Insiders: Take It Off (Insiders Novel)

Book Description

Jonathan, Mickey, David, Arno, and Patch have it all: they've got rich parents, live in Manhattan's trendiest neighborhoods, and attend the best schools. But when the five friends enroll in a School-at-Sea program, how far will good looks, credit cards, and privilege take them? Not far enough! Three weeks o0n a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean should spell smooth sailing. But with Jonathan missing Flan, Mickey and Arno fighting over the same girl, Patch playing the hero, and David having a wild time of his own, the guys just might be ready for a little shore leave...

Customer Reviews:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-03-24

TAKE IT OFF is another installment of the INSIDERS series that describes the innermost thoughts of A-List teenage boys. This is a very funny book because the characters seem like what real, rich A-List boys would act like.

In this particular book, the boys crew that consists of Mickey, David, Arno, Patch, and Jonathan take a "cruise" over winter break together that is a program that Patch's parents wanted him to go on. He of course couldn't go without all of his friends. The cruise is supposed to be a learning experience that teaches the students about history, classics, and sailing. They sail from Athens, through the Mediterranean, around the Iberian Peninsula, and on to London. Along the way all of the crew gets "expelled" from the ship except for Patch.

You will have to read the book to find out how, why, and what they do about it!

I really liked this book, because it was funny, easy to read, and super insightful. One of those books that should only be read next to a pool, or on the beach! A super-fun read!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

A Great Book In A Great Series.......2005-09-17

The novel is a great book to read. The novel flows perfectly; there is never a point when the story becomes boring. This is the best teen series that follows life though the eye's of teenage guys. The characters are all unique and accurate represntations of teens today. I would recomend this book to anyone!

One of the best stories i've read!.......2005-08-08

For those who get tired of always seeing bitching stuff and the teenage problems from a girl's view, this is a change and its really addictive! I agree with the gossip girl writer, the only cure is more. I cant put down the book and i'm already craving for the next sequel, which unfortunately will only arrive in november. The story unravels the lives of 5 A list guys, who are almost perfect but are made to face up with the problems in their lives, despite their good looks and credit cards. Its a great teenage series!!!

Average customer rating:

Perfect
An incredible story told in such a simple manner!
A brilliant love story that mirrors many!
A desert island book
A short, sweet, illustrated story with a profound message

Off To Sea: A Romance

Manufacturer: Welcome Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0941807010
Release Date: 1995-10-01

Book Description

A romantic and ultimately hopeful tribute to contemporary romance, using brilliant color illustrations which chart a voyage of infatuation, growth, separation, and reunion that will make this the gift book for the valentine season.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect.......2003-05-30

Though it's written in the context of a story about two lovers, the deeper message of the book is one for every human, every critter.

The book is a beautifully simple but profound little story that whispers a reminder to us all at our deepest levels to remember our soul origins and our energetic connection to Every Thing that is. All-One.

Book is so perfect I sent it to a couple of friends and bought an extra copy for myself!

The illustrations are sweet and juvenile. Gets the point across!

An incredible story told in such a simple manner!.......2001-04-21

I didn't know what to expect when I was given this book. I must say that its simple message is indeed powerful and a quick page turner to boot! It comes off as a children's book, but no, no, no, it is certainly not.

This book will make the feelings that you are trying to articulate easy to understand without going overboard. The person who gave it to me was trying to do just that.

And succeeded.

A brilliant love story that mirrors many!.......1999-11-17

Well written and presented in a simple yet fun way. This story can particularly touch somebody who can relate to the story. I can think of several couples whose love story mirrors this book! Love the illustrations and simplicity of it all!

A desert island book.......1999-05-09

Stine's song of love is one of the few volumes you will tuck in your rucksack as you head for a desert island. Its soulful words grow effortlessly from earthy, tropic-toned pastels. It is about our journey, together and alone, our rites of discovery, as revelation leads to transformation. Save your shrink money. Read the book and cherish its timeless song.

A short, sweet, illustrated story with a profound message.......1998-10-07

After flying through this book you'll want to read it again and again. The simple but profound message about love, and the clever, beautiful illustrations have a lasting effect. The perfect gift for anyone with a heart.

The Wind Off the Sea: A Novel of the Women Who Prevailed After WWII

Average customer rating:

Good follow-up book, but not as good as the first book
terrific historical tale

The Wind Off the Sea: A Novel of the Women Who Prevailed After WWII
Charlotte Bingham
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0312326955

Book Description

It is 1947, the worst winter in England since records began, and even the sea is frozen. For the women living in the little fishing port of Bexham, the chronic lack of everything from fuel to food has left them reeling. When Waldo Astley, a handsome young American, drives through thick Sussex snow into the village in his large Buick, he finds Bexham filled not only with grumbling residents, but with frustrated wives and mothers, forced back behind their stoves after celebrating the victory for which they fought so hard on the home front.

But Waldo is no ordinary character, and while he has come to Bexham on a personal mission, his effect on all the residents is truly electrifying. For Judy, whose marriage to Walter has been badly affected by long years of separation; for Rusty, whose miscarriage has been mind-shattering; for Mathilda, whose single motherhood has put her eligibility in jeopardy; and for Meggie, still not recovered from her ordeal as a secret agent. For all these women, Waldo Astley is not just a breath of fresh air--but the wind off the sea.

Customer Reviews:

Good follow-up book, but not as good as the first book.......2004-08-27

"Wind off the Sea" by Charlotte Bingham tells the story of the women Bexham, who after serving during the Second World War, once again find themshelves at home taking care of their husbands and children. But time are still hard, but American Waldo Astley comes to town, he brings with him change for the better.
"Wind off the Sea" is the follow-up to "The Chestnut Tree" while I enjoyed the book. The four main character didn't have much interaction with each other and to me its seem to lack the charm of the first book. But, Overall I did enjoy the book and can't wait to read "Moon at Midnight" the third book in this series.

terrific historical tale .......2004-08-11

In 1947 England, the euphoria of the victory remains, but is somewhat muted by an icy winter. The bitter cold could be handled better by women if industry had not set them aside so that the men can gain employment. After all they did on the home front to insure victory; many women resent the loss of the jobs they held during the war years.

The women of Bexham suffer from a lack of necessities to survive the tundra like weather, but the loss of their jobs hurts as much as the lack of heating fuel and food. When American Waldo Astley arrives at the Sussex fishing village he finds a high degree of frustration and resentment. He provides a fresh outlook as he encourages the women that they have come a long way and should not quietly return to the hearth and stove. The Bexham females have a rallying cry as Waldo brings with him the wind of change from across the Atlantic.

This terrific historical tale provides an insightful look at the beginning of the baby boom years, but from the unique perspective of women suffering from a variety of depressing things in the midst of the post war euphoria. The Bexham females struggle with shortages during a brutal winter, have personnel woes that run the gamut from a miscarriage to not knowing your husband, and a deep resentment of being sent back to cook and clean. Historical fiction fans will find Charlotte Bingham's tale an astute entertaining glimpse at the era that pioneered the next generation of women to rise in the workplace.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Off to Sea, A Romance
Richard Stine
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NXFA5E

Average customer rating:

Candid and insightful instruction by one of England's top working watercolorists

Being Bold with Watercolour
Annette Kane
Manufacturer: Batsford
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Watercolor Painting | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0713490187

Book Description

“Bold” isn’t a word generally associated with watercolor, but that’s because most artists don’t know the secrets of using them to create bright, vibrant works. Internationally renowned painter and instructor Annette Kane reveals her three secrets for intensifying this popular medium: special methods of mixing colors; brushstrokes that maximize the power of a composition; and fresh ways of combining other elements like ink, acrylic, and gouache. She covers each move toward boldness with start-to-finish demonstrations that lead to stunning finished paintings in a variety of forms—including still life, sun and shadow studies, window and doorway scenes, landscapes, and water features.

Customer Reviews:

Candid and insightful instruction by one of England's top working watercolorists.......2007-10-03

I am a beginning watercolorist so I feel completely free to explore every approach and technique. I've already read (and purchased) many watercolor-related books, most of which have given me the sense of "sitting at the feet of the master" to some extent. For this reason, Annette Kane's book was very refreshing for me. Aside from the fact that Ms. Kane is undoubtedly versatile and talented (the pictures in her book attest to that), her introduction and prose are disarmingly candid, reality-based, and encouraging to someone like me who does not see herself as an Artist (capital "A").

She explains that "[my] success has resulted as much from my businesslike approach as from my ability as an artist...I accept that my work is not exceptionally innovative and that it is essentially illustrative. But it reflects my ideas and feelings, and I make no apology for painting in a style that is true to myself. In fact, this is something that i would encourage every painter to do. If you are not naturally experimental and freely expressive, why try to be!"

Heresy? Perhaps. But I hear her saying, Be the kind of painter that YOU want to be. Learn, copy, practice, but above all, see yourself as unique and don't measure your paintings against some artworld standard.

Personally, I love and admire children's book illustrators, so perhaps that is partly why I am drawn to Ms. Kane's fresh, colorful, sensitive work. I like the way she walks you through her approaches to watercolor techniques, explaining her two different processes--controlled and fast and loose; and then combining them. I don't aspire to the depth of detail that she exhibits in some of her work, but I am learning a great deal from her examples and guidance.

Customer Reviews:

The contents of Gorey's collections.......2007-07-24

The contents of Gorey's collections with personal rates for each work:

AMPHIGOREY:
The Unstrung Harp (1953) ========================= ****1/2
The Listing Attic (1954) ========================= *****
The Doubtful Guest (1957) ======================== ****1/2
The Object-Lesson (1958) ========================= ****
The Bug Book (1959) ============================== ***1/2
The Fatal Lozenge (1960) ========================= *****
The Hapless Child (1961) ========================= *****
The Curious Sofa (1961) ========================== ****1/2
The Willowdale Handcar (1962) ==================== ****1/2
The Gashlycrumb Tinies (1963) ==================== *****
The Insect God (1963) ============================ *****
The West Wing (1963) ============================= ***1/2
The Wuggly Ump (1963) ============================ ****1/2
The Sinking Spell (1964) ========================= ****1/2
The Remembered Visit (1965) ====================== ****

AMPHIGOREY TOO:
The Beastly Baby (1962) =================== *****
The Nursery Frieza (1964) ================= -
The Pious Infant (1966) =================== ****1/2
The Evil Garden (1966) ==================== ****1/2
The Inanimate Tragedy (1966) ============== ****
The Gilded Bat (1966) ===================== ****
The Iron Tonic (1969) ===================== ****
The Osbick Bird (1970) ==================== ****1/2
The Chinese Obelisks (Sketch) (1970) ====== ***
The Chinese Obelisks (1970) =============== ****
The Deranged Cousins (1970) =============== ****1/2
The Eleventh Episode (1971) =============== ****
The Untitled Book (1971) ================== ***1/2
The Lavander Leotard ===================== ***
Direspecful Sermons ======================= ****1/2
The Abandoned Sock (1972) ================= ****
The Lost Lions (1973) ===================== ****
Story for Sara ============================ ****
The Salt Herring ========================== ***
Leaves for a Mislaid Album (1972) ========= ***
A Limerick (1973) ========================= ****1/2

AMPHIGOREY ALSO:
The Utter Zoo (1967) ======================== *****
The Blue Aspic (1968) ======================= ****1/2
The Epileptic Bicycle (1969) ================ ****
The Sopping Thrusday (1970) ================= ****1/2
The Grand Passion (1976) =================== **1/2
Les Passementeries Horribles ================ ***
The Ecletic Abecedarium ===================== ***
L'eure Bleau ================================ ***
The Broken Spoke (1976) ===================== ****
The Awdrey-Gore Legacy (1972) =============== ****
The Glorious Nosebleed (1975) =============== ****
The Loathsome Couple (1977) ================= ****1/2
The Green Beads (1978) ====================== ****
Les Urnes Utiles ============================ ***
The Stupid Joke (1980-1982) ================ ****1/2
The Prune People (1983) ===================== ****
The Tuning Fork ============================= ****1/2

AMPHIGOREY AGAIN:
The Galoshes of Remorse (illustration) ==========
Signs of Spring ================================= ***1/2
Seasonal Confusion ============================== ***1/2
Random Walk ===================================== ***1/2
Category (illustration) =========================
The Other Statue (1968) ========================= ****
10 Impossible Objects =========================== -
The Universal Solvent (1989) ==================== -
Scénes de Ballet ================================ ***1/2
Verse Advice ==================================== ***
The Deadly Blotter (1997) ======================= ***
Creativity ====================================== ***
The Retrieved Locket (1994) ===================== ***
The Water Flowers (1982) ======================== ***1/2
The Haunted The-Cosy (1988) ===================== ***1/2
Christmas Wrap-up (illustration) ================
The Headless Bust (1999) ======================== ****
The Just Dessert (1997) ========================= **1/2
The Admonitory Hippopotamus ===================== ***1/2
Negected Murderesses (1980) ===================== ***1/2
Tragédies Topiaries ============================= ****
The Raging Tide (1987) ========================== ****
The Unknown Vegetable (1995) ==================== ****
Another Random Walk ============================= ***1/2
Serious Life: A Cruise ========================== ***1/2
Figbash Acrobate (Illustrations) ================
La Malle Saignante ============================== ****
The Izzard Book ================================= ***

WONDERFUL IN EVERY WAY.......2007-04-10

I don't care if you've never in your life read Edward Gorey, I don't care if "it's not your thing," I don't care about any silly excuse. If you haven't read this book than you are not complete, and there's only one way to fix the problem.

Edward Gorey is satiric genius, and when he isn't being sarcastic and whimsical then he is beautiful and poetic (although come to think of it, he's always poetic, isn't he?). Being an Amphigorey, this book has loads or nonsense stuff crammed together with some of his best work. I can't imagine that anyone with any kind of imagination could read through it without finding at least one thing that they adored.

Glorious Too!.......2006-12-03

This excellent follow-up anthology contains such classic Gorey works as The Beastly Baby, The Pious Infant, The Gilded Bat, The Chinese Obelisks, The Deranged Cousins, and The Disrespectful Summons.

Playfully Warped.......2005-09-20

This second mass-market anthology of Gorey's assorted works holds its own against the first collection, Amphigorey, and presents pieces previously found in a number of his once hard to locate, highly-sought shorter books. This volume concentrates on the more obscure among Edward Gorey's output, and in fact several of the tales here I had never heard of before I acquired Amphigorey Too. The irony in the fact so many of these illustrated tales are humorous (in addition to being ironic, strange and disturbing) is that Gorey balanced their intentional comic value with the concept that he was not trying to provide his readers with unalterated amusement. In fact an editor once challenged Gorey by saying, "Edward, this isn't funny." To which Gorey replied, "Sir, isn't it best that it not be?" Amphigorey Too is a wonderful compiliation and a must-have for any Gorey fan.

More Gorey Stories.......2003-04-14

Though not quite so wonderful as "Amphigorey" (q.v.) (if nothing else, there is nothing to equal the brillint "Gashleycrumb Tinies" nor "The Unstrung Harp"), the first Gorey omnibus volume, if only because the very best was skimmed off for that volume, this is still very high class whimsey indeed.

Like Gahan Wilson (q.v), Gorey looks at the world in a slightly skewed manner; much of his work consists of showing or telling us something that sounds perfectly rational but does not, in fact, quite compute, leaving our own minds to struggle with the cognitive dissonance he creates.

Probably my favourite bit in this collection is "The Gilded Bat", which is a sadly perceptive story of perception and reality in the life of a prima ballerina -- even after litle Maudy Splaytoe has progressed to being enigmatic star Miriella Splatova, her life is still pretty much the same as it always was, a round of rehearsal, performance and boredom. (In a wonderful example of something or other, there was a ballet based on this work; i have never seen it, but heard an interview on PBS with the choreographer, who had had to create excerpts from three OTHER, fictitious, ballets referred to in the text...)

The two versions of "The Chinese Obelisks" present us with an opportunity to see the author's mind at work, comparing sketch and draft of text to the finished work.

The only reason not to immediately purchase this work would be if you could only afford one of them and hadn't already got the previous volume. If you DO already have "Amphigorey", then you absolutely must have this collection to go with it.

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too
Edward Gorey
Manufacturer: Paragon Books / Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UVOLZO

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too
Edward Gorey
Manufacturer: G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OJYGPW

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too
Edward Corey
Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MRJFMU

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too
Edward Gorey
Manufacturer: Perigee
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LNLUVY

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too
Edward Gorey
Manufacturer: G P PUTNAM & SON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N66Q54

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too (ISBN: 0425035360)
Edward Gorey
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NQIRAG

Average customer rating:
Amphigorey Too 1ST Edition
Edward Gorey
Manufacturer: G P PUTNAM & SON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PW6GII

Average customer rating:

Fresh Air, No Laughs with Terry Gross

Terry Gross does it again

What a thrill to hear from Stephen King and others!

worth a listen

Great collection of interviews with writers!

Fresh Air Laughs with Terry Gross
Terry Gross
Manufacturer: Highbridge Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1565119193
Release Date: 2004-10-07

Book Description

Compelling, in-depth interviews from the Peabody Award-winning public radio show. Fresh Air with Terry Gross is one of Public Radio's most popular programs. Each week, nearly four million people tune in to the show's intimate conversations, broadcast nationwide on more than 400 NPR radio stations and in Europe on the World Radio Network. Available for the first time at retail, these two collections span 15 years of engaging, intelligent talks with top writters and comedians. Fresh Air: Laughs with Terry Gross The newest collection from Fresh Air includes thought-provoking , laugh-out-loud interviews with 21 comedy stars: Al Franken, Bill Maher, Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani, Tracey Ullman, Martin Short, Conan O'Brien, Richard Pryor, Jon Lovitz, Richard Belzer, Colin Quinn, Chris Rock, Drew Carey, Carol Leifer, Larry David, Henny Youngman, Phyllis Diller, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Jackie Mason, and Bob Newhart.

Customer Reviews:

Fresh Air, No Laughs with Terry Gross.......2007-08-06

Surprisingly humorless interviews, given the title, all of which are serious, quite downbeat and just plain unfunny.

Don't get me wrong: I can totally appreciate that comedians think it burdensome to have to be funny in their off-time, and that Ms. Gross's success is to a large extent attributable to her ability to put difficult to interview people at ease.

That said, the title of this collection is misleading, as there are no laughs at all, really, just some mildly interesting conversations (and that is being quite generous). No great revelations either, if you are at all familiar with people interviewed.

Disappointing, given the promising roster of comedians.

Terry Gross does it again.......2007-05-25

It's uncanny: Whenever someone I have admired for years dies, on the next day, Fresh Air plays the interview that Terry Gross did with that person fifteen or twenty years ago.

This is a collection of Terry Gross interviews with people who have made us all laugh for years. My favorite interviewer talking to my favorite comedians, this collection combines that rare mix of insight and laughter.

What a thrill to hear from Stephen King and others!.......2007-03-16

What makes writers "tick" has always amazed me and so
when I came across FRESH AIR WRITERS SPEAK WITH
TERRY GROSS--an audiobook--I was hooked from just the title.

What a thrill it was to hear interviews conducted by Gross with
such notables as Stephen King, Maurice Sendak, James Baldwin,
Allen Ginsberg, and nine others . . . I loved hearing Norman
Mailer describe himself as having "an ego like a battleship" . . . and
I was moved by John Updike's account of how psoriasis affected his
life.

Gross apparently based this compilation on brief parts of longer interviews
she had conducted on her Peabody Award-winning program on public
radio, FRESH AIR . . . she is a talented interviewer, and I liked
the fact that the interviews all appeared as if they had been
conducted live; i.e., there were some brief pauses, as well as
breaks for unedited laughter.

Best of all, many of the authors read from their works . . . Philip
Roth had me marveling at how well he writes; it even sounded
better than when I've read it . . . and Billy Collins, an American
poet who served two terms as 44th Poet Laureate of the United
States, had me smiling when he recited "Victoria's Secret,"
a poem about reading a lingerie catalog.

worth a listen.......2006-10-25

This collection of Terry Gross interviews is great listening. She does pretty quality interviews, an oasis in the NPR desert of matte monotone. This collection showcases some of her more interesting interviews. In particular, the authors on display here are beyond the ordinary, and it is in this situation that Terry Gross excels.

It should come as no surprise, I suppose, that the appeal of the individual interviews mirrors the value of the writings of the authors. Philip Roth, for example, is hilarious but with a deeper level of thought-provoking observations underneath the surface. Allen Ginsberg is idiosyncratic and eccentric in a way that can be both compelling and strangely unsettling. Norman Mailer is reflective but more interested in displaying his inflated, grandiose ego. John Updike speaks with polished style and has absolutely nothing of interest to say. The Davids, Sedaris and Rakoff, amuse with impious wit. Fran Lebowitz amuses with lonely, cheerless wit.

But a good interview, which Terry Gross for the most part provides, draws out a little extra from the writer. There is no revising, no editing. No opportunity to perfect the rhythm of the speech. So you get a little extra. With any luck, there is a touch of candor, a little insight into the self-obsessive world of the artist.

Great collection of interviews with writers!.......2006-05-28

**PLEASE NOTE: Several of the customer reviews for this item are actually reviews for another Fresh Air collection, "Fresh Air Laughs." This collection is called Writers Speak, and features 13 interviews with famous authors, not comedians.**

This is a great collection of Terry Gross interviews with a broad range of famous authors. Terry Gross is well-known as a great interviewer. Personally, I think she's a little overrated, as she seems to stumble over her questions sometimes, and leaves little bits of dead air here and there, which is awkward to listen to. But the CD isn't really about her, it's about the great writers she interviews.

Disc One: 75:18
STEPHEN KING, the famous novelist, is best known for stories like Carrie and The Dark Tower series. In this 2000 interview, he talks extensively about his horrific 1999 car accident. He discusses his reaction to Brian Smith's sentence for reckless driving, his painful recovery, as well as his spirituality.

MAURICE SENDAK, in a 1993 interview, talks about his children's book We Are All In The Dumps With Jack & Guy. (He's perhaps best known for Where The Wild Things Are.) He discusses the development of the story and the illustrations from two nursery rhymes. He also discusses his difficult childhood, the controversy over In the Night Kitchen, and why he doesn't do many book signings for children anymore.

RICHARD PRICE, whose first novel The Wanderers brought him early fame, has also written a number of screenplays, perhaps most notably The Color of Money. Here, in a 1986 interview, he talks about being Jewish when everyone assumes he's as tough and Italian as the characters he writes about. There's part of a 1992 interview as well, discussing his novel Clockers. He does a brief reading, and then talks about his research process and the real-world relationship between cops and drug dealers.

PHILIP ROTH spoke with Gross in 2001 about his trilogy that includes The Human Stain, a novel that examines political correctness and impotence. He also discusses growing up in a prominently Jewish neighborhood and the relationship between a writer and the people around him.

Disc Two: 69:03
JAMES BALDWIN was a well-known civil rights writer, best known for books like Go Tell it On The Mountain. In this 1986 interview, he talks about growing up in Harlem as the son of a preacher, and his own brief career following in his footsteps. He also discusses his status as a "controversial" writer in both the black and white communities, nd his views on the gay movement and being labeled.

NORMAN MAILER, best known for his war novels like The Naked and The Dead and Armies of the Night, in a 1991 interview, talks about being a "two-fisted" intellectual. He discusses the difference between being in the Army and being at Harvard, and how this changed his self-image.

ALLEN GINSBERG, the Beat poet who wrote the infamous "Howl," talked with Terry in 1994 about his relationship with his mother and her mental illness, and how it influenced the poem. He also discusses the unexpected success of "America," his homosexuality, drug use, and friendship with Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. The interview wraps up with a discussion of the influences that came together in "Kaddish," another one of his great poems.

JOYCE JOHNSON was most famous for being Jack Kerouac's lover in the late 1950's. She talks a lot about Kerouac and his rise to fame, as well as her relationship with him. She reads a really great letter she wrote to him in response to his alcoholism, as well as a letter he wrote to her asking her to come to Mexico City.

JOHN UPDIKE is most famous for his Rabbit series, as well as The Witches of Eastwick. Here, he talks about writing his memoir, Self-Consciousness, in which he talks about his weaknesses (Psoriasis and stuttering, to name two.) and how they've shaped him as a person and a writer.

Disc Three: 58:17
DAVID RAKOFF is most famous for Fraud, a collection of witty essays, as well as a regular contributor to NPR's This American Life. This is a hilarious interview, which is kicked off by an excerpt from an essay about going mountain climbing. He also discusses his acting career, and how he invariably gets typecast as either gay or Jewish. Rakoff is very witty, and thinks quickly on his feet, making this one of the funniest interviews in the collection.

FRAN LEBOWITZ, who wrote Metropolitan Life and Social Studies in the late 1970's hasn't written anything since, and talks about making a career of not writing. She also talks about her writing habits and writing process, and how she feels about aging. (Which I feel was a sexist topic for Terry Gross to bring up - you don't hear her asking any of the older men about aging.)

DAVID SEDARIS, best known for his essay collections like Me Talk Pretty One Day and Holidays On Ice, shines in an early 1993 interview. The interview actually predates his books. He was a regular contributor to NPR, and still working his day job cleaning NYC apartments. There's also a snippet of a later interview, from 2000, after the publication of Me Talk Pretty One Day, in which he discusses growing up trying to hide the fact that he was gay.

BILLY COLLINS, former U.S. poet laureate, reads and discusses a few poems. In the interview, from 1998, he reads "Forgetfulness," which sparks a conversation of memory and the current trend of obscurity in poetry, and how this relates to writing for an audience. He follows that with a poem about contentment, "Osso Buco," and discusses the lack of art about happiness. He talks about his writing process as well, and concludes the interview by reading "Victoria's Secret," which is about a lingerie catalogue, and the unique language within it.

There isn't a single interview here that isn't worth listening to. However, don't make the mistake of buying the collection to listen to just one author. The interviews range from ten to twenty minutes on average, and in some cases aren't the full interviews. If you just want to hear what one author has to say, you'd be better off listening to them on NPR's website. However, this collection is worth buying for any writer interested in learning more about their craft, or anyone who enjoys listening to brilliant people talk about how they do what they do best.

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