I like both this book and Joan's first book, A Year by the sea. I like her written style and her honesty. When I read this book, I feel my heart beat and try to find out what is going to happen. It is a great book! As a woman, I understand her situation. I feel sorry for her. However, I just wonder how Robin (her husband) thinks of these two books. These two books unveiled their unfinished marriage, just like be naked in front of the public. I don't think I would like my husband to write and published our relationship "in public." And, I also wonder how her grown up children feel about the books? Will they feel comfortable about their parent's "problem" to be known? Will the books help their marriage? Well, I don't know. Probably I will have an answer as soon as Joan publishes her third book.

After reading her amazing book "A Year by the Sea" I was excited to pick up Joan Anderson's latest book "An Unfinished Marriage." From the minute I cracked it open, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. She picked up the story right where she left off in the previous book--her husband was going to retire early and join her at their cottage on Cape Cod. I was very interested to see how their strained relationship would pan out. I was pleasantly surprised to read that, like most marriages, it had its ups and downs. As she shared her experiences and thoughts, I learned a lot about my own marriage along the way. I kept putting myself in her shoes, wondering how I would react in similar situations. Well, I give them both credit for working out their differences and taking a chance on making their marriage work. Sure they have a few kinks to work out, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? I loved reading about their unusual dinner party with friends, their new cottage renovations, and their two-week stint at an isolated dune shack. I can't wait to hear about what happens next. Perhaps she'll write a third installation about becoming a grandmother and the impact that has on her own life and marriage.

An ongoing relationship and an unfinished journey!

In 1999, Joan Anderson's book, A Year by the Sea was published to unanimous acclaim. Written primarily as a memoir, the author focused on the year she separated from her husband and lived alone in their Cape Cod cottage. This slim volume spoke volumes to legions of women and quickly became a bestseller. Now in her newest book, An Unfinished Marriage, Anderson continues her story as she reconciles with her husband and he moves to the Cape.

Certainly, Joan Anderson took a bold step by separating from her husband to find herself and perhaps in part to add a new dimension to her married life. And while many women who are married for sometime would find this the thought of a solitary year intriguing, Anderson admits it was not always an easy experience. Neither is everything so wonderful during the time Robin and Joan joined together again.

For Joan, the reunion is initially fraught with tension and compromise. While Robin has retired and is now seeking a new meaning and purpose to his life, Joan has already found this during her year of solitude. Joan feels crowded by his presence both physically and emotionally. As Anderson also described unearthed emotions in her first book, she continues to reveal her innermost thoughts concerning the changes and growth for them as individuals and as a married couple. Month by month for the year of their reunion, Anderson charts the ups and downs of her marriage and their lives. With total candor
and great insight, she presents a vivid look into the inner working of this union. Drawing upon glimpses of their early, married life and their years as parents of two young boys, for many readers these scenes will serve as reminders of their own lives. While at first I was put off by Anderson's thought and words likening them to literary whining, this was short lived as the book intensified with emotions and resolutions. And all at once I came to fully understand the author's desires and wants not only for herself but for the two of them as a couple.

I do recommend reading both A Year by the Sea and An Unfinished Marriage. Both books evoke memories of Nan Martin's journey in the fictional title Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg. This is a wonderful renewal of spirit both as a woman and wife. I think that many would agree after reading this book that for Joan and Robin Anderson their journey continues and readers everywhere I imagine will wish them well.

After getting quite tired of Hercule Poirot's character and style, it was refreshing to read a Ms. Marple novel, especially since other characters, such as Lucy, help her out, so it's not a "standard" Agatha Christie book (most of Hercule Poirot's books, for instance, usually have Poirot arriving in the scene after the crime, Poirot observes and talk to people, often there are an extra crime or two happening before he solves it, then he gathers the survivors and in turns puts the blame on everyone until he finds the guilty party). but there are others, such as "And Then There Were None" who are much better than this one...

This is a good Agatha Christie mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. Miss Marple is at her sharpest. A witty, funny, and enjoyable read.

In "The 4:50 From Paddington" Agatha Christie gives us another in her long list of detective stories involving a large family at their estate. This is, in my opinion, one of the best, and begins when Elspeth McGillicuddy, a friend of Miss Marple's, is returning from Christmas shopping in London and on her way to visit Jane in St. Mary Mead. Her train is running alongside another one on a nearby track, and Mrs. McGillicuddy has an excellent view inside the parallel carriage of the other train. What she sees is the back of a man strangling a woman. No one believes Mrs. McGillicuddy since no corpse is found and no injured woman turns up at any hospital. Only Miss Marple believes her friend. Although Mrs. McGillicuddy is leaving for Ceylon to spend Christmas with her son, Miss Marple continues her quest to prove her friend's story. First she books passage on the same train and narrows the search for where a body should have been thrown to the area around Rutherford Hall, the large family estate of the Crackenthorpes. The family consists of the semi-invalided and grouchy Mr. Crackenthorpe, his daughter Emma, three sons, a son-in-law, and a grandson. At least four of the men are likely candidates for the strangler.

Because Miss Marple is not young enough to physically search for the body in unknown territory, she engages Lucy Eyelesbarrow, one of Christie's most interesting female creations. Lucy quickly gains employment at Rutherford Hall as a domestic and busily does all the legwork for Miss Marple. Meanwhile, Jane Marple has taken up residence at a nearby home and advises and assists Lucy.

In 1961, this became the basis for "Murder, She Said," the first of four films starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. Although it deviates from the book, most notably in the omission of Lucy, it is enjoyable and worth viewing.

This book is an entertaining story of two female anthropologists from New York who live with and study a tribe in a Peruvian jungle village. Margarita will study the agriculture in the village and Joanna will study the children of the village. Together, they discover as much about themselves as they do about the villagers. You will learn about yourself also. Very entertaining and insightful!

Go and Come Back is an odd yet moving novel written by Joan Abelove. The book is very well written, captures the reader almost instantly, and has great character development. In the book, a small Indian village in a Peruvian jungle is host to two strange, white women, coming from New York, named Joanna and Margarita. They are anthropologists coming to the Isabo (the Indian tribe) village to do research. Alicia, an indifferent Isabo girl, thinks the women are "stingy and stupid". But later, when she adopts a non-native baby, she begins to understand the women better, and they start to understand her. Later, the anthropologists have to leave, but by then will Alicia be too close to them to bear it? Find out by reading this wonderful book on how two narrow-minded people can suddenly fit in so easily and be liked so much by a totally different kind of people, who have a totally different culture.

Go and Come Back is a book I highly recommend because of the way the author shows how different cultures can be and how ignorant they can be of each other. For instance, when Joanna and Margarita came to the village, they were doing things horribly wrong according to Alicia's customs, such as not sharing all their food to every single person in the village immediately. It is very interesting to see the different cultures mix, and it's even funny! Another reason why this is a good book is because of the character development. Go and Come Back is a 1st person narrative novel "told" by Alicia herself. With any 1st person book (especially this one), it is very easy to see the personalities of the characters when the main character tells the story. You get to know Alicia very well throughout the story, and you can almost feel her own feelings. Those are a few of the reasons why I recommend this book.

One reason why someone might not want to read it was because it can be unclear sometimes. During the story, the author makes some points that are unclear. The reader would know there is a point, but he/she wouldn't know what it is. The metaphors are hard to catch too. Sometimes the reader can't understand what the author is even talking about, but only sometimes. Don't let that stop you, though, from reading this wonderful book, because everyone and everything has some flaws (and that's even one of the points made in the book).

As an anthropologist having done fieldwork in another part of Amazonia, I recognized myself in Alicia's descriptions of the awkward, annoying, and funny situations, with two young women trying to get a grip on the culture they want to study. I think anthropologists should read this book to become more honest about the way they gather their "data", initially understanding half of what was said, to say nothing of the context in which it was said. On the other hand, Abelove obviously succeeded in her own fieldwork, understanding and conveying another point of view so well. She writes with care and respect for the two different cultures, with modesty, and with humor. She does NOT standardize the witty characters and does NOT create a native paradise, nor a native hell. I wished more anthropologists would use her human approach in addition to writing academic, "objective" books. It could bring us a wider readership, which in turn could help to create more respect for "the other" in an increasingly hostile and racist world.

I started out reading "The Cowboy" trilogy which was an interesting enough read. So I figured I'd check out the prequel and see where these characters came from. I started with this book "Commanche Woman", and it was so bad, it is embarrassing. This is the type of book that makes me ashamed to read Romance. I didn't even finish it. The heroine's kidapping situation and treatment were completely implausible. The hero's bizaare infatuation/love for this woman was unfounded and made him, pretty much a weirdo in my opinion. I really enjoyed the other three books I read by this author (although I see a marked improvement in her writing with each book); But this one is for the dogs...potty training them.

Texas and Comancheria, 1843

Now known as Shadow, a powerful medicine woman to the Comanche warrior, Many Horses, Bayleigh "Bay" Stewart has adjusted to the Comanche way of life after being kidnapped three years ago. She still, however, dreams of the day she can go home and marry her love, Jonas Harper. When Many Horses returns to the village after a brief absence, he has a half-breed stranger, Long Quiet, in his company. Apparently the man saved Many Horses' life more than one time and is now his blood brother. As such, he offers Shadow to Long Quiet, not realizing the repercussions that will follow this impulsive act.

His father a white man, his mother Comanche, Long Quiet walks between the two worlds, but the Comanche are nearest and dearest to his heart. He has been searching for Bayleigh Stewart the past three years and now that he has found her, Long Quiet is reluctant to return her to her family, despite the promise he made to Bay's sister. As the weeks go by and the two fall in love, it is evident that the people of the Comanche village no longer hold Shadow in awe and fear -- instead, they want her dead. With Many Horses' blessing, the two escape from the village and start the long, enlightening journey to Bay's home.

I have long been a fan of Joan Johnston's novels, but COMANCHE WOMAN is not a keeper for me. I was enthralled until chapter ten, when the story took on a very abrupt change in tone and direction from what I had previously read. It was as if someone else had taken over the writing. From that point on, there is an abundance of point of view changes, strange character inconsistencies, "purple" prose, and predictable happenstances.

I have not read the other books in this series, so COMANCHE WOMAN may very well mesh perfectly with those. Even though I was personally disappointed in the last half of the book, I'm sure there are Joan Johnston fans who will enjoy the story.

In the 1843 Republic of Texas, as he promised three years ago to her sister, half-breed Long Quiet continues his search for the missing Bayleigh "Bay" Stewart with no success. When he saves the life of chief Many Horses Long Quiet believes his quest might be over when he learns of Shadow, a white woman owned by this Comanche chief. As his reward, Long Quiet receives Shadow, who is Bay.

Long Quiet is patient with his frightened gift, but begins to reach the woman he has cherished ever since he saw her back east years ago. When someone tries to kill her, Long Quiet takes Bay to safety. Though they love one another, he knows his Indian people needs him so he wants to live in Comancheria while she needs to go to her family ranch. Bay returns home to learn that the family faces a financial crisis with their only hope left for her to marry her wealthy former suitor Jonas Harper. However, she now carries Long Quiet's baby causing a different dilemma.

Though the story line is typical of most of Joan Johnston's Texas historical romances, the reprint of COMANCHE WOMAN will please sub-genre fans because this is one of the best entries in the extended mythos. The story line enables the audience to observe the lifestyles of Native American and Texans in the middle nineteenth century yet provides wonderful lead protagonists and a strong secondary cast including stars from the first novel (see FRONTIER WOMAN). This is an entertaining tale that readers will gain plenty of pleasure while awaiting the next reprint, Texas woman.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this book. I felt that I got ten and more biographies of the most famous actresses in the world.It's well researched, and it's fun to read. The author emphasizes the good and the bad, the happy and the sad. I've read all of Jane Ellen's books and enjoy her style. The Golden Girls of MGM is one of her best.

I am very impressed with this book. I am learning things in every chapter. I have read it several times - and haven't done this in ages - so I have decided to read every page. I was going to skip some chapters of stars I wasn't fond of, but found I was learning things about others in those chapters. I have read most of Jane Ellen Wayne's books and love her style. I think The Golden Girls of MGM is her best.

I am an avid fan of old films so I was delighted to find The Golden Girls of MGM in my book store. Though I knew a lot about MGM, I discovered a great deal more in Wayne's thick and delicious book. These beautfiful and talented actresses are a great study. Wayne dishes the dirt, but she sticks to the basics as well.The book is written in a breathless style. I will read it again and agin over the years so that I can relive those Golden years that were magical, but not forgotten, thanks to this book,

I've kept diaries, notebooks, and journals for 30 years, and for fun and new ideas I like to read books about writing and journaling. This was the most boring book on journaling I have read yet. It makes journaling sound like a chore or school assignment.

This book did not make me want to put it down and do my own writing, which is one of the things I look for in books on writing. It made me want to lie down on the couch and sleep. The author includes NO actual diary entries, either her own or other people's, and she goes on repetitively about the benefits of keeping a journal, as if trying to resell the idea, chapter after chapter. She also overstates both the need to schedule one's writing and the pleasures of writing for new journalers. I don't write every day unless I feel like it; never have. And I don't set aside one special pen for writing -- how limited! Although she gives lists of types of journals one can keep, they are obvious and lifeless, with almost no discussion of visual (non-word) ways of journaling. Sad to say, I got only about 1/3 of the way through this book before giving up, skimming each chapter, and just reading the box at the end of each chapter, "The Least You Need to Know."

There is so much more potential energy and enjoyment in journaling than this book conveys. Fortunately, many other books do cover this ground vibrantly; find one of them instead.

But most importantly, just get yourself a nice blank book, a comfortable pen, and START. Write when you feel like it, when you have time, and when you feel a burning issue or a lack of clarity. Read other people's published journals and get inspired. And don't destroy your journals (especially if you're young); find a good hiding place, treat them lovingly, and they will reward you with insight into your own patterns and a treasury of memories to which you can return again and again.

As an eclectic journalist I come to appreciate this book for what it is, a medley of ideas that can be use to tailor your own journaling experience. While I do not agree in forcing, yourself to write, I do agree you should keep a schedule or else you will forget about writing. Keeping a sensible schedule depending on your life style is the most practical approach. Whether is every day, week or month. I draw the line on forcing people to participate in journaling because journaling is meant to be a personal experience. Your journal should be your friend, one that allows you to grow in many aspects in your life. Just as your life is changing your journal should change with you. Keeping too many journals is not conceivable to me in a practical sense because is time consuming. Life is about living it not writing it, you need to strike a balance. Must people including myself find that having different sections in their journal can-better reflect their emotional states, vacation travels or the creativity aspects of their life. The book suggestions are quite valuable if apply with an eclectic view and I highly recommended it for a beginner or experienced journalist...

I usually bypass the ...for Dummies and Idiot's Guides but after reading this Idiot's Guide I might be looking at others more closely. This book is well-written and thorough, a very good compendium and probably the first journaling book to read before considering purchasing others. It details the many types of journals as well as the many reasons a person might want to keep one in the first place as well how as what to journal in and how to keep the writing private. It goes into specifics for each type of journal ('the unsent letter', for example, toward healing and resolution) and generally serves to enlighten one about journaling.

Peter Marshall is on a mission -- to reinterpret American history from a "Christian" perspective. Since the end is known to him ("God planned it all out") then his job is simply one of finding facts that support his thesis and ignoring those that don't. Marshall is better able to do this due to his lack of training as a historian. Books such as Marshall (along with Manuel's) provide fodder for intellectually honest people to look at all Christians as suckers for any moving story, regardless of its inauthenticity.

. . .the benefit of the doubt here.

The Concerned Parent has cautiously given the "benefit of the doubt" to Marshall and Manuel's previous two American history volumes. I cannot do so here.

The decades leading up to The War Between The States were filled with crisis and controversy on a wide number of levels. Slavery was not a direct cause of the war. The Abolitionists were not all the "good guys". Many exhibited religious and ethnic bigotry on an incredible scale -- a bigotry just as morally wrong as the slavery they were condemning. Nativism and anti-Catholicism ran rampant -- to the extent that an entire political party was incorporated (The American aka "No-Nothing" Party).

Many, MANY issues and principles were involved in the decades leading up to the war -- and that rather basic fact just doesn't come through in this book. The issues of State's Rights are not adequately discussed. The issues of the power of the Federal Government is not adequately discussed. The legal principles behind the concept of secession are not adequately discussed.

All these issues are important when considering the time period in question -- regardless of one's political, social, or religious position. In this respect, Marshall and Manuel have failed miserably.

No stars for a major disappointment.

This is the third volume of the Author's Christian History of the United States. Sounding forth the trumpet covers the period from 1837 to 1860, The period leading up to the Civil war. The Authors give a very honest, detailed account of Negro slavery in the U.S.They point out that the Anti-slavery movement was born in the great revival of the 1830's. The Authors make a strong case that the Father of the movement was not William Lloyd Garrison or Wendell Philipps. But rather the great Evangelist Charles Finney. The book exsposes the fundamental dishonesty of Southern Church Leaders who tried to use the Bible to defend slavery, The book provides marvelous sketches of the marvelous cast of characters of this period especially Abraham Lincoln.The book also gives a new interpretation of the Mexican war that is worth reading. In fact the whole book is well worth reading, especially for those who don't realize that religion is the most important factor in human history.

There are some good, fun ideas in this book. Most of the information presented is basic. This is a good book for people who are looking for new ideas but don't know where to start. The book runs the gammat from helping people tell each other their fantasies, to everyday games. The book touches on some "forbidden" topics without going into too much detail.

Overall, I think its a great place to start for people who want to experiment and/or don't know how to approach their partner with something new.

I don't fit into that category, and found that most of the things that characters in the book wanted from their partners were elementary and basic. There isn't anything in the book that a little communication, imagination and research won't tell you. But if you are inhibited, there is reassurance that you are not alone and ideas on how to act on and communicate your feelings in non-threatening ways.

This book was great for my boyfriend and I. He was the type that thought he knew it all, much to his surprise he realizes there is more than bedroom sex. It began the wheels of intamacy turning and they have not stopped yet. Some of the games are basic but they also give new ideas to old games, and it touches on some "forbidden" areas that alot of people would have difficulty talking about without the book as an aide. It opens the doors to excitiment and fun.

This is a terrific book to share with your partner, whether it is a new relationship or an old one, because in addition to the "technical" information you expect, it's got some great, creative ideas to jump-start your love life, and to make it easier to ask for those little treats you always wanted but were to inhibited to request! I loved this book!

Joan Hess's Claire Malloy books are usually more down-to-earth than the Maggody books, and usually make more sense. Trying to figure out which mystery authors her characters were based on made the book even more of a challenge, and being a mystery fan, it made the book more fun for me. The characters were interesting; the plot was convoluted enough for any puzzle freak; Claire's relationship with Peter was suitable frustrating. I hope Ms. Hess does not do as she threatened and have him encounter another chicken truck. But the ending made NO sense. It was out of character for the character she had developed. I'm not even sure the woman could have physically done the dirty deed with the handicaps Ms. Hess had saddled her. I loved it until the last five pages.

A new Claire Malloy mystery is a reason to celebrate. A Conventional Corpse is an excellent addition to the series. The backdrop of a convention attended a group of eccentric authors is perfect for murder. The characters are delightful and well written. The teenagers add spice. The frightfully spoiled cat was a hoot.

Joan Hess always entertains but I think her plot twists in this book were especially clever. Also her character's anger toward her on again off again boyfriend rang true. Although as an incurable romantic I wanted to see them get together. In fact it is my hope that one book will contain a wedding and another perhaps a honeymoon with murder of course.

I recommend this book to all the Claire Malloy fans.

A Conventional Corpse is a welcome return of Claire Malloy. Only Dear Miss Demeanor beats it as the best of the series. In A Conventional Corpse, problems fall on poor Claire's shoulders. When the head organizer of Murder Comes to Campus winds up in the hospital, Claire is roped into taking over. On top of that, she has Peter, her ex-boyfriend popping up at inconvenient times. Claire's slightly sardonic and dry sense of humor had me laughing. Though the plot wasn't extremely technical (it had to have been simple in order to solve it before the authors left at the end of the weekend), it was suspenseful. I'm also itching to find out what real life mystery authors are represented by the characters. Overall, a great read. I look forward to the next Claire Malloy book.

MURDER@MAGGODY.COM is my first Arly Hanks book, but it looks like this one's about the 11th in the series that must have begun with MISERY LOVES MAGGODY. This appears to be a really popular series, and comes highly recommended by friends, but do NOT start with this one. Oh, sure, it has great local characters and a lot of humor, but I kept thinking I was missing out on something. The jokes seemed to be "in" jokes. I couldn't get the full understanding, as they say. I'm betting that if I went back and read the first one and then read this over I'd get more out of it. This book has a truly colorful story and takes quite a few twists and turns, but I won't read another one in this series unless it's the first one.

The previous Arly-Hanks-in-Maggody mysteries have all rated four or five stars in my opinion. I have read most of them two or three times. Unfortunately, the 12th book in the series does not compare favorably with the earlier books. Arly is still chief of police in Maggody. Ruby Bee and Estelle are still doing their best to be helpful. Raz is still in love with his pig. The regular Maggody cast of characters is in the book, but Joan Hess' magical spark seems to be missing. (Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers had some efforts that don't rate four stars, so it can happen to anyone.) Read this one if you want to keep up with developments in Maggody, but if you have not read any of the Maggody mysteries, don't start with this one; it is not representative of the author's great talent.

Arly Hanks is back...and so are Ruby, Estelle, and the rest of the Maggody regulars. If you are looking for a fast-paced, murder mystery that has you shaking your head, rereading lines like the title of this review, and laughing out loud -- this is the book for you! Maggody is ready to enter the 21st Century by putting a computer lab in a trailer outside the school. Mrs. Jim Bob and Brother Verber are up in arms, the new computer nerd has a wife who is more than unhappy living in the sticks, a motorcyle rider named Lazrus roars into town, an unwed teenager shows up to live with relatives instead of "doing time"... and that is just the beginning! All your favorite Maggody-ites are back...even Raz Buchanon (who is missing a load of moonshine) and his loving hog Marjorie! Kevin and Dahlia are suffering from sleep deprivation due to their twins, and Mrs. Jim Bob thinks she may have seen a photo of her hubby online....in someone else's underwear! Check into Maggody for a great read!