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For the protagonist of Elizabeth Berg's Until the Real Thing Comes Along, the biological clock is ticking all too loudly. Alas, there are no likely partners on the horizon for Patty Ann Murphy. Even an attractive, appropriately sensitive guy ends up giving her the heebie-jeebies: "Now he is turning my face toward him and kissing me and I feel that as soon as he stops I'll start screaming. I don't, of course. I say, 'Would you like some pretzels?'" The only man who doesn't inspire this kind of junk-food diversionary tactic is Patty's high-school sweetheart Ethan Gaines--but he happens to be gay. What's a woman of the '90s to do?
The answer: she persuades Ethan to impregnate her, and they agree to a marriage of true minds (if not bodies.) They won't, of course, actually marry, or even live together. But Patty signs on for a lifetime of child rearing with her sexually indifferent soul mate--and finds herself wading into a wealth of emotional complications. Will Ethan ever make love to her again? Will her parents accept her (essentially) single-mommy status? Berg manages to cast these thorny issues in a comedic light, without ever consigning Patty and her wisecracking cohorts to a complete farce. And there is that payoff at the end, when Ethan hands her the love child in the delivery room:
With a tenderness I would not have thought possible in earth-bound humans, he gives her to me. Her wet head is cupped; her quivering chest is calmed. What have my hands been doing all my life before this? I see now that they too have just been born. I unwrap the blanket, stop breathing.
Yes, Patty does eventually start breathing again. And readers will share her delight at the undeniable fact that the real thing has finally come along. --Anita Urquhart
Book Description
What do you do when your life isn't living up to your dreams? When the man you love is unavailable, and yet you long for a family, a home? What is the cost of compromising until the real thing comes along?
Reading Elizabeth Berg is like having a friend sit down and talk with you about the deepest truths and most perplexing issues in life, and in this exquisite new novel the bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon once again gives us superb fiction about a passionate woman who solves life's problems in a way that is far from traditional, but close to the wise dictums of the heart.
Patty Ann Murphy says she's "Ms. Runner-Up" in life. Rarely the bridesmaid, never mind the bride, Patty sells houses for a living (well, she's sold one house so far), longs to be married and have a family, but is irresistibly drawn to the wrong man. Ethan seems perfect for Patty--handsome, generous, and sensitive--but he's hopelessly unavailable. Patty's frustration leads her to feelings she doesn't admire--jealousy of her beautiful best friend, Elaine, for instance, about whom she says, "Find me one woman who doesn't withhold just a bit from another woman who looks like that." She's also worried about her mother, with whom she's very close but who is beginning to act strangely. Patty longs more and more for the consolation of loving and being loved, but for the moment feels she must content herself with waiting--until she can wait no more.
Andre Dubus said about Elizabeth Berg's Durable Goods, "Elizabeth Berg writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, loneliness, love and hope. And the transcendence that redeems." And the same will be said about Until the Real Thing Comes Along.
Customer Reviews:
unrealistic, silly, not good.......2007-05-18
I agree with the other reviewer that said the dialogue was not realistic. I too found myself thinking the same thing, who talks like this? I listened to this on audiobook and the reader made it even worse. She makes Patty sound really stupid (she is, but the reader made it worse) I really couldn't wait for it to be over and I hope I forget it soon.
Disappointing and a waste of time.......2006-12-10
Ill conceived and silly. Really a waste of time - I actually felt that the novel was very depressing. I will not be reading any of Ms. Berg's other novels. Too unrealistic to believe that a gay man would become the love of someone's life and that a person could not move on from this relationship.
A FAIRY TALE FOR ADOLESCENTS.......2006-09-03
I am a huge Berg fan, but this book did not cut it with me. The main character, Patty, is approaching mid-life and desperately wants a child. Ethan was her first love and continues to be "the love of her life." He also loves Patty dearly, so what is the problem? Ethan is gay and his love for Patty is that of a cherised, long-time friend; they feel comfortable together. Patty asks Ethan to impregnate her so they can raise a child but, of course, marriage is out of the question. We are not talking in-vitro fertilization here or anything that might be plausible, but a pregnancy developed by a good old-fashioned "romp in the hay"...or in the case, the bed! Patty gets her wish, she has a baby girl. In the end, Ethan also gets his wish, he finds "the love of his life" in another man. As for the baby, well, we can only hope everything worked out well for her, too, but we will never know because that is where the story ended.
The problem with the book has nothing to do with sexual orientation but the fact the plot and events were just too inconceivably far-fetched. For the past 20 years, two of my very best friends (men) have been in a committed gay relationship. They are literary scholars and avid readers. When I ran the scenario of this book by them to see what their reaction would be, they thought either the book was nuts, I was nuts for reading it...or possibly both. On top of that, the book has a juvenile writing style that makes one wonder where Berg's thought process was when she wrote it. Like Picasso, she must have been going through her "blue period!" Ms. Berg, you missed the mark on this one.
Disappointing.......2006-06-13
I've recently discovered Elizabeth Berg and have been greatly moved by 3 of her books. I was really looking forward to this one... though I am married with a child, I certainly do remember the occasional angst of my single days! HOWEVER, this book is SUCH a disappointment. The whole plot is just a cop-out and the protagonist is not very sympathetic. I suspect the book might be based in fact, which I suppose would somewhat redeem it.....
Ignore the bad reviews!.......2006-02-03
No need to re-iterate the plot, I just wanted to say that I appreciated the reviewers who shared in the delight of this book. I love Elizabeth Berg's writing style and found this easy read entertaining as well as heartwarming. This book was second only to her later "Say When" which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you're looking for a good vacation book (though you'll probably read it in one-two sittings) this is the one. You'll find yourself chuckling through a few tears.
Customer Reviews:
A good read.......2006-02-25
I liked Enamored better than Mystery Man. Diego Maremos is a highly delectible guy, and the story of him and Melissa has elemnts of suspense, romance and intrigue as well as some very satisfying love scene. Hot choclate and this book will give you a warm and fuzzy evening. Mystery Man stretched the believability quotient more than I like. It was cute, but it read as if the author had dashed it off on a weekend.
FIRST DIANA PALMER BOOK THAT I HAVE NOT LIKED.......2006-02-18
I have to say that I am a huge Diana Palmer fan. I love her books and have read many. I was excited when these came out because they are her older works republished. So, I got too read two books in one for a low price. I wish now though that I wouldn't of wasted my money. I disliked Enamored the most. The only good thing about this book was when Diego spoke spanish to Melissa. I thought that was sexy, but I have no idea what he was saying because I don't speak spanish. He only spoke to her in spanish when they were in a heated moment so, I am assuming that he spoke words of love to her and I found that sexy. Anyway, Deigo and Melissa made love in a cave while they were being chased by criminals. Then her father caught them and Deigo assumed that Melissa set the whole thing up to trap him. (Why he would think that, no one knows because he had no reason to think that.) He hated her after they got married and his family hated her also. They treated her like trash and so when she found out she was pregnant, she left. She didn't want her child growing up around that kind of hatred. Years later, they meet again and he doesn't even realize that her son is his. After he does realize it, he wants full control over the boy. Melissa lets him do it too. She is a weak-minded person. She lets him treat her like crap and she calls it love? I just couldn't see the passion between the two of these people. I thought that there was none. I didn't like Deigo or Melissa. Good thing that it is a short read.
Mystery Man was a little better than Enamored. I actually laughed in this book. Janine is a author and she is babysitting her little brother while her parents are working. They are staying in a beach house and her neighbor is Canton. He was rich and now he is poor. He lost everything, so him and his daughter are taking a break from life on the beach also. They are staying right next door to Janine. The two kids hit it off and became friends right away. (I liked the two children in this story better then the adults) Then Canton's ex-wife tries to kidnapp his daughter and also, pothunters are after Janine because of the artifacts that her parents discovered in their dig. So, this couple has two villians after them trying to get to them. If, this story was longer and more in depth than, it would have been better. Too short and not enough information was given. I don't even think that we learned the villians names or what ever happened to them. I also found it hard to believe that Janine was so young, but she was already an author of bestselling books and she was a private investigator before she was an author. Anyway, these stories are short so, read them because of that, but I was disappointed in them. Usually Mrs. Palmer writes stories with heated passion and conflicts and lots of emotion, but I didn't find any of that in these two stories.
Average customer rating:
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The half-pint jinni and other stories;
Maurice Dolbier
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
 Children's Books
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ASIN: B0007E6C2O |
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Jinni
Gene Geter
Manufacturer: iUniverse
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0595278353 |
Book Description
The tale begins when Solomon ruled over Israel and controlled jinns. But one jinn with no name would oppose him and cast his evil powers toward anyone who gets in his way.
Eventually he was tricked, banished within his bottle and suspended invisible tens of thousands of feet above the ground to be punished in the future New York.
It's the year 2080, and something from the present rockets the bottle towards the earth, crashing into the apartment of a 35-year-old famous novelist and beauty named Choice Chosen.
Choice and the jinni (who picks the name Magi) meet under this weird circumstance and become close. Magi tries to change the error of his ways. For some reason, Choice has always had a fear of loving someone and Magi has a hard time really getting close to her because she is still a virgin. She will eventually realize something from her past has subconsciously prevented her intimacy with a man.
Even though Choice has always been in danger, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, her life becomes even more dangerous when she's mistakenly linked to several murders. Magi will become her first suspect because he's jealous whenever she's around other men. She discovers a secret about herself and her family that changes everything about her life, leaving the fate of the world in her hands!
Download Description
The tale begins when Solomon ruled over Israel and controlled jinns. But one jinn with no name would oppose him and cast his evil powers toward anyone who gets in his way.
Eventually he was tricked, banished within his bottle and suspended invisible tens of thousands of feet above the ground to be punished in the future New York.
It's the year 2080, and something from the present rockets the bottle towards the earth, crashing into the apartment of a 35-year-old famous novelist and beauty named Choice Chosen.
Choice and the jinni (who picks the name Magi) meet under this weird circumstance and become close. Magi tries to change the error of his ways. For some reason, Choice has always had a fear of loving someone and Magi has a hard time really getting close to her because she is still a virgin. She will eventually realize something from her past has subconsciously prevented her intimacy with a man.
Even though Choice has always been in danger, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, her life becomes even more dangerous when she's mistakenly linked to several murders. Magi will become her first suspect because he's jealous whenever she's around other men. She discovers a secret about herself and her family that changes everything about her life, leaving the fate of the world in her hands!
Product Description
A novel in Persian
Average customer rating:
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Death and Life
Jinni E. Davis
Manufacturer: Carlton Press/ Lyceum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0806225858 |
Average customer rating:
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New Handbook of Methods in Nonverbal Behavior Research
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback
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Handbook of Emotions, Second Edition
ASIN: 0198529627 |
Book Description
For many years the Handbook of Methods in Nonverbal Behavior Research (Scherer and Ekman, 1982) has been an invaluable text for researchers looking for methods to study nonverbal behavior and the expression of affect. A successor to this essential text, The New Handbook of Methods in Nonverbal Behavior Research is a substantially updated volume with 90% new material. It includes chapters on coding and methodological issues for a variety of areas in nonverbal behavior: facial actions, vocal behavior, and body movement. Issues relevant to judgment studies, methodology, reliability, analyses, etc. have also been updated. The topics are broad and include specific information about methodology and coding strategies in education, psychotherapy, deception, nonverbal sensitivity, and marital and group behavior. There is also a chapter detailing specific information on the technical aspects of recording the voice and face, and specifically in relation to deception studies. This volume will be valuable for both new researchers and those already working in the fields of nonverbal behavior, affect expression, and related topics. It will play a central role in further refining research methods and coding strategies, allowing a comparison of results from various laboratories where research on nonverbal behavior is being conducted. This will advance research in the field and help to coordinate results so that a more comprehensive understanding of affect expression can be developed.
Customer Reviews:
I would HIGHLY recommend !!! Perfect starter book........2007-07-18
This book has GREAT, VERY USEFUL material in it. It is not overly detailed, but very usable. It should help any Church understand the outline of what it needs to do with visitors and greeting those visitors.
Most every basic thing is there to get started. I especially liked the idea of developing "Teams" who are responsible for different things. SO, overall, it is a perfect starter book. I would love to see the writer do a Part 2 edition where he would give more details, especially details on how to read visitor's body language so that you know whether to be just cordial with them or very friendly (personable).
WOW.......2007-01-30
I am currently working through this book with our first impressions person at Parkway. For us it is helping us see the church in a new light. It really isn't brain surgeon ideas...but it allows our teams to expand their sight with the church.
Sometimes people get comfortable or can't see the church larger than it currently is...this book is a great tool to open the eyes of your teams...
Also Mark is great and doing this stuff at one of the greatest churches to date...
"First Impressions" makes a lasting impression.......2007-01-12
First Impressions - Creating WOW Experiences in Your Church is a very easy to read book that has a significant number of useful ideas which can be used and modified for use in the church environment. Many of the suggestions are common sense but not easy to implement. Using the suggestions will put you closer to the customer - in your church. To look at practices in the church from the point of view of customer service will not please all church goers, but it makes sense when we stop to think that everything we do at church "speaks" - it sends a message. Are we sending the messages we want to send by having that pile of clutter in the corner? When we great newcomers, do we immediately sign them up to serve on a committee? - it could scare people away. This book provides many ideas and observations worth considering. I do recommend this book to you.
A Welcome "Welcoming" Book.......2007-01-05
Very helpful and many ideas on how to make your church more friendly to guests. I recommend it.
false impressions.......2007-01-03
did not like the lead the book took in order to attract members. Kind of like making a christian holiday on
a pagan holiday so person could still celebrate ocassion.
Book Description
Are you always searching for creative, original recipes? Do you enjoy eating healthy foods? If so, you will love this colorful, high-quality cookbook, featuring cranberries as the star attraction in 125 innovative recipes. Here are easy-to-follow recipes for meat and poultry dishes, sauces, desserts, breads, cakes, stuffing, relishes, beverages, and preserves. Plus, background and nutritional information: historical facts and tidbits, beautiful harvest photos, and the latest studies on the cranberry's many health benefits. Endorsed by the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, Cranberry Cooking For All Seasons is sure to be a hit with cooks across the country. A "must-have" for every kitchen—from Thanksgiving through summer's end!
Customer Reviews:
Will prove to be a truly "family favorite".......2003-02-11
The cranberry is a distinctive part of American culinary history. Not only colorful, beautiful and tasty, the cranberry is an excellent source of Vitamin C, devoid of fat or cholesterol, low in calories and sodium, and relatively high in fiber. In Cranberry Cooking For All Seasons, Nancy Cappelloni has assembled a superbly illustrated cornucopia of 125 outstanding recipes showcasing cranberries. From Cranberry Maple Syrup; Nantucket Roast Loin of Pork with Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing; Sauteed Chicken with Cranberries and Apple Cider Reduction, and Cranberry Orange Raisin Walnut Conserve; to Pork Chops with Simmered Cranberries; Roast Saddle of Venison with Cranberry Essence and Celery Root Puree; Cranberry Tangerine Loaf Cakes; and Shaker Cranberry Pie, Cranberry Cooking For All Seasons will prove to be a truly "family favorite" addition to any kitchen cookbook collection!
More than just for Chutney.......2003-01-03
When my wife came home with Cranberry Cooking, I was more than a little uneasy. The only time I ever eat cranberries are in the chutney my wife makes on Thankgiving, and that's usually just to avoid an argument. However, one day, being curious, I started flipping through the book, and was amazed at how delicious the cranberry recipes actually looked. I made a few of them, and they were outstanding to say the least. I'd like to thank Mrs. Cappelloni for this amazing edition to the world of cookbooks, and for changing my view on Cranberries.
A fresh look at Cranberry Cuisine.......2002-12-20
I have read many cookbooks which include cranberry recipes, but none with such an extensive look into the magnificent fruit. Mrs. Cappelloni provides the reader with an enlightening view on the subject of cranberries. I would say it is certainly the best single subject cookbook I have ever encountered. I recommend it to all.
Book Description
Louis Kuritzky and Charles De Costa Bookends have evolved into a well-established genre of interest amongst collectors, antiques dealers, and aficionados of the decorative arts. Since the publication of the Collector's Guide to Bookends, published by Collector Books in 1998, knowledge about bookend sculptors, founders, and subject matter has continued to grow. This single volume is by far the most detailed and authoritative text published on the topic to date. Containing more than 2,500 photographs and entries, numerous examples of never-before-published bookends are provided with updated information about rarity, value, sculptors, and founders. The full range of collectible bookends is represented, including metalware, porcelain, glass, and works of assorted major pottery makers. This volume will surely be the definitive standard reference for antique and collectible bookends.
Customer Reviews:
A MUST OWN BOOK FOR COLLECTORS.......2007-09-01
I was very impressed with Mr. Louis Kuritzky's 1998 "Collector's Guide to Bookends" I didn't think a collector's guide could be improved until I recently purchased the 2006 "Collector's Encyclopedia of Bookends" Mr. Kuritzky teamed up with Charles De Costa, and together they compiled a wonderful, detailed book on hundreds of varieties of bookends many rare ones included. I love it, this book has it all, it is all you need to know about bookends. After all, that is what the book is about.
A Collection of Photographs.......2007-06-30
This book consists of a couple dozen pages of not particularly good writing that offers short histories of bookend manufacturers and designers, plus four pages briefly covering dating, material, markings, sizes, rarity, and "value" or price. There is an eight-page section entitled "Comments on Individual Bookends" where some unusual bookends have a few paragraphs each with more detailed information than is found for most of the bookends.
The remainder of the book - almost 300 pages - is photographs of bookends, typically 7-8 per page, with very brief notations for each bookend. Many of the photographs are excellent, and the paper is high quality and glossy. In some cases, several versions of a bookend are shown and described. The book is less than an inch thick, but quite heavy and has a substantial feel, like most of the bookends it pictures.
The values in the book are usually lower than eBay auction prices and definitely lower than antique store prices, but the information is helpful for comparisons, and the book is enjoyable to leaf through.
The bookends covered in this encyclopedia are almost entirely of American manufacture.
A 'must have' reference for any collecting bookends.......2006-01-10
Bookends might seem an unlikely object to collect, but take a look at the gorgeous ends featured in Louis Kuritzky & Charles De Costa 's Collector's Encyclopedia Of Bookends: Identification & Values to catch a glimpse of some outstanding productions. Chapters are organized A-Z by subject: children, felines, female figures and each section features small clear color photos, object composition and rarity notes, prices, and dates. A 'must have' reference for any collecting bookends.
Average customer rating:
- President's Park
- A misleading title
- An Excellent Resource for Any Library
- BRAVO! BRAVO!
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The White House: Its Historic Furnishings and First Families
Betty C. Monkman
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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The White House: An Illustrated History
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The White House: An Illustrated Tour
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The United States Capitol: Its Architecture and Decoration
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America's First Families: An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Life in the White House (Lisa Drew Books)
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National Geographic's Inside the White House
ASIN: 0789206242 |
Book Description
For 200 years the White House has served as the residence of our nation's president and his family. John and Abigail Adams were the first residents, and each family ever since has been able to make the White House a comfortable home and to acquire the necessities for handsomely carrying out its additional functions as nexus for state ceremenoy and entertaining. In captivating detail, this volume--produced in association with the White House Historical Association--reveals how the decoration of the White House has reflected the personal style of our first families and their countless forays into redecorating.
Illustrated largely with photographs especially commissioned for this book, as well as historic pictures, The White House focuses on some of our nation's most important heirlooms, including furniture, silver, glass, porcelain, and textiles. Enlivened with stories about the first families and how their furnishings often clashed with the politics of the time, this book is an ideal gift for those interested in the decorative arts, biography, and history.
Customer Reviews:
President's Park.......2006-01-14
The White House is just an amazing facility, it's a museum, the President's Residence, and the embodiment of the Executive Branch. This book is exhaustively researched, and the photographs are well done. Though it is really not a history of the first families, the book really consentrates on furnishings, and the changes made to the structure over the centuries. The White House serves so many duties and thanks to Jackie O, the historic furnishing have returned and subsequent first ladies and curators have continued her pursuit of historic period furnishings. This book does a wonderful job of highlighting the best of the White House Collection. If you like books of this sort then you will enjoy this book dedicated to one of the iconic symbols of democracy.
A misleading title.......2001-06-06
This is a beautiful book with exquisite layout and photographs. However, the title gives the impression that we will find information on the First Families, which certainly is not so. It is a very good coffee table book on interior design, design, furnishings, architecture, etc. but since I expected photos and information on people, I was somewhat dissappointed with its contents. But it is a work of art.
An Excellent Resource for Any Library.......2001-03-31
Betty Monkman, the White House Curator and photographer Bruce White (from the Metropolitan Museum of Art) have collaborated to create an invaluable text on the history of the furnishings of The White House. Wonderful stories lie within...most famously, the story behind the Resolute Desk, the desk used by Presidents Kennedy, Carter, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and now President George W. Bush in their respective Oval Offices.
On June 1st at 6PM, Ms. Monkman will deliver a lecture on The White House as part of exhibition presented by the John F. Kennedy Library and The Metropolitan Museum "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years-Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum". The exhibit will begin May 1, 2001 until July 29, 2001. This will be a great opportunity for one to hear Ms. Monkman's expertise in person. Go to the lecture and buy the book!
BRAVO! BRAVO!.......2000-10-05
Once again Betty Monkman has given us WHITE HOUSE FANS a magnificant chronicle! What a glorious, beautiful absolutely stunning work of art! Betty has included everything in this piece! Bruce White's photography cannot be topped! Looking at the old photos of days gone by and then seeing the "latest versions" of those historic rooms is truly a treat! The details on the historic furntiure, art pieces, glassware, china and more within those walls is fascinating! During this - the 200th Anniversary year of the White House getting it's first occupants, this book is really a treasure and a great addition to anyone's library to help mark this historic anniversary! I thought I knew a lot about the White House - once again Betty Monkman has taught me more! Thanks Betty! :-)
Book Description
Also published in a gorgeous, slip-cased limited edition, Bohemian Modern is now available in this beautiful hardcover edition. Through striking illustrations and stunning photographs, Bohemian Modern explores the unique structural and interior designs that have put California's ultra-chic Silver Lake neighborhood at the forefront of a new style phenomenon.
One of the country's most renowned modernist architects, Barbara Bestor has fully embraced and perfected Silver Lake's "bohemian modern" style: a practical philosophy that is Californian in origin but achievable anywhere. It is a look that favors raw, authentic materials, brilliant colors, creative space planning, and a natural flow between indoors and outdoors.
The results, as Bohemian Modern presents, are striking: a flawlessly restored Neutra house decorated with both whimsy and restraint, a rooftop constructed for viewing the stars, a lavish outdoor garden delicately integrated into the surrounding architecture, a double-sided bookcase that soars three stories and serves as a functional art installation...there is no limit to the creativity and beauty of Silver Lake style.
Both modern and classic, refreshing and inviting, Bohemian Modern will delight readers with its breathtaking, vividly photographed tour of Silver Lake.
Customer Reviews:
Bohemian Modern: Loads of pleasing photos.......2006-11-03
The book offers a great visual journey into the BOHOMO style
Someone Needs to do a good book on Silver Lake.......2006-10-03
The L.A. neighborhood called Silver Lake is home to a large number of iconic Modern-era houses, with many created by the West Coast's masters of the period. In recent decades, as "mid-century modern" has found new admiration, a new generation of architects has been called on to add to the already rich Silver Lake Modern storyline. Thus, today, perhaps more than any other neighborhood in the U.S., Silver Lake---a neighborhood with distinct, widely acknowledged geographic boundaries---is a mecca for Modern. What's more, there's actually enough extant iconic Modern houses in Silver Lake to merit a book-length treatment. After all, many of these daring examples of design have fascinating stories.
Sadly (and frustratingly), Bestor's book, despite its title, isn't about Modern residential architecture in Silver Lake. While it does consider a small portion of Modern houses there, including important houses by Neutra, Schindler, and Lautner, it spends much more time looking outside of Silver Lake (Echo Park, Elysian Park, Atwater), in places that have their own distinct identities and architectural histories. Almost immediately, the reader is forced to ask, "What happened to Silver Lake?"
Just when one recluctantly accepts this fact in an effort to move on to experience the other houses she's selected, Bestor abruptly ends the house tour and devotes the balance of the book to her favorite restaurants and other businesses, complete with photos of the owners, recipes, and flat-footed self-promo quotes from the managers and other employees of these establishments. Few of these businesses, it must be noted, are contained in Modern buildings. Why are they in a book about Modern in Silver Lake? Page after page, it all smells of blatant advertising.
If there is a common thread binding each of the author's very odd selections of subjects, it is her seemingly incessant need to use the book's very casual short texts to promote her own firm (as well as that of her many friends mentioned in the book) and give the proprietors of her neighborhood hang-outs a pat on the back.
How a book with such a confused sense of focus got past its publisher is shocking. The door to do a good book on Silver Lake remains wide open.
Enjoyable overview of America's most interesting neighborhood.......2006-07-06
Beautifully illustrated and informative exploration of the design and architecture of America's most unique and unheralded artist community. The author seems a bit eager to anoint herself the leader of the BOMO movement, taking great pains to establish her legacy as its central figure. At times this leaves the book feeling like an overpriced brochure for the Barbara Bestor Studio, however, there is enough content to make it a worthwhile read, particularly for those familiar with the area.
Must reading for Silver Lakers!.......2006-05-31
As a journalist and Silver Lake resident, I found this book very informative. I have driven or walked by many of the homes featured in the book, and it is fascinating to learn about the people who live in them.
Modern Classic - Lush & Inviting!.......2006-05-29
This book is a marvel! Kind of a cross between modern, urban, industrial, romantic and, of course, bohemian. Through extensive photos, warm and funny text, and an inviting format, the reader is transported to what seems like a foreign country. I want to live in Silver Lake! There is a wonderful sensibility behind this book; that of living simply and emphasizing those things that are truly important to quality of life: friendships, relationships, artistic expression, and warm environments in which to nurture what is important to the individual. This book will surely appeal to those who love great design, self-expressive environments, and simple pleasures. My new favorite design book!!
Average customer rating:
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Bohemian Modern LTD: Living in Silver Lake
Barbara Bestor
Manufacturer: Collins Design
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0061146641
Release Date: 2006-05-23 |
Book Description
In this gorgeous, slip-cased limited edition of Bohemian Modern, acclaimed modernist architect Barbara Bestor takes readers on a dazzling journey through California's legendary Silver Lake neighborhood -- an area whose unique structural and interior designs are rapidly emerging as the biggest trends in modern architecture. Featuring stunning photographs set in bold, panoramic spreads, this limited edition of Bohemian Modern also comes with an elegant cloth slipcase designed in bright green and turquoise.
One of the country's hottest young architects, Bestor has fully embraced and perfected the "bohemian modern" style: a practical philosophy that is Californian in origin but achievable anywhere. It is a look that favors raw, authentic materials, brilliant colors, creative space planning, and a natural flow between indoors and outdoors.
The results, as Bohemian Modern presents, are striking: a flawlessly restored Neutra house decorated with both whimsy and restraint, a rooftop constructed for viewing the stars, a lavish outdoor garden delicately integrated into the surrounding architecture, a double-sided bookcase that soars three stories and serves as a functional art installation … there is no limit to the creativity and beauty of Silver Lake style.
Both modern and classic, refreshing and inviting, this limited edition of Bohemian Modern will delight readers with its breathtaking, vividly photographed tour of Silver Lake.
Book Description
Chic restaurants, modernist lobbies, exotic beaches, retro ski wear, stylish underwear, haute couture luxury accessories--Jordi Labanda illustrates it all in his familiar, faux-naef, super-cool, sophisticated style. Combining the look of comic books (Archie not Superman) and little girls' picture books with a dashing retro flair, an elegant line, and a unique interpretation of commercial advertising concepts, Labanda creates seamless, mildly sexy worlds in which everything looks good enough to want and human relations sit front and center. Drawing in gouache on paper with marten-hair brushes, Labanda makes no use of computers. Hey Day is the first compilation of his work, providing a wide, gorgeous variety of the imagery he has created over the last few years.
Customer Reviews:
Simplemente el mejor.......2007-01-11
Para mi Jordi Labanda es el mejor ilustrador de modas que existe actualmente y este libro recoge varias muestras de su trabajo en la que s personajes estilizados, chic, y con "actitud" sobresalen. Casi se puede adivinar la personalidad de los personajes que dibuja con solo mirarlos. Si buscas una muestra general del trabajo de Labanda y como éste se aplica a moda e incluso diseño de interiores, este libro te va a encantar. Y la calidad de a impresión, la textura del papel, las páginas dobles... un sueño.
Great Book.......2006-02-18
This book was great. Everyone in my art class loves the beautiful pictures and great themes. The bold colors and brilliant illustration are wonderful to look at. I only wish I was a talented.
Beautiful.......2005-06-29
An absolutely gorgeous coffee table book of Labanda's artwork. Outgoing, charming, luscious, a must have.
Simply Divine.......2004-05-01
For those of you who want to know "what on earth is this book about?" I am writing this review. 'Hey Day' is a collection of art from reknowned impressionist Jordi Labanda. It is a rather large volume, every page a complete print of one of his works. His style is modern yet classic, retro-chic to the core. As pretentious as the characatures may be, the style conveyed is as delicious and inviting as a cocktail on a summer day in Rio.
The price may be a turn off, but trust me.. this book is well worth the investment. It certainly is a must-have for any fashionista's coffee table. All who enjoy art, style and high fashion should find this as an instant classic in their library.
Finally the book is here!.......2003-09-29
I was waiting for this! After seeing his art in Wallpaper* Magazine i became a huge fan of his work. And now his first book is published filled with these great drawings. This is a real musthave for your coffeetable. It's absolutely gorgeous! The notebooks that are available are great too. I can't wait to buy posters so let's hope they come available too!
Amazon.com
You may not recognize James Whale, but you surely recognize his most prominent contribution to American popular culture: Frankenstein's monster, as portrayed by Boris Karloff. Whale, a British expatriate who made his way to Hollywood just as films were making the transition to the talkies, directed both the original Frankenstein (1931) and its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein (1936), for Universal Pictures. Afraid of being pigeonholed as a horror director (he also made The Invisible Man and The Old Dark House), he eventually insisted on more mainstream projects, including the musical Show Boat and The Road Back, a sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front that flopped at the box office. Today, The Bride of Frankenstein is considered to be his best film, a work that combines moments of genuine suspense with a thoroughly macabre sense of humor.
In 1982, film historian James Curtis wrote his first biography of Whale. James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters is not a revision of that book, however, but a substantial reworking involving much in the way of new research. Whale's life story is emblematic of an entire generation of European émigrés who made critical artistic contributions to American film only to find themselves in ultimate obscurity. Although recent fictional and truthful accounts of Whale's life have emphasized his homosexuality--even the jacket cover of this book cites it as the reason for Hollywood's eventual rejection of Whale--Curtis himself tells a more nuanced tale. Certainly, Whale made no attempts to hide his preference for men; at the same time, he made his sexual orientation neither a prominent feature of his personal life nor his movies. While it's possible that he was fired from Columbia Pictures in 1941 because of homophobia on the part of studio owner Harry Cohn, it should also be noted that it didn't take much to get on the bad side of Harry Cohn and that, perhaps more to the point, Whale hadn't had a significant commercial hit in five years.
Curtis's biography is filled with fascinating anecdotes from David Lewis, Whale's longtime companion, and several of the actors who worked with Whale, including Peter Cushing and Gloria (Titanic) Stuart. It also has a rich appreciation of the artistic qualities of Whale's work. It is, in short, the sort of critical biography that any film director would hope to have. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
The definitive biography of James Whale, the stylish and innovative British director of Frankenstein who virtually invented the genre of the classic horror film but who only a few years later was no longer making films, living instead on the fringes of the closeted homosexual culture of 1950s Los Angeles, virtually forgotten by Hollywood.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Solid Biography.......2006-10-29
James Whale made one great film, "The Bride Of Frankenstein", and a number of other very good ones, like "The Invisible Man". This is a thorough and sympathetic biography of the director and of the social climate that allowed gay filmmakers like Whale to prosper in Hollywood under a cloak of mandatory discretion. Drawing on good solid research, including interviews with many people who knew and worked with Whale, the book also incorporates a balanced assessement of Whale's artistic achievement.
Solid Biography.......2006-08-16
When I saw the movie "Gods And Monsters," I was intrigued enough to look for the book that it was based upon. I felt betrayed, however, when I found out that it was a fictionalized version of James Whale's life. Then I found James Curtis's biography.
Mr. Curtis neither demonizes nor deifies his subject. What he presents is a solid biography of a director who is all but forgotten today. He clearly shows that some of the flops such as The Road Back were butchered by timid executives and the German government and were not the fault of James Whale.
James Whale came to Hollywood at just the right time, when filmmaking was "by the seat of your pants." Filmmakers, like him were literally making it up as they went. Unfortunately, he became not only the victim of his own success (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Old Dark House and The Invisible Man), but a victim of the Hays office and the Production Code Administration as well as interfering studio heads. He retired at the relatively young age of 52 and slid into obscurity.
James Curtis provides a well rounded, honest view of James Whale, both publicly and privately (such as showing us that James Whale was openly gay without dwelling on that fact to the point of being lurid.) He also provides just enough film history and citations of the predictable ordeals and problems of Hollywood in the early years to get an idea of what James Whale had to face. This should be a `must read' for all film students (and many directors.)
Objective, Insightful Biography.......2004-03-15
Written with detail, candor and insight, this seems to be the definitive biography of the interesting and eccentric film director. A highly readable account of the man and his movies.
A Definitive Biography.......2004-02-18
After seeing the film "Gods and Monsters" I was anxious to read a biography of James Whale. This book by James Curtis certainly fits the bill of a complete biography of its subject. Mr. Curtis was a close friend of David Lewis, who lived with James Whale for several years and saw to it after the director's death that his memory lived on.
Mr. Curtis gives us a lot of detail about James Whale's life and I sometimes found myself skimming a bit, particularly in the beginning of his career as an actor. We get a lot of information about the films Mr. Whale directed, including the story behind the fascinating effects in The Invisible Man. The book is illustrated with numerous photographs spread through the book and is well written, particularly when Mr. Curtis speaks of James Whale in his years of retirement. The book is a must for fans of the Frankenstein movies and people interested in Universal Pictures but for the person who knows James Whale only thought his horror films, this book with bring a much needed perspective on his life. I found myself wanting to see the James Whale films as I was reading, including Show Boat and his lesser known films. In sum, this is an interesting portrait of who James Whale was and what Hollywood was like in the 1930s.
Great Biography.......2002-07-28
I bought and read this biography after seeing the film "Gods and Monsters" and reading the novel Father of Frankenstein. I've always been a fan of Hollywood stories--especially from the thirties and forties--and this book gave me tons of interesting information. Whale was quite a character, and I'm glad I got to know him better through this excellent biography.
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