Oh, Play That Thing (Last Roundup)

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Rhythm is Important

WHERE WAS DOYLE'S EDITOR???

Skilled writer but poor novel

Hated It!

Oh, say it ain't so!

Oh, Play That Thing (Last Roundup)

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000H2MAZY

Book Description

Praised as "a masterpiece" by the Washington Post, A Star Called Henry introduced the unforgettable Henry Smart and left Roddy Doyle's innumerable fans clamoring for more. Now, in his first novel set in America, Doyle delivers. Oh, Play That Thing opens with Henry on the run from his Irish Republican paymasters, arriving in New York City in 1924. But in New York, and later Chicago—where he meets a man playing wild, happy music called Louis Armstrong—Henry finds he cannot escape his past.

A highly entertaining cross-country epic and a magnificent follow-up to A Star Called Henry, this prodigious, energetic, sexy novel is another Roddy Doyle triumph.

Customer Reviews:

Rhythm is Important.......2007-09-08

I purchased this book on the recommendation of another author (in her review of her book she said her writing was influenced by the author). "Oh, Play that Thing" takes place in the 20's and through the dust bowl disaster, The main character is a savvy Irish immigrant who has landed at Ellis Island to start a new life in NYC.

The author's way of writing is like a stream of thoughts and words. Reading the first few pages, I wasn't sure I liked the book, but as I got into the head and life of the Irish man, I got into the rhythm of his thoughts and the way the writing in the book worked so well.

I found the story fascinating and the beat of time and his life very hypnotizing. How Roddy Doyle, the author, manages to insert a famous celebrity into the mix and engage you in the story is entirely successful, and I couldn't put it down.

WHERE WAS DOYLE'S EDITOR???.......2007-05-28

It's hard to imagine Roddy Doyle followed up a book as wonderfully rich and entertaining as A STAR CALLED HENRY with the flop OH, PLAY THAT THING.

Where was Doyle's editor???

In A STAR CALLED HENRY, Doyle took the reader on an action-packed ride through turn-of-the-century Ireland with Henry Smart - a hero as incorrigibly loveable as any you'll meet. But in this sequel, where Henry escapes to America and finds himself in trouble with the mob, Doyle's writing suffers from three serious problems: confusing writing, boring plot, and shallow hero.

My first criticism: The writing is overly tangential and difficult to follow. I found myself re-reading page after page, wracking my brains trying to understand what the heck was going on and continually wondering whether I'd missed something. I kept at it, hoping to discover a gem hidden in all the confusion. But I'm a die-hard reader; I seriously doubt many others will try as hard to make sense of prose that comes across as lazy rather than worthwhile.

My second criticism: The story goes nowhere. A summary of this book is as simple as this: Henry Smart's on the run again and again because he keeps pissing off the mob. And then there's the almost magical coincidences Doyle tries to pull off - i.,e., out of all the houses in Chicago Henry might rob, he breaks into the one house where his wife (who he thinks is still in Ireland) is working as a maid. And if that's not enough, after Henry is treated to coinsidences so unbelievable the reader is left groaning at the absurdity, the guy squanders each and every one of them.

My third criticism: Henry Smart's character is flat. While the first intallment (A STAR CALLED HENRY) treats the reader to a hero who's as loveable and exciting as any you'll come across, in OH, PLAY THAT THING Doyle squanders each and every ounce of Henry's charisma. Henry's choices and motives don't make sense anymore, and he comes across here as stagnant and shallow. Early in the book, because of Henry's arrogance and greed, he makes enemies with the mob. For the remainder of the book Henry's character goes nowhere. He runs from city to city making the same mistakes over and over again, never seeming to learn a thing about himself. Henry's character never grows.

What makes all these problems so sad is the obvious effort Doyle put into writing OH, PLAY THAT THING. The book is infused with well-researched 1920's American culture. Along the way, Henry meets up with and befriends Louis Armstrong - and Doyle's enthusiasm and passion for music shines through here. Hands down, Louis Armstrong steals the show - Doyle infused his character with all the depth, passion and steam missing from Henry's.

I kept reading this book, hoping if I sifted through the confusing writing and slow story I'd uncover a gem. I never did.

Skilled writer but poor novel.......2007-02-18

After reading both Henry Smart books, I think Doyle possesses great skill to write but fails to deliver an acceptable novel. Oh, Play that Thing has moments that display his eloquence and prose that could lead to a 5-star book. But he fails to put it all together to form a traditional novel with the important features of plot, climax, character development and theme that appeal to readers.

Doyle's characters are morally bankrupt, flaky, and create no connection to readers who will not be able to develop empathy for them. Further, the scenes and timeline are difficult to follow. I think that I am a seasoned reader but at times I did not know what was going on in the story.

Yet, Doyle's skill was enough for me to at least stay with the book and finish it. If you have not read "A Star Called Henry," the previous Henry Smart book, I would advise you to stay away from both it and this one. If you read the prior book and have an interest in Smart, you may be interested in this book. Doyle does provide a glimpse of prohibition America that is interesting though I don't know how accurate it is. He lists numerous books on the age that were helpful to him, so I assume it is. Likewise with the character of Louis Armstrong in the book.

Hated It!.......2006-10-30

The first book was not great, but at least good. This is so dreadful that I couldn't even make it through it. Nonsensical plot, Non-existent plot, Nothing plot. Those terms all describe this one. This isn't worth reading; whether you've read the first one or not. Doyle can be so much better than this!!!

Oh, say it ain't so!.......2006-02-14

I was mesmerized by A Star Called Henry, so I expected the same passionate, magical, heartbreaking storytelling with Oh, Play That Thing. Instead, I found myself disconnected, confused, incredulous, and downright disappointed much of the time.

The writing itself is incredible, and Henry is still the hero who alternately flutters and tears apart your heart, but the plot is just about impossible to follow - or believe. Henry goes from one over-the-top situation to the next, and the coincidences leave you scratching your head. And his incredible, complicated, timeless love for his wife - which drove the plot and the pace of the first novel - takes the backseat much of the time. Yes, Henry is far away and yes, he is a Casanova with an unquenchable thirst, but he conveniently leaves all that passion and pain behind, save for the occasional line or two that Roddy Doyle seems to offer up to forgive Henry's forgetting.

In the end, I felt like I'd missed half the points the novel was trying to make, and Henry Smart became more of a cheap pawn than a complex character. He became a whole new, impossible-to-believe character, with barely a link to the boy we first met. I can't imagine where the next novel will take us, although it looks like Henry will see his name in lights after all. I'd trade in all that flash for one more dirty, gritty story of the real MacCoy.

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Oh, Play That Thing
Roddy Doyle
Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Oh, Play That Thing
Roddy Doyle
Manufacturer: Vintage Books
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Binding: Paperback

Irish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Oh, Play That Thing Voulme Two of The Last Roundup

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Oh, Play That Thing Voulme Two of The Last Roundup
Doyle Roddy
Manufacturer: Viking
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Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UIESXM

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Chicago Blues/ Oh, Play That Thing
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Oh Play That Thing X10 Reading Gde Pack
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Manufacturer: Vintage
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Oh Play That Thing X24 Dumpbin
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Manufacturer: Vintage
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Oh, Play that Thing 12-copy prepack
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Paths of Darkness: The Silent Blade / The Spine Of The World / Servant Of The Shard / Sea Of Swords
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The Best of Wilson Tucker

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Fantastic Treatise

a Buddhist social theory

Socially Engaged Buddhism

The New Social Face of Buddhism: A Call to Action
Ken Jones , and Kenneth Kraft
Manufacturer: Wisdom Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Social Work | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0861713656

Book Description

Jones presents an astute, well-informed, and balanced analysis of the philosophy, history, and future of socially relevant Buddhism. At a time when clear social action is needed more than ever, The New Social Face of Buddhism is vital reading for activists, scholars, and everyone seeking to transform their spiritual practice into a force for social, political, and global change. A groundbreaking work, Jones's book is a wellspring of inspiration that should not be missed.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Treatise.......2005-10-10

Jones's treatise of the sometimes contentious subject of socially engaged buddhism is well-researched and constructed. This is a great book for experienced practitioners as well as beginners. I highly recommend this book any buddhist or socially concerned individual.

a Buddhist social theory.......2005-07-08

As Jones notes, traditional Buddhist teachings tend to lack much in the way of social teachings other than basic injunctions to kings on how to rule justly. This has much to do with the social and historical context in which Buddhism originated, where there wasn't really any traditional of social theory (though Buddhism did develop highly complex psychological theories). In this day and age of major social crises, Jones argues we can no longer afford to pay attention to the ethical implications of our actions only for that group of people we meet face-to-face--we must consider the ethical implications of our actions for the whole world. He discusses some of the history of socially engaged Buddhism in Asia and the West, then sets out to develop his own Buddhist social theory.

He notes that engaged Buddhism comes in many varieties, from emphasizing bringing meditation practice into daily life, to social service work, to political activism. It tends to be this last that gets the least emphasis among socially engaged Buddhists, especially in the West, and it is an activist Buddhism that Jones focuses on. He does not try to argue for it from traditional texts, as some have done, but to take the basic Buddhist existential teachings--the four noble truths, the noble eightfold path, no-self, etc.--and use them to understand our current social situation in what he calls a socioexistential approach. He is critical of thos Buddhist social theories that simply try to take Buddhist psychological theories and somehow turn them into social theories, such as calling capitalism institutionalized greed. Social structure can not be understood using just psychological theories. Instead, Jones synthesizes traditional Buddhist psychology with phenomonological sociology. (If this sounds intimidating, don't worry--Jones presents it in a way that is quite clear.) He describes how we have inherited past social forms, which we recreate every generation as we continue to accept them. These social forms take on a life of their own and shape the psychology of their members--which means some societies, such as capitalist and totalitarian ones, tend to cultivate more mental defilements in their members than others. Because society is ultimately something we create and recreate though, we can change it.

I agree with Jones up to here. It's after this that I start to disagree with some of his points. He is critical of what he calls the social fallacy that you can find in much modern social theory, such as some forms of Marxism, which sets up society over the individual and argues that individual consciousness is entirely shaped by social structures. While I agree with this critique, Jones falls into the opposite trap of asserting the primacy of the psychological over the social, instead of seeing them as equally important and interacting dialectically. From here, this leads him to argue that, while political activism (in the Gandhian tradition of militant but loving nonviolence) is important, ultimately spiritual transformation is more important. We need to work on creating a culture of awakening that will cultivate the mental conditions for everyone to awaken. Creating such a culture is important, but I would lay equal stress on transforming social structures. Finally, I think it's a bit naive to expect everyone to be interested in spiritual transformation. While everyone has the capacity for it, there will always be many people who will have no interest in it, at least in this lifetime--which makes Jones' program for stopping social injustice through a culture in which everyone is awakened unrealistic. Certainly we can work for a just society which encourages people to engage in spiritual practice, but it must be one that rests on the frailties of ordinary human beings, not the virtues of awakened bodhissatvas.

Socially Engaged Buddhism.......2004-02-29

This text calls us to contemplate deeply on the nature of Right Action as the Buddha taught it, and thus offers a truly remarkable look at the Buddhist way of life, both early and modern, in company with several of it's most demanding perspectives. Author Ken Jones instructs us how important it is to develop altruistic intentions and carry them out in this modern society, extending our scope of compassionate reaction to the world community at large. Buddhist morality is a morality of intention, after all, and the consequences of what we do in this world can be very far reaching. You have heard the old saying, "It only takes a spark to light up a forest." While the phrase has become somewhat of a cliché, it quite obviously rings home as true when we are willing to reflect on it. Unless you understand the intricacy of Buddhism, it's a real challenge to apply Buddhist teachings to your life meaningfully.

Ken Jones covers the precepts and our calling to action as Buddhist's in a socially engaged society quite skillfully, like a carpenter chipping away at a block of wood. The breadth of knowledge and insight offered to us in this work is breathtaking, and I now invite you to come along on this journey of discovery with Ken Jones. It's a very eye opening experience. Enjoy the book.

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NEW SOCIAL FACE OF BUDDHISM, THE: A Call to Action
Ken Jones
Manufacturer: Wisdom Publications
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: B000NTMCMC

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The Cake Decorators Bible.......2000-04-08

This book is wonderful!It has easy to follow instructions and delicious recipies! I strongly recommend it!

The Cake Decorator's Bible: A Complete Guide to Cake Decorating Techniques, With over 100 Projects, from Traditional Classics to the Latest in Contemporary Designs

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FINALLY!
Fantastic!
This book delivers!
Bible? Hmm...
Not What I Expected

The Cake Decorator's Bible: A Complete Guide to Cake Decorating Techniques, With over 100 Projects, from Traditional Classics to the Latest in Contemporary Designs
Angela Nilsen , and Sarah Maxwell
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Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Complete guide to cake decorating techniques, with over 100 projects.

Customer Reviews:

FINALLY!.......2004-01-02

I have been looking for a book like this forever! I am so sick of boring "American" cakes with buttercream frosting I could SCREAM! The cakes in Britain are so beautiful, elegant, and whimsical I adore them! The person who reviewed this book that thought there was too much sugar in the marzipan or royal icings should take a look at the fat content in the typical American buttercream frosting! Disgusting! This book is fabulous! Easy to follow for the person wanting to take the time to learn how to make a special cake for any occasion! I use it mostly for my kids birthday party cakes. They just love it.

Fantastic!.......2002-03-14

I am a cake decorating novice and I found this book absolutely fantastic! The measurements threw me at first but once everything was translated into metric, I was away. The instructions are fantastic, the photos are fantastic, the selection of cakes and ideas is fantastic. I made my first novelty cake (a vintage car) from studying the techniques used in this book and everyone loved it. I think there is a cake for every occasion in this book. Well worth the money!

This book delivers!.......2001-12-08

This is an invaluable books which provides information on necessary equipment, how-to decorate directions for royal and glace icing, marzipan, butter icing, chocolate, etc., and basic cake recipes. I have tried several of the cakes, and I was not dissapointed.

Bible? Hmm..........2001-08-30

If this is the Cake Decorator's Bible, it must be the King James version. It definitely isn't the New American Standard! It is a very nice book for British-Style specialty cakes. Just looking at the step-by-step pictures of putting a thick coating of rolled-out marzipan over a round or square fruit cake, in preparation for covering the whole thing with rolled-out sugar paste, makes my teeth hurt. There are some nice decorating ideas in here that could be adapted to more typically American ways of decorating, but I'm sorry I spent my money to own this book.

Not What I Expected.......2001-05-01

I was very disappointed with this book. The type of icing used was not as I expected. I expected a variety of decorations and icing types since the title refers to the book as the "bible" for cake decorating. Unfortunately, almost all of the cakes in the books catered to the thick sugarpaste or marzipan icing. It's a shame that I wasted my money. I have absolutely no use for this book.

The Complete Cake Decorator (Practical Handbooks Series)

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The Complete Cake Decorator (Practical Handbooks Series)
Angela Nilsen
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Binding: Paperback

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

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Amazon.com

"Bold use of color," declares the book's forward, "like profound music and poetry, can evoke emotional responses not easily described." Color is a vital part of an exciting and interesting environment, yet so many people are afraid to use it; they wind up instead with safe (and very dull) rooms. Fear no longer. With the help of this spectacularly visual book, just about anyone can learn to utilize color as a versatile and powerful decorating tool. Crammed with ideas, the well-written text explains how to successfully employ both bright and pale shades through the use of paint, furnishings, fabrics, and decorative accents. Every spread is filled with intense, eye-catching photographs that should inspire even the most timid homeowner to introduce some color into every room.

Book Description

Country Living True Colors

Color is available to everyone -- it is the most exciting, most powerful, and easiest-to-use decorating tool. Wonderfully versatile, it can be introduced into a room in an infinite number of ways, from paint and fabric to decorating details such as wallpaper; rugs, art, and collections. With this in mind, the editors of Country Living invite you to take a look at color at its country best.

True Colors presents natural and pastel colors, two muted color families with the ability to enliven rooms with refreshing delicacy; then explores four bold and brilliant hues -- yellow, red, blue, and green -- that always lend vibrancy and drama to any space. The contributions that paint, fabric, and decorating details can make are detailed, proving what a vital tool for self-expression color can be.

To inspire you, True Colors offers more than 200 color photographs of every room in the house, providing simple, fresh ideas to help you create a warm, inviting, and colorful home.

Customer Reviews:

AMAZING BOOK!.......2006-12-21

I am rereading this right now and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cottage, country style. It is very inspirational...you will love it!

Anyone can learn to utilize color as a decorating tool........1999-10-13

Employs use of different color hues from brilliant to subtle. Teaches you how to use the colors together so that anyone can learn to utilize color as an interesting decorating tool. Beautiful pictures, well written!

This book was so much fun!.......1999-03-28

I received this book as a gift from a friend that knew I love fabric and love color. I have spent hours (literally) thumbing through this book, enjoying the colors and enjoying the different decorating styles. My friends and I pulled it out at one of our Girls Only slumber parties (I'm 39) and spent 2 hours looking, and ooing and ahhing over it! I also got the nerve to paint my living room sage green, and I love it! Fun, fun, fun book!

Book Description

Herman Miller, the leader in modern twentieth-century furniture manufacture, was a totally design-oriented company. Known best for Eames and Nelson furniture designs, showrooms, and interiors, they also produced outstanding graphic design. Mid-century and later advertisements, drawings, brochures, catalogs, posters, and wall panels are shown in this visually exciting new book. Photos of award-winning and other graphic designs are all from the Herman Miller Archives. This beautiful book is a must for anyone with an interest in modern furniture, graphics, or twentieth century design in general.

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Herman Miller cad pack user's guide
Herman Miller (Firm)
Manufacturer: Herman Miller, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

CAD | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Furniture | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006RH9E2

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