Polite Sex: A Novel

Customer Reviews:

No end in sight..........2002-12-23

Felt this book was a good read until the end. There was also no distinct climax of the story. Also, the end just drapped off, leaving the reader without any feeling of completeness.

Highly specialized love - of a particular sort.......2000-06-26

First off I have to say I'm not worthy to write a review of any James Wilcox novel - but I saw that it hadn't been reviewed and it's my favorite of his novels, so I'll try.

The fun of this book, and of all of Wilcox's books, is how each character speaks for himself and succeeds in giving himself and his secrets away while trying very hard to retain his dignity and his secrets.

Wilcox's books are FUN, and sly, and witty, and sometimes hard for mere mortals such as myself to understand at first.

The two main characters, Emily and Clara, will be competing for your affection along with those of the men in the novel, whether they admit it or not. I think perhaps Wilcox's motto towards his characters could be "to understand all is to forgive all." Wilcox has a wonderful understanding of the beauty of human nature - and he certainly taught me to appreciate people's imperfections as part of their beauty.

I have recently discovered Gail Godwin's excellent novels (The Good Husband and Violet Clay) and I think if you like her novels you will enjoy James Wilcox's Polite Sex.

Customer Reviews:

The author is good.......2007-03-23

I have read all her books. She is very goood

I like other Diana Palmer books much better.......2006-04-29

I thought that this book was ok. I would not re-read it though. This book did not lack in action and suspence though, there was a lot undercover agents, secret missions, police forces, special agents , etc... in this book that it kept me reading it. Other than that, there was hardly any romance in it. I bought this book as a romance book and it really wasn't. The second story was better than the first. In the first story, Eb and Sallie had a bitter past together and they seemed just too forgive and forget very easily. Like in one day they were friends. Then came all the action with the drug lords and Eb ended up saving the day! The second story was rushed but I liked it better than the first. It played off of the first story, so it leads off where the other ended. So, you enojy the mercs, going undercover to catch a drug lord. I think that Mrs. Palmer should have just wrote this as one big book instead of two.

Curl Up With This Book.......2006-02-25

whenever I want a 'feel good' night, I curl up with a diana Palmer book and this one is no exception. Having read subsequent books that reerred to both of these men, it was great to read their stories, and they certainly are hunky guys. Although some scenes really require a 'wllling suspension of disbelief," you'll know what romance is all about when you finish.

Formulaic to say the least........2006-01-16

First let me clarify: this is from the Media Scholar's wife. What's good about this book is its' price: it's cheap. You get two stories for the price of one. What the back cover doesn't tell you is that both stories are part of a series and are completely connected (which I, as a reader, don't love). I can live with that, though. Unfortunately, the similarities don't end there. Along with having the same characters, it has the same general plot. It is 100% predictable. The last chapter of the second story is there for the sole purpose of introducing another book, the next in the undisclosed series which- surprise- has the same plot! If you have a favorite plot and enjoy series/soap operas, then this book is for you. Another book by Diana Palmer, A Matter of Trust, is virtually the same as this one. Lucky me, I read them back to back. I most likely will not read another written by this author.

$Bound By Honor : Mercenary's Woman\The Winter Soldier$
Average customer rating:

Bound By Honor : Mercenary's Woman\The Winter Soldier
Diana Palmer
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OXD7TO

Shapers Chronicles: The Wreckers
Average customer rating:

Fantastic

The Wreckers

Shapers Chronicles: The Wreckers
Dan Kirk
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1411643577

Book Description

Book One of the classic on-line story finally available in print. Justin Ackeman learns that the end of the world is the beginning of a new one for him as he sets off on a path of self-discovery. Able to shape reality with the power of his mind, he learns that there are always terrible consequences for unbridled power.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic.......2006-03-27

I have read this and it is a wonderful story. DK writes some great stories and I urge anyone who loves a good story to read this. It truly is a wonderful saga. Can't wait for all the other novels in this series to come out. Make sure you check out Dan's other works which are just as great.

The Wreckers.......2006-02-16

I first read this story online at a web site devoted to gay themed fiction. I thought this story was fantastic and I was very pleased when Dan decided to publish it. There will be two more books after this. The story is original and takes place in a world that we hope to never see. Yes, gay characters abound, but the sex has been edited out. I think Dan Kirk is on his way to greatness as an author. I recommend this book to anyone who likes alternative history.

Fit Food: Eating Well for Life
Average customer rating:

A great tool for healthy eating

Fit Food: Eating Well for Life

Manufacturer: Hatherleigh Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Healthy | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Natural Foods | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The New American Plate Cookbook: Recipes for a Healthy Weight and a Healthy Life

Diabetes Fit Food

The EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes for Simple, Everyday Suppers in 45 Minutes or Less

American Heart Association One-Dish Meals: Over 200 All-New, All-in-One Recipes

EatingWell Serves Two: 150 Healthy in a Hurry Suppers

Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 1578261465
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Book Description

What we eat fuels our bodies, shapes our health, and is central to our well-being. Every year, scientists learn more about the strong relationship between food and health. Luckily, eating right has never been easier to do or more delicions for your taste buds—when you know how. The Fit Foods—everyday foods like blueberries or turkey or yogurt—are your ingredients for wellness, deliciously. Together, the 21 Fit Foods reinforce each other's health benefits and supply your body with the nourishment it needs for a long and healthy life.

Ellen Haas is a leading expert on healthy eating and founder and CEO or FoodFit.com, a popular source for healthy eating on the web. When she launched FootFit.com in 2000, it was a natural extension of her long career dedicated to consumer advocacy. Her new book, Fit Food, captures the essence of the valuable information found on FoodFit.com. Starting with the basics of nutrition, it takes you beyond the science to focus on the everyday foods that contribute to your health. This handy, easy-to-use resource helps you eat well and stay fit, dieting or no dieting. It showcases top chef-created recipes and the best tips and expert advice from FoodFit.com.

Customer Reviews:

A great tool for healthy eating.......2005-06-04

This book is a terrific tool for those of us interested in healthy eating. The recipes are easy to prepare, cooking instructions are simple and most recipes take less than half an hour for prep. That the book contains recipes from famous chefs adapted as low fat, using fresh ingredients that are locally grown is a real bonus. Susan Spicer's jambalaya is a favorite in our household. Finally that the book is more at home on the kitchen counter than a coffee table speaks volumes about its usefulness to the home cook.

Time to Eat! 15 Minute Meals for Busy Parents
Average customer rating:

Time to read - this cookbook!

Time to Eat! 15 Minute Meals for Busy Parents
Nicole Straight
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Reference | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1411654153

Book Description

If you are short on time, but still want to make a fresh, healthy meal for your family, Time to Eat! teaches you how easy it is to make a meal from scratch in 15 minutes that everyone in the family will enjoy. Written by a professional chef and mother of two.

Customer Reviews:

Time to read - this cookbook!.......2007-01-18

Even though I'm currently a stay-at-home mom, the time still flies by and before I know it it's 6pm and the kids are hungry and I've got to put something on the table - quick! When even the kids are sick of the chicken nuggets and noodles, I know it's time for me to broaden the menu. This book has a great (but small) variety of short, easy-to-make (hence the 15 minutes thing) meals that are tasty! Includes: quick panty list & recipies organized by poultry, meat, seafood, vegetarian, how to throw a stress-free dinner party w/recipes, soups and casseroles, and the BEST part - healthy lunches & snack for kids!

Winchester Model 52: Perfection in Design
Average customer rating:

Superb Technical Reference

Probably the best book available on the topic...

Great research tool

A must own for winchester collectors

When you read this book, you'll know why the 52 is a 10!

Winchester Model 52: Perfection in Design
Herbert Houze
Manufacturer: Gun Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Firearms & Weapons | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

US Martial .22RF Rifles

Winchester Slide-Action Rifles: volumes i & ii (Winchester Classics)

Winchester Pocket Guide: Identification & Pricing For 50 Collectible Rifles And Shotguns

The Gun Digest Book Of .22 Rimfire: Rifles, Pistols, Ammunition

Rimfire Rifles: Assembly Disassembly (Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly: Part 3 Rimfire Rifles)

ASIN: 0896891631

Book Description

A collection of 190 rare photos and documents from the Winchester company archive make this the unmistakable authority on the king of the .22 caliber rifles. This paperback version of Winchester Model 52 packs all the details of the original, in a softcover format.

Illustrations and authentic brochures assist readers in their discovery of the historic development of what many believe is the most perfect rifle ever produced. The evolution of this rifle is covered in exhaustive detail with discussions on trigger mechanism, accuracy and handling, along with myth-squelching data. Collectors and marksmen alike will appreciate symbol identifiers, 60 years of sales numbers and more in this one-of-a-kind reference.

-Features data on the five types of Winchester 52 to give enthusiasts greater depth of coverage

-Includes 190 detailed photos for use in identifying models

-Winchester .22 sales data for 1920-80 offers hard-to-find historical details

Customer Reviews:

Superb Technical Reference.......2006-07-09

Once again, Herb Houze hit a homerun with his efforts to discuss the history of the Winchester Model 52, and the detail all of the technical specifications. I highly recommend superbly written reference book to anyone who owns or collects the Model 52 Rifle.

Probably the best book available on the topic..........2004-06-06

Excellent reference with a heavy emphasis on the VERY early development of the Winchester 52. If you want to see copies of internal Winchester correspondence, history, marketing and competitive issues, this is the source.

Additional information is spread chronologicaly throughout the book, and sometimes not easy to retrieve. The index could be a bit more comprehensive.

My biggest recommendation for improvement would be to include a couple of simple tables, with side-by-side photographs. As follows:
1. The different styles of stocks used in the various models.
2. Better illustrations of the various barrel types.
3. Listings and photos of all the various sight options available on the 52. There were SO many options it will blow your mind.
4. Common "extras" such as contemporary slings, etc.

All in all, I don't want to cast a negative shadow on the book. I highly recommend it. If you're interested in buying a 52, or you have one and you're trying to figure out what you have... it's a must buy.

Great research tool.......2000-11-15

I acquired a Model 52 with a 2** serial number minus the receiver sight. The gunshops I spoke to didn't have a clue. I found this book on the internet, bought it and not only found out what I needed to know about the sight and where to get one, but learned a great deal about the 52. If you have a 52, this is the information to learn why it was developed and why it established a niche in 22 history.

A must own for winchester collectors.......2000-08-31

a great book w/ many pitchers and detailed dwgs. of the greatest .22 ever designed, my only complainte would be that there isn't enough on the year made vs. ser. number. but a great book worth every cent for the information provided.

When you read this book, you'll know why the 52 is a 10!.......1999-12-16

The book is a wonderful read on how the rifle was developed and changed over the years. I found it excellent reading (because I own several 52s). I do wish the author would have researched more on serial numbers...the current info only gives you a guess on when a certain rifle was made. For example, I own #88265 NIB and can not figure out from the book when it was made. 1955? 1956? Overall, the book is a great reference and would like to see another 52 book that focused on repair, modification, and values. If you own a 52, you'll want this one on your coffee table!

Book Description

Paul Johnson has produced an approach to literacy development that is both astonishingly original and powerfully stimulating. Using simple, easy-to-follow instructions, supported throughout with clear diagrams and examples of children's work, he demonstrates how scores of different book forms can be made from a single sheet of paper. Moreover, all that is required to produce most of the fifty-odd book forms and variations described here in detail are paper, pens, and a pair of scissors.

Customer Reviews:

Literacy through book arts.......2007-04-06

This is a fantastic teaching resource. There so many great projects to try and all the children I've made books with have been thrilled with their results.

An excellent resource for the teacher.......1999-06-04

What an excellent resource for any teacher. The activities are interesting and thought-provoking. My students were so excited about creating their very own books!

Holistic learning experience for the child........1998-10-29

An excellent presentation of the holistic learning experience book arts can be for the child. Creating a book calls upon skills that will stand the child in good stead throughout life: planning, collaborating, discussing, consensus building. Also, technological, writing, visual, and design skills are challenged and strengthened.

Average customer rating:

The Great Origami Book
Zulal Ayture-Scheele
Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

Origami | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Large Origami Paper : 24 9" X 9" Sheets in 12 Colors
Origami Paper: 24 7" x 7" Sheets in 12 Colors (Origami)
The Origami Bible
Origami Magic/Book and Origami Paper
Origami Treasure Chest

ASIN: 0806966408

Book Description

“No paper-folding book in recent years has managed to combine the exactness of origami with simple, easy-to-follow instructions. The minimal text features excellent step-by-step color photographs that describe how to fold the 8 basic forms plus 40 figures....Handsome...clear... precise and comprehensible.”—Booklist starred review.

Average customer rating:

Disappointing
Better to find a book you can flip through first
Best unusual projects of any origami book
Missing Diagrams

The Great Origami Book & Kit

Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Crafts & Hobbies | Arts & Music | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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

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

Origami Paper: 24 7" x 7" Sheets in 12 Colors (Origami)
Animal Prints Origami Paper (Origami)
Rainbow Patterned Origami Paper
Origami Paper Pattern: 49 Sheets (Origami Paper Packs) (Origami Paper Packs)
Large Origami Paper : 24 9" X 9" Sheets in 12 Colors

ASIN: 080694465X

Book Description

“Will keep kids occupied for hours...easy-to-follow step-by-step photographs, with more than 90 sheets of 6” x 6” origami paper. Clear instructions explain how to proceed from eight basic folded shapes to everything from the easily recognizable ‘cootie catcher’ (here called a ‘salt-and-pepper dish’) to the more complicated paper sculpture of a ‘rooster.’ ” —Publishers Weekly.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2007-01-09

This product looks great on the internet. Instructions are good. Supplies are limited and less than what appears to be provided.

Better to find a book you can flip through first.......2005-01-30

I have recently been trying to add new books to my craft book collection, and since I enjoy doing origami and I've recently been getting into handmade books, I thought I'd expand my library of origami books to provide myself with ideas for page elements and cover decorations. I have been designing a large "first book" for the two year old son of one of my coworkers. Tammi and I have known one another for over a decade now, having met while we both worked on the ICU ward in our hospital. We now work on the recovery ward together. She and her husband were blessed with a child during their thirties, and no one could be a more enthusiastic Mom than she. An interactive book that she could read with her son seemed just the thing, and origami forms to illustrate it seemed a splendid and simple way to go about the project.

Although I have several books in my library that include origami plants and animals they are a little on the old side (some dating to the 1960s), so I decided I'd see what new had been published. I selected three origami kits out of curiosity: Origami Made Easy by Irmagard Kneissler, Origami Jungle by Michael G. LaFosse, and The Great Origami Book and Kit, by Zülal Aytüre-Scheele.

First let it be said that I'm all for creating innovative and attractive ways for involving more people in the fun and creativity of origami. I've done paper folding and paper crafts for almost 30 years now, and I'm still learning about the art. Kits make sense in that they provide the beginner with everything they require at a known price. One doesn't purchase a reasonable book and discover there are a dozen other things one requires that all cost a fortune. It allows the novice to pick up a kit, try a few projects and decide whether this is a hobby they would enjoy enough to go out and find new materials to try and new more sophisticated books to study.

This said I also have to point out the caveat to this form of "boxed learning." In each situation, the packaging is designed to attract the purchaser. It tells what is included and stresses that it's all you need to do the projects, some of which are displayed on the package itself. What it doesn't do-short of opening it or having an open copy available- is let the purchaser look through the book itself to see if the illustrations appear too confusing to follow, or if the projects are useful and interesting enough to bother with. Furthermore, the choice of papers included is at the whim of the designer, rather than at the discretion of the novice artist. While none of these kits is particularly expensive, I felt that the drawbacks were not negligible. Two of the three kits were deceptively large but consisted mostly of packaging designed to attract attention.

Of the three books, I found the Aytüre-Scheele the most useful for my specific project. It contained the most interesting flowers and the most recognizable animals. It also contained patterns for buildings. While a little less diverse, the Kneissler book had patterns for a cat and an owl that were quite charming, and designs for masks that were stunning (I could see doing these in large pieces of handmade paper or expensive craft paper to hang on a living room wall). The LaFosse jungle animals were a little disappointing, because they often required quite of bit of interpretation to see the animal in the folded product. Of all of them I was most impressed with the Butterfly in Book One and the Tortoise and the Arrow Frog in Book Two.

On the whole, I think I'd suggest finding a book on origami and paging through it to see if the designs appeal. You might pay even more for a good book of designs than for the kit, but you'd know that the patterns were ones you would really like to try. You will also get an idea of how easy or difficult the designer's method of illustrating the folds is to understand. You can start out folding plain old xerox paper then purchase more colorful-and expensive-papers at a local craft shop when you gain more experience.

Best unusual projects of any origami book.......2003-01-14

...my daughter (8 years old) and I have many, many origami books and this is one of the best. The animals, flowers, stars etc which are featured in this title are excellent and we have found them in no other book. Like any text onh origami, you have to read from the beginning and understand the way the author writes, in order to be successful.

Missing Diagrams.......2001-10-19

I opened this product and read the whole book before i started useing it. I found that when i went to use the diagrams that the author failed to make a complete step from 1 to 2 2to 3 and so on. It would be an improvement if the author said to fold here or there with diagrams showing how to actualy do this. The pictures are more helpful than the writeing itself. You can get stuck on the very first project. I would not recommend this for beginners.

Average customer rating:

Great Origami Book

Manufacturer: Sterling Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0806944412

Making Great Papercrafts, Origami, Stationery and Gift Wraps

Average customer rating:

Making Great Papercrafts, Origami, Stationery and Gift Wraps
Kate Lively
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

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

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

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0754813932

Book Description

This book contains over 300 step-by-step projects to explore and teach every possible kind of paper-related skill and craft.

Average customer rating:

The Great Origami Book
Zulal Ayture-Scheele
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OFRJZU

The New Smart Approach to Window Decor (New Smart Approach)
Average customer rating:

More of an Idea Book and there are better ones out there

Great Photo Reference

The New Smart Approach to Window Decor (New Smart Approach)
Lynn Elliot , and Lisa Lent
Manufacturer: Creative Homeowner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Windows | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The New Smart Approach to Home Decorating (New Smart Approach)

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What's In Style: Window Treatments (What's In Style) What's In Style: Window Treatments (What's In Style)

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Ideas for Great Window Treatments (Ideas for Great)

ASIN: 1580111718

Book Description

An updated version of a backlist best-seller, The New Smart Approach to Window Decor offers consumers the latest ideas in window dressings and design. Whether changing the look of a room with window treatments or adding privacy while maintaining the view, the reader will be able to accomplish his or her design goal with the ease of a professional. An abundance of rich color photographs and illustrations offer inspiration and design ideas for curtains, draperies, blinds, and shutters. Accents such as valances, swags, and cornices, as well as decorative and functional hardware and accessories, are also included. - Over 500 inspirational window treatment concepts - More than 250 full-color photographs - 175 color illustrations - 78 black-and-white templates - Ideas on how a window treatment can transform the look of a room relatively inexpensively - Includes information on accessories as well as window treatments - Smart Tips included throughout the book provide practical decorating ideas and solutions - Extensive resource guide of window treatment products - Comprehensive index and glossary provide easy reference

Customer Reviews:

More of an Idea Book and there are better ones out there .......2005-12-07

I am reviewing an older edition "The Smart Approach to Window Decor" which I did not find on Amazon site, I guess because there is a new edition out.

I was expecting a book that included many how-to's since this is part of the Creative Homeowner series, but alas, there were few. There is a chapter called "Make Your Own Curtains", but it was only 7 pages. This chapter showed illustrations of:
~how to sew a corner of a curtain
~what the different tops of curtain look like (rod pocket, bow tie, tab, button top) but NO photographs or illustrations on how to make them, just brief text.
~how to make a rosette but no details of tips of integrating it into the valance.

There is a photo of a scarf valance with a rosette, but there is no info on how to attach the one they illustrated to the scarf seamlessly. The photo shown seems to be a rosette that was created with one length of fabric, not two separate pieces.

The pictures were nice, but some of the treatments were quite unattractive. For example, on page 144 there is a dormer window where the illustration shows floor length curtains. The top is on a rod above the window and another curtain rod is at the base of the short window ACROSS the middle of the curtain! On page 140, there is an illustration of a circular window and a straight swag was hung above it! UGLY.

Hopefully, there are improved suggestions for odd-shaped windows in the "New" edition of this book. I am so glad I borrowed it from the library and did not purchase it. I did give it 3 stars because some of the windows were very nice.

Great Photo Reference.......2004-09-25

This is a great book if you need ideas for what kind of window treatment you want. It has beautiful photos of all different types of living spaces and treatments. However, if you are looking for a book that tells you how to make the curtains that you see, this not the book for you. There are not how to instructions provided. This is purely a photo book with brief descriptions - but worth having to get ideas!

Book Description

Designer and critic Jessica Helfand has emerged as a leading voice of a new generation of designers. Her essays--at once pithy, polemical, and precise--appear in places as diverse as Eye, Print, ID, The New Republic, and the LA Times. The essays collected here decode the technologies, trends, themes, and personalities that define design today, especially "the new media," and provide a road map of things to come. Her first two chapbooks--Paul Rand: American Modernist and Six (+2) Essays on Design and New Media--became instant classics. This new compilation brings together essays from the earlier publications along with more than twenty others on a variety of topics including avatars, "the cult of the scratchy," television, sex on the screen, and more. Designers, students, educators, visual literati, and everyone looking for an entertaining and insightful guide to the world of design today will not find a better or more approachable book on the subject.

Customer Reviews:

Things we all were thinking.. only worded much better........2003-06-07

Chances are you will find yourself saying (or just thinking) "Exactly! I've been saying that for years!" fairly often. Helfand expresses views on the design world that many designers have felt for some time, particularly in regards to new media and digital culture. These essays cover everything from the overflow of badly designed websites to eloquently phrased explanation of why designers are not information architects (unlike architecture, design won't kill you if it falls on your head). This is a must-read for designers of any medium, especially those in the video, web, and new media fields.

Digital Critic with Challenges and No Solutions.......2003-06-02

Design on the screen takes the shape of websites, animation, motion graphics, and oh yeah... television. Long before the Mac and Windows boxes on your desk moved points of light, the television was doing it. In Screen, Helfand continues her critical review of all that is visually projected at us through flat screen monitors and television sets. In this collection of essays and critiques, the overall feeling is cynical and embittered. Helfand directly challenges the designers of screen spaces and interfaces to take a stand and make decisions using technology as a secondary objective. Use the pixels, don't let them use you. It's a boastful book, one that'll make you wonder what more can be done.

Burdensome.......2003-04-05

Along with the self-aggrandizement in new media design, one has also to endure the academic collective of critical review for that very topic. After finishing Jessica Helfand's Screen Essays, my thoughts focused on abandoning the semiotic silliness, and just getting on with work. There will always be the ridiculous to rip apart, and the 1990's proved to be filled with perfect targets. However, it was also a wild time for experimentation. Do we really need to hear an opinion while the game is still being played out?

I just about threw the book into the ocean while reading "On Sound, Authenticity and Cultural Amnesia". A few comments from the book on the use of sound with visuals: "It interrupts interpretation. It brainwashes the audience.". I don't know, perhaps those of us with more emotional aspiration, or those that simply can't see visuals would take issue with this critique.

When it comes down to it, the market decides what is good use of form, and what is more or less useless. Try not to let an academician tell you what your customer needs or wants.

On a positive note, the writing is very good. I wonder if editors were in short supply during the late 1990's...

Cynical.......2001-12-15

She has a lot of good points and she definitely appreciates Paul Rand. I think one of the best things was she put a hole in the over-use of the acronym.
However, there was such a negative vibe on everything. It seemed nothing was good. There was definitely a lot of hostility/negativity in this book. Other than that, it was very insightful.

Big thoughts come in small packages.......2001-11-04

Although the amount of writing about design has grown remarkably over the last several years, only a small bit of it is actually any good. And while I think an increased amount of discourse is generally a positive thing, I think in design's case we've come to the proverbial fork in the road. On one side, there's the swaggering, portfolio-bloated, semi-literate design monographs of the last several years. On the other side, there's truly critical, topical, didactic design writing whose words aren't just there as dummy text. If this latter direction is the one in which our discourse wishes to travel, then we should all take a page out of Jessica Helfand's glorious new book, Screen. For literate designers who've come down with cabin fever over the last few years, Ms. Helfand's book is like taking a spin around the neighborhood, touching on topics from Victorian cultural history to Media Studies and everything in between. Meticulously considered and reconsidered - many of these essays were first published elsewhere - Screen reminds us that writing about a field as simultaneously aesthetic and analytic as design takes time and effort. In turn, our time and effort should be spent on these thoughtful essays, for they are a both a gift and a direction from one of the very best we have.

Book Description

This insightful memoir by John Bell, Australia's foremost Shakespearian actor and director, follows his theatrical career. With intriguing anecdotes, he writes of his humble upbringing and his first encounter with Shakespeare-his brother strode up and down the classroom enacting every part in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Bell discusses his time at Sydney University and at the Old Tote Theatre where he met his wife, fellow actor Anna Volska. For the first time, John Bell shares some of the highs and lows of his four decades in theatre while also providing an inside look into Australian theatre. Included are stories of fellow Australian actors including Ken Horler, John Gaden, Richard Wherrett, Bruce Beresford, Jacki Weaver, Robyn Nevin, Bill Hunter, Judy Davis, Colin Friels, Barrie Kosky, and many others.

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