Fathers Day Books

Frank Bascombe takes his son on a road trip to visit sport's halls of fame. Frank's son has emotional issues, and of late has been getting in more than just a little bit of trouble. It would be wise, although not manditory, to read The Sportswriter first. That book will give one a passport into Frank. Frank is a thinker, he is divorced, has two children, is not hurting for money, is a realtor, and is willing to try new things. If one gives Mr. Ford a chance, his character, Frank, will make one either want to cry or cheer for humanity.

The first sentence in this book, which I have read many times, is enough to make some people quit reading. I have read several articles about the way to begin a piece of fiction, and I don't think any of them recommended an approach such as this one. Also, I wouldn't recommend reading this when there are distractions or if one has a headache. This book takes some concentration, but reading it is like earning an award that is many, many times more valuable than the effort invested. Beach reading it may not be, and there are other great books for those times.

We have been waiting a long time for this kind of writing. For me, not since Updike's Rabbit have I read such an engrossing, attractive, masculine character. What makes Frank Bascombe so attractive is his ordinariness, not at all an easy thing to accomplish. Intellectuals are easy for intellectuals to construct, but to find a guy who likes hot dogs, real estate and women is rare, and the reader knows it. This is, in some ways, Hemingway territory, but Bascombe is happy, unlike Mr. Hemingways's anxiety-driven specimens. New Jersey makes for a wonderful setting. Together with Philip Roth, Ford has made certain that Jersey has replaced Mississippi as the center of the American landscape. It's glorious country.

I had high hopes for this book but was sadly disappointed. Read this book if you want to study long long sentence construction. Each sentence was a test of my concentration. The story however did warrant this much effort. Perhaps Pulitzer is a reward for the most number of words with the fewest periods? I gave up.

Many people in America are reluctant to confront authority.
When they say this is a good novel and they are the "authority" , what is then
my natural reaction? This novel reminds me very much of the novel Babbitt
that I was forced to read for English literature and the author seems to be
without the connection to his extreme in materialism. ( He seems to
think he is a liberal.) I got to really dislike the protagonist in the first 100 pages
and even to dread reading more of his overationalizing morbidity.
I was left longing for the sincere freshness of Sinclair Lewis!
Making a point in some worthwhile theme would be good.
Woody Allen makes his points more clearly and maybe
with less name dropping . There is no convincing change ...
the hero doesn't get the point when he allows harm to come to his son.
It doesn't really seem to get through: mowing his lawn isn't a radical
change in behavior. He says a lot without ever saying anything:
he writes well without ever making a point.
He describes much without seeming to be able to find any meaning in what he sees.
I had a very negative reaction to this form of intellectualism.
I suppose that there must be some method here , but for me it is lost in excessive verbiage.
I prefer Tortilla Flats or Sweet Thursday where the point is in the results...
I keep asking the author to actually understand something in his own
reality. Obfuscation with window dressing of intellectualism...
If the protagonist were actually in touch with himself,
he'd put rocks in his pocket and walk into a river ( or someone
else would do it for him?). Calling this novel a literary master piece seems
to me to be a a form of intellectual sadomasochism: a lie.

In "Independence Day", Richard Ford's depiction of post-marital devolution (divorce) parallels the lack of marital (or life) bliss shown in other classics: John Updike's "rabbit run" or John O'Hara's "Appointment in Samarra."

This book's protagonist, Frank Bascombe, is not another Harry Angstrom or Julian English - the respective protagonists of Updike's and O'Hara's novels. Instead of leading a life of self destruction after receiving a perceived dealt "straight flush", Bascombe seeks to improve and repair his life.

In love, he twists and turns about whether he should reignite the flame with his ex-spouse - Ann - or turn on the heat with his weekend f$&# buddy - Sally. After hundreds of pages of his interpersonal thoughts about this ever-present conflict, we do not receive an actual conclusion. At least none is definitively delivered such that he and the "chosen one" lead off to the sunset on a white stallion. But, maybe he has made strides closer to such a conclusion, and that is enough to ask from someone so perplexed and perplexing.

In family matters, his son Paul delivers he and the ex-spouse, Ann, a handful. An adolescent whose faults are not uncommon, Paul has delusions of suicide, derived mainly from lack of self esteem and typical teenage angst. Paul's two-day jaunt with only dear old dad to Springfield, Mass. and Cooperstown, NY - the respective homes of basketball's and baseball's halls of fame - is the subject of another large portion of this book. Frank concludes, "Children, who sometimes may be angels of self-discovery, are other times the worst people of the world."

The writing style of Ford is extremely well done, and includes numerous uses of appositions - where the second element parenthetically modifies the first without changing its scope. These commonly placed parentheticals deliver a "herky jerky" motion to the reader's pace and can make the reader stumble or slow down. If not, the complexities of the writing could well be overlooked and missed. Many of the appositions represent Frank's thoughts which contradict or disagree with the written dialogue.

Ford's rich prose and deeply depressing topic of this book make a not-so-uncommon couple of modern American literature. At first, as someone who does not desire to read about others' nagging problems in love or life, I felt I would trudge slowly and belligerently to finish (if I would even do that) this novel. But, not atypically, I was wrong. I enjoyed this book, and read it in a matter of days.

I found this book interesting and entertaining at the same time. I just don't know the level of understanding that can be reached by any reader who is not familiar with the subjec. Most of the acronyms are not explained, and the different levels of the chain of command are not depicted with the proper clarity. Both the above issues are not critical for those familiar with warfare and doctrine, but could be a problem for casual readers.

Good read. Also gave me a better understanding of Desert Storm and made a talk by Genereal Franks more enjoyable.

I like Tom Clancy, really; but this book was so boring that I found myself constantly falling asleep while trying to read it. It's a good and informative story, but seriously needs an editor.

This is the problem with Clancy's non-fiction work, in my opinion. Much too wordy, and not edited enough to seem as engaging as his original fiction. We've seen better books written in military and war time situations, but Clancy constantly gets sidetracked by the 'essay' approach to non-fiction.

First of all, you should know that the parts of this book written by Gen. Franks are not literary masterpieces. But then again Franks is not an author, he's a soldier.

However, if you want to learn about the no BS day by day actions of VII Corps during the 4 day ground war... this is the book for you. I was a young Sergeant in 3rd Armored Division during Desert Storm and this book really brings back the images of the war better than any other book on the subject I've read (including "Crusade" and "It doesn't take a hero").

The General has painstakingly written most of the essential information that one must read in order to know what happened during the infamous "Hail Mary" (as Schwarzkopf likes to refer to it) from the point of view of the soldiers of VII corps.

Gen. Franks is a gentleman soldier who, above all else, is a consummate professional. You won't get the theatrics that were included in Schwarzkopf's book... all you get is the down and dirty facts of what VII Corps went through.

Apart from the info regarding Desert Storm, I also enjoyed the background information on Gen. Franks, his service in Vietnam and how he overcame a potential career killer (losing half of his leg to a grenade) and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army (and a 4-Star before he retired).

However, memoirs like this aren't really written for the public. Rather, their written for students of the event so they can learn from the past. And, for that, this book deserves a spot on any military enthusiasts book shelf.

Oh, and Tom Clancy did a good job too!

The book is very dense and poorly written. I expected a clearer narrative from Clancy. The book is repetitive and could be much tighter. Franks complains about being criticized for the tempo of his forces during the war. While he may have been wrongly criticized, it seems to be eating him up and the book reads like a 700 page justification of his decisions. I think it really detracts from what could have been an expert level description of the ground war. I appreciate that Franks is describing the war from his perspective, but I would have preferred less of his emotions and more matter of fact information about how the war progressed and the battles fought. He uses much more ink describing how the criticism of him was incorrect than he does describing his corps elimination of the Iraqi divisions.

I listened to it, rather than turning pages. The first half was more interesting than the
second half, which is more politics than personal or military history. That is not to deny
value to the later portion of the book. It was interesting to compare Zinni's adventures in
Somalia to the account in "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures -- A True Story From
Hell On Earth" by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait, and Andrew Thompson. They can both be true.

Zinni wins my admiration for his patient determination to improve things, a unit or a nation.
He shows the Somalia warlords as human. It was a disappointment that he took so long to see
through Yasser Arafat.

Zinni makes much of his "tell it like it is" attitude, and his interest in how to fight effectively.
I was surprised that he did not mention the statue of John Boyd in the center of the lobby at
Marine headquarters. Boyd was an Air Force fighter pilot, that taught how to fight effectively,
and told unpopular truths. Amazon has several books about him.

Zinni did not support the Iraq war. He claims plans for after the battles were won were not done,
or not done well. Could be. He claims 300,000 troops were needed. I wish he had supplied details
of that estimate, similar to the detailed plans for the evacuation from Somalia.

This is not one of Clancy's best, but it is still pretty good. I recommend it to those interested
in military history, whatever their opinions on the current Iraq situation.

Mr Clancy is one of the best military writers and he is typically on his game in this biography of Marine General Tony Zinni who eventually rose to CINC at CENTCOM, the command that has the heart of the middle east at its core. Clancy deftly switches back and forth between a first-person narrative of his subject and his own overviews of the history and background of each period, whether it be Vietnam or Somalia, Turkey or Pakistan. The only issue I have with Tom Clancy is italics. Everything told verbally by General Zinni is presented in italics so that a 440-page narrative probably contains about 220 pages of italics. If only Mr. Clancy would consult the Chicago Manual which states that italics should be used sparingly and never for more than a paragraph! Tom, I get a different voice in my head when I read the italics and I don't necessarily like that voice.

This book, co written with General Tony Zinni, tells of the methods, means, and the reasons for our military. The last part, when General Zinni pulls no punches, about our approach to war, foreign relations, and when to use and how to use the military [with the help of the civilian authority] to fight smarter battles and when to fight, is an excellent assessment of our current problems in the U.S.. His approach to fight in a "smarter" way, reflecting the new realities of war, e.g., terrorism, and an ever changing world, is the way it should be-and not to declare "victory", if that is the objective, on an aircraft carrier as a photo-op [his words], and to support the ideas that are right and to criticize the ideas that are wrong, even if they are "politically" incorrect. A first rate book.

While 'In to the storm' elaborate detail of one big battle, and 'Shadow warrior' tells many big events, this 'Battle ready' tells us every single experience of General Zinni from O-2, O-3, O-4, everything till retired from O-10. I think I will be bored but with his sense of humor, General Zinni brings all his tought without make this book boring. (e.g. the HANDCON and took a bus in 'Nam).
I learn how military and diplomat works in peacemaker process.

In the summer of 1994, I attended a change-of-command ceremony at Camp Pendleton for the I Marine Expeditionary Force. A new 3-star was about to take command prematurely for someone of his seniority. He hadn't even been a division commander, a 2-star billet. The fast-tracking general was Tony Zinni and the rest of his career continued to rocket. Other reviewers have commented on every aspect of his book, including his lack of support for the invasion of Iraq, so I will focus on two parts that impressed me deeply. I do agree with several others that having Tom Clancy as a co-author was distracting and unnecessary. The alternating first and third-person narratives were uneven at times. Thus the 4-stars. But then again, "Battle Ready" is not a literary selection.

The first part was Zinni's 1967 tour as an adviser (called "co van" for "trusted friend" with the Vietnamese Marine Corps). Many accounts have been published about Marines in Vietnam but only handful has come from advisers; the very best Marine officers were selected for advisory duty. Other "co vans" include Gens. Boomer, Hoar, and Myatt--on the Army side, McCaffrey, Powell and Schwarzkopf. All of these men experienced a different Vietnam War than those who fought in American units.

Why is Zinni's advisory experience relevant now? Marine advisers are mentoring Iraqis, and they could only dream their counterparts fought like the South Vietnamese. There's no hubris in Zinni's observations. He understood the Americans' lack of cultural knowledge, including his own early on: "The advisers' job was not to give the Vietnamese Marines tactical advice (they had more fighting experience than most Americans, and it was their country...American commanders were all in a hurry. They wanted to end the war on their one-year tour of duty. Vietnamese [Marine] commanders realized they would be in it for the duration."

The last chapter, Chapter Eight titled "The Calling," is a classic leadership primer-observations made over the distinguished 40-year career of Zinni, a Marine warrior, scholar and leader. As a former Marine, I found his last paragraph most touching: "I have been all over this globe and exposed to most of the cultures on it. I am fascinated by them. I love the diversity. I want to understand them and embrace them. I could never understand prejudice or rejection or the sense of superiority that drive the hatemongers of the world. I lived through a tumultuous period of our history when our own minorities broke from second-class citizenship into full participation in this wonderful dream we call America. I have been proud of their accomplishments and contributions. They have proven the bigots wrong and made our nation greater. I hope the dream we have struggled to realize can be extended to the rest of the planet."

General, it was my privilege to serve under commanders like you. Semper fi!

The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History by Jayson Stark Excellent book, Thoroughly enjoyed reading it, I'm a big Jayson Stark fan!!

I have lived in Philadelphia since I was 16 (1980), so I am a long time fan of Jayson Stark. His long time column in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer was the best thing in that rag. Like that column of Stark's, this book was a lot of fun, but had some noticible flaws, namely anti Yankee and anti Pirate bias. David Halberstam said in his great book October 1964 that Bobby Richardson was the most underrated Yankee of that time, Stark rates Richardson as the second most overrated Second Baseman of all time. I don't think Richardson was overrated, he was one of the greatest clutch players and World Series players ever. I also don't agree that players like Graig Nettles, Manny Sanguillen and Omar Moreno are overrated. Despite this bias, this is still a very enjoyable book and I would recommend it to baseball fans.

The author is an idiot. Players are not overrated when they are excellent players whose careers are cut short by injury. Koufax and Dean overrated? They did things in their injury shortened careers that others never accomplished playing twice as long. Everyone would be better off reading books by smarter, sensible writers. Stark is just another overrated journalist out of the ESPN Stable. Those interested in really finding out about baseball history should ignore books by those unqualified to write one.

Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Dizzy Dean overrated? thats just a sample of this guys opinions, in my opinion the Author is vastly overrated. his judgment of Ryan for example is the lack of Wins, Wins are a team stat, if Ryan would have pitched for teams that could score runs he would have won over 400 games and that is a fact.

The book is part of an ongoing series from ESPN personalities which seemingly has a purpose of further solidifying their on-air characters with sports fans.

Jayson Stark is the no nonsense baseball commentator who comes armed with a fast ball of facts to dazzle viewers in a bevy of segments on TV and radio. His lists of overrated and underrated players simply finds him playing that role.

Basically a means to drum up chat amongst those who have a historical interest in the game - the pre-publication publicity masterfully swirled and twirled a number of Stark's more controversial opinions - it is nothing more than water-cooler fodder on a slow summertime day in the office.

Anchors Aweight

The author brought back memories of my enlistment and the emotional side of understanding what you were all about.

I had been reading one of the latest Jeffery Deaver mysteries when "Anchors Aweight" arrived. I flipped through a few of the pages of my new book, read a couple of paragraphs and immediately put the Deaver book aside to complete another day.

Morris and Jenswold got this one right. The bootcamp experiences are so real I found myself having flashbacks. Laughing out loud was not uncommon. Something I don't believe I've ever done before while reading a book. The trips to Milwaukee and Chicago reminded me of those same trips I made from bootcamp.

Descriptions of the Charleston Naval Base, the strip and of course the "Jetsomn DD821" brought back even more memories for this ol' Sailor. The only disappointment is the story does end abruptly. Of course this leaves the possibility of a sequel about the Med Cruise the Jetsomn was about to leave on. I was on that Med Cruise by the way.

This story reads real for anyone who spent time in the United States military - any branch. My father served in the US Navy during WWII and my youngest son is in the Navy now over in the Gulf aboard the USS Enterprise. I'm buying them both a copy.

"Anchors Aweight" is an incredible work especially considering the authors are first time writers (I believe). I found myself wanting more. I hope they follow up with "Anchors Aweight II". They must have some incredible stories to share about their Med Cruise. Their story is written from the heart. A must read, highly recommended. Don't miss out on this wonderful story!

George A. Sites, RD2
USS Johnston DD821
1969 thru 1971

The writers clearly provided a solid accountability of Navy Boot Camp and life onboard ship for an enlisted man -- which deserves 5 Stars. But the rest of book is bad. You've got two very immature young men failing in college and join the Navy to escape the draft. The language and exploits of these two sailors does not reflect all servicemen. I know this is a work of fiction, so the reader MUST keep that in mind. Maybe I missed the boat on this one (I am a ten year enlisted Navy veteran). All I kept thinking while reading this is "when are these two going to grow up". Fortunately, the U.S. Navy provided me a strong foundation and values. It's like anything in life -- you get out of it, what you put into it.

This book described pretty much what some sailors lives probably are like,but certainly not all. I take into consideration that this is a work of fiction and so must be accepted as that. i enjoyed the book up to a point, but as I've gotten older, and hopefully more mature, I found the overuse of some language objectionable. This book will not be kept in my library.

This is a book that you won't want to put down. It illustrates a both comic and tragic version of the classic military experience as witnessed by millions of young men in our armed forces both today and in the past. The two characters in this book take comedy to new heights as they make the most of every day in the navy, doing whatever it takes to have a good time. Beautifully written, this novel is hilarious, intelligent and told from the heart. It's the story of carefree sailors in their teens named Andy and Jay, and the relationship that they develop when they meet in the Navy onboard ship, rather unexpectedly. Both of their lives are changed for better or worse by this event caused by the Vietnam War and the all encompassing "draft". This is not a story of heroics or warriors. It is a book about the coming of age story about young men who are angry, confused, and decide to make the most of their situation. They are desperately seeking & reaching out for any slice or sliver of fun that reminds them of their freedom before they were faced with possibility of being drafted. It becomes a wise story of learning to make do with what you have or if given lemons then..... These two naïve young men seem to be the perfect fit for friendship as they play well off of each other in a host of ridiculously humorous situations. All in all, they are as decent and kind as one could ever wish & hope for given the troubled times in which they live. This is an intelligent and wise handling of the interaction between two men and the Navy (military life, et. Al.). All of this can be a little chaotic and at times, absurdly so. There are a lot of twists in the tales within this story that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can. Andy and Jay seem to naturally free fall from one difficult situation to the next, some of which they create for themselves. The effect this has on the two hapless sailors is a complete gas. All the time they are unwittingly learning how best to survive the military, but more importantly how to survive life.
I really enjoyed this novel by the pair of new authors, Morris and Jenswold. Their reflections on life in the Navy, the hardships, and the absurdities in life, are much more advanced than other novelists, even, the ending was very unexpected, and could only come from clever novelists like them. It's realistic, wise, humorous, and extremely believable all at the same time. I hope there is a continuation of this story line in the future. Highly recommended! This is a great story about friendship and surviving the military weight of doing things.

The Bookcassette Adapter gives you balance control on your headphones and is so easy to use: Plug it into the stereo jack of your personal tapeplayer and then plug your headphones into the other side. The Bookcassette Adapter Works ONLY on Stereo Tapeplayers.

If you plan on listening to Bookcassette audio books on a stereo system where you can adjust the sound between the left and right speakers separately, such as a rack system with separate left and right speaker controls or a car stereo with a left and right balance dial, you will be able to listen to Bookcassette audio books without a problem. If you plan on listening to these audio books on a portable cassette player that does not have this capability, such as a Walkman with headphones, you will require an adapter.

As I said, it would be cheaper to buy it on the Internet, especially on eBay, instead of directly from the company (Brilliance Corporation) at 1-800-697-6797

In the election year of 2000, Governor Theodore G. Jay is elected popularly as the 43rd President of the United States, with Senator T.E.Garland (d-Tex) as Vice President. Just two years later, President Jay has dropped significantly in the polls, and subsequently invokes the 25th amendment, declaring himself as having a "major depressive episode" and unfit to perform his duties as President. He transfers hid duties to Vice President T.E. Garland. When it is learned President Jay is ready to re-assume his duties, a massive plot emerges to overthrow the sitting president and arrange some sort of coup d'etat. This is where it becomes incredibly confusing. There are far too many characters to keep straight, everyone seems to have a code name or "Go Code", the Vice President who is really the President seems in on the plot, as do the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several Senators. I like political intrigue, conspiracy and mystery, I really do, but I listened to this audio cassette (two tapes) four times and still I don't think I got it right. Frankly, it's one big mess. AND - the narration, with its obviously contrived Texas accent - is horrible. It is narrated by Bill Weideman.

No doubt about it, Batchelor did a solid job making his characters into flesh and blood people, bringing to the surface all their strengths and weaknesses. You wanted to root on one of the big heroes, Maine Governor and Presidential hopeful Jack Longfellow, but there was a taint on him due to his affair with another woman. I also liked Joint Chiefs Chairman General Sensenbrenner. He's a guy still not afraid to walk where regular foot soldiers go and has a soft spot for those in poverty, especially children. He comes off as such a stand-up guy you forget he's trying to help Vice President Shy Garland overthrow President Teddy Jay. Speaking of the Veep, I don't think he really came off as the power-hungry nut he was. One really interesting aspect of the story was the fact that while Garland is power hungry, President Jay is still battling depression and sounds like a total wet noodle throughout the book. You start to wonder who is the better guy to have in the White House. The ending, however, did leave me scratching my head in certain places.

While the premise of the book my seem unbelieveable, the very fact that the 25th Amendment makes this scenario possible makes this book very chilling. I found it to be very entertaining and very hard to put down. I highly recommend it for an political junkies looking to get lost in something other than the current events in Washington!

"Father's Day" starts with a good premise: the tension between an elected President who has voluntarily taken a leave of absence under the disability clause of the twenty-fifth amendment, and the Vice President who has been acting as President during the disability. Two years after winning a landslide, but with his "approval rating . . . plunged to a post-Cold War low" and his marriage disintegrating, President Theodore G. Jay "collapsed with a disability diagnosed as a major depressive episode." For five months, Vice President T.E. Garland acts as President while Jay recuperates. Then Jay decides that he is rested and ready for resuming his office. But Garland, enjoying the office and its power, is reluctant about handing them back. And Garland has been accumulating quite a few friends while he has been running the country.

That premise would have made for a good, fast-paced, tense political drama. But author John Calvin Batchelor takes it too far: instead of weaving a plausible story out of politics and psychology, he opts for cheap but implausible thrills. The denouement is unsubtly foreshadowed in the first three pages, so I am giving nothing away by telling you that the first chapter opens with an unquestioningly obedient military rehearsing for an assault upon Air Force One, ending in an assassination. To Batchelor's credit, he gets the law right, and his application of the twenty-fifth amendment's provisions for a political contest between a disabled President and a Vice President acting as President is unimpeachable (no pun intended). But once the story steps outside politics and into action-adventure, reality bites the dust, and the story takes a turn so far-fetched that it ruins what may otherwise have been a good book.

Every Lucy Stone book I read, 10 books already, I found lots of typos.Sometimes I saw characters names where they are not even included in the scene. Her husband Bill's name was mentioned when Lucy and the cops stop the murderer. I see Bill's name as if he was standing there and then poof, he's gone. In one book, he's even called Bob. It blows my concentration if a sentence doesn't make sense. Who can you complain to about typos in every book? I wouldn't be surprised if I find errors in the last two books. I liked almost every story but give it no stars for the errors.

Lucy gets a chance to leave home for an all expense paid trip to a newspaper convention. Who wouldn't want to stay in a 5 Star hotel in downtown Boston and get away from cooking, cleaning, laundry, kids, and pets? Lucy finds herself in the middle of another murder investigation. Can she find the real killer in just one week? This Lucy Stone novel is different because of the historical Boston city setting. Lucy takes many side trips to see many of the sights in Boston. Lucy also finds herself in many delicate situations while solving the murder and discovering there is, "no place like home."

I loved this book! Lucy, the main character, who is a wife and mother of 4 children and Maine hometown newspaper reporter, goes to Boston for a week for a newspaper conference. (It is the week before Father's Day.)

While enjoying the stay in a 5-star hotel, sight-seeing in Boston, etc, she is worried about her husband and kids at home. Will they be able to take care of themselves and will they be okay without her?

At the newspaper conference, she attends different workshops about newspaper work and meets new people. This is a business trip.

Boston, the big city, is quite a bit different than Tinkers Cove, Maine, the small town. Lucy does get homesick. Even though it is a business trip and she does get a tad homesick, she manages to sight-see in Boston. In fact, this is one of my favorite parts of the books. I enjoyed the "shopping" in Boston, "going to museums", "walking" down the streets, and most of all, I enjoyed the park. The Boston sight-seeing was cozy and fun.

This is a mystery, so of course, there is a mystery that Lucy has to solve. But will Lucy solve the mystery and make it back to Tinkers Cove in time for Father's Day? It is very important that she make it back, because Father's Day is a very important day for her husband.

I see a lot of me in Lucy; she and I have a lot in common. That's one reason I love this series, but also because the books are clever, fun, entertaining, and cozy.

I only have one complaint about this series: Elizabeth. I despise Lucy's oldest daughter, Elizabeth. She is uncompassionate, heartless, lazy, and cold. I do not understand how such a nice, loving person as Lucy could have produced a daughter as despicable as Elizabeth. Toby (Lucy's son) has a few minor faults, but nothing like Elizabeth. Elizabeth does not deserve a mother as nice as Lucy, or a job, or the opportunity to go to college. I sure hope that Lucy's two younger daughters (Sara and Zoe) do not turn out bad like Elizabeth. I don't think I've ever disliked a character in any book as much as I dislike Elizabeth. This series would be almost perfect if Elizabeth didn't exist, or if she was a nice person.

In the 10th book in the Lucy Stone Mystery series, newspaper reporter, Lucy Stone, is whisked out of town for the Northeast Newspaper Association's conference held in Boston. Unlike her home of Tinker's Cove, Maine, Lucy doesn't know a soul when she steps off the bus in the big city, and instantly begins missing her family. Thoughts of the award she has been nominated for at the conference keep Lucy from fleeing back home to Bill and her kids, and she soon finds a way to enjoy the time to herself. Lucy meets the Read family, head of the major Pioneer Publishing Group, and quickly finds herself drawn to the newspaper giants. The Reads vacation in Tinker's Cove, and have even employed Lucy's daughter as a nanny for the summer. When Luther Read, the patriarch of the clan, dies during a large banquet held in his honor, Lucy jumps in to help the family and satisfy her insatiable report's curiosity. Between several boring workshops she escapes from, and keeping her boss happy, Lucy solves a murder and garners another great scoop for herself and hometown newspaper, the Pennysaver.


I have enjoyed each of the books in this domestic cozy series, and was intrigued to see that the setting was set away from Tinker's Cove. Normally, Lucy's family plays a large role in her everyday life, and it was odd to have so many different characters in this long-running series. I like that the concept was innovative with Lucy being away for a bit, but welcome her return home for future installments. Another breath of fresh air was the more relaxed attitude of normally grouchy husband, Bill. Overall, this was a good addition to a great series, but I welcome Lucy's return home to a place I have often wanted to visit on my next vacation.

The first book in the series is called "Mistletoe Murder". Enjoy!

Lucy Stone gets an opportunity to attend a newspaper conference in Boston. She is a little concerned about leaving the family, but her husband encourages her to go saying they can manage a week without her. She leaves, but is worried about the preparations for Father's Day that are now in her children's hands. Father's Day is a big celebration at their house and it must be done right.

Once at the conference, she finds that being alone isn't all it's cracked up to be. But, she meets many people and attends many workshops and panel discussions. At a big dinner, Luther Read, head of a nearly bankrupt newspaper dynasty, drops dead. First the police believe it was just an asthma attack. Lucy begins to look into things. She doesn't think this was a simple accident. She is afraid it might be murder. Luther had lots of enemies, some of them are his own children. Could one of his kids killed him? This is hard for Lucy to imagine.

As she begins to look deeper into the situation, she soon finds herself in danger. Will she make it home in one piece and in time for Father's Day?

I love this series. Lucy and her family are such great characters. Lucy always ends up in interesting predicaments and has a great knack for getting to the bottom of things. Plus there is always enough strife in her family to disrupt her thinking and detecting. But yet they are a loving family. I've enjoyed reading all the books and watching her children grow up!

Tinker's Cove is such a fabulous town. I wish it was real, I'd love to vacation there!

This story is another in a long line of great books. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Not the most uplifting read, but brilliantly insightful writing.....rinehart definitely knows what he's doing.

Steve Rinehart's novel grabbed my attention on the opening page and after a while I realized that I was standing in the library, had read twenty pages, would rather check out the book and read the rest of it at home in comfort on the sofa. I had other things to do but they went undone until I finished BUILT IN A DAY. As I neared the end I thought, "Sure, it's a great read, but what about the ending? Can he make me believe in the ending?" And yes. The ending is great. Surprising and inevitable, as a good ending should be.

If you liked Fred Leebron's IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS, or Elissa Schappell's USE ME, you will probably enjoy BUILT IN A DAY.

Rhinehart leave no holes barred when it comes to the dark depths of the characters in Built in a Day. The book chronicles the shortcomings of what seems at first to be a nobody in a bland, boring Midwest town. That is until the dark, sexual, and humorous inner workings of the characters, specifically the 'hero' (not the best description) Andrew are realized, and the seemingly endless barrage of small disasters and gross mistakes occur.

Overall it is a marginally good read, with a little humor (mostly ironic and dark) and sex scattered throughout.

There is much to enjoy in Rinehart's book, but overall, despite the solid conclusion, the narrator is unconvincing. He's pretty much scum, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, and he doesn't get it soon enough to really earn redemption. Andrew is a 32 year old undergrad (who isn't old enough to run for president but never mind, Rinehard has him nominated by the Iowa caucus anyway), not ready to graduate, yet finds himself charged with the care of his dead wife's son and foster-daughter, and he is entirely unprepared--no surprise, given that he can barely take care of himself, although his thorough ineptness is less than plausible. He is remarkably hunger-free, given his recovering-addict status, which makes him even more surreal. And he doesn't seem to have any qualms about the moral choices he makes. In short, he's hard to buy. Having said that, the story he finds himself in builds to bang-up climax, with a sweet little resolution that gives the reader some hope that Andrew is climbing out his hole, and might even be better for it when he gets there. The novel is flawed, but is no waste of time.

The hero, or should I say anti-hero (Andrew) of Steven Rinehart's "Built in a Day" is pretty much a creep and a wash out: he has married a seemingly nice woman( Isabel) with 2 teenage boys (Russ and Alex) yet he lusts after the 15 year old girlfriend (Jule) of one of them. He is a recovering alcoholic and has spent years trying to graduate from college and at 32, still hasn't. Rinehart does allow Andrew one redeeming quality though and that is his longing and striving to make a family of his stepsons and of course, his wife.
Throughout this novel you get the nagging feeling that Rinehart's heart isn't in it: nothing much happens, he has little sympathy for his hero and in the last 5 pages Andrew gets an unwarranted comeuppance and put down.
At best the prose is good but many pages go by with Andrew droning on and on making petty and minor observations. I can't help but wonder why Rinehart wrote this book and more importantly why I also chose to finish it.

Another fantastic Richard Scarry educational book, with his world of anthropomorphic animals in Busytown and Workville.
Mrs Murphy has to go to Workville and asks Sergeant Murphy look after Bridget.
Sarge takes Bridget with him to the police station and here Bridget watches Sarge respond to a scare by Hilda Hippo, helps him take a lost toddler back to the police station and call her mother, respond to an accusation by Mr Gronkle of a robbery and rescue Bananas Gorilla after his bananamobile plunges into the water.
Always fun for children as this one teaches kids about a typical work day at the police station, and why being a police officer is very important.
I learned to read with Richard Scarry and am glad to note that the Richard Scarry corporation is still coming up with books about his characters.

My husband is a deputy and loves to read this book to our still-in-womb little girl. It's a funny book with quirky little situations presented.

Our 4 year old loves R. Scarry - Lowley the worm one of our favorites. We were extraordinarily disappointed with "A Day at the Police Station". An infant lost from the mom, a ghost in the bathroom (great help for potty training) I mean come on. Weak effort, not thought out - too bad. 3/4 of the book is great but that 1/4 just overwhelming.

First I want to say that, as with all Debbie MacComber books, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Secondly, I am a Canadian. This book, "cheermom", was NOT written or whatever in Canada! Yes, we spell neighbour, favourite, etc. JUST LIKE the British do. We do NOT, however, spell curb "KERB". This book was written in the UK. Those other spellings in the book are ALL spellings that you will read in any Pilcher, Binchey, etc. novel! Besides, I read American books all the time, HECK I READ BOOKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! I had and have no trouble with the world's different spellings (we are all different - yet the same). I just think of it as more new things to learn!! HEY, THE BOOK WAS SUPER!

Because this book was printed in Canada, it does not use American spellings and was very annoying to read (because it seemed like the words were spelled wrong). For example, neighbour, colour, humour were used. Curb (as in sidewalk) was spelled Kerb. Mr was printed in many places without the period following the "r." As a stickler for punctuation when I am reading, I found this to be enough of a problem that it took away some of the enjoyment of the book.

In any case, I agree with the other review who says that the first and the third stories are good and the second is ridiculous (and boring). Father's Day is the best of the three, dealing with a young widow, her adorable, precocious son and the smoldering handsome, aloof next door neighbor who is mysterious, yet alluring. Good, easy to read romance.

I like Debbie Macomber's novels better than her short stories and recommend Thursdays at Eight if you want to read her better work.

This book is acturally 3 separate love stories combined into one book.The first story is about Robin Masterson and her son, Jeff. Jeff's father died 10 years earlier when Jeff was just a baby. Robin meets her secluded neighbor,Cole Camden,by chance and the story is developed from this meeting. It was a good story that I enjoyed very much.

The second story has a rediculous plot about the relationship between Zachary Thomas and Janine Hartman. Janine's grandfather(the one who reared Janine) is from the old country where father's arranged the marriage of their daughters to a man of the father's choosing. He arranges the marriage of Zach and Janine. The story is developed from this idea. I do not want to spoil the book for anyone who has not read it.I found it a complete waist of my time. I did not enjoy the story because it made no since in our culter.

The third story is about a rich young woman, Maryanne Simpson and a relationship she has with a man,Kramer Adams, who is "beneath" (so he thinks) her socially/economically. Because of an articule written by Kramer, Maryanne realizes she needs to prove to everyone(mostly to herself)that she is not just a spoiled frail girl from a rich family that is not able to take care of herself. I enjoyed this story very much.