Amazon.com Audiobook Review
"It can wear you to a nub, trying to be a popular person and a good Catholic all at the same time." So says Sidda, one of the characters inhabiting Little Altars Everywhere. Author Rebecca Wells uses her considerable acting talent to perform this abridgment, adding even more spark to her already lively characters. Everyone--Shep, Vivi, Willetta, and the rest--is given a distinct voice, and Wells plays each of them to the hilt. More like a recording of a one-woman show than a mere reading, Altars is an excellent example of how entertaining audiobooks can be. (Running time: 3 hours, 2 cassettes) --C.B. Delaney
Book Description
The companion to the beloved bestseller
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, here is the funny, heartbreaking, and powerfully insightful tale that first introduced Siddalee, Vivi, their spirited Walker clan, and the indomitable Ya-Yas.
Download Description
"
Companion to the blockbuster movie and bestselling novel Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, here is the funny, heartbreaking, and powerfully insightful tale that first introduced Siddalee, Vivi, their spirited Walker clan, and the indomitable Ya-Yas.
The companion to the beloved bestseller Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, here is the funny, heartbreaking, and powerfully insightful tale that first introduced Siddalee, Vivi, their spirited Walker clan, and the indomitable Ya-Yas.
"
Customer Reviews:
Emotional Roller Coaster.......2007-09-26
This book was fabulous - not quite as groundbreaking as the "Divine Secrets.." but still fabulous nonetheless. It made me smile, it made me think, and it made me cry - all the things a good book should do and more. Buy it - read it! Enjoy.
A Strongly Written Book About Growing Up.......2007-07-26
This isn't *really* my kind of book - it reminded me eerily of something like Margaret Laurence's "A Bird In The House", given it is a collection of interwoven short stories told from the perspectives of different members of a small-town Louisiana family, most notably from the character of Siddalee.
So why am I giving it four stars? Well there wasn't anything I didn't like about it. I found the prose easy to get through and imaginative. The stories for the most part were captivating and enchanting. The characters were well developed and familiar despite our polar opposite lives. The plot moved enough from section to section to keep me interested. I can't justfiy giving it a lower mark just because it's not my preferred style (ie: novel over short stories) or preferred subject matter (ie: modern day as opposed to the past).
The stories revolve around two points in the character's lives - their childhoods in the 1960's and their relatively young adulthood in the early 1990's. Vivi is their eccentric, perhaps dangerously so, mother who also features in the ya ya sisterhood book. Interestingly enough this book was written before (and publicized after) the ya ya sisterhood - yet there are frequent mentions of the ya ya's and some dark secret they share and so on...so I'm guessing that book was simultaneously in the works as this one. Big Shep is Vivi's husband, a working class man who makes a few poor choices that make him forget how to love.
Their children include the eldest daughter Siddalee, who is probably the most identifiable as the main character in the book. Sidda goes through several phases of independence/autonomy and relying on her family for guidance. Her younger brother Lil Shep doesn't feature much in the book other than his desire to be freed from the nasty secrets his family is keeping. I can't remember the next siblings name, I think it's Lulu, who stars in my favourite story in the book about petty theives and liars. Finally there is Baylor, the youngest, who lives in a dream both as a child and an adult.
Overall this is a nice, slow read...it's enjoyable to drink up on lazy summer days in bits and pieces, and very much personifies the southern climate it describes.
The last chapter is worth the entire book.......2007-04-01
This was the hardest read in the Ya-Ya series. I didn't always like it. It felt disjointed and uneven and some chapters (they were like vignettes, strung together) I started and then just skimmed or left unread.
The final chapter, however - was worth the entire experience. I wish we could have heard from this voice, the adult voice of Siddalee, through the entire thing. Baylor, yeah - he was good, too. There were no other Ya-Ya's (except in passing, where were "the gang" we love so much in Divine Secrets and Ya-Ya's in Bloom?). This book, the prequel to the rest was mostly Vivi's family.
I was reading someplace, maybe it was here, readers were upset about a revelation that takes place in this book. I guess I am weird in that I would rather have the characters in the books I read be flawed, be human.
Vivi is messed up. Ya-Ya readers know that. Her parents were messed up, her children are messed up albeit differently. "Little Altars" begins with Sidda as a pissed-off-on-the-edge-of-puberty girl scout and ends with Sidda as a late 30's woman, the woman who we see several years later narrating half of Divine Secrets.
I don't expect my "heroines" to be wind up toys or robots or flawless automatons. I would rather they be real.
And this volume, in my estimation, doesn't do it.
I think it was written first. But that last chapter. Oh my, that last chapter. I sat at my kitchen table sobbing and my daughter Katherine, from the living room said, "Mommy? Are you ok?" I hadn't realized I was so loud!
Read the last chapter. Pick it up at the bookstore and read it.
Here is one group of sentences as a preview for you:
"As far as I'm concerned, if you could bottle that smell, all the companies that make Xanax, Prozac and Valium would be out of business. You could just open the bottle and smell Willetta and never feel panicked or depressed again."
Love it.
Severely mis-lead.......2006-12-30
I first read Divine Secrets... and then read this book, and very much felt lied to by the author. In the second book the mother is basically lovable, well almost, but flawed. Then I went and read the first book Little Altars Everywhere and read that the mother is sexually abusing her children. This did not come up in Divine Secrets at all and to me seems like a bunch of bull crap. I know that Divine Secrets is mostly from the daughters point of view and that the mother was sexually abusing her sons, but evenstill. On its own it would be a much better book.
hard to slog through.......2006-11-18
this is poorly written about a nasty dysfunctional drunk southern family. sometimes when you get a book you enjoy it so much you either don't want to stop reading at all or you want to read it slowly so you have more time with it. well, this does not fall into either category. save your money.
Customer Reviews:
cassie edwards.......2006-11-26
Not going to give you spoilers. Being a writer myself I know Cassie Edwards would not appreciate what I'm about to write... In general her story plots are no worse or better than any I've read, but some of the drama in the story gets to a point where it seems silly. This book is fairly good, is easy to read, and I did enjoy it but felt it could have been written better. I've found there are less and less Native American romance novels being wrote these days, and the new ones I've read, especially hers, aren't very good. Don't know why. I have found some of her stories to be too realistic for my taste, such as this one. I would have to say overall, if your looking for a halfway decent romance this book is worth giving a shot.
Sweet Innocents.......2002-11-02
Three words for this book. Romantic, innocent and sweet. This book was great. Malvina is a sweet girl broken with revenge for her parents death. When her and red wing meet it is love at first site, and its so sweet and innocent. Red Wing is the most loveable man on the face of the earth. With every thing going wrong that could possibly go wrong, they make it through together. A heart warming story.
Misty
Very romantic, but..........2001-07-01
This book was very romantic, and I found the love story very believable. I did believe absolutely that Malvina and Red Wing fell in love at first sight, I thought Red Wing was a bit judgmental and quick to jump to conclusions regarding Malvina's character. I know the circumstances at first would understandably lead Red Wing to believe Malvina a criminal, he still was to quick to believe the worse without any real evidence. He misjudged her several times throughout the book, the last time he even forced her to leave, although he almost immediately regretted it. Malvina didn't help matters when she stubbornly refused to tell him the truth about her quest for revenge, but I felt Red Wing ought to have believed in her more if he loved her so much. But, this book is very romantic and I do recommend it to anyone who loves books that feature love at first sight and innocent love. Cyndi
Average customer rating:
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readers digest condensed books (ring of bright water,the judas tree,the edge of sadness,a fall of moondust,a christmas carol,summer of pride, vol. 4)
cronin,oconnor,clarke,dickens,savage maxwell
Manufacturer: readers digest association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L84LPG |
Book Description
The Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game & Fact Book is a brand new d20-based roleplaying game based on the award-winning science fiction series created by J. Micheal Straczynski. Featuring full color pictures and film stills throughout, the Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game & Fact Book is the most detailed exploration into the world of Babylon 5. Newly developed combat systems including both deep space skirmishes and personal combat serve to heighten the dangers of life in and around the infamous diplomatic station. This game allows players to take the role of characters on board Babylon 5 and travel to the many stars and planets seen in the television series. The possibilities available to players are limitless, taking such characters as lowly lurkers and smugglers or brave Earthforce Officers and members of the Minbari warrior caste. Featuring exclusive never-before-seen official background material, the Babylon 5 roleplaying game is the most comprehensive information resource available for the award-winning television series! This 304-page d20 sourcebook details the entire Babylon 5 space station, along with the characters and personalities to be found onboard.
Customer Reviews:
D&D Third Age.......2006-01-21
This product was my first introduction into the universe of Babylon 5. Since playing my first game, it has caused me to immerse myself in the series, watching all 5 seasons on DVD. I find that the Babylon 5 RPG is a very interesting environment in which to play. It's rules, including a limited number of hit points and defense based on reflex saves instead of dex bonuses, as well as a very skill-heavy character cross-section, allow games to move beyond the run-of-the-mill Space Hack scenario that seems to inhabit other D20 space type games. Overall, this book is highly recommended if you are a fan of the series and have ever wanted to adventure in the universe of Babylon 5.
Useful, but disappointing.......2004-05-05
I was very excited when I saw that there was a d20 B5 RPG coming out, and I snatched this book up right away. I also have the Minbari and Earth Alliance books, and although I find them useful I've been disappointed overall. I'm used to anything associated with Babylon 5 being extremely high quality, but these books are very sloppy on multiple levels. They are full of typos and formatting errors, I've seen at least one math error in the rules, and the Earth Alliance and Minbari books have no index, which I find infuriating. The character sheet is terribly designed and in some places inconsistent with the rules, and some of the pictures are dark, grainy, or extremely pixellated. There are inconsistencies between the books--for instance, the Minbari languages are listed in various places as Lennau and Lennan, Fik and Vik, etc. The rules provided are problematic, as well. The classes and prestige classes are poorly balanced and the space combat rules, while basically sound, need some fine tuning with regards to modifiers and such. There also seems to have been a hasty attempt to convert from D&D 3.0 to 3.5 skills and feats, but it was not entirely successful, leading to more inconsistencies. So, as a foundation for B5 d20 roleplaying, I've found these books helpful, but I've had to revise the rules and make my own character sheet and such. I find the books overpriced, especially considering their poor quality, but I will continue to buy them because any Babylon 5 RPG is better than none.
All alone in the night.......2004-01-30
After the first woeful attempt at doing B5 in a Rpg format I was very concerned about how Mongoose was going to do it. I have to say I am very impressed. The book is possiblly the best Rpg book I have ever seen. The layout is excellent, the information interesting and the rules easy to understand. There are rules for making up several of the races from the show and good basic information on each one.A complete overview of season 1 is included and at the end of each episode entry there is additional information on things from within. From Midnight on the firing line as an example there is info on Centauri mines, Raider command and control ships and trader routes. If you want to play in the Babylon universe then this book is awsome. Worth every cent.
Book Description
Now in its fifth hit season, Babylon 5--TV's hottest interstellar science fiction phenomenon--has spawned its own series of definitive episode guides! Catch up on all the action, show by show, from the very beginning with the Babylon 5: Season by Season guidebooks.
Babylon 5: Signs and Portents, kicks off with a foreword by actor Michael O'Hare, better known to viewers as Commander Sinclair, and features a fascinating look at how series creator J. Michael Straczynski brought his ambitious vision to the screen.
Then launch into a comprehensive overview of the groundbreaking premiere season, including in-depth, episode-by-episode summaries of all of the first twenty-two shows--from the pilot, "The Gathering," through the climactic season finale, "Chrysalis"--with analysis by author and B5 expert Jane Killick.
Veteran viewers or first-time fans, relive the adventure--or find out what you've been missing--with the complete companions to Babylon 5!
Customer Reviews:
An interesting guide for the Five Seasons of Babylon 5.......2005-08-16
I have always been a fan of Babylon 5 when it was a show in Warner (in my country [Brazil] the 5 seasons were presented by cable in Warner Channel). I missed the show very much when it was finished in 1999. When I discovered the seasons in DVDs I bought ALL of them and ALL of the books of Jane Killick, each one per month. I became again fascinated with the universe that J. Michael Straczynski created, a very truthful scientific fiction and an amazing accomplishment for a TV show. The books of Jane Killick are guides episode-by-episode of the five seasons and have the same names of the Season. In Signs and Portents (the first one) the author presents herself and tells the reader why she has chosen to write about Babylon 5. The book has also a foreword of Michael O'Hare (Commander Sinclair) and bits of informations about the long and difficult journey that the creators of the series endured until they were able to shoot the first season. Each episode is resumed in a clear account of the story and after the resumé, the author includes interviews with the actors, writers, directors or other tid-bits of informations pertinents to the episode. The books are sucint, but very informative. I would like MORE photos, but..the DVDs have the images... But the books just resume the episode and comments about the arc of the story. They lack a psychological profile of the principal characters, as Deleen, Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, G'Kar and Londo. I also have the Watcher's Guide of Buffy and the Casefiles of Angel (other TV-series) and they have a more abrangent view about these shows. I missed a little biographical information about the actors, the directors and the writers, the psychological profile and development of the characters, especially because they have changed so much during the 5-year seasons, the sociological implications of the wars showed in the seasons (bits of commentaries of the auth or Michael Straczynski and of the actress Mira Furlan implies a parallel between the sociological themes in these seasons and the War in Serbia-Bosnia-Croatia and other wars that happened in the late 90s. Also the philosophy and the religious themes showed in the Seasons deserve more development and perhaps a detailed study , for example in the beautiful 3rd Season episode "Passing through the Gethsemane" Deleen tells a friar a little about the Minbari beliefs and these seemed to me like a buddist or hinduist point of view); I would like a commentary about the beliefs of these differents aliens planets as shown in these five seasons. Perhaps the author Michael Staczynski and others could write books about it. I have read the excelent books reviewing Buffy and Angel philosophy and psycology (Bite me! Seven Season of Buffy, Five Seasons of Angel and many others that many authors wrote about these two other series)and I think Babylon 5 deserves reviews about these themes. Besides that, Signs and Portents, and the four other books of Jane Killick, The Coming of Shadows (Season 2), Point of No Return (Season 3), No Surrender, no Retreat (Season 4) and The Wheel of Fire (Season 5) are an enjoyable companion guide to the 5 years of the Serie Babylon 5. I strongly recommend it to be read together with the DVD, seeing an episode and after reading the excelent commentaries of the author, albeit these are short. Please, Ms. Killick, write more about these seasons! A new book, perhaps a 10 years review of the show would be very welcome.
Obs: This review encompass all the five books because the style is much the same for these.
Deniza Futuro (Brazil)
A Great Guide to a Great Series.......2003-08-05
Babylon 5 was unique in television. The main plot for the entire series was mapped out before the show even started. As a result, it developed a loyal fan base that still loves it.
This book is the first in a series of five episode guides to the series. Covering the first season, it has a separate chapter for each of the twenty-two episodes, plus the pilot. Each starts with a plot summary, but then goes into behind the scenes stories and commentaries. Through interviews with cast, crew, and creator J. Michael Straczynski, author Jane Killick is able to give a full picture of what went into each episode. Some of my favorite parts are the stories of bloopers or jokes the cast played on each other. I also find the summaries useful if I'm looking for a particular episode to rewatch.
Starting out the book is an interesting chapter about the five year struggle the producers had to get the show on the air. It really gave me a new appreciation for what JMS went through to make his vision a reality.
Also included is a season 1 overview. While I might not agree with all of the author's commentary, I find her perspective interesting.
Any fan will love to have this well researched book for a behind the scenes look at a wonderful piece of science fiction television history.
Essential Reading for the B5 Viewer.......2002-11-07
The Babylon 5: Season by Season guidebooks are an essential read for fans of the TV series. Containing photos, interviews, essays, and in-depth rundowns of each episode, each book is indispensable for B5 vets and newbies alike. Strongly recommended.
A good book for fans, but if you are new to the show...........2001-08-19
This is a really good book series for B5 fans. It makes a great companion & fun reading after you have watched each show. But I would recommend it mainly for those that have seen the series & are watching it again. The reason I say that is because it is laced with spoilers all throughout the commentaries. That's fine if you've seen the whole thing already, but it stinks if you are watching it for the first time. If you don't mind that sort of thing...go for it, but this is the only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. For a good "non-spoiler" companion guide, I highly recommend The Babylon File: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to J. Michael Straczynski's TV Series Babylon 5 by Andy Lane Versions 1 & 2. He shows no mercy sometimes. If he does or doesn't like the show, he let's you know. But it's a blast to read.
an excellent companion to a video collection.......1999-04-06
I have taped all of the shows, & proceed to watch them at my own leisure one by one. After watching each episode, I then read the synopsis of the episode out of the book. It tends to make some minute things come to life.Things that I consider minor, are shown to be of great importance by the creator. The insights on why things were done, the timing of those things, it was all very excellent. I reccommend it for any real Baylon 5 fan. There is sooo much to learn from this series of books.
Product Description
With Slayers guide to Minotaurs. August 2003.
Product Description
July 2005
Product Description
November 2003
Average customer rating:
- Another solid showing from CQY
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Signs And Portents
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Yarbro, Chelsea
| ( Y )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
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General
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ASIN: 0515093459 |
Customer Reviews:
Another solid showing from CQY.......2001-12-13
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Signs and Portents (Jove, 1984)
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is a wonderful writer who doesn't mind wallowing in the literary muck now and then; she harbors no illusions that she's too good for, well, anyone. That pretty much assures the uninitiated Yarbro fan (for there are two types of people on Earth, Yarbro fans and those who have not yet been exposed to her work) that any piece of fiction the woman has turned out is going to be a fun time. Signs and Portents is no exception to the rule. It's a book of short stories, and it suffers from one of the deficiencies of almost any book of short stories, inconsistency (only the truly great and the truly awful short story collections are uniform in their quality). However, that is to be expected, and no reader of short stories will fault a colelction for it.
When Yarbro is good, she is very very good, and that's the case here. Her characters jump off the page and into the reader's brain with a minimum of hassle, and they're usually doing something altogether fun, like learning that getting a love potion from a witch ain't all it's cracked up to be ("Savory, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme") or messing with the order of the universe thanks to, well, being an incompetent clod ("Space-Time Arabesque"). There's quite a bit to enjoy here, if you're lucky enough to find a copy. ***
Book Description
In the wake of dramatic, recent changes in American family life, evangelical and mainline Protestant churches took markedly different positions on family change. This work explains why these two traditions responded so differently to family change and then goes on to explore how the stances of evangelical and mainline Protestant churches toward marriage and parenting influenced the husbands and fathers that fill their pews.
According to W. Bradford Wilcox, the divergent family ideologies of evangelical and mainline churches do not translate into large differences in family behavior between evangelical and mainline Protestant men who are married with children. Mainline Protestant men, he contends, are "new men" who take a more egalitarian approach to the division of household labor than their conservative peers and a more involved approach to parenting than men with no religious affiliation. Evangelical Protestant men, meanwhile, are "soft patriarchs"—not as authoritarian as some would expect, and given to being more emotional and dedicated to their wives and children than both their mainline and secular counterparts. Thus, Wilcox argues that religion domesticates men in ways that make them more responsive to the aspirations and needs of their immediate families.
Customer Reviews:
Important distinctions.......2006-03-11
This book brings some interesting distinctions to the utilitarian side of debates on religion, that is, to the evaluation of religions by their effects.
It is quite common to attribute macho attitudes to religious men, specially fundamentalist ones. Here the author makes a distinction, in the Evangelical field, between born-again Christians and those who are merely conservative and attend church because they expect themselves to do so.
Books:
- Little Boys Come from the Stars
- Madras on Rainy Days: A Novel
- Meeting Ms. Right
- Midnight Champagne: A Novel: A Novel
- Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form
- Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith
- Naruto: Innocent Heart, Demonic Blood
- Northern Borders: A Novel
- Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories (B&N Classics)
- Novels I of Samuel Beckett: Volume I of The Grove Centenary Editions (Works of Samuel Beckett the Grove Centenary Editions)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Memory, History, Forgetting
- Culinaria Germany
- The Troll Garden and Selected Stories
- To Be a U.S. Army Green Beret
- A Taste of the Good Life: A Cookbook for an Interstitial Cystitis Diet
- Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts
- Better Trout Habitat: A Guide To Stream Restoration And Management
- American Economists of the Late Twentieth Century
- War and Social Change in Modern Europe: The Great Transformation Revisited
- Internet Legal Forms for Business
Ya-Yas in Bloom
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Crazy Ladies : A Novel
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Family Linen
