General Books

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

Melissa Anelli

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Harry Potter Books Were Just The Beginning of the Story...

During the brief span of just one decade, hundreds of millions of perfectly ordinary people made history: they became the only ones who would remember what it was like when the Harry Potter saga was still unfinished. What it was like to seek out friends, families, online forums, fan fiction, and podcasts to get a fix between novels. When the potential death of a character was a hotter bet than the World Series. When the unfolding story of a boy wizard changed the way books are read for all time.

And as webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron, one of the most popular Harry Potter sites on the Internet, Melissa Anelli had a front row seat to it all. Whether it was helping Scholastic stop leaks and track down counterfeiters, hosting live PotterCasts at bookstores across the country, touring with the wizard rock band Harry and the Potters, or traveling to Edinburgh to interview J. K. Rowling personally, Melissa was at the center of the Harry Potter tornado, and nothing about her life would ever be the same.

The Harry Potter books are a triumph of the imagination that did far more than break sales records for all time. They restored the world's sense of wonder and took on a magical life of their own. Now the series has ended, but the story is not over. With remembrances from J. K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans, and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon -- from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live and dream.

The Living Dead

Stephen King, Joe Hill, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Laurell K. Hamilton, Joe R. Lansdale, Poppy Z. Brite, Harlan Ellison

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An Amazing Compendium 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

There are a bunch of good compendiums of short stories that have to do with horror topics, and even a few dedicated to zombies (the editor of The Living Dead even goes out of his way to list a few). But The Living Dead is probably one of the best rounded 'theme' anthologies I've ever come across. Each of the stories are solid and contribute to a rich tapestry of diverse zombie stories. No two are really alike and each one is well-chosen to really get to the reading audience. No matter what your taste, you will find something in this book that you'll like, I think, even if you're not a zombie fan. The author also takes the time to recognize that zombie stories are a wonderful way to address issues of a particularly sensitive nature and chose stories that have solid messages without being preachy, and are well-written in the process. There is no way to describe how much I enjoyed this book and I recommended it to many of my friends. Check it out, even if you're not much of a short story writer, each separate story is another chance to find something you might enjoy.

Editorial Review:

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth!" From White Zombie to Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil to World War Z, zombies have invaded popular culture, becoming the monsters that best express the fears and anxieties of the modern west. Gathering together the best zombie literature of the last three decades from many of today's most renowned authors of fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror, including Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Joe R. Lansdale, The Living Dead covers the broad spectrum of zombie fiction.

Harvesting the Heart: A Novel

Jodi Picoult

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 100 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This is not a good book 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have read all of Picoult's books, and I've found that only some of them have the good writing and interesting storylines that she's known for. Harvesting the Heart is an example of one of her really crummy books. The narrator is incredibly unlikable, the scenario is unrealistic, and I've tried to read it through more than once and always failed. I wish I had not purchased this book.

Harvesting the Heart 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Book arrived within the time stated and was in GREAT shape. Very pleased with this purchase.

Harvesting the advance money 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ever hear one of those recordings by some female singer who whines about what seems to be a perfectly nice life, then in the next song whines about how she didn't realize what a nice life she had until she lost it? That's this book. You can almost taste the unwashed beatnik hair you swallowed down in your triple decaf sugar free soy latte just thinking about it. So here's this dumb self-important artsy chick (you know the type) simpering around feeling incompetent, waitressing and watching TV, though she theoretically has the gift to see into people's souls in her drawings (the undeveloped hook that probably got the publisher to agree to this piece of schlock). Finally, three months after giving birth, she decides to "find herself" (yes, really) by searching for the mother who had abandoned her, whom she finds, and proceeds to go riding around for several months on some stupid horse metaphor. Bawltagonist claims she feels guilty to have abandoned her three-month-old child, but, well, maybe not that guilty, giddyup. Perhaps the abandoned child-turned-mother finding her own long lost mother is supposed to be poignant, but fails. I really like Picoult's work, I hoped for a while that she was just really deftly writing sniveltagonist this way on purpose to point out that babies do better with mothers that don't sit around watching TV and shaking in their house slippers at the notion of motherhood, but alas, she never got there. A couple of Gymboree classes and maybe a Mommy and Me series would have fixed everything right up for the boobtagonist in this story. But I guess artsy chick tragictagonists in artsy chick touchy feely novels don't do Gymboree. Certainly not. Picoult makes out that the dumbtagonist is strictly neeto, and if you look at her picture, she didn't even bother to do much to change the appearance of the twitagonist from an idealized version of herself. Maybe the book is little more than a long excuse for herself. It certainly has that air. Even the husband's mother celebrates puletagonist's 'bravery' in abandoning her child because (according to Picoult's undertext) of course all mothers secretly want to abandon their infant children, and even the father has the same secret wish. Oh and here's another nice cliche, the grandparents find fulfillment when having a three-month-old child sprung on them by their irresponsible adult children. Sure. It all just really creeps me out. Picoult must have needed some fast cash or something, because this is such a lame book, poorly thought-out, brimming with cliches such as this stupid epiphany: "I laugh out loud at my own discovery...I ran for miles and miles and miles just to realize what I really wanted was right here." Come on, now, publishers - let's put a morontorium on the "my own backyard" epiphany, can we? I'm begging you. It's just too dumb. Anyway, this book is little more than a literati's version of General Hospital minus the humor and charisma and everybody being somebody's secret love child. Go read Nineteen Minutes if you want to read Picoult, that's a brilliant book.

Editorial Review:

The author of Picture Perfect "explores the fragile ground of ambivalent motherhood" (New York Times Book Review). Paige's mother left when she was five. When Paige becomes a mother herself, she is overwhelmed by the demands. Unable to forget her past, Paige struggles with the difficulties of marriage and motherhood.

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 731 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Open the book and open your eyes (please comment) 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Brave New World takes place in a utopian London around the year 2540, which started with a good idea, but went way wrong. Humans are produced in large numbers in a high-tech factory without the filth of viviparous reproduction. The babies produced are organized into five castes and are conditioned specifically to do their part in maintaining their society. As the reader progresses farther into the story, they find out what is sacrificed for the stability of the utopian world they occupy, when the reader explores this world through the mind of a man named John, who has not been conditioned to accept this world that suppresses the emotions we value so much today. John comes from a "savage" reservation in New Mexico; where the humans remain that practice our modern day culture. With advances in science allover the world making our lifestyle obsolete, the "savage" lifestyle is repulsive in the eyes of the rest of the brave new world. See how our blind ignorance can lead to catastrophe.

Although an attempt to sum up the novel in only a small amount of words would be in vain, I can offer that this book is a must read for anyone who is capable of thinking beyond ideas provided by way of the text.

This was SUCH a great book. The story Brave New World entertained me more than any other book I have ever read before. It not only was an incredible plot, with amazing creativity, and imagination, but also has shocking conversation that challenge values accepted in our society today, and challenges the minds of all intellectuals willing to relate to the characters, and attempt to draw parallels between Huxley's story, and the story our culture continues to write, as we advance to where Huxley's world began.

To me, a book is worth no more than the thoughts it provokes once I have set it down. By this standard, I am still not done calculating its genius, because I have not yet finished thinking, or talking about themes from the book.

Editorial Review:

"Community, Identity, Stability" is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow. Huxley foreshadowed many of the practices and gadgets we take for granted today--let's hope the sterility and absence of individuality he predicted aren't yet to come.

The Gunslinger Born (The Dark Tower Graphic Novels, Book 1)

Peter David, Stephen King, Robin Furth

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Brilliant Retelling of a Heart Touching Tale 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Dark Tower, those three words have a great deal of power at least for me. My ears perk up, my heart beats slightly faster and a grin spreads across my face. Stephen King's Mid-World and all it encompasses has spread to comics, The Gunslinger Born is a retelling of the flashback Roland finally shares with his new ka-tet in "Wizard and Glass" (book 4) It is a tale of love, brother-hood, villiany, and of course a bit of gunslinging.

I would highly recommend this to fans of Stephen King's masterpiece, however I would advise readers that have not yet journeyed through all 7 Dark Tower epic novels to read those first. The talented creative team behind this comic book did a fantastic job however there is a lot of stuff you miss, some events don't have the gravity in the comic that is present within King's novel. Which is understandable, I feel this would have been a lot better had they fleshed things out more. Seven issues to cover Roland's journey from apprentice gunslinger to true love then to a possible breakdown. If it was 10 issues I strongly believe it would have been quite a bit better.

Although for the picky fan like myself there will always be something missing, something more the team could do to capture the full feel of the original material.

This is a comic so you get to not only read what transpires but also watch it unfold, the artwork is gorgeous and fits well with the story and world of the Dark Tower however (did you know that was coming? picky fan emerges once again) it removes your imagination from the equation. I had a very different image of Alain and Susan than what is seen here. Honestly I had a different image for everyone except maybe Steven Deschain. How many people read the Dark Tower series and envisioned this characters,? Countless. So is this a valid complaint? No I don't think it is.

I have to commend the creative team behind this book, they have captured the feel of King's series both visually and with the writing. Sure there is lines lifted right from W&G, it is an adaptation right? The aspect of this that grabbed me the most was the narrator bits. I won't say anymore because its better if you read it yourself.

Longtime Dark Tower and King vets will eat this up, I sure did. I think the problem I had with it is I read this right after reading W&G, a few months back I dived back into the books. So with W&G fresh in my mind I could pick out things that were off, there's one part in particular with good old Steven Deschain that really felt off. Read the end of W&G (after Roland's tale is done, right after the ka-tet reach the Green Palace) then this and you will know what I am talking about.

The best part of this book is the fact that it is only the first arc(story) in the Dark Tower series of comic books. The Long Road Home is the second, Treachery is the third. The fourth is yet to be announced. I hope this continues for a couple years.

Editorial Review:

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King's Roland -- an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland's past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times Best-seller Peter David, this series delves deep into Roland's origins -- the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world, while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels. Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature!

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits

Les Standiford

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how one writer and one book revived the signal holiday of the Western world.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.

The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.

With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.

Purple Panties: An Eroticanoir.com Anthology

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Zane, the New York Times bestselling author and Queen of
Erotic Fiction, brings a new collection of lesbian erotica
that will blow the sheets off beds everywhere.

What happens when "The Finest Man" you have ever laid eyes on is a woman? What happens when a woman comes home to her man after a hard day's work with "Lipstick on Her Collar?" What happens when a married woman runs across the love of her life -- another woman -- who insists that "It's All or Nothing?" Is there such a thing as playing too "Hard to Get?" What happens when "Mom's Night Out" turns into group sex? What happens when you discover your true sexuality "At Last?" All of these questions and more are answered within the pages of Purple Panties.

Written by women from all over the world, here is a new level of lesbian erotica, compiled by Zane, that promises the most exciting and steamy reading experience possible. These stories move beyond race, age, and all walks of life, including long-hidden passions, secret rendezvous with strangers, and May-December romances.

With Zane's ever-growing popularity, and the need for increasingly quality erotica, Purple Panties will satisfy a long-standing demand for African-American lesbian literature.

In the tradition of such successful erotica anthologies as Chocolate Flava and Caramel Flava, Purple Panties uncovers a new world of evocative risk-taking that has never been explored before from a lesbian perspective. The adventures in these stories are beyond everyone's wildest imaginations.

The New Annotated Dracula

Bram Stoker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Cause for international celebration—the most important and complete edition of Dracula in decades.

In his first work since his best-selling The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Leslie S. Klinger returns with this spectacular, lavishly illustrated homage to Bram Stoker's Dracula. With a daring conceit, Klinger accepts Stoker's contention that the Dracula tale is based on historical fact. Traveling through two hundred years of popular culture and myth as well as graveyards and the wilds of Transylvania, Klinger's notes illuminate every aspect of this haunting narrative (including a detailed examination of the original typescript of Dracula, with its shockingly different ending, previously unavailable to scholars). Klinger investigates the many subtexts of the original narrative—from masochistic, necrophilic, homoerotic, "dentophilic," and even heterosexual implications of the story to its political, economic, feminist, psychological, and historical threads. Employing the superb literary detective skills for which he has become famous, Klinger mines this 1897 classic for nuggets that will surprise even the most die-hard Dracula fans and introduce the vampire-prince to a new generation of readers.

The Umbrella Academy Volume 1 (Umbrella Academy)

Gerard Way

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An interesting experiment. 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

One could be forgiven for expecting that a comic miniseries by one of the members of the band "My Chemical Romance" would be a gratuitous vanity project. That is, however, not the case. While I do not rate is as highly as many others here do, Gerard Way has produced a genuine story, with nice art by indie favourite Gabriel Ba (also known for Matt Fraction's Image series "Casanova").

As the description says, an unexplained global phenomenon saw numerous children born to women who had not previously shown signs of pregnancy. Seven of these are adopted by an eccentric millionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (secretly a space alien), and raised to fight evil. This is the classic superhero setup of the X-Men. Well, it is, and it isn't. Way subverts some of the basic idea, particularly regarding the Professor X figure, Hargreeves (aka The Monocle). Hargreeves is a cold and demanding person who is not interested in providing the children with a genuine father figure; he is merely their boss. He even refers to the children by numbers, rather than names (their names are supplied by the 'mother' he deigned to provide, an animated clothes dummy; the kids are split in how they treat her, with some accepting her, while the rebelious Diego sees her as just another layer of artifice in their upbringing). Hargreeves' parental neglect is the catalyst for the primary villain plot, revolving around #7, Vanya, who has no powers, and thus was just not "special" as Hargreeves tells her directly. However, she may indeed have some purpose for an eccentric villain out to bring about the end of the world.

Way's style has been compared to Grant Morrison (who provided strong praise for the series, and an introduction to this trade paperback), and, indeed, one can draw strong comparisons between this series and Morrison's "JLA". High concepts are thrown out quite frequently, there is a lot of action, and there isn't a huge amount of characterization. The two most interesting powers concepts are the White Violin, the weird villain of the piece, and, even moreso, those of Allison/The Rumour, who can literally warp reality by lying (most clearly demonstrated in a bonus story included in this collection written for Free Comic Book Day).

Recommended for people interested in a Morrison-esque superhero experience.

Editorial Review:

Gerard Way, of My Chemical Romance, makes his comics writing debut in this outrageous superhero epic that Grant Morrison called "An ultraviolet psychedelic sherbet bomb of wit and ideas. The superheroes of the 21st century are here at last..." In an inexplicable, worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world." These seven children form The Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again

The Pilgrim's Progress (Dover Thrift Editions)

John Bunyan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

intriguing 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I decided I wanted to read this book a while ago and found it for a great price here on Amazon (around $3-$4). Originally a little turned off by the language, I soon found it very intriguing and an all around great story. I would recommend it for anyone with an interest in the Christian faith and I would assume it to be a pretty interesting otherwise. I am nearly done with Christian's journey and looking forward to the second part as well.

Pilgrim'a Progress 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a time honored book, of which I am using as a text book in my adult Sunday School Class. I am using Maureen L. Bradley's "Study Guide" as an outline to the study. I have only one criticism of the book; they left out the scriptural references, which are found in earlier publication and/or by other publisher's. The book itself was received in excellent condition, and in a timely manner.

Editorial Review:

One of the most powerful dramas of Christian faith ever written, this captivating allegory of man's religious journey in search of salvation follows the pilgrim as he travels an obstacle-filled road to the Celestial City. An enormously influential 17th-century classic, universally known for its simplicity, vigor, and beauty of language.