a pleasant collection...
936117
from a very wonderful vocal performer. Her videos aren't very inventive, but watching her in interviews...her personality, her charm, her humor is why I enjoy watching her videos-she shows a lot of respect and grace. And this is why I gave the video collection a 5. Not to mention this collection stems from the A Decade of Song cd...which has all of her hits on it, plus new tracks. 'Memorial tunes from movies and personal 'times' within yourself will take you back to that moment that you heard the song.
She's top on my list of vocal performers and I'm pleased to hear that she's coming back with new material. Those who like vocal performers, I doubt will be able to get enough songs from the vocal 'diva'. Those who like Celine Dion will enjoy this collection and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy music of the vocal nature!!
542751
This is a charming collection of novellas. A novella is a bit longer than a short story and about 1/3 the length of a full novel. A collection is great to have on hand to pick up for quick, easy reading. The plots are not usually as intricate as a full novel, but lots more satisfying than a short story.

I was already familiar with a couple of these authors, especially Vannetta Chapman. I have reviewed several of her delightful books. This is a publication of Thomas Nelson Publishing and you can count on their books as being good.

Each of the stories was satisfying to read. I especially enjoyed some of the characters a bit more than the others. I like Seth in "Love Birds," Ezra in "A Bid for Love," Will in "Sweeter than Honey," and David in "Love in  Store." I found that each of these men were strong and sensitive.

The ladies in the stories each had their merit. The four stories dealt with Amish customs, the process and pitfalls of love, and in Vannetta Chapman's a touch of mystery.

I enjoyed this collection and can highly recommend it to anyone who wants a gentle read.
3846752
I don't usually do this, but here's one book I bought because of the title and the cover.  This collection of stories is certainly interesting and, as the cover suggests, you don't want to read them alone. The book has everything you might expect, and then some. There's not much more to say, except I enjoyed it
299529
enjoyable but too short collections to enjoy
4063868
I really enjoyed this short collection of miscellaneous poems and essays. The one outstanding work was a very interesting article on Edgar Allan Poe that suggest the troubled author/poet was a long-suffering victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After reading Cedric's intuitive analysis I have to admit that I agree with his theory. The first poem, 'The Fool's Cask' based on Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado,' is a nice homage to Poe whilst being a poem on its own merit. Mr Nye certainly has some solid writing chops and a refreshing and humanitarian viewpoint in his writing that makes me want to read more. The various works in this collection are mostly unrelated to each other which makes for a surprising collection. The prospective reader will be sure to chance upon something in here that will appeal and uplift. My only reservation with 'Assorted Essays and Poetry' which prevented me from giving this collection 5 stars, is that the formatting was in need of tweaking. Despite this one flaw, the writing is solid and interesting enough to compensate. Will definitely be checking out Mr Nye's other work in the near future.
2290876
This book is a collection of short stories in various genres in wildly diverse styles. There is definitely something for everyone here.

My personal favorites were:
The Old Scale Game. (Humorous fantasy story)
Not with a Whimper, Either. (Written as a chat room log)
Black Sunshine. (Written as a TV or movie shooting script)

There were only one or two stories that I didn't care for that much, so overall I would give this a 3.5 stars.
4588042
This collection is as interesting for the light it throws on the author and her life (both in the introduction and the second half of the book) as for the tales themselves.  I'm a fan of the alphabetical Kinsey Millhone mystery series, as well as a fan of short stories, so this collection seemed like the perfect mix.  That said, I found most of the stories a bit lightweight and predictable (especially the piece that was written for a catalogue, which was a strange mixture of advertising and Euripides paradox).  The prose is lucid as ever: Sue Grafton is past mistress of characterization in a few words, and her descriptions evoke nostalgia for those of us who also remember those times and similar places.
258522
This is a nice little collection of classical poetry, a great starter book for those who'd like to explore many different poets and styles of writing. This book includes many beloved and well-known works.
823806
To me poetry can be seen as rather personal to the poet and the intended meanings that come from deep within the poet's heart and soul are not always clear to me, but I have to say I enjoyed (and understood) many of these storoems and poems in this collection. In fact, Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man was an enjoyable, stimulating read. Gilleland's simple, forthright style is part of this poet's charm. This doesn't mean it lacks depth, far from it, the subjects he writes about are all things I can relate to, people, emotions, relationships, animals and disasters for example, which brought a whole range of emotions to the surface, from happy to sad. At the bottom of a couple of poems are brief explanations to what inspired him, which is a nice touch. I have to say I do have a preference for rhyming poems, storoems, limericks and acrostic poems, but for those who like free-verse, he has written those as well, and with over 80 poems there is plenty to chose from. All in all I was pleasantly surprised with this collection, and I am enjoying being able to pick this book up and reread various poems at my leisure. In addition, this book has also won the Readers Views 2009 Reviewers Choice Award. Other books by this author include, Poetry for the Common Man, Gilleland Poetry, Bob the Dragon Slayer (prose) and White Lightening Road (prose).
4260883
This is a nice,well organized 5 disc collection of both standard and less popular but still delightful recordings covering a varied range of sub-genres by artists most jazz  fans will recognize and enjoy. The novice jazz enthusiast may find this collection to be an easy listen as it flows nicely and is an enjoyable way to explore some of the many musical styles, voices, and artists within the genre. I found this to be a satisfying, enjoyable listen and was quite happy to add the set to my collection!
Genres: Early & Standard Jazz, Latin Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Soul, Blues and some World Fusion as well!
1383680
I'd like to say this was a uniformly enjoyable collection of stories, but Wodehouse, at this point in his career, is, I think, a bit too erratic for that. Still there are gems, here and there, and fans may well appreciate the beginnings of styles that will later blossom.
25364
pretty good assortment , some of them were unknown to me though, and some wern't original.. but overall nice to listen to
4973747
A wonderful collection. I approached it with some trepidation, not knowing how some of my favorite characters would fare in other hands. And as one might expect in an anthology featuring different authors some at this 'universe' from different perspectives, it's a mixed bag and not all the stories work as well as others. But there's much to savor here.

I'm still sorry that Ms. Harris has left Sookie and her ilk behind, but there are some signs that, in her current Texas series, that some familiar faces might just poke their noses in once in a while.
4593874
A very decent collection of pleasant and, sometimes, even stirring pieces.  The performance on a CD like this is critical in learning to appreciate such short pieces of broad appeal as more than radio filler.  Pontinen does well, conveying mood as much as fine technique throughout.  The Liszt nocturnes, the Scarlatti, and the Rachmaninov pieces are spaced well to make the program varied and memorable.
908426
- Competent, but not brilliant
- Enjoyable, but without touches of genius
- Overall, very good value for the excellent variety of quality renditions
116003
A good selection for the casual not-really-fan who wants the music, but doesn't want to buy a lot of different albums.
1231597
An average collection, with four out of ten songs that I rated 4- or 5-stars (out of 5).