Book Description
A Different Kind of Sister Act
Patricia Anne -- "Mouse" -- is respectful, respectable, and demure, a perfect example of genteel Southern womanhood. Mary Alice -- "Sister" -- is big, brassy, flamboyant, and bold. Together they have a knack for finding themselves in the center of some of Birmingham's most unfortunate unpleasantness.
Country Western is red hot these days, so overimpulsive Mary Alice thinks it makes perfect sense to buy the Skoot 'n' Boot bar -- since that's where the many-times-divorced "Sister" and her boyfriend du jour like to hang out anyway. Sensible retired schoolteacher Patricia Anne is inclined to disagree -- especially when they find a strangled and stabbed dead body dangling in the pub's wishing well. The sheriff has some questions for Mouse and her sister Sister, who were the last people, besides the murderer, of course, to see the ill-fated victim alive. And they had better come up with some answers soon -- because a killer with unfinished business has begun sending them some mighty threatening messages...
Customer Reviews:
Murder on a Girl's Night Out.......2007-07-15
Anne George's characters are so real. These two sisters are so entertaining and have their own relationship norms. I cannot say that at any time am I bored while reading about their adventures or just their interactions. This series is one of my very favorite reads - I don't have to worry about blood, gore or profanity - these stories can stand on their own without resorting to the quick, gory, or bloody fill-ins.
Not For Me.......2006-11-04
I was looking for a new "series" of books to be interested in when I ordered 2 of the Southern Sisters mysteries. I should have known better than to order just on reviews; I should have checked at the library first. I only read this one, and have donated both to the local seniors group. I am an insatiable reader, and devour a wide variety. My favorite authors of fiction are James Clavell, Tim Clancy, Nora Roberts, Laurell K Hamilton, Anne Rice, James Patterson and Janet Evanovich. If these are on your list of favorites, my advice is "try before you buy"; this series is a little simplistic for my taste.
Great book--Great series!!.......2006-10-30
I purchased this book because I had read the second in the series previously and was very entertained. "Girls Night Out" did not disappoint. The characters are vibrant and the story line is easy to follow but not as easy to predict. If you like a "funny" murder mystery this series is for you!
Deadly Doings in Dixie.......2006-10-03
Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are sisters but there the similarities end. Patricia Anne (Mouse) is a sixty-year old retired schoolteacher who has been married to the same man (Fred) for forty years and she weighs one hundred and five pounds soaking wet. Mary Alice (Sister, Aunt Sister to Mouse's children) is sixty-five, weighs two hundred and fifty pounds and has outlived three husbands. Mouse is well grounded, tries to eat a healthy diet and always votes Democratic. Sister is flighty, claims that Mouse doesn't eat enough and always votes Republican. The fertile mind of Anne George dreamed up this pair, put them in position to solve a mystery and neither Alabama or the mystery world will ever be the same again.
Sister and her boyfriend Bill are into line dancing and when the owner of their favorite honky-tonk decides to sell Mary Alice decides to buy. The day after the sale closes however the former owner is found dead in the bar's wishing well and from then on Sister's investment is jinxed. The sisters don't really set out to catch the killer but instead are trying to help a former student of Patricia Anne's who is a suspect in the crime. The more they delve into matters though the deeper they find themselves and before it is all said and done one of the sisters finds herself on the wrong end of a gun. Since this is the first book in the series it is easy to assume that the endangered sister survives but you'll never guess who saves the day.
As with most cozy mysteries the characters tend to overshadow the plot and the hero figures don't actually solve anything but just sort of blunder into the solution. The characters are so much fun though that you will hardly notice when the plot happens to disappear. Seldom does a book like this make me laugh out loud but this one did the trick and the plot held just strongly enough to make me rush toward the end once I approached the climax of the mystery. As a born and raised Southerner I could clearly visualize these two and could actually identify them with several of my own family members, right down to the double first names. So pour yourself a nice glass of sweet tea and settle down on the veranda for an unforgettable visit with these two Southern ladies extraordinaire.
THE SOUTHERN SISTERS SERIES IS THE BEST AND YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE EIGHT BOOKS.......2006-09-25
OK, OK, I am reviewing all eight books in this one sitting! Anne George wrote a series WINNER with these eight books. You need to read them in order and they are as such --
MURDER ON A GIRLS NIGHT OUT
MURDER ON A BAD HAIR DAY
MURDER RUNS IN THE FAMILY
MURDER MAKES WAVES
MURDER GETS A LIFE
MURDER SHOOTS THE BULL
MURDER CARRIES A TORCH
MURDER BOOGIES WITH ELVIS
I have lent these books out to so many friends/family that they are in need of repair. These books should be read in the above order.
Unfortunately, Anne George has passed on, so this is it for this series. You will LOVE every single book. The main characters are two sisters who could not be more different than day and night. Mary Alice weighs two hundred pounds and the word flamboyant does not even begin to describe her. People who know and love her call her Sister. She is loud, border-line obnoxious, and into getting married - over and over again. She is someone you would adore in real life.
Her sister, Patricia Anne, is a retired school teacher and the more serious of the two women. She is lovingly known as Mouse. She has been in a steady marriage for years, has grown children, and is the more sensible of the two. You will love them both. The books are set in Alabama, so the books are full of Southern flair and charm. The characters in each book are funny, sad, sweet, nasty -- you will meet a whole cast of characters in each book.
I cannot emphasize enough how much you should treat yourself to these eight books!
Each book deals with a murder mystery that these two senior girls just seem to keep falling into. I know, I know, the titles sound hokey and so does the preface of the books, but they are WONDERFUL. I read all eight of them in a row and was sad to see them come to an end.
Each book deals with another mystery and caper. The trouble these two old ladies get into! The laughs are there, and they will have you laughing out loud. The mystery is just that -- mystery. You will not know which way the book is headed. Each book is full of surprises and keeps your attention the entire length of the book.
Get this entire series and set yourself down. Enjoy!
Thank you! Pam
Product Description
Paperbacks
Product Description
Complete Set of 8, Southern Sisters Series: Murder on A Girls' Night Out, Murder on A Bad Hair Day, Murder Runs in the Family, Murder Makes Waves, Murder Gets A Life, Murder Shoots the Bull, Murder Carries A Torch, Murder Boogies with Elvis
Book Description
Gene Wolfe may be the single best writer in fantasy and SF today. His quotes and reviews certainly support that contention, and so does his impressive short fiction oeuvre. Innocents Aboard gathers fantasy and horror stories from the last decade that have never before been in a Wolfe collection. Highlights from the twenty-two stories include "The Tree is my Hat," adventure and horror in the South Seas, "The Night Chough," a Long Sun story, "The Walking Sticks," a darkly humorous tale of a supernatural inheritance, and "Houston, 1943," lurid adventures in a dream that has no end. This is fantastic fiction at its best.
Customer Reviews:
Another reason to read Wolfe........2007-01-11
Simply put, Gene Wolfe uses the written English language better than any other writer alive today.
Read anything of his that you can.
Marvellous!.......2006-01-22
These are stories for people who love to read, and to reread, and to think about what they've read -- for people who love the feeling that they're playing a game with the author as they read -- and for people who don't mind losing that game b/c they realize that just *playing* against an adversary this good is better than winning any number of games against normal players ...
A terrific collection which contains:
The Tree Is my Hat
The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin is the Sun
The Friendship Light
Slow Children At Play
Under Hill
The Monday Man
The Waif
The Legend of Xi Cygnus
The Sailor Who Sailed After the Sun
How the Bishop Sailed to Inniskeen
Houston, 1943
A Fish Story
Wolfer
The Eleventh City
The Night Chough
The Wrapper
A Traveller in Desert Lands
The Walking Sticks
Queen
Pocketsful of Diamonds
Copperhead
The Lost Pilgrim
Some notes:
"The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin is the Sun" is NOT connected to the Long Sun cycle. However, "The Night Chough" is (linked to the Long Sun/Short Sun series).
"Slow Children At Play" is linked to, and evidently happens *after*, Wolfe's story "The Arimaspian Legacy," which can be found in his _Starwater Strains_.
Wolfe's talent for horror (not graphic or disgusting, but chilling and terrifying) is on display here in several stories, including (but not limited to) "The Friendship Light" "The Monday Man, "Fish Story" "Walking Sticks" and "The Eleventh City."
It often helps me to find a context for a Wolfe story. For instance, if you haven't read _Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde_ recently, reread it after you read "Walking Sticks".
In the same vein, "Pocketsful of Diamonds" feels to me like Wolfe doing a P.L. Travers story. Read PL Travers' Mary Poppins Books, esp. "Full Moon," "Evening Out" "High Tide" "Happy Ever After" and "Hallowe'en". Then reread "Pocketsful" and see if you agree.
Innocents Aboard.......2005-09-16
One cannot, of course, write a review of a collection of short stories the same way on writes a review of a novel. A novel is one piece, a collection many. But enough chains run through "Innocents Aboard" to deal with it as a whole. This is not because Wolfe specifically picked out works that would function well together. But here's an amazing thing about Wolfe's career: that although it has spanned three decades, twenty plus novels and hundreds of smaller tales covering a rather mind-blowing variety of settings, set-ups, and deliveries, he has managed to clutch tightly to common threads throughout.
Thread number one, perhaps, is the slipperiness of the narrator. A well-known critic has remarked that Wolfe's career goal may be to prove that there is no reliable narrator. He's covered all possible types one by one, showing us the dangers of trusting a person who has perfect memory or no memory at all, high intelligence or complete immaturity, and so forth. In "Innocents Aboard" many stories open with problems of reliability. Of necessity, as this book contains only fantasy and dark fantasy/horror tales, everything that takes place must be somewhat strange. As such, the narrators know that their listeners may be skeptical of what they hear. Often times they say as much outright, and are reassured that the listeners are at least willing to listen.
For instance "The Monday Man" begins when an average Joe asks his policeman friend to go fishing. But the policeman friend always refuses invitations to fishing trips, and eventually decides to explain why. His story, a delicious twist on a standard police tale, features a blue-jeans thief who defies expectations by turning out to be less than what he seems, and wraps with a quite comepelling reason to avoid the sport of angling. But the point, in Wolfe's view, is how to reconcile the huge intrusion of the supernatural into reasonably normal human existence. He does it with style, as always.
The other stories in "Innocents Aboard" range everywhere, from the mythological tale "The Old Woman whose Roling Pin is the Sun" to the historical horror fest "The Desert Traveler". True to form, not everything is as simple as "The Monday Man"; some, such as "The Tree is My Hat" and "Houston, 1943" will require devoted rereads to ferret out their meaning. But again true to form, they're mainly worth the effort.
Especially the Made-Up Parts.......2005-02-19
This short story collection has given Gene Wolfe a break from the gigantic sweeping epics of his more famous volumes, so he can explore some less portentous and more whimsical ideas. The stories here include everything from typical fantasy and hard science, to time travel and semi-autobiography. One reoccurring concept in these stories is the fine line between magic and reality, which is Wolfe's forte. Winners here include the disturbing xenophobia tale "The Waif," a bizarre mix of Arthurian chivalry and alternate history in "Under Hill," an exploration of the true purpose of people who share the author's last name in "Wolfer," and a strangely disconcerting tale of twisted time travel to ancient Greece in "The Lost Pilgrim." A slight weakness of this collection is the inclusion of several short stories that appear to be simple exercises in exploratory writing based on old fairy tales and legends. Such stories are fun to read but tend to not really go anywhere, such as "The Sailor Who Sailed After the Sun," "A Fish Story," or "The Eleventh City" - though one exception is the intriguing stylized lullaby "The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin is the Sun," which was created for Wolfe's granddaughter. But overall this is a very engaging, if sometimes underwhelming, collection of tales from one of the true masters of speculative fiction. [~doomsdayer520~]
Gene Wolfe still on top of his form as one of SF & F's best.......2005-01-17
For decades Gene Wolfe has received lavish praise from fellow writers and fans of science fiction and fantasy as the finest writer currently at work in both genres. He merely reaffirms such praise in his latest collection of short stories, "Innocents Aboard", which contains some of the best writing I've seen from him in years. It is a riveting collection of 22 fantasy and horror tales, with some loose elements from science fiction thrown here and there for good measure, and elements which could be described as "Magical Realism". My favorite tale is "Houston, 1943", which is sort of a bizarre twist from "Peter Pan" and other classic tales of childhood, along with sections which Wolfe claims is autobiographical. The final tale in the collection "The Lost Pilgrim", about a time traveler who stumbles upon the truth behind certain ancient Greek legends, is another classic. Those unfamiliar with Gene Wolfe's influential body of work may find this a minor introduction, but one which shows him still crafting great literary art in his 70's; others more familiar with his work will undoubtedly embrace it as much as I have.
Average customer rating:
- a B&W fantasy & SF art collection
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Stephen E. Fabian's Ladies & Legends
Stephen E. Fabian
Manufacturer: Underwood Books
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Stephen E. Fabian's Women & Wonders
ASIN: 088733167X |
Customer Reviews:
a B&W fantasy & SF art collection.......2004-12-19
This 9"x11", 144 page hardcover was published by Underwood-Miller in 1993. The only colour art is on the dustjacket. The book contains over 140 of Fabian's science fiction & fantasy illustrations (all in B&W, even those that originally appeared in colour). Fabian has a very interesting style which works very well in black & white. Especially his use of tones. This collection is not recommended for those offended by scantily-clad women (there are a few scattered throughout the book).
Book Description
If you thought there was nothing funny about the weight gain of menopause, wait until you read Larrian Gillespie's The Menopause Diet Mini Meal Cookbook. Based upon her own research as a physician who dealt with women's health, she has put together a humorous yet quick and easy cookbook as the companion to her ground-breaking health book, "The Menopause Diet." Recognizing that over 50% of women entering menopause are overweight and at risk for heart disease, diabetes and strokes, Larrian has combed the scientific literature to unravel the mystery of why women gain and lose weight differently than men and developed 135 recipes or "mini meals" for women who love to eat their way to a healthy life.
The Menopause Diet Mini Meal Cookbook includes a unique chapter explaining the medical benefits of including certain foods and spices in your diet and explains why women may be digging their graves with their teeth when they eat a high-glycemic carbohydrate, low protein diet. With more than 5000 women entering menopause daily, Larrian's books offer a lifestyle that improves your chances of living to 100 without the disability brought on by heart disease,diabetes and high blood pressure- all by making food your home pharmacy.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Recipes and a diet that WORKS!.......2002-03-09
The Menopause Diet Mini-Meal Cookbook is the companion book to The Menopause Diet. While Dr. Gillespie sets forth the "whys" of mid-life belly fat in The Menopause Diet and gives the reader guidelines for a diet that will take off weight, the Mini-Meal Cookbook gives sample daily menus and GREAT recipes. Dr. Gillespie shows her extensive cooking background in these recipes, which use no convenience products and lots of fresh, interesting ingredients. The Menopause Diet is a lifestyle diet, not a quick fix. In giving readers a diet plan that works and giving recipes that are healthy, flavorful and satisfying to boot, Dr. Gillespie is giving us the tools to conquer mid-life spread. The lemon-tarragon Chicken, The Bahian Black Bean Chili, the Tu Tu Tun Lodge Grilled Salmon, and all the omelets are great--tonight I am making the Zucchini Noodles! Who needs pasta??
Cooking with the Goddesses.......2000-05-10
I'm no cooking Goddess, but these recipes make dinner guests sing my praises! I've had 2 recent dinner parties and served several recipes from this book. Both meals got rave reviews from all - especially the MEN! The cookbook supports the excellent food plan, yet can stand alone for anyone who wants to try eating healthy-low carbohydrate. My husband is following the Atkins plan, yet prefers these recipes to stay within his diet. The recipes are easy to follow with most requiring only one or 2 steps to a complete entree. I've served the salmon, thyme chicken, and grilled asparagus to guests and made the chicken salad for myself for lunch. I especially like Gillian Anderson's apple snack idea - there's no X-File about any of this!
A Wonderful Resource for Losing Weight.......2000-01-16
In "The Menopause Diet Mini-Meal Cookbook," Dr. Gillespie offers recipes that really help lose weight -- I know, they're helping me!
I found Dr. Gillespie's recipes to be wonderful. As an accomplishd chef herself, Dr. Gillespie isn't going to live on a diet of ricecakes and lettuce and she doesn't expect us to either! Dr. Gillespie offers delicious and wonderful ideas that offer lots of creative ways to make healthy mini-meals!
Her book, and the resulting menus, are based on something we know but no one except Gillespie admits -- women MUST eat differently from men if they want to lose weight and keep it off! Finally, someone has the guts to say this!
"The Menopause Diet" is an easy-to-follow way to eat for life, and the accompanying cookbook makes losing weight even easier.
I highly recommend this cookbook to any woman who wants to lose weight and stay healthy sensibly -- for life.
Customer Reviews:
Pleased.......2006-08-30
I haven't tried the techniques in the book, or read very far, but I do have to agree that gingham is a poor choice in fabric to use for a grid sloper. I have read the beginning of the book and skimmed through it and it seems very helpful. It's something I've been looking into for some time now. I'd like to make my own patterns and also I'd like to get commercial patterns to fit. This book focuses more on making your own patterns. I see it as I'm getting something out of this book, whether it be one tip or many, and that will add to my sewing knowledge. Plus for the price of about 6 bucks at the local bookstore, there's not much to frown about.
Not for beginners.......2000-12-16
I read this book out of curiousity only. I am a professional patternmaker and designer. I had several problems with the author's approach. She is essentially making custom slopers. You can do this by draping fabric over a live body, but it takes time and skill to know if you are doing it right. Secondly, no one should use gingham as a grid for the body. Gingham rarely has perfectly square squares and the fabric is extremely difficult to get on grain because it usually has a high content of polyester. Finally the author sums up finalizing your custom pattern and what to do with it when you are done in just a few pages. The whole subject is far more complex. If you really want to learn how to drape or make your own custom slopers, there are far better books out there!! Try The Art of Fashion Draping by Connie Amaden-Crawford or Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Armstrong.
Not easy to use.......2000-10-03
Although the concept is brilliant, I did not find the process at all easy to follow. There could have been far more information given on how to use the princess line pattersn resulting from the protuding buttocks/stomach adjustments. For example an armhole princess line should be easily converted to a shoulder princess line but there was no information given as to how to do this.
Before Purchasing, Understand What You'll Be Getting...........1999-11-27
I was looking for an up-to-date book that would contain techniques and hints for altering commercial patterns. At the time I purchased BODYMAPPING, there were no customer reviews. I went by the synopsis that stated the book contained streamlined techniques for garment fitting. If you are willing to spend a day working with a friend to create a fabric "map" of your body which you can then use to sew the patterns in the book, you may find value. However, if you just want a book that will help you learn the best ways to alter your commercial paper patterns, this is NOT the book for you. I am giving an "average" rating in the interest of fairness. To me, the book was worth "0" stars, but other readers who found what they were looking for gave it "5" stars.
It fits! It's my design, my details........1999-10-05
I am a happy born again dressmaker, after having given up and quilted for a long time. Thanks to this book I can decide what I want, use my map to make a pattern, and wear my sewing skills instead of hanging them on the wall. If you follow the book, and you will most likely need a buddy, you will have a working map of your body and the directions to create patterns for the vast majority of basic styles we really wear. This is a customized sloper and introduction to patternmaking and design. There's a ton of valuable information crammed into this book, even if you don't create the bodymap. Bodymapping is not designed to help you alter commercial patterns. It is designed to free a serious sewer, enabling confident creativity.
Product Description
In this book, the authors introduce you to the elegance and fun of wire wrap artistry. Use your creativity as you follow clear, concise text, detailed photographs, and full size patterns to mastr this beautiful, jewelry craft. One of the unique features of this book is the use of patterns for each step in a piece's construction. We think the reader will find these patterns greatly beneficial, and they will result in far less reworking.
Customer Reviews:
A Hobby Beader's Opinion.......2006-03-27
The book conveys solid craftsmanship. The predominant medium is twisted wire. Designs are classic/conventional. Definitely a good source to study wirework.
Contemporary in 1995, maybe..........2003-01-24
I was disappointed with this book. Most of the designs are variations on one style of wire-wrapped cabuchon, and I thought they were rather gawdy and dated. The designs were probably innovative and stylish in 1995, but they aren't anything like current trends in wirework.
From Filigree-wrapped cabochons to chain bracelets.......2001-06-26
Specialized designs, mostly with twisted gold wire. Designs range from wire-wrapped cabochons to airy pearl drop earrings and chain-link bracelets. Easy to follow, step-by-step instructions with photos or illustrations allow anyone with minimal experience to follow thru and create a beautiful piece of jewelry. Twelve designs are included in this book, some with variations on a theme. Basic techniques and tool information start off the book. Wire gauges and wire-wrap sources are also included.
wire wrapping at its best.......2001-04-15
This book is not for a complete beginner but rather for someone who has worked with wire before. Wire wrapping cabs has been one of the things that I struggled with until I got this book and then all of a sudden I got "IT". This book has some wonderful projects using some common sized stones available through many mail-order sources. The back of the book has a section on planning your own projects. I find that I can't read this book before bed because it makes me want to get up and get to work on one project or another.
Not a beginners book. Not for quartz crystal points........1999-08-20
I wanted a beginners book to help me make wraps primarily for quartz crystal points. I felt this book did not fit the need. Although it did have some beautiful patterns and gave easy to read & understand directions, drawings and pictures. It also seems like it is be better suited for the next step up in wire wrapping. This book did contain good information on tools and wire types. I plan on keeping it for when I need to advance to the next level
Average customer rating:
- Exceptionally Good Thriller - Intense and Suspenseful
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The Grosvenor Square Goodbye
Francis Clifford
Manufacturer: Academy Chicago Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0897332946 |
Customer Reviews:
Exceptionally Good Thriller - Intense and Suspenseful .......2004-10-30
The forward reads: If we begin with certainties, we shall end in doubts: but if we begin with doubts, and are patient in them, we shall end in certainties. Francis Bacon 1561-1626
It would be inappropriate to reveal details of this intense thriller, The Grosvenor Square Goodbye. We begin with uncertainties, and are unsure about the characters, their actions, their motivations, and by what means the plot might bring them together. Francis Clifford's plot is superbly crafted from start to finish. The suspense never falters and the outcome is always uncertain.
I was unfamiliar with Francis Clifford. But, the rave reviews on the back cover of The Grosvenor Square Goodbye paperback made my buying decision easy. Ross MacDonald says: An extraordinary thriller! Chicago Tribune Book World: Superbly suspenseful ..... Clifford at his story-telling best! Publishers Weekly: One of the best suspense thrillers ..... tantalizing!
My paperback copy of The Grosvenor Square Goodbye was published in 1988 by Academy Chicago Publishers. Apparently, it was first published in 1974 under the title Good-Bye and Amen. With a little help from the internet, I learned that Francis Clifford was a pseudonym for Arthur Leonard Bell Thompson (1917-1975).
Movie buffs might be aware that in 1967 Frank Sinatra played the key role in the film version of The Naked Runner, Clifford's most popular book. This cold war espionage thriller was directed by Sidney Furie and produced by Brad Dexter.
Average customer rating:
- Terrific Art Book--a Treasure
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Blue Dog 2003 Engagement Calendar
George Rodrigue
Manufacturer: Stuart, Tabori and Chang
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ASIN: 1584791640 |
Customer Reviews:
Terrific Art Book--a Treasure.......2003-02-24
Many people do not realize the value of George Rodrigue's "calendars." In the past few years, this publisher has added Blue Dogs for every week of the year. They are wonderful. Most of us can't afford the price of a Blue Dog print, so get the calendar for the prints! I noticed that the 2004 Calendar will be released this year with a new publisher. I hope the quality continues. If not,I still have this one to keep as an art collectible.
Amazon.com
Realizing that her light skin and "good hair" conspired to give her a unique, unasked-for perspective on the racial divide in the United States, African American poet Toi Derricotte inscribed her anguish in two decades' worth of journal entries. The Black Notebooks records countless moments when Derricotte was showered with offhand entitlements and racist confidences by whites who assumed she, too, was white. She speaks ambivalently of milking such moments, deliberately making end runs around her dark-skinned husband, Bruce, while looking for a home in an all-white suburb or hoping for a decent hotel room. Derricotte talks bluntly, too, of a self-loathing that accompanies being black in America and of not being "black enough." Her honest, angry, painful truth-telling veers into self-absorption and repetition, but perhaps that's fitting: racism hammers away at people in tiny and huge events repeated day after day. Says Derricotte, "My skin causes certain problems continuously, problems that open the issue of racism over and over like a wound."
Book Description
The Black Notebooks is one of the most extraordinary and courageous accounts of race in this country, seen through the eyes of a light-skinned black woman and a respected American poet. It challenges all our preconceived notions of what it means to be black or white, and what it means to be human. The Black Notebooks was the recipient of the Anisfield-Wolfe Award and the 1998 Caucus of the American Library Association Award and chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
Customer Reviews:
Who you are will shape this book for you.......2007-05-21
At least I think it will. Reading it as a white female, I feel that this book helped me realize (and at least make my way towards understanding) the constant awareness of race that nonwhites feel while walking around. I read this book as part of a class in which we read many other texts about race and so it was one of many that helped me with this. It might seem silly, but it was very easy for me before to ignore the pressure and importance that race plays in everyday life in America. I may not be aware of it, but every day the fact that I am white allows me privilege that I would not otherwise have.
Call it my own ignorance, but for me that is what this book was about. Someone else will read it differently, depending on their history and race. For me, one of the good things about this book was that it helped show that racism was more than just the individual prejudices of a few people but was not written in an academic way. One of the other reviewers complained that Derricotte seems to want everything - pass in the white world as white and be accepted in the black community. That might be true, but that is not the feeling that the book left me with - and that might be because I am white and thus perhaps do not understand the consequences of racism as well.
Call it as you will. I loved the book, although it was hard for me to read. But it might not have the same impact on you as it did on me.
(By the way, I am reading the tag suggestions and what does the Rwandan Genocide have to do with a book about a light-skinned African-American woman in upper-class America? What is wrong with these tags?)
Dark, wrenching story of woman tortured by her color.......2001-09-16
It took me longer than usual to finish a book of this size. Inside of this little book was heart wrenching anguish and I just could not read it through without interruptions, reading other things and giving myself a rest.
Is Ms. Derracotte a victim of the tragic mulatto syndrome or is some of her anguish of her own making?
Coming from an upper class African American family that has kept the blood line "light and bright" for generations, the author's journey as a white- looking black woman comes to a climax when she moves to an all-white exclusive neighborhood in New York. It's not that they don't want her there, they just don't want her trying to assimilate into their way of life. The fact that she conducted the initial business of purchasing the house without her husband (he was more identifiable black, thus she participated in the " passing" game.) should have been a clue, nevertheless she was determined to make them accept her. And this is where I had conflict. Why would a black woman who was raised around other affluent blacks, accepted and identified as black, want to be in these people's country clubs and social circles? Why did she not avail herself to the groups that she grew up among, The Links, Jack and Jill, etc. and be happy where she would be accepted. Even as a poet/writer there are groups to belong, many of them interracial who will accept one on the basis of common goals.
More than a book on a woman conflicted by her blackness of lack thereof is the sad commentary on race identity and how America has pitted blacks among each other based on skin color going back to slavery. Nella Larson, Jessie Fauset, and Wallace Thurman and numerous other authors have written on the this issue of characters who are conflicted and the schizophrenic existence they live. Also how one's family views and upbringing affects how we feel about ourselves. When pride in one's race and self and not enough self-love is not stressed enough then we have these kind of stories. Some blacks of the author's background have similar stories, others do not go through this much drama.
I met Ms. Derracotte about three years ago when she was a writer-in-residence at Mills College here in Oakland. I went to her reading, met her and have to say that she seems more at peace with herself. She is a cofounder of a writers retreat for African American poets. In answer to one reviewer who asked what was the point of this book, I think the answer was this was a catharsis, a cleansing for her soul.
Tragic Mulatto or Human Target?.......2001-08-11
Toi Derricotte is an African American poet with skin so light that she claims she's often mistaken for white. What's more startling is that Terricotte isn't always upset when this happens. We have heard discourse from other light-skinned African Americans about the dangers of passing, and more often than not, these people feel a need to be somehow more committed to 'the community' and 'the nation' than their darker-skinned compatriots. What we haven't heard is the voice of a woman who is conflicted about her own feelings about blackness, and how she distances herself from darker-skinned African Americans.
The Black Notebooks is a literary memoir written over the space of twenty years. In it Derricotte discusses the distance she places between herself and other darker-skinned African Americans, her obsession with joining an all-white country club even after her neighbors have made it perfectly clear that an invitation will never be forthcoming, as well as her experiences with being the only Black poet in residence at a well-known writer's colony. Much in the way that GLBT people have coming out experiences wherein they disclose their sexual orientation, Derricotte has similar revealing moments when she has to reveal to whites that she is in fact African American.
Rather than being exhausting, Derricotte's memoir is a brave reflection on how it feels to navigate safely (albeit not comfortably) between two worlds, and how this navigation affects her mental health. The book isn't written as a plea for understanding or acceptance, it simply is. Her honesty over her recalcitrant feelings is like nothing else I've ever seen, and for that reason alone, it's a worthwhile read.
A complex and nuanced memoir........2001-07-28
The book is structured as a series of journal entries, but it is nevertheless carefully considered and constructed. It provides an unusual perspective on racism in America, from the perspective of a very light skinned African American woman. She recounts her experiences in vivid detail, and they are intellectually and emotionally powerful. Most importantly, Derricotte does not settle for simple analyses or easy answers, but lets the complexity of her life and her place in various communities come through, with all the attendant messiness. As such, I'm not surprised that this book has drawn widely disparate reviews from readers. I consider it DEFINITELY worth reading.
Powerful.......2001-01-19
I liked the book, and I really wanted more about certain things. It's interesting to get a glimpse into her world and its extraordinary circumstances. Her story helps to identify the nuances of racism today. Also, she zeroes us in on some very intimate moments in her life, and that raises questions about human relations in general. I thought it was brave of her to share like this. I'm sure I would read another installment if she wrote one.
Books:
- Murder on the Oceanic: A Mystery (A Shipboard Mystery Featuring George Porter Dillman & Genevieve Masefield)
- Murder Uncorked (Prime Crime Mysteries)
- Murder With Peacocks (A Meg Lanslow Mystery)
- Naked Came the Manatee
- Octopus Alibi: An Alex Rutledge Mystery (Alex Rutledge Mysteries)
- Outlaw Mountain: A Joanna Brady Mystery
- Past Reason Hated: An Inspector Banks Mystery
- Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box" by the D.A. That Prosecuted Her Captor
- Pride and Prescience (Or A Truth Universally Acknowledged) (Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries)
- Prime Witness
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need
- The Golden Days
- New Profits from Old Buildings: Private Enterprise Approaches to Making Preservation Pay
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- The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the Wo
- History in Their Blood: The Indian Portraits of Nicholas De Grandmaison
- Reinventing The Family: Lesbian and Gay Parents
- North american wildlife: trees and nonflowering plants field guide
Murder on a Bad Hair Day: A Southern Sisters Mystery
Murder Runs in the Family: A Southern Sisters Mystery
Murder Makes Waves (Southern Sisters Mysteries)
Murder Gets A Life (A Souther Sisters Mystery)
Murder Shoots the Bull: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mysteries)
