Amazon.com
Fans of Augusten Burroughs's darkly funny memoir Running with Scissors were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In Dry, we find that although adult Augusten is doing well professionally, earning a handsome living as an ad writer for a top New York agency, Burroughs's personal life is a disaster. His apartment is a sea of empty Dewar's bottles, he stays out all night boozing, and he dabs cologne on his tongue in an unsuccessful attempt to mask the stench of alcohol on his breath at work. When his employer insists he seek help, Burroughs ships out to Minnesota for detoxification, counseling, and amusingly told anecdotes about the use of stuffed animals in group therapy. But after a month of such treatment, he's back in Manhattan and tenuously sober. And while its one thing to lay off the sauce in rehab, Burroughs learns that it's quite another to resume your former life while avoiding the alcohol that your former life was based around. This quest to remain sober is made dramatically more difficult, and the tale more harrowing, when Burroughs begins an ill-advised romance with a crack addict. Certainly the "recovered alcoholic fighting to stay sober" tale is not new territory for a memoirist. But Burroughs's account transcends clichés: it doesn't adhere to the traditional "temptation narrowly resisted" storyline and it features, in Burroughs himself, a central character that is sympathetic even when he's neither likable nor admirable. But what ultimately makes this memoir such a terrific read is a brilliant and candid sense of humor that manages to stay dry even when recalling events where the author was anything but. --John Moe
Book Description
From the bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Dry-the hilarious, moving, and no less bizarre account of what happened next You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs. You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the subway, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. Ordinary. But when the ordinary person had to drinks, Augusten was circling the drain by having twelve; when the ordinary person went home at midnight, Augusten never went home at all. Loud, distracting ties, automated wake-up calls, and cologne on the tongue could only hide so much for so long. At the request (well, it wasn't really a request) of his employers, Augusten landed in rehab, where his dreams of group therapy with Robert Downey, Jr., are immediately dashed by the grim reality of fluorescent lighting and paper hospital slippers. But when Augusten is forced to examine himself, something actually starts to click, and that's when he finds himself in the worst trouble of all. Because when his thirty days are up, he has to return to his same drunken Manhattan lifeand live it sober. What follows is a memoir that's as moving as it is funny, as heartbreaking as it is real. Dry is the story of love, loss, and Starbucks as a higher power.
Customer Reviews:
DRY.. I LOVE IT!.......2007-10-18
This book marks my first introduction to this writer. It was unbelievably candid, intoxicatingly haunting, and extraordinarily written. Augusten is a great story teller. He has a way of writing that makes you see it, and feel exactly what it must have been like. I am so glad I ordered this book and will definitely start a small collection of his books for my home library. this was a great read. kept me wanting more..
I walked a mile or two in his shoes.......2007-10-18
I ordered my copy of Dry: A Memoirthe day after I finished Running with Scissors: A Memoir. I'm hooked on Burroughs' writings as I have walked a few miles parallel to his. I applauded his success despite his denial, and in the book laughed and cried as he put to words some of my very own feelings when dealing with coworkers, clients, figures of authority, and even friends. But despite my stellar 5 star rating one simply cannot appreciate what I am saying without the experience of reading it yourself. Well done, quick and easy read, and it leaves me yearning for more of a peek in the window of his life. It appears he's overcome some serious obstacles and is doing just fine! As soon as I finish all his works, I'll be reading his Brother's book Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's and to plug one more work that I've added to my list of "yet to read and will" is Rockstarlet
Non-stop Craziness and Humor--Incredible!.......2007-09-20
Wow. How to write a review of this book...Augusten Burroughs' sense of humor and ability to take his life experiences and weave them into stories that are engaging, entertaining and at times a bit disturbing is absolutely incredible.
His style of writing and revealing of clips of his life endear the reader to him. I could not put down the book and I was truly sad when I read the very last word on the very last page. I wanted more of Augusten, I was hooked. I went out the next day and bought another one of his engaging pseudo-biographical book and devoured that in a day or two as well.
Augusten Burroughs has a gift and I am so very glad he chose the medium in which he did to share it with the world.
Augusten, if you are out there, I just want to say thank you for finding the motivation and determination to publish your stories. You are truly and inspiration and your words have touched me. Thank you.
Hilarious, horrifying, can't-put-it-down reading.......2007-09-16
This is a fantastic book, marvelously written, at once funny, bittersweet, terrifying and can't-put-it-down suspenseful. A memoir with the drama and emotional clutch of a novel. And written in a clean, clear, highly readable style that simply pulls you through the pages.
If you've read his earlier acclaimed memoir RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, then you know you have to find out what happened to that brilliant, warped boy after he survived his hellish loony-bin childhood and stumbled into adulthood. If you haven't read RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, feel free to start with this one -- it stands on its own. If you read DRY first, you'll run to grab RUNNING WITH SCISSORS. I greatly prefer DRY to SCISSORS, myself, and I thought that was a fine book.
DRY is that rare book that will save lives and bring great joy and insight into the lives of many people who read it. I came away loving Burroughs, and looking into my own life and wondering what I'm failing to do right and who I'm failing to love and appreciate. And being grateful to be alive.
But, hey, don't let that stop you. This is no tract. Trust me, it's huge fun and a great read.
Dry review.......2007-08-31
After having read Running with Scissors, which was recommended to me by a close friend, I became fairly obsessed with the work of Augusten Burroughs. The moment I had finished, I ran to the nearest bookstore to scour over all the other memoirs, novels, and collections of short stories that he had written. After reviewing a somewhat extensive selection of his books, I ended up selecting Dry, the sequel to Running with Scissors, to be my next endeavor. I felt a powerful need to pick up where his previous book had left off.
This book was morbidly humorous to the point where I had to stop reading it in public because I could not contain my spontaneous bursts of laughter. Augusten Burroughs' life has been so astounding that it almost makes the reader question his validity. He begins living on his own at the age of nineteen, having had no education past the seventh grade. However with the somewhat unnatural charm he possesses, he is able to walk into an advertising agency from off the street and talk his way into being hired on the spot. He soon becomes one of the agency's most valued advertising representatives with the worst substance abuse problem.
Augusten uses alcohol, cocaine, and crack to numb himself from the pain of his past and present. After falling into a state of squalor, which involved drinking two bottles of scotch a night and urinating repetitively in his bed, his friends decide to step in. Augusten is sent to a gay-friendly rehabilitation center where he is forced to deal with the unconventional upbringing that left him so unstable as well as the fight of a loved one against aids. After rehab Augusten must struggle to redefine his life in terms of sobriety and adapt to this drastic change. He gives a great effort to find a balance between work and leisure which excludes the stresses that caused him to turn to substances, while still dealing with certain issues that he cannot escape.
This book is utterly incredible. My only disappointment was that it had to end. Augusten Burroughs wrote this memoir to expose to his readers how bad life can get. He also intended to send the hopeful message that no matter how difficult things become, life can always get better. Dry shows the reader that no matter what their current situation may be, if they have the intrinsic motivation, they can always improve upon it. This memoir leaves the reader both motivated and comfortably optimistic. It is a tragic yet satisfying tale of a young mans life.
Burroughs has a natural gift for captivating the reader entirely by completely exposing himself. He is ashamed of nothing and embraces his flaws. He spares no details of when he hit rock bottom for it shows how far he had to come and how much of an accomplishment it was. Anyone who reads this is sure to fall instantaneously in love with the author for his wit, determination, and imperfections.
Book Description
Distinguished novelist and critic Francine Prose inspires readers and writers alike with this inside look at how the professionals read...and write.
Long before there were creative writing workshops and degrees, how did aspiring writers learn to write? By reading the work of their predecessors and contemporaries, says Francine Prose. In READING LIKE A WRITER, Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters. She reads the work of the very best writers–Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov–and discovers why these writers endure. She takes pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breath–taking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; she is deeply moved by the brilliant characterization in George Eliot's MIDDLEMARCH. She looks to John Le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue, to Flannery O'Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail, and to James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield who offer clever examples of how to employ gesture to create character. She cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which literature is crafted. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, READING LIKE A WRITER will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.
Customer Reviews:
An Appreation For Idepth Reading.......2007-10-17
There are things discovered later in life that have the "Ah Ha moment" impact. This book opens the eyes of all who read. Its' pages make me realize our parents, teachers, professors et al did the best they could when drilling reading fundamentals into our collective skulls. The lucky few who broke through the pedantic fog and discovered a way to appreciate the nuances of written word are to be commended. For the rest of us mere mortals, products of "The System", artistic appreation,discovery of craftmanship, and salvation lie in the books' contents.
Warwick
Highly Recommended to Readers and Writers.......2007-10-08
I strongly recommend this book.
As a writer of creative fiction who dreams of being published, a familiar knot formed in my stomach when I read the opening sentence of Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. "CAN CREATIVE WRITING BE TAUGHT?" Just like that, in all caps, this question which opens the book will surely taunt the angst of aspiring authors and leave them, like me, holding their breath, waiting for the answer.
Whether you are one of those who love books or one who wants to write the books that become beloved, I strongly recommend this book. Although I am not going to reveal Ms. Prose's answer (only because I think you should read the book yourself!), I will say that this book rejuvenated my excitement for reading and was further inspiration for my writing.
In this book, it is as if Francine Prose is your own personal literature professor, standing at the front of the classroom of your mind and giving you permission, encouraging you even, to immerse yourself in the pleasure of books. For this reader, such "permission" was a breathe of fresh air (you mean reading is supposed to be enjoyed?) and the guidance Francine Prose offers rubs away detritus accumulated from college lit courses that were conducted more in the spirit of an anatomy lab and reading groups/mainstream media that peddle the notion (which many of us buy) that she who reads the most, the fastest, earns the Superior IQ medal of honor. By the time I finished the book, I was nearly salivating at the thought of alternately devouring and savoring the books Ms. Prose recommends at the end...just - for - the - fun - of - it!
As for the book being helpful for writers, I can only speak for myself and am somewhat reticent because, as the saying goes, "the proof is in the pudding." That being said, Ms. Prose does a superb job of navigating the area between prescribing formulaic dogma for creative writing (of course that's an oxymoron, but that doesn't stop many others from teaching it anyway!) and revealing such delicious insights into the art and practice of writing that I have most of the book dog-eared and underlined, awaiting my return. And I will, again and again.
Yum, yum, yum.......2007-09-04
One of the functions of a critic is to slow us down.
Readers flipping the pages of a Derek Armstrong or
TK Kenyon novel may be propelled by the plot to read
quickly: chew it all up and swallow and move on.
The aptly named Francine Prose invites us to take a breath.
By focusing our attention on some wonderfully wrought writing,
she encourages us to see how that stuff is built, to go behind
the curtain and watch the wiz at work.
Some of the examples that she explores may seem odd to
one reader or another, but I found her discussion of one
passage that I didn't admire to be as stimulating as
the rest.
Reading Like a Writer was recommended to me by Martin
Donoff of Fairleigh Dickenson's MFA program in writing.
It's used as a text in that program.
For the writer, this is a reminder that the best writers
read and that what they read is the best writers. This
book is an inspiring tour that will lead the reader to
a higher level of pleasure and the writer to a new level
of the craft. Read this in small doses and let it stay
with you.
(Incidentally, the author photo is pretty hot too.)
--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005
Not what I was expecting, but still worth your time.......2007-08-21
More of a book about "reading quotes by great authors and reading rather lavish commentary by this book's author", but I really can't complain about that. Good introduction to what to look for in a book as a reader or a writer - discusses everything from narration to use of gesture. If you enjoy writing, you should read this book.
So disappointing! here's why..........2007-08-19
What a let-down this book turned out to be. The title of the book is inappropriate. It is a decent book for people who love to read, but not for those who want to write. When Prose gave the example of a Flannery O'Connor story and discussed for one page why using the word "grandmother" instead of a few other alternatives was best, I knew I was in trouble. Did Flannery O'Connor really sit and think about this? Perhaps. But probably not. Some of the best writing happens when a writer analyzes least. There is such a thing as over-analyzing a creative work. In fact, it's probably the number one reason why people who set out to write, quit. Not because they can't write well, but because they think it has to be torture. Also, for any of you writers out there who write for children - this book, imho, is worthless. In the first chapter, Prose briefly points to what she read as a child and then goes on to state that as she grew older she read books that were "more challenging, better written..." As a children's writer, I find the presumption that fiction for adults is "better written" than children's lit. full of old-school pretension. How to compare a classic like C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia or E. Nesbit's classics with a Hemingway novel? Finally, if you have studied Literature in college, you may very well find this book just more of the same.
Customer Reviews:
Analysis of Pop Culture with Mostly Accessible Essays.......2006-02-19
Signs of Life focuses on the way we are shaped by the media and advertising with nine chapters that cover "Consuming Passions," "The Signs of Advertising," "Video Dreams," "The Culture of American Film," "Culture and Contradiction in the U.S.A.," "Gender Codes," "Constructing Race," "Popular Spaces," and "American Icons." Many of the essayists, like David Brooks, Thomas Friedman, Thomas Frank, Eric Schlosser, Franine Prose, Gregg Easterbrook, Malcolm Gladwell, and Michael Eric Dyson are best-selling authors whose essays or book excerpts are published in popular magazines. Signs of Life is well served by these writers who, unlike some of the lesser known writers, don't indulge in heavy didactic, academic prose. Some might not like the book for giving too much space to overly didactic writers. For example, there is Fred Davis' essay about the cultural signs and contradictions of blue jeans, which is so steeped in academic speak and is so absorbed by its tiny topic that it seems a pardoy of scholarly writing. Read for example: "Paralleling the de-democratization of the jean, by the 1970s strong currents toward is eroticization were also evident." Or "Of all of the modifications wrought upon it, the phenomenon of designer jeans speaks most directly to the garment's encoding of status ambivalences. The very act of affixing a well-known designer's label . . . to the back side of a pair of jeans has to be interpreted . . . along Veblenian lines, as an instance of conspicuous consumption; in effect, a muting of the underlying rough-hewn proletarian connotation of the garment throug the introduction of a prominent status marker." This is tough going, especially freshmen college students who are not familiar with this type of heavy-handed writing. This essay selection should be further criticized because I don't think students should be encouraged to believe that Fred Davis' heavy-handed writing style represents a worthy model.
In spite of some of the book's excesses, teachers and students alike should appreciate Signs of Life for three reasons: 1) Integrating the aforementioned popular authors into the chapters about popular culture, 2) Providing excellent essay assignments at the end of each essay under the heading "Reading the Signs." With a half dozen strong essay options per essay, the students have over 50 assignment options for chapter. 3) The introduction has three excellent model essays that show the students how to write A-level expositions. The models are based on "The Personal Experience Essay," "Critical Reading of a Film," and "The Open-Ended Analytic Assignment." Each model shows how to integrate outside quotes, paraphrases, and summary into the writer's own voice and how to document outside sources in the text and at the end of the manuscript with an MLA style "Works Cited" page.
It appears that Signs of Life Fifth Edition is moving away from the academic lucubrations of scholarly authors and embracing more accessible writers, like those previously mentioned. This is a positive evolution for the fifth edition and hopefully points to less overly-done academic writing in future editions.
What the media is up to...........2005-09-22
There is a statement that is familiar amongst our society, especially those of us that are more liberal, and that is "to not always trust what the media offers as valid or true." This textbook is an attempt to characterize the ways that media manipulate or tangle the truth, and even goes as far as offering an explanation as to why they do it. Now this is where objectivity within a learning text can be lost because to offer opinion about why the media does such things is treacherously difficult to do without biasing a left or right view. Yet the book does offer many illuminating details about the workings of this incredibly powerful economic and political tool, and more importantly, it offers the reader tools for combating or deciphering the clouded messages it gives.
I believe that this is a book that must be read by every human being (not to mention our pets who more and more become economic targets) so as to arm himself or herself against the incessant onslaught of "buy me! Buy me!" and "I can make you better because God knows you weren't made right!" However, the book loses power in being a textbook because some fluidity is lost, and it can be at times rather bland.
Nonetheless, it is a great tool to have and a tool that has now more recently become important to the human in his newest, superficial society.
Average customer rating:
- A particular way of living
- Non Fiction
- What a great book
- wonderful, insightful book...
- Interesting concepts
|
The Tao of Pooh
Benjamin Hoff
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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365 Tao: Daily Meditations
ASIN: 0140067477 |
Amazon.com
Is there such thing as a Western Taoist? Benjamin Hoff says there is, and this Taoist's favorite food is honey. Through brilliant and witty dialogue with the beloved Pooh-bear and his companions, the author of this smash bestseller explains with ease and aplomb that rather than being a distant and mysterious concept, Taoism is as near and practical to us as our morning breakfast bowl. Romp through the enchanting world of Winnie-the-Pooh while soaking up invaluable lessons on simplicity and natural living.
Book Description
One of the world's great Taoist masters isn't Chinese, or a venerable philosopher, but is in fact none other than A. A. Milne's effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear Winnie-the-Pooh. While Eeyore frets and Piglet hesitates and Rabbit calculates and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is. And that's the clue to the secret wisdom of the Taoists.
Customer Reviews:
A particular way of living.......2007-10-19
This book is based around the idea that A. A. Milne's stories of Winnie-The-Pooh can be used to illustrate the basic notions of Taoism. Hoff is not by any means arguing that Milne was a Taoist. He is merely saying that Milne's inner attitude to life, as revealed by the stories, intuitively follow along the same path as Taoism. Owl is wise, Rabbit is cleaver and Eeore is smugly superior but the real hero of the books is Pooh, the apparently stupid yet strangely successful and able bear.
The book covers the Taoist principles of:
Tao, or the indescribable Way of the universe,
P'u, or natural simplicity, the Uncarved Block,
Inner Nature, being those things that make us exactly who we are,
Wu Wei, or proceeding without doing, causing, or making,
Tzu Jan, or 'self so', meaning that things happen by themselves, spontaneously,
Tz'u, or caring and compassion, and,
T'ai Hsu, or the Great Nothing.
Along the way we learn the pitfalls of being too busy and the benefits of doing nothing (for example meditation and contemplation). Having read this I now try to arrange my day so that I can spend half an hour a day in my garden with my cat just doing nothing but observing nature and thinking the thoughts that come to mind. I recommend it to everyone.
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
A complete waste of time. I suppose it is a whimsical idea to use Pooh to explain the version of philosophy that you favor. Others might term this exploitative. In fact, there is probably a comic in there somewhere, The Revenge of Pooh, where pragmatic realistic toys with weapons come and kick the stuffing out of wacko writers.
What a great book.......2007-08-27
If you only read two books this year, this and "The Te of Piglet" should be those.
wonderful, insightful book..........2007-08-08
I found this to be a simply delightful read. It was easy to comprehend and get through. Whoever thought that Pooh might one day come back and enlighten me as much as he entertained me as a kid growing up.
Interesting concepts.......2007-08-04
I learned of this book through my truck insurance auto person in Minnesota. He told me of this book and I bought it and thought it had some great insites on life. They were always there but Pooh brings them out in a way that makes me think farther into it. Really good. PSM
Book Description
Presented in a clear and visually appealing fashion, THE WRITER'S WORKPLACE breaks down the difficult writing concepts into easy to read, step-by-step explanations. All elements of writing, from grammar through the writing process, are covered in this text making it the most comprehensive yet easiest book on the market for the beginning writing student.
Book Description
Authors Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell have already helped hundreds of thousands of K-3 teachers engage, inform, and inspire early readers and writers. Now, with Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6), Fountas and Pinnell support teachers on the next leg of the literacy journey, addressing the unique challenges of teaching upper elementary students.
The product of many years of work with classroom teachers, Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6) is one of the most comprehensive, authoritative guides available today. It explores all the essential components of a quality literacy program in six separate sections:
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Breakthrough to Literacy: Fountas and Pinnell present the basic structure of the language/literacy program within a breakthrough framework that encompasses the building of community through language, word study, reading, writing, and the visual arts. The framework plays out as three "blocks," which can be interpreted as conceptual units as well as segments of time within the school day. Specific information on how to structure a reading and writing workshop is provided. A practical chapter on organizing and managing the classroom will help you implement the principles in your own classroom.
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Independent Reading: It is essential for students to develop interests and tastes as readers, selecting books for themselves every day. Fountas and Pinnell devote four chapters to independent reading, exploring how to structure teaching, minilessons, conferences, groupshare, and ways to use response journals as part of a reading workshop.
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Guided Reading: The chapters in this section provide detailed information on planning for guided reading, dynamic grouping for effective teaching, and selecting, introducing, and using leveled texts. Fountas and Pinnell describe characteristics of texts related to difficulty and ways to organize texts in your classroom and school.
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Literature Study: This section of the book discusses how to make students' experiences with literature as rich as possible. The authors offer specific suggestions for forming groups, guiding student choices, and establishing and teaching routines for literature discussion. A full chapter explores reader response and ways to help readers dig deep to uncover the meaning of texts.
-
Teaching for Comprehension and Word Analysis: This detailed look at the reading process explores both oral and silent reading, processes and behaviors related to comprehension, and ways to help students construct meaning. Included are twelve systems for sustaining the reading process and expanding meaning, plus discussions of the important areas of phonics, spelling, and vocabulary.
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The Reading and Writing Connection: These chapters showcase the instructional contexts - poetry, writer's notebooks, writer's talks, genre, content literacy, and student research - that support students in connected reading and writing. An informative overview of the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction will help you teach students to read and write a variety of genre. What's more, the authors suggest ways to help students learn the "genre" of testing and perform the kinds of reading and writing tasks that tests require. They also detail the continuous thoughtful assessment that guides all aspects of effective teaching.
A special feature appears at the end of each section, in which Fountas and Pinnell provide indispensable suggestions for working with struggling readers and writers.
Customer Reviews:
Must have resource.......2007-05-13
Every teacher who teaches grades 3-6 should own this book. It has practical mini-lessons, rationale for teaching comprehension strategies and additional resources. If you don't already own it, you should get your hands on a copy.
AMAZING. The bible of literacy........2006-08-11
This is the book you need for creating and maintaining a solid and authentic classroom literacy program. "The First Twenty Days" alone is extreemely helpful. You can start small and grow as you feel comfortable. A little overwhelming at times but worth it!
Guiding Readers and Writers.......2006-07-25
Excellent resource. Everything needed to start a reading/writing/word study workshop. My book is full of sticky notes of things to use!
Excellent Resource for Teachers !.......2006-06-29
Definitely one of the most useful and comprehensive reading and writing resources that I have ever purchased for my professional library. The price is very reasonable as well!
Great Guideline for New Teachers.......2006-03-09
This book has helped me tremendously with my new job as a teacher. Going to school did not prepare me as much as this book has.
Average customer rating:
- DISGRACEFUL number of typographical errors!
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Short Fiction: Classic and Contemporary
Charles H. Bohner , and
Lyman Grant
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 0131916750 |
Book Description
This book is an exceptionally wide-ranging alphabetically arranged collection of stories spanning all genres of short fiction. It includes myth, fairy tale, humor, western, detective, Magic Realism, gothic, fantasy, folktale, and film. This edition presents a wide variety of selections by writers from diverse backgrounds that represent a true cross-section of the population and represent a broader, more current selection of contemporary fiction.
Features a variety of relatively
new writers and some older writers whose work is gaining new audiences: T. C. Boyle, Alice Carey, Oscar Cesares, Charles Chetnutt, E. M Forster, Nikolai Leskov, Mary McCarthy, Jonathan Nolan, Dorothy Parker, Banana Yoshimoto, and Anzia Yezierska. Includes
new works to the context readings essays or excerpts from non-fiction section: by Walter Benjamin, Raymond Carver, E.M. Forester, and Joyce Carol Oates, all great critics and theorists of narrative.
Stresses women writers, writers of color, and gay and lesbian writers:includes works by Isabel Allande, Sandra Cisneros, Ana Castillo, Leslie Dick, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Mary Gaitskill, Susan Glaspell, Gish Jen, Mary Shelley, Leslie Marmon Silko, Susan Sontag, Jeanette Winterson, Sherman Alexie, Julio Cortázar, Carlos Fuentes, Ernest J. Gaines, Dagoberto Gilb, Hanif Kureishi, Tomás Rivera, Salman Rushdie and more.
For literature and film enthusiasts.
Customer Reviews:
DISGRACEFUL number of typographical errors!.......2001-01-03
Although the selection of short stories in this anthology is excellent, presenting an array of some of the best classic and contemporary pieces of the genre, the number of typographical errors are INEXCUSABLE. This is the anthology I purchased for a short fiction class this past fall, and as a class we were increasingly astounded by each additional typo we confronted. In about half of the stories we read, we encountered at least one, and in some we noticed more than one, which was really distracting. In Conan Doyle's Red Headed League, for instance, Holmes "THOUGH as much" (as opposed to thought), and on the very next page, he "only wished to ask WHO he would get to the Strand" (as opposed to how). The fact that there was a misprint in my favorite story of those that we read - James Joyce's Araby--was the last straw for me. My professor encouraged us to write or e-mail the editors and complain, and one student did, only to receive an e-mail which defended them and declared that the errors don't really alter the content or overall effect of the stories. Ironically, instead of the monetary compensation my fellow student(unsurprisingly)requested, the person she contacted offered to send her a free book on English writing and usage. We all told her she should send an e-mail back to them, telling them to keep the book because the editors obviously needed it more than her.
It really is disgraceful, though. How could the editors possibly think that stupid errors like this don't crucially alter the story's effect on the reader? This is not the case. It is distracting and irritating, and destroys the effect for me. I can't imagine that James Joyce would have agreed with the comment that errors like this don't really damage the story. Every author whose story was massacred by these editors would shudder that their works of art were destroyed by carelessness. Isn't the editor's job to make positively sure these kinds of errors are not there? It's really hard to believe. I've never EVER encountered typographical errors in books I've read for school, and very few in the ones I have found mistakes in. Certainly no more than two! Don't buy this anthology...maybe wait for the next edition-- hopefully they will proofread a little more accurately. If the editors happen to read this-- please, this is one disappointed student who doesn't want monetary compensation--I just want another book, and I want it to be perfect!
Customer Reviews:
A Good Guide.......2007-07-19
Very well done and easy to understand. Samples are good and support the ideas throughout.
Practical Traits.......2006-03-19
This book offers tons of practical approaches and practice scoring for the 6 Traits of Writing. It is written by a recognized master in the field and has been so helpful.
A Friendly Read.......2006-02-26
Spandel's book is an authentic, engaging, and encouraging read for those that teach writing, want help infusing writing, or want to enhance their own writing. It is written conversationally and is well supported with numerous examples. I found it visually appealing as a reader and insightful. (Another review didn't like the visuals because it isn't easy to lift examples "as is" for sharing in class. To that angle I agree, but as a reader the layout is very pleasing.) Highly recommended.
Creating Writers Through 6-Trait Writing Assessment and Instruction (4th Ed).......2005-07-28
This book gives so many examples of the qualities to look for and teach in writing instruction. I especially like the fact that this edition is more inclusive of secondary ideas and samples.
With this book as a guide, it is hard to miss what is important to the writing instructional process. The information is comprehensive and user friendly.
Great info, inconvenient format.......2003-08-17
Creating Writers got me charged up and well-prepared for teaching sriting/revision using the 6 Trait model. Spandel writes well, using a combination of research-based information and personal anecdotes to keep the reader's attention. I appreciate the number and variety of samples she included for practice revision/assessment. The samples were, however, not very easy to duplicate for classroom use. The print is too small and there are often two samples on one page, or one sample on several pages. The layout is difficult to work with. Overall, though, the book is excellent. I have been to two training sessions about 6 Traits, but it took Spandel's book to get me hooked and enthusiastic, and made me confident about using the 6 Traits in the classroom.The information deserves a 5 star rating. The format deserves a 2.
Customer Reviews:
Love/Hate book.......2007-02-10
Depending on the author, you would either love or hate this book. I had it for EN101 and it is a really good book to base your essays and portfolio on.
Beware "Ways of Brainwashing" student turned teacher.......2005-11-29
The essays in this book aren't particularly enlightening; however, they are often misused not to start debate or critical thinking, but rather to show students "what they SHOULD learn and feel about the topics." I didn't like any of the essays in this book because they didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I am already the product of a democratic, public education. Thus, I am tolerant and accepting of others' views and opinions. I don't need tolerance beaten into me over the course of a semester. This book should only be used for the formerly home-schooled and religious right, as it will only open worlds for them.
In sum, this book is best used for what I can only assume it was originally intended - as a yule log. My fondest memories of this book were in the burning of it after Christmas dinner in 1999. Book burning is one human right not mentioned in any of the essays in this book - perhaps it should be.
From a Teacher.......2004-04-30
I have used this book to teach a freshman writing and reading course at a liberal arts school. Because of the difficulty of many of the texts, it was met by my students with little fanfare. While a few of the pieces are clearly too much for the average freshman (Foucault comes first to mind), most can be used effectively to get them to discuss issues. I have found that the students would rather talk in generals and universals than with the intricate arguments that some of the writers brilliantly present.
This is one of the those books that if you decide to use it in a class, then you better be prepared to not only sink with the ship but also be able to provide an inspiring tour of the ruins.
Challenging, yet rewarding read.......2004-02-14
I had to read this book for my upper division journalism class this fall and found it to be one of the best books that we used in the course. The editors have tried to collect well-written, intelligent documentaries that challenge traditional connections between words and photographs.
Included are Edward Said's inspiring piece about the Palestinian holocaust and exile, a piece by Roland Barthes about the meaning of photograph, "Let Us Speak Now of Famous Men," and many others. Although some pieces are better than others, Barthes' piece is more exciting and informative than Marianne Hirsch's writing on the way that children are used in photography. Over all, the collection is a rewarding and challenge book that could be used for any upper division class. (Maybe the reason that previous reviewers did not like the book is that it was not intended for first year college composition classes.)
Blah, Blah, Blah.......2004-02-14
I had to read this book for my Freshman lit/comp class and it is by far the most pathetic collection of essays every gathered. It is almost unreadable, pretentious, and laughable. It is a collection of essays by writers who think considerably more of themselves then they are due. Subsequently they choose to use language that "shows" how much smarter they think they are.
Customer Reviews:
A World of Ideas.......2001-01-22
The book is required for my english class.I just got it and have not had a achance to read it. What I can tell you is that the book arrived very quickly, which is exactly what I needed. Thank You.
Basic College Writing.......2000-04-25
This is an excellent book for transitioning students from high school to college. The selections are intellegent and demanding and cover several areas of study. The introduction gives a method for reading and evaluating that will serve the student for the remainder of his/her college career and beyond.
A collection of wonderful essays by key thinkers of the worl.......1998-11-21
This is a great book, with excerpts of many great writer's greatest essays. Writers include Lao Tzu, Machiavelli, Rouseau, Nietze, V. Woolfe, H. Woordsworth, H. Arnedt, C. Jung, M.L. King, F. Douglass and many many more.
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Possible Side Effects
Naked
