Book Description
The Saint of Incipient Insanities is the comic and heartbreaking story of a group of twenty-something friends, and their never-ending quest for fulfillment.
Omer, Abed and Piyu are roommates, foreigners all recently arrived in the United States. Omer, from Istanbul, is a Ph.D. student in political science who adapts quickly to his new home, and falls in love with the bisexual, suicidal, intellectual chocolate maker Gail. Gail is American yet feels utterly displaced in her homeland and moves from one obsession to another in an effort to find solid ground. Abed pursues a degree in biotechnology, worries about Omer's unruly ways, his mother's unexpected visit, and stereotypes of Arabs in America; he struggles to maintain a connection with his girlfriend back home in Morocco. Piyu is a Spaniard, who is studying to be a dentist in spite of his fear of sharp objects, and is baffled by the many relatives of his Mexican-American girlfriend, Algre, and in many ways by Algre herself.
Keenly insightful and sharply humorous, The Saint of Incipient Insanities is a vibrant exploration of love, friendship, culture, nationality, exile and belonging.
Customer Reviews:
Thoroughly Enjoyable.......2006-08-29
The characters are wry and humorous, the plot interweaving, the details very telling... One of the best fiction books I've read in a long time.
Twisting prose and a multi-cultural poem.......2006-08-05
In this novel the author, Elif Shafak, writes a lovely multi-cultural, multi-character, multi-language ode to immigrants and to the American, and to the graduate school, experience. We meet her characters through their own private, and sometimes excruciating, nurosises. Bulemia, depression, neurotic behavior, alchoholism all feature in the novel, but help us see the human sides of her characters rather than define them.
The book follows six main characters as they live their lives in Boston and try to define themselves through their inherited and new cultural biases. Funny at times and heartbreaking at others, the novel is a psychological journal into foreign lands.
The most striking feature of the book is the use of language and for those who enjoy not just a good story, but the inventive use of rich and flowing language, this will be an enjoyable read.
If you like this book, read also, "My Mother and the Turk" a book with a similar tone about a third generation Armenian-American family's remembered, and forgotten, past.
Something not lost in transliteration.......2006-08-01
Another great novel from Elif Shafak, "The Saint of Incipient Insanities" is, at its core, about identity. Like Shafak's other work, it's the little things that makes it work so well--countless small details about cultural quirks, cuisines, and customs that make the characters come alive.
For me, one high point came early in the book, when Shafak talks about the disorientation of seeing one's name stripped of diacrtics (sp?) and other pronunciation marks. It's a pretty obvious metaphor for the cultural homogenization that you'll find in a melting pot like the US, but it also says something on a deeper, more personal level.
It's more of a character study than a plot-driven page-turner, but you'll probably find yourself unable to put the book down, and, like the characters, caught somewhere between East and West.
The prose is often elegant, and always penetrating. I don't want to give away too many details and spoil the book, but I've got to stress how effective it is at presenting a range of complex, original characters trying to live in a difficult world.
It's another great work from Shafak, a talented writer in any language.
Abysmal English.......2005-06-06
Stiff unnatural English, hints of the camera eye of Robbe Grillet, boring treatises on diacritical marks standing in for the losses of the poor dear immigrant shades of Salman Rushdie without credit.
It reads like an intelligent high school student with a college level dictionary of English writing away.
Every line of tin dialogue is modified with a fancy descriptive verb standing in for "said."
How did this book get published in English? What language was it translated from? Who translated it like this?
Book Description
Readers were first captivated by the tantalizing kingdom of Akora in Josie Litton’s breathtaking
Dream Island. Now the legendary nation renowned for the strength of its warriors--and the allure of its women--faces a threat to its future. Only the forbidden passion between an outsider and its own young princess can determine its fate....
Kingdom of Moonlight
It is the first trip abroad for Kassandra, the courageous princess of Akora. Enamored of all things English, the exotic beauty is eager to mingle with London society--and meet her first English gentleman. But the striking man she discovers in her brother’s home is quite the opposite of what she expected. Powerful and commanding as an Akoran warrior, he hardly resembles the sensitive knight she’d envisioned--yet he is exactly what she will need. For Kassandra’s journey is about to bring her face-to-face with both the man of her dreams and her most terrifying fear....
Customer Reviews:
Kingdon of Moonlight.......2006-07-16
Don't waste your time. I had the hardest time picking up this book. Usually I can read a book in 8 hours and this one was so boring I actually did some housework. I just couldn't finish it which is a first for me.
A different kind of romance.......2002-11-27
Different in that the author invents an island country, but I liked Royce and Kassandra. I was surprised to see any negative reviews -- this was not the least bit boring! It was well-written, exciting and the romance developed nicely enough. I recommend you read Dream Island first because Kingdom of Moonlight book mentions characters from the previous book. It was very enjoyable to see Alex and Joanna again and share some of their lives. I have read hundreds of romance novels and this was one of the better ones. I love an intelligent author.
Boring............2002-09-14
I absolutley loved Litton's first two books and would give them each 4 stars so I was definetly disapointed in this book. The plot was flat, the hero boring, and the heroine to serious. This book had promise because of the setting, but it ended up being modeled into a unrealistic perfect Greek utopian society. My advice is save your money and but her first books.
Boring.......2002-09-10
This book is rather boring with no romantic sparks between the leads. I didn't read the first book of this series, so I'm a bit lost as to the history of the characters. However, well written books usually convey enough information so that this is not a problem. In this case, the author comes up short. I'll toss it when I finally finish it.
Disappointing follow-up to Dream Island.......2002-07-08
Having read (and enjoyed) all of Ms. Litton's other books, I was looking forward to this latest effort. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a disappointment. I loved "Dream Island" where we first met Alex's sister Kassandra and Joanna's brother Royce but I did not particularly care for Royce's character so I suppose I should have known. If you read "Believe in Me" you might think of Royce as a less likable version of Hawk - autocratic, authoritarian, with little sense of humor. And though Kassandra had the potential to lighten him up, the circumstances in the book throw her into such serious situations that we see little of the sprite Kassandra may have appeared at the beginning of the book and in "Dream Island". She is weighed down by an tragic vision of her future that she unswervingly believes is inevitable and inescapable, though when her visions are of others' futures, it is only "one possible path of many" and so not definite. Heh?
And there is little chemistry or passion between these characters. I was not sure what attracted them to one another. I really had to force myself to stick with this book and that's something I have never had to do with any of the author's other books. It almost seemed that this book existed mainly to advance the story of Akora and to set up the story for the next book "Castles in the Mist" about Alex and Kassandra's half brother Atreus (which, from the exerpt looks more promising than this one). The book concentrates too much on the situation on Akora - the rebels that may or may not be behind the unrest, on Kassandra's stepping in as Vanax (leader of Akora) while Atreus is in a coma after an assasination attempt - to the detriment of the love story between the two main characters.
I will, however, continue my faith in the author and look forward to the last book in the trilogy, Atreus' story.
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Government by Moonlight: The Hybrid Parts of the State
Patrick Birkinshaw ,
Ian Harden , and
Norman Lewis
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Banks & Banking | Corporate Finance | Foreign Exchange | Inflation | Interest
Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Federal Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 004445404X |
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Moonlight Kingdom
Brian Benabo
Manufacturer: Hodder Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Baby-3 | Ages 4-8 | Ages 9-12 | Animals | Arts & Music | Books on Cassette | Books on CD | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Computers | Educational | History & Historical Fiction | Issues | Literature | Obsessions | People & Places | Popular Characters | Reference & Nonfiction | Religions | Science, Nature & How It Works | Series | Sports & Activities
ASIN: 0340286210 |
Product Description
**** ($3.99 USA POSTAGE FOR ALL 6 BOOKS, WHICH WILL BE MAILED AT THE MEDIA - BOOK RATE WHICH IS SLOW SURFACE MAIL, 7 - 21 DAYS DELIVERY TIME).
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The Kingdom of Law
Nona L. Brooks
Manufacturer: The Colorado College of Divine Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KIPJ7G |
Customer Reviews:
same old same old.......2006-08-25
Those who are familiar with the Jodorowsky universe will find this spin-off a little dissapointing if they compare it to the Incal series or the Metabarons. The story gives the impression that our beloved Alexandro ran out of fuel. It does not have the richness and the sense of absolute despair and tragedy of the Metabarons. The main character, Albino, always finds a solution to his ordeals in 3-4 pages and you get the impression that nothing can go wrong with him. There is no suspense and agony. It is certenly not a page turner, I have no curiosity to find what happens next, but to tell you the truth, being such a huge fan of The Incal and especially of the Metabarons, my library would seem empty without the Technopriests. All in all it was not such a bad choice to buy but if I was new to the Jodorowsky universe The Technopriests wouldn't be my first choice. As for the graphics, the same goes also: same old, same old
Book Description
An historic meeting with this leading new voice in contemporary spirituality
When Eckhart Tolle agreed to be interviewed on September 11, 2001, he could not foresee the historic nature of this date or the suffering that would follow. As the day's events unfolded, in real time, he responded with a calm and clear voice, helping to make sense out of the fear and chaos that will forever define this date. "Even the Sun Will Die" documents this historic meeting with Eckhart Tolle and the comforting wisdom he revealed that day.
We live in a time, he says, when we define ourselves through our enemies; and science and technology are in the service of human madness. Yet even in the face of disaster, a miracle happens when we say "yes" to living in this moment and no other. This "great opening," he teaches, can serve as nothing less than the beginning of a revolution in human consciousness with the potential to transform our world and everyone in it. Also for the first time on audio, Eckhart Tolle comments on his own awakening, and what he sees as the next step in human evolution. From insights into the way out of suffering, to evidence that a new consciousness is already rising, "Even the Sun Will Die" confirms Eckhart Tolle's place among the most important and accessible spiritual teachers of our time.
Customer Reviews:
A highly evolved being speaking to you..........2005-09-20
This is indeed a highly evolved being speaking to you.. Don't listen with your mind...beyond the words there is peace...It's a very simple message, but deeply effective only when you LISTEN.
Don't be put off by the laughter or the silence. Mr Tolle is talking beyond the words, behind the meanings. The mind wants to label everything and put it into boxes...ie..good/bad, right/wrong...this/that and it's not the true self.
Be there and experience what he is saying...We know the truth anyway in our beings. There is NO ego beyond the mind, or judgement, so any negative view points of this CD, are coming FROM THE MIND!!
One day we will all be enlightened, and there will be no more darkness!
The best of what Eckhart Tolle has to say.......2005-03-19
The first time I listened to these tapes, they had a profound effect on me. It seems to me that on listening to E.T. I had a foretaste of the stillness he is speaking about several times. This is the reason why, although I now consider E.T. a third class advaita teacher, I am still willing to recommend this interview to people here on Amazon.com.
The first part of the interview, which was recorded on September 11 is about the tragedy itself and the meaning of human suffering, the nature of enlightenment, the search for truth and self-knowledge. E.T. says here a number of things which are quite profound and true. The second tape, which was recorded several weeks later, is about E.T. himself, how he became awakened and how he now lives (his mind activity has been reduced by 80%). He also speaks of the wave of enlightenment today, of the uncertain future of the planet and of past masters, whom he beautifully calls "early flowers".
Although I can think of lots of much more interesting questions to ask an enlightened person than "are you a mutant?", the interviewer does a good job in the sense that she remains unobstrusive during the whole conversation, which is in fact a kind of monologue.
So this is definitely an interesting work. The quality of the sound is impeccable and there are no noisy and disturbing outbursts of laughter from the audience as in "Realizing the Power of Now". Hence maybe its quite hypnotic effect.
Having said that, I have become quite dissatisfied with the teachings of E.T., specially as they are set forth in the books and in "Realizing the Power of Now" and therefore recommend that you also buy "As It Is" by Tony Parsons in order to compare what these two supposedly awakened human beings have to say. I think that Tony's message is simpler and less misleading than that of Eckhart, who insists on having you practice awareness and other dualistic stuff one finds in religious traditions.
Nevertheless, as far as pure non dualism is concerned, "Even The Sun Will Die" is by and large free of the cheap traditional teachings found in Tolle's other "productions". This is why I still recommend it to you.
Bon voyage!
Brilliant and confusing in parts.......2005-03-15
I have read and worked with several of Tolle's tapes and found them to be very useful, from a spiritual/meditative standpoint. I find his insights here too to be similar, gets right to the core of the problem of the mind identified society, the confusions we go through as people in navigating this conditioning towards the 'oneness' and such. I find it hard though, to give in to it completely, by it i don't mean the teachings, i mean to Tolle's mindset as it comes through on this particular tape. Yes you can understand where he is coming from, a certain place that is somewhat removed from conditioned responses and perhaps a genuine empathy for what the world and country went through during 9/11. But is it ok to laugh, kindly as it might seem to be? Is it ok to just remove oneself from the pain and talk about what is causing it, almost like a clinical, prescriptive fashion? From a layman perspective those things come across like spiritual arrogance, more than anything else. There is a saying in the Bhagavad Gita that God knows the reasoning behind all things, and yet cries for/with suffering humanity. Sometimes am not sure if Tolle is really reasoning or crying with us, or both.
Incredibly interesting insights.......2004-11-19
Eckhart gives advice on how to live without struggle. Remember, there are many pointers out there, in fact, they are everywhere.
Outstanding in every way.......2003-12-20
I've listened dozens of times and each time learn something in a deeper way. The fundamental teaching is of course the same as The Power of Now, yet without as much intellectual explanation, but potentially with more depth if the listener is open. At the risk of being judgmental, I'm afraid those who have berated these CD's with one star ratings just have not yet "got it" and I urge them not to give up!
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Rookie Cookie Cookbook
Betty Debnam
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Cooking
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0517162466
Release Date: 2000-08-01 |
Customer Reviews:
The BEST Book EVER!!.......2001-10-05
This book is super-duper coolness!! The recipies are great you have to try amigo enchiladas or stuffed tatters!!! It's great!! Buy it, or else! Thank You = )
Customer Reviews:
Good landscape primer.......2006-01-21
THere are a lot of positives about this book. The authors give techniqueThe basic premise of this book is to teach the reader how to take elements from different fabrics and place them together to make a new scene. There are a lot of positive points about this book. The authors give the reader advice on: choosing your inspiration photo, what types of fabrics to use for sky/background/props etc., what tools work best, how to cut properly to get the desired effect, and how to modify an image when it isn't perfect. There are tip boxes sprinkled throughout the instructions which give a little insight as to why this tool should be used or how this way worked better than that way. There are even color images in the back of the book ready for the reader to scan/copy and print out for use. I realize that these are landscape quilts and therefore are pastoral and filled with lots of animals, but I would have liked to see a quilt with more architectural elements i.e. cars, buildings or boats if only to see how to translate that type of landscape into a kids quilt. Recommended even if the reader never intends to make a landscape quilt of this exact type.
Book Description
In Caroline Wrey's Complete Curtain Making Course, Caroline Wrey presents in detail for the first time her acclaimed course in window coverings, the same course she has taught in cities across America to sell-out crowds.
In the Course, Caroline Wrey instructs the reader in how to make every imaginable window covering for every home and budget, from a basic curtain hung on clips to stately swags and tails, a French-pleated valance to a Roman blind, with every part of the process gloriously photographed in the great style for which Caroline Wrey is famous. Any trepidation the novice may have is swiftly overcome by the author's simple "Seven-Prong Design Plan" for optimum results. She also gives terrific tips on choosing tools and equipment, measuring windows, calculating curtain size, cutting fabric, and matching patterns. Achieving great curtain style has never been easier!
"To Lady Caroline, diamonds are not a girl's best friend but table lamps, Velcro, and a staple gun are." (The New York Times)
"Lady Caroline is well-versed not only in the structure of curtains but their history." (House and Garden)
Customer Reviews:
Caroline Wrey's complete curtain making course.......2001-09-03
I was very disappointed in the content of the book. Not only were the styles out of date but the construction of the curtains was anything but professional. I am the owner of an upscale drapery workroom and I am always looking for books with great ideas, there were none in this book and frankly if I constructed any of my curtains in the manner in which she describes they would be returned by the designer and the client because of the poor quality.
Almost but not quite enough for making my own.......2001-01-13
I was looking for help in how to cut and manage drapery fabric when making curtains. This book has a couple of helpful ideas on the subject. I also wanted detailed instructions on how to make lined draperies. There are detailed instructions but not enough for me. I am a beginner sew'er (not even a seamstress!). The how to pictures weren't big enough to show alot of detail and I am left with a bunch of questions. I am keeping the book though because it does have some neat ideas on drapery styles (i.e., Italian stringing) and very good instructions on how to make pinch pleat drapes if ever I try to!
Lesson # 1:Never judge a book by its cover.......2001-01-03
A great disappointment. The relatively fashionable cover doesn't reflect the inside of the book. The window treatments shown in this book resemble one another and are old-fashioned and plain. An "Absolute-Beginners" type of book,but even so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.
An excellent resource for the designer or homeowner.......1998-09-02
"Carolyn Wrey's Complete Curtain Making Course" covers all of the basics and many of the extras of curtain making. The photographs are excellent and the text is extremely easy to follow and understand. This book is a must for anyone who is decorating a home, whether they are a homeowner or a professional decorator.
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What is Branding? (Essential Design Handbooks)
Matthew Healey
Manufacturer: RotoVision
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Illustration
| Commercial
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 2940361452 |
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What Is Branding: Graphic Design Handbook
Piers Schmidt
Manufacturer: Rockport Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Graphic Arts
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Advertising
| Marketing & Sales
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General & Reference
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 2880466172 |
Book Description
It's fortunate for both the design and client communities for whom branding is the holy grail that the third in RotoVision's authoritative Essential Design Handbook series appears at exactly the right moment. Corporations responded forcefully to the realization that branding is their only reliable form of market differentiation, but what happens when consumers become as brand-savvy now as they became marketing- savvy a decade ago? Advertising messages lost their power then, and now, believes Piers Schmidt, branding is facing a similar danger; corporations do not realize the difference between a brand and a business.
Schmidt argues persuasively that this is an industry that needs to agree what it is doing and where it is going. `Most branding fails,' he says, controversially, `because it is only cosmetic. it is far more than just a matter of a new logo and livery. It is consumers themselves that ultimately make the brand.' No brand manager, identity designer or marketing professional can afford to be without this book, the new benchmark for the industry.
Piers Schmidt has managed some of the world's best known branding consultancies including Interbrand Newell and Sorrell and Wolff Olins. He is managing partner in the Fourth Room, a branding consultancy he set up with Michael Wolff, ex-of Wolff Olins, in 1998.
Average customer rating:
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Brando: With His Guard Down
Roger C. Vergin
Manufacturer: Cabot Riley Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
| Humor
| Movies
| Music
| Performing Arts
| Pop Culture
| Puzzles & Games
| Radio
| Sheet Music & Scores
| Television
Entertainers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0965662209 |
Books:
- The Sorrows of Young Werther, Elective Affinities, and Novella (Goethe: The Collected Works, Vol. 11)
- The Sublime: A Reader in British Eighteenth-Century Aesthetic Theory
- The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman
- The Wind Within: A Novel
- The World of Agatha Christie: The Facts and Fiction Behind the World's Greatest Crime Writer
- Three Novels of Ancient Egypt: Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War (Everyman's Library)
- Twelve-Furlong Mile and Other Works of Short Fiction
- Waiting for Teddy Williams
- When Europa Rode the Bull
- Winter Range: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- An Educated Guide To Speeding Tickets-How To Beat Avoid Them
- What A Lady Wants
- Theory of Light Hydrogenic Bound States
- The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature
- Visual Shock: A History of Art Controversies in American Culture
- Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison
- Win With Bob Avila: Beyond Training, Mentoring from a World Champion Horseman
- Sketching Your Favorite Subjects in Pen & Ink
- The Pragmatist Imagination. Thinking about Things in the Making
- Till the End of Tom: An Amanda Pepper Mystery
Flea Palace
The Bastard of Istanbul
The Gaze
The Garden of the Departed Cats
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey (Seal Women's Travel)
