When I was doing my holiday shopping, I was overjoyed to see that Betty Crocker's Cooky Book had been reprinted for the 2002 holiday season. Betty Crocker's Cooky Book was originally printed in 1963. Yes, it's cooky, not today's cookie.

The 2002 reprint includes only two short paragraphs of introduction on the title page. The new paragraphs provide warnings about today's ingredients and food safety concerns. They encourage you to ask your mother or grandmother how to make them if you don't understand the ingredients or the recipes. What a great way to share a family heritage, by baking cookies together!

The cookbook is divided into 6 sections: Cooky Primer, Holiday Cookies, Family Favorites, Quick 'N Easy Cookies, Company Best Cookies, and Betty Crocker's Best Cookies. The Cooky Primer section includes instructions on how to "measure flour by dipping," Necessary Utensils (including a "rotary egg beater"), Baking Hints, and a Q&A section which covers self-rising flour, correcting cooky dough, and how to prevent soft cooky dough.

The Cooky Primer section includes a color picture at the bottom of each page, showing the finished cookies and brownies. On page 11 of the Cooky Primer is a recipe for Butterscotch Brownies. This recipe is my husband's favorite. All the recipe calls for is butter, brown sugar, an egg, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and walnuts. This brownie recipe spells out the secret to baking perfect brownies: "Do not overbake!". My Uncle Glen is a commercial chef, and he taught me that little gem at the precocious age of 10. These brownies have a wonderful butterscotch flavor, and come out of the oven chewy and golden brown.

In the Heritage Cookies section, I baked the Old-Fashioned Sour Cream cookies on page 79. This recipe is a little more complex, it calls for shortening, sugar, an egg, vanilla, flour, baking powder, soda (that's baking soda, not tonic), salt, nutmeg, and "commercial sour cream." These little cookies retain their shape beautifully, without using parchment paper! Their delicate texture is accented with a touch of nutmeg, making them a wonder for lovers of spice cakes. One batch made 53 individual cookies.

The authors truly saved the best for last with this cookbook. The final section, Betty Crocker's Best Cookies, features favorite cookie recipes over time. Betty Crocker's time begins with Hermits from 1880! Starting with 1880, the cookie recipes move in 10-year increments. For example, 1890-1900 Cinnamon Jumbles. 1920-1930 Brownies. 1930-1935 Molasses Crinkles. These heritage recipes are accented by historical highlights and humorous anecdotes such as "the first brownies were a fallen chocolate cake." This section is made for cookbook lovers of all ages. If you ever wondered what children ate for cookies in 1900 when they got home from school, you'll find your answer here. Cinnamon Jumbles!

This is the best cookie book I have ever found.

1. First and foremost, the recipes. Simply put, they turn out right every time and yield delicious results. This is the only baking book I have ever found that provides consistently reliable results on every recipe I've tried. No guess work, no hit and miss. What more could you ask for? Plus, there is a wide variety of recipes here - every kind of cookie you could hope to find.

2. The format. Lots of pictures, with the name of the recipe and page where it can be found clearly identified for each picture. Also, the book is divided into chapters that make sense. The book has a hard cover, to withstand years of kitchen abuse and to make the book readily identifiable on the shelf, and a spiral binding, so the pages lay flat. Bravo to the publisher for making this a very usable, practical cookbook. Plus, the pictures are wonderful. They were taken when the goal of food photography was to make the food look like actual food, not high art. These cookies look like something that could come from your own oven.

3. The nostalgia. I remember so many of these recipes from my childhood, and you probably will too. It was so fun to reminisce about the various recipes and the memories they invoked.

I've had a copy of the original Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, 3rd printing since 1966. I use it almost exclusively when baking cookies - it has all the favorites we grew up with! Pictures of each cookie are included and all recipes are fast and easy. An exact copy (same printing) went for big $$ on e-Bay. I wouldn't trade mine for anything. I highly recommend this cookbook to all cookie lovers, especially now when it's back in print and you can get your own new "original."

I purchased Greg's story the minute it hit the stands because Greg was my #1 sports hero as I was growing up. When I read his story, he affected my life in an even greater way. I have a brother who is gay, but he had not come out to his family yet. After reading Greg's story I knew that I needed to help my brother by supporting him now, instead of waiting until it was too late. A few days after finishing my read, I told my brother that I knew he was gay and that I loved him, supported him, and was proud of him. I got the best hug of my life. I only wish that I could've given Greg the same hug when he really needed it the most. I'm proud of the fact that he was, and still is, one of my heroes. Read the book. It is a heartbreaking and frank look at humanity.

GREG LOUGANIS' REAL LIFE STRUGGLES ARE VERY TOUCHING AND HOLD A DEEP AND PERSONAL MESSAGE FOR ALL. GROWING UP A SHY, QUIET, TALENTED YOUNG MAN AND GROWING UP TO BE THE GREATEST OLYMPIC DIVER EVER MAY SEEM IMPOSSIBLE. HOWEVER, HIS REAL LIFE STRUGGLES WERE EVEN MORE IMPOSSIBLE. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE. ALSO IF YOU GET A CHANCE WATCH THE VIDEO ALSO. I RATE THEM BOTH VERY HIGHLY.

I remember watching Greg Louganis in 1988 and his last dive that gave him his fourth Olympic gold medal. I was only 7 years old and had no idea about what a struggle he had. When I found out that he was HIV-positive and gay, I was shocked. I don't know why. I read the book during my junior year in high school and enjoyed it. The information on diving was informative and I enjoyed that part. The part that surprised me the most was the way he talked openly and frankly about his lovers and his feelings for them. It was the first time I had ever read anything like that and it shocked me but then I got used to it. Sure, I've seen "Philadelphia" and the dancing scene but I always figured that they're actors and it was part of their jobs to do stuff like that. Call me naive; I was. But this, the things in the book, happened to a real person, one who is a vivid part of my childhood memories. In many parts, I was crying, trying to picture what Greg's life must have been like all those years and how it hurt him-all the teasing, taunts, rumors and other things he must have endured. I think he has a lot of courage to come out and write this book; to me it shows a person who is confident of where he is now in life and wants others to accept him for who he is.

Like most people, I struggle to stay motivated to exercise consistently. I have two daughters and a full-time job and exercise often gets relegated to the end of my to-do lists.

But this book really made a difference for me. It motivated me from the inside-out, rather than the outside-in (like many pep-talk fitness books).

Once motivated, I needed practical, simple advice I could follow and strategies that would produce real results -- or else I knew I would lose my motivation again. This book is filled with simple, new, results-oriented strategies: I've lost five pounds in the first two weeks since reading this book. More than that, however, I feel like a totally different person because I am "exercising smart, not hard" (as the author says) and having fun with it.

The Portable Personal Trainer is a fantastic book that will make an immediate and lasting impact on your fitness and quality of life.

Jessica Dollom
Topeka, Kansas

Finally, fitness advice that will get you off your couch and onto the track / bike / into the pool / or whatever else you do. I just bought the book about a week ago, returned home, and read it cover to cover in an hour. One hundred simple and truly life-altering strategies are contained within that have gotten even my lazy self up and moving. Over the past two days, following the book's advice on everything from nutrition, to technique and motivation, I've run ten miles (and feel great!), and I don't plan on stopping any time soon :). From his writing, the author is a truly fit individual, both mentally and physically, and his personal perspectives on the wonders of a clear mind and a healthy body are refreshing every time I open the conveniently-pocket-sized book. Humorous, compelling and without pretense, Harr's guide can pull out the passion and performance in anyone (and I mean anyone) and set them on the path to a healthier and happier self.

This is an absolutely lovely, lovely book. I exercise three times a week with a group of about nine women and have been doing so for six years. We have "book club" meetings every Sunday. We discuss books that have had the most impact on our lives -- an "Oprah's Book Club of Fitness" if you will. We've reviewed hundreds of books together and this ranks as one of our top three books of all time.

- Perhaps the most valuable part of this book was that it helped us clear up so much confusion surrounding exercise, nutrition and weight loss. So often these days, fitness, diet or health books are more confusing than they are helpful. The Portable Personal Trainer cuts right through the clutter with 300-500 word strategies that get right to the point and offer great instruction, humor, passion and inspiration.

- The insights are from an author who obviously spends every ounce of his being on fitness and shares it so eloquently with his readers. How many fitness authors are the "real deal?" This guy

- The strategies are fresh. Harr's book is so wonderfully fresh offering concepts I simply have not heard before.

- The 100 strategies contain a lovely mix of mental, physical and spiritual. They range from nutrition basics (he tells you everything you need to know about nutrition in 12 words!) to exercise tips to motivational secrets to empowering yourself through exercise.

This is a very special book and I believe it's destined for greatness, just as we imagine the author is. So, a heartfelt thanks, Eric Harr, from a group of women in Phoenix, Arizona who just think you and your book are about the best things to happen to the fitness world in the last five years.

"In my 40 years as an orchid scientist, author and book editor, I have never read anything quite like ORCHID FEVER. It is part absurdist black humor and part horticultural expose. Mr. Hansen displays a rare talent for capturing the allure of orchids, describing the dubious characters who lurk in the shadows, and exposing the small handful of self-appointed power brokers who rule the orchid world. Frightening, funny and full of tantalizing insider knowledge. And yes...there are strange and wonderful stories about orchids as well. I have a distinct feeling that what was left unsaid about several people is much more interesting than what was written. I look forward to a no holds barred second edition."

Dr. Joseph Arditti Editor, Orchid Biology Irvine

Eric Hansen's book is absolutely intriguing. Hansen spent years tracking down people who are crazy about orchids, interviewing them, and researching complex interactions between institutions that supposedly conserve and breed orchids, and -- of all things -- smugglers. I couldn't put the book down, nor did I want to when I came to the end.

What impressed me the most about Hansen's book is the skillful and sympathetic way in which he evoked these passionate people and their nutty but richly meaningful world. I suspect human society is more full of devotion and near-insanity than we generally realize, but rarely can a writer bring it out in the way Hansen has done. From the orchid-collecting thug in Borneo (who sends his hit man after anyone who steals his pollinia) to the French teenager raising orchids with new and disturbingly powerful pesticides to the elderly woman in Seattle entranced by her sexy paphiopedilum -- this is better than any fiction I've read for a long time, and it's all true.

Whether you happen to be an orchid lover, or merely a curious bystander, "Orchid Fever (A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust and Lunacy)" will have you by turns helpless with mirth and seething with indignation, or else simply agog with incredulity from start to finish. For it is, quite simply, an absolutely stunning piece of investigative journalism, dressed up as a tale of personal obsession and eccentricities. Written using plain language and with an outstanding witticism, it makes for compelling reading throughout, whether or not you know anything about orchids, or the orchid-growing and trading communities that it explores.

Chapter by chapter, alternating hilarious episodes with the downright unsettling or just plain unbelievable, Eric Hansen gradually lays bare the seedy underbelly of a world that perhaps few of us realise exists. He reveals an alarming world-wide conspiracy, fuelled by greed, protected and upheld by idiotic international bureaucracy and a network of power politics, which daily threaten innocent lives and legitimate livelihoods as well as vast swathes of natural fauna that they purport to be protecting.

Populated as it is by gentle, likeable heroes, blackguardly villains, utter buffoons and the most outrageously bizarre of characters, it is sometimes easy to forget that this book is factual, so far-fetched are some of the events and scenarios that its author recounts. And yet, this somehow makes the book all the more scary, for occasionally things happen to make you realise that it is not a work of fiction. And at that point, the anger sets in... anger that things should be this way and are likely to remain so, despite the best efforts of some of the book's obvious heroes.

Thoroughly researched over a period of some seven years and never less than fascinating, this book exposes the full and terrifying consequences for anyone who succumbs to orchid fever. It is an essential read for anyone who thinks that orchids are nothing more than beautiful but harmless flowering plants. Or indeed for anyone who has never heard of fox testicle ice-cream!

When I picked up Eric Harry's "Arc Light", I expected something that would merely keep my mind occupied at odd moments. I figured I'd read this kind of stuff before. Just don't bore me too much. Well, I ended up structuring my days around reading it! It's the kind of book that, when I'm only one-third through it, I know is a rare gem I'll have trouble finding again. It's a bitterweet experience, enjoying a book so much that you hate to finish it! I was constantly surprised as plot twists piled upon plot twists. I often came to utter to myself, "Oh, WOW!", which is not something I get to do very often. Read this book if you'd like a refreshing surprise and a real page-turner

This is one of the most intense, entertaining books I have ever read. From the very start you are drawn into a maelstrom of violence and intrigue. "Arc Light" isn't non-stop combat though, it is also a very smart thriller. Harry does a superb job of painting the political side of war, and the effect it has a real people. By way of comparison, this book ranks beside "Red Storm Rising" as one of the great techno-thrillers of all time.

Unfortunately, it is no longer in print, but if you can get your hands on a copy, don't hesitate, BUY IT!

This excellent novel by Eric L. Harry is one of the finest and most exciting books I have ever read.

The book details the events of WW3 in minute detail. The author has obviously conducted meticulous research into both the circumstances of the novel and the large amount of military equipment and terms used throughout the book.

The author relates, with chilling realism, the events which caused the conflict, Russia being forced to deploy nuclear weapons against a surgeing Chinese army and by accidant, missiles raining down on the United States.

The book is also extremely well written, with a fast paced style which has the reader gripped to the page. Also, the characters Mr Harry creates are entirley realistic, people which the reader can relate to.

In conclusion, this book is an extremley well written, thrilling, realistic and successful Third World War novel which I would recommend to absolutley anyone, especially those interested in warfare and state of the art military equipment.

This book was very good. I would love to see this on screen. It makes you cry, laugh and wonder all at once. This is a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. I've read this book, "Friends and Lovers" and "Milk in My Coffee" and the next book that I want to read is "CHEATERS". I can't wait to get my hands on it. Dickey is a very good writer who tells the story from all views (women and men) and after you finish you will not believe that a MAN wrote this book from mainly a woman's point of veiw. He is just multi talented and should get a Grammy or something. He's just outstanding. Words can't express how good of an writer Eric is. If he can write this good I would like to see his Stand-Up comedy or go back to middle school and watch him teach. Buy it and read it for your self. Believe me when I say it that it is worth it.

"Friends and Lovers" definitely shows the growth of Dickey as a writer. It is mature, insightful, passionate- just awesome. My sister and I have read this novel and enjoyed many lengthy conversations; especially about Shelby, Richard, and Tyrel's thang. "What is up" with that? The book was an emotional rollercoaster, especially what happened to Leonard. But who says that life isn't always flowers and candy. Even though Shelby got on my nerves, I loved her anyway. It is apparent that Dickey took efforts to make this story real. I thank him for allowing me to know Debra, Leonard, Shelby, and Tyrel while taking the chance to visit with Chiquita once again. I laughed and cried as I learned lessons I'll never forget. "Milk in My Coffee" is definitely on my list for September.

i have to say that eric jerome dickey out did himself AGAIN! i thought Sister Sister had it going on, but he put Friends and Lovers on another level! Shoot, i'm currently majoring in computer science, with a minor in creative writing, but i might have to switch it around! this brother was working it front to back. but on a serious note, i was really feeling the characters in this book. seeing chiquita brought back (a main character in Sister Sister), although i was unhappy with her choice of relationship, was good. but, i must say that shelby reminded me a lot of myself; her whole attitude, and persona towards men and life had me rolling throughout the book. and debra reminded me of one of my close friends, with her down to earth, motherly type vibe, her and leonard made a really cute couple. all in all, it was really sad how the book ended, but then again, that's just how life is sometimes, which only added to the element of keeping the story real and believable. i learned that you just can't stop true, meant-to-be-together love, and that sometimes, love is the only thing that keeps you sane on an otherwise bad day. pick this book up and support an outstanding african-american author. you won't be sorry, you'll be hooked on every last word, yet again, i guarantee it!

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I love it because my son loves it. He is two and a half. He has loved it for a year--really loved it. Every time we go to the library he makes a bee-line for it. We sit and read it. More often than not we will attract other toddlers who will surround us and recite the text along with us. It casts some sort of spell on small children, I think. I do not own this book, however, because I HATE it. It is so repetitive that I wince as I read it. In fact, one does not read it so much as one chants it. The brown bear mantra. My son has the entire text memorized. We'll be in the grocery store or in the car and he'll start reciting it. Or I'll chant part of it and he'll chant the rest. Or we'll ad lib, inventing new animals with new colors: "Grey Mouse, Grey Mouse, What do you see?" I guess I don't really HATE this book; it's hard to hate something that gives you so much pleasure. But I'm not ready to own it yet. That said, I can't wait for my brother to have a child. He sent my son a noisy Thomas the Tank Engine book for Christmas. It beeped and whistled and hooted and basically drove me out of my mind. I intend to pay him back with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See".

If there is any childrens book I never get tired of, it's Brown Bear. My almost 7 year old loved this as a toddler and now reads it to her two year old twin brother and sister - and THEY love it. Its repetition is comforting and familiar, yet never boring. The photos helped her to learn to 'read' it by doing a picture walk long before she could really read other books. The words are so simple she memorized it. And she was so proud of her reading that it inspired her to continue to 'read' this way with other familiar books. VERY highly recommended....even I am not tired of this book. One of the best, IMHO.

This was the second book (Tana Hoban's black and white book was the first) that I read to my son when he was a few months old and read it again and again. He was fascinated by the bright pictures in the book and the rhythmic language. Brown Bear brown bear, what do you see? I see a _____ looking at me... As he began to recognize animals and moo like a cow and quack like a duck, the pictures began to take shape for him and he would recognize them for what they were drawn to be. Mr. Carle writes and illustrates wonderful books. My son who is now 3, close to 4, still enjoys the book and he can now easily anticipate which animal is on the next page. I have this book in the board book style and when my son began to "read" for himself, this was one of the books he would frequently reach for. Highly, highly recommended!

This is one of my 9 month old's very favorite books (and has been one of his favorite's since we got it, when he was 6 months old).

When you read the book aloud, it has a very musical quality that makes it fun to read and fun for children to listen to. It's almost more like reading the lyrics of a song than a book -- "hand, hand, fingers, thumb...one thumb, one thumb, drumming on a drum.. dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum..." The illustrations are great, too.

This is one of those stories that's not too long and not too short - and keeps an infant's attention. We highly recommend it!

My daughter LOVED this book from the minute she discovered it. We had it for a month or so and she never picked it up. One day I read it to her and then we had to read it at least 15 times a day. It is simple to read and understand with easy words like hand, fingers, thumb, drum, monkey.... that kids can relate to. The Seuss rhythm and rhymes are magical for children. I had to hide it now and then just to get a break. Then she discovered her other Dr. Seuss books and loves them all. A great choice!

My 14 month old son loves this book. We can tell him "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" and he runs to his room, climbs on his chair and finds it on his dresser with all his other books. It is definitely his favorite. He loves the "dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum" part. We like that it is short and fun to read. Would definitely recommend it!

We have this book in a small and large size together with anEric Carle videotape that has the story. A young caterpillar is bornand begins to eat his way through the world and through many foods that you child will be able to identify. These foods are eaten on each of the seven days of the week, an added bonus, as your child begins to learn that Sunday is a different day that Monday. The caterpillar gets very fat. He builds a cocoon and then emerges a large beautiful butterfly. My 3 year old does not tire of this story. He learns about nature, food and the days of the week in one absolutely stunningly illustrated book. You can't get much better than this for young children. If you have young children, or if you are looking for a gift for a 4 year old and younger child, this book is highly, highly recommended. Enjoy.

This was one of my favorite books when I was younger. It has very bright colors and that makes the book more enjoyable. It is about a baby caterpillar that gets very hungry and eats so many things. On one day, he eats a lot and the next day he eats more and that keeps happening for a week. Then on the last day of the week he eats so much that he feels like he will be very sick and he takes a rest then makes himself a cocoon. The caterpillar is inside the cocoon for quite a while and gets a good rest then when he comes out he's a...
I enjoy reading this book it is a very good book for kids because it has good illustrations and colors. It is also something that really happens in real life. Caterpillars are really like what they say they are in the book. I would rate this book a 5 because this is a really good book. I would suggest that you read it.

Another great story from Carle. His illustrations are always fantastic, but his stories can be erratic. This on is a dead-on hit. It is the brief story of a caterpillar's feeding frenzy before he makes his metamorphosis into a butterfly. The book introduces children to the days of the week, the names of fruits, and numbers as the caterpillar eats through different foods each day --two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, etc.-- until he finally weaves his cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly. This story is a hit every time. Carle's bright colors and clever die-cut artwork never cease to entertain even the youngest child, and there is surely nothing in nature closer to magic than the emergence of a butterfly. This is a beautiful and fun book that will enthrall any child.

"Cheaters" is not Dickey's best novel. While I enjoyed reading some of the male viewpoints expressed in monologues and dialogues throughout this novel, I had an extremely difficult time relating to the "sistas." I hope Dickey didn't expect readers to root for Chante, Tammy, or Karen. The mentality of these characters came across as immature and sometimes ghetto; perhaps the point of the book was to show how they started off one way and ended up better off somehow (I thought) but the problem is that these three characters had no depth to begin with so I started and ended this book with no respect (and little concern) for them. Because of the immaturity of these women, it was difficult to buy into Tammy's refined black woman/Nina Simmone/Josephine Baker persona, and I couldn't believe that Chante was raised by traveling, well-rounded parents due to her ghetto girl mentality. I couldn't find myself or any of the positive black women I know and respect in any of these characters. For once I'd like to read about female characters who aren't so obsessed with a man's "buck-fifty" that they don't notice much else (like who else he might be sharing it with). People who cheat don't neccessarily have to be so dysfunctional and immature.

I got through half the book and slowly my interest in these people waned; I didn't care what happened to most of these characters. They resembled stereotypes within a plot that was so cliche.

The plot was too predictable. I was looking for a fresh approach to the age-old topic of cheating (show me a storyline I haven't seen on a zillion TV shows and movies). This story has been told and retold time and time again: A promiscuous person haunted by his/her sins, the "oppressed" spouse who meets a "free spirited" woman/man and finds it a little too easy to stray from his/her commitment (the grass is greener on the other side -- sure), and there are a few other predictable subplots and endings which I won't give away (trust me, they'll give themselves away within the first quarter of the book)

Needless to say, I was disappointed because there was no good feeling to hold onto in the end; no happiness for the characters (whether they ended up happy or not); just another story about cheating to add to the pile. I still love Mr. Dickey and I will continue to read his books (cause I know there will be better ones). I love his accurate descriptions of the Los Angeles area (my home), its laidback settings, and characters. "Friends and Lovers" was his best, and I hope he'll take us back to those well-plotted stories with characters (good and bad) that are mature, complicated, and not so predictable.

Cheaters is one of the best novels that I have read recently. It focuses on today's dating game and the twists and turns as it relates to relationships - be it one on one or more than one. The content of this novel deals with the aspects that many other writers opt not to deal with. It explores love, truth, honesty, sex, sexuality, pain, suffering and emotional turmoil. It really opens up an avenue that shows the side of African American males that they want to keep hidden. It addresses the sensitive side that men try to hide and opens a woman's eye to that side of men. It's a great book and I have recommended it to all of my friends and fellow readers. If you're just beginning to read or if you're a member of a book club I highly recommend Cheaters for your enjoyment. I've have enjoyed all of his novels to this date and I can't wait for his new novel.

You've done it again Mr. Dickey! This book was very good. I enjoyed it, and it makes a great vacation read. I have become a devoted fan. I thought the characters in this book had some serious issues. I would love to see a sequel, or at least a book featuring Tammy and Darnell. That was a total surprise. But I could see how he would be drawn to a woman like Tammy when he had a woman like Dawn at home. She gave her husband absolutely NO support for his dreams and wishes at all. It really showed that people should have a LOT of conversation befor they say those "I Do's!" Jake was a flake. He gave new definition to the word "dog" and I don't blame Charlotte for leaving him. And poor Stephan was a victim of his father's legacy. Karen, however, had some SERIOUS issues with her, not to mention her toy 'Victor'. Interesting for a man to write about that. That one called for one of those things that make you go 'hhhhhmmmmmm!' Chante really had to learn how to value herself as a person. All in all, I enjoyed this book very much. However, some of the characters were a little hard to warm up to. However, I am looking forward to reading EJD's newest effort, "Liar's Game," and anything else he may write. I have a select group of writers that I buy whatever they have out and I think Mr. Dickey has moved onto that list! If you haven't read any of this author's books, buy a couple at a time because when you finish one, you will want to immediately pick up another one. They are like those potatoe chip ads, you can't read just one!