Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Valerie P. (vprosser) - , - Reviews

1 to 20 of 162 - Page:
The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream
Review Date: 4/4/2010


I wasn't quite sure what this book was about when I picked it up and started reading it. It's a nice story, but it also makes you think about life. I'm happy where I am in my life right now, but this story makes me think of choices I've made and how I became the way I am. I've always believed everything happens for a reason, and this story fits into that kind of thinking. I will definitely recommend this one!


Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Thirteen More They Wouldn't Let Me Do on Television
Review Date: 5/25/2006
Helpful Score: 3


"They said it couldn't be done--so Hitchcock didn't try to do it.

Instead Alfred Hitchcock gathered together the most grisly treats that TV moguls refused to let him screen--and put them in the most gloriously ghoulish gift package he's ever offered his fans. If you love to shiver, if you yearn for shock, if you loathe safety and simply hate to go to sleep, you'll find that Hitchcock has given you everything you want and more than you've ever imagined in thirteen unbeatable and nearly unbearably terrifying tales by:

Stanley Ellin, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, John Collier, Leonid Andreyev, Richard Connell, Robert Bloch, C.P. Donnel Jr., A.M. Burrage, Thomas Burke, D.K. Broster, Robert Arthur & James Francis Dwyer."

This book has a copyright date of 1957 and a printing of June 1978, so I imagine this content is not nearly as gruesome nowadays as it was back in the 50s & 60s.


Alice in Wonderland (Norton Critical Edition Ser.)
Review Date: 7/1/2008
Helpful Score: 2


I read this book for a college class -- the Norton Critical Edition contains more than just the story. It has the authoritative texts of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, and The Hunting of the Snark. It also contains a section called Backgrounds and another section, Essays in Criticism. The three stories take up about half the book, and the other half has the extras.


Angel in Black (Nathan Heller, Bk 11)
Angel in Black (Nathan Heller, Bk 11)
Author: Max Allan Collins
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 10/10/2006
Helpful Score: 2


"Her quest for Hollywood fame ended in an abandoned lot -- in a murder so sordid that the details are hidden from the public. The newspapers call her the Black Dahlia. Nathan Heller knew her as Elizabeth Short. But revealing their relationship will only mark the Chicago private eye, in L.A. on his honeymoon, as a suspect. His unofficial investigation begins with what he knew of the doomed wannabe starlet, with her crazed phone call to him just days before her death, and with her bizarre links to the likes of Orson Welles, Eliot Ness, and Mickey Cohen. But opening old wounds means exposing new secrets. And each one will draw Heller deeper into an inescapable maze...and closer to the terrifying truth at the heart of a notorious crime."


The Art of Sexual Magic
The Art of Sexual Magic
Author: Margo Anand
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 6
Review Date: 8/16/2006
Helpful Score: 7


"The companion volume to Mago Anand's best-selling The Art of Sexual Ecstasy, The Art of Sexual Magic takes the power of sexual energy to a new level, showing readers how to use erotic activity to achieve personal and spiritual growth. The author promises that once lovers learn to channel their intense sexual feelings into mutually envisioned goals, together they will bring about meaningful changes in every aspect of their lives.
Restoring a sense of sacred significance to the act of lovemaking, the practice of sexual magic also enables couples to celebrate the highest form of erotic communication. Sexuality becomes a way to honor both physical instincts and spiritual yearnings.
A world-renowned expert in the field of Tantric sexuality, Anand sensitively guides readers through a series of unique exercises, many of which are based on ancient erotic rituals. In the process, readers will become "sexual magicians" gaining enchanting new powers that are magically accessible to every man and woman..."


Arthur on the Farm
Arthur on the Farm
Author: Marc Brown
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 6/13/2006
Helpful Score: 1


This is a lift the flap book.


Arthur's perfect Christmas
Arthur's perfect Christmas
Author: Marc Tolon Brown
Book Type: Unknown Binding
  ?
Review Date: 7/10/2006
Helpful Score: 1


Scholastic paperback.


Auditioning : An Actor-Friendly Guide (Vintage Original)
Auditioning : An Actor-Friendly Guide (Vintage Original)
Author: Joanna Merlin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 4/23/2007
Helpful Score: 2


"I wish to God I had had this book twenty years ago. It probably would have helped me get some of those jobs I didn't get, and it definitely would have helped me deal with not getting them...I also think it's a great read for old timers like myself who sometimes need a fresh look at this career we've chosen, and a little help 'hanging in there.' Joanna Merlin has the unique perspective of having been on both sides of the table in a sometimes heartless business; her heart comes through in this book." -- Kevin Bacon

"Listen to the woman. She knows of what she speaks. Ms. Merlin has experienced both sides of the auditioning process and has done so with grace and style." -- Frances McDormand

"This is a great book. Everyone who auditions should read it, and even those who don't." -- Sam Waterston

"With this book, Ms. Merlin has accomplished the impossible. She has made me look forward to walking through the door of my next audition." -- Cherry Jones


Baby Animals
Baby Animals
Author: Karen Rissing
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 5/25/2006
Helpful Score: 1


Written and illustrated by Karen Rissing. Features barnyard animals, birds, ocean animals, wild animals from Australia, Africa, U.S. forests, Arctic animals, pets & more.


Bad Twin (Lost)
Bad Twin (Lost)
Author: Gary Troup
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 63
Review Date: 7/31/2007
Helpful Score: 1


A must-read for die hard Lost fans. The name Gary Troup is an anagram for Purgatory...


Review Date: 9/5/2011


Great Patterson book! It totally blindsided me -- I didn't see the twist coming at all! Billy Baldwin (the actor) is one of the narrators and does an awesome job. I recommend this one.


The Beckoning Fair One
The Beckoning Fair One
Author: Oliver Onions
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 1/7/2008


This story was referred to in the book Bad Twin, which ties in with the TV show Lost. It is considered top-notch for this type of genre. It left me with questions at the end, and the story at first glance is rather dull, but when you think deeper about it, there are lots of things going on beneath the surface. Quick, 90-page read.


The Best Little Girl in the World
The Best Little Girl in the World
Author: Steven Levenkron
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 53
Review Date: 4/20/2007
Helpful Score: 2


The bestselling novel that broke through the silence about Anorexia Nervosa:

At first, no one knows that something is fatally wrong with fifteen-year-old Kessa--not her parents, teachers, friends, or family doctor. No one knows Kessa avoids eating whenever she can and forces herself to vomit when she does eat...that she has elaborate rituals for her personal hygiene...that she has gone from an "A" student to failing. No one knows until Kessa's weight drops from 98 pounds to 88, 81, 78...and it may be too late.
Basing Kessa on real-life patients, Steven Levenkron, a leading authority on eating disorders, takes us inside her tormented mind in a narrative of chilling authenticity. Pulled into a dark obsession, Kessa is a girl losing more than weight. She is losing her chance to live. This groundbreaking story captures the terrifying reality of anorexia nervosa: the girl who is its victim, her desperate family, and the therapist who is her last hope for survival...


Big Bird's Busy Day (First Little Golden Book)
Review Date: 5/25/2006
Helpful Score: 2


I would not consider this for ages 4-8 as the pbs description suggests. The back cover indicates "First Little Golden Books are exactly right for toddlers. They have simple, read-aloud texts, lively pictures that you child will want to look at again and again, and their subject matter comes from the small child's own world. Best of all, First Little Golden Books are just the right size for a toddler to hold."


The Big Year:  A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
Author: Mark Obmascik
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 21
Review Date: 5/18/2006


"The Big Year is big fun. A rollicking, feather-ruffler of a read, this uproarious adventure of three men who flew over the cuckoo's nest in search for avian glory will have you cawing with laughter." -- Jeff Corwin, wildlife biologist, executive producer and host of Animal Planet's The Jeff Corwin Experience


Bitty Bear At Play
Bitty Bear At Play
Author: Kristi Jacobek
Book Type: Board book
  ?
Review Date: 2/9/2012


These books go with the American Girl Bitty Babies.


Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869 (Plainsmen, Bk 4)
Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869 (Plainsmen, Bk 4)
Author: Terry C. Johnston
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 12
Review Date: 8/18/2006
Helpful Score: 1


"Grueling winter gave way to bloody spring as Seamus Donegan and his fellow Army scouts rode west with the Kansas Pacific Railway. Led by the legendary "Buffalo" Bill Cody, they withstood blazing hit-and-run raids by Cheyenne Dog Soldiers--while trailed by a skulking enemy from Donegan's past. Then, in midsummer, the fleeing Cheyennes camped. And the 5th Cavalry mounted the brutal surprise attack that would give rise to a fierce new warrior-leader named White Horse: the Battle of Summit Springs, 1869."


Blood Money : The Du Pont Heir and the Murder of an Olympic Athlete
Review Date: 10/9/2006
Helpful Score: 1


John du Pont's millions paid for an Olympic wrestler's dream. But waas the price murder? The shocking true story.


Blood on the Leaves
Blood on the Leaves
Author: Jeff Stetson
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 3/10/2007
Helpful Score: 2


James Reynolds is Mississippi's only black deputy district attorney and his conviction rate is second to none. He firmly believes the law is the only way to true, color-blind justice. But he will soon prosecute the most emotionally wrenching case of his career. White men responsible for brutal murders during the civil rights era are turning up dead, and a renowned African-American professor is charged with the crimes. Now, amid an overwhelming media blitz, Reynolds finds himself on a playing field where the rules change every day. A man with rage in his heart knows Reynolds' deepest secrets...and is using them to exact a very personal kind of vengeance.


The Bonesetter's Daughter (Audio  Cassette) (Abridged)
The Bonesetter's Daughter (Audio Cassette) (Abridged)
Author: Amy Tan, Joan Chen (Narrator)
Book Type: Audio Cassette
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 16
Review Date: 6/21/2006


This is read by Amy Tan and Joan Chen and is approximately 6 hours long.


1 to 20 of 162 - Page: