A breezy evening at the old Bijou
356938
Ratings from earlier Amazon reviewers of this book are all over the place.

Having read Gabriella Herkert's "Doggone," I can see why.  There are odd little lapses of continuity--and one or two even odder ones of logic.  Characterization is strictly by the numbers and except for an occasional flash of liveliness from the narrator-heroine, completely flat.

"Doggone" is a mystery tale written and published in the era of chic-lit, so it offers as much romantic wish-fulfillment as it does mystery-cracking.  The hero is Prince Charming, 21st Century style: a hunk, a naval officer, a gentleman (in public, anyway), rich as Croesus, physically formidable and not especially bright.  The hero (for want of a better term for the narrator-heroine's new husband) also comes equipped with a feisty left-wing granny, a society matriarch mother, a rather battered and bruised--but ultimately redeemable--sister, a smart-aleck kid brother and, oh yeah, a father who happens to be an admiral.  The heroine is rather taken by the physicality of her new husband, who is still in many ways a stranger to her, and this manifests itself in repeated passages of fairly mild eroticism--which some readers apparently regard as not mild enough and too often repeated.

What are the merits of "Doggone," simply as a mystery novel?  Is the plot surprising in any way?  No.  Or especially clever?  No.  Is the final resolution apparent to and easily predictable by a reader with a speck of common sense?  Yes.  Is there one convincing detail anywhere in the book?  No.  Is there a believable sequence, chapter, paragraph, sentence from the first page of "Doggone" to the last?  No.

After all this, you may well be asking why on earth I am assigning four stars to "Doggone"?  The answer is a very simple one: the book is an absolute hoot!  Herkert is one of those remarkably rare writers who handles words in such a way that the book reads at a breakneck pace.  Now, I absolutely am not saying that "Doggone" is a so-called "fast read," a term that I always regard as the kiss of death.  No, I am saying that Ms. Herket's book zooms along at a pace that approaches that of that fleetest-footed of writers, Earle Stanley Gardner in his tales of Perry Mason.

More than that, while Ms. Herkert may have intended to foist upon the reading public a 21st Century chic-lit mystery novel, she has consciously or otherwise done something much more impressive.  She has given us what amounts to a novelization of the screenplay of a comedy-mystery movie from the mid-1930s.  Think of this book upon a screen in glorious black and white.  If Paramount pictures has expensively produced it, the movie "Doggone" has either Barbara Stanwick or Roz Russell for its heroine and her new (clueless) hubby is Henry Fonda.  Franchot Tone is the kid brother.  Whats'ername, the girl who played Jane in the Weissmuller Tarzan pictures, is the sister.  Mary Boland is the mother and a couple of wonderful character actors whose names nobody ever remembers are the granny and the admiral.  If the film is produced by Columbia on poverty row, the heroine is the young, sexy, sharp-as-a-tack Lucille Ball, Randolph Scott is the husband and Frankie Darrow is the kid brother.

Either way, it's a great picture and an enjoyable book.  I look forward to the third volume of the series, even as I begin my search for a copy of the first.

Four glossy stars
3955346
The album is a balanced combination of edgy jazz and delightful, melodic tunes .  All of them have an intimacy that puts me right into a smokey jazz club somewhere in the night.  George's version of That Old Feeling is great.  He takes me to New Orleans every time i hear it.  i put it into my CD player the moment i received it, and it's been there ever since.
2420699
While this is surely chic lit, it is a very enjoyable addition to the genre. Architect Joey goes to England to restore and "rebirth" a house once frequented by Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie and along the way meets a select group of supportive friends. The house provides a good back story and while there are cliches, they are enjoyable cliches.
4021217
As  a DAR it was fun to read this light mystery.  I enjoyed the references to our society, and the cast of feisty old ladies.
4819765
An enjoyable evening read and a nice change from TV.
901700
Reading this I felt like I was sitting around the old fashioned general store, or perhaps a local pub, with the towns acknowledged best story teller giving it his best effort with delightful short story after humorous short story full of fun unique characters.  The author uses the clever device of letters to friends to bring the world of clever imagination to life.  Its like a cross between reports from a European traveler immigrating to Australia where everything is strange, but about a hundred times stranger in an alternate universe where the Earth isn't the same but still is familiar and Lewis Carrolls Jabberwocky where things are not quite what they seem.

Just when you think you have the pulse of the place as a rough and tumble outback sort of place, the stories take a turn with a delightful undercurrent of the watchful other intelligent beings  compounding the good fun.

This is a perfect lazy afternoon read by the beach or pool where you can doze and read then pick up the next delightful tall tale.  I have already downloaded the next book in the series and am looking forward to the perfect afternoon  that is if I can wait that long.
3223713
A light reading that takes us to congenial drinks, impossibly sophisticated people and the sound of a Noel Coward song somewhere.
4326598
i enjoy the little details that betsey puts into her product & there is just enough, but not too much going on with this.  perfect for a night out.
2793820
This is a charming photobook. I enjoyed the funky, retro perspective on international travel and odd little details featured -- such as a sampling of do not disturb signs, ceiling fans, airport food, people sleeping at airports, etc. This is a just for fun book with a beautiful aesthetic.
3331288
ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS, or rather LES CENT ET UNE NUITS DE SIMON CINMA, ought to appeal to those steeped in French New Wave, Italian Neo-Realist, and various other genres and movements in European cinema.  Produced in the hundredth anniversary year of moving pictures, give or take a month or two, it's a Euro-cinemaphile's delight.  One-hundred-year-old Mr. Cinema's memory is fading, and he hires a pretty - nay, beautiful - young woman to stimulate his memory with talk of movies past.

 With my rube's knowledge of European cinema I knew almost every scene in this film referenced an earlier movie or star, although I was never quite sure who or which.  For instance, the beautiful Camille (Juliet Gayet) must ride a bicycle to Mr. Cinema's estate, and in one scene, for no particular reason, the bicycle is stolen.  Although I've never seen it, I'm sure act was meant to remind us of Vittorio de Sica's "The Bicycle Thief." Marcello Mastroianni has a fairly substantial role in the film, too, playing `The Italian Friend' of Mr. Cinema's who wants to buy his old films.  Mastroianni is dressed as a magician in a number of scenes, with an identically costumed actor behind him pulling a rabbit out of his hat.  I figure - this is a guess - that this is supposed to remind us of a Fellini film, although that's about the best I can do with that.  And so it goes.  Old French actors and actresses like Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo have small parts.  Can't place the woman in the flowing purple robes, though, who I think is sposed to be personating Death.  The one person I definitely recognized was Robert de Niro, who played a scene in a swan gondola with Catherine Deneuve, although both spoke French half the time.

 I'm not mocking any of this.  If I were more familiar with the actors and the movies this one would probably have been a lot of fun.  Without that to fall back on, though, the movie wasn't all that terrific.  Camille has a boyfriend with whom she schemes to cheat the old man out of enough money to finance a movie he's making, but even that plot stream seems borrowed or reflected from an earlier source.  ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS was okay, a kind of disjointed time-killer that would probably be a lot more appropriate for a lover of European cinema.
604657
If you are someone who enjoys an evening cup of tea on a nice day with a good book, this is for you.
4575437
Seems like lots of repletion but still get a kick out of the raisins.  Loved the old jazz greats they got to perform
1864732
Putumayo always puts out good, eclectic collections, and this one is no exception. The title conjures up images of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dancing on the Seine, Edith Piaf ripping her heart out with "La Vie en Rose" and a hot demitasse with a couple of madeleines. Listening to this album will not provide such a complete throwback, but it will make you appreciate the different textures of popular French musical styles - genres like chanson (French song), musette (traditional style influenced by immigrants) and manouche (gypsy jazz). The eclecticism is enhanced by the wide variety of performers presented here from contemporary artists to legendary stylists since WWII.

The old guard is represented by the likes of Serge Gainsbourg, a controversial figure and notorious womanizer, whose song here, "Marilou Sous la Neige", a rather tame pop ballad, sounds a bit like Gordon Lightfoot. Two of his lovers are represented as well - Jane Birkin, who provides an updated version of Gainsbourg's "Elaeudanla Teiteia" swimming through what sounds like a Wurlitzer organ, and sex kitten Brigitte Bardot showing surprising jazz vocal chops on "Un Jour Comme un Autre". A charming-sounding chanteuse named simply Barbara contributes a musical tribute to a criminal in "Si la Photo est Bonne", and George Brassens' guitar-plucked "Je M'Suis Fait Tout Petit" is cafe chanson at its most heavily Gallic.

The newer tracks hold up well to their predecessors with Paris Combo proving two manouche songs with style, the mood-setting opener "Fibre de Verre" and "On N'a Pas Besoin" with exemplary guitar by Potzi and trumpet by David Lewis. Sanseverino provides a bouncy track with a Stephane Grapelli-like jazz violin that reminds me quite a bit of Manhattan Transfer. Matthieu Boogaerts' "Ondule" sounds like a Gallic version of a Jason Mraz song with an unearthly calliope-like instrument. Coralie Clement contributes a breathy performance complete with undulating seashore sounds on "La Mer Opale", and Enzo Enzo's "Juste Quelqu'un de Bien" is a smoky chanson with a compelling jazz guitar. The CD comes with an informative booklet which gives mini-biographies on all the performers and the genesis of their songs. This is a genuine musical treat for Francophiles. C'est si bon.
3364082
Longworths latest fine mystery begins with the marriage of her engaging principals, Verlaque and Bonnet. Add to the mix her descriptions of delicious French cuisine and fine wine, strong characters, the discovery of a skeleton in an old courtyard, the atmospheric Aix-en-Provence coupled with the societal impact of migrant labor applied to the opening of a new restaurant and the reader finds a short light mystery for that lazy relaxing weekend of reading.
1898496
Oldish, sure, but there are plenty of laughs and observations about life in and around London at the end if the 19th century that make this short book an enjoyable few hours read,
1793217
Yes, I know it's not "West Side Story" or "Cabaret". Yet, it's cheerful, light-hearted and very nice to listen to. The lyrics are sometimes funny, others sentimental, and both Vivien Leigh and Jean Pierre Aumont come along quite satisfactorily from the singing test. Some songs are quite contagious - such as "I Go to Bed", and some others are sweet and delightfully romantic like "I Know the Feeling" which Miss Leigh sings beautifully. Not recommended to highly demanding listeners but it will delight those who like unpretentious, simple, rather old-fashioned and catching tunes.
4929165
Having visited the Slanted Door I enjoyed reading of the transition to the Ferry Bldg. The food was beautifully photographed and reminded me of the pleasant evening  I had there with friends.