Featured
Books of the Month
December 2001
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FICTION
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Fire
and Ice: A Liam Campbell Mystery
by Dana Stabenow |
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About Words Rating: 7 out of 10
About Words Review: It took a while to get into this series,
of which there are three so far. It's not as good as the Kate
Shugak series, but it is well worth reading, especially if
you are an aviation or Alaska enthusiasist, or even just a
mystery fan. As always, her characters are well-drawn and
fascinating. However, you might spend most of this book, if
not all, in a state of confusion about what is going on. The
main character gets plunged headfirst into a small community
which drags him around from one crazy situation to the next.
There is definitely too much going on without understanding
the context. It all gets straightened out in the end, though.
Even so, Dana Stabenow is one of the most talented mystery
authors around. Every one of her books is well worth reading,
including this one. And the next two books in this series
revert back to the usual Stabenow excellence.
Amazon.com
Review: Dana Stabenow won an Edgar Award for her books about
Kate Shugak, a resourceful Indian woman living in Alaska.
The series is full of respect for the landscape and the hard
work it takes to survive in the far north. Now she starts
a new series starring Liam Campbell, an Alaskan State Trooper
with a troubled past and an uncertain future; the environmental
issues of the 1980s appear to have been back-burnered in favor
of the personal needs and feelings of the 1990s...[more]
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NONFICTION
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The
End of Time: The Next Revolution In Physics
by Julian B. Barbour |
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About Words Rating: 6 out of 10
About Words Review: This is one of the more fascinating physics
books around. It's not one of the easiest to understand, however.
You really will need a background in physics to understand
it fully, which most people do not have. Kudos to Mr. Barbour
for tackling a fascinating angle on a difficult subject, with
an entertaining and down-to-earth style.
Amazon.com
Review: In this provocative volume, Barbour presents the basic
evidence for the nonexistence of time, explaining what a timeless
universe is like and showing how the world will nonetheless
be experienced as intensely temporal...[more]
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FOR WRITERS ONLY
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Stein
On Writing
by Sol Stein |
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About Words Rating: 10 out of 10
About Words Review: This is the absolute best writing reference
book to be found. It is thorough, concise, practical, and
above all, if you do what it says, it works!
Amazon.com
Review: "The best reading experiences," says Sol Stein, "defy
interruption." With Stein's assistance, you can grab your
reader on page 1 and not let go until "The End." Stein--author
of nine novels (including the bestselling The Magician) and
editor to James Baldwin, W.H. Auden, and Lionel Trilling--offers
"usable solutions" for any writing problem you may encounter.
He is authoritative and commanding--neither cheerleader nor
naysayer. Instead, he rails against mediocrity and demands
that you expunge it from your work. Perhaps the concept of
scrutinizing every modifier, every metaphor, every character
trait sounds like drudgery. But with Stein's lively guidance,
it is a pleasure...[more]
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