A Dark Oval Stone

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT.......2007-01-17

This was such a beautifully written novel. I can't wait for more books from this gifted writer.

A captivating book with memorable, if familiar, characters........2006-07-25

I am a sleep-deprived mother of two young boys, and I read this book every spare minute I had, and finished it in three days (quite remarkable for me). Throughout the day, I found that my thoughts overlapped into Miriam's world, even when I wasn't reading the book. The growth we see in Miriam in the end, with her friend Esther, her sister Theresa, is so encouraging. Miriam's relationships with her family and friends are complicated, but real, and sometimes familiar. Though sobering and sometimes heavy, I thoroughly enjoyed journeying along with Miriam in her search for hope and love.

words that stayed with me.......2006-04-02

Konkle's book started strong and kept me wanting for more until the end. Miriam is a character I identified with, and I found myself hoping she would find her way through the pain she faced throughout the book. The people, places, and events carried me from one chapter to the next, not wanting to put the book down.

Konkle's polished writing made me feel as if I was in Miriam's world of loss with her. Miriam's pain and loss resonated through the pages. The imagery and choice of words have stayed with me long after finishing the final chapter. It won't be long before I take A Dark Oval Stone off my shelf to read it again.

A Dark Oval Stone.......2006-04-02

Exploring loss and grief and their effects on a person's hope and faith, Marsena Konkle's debut novel, `A Dark Oval Stone' is a haunting read that will captivate you from the first sentence to the last.
Its protagonist, Miriam Kovatch, has experienced more loss than one person can be expected to endure. At the point in her life when we first meet her she has already had to deal with the deaths of both her parents and two of her brothers. Shortly afterwards, she also becomes a widow after her husband suffers a fatal heart attack while shovelling snow in their driveway.
But into this loss comes new life when Miriam finds out, mere weeks after losing her husband, that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Devastated by the prospects of raising this child on her own, Miriam struggles with what it will mean to become a single mother.
Having been raised in the Catholic Church under the thumb of her overbearing mother, Miriam's faith has always been based in fear and out of a sense of duty. She begins to find a more spiritual connection after meeting Svetlana, a former legal client of her husband's, who shows her a different side of the man she thought she knew so well.
During her journey to self-discovery, Miriam also realizes some harsh truths about herself and is forced to make some changes in her life. As Konkle puts it, "She had always believed that others perceived her as she wanted to see herself: as a self-sacrificing and giving person, always on hand to relieve the burdens of others. The self-delusion now popped like a balloon in her chest, radiating real pain."
`A Dark Oval Stone' is an emotional journey in itself. While reading this book, I found myself crying, laughing and hoping with the main character. Miriam came alive and her pain oozed out of the pages like hot syrup bubbling in a pan. She is one of those characters who won't let you go immediately after you finish reading and put the book back on the shelf. She will pull at you, causing you to think about her and wondering how she is doing.
Konkle ends the book on a hopeful note, but there are many unanswered questions. We are only given a glimpse of Miriam's life and I was left wanting to know much more. This is in no way a criticism of Konkle's ability, rather it is a testament to the author's style. I am looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next and getting acquainted with more of her characters. If they are anything like Miriam, they will be added to my list of literary friends.

Marsena Konkle's Ambition Shines.......2006-03-15

In her first novel, A Dark Oval Stone, Marsena Konkle begins with an ambition that never fades. Her ambition is not marred by overreaching but runs as steady and true to course as a weighty train on polished tracks. She sets out to create a world of her own, and does, bringing a dead body crashing down in the middle of the first chapter. From that moment there is no letup in the momentum or the growing complexity of interrelationships in her novel. One of her great gifts is the clarity of observation and the precision of her language. There may be a reach to make her story too user friendly and politically correct, so that some of her characters we seem to have seen before--the tense Asian beauty, the gay brother, the understated, understanding priest--but the steady procession of page after page of clear and shining prose moves reservations one might have to the background. The ambition that shines through her book is her dedication to do no more and no less than each scene demands, the sort of understated beauty, running under a steady hand, that is seldom seen in first novels and, indeed, in a good deal of contemporary prose. The glow in the warmth of the prose begins to shine with a greater light of the One we see she pursues. It's a beautiful first book that the attentive reader should not miss.

Average customer rating:

WOW! I am impressed...

A grand saga of intrigue, betrayal, magic, power, and dominance unfolds
The Goddess Queen: The Rys Chronicles Book II
Tracy Falbe
Manufacturer: Brave Luck Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I

ASIN: 0976223538

Product Description

The Rys Chronicles continue as Shan’s rebellion grows. Queen Onja, hoping to kill Shan before he can lead his armies against her stronghold, sends her Kezanada agents to hunt him with enchanted weapons. Onja also begins to teach another rys in the ways of battle magic to aid her in the coming war. Dreibrand Veta, now Shan’s general, works hard to prepare their armies for the invasion of the rys homeland. Miranda struggles to be patient while her children remain hostage in Onja’s household, and she dedicates herself to Shan and his rebellion even when it means breaking the strict patriarchal traditions of the larger culture. Once the armies begin to march, everyone must endure the many horrors of war. Tempers fray and ambitions flare as the costs of attacking Onja mount. But Shan stomachs his guilt over inspiring such conflict and finally challenges Onja in a duel of magic. To defend her throne, Onja summons her magic secrets that have been buried since ancient times.

Customer Reviews:

WOW! I am impressed..........2006-07-16

This was so well done. The second book did everything I wanted it to. The story was driven to a conclusion and the character's were more fully developed. By the time I finished this book, I was so invested in the characters that I was very happy to know that the story will continue...There are more books to come! I honestly can not wait to see what happens with Shan and Drieband. Great job on creating a wholly unique and entertaining world!

A grand saga of intrigue, betrayal, magic, power, and dominance unfolds.......2006-02-12

The Goddess Queen escalates the conflict between Shan and Onja - for Shan has become more skilled in magic, and now his amassed armies must face Onja's in the crushing fury of the battlefield. Onja's power is surpassed only by her ruthlessness, and the secrets she has hidden may yet bring doom to the circle that dares to oppose her! A grand saga of intrigue, betrayal, magic, power, and dominance unfolds.

Average customer rating:

Super Reader

Great example of "Don't judge a book by its cover."

best ive ever read

I loved it!

Good book, but one writing flaw.

Streetlethal
Steven Barnes
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Barnes, Steven | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Gorgon Child

The Kundalini Equation

Iron Shadows

Book of God SC Gatefold - GM

Charisma

ASIN: 0812510348

Customer Reviews:

Super Reader.......2007-08-04

In a future California that has been busted up, Santa Monica someone sort of survives cataclysms, water, and all that stuff.

Aubry Knight is a cyberpunk style bodyguard type, and has a falling out with his boss. Knight ends up crusading against the crime lord types to stop them and their drug plot.

Much bashings.

Great example of "Don't judge a book by its cover.".......2003-04-26

...because the COVER of the Ace Original 1983 paperback edition really doesn't do the book justice (it's crappy!). I thought I was going to be reading a P.O.S. pulp sci-fi for laughs, and ended up crying at the end, having read the whole book cover to cover in one sitting. If you're a sci-fi fan at all, you'll dig this one. It's great.

Funny how it's getting an average of five out of five stars from people who have read it, and yet it's out of print, and used copies are going for pennies.

best ive ever read.......2003-01-07

i am not what you would call an avid book reader but on a greyhound bus trip that was to take over 24 hours i found this book in the luggage rack. from the 2nd page i was totally engrossed and finished it before i arrived at my destination.
the character aubry knight is an absolute winner. i lost this book and searched for two months until i found a copy. that is when i found the other two aubry knight stories. i have read all 3 books 3 times apiece and have just started them again after 2 years of sitting on the bookshelf. i cannot reccomend them more
if i was sitting there speaking to you all directly. pick them up, you will not put them down. 20 ********************

I loved it!.......1997-12-08

I loved this book! Need I say more? Well, ok, if you really want me to, I guess I will. This book had brilliant description of surroundings that Aubry was in. And, as and avid martial artist, I loved the extensive descriptions of the hand-to-hand fight scenes and the warrior/fighter philosophy instilled by the teacher character of the story. A great book making the reader seem to be there as Aubry goes from fighter to warrior, in a metamorphosis that the reader hopes will keep Aubry alive until the end. I enjoyed it immensely.

Good book, but one writing flaw........1997-08-09

I thought this book was a wonderful cyberpunk book. It had great action, vivid descriptions of the city and the life of the characters and bystanders. The taste of the cyberpunk genre was very strong and very real. The story and plot were just absolutely impeccable as well as interesting. However, I found one very irritating aspect about the writer's style. Every time Aubry gets into a fight the author becomes rediculously overengrossed in describing the exact methods of how the fight progresses. For a while I tried to envision how these fights were taking place while I was reading them, but the author's descriptions made that tedious and impossible. He overdescribed every hand-to-hand fight scene that took place in that book. If he had made those sections shorter and sweeter, this book might have gotten a "10.&quot

Average customer rating:

Streetlethal

Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRRJAQ

Average customer rating:

Streetlethal
Steven Barnes
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000UE9KXE

Average customer rating:

Streetlethal
Steven Barnes
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K3EI32

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker Cookbook

Good health cooking: would that there were more recipes

Excellent recipes

AWESOMELY FAST

Excellent book

Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy and Hearty Cooking: More Than 400 Recipes Your Family Will Love
Betty Crocker Editors
Manufacturer: Betty Crocker
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Healthy | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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More Healthy Homestyle Cooking: Family Favorites You'll Make Again And Again

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Healthy Homestyle Cooking

Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste

ASIN: 0028624521

Book Description

Everyone knows they should be eating a healthy diet, following the Food Pyramid, reading nutrition labels and watching their fat and calorie intake, but sometimes it just seems too hard. How do you change the habits of life time, satisfy the whole family and not spend hours in the kitchen? With Betty Crocker.

Betty Crocker has done all the work, creating recipes that are easy to use, and taste delicious. Afraid that your local supermarket won't have what you need? Not with Betty Crocker. The ingredients are easy to find, and the recipes deliver no-fail, no-fuss meals sure to please the whole family. You'll use the more than 400 delicious recipes every day, for every occasion. Looking for entertaining ideas? Try Lamb with Yogurt Mint Sauce, Tequila Chicken with Fettuccini or Peking Fish. Want a great dessert that fits into a healthy eating plan? Throw out the guilt and dig into Chocolate Cherry Cobbler, Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie or Mississippi Mud Bars. Just need something fast at the end of a long day? You'll love Skillet Calzones, Southwest Fajitas and Italian Chicken Stir-fry.

Each main dish recipe has only 400 calories (or fewer) and 12 grams of fat (or fewer). There's also complete nutrition with each recipe so you can monitor calories, percentage of fat from calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber and protein.

Plus, there is a lot of great information to help you with your healthy eating goals. First you can learn about the changing nutritional needs of your family -- from toddlers to grandparents -- and how you can meet those needs effectively. Learn how to use the Food Pyramid to ensure good eating habits and how to read nutrition labels properly. Finally, try out the two weeks of menus to jump-start you into healthy eating -- everything is all planned for you.

Ready to eat right without a lot of work? Then you you'll want this book -- it's all so simple with Betty Crocker.

Customer Reviews:

Betty Crocker Cookbook.......2007-09-27

As a health conscious person, always interested in calorie count, etc, this book has all the information you need for each receipe. A lot of other cookbooks don't have that.

Good health cooking: would that there were more recipes.......2006-12-31

This cookbook certainly does one thing well--providing over 400 recipes that are reasonably health AND tasty. Main dish recipes contain relatively few calories and have low fat levels. The type face is large and easy to read; the color photographs give a sense of what the dishes would look like.

Up front, and in keeping with the cookbook's theme, is a nice essay "All About Healthy Eating." One positive feature (on page 27) is a table of suggested healthy weights for adults.

Some of the recipes that I have tried that taste good: Chicken `n Pepper Stir-Fry, Baked Lemon Chicken, Chicken Breasts with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce, and Chicken with Orange Glaze. There are also some neat grilling recipes, such as Honey Mustard Pork Chops. One of the nice features in the grilling section is (on pages 270-271) relevant statistics regarding fat, calories, and sodium content of various condiments (such as barbeque sauce, mayo, salsa, Thai peanut sauce, etc.).

One issue that occurs to me: It is nice that the type face is large and that there are so many photos. But the consequence, to me, is not positive. This reduces the number of recipes that can be included in the volume. I'd much rather have more recipes and fewer photos and smaller print.

All in all, a good cookbook. But it would have been nice to sacrifice some glitz and give us even more recipes. . . .

Excellent recipes.......2006-04-09

This is the second healthy cookbook that I've purchased and this one is far better than the first. It has a lot of really good recipes. Most all are for 4 servings and easily cut in half for two. I highly recommend this book.

AWESOMELY FAST.......2005-09-10

THE BOOK CAME FAST AND IN PERFECT CONDITION TOTALLY RECOMMEND THE SENDER. THANKS

Excellent book.......2003-05-30

I love to cook. But, I was looking for a book to keep the flavor without a lot of fat, sugar, and salt. This book covers it all. You don't have to buy a lot of expensive and hard to find items and most of them, you probably already have around (honey, pepper, ketchup, mustard, etc). My favorite is the Korean Barbeque Beef. I substitute it with chicken and toss it with rice. Even my picky kids love it. This is a wonderful book to have.

Average customer rating:

Every Dog and non dog owner should own

How to prevent Dog Bites

A must read for dog owners

Are pit bulls the only killers? NO WAY!

Resouceful for a research paper

Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics (United States)
Karen Delise
Manufacturer: Anubis Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Dogs Bite: But Balloons and Slippers Are More Dangerous

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Bully: The Pits

ASIN: 0972191402

Book Description

Today's headlines are filled with horror stories about fatal dog attacks. Consequently, the public has grown increasingly alarmed over what it perceives as an ominous phenomenon, uncontrolled and growing. People across the nation have concluded that many breeds/types of dogs are dangerous, violent and even worse - unpredictable.

"Fatal Dog Attacks" was written to set the record straight. The book explores four decades of deadly assaults. The ONLY book of its kind, it presents scientific details and the latest information from major sources including the Centers for Disease Control.

"Fatal Dog Attacks" uncovers the truth about the frequency and causes of unprovoked dog attacks, who are the most likely victims, which breeds are most agressive, how people can best protect themselves, and most importantly: who is ultimately responsible for these attacks.

Customer Reviews:

Every Dog and non dog owner should own.......2007-06-08

Great read, could not put it down. The information is invaluable. This is a great book to really get to know your dog. The most important thing that she stressed was having a relationship with your dog. There was a good history of dogs and their natural instincts. I liked how she explained how there are so many different aspects to a fatal dog attack.

One thing I thought was interesting is that 1 day old infants to 2 month old infants had a high number of fatal dog attacks.

The only thing that could have been better were her data charts. They should have been labeled better. Or she should have used graphs.

How to prevent Dog Bites .......2007-05-07

Very interesting, informative, well research book, and thought provoking. Only wished book would have been longer and that its author Ms. Delise would of exmained other Working Dog Breeds such as the Fila and the Boerboel and whether Personal Protection and or Schutzhund Training trains and prevents Dog Bites and or fatalties .

Nestor R. Mantilla

A must read for dog owners.......2006-11-06

This book is a must read for any dog owner and certainly any community contemplating breed specific legislation. As the owner of a very sweet Pit Bull my husband and I are saddened by the fact that the breed is so maligned and this book provides great information on the attacks which give our breed such a bad name. My only complaint is the layout of the book reminds me more of a published thesis than a professional publication, but the information is so good look beyond that!

Are pit bulls the only killers? NO WAY!.......2006-04-06

This book takes actual statistics instead of exagerated media accounts of fatal maulings. It proves to be the answer to all pit bull owners problems... Our dog arent the only dogs capable of killing... all dogs are... the right amount of training and caring can prevent pretty much all fatal attacks. The scum that abuse their dogs are to blame! Lets hear it for statistics!!!

Resouceful for a research paper.......2006-03-15

I purchased this book to help guide me in a research paper. I certainly believe that it was very helpful. This book is filled with tons of information dealing with what goes on behind the scenes of a dog attack. Well explained information throughout the book, as well as an interesting read.

Average customer rating:
A Collector's Guide to Cast Metal Bookends
Gerald P. McBride
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Furniture & Carpentry | Woodworking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0764300407

Book Description

An illustrated, full-color value guide covering a wide range of bookend types and styles, with a detailed look at the three main processes used to create cast-metal bookends, a tour through the history of manufacturers who pioneered this art form, a special chapter on cast metal bookracks, sample pages from actual company catalogs, and more than 40 photographs of company identification marks and trademarks. Plus, an extensive identification and buyers' guide examines original and copy pieces side by side and helps to separate the treasures from the trash. This will serve as an important reference resource for years to come, and a timely one now as bookends are quickly becoming one of the hottest new collectibles in today's market.

Book Description

No space? No problem! With Smart Shelving and Storage Solutions you can get your home organized and clutter free with 27 easy-to-build projects. You'll add volumes of extra room and value to your home as you craft these affordable pieces. Each project is beginner friendly, featuring fully illustrated, step-by-step instructions you can follow without a hitch. And there are even special tips and alternatives for customizing each piece to fit your needs.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book For Getting Started.......2000-01-02

This book give you all the basics that you need to start building cabinet and storage for the whole house. Danny gives you a series of projects that solve needs in each part of the house. From there you can build then as given or make modifications to fit your individual needs. I didn't realize that making cabinets could be so easy. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started in building their own cabinets.

Amazon.com

Sleek, stuffed, buttoned, or bent, in the den or the dining room, the chair is an indicator of its owner's identity. Chairs make up much of the interior landscape of our homes and workplaces, and a comfortable chair is considered a great asset in either location. A rigorous survey of the last 150 years of chairs, 1000 Chairs is a pictorial guide to the axiom "you are where you sit." Writers Charlotte and Peter Fiell argue that, as well as being an icon of identity, the chair is a form through which designers engage in social, political, and even ergonomic rhetoric. A good example is George Nelson's mass-produced modular seating system. Geometrical in design, its austere, mostly rectilinear lines are efficient and economical. The book follows developments and mutations in chair design from the days before art deco through the rise of modernity and into the mid-'90s, when designers like Philippe Starck used such materials as recycled plastic and injection molded polypropylene.

In total there are more than the 1000 advertised illustrations, and each is accompanied by a small text describing the significance of the chair and its designer. The book includes more than 100 capsule biographies of such designers as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Adolph Loos, and Marcel Breuer. The only problem with 1000 Chairs is, ironically, its own ergonomics. At about eight by six inches and nearly 800 pages, it is an unwieldy little tome. That aside, this is a great book--a must for anyone interested in sitting down. --Loren E. Baldwin

Customer Reviews:

Picture Book.......2007-01-10

If you just want to see alot of chairs with basic information, this is the way to go. Real pretty.

excellent purchase if you like chairs and design.......2006-02-20

The order came in quickly, book was in tip-top condition. You can cnsider this a quality book if you like chairs and the history and the evolvement of design in chairs. The pictures are fun to look at and you can marvel at the creativity of the designers.

Glad I bought it.......2006-01-13

I make chairs (and other furniture) out of found wood. I bought this book out of profits from the sale of one chair, and within the first 50 pages, I had ideas for several more chairs I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I just look at the pictures; not particularly interested in the history or designer or derivation. If you want ideas for making chairs and you can figure out the construction details for yourself, this is a useful book.

Well-made book, BTW. Isn't going to fall apart if I leave it in the shop and can stand up to a fair amount of sawdust.

Aprobado... pero con lo justo.......2005-10-06

Interesante como guía general.
Buenas fotos, pero falto de contenido, y de pobre edición.

Needs to include more Dunbar and Edward Wormley.......2002-10-20

Very good overview.. wish they would have spent more time on mid-century modern leaders like Edward Wormley of Dunbar fame.

Those in the know -- seek out Wormley for a clear viewpoint on the essence of modern design.

Book Description

In these far-reaching essays, Stanley Aronvitz examines some of the crucial cultural shifts associated with the crisis of modernity and argues that art is a kind of social knowledge.

Book Description

Quite possibly the most perfect holiday gift -- a beautiful boxed collection of two prizewinning, perennial bestselling modern classics: Angela's Ashes and 'Tis.

With almost 8 million copies of Frank McCourt's books in print, fans just can't get enough of their favorite author. From the heartwrenching times young Frank spent in the slums of Ireland to his struggle for the American dream as an impoverished immigrant, readers can now have both of McCourt's remarkable memoirs conveniently combined in one elegant package.

Customer Reviews:

Double The Reading Pleasure...But....Check Around For Best Deal.......2006-11-08

"Angela's Ashes"/"'Tis" by Frank McCourt

"Angela's Ashes"(*****)
You know how sometimes a book is just so good, when you see you are nearing the end, you want to slow down and savor those last few pages? Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt, was that for me. It is a wonderfully beautiful memoir and an engrossing story. McCourt tells the story of his life as a boy, growing up dirt poor in Ireland. And he tells it in a way that makes it impossible to stop reading. I always had a hard time finding a point to stop turning the pages, I had to know what would happen to Frankie McCourt.

The writing is incredibly honest. It flows from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph,page to page. McCourt puts himself right back into the mind of his younger self, and seems to be talking and thinking just as he would from ages 4 through a young man. He speaks of his family. His father that couldn't keep his wages in his pocket on pay day, and could not make it home without stopping for a pint(or two) along the way. Yet a man who seemed to understand his young sons, and always had what seemed sage advice and a great love for his children. His mother's(Angela herself) suffering, with the loss of children dyeing, trying to make do for her family by begging, and did whatever it took to keep her children warm and fed. He writes quite honestly, and uses his wonderful wit and sense of humor to talk about the harsh schooling, the relatives that he looked up to and those he didn't,the many illnesses he and the family went through, his taking to petty thefts to keep from starving, discovering his sexuality, the jobs he had to do, and his great desire to go back to America, where he was born.

The stories are sad,funny and poignant.They will tug at your heartstrings, but the humor he uses in describing the sometimes dehumanizing events(having to empty and clean disgusting chamber pots among them) make this a stand out read instead of a woe-is-me theme.The characters jump off the page, you can hear them speak with their thick Irish accents, or in some cases New York. He writes of all the doors that were closed in his face, when he needed help, but you can feel the tenacity with which he continued to move his life forward. There are many laugh out loud moments of little Frankie's adventures, and other times you may need to have the Kleenex handy.One thing for sure, you'll be thinking of Little Frankie McCourt for a long time after the read. Through thick and thin(mostly thin) this was a family rich with love. A love that is contagious.

"'Tis"(****) is a most enjoyable follow up to his childhood memoir "Angela's Ashes". Frank McCourt now lets us in on life as a poor young immigrant, trying to make his way in the jungle of NYC. Being told over and over, stick with your own kind(the Irish immigrants), Frank as is his nature, does things his own way, which don't always work out to well for him.

When we last left off in Angela's Ashes, Frank had just arrived, eager for a new life in America(the place of his birth). Nothing seems to be going right for him. He is naive in the ways of the world, and learning some hard lessons.Still plagued by bad eyes and teeth, he lands a job, cleaning up in a hotel.He sees the college students, with their movie star smiles and looks, and yearns to be among them. With the war in Korea going on, Frank gets drafted and right away gets himself into trouble by just holding to his beliefs. Stuck as a company clerk, he masters the skill of typing! Later he manages to get into college,even without a High School diploma, which really speaks to his tenacity, and after much hard work between school and jobs requiring much physical labor, he graduates and becomes a teacher.He treats us to some very human moments in and out of the classroom. He also somehow manages to marry the most beautiful girl, the envy of all in his college days.

We are introduced to some new characters that have affected his life in some way. He also goes back to Ireland to visit, and we are reintroduced to some of the people who shaped his early life. His mother is still very much a part of the story, and it is hard not to get emotionally involved with their relationship.

McCourt's refreshing style of writing, still shines through in 'Tis, as he subtly pokes fun at the ways of society and the system of life. It is the tone that is different. As well it should be. In "Angela's Ashes", we saw the hardships of life through the forgiving and eager eyes of a child. It made that book maybe just a little more special. Now the look is that of first a frustrated young man, and then a more experienced adult. There are times, you may not like what he does or says, but this is his life story, and it is honest and life affirming.

I'd been meaning to read Angela's Ashes for a long time. As it turned out, it was a good thing for me that I waited so long. By the time I got to it, 'Tis and even the third in the triology "Teacher Man" had already been published. And if you love Angela as much as I did, you will want to start Tis' right away. You have got to know what has happened to little Frankie McCourt.

So this 2-pack, purchasing them both at once is a really good idea. But it may not be the best deal. Amazon is out of stock of this 2-pack, so you would need to check the outside seller prices. There are several sites and editions to surf around. Keeping in mind that if You purchase these individually from Amazon, and have the required amount in your cart, you will not have to pay shipping charges, and that there is a shipping charge if bought from outside sellers, it still may be the better deal to go with one of the merchants. Even though the 2 pack here is available from a merchant at this time(and you will only be charged the shipping charge for one book, buying them together), check out the prices for buying each one separately. There are some pretty low prices, even with shipping charges applied, that comes out to be a good deal. Just enter "Angela's Ashes" in the book search and all the various editions should come up of both books(you may have to enter Tis' also.)I believe I even saw som audio editions as well.

Here is one example: Enter 0006551815 into the book search, this is a paperback edition of 'Tis that is a really good deal(at this time).

And don't forget "Teacher Man", the third in the memoir trilogy, for more of the wit and wisdom of Frank McCourt.(I'm about half-way through, and will bring you my thoughts on that one soon!)

I would highly recommend these books to everyone, but a must read for teachers or anyone planning to write their own memoirs....Enjoy the read...Laurie

dont write until you're retired.......2006-10-13

I bought Angela's Ashes a few days before christmas as a joke present for my sister (Angela) when it hadn't even been translated into Spanish (I live in Barcelona). Out of curiosity, I read the first few pages and found myself unable to stop. Absolutely amazing.
I don't think many books can compare to this one. Humanity and sincerity in the first degree.
I not only bought it again for my sister, I think I've probably made about 15 other people read it. Not a single one wasn't as elated as I was.

Tears, laughter & wonder.......2004-04-14

McCourt has done a great job, keeping my eyes awake for 6 hours reading his memoir. Time really flies when you are happy!! Veriety of emotions happened from page to page. When I was reading the beginning of the page,I wanna cry. When it came to the end of the page, I just wanted to burst out laughing.
Frank is just an ordinary Irish boy, who just has to struggle with alcoholic dad that used up every penny in the pubs, leaving his Angela and other siblings groaning with empty stomachs.
Frank has truly brought me inspiration!

Angela's Ashes- a literary phenomenon.......2003-04-25

I can easily tell you that Angela's Ashes is my favorite book. I read over parts sometimes, because Frank McCourt's style of writing and his story intrigue me. Frank deserves praise for his survival through little to no means and for of course and excellent book. FIVE STARS!

'Tis- A wonder story about the reality of the american dream.......2002-03-08

One of my favourite books. Mr. McCourt brings tenderness and humor out of the dark and challenge of life. Tis' is essentially the story of an immigrant and his new life in New York City. Beginning with his voyage to America, the autobiographical story follows his struggle to make it in a country that isn't always accepting of strangers. Don't be mistaken to think of this as an extension of the dark tone of Angela's Ashes (which I also liked). I found this book much lighter in tone and more optimistic. McCourt finds his way to the promised land and has to deal with the realities of American society. It's full of the irony of everyday life and his struggles for education, happiness, love, and acceptance. Yes Mr. McCourt is an Irish immigrant, but it's not soley about his being Irish in America. If anything, it's about his struggle to be an American.

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