The Mutual admiration Society
586649
This book was totally different than other books I have read, but  it was enjoyable to read.  Some explanations were a little long in getting to the point, so I skipped past them.

The book would probably appeal more to a younger reader than myself.
1239204
In this wonderful book Brian captures life in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the fifties, an innocent time when a mob was a friendly group of close knit friends who lived together in harmony in a neighborhood bounded by streets and avenues. Members of the Andrew Street Mob lived in harmony, with a rhythm totally their own. Their days revolved around each others lives. Achievements were celebrated, failures were bemoaned, losses were mourned, and joy and laughter were celebrated in the many days and nights of activities such as dancing, playing soccer, fixing old cars, and dating girls. Money was very scarce amongst the group, so many hours were spent simply standing on favorite street corners talking about the days activities just as so many of their counterparts in other neighborhoods around the world were doing.

This book is an engrossing read. It is not only for those who lived through those times. Sons, daughters and grandchildren can find out how their father or grandfather spent his or her youth. The characters become your friends. No matter where you grew up during those years, as you read this book you will recognize yourself and friends of bygone years in the colorful characters you meet on its pages. This book can be enjoyed by those who shared this innocent time in countries and neighborhoods around the world. I was fortunate to be a member of a mob from a neighborhood which, though close to Andrew Street, was  bounded by different streets and avenues. Andrew Street Mob could be my story.
1059712
I'm an avid collector of New York City street photography,always on the look-out for collections that capture the evolving character of the city over the decades. It so happens that this collection by Stephen Shames is set in the part of the Bronx where I've lived for many years now, though as it was about thirty, during the height (or depths) of the crack epidemic of the 1980s, when the south Bronx became the international symbol of American urban decay. The area no longer looks as it did when Shames took these pictures, though the continuity from then to now is unmistakable. I must say that to my eye, Shames' pictures don't have quite the vitality of Arthur Leipzig's New York street photography of the 1940s and 50s, which I take as the hallmark of the genre  and the standard by which all others must be measured. Still, Shames does capture something endearing in many of these images -- despite the back-drop of blight in so many of these pictures there is a human warmth and intimacy between the individuals he captures here. This is not the case in every single photo, of course. There are street fights, youths led out in handcuffs by cops, and pictures of crack being bagged up, too. But when I see the young men and women who are the main subjects of this collection among their friends and family members, I am reminded of that we all crave and seek to create love, friendship, community and sociability, even when abandoned and left for dead by the larger society as were the people of this neighborhood "back in the day." I'm glad I've added it to my collection documenting the life of this city.
4963625
It has been widely and vehemently put forth that the Inklings, a group comprised mainly of writers (including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Charles Williams) who met regularly to read their works to each other over the course of more than fifteen years, was simply and solely a social club.  Biographers, scholars, and in some cases the Inklings themselves have denied that the members of the group either exerted influence over or were influenced by the others.  Glyer, however, presents a convincing argument that it is a gross error to take such statements at face value.

In The Company They Keep, Glyer defines and delineates a number of areas in which the various Inklings did indeed have an impact not only on each others personal lives as friends, but also on their professional lives and works as colleagues.  Exhaustive evidence is provided to support these claims, demonstrating how these men acted and reacted upon each other as resonators, encouragers, sometime opponents, editors, collaborators, and referents.

Additionally, in the course of proving the influence of the Inklings on one another, Glyer makes a strong case for the importance of community in the life of every writer.

P.S. Don't skip the footnotes - they contain excellent content in themselves!
362722
I am enjoying the book with a friend and we are being edifyed and encouraged to build intimate relationships.
1714830
The beauty of this book is in the characters and the way the author allows us to get to know them in an almost voyeuristic way.  It covers the feeling of being apart from everyone else that everybody knows to the longing, maybe even subconsciously, for love and companionship. Great read.
4000375
I recommended this novel to my daughter the librarian at a girls' high school boarding school for the girls to read.  I feel that it would encourage discussion on filial love and real friendship, self esteem and issues beautiful people deal with as compared to issues gangly not-so-beautiful but bright girls grapple with.  Losing family and friends to aids is the vehicle these issues turn on.
4175745
Nothing seems as fraught with strong opinion and divisive behavior as attempts to discuss same sex attraction (SSA) in contemporary society. The authors of this collection of studies for a conference on the topic of SSA show a way forward by bringing together voices from across the spectrum to seek out a middle way between the either/or, take-it-or-leave-it demagoguery on both sides of this topic.
4665170
Very delightful, the story and the colorful pictures, if only we could all be friends and embrace our differences. Do you have a heart to know we are the same?
4959395
Psychiatrist Jean-Michel Oughourlian takes social critic Ren Girard's mimetic theory of human motivation and develops a clinical approach to relational problems. The purpose of his "mimetic psychotherapy" is to free people who are enslaved to mimetic rivalry so that they can live in the freedom of mimetic desire.

"Mimetic" means imitation. Neuroscientific research is confirming that human beings are innately endowed to imitate others. Girard set forth the theory that every desire we have is copied from that of another and that rivalry is connected with it. Oughourlian takes Girard's theory and focuses his therapy on desire that is misdirected into rivalry instead of love. In Oughourlian's words: "I have always thought that desire is the heart and the energy of the relation to the other, the first movement that carries us toward life. My [forty] years of research and clinical observation have convinced me that it is indeed desire that humanizes us, that impels us to unite with each other, to associate with each other, to assemble into groups, and also, as we will see, to resemble each other. It forms us in proportion as it animates us and arouses our thoughts and feelings. Desire leads us to seek out the company of others, their approval, their friendship, their support, and their recognition. But this can also be accompanied by rivalry and hatred; it can arouse both love and violence. Desire can be our greatest ally but also our worst enemy, driving us to wish for what will destroy us, to pursue what will cause us suffering, while we remain unable to understand it or figure out why it is happening" (p. 11).

Not only does Oughourlian describe Girard's theory, he eruditely applies it to an understanding of what he considers "the subtlest and most perspicacious of psychological texts"--the Biblical story of the Creation and the Fall. He then presents neuroscientific findings that substantiate Girard's theory of desire. He finishes with a clinical analysis of rivalry and how to approach people suffering from it. He calls his approach: mimetic psychotherapy.

Whether or not you agree with Girard's mimetic theory of human motivation, Oughourlian's journey of discovery from the time the met Girard in 1971 is fascinating. His ideas--derived from Girard's theory--are thought provoking and challenging. His treatment approach is worth considering.

The book is small--only 174 pages. It is not a quick read. Limit yourself just a few pages a day in order to fully digest the gourmet treat that Oughourlian has prepared for his readers.
1095957
Steve and Eydie  invent the easy listening melodic extension of their individual voices to excite what otherwise would be incapable of being heard.
If you take pleasure at listening to a duo whose stage presence is impressively entertaining and uplifting because of their co-partnership as a married couple whose admiration and regard for each other is expressed through their ability to sing words of praise and genuine compassion for their music through their love for each other too, then buy this measure of perspective to support your well-being and bask in the warmth of feeling their music.
2420180
All of us, no matter what age, cherish communion with others. What Dr. Peterocelli initiated at StoneRidge  is a model for Senior Communities worldwide. A  "Magic Table " is where everyone is welcome and comraderie is at its best. Kind and thoughtful discourse with others is what makes this book stand out. I invite you to take a seat at the "Magic Table". You will be more than satisfied!
1597884
Many wonderful parts to this book but this is my favorite. As we learn to express our own personal energy in loving and positive ways, we find that we attract people who have similar sttitudes and intentions that support our growth, and that which does not resonate with us falls away because the energies are incompatible. In other words, like attracts like. It a wonderful book to help you discover more of who you are.
Gina Rizzo
[...]
4234100
The authors revealed their deepest feelings, hopes and fears conversing on subjects which are usually private and personal. In doing so they learned much about their personalities. They got to know their teammates, and more importantly, about themselves.
It is wonderful to see how they evolve. In conversing, they turned from differentiating their religions to uniting them. At the same time, they bonded together spirituality. Wonderful book.
2382043
It was a privilege and a pleasure to have been part of a group of women who met for a reading group started by Ginnah Howard in a small city in upstate New York.  Usually there were six of us who gathered at each other's homes, or even more often at Ginnah's apartment to read selected stories; many times stories Ginnah was working on.  I am so happy to have known Carla and Del in those early years and their families and all their trials and dreams and struggles.  For me, Ginnah's books have taken me back to those weekly reading group gatherings and allowed me to revisit a time when I spent many happy hours with good friends and a very special support network.  It has been heartwarming on  many levels to be reacquainted with the Morlettis and the Merricks.
3639269
Hi! I'm Scr_ee! If you want to send me an FR, feel free to! But I'd also appreciate if you sent one to RainbowYolo4 and serenafun22. Rainbow is my alt and Serena is my BFF IRL. Also, we'd love if you joined the Cult of Cape, too c; You can find it on my profile(s)! And if I don't accept your FR right away, wait until the end of the month. That's when I go through them.

Bye! c;
2079730
Whether or not you like the Sex Pistols is irrelevant.  This book has more sociological impacts than you would believe!
John is from a very poor background in an impoverish area of London.  He is predominantly about gaining empowerment for the working class, standing your ground on things you believe and having a supreme sense of individuality.  He also deals with being raised in the lowest of the lower class of society, religious persecution, and the backlash from lowerclass friends when you have finally "made it" and you try to help them escape poverty too.
A must for any free thinkers or for people studying sociology!!!