I believe JCO is arguably the best writer to emerge in America in the second half of the 20th century. That said, I read this biography with much interest and found in it plenty of information about the elusive, invisible persona of JCO. However, as much as I appreciatted Mr.Johnson's obvious labour-of-love research and detailed account of the life and times of JCO, I found the whole thing somehow biased as a overly soft and timid portrait of a mysterious, enigmatic woman. I found many of the elements mentioned in the book suggested tremendously interesing points of entry into JCO's personal and psychological universe. None of them were explored. It seems like Mr.Johnson always stops at the threshold of the dark cave and then points his typewriter at some nice, peculiar social event. As I was reading, I felt Mr.Johnson limited his approach to recount little know facts with admirable accuracy and attention to detail, but reading any novel of JCO tells us more about her mind and soul that recounts of many dinner parties at Princeton. If you're interested in this wonderful writer, this book is surely helpful in reconstructing the outside of her life, and most interesting in its depiction of the inner workings of the literary world mafia, but I'd say very far from being the truly meaningful journey into JCO's mind that I'd like to read. I wouldn't like to discourage anyone interested in JCO to reads this, because it is a worthy and valuable read and Mr.Johnson deserves credit for taking on a difficult subject and rendering a never faltering narrative, but I believe JCO, and her readers, deserve even better (and specially braver) and will feel wanting for it. A good first look at this fascinating writer, sure, but she remains as invisible as she was before we opened this biography. Since JCO is after all still very much alive and kicking (her last BLONDE proves she as good as ever or even better), maybe it is a matter of time and perspective. Maybe Mr.Johnson himself, given time and distance, will offer us a deeper reading of JCO. He is surely an able writer and a keen researcher. I'll surely be there to check all the fascinating stuff about one of my favorite authors that this time, somehow, proved invisible, but smellable.

Invisible Writer is throughly researched and well written. I found it very readable, even though I was not a fan of JCO's. I'm still not a fan of hers. Greg Johnson manages to create a fair portrait of JCO as a human who is sometimes prickly and vain. I understand other reviewers' comments that he's too soft on her, but I see it as him being careful to be fair in writing about someone who is still producing some of her best work. Oddly I didn't find that his treatment made her more likeable, only that it made JCO someone with whom I can empathize.

After reading this book, the greatest question remaining about JCO is the violence, especially sexual, in her work. A childhood sexual incident is mentioned, but it seems rather mundane. Johnson refers to some of the hardships suffered by JCO's family, but those hardships doesn't seem to explain well enough how this quiet, intellectual woman lives in such another world in her writer's imagination. Perhaps that's the intrigue of JCO.

This biography exhaustively plumbs the life and career of Joyce Carol Oates. Although not a biography I would normally seek out, since I've read only a few of her books, "Invisible Writer" was named a "Best Academic Book of the Year" by the American Library Association and received glowing reviews, so I was curious about its content. I was immediately taken in by this sweeping, thoughtful, and superbly written account of a consummate writer's writer. Although Johnson does not shrink from criticizing his subject--her controlling behavior, her tendency to depict "friends" in her fiction in unflattering ways, even an occasional veiled threat of revenge to an unfriendly reviewer--he presents on the whole a fair, balanced portrait of a writer for whom art is almost her entire life. This should be read by anyone interested in writing or writers.

Greg Johnson has written a number of books on the subject of teens, as he has 20 years experience. And I don't want to take anything away from his ministry. However, while he covers a very broad assortment of questions in this book, he stays on the surface and doens't dig very deep. Most questions are answered in a page or two, and I just don't think you can adequately deal with some of the questions he introduces. In fact, he spends only 184 pages answering 80 questions, and some of the pages are the second pages of a chapter, with only a paragraph on these pages.

Perhaps he should have narrowed the number of questions so he could have dug a little deeper. I would have also liked additional resources at the end of each chapter (for futher digging). As someone who works with high school teens, I know that the way they think goes much deeper than what this book has to offer. Perhaps it is better suited to pre-teens and early teens, but the 16 to 18-year-old audience that I work with wants more. Finally, a book like this--with such a great title as it has--needs to be better organized. There are no table of contents or index. I suppose the way to find a particular question is to mark up your book on your own. Truly, if Johnson could find a way to better organize a future book with more details in the answers, I know many teens who would truly buy it.

Working with the young people from my Church has been real rewarding. In this book I found the anwsers to most of the questions I had been asked. The book gives simple straight forward anwsers and the Bible scripture to back them

This is a fun little book. It's being little is my only complaint. For the price I would like to have had a bit more. However, it does have a lot of color photos nicely reproduced so you can really see the designs.

It has a nice mix of furniture, accessories and even appliances from that period. Books that showcase museum pieces are nice to look at but "Affordable Art Deco" is for the rest of us -- those who want to create a Deco look in our homes. The authors give an idea of what things should cost, which is very helpful. For instance, two lighted art glass cigarette stands should run $75-$150, depending on condition. I've seen the same stands at an antique store priced at $400. I thought that excessive but now I have backup.

I certainly don't regret purchasing "Affordable Art Deco" and would recommend it to anyone out there shopping for the real deal, e.g.; Not just looking at it in a museum.

...shallow, transparent, and boring. Greg Johnson gave me absolutely no reason to care about these characters. As a gay man living in Atlanta I may be at a disadvantage however, for I found this book to be nothing more that a tour of the city through a pretentious gay man's eyes. Others who do not live here may find it charming. If there were some depth to the characters possibly I wouldn't have put this one down.

If you're looking for a winner try Louis Bayard's "Fool's Errand". Or look up Jim Grimsley, a fellow Atlantan who writes about the city in a much more interesting way.

Many things can break family ties. In this case it was Thom Sadler's announcement to his family that he was gay. A few weeks later his father dies, his mother blames Thom and sister Abby joins with her mother to flee Atlanta. Four years later Abby begins the process of fostering a reconciliation between mother and son when she learns her brother is HIV positive.

Thus begins the saga of three individuals trying to come to terms with themselves and one another as to what it means to become a family. Abby's return home to Atlanta is just one step of many that she and Thom take to become reconciled with their mother. In attempting to do this the sister and brother duo form their own extended family. Meet Connie, a loud mouth, pain in the [butt] friend of Thom's who is afraid to face his own father. Then meet Veronica, a passing acquaintance of Abby's on an air plane, who works her way into the Sadler family with her on again off again husband.

What we're giving is a wild mix of flawed people both gay and straight who attempt to find strength within themselves to face their personal challenges. You will find in this group hidden agendas, secrets and hypocrasy. There is also a deep undertone of obsession that runs throughout the story. You will be intrigued by Abby's changes and the web that she finds herself caught in.

The biggest challenge of this novel is that you're left with the question of did the Sadler's actually reconcile or are they still playing their pretentious games? Another problem is Mrs. Sadler. You fail to get a full grasp of her character and she appears to go from one extreme of rejecting her son to another of accepting him. Is this believable? Veronica, Abby's self-proclaimed "friend" has weaved herself into the family very quickly. Is this a display of Sadler caring or shallowness? Overall the book is a pleasant read.

Sticky Kisses is a bright, innovative novel throbbing with pertinent ideas. It is the story of a family focusing more on the uncommon theme of sibling relationship rather than the more popular area of complexities between parents and children. Thom, a gay real estate agent has been estranged from his family for years. When his sister Abby comes to visit him, both Thom and their mother have expectations as to the reasons for her visit. However, it is Abby's determination to use the visit as a means for exploring her own needs as she was unable to do in the sheltered nest of her mother's home. From there follows a moving story of the changing relations of this family in the midst of confronting unexpected obstacles and overcoming bitter resentment.

The characters have slow, contemplative natures. Both Thom and Abby, the most intensely "real" characters, don't seem to make decisions for their future based on moral deductions but through carefully filtering their emotions of the past. This is really against their catholic upbringing in a strong, but understated way. The way they moved between memories of the past and the actions of the present was quite eloquent. It's very sad in a way, not just the multiple tragedies which besiege the characters, but their inability to communicate their pain to each other amidst such close, free relationships. The thing that stays with me the most is thinking of Connie's character. He's quite a perplexing person since he's so outwardly jubilant, but inwardly tortured by drugs and his tumultuous relationship with his father (imagined or not?). It's interesting how the families are paired: the connection that Connie and his mother were unable to form because of death, Thom and Lucille find because they both seem to realize how fleeting their chances are. Or at least this is Thom's realization as we're not given Lucille's "reasoning" for her change of heart rather than her declaration of the importance of family. It is touching also how each tragedy seems paired with a reprieve from suffering, through moments of isolated joy like Thom's encounter with the boy in the public toilet or his "angel" male nurse. At one point Philip quotes to Abby: "Sick people form such deep, sincere attachments." This mysterious quote sets the tone for the rest of the novel. It gives the character's moments of blissful revelation a sinister edge, like deceit and tragedy are just around the corner. This is a novel of compelling strength rendered with a fine talent.

English class has never been my favorite class, but poetry has always been one of my better topics. This year - Sophmore High School English - I was required to buy Sound and Sense for class. This is the worst poetry book I have ever read. While the collection of poems is wonderful, the text written by Arp is terrible. Arp comes off as condescending and mean spirited, making the reading of the book a chore. His definitions of the various poetical terms are solid, but you could just as easily get them out of a dictionary. Arp tells the reader that poetry cannot be beautiful unless it concers the perfect love, flowers, or fuzzy animals. He equates the reading of poetry to listening to a radio, and says that if one does not like a critically aclaimed poem, one's tuner is on the wrong station. He leaves nothing to free will, preferring to lead a flock of sheep into an abyss of bad writing over allowing someone to disagree with him here or there. Chapters on "Good Poetry and Bad" do not leave the reader with a love of poetry, nor does the book as a whole make me want to spout sonnets. There are many better collections of poetry around. The poems within Sound and Sense can as easily be found in the Norton or another anthology. As for its educational value, I find that it offers very little by the way of insight, and instead gushes half baked opinions. Do yourselves a foavor and skip this one. You'll learn more about poetry from Dr. Seuss.

I've been nibbling away at a 20 year old edition of this book for a few years in my spare time, and almost every bite has increased my abitity to appreciate poetry. I like the examples, most of them seem pretty old, Frost is about as modern as he gets, but thats ok with me. You might find this book a little annoying if it was required reading in a course, sometimes it asks more questions than it answers.

I came across an earlier edition of Sound and Sense a few years ago. At first glance the slighty yellowed text appeared foreboding with chapters like denotation and connotation, imagery, figurative lanaguage, allusion, tone, rhythm and meter, sound and meaning, and so forth. I found it hard to imagine a less lifeless approach to poetry. However, the text did seem to contain a sizeable anthology as an appendix and poetry was abundant in every chapter. I reasoned that I could skip the poetic structure discussions and simply read the poetry.

But from the beginning I found Perrine's style and approach to be stimulating, rather than analytical. Throughout we are immersed in poetry, great poetry, familiar poetry, unfamiliar poetry. Perrine argues that poetry needs to be read and reread carefully for full understanding and appreciation. We need to learn to think about poetry with some seriousness, but not in a cold, calculating manner. We approach new poetry with our eyes and ears open, our senses alive.

Yes, as other reviewers point out, Sound and Sense is structured and does methodically explore poetic forms in some detail. But this is not a drawback. It is actually an aid to understanding. Perrine manages to achieve his instructional objective without diluting his central message - poetry is to be enjoyed. He never forgets that his subject is poetry, and not poetic form and structure.

I have since learned that Perrine's text is still in use today some 45 years after publication of the first edition. How can that be? Few textbooks achieve nine editions (nine editions, not just nine printings). Even the title change signifies respect; it is no longer simply Sound and Sense, it is "Perrine's Sound and Sense". I highly recommend Perine's text to anyone willing to invest a little time and study to poetry. The return will be worthwhile. I give Sound and Sense five stars.

Media tie-ins are the redheaded stepchildren of the fiction section. Often written in extreme haste by work-for-hire authors with no interest in the project other than the paycheck it provides. While not the poorest example of a media tie-in, Greg Cox's DAREDEVIL, a novelization of the 2003 movie hit starring Ben Affleck, exhibits all the hallmarks of a hurried adaptation of a less-than-stellar screenplay.

Authoring DAREDEVIL was surely a thankless task. The story upon which the book is based attempts to serve as an origin tale for the eponymous hero while shoehorning in a romance plotline that didn't appear until years later in Daredevil's comics continuity. Based on the writing in DAREDEVIL, Greg Cox has some skill as an author, but he falls into traps that often snare tie-in writers; unable to figure out a way to beef up the narrative presented in the screenplay, he leans on internal monologue and overly-florid prose to fill pages. Perhaps Cox did not have the time to invent original material to fill in the gaping holes in DAREDEVIL's story - media tie-ins are notorious among authors for their punishing deadlines - and if so he cannot be held totally at fault for the book's weakness, but when far better examples of the tie-in form can be found on the shelves, Cox's work simply pales by comparison. Chris Claremont's X-MEN 2, released just two months after DAREDEVIL, makes much more of a very slender screenplay.

Great fans of the film upon which DAREDEVIL is based might enjoy this novelization, but those who haven't seen the movie, or who may have picked up DAREDEVIL in an attempt to get pleasure from the book on its own merits, won't find anything about which to get excited. Instead of papering over the shortcomings of Mark Stephen Johnson's screenplay, Cox's adaptation puts a spotlight on them. Readers aren't dazzled by incredible stunt work or special effects, and they don't have a hard-driving techno-metal soundtrack to keep their pulses racing. All the readers have are words and their imaginations, and when the framework upon which the story is placed is so rickety, the characterizations so paper-thin, the author must work doubly hard to make up the shortfall. It's clear from the pages of DAREDEVIL that Cox didn't make this effort.

This is all the more disappointing due to the fact that Daredevil is a fascinating character about whom better stories have been told with even less space than in a 250-page novel. Brian Michael Bendis, in his "Underboss" and "Out" storylines in the ongoing Daredevil comic, brings real depth to the Man Without Fear, and Greg Rucka's take on the Daredevil/Elektra romance, entitled ULTIMATE DAREDEVIL/ELEKTRA, rings far more true than in Cox's DAREDEVIL.

Of course, it's difficult to blame Cox. After all, it's impossible to tell under what circumstances the novelization was written, and the DAREDEVIL screenplay is clearly a poor effort. But sympathy for the author doesn't mean anyone must feel obligated waste time with his work.

All I have to say, is thank the lord that Mark Steven Johnson can film much better than he can write. The writer of this novel was also the writer/director of the feature film which this is based.

I am a comic collector. Plain and simple. And it gives me joy when I see a comic make it to the big screen. And when one does, I buy three things: The official movie poster, the novelization, and the movie on DVD when it is available. And this is one of the few times I've wanted to take that novelization back.

The movie was great. Almost fantastic. I would defenitely have to say that the portrayal in the movie, the overall tone, made Daredevil one of the best movies of the year. But this book was horrible. It lacked detail, and proper description to create imagery, to create the movie in the readers mind. And that made the book horrible. Now, not everyone has the ability to describe something like Tolkien, but the settings were poorly described. Basically the extent of description in this book goes "the dark street. The tall man." Johnson's depiction of the film in writing is horrible, and definitely not worth the money.

Reviews are hard to write, so I'll make it short, sweet, and to-the-point.

Daredevil is a good book for what it is: A screenplay-based novel. I wouldn't put it at the top of my list for books, but I wouldn't put it at the bottom either.

This novel has more than the screenplay written. Daredevil has a sub-story which leads to the end of The Kingpin's assisstant.

For anyone that doesn't want to see the movie, but is interested in what the story of the movie is, I reccommend it. If you have seen the movie and interested in how the author makes it into his own, I reccommend it. But, for anyone who is thinking about picking it up for a good read, I beyond all, DO NOT reccommend it.

I'm a huge fan of Star Trek, and I will be impressed by almost anywork but this one just didn't go over all that well with me. Sure the writer uses extremely descriptive language and draws you in at some points, but the story line gets very redundant at many points. Sometimes you just want to get up and scream "GET TO THE POINT ALREADY" when reading this book. Bottom Line, if you're a speedy reader and can plow through a book in one sitting you should definenlty pick this one up, casual readers might want to look into more of Peter David's work.

Star Trek-The Next Generation: Dragon's Honor written by Kij Johnson and Greg Cox is a who-done-it complete with mystery and intrigue as Captain Jean-Luc and the Enterprise crew battle an alien armada and are at an exotic Dragon Empire ready to join the United Federation of Planets.

What I liked about this book is the mystery as you try to guess who-done-it with the clues furnished by the author as you read on in the book. There is a wedding between to old foes with mistrust running rampid and this "Royal Wedding" is entrusted for its security on Picard and the Enterprise crew. I like how the fleshing out of the characters in this story were written.

This is a well-written book the will keep you on the edge of your seat. Without the wedding there can be no peace and the treaty with the Federation would never happen... but this isn't all... there is some really bad guys that would stop at nothing to see that peace never happends. Thus, this vicious race plans assassination to all out invasion, just to keep the Empire from joining the Federation and this is where you'll read about Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his formidable skill as a negotiater.

There is action and advenure in the book along with the mystery and intrigue that will keep you reading till the end of the book. This is a classic Picard saves the day book.

I have to give this book four stars because : 1) I like alien races. 2) I enjoy books that deal with Asia and this book has the 'Dragon Empire', who seem to have a society based on early China. 3) It also has a mystery and I love trying to figure out things before the characters in the book.

It starts out with action and has enough to keep you going to the end.

This was a random purchase while perusing a thrift shop on a Saturday afternoon. The novel begins with its main characters, Janice and Clifford, at a catholic elementary school. I expect that the novel will end with them as adults with a host of issues resulting from their catholic upbringing. I don't know for certain that this is the case because after 100 pages of text I lost interest in the story, characters and author. Johnson doesn't offer any cleaver insight into "The Church" or how its influence affects the psyche of the characters. The writing is clear, nothing really creative, but easy enough to digest.

Those readers who have grown up or are growing up catholic, may better connect with the characters and story given their familiarity with some of the rudimentary scenes offered in the novel. As a non-Catholic, I had hoped that the author would be able to introduce and connect me to a catholic upbringing experience through his character's story. Perhaps, I had hoped, the author would offer some insight or perspective on the history of sexual abuse within the church. Well no such luck. Due to languid, flat characters and image-less writing, I could not commit to the remaining half of the novel. Unfortunately, the best part of the book seems to be the review on the back page. Can't recommend this one.

I don't exactly know what I was looking for out of this book, but in the end, I found it. The plot line was not all that spectacular or origional, but i found myself completely adoring the characters. Janice is absolutely fabulous and 3 dimensional and many can relate to both Janice's life, as well as Cliffords.

Please, Please don't trust the reviews that have been written for this book. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Trust me, I have read just about every type of fiction there is now. The writing was wonderful. And, most importantly the characters were so drawn out that by the end of the book I felt such an affinity to the plight of the characters hoping that eventually Greg Johnson may write a sequel....And, I have recommended this book to an avid reader like myself, and she loved it as well!!

I had ordered this book hoping to get some tips on ways to start conversations. I figure, the more ideas, the better! From the subject categories, you can tell the book is oriented toward teens, but that's ok.

Wrong. Most of ideas in the book wouldn't work at any party or date I'd go on. A typical conversation starter from the book:

"What is the difference between God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit?"

And another:

"What have you been taught about the differences between races (if anything)?

The synopsis from the back cover reads:

"This little book is packed with AWESOME conversation starters -- over 400 in all, from "What's your favorite Scripture?" to "What animal describes you best?" Keep it handy and you'll always have what you need to get a relationship going in the right direction. Special symbols identify each question by topic: Dating, Money, Friends, Love, Just for Fun, and more."

The book includes a postcard for the "Love Waits" campain, which you can sign and mail to a place in Nashville. The postcard reads:

"Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future mate, and my future children to be sexually abstinent from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship. Signed: ___ Dated: ___"

In other words, this book isn't of much use for general conversation tips. It is part of the "Love Waits" campain. If that's what you're looking for, go for it

Overall I found this book very helpful in starting conversations---especially when you're at a new friend (guy or girl)'s house counting the lint on your sweater! In addition to lighthearted questions there are also some that really make you think. Great for Christian and non-Christian friends--a great tool to get a God-centerd conversation started and use it to witness to a nonChristian friends.The only problem is that you have to have the book with you to remember the questions, and it's a little big for a purse or pocket. Totally useful in all circomstances--worth the money!

In response to an earlier review, I think you were just too ignorant to realize that the book was geared towards christians and that it wouldn't include any "sexy" and "hot" pick up lines. Just because it wasn't right for you and it may not have followed what you belive in, I think it's a very good book.

I found this book in my favorite cousin's bedroom. Fortunately, she has not exhibited any symptoms of having been influenced by it. The book says one or two decent things about helping people and being nice to people, but the rest of it is simply frightening, particularly the allegation that all non-Christians are immoral (if not amoral) and are out to destroy goodness and beauty. Why anyone would want to turn a teenager into a closed-minded bigot is beyond me. I'm glad my cousin still loves me for who I am--a secular humanist who cares deeply for family, friends, and beauty and joy!

This book will give you an amazing boost in your relationship with christ! I was only 25 out of 77 topics through it, and it had answered SO many questions I had about my relationship with christ! I HIGHLY recomend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about christ, has questions about christ, and wants to strengthen thier relationship" with christ!