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Jo L. (PIZZELLEBFS) - Reviews

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The 15-Minute Single Gourmet
The 15-Minute Single Gourmet
Author: Paulette Mitchell
Book Type: Hardcover
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Review Date: 6/21/2008


From Amazon:

Mitchell's idea is a catchy one-quick and easy recipes for one person only, to inspire busy people on their own to cook a real meal. The recipes are quite varied, although Mitchell, whose previous book was The 15-Minute Vegetarian Gourmet (Macmillan, 1987), stays away from red meat here; the dishes are also low in fat and without added salt. Almost every recipe includes three or four simple but thoughtful variations, and there are lots of excellent tips and helpful hints. Fifteen minutes seems pushing it for some of the dishes, but the book is sure to have appeal.


365 Tao : Daily Meditations
365 Tao : Daily Meditations
Author: Ming-Dao Deng
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 16
Review Date: 7/23/2008
Helpful Score: 1


From Amazon:

This treasury of life'"enhancing daily readings turns a wise Taoist light on every facet of life. Each daily entry with a one'"word title and its Chinese character in elegant calligraphy.

A brief, poetic aphorism provides the theme, followed by a clear, insightful mediation on the day's Taoist principle.


Adventures in America: Readings in Early American History to 1877
Review Date: 12/19/2006


Covers Jamestown, Indians and New Englanders, the creation of the Constitution, Tecumseh, Secession, and much more. I liked it, but I'm a history geek, LOL.


After Dark  (Harmony, Bk 1)
After Dark (Harmony, Bk 1)
Author: Jayne Castle
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 291
Review Date: 6/28/2007


From Amazon:

A race of aliens once lived on the future Earth colony called Harmony, leaving behind them the ruins of a vast, beautiful, and mysterious culture that is still protected by the psychic illusion traps and eerie ghosts that they created. Lydia Smith is an archaeologist who can resonate and dissolve the illusions, and those talents, combined with her lack of finances and questionable professional reputation, make her the obvious hire for Emmett London, who is trying to track down a lost antique and the nephew who stole it. Lydia's first consulting job quickly turns dangerous, however, as corpses, ghosts, and illusion traps start popping up--not to mention the rather unprofessional electricity between her and her first client.


All Fall Down
All Fall Down
Author: Zachary Fox
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 17
Review Date: 8/26/2005


From Amazon:

"Here's a first novel so self-assured and truly frightening that you'll wonder what Zachary Fox can possibly do for an encore. A psychopath in a clown suit hijacks a busload of disabled children in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs and threatens to kill them all if he's not paid $20 million. A Native American policewoman, Ellen Comacho, is caught up in the crime and the ensuing turf battle between the FBI and the local police. Not the least of the author's many accomplishments is the ability to orchestrate a touching romance against a background of terror."


Alpha Beta: How 26 Letters Shaped the Western World
Alpha Beta: How 26 Letters Shaped the Western World
Author: John Man, Martin Collins
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 1.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 5/15/2008
Helpful Score: 2


From Amazon:

John Man's Alpha Beta is an excellent survey on the history of letters. They may have played a more dramatic role in the advancement of Western culture than most people realize: "The Greeks, so this argument runs, would not have been so influential but for the invention that fixed their writings, the invention that they named after its first two signs, alpha and beta--the alphabet." This opinion will no doubt ruffle a few feathers in the classics departments at universities, which have instructed students on the intellectual and literary achievements of the Greeks for generations. Man seems to challenge the idea that the Greeks offered something inherently worthwhile. "Possibly nothing of their oral genius would have been preserved but for a piece of astonishing good fortune. They just happened to live near one of the cultures that had stumbled on the alphabet, and they just happened to be at a crucial state in social evolution that made them open to its adoption." This is a fascinating argument, and Man makes it a compelling one, although it's also possible to believe the Greeks had the additional good fortune of producing a storyteller as good as Homer.

Most of the book is a well-told tale that runs a course from the first symbols pressed into clay tablets to the advent of the Internet--the Greeks are just a piece of it. The book covers the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Etruscans, and several other cultures in some detail. One of the most interesting sections discusses the Koreans, creators of "an alphabet that is about as far along the road towards perfection as any alphabet is likely to get." Man is a colloquial writer; reading Alpha Beta is like listening to a popular college professor lecture on his favorite topic. The complex and controversial scholarship on the alphabet becomes instantly accessible to nonexpert readers on these pages. Anyone interested in the power of words and the history of civilization will find Alpha Beta irresistible.


American Gourmet: Classic Recipes, Deluxe Delights, Flamboyant Favorites, and Swank "Company" Food from the '50s and '60s
Review Date: 11/1/2005
Helpful Score: 1


I loved this one.

"Classic recipes, deluxe delights, flamboyant favorites, and swank 'company' food from the 50's and 60's.

Full of recipes from back in the day. Even if you don't want to actually cook them because of health reasons (they're full of fat-laden, cholesterol soaring yummyliciousness) it's a hoot reading the stories and commentary the authors have included along with the recipes.


Amo Amas Amat and More
Amo Amas Amat and More
Author: Eugene H. Ehrlich
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 1/29/2006
Helpful Score: 2


An informative and fun book! The author includes hundreds of Latin mottoes, sayings, bon mots, and proverbs. They are ordered alphabetically, each followed by its pronunciation (in an informal but generally useful transcription), and general sense. Most of the entries have an explanatory sentence or two, giving the background, source, and literal translation. A fun and educational book; helpful to the student of Latin, and entertaining and educational to the general reader.


Anansi Boys
Anansi Boys
Author: Neil Gaiman
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 2/25/2008


From Amazon:

Fat Charlie Nancy leads a normal, boring existence in London. However, when he calls the U.S. to invite his estranged father to his wedding, he learns that the man just died. After jetting off to Florida for the funeral, Charlie not only discovers a brother he didn't know he had, but also learns that his father was the West African trickster god, Anansi. Charlie's brother, who possesses his own magical powers, later visits him at home and spins Charlie's life out of control, getting him fired, sleeping with his fiancée, and even getting him arrested for a white-collar crime. Charlie fights back with assistance from other gods, and that's when the real trouble begins. They lead the brothers into adventures that are at times scary or downright hysterical. At first Charlie is overwhelmed by this new world, but he is Anansi's son and shows just as much flair for trickery as his brother. With its quirky, inventive fantasy, this is a real treat for Gaiman's fans. Here, he writes with a fuller sense of character. Focusing on a smaller cast gives him the room to breathe life into these figures. Anansi is also a story about fathers, sons, and brothers and how difficult it can be to get along even when they are so similar. Darkly funny and heartwarming to the end, this book is an addictive read not easily forgotten.


And Brave Men, Too: The Unforgettable Stories of Those Who Were Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in Vietnam
Review Date: 1/1/2007


The powerful, moving result of ex-Marine Timothy Lowry's travels across the US, interviewing Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam War.

Told in their own, unadorned, yet frequently eloquent words, And Brave Men, Too is the true story of the men who fought valiantly in Vietnam--only to return to a homeland fervently caught up in an anti-war movement. "We had a job to do We had a mission. We did it. We served our country as others had in past wars" says one Medal of Honor recipient, James Allen Taylor, of the soldiers in Vietnam.


Angel of Death (Sean Dillon, Bk 4)
Angel of Death (Sean Dillon, Bk 4)
Author: Jack Higgins
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 57
Review Date: 8/26/2005


From Library Journal:

Sean Dillon, a former Irish terrorist turned undercover agent, and his boss, Brigadier Charles Ferguson, make their latest appearance (following On Dangerous Ground, Putnam, 1994) in a lively but rather predictable shoot-'em-up set primarily in the United Kingdom. A terrorist group, born from communism, is killing in the name of Irish nationalism. Their real purpose, however, is to foment anarchism and chaos among the major powers. Can Dillon, partner Hannah Bernstein, and Ferguson track down this band and prevent additional murder?


Another Lousy Day in Paradise
Another Lousy Day in Paradise
Author: John Gierach, Glenn Wolff (Illustrator)
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 10/16/2009


From Amazon:

Once again, Gierach shows that he may be the best fishing writer around. The school of fishing scribes is bloated with guys who love to tell you why you should use a #20 Blue Dun nymph rather than a #18 Blue-Winged Olive in a particular situation, but Gierach is not interested in any such nonsense. Although he deeply loves catching trout from streams on a fly rod, he is crazy enough to catch carp on a fly, too, and although purists look down on him for this desecration of the holy fly rod, Gierach is just having fun--an attitude he carries into his writing. These tales cover the gamut of his fishing experiences, from salmon in Alaska and brook trout in Canada to splake (a hybrid of lake and brook trout) in Colorado. Like his previous collections, this one is thoroughly entertaining, engaging, and, in the end, just big fun.


The Appointment: A Novel
The Appointment: A Novel
Author: Herta Muller
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 1/29/2006


The hardships and humiliations of Communist Romania are on display in this taut novel by the winner of the European Literature Prize (Müller, author of the well-received Land of Green Plums, emigrated to Berlin after being persecuted by the Romanian secret police). The narrator, an unnamed young dress-factory worker of the post-WWII generation, has been summoned for questioning by the secret police; she has been caught sewing notes into men's suits destined for Italy, with the desperate message "marry me" along with her address. Accused of prostitution in the workplace (and told she is lucky the charge is not treason), she loses her job, and her life becomes subject to the whims of Major Albu, who summons her for random interrogation sessions. Her major preoccupation is holding on to her sanity. This is a nearly impossible feat in a society where opportunity is limited, trust is a commodity as scarce as decent food or shoe leather, and even sinister Party henchmen are shown to be trapped in a ridiculous charade. As she travels to a questioning session, the woman spools out the tale of her past: her attempt to achieve independence after a first marriage, only to hastily fall into a second one with Paul, an alcoholic who fashions illegal television antennas for the black market; and her friendship with the beautiful and doomed Lilli, a fellow factory worker. The sharp generational divide following the war and the dreadful ways in which people learn to cope with the Communist regime are threaded throughout as are some lighter moments, shaky though they may be. Appropriately disorienting and tightly wound, this perfectly controlled narrative offers a chilling picture of human adaptation and survival under oppression.


Arcady
Arcady
Author: Michael Williams
Book Type: Paperback
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Review Date: 8/26/2005


From Amazon:

"In a futuristic fantasy from paperback author Williams, set millennia after some disaster has destroyed a technological civilization, a huge poetic jumble (drawn principally from William Blake's prophetic books), known as the Text, is accepted as holy writ and considered to possess magical properties. But eerie, wandering Absences--swirling, terrifying blobs of magical other- reality--are slowly eroding the landscape and now threaten to annihilate Arcady, the sprawling estate occupied for centuries by the Hawken family."


Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment
Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment
Author: Tom Clancy
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 11
Review Date: 6/15/2006


A penetrating look inside an armored cavalry regiment--the technology, the strategies, and the people... profiled by Tom Clancy.
His first nonfiction book, Submarine, captured the reality of life aboard a nuclear warship. Now, the #1 bestselling author of Clear and Present Danger portrays today's military as only army personnel can know it.

With the same compelling, you-are-there immediacy of his acclaimed fiction, Tom Clancy provides detailed descriptions of tanks, helicopters, artillery, and more--the brilliant technology behind the U. S. Army. He captures military life--from the drama of combat to the daily routine--with total accuracy, and reveals the roles and missions that have in recent years distinguished our fighting forces.

Armored Cav includes:


Descriptions of the M1A2 Main Battle Tank, the AH-64A Apache Attack Helicopter, and more
An interview with General Frederick Franks
Strategies behind the Desert Storm account
Exclusive photograph, illustrations and diagrams
PLUS: From West Point cadet to Desert Storm commander, an interview with a combat cavalry officer on the rise.


Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days
Author: Jules Verne
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 6/15/2006


Jules Vernes career as a novelist began in 1863, when he struck a new vein in fictionstories that combined popular science and exploration. In Around the World in Eighty Days, Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions £20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just eighty daysand he is determined not to lose. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, the reserved Englishman immediately sets off for Dover, accompanied by his hot- blooded French manservant, Passepartout. Traveling by train, steamship, sailboat, sledge, and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks, and the dogged Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard to win the extraordinary wager. Combining exploration, adventure, and a thrilling race against time, Around the World in Eighty Days gripped audiences upon its publication and remains hugely popular to this day.


Art Of Sicilian Cooking
Art Of Sicilian Cooking
Author: Anna. Muffoletto
Book Type: Hardcover
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Review Date: 9/6/2005


"More than 235 examples of Sicilian cuisine, in every category of food, and includes special menus for the gay and colorful feast days of Sicily.

Wonderfully complete and completely unique, this is a treasury of inspiration and ideas for any cook in search of something new-- and here the new includes the best of the centuries-old art of Sicilian cooking."


Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington, Bk 9)
Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington, Bk 9)
Author: David Weber
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 27
Review Date: 12/15/2007


Proclaimed a dead woman by the People's Republic of Haven, Honor Harrington has escaped her prison with half a million others and will tip the balance in favor of the Allies.


Assault on the Venture
Assault on the Venture
Author: Dan Shelton
Book Type: Hardcover
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Review Date: 1/3/2007


The Gulf War has just ended. A British agent has fought his way through mine fields, exploding tanks and 'friendly fire' from an American helicopter to deliver a terrifying message: A Shiite terrorist has been planted in deep cover aboard America's largest aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered U.S.S. Venture. The plan -- to bring the world's greatest superpower to its knees while 'the eyes of the world are watching.'


Auntie Mayhem (Bed-And-Breakfast, Bk 9)
Auntie Mayhem (Bed-And-Breakfast, Bk 9)
Author: Mary Daheim
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 10/31/2005


Candy is Dandy...But Poison is Murder...

Though lurching through London is ever so jolly, hostess-on-holiday Judith McMonigle Flynn and her cantankerous cousin Renie are looking forward to an unharried weekend at a real English country manor. They find the estate taxing, however, what with vacationing relations crowding every nook and cranny of Ravenscroft House, while it's awesomely aged mistress, Aunt Petulia, holds court-until a box of poisoned sweets hastens the dour dowager's demise. Soon Judith and Renie are up to their American necks in a muck of murder most British-as they set out to unearth a fatal family secret..and unmask the culprit who was anti-Auntie enough to do the old girl in.


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