just Making Pretty Shapes
Colin Wheildon
Manufacturer: The Worsley Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1875750223

Book Description

With additional material by Geoffrey Heard and the original foreword by advertising guru the late David Ogilvy, this is a book for anyone who has a say in what appears in print and needs to know whether, as well as looking good, it will do its job by being read.

Out of print for several years, this expanded and updated edition of the book is based on research carried out by the author in Sydney. Parts were first published in a brochure Communicating or Just Making Pretty Shapes by the Newspaper Advertising Bureau.

It created a furor in the publishing and advertising industry because while it supports some old mores, it demolishes others. As David Ogilvy says in the foreword: "Hitherto designers have had to rely on their guesses as to what works best... all too often they guess wrong. Thanks to Colin Wheildon they no longer have to guess. No guesswork here. Only facts."

Previously published as Type & Layout: How Typography and Design can Get Your Message Across or Get in the Way, by Strathmoor Press, Inc., Berkeley, California, USA. ISBN 0962489158

Customer Reviews:

An indispensable guide for typography and layout.......2006-09-04

As stated in the beginning of Type & Layout, this in "...not a book about opinions, it reports the results of nine years of hard-nosed, rigorous research." For anyone working in publishing, this book is an indispensable guide for using typography and layout that ensures maximum comprehension and readability.

Colin Wheildon covers a wide range of topics including the readability of serif vs. sans-serif body type, upper and lower case vs. ALL CAPS, black vs. color body text, and much more. The conclusions in this book are clear, the supporting research data is convincing and the examples provided are enlightening.

The only thing I don't like about this book is the horrible cover design (front and back) and the ad for other Worsley Press books in the back. As David Ogilvy states in the forward, the person who ignored the rules presented in this book "should be burned in oil." In any case, I highly recommend this book if you have never read this before.

An essential for book designers and publishers.......2006-04-05

This classic offers not opinions but facts based on surveys. It is one of those books I deem as an essential for my publishing library. No other book covers the subject with such clarity and credibility. It is a must-have for anyone involved in the layout and design of the printed word, whether a book, a magazine or
an advertisment. As a typesetter and publisher I refer to it often.

Disappointing new edition.......2005-11-09

I adored the first edition of Type & Layout. When I saw it was being reprinted, I promptly bought copies for every graphic designer I know and wrote a glowing review of it for Amazon.com. Then I received my copy of this new edition, and I have deleted my glowing review to submit this much-dimmer one. Geoffrey Heard, who provided the "additional material" for this edition, has taken a readable, well-laid-out book and transformed it into a mess of drawings of eyeballs, arrows pointing every which way, scattered call-outs, multiple exclamation points and question marks, and unnecessarily dramatic pronouncements ("A shocker!"). Every one of Wheildon's rules is broken in the layout of this new edition, and Heard should be permitted nowhere near Photoshop. I wonder who decided that Weildon's book, which had been through four printings and stood the test of time, needed improvement, or that Heard was the guy to improve it. The good news is that most of Wheildon's original work remains intact. So, buy this book, ignore all the extraneous, messy, goofiness that Heard infused into it -- you'll know it when you see it -- and give it all of your designer friends with the disclaimer that it used to be a really great book.

type and layout: are you communicating or just making pretty shapes.......2005-08-30

finally a book that uses actual studies to determine the most easily read type and layout. great book.

Beyond Ogilvy.......2005-07-27

If you've ready Ogilvy On Advertising, you've been slightly introduced to some of the concepts in this book.

This however goes deep and covers so much more of the how and why. The book will revolutionize the way you look at the print/advertising world. You'll recognize all the garbage that's pumped every day, and you'll appreciate it when you come across a real layout gem.

Pretty Party Cakes: Sweet and Stylish Cakes and Cookies for All Occasions

Average customer rating:

Be Inspired
Artistic
Great resource!
Really pretty party cakes
recycled ideas

Pretty Party Cakes: Sweet and Stylish Cakes and Cookies for All Occasions
Peggy Porschen
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Cakes | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0307337073
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Book Description

A romantic Three-Column Wedding Cake adorned with fresh roses; eye-catching Kalei-doscope Cakes iced in geometric designs; glittering Bollywood-inspired lollipop cookies—you don’t have to go to a high-end bakery to be able to serve these beautiful desserts at your next party. Master cake decorator Peggy Porschen shares her designs for the gorgeous cookies, cupcakes, and cakes that have graced some of the world’s most discriminating tables—and they’re as easy to create as they are spectacular. Written for everyone from beginning bakers to seasoned pros, each design in Pretty Party Cakes is broken down into basic steps that turn even complicated cake sculptures into rewarding, accessible creations.

Pretty Party Cakes is brimming with dozens of innovative designs that are all based on fundamental recipes provided in Porschen’s introduction to the basics. This section also covers the equipment and techniques needed to make her luscious creations. Once you’ve mastered the key skills, you can confidently move to chapters on cookies, cupcakes, miniature cakes, and large cakes. Designs range from sparkling heart cakes and butterfly-topped pastel cupcakes to enchanting, edible Treasure Boxes that can be used to present gifts. Ambitious bakers can create stunning desserts such as the Romantic Rose Tower cake and Gift Box Cake, and even simpler sweets such as Alphabet Cookies and Chocolate Canapés will wow your guests with their alluring presentation.

Packed with tips, step-by-step images, and striking photographs to accompany every design, Pretty Party Cakes brings together everything you need to re-create Peggy Porschen’s delicious masterpieces. Whether you’re preparing a wedding cake for dozens of guests or creating a showstopping dessert for an intimate dinner party, these stunning designs will be sure to rival the cakes that line the windows of the chicest designer bakeries.

An all-encompassing guide to creating shockingly simple—yet stunning—cakes, cookies, and cupcakes that rival those from even the most fashionable designer bakeries.

Customer Reviews:

Be Inspired.......2007-09-03

This book is small, but mighty! It is amazingly simplistic yet provides a wealth of inspiration for creative inspiration. The photography is breathtakking.

I think that with practice you can master the cookies, marzipan, gumpaste and fondant decorations in this book. Piping royal icing flowers is a bit more daunting. I would suggest a class or video for royal and butter cream icing flowers Wilton How to Make Icing Flowers DVD because they can be a bit tricky (at least for me.)

This book provides six basic recipes for cookies, cakes and frostings. My hope is that you are purchasing the book for decorating ideas and instruction, not for the recipes. The author's decorating syle is clean, but very elegant. The book provides a strong decorating foundation -- you can use this as a springboard for your imagination.

This is the perfect book if you want to make your first decorated cookies or petit fours. If you are making your first tiered cake this book will provide inspiration, but you may need to supplement it with other sources for complete instruction.

Artistic.......2007-06-08

This is another of those step-by-step cake guides that was very well worth the money. This particular book kept selling out at Michaels so I had to go online and purchase. Definitely not disappointed

Great resource!.......2007-05-20

I just got into cake making and sugar craft and this book is the first I ordered. It is great and I've had a lot of success following Porschens' advice. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that not all temperatures and cake pan times needed are included. For example, I made a cake from two square 8x8 pans and the only baking directions I could find were for either cupcakes or a sheetcake. Instead of baking at 400 degrees as suggested I lowered the temp to 350 and just kept checking until done. Still came out great, thank goodness. The basic cake recipe tastes wonderful with the soaking syrup (I'd never tried that before)but the sugar cookie recipe was a little bland. Beautiful cookies though! I REALLY like this book and will be happy to take credit for Porschens beautiful dessert designs for years to come!

Really pretty party cakes.......2007-05-08

One of the best. I own a lot of cake decorating books and this is one of my bibles. As somebody said, it's looks as good inside as looks outside. Porshen work is so fresh, clean and neat that you can not stop checking it over and over. I do not like make recommendations, but either if you are a beginner or a professional, you will love this book

recycled ideas.......2007-03-31

I flipped through this book at our local library. I started out being pretty impressed because the book is nicely done, but then I started seeing a lot of recycled ideas from various American cake and cookie artists. That was rather disappointing.

Romantic Style: Lovely homes, pretty rooms, gentle settings (Better Homes & Gardens)

Average customer rating:

May not be for everybody,but I loved it!
Continually Inspiring ......
So beautiful and filled with ideas
Romance for American homes
What's missing are the "details" ...

Romantic Style: Lovely homes, pretty rooms, gentle settings (Better Homes & Gardens)
Better Homes and Gardens Books
Manufacturer: Better Homes and Gardens
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0696212390

Customer Reviews:

May not be for everybody,but I loved it! .......2007-06-13

This decorating book may not be for everybody, but I SURE DID LOVE IT!

If you are expecting a "HOW TO" decorating book, then this is book may not be for you. However, if you've been looking for a book with wonderful photos of truly romantic (modern) homes, [and with GORGEOUS photos], then you might like this book, as I did.

(Plz note... my stress is on the words :"ROMANTIC MODERN")

This is more or less a coffee-table book. At least that's how I see it.

As with most BETTER HOMES books, this book has gorgeous photos, as stated before.

Once again, I have to say that the stress of this book is on "modern romantic" style decorating.

Continually Inspiring .............2006-11-22

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've referred to and reread this book over the years. It always reinspires me to try to achieve the casual, opulent, lush, intriguing, chic, timeless feelings expressed on the pages of this book. I highly recommend this book to inspire and guide your own decorating vision.

So beautiful and filled with ideas.......2002-08-23

Until I got this book, my favorite decorating book in the last year or so was French Influences. This book is in the same vein as French Influences, but it is shot in what look to be American homes. The European style decorating ideas are translated for you. Not only do I love this book, but so many of my friends pick it up and want it when they come over that I've started giving it as birthday and wedding gifts.

Romance for American homes.......2002-05-08

I had to write my own review because I just read a review from someone who said that the book was about European interiors (or something like that). The book is clearly photographed in American homes and is full of romantic ideas that I can use here in the northeast. I can easily translate the ideas in the book using new furniture and decorative accessories from local stores and from some of my favorite catalogs (like Ballard Designs and Rue de France).

What's missing are the "details" ..........2002-04-29

If you're expecting a DIY 'how-to' of Romantic Style, you will not find it in the pages of this book. Granted, it is filled with beautifully-breathtaking photos of all of the homes showcased but, if you're looking for the "real" how-to "details," they're sorely missing.

Looking at photos is definitely awe-inspiring -- but, I want to hear the 'details' of how each look was achieved ... along with alternative options for creating the same, or similar, looks on anyone's budget. Romantic Style took the form of a somewhat elitist expression of 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' instead of a 'to-the-masses' type read.

And, at least in my circle of friends, acquaintances and design colleagues, very few have the unlimited funds to jet off to Europe, Asia or Africa whenever the urge strikes to bring back antiques, furniture and furnishings to transform their homes into the "romantic style" as most of the homes showcased have described. With a unlimited gold card and frequent access to jet around the world I, too, could create rooms to rival the ones in this book - but, in the real world, it would have been more beneficial if the book had shown a wider range of ideas for achieving the looks -- from budget-conscious - to - carte blanche.

The photos are definitely beautiful, but the true substance leaves something to be desired.

Average customer rating:

Both theory and practice plus free modeling software

A great tool for the capacity planner or performance analyst

concise and lucid exposition on performance analysis

Analyzing Computer Systems Performance: With Perl: PDQ
Neil J. Gunther
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Software Development | Software Design, Testing & Engineering | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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Guerrilla Capacity Planning: A Tactical Approach to Planning for Highly Scalable Applications and Services

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ASIN: 3540208658

Book Description

Analyzing computer system performance is often regarded by most system administrators, IT professionals and software engineers as a black art that is too time consuming to learn and apply. Finally, this book by acclaimed performance analyst Dr. Neil Gunther makes this subject understandable and applicable through programmatic examples. The means to this end is the open-source performance analyzer Pretty Damn Quick (PDQ) written in Perl and available for download from the author’s Website: www.perfdynamics.com.

As the epigraph in this book points out, Common sense is the pitfall of performance analysis. The performance analysis framework that replaces common sense is revealed in the first few chapters of Part I. The important queueing concepts embedded in PDQ are explained in a very simple style that does not require any knowledge of formal probability theory. Part II begins with a full specification of how to set up and use PDQ replete with examples written in Perl. Subsequent chapters present applications of PDQ to the performance analysis of multicomputer architectures, benchmark results, client/server scalability, and Web-based applications. The examples are not mere academic toys but are based on the author's experience analyzing the performance of large-scale systems over the past 20 years. By following his lead, you will quickly be able to set up your own Perl scripts for collecting data and exploring performance-by-design alternatives without inflating your manager’s schedule.

Customer Reviews:

Both theory and practice plus free modeling software.......2006-09-18

The coverage of the theory in the first part of the book is very well done. However, its the practical examples in the second half where the book really shines. There are a number of examples modeling client server and web applications.

A copy of his modeling tool, PDQ, is available by download from his website. This version is in Perl. Even though I am not a very experienced Perl programmer I think this is an interesting way to get more practice by building PDQ models. The PDQ package is explained very well and a number of example models are covered.

Some of the examples are from various scattered publications. It's great to get these example models collected in one volume. Dr. Gunthers characteristic sense of humor comes through in the examples.

There is some very practical information about model validation and what to do to account for hidden latencies. There are clear examples of how to practice the art of applying queuing models to real problems.

I would have liked to see some more examples of load dependent servers. Overall I rate the book five stars and I really appreciate getting the modeling software for free!

A great tool for the capacity planner or performance analyst.......2005-05-26

This book lays out basics of queuing theory in a way that is both understandable and easy to apply. I have fumbled for years using complex performance analysis tools without ever really knowing whether or not I'm getting the right answer. Now I know what looks right and what doesn't. Gunther has an easy to follow style as he introduces the concepts of queuing theory. Then he shows you how to apply what you have learned using real life examples. It's a definite "must have" for the capacity planner or system performance analyst.

concise and lucid exposition on performance analysis.......2005-05-12

dr. gunther has written a gem of a performance analysis book. for starter, the unix load average is a wonderful detective story. i especially liked chapter 5 with real performance analysis experiences applying queueing theory discussed in both chapter 2 and 3. the best part is dr. gunther's exposition of queueing theory into the essence for the working performance analysts. in addition, appendix B on buffers and appendix C on memoryless property are the most lucid explanation i have read. i would also heartily recommend dr. gunther's other book, the practical performance analyst.

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