Book Description
Collecting the first four issues of Adrian Tomine's acclaimed comic series optic nerve, this book offers sixteen concise, haunting tales of modern life. The characters here appear to be well-adjusted on the surface, but Tomine takes us deeper into their lives, subtly examining their struggle to connect with friends and lovers.
Customer Reviews:
A good collection of short graphic stories........2007-05-27
An interesting collection of short stories in graphic novella form, with a particular emphasis on relationships and lesbians (not nescessarily at the same time), and interactions during the time of and around sleep and dreaming. Tomine's drawing style is aesthetically pleasing, and he is creative in developing his characters and their distinctive traits in a short space (about a page or two each). My absolute favorite in this one is on page 26, "Lunch Break." It's so concise, yet wonderfully emotional and layered.
..........2007-02-12
Tomine captures social isolation and the pointless life so perfectly that this book is probably one of the most depressing things ever written. It's amazingly well-accomplished in being what it is, however. Just don't read this if the ability to create several days of melancholy is NOT one of the things you appreciate in a book...
I'd also recommend Summer Blonde, though I personally think Sleepwalk is somewhat better. Tomine has a tendency to make stories that end abruptly without conclusions of any sort, so the shorter format is a little more suiting.
Adrian Tomine Saves Comics.......2005-08-26
I wish there were more comics out there like Adrian Tomine's. The characters in the stories collected here could almost be characters in a Belle and Sebastian song and those are some of my favorite kinds of characters. There are only a handful of artists doing thoughtful, literary work in comics and Tomine is one of them. In a medium with limitless possibilities Tomine is among the few trying to explore them.
Disparate.......2003-07-25
"Disparate" is really the only word one could use to describe Tomine's writing style. His depictions of the inner pains that many of us know, especially from our late teens and early twenties, are almost painful to read with all of the insecurities that they bring flooding back. This angst ridden collection of stories is the collected works of his first eight editions of the comic book "Optic Nerve" which Tomine produces yearly.
Sleepwalker is an excellent introduction to his work, where as his other trade paper back "32 stories" is a collection of his earliest work and while some of the stories are very amusing, it's also very raw, and out of the normal vein of work Tomine is known for.
Black and white was never so colorful.......2003-06-09
Black and white drawings, mature cartoons, short snippets of people's lives?....are you sure this is literature???
YES! Don't let people tell you this isn't literature. It's a perfect example of how graphic art and comics can still be literature. I was ushered into all of this on the superhero wave (and I still read superhero comics), and when I discovered artists like Tomine and Clowes, I was amazed.
The stories are very realistic and told in short story fashion. It's not a graphic novel, and it isn't exactly a collection of comic strips.
I would recommend this to someone who is well read. Check out "Pink Frosting."
Average customer rating:
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Sleepwalk and Other Stories
Manufacturer: Drawn & Quarterly
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1896597114 |
Average customer rating:
- Balogh has series issues with originality
- Good read...
- The excellent third book in the Bedwyn Series
- The Best of the Bedwyns
- Loved the banter!
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Slightly Scandalous (Get Connected Romances)
Mary Balogh
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Balogh, Mary | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
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( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books | Baker, Madeline | Beverley, Jo | Brown, Sandra
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Slightly Wicked (Get Connected Romances)
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Slightly Sinful
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Slightly Tempted
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Slightly Dangerous
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Slightly Married (Get Connected Romances)
ASIN: 0440241111
Release Date: 2003-06-03 |
Book Description
Meet the Bedwyns…six brothers and sisters-- men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality.
Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction…where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal…and where Freyja Bedwyn, the wild-hearted daughter, meets her match in a man as passionate, reckless, and scandalous as she.
Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long, tumbling hair, Lady Freyja is pure fire, a woman who seeks both adventure and freedom.
Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath, when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyja's room and entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty. So intrigued, in fact, that he makes her a surprising request: to pose as his fiancée and help thwart his family's matchmaking schemes. For two people determined to be free, it's the perfect plan…until passion blindsides them both. For as Joshua sets out to achieve his complete seduction of Freyja, a woman who has sworn off love is in danger of losing the one thing she never expected to give again: her heart…
Download Description
Meet the Bedwyns... six brothers and sisters -- men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality. Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction... where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal... and where Freyja Bedwyn, the wild-hearted daughter, meets her match in a man as passionate, reckless, and scandalous as she.
Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long, tumbling hair, Lady Freyja is pure fire, a woman who seeks both adventure and freedom.
Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath, when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyja's room and entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty.
So intrigued, in fact, that he makes her a surprising request: to pose as his fiancée and help thwart his family's matchmaking schemes. For two people determined to be free, it's the perfect plan... until passion blindsides them both.
For as Joshua sets out to achieve his complete seduction of Freyja, a woman who has sworn off love is in danger of losing the one thing she never expected to give again: her heart...
Customer Reviews:
Balogh has series issues with originality.......2007-06-16
Again, I have to play both sides of the coin, as I have done with the other Balogh books that I have read. I've got some good things, and some bad things that I can say.
Overall, the book wasn't too bad. I ended up not disliking Freyja as much as I did in the previous books, but I still didn't quite like her. She was a bit too much of a snob. I really enjoyed Josh, though. The romance was fairly nice between Josh and Freyja, and the overall storyarc made sense and all that. I liked the parts surrounding Josh's family. It added some nice depth to the story. So yeah, overall, I didn't mind the book so much.
On the flip side of the coin, I became increasingly aware during reading the book, that Balogh really likes to recycle her own ideas. It got annoying. Part of the main hook in the book was a fake betrothal between Freyja and Josh. That was by far not original for Balogh, and especially this series. In the prequel, A Summer to Remember, Lauren and Kit do the exact same thing for pretty much the exact same reasons. And in Slightly Married, Aidan and Eve enter into an almost fake marriage - one of convenience. So having that same hook used for Slightly Scandalous was tedious and repetitive.
And even aside from that Balogh, has a tendency to recycle even simple things. The characters tend to have almost the exact same thoughts or phrasing on something that should be original to them. And she's ended the books almost all the same. I think it was in A Summer to Remember where Lauren speaks about the sea, calling it wild and uncontrollable..and all these other more poetic descriptions. Then in Slightly Scandalous, Freyja says almost the exact same thing. It struck me as ridiculously unoriginal. She also likes to have her characters say something like "no, I do not want happily-ever-after; I just want happiness" or something to that effect. It's a nice line, but having too many characters in too many books repeat it takes away it's effectiveness. Then there's the endings of the books. They all seem to end with a wedding scene followed by the bride and the groom standing outside the church before all the revelers, wondering if they should just mosey on along to their carriage, or whether they should make a spirited run for it. It was cute the first 1 or 2 times...but as an ending to every book? Not so much. It's unrealistic and silly. And one of the biggest annoyances? The use of the word "haughty". I'd hate to see a word count of it. It'd be astronomical. I think the word comes up in every sentence Wulf is mentioned, and if not haughty, then cold. By the end of Slightly Scandalous, I wanted to bang my head into a wall.
I think if a person read the books in the series over a longer course in time, instead of one after another like I'm doing, these things could probably be overlooked. But when read quickly together, the faults really stand out. Even so, it wasn't really a bad story. I didn't mind it so much.
Good read..........2007-05-01
This book is great. I love Freyja she is such a spit fire. And Joshua needed to get his keester hit a couple times by Freyja. This book is funny and cleaver. I would recommend it to anyone.
The excellent third book in the Bedwyn Series.......2007-02-04
Although very much a fan of Mary Balogh's Regency romances I have been a little disappointed in some of her more recent books, mainly in the "Slightly" series. Chronologically "Slightly Married" (the story of Aidan) and "Slightly Wicked" (Rannulf) come before this book, although "A Summer To Remember" introduced this family. In many of these books Lady Freyja appears and she was always a character I found difficult to like - she was positively nasty to the heroine in "A Summer To Remember" and seems to go around punching people; not very endearing.
Slightly Scandalous is Freyja's story and it's actually very good. It starts off as she is on her way to Bath to stay with a friend, ostensibly to be social but really to get away from her home and her neighbours as Viscount Ravensberg, the man she loved, is expecting a child with his wife (the characters from "A Summer To Remember"). Despite these events having happened almost a year ago Freyja is most certainly not over them - Bedwyns love only once, of course, and she loved Kit Ravensberg. What hope is there for her future?
But in Bath, and in fact before, she bumps into Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, who seems to be about the only man who can match her in fun, humour and derring do. They have great fun together (despite Freyja's lamentable tendencies to punch him in the nose) and it ends up that they will both help each other out by a fake betrothal. But fake betrothals are rather difficult to handle when people get more and more involved, especially when one of the two is accused of murder.
This book was excellent in terms of plot and character. Joshua, Marquess of Hallmere, slowly reveals to Freyja that he's not just a wastrel laughing lad but also has hidden depths. Freyja is revealed as someone who can have her heart broken and who has her own secrets - some of which are very honourable (she is the benefactress of a school, which is the school featured in the most recent "Simply" series). The rest of the Bedwyns make quite a showing in this book - it's evident that Mary Balogh loves these, her creations, but I find them a little trying at times. Still they worked well in this book, even Wulfric, who sometimes seems too cardboard a villainous character.
My reservations about this book were its similarities to "A Summer To Remember" - fake betrothal etc. Also I couldn't separate out the characters of Kit Ravensberg and Joshua Hallmere - they seemed almost identical; if I were Josh I'd worry his wife was trying to find the man most like her lost love. But these are minor niggles in what is otherwise an excellent story and something for the keeper shelf.
The Best of the Bedwyns.......2006-09-27
We meet Lady Freyja Bedwyn in "A Summer to Remember" and she is haughty, stuck-up and insufferable. Throughout the first two Bedwyn books she remains so, although she does eventually grow on the reader. In "Slightly Scandalous" we finally get a glimpse into Freyja's mind, and what a mind it is. FINALLY, a heroine who does not simper or whine or play coy. Even though all of Balogh's heroines are wonderful in their own way, Freyja is simply the best. And, oh my, the hero of the novel, Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere! What a catch. FINALLY, a man who laughs at the woman, instead of getting into a snit because she doesn't fawn over him. Both leads are remarkable. There are no frustrating misunderstandings in this novel. When Freyja gets uppity, Josh laughs at her, forcing her to laugh at herself. The characters are multi-dimensional and just so wonderfully human. The comraderie and loyalty of the Bedwyns has never been stronger than in this book. It was nice to see them all interact and play with each other. I appreciated their bond, even Wulfric seemed human.
I have read five of Mary Balogh's novels and not one of her heroines has been like the other. Nor her heroes either. Often romance authors stick with stock characters and they are all interchangeable (Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught for instance...but hey, they found a formula that worked for them.) It is refreshing though to pick up a romance novel and read it and know that I am going to be reading a NEW story, one that hasn't been retold a thousand times over.
I did not want to finish "Slightly Scandalous" because I didn't want to be finished with Freyja and Josh. Hopefully I will see them at least three more times as I read the rest of the novels in the series.
Thank you, Ms. Balogh, for giving your readers a heroine and a hero to cheer for.
Loved the banter!.......2006-07-19
I love it when a book has great dialoge and this one has it in spades! The back-and-forth between the main characters is great.
I love how MB takes a very familiar story and manages to make it fresh.
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Product Description
Balogh's Wonderfully Entertaining Bedwyn Family Series
Average customer rating:
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Slightly Scandalous (Loveswept, No 808)
Laura Taylor
Manufacturer: Loveswept
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0553445596
Release Date: 1996-09-01 |
Average customer rating:
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Slightly Scandalous, No. 226
Jan Mathews
Manufacturer: Jove Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
Regency | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0515082007 |
Product Description
Balogh's Sligtly series features the half-dozen members of the Bedwyn family first met in A Summer to Remember
Customer Reviews:
I love the series!.......2006-04-08
Love this series. To bad MZB has passed on - I'd love to see more anthologies like this. Very interesting stories - always a variety of stories. So what if you don't like one or two stories, there are always some you love. I highly recommend collecting the series. Liked "Burnt Offerings" - wish there was a follow-up story to let you know who she is. I think the princess of a country - or a witch passing her finals? "A Lesser of Evils" about "industrialization" vs a basilisk was very good. And the Cynthia story was great as always. Wish Dorthy Heydthad been able to find a publisher for her collection of stories - any out there listening? Book left me wanting more (as always).
ok - certainly not the best of the series.......2003-08-01
This anthology was just ok. There wasn't much kick to most of the stories. If I weren't collecting the whole series, I probably wouldn't keep it. The stories are:
Diana L. Paxson: "Equona's Mare" - a woman and her horse, sort of
Shariann Lewitt: "The Hand of Fatima"
Lynne Armstrong-Jones: "Commencement"
Morning Glory Zell: "A Lesser of Evils" - a somewhat preachy story about ecology-conservation
Kier Neustaedter: "And Saavuld Danced" - blah
Linda Gordon: "Stone of Light"
Nancy Jane Moore: "Change of Command"
Vera Nazarian: "The Starry King"
Nina Boal: "Mirror Image"
Jennifer Roberson: "Sleeping Dogs" - I liked this one. The inside front cover text says "Summoned by the king when his favorite hound was about to bear a litter, the witch woman used all her arts in vain. To save the only surviving pup, she revealed an ancient knowledge that would forever change the king's own life..."
Elisabeth Waters: "Shadowlands" - I liked it. The inside front cover text says "Her husband killed in an accident, Oriana would do anything - even spell travel to the Shadowlands - to bring him back to life..."
Mercedes Lackey: "The Making of a Legend" - A Tarma & Kethry story, republished in the book "Oathblood". The first appearance of the bard Leslac. I like most of Lackey's work, and this is no exception.
Mary Fenoglio: "Burnt Offerings" - not bad
Doroth J. Heydt: "Ratsbane" - The third story of the Greek sorceress Cynthia published in S&S, and my favorite so far.
Bobbi Miller: "Wolf Hunt"
Carl Thelen: "Pearl" - This one's cute and funny.
Jessie D. Eaker: "Name of the Demoness"
Lois Tilton: "Hands" - not bad
Mary E. Choo: "Wolfrunner"
J.A. Brebner: "Until We Meet Again" - A not bad story about a sword & sorceress pair.
Gemma Tarlach: "Black Wolf" - I liked this one. The first story sold by this author, but hopefully not the last.
Amazon.com
Bruce Feiler's latest book combines now familiar elements into his own peculiar, delightful alchemy. Any particular page may be found effortlessly weaving together strands of theology, biblical exegesis, physical exploration, history and personal reflection as Feiler continues his journey of discovery, looking at the common roots of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Middle East has become a more dangerous place since the writing of his first book in this vein, Walking the Bible. But Feiler is impelled to answer his continued call, even when a flak jacket is necessary. He explores tunnels under Jerusalem. Goes to where David may have slain Goliath. Even looks for the Garden of Eden in Iraq while acknowledging that "the garden would never be found." It is this externalization of searches typically only made in the heart that fascinates us and brings power to Feiler's narrative. In one of the more compelling sections of the book, a meditation on Jonah, Feiler makes a persuasive argument that "God cares only that you conduct yourself in a moral way… And what might come across as preaching in another context is instead organic; Feiler's ideas seem to grow as much out of his travel and present-day experience as they do from Scripture and history. Of particular interest is his writing on King Cyrus II. He travels to Persepolis, in modern-day Iran, and finds an ancient precedent for religious tolerance in this king who helped the Jews build the Second Temple. Feiler provokes us to reflect that if the Bible itself can sing the praises of a king who accepted the various religions of those he ruled, perhaps there is hope we can find room for more tolerance in our own time. Highly recommended.--Ed Dobeas
Book Description
At a time when America debates its values and the world braces for religious war, Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times bestsellers Walking the Bible and Abraham, travels ten thousand miles through the heart of the Middle East—Israel, Iraq, and Iran—and examines the question: Is religion tearing us apart ... or can it bring us together?
Where God Was Born combines the adventure of a wartime chronicle, the excitement of an archaeological detective story, and the insight of personal spiritual exploration. Taking readers to biblical sites not seen by Westerners for decades, Feiler's journey uncovers little-known details about the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and affirms the importance of the Bible in today's world.
In his intimate, accessible style, Feiler invites readers on a never-in-a-lifetime experience:
-
Israel Feiler takes a perilous helicopter dive over Jerusalem, treks through secret underground tunnels, and locates the spot where David toppled Goliath.
-
Iraq After being airlifted into Baghdad, Feiler visits the Garden of Eden and the birthplace of Abraham, and makes a life-threatening trip to the rivers of Babylon.
-
Iran Feiler explores the home of the Bible's first messiah and uncovers the secret burial place of Queen Esther.
In Where God Was Born, Feiler discovers that at the birth of Western religion, all faiths drew from one another and were open to coexistence. Feiler's bold realization is that the Bible argues for interfaith harmony. It cannot be ceded to one side in the debate over values. Feiler urges moderates to take back the Bible and use its powerful voice as a beacon of shared ideals.
In his most ambitious work to date, Bruce Feiler has written a brave, uplifting story that stirs the deepest chords of our time. Where God Was Born offers a rare, universal vision of God that can inspire different faiths to an allegiance of hope.
Download Description
"
At a time when America debates its values and the world braces for religious war,
Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times bestsellers
Walking the Bible and
Abraham, travels ten thousand miles through the heart of the Middle East -- Israel, Iraq, and Iran -- and examines the question: Is religion tearing us apart ... or can it bring us together?
Where God Was Born combines the adventure of a wartime chronicle, the excitement of an archaeological detective story, and the insight of personal spiritual exploration. Taking readers to biblical sites not seen by Westerners for decades, Feiler's journey uncovers little-known details about the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and affirms the importance of the Bible in today's world.
In his intimate, accessible style, Feiler invites readers on a never-in-a-lifetime experience:
-
Israel Feiler takes a perilous helicopter dive over Jerusalem, treks through secret underground tunnels, and locates the spot where David toppled Goliath.
-
Iraq After being airlifted into Baghdad, Feiler visits the Garden of Eden and the birthplace of Abraham, and makes a life-threatening trip to the rivers of Babylon.
-
Iran Feiler explores the home of the Bible's first messiah and uncovers the secret burial place of Queen Esther.
In
Where God Was Born, Feiler discovers that at the birth of Western religion, all faiths drew from one another and were open to coexistence. Feiler's bold realization is that the Bible argues for interfaith harmony. It cannot be ceded to one side in the debate over values. Feiler urges moderates to take back the Bible and use its powerful voice as a beacon of shared ideals.
In his most ambitious work to date,
Bruce Feiler has written a brave, uplifting story that stirs the deepest chords of our time.
Where God Was Born offers a rare, universal vision of God that can inspire different faiths to an allegiance of hope.
"
Customer Reviews:
Great physical & spiritual walk, but in the end reverts to the secular.......2007-06-27
Bruce does an amazing job of making the Bible and its lands and history real. While he doesn't fall prey to the all too often use of analysis to subtley, but irrevovably trash religion and God, he does in the end lean to the secular, all the while proclaiming his Jewishness. Despite his spiritual longings, he seems to think Judaism is flexible and what you make of it--rather than a pilgrimage to find ultimate truth--a concept he runs from. In the end it seems his greatest joy is that no matter where he goes, he effectively has a built in network of cultural chums to hang with. In short his Jewishness feels more ethnic than religious--a conclusion that I can only hope he did not intend.
A greater criticism is that all too often he sees "fundamentalism", regardless of the faith as a level, morally regrettable and destructive playing field. There is no sense of disproportion. Christian fundamentals are seen in the same light as Muslim, ignoring that even disagreeable Christians don't coerce their flocks into repression and worse, weapons of terror and death.
Still the book is highly readable, providing insights and a deeper understanding that I simply didn't expect. So despite my misgivings, my greater disappointment is that Bruce is unlikely to continue this journey into the foundations of Christianity. I can only hope I find another author of his caliber to do the same for my faith.
where god was born.......2007-03-23
Very much second best to his earlier book, walking the bible. seems like the author thought he had to write another book on the same topic, which is too bad.
If You Want to Understand the Bible.......2007-01-10
Very informative. The Lord has blessed Bruce Feiler. I've read his other books Walking the Bible, and Abraham, and it was difficult to put them down.
Illuminating History.......2006-08-10
Enlarged my understanding of Biblical history and provided background for todays problems in that part of the country. Everyone needs to read.
Sign of our times.......2006-07-15
Today, our culture scoffs at believing the Bible, as a result it is not at all fashionable to actually read it. So, unsurprisingly, it is a sign of our times that this book's many mistakes would go unnoticed by the vast majority.
Feiler's book is an engrossing travelogue. He takes us to many of the sites referenced in the Bible and helps make them come alive with his narrative. However, even as a newcomer to Bible study, I caught several errors just in the first few chapters.
Had this book been written 50 years ago, I think even the most secular editor would have sent the book back for a rewrite. How can we take Feiler's points seriously, when he can't get even the basic facts straight?
Books:
- Sun In Glory (A Valdemar Anthology)
- Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali , Longman African Writers Series (Longman African Classics)
- The Accidental Tourist: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
- The Art of Mending: A Novel
- The Artist's Problem Solver: Practical Solutions from 10 Professional Artists for Painting in Watercolors, Oils, Pastels and Acrylics
- The Brush-Off: A Hair-raising Mystery
- The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal (Cat Who...)
- The Civil War Trilogy: Gods and Generals / The Killer Angels / The Last Full Measure
- The Comics Journal Library Vol. 7: Harvey Kurtzman (Comics Journal Library)
- The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard CD
Books Index
Books Home
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- Baby Booky: Honey Bunny
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Summer Blonde
32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics
Scrapbook
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The Push Man and Other Stories
