Hard to stomach for a big Gosselin fan
341814
As a long-time fan of Kate, Jon and the Gosselin kids, I was really intrigued by this book and the alleged abuse Kate dishes out to her kids. Maybe I'm naive, maybe I'm only believing what I want to believe, but I have a really hard time believing everything Kate is accused of. The stuff about Kate injecting herself with fertility drugs and striving for a family of multiples so she can get rich and famous just doesn't wash with me. Looking back at old videos of a young Kate with Jon, I think she was a normal young mother just trying to get by. When she found fame and fortune it changed her. There's no denying she's a different woman these days. She's selfish, self-absorbed and her treatment of Jon and the kids at times is and was unforgiveable. I'm just not sure I buy into the extent of what Hoffman is claiming. As others have said, his claims may have more credibility if he had hired a proofreader. There are a lot of repetition and spelling errors in the book.

Whether the events in the book are true or not, I think we can all agree that the Gosselin's kids safety and happiness is the most important thing in this sorry tale. I pray the rest of their childhoods are normal and healthy and that they go on to get whatever they want out of life.
4341335
I LOVE Clive Cussler and the Oregon series but this one is going back. I'm sorry but I just can't get past the huge intake of air with each sentence. Okay not EACH sentence but I actually started thinking- "hey, he didn't gasp with that one" when I heard a normal sentence. Maybe the poor guy has a condition or something so I feel bad complaining but I can't imagine he talks like that in normal conversation. I use audiobooks for driving much to the amusement of my Sirius fan loving family but I might have to get this one in paperback.
2923510
This is one of those rare instances where I like the movie more than the book. The author is a good writer, but the content was a little too graphic for me at times. There are detailed murder scenes that were difficult for me to read. The granular details about 80s fashion and music are intended for comedic effect, but I found it to be tedious after a while.
75322
I think I am the first purchaser of the candy. Needless to say, I was hopeful but disappointed. The fact is that I am a fan of dark chocolate plus a fan of pecans. For some reason, they are very difficult to find together. Based on the way my order was packed, newspaper in a box, I am inclined to think they are a small, in not new company, which I have no problem with either. Hopefully, they will figure out the importance of shipping presentation. The pro is  that you get a nice box for the purchase. The con is that the flavor was unremarkable, nothing to leave a lasting memory. In fact, I never finished the box, which might have had 12 pieces. Again, my hope is that this like a new restaurant that opens with a promising menu and they need time to work the bugs out, I might give them another chance.
3897900
This book is very blunt, and sometimes offensive. She has had made some really bad choices in her life, and is quite open about them. I wish I understood the reason behind the way she chose to live her life. I still don't.
Her writing style is very hard to follow, at times I did not know who she was referring to.
I guess it's a good view into the restaurant world, but not all that interesting.
487092
I am a fan of most major sports, but I have to confess that professional hockey is not one of the sports that has caught my attention in a positive way. But, mystery novels are probably my favorite form of genre fiction, so I was hoping that I would be able to combine my love of mysteries with a painless way of gaining some knowledge about the world of professional hockey. Unfortunately, that did not happen with G. B. Joyce's "The Code." It was, not to put too fine a point on it, a rough slog. The first few chapters seemed to be nothing but a whine-fest by the protagonist Brad Shade about how mistreated he has been by the world of professional hockey, first as a player and now as a scout. It was just one set of unfortunate incidents after another for Brad, starting with his father's decision that he would not be drafted out of high school, but rather was headed for college and a major in criminal justice. Later, when he was drafted from the ranks of college players, he had to change his major to history in order to complete his degree by correspondence. By that time, it appears that his sell-by date as a player has almost expired and he is traded multiple times during what remains of his career. When the story opens, he is a scout for a Los Angeles team who stumbles across a murder of a high school coach with a terrible reputation that occurs after an old-timers game where Shade was, naturally, dissed.

The rest of the book is taken up with the mystery of who killed Coach Henratty and recruitment for the upcoming season. While there is some humor in the book, it often reminds me of the whistling past the graveyard humor of someone who in essence has a large ax to grind due to how mistreated he has been by everyone. The relationship between Brad and his girlfriend Sandy is not one that I would care to continue were I she. She is 40 and apparently looks it (as though 40 were closer to 60), and when she looks in the mirror she is willing to put up with Brad because she probably won't get any better offers. The book is just rife with this type of unpleasantness, with gossipy titbits about the NHL, and a mystery that really doesn't justify 341 pages. I haven't read any of Joyce's non-fiction works, but apparently they have been quite well received, so perhaps he may be better served by sticking to mainstream sports writing.
512372
I have eaten at Daniel's flagship restaurant in NYC, called Daniel. His food is amazing! I am not a chef, not even close but the description of this book led me to believe we would be able to reproduce some of his food at home. Unfortunately it has not been the case, the recipes look great but it has been very difficult to source half of the ingredients listed in upstate new york, especially the proteins.
3509238
It is very hard to argue that Hemingway's writing style is not simple perfection, and his books are always enjoyable, but (and maybe it's me) I always have a bit of a hard time relating to his characters. They always seem to be wealthy gamesmen traveling the world safari hunting, or fishing, or (in the case of this book) a little of both. Should every reader be able to relate to every character in every book? I doubt it, so I would still urge anyone to pick this one up, but you may find that the characters seem a little distant and hard to sympathize with, in many cases. It's about an American newspaper man living in Europe and his wealthy, or once-wealthy, friends as they travel to Spain to fish, drink, watch the running of the bulls, drink, enjoy the bullfights, drink, screw, drink, and fight. It's a short book -- give this one a try.
3469776
let me start by saying i am a huge HST fan...with that said this book is not as "gonzo" as some of his fans might want or expect. this is an early work (i think even his first book) and you can hear in his narrative that he's still finding his own style and seems to mimic more of a hemingway style.  it's not a bad book, but for true gonzo fans it might not be gonzo enough. it's not fear and loathing (of '72 or vegas)!
622174
This a tough one for me...I love some tunes, can handle a few others and yawn at the rest.  I realize this is the foundation of Rush sound with the addition of Neil Pearl as drummer (best band lineup change ever imo) and lyricist.  That fact alone gives this a 5/5 stars, but overall this disc still sounds blah to me.  Sure I like the fact that the superb By-Tor & The Snowdog is longer in this remastered edition, and Anthem sounds pretty good with new treatment, but it is still a band messing around and ultimately finding their way in later releases.  Worth having for fans, look to another disc for better Rush material imo.
3124282
I love the music and am very grateful the whole picture of the concert series is available, but it is a frustrating listen to me. Yes it is clear and you can hear all the players but it lacks viseral impact. The booklet refers to how loud the band was, you have pictures of Miles blowing right into the mic, and then there is the earlier editted version from years ago. I would think when Miles hits those big high notes it would fill the room and/or make my head want to explode, but I feel very little of the power and majesty. I can hear the bass and kick drum but the whack to the gut is MIA. These guys are playing their butts off and somehow the sound comes across without the danger, comfrontation, bliss, daring, thrills, and commanding heavy wall of funk that everything else says it was and should be. A great listen but not the experience.
1206875
Taste is really nice, but :
- presentation is not great (you have to squeeze it from a plastic bag),
- it's quite a big piece, so if you are not a big enough group of persons to eat it you will have to throw away part of the Foie Gras, which is a pity,
- and it's not a real piece of Foie Gras, the texture is much closer to a "pt" to spread.
4425778
i may very well be his biggest fan, but i did not enjoy this book. it felt sad to me, like he wasn't enjoying himself when he wrote it. what i like about his writing is the "look ma no hands" quality, the way it  feels like, when he's at his best, that as i'm reading my hair is blowing  back from my grinning face and i'm hanging on for my very life. i love  that, and i don't mind one bit if i have to use a dictionary to get through  his writing. without dfw, "fantod" would not be a household word  aroud here.  but i don't get that from this collection. it feels sad  to me, like he caved from all the criticism of his style, and simply did  not enjoy writing it.  one exception, though, that feels right:  B.I. #20 12-96.  on this one, he hit it. i read it three times in a  row. i've thought about it countless times. where the rest of the  collection is unsettling, this one disturbs. this one is the joel-peter  witkin of short stories. this one has everything.  i wouldn't recommend  this one as the initiation into the world of dfw, but if you're a fan of  his i'd say you should have it. maybe wait for it to show up at a used  bookstore, though.  and let's hope he can resist the temptation to  listen to his critics, people who seem to object to the idea that a reader  may have to do a little work in order to enjoy a book.
2077417
As an open-minded Christian, I found this book very difficult to read.  I am sure that people will disagree with me, stating that this book was AMAZING or LIFE CHANGING.  I simply found it...difficult.

The book is about a man who receives an anonymous invitation to have dinner with Jesus.  At first, he believes that he is meeting a random person that his friends hired to play "Jesus."  He goes into the meeting questioning why he was even going, why his friends would be tricking him, and why this person was playing such a believable role.  Jesus has dinner with him and discusses why the world is the way it is, how to act appropriately in the eyes of God, and what he can do in his life in the future.

As a Christian who has her own beliefs, I believe that maybe we could all be wrong and won't find out until we do meet out maker.  I feel as if having faith is something that every human wants or needs to get through life's mysteries and heartaches.  This book was too much for my open mind.

I saw a cute, little, hundred-page book fall from the envelope.  It took me three weeks to read it because I would have a feeling of frustration and anger every time I read it. I did not feel uplifted by this book, and I felt as if it was more a book for people who shared the EXACT feelings of the author.  I could barely get through it.
108478
Well it's HARD toffee.  I guess it is as advertised but I sure won't buy it again.
You CANNOT chew this stuff.  Just let it dissolve in your mouth.

Should have read the description closer, so no fault to the seller but for those
of us looking for that Callard and Bowser texture, it's not even close.

It has a very good taste but man is it HARD !
3257107
Rather difficult. Not exactly like the first three albums, but clearly St. Vincentian music. I'm still not used to it.
2530967
It pains me to say this because I have been a HUGE Jackie Collins fan for many many years, but this book is just lacking like the others never did. Hard to explain why, exactly. I can say that the constant self-praise of the Santangelo family, Lucky, Gino, etc., both in the characters' thoughts AND in their dialogue, really got on my nerves.

Also, I have always liked Lucky, but she was very bitchy and impatient in this book.

Not the best, but of course I would still recommend it to any Jackie Collins fan.