Writer Cleo Grayson McCarthy is having trouble finding her muse on her latest work. Her friend Grace offers her cottage on Cameo Lake in New Hampshire to recharge her creative batteries. Now she is away from her husband and children and other distractions of everyday life. The lake is beautiful, and soon she is making progress on her book. Her neighbor across the lake catches her interest as well. His name is Ben Turner, and soon he and Cleo become friendly. Cleo's family comes to the lake for the weekend. She notices her husband Sean has pulled away from her, especially when he goes back home and leaves her with the kids. He has been getting more and more involved in work--or so he says. Eight years before, she experienced the pain of his infidelity, and she fears it is happening again. She sends her children to day camp, and in this time her friendship with Ben deepens. Secretive, wounded Ben slowly begins to open up.... The protagonists' professions are used beautifully in the narrative with ingenious references to prose and music composition. The lively first-person narrative eloquently tells the story of a woman slowly realizing that her life needs to change, and finding the courage to face grief, guilt, and pain in the change.

I'm a guy who up until now has always read nonfiction. However, I've recently discovered that if I'm going to read "make-believe" once in a while, how much I might enjoy reading novels by female authors. I'm finding out how much I can learn from them. . . especially the nuances of the authors' thought process, especially when falling in love. I would therefore like to recommend Cameo Lake, by Susan Wilson, mostly for men, who will learn just how a woman allows the budding romance to unfold. Most valuable, as I've said, are all the shades of gray that most men probably don't pick up on; for example, her understanding of shy people, pg 24. . . being excited initially with just being friends with Ben, pg 32. . . more of the same excitement on pg 68. . . her disappointment on pg 106 that he was too polite under special circumstances. . . admitting enjoying his nearness on pg 114. . . a white lie on pg 118. . . finding him increasingly attractive, pg 120. . . further, a different sort of man, pg 125. . . lots of nuanced revelations on pg 144, as her feelings for him begin to increase (lucky guy). . . resisting emotional urges, pg 191. . . agonizing over her feelings to the point of being sick, pg 196. . . "smitten with memory", pg 222. . . her own shyness revealed on pg 237. . . hey, it all adds up to a sweet and loving account of how a woman falls in love with a man. This is not a fluff book, although it is an easy read. And finally, a glance at the author's portrait on the back of the book shows all these nuances on her face, with soft eyes that penetrate deep.

This book definately threw me for a loop, but it was very worthwhile. I wasn't used to 3rd person perspective, and it was hard to adapt too. The first chapter was a bit slow, but once I started to get into it, I couldn't put the book down. I absolutely love romances, and this had it. It's just a wonderful novel, taking place at a wonderful place that you can fully image in your mind. You will never forget this book after you're done reading!

(The word "girls'" in the title is misleading, since this book is for women.) I found this book enlightening and helpful, especially for younger women just beginning their careers. Each chapter was inspirational, and encouraged me to be an informed, powerful, and successful woman.

I picked this book up because I thought the cover was "cute" and the title "catchy". What a surprise when I read it - quickly. So much great information. I think this book could benefit every woman in business. Thanks for helping me!

Tofu Roshi is the alter ego of Susan Moon, a longtime Zen practitioner and writer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tofu Roshi's advice to the lovelorn, instructions on meditation, and overall guidance on life gave me many, many belly laughs. Roshi's words are complimented by photos of his (or is it her? Tofu Roshi's gender is rather questionable!) students hard at work to get enlightened. If you know anything about Buddhism, or are involved in a Buddhist group {sangha), and are prone to taking yourself and the practice too seriously, this book is just the right medicine for you.

The interesting thing about Zen is that a humor book about Zen can be just as enlightening as a normal book about Zen. Zen has a strong tradition of humor and self-parody. Susan Ichi Su Moon has a warm heart which shows through her gentle and hilarious book. I couldn't have said it better myself.

This book is a wonderful love story. I love Vangie Worth, and the way that Susan Wilson tells her story is quite unique. She switches from different times and places, and the way she weaves her tale the reader is carried away with it. It's like reading about a quite lovely dream. This is a poignant love story that lasts through five decades even though the two people only are together for 7 months so long ago. Reading this book is like slipping into a warm, scented, steaming bath. Give yourself the pleasure.

From the pen of Susan Wilson (Beauty) comes a gem of a story that can't fail to touch all who read it.

It's 1944 and Evangeline Worth is summering at Hawke's Cove on the New England coast much to the dismay of her husband who is serving with the allied forces in Europe. John Worth is a city boy and can't understand Vangie's attachment to the rundown farm she inherited from her grandmother. This has put a strain on their nine-year marriage but Vangie had spent many summers in Hawke's Cove as she was growing up. It reminds her of a more gentle time and would be a good time for her to get over the recent loss of her baby as well as to spend some time writing her poetry.

When a stranger suddenly appears in Hawke's Cove, no one seems to realize he has anything to do with the missing Hellcat pilot whose plane was gone down nearby. Vangie needs someone to help her on the farm, it's suggested she hire the stranger who says his name is Joe Green.

Throughout the summer Vangie and Joe forge an almost too comfortable alliance - each with a secret they're reluctant to reveal. When Vangie's receives word her husband is missing in action, Joe is of great comfort to her.

But there is a second story here - that of Vangie and John's youngest son, Charlie, a reporter who, in 1993 is assigned to write a story about the Hellcat airplane which has recently been discovered in the water off the little New England village of Hawke's Cove. The reader is kept at the edge of their seat as 50-year-old secrets are about to be revealed after Charlie meets Maggie Green - the daughter of Joe from 50 years previously.

Writing in a variety of styles - first person via Vangie's diary entries, first person narrative in voices of several different characters, as well as third person - Wilson successfully tells the story from several points of view which works out very nicely for the reader.

Wilson writes with compassion as she tells these stories separated by time and brought together by a common bond. Romantic and tender, HAWKE'S COVE will appeal to a wide variety of readers but romance readers should be advised that this is not a typical romance. Rather, it is for the sophisticated reader who isn't as bound by the stringent guidelines found in much of romantic fiction today. Readers will cry, be joyful and surprised at this story which proves love is timeless.

While the story of long-lost love has a ring of familiarity to it, the execution is the real story here. Evangaline "Vangie" Worth is a very well written, three dimensional character that anyone, male or female, can easily empathize with. The arrival of Joe Green on her farm wearing her drafted husband's clothes adds a delightful air of mystery to the novel and though we feel thier love blossoming graudually, Susan Wilson keeps us wondering about Joe's true origins until almost the last moment and when he and Vangie finally 'get together', the payoff is wondrous! "Hawkes Cove" is a brisk, light and delightful read. The passages from Vangie's journal detailing life on the farm and how she and Joe spent the Summer of 1944 together are especially endearing.
A great book for anytime of the year!

What a charming little book with a delightful ending! I encourage others to buy a copy!

I loved it! So interseting. i loved how all the clues fit in the end.Very creative. I hope there is a sequel. The only reason i gave it a 4 star not a 5 star--it was too short! I could read something like this all the time.

The Needlepoint Clock Mystery takes the reader on a journey back in time through the highly creative use of the needlepoint design on the clock. The book's heroine is believable and captivating as she becomes increasingly obsessed with finding the clues to unravel the mysterious events which had occurred in the antebellum home which she is converting into a bed and breakfast inn. And, yes, the clues really are in the clock!

I ordered this book to help me select books for our church library. When I first received this book, I was thrilled. The categories are helpful and the descriptions are accurate. I could hardly wait to get some of these gems on the shelves. Therein lies the problem. Many,many of these books are out of print and no longer available. Of the twelve biographies I tried to order, ten of them were out of print. Some of them were available used, but most were not. It was most disappointing!

Yes, I often see homeschoolers and private schoolers come to my library with lists of "wholesome books" that are also "out of print books". I don't mean any offense to those who home school nor to those who go to private schools. I appaud them for trying to give their children wholesome literature. The problem is that often people equate "old" with "wholesome". True, a book published 40 to 50 years ago (and older) will not have the language and situations that you find in newer titles. But "old" does not always mean "good".

This book was written as a listing of books for children, of many topics. I want to make it clear that this is not just a book list of children's fiction. There are different books on the market that list only works of fiction. This book includes lists of books for these subjects: animals, art and architecture, bible/spiritual teaching, biography, crafts, hobbies, domestic arts, dance, drama, geography, history, horticulture, humor, language, literature (in several reading levels), poetry, rhymes, math, misc. music, outdoor activities other than group games, physical education, reference, science, technology, and special days and seasons.

This book was written by a homeschooler who is using the Charlotte Mason method. The Charlotte Mason method uses real books also known as living books, (not textbooks or boxed curriculum). This method allows the individual to use many different books written by people who are passionate about the subject to learn about a particular topic or unit of study. Living books are great books, books that capture the attention or imagination of the reader. Living books are not boring or uninspiring. I appreciate having this reference guide available to me, a pre-sorted list written by a user of the Charlotte Mason method, someone on the lookout for quality and inspiring books. It helps sift out the exceptional books from the unremarkable.

OK so this was published in 1987 and any book list that is written poses the risk of immediately containing out of print books. The fact that this book is 14 years old (at the time I of this writing) adds to the possibility that some of these books will be out of print. I see that other reviewers don't like book lists that contain out of print books. I appreciate a listing that contains out of print books, because besides shopping for new books, I also shop at local used book stores, online used book store and online out of print book stores. It is helpful to know about a great book and be on the lookout for that at a used bookstore (or by simply doing an online search for that title). As a homeschooling parent, our family library is growing and I do appreciate the ability to buy used books for sometimes as low as one or two dollars, and end up with better quality book than some currently-in-print, more expensive, new book. Let's not also forget that our public libraries are full of out-of-print books, and that library used book sales are another source of finding great books that are out-of-print. In defense of the author, to further complicate matters books come in and out of print...one never knows when a previously out of print book will go back into circulation.

If you are looking for a book of children's fiction lists that deletes out of print books, see "The Read Aloud Handbook"-with each revision the author deletes the out of print books and only includes the in print books (at the time of the printing, of course).

I appreciate the detailed index, which allows easy scanning by title or author, something that not all book list-books include.

I found this interesting reading and went right through it, cover to cover, with pencil in hand to circle those that I thought our family would like to read. I also found that this book inspired me to think about introducing different topics to my children that I would not have thought about, such as studying the life of colonial American children or learning about what pioneer Americans ate for food.

A great reference book at a low cost!

See the boy.
See See See.
He is Kurt.
Kurt Kurt Kurt.
Kurt is hurt.
Hurt Hurt Hurt.
He mistrusts the world.
Bad World.
Kurt meets Krist in high school.
Yadda Yadda Yadda...

So basically, if you're a "newbie" (i detest the word...its very negative and snooty) to Nirvana and just want the inside story without really wading through all the websites and detailed books (not to mention "die-hard" fans mocking you for not knowing the story behind "Teen Spirit"), then this book is for you. The basic story is there, told with a sort of fairy-tale wonder. Great pictures too. There are some nice excerpts from interviews, but they are pretty contradictory in the profile they construct. But overal, a very good primer for the uninitiated. Don't be ashamed for not knowing much, we all have to start somewhere. Go entertain yourselves.

this book was a good book. the first time I read this book I was amazed at the time and effort that was put into making it. When i read it i was like whoa!

Susan Wilson sets out a comprehensive, well-thought-out plan for helping girls build a foundation to become active and stay active throughout life. Excellent insights into how girls learn and play differently from boys. I was even able to understand why I personally did poorly in sports as a child and why it has taken me another 15 years to overcome that and become active as an adult. A must-read for anyone interested in coaching girls.

As the director of the Attachment Living Institute(http://www.attachmentliving.bizland.com) we found that the ideas, programs, and principles of Susan Wilson's book, Sports Her Way, were entirely compatible with our mission. As the mother of a young boy, the information also works with him, so even if you are not the parents of a girl, you'll find this information to be rewarding, useful, and instructive.

Although the name of Francis Graham Wilson has faded into obscurity, Wilson was among the first to define a coherent American conservatism, having preceded the major publications of Russell Kirk, Richard Weaver, and Peter Viereck.

As M. Susan Power states in her useful introduction, Wilson's main interests were Catholicism, conservatism, public opinion, and Spanish political philosophy. Born in Texas, he pursued a quiet life as a professor of political philosophy at the University of Illinois and the University of Washington.

The editors have compiled this collection of essays, written during the 1930s and 40s, into three parts: one, human nature and modern ideology; two, the definition of conservatism and its various aspects; three, "sources of renewal," including analysis of democratic theory, Jefferson, Cicero, and The Federalist.

Power asserts that Wilson offered an original interpretation of American political philosophy based on the classical quest for self-knowledge. This quest for ultimate meaning revealed both a shared human experience and a divine basis for history. In our time Christian conservatism has received a good deal of skepticism, with good reason, but I found Wilson's approach to be among the least intrusive, the most reasoned and flexible. Important to Wilson's view, for example, was the Catholic notion of subsidiarity, or localism, which dispersed political power and authority and which relied for its sustenance on the moral sense of the people. Localism of this sort was very much in the American tradition.

In this context I might also mention Wilson's belief, partly influenced by papal encyclicals, that the captains of industry in his day failed to take their moral leadership seriously, a remark that could be torn from today's newspapers. I am reminded of an observation by Russell Kirk that human beings, not being objects, naturally resist being treated like objects. Wilson was not the first conservative to draw attention to the limitations of industrialism or the mentality it fostered (Carlyle, Coleridge, and Henry Adams also had their doubts) but true to his nature he refused to settle for dividing the issue into legal absolutes or false dichotomies (e.g. Luddite pastoral versus Orwellian skyscrapers). Wilson could see that life divided itself into primary and secondary changes (essential and nonessential elements). That approach was fundamentally conservative in its recognition that the preservation of a moral order occurred among the tension between opposites: past and future, stability and progress, order and liberty, community and the person. Every generation must work to apply first principles to the particular circumstances in which it lives.

While Wilson's prose is free from the academic jargon that would later infect universities, it does proceed in a plodding style which might try the patience of the modern reader. This is not to say it is unreadable, only that it lacks, for example, the literary sense of Kirk or the plain speaking of Nisbet. Yet it covers enough of the foundations in a sufficiently nuanced way to encourage serious reflection about conservatism.

This book, which has also been co-published simultaneously in the journal Social Thought (1999;19(2)), came out of a symposium at the St. Louis University School of Social Service at the sponsorship of the Doerr Center for Social Justice, Education and Research. The contributors to the six chapters with topics like Compassion, solidarity and empowerment; Welfare reform and foster care; Delinquency prevention; Collaborative practice in low income communities; Fostering resiliency in children and Ecumenical housing all came from authors within the field of social work. Data from the United States on poor children (The state of America's children yearbook, Washington, DC: Children's Defence Fund, 1998) has shown that three in five poor children are white, one in five live in suburban areas, one in three live in a family with married parents and two in three live in a working family. In 1973 14.4% of all children in America were poor, but in spite of a better economy that figure climbed to 20.5% in 1996. For young families in America the child poverty rate doubled from 20% in 1973 to 41% in 1994 and all these increases even though the federal government had implemented welfare reforms to prevent poverty. The chapter by Nancie Palmer from Wasburn University on "Fostering resiliency in children" based on her doctoral work from 1991 on exploring resiliency in adult children of alcoholics was interesting reading. She introduces the Differential Resiliency Model (DRM) as an alternative and non-pathological approach to the study of children and families, who are coping daily with adversity. She sees resilience as an evolving process and while one person can display one of four types of resilience (anomic survival, regenerative, adaptive and flourishing resilience) this person may develop growth through new challenges and through homeostasis, coping strategies, relationships to environment or the use of energy the person will be able to survive. This book is recommended for workers in social work or perofessionals working with poor or disorganized families.

Professor Joav Merrick... E-mail: jmerrick@aquanet.co.il