"A colossal book of lesbian erotica edited by Astrid Fox, a finalist for the 2003 International Erotic Oscar for "Best Writer." Fox, author of five published erotic novels (Rika's Jewel, Primal Skin, Cheap Trick, Snow Blonde and The Fox Tales), has cherry-picked the best of British and American lesbian erotica for a mammoth book of sassy and achingly sexy short stories. We can only say VA-VA-VOOM! Contributors include established erotic and literary authors Cara Bruce, Rachel Kramer Bussell, Rose Collis, Charlotte Cooper, Astrid Fox, Helen Sandler, Cherry Smyth, Cecilia Tan and Ruby Vise."

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

I'll admit it's a little unusual for this writer to review an anthology of lesbian fiction, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. The real reason for the purchase of this book is that it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a prostitute, and probably more exciting. Actually I ordered VA-VA-Voom thinking it would have illustrations. It did not. However, after throwing out the clearly dysfunctional, although delightful, sado-masochistic episodes, the book enabled me to view sexual intercourse through the eyes of a female. The bottom line is that skimming through sexual fiction penned by women has given me great insight into what women generally find pleasing in the very private and naked intimacy of the bedroom.

Begun: 01/01/2007   Finished: 05/01/2007 Purchased: December 2006
Where: HamiltonBook.com
B&N Net Rank: NA

"As a pragmatic reaction to the newfound "quarterlife crisis" genre, Katy McColl interviews real men and women "stuck" in their twenties and early thirties and solicits a variety of experts for advice on how to get unstuck. McColl employs a distinctively droll brand of humor and a "self-help without self-pity" approach to inspiring those disenchanted by their initial forays into the heady real world. The themes here are universal -- how to negotiate that with a career, how to study a craft in an un-lucrative field, how to break into glamour industries, and what to do when laid off. Help comes via those who overcame the same problems and blazed their own trails in the most desirable fields ... "

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

With her head shot displayed on the back cover, resembling a hamster with her cheek pouches packed with seeds, the very cute and red-headed author, Katy McColl, grins out at us. She has penned a 206-paged quick read on how to transition from the profession you are currently in to one that you might actually enjoy. Although I delighted in reading the book, please be aware that it was written for those in their mid-twenties who still have the fire in their bellies and hormone-spurred endurance to journey through the ridiculously barren circumstances that sometimes accompany the search for your dream job.

In Part I, displaying chapter titles such as: When You Don't Like What You Do but You're Too Old to Start at the Bottom--Again,  Katy helps us to get our thoughts straightened out and aligned with reality. And, like virtually all successful people must, she insists on written goals, with dates, posted where they cannot be ignored.

In Part II, she interviews people who have become successful in ten different areas. (Although I still have no idea who the rock group Fountains of Wayne  is.) Granted many of the chosen professions: the Aspiring Gamer, the Aspiring DJ, are geared towards the far younger-than-me intended readers of her book, it was still quite interesting to me to read what it took, for instance, to become a Rock Star. The message that clearly comes across is to never give up. And the underpinning of all the research, the pavement pounding, the phone calls, the networking, and the barrage of no-no-nos, like a World War II B-17 bomber taking flak over Berlin, suffered in order to achieve a job, is that the reader is pursuing a job that she loves. She would this work even if she weren't getting paid. Should I Do What I Love? is an excellent book for the college crowd and a good book for anyone looking for a way out of a job they hate.

Commentary: Especially, for my younger readers: wealth is not all it is cracked up to be. At one time I paid more in personal income taxes than the top 1% of American workers taxpayers. I have been wealthy. Had my wealth continued I'm fairly sure I'd be typing to you from the grave. I now work with many of the wealthiest families in this nation. And believe me when I tell you that money cannot buy happiness. If it could, I would be surrounded by people so giddy one would think them insane. Start young, when you are unencumbered with family, roots, receipts and responsibilities. Do what you love and the money will follow. And if the bucks don't flow, know that it is a rare and brave individual who dares to happily do what he loves for his life's work.

Begun: 04/27/2007   Finished: 05/03/2007 Purchased: April 2007
Where: barnesandnoble.com
B&N Net Rank: 257,136

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'" With this basic instruction always in mind, Anne Lamott returns to offer us a new gift: a step-by-step guide on how to write and on how to manage the writer's life. . . "

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Concerned that my review of Ann Lamott's 1994 book bird by bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life could not begin to do it justice, I kept putting it off. In fact, this book's advice is so excellent and comprehensive, that I sent a copy of it to an actress friend who is facing severe emotional trauma, with none of it having anything  to do with writer's block. By page two of the introduction Ann already had me laughing. She claims it was predicted she'd grow up to be a serial killer, while I had a police officer declare that I would surely attain adulthood as either a murderer, or an actor playing a murderer. At page 205 of this 236-paged paperback, she mentions how a writer must be innocent, of which I certainly am. Only after I am once again blindsided I typically label my actions either naive or ignorant and only sometimes innocent. Like me, the 1950s born Ms.Lamott, also felt different from the other kids and also found her refuge in books. (In the second grade I remember the district psychologist asking me whether I believed I was from another planet.) Although during the baking three digit degree summers, being the Phoenix Public Library was one of the few refrigerated buildings in town, I may have been peddling my spray-painted green bicycle with the twin rear side baskets the four miles to simply find refuge not in a book, but from the blinding heat. While using less precise and far more esoteric thoughts and words, bird by bird, like Making a Literary Life steps the reader through exactly what must be done if she wishes to become a published author. In her book, Ms. Lamott goes from the actual steps of writing the book, to the writer's mindset, to finding free help, to getting published and indeed, why to even write at all. Speaking as a successful, published author, she thoroughly covers the writer's life in both a humble and humorous fashion. In point of fact, I enjoyed this book so much that I transported out of my usual science fiction genre and went and paid full price for one of her down to Earth novels. I give bird by bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life my highest recommendation and have awarded it the coveted Five Sun MustoWn (Must Own) AwardŽ from the MW Review of Books.

Begun: 04/18/2007   Finished: 04/25/2007 Purchased: April 2007
Where: barnesandnoble.com
B&N Net Rank: 1,953

"Forced to accept drastic changes, make lifestyle altering decisions, and develop new coping skills, many people going through divorce are left with little hope for the future and even less energy for daily living. Drawing on insights garnered through years of helping people survive divorce, Jim Smoke offers God's wisdom and step by step guidance for anyone experiencing divorce. Topics include: committing the situation to God through prayer, helping children adjust, seeking legal advice, income issues, and contemplating re-marriage. Growing Through Divorce (more than 540,000 copies sold) now has a fresh new cover."

Dr. Hammurabi Writes:

Get a Lawyer? Divorce Ok? Prenuptials mandatory? Getting down on churches that get down on the divorced? Does that sound like a stuffy Christian book that goes by The Book to you? It's too bad that so many divorced will shun this comprehensive book on recovery simply because it is tagged 'Christian'. Perhaps my secular friends could simply skim over the religious parts?

As if 'Patriot Act'-like, it had been recorded from my car and apartment, every single emotion and circumstance I lived through during the heart-breaking end of my own twenty-seven year marriage was replayed inside Growing Through Divorce.

Upon cracking open Growing Through Divorce the reader is greeted with large grade-school size font. But that's good because it makes it easier to read through your large crocodile tears. And you will cry, and cry often reading this book by author Jim Smoke. Growing Through Divorce is the Dutch Uncle every divorced person needs to listen too. The first chapter hits the reader with the universal question of the recently dumped: "Is this really happening to me?" Titled "Letting Go", Chapter Two pins you to floor as you are forced to inventory the immense physical, emotional and financial losses a divorce generates. To keep you on track, every chapter concludes with "Personal Growth" questions and begs the reader to record her answers. The final eighty pages are devoted to a "Working Guide", with generous room to write in, in order to help you plot your future as a single. For those of us who cannot imagine living single for the rest of our lives, have no fear, and know that statistics reveal that 90% of the divorced do remarry.

While I wept profusely, this book also gave me hope, a plan, and forced me to face the fact that I alone was 100% responsible for me. To benefit from this book, the reader doesn't need to be a regular church attender or be the Alex Rodriguez of Bible Baseball or be able to recite the books of the Old & New Testaments in reverse order. One simply needs to believe that we were created by a loving God. This is the finest book the recently divorced could buy and read and absorb in order to cleanse themselves of their confusing and constipating emotions and to begin to enjoy life again.

Begun: 03/04/2007   Finished: 05/01/2007

Read & Reviewed by: Dr.Hammurabi Malamud

Purchased: February 2007
Where: Powells.com
B&N Net Rank: 60,065

"Maya is hiding in plain sight in London. The twenty-six-year-old has abandoned the dangerous obligations pressed upon her by her father, and chosen instead to live a normal life. But Maya comes from a long line of people who call themselves Harlequins - a fierce group of warriors willing to sacrifice their lives to protect a select few known as Travelers. Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are brothers living in Los Angeles. Since childhood, the young men have been shaped by stories that their late father was a Traveler, one of a small band of prophets who have vastly influenced the course of history. Travelers are able to attain pure enlightenment, and have for centuries ushered change into the world. Gabriel and Michael, who may have inherited their father's gifts, have always protected themselves by living "off the Grid" - that is, invisible to the real-life surveillance networks that monitor people in modern society." "Summoned by her ailing father, Maya is told of the existence of the brothers ... "

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Even in hardback edition, The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks, measures a thick 456 pages. It centers around Maya, a raised-from-birth Ninja-like hereditary fighter, known as a Harlequin. Her life's purpose, which she initially attempts to repudiate, is to ruthlessly provide protection for 'Travelers' who, Art Bell Show-like, can travel out of body to other dimensions and return with earth-shattering philosophies. Buddha, Mohammed, and of course Jesus Christ were all Travelers whose other-worldly knowledge altered forever the world as it then existed. Travelers need protection from the defender's of the status quo, known in this 21st Century as 'The Brethren', who are the autocratic and virtually omnipotent Felix Ungers, designing and demanding perfect order and precisely prescribed behavior from Earth's six billion citizens. The Brethren both hide behind and tap into the broad powers and multiple tentacled information feeds of Homeland Defense. And although we journeyed with Traveler Gabriel Corrigan to another dimension, I am unsure of exactly what world-changing knowledge we brought back. While well written and entertaining enough, The Traveler was not particularly exciting or enlightening. It is also one in a series of books.

Begun: 03/28/2007   Finished: 04/17/2007 Purchased: Feb. 27, 2006
Where: zooba.com
B&N Net Rank: 6,173

"As Carolyn See says, writing guides are like preachers on Sunday - there may be a lot of them, but you can't have too many and there's always an audience of the faithful. And while Making a Literary Life is ostensibly a book that teaches you how to write, it really teaches you how to make your interior life into your exterior life, how to find and join that community of like-minded souls you're sure is out there somewhere."

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Making a Literary Life by author Carolyn See is simply a fun book to read. One of the endearing things Ms. See does is to sprinkle the book with self-deprecating remarks which serve to tumble her down to the level of us trepidated and unpublished writers. Being intensely hopeful of embarking on my own writing life, I often found myself laughing out loud at her wit and her naked exposé of the dream I imagined to be "the writer's life". Making a Literary Life addresses so many issues facing the new writer I could write a book about her book. From advising us not to admit we aspire to being a writer (because it bores acquaintances and frightens family) to urging us to scratch-out one thousand words a day, to effortlessly (and I do mean without effort) conjuring up enough characters to fill a dozen books, to how to handle the I.R.S., Carolyn See explains it all. Using a writing style that is as far from a textbook as Michael Tyson ever was, reading this book is not a chore but more like ripping through a fast-paced Michael Chrichton novel. As a reader of more than an armload of titles about writing, and having been a writer since my days of etching microscopic font in my multiple-volume diaries of the 1960s The Life Works of a Crazed Zambizi Butterfly I can give Making a Literary Life - Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers my highest recommendation and have awarded it the coveted Five Sun MustoWn (Must Own) Award® from the MW Review of Books.

Begun: 03/29/2007   Finished: 04/06/2007 Typeface: Sabon by Jan Tschichold (1902-74)
Purchased: April 2006
Where: HamiltonBook.com
B&N Net Rank: 28,647

"Just why do humpback whales sing? That's the question that has marine behavioral biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poking, charting, recording, and photographing very big, wet, gray marine mammals. Until the extraordinary day when a whale lifts its tail into the air to display a cryptic message spelled out in foot-high letters: Bite me. Trouble is, Nate's beginning to wonder if he hasn't spent just a little too much time in the sun. 'Cause no one else on his team saw a thing - not his longtime partner, Clay Demodocus; not their saucy young research assistant; not even the spliff-puffing white-boy Rastaman Kona ( Preston Applebaum). But later, when a roll of film returns from the lab missing the crucial tail shot - and his research facility is trashed - Nate realizes something very fishy indeed is going on."

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

My son got a hold of a trade publication-sized 'Advance Reader's Edition' of Fluke that is not intended to be seen by the general public. The 'Advance' adjective, explains the numerous typos, which I am more than proud to detail below. Fluke   Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, isn't a guffaw fest like Lamb was, but it does have it's laugh out loud moments. The story revolves around Dr. Nate Quinn whose life's quest is to discover why whales sing and what exactly are they singing about? (Turns out they are singing old Gene Pitney songs such as 'The Wanderer'. <grin>) The action begins with a mysterious break-in to the offices of Dr.Quinn, where mostly recordings of the whales songs were destroyed with nothing stolen. Pelekekona Keohokalole a dreadlocked rasta-speaking surfer known in New Jersey as Preston Applebaum adds comic relief, and a cause to re-read many sentences. A reclusive benefactor, who lost her husband to the ocean decades ago and receives phone calls from the massive mammals ordering pastrami sandwiches, provides most of Dr.Quinn's research dollars. Contentious whale researchers, suspected of the break-in, pepper the pages. Kidnappings, a mysterious assistant with a cute bottom, boat sabotage, Amelia Earhart and an insane 'Colonel' ruling the deep, round out the mix. The book is wrapped up with the typical Christopher Moore 'Author's Notes', 'Acknowledgments' and a short blurb on conserving the dwindling whale population by "... yell(ing) at people randomly to stop killing whales". Fluke  is another fun read by author Moore in which he again amazes us with his strange and verdant imagination and quite intensive personal research.

Begun: 03/10/2007   Finished: 03/27/2007 Purchased: Gift ... July 2006
Where: Half-Priced Books
B&N Net Rank: 8,628

"On Becoming an Artist is loaded with good news. Backed by her landmark scientific work on mindfulness and artistic nature, bestselling author and Harvard psychologist Ellen J. Langer shows us that creativity is not a rare gift that only some special few are born with, but rather an integral part of everyone's makeup. All of us can express our creative impulses- authentically and uniquely-and, in the process, enrich our lives. Why then do so many of us merely dream of someday painting, someday writing, someday making music? Why do we think the same old thoughts, harbor the same old prejudices, stay stuck in the same old mud? Who taught us to think "inside the box"? ... "

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

On Becoming An Artist, by Dr. Ellen J. Langer, at two hundred and thirty pages, not counting the eight color pages of reproductions of the author's art, and followed by fourteen pages of footnotes is a book for people with questions. For people who are on the edge of becoming an artist, a poet or a writer. This is because the reader must be in the midst of some mighty emotional and intellectual battles to fuel the effort it takes to chew through the multiple new ideas and evidences presented in this book. Not that On Becoming An Artist is a ill conceived or poorly written book, but it is dense with challenging, interesting and unique statements. While I purchased the book looking for guidance with writing my first non-fiction book, On Becoming An Artist is almost entirely concerned with the author's experience regarding becoming a painter. However, that is not a bad thing since so many her concepts apply equally across all creative fields. This is one footnoted work where the reader might be better served if he or she regularly flips to the back to read the cited notation. Dr. Langer is big on the words 'mindfulness' and 'mindlessness', the first being defined as ". . . the process of seeing new things . . ." while the latter word being the way many of us live our lives. Mindlessness: the most common example is of having driven to destination and upon arrival not being able to remember any of the sights along the way. If you are considering beginning in any of the creative arts and find yourself held back by the real or imagined opinions of others, and not knowing where or how to begin, On Becoming An Artist: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity may be the wrecking ball you need to topple your walls of doubt and indecision.

There are simply so many good thoughts in this book, I'll end my review by quoting a few:

• Most of the paintings we see in museums were rejected in their day
• There is very little art that is appreciated by everyone, and there is much art that has been critically acclaimed which many people do not like.
• We run from doubt because we feel we should know. But the truth is, If there is no doubt, there is no choice.
• . . . that what we normally attribute to 'genius' or unusual talent in artists is often the result of a minimum of ten years of patient, dedicated work.

Begun: 03/15/2007   Finished: 03/22/2007 Typeface: Legacy by Ronald Arnholm
Purchased: July 2006
Where: zooba.com
B&N Net Rank: 154,736

"The two towering achievements of modern physics are quantum theory and Einstein's general theory of relativity. Together, they explain virtually everything about the world we live in. But, almost a century after their advent, most people haven t the slightest clue what either is about. Did you know that there s so much empty space inside matter that the entire human race could be squeezed into the volume of a sugar cube? Or that you grow old more quickly on the top floor of a building than on the ground floor? And did you realize that 1% of the static on a TV tuned between stations is the relic of the Big Bang? These and many other remarkable facts about the world are direct consequences of quantum physics and relativity."

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

The Quantum Zoo with a body of 158 pages, a glossary of 28 pages, further reading suggestions of 2 pages and the usual index seems to be another quick read. However it's best read very slowly. And re-read. And pondered. This book is billed as one that will explain the unexplainable, to the non-physicist, no less. As Dr. Richard Feynman said,

"I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."

"2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it. The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle and everybody is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed. The Rockhopper is the only ship anywhere near Janus, and Bella Lind is ordered to shadow it for the few vital days before it falls forever out of reach."

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Pushing Ice is another astounding work by author Alastair Reynolds who I've been enthralled with since I read his award-winning Chasm City.  Pushing Ice, at over 456 pages pulls the reader all the way from the moons of Jupiter to hundreds of thousands of light years away into the distant future. Conflict, intrigue and one of the most disgusting alien races ever described populate these pages. During our journey we experience structures the size of solar systems, spaceships resembling the products of intestines and four-dimensional keys that open doors as wide a city. Even reading a few pages every night, Pushing Ice easily held my interest. And the best thing is that there not a single instance of sexual intercourse. Thank you Alastair.

Begun: 01/24/2007   Finished: 03/09/2007 Purchased: October 2006
Where: sfbc.com
B&N Net Rank: 25,192 Return to Top