Average customer rating:
- Fun Foot-Dragging Captures & Conquers
- Awful Entry in an Uneven Series
- disappointing entry in this series
- Not Her Best
- Strange title, easy read
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The House of Seven Mabels (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #13)
Jill Churchill
Manufacturer: Avon Books
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A Groom with a View (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #11)
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Bell, Book, and Scandal (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #14)
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The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #10)
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Fear of Frying (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #9)
ASIN: 0380804921
Release Date: 2003-04-29 |
Book Description
"Homemaking" is about to take on a whole new meaning for Jane Jeffry, now that she's agreed to help the prosperously divorced Bitsy Burnside restore and redecorate a decrepit old neighborhood mansion. Bitsy's decision to employ an almost all-woman crew has prompted Jane's quick-witted best bud Shelley Nowack to dub the project, "the House of Seven Mabels" -- but it's also engendered some nasty ill will.
And when what begins as a series of anonymous, mean-spirited "pranks" ends up leaving one of the workwomen lying dead at the foot of a staircase, Jane and Shelley decide to try and nail the assassin. But the more Jane saws away at the truth, the more it appears that she may be painting herself into a corner, leaving herself no exit if a crafty killer decides to make Jane Jeffry the next demolition project.
Customer Reviews:
Fun Foot-Dragging Captures & Conquers.......2005-03-30
Character crankiness captures the reader as it carries through funny, foot-dragging dialogues, first featuring Jane Jeffry in soliloquy, then adding Shelley's two-cent counterpoint over coffee.
Any awareness of a reality beyond reading melts like table butter, spreading into conversations at a gourmet luncheon business meeting. Jane and Shelley had skeptically agreed to join a couple hardcore feminists to discuss participation in a construction venture. As the women try to lure Jane & Shelley into their mad project of remodeling and decorating a dilapidated mansion, the reader's taste buds are bated by Jane's descriptions of luncheon plate contents towering toward culinary pinnacles.
Churchill has an uncanny ability to write with such a flowing, lighthearted ease that her plots and characters (even when shrouded in the miasma of moodiness) skip along merrily, just two suburban housewives dining casually around danger, or shopping across a stage.
Having read some of the Amazon reviews on this book, I was ready to chuckle at Jane's sour milk mood expressing itself entertainingly through satiric sneers against certain sub-cultural agendas which prodded the sore spots in Jane's contemplations of an "empty nest" coming soon.
It doesn't take a brain-iac to catch the depth being deftly woven through themes rising crisply from the novel's title, as they surge subtly through the first few pages of Jane's cranky anticipations of adjustment to diminishing motherhood; tying into Shelley's car screeching into her driveway (seeming on two wheels); then pausing over the posh lunch with the feminists.
Jane isn't spitefully bashing hardcore feminism in this novel. She's understandably reacting viscerally to the contrast between her life passages and the pedestals which some personalities seem to have the privilege to preen and prod upon.
Churchill's style is sneaky, subtle and smooth. Love the continued slow-perk sharing of daily routines between Jane and Shelley, two friends whose personalities should clash, clamor, and clang. Instead this unlikely pair is entertained more than irritated by the other's foibles as they saunter through simple activities, or argue over committing to overwhelming projects which many women would die for but don't have the freedom, opportunities, or time to enjoy (be hired as decorators in a remodel of an old mansion? Yes!).
Churchill continues to capture with her toe-tapping of terribly touchy issues, lightly exposing the barefoot essence of pros and cons, without kicking the door down with her personal bias, a bias which is entertainingly clarified with humor through the sarcastic snips and snide asides written gracefully enough to offer no offense to un-invested readers, whatever his/her political-social prejudice.
Yet someone in the story was offended enough by something to find a cause to kill.
The way Churchill deals with hard-core feminism reminds me of a passage in Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED in which Dagney Taggert pauses in temporary terror over tangible concerns, as she suddenly realizes that women don't run railroads. Then she recalls that she has been, in reality, running her father's industrial empire; her brother, as President, has always been a figurehead fool. Her panic discounted in a heartbeat of deduction, Dagney spits, "To hell with that," instantly emerging beyond all concerns about her gender, satisfied to C.E.O behind the scenes.
At the point of dealing most directly with this issue in Mabels, Jane asks a couple of the women carpenters if they had trouble working in a male dominated industry, to which they replied that once a contractor saw their impressive portfolios, the gender question was simply released; respect and need for competence took precedence.
The seven Mabels caricatures move through the plot in well drawn style, fleshed-out into a Norman Rockwell style of living types. The reading is easy, relaxing, and involving; the themes have depth without investing in irritating pushes toward political agendas; the mystery is suspenseful without going overboard, trying too hard to outdo the ultimate in convolutions in the genre.
Refreshing, delightful, insightful, almost as good as a simple, satisfying life, Churchill's seven Mabels paint every day reality into letters on a page, without once slipping on a banana peel into a boring passage of prose.
How does she do this; how does Jill Churchill make depth and complexity look so simple, fun, and easy!
With Awe,
Linda G. Shelnutt
Awful Entry in an Uneven Series.......2004-03-09
The Jane Jeffrey series can be pretty good--and it can positively stink. This entry is a clunker. I guess I keep reading the series for the prospect of a good book coming along; every once in a while one does. Churchill really needs to stop bragging about her parents in the diplomatic corps, and I can definitely do without her incessant snarky comments about her daughter (in contrast to her huge love for her apparently saintly sons). She also needs a better editor. Almost every dialog bit in this series begins with Shelley saying, "Jane,--" or Jane saying, "Shelley, --" This book was particularly grating in its gratuitous (and passe) attack on feminism, which Churchill apparently regards as a huge farce, as she does *every* social concern. Give the woman a t.v. set and a bag of chips and she's happy! Jane Jeffrey is more trailer park than she knows.
disappointing entry in this series.......2003-09-20
This is definitely the weakest entry in this series. If you're a fan, you'll read it, but be prepared to be disappointed. The story is weak and formulaic, the mystery is contrived, the characters don't seem as likable as before. Even the title seems to be trying too hard. Hopefully, if this series continues, the next entry won't be such a paint-by-number effort.
Not Her Best.......2003-08-17
A typical book in this series, with Jane and Shelley occupying their time by solving a mystery.
However, while there were a lot of suspects, the ending came way too quickly, in about two paragraphs. And the confrontation only lasted about two sentences.
Definitely not the best in this usually entertaining series.
Strange title, easy read.......2003-08-13
I have liked the character Jane Jeffrey and her pal and neighbor Shelley. And this is an easy read with the comfort of known characters growing older and progressing as individual women who still find a home and family to be a good center. The mystery here is not such a big suspenseful draw, just the involvement of the two friends in a possible money-making scheme, ring led by Shelley, with Jane along for the ride, and maybe the profit. The plot revolves around this would-be job and the unusual, almost all woman crew of renovators who are already on the payroll. But the vandalism of the site and the one murder take a gentle route to solution. This is no great puzzler, much less suspenseful horror. Rather domestic in its scope.
Jane's interaction with her children and their maturation, her comfortable relationship with detective Mel, her entry into the real computer age and her developing novel, make for a fast and easy diversion.
This is not the best of Churchill. In fact, mystery is just coincidental to the plot, it seems. But I do think it is good enough to divert the mind from the frustrations of the world for a while.
Customer Reviews:
Home Repair Can Be Murder!.......2006-07-25
The 13th book in the Jane Jeffrey shows Jane and her best friend Shelley Nowack at work again. These two suburban mothers are asked to help old friend, Bitsy, renovate/redecorate her Victorian home and the two, looking for something to ease their boredom, agree to help. It seems that Bitsy only wants female contractors working on the house, and when Jane and Shelley show up, they realize that the lead contractor is a bit too demanding. When she ends up dead, Jane and Shelley once again are determined to find a killer. Add to this the fact that all of the renovations are going wrong (with a prankster adding to the mess), and Jane again finds herself in a situation she feels she has to "fix".
I have enjoyed each of the books in this series more for the relationships between the characters rather than the suspense of the mysteries. This was a good addition to the series, and I like the fact that Jane is becoming more independent (she keeps working on her book) and actually buys herself and her son computers. If Jane would only buy herself a new car, she would be all set! On the whole, I would recommend reading this book if you enjoy cozy mysteries even if you have not read any of the previous books in this series.
The first book in this series is "Grime and Punishment". Enjoy!
Product Description
Hardbacks
Product Description
7 Titles By Jill Churchill Jane Jeffry Series : Grime and Punishment The Class Menagerie A Knife to Remember Fear of Frying The Merchant of Menace The House of Seven Mabels Bell, Book, and Scandal. seven mmpb books.
Average customer rating:
- masterpiece of intertwined emotional romance novel
- It was readable...but that's about it
- BOO! First book in Bragg series
- Miscommunication
- did not expect this!
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The Darkest Heart
Brenda Joyce
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
Joyce, Brenda | ( J ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0440613426
Release Date: 1998-12-01 |
Customer Reviews:
masterpiece of intertwined emotional romance novel.......2007-09-08
It's a definitely your bookshelf keeper.
while reading this novel,you may feel all emotions existed in our lives.
I love all romance novels with gut wrenching stories.
This is one of them.
It was readable...but that's about it.......2006-02-01
Brenda Joyce is a hit or miss author, and this is a definite MISS. What an awful book. Awful, because the characters were so shallow, especially the heroine. This is sub-standard Native American/white-woman romance; all the Indian characters are practically saints (except for the hero's jealous would-be wife) and all the whites are racist pigs (well, historically...but come on, a little more depth PLEASE) --really a very poor sort of romance novel. The heroine was such a dunce, getting into all kinds of bad situations just by acting stupidly, & despite her attaction to the hero really did him alot of harm. Yet he kept coming back for more, so more fool him!
Novels as bad as this are why I've given up on reading romances with a Native American/white plot line; way too many of them are like this one. Books like this are really shameful, given the tragic history of real Native Americans; too trivial. Too silly for words!
BOO! First book in Bragg series.......2005-07-25
Part of the Bragg series. This is about Jack and Candace. Their son Shoz is the 'hero' of her book "The Fires of Paradise". Mass market version of this book is out of print but new version available trade size.
SHE WAS CALLED THE BELL OF THE SOUTHWEST
Beautiful Candice Carter enjoyed the attentions of every eligible man in the New Mexico Territory, until her reckless heart led her to near death in the desert. But rescue came from a savage...Jack Savage, the hard-muscled Indian warrior who both terrified and fascinated her. Suddenly she was at the mercy of an arrogant halfbreed whose forbidden passion she dared not admit she wanted to taste.
HE WAS CALLED SAVAGE
From the moment he saw her, Jack branded Candice his woman. No matter that he had chosen the Indian way...no matter that he could hang for touching her. nothing could stop him from making her his reluctant bride. Vowing to teach her every sensual pleasure, he set out to tame the fiery spirit of the blond beauty who had stolen his soul. But as war raged between the white man and the Apache, he found himself torn between duty to his people and a forbidden love he could not resist and could not live without.
Miscommunication.......2005-07-01
I recently discovered Brenda Joyce. WOW! The sexual chemistry was incredible. You'll be asking yourself throughout this novel "Why can't she set aside her prejudice and just love this man?"
did not expect this!.......2005-02-19
I just could not like Jack, I did at first when he rescued Candice but from then on it just went downhill. He never seemed concerned about her, nor the rapes and abuse she suffered, then when she's pregnant he leaves her, not to mention the other woman and him expecting candice to just get used to it.....I was not expecting this story to turn out so bad.
Product Description
Beautiful Candice Carter enjoyed the attentions of every eligible man in the New Mexico Territory, until her reckless heart led her to near death in the desert. But rescue came from a savage, Jack Savage, the hard-muscled Indian warrior...
Customer Reviews:
The Unkindest Cut.......2004-09-21
Sonja Blue is a vampire with an extremely bad attitude. Ever resentful of the act that took away her future as a human being and left her mind at war with itself, Sonja has chosen to make vampires her preferred victims. She and here silver switchblade have gained a black reputation in an underworld full of dark reputations. Most 'pretenders' have heard of her, and those that prey on humans have every reason to fear her.
Perhaps the people who should really fear her are the humans that penetrate Sonja's isolation and, for an inevitably short time become something like lovers. Sonja, who spends most of her emotional resources seeking revenge and fighting for control over the 'other' that shares her mind, has little left for partners. Darkest Heart is the story of two such men.
The first of this is Judd. Fans of Sonja will recognize the short story that begins this novel. Judd was attracted to Sonja because he liked her as a human, not for the dark horror that lay within. For Sonja this was overwhelming, but her coping mechanisms are self destructive and the relationship ends in disaster.
The novel itself tells the story of Jack Estes, a vampire hunter himself, who joins up with Sonja to hunt the vampire that killed his father. For Sonja, who doesn't take lovers or partners any longer, the connection is full of anxiety and doubt. But this is an opportunity to take on a vampire noble in the security of his own lair. And of course, there is something more. Other than her lust for blood Estes and Sonja have much in common. This mutual understanding becomes impossible to resist.
Collins makes a point in her afterword of declaring that this is her last Sonja Blue novel. So far, this seems to be the case. Yet, by itself, Darkest Heart seems incomplete, begging for a sequel. The writing is erratic, and the reader will sense that there really is some level of internal dissatisfaction that drives the story. Collins wants to be more than a writer of quirky vampire novels, and it is impossible to blame her. On hopes that at some point in her development Collins returns to complete this stories unfinished business. Sonja deserves more than the lingering, endless dark.
Not bad, but not a good Nancy A. Collins book........2004-01-27
I have been a long time fan of Nancy Collins, all the way back to her Swamp Thing days at DC Comics, so it was with a sense of coming home that I picked up her latest novel, Darkest Heart.
Darkest Heart is a new Sonja Blue vampire novel, a series that has quite a following and has garnered several awards. Darkest Heart is the fifth Sonja Blue book, and unfortunately, my least favorite.
First off, the entire first chapter has been previously published, twice in fact. The first time was as a chapbook, and the second time as the third chapter in the third SB novel, Sunglasses After Dark. Collins explains that since Darkest Heart deals with people and events from that book, she included it here. To me this was unnecessary, as fans of the series would immediately recognize the people and events of Darkest Heart.
Secondly, and this ties into the first, it is a pretty short novel, 216 pages. When you subtract the previously published chapter, you are left with well under 200 pages of new material. You definitely aren't getting a lot of new Sonja Blue for your money.
What makes it all the worse, is that even barring the above-mentioned issues, the book itself really is not that good. It feels rushed and it strikes me as an easy money-making exercise, something a writer of Collins' talent could easily put together in a short period of time.
If you are a true Sonja Blue fan who must have everything, spend the money and buy this book, but if you are just a casual fan of the series, or just looking to see what the fuss about Nancy A. Collins is about, stay away from Darkest Heart and go pick up Midnight Blue: The Sonja Blue Collection, which contains the first three novels in this series.
Seductive horror with savage predators.......2003-08-19
Nancy Collins' new addition to her vampire books is a complex tale of a female vampire that seems to have a split personality. Sonja Blue's "inner demon" is a vampire that is ruthless and demands human blood and great sacrifice. This personality takes control, and Sonja dreams the events in nightmares that she discovers are real.
Yet Sonja the vampire is also a vampire hunter, and wants to rid the world of these dark hearted villains, which would ultimately mean she also must die after the last vampire does. She dares not have close attachments to any mortal, for when the fiend inside her gets free, the man or woman Sonja has learned to care for will be attacked, and then lust, and desire addict them to the vampire's blood. It is their blood that heals her and their only release is death, and they are so caught up in the hunger for her they do not mind.
Now Sonja is the target of a vampire hunter named Jack Estes, and an ancient vampire with the darkest heart. Jack is human, he would destroy Sonja, therefore, and she must convince him of her nature -- and will have to reveal its duplicity, which keeps him in danger at all times.
For fans of Nancy Collins' vampire series, this is a winner. For those of us who inadvertently pick this book as the first to read, it is difficult. For me to know Sonja, I would have to read books one through four, so I found the shifts inconceivable and her duplicity difficult to follow.
A writer does not reach book five in a series without a large following. This book is for those readers, not for first time readers of the Sonja Blue chronicles.
Compelling !.......2002-11-02
I thought this story was very compelling. I enjoyed the characters and the flow of the entire read was right up my alley.
Totally in the Dark.......2002-10-18
Very very disappointing. Didn't go anywhere except in circles. Waste of my time and money. Note that I think Sunglasses After Dark is a super book.
Average customer rating:
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Darkest Heart
Patricia Pellicane
Manufacturer: Zebra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0821745654 |
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Darkest Heart
P. J. Linden
Manufacturer: Athena Press Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1844011259 |
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Youth of Darkest England: Working-Class Children at the Heart of Victorian Empire (Children's Literature and Culture)
Troy Boone
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Literary Theory | History & Criticism | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer
ASIN: 0415972620 |
Book Description
Youth of Darkest England examines the representation of English working-class children-the youthful inhabitants of the poor urban neighborhoods that a number of writers dubbed "darkest England"-in Victorian and Edwardian imperialist literature. In particular, the book focuses on how the writings for and about youth undertook an ideological project to enlist working class children into the British imperial enterprise.
It is generally assumed that the dominant middle-classes succeeded in recruiting the working-class youth and thus easily manipulating these young people for nationalist purposes. However, Boone demonstrates convincingly that this was not the case and that the British working-class youth resisted a nationalist identification process that tended to eradicate or obfuscate class differences.
In the first chapter he explores the contradictory aspect of imperialist writings through a careful study of Henry Mayhew's "London Labour and the London Poor." In the next two chapters he examines the "penny bloods," cheap adventure stories, which contained subversive tendencies and were condemned by the middle class but appreciated and grasped by working class youth. As a counter to the "penny hoods," new more conservative magazines were developed. In the chapters that follow Boone carefully analyzes the middle-class representations of working-class culture such as William Booth's "In Darkest England and the Way Out" to show how this culture was linked to degeneration and needed to be regenerated by middle-class visionaries. Most of the schemes or organizations for "reforming" or "co-opting" working class youth such as the scout organizations involved an instrumentalization of the working-class young which resisted this process through World War I.
Lucidly written and thoroughly researched, Youth of Darkest England is a major contribution to our understanding of youth culture and children's literature in the nineteenth century.
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Darkest Heart
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books | England | General | Regency | United States
ASIN: 9991436499 |
Book Description
A timeless collection of wisdom on love, friendship, respect, individuality, and honesty from the man who has been a friend to generations of Americans here are few personalities who evoke such universal feelings of warmth as Fred Rogers. An enduring presence in American homes for over 30 years, his plainspoken wisdom continues to guide and comfort many. The World According to Mister Rogers distills the legacy and singular worldview of this beloved American figure. An inspiring collection of stories, anecdotes, and insights-with sections devoted to love, friendship, respect, individuality, and honesty, The World According to Mister Rogers reminds us that there is much more in life that unites us than divides us. Culled from Fred Rogers' speeches, program transcripts, books, letters, and interviews, along with some of his never-before-published writings, The World According to Mister Rogers is a testament to the legacy of a man who served and continues to serve as a role model to millions.
Customer Reviews:
innocuous.......2007-08-26
A nice little book full of simple, innocuous sayings displaying a keen grasp of the obvious. But by and large, I didn't find anything that really grabbed me, anything that made me think "Wow!" I did find one or two exceptions to this. Rogers writes:
"Sometimes, though, I wonder if we confuse strength with other words - like aggression, and even violence."
I wonder what Mister Rogers would have made of politicians defining "strength" as "support for war."
he should've been president.......2007-08-08
this ought to be a required textbook in all the schools and colleges in the world.it is that good without a doubt.
Great Book.......2007-05-14
Great book to have on the coffee table. Just a quick read with great thoughts.
Don't just read it; study it!.......2007-04-19
When I sat down with this book I intended to give it a quick read and set it aside. And then I read it a second time and TOOK NOTES because I found so many pieces and parts of the book inspiring and eye-opening and comforting.
For instance, Mr. Rogers says that when he was a boy and there were tragedies in the news, his mom would tell him, "look for the helpers; look for the people who are helping others." That shifted his perspective and helped assuage some of his fears.
Another treasure is the introduction by Mrs. Rogers (Joanne) who states, "The person Fred became in his later years came out of growth and struggle. As he got older, it seemed as if the nurturing of his soul and mind became more and more important...Discipline was his very strong suit."
And in another part of the intro she states that if she were to isolate a single thing that changed Fred's life more than anything else, it was a statement made by Dr. Margaret McFarland, a mentor and teacher. "She let him know it was okay to be sensitive."
Reading that was a comfort, since most of us "sensitive souls" are repeatedly admonished to "stop being so sensitive," and yet it is that very sensitivity that should be nurtured and developed in artists and writers.
Several months ago, I made extensive notes of this book and re-read them each morning as part of my daily mediations. That's how much I loved "The World According to Mister Rogers."
It's a well-written, easy-to-read book that leaves a lasting impression.
A lovely gift.......2007-02-06
This is a gift of Mr. Rogers wonderful heart and spirit and can be a gift to any friend who needs his grounded, centering message.
Book Description
Anyone who has ever been to Japan has probably fallen under the spell of a soothing cup of sake at one time or another. An encounter with Japan's favorite libation is bound to be memorable, yet despite its growing popularity worldwide, information on this eminently drinkable beverage remains scarce. Written by a British expatriate who has spent more than seven years brewing sake in the exacting traditional method, The Insider's Guide to Sake is the consummate introductory handbook. It unravels the history and intricacies of this exotic drink, and provides an extensive list of restaurants and retail outlets in Japan, the United States, and Europe where the beverage in all its variety can be found. In The Guide you will discover over 100 sakes for all tastes and pocketbooks, tips for beginners and connoisseurs alike, and a knowledgeable explanation of the brew-master's skills. Labels and specs for each selected sake are displayed in a concise, easy-to-follow format. Whether you are a gourmet, a wine lover, or just enjoy the occasional thirst-quencher, The Insider's Guide to Sake offers a fascinating, broad-ranging introduction to this compelling refreshment--in a refreshingly compelling manner.
Customer Reviews:
One Day I Will Be a Snob.......2004-01-26
Several months ago I went to Shiki's, a Japanese restaurant in Seattle with a group of friends. It was a comfortable night and I thought I'd get some Sake. The Sake came out and I poured some for myself and my friends and it was vile. Absolute undrinkable swill.
My friends looked at me like I was from another planet. "This is what Sake tastes like," they said. "No, it is not." I replied. Luckily, Shiki's has a small, but well chosen, selection of specialty Sakes. I selected one of those and when they brought it over the table could hardly believe the difference.
I knew there was a difference, but I had no idea why. I just knew that when I was in Tokyo I was given something very different than the evil liquid I was first served.
I decided at that point that I would become a Sake snob. I figured that in this age of ubiquitous information it would be easy to find resources on Sake and that it would still be a rarity. Becoming a Sake snob would add to my overall mystique and propel me from the merely interesting person I was into the dauntingly magnificent fellow I am today.
Philip Harper's small book was my propellant. The book is very short ... in fact most of it is lists of Sakes, restaurants and retail outlets world wide. The book takes you through a quick history of the art of making Sake, how to taste Sake, how to read a Sake bottle label so you know what you are buys, and what all the different terms mean.
I looked at several other books and they didn't seem to cover things as well or as well-worded. According to himself, at any rate, Mr. Harper is the first gaijin to really work his way into the Sake world.
I don't think I've quite made myself a Sake snob. But I can read the bottle, and am working my way slowly through the various Sakes out there. I am lucky in that Seattle has many to choose from. Apparently there are thousands.
And at least I can tell people the difference between the first Sake we ordered at Shiki's (which was Sanzoshu - sort of like the Thunderbird of Sake) and the good stuff (Dai Junmai Ginjo). I can appear the snob and talk about rice polishing and brewers alcohol and so forth. So I can be pretentious, at least, as I work up to being a true snob.
Please don't heat the sake!.......2002-09-12
I am glad that Philip Harper wrote "The Insider's Guide to Sake." What you have here in this little book is everything a person needs to begin their exploration into the inscrutable world of Sake.
Like many alcohols, Sake is a beverage of wildly variant qualities. Some is made to be cheap and get you drunk quick, some is made to savor and enjoy. Of course, approaching a Sake label with little Japanese ability makes it difficult to discern the difference. Even if the label is translated, the meaning is not readily clear. What makes a good Sake? What qualities should I be looking for?
This books takes that exact frame of mind, leading the novice through all stages of Sake production from rice growing to brewing methods, both traditional and modern. Sake is quality-graded by the government, and by the end of this book a drinker will be able to choose with confidence between a Junmaishu, a Hinjozu or the ultra-sake Daiginjo.
A few other benefits of this guide are a sake alphabet, with facts and useful tidbits of information spread throughout the book in alphabet format. The tasting guide offers a brief glance at a hundred or so of the available 1,000 plus Sakes. I found this to be a very useful starting place, allowing me to make an informed choice at the Sake store. (The book also shows you how to recognize a quality Sake seller. a very useful piece of information.) Depending on where you live, the sake restaurant guide is useful.
All in all, this book picked my interest in sake and transformed my casual curiosity into a full-blown investigation. Don't go into a sake shop without it!
Best Guide to Sake Out There.......2000-06-23
As a lover of great sake but one who did not know much about how to go about choosing it, I found this book to be very informative and entertaining at the same time. Entertaining in that this is a true "insider's guide" since the author is the only foreigner that I have heard of who has worked in a traditional sake brewery for an extended amount of time. The insights contained in this book can be found nowhere else in the English language as far as I know.
Sake, like wine, comes in many forms and can be an aquired taste. Really good sake served cold (were talking really expensive stuff) can be one of the best tasting drinks you will ever experience. Please don't judge the merits of sake by that cheap hot stuff thats often served in inexpensive Japanese restaurants.
I recommend this book for those even with a passing interest in sake - wherever you currently reside. For foreigners currently living in Japan, the book will encourage you to taste various sake available only in Japan (as you should while you are there). For those outside Japan, the book contains a very comprehensive guide to restaurants and stores that serve/sell premium sake.
Finally, I should also mention that "The Insider's Guide to Sake" is much better than other books you will find on the subject, including "The Book of Sake". It is an easy read, and is thin enough to fit in your pocket (OK, a large pocket) so that you can take it with you to the local liquor store.
Useful restaurant and sake guides, fascinating bkgd info.......1998-08-07
The book includes two "sampler" guides: a sampler of 100-odd premium sakes (chosen somewhat arbitrarily, it seems, from the produce of the 1500-odd sake breweries in Japan), and a sampler of restaurants and bars in all large Japanese cities and a few large US and European cities where one can try premium sake. Of the two samplers, I think the second may be more useful. The average restaurant in Japan serves two kinds of sake: cold, and hot. This sampler helps those of us in search of real sake to find places to drink it -- an extremely useful piece of information.
The background information on sake brewing was fascinating, especially to a home brewer; I didn't put it down 'til I was done.
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