Average and that's about it
596956
No instructions, not great quality for the cover material but it is pretty functional.
1084483
I would give this book 2.5 stars if I could. It wasn't horrible, it was just horribly average. I'm not a fan. No sir, I don't like it.
1637937
Ah, it's okay, nothing to write home (or here) about.
2201525
Not so good, not so bad either.  Unimpressive, but at the price point I purchased it...I got my monies worth =)
3584679
It was an average movie.  Would I watch it again, no.
343982
Not a lot of substance here, pretty standard story and characters.
4608090
I bought this based on some other reviews on amazon that were stellar.  I, however, found this CD to be just OK.  It has a couple of good tracks and the rest is sort of mediocre.
4007567
The style of this book apparently is know in the trade as "stream of consciousness", but anyone who has ever set foot in Glasgow can see it's just standard weegie punter pub patter spun out into book length and format.

I had high expectations coming to this book, having won the Booker prize and generally acclaimed by the critics. But as story lines go, it's average. As a piece of English literature, it's not even on the radar screens. As a piece of Scots literature, it's been heavily watered down (sorry to disappoint the other reviewers who thought the 'dialect' - in actual fact banter - was quite strong). If you're after a solid piece of contemporary Scots stuff in the same vein, Irvine Welsh (Edinburgh) is far better, you'll get a proper story line, some bare minimum of character development, more energy all round and better language. If you're wanting really classic stuff, then maybe Lewis Grassic Gibbon (Aberdonian).

But to give the book credit where due, there are some strong points. If you have never been to Glasgow or Scotland (or if you have and are nostalgic - it does happen so I am told...), this book is full of those 'only-in-Glasgow' gems; but to repeat you don't have to be a great author to put them down on paper. If you've never been to Scotland you can have a taster of how depressing life really is there.

There's bound to be literary critics out there who can dig out profound observations on human nature and modern society in this. But then again this sort of folk can see meaning in an old bag of chips or a soggy newspaper. And is hard to see whether Kelman actually intended anything with this book other than to make a few coins.

Other good points. It's a pretty light read, you can steam through it in no time, and it's ideal for reading on the beach (if you have the luck), on the bus, waiting in a queue etc.

If you can avoid spending the money, try borrowing from a friend or from the library. It's not one of those classic tomes you will be wanting to grace your own collection in years to come.

If you're seriously wanting to find out more about Scotland and the way of life/language, the only real way to do it is through the cinema. Similar sort of approach to Kelman is taken by Ken Loach ('My name is Joe', 'Sweet Sixteen').
2249812
This book is pretty average in every way. Its not great but its not bad either. Might be a good read on a slow day but not something I would hurry to read. Don't know that there was ever a good description given of any of the alien races. Somehow they all speak the same language. A decorated captain just walks off the bridge during a battle leaving his subordinate to handle it without any support, there were a lot of little things in the book that just bugged me as being too implausible, or that weren't described very well. I just found myself wanting more, and feeling like the universe these books are set in wasn't very well described.
2312856
The music on this cd is average at best.  There are a few catchy tracks that were probably popular when this album was released in the 90s. The cover photo of Ms. Howard is the most interesting feature of the CD.
1244987
I am not that big on Costner since Waterworld, but this movie is average. At least I don't desire a refund for this movie. It's predictable as to the outcome. If you can't find anything else but a Sci-fi channel movie choose this.
2624774
Acceptable, but not a really good one. 3 Stars.
102314
I've never read a Puzo novel but found this book to be very average. There was really no set plot as far as I understood but maybe that's the way he wanted it.  I found myself getting bored with all the ranting going on, especially from the "Osano" character.  The only thing I REALLY liked about it were the conversations between Cully and Groneburg (was that his name?)and the little casino secret tidbits they talked about.  A few of the things about the characters weren't very belivable and irritated me. For example, how Merlyn grew to not care about the film he was semi-working on and his percentage on it.  For a man struggling for any type of income why would he do this?  Maybe I'm just overanalyzing the whole thing but in my opinion it just wasn't the "GRIPPING, POWERFUL" novel that half of you reviewers are claiming it to be.  But for an affordable p-back, you really can't go TOO wrong.
3641414
it's ok.  not great, not horrible.  only ok.
3219358
It's an average cookbook...but nothing inside that most of us couldn't come up with ourselves by throwing some vegetables and tomato sauce in with a bowl of pasta. I wasn't impressed with much of anything in here...but it's better than nothing.
4456342
I only bought this book because it was cost me $1. It's just average, with basic writing skills, flat characters and a very forseeable story line. Could have worked much more with the characters.
772236
I guess I shouldn't be so harsh, since this book is currently available at no cost for Kindle, but there just really wasn't anything impressive about it.  Granted there really wasn't anything really awful about it either, other than maybe a few too many "main" characters which didn't really allow the reader to get to know any of the characters as individuals.

Final verdict, not bad, not good, truly just okay.  If you are fond of this genre, you will find this a familiar story.  If you aren't, you might want to pass on this book.