You Know Better: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Eh

Not up to her previous standards

Irritating characters

NOT worth the wait...

Couldn't get into it

You Know Better: A Novel
Tina Mcelroy Ansa
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0060512466
Release Date: 2003-01-07

Amazon.com

The pleasures of Tina McElroy Ansa's sharp-witted fourth novel, You Know Better, are obvious from the first pages, in which we are introduced to the author's lovable, imperfect characters, her gift for capturing the rhythms of speech, and her dead-on observations of African American family life at the turn of the 21st century. In her hands, what could've read like Touched by an Angel instead is a tender and rueful study of the forces that shape three generations of women. Lily, a successful former school teacher and administrator, is out at midnight, combing the streets of her small Georgia town for her teenage granddaughter, LaShawndra, who's in trouble again. Lily's daughter, Sandra, is too busy making money and trying to attract the new pastor to pay attention to the chaos of LaShawndra's life, let alone to take responsibility for the girl's misbehavior or her low self-esteem. But before the next day is over, each of the women will be visited by a guiding spirit and forced to face what they have been running from. A spiritual novel free of sentimentality or preaching, You Know Better suggests that most people already know what's wrong with their lives, but it may take divine intervention to motivate them to fix their problems. --Regina Marler

Book Description

As the tiny town of Mulberry, Georgia, celebrates its spring Peach Blossom Festival, things are far from peachy for three generations of Pines women.

Eighteen-year-old LaShawndra, who wants nothing more out of life than to dance in a music video, has messed up again -- but this time she isn't sticking around to hear about it. Not that her mother seems to care: Sandra is too busy working on her career and romancing a local minister to notice. It's LaShawndra's grandmother Lily Paine Pines who is out scouring the streets at midnight looking for her granddaughter. But Lily discovers she is not alone. A ghost of a well-known Mulberry pioneer is coming out of the shadows.

Over the course of one weekend, these three disparate women, guided by the wisdom of three unexpected spirits, will learn to face the pain of their lives and discover that with reconciliation comes the healing they all desperately seek. You Know Better brilliantly portrays the fissures in modern African American family life to reveal the indestructible soul that bonds us all.

Customer Reviews:

Eh.......2006-05-16

"You Know Better" by Tina Ansa is about three generations of women: Lily, Sandra and LaShawndra. The story focuses on LaShawndra and her mischevious behavior as a young teen.

For the bulk of the story, LaShawndra ran away from home. She was trying to get to Freak Nik in Atlanta. She was a teen who thought she was grown based on her foul language and promiscuos activity. She does not listen to the counsel that her grandmother gives her. She want to run the streets and be popular. When she runs away, her grandmother tries hard to find her. She finally finds her. Her grandmother seemed to care more about her than her mother. LaShawndra's mother was not really prominent in the story.

I don't recommend this book. It was a difficult book to finish because she dragged this story on for way too long. Skip right on over this one. I gave it 3 stars because it wasn't horrible, it just wasn't anything to write home about.

Not up to her previous standards.......2005-12-29

Tina McElroy Ansa's previous three novels are great! This one isn't as good - the characters have less depth and the structure of the novel felt too contrived. However, it does pack an emotional punch. Meanwhile, Ansa's good at sequels. The Hand I Fan With is a great follow-up to Baby of the Family. Who knows, maybe this storyline will go on and get better as it does too? Imagine LaShawndra succeeding where Sandra and Lily failed miserably - not having a baby she doesn't want, not pressuring someone else to do that, and so on...

Irritating characters.......2004-09-23

I just finished reading this book, and I am so glad I got through it finally. The daughter of Sandra, LaShawndra, was so irritating to me that she just grated on my nerves the entire way through the book. Also, the book didn't really have that much direction. I had a hard time understanding the point of the book for some reason. I was just happy that I finished it, so I could quit reading. I loved her other books, but this one just didn't do it for me.

NOT worth the wait..........2004-06-07

As a fan of Tina McElroy Ansa, I anxiously awaited the arrival of this book for at least 2 1/2 years during which time she changed not only the title of the book (It was originally suppose to be titled "And You Should Know Better") but also changed publishers. When the book was finally released, I had to have been one of first people in line to buy it and I must say that I was EXTREMELY disappointed. I did not feel the depth from these charachters that was so easily detected in her past 3 novels, and the story itself simply was not at all intriguing. Though it took Mrs. Ansa several years to follow up her last release, this novel was written as though it took only a few weeks, perhaps due to the fact that she and her husband were working on a screenplay for one of her earlier novels. If you've never read any of T.M. Ansa's work before, PLEASE don't let this novel be the gauge by which you judge her writing ability. I just hope that she is able to redeem herself after this.

Couldn't get into it.......2004-06-02

First of all, I need to be honest, and say that I did not finish this book. I read the first two parts about Lily and the other one was about Sandra, and that was it. I could not take it any more. The chapters were way longer than they had to be to get what the author was trying to get over to her audience. It seem to go over and over the same things way to many times before it actually got to the point. I do not recommend reading this book at all.

Book Description

Meet Natsumi Kawashima, a homely fifth grader with a craving for curves of her own. One day, after eating a packet of mysterious pink nuts, her wish comes true and she is transformed into a beautiful, sexy woman! Now endowed with a mind for recess and a body for supermodel glitz and glamour, will Natsumi's newfound adulthood and sudden fawning admirers lead to happiness or heartbreak?

Customer Reviews:

Great Art, Loveable Characters and A Funny Storyline.......2005-03-12

Instant Teen is a funny and cute manga. In the first volume, we are introduced to Natsumi Kawashima, a fifth-grader who longs to be older and have a hot body.

After eating a packet of strange pink nuts, Natsumi is transformed into an older teen! (about seventeen, I think) The first person to find out is her best friend and neighbor, Asuma Yoneyama. He is shocked to find an older woman sleeping in Natsumi's bed when he comes to pick her up for school!

Natsumi and Asuma have some crazy adventures involving the pink nuts. Natsumi is hired to be a model, goes on a party cruise, and even transforms into a baby!

I gave this manga four stars because even though it's one of my favorites, the storyline is jumpy and kind of confusing. Also, it's printed in authentic right-to-left Japanese style, which makes it kind of hard to read. Don't worry, a guide on how to read is included on the last page which would normally be the first.

The artwork was beautiful and detailed, Haruka Fukushima is an amazing artist!

Instant Teen is a great manga for anyone, although I think it's aimed towards girls. Pick it up for a few laughs and some romance!

What is "adult"? That is the question........2005-02-24

In the real world, it must be a crime to let a young, sexy woman with a kid brain walk around the town without a guardian. Besides she is a *instant teen* so she doesn't know how dangerous her new world is. Oh my dear! She's still wearing her child clothes which is too short for her shape. What's a ...

Relax! It's a sort of slapstick comedy. No one will be harmed. If you are an otaku who would like to analyze something difficult, this is probably NOT for you. (You could analyze some commercialism which is universally observed in monthly magazines, though. I guess the story was once completed in its first 130 pages.)

The plot is simple and time-honored. It is very common: You get annoyed when someone treats you as a kid because you look kid because you're a little kid. Naturally, you want to grow up to be a big man or woman to be treated as an adult. Don't you? So does Natumi. What is not common is: She gets some nuts by chance. Yes, they are the magic nuts!

Tokyopop's line-up news said "Fans of Fruits Basket and Tokyo Mew Mew are sure to delight in this hilarious manga from award-winning creator Haruka Fukushima." Perhaps Instant Teen is interesting for Tokyo Mew Mew lovers. I agree that. Fruits Bascket is, however, very different from Instant Teen. Furuba has the tragic background. Instant Teen doesn't. (That is ok, at least for me. Of course I like Furuba very much. But I don't always read deep stories.)

This is the first volume of four. The second is also avilable now. Vol. 3 is coming soon. It was originally published on Kodansha's monthly shojo manga magazine Nakayoshi whose main target audience is preteen girls. The original title is "Otona ni Nuts". "otona" means "adult"; "ni" is a particle (postposition) similar to "to" of English; "nuts" is a pun of "natte" or "natta", both of them are inflections of verb "naru" which means "be" or "become". So the title is "Please be an adult!" or "I'm an adult now!" This double meaning is a little bit interesting. While Natsumi, the main character, is transformed into a young woman and enjoying it, Asuma, her friend, is even more worrying about her immaturity. He must guard her. He murmurs "She can't do anything without me." (Although he is far from adult, too :-)

Sometimes (or always?) they are in an awkward situation and panic. But their adventures are safe and funny like a short round trip in a theme park. Enjoy it! That won't hurt... By the way, you will see another magical nuts in the next volume.

RANMA 1/2 meets 13 GOING ON 30.......2004-10-02

Natsumi Kawashima is a homely 10-year-old who simply can't wait to grow up. Her next store neighbor and guy friend, Asuma Yoneyama, a boy her age, likes to tease her with the way she does things like stuff apples in her shirt and wrap herself in cellophane.

Then one day while walking to school she passes a barbershop where a hansome barber is cutting a woman's hair. Natsumi is instantly smitten, but then the kindly barber tells her they don't admit youngsters. Depressed and irritated by Asuma's laughing at the situation, she then sees some women handing out samples of nuts. Natsumi asks for some, wanting to drown her sorrows in food, but the woman tells her they're only for adults. Natsumi snaps and grabs a bunch of packets and runs off with them.

At home, she notices the nuts from one bag are pink, and she tries some of those. The next morning she wakes up late for school and rushes out without meeting her parents, and then when she runs into the barber from before finds she's suddenly aged 8 or 9 years overnight and become a lucious, mega-hot super babe. Shoked and confused at first, Natsumi soon finds she likes being a young adult (it's what she wanted, after all), especially when the barber, Toji Yashiki, asks her out on a date. She then comes home, managing to get back to her room unnoticed, and and is worried about what she's going to do, but then suddenly turns back into a kid again. She wonders what happened that evening while munching the nuts, and wakes up the next morning an 18-year-old again! Of course, it's not long before Asuma finds out.

Things get even more complicated when Natsumi is kidnapped by the assistants of androgemous scientist Dr. Yunosuke Morinomiya, who invented the nuts that turn Natsumi into her older self. Yunosuke had Natsumi brought over to tell her about what's going on (though the measures to do so were quite drastic indeed. Everytime Natsumi eats the nuts, she'll become an adult for 8 hours. Yunosuke warns Natsumi not to eat anymore nuts, as they're still in the experimental stage and could have unexpected side effects. This means new problems, however, as Toji has already asked adult-type Natsumi on a date on a Sunday ocean cruise...

Already, I'm hooked. This manga has cute character designs, (especially Natsumi when she becomes a teenager-yowza!) lots of great humor, and I love all the characters. My favorite scene in this first volume is when the pills cause a side effect and Natsumi turns into a baby! (The only downside is that they get her back to normal almost immeadietly after. I would have liked to have seen more done with this particular plot development. Alas, no.) Anyway, I'm now looking forward to part 2!

Customer Reviews:

Back Cover Description.......2006-09-10

After two long years Prince Alexander's disappearance seems like ancient history. But for Princess Claudia, it's the chance of a lifetime. She's using her brother's absence as an excuse to seize power and bring humanity to the brink of war with the Il Ronn - an all or nothing conflict which would destroy the Empire. The answer is clear. Only Prince Alexander can stop Claudia's plans, and McCade, the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, has only three months to find him. But Princess Claudia controls the Imperial Fleet and will stop at nothing to keep McCade from bringing in his IMPERIAL BOUNTY.

Dietz is the man........1999-02-14

This is not so much about "Imperial Bounty" is as it as about Dietz as a writer. I am completely shocked that his writings don't have any reviews. At least that's the case for some of the titles i've seen. Anyway my point is that i have grabbed up every non star wars book that the man has read and just love his writing. I was not aware that he is writing about star wars, but i guess i know what i'm gonna be reading in the upcoming months. My science fiction writers are Simmons, W. Michael Gear, James Halperin, Niven, Pournelle, Drake, and Poul Anderson. Dietz is right up there with the best of them!

Average customer rating:

War World; Imperial Bounty
William C. Dietz
Manufacturer: Ace Science Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000O8DN3E

Product Description

Sam McCade is an interstellar bounty hunter. In "War World" his prey is a traitor. In "Imperial Bounty" it is the emperor.

Average customer rating:

Imperial Bounty
William C Dietz
Manufacturer: New English Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PDFWW8

Average customer rating:

Imperial Bounty
William Dietz
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000U5QP1I

Seven years of the Sugar convention, 1903-1910;: A vindication of Mr. Chamberlain's imperial and commercial policy,

Average customer rating:

Seven years of the Sugar convention, 1903-1910;: A vindication of Mr. Chamberlain's imperial and commercial policy,
Ralph Tichborne Hinckes
Manufacturer: P.S. King & Son
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00088TE42

Book Description

Spirituality may be the most contentious and poorly understood dimension of Native American communities today. For generations the religious beliefs and practices of Native Americans have been the subject of public fascination and scholarly inquiry. Unfortunately, this ongoing interest has all too frequently been fueled by facile generalizations, inaccurate information, or inappropriate methods of investigation. Given the legacy of misrepresentation and mistrust, is it possible to fully appreciate the religious meanings and experiences of Native Americans?

This volume offers a stimulating, multidisciplinary set of essays by noted Native and non-Native scholars that explore the problems and prospects of understanding and writing about Native American spirituality in the twenty-first century. Considerable attention is given to the appropriateness and value of different interpretive paradigms for Native religion, including both "traditional" religion and Native Christianity. The book also investigates the ethics of religious representation, issues of authenticity, the commodification of spirituality, and pedagogical practices. Of special interest is the role of dialogue in expressing and understanding Native American religious beliefs and practices. A final set of essays explores the power of and reactions to Native spirituality from a long-term, historical perspective.

Average customer rating:

Mostly American casseroles and kiddy fare

The Ultimate Rush Hour Recipe Collection: Effortless Entertaining, Family Favorites, One-Pot Wonders and Presto Pasta... All in One Cookbook! (Rush Hour Cook)
Brook Noel
Manufacturer: Champion Press, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1932783997
Release Date: 2005-02-01

Book Description

Once known as the Queen-of-Incapable Cooking, Brook has been spotted securing saran wrap with sailor knots, baking a cherry pie without pitting the cherries and coloring unboiled Easter eggs. Frustrated with the lack of a family dinner hour in her home (her husband had opted for large lunches at work), she set out to create a cooking system (much to her husband's dismay) that would allow her to put great meals on the table quickly.
A CEO, mom, wife, daughter, volunteer, church-goer, author and speaker, Brook's time is at a premium.
Brook created simply stellar meals and menus for everyday enjoyment. Now, for the first time, Brooks first four "Rush Hour Pocket Series" cookbooks are available all in one volume. Within these pages you'll find Presto Pasta, Effortless Entertaining, One-Pot Wonders, and Family Favorites. Enjoy over 200 simple, quick and easy dishes.

Customer Reviews:

Mostly American casseroles and kiddy fare.......2005-08-22

This is a book of fast recipes, many depending on canned soups and convenience foods like frozen hash browns. They are "kid tested" meaning if your offspring are tending to dine on chicken fingers and hamburgers as the exclusive source of their nourishment, they probably will spoon up some of these dishes, too.

Recipes include Noodle Bake, Strogonoff Supper, Pizza Pockets and Mexican Casserole This last I had to check out because at work, we have a war-word for bad food at the headquarters and it's (whisper it) Mexican Lasagna. This atrocity was perpetrated on us last April and consists of tortillas and taco meat posing as lasagna, Wrong, wrong wrong. Mexi-Casserole here, however, is elbow mac and taco-seasoned hamburger. In other words, Chili Mac. You are safe serving this to anyone, probably, except gourmands and vegetarians. Desserts are cinnamon baked apples, banana cream pie, no bake peanut butter choco squares and the alluringly if bad-for-you-sounding Snickers Salad

The organization of ths book leaves a lot to be desired, but if you know a young mom who is overwhelmed by the kitchen or someone who inherited the job of cooking for a herd, this is a great book gift.

The Rush Hour Cook: Effortless Entertaining (Rush Hour Cook)

Average customer rating:

Thank-you Rush Hour Cook!
Corporate Woman Tackles Entertaining
Convenient format for the hurried
Great book for the busy mom!

The Rush Hour Cook: Effortless Entertaining (Rush Hour Cook)
Brook Noel
Manufacturer: Champion Press (WI)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 189140086X

Book Description

It's 5:00 ... Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is?

The Rush Hour Cook tackles the topic of entertaining in this second volume of The Rush Hour Cook series.

Born without a domestic gene in her body, Brook Noel has been spotted securing saran wrap with sailor knots, baking a cherry pie without pitting the cherries and coloring unboiled Easter eggs. When challenged by a friend to create a one-stop-cookbook solution for today's manic moms and dads, Brook, much to her husband's dismay, accepted the challenge. (He had taken to eating large business lunches and opting out of dinner.)

A CEO, mom, wife, daughter, volunteer, author and speaker, Brook's time is at a premium. The recipes you'll find within this small volume are the few that survived Brook in the kitchen while also living up to the Rush Hour Cook Rules (see below). Take this simply cooking system and try it in your kitchen! Soon you will transform you chaotic rush hour into a smooth and sane dinnertime.

THE FIVE RULES OF RUSH HOUR RECIPES
1. All ingredients may be pronounced through the phonetic use of the English language.
2. Each ingredient can be located in the market without engaging on a full scale scavenger hunt.
3. No list of ingredients shall be longer than the instructions.
4. Each recipe has to be durable enough to survive the Queen-of-Incapable Cooking (Brook Noel) and elicit a compliment.
5. The Rush Hour Cook's finicky child will eat it--or some portion of it.

Customer Reviews:

Thank-you Rush Hour Cook!.......2003-11-03

Thanks to Brook and her cookbook I am saving time when I entertain using the shopping list in the book and the very tasty recipes. My guests are wanting more of the foods I am serving them. They think I spent hours in the kitchen when I didn't but shhhh don't tell.

Corporate Woman Tackles Entertaining.......2003-10-13

"Truth be told -I'd love to have friends over more often - whether it be formal or informal. In order to do that I would need an arsenal of realistic recipes for the person who wants to entertain-but doesn't have 100 hours (or a staff of 12) to execute the preparation." ~Brook Noel

Brook Noel has appeared on ABC World News, Fox Friends, CNN Headline News, AM Northwest, The Parent's Journal and hundreds of other shows. She has also been featured or mentioned in The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Woman's World, Salon and Town & Country to name a few.

If you think you don't have time to cook, just ask Brook Noel where she finds the time to write cookbooks, let alone getting dinner on the table fast. She also has formed a E-Club that sends out cute assignments in order to conquer clutter and get organized for good. At the end of 70 days, you get a "Certificate of Sanity."

Brook Noel has a wonderful sense of humor, is willing to look at her lifestyle realistically and really wants to help families find their way back to the dinner table. With cookbooks in hand, she offers families solutions to kitchen chaos. If you are rushed for time, these tiny cookbooks can help you get organized fast.

Brook Noel used to make pies without pitting the cherries, color unboiled Easter Eggs and make lasagna out of pizza. But fear not, she has officially learned how to cook appetizing meals.

In this cookbook, you will find recipes for: Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette, Beef Roast with Onion-Mushroom Gravy, Summer Melon a la Mode, Pan Fried Bananas, Sloppy Joes, Caribbean Chicken, Guacamole and Perfect Parmesan Chicken.

Her ideas about making your own croutons will make you salads much more tasty but I use butter instead of oil to fry the bread cutouts. You can also use rum flavoring in her Pan Fried Banana recipe, just a drop or two will do.

A cute little book that will encourage you to invite people over more often. Most of these recipes serve eight.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Convenient format for the hurried.......2003-05-01

The Rush Hour Cook series is a collection of small books that are designed to easily fit into a purse or briefcase without taking up much room. In the "Effortless Entertaining" book you can expect the usual categories of appetizers, main meals, and desserts. One of the requirements for a recipe to make it into the Rush Hour Cook series is that the ingredients must be easy to find in just about any grocery store. So if you plan on preparing something from the book you can drop it into your purse or carry it along and pick up the ingredients on the spot.

Various tips are also scattered throughout the book. At the end there are five days of suggested meals as an example of meal planning and the shopping list that would be needed to prepare all of these meals. These are practical, easy to prepare, and quick recipes that are sure to please at any entertainment function. Not just for entertaining adult friends with things like Chicken with Mushroom-Sherry Sauce but also for entertaining a group of children with recipes like Kids-love-it Casserole. This is a great gift for the novice cook or the person who just wants to make a quick meal and get on to other things.

Great book for the busy mom!.......2003-02-05

I heard about this book on the radio and can see why this book has gotten so much press coverage. I love it! You can fit it in your purse and it includes complete grocery lists so you can grab all the groceries you need for a week quickly and easily. I bought the set of 4 and also bought a bunch to use as Chrsitmas presents and they received rave reviews! I think this book is a relief from those huge cookbooks with tons of useless recipes. My family has loved everything I have made so far!

Effortless Entertaining (The Rush Hour Cook)

Average customer rating:

Effortless Entertaining (The Rush Hour Cook)
Brook Noel
Manufacturer: Champion Press, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MBPD90

Customer Reviews:

A good resource.......2007-09-15

Cute book of simple applique designs for the beginner looking for an easy pattern for a simple sampler or other project. The patterns might work well for wool felt applique or paint stencilling as well.

A wonderful addition to any needlecrafter's reference shelf!.......2001-04-05

Faye Anderson's Applique Designs My Mother Taught Me To Sew has been revised and includes newly updated text, techniques and stitches. This also includes three new projects along with fifty block patterns with versatile uses, making for a fine expanded new guide.

Applique Designs, My Mother Taught me to sew, Full-size Patterns and Instructions for Fifty Blocks

Average customer rating:

Applique Designs, My Mother Taught me to sew, Full-size Patterns and Instructions for Fifty Blocks
Faye Anderson
Manufacturer: American Quilter's Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MI6PSG

Average customer rating:

If you love textile art you will like this....

Most complete guide on coloring & decorating fabric

Excellent.

TRANSFORMED ME!!

Fabric artists aren't the only ones who will be inspired.

Transforming Fabric: Color on Fabric and Life
Carolyn A. Dahl
Manufacturer: Amer Quilters Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Textiles & Costume | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1574327003

Customer Reviews:

If you love textile art you will like this...........2003-01-09

As someone who designs her won clothes and loves making a variety of textile art I love this book as well as Textile Dyeing: The Step-By-Step Guide. Simply because each book shows that one need not rely on plain fabric, but with some simple know how you can transform the simplest piece of cloth into a work of art. I especially like taking rubber stamps and with a simple clothes iron, and some velvet, making beautiful material rich with images of nature.

Most complete guide on coloring & decorating fabric.......2001-02-10

This is the most complete guide I have found on coloring & decorating all types of fabric. It is in full-color & packed with many detailed examples. The book starts out with a general history & information on fabrics.

Step-by-step instructions then take you though a wide variety of techniques, including painting, dyeing, printing and stamping. Choice of fabric, preparation and colorant recipes precede the various techniques.

There are lots of fresh ideas that I have not seen in other books like coloring a black & white pattern and etching fabric. Many others include compression dyeing, heat transfer, wax patterning, silk painting & nature printing.

I found the work in this book to be very creative and a great source of ideas and inspiration. I especially enjoyed those that use patterns from nature. The extensive resource list is a great bonus.

Excellent........1999-11-24

Carolyn Dahl's "Transforming Fabric" is a clearly superior reference volume, and one which reflects the author's dedication to artistry in every aspect of its pages. Most fundamentally, "Transforming Fabric" is itself a work of art, which even a fabric-neophyte will enjoy browsing through to gaze at the richly colorful photographs and illustrations. For anyone interested in the fabric arts, this book is a must-buy!

TRANSFORMED ME!!.......1999-09-06

After reading many books on silk painting, I came upon 'Tranforming Fabric' and knew immediately this was the book I had been searching for. In fact, I had to call the author and express my appreciation for her writing style and the techniques she offers to transform fabrics. Looking at fabric took on a new meaning for me - I was eager to start the process of transforming fabric. The results have been more pleasing than I had expected. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys working with fabric - sewers, quilters etc. The author's experiences add to the pleasure of taking a piece of fabric and adding your personal touch without being an artist. To the author - thanks and I'm waiting for # 2! To the publisher - thank you - find more authors like Carolyn.

Fabric artists aren't the only ones who will be inspired........1999-08-17

I will never look at a piece of fabric in the same way after reading Carolyn Dahl's beautifully written and generously illustrated book on fabric design. The subtitle, 'Color on Fabric and Life' hints that there is much more here than the how-to of dyeing, painting and patterning fabrics. Fabric artists aren't the only ones who will be entertained and inspired as Dahl awakens memories of childhood coloring books, leaf prints, iron-on designs and the tie-dyed T-shirts most of us experienced at sometime in our lives. Connoisseurs of the decorative arts and those who are merely curious about the fabrics they wear and use in everyday life will find much to interest them. Early textile dyers, Dahl tells us, signed oaths that they would not reveal any of the process. Fortunately, Dahl openly shares the secrets she has gleaned in arts schools from New York to Florence, Italy, and in her own studios from Berkeley to Houston. She hands out easy to follow directions on techniques that range from simple sponge printing to the very exacting wax resist process of batiking. For the serious fabric artist, her book is the next best thing to having a master artist and craftsman with them in the studio as she chats and reminisces while sharing the things she has learned in easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. For example, in a chapter on Compression Dyeing, Dahl compares the pulling and tugging of the fabric to the way "great handfuls of hair disappeared into skinny little whips" when her mother braided her hair. Such fresh imagery and lyrical expression set a new standard for "how-to" books. "Wherever you go...you are part of someone's visual landscaping...Why not make it beautiful," Dahl quotes from one of her lectures. With her book in hand, it is hard to resist such a challenge.

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SINGER IN THE SHADOWS the Strange Story of Patience Worth
IRVING LITVAG
Manufacturer: THe Macmillan Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Sorry Tale: A Story of the Time of Christ /2 Volume Set

ASIN: B000H2OVG0

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How a Relatively Uneducated Person could Write a Novel

It's A Classic !

Singer in the Shadows: The Strange Story of Patience Worth
Irving Litvag
Manufacturer: Backinprint.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Patience Worth a Psychic Mystery

The Sorry Tale: A Story of the Time of Christ /2 Volume Set

ASIN: 0595198058

Book Description

The story of one of the world’s strangest psychic phenomena: a St. Louis housewife dictated seven books and thousands of poems purporting to come from the spirit of a 17th century Englishwoman. Literary critics and historians praised the work as the product of genius.

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How a Relatively Uneducated Person could Write a Novel.......2007-05-25

This remarkable little book has probably been missed by many readers interested in the Book of Mormon. Irving Litvag says nothing about the Book of Mormon, but in detailing Mrs. Pearl Curran's authorship (under the spell of a spirit named Patience Worth) of thousands of pages of fiction, one can see how anyone under the right conditions could write a novel.

Between 1913 and 1937, Curran, a relatively uneducated St. Louis housewife, began dictating seven full-length novels, thousands of poems, innumerable epigrams and aphorisms, and thousands of pages of other material (some four million words in all).

Curran, as the spirit of a seventeenth century English woman, wrote in "a strange yet beautiful language strewn with obsolete and archaic words." Her works drew the attention of literary critics and historians. One critic said her story about Jesus was "the greatest story of the life and times of Christ penned since the Gospels were finished."

Litvag's book illustrates how a relatively uneducated person with a mission and a scribe could grind out historical fiction, such as Joseph Smith did with the Book of Mormon.

Check out my one-star review of "By the Hand of Mormon," by Terryl Givens and my one-star reviews of Hugh Nibley's books. Click on the following links, then scroll down to my reviews. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion
Since Cumorah (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol 7)

Your comments--positive or negative--are appreciated. Thanks.

PS: Check Edwin Firmage comments. An active Mormon even as an adult, Firmage came to the following conclusion:

Professor Edwin Firmage, Jr. writes:

"Nearly twenty years ago, as a first year-graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, my ambition was to become another Hugh Nibley, whose writings I loved since I was twelve...."

"Still a neophyte, but armed with German and a little Arabic, Greek, and Hebrew, and intent on acquiring the requisite apologetic tools, I cameo Berkeley to study ancient Near Eastern languages, particularly Egyptian, the language of mysteries par excellence.

"Not long after my arrival, I was asked to teach the Book of Mormon in the Gospel Doctrine class in my Berkeley ward. I welcomed the opportunity, as it would give me a chance to delve deeper into the book. By any standard, my wife and I were faithful Mormons who attended church, visited the temple, and prayed together. I expected my study of the Book of Mormon to result in an increase of faith as it had done on my mission. But within six months, I no longer believed the Book of Mormon to be an ancient text.

"To this day, I am not sure how it happened, although I can isolate several issues that played a role in my change of mind....I have often thought that what happened to me in Berkeley was fundamentally a conversion, or, if you like, an anti-conversion. The process had all the inscrutable suddenness that characterized some of the conversions I had witnessed as missionary. Like a conversion to faith, the effect of my change of mind propagated with amazing speed. Almost overnight my whole outlook on life was different."

"The remaining pages of this essay will present a few of what, for me in 1984, were discoveries of some importance. These do not by any means constitute a comprehensive explanation of the Book of Mormon. Nor are they offered as proof of my thesis that the book is modern, but as examples of how the assumption that is modern resolves otherwise significant difficulties."

From an essay in the "American Apocrypha." A super collection of essay's. See my review. American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormons (Essays on Mormonism Series)

It's A Classic !.......2002-05-07

SINGER IN THE SHADOWS is a most current account of the life of Pearl Curran, a woman living in St. Louis during the first part of the 20th century who channelled, originally through a Ouija board, the spirit of a 17th century woman named Patience Worth. The story of Pearl Curran and Patience Worth is an enigma, not easily explanable without an acceptance of spiritism or reincarnation. The case of Patience Worth and the poems, novels and conversations she left behind provide perhaps the best rock hard evidence of life after death. Mr. Litvag writes an easily readable comprehensive overview of this strange case begining in 1913 when Patience Worth first appeared at Pearl Curran's Ouija board and continuing through 1937 when Pearl Curran died. Perhaps the time is more appropriate now in the 21st century for the reissue of this classic book than when it was first published in 1972. Patience Worth's work requires serious attention by scientists, writers and spiritists alike. It would be a great loss to allow the writings of Patience Worth to fade over time. Anyone wishing to become informed about the evidence of life after death should start with this book by Irving Litvag. After reading Mr. Litvag's book one may find an irresistable urge to read every poem, novel and conversation that Patience Worth wrote. She's that good!

Singer in the Shadows: The Strange Story of Patience Worth.

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Singer in the Shadows: The Strange Story of Patience Worth.
Irving Litvag .
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KQN5HE

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Singer in the shadows; the strange story of Patience Worth
Irving Litvag
Manufacturer: New York, Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NWJF7E

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Singer in the Shadows: The Strange Story of Patience Worth
Irving Littvag
Manufacturer: The Macmillan Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RA9ERI

Product Description

Who was Patience Worth? She first made her presence known one torrid summer night in 1913 as three St. Louis housewives idled away the evening with an ancient occult toy. Suddenly the pointer of the ouija board moved quickly to form the words Many moons ago I lived. Again I comePatience Worth my name. Patience was to appear for the next quarter century, to dictate some four million words, and to become one of the most bizarre psychic mysteries on recorda riddle with startling supernatural implications according to some, an unparalleled literary puzzle, a psychological whodunit that has completely befuddled experts. SINGER IN THE SHADOWS is her story.

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