My copy of the book, literally in pieces, held together by elastic, would probably be worth about $1.87 tops except for the wonderful handwritten recipes on many of the pages and inside covers of this wonderful book.Here are handwritten recipes on how to cure hams, preserve 100 pounds or more of meat in a barrel, make and preserve cider, and other fascinating looks into how people actually lived at the turn of the century (apparently, in the country). How I wish I knew who the author of these handwritten notes was!Also glued into the book is a newspaper clipping with a recommended Christmas Dinner Menu, and instructions on how to prepare some of the menu items.The Menu follows:Star Christmas RelishOlives Cream of Tomato Soup CeleryCrabmeat Dewey RollsCider Cup Young Shoal SpinachMilk fed Watertown Goose a la Tiny TimSweet Potato in Melon Form, with Sprig of HollyChestnuts and RaisinsStar of Bethlehem SaladPoinsetta (sic) Plum Pudding, Hard SauceIndividual Ice Cream in Form of Christmas CandlesStar Christmas Cakes BonbonsAssorted FruitCoffee Camembert CheeseToasted CrackersStar Christmas Relish consisted of 6 blue point oysters for each person, 3 artichokes per person and, mushrooms and caviar (a 35 cent can) prepared in an elegant way.Young Shoal is a complete suckling pig. It is important to ask each guest if they would prefer ear, head, or lower jaw. What is done with the rest, I cannot guess.It gives one pause to imagine preparing this meal. It gives one even greater pause to consider consuming it. It must have taken hours to dine. But it would have been a wonderful experience!
A very clever YA book, which kept my attention throughout. Well plotted, well paced. I recommend this to fans of YA books.
This book is the first in the series about Charlie Castellio, a super-hero kind of guy that we all wish actually existed and worked to save us all. The story line was interesting, and moved right along. In fact, it jumped around a little too much for my tastes. My complaint with this one is the absolute lack of any resolution of the many point of the plot--in fighting and territorialness in the various intelligence agencies in the USA. The main point of the book was that good ole Charlie/Carlos at a tender age it seems to me was asked by the President to examine the intelligence agencies to see what each knew about a particular incident.There was absolutely no resolution to this question--it just drifted off into space. A major annoyance to me were the outright lies one of the members of an agency told about a situation that nearly cost the USA a great deal of misery; absolutely nothing in the book regarding what if anything was done to this person when it was discovered. Not one word. Or, come to that, what was done about an injustice done to another agent due to this other than a vague "It'll be alright" kind of thing. And the main female lead was so unlikely as to be a detriment. And, of course, the constant calling of the lead character "Don Juan" was just idiotic. My true problem with this edition, however, is the HORRIBLE audio book properties. There are clever sound effects added, esp. when a battle rages, as they always do in this series. I don't need gunfire, loud booms, sirens, and God knows what else screaming in the background, in spots nearly drowning out the narrator. Very amateur, very childish, very distracting, very irritating. Had I know these things were part of the edition, I would not have listened to it.My other quibble -- why does one of the main characters, an American Colonel, speak with a British accent? Ridiculous. This book would be a good bathtub or beach read, but I can't recommend this audio edition -- the production flaws outweigh the reasonably good story, albeit one without adequate resolution of plot lines.
I am not ADD but am organizationally frustrated and often can't seem to get it all together in the the life-organization area.This book has some very helpful ideas to help the organizationally challenged. Much of it is material you have heard before, but the suggestions regarding breaking tasks down into manageable steps were very helpful to me. Also the recommendations regarding the visual cues to tasks (which I had been using in a similar way already) were very helpful.The book had more space devoted to keeping a family with children in order than I need, not having kids, but most of the material was quite pertinent.I recommend this book to people who could use a little encouragement to get their life more in order.
It took me 9/10ths of forever to get through this book. I simply could not get involved. I wanted to like it, really, because I hate not liking first books by authors who seem like nice people working hard, but I just COULD NOT GET INTERESTED.To me, it was just another dystopian, vampire/demon/assorted unknowns from another world/dimension/time or whatever story that didn't have much new to offer once you got over the idea of demons, not vampires which are always so popular now.I needed more backstory/details: what happened to the world to cause all this trouble (details)? Where is the Army, Navy, Civil Defense, Area 51 people, etc. Did they just all vanish? Why was the idiot in charge; people had no balls (excuse the term) to stand up to him; how come so many guys are chasing after this little girl; what's with the angels, etc.Sorry to the author, it just doesn't do it for me. It' going to the library booksale.
Superficial look at supposedly famous, and in some cases, actually famous people's homes. No detail at all, just 2 or maybe 4 pages of pictures of various houses with various degrees of taste. Often shows that money doesn't buy good taste.
Dreams, idle dreams. Or, how the other .001% live.If I were filthy rich, I'd have jewelry like this. Not to wear, just to look at. Admire. Fondle. Hang on the Christmas tree instead of ornaments. I'd put the rings and bracelets in crystal wine glasses and underlight them in a cabinet. What a display that would be; unpretentious, but flaming.Wearing it would be suicide. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have it!
Nice enough book with good photos but nothing really new or innovative.If you've read the magazine, you've read the book.Definitely for the younger, thinner crowd.
Interesting, detailed biography of the Queen and her dysfunctional family.Particularly interesting was the chapter on Phillip the Consort. I never had much respect for him, and this book did little to improve my opinion. Basically, an immature man who was never able to accept the fact that he wasn't number one in authority, since he married the Queen. He should have given this problem some thought before his marriage; so should she. But given the fact that he was literally a penniless relative nobody, and that she loved him, how could he not marry her? He had nowhere to go but up. On the other hand, according to the author, the Queen cut him off in the bedroom soon after Anne was born (until she decided to have another child, many years later) so he can't be completely blamed for his wandering eye and philandering ways. Some of the book is a little dated now, particularly the bits about Camilla and Charles; it was obviously written before their marriage. Particularly humorous is the contention that one of the good things about Camilla was that she never had a desire to be Queen. We'll see. All in all, Elizabeth, for all her money and position, has had a fairly crappy life. No choice in career, over-dedication to duty to the expense of her children and marriage, no freedom of movement, seriously dull life of opening and closing bridges and supermarkets, etc. And apparently not much joy. On the other hand, no job or money worries. It would be interesting to know if, in retrospect, she would make different choices, esp. regarding her family. But being the classy, close mouthed lady that she is, we'll never know.All in all, I'd not trade her even.
Not Ms. Quick's best. The plotline it a typical Quick one - innocent heroine (probably virginal), dark mysterious possibly dangerous hero, various threats to the lady, ritual deflowering of the virgin in the library, hero to the rescue, happy ending. These books are all the same and the pleasure is in seeing how the resolution is reached, not in wondering what will happen at the end. Fine.But books should be somewhat believable in their own sphere I think.No woman in her right mind, then or now, would have put up with the verbal abuse the heroine received from her hero and continue to stare at him in wonder and inform him that it's all her fault and he is perfect and wonderful and kind beneath his rough exterior, so to speak. Particularly irritating were some of the romantic scenes, esp. immediately after the heroine was verbally tongue lashed by the hero. She would have conked him on the head with the chamber pot and returned to her own bedroom if she had any self respect at all. Also, how many times can one read of aching loins and his (various adjective) member before one begins to laugh? And what man could tolerate the heroine's star struck innocence for long? Normal women eventually wise up and grow up, but this heroine appears to be stuck at age 15 mentally for the rest of her life.Mainly I enjoy these romances from Amanda Quick as light bedtime reads without any stress or great thought required which might keep me awake, but this one was so ridiculous that it irritated me, thus defeating the reason for reading it. If 1.5 stars were available, that would be my opinion. OK for a beach read if you can stand assininity.
Edward VIII, by Frances Donaldson, is an excruciatingly detailed biography of Edward VIII, more commonly known as the Duke of Windsor. Much emphasis is placed upon his upbringing (not one one would envy, despite the wealth and title). The royal parents were actually quite crappy parents when you get down to it, and much of the later behaviour of the Duke can be laid at their feet.However, in the end, the portrait painted of the Duke is one of a man, not too bright to put it mildly, badly educated, and surrounded without sycophants who told him what he wanted to hear, but with a great deal of physical charm and a practical sense of how to relate to the "common man." The tragedy is of course that all this talent was completely wasted because he chose, early on, to marry another man's wife and spent the rest of his life a) making that happen and b) paying the consequences. The concurrent description of Wallis Simpson was very interesting as well. She was described by many (in other books as well) as not loving him quite as much as he loved her. If she had truly wanted to prevent the "tragedy" of the life of the Duke, she would not have permitted his attentions, and would have absented herself from his presence permanently. She didn't, and much if not most of the blame for his aimless and sad later life is to be placed at her feet.At the end of the book, and the end of his life, it's impossible not to make comparisons between the Duke and the current Prince of Wales. Consider: the Duke gave up the throne and lived a life, mainly pointless, with no real job or point to his life because he broke up a marriage and then married the divorcee. He spent the rest of his life hopelessly trying to get the Royal Family to recognize Wallis, and grant her the title of Her Royal Highness (they didn't). The current Prince broke up a marriage, married the woman in question, lives a life without a real job or aim to his life, is surrounded by sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear, but lost nothing at all in status, money, title, etc. His wife will by all accounts become Queen of England one day. It is amazing what the passage of 80 years changed in the way of acceptance of what is identical behaviour.What would the Royal Family be like now if Edward had not found it necessary to abdicate? He would have remained King. The Queen would have remained a Princess, Charles would not be the heir apparent. The entire Diana tragedy would not have occurred. Camilla would not be Queen in waiting.