วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 7 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2551

Books : A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61

The highly anticipated follow-up to the 2,000,000 copy bestselling inspirational book, The Power of NowWith his bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle inspired millions of readers to discover the freedom and joy of a life lived "in the now." In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.The Power of Now was a question-and-answer handbook. A New Earth has been written as a traditional narrative, offering anecdotes and philosophies in a way that is accessible to all. Illuminating, enlightening, and uplifting, A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life—and for building a better world.

ECKHART TOLLE is a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In his writing and seminars, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters: There is a way out of suffering and into peace. Eckhart travels extensively, taking his teachings throughout the world.

วันเสาร์ที่ 2 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2551

& magazines : Allure


From the PublisherAllure is the beauty expert. Every issue is full of celebrity tips and insider secrets from the pros, like what works overnight and what works for a lifetime. Editors pick their favorite new products and reveal what new styles really work for you. Your subscription includes the annual special issues: Makeovers and Best of Beauty.


Product DescriptionAllure is the beauty expert. Every issue is full of celebrity tips and insider secrets from the pros, like what works overnight and what works for a lifetime. Editors pick their favorite new products and reveal what new styles really work for you. Your subscription includes the annual special issues: Makeovers and Best of Beauty.

& magazines : Lucky


Amazon.comSpecial Edition for Amazon.com Customers: Lucky Shops Amazon! And now, Lucky magazine has created a new feature just for Amazon customers called "Lucky Shops Amazon." Packed with the same great information as Lucky magazine, each issue featuring Lucky Shops Amazon includes a special section devoted to products that the Lucky editors found when they shopped on Amazon. This special edition of Lucky magazine is only available to customers who subscribe to Lucky through Amazon.com!
Product DescriptionLucky is your ultimate shopping guide, spotlighting thousands of incredible finds in fashion, beauty, home and more. Each month, the Lucky editors hit the streets to find the best new looks AND the best deal...PLUS incredible Lucky Breaks on the hottest items! If you love to shop, you'll adore Lucky!

& magazines : w


From the PublisherGo behind the runways with W and sit front row at the world's hottest shows to get the first looks at the most fabulous fashion. In each issue of W, you'll discover fashion that is elegant, opulent, and colorful, plus people, parties, and Hollywood -- all like you've never seen them before. And with your subscription, you'll get the must-have, super-sized Spring and Fall Fashion Issues!


Product DescriptionGo behind the runways with W and sit front row at the world's hottest shows to get the first looks at the most fabulous fashion. In each issue of W, you'll discover fashion that is elegant, opulent, and colorful, plus people, parties, and Hollywood -- all like you've never seen them before. And with your subscription, you'll get the must-have, super-sized Spring and Fall Fashion Issues!

& magazines : Vogue


From Amazon.comVogue lives by the maxim that you can't be too rich or too thin--or have too many ad pages. But the glossy spreads of broomstick-thin supermodels draped in Prada and Chanel, and the endless pages of ads for the finest clothes, accessories, and makeup the beauty industry has to offer, help make it the leading magazine of women's style. Fashion is the main event, but every issue attends society parties, goes inside the home of a celebrity designer, and travels to an exotic resort or vacation spot. Like Playboy, Vogue is a magazine you can claim to read because the articles are good. Famously, the September fall fashion issue can easily top 700 pages. --Katherine Koberg


Product DescriptionVogue is the fashion authority. Setting the standard for over 100 years has made Vogue the best selling fashion magazine in the world. Each issue delivers the latest in beauty, style, health, fitness and celebrities and your subscription will include the must-have Spring and Fall Fashion editions. Before it's in fashion, it's in Vogue!

Books : The Appeal (Limited Edition)


Amazon.comAs the author of twenty bestselling books, John Grisham has set the standard for legal thrillers since the debut of The Firm in 1991. Enjoy this Q&A--as well as a personal note to Amazon readers--from John Grisham.

1. Your new novel starts off where most courtroom dramas end--with the verdict. Where did you get the idea to reverse the usual order of events this time around?The actual trial is not a terribly significant part of the story. Most all of the action and intrigue begins after the trial is over, with the verdict and the subsequent appeal.

2. The Appeal overtly suggests that elected judges can be bought. If the novel is meant as a cautionary tale, what's next--the Presidential primaries?Why not? Over one billion dollars will be spent next year in the Presidential primaries and general election. With that kind of money floating around, anything can be bought.

3. Speaking of electoral politics, you've been more vocal recently about your political views ... first supporting Jim Webb for Senate and now endorsing Hillary Clinton for the White House. Have you given any thought to running for office yourself?No. I made that mistake 25 years ago, and promised myself I would never do it again. I enjoy watching and participating in politics from the sidelines, but it's best to keep some distance.

4. This is your first legal thriller in three years. How did it feel to get back to the genre that started it all, and can fans expect another thriller from you next year?I still enjoy writing the legal thrillers, and don't plan to get too far away from them. Obviously, they have been very good to me, and they remain popular. I plan to write one a year for the next several years.

5. Your nonfiction book The Innocent Man continues to be a bestseller in paperback. In your ongoing work with The Innocence Project, have you come across another story of the wrongfully convicted that begs to be written as nonfiction?There are literally hundreds of great stories out there about wrongfully convicted defendants. I am continually astounded by these stories, and I resist the temptation to take the plunge again into non-fiction.

6. What's on your bedside reading list at the moment?1. The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin2. Eric Clapton's autobiography3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 31 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

Books : Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, "flow," "mind like water," and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you'd almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance.

Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed "the personal productivity guru," suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.)

As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen's is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can't junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant "in-basket"

That's where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen's system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts. Thank goodness the spine of his system is captured on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that you can pin over your desk and repeatedly consult without having to refer back to the book. That alone is worth the purchase price. Also of value is Allen's ingenious Two-Minute Rule: if there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind tenfold over the long term. It's commonsense advice so obvious that most of us completely overlook it, much to our detriment; Allen excels at dispensing such wisdom in this useful, if somewhat belabored, self-improver aimed at everyone from CEOs to soccer moms (who we all know are more organized than most CEOs to start with). --Timothy Murphy --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Greath Books comics & magazines

Books : The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.
Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more.
This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar by Covey. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Books : Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual

With Leopard, Apple has unleashed the greatest version of Mac OS X yet, and David Pogue is back with another meticulous Missing Manual to cover the operating system with a wealth of detail. The new Mac OS X 10.5, better known as Leopard, is faster than its predecessors, but nothing's too fast for Pogue and this Missing Manual. It's just one of reasons this is the most popular computer book of all time.

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition is the authoritative book for Mac users of all technical levels and experience. If you're new to the Mac, this book gives you a crystal-clear, jargon-free introduction to the Dock, the Mac OS X folder structure, and the Mail application. There are also mini-manuals on iLife applications such as iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto, and a tutorial for Safari, Mac's web browser.

This Missing Manual book is amusing and fun to read, but Pogue doesn't take his subject lightly. Which new Leopard features work well and which do not? What should you look for? What should you avoid? Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition offers an objective and straightforward instruction for using:
Leopard's totally revamped Finder
Spaces to group your windows and organize your Mac tasks
Quick Look to view files before you open them
The Time Machine, Leopard's new backup feature
Spotlight to search for and find anything in your Mac
Front Row, a new way to enjoy music, photos, and videos
Enhanced Parental Controls that come with Leopard
Quick tips for setting up and configuring your Mac to make it your own

There's something new on practically every page of this new edition, and David Pogue brings his celebrated wit and expertise to every one of them. Mac's brought a new cat to town and Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition is a great new way to tame it.

Books : New Moon (The Twilight Saga)

Grade 9 Up–Recovered from the vampire attack that hospitalized her in the conclusion of Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005), Bella celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend Edward and his family, a unique clan of vampires that has sworn off human blood. But the celebration abruptly ends when the teen accidentally cuts her arm on broken glass. The sight and smell of her blood trickling away forces the Cullen family to retreat lest they be tempted to make a meal of her. After all is mended, Edward, realizing the danger that he and his family create for Bella, sees no option for her safety but to leave. Mourning his departure, she slips into a downward spiral of depression that penetrates and lingers over her every step. Vampire fans will appreciate the subsequently dour mood that permeates the novel, and it's not until Bella befriends Jacob, a sophomore from her school with a penchant for motorcycles, that both the pace and her disposition begin to take off. Their adventures are wild, dare-devilish, and teeter on the brink of romance, but memories of Edward pervade Bella's emotions, and soon their fun quickly morphs into danger, especially when she uncovers the true identities of Jacob and his pack of friends. Less streamlined than Twilight yet just as exciting, New Moon will more than feed the bloodthirsty hankerings of fans of the first volume and leave them breathless for the third.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library

Books : Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Five years ago, Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come. --Harry C. Edwards

วันพุธที่ 30 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

Books : Eclipse

Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Books : The Senator's Wife

Praise for Sue Miller's The Senator's Wife“Pure Miller . . . tasteful, elegant, sensuous . . . insightful, complex . . . The Senator’s Wife is Miller’s latest extended contemplation of marriage, and a master class in the refinement of craft.” —The Boston Globe“Complex and beautifully drawn . . . with her keen eye and precise prose, Ms. Miller expertly conveys the passage of time and the evolution of emotions, giving readers the sense of lives fully lived.” —The Wall Street Journal“Miller plays her hand in a masterly fashion.” —The New York Times Book Review “I closed The Senator’s Wife and instantly wished there was someone around with whom to discuss the Jodi Picoult like ending.” —USA Today

Once again Sue Miller takes us deep into the private lives of women with this mesmerizing portrait of two marriages exposed in all their shame and imperfection, and in their obdurate, unyielding love. The author of the iconic The Good Mother and the best-selling While I Was Gone brings her marvelous gifts to a powerful story of two unconventional women who unexpectedly change each other’s lives.Meri is newly married, pregnant, and standing on the cusp of her life as a wife and mother, recognizing with some terror the gap between reality and expectation. Delia Naughton—wife of the two-term liberal senator Tom Naughton—is Meri’s new neighbor in the adjacent New England town house. Delia’s husband’s chronic infidelity has been an open secret in Washington circles, but despite the complexity of their relationship, the bond between them remains strong. What keeps people together, even in the midst of profound betrayal? How can a journey imperiled by, and sometimes indistinguishable from, compromise and disappointment culminate in healing and grace? Delia and Meri find themselves leading strangely parallel lives, both reckoning with the contours and mysteries of marriage, one refined and abraded by years of complicated intimacy, the other barely begun.Here are all the things for which Sue Miller has always been beloved—the complexity of experience precisely rendered, the richness of character and emotion, the superb economy of style—fused with an utterly engrossing story that has a great deal to say to women, and men, of all ages.

Books : The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

ReviewYou’d think a book titled The Food You Crave (Taunton, $28) would be all about meat loaf, mashed potatoes and chocolate cake. Think again. According to author Ellie Krieger, the foods we really crave are fresh, healthy, nutritious. The beauty of this cookbook is that she’s found a way to turn all those old-time comfort foods into healthy, nutritious meals — providing all the flavor and satisfaction without all the fat and guilt. Krieger does it by using loads of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats such as olive oil, whole-wheat flours, nonfat yogurts and the like. And the results are delicious. --The Kansas City Star

If you’ve planned to change the way you eat for 2008, a new book, “The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life” (Taunton Press, $28) by Ellie Krieger is a must for your cookbook collection. Ms. Krieger’s name may be familiar to devotees of TV Food Network’s “Healthy Appetite” show. She’s a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition from Columbia University. Her accomplishments aside, she’s one good cook as evidenced by the numerous recipes in her new book that sent my taste buds tingling. All recipes include nutritional information along with tips that will help make each recipe a success in your kitchen. Color photography of many of the dishes made me want to jump from my desk and into my kitchen. This book is a keeper when I’m looking for ways to please the family while keeping to my plan of improving the way I eat. --Anne Patterson Braly, Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)

For those who pledged to start the new year eating more healthful food but don’t want to forfeit flavor, has Ellie Krieger got the book for you. The host of the Food Network’s Healthy Appetite, she has written The Food You Crave (Taunton Press, $28) and that title shows she understands. She knows that turkey burgers aren’t for everyone and a good chicken or pasta recipe is worth its weight in gold. But she has managed to use ingredients we love — pasta, sugar and even a tiny bit of red meat — strategically so you get the flavor but the overall recipe is still on the healthy side. Krieger’s book, subtitled Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life offers 200 recipes and I could print anyone on these pages without a second thought. They look good in the color photographs, have ingredient lists that sound great and calorie and fat counts that are entirely reasonable for those watching what they eat. From soups to sides to desserts, she offers a variety of dishes with an endless array of wonderful ingredients. It’s a fine place to start as having healthful food at your fingertips is important when life gets hectic. --The Providence Journal (RI)

Book DescriptionDo you think that healthy food couldn't possibly taste good? Does the idea of "eating healthy" conjure up images of roughage and steamed vegetables? Author Ellie Krieger, host of Food Network's Healthy Appetite, will change all that. A registered dietitian, Ellie is also a lover and proponent of good, fresh food, simply but deliciously prepared. And she's not about denial--no nonfat foods here, because when you take the fat out of natural foods, in go the chemicals. Don't deny yourself butter--use a pat of it, but put it front and center on those mashed potatoes, so you can revel in it with all your senses. The Food You Crave is all you'll need to change the way you eat and change the way you feel. It contains 200 recipes that cover every meal of the day and every craving you might have. Every recipe contains a complete nutritional breakdown, as well as tips on ingredients and techniques that will keep you eating smart and eating well.

Books : The Glass Castle: A Memoir

Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Starred Review. Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure."

Books : Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao

Five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a God-realized being named Lao-tzu in ancient China dictated 81 verses, which are regarded by many as the ultimate commentary on the nature of our existence. The classic text of these 81 verses, called the Tao Te Ching or the Great Way, offers advice and guidance that is balanced, moral, spiritual, and always concerned with working for the good.In this book, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has reviewed hundreds of translations of the Tao Te Ching and has written 81 distinct essays on how to apply the ancient wisdom of Lao-tzu to today’s modern world. This work contains the entire 81 verses of the Tao, compiled from Wayne’s researching of 12 of the most well-respected translations of text that have survived for more than 25 centuries. Each chapter is designed for actually living the Tao or the Great Way today. Some of the chapter titles are “Living with Flexibility,” “Living Without Enemies,” and “Living by Letting Go.” Each of the 81 brief chapters focuses on living the Tao and concludes with a section called “Doing the Tao Now.” Wayne spent one entire year reading, researching, and meditating on Lao-tzu’s messages, practicing them each day and ultimately writing down these essays as he felt Lao-tzu wanted you to know them. This is a work to be read slowly, one essay a day. As Wayne says, “This is a book that will forever change the way you look at your life, and the result will be that you’ll live in a new world aligned with nature. Writing this book changed me forever, too. I now live in accord with the natural world and feel the greatest sense of peace I’ve ever experienced. I’m so proud to present this interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, and offer the same opportunity for change that it has brought me.”

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He has written numerous bestselling books and has created a number of audios and videos. He has appeared on thousands of television and radio programs, including The Today Show and Oprah.

Books : 7th Heaven (Women's Murder Club)

A terrible fire in a wealthy suburban home leaves a married couple deadand Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner Rich Conklin searching forclues. And after California's golden boy, Michael Campion has beenmissing for a month, there finally seems to be a lead in his case--avery devastating lead.Asfire after fire consume couples in wealthy, comfortable homes, Lindsayand the Murder Club must race to find the arsonists responsible and getto the bottom of Michael Campion's disappearance. But suddenly thefires are raging too close to home.Frightened for her life andtorn between two men, Lindsay must find a way to solve the mostdaunting dilemmas she's ever faced--at work and at home.

James Patterson's most recent major bestseller is Judge and Jury. He is one of the world's most popular and successful authors and lives in Florida and New York.

วันอังคารที่ 29 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

& magazines : Rolling Stone


Founder and publisher Jann S. Wenner's brainchild remains the standard by which rock & roll magazines are measured, though even its most fervent boosters would concede there've been some growing pains for RS as it's strived to remain relevant through the decades. The erstwhile baby-boomer bible mixes fleshy covers of today's alluring celebs with coverage of graying rockers from the magazine's heyday. In addition to celebrity interviews, stalwart features such as CD reviews and Random Notes (the mag's long-running gossip section) provide familiar reading for older readers, as does the publication's superior political and cultural coverage. But the bulk of Rolling Stone's features are aimed at the younger pop-culture set. --Steven Stolder

This magazine is edited for young adults who have a special interest in popular culture. Its regular features include state-of-the-art audio and electronics columns, record reviews, reader correspondence, interviews and photojournalism features.

& magazines : domino


Domino magazine is the guide to living with style for young, busy, fashion-conscious women. With a focus on home decorating, domino acts as design consultant, personal shopper and friend, offering inspiration, information and innovative ideas. Perfect for both renters and home-owners, each issue is packed with tips, shopping information and easy DIY tricks to help readers create the home and lifestyle of their dreams, on any budget.

& magazines : instyle


Create a personal style that's uniquely yours with inspiring ideas from In Style. Discover the best of fashion in every price range and expert beauty advice you can use to create your signature look. Enjoy tips for entertaining with style and intimate looks at your favorite celebrities - their homes, wardrobe, and personal beauty secrets.

& magazines : Glamour


Glamour is the twentysomething woman's "Miss Manners" and charm-school bible, bursting at the seams with intimations, propositions, and warnings: how to dress for a dinner party, how to turn him on in five minutes, how to avoid the dreaded "fashion don't." Glamour's mission is to help the young woman trapped between Seventeen and Vogue find her way to becoming a happier, healthier, sexier gal. Unabashedly girly, including all the things we've come to expect from beauty and fashion mags--celebrity style gossip, hot trends in hair and makeup, quizzes, and quick fixes for everything from broken nails to fractured friendships--Glamour is girl talk, pure and simple. --Daphne Durham

Glamour gives you the best hair and beauty tips that work for your face, our popular fashion workbook geared for your shape and your budget, the real scoop on all your relationship and sex questions, plus monthly horoscopes and important health and diet news. And your favorite Dos and hilarious Don'ts

& magazines : Cosmopolitan


Cosmopolitan is the lifestylist and cheerleader for millions of fun, fearless females. Cosmo inspires with information on relationships and romance, fashion and beauty, women’s health and well-being, as well as pop culture and entertainment.

& magazines : Nintendo Power


Nintendo Power is the official source for Nintendo fans of all ages, and the only magazine dedicated to the red-hot Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ game systems. Each month we deliver big-time gaming content like inside info, breaking news, the hottest game previews, and honest reviews.

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 27 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

Books : The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

It's not laws or constitutional theory that rule the High Court, argues this absorbing group profile, but quirky men and women guided by political intuition. New Yorker legal writer Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson) surveys the Court from the Reagan administration onward, as the justices wrestled with abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, gay rights and church-state separation. Despite a Court dominated by Republican appointees, Toobin paints not a conservative revolution but a period of intractable moderation. The real power, he argues, belonged to supreme swing-voter Sandra Day O'Connor, who decided important cases with what Toobin sees as an almost primal attunement to a middle-of-the-road public consensus. By contrast, he contends, conservative justices Rehnquist and Scalia ended up bitter old men, their rigorous constitutional doctrines made irrelevant by the moderates' compromises. The author deftly distills the issues and enlivens his narrative of the Court's internal wranglings with sharp thumbnail sketches (Anthony Kennedy the vain bloviator, David Souter the Thoreauvian ascetic) and editorials (inept and unsavory is his verdict on the Court's intervention in the 2000 election). His savvy account puts the supposedly cloistered Court right in the thick of American life. (A final chapter and epilogue on the 2006–2007 term, with new justices Roberts and Alito, was unavailable to PW.) (Sept. 18) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Books : Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Five years ago, Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come. --Harry C. Edwards

In what Collins terms a prequel to the bestseller Built to Last he wrote with Jerry Porras, this worthwhile effort explores the way good organizations can be turned into ones that produce great, sustained results. To find the keys to greatness, Collins's 21-person research team (at his management research firm) read and coded 6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and created 384 megabytes of computer data in a five-year project. That Collins is able to distill the findings into a cogent, well-argued and instructive guide is a testament to his writing skills. After establishing a definition of a good-to-great transition that involves a 10-year fallow period followed by 15 years of increased profits, Collins's crew combed through every company that has made the Fortune 500 (approximately 1,400) and found 11 that met their criteria, including Walgreens, Kimberly Clark and Circuit City. At the heart of the findings about these companies' stellar successes is what Collins calls the Hedgehog Concept, a product or service that leads a company to outshine all worldwide competitors, that drives a company's economic engine and that a company is passionate about. While the companies that achieved greatness were all in different industries, each engaged in versions of Collins's strategies. While some of the overall findings are counterintuitive (e.g., the most effective leaders are humble and strong-willed rather than outgoing), many of Collins's perspectives on running a business are amazingly simple and commonsense. This is not to suggest, however, that executives at all levels wouldn't benefit from reading this book; after all, only 11 companies managed to figure out how to change their B grade to an A on their own.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Books : Deceptively Delicious

It has become common knowledge that childhood obesity rates are increasing every year. But the rates continue to rise. And between busy work schedules and the inconvenient truth that kids simply refuse to eat vegetables and other healthy foods, how can average parents ensure their kids are getting the proper nutrition and avoiding bad eating habits?

As a mother of three, Jessica Seinfeld can speak for all parents who struggle to feed their kids right and deal nightly with dinnertime fiascos. As she wages a personal war against sugars, packaged foods, and other nutritional saboteurs, she offers appetizing alternatives for parents who find themselves succumbing to the fastest and easiest (and least healthy) choices available to them. Her modus operandi? Her book is filled with traditional recipes that kids love, except they're stealthily packed with veggies hidden in them so kids don't even know! With the help of a nutritionist and a professional chef, Seinfeld has developed a month's worth of meals for kids of all ages that includes, for example, pureed cauliflower in mac and cheese, and kale in spaghetti and meatballs. She also provides revealing and humorous personal anecdotes, tear–out shopping guides to help parents zoom through the supermarket, and tips on how to deal with the kid that "must have" the latest sugar bomb cereal.

But this book also contains much more than recipes and tips. By solving problems on a practical level for parents, Seinfeld addresses the big picture issues that surround childhood obesity and its long–term (and ruinous) effects on the body. With the help of a prominent nutritionist, her book provides parents with an arsenal of information related to kids' nutrition so parents understand why it's important to throw in a little avocado puree into their quesadillas. She discusses the critical importance of portion size, and the specific elements kids simply must have (as opposed to adults) in order to flourish now and in the future: protein, calcium, vitamins, and Omega 3 and 6 fats.

Jessica Seinfeld's book is practical, easy–to–read, and a godsend for any parent that wants their kids to be healthy for a long time to come.

Books : Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat

This audiobook was created to help people get their businesses launched quickly and profitably while avoiding the pitfalls that make starting a new venture risky.It walks listeners through a focused strategy designed to get their business ventures started and moving toward profitability as quickly as possible. Ready, Fire, Aim begins with the most important moves that an entrepreneur. Topics include: getting started, generating revenue, improving the product, marketing, running a business meeting; hiring and motivating the appropriate employees and networking.

Michael Masterson has been making money for himself or others for almost four decades-since age 14. In that time, he's only taken two breaks-a stint with the Peace Corps where he learned the joy of teaching - and at 39, when he sold his $135 million business and retired. Over the course of his remarkably successful business career, Michael's been a partner in two businesses that grew beyond $100 million, two more that exceeded $50 million and at least a dozen that surpassed the $10 million mark. At one time or another, he's owned and run companies that were public/private, onshore/overseas, local/international, service/product oriented, retail/wholesale/direct mail, and even profit/not-for-profit. He has developed a loyal following with his writings on EarlyToRise.com which has over 181,000 readers.

Books : The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

Books : The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer:“I race motorcycles in Europe.”“I ski in the Andes.”“I scuba dive in Panama.” “I dance tango in Buenos Aires.”He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies—time and mobility—to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now.Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want • How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs • How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements"• What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair• What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet• What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are • How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off • How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the officeYou can have it all—really.

Books : Skinny Bitch

"The authors are brazen...They're not trying to win popularity contests...they just want healthy people."

"Ready to jump-start 2006 with an electric prod to the system? ...They tell it like it is, and without delicacy."

Customer Review
No-nonsense, no-holds barred advice, February 5, 2006
By
VeggieTart (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Skinny Bitch (Paperback) I fully believe that some people have a genetic predisposition to be somewhat overweight, but that doesn't give us the right to eat all sorts of crap. So if you read this and follow their advice, you may not become a skinny bitch, but a skinnier bitch. Clothes I bought before I went vegan in 2002 are now loose around my waist, although nobody will call me skinny.

I have read many books since going vegetarian, then vegan, so I know much of the stuff in this book about the hormones and antibiotics and carcinogens in meat, dairy, and eggs, not to mention the treatment of the animals. I am all too aware that the government just doesn't give a sh*t about your health (in the words of the authors), and that the inmates are running the asylum when it comes to the USDA. I have read many of the books they recommend and use as sources. But I have never read a book that talks to you like an old friend to whom you can say almost anything and who can say just about anything to you.

Yes, they can be vulgar, and if you're offended by certain words, you maybe should find an alternative book. But this book will kick you in the butt about what you eat and the brainwashing of the meat industry, the dairy industry, the egg industry. There are a couple of things I don't like about the book. I tend to ignore suggested menus in books because I'm not the type to plan a week in advance what I will eat. I also don't like that they suggest eating fruit alone, but they don't harp on this point. And I do wish they had harshed more on the idiocy of diet plans, especially those that prepackage your (no doubt overprocessed) food for you.

If you still want your treats, they have a chapter of alternative brands of cereals, cookies, crackers, and chocolate that have fewer chemicals than mainstream brands. They also advise eating in controlled portions. To which I say, Duh. But in this supersized era, apparently, a lot of people have forgotten that. I can tell you some of the stuff they recommend is in my pantry or on my regular shopping list, and, yes, the products are more expensive than what's in your local mainstream store, but then chemicals and crap are cheap.

Be ready to have your notion of a diet book turned on its head and get ready for a sharp kick in the tail if you read this book. But you won't regret it.

Books : The Road (Oprah's Book Club)

Best known for his Border Trilogy, hailed in the San Francisco Chronicle as "an American classic to stand with the finest literary achievements of the century," Cormac McCarthy has written ten rich and often brutal novels, including the bestselling No Country for Old Men, and The Road. Profoundly dark, told in spare, searing prose, The Road is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece, one of the best books we've read this year, but in case you need a second (and expert) opinion, we asked Dennis Lehane, author of equally rich, occasionally bleak and brutal novels, to read it and give us his take. Read his glowing review below. --Daphne Durham

McCarthy's latest novel, a frightening apocalyptic vision, is narrated by a nameless man, one of the few survivors of an unspecified civilization-ending catastrophe. He and his young son are trekking along a treacherous highway, starving and freezing, trying to avoid roving cannibal armies. The tale, and their lives, are saved from teetering over the edge of bleakness thanks to the man's fierce belief that they are "the good guys" who are preserving the light of humanity. In this stark, effective production, Stechschulte gives the father an appropriately harsh, weary voice that sways little from its numbed register except to urge on the weakening boy or soothe his fears after an encounter with barbarians. When they uncover some vestige of the former world, the man recalls its vanished wonder with an aching nostalgia that makes the listener's heart swell. Stechschulte portrays the son with a mournful, slightly breathy tone that emphasizes the child's whininess, making him much less sympathetic than his resourceful father. With no music or effects interrupting Stechschulte's carefully measured pace and gruff, straightforward delivery, McCarthy's darkly poetic prose comes alive in a way that will transfix listeners.

วันศุกร์ที่ 25 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

Comics : Buffy The Vampire Slayer #11 Comic Book (2008)

An ill-prepared Buffy comes face to face with the new Big Bad in the form of an old- fahioned death match in this standalone issue titled A Beautiful Sunset. Buffy Season Eight continues to entertain longtime Buffy fans and newcomers alike with Joss Whedon at the helm and Georges Jeanty serving as series artist. "It already looks like . . . the start of the three-hundred-million-dollar Buffy movie you crave in your heart."-Ain't it Cool News A standalone issue written by Joss Whedon!

Comics : Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist: How to Draw the New Streamlined Look of Action-Adventure Comics!

Maybe you’ve noticed. Today’s superheroes and action heroes aren’t as brawny and muscular as they used to be. In fact, almost all the characters in comic books and on TV have a fresh, new look--simplified, streamlined, edgier, with a hint of anime/cartoon design, and appealing to kids and adults alike. Now Christopher Hart, the superhero of how-to-draw books, has come to the rescue of artists everywhere with Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist. Anatomy has always been a difficult subject, but for this book Hart uses his straightforward approach to show a simpler way. In clear step-by-step illustrations and text, he shows: how to draw streamlined figures in poses; body types and muscles; the mechanics of facial expression; how to know which muscles to eliminate in a simplified drawing; grouping muscles; muscle contours versus bone contours; muscles in classic comic-book poses like flying and punching; and more. Now artist can stop struggling with the fine points of anatomy and start creating modern looking heroes and heroines with help from Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist.

Christopher Hart is the world’s best selling author of drawing and cartooning books. His titles have sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide and have been translated into seventeen languages. He lives in Connecticut.

Comics : How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

Stan Lee, the Mighty Man from Marvel, and John Buscema, active and adventuresome artist behind the Silver Surfer, Conan the Barbarian, the Mighty Thor and Spider-Man, have collaborated on this comics compendium: an encyclopedia of information for creating your own superhero comic strips. Using artwork from Marvel comics as primary examples, Buscema graphically illustrates the hitherto mysterious methods of comic art. Stan Lee's pithy prose gives able assistance and advice to the apprentice artist. Bursting with Buscema's magnificent illustrations and Lee's laudable word-magic, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way belongs in the library of every kid who has ever wanted to illustrate his or her own comic strip.

Comics : Perspective! For Comic Book Artists: How to Achieve a Professional Look in Your Artwork

Customer Review

And the best part? It's written in comic book form!, July 6, 2006
By
Christopher Griffen "Commitment to mediocrity!" (Pleasanton, CA United States) - See all my reviews David Chelsea has produced an informative and entertaining resource in this book. He's cleverly managed to sum up perspective lessons from numerous sources into one compendium for comic book artists, fans of the genre interested in learning how it's done, or even the casual artist.

After the opening chapters dealing with depth cues, the picture plane, the horizon and vanishing point, and the use of cubes in illustration, he divides the book up into several tutorials covering one-point perspective, two-point perspective, three-point perspective, the use of circles and ellipses in perspective and the human figure in perspective.

You can easily sit down with a sketch pad (I would also recommend some graph paper) and go through his lessons one by one to get a more hands-on approach (I intend to do this soon!). The three-point perspective lesson is very complex but worth the effort, especially for the burgeoning comic book artist. Three-point perspective, as Chelsea points out, allows the artist to render some pretty dynamic scenes.

When I first saw that the majority of the book was written in comic book form, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. However, once I got into it, I found it to be very entertaining. I was learning the process of perspective illustration while enjoying the medium I love: sequential art!

I highly recommend Chelsea's book. Even if you never sit down and attempt to use his methods, it will help you get your head around the whole topic. He also provides several short cuts for those who want to achieve those dynamic perspective effects without doing all the tedious legwork.

Comics : The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not

Customer Review

A helpful - and ENJOYABLE - book of fiction writing advice, June 14, 2000
By
TAMI Cowden (Henderson, NV USA) - See all my reviews No other book on writing I've read - and I've read a lot! - kept me chuckling throughout. I'd recommend this book for the laughs alone, but I can also recommend it as the fount of writing wisdom it entails.

Vorhaus not only explains the basic types of humor and the elements of a comic plot, but also lays out an excellent plotting structure useful for any type of fiction writing. Whether you merely want to add a few touches of humor to an angsty story, or you want to write the next comic blockbuster, this book will help you on your way.

P.S. Chapter 9 alone is worth the price of the book

Books : Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition

...offers updated information on reporting statistics, writing withour bias, preparing manuscripts with a word processor for electronic production, and publishing research in accordance with ethical principles. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Style manual for writers, editors, students, educators, and professionals across all fields. Provides clear guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style. Includes examples, new guidelines and advice, and more. Previous edition: c1994. Softcover, wire-spiral edition is also available. Hardcover edition due later.

Books : World Without End

In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed--"it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune)--and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel.

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.

Three years in the writing, and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.

Books : People of the Book: A Novel

One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure. A complex love story, thrilling mystery, vivid history lesson, and celebration of the enduring power of ideas, People of the Book will surely be hailed as one of the best of 2008. --Mari Malcolm

In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book’s mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book’s journey from its salvation back to its creation.

In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city’s rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah’s extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna’s investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love.

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.

Books : Atonement

Ian McEwan's Booker Prize-nominated Atonement is his first novel since Amsterdam took home the prize in 1998. But while Amsterdam was a slim, sleek piece, Atonement is a more sturdy, more ambitious work, allowing McEwan more room to play, think, and experiment.

We meet 13-year-old Briony Tallis in the summer of 1935, as she attempts to stage a production of her new drama "The Trials of Arabella" to welcome home her older, idolized brother Leon. But she soon discovers that her cousins, the glamorous Lola and the twin boys Jackson and Pierrot, aren't up to the task, and directorial ambitions are abandoned as more interesting prospects of preoccupation come onto the scene. The charlady's son, Robbie Turner, appears to be forcing Briony's sister Cecilia to strip in the fountain and sends her obscene letters; Leon has brought home a dim chocolate magnate keen for a war to promote his new "Army Ammo" chocolate bar; and upstairs, Briony's migraine-stricken mother Emily keeps tabs on the house from her bed. Soon, secrets emerge that change the lives of everyone present....

The interwar, upper-middle-class setting of the book's long, masterfully sustained opening section might recall Virginia Woolf or Henry Green, but as we move forward--eventually to the turn of the 21st century--the novel's central concerns emerge, and McEwan's voice becomes clear, even personal. For at heart, Atonement is about the pleasures, pains, and dangers of writing, and perhaps even more, about the challenge of controlling what readers make of your writing. McEwan shouldn't have any doubts about readers of Atonement: this is a thoughtful, provocative, and at times moving book that will have readers applauding. --Alan Stewart, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 24 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

& Magazines : Redbook

If you find the sex-and-the-single-girl style of Cosmo less relevant to your current how-do-I-juggle-kids-husband-job-sanity stage of life, then congratulations, you've graduated to Redbook. Don't worry, this isn't your mother's magazine; Redbook is loaded with steamy Cosmo-like articles (in other words, sex, sex, sex), only now they're covered under "Love and Marriage" and deal with helping you keep things together at home (including a monthly Q&A with John Gray called "Passionate Monogamy"). From here, Redbook branches out, with sections on kids and parenting, food, health and fitness, beauty, fashion, celebrity profiles, short fiction, book excerpts, and making time for yourself. --Jenny Brown

Redbook is the must-read magazine for today's young, married woman: an individual as passionate about her own needs as she is about those of her family. Each issue offers exciting, provocative features that address the all aspects of her life—everything from stylish fashion and beauty portfolios to scintillating stories on keeping her marriage fresh, to ideas on balancing home and career demands.

& Magazines : Us Weekly

This magazine covers film, video, television and contemporary music. It provides in-depth editorials on top personalities, events and developments current in the world of entertainment.

& Magazines : The New Yorker

Founded in 1925, The New Yorker hardly changed for its first 60 years, both in its dry, type-heavy design and in its reputation as a writer's and reader's haven. In 1987 it was on only its second editor when management decided to shake things up. A rocky decade ensued, but The New Yorker is now back at the top of its game under David Remnick's editorship. Each issue offers commentaries and reporting on politics, culture, and events, with a focus that's both national and international; humor and cartoons; fiction and poetry; and reviews of books, movies, theater, music, art, and fashion. Several times a year special issues focus on a theme--music, fashion, business. The writing is mostly first-rate, frequently coming from top literary and journalistic talents. The New Yorker's weekly issues can seem overwhelming--so much good stuff to read, piling up so fast!--but it's as easy to dip in for a small snack as it is to wade in for a substantial meal. --Nicholas H. Allison

Week after week, The New Yorker keeps its reader current. Subscribe now and don't miss the New Yorker's famous fiction and poetry, book and film review, its incisive looks at politics, people and the way we live, and of course, those CARTOONS. In-depth reporting, surprising opinions, sharp wit, the best in prose, poetry, and the visual arts can all be yours for just $1 an issue!

& Magazines : Popular Mechanics

With plenty of features on the latest high-tech cars, tools, sports gear, and military developments, Popular Mechanics is the source for discriminating gadget heads. Full-page ads for spark plugs, extrastrong glues, and manly cigarettes fuel the magazine's testosterone engine, and many of the how-to articles are designed to help today's male achieve maximum speed, efficiency, and style in his leisure activities. In-depth articles on the history of the baseball glove, comparison tests of mulching mowers, and a list of the cables you'll need to build a home network join brief news bites covering science, outdoors, and home improvement. With a copy of Popular Mechanics and a fat wallet, you could be the alpha male you've always wanted to be! --Therese Littleton
Popular Mechanics is for people who have a passion to know how things work. It's about how the latest advances in science and technology will impact your home, your car, consumer electronics, computers, even your health. Popular Mechanics - answers for curious minds.

& Magazines : People

People is the most wildly, consistently successful magazine in history (not to mention the most stolen from lunchrooms) and it's avidly read by half the population of America each year. Why? The people at People know what you want to read: the absolute latest, impossible-to-get dish on celebrity scandals (a $3-million-a-year fact-checking department keeps it real); definitive tribute issues; snappy wrap-ups on the whereabouts of yesterday's stars and the current Most Beautiful People; riveting stories of real folks caught up in the day's biggest news, health, and crime stories; and quick picks and pans on what's up in entertainment. And after years of black-and-white drabness, the mag has fully mastered the art of flashy, full-color photography. --Bob Brandeis

The editorial focus of this magazine is on the compelling personalities of today both famous and infamous, ordinary and extraordinary. It is a guide to who and what are hot in the arts, science, business, politics, television, movies, books, music and sports. Published weekly.

& Magazines : Kiplinger's Personal

KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE MAGAZINE provides affluent readers with the information they need to make smart decisions about their money. Each issue includes intelligent reporting on investments, taxes, insurance, paying for college, planning for retirement, home ownership, major purchases such as cars and computers and other personal finance topics.

& Magazines : InStyle

Create a personal style that's uniquely yours with inspiring ideas from In Style. Discover the best of fashion in every price range and expert beauty advice you can use to create your signature look. Enjoy tips for entertaining with style and intimate looks at your favorite celebrities - their homes, wardrobe, and personal beauty secrets.

& Magazines : GQ

The "GQ look" is synonymous with classic cool and sophistication, and despite a recent outburst of trendy magazines (think Maxim and FHM) vying for the attention of young professional males, the steeped-in-tradition monthly GQ carries on without missing a beat. Yes, there's more décolletage gracing the cover than there used to be, but GQ continues to supply enough cultural commentary, celebrity profiles, features, and style guides to keep the modern man in touch with what's going on in the world from month to month.

GQ's ideal reader is probably one who actually might be able to afford any of the high-end suits, shoes, and watches featured among the countless ads packed between the covers. Though the average reader might enjoy scanning a fashion spread about steakhouses entitled "How to Dress for a Porterhouse" and reading articles like "50 Ways to Blow Your Bonus," it's unlikely that such folly holds much practical advice. Literary editor Walter Kirn keeps short fiction on display, and Alan Richman's writing on food and dining out is always entertaining, even when he comes across as borderline cranky. Two regular Q&A features, "The Style Guy" and "Dr. Sooth," run the gamut from when it's appropriate to wear a straw hat to problems in the bedroom.--Brad Thomas Parsons

GQ helps you look sharp and live smart. Each issue brings you revealing sports profiles, intimate photos of today's hottest up & coming actresses and models, tips on fine food & drink, sex, politics, fashion and grooming advice, The Style Guy's answers to your questions and so much more!

& Magazines : Cooking Light

The emphasis of this magazine is on healthy eating and living. Each issue covers light cuisine and includes more than 70 recipes with photos. It also explores food and nutrition news as well as fitness, health and beauty.

& Magazines : Domino

Domino magazine is the guide to living with style for young, busy, fashion-conscious women. With a focus on home decorating, domino acts as design consultant, personal shopper and friend, offering inspiration, information and innovative ideas. Perfect for both renters and home-owners, each issue is packed with tips, shopping information and easy DIY tricks to help readers create the home and lifestyle of their dreams, on any budget.

Comics : Spider-Man: Saga of the Sandman

It was no day at the beach when criminal Flint Marko was mutated into one of Marveldom's most versatile villains and began a career of kicking sand in our favorite heroes' faces! Some of the best battles between Sandman, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk are collected here in commemoration of his gritty film debut! Collects Amazing Spider-Man #4, #18-19; Fantastic Four #61; Incredible Hulk #138; Marvel Team-Up #1; Marvel Two-In One #86 and Untold Tales of Spider-Man #3.

Comics : Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

The Beyonder's Battleworld might seem a strange place to get new threads, but it's Spider-Man who becomes unraveled when his shape-changing costume attempts to darken his life as well as his fashion sense! But ridding himself of his riotous raiment proves an even greater mistake when its alien enmity bonds with mortal madness to form our hero's most dedicated decimator! Plus: the first appearances of Puma and the Rose! Mary Jane Watson's startling secret! And the debut of the battling...Bag-Man!? Guest-starring the Black Cat, the Fantastic Four and more! Collects Secret Wars #8; Amazing Spider-Man #252-259, #298-300 & #315-317; Fantastic Four #274 and Web of Spider-Man #1

Books : Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Harper (February 12, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061567582
ISBN-13: 978-0061567582
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches

Books : Duma Key: A Novel

A Note from Chuck Verrill, the Longtime Editor of Stephen KingIn the spring of 2006 Stephen King told me he was working on a Florida story that was beginning to grow on him. "I'm thinking of calling it Duma Key," he offered. I liked the sound of that--the title was like a drumbeat of dread. "You know how Lisey's Story is a story about marriage?" he said. "Sure," I answered. The novel hadn't yet been published, but I knew its story well: Lisey and Scott Landon--what a marriage that was. Then he dropped the other shoe: "I think Duma Key might be my story of divorce."

Pretty soon I received a slim package from a familiar address in Maine. Inside was a short story titled "Memory"--a story of divorce, all right, but set in Minnesota. By the end of the summer, when Tin House published "Memory," Stephen had completed a draft of Duma Key, and it became clear to me how "Memory" and its narrator, Edgar Freemantle, had moved from Minnesota to Florida, and how a story of divorce had turned into something more complex, more strange, and much more terrifying.

If you read the following two texts side by side--"Memory" as it was published by Tin House and the opening chapter of Duma Key in final form--you'll see a writer at work, and how stories can both contract and expand. Whether Duma Key is an expansion of "Memory" or "Memory" a contraction of Duma Key, I can't really say. Can you?

Customer Review

One of Stephen King's best, January 22, 2008
By
Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews Yes, it's scary. Yes, it's long. But this new novel is more than just another Stephen King book. With a streamlined style and a plot that's never predictable, it's King at his crisp, clear, page-turning best. Before you read further, let me acknowledge I'm incredibly biased here. Not only have I been a Stephen King fan ever since 1975's 'Salem's Lot, I live on a small island off the west coast of Florida, exactly where this story takes place. Great sunsets, a beach lined with huge rental homes, a populace of "the newly wed and the living dead".... they're all part and parcel to this story, and all around me as I sit here typing on my little porch.

Beyond the colorful setting, "Duma Key" combines the concepts of bodies gone bad and creativity gone wild -- typical King material -- with the everlasting powers of friendship and love. It's a great beach read, an outstanding character study, a terrific horror story and, eventually, an uplifting tale of moral redemption.

Obviously that's plenty of raw material, but King masters it all, with a writing style that's better than ever. As always his imagery is simply stated yet memorably vivid -- waves, for example, crash on the beach with the sound of "the breath of some large sleeping creature" -- and even the most basic sentences and paragraphs have a perfect mix of energy, grace and wit. This time, however, King really takes his time, with a slow pace that allows for plenty of character development and story detail. Lead character Edgar Freemantle is a bit edgier than the standard King protagonist (he loses his arm in a freak accident, and has trouble controlling his rage) and I was especially riveted by the portrayal of the old woman Elizabeth Eastlake, a creepy lifelong islander with Alzheimer's disease. Some of the best moments occur when nothing much is happening, such as when Edgar argues with his wife or the many times he struggles with his sanity.

Eventually, of course, the plot takes off with a vengeance, and soon the pace winds so tight that by the time terror knocks at the door, you just know it's coming in. I don't know if I've ever pored through so many pages so fast. My other favorite Stephen King books are:

วันพุธที่ 23 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2551

& magazines : Maxim


Maxim is the essential guide for today's active male consumer. Every issue features fashion, sports, gadgets/gear, sex advice, music & movie reviews all in an entertaining and irreverent style where humor is a key element.

Customer Review

Used to be better, February 13, 2002
By A CustomerI've been reading Maxim since about issue #3. I used to really enjoy the magazine: their witty remarks and interviews with the monthly babes and product reviews were both entertaining and interesting. However, I'm now letting my subscription run out. Maxim has went through something like 3 editors since I've been reading and the magazine is getting progressively worse.

Maxim used to taste test microwave and fast food-type items and give them real, insightful ratings/reviews...things like pizza rolls, pizza pockets, etc. Now there's a fictional person named Hiroki, who does tests on stupid foods. So instead of "One tester said, 'Red Barron pizza had a crispy crust, but was a bit greasy,'" we're left with "Hiroki said the edible panties, 'Taste like chicken. Yum.'"

Another area where Maxim disappoints is in the number of advertisements. The magazine is now significantly thicker and stuffed with ads. In fact, I have ripped the first 10 pages or so out of my last several issues because those first 10 pages are all advertisements!



72 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
Used to be better, February 13, 2002
By A CustomerI've been reading Maxim since about issue #3. I used to really enjoy the magazine: their witty remarks and interviews with the monthly babes and product reviews were both entertaining and interesting. However, I'm now letting my subscription run out. Maxim has went through something like 3 editors since I've been reading and the magazine is getting progressively worse.
Maxim used to taste test microwave and fast food-type items and give them real, insightful ratings/reviews...things like pizza rolls, pizza pockets, etc. Now there's a fictional person named Hiroki, who does tests on stupid foods. So instead of "One tester said, 'Red Barron pizza had a crispy crust, but was a bit greasy,'" we're left with "Hiroki said the edible panties, 'Taste like chicken. Yum.'"
Another area where Maxim disappoints is in the number of advertisements. The magazine is now significantly thicker and stuffed with ads. In fact, I have ripped the first 10 pages or so out of my last several issues because those first 10 pages are all advertisements!
Maxim also puts a lot of emphasis on their women, who have decreased in quality (read: not as good looking). They do some heavy duty tweaking on the computer too; all of the models look like their skin is made of polished copper.

Maxim has called me no less than 4 times to get me to renew my subscription...I HATE telemarketers! The last time they called I finally asked to be removed from their calling list. They have been sending me "this is your last chance to renew letters" for about 4 months. Great, more junk mail.

Don't get me wrong, Maxim isn't a terrible magazine, but I don't think it's worth subscribing to anymore. You might want to stick to buying it on an issue-by-issue basis, or get the old issues from your friend. Save your subscription money for something else.

& magazines : Popular Science

The "What's New" magazine of science and technology. Covering the latest developments in cars, electronics, communications, tools, energy, aviation, science, space exploration and much more.

Customer Review
Great content, but unsuitable advertising for your children, September 10, 2003
By
J. Mason
I have read PopSci for decades, and so quickly started a subscription for my son at age 10 when he showed interest. The articles are very good, but the advertisments are riddled with sexual peformace boosting products of all sorts.

I think that PopSci has a responsibility to consider that it is read by and marketed to children as well as adults, and should take a closer look at its sponsors. I couldn't let him bring it to school without ripping out pages first. I haven't noticed this problem with other periodicals of the same standing. By the way, when I contacted PopSci about my concerns about this, I received no response. Do advertisers come before the reading public?

Comics : The Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies


Although books on the comedies of the silent era abound, few have attempted to survey film comedy as a whole—its history and evolution, how the philosophical visions of its greatest artists and directors have shaped its traditions, and how these visions have informed both the meaning and manner of their work.Blending information with interpretation, description with analysis, Mast traces the development of screen comedy from the first crude efforts of Edison and Lumière to the subtlety and psychological complexity of Annie Hall. As he guides the reader through detailed discussions of specific films, Mast reveals the structures, the values, and the cinematic techniques which have appeared and reappeared in comic cinema.The second edition of The Comic Mind treats the comic developments of the 1970s in terms of the traditions of film comedy set forth in the first edition, including a discussion of the evolution of Jacques Tati and the emergence of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen as the two greatest American comic stylists of the seventies."The most comprehensive study of film comedy yet written in English. . . .The book's extensive index with references to companies from which 16mm prints of many of the cited films may be rented will be of great value to the film teacher and audiovisual librarian."—Choice


Comics : Stephen King's Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born - The Complete Comic Collection (Issues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 Set)


The complete set of all seven issues of DARK TOWER from Marvel Comics. May include DARK TOWER GUIDEBOOK (consult 'seller notes')!


Customer rEview

Ka is the wind, October 8, 2007
By
E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."


Those words opened the first book of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, and they open the chilling, richly-drawn "Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born." This intense comic series reintroduces readers to a younger, less cynical Roland, and the harrowing tale of how he became a true gunslinger.


It opens with the gunslinger and the man in black, endlessly pursuing and pursued across the desert, and introduces us to their timeless natures.


Then the comic takes us back many years, to when Roland of Gilead was a teenage boy. He and a bunch of other boys are being tutored by Cort, a bondsman who knows all the fighting tricks, and is supposed to teach them to be gunslingers -- or be exiled forever. And when Roland sees his mother in bed with his father's wizard, Marten, he angrily goes off to take Cort's final challenge.


But when his father comes back to Gilead, he reveals that Roland has been manipulated by Marten. To save Roland's life, he is sent to Hambry on an undercover mission for the Affiliation. There he meets Susan Delgado, a beautiful girl who's been bought as the mayor's gilly. As you can guess, they fall deeply in love.


But Roland is still unaware of the dangers that surround him, or a horrific conspiracy to destroy Gilead and the gunslingers -- led by the distant, demonic Crimson King. As Roland's ka-tet splinters, they are framed for the murder of the local mayor -- and the resulting battle will begin the destruction of everything Roland loves...


"Gunslinger Born" is basically adapted from the flashbacks from Stephen King's "Wizard and Glass" novel, so fans of the book will probably already be acquainted with the tragic story of Roland's past. But it's almost as striking in comic form as in book form.


Part of that comes from Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. A lot of adaptations fall flat ("Anita Blake", anyone?), but their detailed artwork gives vibrant life to the story -- sun-dried fields, ruined buildings, ominously darkened chambers, and faces that seem to be riddled with shadows. There are moments of beauty (Roland and Susan's only tryst) and others of pure ugliness like Roland's fight with Cort, or the face of the shadowed, bloody Crimson King.


But artwork alone doesn't make a comic book good. Robin Furth and Peter David recrafted King's unique prose for this -- the dialogue is spare and understated, while the narration has an ironic, regretful quality, as if Roland himself were telling the readers of his story. It's even peppered with the language of this postapocalyptic world ("... set your watch and warrant on it.")


And we get to see Roland back when he was a brash teenager, very different from the grizzled gunslinger at the start. He's strong, brave and honorable, but also very naive. And we get to see other characters from his past -- his careworn father, the malignant Marten, his first ka-tet of teen boys, and his first, tragic love Susan.


And each part of the story has an extra one at the ending, fleshing out the history of the post-apocalyptic Mid-world -- stories of Maerlyn's mirror, the origin of the gunslingers, the devastating event that changed the world, the Crimson King and his ties to Roland, the history of Rhea the witch, and the Charyou Tree ritual. A lot of it has to do with Arthur Eld, the Mid-world version of King Arther.


"The Gunslinger Born" is a haunting, dark comic book experience, nearly as intense as the original text by Stephen King. A brilliant piece of work.

Books : The Secret


Supporters will hail this New Age self-help book on the law of attraction as a groundbreaking and life-changing work, finding validation in its thesis that one's positive thoughts are powerful magnets that attract wealth, health, happiness... and did we mention wealth? Detractors will be appalled by this as well as when the book argues that fleeting negative thoughts are powerful enough to create terminal illness, poverty and even widespread disasters. The audio version of this controversial book, read by Byrne and contributing authors such as John Gray and Neale Donald Walsch, is uneven at best. The cheesy, obvious sound effects will not do much to add intellectual respectability to a work that has been widely denounced as pseudoscience. Mostly, this audio is hampered by its confusing and disjointed organization—techniques that worked reasonably well in the print version and the movie, such as cutting every few seconds from one enthusiastic expert to another, make for a choppy and somewhat bewildering listening experience. The gentle cadences of Rhonda Byrne's breathy, Aussie-infused voice are certainly the best part of the audio, but her material is scarce and provides mostly connective tissue between the testimonials. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.


Customer Review


Great DVD...Book gets a little mean spirited., December 10, 2006
By
bunnyrabbit4

I liked the DVD much better than the book. The DVD was totally positive, but like Ms. Boyer, I found some of the books comments made my energy take a dive. Here is why:

Ms. Byrne says that those of us who suffer weather disasters have created the disaster or adversity. Like the power of certain prayers, some things happen because of energies that have been invested far longer than the span of one life. When you move into a disaster prone area you encounter "risk energy" that may have existed for hundreds of years. If Ms Byrne thinks she is stronger than this energy and can stop future storms from entering New Orleans, let me be the first to invite her to live here....Keeping one author in a swank French Quarter apartment (untouched by flood waters) has to be cheaper than the millions we are spending to rebuild the levee system. Even though I don't agree with Ms Byrne I would sooner trust her to protect the city than the government engineers who sat clueless for two weeks while my apartment slowly dissolved under 11 feet of water.

I also share Ms Boyer's dislike of Ms. Byrne's comments about turning your back on "fat" people (or anyone else). The book assumes that everyone who wants to can access good feelings at a moments notice and encourages you to shun people who don't fit your physical or emotional ideal. For many people, especially those from emotionally or financially impoverished backgrounds, feelings of abundance and self-worth can be impossible to access. A few years ago I encountered a book by the social psychologist William Swann. His studies on the affect that self-esteem has on what you attract into your life make very interesting reading that is closely related to the topics discussed here. While forgetting the past is not that hard, creating a feeling that you didn't have while growing up is nearly impossible for most people. Yes, we do hear of rags to riches stories, but they almost always involve a pivotal personal encounter.

Perhaps there is a reason that this information has been kept a secret for so long. Maybe that reason is that too many people would have used the knowledge to abandon the sick, dying, and less fortunate and spend their time generating new toys and bigger and bigger houses. Religion has often existed to remind people that they should be grateful for not having adversity. If you can wish it away, why bother with those who can't? This whole scenario reminds me of the creation story told by the psychic, Edgar Cayce, many decades ago. He said that man was an angel who created matter as a plaything and became encased in it because he forgot his divinity. I see no spiritual problem with having it all, but that can and should include kindness and compassion toward everyone.