Shoes Books

Emotions Anonymous (EA) groups are open to anyone with a desire to become mentally and emotionally healthy, which by definition makes them a pretty big tent. Everyone from people who are feeling a little blue, to homeless schizophrenics, are welcome. For people who criticize EA groups has being more of a social club for people in the former group, and not having much to offer people in the later, this story in this book would fit would fit well in to their argument.

Carrie was introduced to EA by a friend who was in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), with whom she went to open AA meetings (though Carrie is not a alcoholic), and was impressed with the insight and spirituality at the meetings. At the advice of her friend, and because Carrie felt like "something was missing" in her life, she started attending EA meetings.

The author, Carrie, did have some serious mental and emotional problems, for example she tells of having a nervous break down after losing a job, and of being in abusive relationships. But this is far from the kind of stories commonly shared at twelve-step meetings -- the kind where people are in inches of losing their life (often many, many times).

At the end of reading Carrie's story, I was left asking myself "what's the difference? What is she doing differently? How much has her life really changed?" Well, she's going to meetings, she's more engaged spiritually, she's more honest and has a support network. But I couldn't come up with much else.

This is not to say that people who are not in, or have not reached, a "rock-bottom" state should be discouraged from attending Emotions Anonymous. One could argue that Carrie's EA work prevented her from reaching an emotional bottom of complete despair. Certainly, if someone is smart enough to realize they're on a downward spiral, there's no reason to wait until it's over before stopping the spiral and coming back up.

At the same time, this book could be very discouraging for a newcomer who is really in dire straits as he/she probably will have a difficult time relating to it.

I enjoyed this book. It helped me decide that a 12-step program was for me and how to find a meeting.

In this book, Out Of Their Faces and Into Their Shoes, John Kramp seeks to develop what he calls Lostology, or simply put the `study of the lost.' Through his study of the lost, Kramp hopes that he can uncover some information that may benefit those who try to witness to the spiritually lost.

Part One of Kramp's book deals with trying to get Christian readers to understand that lost people enjoy being lost. He points out that typical notions of lost people running around miserable all the time is not the case. Kramp emphasizes this point by using a string of examples of one being physically lost as a parallel to one being spiritually lost. He also stresses that it takes time and work to get one to admit that he or she is lost. While many of Kramp's insights are good, I think he misses a key concept: many (not all) lost people are miserable. I have heard countless testimonies (including one by the chairman of the deacons of my former church) of people who acted as if they had no worries, but were really torn-up inside. In seeking to debunk a possible myth for many, I think that Kramp may have overstated his case.

In Part Two, Kramp seeks to examine the way that lost people feel and act when they actually begin to admit that they are lost. He wants believers to understand better how to relate to those who are suddenly aware that they are lost and come to the church hoping to find directions. Kramp also desires to see Christians better pick up on the signals offered by lost people that they are interested in spiritual things. Kramp offers some good insights here. For many, the art of `reading people' is a difficult task. This section is filled with explanations of very obvious indicators that a person is ready to talk about spiritual things. Although, Kramp seems to move very slow from an initial contact to the actual presentation of the gospel. I believe hee may place too much emphasis on the understanding of the lost and not enough on the urgency of the gospel.

Part Three attempts to focus on the actual process that a person goes through in evangelizing the lost. Kramp hopes to encourage believers in their search for the lost by helping to draw a clearer picture of how important evangelism is. He also believes that one's lack of zeal for evangelism demonstrates one's lack of value for the lost. In the end, we must make evangelism a priority. This is perhaps the best section in the book. Here, Kramp steps away from the previous two sections that focus on the lost. Here, he nails many of us between the eyes with true-to-life examples of our excuses for not evangelizing, and an even more astute analysis of the thoughts behind those excuses. Kramp helps the reader to see that thinking about and doing something to reach the lost should be a consuming priority for the Christian. One point that I felt at odds with is the idea of re-centering of his life towards lost people; this seems contrary to Scripture. Certainly, we should be go looking for the lost! But I think if we were to truly re-center our lives on God, then we would have no problem developing a passion for the lost.

Finally, in Part Four, Kramp continues to offer advice to believers about how to go about reaching the lost. Here, he gives both practical advice and encouragement. In doing so, Kramp wants to give a realistic view of evangelism while at the same time encouraging believers not to give up too soon as results will follow from faithful work. He also emphasizes the necessity of waiting and working patiently with some people. Finally, Kramp tells us that celebration should be the result of a successful search. This final section is another good section. Kramp wants Christians to understand the hard work that often has to go into evangelism. This is important because when a visitation program starts up many come the first few weeks and then drop out when the results are far fewer than they expected. It is good to have a realistic view of evangelism that acknowledges that sometimes God allows us to reap the harvest immediately. However, it is also good to understand that more often, God gives us the responsibility of being involved in the long process of planting and watering as well. Patience and prayer are the farmer's strained muscles and sweat of evangelism.

Throughout the book, Kramp follows a general pattern: real-life illustration, example of Jesus from the gospels, explanation of appropriate action to be taken. Most of Kramp's insights are helpful, though perhaps over-stated at times. That is to say, some of the parallels he draws from being physically lost do not always transfer how he wants them to in terms of spiritual `lostness.' Amidst the many good things in this book, one major difficulty arises for me: the speed of Kramp's approach. Often I get the feeling that you are supposed to just sit back and passively interact with people, desperately trying to avoid breaking any laws of lostology, hoping that the individual will come to you searching for answers. Certainly, some people will require this sort of time and care, but sometimes people respond immediately to the gospel - even the ones who given no indication that they are lost. I believe the key is wisdom: one must know when to apply Kramp's lostology laws and when to look past the facade that many use to hide their pain.

If Christians really understood spiritually lost people around them they would talk about their faith more naturally. Unfortunately, most Christians do not understand non-Christian. They do not know how they think or how they feel. This book is designed to help Christians function on biblical terms as a soul winner. John Kramps "Laws of Lostology" offer Christians a chance to change their attitude and the style in which they tell others about Jesus. This book is a perfect study tool for small groups or Sunday school classes because its principles are easily communicated. It would also make a fine devotional for anyone who knows they need to share Christ with their neighbor, but just do not know where to begin.

Good story line but I normally buy an Intimate Moments title for the sensuality -- in that area this one was really a dud.

Kathleen Creighton's rich characterizations, emotional depth, vividly described settings, and ability to create a sizzling magic between her heroes and heroines without slapping you in the face with what passes for sexual tension in far too many books has made me a devoted fan for many years. Her latest IM, THE SEDUCTION OF GOODY TWO-SHOES, is Creighton at her best. Her hero is an American expatriate living in Mexico, a social recluse/artist/beach bum, who finds himself sucked into helping out a biologist turned government agent when her partner/pretend husband takes ill. A more unlikely pair you'll never see. . .but watching the jaded McCall's defenses crumble under the pressure of Ellie's fervent determination to set at least part of the world to rights is an absolute delight. Ellie is idealistic but not naive; McCall is crusty without being obnoxious. If you like a touch of suspense and danger in your stories, but are looking for something a bit different -- and for a romance that, even within the parameters of a short time frame, still doesn't seem rushed or based solely on physical attraction -- this just might be the ticket.

This book's been out for a while, but I just picked up another copy for a friend because it's such a great pick-me-up after a girl's ended a relationship! I buy a copy for every friend I have who dumps a guy - just to show that we're all in it together. The author's not out to save the world, one pair of Jimmy Choos at a time. Enjoy the art, laugh at the stories and recognize this book for what it is: An easy, fun read.

At first the book is funny, because of the general idea of it, but after you read a few pages you get bored.

Paget has produced a simple travel guide for those visiting the British battlefields on the Peninsula with battlemaps, orders of battle and some general remarks on the armies and their commanders. If you must have a travel guide I recommend Ian Robertson's WELLINGTON AT WAR IN THE PENINSULA. Paget came out of the Guards - so there you go.

Julian Paget describes every battle with detail and wit and is clearly the expert on the subject. His book is perfect for any student of the Peninsular War or just anyone interested in the subject. Includes profound information of the various regiments and characters involved.

This book was a miserable waste of time. The main character, whom I imagine the author modeled on herself, as she has with her other work, was a completely self-absorbed hypocrit. I had to finish it for a book club but had to put it down on several occassions because I was so disgusted with the main character. Her children are developing various self injurious behaviors because of her ongoing affair with her remarried ex-husband, but does she care? No. She only stops when she manages to get another man, whom she only likes because he is good-looking into her bed. That is until she seduces her already married friend and breaks up his marriage without a twinge of regret. Oh and meanwhile Mattie puts her mother in a nursing home and forces her into a disassociative state with the trauma of living with her own husband's old lover so Mattie can continue stay in her mother's house rent free and not get a real job. Unbelieveably she also hits her mother up for repairs and improvments to her house right before she puts her away. Of course she is always sure to make it to church, except when she takes to the bed for a week because she is sick with the discovery her long-dead father's infedelities. What is even more amazing is that I belive the author expects us to sympathize with this cretin. She obviously can relate, I, for one, cannot. A study in self-absorption and not for anyone who values characters with some....character.Blue Shoe

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At times, I found it a bit dark and depressing, but in it I saw a bit of everyone I know embedded in its characters. As always, Ms Lamott's writing is hypnotic and poetic in a funny and sometimes melancholy way.

I've not read anything else by Anne Lamott, but I plan to. I bought "Blue Shoe" on a whim and didn't expect it to be a light, easy, fluffy read. To my surprise, I've read it again since. No, the characters aren't perfect, yes, they fail. But they are so very human.

Certainly, sometimes we want to read fiction which will provide us with characters so good, so lacking in imperfection, that we can try to aspire to their perfect heights. And sometimes, conversely, we want to read about real, flawed people, ones who affirm our own lives. Which of us has never - be honest! - wanted the wrong person (or the right one) at the wrong time? has never engaged in emotionally destructive behaviors? has not known the right answer? Ms Lamott tells the story with such kindness and generosity to her characters... I can only hope to aspire to be so loving to myself and to my own friends.

The S.F. Bay area's Anne Lamott is well known through her fiction (Joe Jones, Crooked Little Heart, All New People, etc.) and non-fiction (Bird by Bird, Traveling Mercies, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith). Both adored and distrusted for her outspoken faith and her hilarious candor about messy issues like sexual mores, abortion, divorce, Lamott's writings demonstrate that life is a bundle of contradictions for people like her, like me, like all of us who on the way but not there yet. A Guggenheim fellowship recipient, she has been a Mademoiselle book reviewer and a California restaurant critic. She has taught at UC Davis and teaches writing workshops across the U.S.

In Blue Shoe, Lamott allows us to eavesdrop and peek in on the tensions, struggles, and alliances made and broken by three generations of Mattie Ryder's family. She is a forty-something, perfect size 12, divorced mother of two young children, struggling to support her household, and to find her way forward amidst life's discouragements. Her narcissistic liberal activist mother. Isa, looms over the narrative as does the shadow of her dead father, Alfred. Mattie's is very much a stereotypical Marin County family, hedonistic, liberal, educated, free-living. The blue shoe named in the title is a vending machine trinket Mattie treats like a good luck charm. Tracing its origins connects Mattie and her brother Al to family secrets that will wound before they heal.

Despite Mattie's (and Lamott's) transparent Christian faith, there are no plaster saints in this book, but only gritty, real people. Lamott is a disciplined author, and knows it is best to show rather than tell. Like a sea shell left on the shore by a receding wave, the theme of this book emerges from the experience of its characters rather than being placarded and proclaimed. The theme is stated but not trumpeted as such in Chapter Ten, where Mattie tells her brother, "Yesterday I had an epiphany. I realized that all I have to do is to tell the truth, and let go of the results" (223). Her theme could be expressed in this wry version of a familiar New Testament text: "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."

This is my first Lamott novel, so I can't compare it to others she has written. She succeeds here in opening her theme to us like leaves of an avocado, inviting us to savor the subtle flavors and fragrances arising from her narrative. The pace is slow-moving, and this too is a credit to Lamott's artistry, because real life is not a quickly dispatched explanation, but a slow process of experience and discovery sorted out from the tangle of the mundane.

Despite her slow pace, too slow for some, I give Blue Shoe five stars because I believe this slowness is appropriate to a portrayal of life as it is, where the fragments of lessons learned assemble slowly before taking discernible shape.

I recommend Blue Shoe to anyone prepared to see life and relationships in full color rather than in black and white. Lamott calls us to openness to new information, and to willingness to seek out and face unexpected or uncomfortable truths. The rich web of relationships clustered around Mattie Ryder is transformed as a result. If our experience would reflect theirs, we will need courage, curiosity, and perhaps a lucky blue shoe of our own.

This was my first Anne Lamott read. What people say about starting with the first books and working your way up to the most recent, is often true. Anne Lamott is obviously a very talented writer, with a wonderful dry sense of humar and excellent descriptions of setting. However, something tells me that her earlier books are even better.
To begin, what I loved about this book was the dry humor (ie: feeling like pouring Draino over the pet iguana, etc) and the lovely descriptions. I also enjoyed the themes of self-discovery, and picking up the pieces along the way in life. Anne Lamott most definitely does a better job about writing of the trials of middle age, feminism, and discovery than some writers, who fill pages with a soon-to-be Lifetime movie script, but there are some definite flaws within as well.
I wish that more depth could have been given about the characters, or that other perspectives had been given. I wanted to know about the intertwining of lives and characters, not horribly depressing pages about dementia and drawn out-death scenes of the beloved family pet. To actually shape this story, she needed to go into the past, instead of the present.
But what annoyed me the most, was the ending. The whole premise of this story was about Mattie finding herself, discovering her father's secrets and the brother she never knew. But the story ended so abruptly, that you wanted to know more. You had a part of the story, but it seemed as if Lamott just got tired and threw in the towel.
I would have given this book three and a half, or even four stars if not for the ending, but I felt horribly cheated. In a way, the characters did as well. They didn't get to complete the journey either. The ending is everything to make a good piece of literature morph into a great one.
This is a fast read (I read it in two days), and a very good beach book. I will give Anne Lamott the fact that she is very engrosing, and makes you want to keep reading.
But, if you want some true feminist literature with amazing, plots, characters, and endings, read any one of Margaret Atwood's books!
I have not completely given up on Anne Lamott, however. I look forward to actually starting from the beginning, and then seeing what I think!

I found this book, what I was able to read, to be poorly written and uninteresting to say the very least. Did not capture my attention and I thought the scenes and characters were very unrealistic... just very boring. Would not suggest this book!

The book was kind of boring. I didn't even finish reading it. I also don't think that it was an interracial book.

the reason i purchased this book is because of the great reviews it got. the book was great from the begining til end, i couldn't put it down. i fininshed it in 1 1/2 days. the only confusion i had was what race meghan was. i thought it was i i/r romance but not sure. other than that the book was HOT!!!! ;-)

Good girl Meghan foster is just plain tired of her plane Jane ordinary life. She's lived out her fantasies in her diary, referring to herself as "Elise", but that's not enough, so she decides to go to a tropical resort, where she can be the woman she's dreamed about. She's always fantasized about a wild affair, now she's going to have one.

Alex Worth is a DEA agent working undercover at the resort to expose a drug cartel and he's using the name Nicholas Alexander. After mistakenly discovering a pair of wanton red shoes and a diary filled with erotic fantasies, Alex is intrigued by the unknown woman. When he finally meets Meghan, her innocent exterior doesn't jibe with the sensual entries and exciting clothing, so he decides that he has to get to know her better and since he's read that diary, he knows just what fantasies she wants fulfilled.

I enjoyed this book, especially the fact that both Meghan and Alex weren't who they appeared to be to each other. The sparks really flew between them in this sizzler of a story that I couldn't get enough of.

A Harlequin Dreamers Review by Lori Mayer

Was this book about an interracial couple, if not why was it listed in the interracial category?

i feel this is not a book for a third grader because amy in the book refers to her brother as a word that i cannot mention on here which should read dirt bag instead of the word they use. my daughter is in third grade and read it and asked why there are bad words in the book. i plan on having it pulled from our school

This book said that Jack had dirty shoes. Children who read it WILL follow them and get scolded by their parents to proof that they can follow the story. So please don't ever write like this okay!!!!!

Nasty Stinky Sneakers
If you like mystery books you will like Nasty Stinky Sneakers by Eve Bunting. This is an awesome book. Colin has spent weeks making his shoes smell really bad for a contest. If he wins he will get three pairs of slam Dunker shoes. One for his little sister Amy, one for him self, and one for his best friend Webster. But now after weeks of working toward stinky sneakers, they are mising. Will he find them. I think this book is really good because it is funny, and my socks have smelt really bad.

My 7 yr old really enjoyed this book. Light mystery with nothing scary but lots of fun is right where he's at. I appreciate that this book is also well written. I feel it's important for kids to read books with good sentence structure and interesting vocabulary, and this book has it. (There are some "series" and other books out there with fun titles and stories, but poor writing.)

This biography is wholly interesting, particularly in its account of the early days of the Anansi Press and the activities of such people as Dennis Lee, Michael Ondaatje, Graeme Gibson and Margaret Atwood herself in creating a new hospitable environment for Canadian writing. But its lapses are considerable and it betrays the signs of haste and of deficient editing. The "red shoes" conceit - an extensively belaboured allusion to the 1940s Moira Shearer movie about a ballerina who discovers that in that era it was not possible to be both an artist and a wife -- might have been marginally insightful as a passing reference. But as the title of the book and as a recurrent image it is after a time irritating in its inappropriateness to Margaret Atwood's life. The biography itself (albeit that Ms Sullivan protests that it is a "not biography") extensively demonstrates what Atwood herself has frequently noted: that the knowledge of the Northern bush which frequently enters her fiction, the practicality and down-to-earth matter-of-factness of both her prose and the persona she presents in interviews and public appearances are grounded in a childhood wholly different from conventional 1940s little-girldom.

Moreover, the text is replete with relatively trivial factual errors which after a time become disturbing, for they raise the suspicion that Ms Sullivan is not to be trusted as to matters of real significance. In particular one notes that the lapses mostly have to do with matters of common knowledge to the ordinarily literate Canadian: what knowledge of Canadian circumstances, then, does Ms Sullivan bring to the task, and given the preoccupations of her subject Margaret Atwood, was Ms Sullivan the most appropriate author to undertake it?
And given that she did undertake it, surely more knowledgeable editors can be found in the Canadian publishing industry who could catch such lapses as these examples (pagination referring to the HarperCollins paperback edition of 1998):

Page 89 "[Northrop Frye]" had the look of the lay United Church preacher he moonlighted as on weekends." But it is well known that Frye was not a "lay preacher" but an ordained clergyman in the old, though unusual in Canada, tradition of clerical dons. Given that Ms Sullivan is a professor of English at the same university as Frye this lapse is especially puzzling.
Page 177 "Ordinary women were boring, shackled in domestic virtue as the 'Angel in the House.' (Margaret had picked up Virginia Woolf's phrase long before it gained common currency.")" But it is not Virginia Woolf's phrase; it is Coventry Patmore's, though Virginia Woolf was possibly the first to identify the virtue in the Victorian poem as suspect.
Page 183-4 "Directly across the street was a brick wall....This would become the wall where the executions occurred in The Handmaid's Tale." Well, we've already been told this; one would have thought that either one of the statements of this fact should have been deleted or that some acknowledgement of the repetition ("as has been noted," say) have been made so as to allay the reader's feeling that (to be kind) Ms Sullivan's proofreaders were lying down on the job.
Page 182 "Its steps were flanked by white pseudo-Corinthian columns,...." This seems an odd qualification: surely either they were Corinthian columns or they were not: the suggestion of faded ersatz elegance is not bolstered by the word "pseudo" and Corinthian columns are not only to be found on actual classical ruins.
Page 188 "Mr Atwood was floored by the ceremony...." - but elsewhere in the text Margaret Atwood's father is referred to as "Dr Atwood," and the inconsistency, while hardly a major flaw, is mildly irritating and adds to one's impression of general sloppiness of execution.
Page 204 "[John Glassco] had not yet published his famous fictional autobiography, Memoirs of Montparnasse." Well, was it fictional? There was nothing in the reviews at the time of its publication to indicate that it was fabricated; if subsequent literary discussion has revealed otherwise then surely Ms Sullivan should have provided at least a footnote to this effect.
Page 234 "Charlie had gotten a job teaching at the University of Calgary the previous fall," ie, presumably, in 1968, when there was no University of Calgary, but rather a University of Alberta, Calgary campus.
Page 242 Margaret Laurence, from Manitoba, and Jim Polk, Atwood's first husband, "could talk about the small Midwestern towns they had come from" -- but he was from Montana and that is most certainly not the "Midwest," at least not in US terminology, though arguably Manitoba is.
Page 212 "The FLQ ...[i]n 1963 had placed their first bombs in mail boxes and public buildings." Well no, the FLQ did not exist in 1963; it was the RIN.
Page 274 The people of Mulmur Township "still spoke in an Irish/English idiom that had survived from the nineteenth century....When they referred to slightly demented people they used the expression 'two bricks short of a load""-as though this cliché were not well known outside rustic Ontario, and indeed common throughout the English-speaking world, though possibly not so well known among University of Toronto academics.

Despite the author's tedious insistence that this is a "not biography" (when it obviously is a biography), the first half of this book is quite wonderful: a chance to meet the child who grew into the brilliant, steely writer, including some lovely, hilarious anecdotes that shed considerable light on her work.

But, as the book proceeds, it becomes increasingly focussed on Atwood's poetry--page after page is devoted to excerpts and analysis--while her much more widely read novels, the primary reason she is of international interest, are covered with bizarre brevity. Though admittedly not Atwood's finest work, "Lady Oracle," her first major bestseller and a book with obvious autobiographical significance, gets 3/4 of a page. Even Surfacing, a strenuously profound novel and surely worthy of eggheady analysis, gets short shrift.

This imbalance undermines the book's value, and while The Red Shoes is a must for any serious Atwood fan, prepare to be frustrated.

This biography is wholly interesting, particularly in its account of the early days of the Anansi Press and the activities of such people as Dennis Lee, Michael Ondaatje, Graeme Gibson and Margaret Atwood herself in creating a new hospitable environment for Canadian writing. But its lapses are considerable and it betrays the signs of haste and of deficient editing. The "red shoes" conceit - an extensively belaboured allusion to the 1940s Moira Shearer movie about a ballerina who discovers that in that era it was not possible to be both an artist and a wife -- might have been marginally insightful as a passing reference. But as the title of the book and as a recurrent image it is after a time irritating in its inappropriateness to Margaret Atwood's life. The biography itself (albeit that Ms Sullivan protests that it is a "not biography") extensively demonstrates what Atwood herself has frequently noted: that the knowledge of the Northern bush which frequently enters her fiction, the practicality and down-to-earth matter-of-factness of both her prose and the persona she presents in interviews and public appearances are grounded in a childhood wholly different from conventional 1940s little-girldom.
Moreover, the text is replete with relatively trivial factual errors which after a time become disturbing, for they raise the suspicion that Ms Sullivan is not to be trusted as to matters of real significance. In particular one notes that the lapses mostly have to do with matters of common knowledge to the ordinarily literate Canadian: what knowledge of Canadian circumstances, then, does Ms Sullivan bring to the task, and given the preoccupations of her subject Margaret Atwood, was Ms Sullivan the most appropriate author to undertake it?
And given that she did undertake it, surely more knowledgeable editors can be found in the Canadian publishing industry who could catch such lapses as these examples (pagination referring to the HarperCollins paperback edition of 1998):

Page 89 "[Northrop Frye]" had the look of the lay United Church preacher he moonlighted as on weekends." But it is well known that Frye was not a "lay preacher" but an ordained clergyman in the old, though unusual in Canada, tradition of clerical dons. Given that Ms Sullivan is a professor of English at the same university as Frye this lapse is especially puzzling.
Page 177 "Ordinary women were boring, shackled in domestic virtue as the 'Angel in the House.' (Margaret had picked up Virginia Woolf's phrase long before it gained common currency.")" But it is not Virginia Woolf's phrase; it is Coventry Patmore's, though Virginia Woolf was possibly the first to identify the virtue in the Victorian poem as suspect.
Page 183-4 "Directly across the street was a brick wall....This would become the wall where the executions occurred in The Handmaid's Tale." Well, we've already been told this; one would have thought that either one of the statements of this fact should have been deleted or that some acknowledgement of the repetition ("as has been noted," say) have been made so as to allay the reader's feeling that (to be kind) Ms Sullivan's proofreaders were lying down on the job.
Page 182 "Its steps were flanked by white pseudo-Corinthian columns,...." This seems an odd qualification: surely either they were Corinthian columns or they were not: the suggestion of faded ersatz elegance is not bolstered by the word "pseudo" and Corinthian columns are not only to be found on actual classical ruins.
Page 188 "Mr Atwood was floored by the ceremony...." - but elsewhere in the text Margaret Atwood's father is referred to as "Dr Atwood," and the inconsistency, while hardly a major flaw, is mildly irritating and adds to one's impression of general sloppiness of execution.
Page 204 "[John Glassco] had not yet published his famous fictional autobiography, Memoirs of Montparnasse." Well, was it fictional? There was nothing in the reviews at the time of its publication to indicate that it was fabricated; if subsequent literary discussion has revealed otherwise then surely Ms Sullivan should have provided at least a footnote to this effect.
Page 234 "Charlie had gotten a job teaching at the University of Calgary the previous fall," ie, presumably, in 1968, when there was no University of Calgary, but rather a University of Alberta, Calgary campus.
Page 242 Margaret Laurence, from Manitoba, and Jim Polk, Atwood's first husband, "could talk about the small Midwestern towns they had come from" -- but he was from Montana and that is most certainly not the "Midwest," at least not in US terminology, though arguably Manitoba is.
Page 212 "The FLQ ...[i]n 1963 had placed their first bombs in mail boxes and public buildings." Well no, the FLQ did not exist in 1963; it was the RIN.
Page 274 The people of Mulmur Township "still spoke in an Irish/English idiom that had survived from the nineteenth century....When they referred to slightly demented people they used the expression 'two bricks short of a load""-as though this cliché were not well known outside rustic Ontario, and indeed common throughout the English-speaking world, though possibly not so well known among University of Toronto academics.

This intriguing book tells about the early life of Margaret Atwood in great detail, and then skims through the last couple of decades. Rosemary Sullivan has done a remarkable job of recreating the '40's, '50's, '60's and '70's, and how they influenced (and eventually were influenced by!) Canada's #1 writer. Having interviewed Atwood, many of her friends and associates, ex-husband and present husband, and also using contemporary correspondence, Sullivan seems to have an authentic understanding of how Atwood developed into such an amazing, prolific writer. Always respectful, Sullivan keeps her focus on what in Atwood's life is relevant to her as a writer. This is a very intelligently written biography, with an incredible amount of research and very astute analyses, and should be a satisfying read for any fan of Margaret Atwood's, without feeling like you have invaded her privacy.

"What to Know When She's Expecting" gives the dad-to-be a humorous look at what's going to happen as the little bundle of joy and grief comes. My wife and I were just graced with our first-born, and I wish I had read a little more of this book before she popped out.

The humor is made by its absurbity. Just the first chapter about "is she pregnant" sets the tone for the rest of the book. Don't expect detailed, scientific accounts and descriptions of the pregnancy and birthing processes. Expect some revelant information with a delirious spin attached.

My advice, go ahead and read it, and have fun. Life is stressful enough, so enjoy the tidbits as you can.

This book was so horribly insulting that we felt we had to write a review. There is some general information in the book (what is pitocin, what should I expect at the ultrasound...), but the majority of the book is saturated with a demeaning and insulting attitude.

The author basically wants men to know that nothing they can every do is right and they should squash their true feelings, and pretend that pregnancy is not an experience for them, too.

Here is a direct quote, "Continue to lie. Remember the lesson of Chapter 5. At no point should you ever, under any circumstances, tell her the truth."(page 70)

This book assumes that pregnant women do not care how expectant fathers feel, and advices soon to be dads to basically treat their wives as if they've lost the intellectual capacity to accept criticism or hear anyone else's opinion. It demeans and insults both father and mother.

We also would like to mention that we did not purchase this book. It was a free gift sent to us by our insurance company.

We do believe that it is going to make good kindling the next time we go camping. Thanks, Anthem!

I disagree with the negative review above and out-of-context quotation within the review. The book was written by an OB/GYN turned stand-up comic. It has great information for guys injected amongst side-splitting humor. Now a father of 3, this book addressed questions and gave facts such as an episiotemy and epidural are not the same thing (hey...stop laughing at me...I was new at the "Dad Thing").

Good book for any new dad.