MY LIFE is unlike any other autobiography I've read. Who would have thought of Chagall as a poet? As a master of word pictures? There is not a dry, boring sentence in the entire book. Instead, Chagall paints verbal pictures of his youth, his family, his struggles to become an artist. It's must reading for anyone who aspires to remain an artist (painter, writer, dancer . . .). Although the book reads very, very quickly, the poignant feelings it evokes cannot end so quickly. I am haunted by Chagall's painful youth-the poverty, the discouragement he received from many quarters. And yet the autobiography is inspirational, because as a writer, I know that one cannot let go of an unshakable faith in one's calling.

This book is an autobiography by Marc Chagall himself. Its a wonderful exploration of Chagall's jewish-russian memories of his beloved village Vitebsk and of his first encounters with the avant-garde in the Paris of the early 20th century. Its a good example of Chagall's sensitivity and of his spirituality. It should be a highly readable book for it is full of poetry, phantasy and hope. At the same time, the reader will be able to meet one the 20th century leading colorists.

My grandmother gave me this book when I was very young; I'm thrilled that I'm finally able to find it again to pass down to my stepchildren. It's touching, funny, sad. It shows children the value of family and friends, as well as the simple joy of living every day to its fullest. Read this book no matter what your age; it's sure to touch your heart.

I have loved this book for a long time and am thrilled to see that could be still in print. An amusing stor about an accident prone kitten who goes throug eight of his nine lives rather quickley. Be warned though touching, the end is rather sad.

I took this book out of the library and was pleasantly surprised! In the past I have found that beauty recipes can be challenging. With this book the ingredients are accesible and the recipes aren't difficult to make. I have started copying out recipes to try and will add this book to my christmas list!

I loved the other two books a lot. When I bought this book, I was hesitant that there could possibly be much more that Janice could show me... Was I wrong? YES! Filled with loads of information and wonderful recipes and how-tos this book doesn't even reach the bookshelf, I keep it so handy! Great job Janice Cox!

The New Harp of Columbia is the seven-note "old harp" tune book for shape note singers in and around Knoxville in east Tennessee. The 1975 University of Tennessee Press reprinting is probably out of print (though we have a few extra copies) as of March 2001. A new edition, scheduled for publication by the University of Tennessee Press in July 2001, will include the present (1867) New Harp of Columbia, with about 40 additional tunes from the earlier (1848) Harp of Columbia which M.L. Swan omitted from the new book in 1867. Meanwhile, come sing with us! - Bob Richmond (RSRICHMOND@aol.com)

I have gotten many hour of enjoyment for this book.

Growing up in this section of New Orleans, I was pleasantly surprised to see several homes of my childhood friends. No other city in the U.S. has such distinct and diverse neighborhood architecture. Another great volume in a GREAT series.

This volume in the N.O. Architecture series by the Friends of the Cabildo is, in my opinion, the best of the entire series. Perhaps it is because this is the section of the city in which I spend most of my time, a place to which I've become rather attached. Anyone who enjoys architecture will probably like this book, not just New Orleanians.

From the moment we opened NO MORE GOOSEBERRY PIE, my four-year-old grandson was enchanted by the story! He liked it so well that we read it five times and he still wanted to do it again! For anything to hold a child's interest that long, it has to be good!

The story is simple. A young boy eats the gooseberry pies his mother has put out to cool. He lies to her about what happened to them, making up preposterous excuses. Then when he goes too bed, stuffed too full of gooseberry pie, he has a terrible dream about everything he did that day.

The story was sweet but not to the point of causing tooth decay. The illustrations were gorgeous! Kym Jones is fantastic! While I know the mother had to see through the explanations of what happened to the pies, my grandson thought they were believable. It was like reading a brand new fairy tale!

Author Dorothy Thompson tells this story like she's sitting in the room with you. NO MORE GOOSEBERRY PIE is warm and honest. My grandson Eric and I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to spend some quality time with the child in their lives!

Joyce Lavene

Lagniappe Book Reviews...

I would like to say I have read Dorothy Thompson's, No More Gooseberry Pie, and wish that I had had it around when my sons were young. It's very enchanting! The imagery was outstanding. I could picture the 'Land of Tall Tales' with the mean, angry dinosaur demanding the poor boy to eat those pies. My grandchildren love it!

I would suggest this as the third book by Dorothy Day that you read-- after "loaves and fishes" and "long lonliness", however, the introduction to this book justifies the purchase for anyone. The introduction is lengthy (over 25 pages), and is written by two people that know the movement (they run Casa Juan is Houston). The book by Day is very touching.... but not an introduction to someone unfamiliar with her work. Often I suggest that someone new to Dorothy Day read the introduction, and then "Loaves and Fishes", and then returns to this book.

Many of Dorothy Day's sabbaticals from the Catholic Worker houses are chronicled in "On Pilgrimage," which was also the title of her long-running column in her monthly newspaper, The Catholic Worker. Ever the journalist, Day would record the most minute aspects of her trips--usually by bus and with a jar of instant coffee and prayer books in her small bag--and give her newspaper readers insight into the social struggle in the South, in Okie migrant camps or Indian reservations. Her compassion and observer's eye didn't conflict; she wrote about injustice with passion, but felt compelled to temper her anger at issues such as the mistreatment of black tenant farmers. Her distinctly Catholic perspective on poverty (indeed voluntary poverty was her lasting contribution to 20th century Christianity) and suffering as well as her feisty personality are evident in these essays detailing her trips. Even though efforts have begun toward Dorothy Day's canonization, she will never be a plaster saint...not as long as these warm and utterly realistic accounts are read. She comes across as a committed Christian who believes in the essential dignity of every human being, oppressed and oppressor alike. The only fault with her pilgrimage essays is their essentially hurried nature. Dorothy Day could be careless with punctuation and transitions in her efforts to get her thoughts on paper. The essays when she's visiting her daughter and attempting to help with the growing number of children are my favorites. Dorothy Day continues to be one of my prime spiritual mentors, precisely because of homey, faith-filled essays like those, where the grandchildren are climbing on her lap and preventing her from writing. The real woman--warts, moments of exhaustion and all--is in these pages.

Dorothy's book, Passage Into Paradise, is a beautifully written story of her courage, fortitude, deep faith and unconditional love for her mother as she cared for her. This is a must read book for all caregivers as she expresses all of her feelings and thoughts throughout the years she cared for her mother. Her deep faith in God will give a renewed courage to all who read it and discover that Light truly does come in the morning! If you are looking for truth, faith that God is with you for every step and hope .... this is a must read! I met Dorothy through the internet when I was also caring for my mother, and her wisdom, faith and love reached out and touched my soul while giving me courage to go on. Her book can do the same for you!

You may have enjoyed Dorothy Womack's poetry in her Reflections on Marsha Penington's Alzheimer's Outreach, at A Window on My Mind, and in Alzheimer's Poetry at A Year to Remember. Now published as a book, her experience as her mother's caregiver is shared in Passage into Paradise. I was amazed as I read her story, which began years before mine, and continued several months after my mother died. I do not think I could have handled caring for my mother as Dorothy and her husband did. Long after her mother became bedridden and incontinent, still they cared for her at home. Dorothy's honesty in this book, expressing all the emotional turmoil she was going through, combined with her strong faith shining through, make this a story we become caught up in. I found I just had to read it all at one sitting, and it is a story that I will want to read again and again.

My son who is 10 months old loves this book! He will sit and flip through the pages all by himself. A MUST have for all babies.

My daughters love it when I open the page size flaps to reveal a photograph of a happy baby, sad baby, angry baby, silly baby, etc. while exclaiming "Peekaboo!" It's absolutely their favorite book and we read it several times a day.

If you loved "Pride and Prejudice" and have an open mind about reading the sequels to it, I enthusiastically encourage you to read this novel. It is, in my opinion, the best of the many sequels that have been written. What I didn't like about other sequels was what I felt to be an incorrect interpretation of the characters (in other words, they acted in ways I didn't think they would), and there was often very little emphasis put on Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship (most of the other sequels were more concerned with what were "supporting" characters in the original novel). But, in this book, I think the characters are perfectly represented, and it's not at all difficult to imagine the characters behaving and speaking as they did here. I think Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship is wonderfully represented and, while old and new characters are included in this story, the main plot involves both Darcy & Elizabeth, as opposed to a "secondary" character. I would LOVE to see this book, though older than the rest of the sequels, made into a movie or mini-series. However, I wish it were more widely available for purchase. I've searched throughout the Internet and haven't yet found a single copy for sale. I wish they would reprint this book so more people could own it, as I hope to. Again, everyone, read this book!

In the years since we all watched the splendid BBC/A&E production of Pride and Prejudice, have you ever wondered what might have happened after that gorgeous double wedding? You're not alone. This delightful book presents one such scenario, which takes place four years later.

All is serene at Pemberley Great House, as it is referred to by the inhabitants of the area, until the night when Dr. Robinson, aged eighty-seven, who had been Rector of Pemberley for more than fifty years, passes on to his reward, peacefully, during his sleep. It is this traumatic event which opens the doors to a summer of upheaval in the lives of 'Fitz' and Elizabeth Darcy.

Of course, a new rector must be found, as soon as possible; but first, poor Darcy must convince the two elderly, maiden daughters of the good reverend that they must find another place to live. But no! If he will only find a bachelor to fill the living, said bachelor can reside with them, and they will in turn keep up the house. From such a simple premise do great events transpire!

The Darcys are now parents of a two-year old son, Richard; Jane and Bingley have two daughters. Nothing is said of Lydia and Wickham. Mr. Bennet and Kitty, still unmarried, come to visit, as does Aunt Gardiner. Uncle Gardiner is unavoidably detained in London, investigating for Darcy. Georgiana, also unmarried, still resides at Pemberley; indeed, she cannot imagine living anywhere else.

Although we are not relieved of the company of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her daughter, Lady Anne, we are thankfully spared the presence of Mrs. Bennet and, except for a letter from him, Mr. Collins.

After much behavior of the sort to be found in the Austen books, a happy resolution is achieved for nearly all. Kitty and Georgiana are no longer among the ranks of the unmarried, and even Lady Anne will find a spouse. (He even agrees to change his pedestrian name to de Bourgh, such is the lure of her vast inheritance.)

If nothing else, this book, written nearly fifty years before the splendid film was even thought of, confirms the wonderfully appropriate casting of the film. Consider these lines: Darcy, speaking about his cousin, Francis Wakeford; "...although Wakeford spoke of his desire for solitude, I became convinced that his need is for companionship." Or, when Elizabeth opens the door to a room where Darcy has been awaiting her, "When she opened the door of his room, he was walking up and down as was his way if much perturbed. On seeing her he stood still and looked at her searchingly." Can't you picture it? And, what about Jane? "Jane's time never seemed to be her own. Either one of her children or her husband, required her attention." While Bingley: "...declared that for his part he never knew where he put anything and always had to ask Jane." And, lastly, of Lady de Bourgh herself: "Unfortunately, Lady Catherine's usual spirit of contrariety did not on this occasion assert itself."

I've not yet read any of the other sequels to Pride and Prejudice, but I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the original book--or the film.