The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo: A Novel

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a prose myrical, vivid and luminous

Great sense of place

Lyrical and moving

What others have failed to mention- this book is humorous

Soporific

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo: A Novel
Peter Orner
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0316735809

Book Description

Set in Namibia just after independence in the early 1990s, Peter Orners first novel is a chronicle of the long days, short loves, and cold nights at Goas, an all-boys Catholic primary school so deep in the veld that even the baboons feel sorry for us. Though physically isolated in semi-desert beneath a relentless sun, the people of Goas create an alternate, more fertile universe through the stories they tell each other. The books central character is Mavala Shikongo, a combat veteran who fought in Namibias long war for independence against South Africa. She has recently returned to the schoolwith a child, but no husband. Mavala is modern, restless, and driven, in sharp contrast to conservative Goas. All the male teachers (including a bumbling but observant volunteer from Cincinnati) try not to fall in love with her. Everyone failsimmediately and miserably. This extraordinary first novel explores the history of a place through the stories of its people. But above all its about the fleetingness of love and the endurance of fellowship.

Customer Reviews:

a prose myrical, vivid and luminous.......2007-08-25

Peter Orner's debut collection Esther Stories received wide critical acclaim and provides the artistic foreshadowing of the reach and scope of his talent, beautifully realized in his first novel The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo. Orner navigates persons and cultures not only with significant discernment but with a sense of humility and respect for individual and collective will despite the history of human atrocity that marks the world. Orner's writing is potent, devastating, and soulful.

Great sense of place.......2007-03-30

I picked up this book based solely on the setting of Namibia. I was simply looking to read some contemporary African fiction.

I loved the book. Cleverly written. Orner did a terrific job capturing the sense of place. I could feel the heat and dust as I read. He was able to tell a great tale, very well researched, with good humour. While touching throghout, I found myself laughing at many scenes.

Nice job! Go get it and enjoy it.

Lyrical and moving.......2007-03-07

I had high hopes for The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo as I loved Orner's first book, Esther Stories. This novel did not disappoint. It's a love story, but set in the remote veld of Namibia, it is also offers astute political commentary and a glimpse at history that few Americans will learn about in school. Orner's prose is elegant and funny, his descriptions of conflict and boredom, landscapes both internal and external, beauty in the everyday, are luminous.

What others have failed to mention- this book is humorous .......2007-01-09

This is one of the better literary works I've read in a couple of years. Mind you, I'm not to the end yet. Short sentences and short chapters, somehow this writing style calls to me.

Soporific.......2007-01-01

This Namibian-set debut novel by San Francisco-based Orner has gotten rave reviews from critics as well as translation deals in France, Germany and Italy. I really wanted to like it -- I've read a good deal of novels by African authors, as well as books set in Africa, and I'm always ready for more. Unfortunately, I found the book utterly boring, and had I not committed to finishing it for review, I would have set it aside after about fifty pages or so. That's not something I do lightly -- I read about 120-150 books a year and only abandon about five or so.

The story revolves around Larry, a young man from Cincinnati who travels to the Namibian veld in 1991 to volunteer as a teacher at a Catholic boys school. This is about a year after the country won independence from South Africa following 20+ years of insurgency. Life at the isolated boarding school is oppressively slow and uneventful -- and the book follows suit. The 300 pages of narrative unfold in 150+ brief chapters, most of which are tiny snippets, not even full vignettes or scenes. Which makes a certain amount of sense, since there's no plot to speak of.

Larry arrives, provides the Western outsider view on his new environment, and eventually leaves. Reviews of the book make his afternoon delight assignations with a beautiful teacher (who's also a single mother and a former guerilla fighter) sound much more substantial than they are. This affair doesn't flare up until halfway through the book, and doesn't end up amounting to much. This staccato method of storytelling works more on an impressionistic level than a traditional narrative one. By the end the monotony of life at the school has been drilled into the reader, as has the accompanying physical sensation of drought, but that's about it.

Occasionally the book is somewhat more succesful -- generally when there's a story to tell. For example, in one chapter, a teacher solves the problem of a massive 15-year-old lien on his car by having the students bury it in sand. Elsewhere, little snippets of Namibian history are imparted, which are far more interesting than anything happening at the school. It should be noted that there is a reasonably broad cast of charaacters, but these don't ever emerge as distinctive voices and tend to blur together, just like the endless veld that surround the school. Those who thrive on description may find Orner's style satisfying, and there are glimpses here are there of African life, but I was bored to tears throughout.

Book Description

BLOOD KING
The Goths followed a bloodthirsty new leader, one who sought to open the Gates of Hell: Wotan. His immortal power stemmed from human sacrifice and dark sorcery, and no sword could touch him. He rode the winds on a leather-winged steed, while his armies cut a deadly swath across the northern kingdoms. Even death's icy hand could not stop them.
Only Uther Pendragon could save Britannia. To do so he must wield his birthright--Cunobelin's blade, the legendary Sword of Power.
But Uther was chained in Hell, the sword lost in swirling Chaos. All hope lay with the warrior known as Revelation, with the magic of the Sipstrassi Stones, and with Anduine, a blind girl possessed of arcane powers. Only if these unlikely allies united could they hope to stop the invincible foe before the world plunged into darkness.

Customer Reviews:

Super Reader.......2007-08-26

Uther Pendragon needs to move, being stuck in hell and all. In the mortal world, more than one person has dabbled too much in the magic of the stones.

Culain must aid Revelation the warrior, and help him find Uther's son, so that something can be done about the situation. They will also need the Lost Sword of Power, and not let the whole Uther-Laitha-Culain love triangle get in the way.

Fantastic work.......2007-05-07

David Gemmell was a master of the fantasy art. His books are a must read if you are into the genre.

Could not put the book down. Neither will you........2006-12-25

Book Two is great in it's own right as is Book One. Interpreting Arthurian legend, this story focuses on Cormac, son of the Blood King, Uther Pendragon. Cormac grows to manhood and becomes a warrior under the tutalage of the Lance Lord. He seeks life and love even to the extend of traveling Hell itself. A new "god" seeks to conquor Britain and it's up to Cormac and the heroes, much older now, from the first book to stop the horror and blood. As with other Gemmell stories, some of the characters you've grown to respect and love (or hate) will die in an attempt to stand on the side of good....and they might not succeed. Unlike the Drenai series, this story claims roots in Earth's history and legends of ancient Western culture.

One of Gemmell's gifts is telling a story of adventure and fantasy while exploring shades of good and evil within a person. Good people will do terrible things in fits of anger or perceived need for the greater good, and bad people will inexplicably or deliberately do an act of kindness that makes a difference.

Someday a movie director will turn one or all of David Gemmell's books into a movie series that will rivial LOTR and Harry Potter. This book will be a smashing hit! Read it and you'll find it satisfying, while hungering for more of D.G. books.

The practical and emotional of book 2.......2006-11-16

First, a bit of a practical review: in this book we learn of the future of King Uthur, named the Blood king as his reign has been a bloody battle with various enemies. We learn of the fate of his wife, of his friends, and of his friend Prasamaccus (who, coincidentally, was my favorite character in the first two books).

But now let me tell you how I really felt about it. Book 2 in the "Stones of Power" series impressed the heck out of me. Don't get me wrong - I loved book one; I thought it was tremendously well done fantasy. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this novel... and once I started reading it I couldn't help but get a little more emotionally involved than I normally do. I felt myself grieving over the debilitating marriage of the King - I was furious at him, then at her, then both of them. I grieved for characters that lost loved ones, and rejoiced when men and women realize the truth inside of them.

Gemmell continues to impress me with fantasy that strays from the expected. He's created a great set of characters, and I would love to see some books that talk in more detail about everything that happened between Ghost King and Last Sword of Power. Some of the new characters include Uthur's long lost son, and a blind girl who can see better than most of us. You get attached to them as easily as you do the Blood King and Revelation, and by the end cheering for their victory. Probably my favorite book out of the series.

A different vision of Arthur (Part II).......2006-08-03

This is a companion review to the review I wrote for "Ghost King".
Last Sword of Power is the sequel to Ghost King and is the second of the Stones of Power Cycle.
David Gemmell's novel Last Sword of Power takes us back to the Arthurian-type world of Uther Pendragon and Britannia. We are now many years past the events described in Ghost King. The heroic characters that loved and lost are now living legends, late in their years, and spoken of in respect and/or fear by the people we now meet in the land of Britannia.
We have new bad guys. This time it is the Goths, led by an ancient immortal returned from death and hell to wreak, well, death and hell on the Britons. You see, there are certain things in Briton that this demigod needs to further his dark purposes. Which is where our heroes come in. Someone has to make a stand against this evil afterall.
Our main hero is the orphan boy Cormac. Raised by the Saxons, yet an outcast due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding his birth, Cormac grows up despised by all except his protector, a kindly old warrior Gysstha. Grysstha instills in Cormac self respect and worth and also fighting abilities that will be crucial in the near future.
It seems that events seem to be pulling Cormac into a certain direction and towards certain key players. Eventually, all the characters the reader grew to empathise with in Ghost King will make their appearance and their respective stands against evil, whether in their own hearts or more conventially against the invading force of savage Goths.
Last Sword of Power is a tale of the Sipstrassi, it is a tale of revenge, and of redemption. There are some extended passages dealing with spiritual matters like the nature of hell and limbo. Last Sword of Power is a much deeper book on a number of levels than what the title or action-packed paperback covers would indicate.
I can tell you that the book has a satisfying conclusion that will also tie together some key questions for the reader about David Gemmell's sipstrassi mythology, like "what happened to the stones of power after Ghost King, and how did they reappear in Wolf in Shadow?"
A must read book if you have read Ghost King. You will love this novel if you enjoyed Lion of Macedon.

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Last Sword of Power
David Gemmell
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVAN16

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The Last Sword of Power
David Gemmell
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVJ88A

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Last Sword of Power

Manufacturer: ORBIT (LITT)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GNXFLC

Book Description

Women's contributions to science fiction over the past century have been lasting and important, but critical work in the field has only just begun to explore its full range. Justine Larbalestier has collected 11 key stories--many of them not easily found, and all of them powerful and provocative--and sets them alongside 11 new essays, written by top scholars and critics, that explore the stories' contexts, meanings, and theoretical implications. The resulting dialogue is one of enormous significance to critical scholarship in science fiction, and to understanding the role of feminism in its development. Organized chronologically, this anthology creates a new canon of feminist science fiction and examines the theory that addresses it. Daughters of Earth is an ideal overview for students and general readers.

Customer Reviews:

Sci Fi the way it oughta be!.......2007-06-12

The best work in Sci Fi during the 50's, 60's and 70's was by women, and a lot of the best stories are right here. Fantastic!

A gift to the readers of the twenty-first century.......2006-10-04

Expertly compiled and deftly edited by science fiction expert and author Justine Larbalesier, "Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century" is both a collection of eleven short stories by famous feminist science fiction authors and eleven analytical essays which accompany and explain the short stories displayed. Both the authors of the short stories and the authors of the critical essays are feminist science fiction experts. Some of the authors of the short stories include Octavia Butler, Gwyneth Jones, Leslie Stone, Kate Wilhelm, Pamela Zoline, Lisa Tuttle, Pat Murphy, and James Tiptree Jr. Critical essayists include, not in order, Lisa Yaszek, Josh Lukin, Wendy Pearson, Joan Haran, Veronica Hollinger, Andrea Hairston, and L. Timmel Duchamp. These are the famed jewels of feminist science fiction, and it is indeed a rare treat to have the entire volume and its companion essays to peruse. If you have ever read Octavia Butler "The Evening and the Morning and the Night," you will relish the companion essay, 'Praise Song to a Prophetic Artist,' by Andrea Hairston. Paving the way for future feminist writers and thinkers, these authors represent a rich composite vein to be mined at will. An amazing amount of detective work and scholarship went into this edition. "Daughters of Earth" is a gift to the readers of the twenty-first century, in hopes that they remember upon whose literary shoulders they are standing in the fields of science fiction, speculative fiction, and fantasy.

Amazon.com

Insightful and well-researched, Living in the Lap of the Goddess does justice to the vast array of theories and styles that make up spiritual feminism -- Women's Review of Books

Book Description

This fascinating introduction to feminist spirituality, one of the most rapidly growing religious movements in the United States today, explores what women who worship the goddess believe; how they express those beliefs in private, in public, and in the political realm; and the place of feminist spirituality in the American religious landscape.

Customer Reviews:

Essential for seriously studying about Feminist Spirituality.......2005-03-18

Cynthia Eller's "Living in the Lap of the Goddess" was an early 1990's study that drew broad contours for the feminist spirituality movement, even as it claimed to define more the centers of practice rather than the periphery. Eller distributed a questionnaire, available in the appendix, and interviewed a number of both well-known and (for a lack of a better term) entry-level participants in the feminist spirituality movement.

The early chapters are devoted to discussing the different ways women came to the movement in their own voices, whether through gradualism, serendipity, or acute crisis. Contemporary Paganism's role in feminist spirituality is given its own chapter, as are the ethics of affinities and appropriations across racial, religious, and cultural lines, and a general sociological makeup of the movement at that time. Eller reinforces the notion that ritual, rather than belief, tends to hold feminist spirituality together, specifically collective ritual that has a very Wiccan structure to it, although other forms, such as talking circles and guided meditations are covered as well. Some attention is given to solitary work, magic, and thealogy. Thealogical emphases are immanence, pantheism, functional polytheism and parthenogenic cosmogony.

As in her discussion of ethics, the ethical dimensions of magic and hexing are emphasized. Eller refers to language used by practiioners, but sometimes fails to define it. For example, one name used for those willing to use magic to both hurt and heal are referred to as "Aradians," without reference to Charles Leland's "Aradia: Or The Gospel of the Witches," a 19th century document that chronicles the divine power of witches to cause harm to oppressors by magical means.

Much of the focus of the movement is somatic, including what some might see as a pre-occupation with bodies. But for Eller's participants this too is a matter of coming home, of attempting to re-member themselves first to their immanent experience of living as a healthy, rather than an estranged, connection. And the first step to this, at this time, was articulating a gynocentral myth of ancient matriarchy or "partnership" societies, which Eller summarizes in one chapter. She would later spend an entire volume critiquing this myth.

Perhaps related to this is her presentation of the debate between those feminists who find ecofeminist political power in feminist spirituality, and those who find it yet another form of distraction from the material reality of women's lives--yet another form of anodyne escapism. Yet Eller implicitly takes sides in this debate by finishing her volume and revisiting the subject of why feminist spirituality is here and what roles it fulfills, in a more concrete sense of her own conclusions, rather than the voices of the women who were first introduced in the beginning of the book.

The volume is a necessary addition to all who are researching feminist spirituality in the United States of any stripe, and presents much of its information in form of interviews and information from a wide variety of women's experiences, invaluable for subsequent researchers. Eller is also to be commended for her attention to popular art forms such as music, ritual, and altar construction as part of her study.

Women in Search of the Divine Feminine.......1999-12-11

Like all scrupulously fair journalism, Cynthia Eller's very readable survey, LIVING IN THE LAP OF THE GODDESS, THE FEMINIST SPIRITUALITY MOVEMENT IN AMERICA, is bound to please and offend in equal measure. Using a decade of research (largely literary but also including personal interviews), Eller attempts to generalize about the feminist spirituality movement in the United States. While her tone is respectful, her eyes are wide open, and inevitably some of her observations must irritate some members of the movement. Her good will, however, seems evident and her information appears to be accurate. Her approach is comprehensive, considering topics from ritual to theology, history to psychology, sociology to magic. The book is an easy read, mostly straight reporting enriched by a little analysis in areas such as psychology of religion. The greatest limitation of the book is that it was published in the early 1990's and does not reflect developments during the last 6-7 years. However, as an even-handed introduction to feminist spirituality, it is still very useful. Unlike most books written by insiders in the movement, it includes information on the historical development of this alternate religion and focuses on issues on which spiritual feminists disagree. For anyone interested in learning just who those "Goddess worshippers" are (witches? pagans? New Agers? flakes?), what they believe, what they do, LIVING IN THE LAP OF THE GODDESS is an excellent beginning.

Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America.

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Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America.
Cynthia. Eller
Manufacturer: Crossroad c
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KIP962

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Great Recipe book with history

One of the best Macanese cookbook~!

Brilliant!!!

Taste of Macau: Portuguese Cuisine on the China Coast
Annabel Jackson
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0781810221

Customer Reviews:

Great Recipe book with history.......2007-01-17

The book arrived ontime. This is a great book for those who appreciate Macau cooking or who are up for trying some new recipes, especially seafood recipes. It is difficult to locate Macau recipes so I am glad that this book is readily available in the US. Some of the recipes are familiar to me and some I do not recall ever having. Macau dishes are more on the portuguese side with a bit of influence from indian, thailand, chinese, or some other ethnicity. It contains the history of macau, interviews with various people and over 60 recipes. I haven't tried the recipes yet but I am sure I can adjust the ingredients to my preference if necessary.

One of the best Macanese cookbook~!.......2005-10-18

For more thing on Macau, visit my website : My Olive Tree (www.pretogrosso.com)

Annabel Jackson's Taste of Macau (Portuguese Cuisine on the China Coast) is an exceptional good cookbook and history lesson for those interested in the heritage of Macanese foods. The book does very well to integrate both culinary and cultural history for the reader. And also it contains secret, interesting and closely guarded Macanese recipes!

This book also attempt to preserve and share, for the first time, a very import aspect of the Macanese world. The author has spent almost 10 years collecting and testing these heritages recipes, getting in touch with the Macanese diaspora, and asking them to reflect back and write about food in Macau.

There's even a poem on secret family recipes & 6 interviews with Macanese and their memory of childhood & foods.

Recipes:
a) Soups & Starters:
13 types of dishes including Almondegas (Minced Pork Patties), Pasteis de Bacalhau (Salted Cod Cakes), Rissois (Shrimp Rissoles) etc

b) Fish & Seafood:
12 types of dishes including Bacalhau a Penha (Salt Cod in Penha Hill style), Gambas a Macau (King Prawns with Chilli & Garlic), Lulas Rechedas (Stuffed Squid) etc

c) Meat:
19 types of dishes including Capela (Meat Loaf), Pato Tamarinho (Tamarind Duck), Vaca Estufada I (Rich Beef Stew), etc

d) Vegetables:
5 types of dishes including Amargoso Lorcha (BitterGourd in Coconut Milk) , Sambal de Bringella (Eggplant Sambal) etc

e) Rice & Noodles
4 type of dishes including Arroz Carregado (Pressed Rice), Lacassa (Noodles in Shrimp Broth)

f) Desserts
9 type of dishes including Bagi (Glutinous Rice Cake), Bolo Menino (Nut Cake), Pudim de Sagu (Sago Pudding) etc

Brilliant!!!.......2005-02-18

What an original idea for a cookbook! Being from a Portuguese background and having been raised on traditional Portuguese cuisine, I am always on the look out for new Portuguese cookbooks to help keep the memory of my cultural background alive and well...and I was surprised, but excited when I came accross this title on the website and had to buy it. I was not dissapointed. Colorfull, Informative and full of interesting (yet Im sure very tasty) recipies combining some traditional portuguese cuisine with an Asian twist. I cant wait to try them all. Obrigado Amazon.com!!!!

Book Description

An invaluable guide for everyone who owns fine and precious things and wants to know how to maintain their beauty and value. Whether it's art objects, furnishings, or textiles, this complete, practical book provides state-of-the-art and traditional techniques for effective preservation and restoration.

Cherished possessions: being an effective helper with older adults. (therapeutic recreation): An article from: Parks & Recreation

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Cherished possessions: being an effective helper with older adults. (therapeutic recreation): An article from: Parks & Recreation
M. Jean Keller
Manufacturer: National Recreation and Park Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Senior Travel | Specialty Travel | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Parks & Recreation, published by National Recreation and Park Association on May 1, 1997. The length of the article is 1359 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Often older people have possessions that would be valued little by others but have strong personal and sentimental value to them. How therapeutic recreational workers can incorporate these possessions into a program beneficial to their owners is described.

Citation Details
Title: Cherished possessions: being an effective helper with older adults. (therapeutic recreation)
Author: M. Jean Keller
Publication: Parks & Recreation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 1997
Publisher: National Recreation and Park Association
Volume: v32 Issue: n5 Page: p86(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Caring for Your Cherished Possessions
Mary K. Levenstein
Manufacturer: Crown Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPBSRO

Final report: Cherished possessions and adaptation of the elderly to the nursing home

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Final report: Cherished possessions and adaptation of the elderly to the nursing home
Seymour Wapner
Manufacturer: Heinz Werner Institute of Developmental Psychology, Clark University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00070WGFU

The meaning of cherished personal possessions for the elderly

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The meaning of cherished personal possessions for the elderly
Edmund A Sherman
Manufacturer: Institute of Gerontology, School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Shell Art: A Handbook for Making Shell Flowers, Mosaics, Jewelry, and Other Ornaments
Helen K. Krauss
Manufacturer: Dover Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0486232557

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Shell Art A Handbook for Making Shell Flowers, Mosaics, Jewelry, and Other Ornaments
Helen K. Krauss
Manufacturer: Hearthside Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MMO6Z6

Amazon.com

Vivid splashes of color enliven walls, windows, and flea-market furnishings in this breezy collection of simple but effective mini-makeovers. Beautifully designed pages offer eye-catching photos and easily digested instructions for dozens of inexpensive contemporary-style projects, most of which can be completed in an hour or an afternoon. Besides the usual (dressers, coffee tables, picture frames, walls, and floors transformed with paint, fabric, paper, and glue), there are lots of nifty accents: drawer handles crafted from glass beads or a rustic twig; placemats that are actually blackboards for guests to scribble on; a shower curtain bedecked with plastic roses; tea lights covered in glitter; even a brilliant way to organize the ever-cluttered sock drawer (strips of polypropylene fastened in a criss-cross pattern to create dividers). The directions are not terribly extensive, but almost everything's easy enough that this approach is sufficient. --Amy Handy

Book Description

Here is a makeover book for your home, brimming with tips for adapting everyday objects to suit your budget, taste, and time frame. This handy book is divided into four main sections--Furniture, Floors & Walls, Lighting, and Accessories--illustrated with before and after color photos. Petra Boase, a top home stylist, provides five variations for each example, showing alternative design ideas and materials.

Bright, appealing photos depict the miracles that can be achieved by taking a can of paint to a chair, or getting creative with lampshades. A glossary of techniques explains how to execute the projects, listing basic materials and easy-to-follow instructions. Obtaining paint effects such as crackle glaze, woodstaining, patterned glazes, and distressing has never been so simple. Brimming with trade secrets, decoration shortcuts and design ideas, Decorating Makeovers shows readers how to achieve great design with minimal cost and effort.

Bright, appealing photos depict the miracles that can be achieved by taking a can of paint to a chair, or getting creative with lampshades. A glossary of techniques explains how to execute the projects, listing basic materials and easy-to-follow instructions. Obtaining paint effects such as crackle glaze, woodstaining, patterned glazes, and distressing has never been so simple. Brimming with trade secrets, decoration shortcuts and design ideas, Decorating Makeovers shows readers how to achieve great design with minimal cost and effort.Here is a makeover book for your home, brimming with tips for adapting everyday objects to suit your budget, taste, and time frame. This handy book is divided into four main sections--Furniture, Floors & Walls, Lighting, and Accessories--illustrated with before and after color photos. Petra Boase, a top home stylist, provides five variations for each example, showing alternative design ideas and materials.

Customer Reviews:

beatiful unique pictures.......2006-03-30

This A Beatiful and Unique book. My only problem with the books is that the instructions could have been a little better. I have already redone my kitchen table with artist canvas as in one of her projects and it came out wonderful.

I love this book!.......2002-03-02

Finally I found a book that matches my decorating sensibilties. I love funky, unconventional decor, and this book, not only provides great projects for those interested in more color and quirkiness than Martha can muster, it also acts as a springboard for one's own ideas. The projects look straightforward (one can marvel at how sparse, but effective the instructions are), and are easily adaptable. I am goin to be looking for all her books. For anyone who loves the decorators of BBC's Changing Rooms, I would also recommend they check out Petra Boase. (As a side note, after moving from London back to the States I found this book and was surprised that she does work for one of my favorite stores in Notting Hill where I lived!)

Great Ideas for a young suburban adult.......2000-09-05

The ideas in this book are all great, as long as you like modern decorating styles...such as a blue glitter chair, a bright red latex painted chair, glitter tealights, and feathered lamp shades. If you are looking for more of a contemporary but also a more reserved look you should check out Home File by Christine Dimmick, she uses the same ideas as Boase,(decorating on a budget and making trash into treasures) but at the same time she caters to a more sophisticated style. I am going into professional design and will definitly add this book to my shelf and will refer to it when I get a client that wants a modern look, but this book is definitly not for someone with conservative tastes.

Cute, but not realistically helpful.......2000-07-05

The best thing about this book was the photography; all of the projects were well-photographed. However, as a new apartment owner I was looking for more "mature" and classic decorating ideas . . . most of the projects in this book were trendy and colorful, not quite as sophisticated as I had hoped. Although it did have some cute decorating ideas and I'm sure most of the projects could be adapted to suit one's own style, I am not a crafty, do-it-myself person who has time or knowledge to learn how to go about renovating furniture and painting knick-knacks for the wall.

What a find!.......2000-03-29

This is a really clever book. The ideas are so fresh and modern. The projects are easy to understand and accompianied by great photography. I think the ideas could be easily adapted to fit into a wide variety of budgets and levels of sophistication. It's a must for anyone who loves funky designs and enjoys a "do it yourself" approach to decorating. It's also just a fun book to look at, very colorful and full of photos.

Decorating Makeovers: More Than 130 Easy Projects for Furniture, Floors and Walls, Lighting, and Accessories

Average customer rating:

Decorating Makeovers: More Than 130 Easy Projects for Furniture, Floors and Walls, Lighting, and Accessories
Petra Boase
Manufacturer: Hearst Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P71R82

Book Description

New technologies and applications, along with sophisticated compression techniques and broadband services, have accelerated the growth of the Internet and the number of its users. The Web's variety and depth have enabled certain companies and designers—and their thinking—to stand out. Deep Sites identifies both the key practitioners and the underlying principles that make their work so significant.

The book is organized by critical areas of Web design:

• Interface: It took a century for early book printers to realize that page numbers facilitated navigation through the book. Roughly a decade after the large-scale development of the Web, designers are still searching for the best ways to navigate cyberspace.
• Typography: Static forms have to be reinvented when applied to on-screen media, to accommodate time and motion.
• Animation: With the advent of streaming media, growing bandwidth, and leaner data, the Web will become a serious competitor to television. The design implications are manifold and center on the problem of combining print and TV environments into new formats.
• Community: The explosive growth of personal and community homepages has spawned entirely new approaches—crude, candid, innocent, and outrageously diverse—that have begun to exert their influence on professional design.
• Authoring: Dozens of editorial and design software tools make it possible for nonprofessionals to create sites of considerable complexity and formal quality.

Over 500 color illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Really expensive screenshots.......2004-08-03

I bought the book because it was recommended in a computer magazine. It was recommeded as a book detailing best practices for complex websites.
However it's just a collection of (smallish) screenshots of JavaScript and Flash Websites. Most of which are either already offline or not usable in current Browsers. The explanatory texts are very short (a handful of paragraphs for each site) and ususally detail the biography of the website author.
All in all a fairly useless book, maybe except you're looking for web designers to contract.

Deep Sites: Intelligent Innovation in Contemporary Web Design.(Book Reviews): An article from: Technical Communication

Average customer rating:

Deep Sites: Intelligent Innovation in Contemporary Web Design.(Book Reviews): An article from: Technical Communication
Ann S. Jennings
Manufacturer: Society for Technical Communication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Technical Communication, published by Society for Technical Communication on February 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1112 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Deep Sites: Intelligent Innovation in Contemporary Web Design.(Book Reviews)
Author: Ann S. Jennings
Publication: Technical Communication (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 2004
Publisher: Society for Technical Communication
Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Page: 128(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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