"Solo" is a refreshing, absorbing read. What makes it so interesting is that all of the excerpts are written by the artists themselves, all brilliant yet human artists whose experiences are lucidly and effectively related throughout the book. As a singer-songwriter myself, it was a pleasure to gather inspiration and encouragement from these women, most of whom have travelled the long and lonely road in search of artistic and spiritual breakthrough. Each entry is very intimate and personal, and I felt like I was having coffee with each artist! The accompanying photographs by Emma Dodge-Hanson are lovely and introspective, showing thoughtful, quiet sides of each dynamic woman that are often ignored in the glossy images of magazines or music videos. I often return to "Solo" to draw out words of wisdom from my favorite artists. I can only hope there will be a companion book to follow! *****

Accolades to Mr. Woodworth and Ms. Hanson and Solo. Mr. Woodworth has managed to capture and transform the words of these woman singers/songwriters (Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Joan Osborne, Lucinda Williams, Jewel, Suzanne Vega just to name a few) into a dynamic first person narrative that brings you face to face with your favorite artist. The accompanying pictures by Ms. Hanson are stunning. I have yet to see such revealing, sensitive and poignant pictures of these artists published anywhere else. This book is pure energy and art that rivals the vitality of the women it portrays. When I read a good book or am inspired by a song I hear, I react to it physically and emotionally. In this moment of reaction it becomes art. I want to talk to that author/songwriter about their work. I want to discover the impetus behind their thoughts and ideas. Solo takes me to that place. It takes me to a place were stories are layered in astonishing depth. It is no less than an opportunity to sit with your favorite singer/songwriter and hear their ideas, insights, dreams, and fears. You are welcomed into their living spaces to find out what they think about their careers and music. Sometimes when I am reading a chapter about one of my favorite singers/songwriters, I put their music on and listen. Deeper meanings emerge, and I hear them speaking to me. This is an enlightening and excellent read.

SOLO: Women Singer-Songwriters In Their Own Words is just that: a compilation of 'collected wisdom' from some of today's female singer-songwriters. Each piece is accompanied by striking black and white photographs by Emma Dodge Hanson, and the essays themselves are written ina laid-back conversational style that makes it easy to curl up on the couch on a cold winter's day and read the book.

Editor Marc Woodworth has done a fine job of presenting these outstanding women as intelligent and wise -- or perhaps it could be said that they didn't need any help from Woodworth to come across that way? Woodworth has given each songwriter a clean slate to talk about themselves and their work, and ech artist shines. The end product is a compendium of "selected wisdom", if you will, that flows fluidly from the pages. To the reader, it feels as though one were listening to each artist chat about life, over a coffee at the local cafe. Gone are the cliched phrases and anecodtes that all too often mar books about artists in the music industry.

The remarkable thing that Woodworth has managed to accomplish is to present these women as human beings, not just as songwriters. While they talk about their craft a great deal, each comes across as being very experienced (or embattled!) in matters of the heart. Very often a given artist chats about her upbringing, how they got into music, and their various influences, topics that I found very interesting. Each artist is very honest about mistakes they have made, not only on a practical level but on a emotional one as well, information that I suspect would be difficult to glean from male singers!

Because the book reads like a "book of conversations", and not a "book of discussions about each artist's individual style", I found even the writings of artists I don't like to be very interesting. For example, I'm not a huge fan of Mary Chapin Carpenter, but she had some very intelligent things to say. Someone else who I don't recognize writes that "I realized it's okay to feel multiple ways about a certain thing," a concept that struck me as being very true and very human. The book is full of these little observations about life and human behaviour.

Overall, I was very impressed with the content of the book and the way in which it was assembled. The layout is very aesthetically pleasing and the photos are beautifully done. Thanks to Marc and Emma on a job well done.

Thurber's "The Thirteen Clocks" is one of the best books ever written. The fairy-tale plot line appeals to both the young and the young at heart. No matter your age, after reading this book you will come away feeling like the world is not as rough of a place as it seemed about a half an hour ago. This book is also great to read to young children. While it doesn't have a poetic meter, the dialogue and narration progress in an almost sing-songy way that will hold the attention of even the most restless child.

I thought that this book was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read great fairy tale. A tale with Princes, Princess and an evil Duke. I couldn't put the book down. It was short and sweet. There is a simple plot and characters that are easy to relate to. There were many descriptive sentences that painted detailed pictures in your head. I also enjoyed the pictures in the book and found them very amusing. This book as some surprising twists in it that you would never guess. Again I would highly recommend this book for anyone of all ages that just want to read something that is good and it doesn't take him or her days to read. It is just an awesome book to read. I hope you enjoy it.

I first heard this enchantingly wonderful book on cassette tape when i was at art lessons. I would wait impatiently till the next week so I could hear more~ more about the Golux (who resembles only half the things he says he doesn't) and about Princess Saralinda and the Prince whose name begins with X... and doesn't. This book is full of whimsical wonderful wordplay and contains almost all of my favorite quotations of all time. It isn't very long, but every sentence is filled with some little quips or verbal oddities that, quite literally, made me laugh aloud. This book is without question one of my favorites of all time, a truly wonderful tale that can be read over and over again without ever growing old. Really classique. I mean, the book that's given me my tagline HAS to be great: "We all have flaws and mine is being evil."

In preparing our list of Christmas books to share with others, we had to search far and wide on amazon to find this particular book, a paperback edition of the classic Night Before Christmas.

This is the book I've used for years when reading this story to my own children, passing on Tasha Tudor and other illustrators. Why?

Although we can find the same poem and pay a lot more, with award winning illustrators, the illustrations provided by Douglas Gorsline are surely the best. They are quite colorful, and offer details little children love looking into...cats lie sleepily on the window sill, we see an overview of the town, the presents spilling from the open sack are intriguing and plentiful, and Jolly St. Nick is -- well, quite Jolly (as you can see by looking at the cover!)

The story is an "abridged version" - I'm not sure about other parents, but we read this on Christmas Eve, and we only have so much time and energy. Everything we remember from the classic poem by Clement Clarke Moore is in this version.

(From "'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" to "He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!" In between we have everything, from the names of the eight tiny reindeer, to a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly, including dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky".

In other words, don't be scared off by 'abridged'!)

Perhaps a hardcover edition might be more appropriate if you're giving a gift (unless you're giving to more than one child), but this book is one of the best offers we've found!

A classic done simply and inexpensively!

I discovered this book 31 years ago, for my daughter and it is still loved by all the family. The illustrations are wonderful, warm, charming and delightful and bring a special meaning to the story. We still read it to all the young children on Christmas Eve and for adults we read the story and pass a grab bag gift every time the word THE is mentioned. It would not be Christmas without this book. It is magical.

This beautiful book was in my family as a hard cover edition for many years and was a Christmas Eve tradition for my four sons when they were growing up. It's poor battered body disappeared some time after the last of my little ones went off into the adult world. I am so delighted to see it back again, though this time as a nicely affordable soft cover. Clement C. Moore's enchanting story poem already provides an atmosphere filled with warmth and joyful expectation and with the addition of Tasha Tudor's quaint, nostalgic water-colors from an antique New England the Christmas magic is complete!
The winter landscapes fill our senses and Tasha's own gray tabby cat and Welsh Corgi welcome us into this charming world.
Tasha's Santa that you will meet in this book has been portrayed as the poem describes him...a right jolly old elf. He's not that much larger than the corgi and his team really consists of eight "tiny" reindeer. His pointy ears and his Eskimo mukluks add to the delightful ambiance of the book. He dances with the toys and with the happy animals and we can truly believe it will be a happy Christmas for all.
I hope this book becomes a Christmas Eve tradition for many, many more families.

This book is perhaps the most engrossing book I've ever read, with the possible exception of the Gaiman/McKean MASTERPIECE, Mr. Punch. This was the 2nd Sandman book I read, though I have since completed the series, and trust me, though it's amazing on its own, once you recognize the themes and motifs that have been continued throughout the series (The triple Goddess/Kindly Ones theme has been in every single Sandman collection; look it up if you don't believe me.) as well as the insights into the motivations of all the characters, this is nothing short of a masterpeice. I can't possibly say enough good things about this book, or the entire series. Added bonus: for the first time, the art is ALMOST equal to the story. Don't get me wrong, Jill Thomson, Shaun McManus, Mike Dirginberg, etc, did some great work, but up until now that kind of "comic book-y" style has dominated the series, whereas Mark Hempel's smooth lines and more abstract, angular style compliment Gaiman's writing much better, to my mind. Overall, this is, I'll say it again, an AMAZING book. Buy it. Please. For your own sake.

I first came across the Sandman because a flatmate of mine had some collections of it; her name was Nuala (hi, Nuala) and she was quite proud of the fact that Nuala is a character in the saga. Being generally allergic to fantasy of any sort (I'm usually a sternly Realistic sort of person) I picked up one of the books (I think it was "A Game of You") and was surprised to find myself quite enjoying it. Little did I know that I'd end up a total addict. I've now read the whole series, including both the Death spin-offs, and am somewhere at the back of the queue of people who would like to shake Neil Gaiman by the hand and thank him for repairing my battered faith in people's capacity for hope and renewal.

Enough about me. "The Kindly Ones" is the climax of this vast saga about the imagination. It's incredible that a story that was basically written on the fly could be brought to such a grandly symphonic and yet intensely moving end - even though it's not really an end. I mean, I write plays for a living, and wild horses with voluptuous succubi on their backs couldn't persuade me to try and come up with a new and brilliant episode per month. And yet, Gaiman did it.

If you haven't read the previous episodes it's not going to make a hell of a lot of sense, but basically what we're talking about here is a story about a man who's also a sort of god (Dream) and his realisation that he's not really able to change. The previous stories, written as the mood and the necessities of the plot came to Gaiman, are brought together here with fantastic skill and generosity. It's funny (Lucifer plays cocktail piano in a bar in LA), violent (a perfectly innocent minor character is burned to death for no better reason than a Norse god's caprice) and immensely sad; the recurring leitmotif is "All good things must come to an end", and you can sense that Gaiman is slowly and inexorably winding up this huge, sprawling, vastly entertaining and wonderfully intelligent story. And it's here, in The Kindly Ones, that the Sandman comics achieve story-hood; so many other comics glow and blaze and fade and disappear (or more frequently, fail to disappear - why did Doom Patrol need to continue after Grant Morrison gave it up?), but the Sandman is one of the few true modern epics. I can't think of a single "serious" novel published between 1989 and 2000 that aimed so high and hit so sure.

I sympathise with a previous reviewer who said that it came as close to making him cry as anything has done in his adult life (well, I've cried since I've passed 18, but not over a fiction.) The fact that it was followed by the marvellously mellow, bittersweet "The Wake" is an extra bonus. Fantastic stuff. It got me reading comics again for the first time in ages.

You know, I enjoy reading both comics and more "conventional" forms of literature because of the ability of good writers(or in the case of Gaiman, GREAT writers) to make their fantasy real, and because of my freedom to invest myself emotionally in the characters and events of the story. That said, I surprised myself by the level to which I became emotionally involved in this story.

The Climax of the Sandman series, which is wrapped up in the follow-up collection "The Wake", "The Kindly Ones" ties together almost all of the strands from Gaiman's masterpiece story of the Lord of Dream. Even having read the previous 8 collections, I at times found myself having to search through my memory for the relevance of certain characters. So thorough is Gaiman's storytelling that even characters you thought finished and forgotten make their return and somehow impact this story. While the artwork was not among my favorite from the series, it fit well with the bleak, tragic storyline. Harsh, simple, and angular, it cuts away the needless details and helps to focus all elements of the story on the central storyline.

For those who have not read this collection or know what it contains, you may want to stop here, as spoilers are ahead: While the story deals with Morpheus' final stand against the Furies, or Kindly Ones as they prefer, his death is not as tragic as I had thought, as the child Daniel immediately steps into his place. I did find myself saddened by the loss of Morpheus, but even more so by the deaths of smaller characters in the storyline. The murder of Gryphon was so simple, and his final words so unimportant, but it was truly moving. It is the genius and skill of Gaiman that the reader becomes attached to even the smallest character. This is a must read.

I love all Louisa May Alcott's books. I already read Little Women, Little Men, Jo's boys and I mean to read all the other books by Louisa May Alcott. Her books are so charming. An Old Fashioned Girl is about this girl named Polly who gives joy to everybody around her. She is so sensible and hopeful. It seems like the sun is fallowing her wherever she goes. Wherever she goes, she brightens up the place and brings joy, hope and love to everyone. I love Polly for it and I would like to be like her. Everybody knows Little Women, but not many people know Polly. But I think An Old Fashioned Girl is just as good and will bring happiness to everyone who reads it. I would recommend this book to every girls.

I am 18 and have read this book at least 30 times. Its simplicity and reality seem to reach into my soul and I seem to have found a "kindred spirit" in the heroine. No other fictitious character has ever moved me as has Polly, an old-fashioned girl. A country girl named Polly is visiting city friends and comes to realize that this world is quite different than which she has left. Here people are judged according to their dress and manner of speech rather than for their honesty and hardwork. Yet all who meet Polly cannot help but be enamored of her; her sweet simplicity is unlike any that they have ever seen, and soon everyone comes to realize that Polly is not someone to be laughed at and ridiculed, but someone to put upon a pedistal for failing to become willing prey to the cynicism of the times. Polly is the most understanding and genuine character I have ever read about. Her love for others and her unwillingness to lower her standards and morals for popularity are an inspiration to people of all ages and prove that nothing is wrong with being "an old fashioned girl."

For all the fans of Louisa May Alcott and her works, and also others as well, this book is a story that would spark your interest. Here, Ms. Alcott keeps the humor, friendship, morals, and the realistic personality of her characters going, like her other novels. The story starts as 14 year-old Polly Milton, a good natured country girl, comes to stay a month at her friend's house. But she soon comes to realize that Fanny Shaw, her friend, acts and dresses like a young lady, compared to her simple old-fashioned ways. Tom, Fanny's brother keeps most of the boyish humor in the book, mischievous, cunning, but good hearted, he feels that he is rather neglected in the family. Polly with her innocent ways, changes the relationship of the family by and by, with plenty of touching parts, and humourous pranks along the way, and through out the book, and becomes precious to the Shaw family, while dealing with her own troubles. Six years after Polly's first visit, Fanny, Tom and herself are grown to be young adults, and finds them selves dealing with tragety, but also love. And all deal with decisions, and hard troubles, while the friends' relationship gets closer as Polly's good and old-fashioned ways gets them through their troubles, and towards the happy end. A wonderful book, truly showing that glamour, fashion, gossip, or anything of that sort does not matter much, but true and an innocent heart is important in life. Happy reading, God Bless.

This is a book review of Chasing Redbird, which is an interesting, funny, and realistic story by Sharon Creech! Zinny, the main character in the book is a 13-year-old girl who feels she's responsible for the deaths of her aunt and Cousin. Having a large family of many brothers and sisters, she is feeling lost without her Aunt Jessie. She discovers a trail in her back yard, and finds out from a museum that leads to the neighboring town. Meanwhile an old friend of the family has moved back to town along with her son, who is a few years older than Zinny. He starts bringing her presents, and Zinny, who is used to boys using her, doesn't think much of it. During summer break Zinny asks her parents if she can start camping on the trail so she can finish clearing it by the time school starts, and they actually let her. While up there she discovers someone very special, and gets help from someone unexpected, while accomplishing her dreams and her goals. The author uses great humor, and realistic events to capture your attention throughout the book. The most important character in this book is Zinny, or formally known as Zinnia. She is brave but sometimes lonely. Even though she has a handful of brothers and sister, they sometimes dis-clude her. During this story she deals with the death of her aunt and cousin, her uncle who misses his wife, finishing uncovering the trail, and achieving her goals, and reaching her dreams. My favorite character in this book is Zinny. She has a lot of stuff going on in her life and deals with all of the bad things. Always leaving time for the trail, she makes a goal to finish it by the end of summer vacation. Zinny is a courageous character throughout this book, she doesn't stop for anything until she reaches her dreams, and catches her goals. From this book I learned to follow your heart. If you don't know what path to take in a situation do what your heart feels is right. You might ask yourself what you are doing and why you're doing it, but in the end you know that the decision you chose was best for you. "Life is like a bowl of spaghetti once in a while you get a meatball." This is my favorite saying in the book because it explains exactly how life is. Sometimes, while your life is okay or on the downside, something great happens. While I read this story I felt happy when Zinny accomplished her goals, and discovered the trail. Sad, was what I felt during the times of death in her family. I found myself laughing at some things that her younger brothers say, and when her uncle would stomp on a hose thinking it was a snake. Overall this book made me feel good, and helped me overcome situations in my own life! All the characters in this story are realistic and can probably relate to one of your friends or somebody in your life. They all have interesting personalities and are great to read about. To make the book more personal the author used first person writing to not only share the main characters experiences in more detail but also to share thoughts and feelings only the main character would know about. Most of this story is interesting, and kept you on the edge of your seat at some parts. Some parts of the book aren't as thrilling as others though the plot and setting fit the moral or message. Whether you live an interesting and exciting life, or you think its normal and average, this book will show you how to take any life, add a goal and make something great happen.

I believe that this book is a very good example of strong beliefs at work. This book starts off with a very wise saying; "Life is like a bowl of spaghetti, once in a while you get a meatball." That's how life is and that is how this book is too. It is the story of a girl named Zinnia,Zinny for short who's cousin Rose died when she was four. Her aunt Jessie also dies nine years later and Zinny feels responsible for both deaths. Zinny has a bunch of brothrs and sisters and nobody can tell them apart. Zinny feels like she dosn't own her life; she feels like she has to share that with her siblings too. Then she finds the trail. That is like a meatball to her. Since she found the trail, she calls it her trail. Naturally now her brohters and sisters want to help her uncover the trail and Zinny feels scandalized but her siblings lose interest and all is well. In the middle of all this an old family friend moves back to Bybanks. He gives Zinny presents but instead of feeling good she feels sad because she is used to boys giving her presents so yhey can get through to her older sister. Read to find out if Zinny finishes the trial, if Jake really likes her and if she can move on with her aunt and cousins death. I absolutely love this book and read it in one sitting. Zinny is a character stuck in the past. I think that all the other characters inhanced the book greatly and the book is very good with them. You need to pay attention to all the characters and how they progress in the story. I think I felt whatever Zinny throughout the book because Sharon Creech did such a good job portraying Zinny's feelings through words. This book just shows tha if you believe in some thing it will come true.

In the small towm of Baybanks there lived a 13 year old girl Zinnia Taylor and her mom, dad, 3 brothers, 3 sisters (aunt,Cousin)& her uncle. Her and her cousin were born at just about the same time and were so mauch alike people mixed them up! But when Zinny and Rose(cousin) were 4 Zinny cought whooping cough and then Rose caught it to and died. Zinny felt responsible for her death. Since Rose's death Zinnys aunt and uncle have always treated Zinny as a daughter. Then one day Zinny discoverd an old path that she later found out was called the "Baybanks-Chocton trail" Zinny spent alot of time clearing away the trail. Then one day when she was on the trail she discoverd a stone that had a hole under it, and in the hole was a liitle pouch that had a golden medallion that had the initials "TNWM" Zinny was confuse and spooked so she showed it to her aunt-along with a snake! In response her aunt crawled in a drawer and died. Zinny also felt responsible for this death. Theres alot more but if you want to know what happens you'll have to read it yourself!!

The Core Program is a progressive series of stretches and exercizes designed specifically to strengthen key areas on a woman's body: neck, shoulders, abs, lower back, pelvis, hips, knees ankles and feet.

The goals of these exercises are:
1. Strength and Toning, Balance & Alignment
2. Injury Prevention
3. Making Sense of Discomfort (seperating injury pain vs. misalignment pain)
4. Helping Various Injuries (Carpal tunnel, arthritis, etc)

Now, this is not a quick fix weight-loss program. In, fact, weight training is recommended as a complement to the Core Program. So I would not recommend this for anyone looking to just tone up a few problem areas or to lose 10-15 lbs. by summer or is mainly concerned about physical appearance.

Though it can easily be used in conjunction with a program focusing on any of the above (and maybe even produce those results alone!) this is for someone interested in long-term health; someone interested in aligning their body correctly and becoming healthier, more balanced and moving more easily and with more grace as the human body is designed to do. There is a basic, intermediate and "ultimate" program designed to do just that. Anyone who has passing familiarity with any type of bodywork discipline (yoga, martial arts,pilates) will feel right at home and for novices, the exercises are well explained and the pictures help as well.

I highly recommend "The Egoscue Method" by Pete Egoscue for another take on body alignment and mechanics.

When I first got this book, I had high hopes from all the reviews and from reading the first few chapters. The first time I did the workout, however, I was slightly disappointed and thought maybe this isn't for me. Then an amazing thing happened. The next day, after just one workout session, I actually felt a difference! Now I am a believer and recommend this book to everyone. The reason I was mildly disappointed the first time doing the exercises is that they are so easy, I felt like I wasn't "doing" anything. That is one of the great things about this program--it is very relaxing with a lot of gentle stretching and just a few strength building exercises--it is not rigorous, traditional exercise so there is no excuse not to do it as part of your daily routine. In fact, I think you will look forward to your Core exercise time. I will say that the first time I read through the exercise descriptions, it seemed a little overwhelming to be able to remember all of the steps and tips she gives you. But once you start doing the exercises you will realize how simple the movements are. By the second or third time you will be able to complete all the exercises with little more than a glance at the book to see what exercise is next.

Aside from the exercises, the author gives a lot of information about how the body functions, proper postures when sitting, sleeping and lifting objects, and lots of other really useful info. This book is a MUST have.

I was very pleased with the content of this book. I've spent quite a bit of hard-earned money on fitness books and videos that boast of amazing results.

I've tried it all: weights, yoga, pilates, & various forms of cardio workouts, but haven't been able to stay consistant due to time constraints. As a busy women, I usually don't have time to spend on hour plus videos and books with long, complicated instructions. Before this book, I was racking my brain trying to incorporate yoga, pilates, and strength training. I just became stressed out instead.

The Core program mixes some yoga & pilates with strength work, so I experience well being in addition to toned muscles. I also walk regularly, go for a spin on my bike/inline skates, and do some extra yoga. I find this combination fits easily into my schedule; I don't have to stress about when to do it.

In short, I would suggest this book to anyone. Also, for those readers who find Peggy Brill's explanations complicated, I recommend taking a look at Pilates Body by Brooke Siler. Lots of people LOVE this book, but I found it very time consuming; I've owned it for two years and haven't used it much for this reason. Peggy Brill's Core Program is much easier to comprehend, & the participant can't become injured (I think that if someone wants to learn pilates, a certified instructor is the only way to go!)

I have wanted to read Anne of Green Gables for so long and finally did. Why did I wait?? I wish I would have read this book years ago. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Whether you are a child or adult you won't be able to help falling in love with Anne of Green Gables. This young Orphan is mistakenly sent to the home of brother and sister Matthew and Marilla. What they wanted was a boy to help around the house as they were getting older. What they got was a delightful little girl who warmed their hearts and touched their souls. Anne gets into all kinds of hijinks throughout the novel that will make you laugh with her and cry with her. Her imagination is unmatched. She is so insightful that you will find it impossible not to relate to her. Follow Anne through her escapades of learning what it is like to be wanted and loved by parents, finding her place in a strange school, and finally getting to have a bosom buddy..someone she can truly call a friend and share life's ups and downs with. As Anne sets one ambition after another for herself, you'll be cheering for her success. This would be a great book to read on your own or along with a child. When you're finished, Anne will feel like your own personal bosum buddy. This book is one you'll adore long after it's over.

A few weeks ago, I got really sick of today's children's literature. I had read enough mysteries and trashy books about romance to last me a lifetime. So I wanted something else to read, something well-written with a good plot and lifelike characters. I had to look no further than the first book I picked up- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

Anne of Green Gables is the first book in the Anne of Green Gables series. It takes place, as most of L. M. Montgomery's books do, on Prince Edward Island in Canada. This particular story takes place in the town of Avonlea. It follows young Anne Shirley, an orphan brought to Green Gables to help Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert on their farm. Much to Anne's dismay, Marilla tells her that they wanted a boy to help around the farm, not a girl. However, Marilla changes her mind and decides to keep the dynamic young girl who would become Anne of Green Gables.

This novel is incredibly written, with well-developed characters and an intricate plot. I absolutely loved it. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great example of children's literature at its height.

I have read many books in my lifetime, and I must say, without a doubt, this is my favorite. When Mathew Cuthbert goes to pick up his and his sister's, Marilla Cuthbert, adopted child, he finds out she is a girl. They consider not keeping her, but soon they decide that she can stay a Green Gables. Marilla slowly loves the imaginitive high spirited girl more and more each day. Anne encounters many adventures from the age of 11 to 16. This book was so good, I found my heart bursting with joy. I would reccomend this to any girls and women. I loved it!

To be frank, I've seen the movie more times than I'd like to admit. I was going to give this book four stars based on the movie (the movie was excellent, but not the year's best, even if it is my preferred one), but that wouldn't be honest. This review is about the screenplay, not the movie. Besides, the best part of the movie is the script, anyway. Boastful, light-hearted, and delightful, this romp plays around with you, targeting you with its acid wit. It is also completely fictional, so don't expect much truth in it, even if the background and some of the history is real (including the subtle fact that Shakespeare really didn't have his own stories, with exception to two of his plays). There was no Viola, nor was there a Lord Wessex. This script is not to be taken seriously. But even if you are serious, you'll find yourself defrosting around the edges by the time you flip to page two.

The movie was so great, and mostly on the strength of it's terrific script, so could this book be anything but a great read? I loved, absolutely LOVED this movie, went to see it four times and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the video. This is very much worth the read, because there is just such a volume of literary and historical allusions that's its impossible to catch all of them at the theater, especially if you only see it once, since all you end up doing is trying to keep up with the plot, which moves at such excellent speed. Reading the screenplay allows you to catch many of the subtler jokes you may miss even upon repeated viewings. Thank you Shakespeare In Love! You have renewed my belief in the capability of the language of movies to be as meaningful and sublimely beautiful as any found in literature ("Love knows nothing of rank or riverbank! It will spark between a queen and the poor vagabond who plays the king, and their love should be minded by each, for love denied blights the soul we owe to God!") (Viola as Thomas: ....Tell me how you love her, Will. Will: Like a sickness and its cure together. Viola as Thomas: Yes, like rain and sun, like cold and heat. (collecting herself) Is your lady beautiful? Since I have come from the country I have not seen her close. Tell me, is she beautiful? Will: Oh, if I could write the beauty of her eyes! I was born to look in them and know myself. Viola as Thomas: And her lips? Will: Oh Thomas, her lips! The early morning rose would wither on the branch if it could feel envy!") Etc.

Great movie. Fun to see and HEAR. Very refreshing to watch a highly entertaining movie for educated adults. FYI to reader from Tenafly - ROMEO AND JULIET was written in 1596, TWELFTH NIGHT in 1600. The only KNOWN facts about Shakespeare are his date of birth, his marriage to Anne Hathaway, the birth of his children, and his death. Besides, this was a movie not a documentary. Relax and enjoy.