Reviews (4)

Bush
"....otherwise [the book] is two covers surrounding emptiness."
Love It
I decided to post a review because I'm responding to the one below. I actually loved this book. Bush is made to look like a fool because he is a fool and then some. If you are a big fan of George W Bush than buying this book is probably a mistake but if you are like the rest of us, it's a lot of fun and quite informative. The fact is it's funny. period. It's nice to have for the cover alone. I'm giving it for Christmas gifts this year.

Not funny
Anybody -- anybody -- can be made to look a fool if he has been recorded enough and spoken enough.Liberals don't understand that W is a superb manager and scorn him because he is not a polished speaker.I'd rather have a solid manager than an articulate pol in charge of the country.You might enjoy this book if you are a liberal wishing to confirm his or her prejudices, but otherwise it is two covers surrounding emptiness. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Humor    2. Quotations    3. Topic - Political    4. Humor / Political    5. Reference-Quotations   

Reviews (55)

Efron Is Real
As a university professor originally from New York City and definitely past the "baby Boomer" stage, I still found time to read Nora's essays and thoroughly enjoyed them."Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," are not "Hilarious" as so many people expect, but rather poignant portrayals of real-life human dilemmas presented in a lighter voice.Nora has been the one who can capture the rare moment within the chaos of reality, and her essays in the "neck" book do just that. This was obviously not meant to be the "book of the year," but a snapshot of the woman behind the captivating novels and films.The essays allow us to see that, she too, is aging with the rest of us, and it comes on all so quickly.I plan on gifting this book for the holidays, along with Gangi's "Forget The Cures, Find The Cause," and "Crazy Salad."The combination will help to get many minds and bodies on a better track.

A disappointment
I ran to get a copy of Nora Ephron's newest book, as I always liked her work. I'm glad I didn't spend the money, and instead got it from the library. I expected a very funny book that would be filled with wisdom and wit. Instead I found a slightly funny book that lacked originality and really had nothing to say. It would be too harsh to call it self-indulgent, but in a way it was. So she had a rent-controlled apartment that she loved, so parenting has changed,and so she has to dye her hair (often). Yawn yawn.
Women (and men) Will Love This Book
I was one of the 5 women in Azzarella's car going to Rayna Gangi's book signing(another great book, by the way) and all of us are at least over 50.Nora, the Golden Girls, even Oprah, will love these stories. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aging    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Form - Essays    4. Humor    5. Women's Studies - General    6. Humor / Essays   

Editorial Review

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Features

• Box set

Reviews (125)

Bravo, Mr. Watterson, Bravo.
Calvin and Hobbes is quite plainly a timeless calssic. Just as Charles M Shultz's The Penuts Gang, Calvin and Hobbes brings so many emotions to the table it's not even fathomable. It will heartwarm you, bring back childhood memories, pick you up when your down, make you laugh, chuckle and quite possible cry. I have read almost every Calvin and Hobbes book, aside from the tenth aniversery and no matter how many times I read one I can always read it again. Calvin and Hobbes only lasted ten years, yes that's right, ten short years. Although Bill Watterson has refused many pleas for more, his comics are just as special.
25 pounds in comics!
This is an absolute musthave for all Calvin and Hobbes fans.I had to use almost all my birthday money to buy this treasury collection, but it was worth the price.This set has three hardbound books fitted into 1 slipcase and I found out that to get the books out you had to tip the set so the books would slide out.The pages are thick but instead of stiched they're glued to the spine.Watterson's brilliant watercolor really stood out and made the pictures come to life.The set includes an introduction by Watterson and comics he drew earlier including an earlier version of Calvin and Hobbes.These books are very heavy so don't put it on your bookcase unless it's strong enough.No family is complete without this collection especially if you're a kid.

COME BACK CALVIN!
This is the defintive collection on this iconic comic strip.It is beautifully presented and a fitting tribute to Calvin and his stuffed tiger.Everytime I see the comics section of a paper I think of Calvin and Hobbes and am reminded of how consitant and quality this strip was; it is missed everyday.I can't imagine anyone not loving this collection, it is quite simply, the best.Come back Calvin, we miss you... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comic books, strips, etc    2. Comics & Cartoons    3. General    4. Humor    5. Cartoons & comic strips    6. Comics & Graphic Novels / Comics & Cartoons   

Reviews (9)

Pretty & Pretty Clever
The first thing to notice about this Lost Girls collection is how beautiful it is.The artwork is very attractive and it comes as three large volumes in a boxed set that is reminiscent of the collections of fairy tales the authors are emulating.Of course, you wouldn't want to inadvertently leave this on your child's bookshelf because this is a collection that is clearly for adults.
Vulgarity Without Redemption
What we have here is Moore retelling the stories of "Peter Pan", "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz".He strips the tales of their fantasy elements, placing the characters of Wendy, Alice and Dorothy in real life situations of sexual awakening.Of course the idea of fairy tales and folklore carrying at their heart, themes of sexuality, is nothing new, but here Moore puts aside any pretense of masking those themes behind the fantastic.
Adults Only Reimagined Fairy Tales
Suppose you actually met Dorothy from Wizard of Oz or Wendy from Peter Pan and they at down to tell you the strange sordid tales of their lives before and after the worlds fpound in the books that made them famous. Then suppose they invited you up for a spot of tea and some sexual adventures. Sound strange? No more than this tome of sexually explicit tales that the most famous characters in childhood literature recount to one another over tea and crumpets. Well, not really cumpets, but it sure sounds British, doesn't it. Buy this only if you have a deeper understanding of sexual literature and the dark world of Alan Moore, one of the greatest authors in the history of the comic book. This i not a book for children, but it's also not an illustrated Ribald Tale that used to pop up in Playboy. It delves deeply into the psychology of sex and hints that our favorite characters from Peter Pan etc. were actually quite mad. Moore tries his best to acknowledge Freud's tenet that all of human emotions are derived from the depths of our sexual core and that such dreams and thoughts reflect the very basis of all human behavior. This is not for children or even young adults as the illustrations, which are very graphic, can obscure the very witty and intelligent dialogue when viewed by the immature mind. It is the storyline that makes this effort so attractive and at the same time repulsive to the reader but it is at the very worst stimulating reading and at the very best..well.. stimulating reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. General    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - General    5. Humor    6. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Editorial Review

In 1975, four teenagers from Mount Temple School in Dublin gathered in a crowded kitchen to discuss forming a band. The drum kit just about fit into the room, the lead guitarist was playing a homemade guitar, the bassist could barely play at all and nobody wanted to sing. Over thirty years later, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. are still together, bound by intense loyalty, passionate idealism and a relentless belief in the power of rock and roll to change the world.

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Reviews (10)

U2 from the Band Members.
I can't express enough how GLAD I am to own this book. The photographs are exceptional and personal, and the band members open and up front about their (very) humble beginnings, all the way to stardom... which doesn't impress them much. It is the perfect Time for this book. The Band's willingness to put together this volume is a gift to the millions of us who have been touched by the greatest rock band in all the history of rock 'n' roll.

A gift to the world!
I would like to thank U2 for giving us this book. It really made me feel part of their history together. I've been a U2 fan for more than half of my life and looking at those amazing pictures, reading their own words is priceless. If you like U2 is the perfect thing for you to have; if you don't, after reading this book you will.
The Beatles Anthology Book Done U2 Style
If anyone here owns the Beatles Anthology companion book to the TV series/CD's, this isn't much different. The story is "written" by the band, quotes culled from over 150 hours of interviews done for Neil McCormick. Every phase of the band's career, from it's earliest days straight through to "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is told solely through quotes from each band member, making this is as definitive, brutally honest, unflinching and uncompromising a book on the band as we'll ever see. These aren't moments plagiarized from magazine articles or other books, but personal recollections.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Composers & Musicians - Rock    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    7. Ireland    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Rock Music    10. Rock groups    11. U2 (Musical group)    12. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Editorial Review

Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In Read more

Reviews (353)

Transparency
I read this book several months ago, and I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.So it wasn't until I was laying in bed this evening that this thought finally connected in my mind.
unique
reminded me of Angela's ashes.Painful, yet humourous and very enjoyable to read.She keeps it matter-of-fact and it tugs on your heart without being sentimental.

Reminds me of growing up with my dear old Mom
Somehow childern in abusive situations seem to maintain their sense of humor, despite what is happening around them and to them.
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Subjects:  1. Alcohol Abuse    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Case studies    7. Childhood Memoir    8. Children of alcoholics    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Television Personalities    10. Family Development    11. Literary    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Problem families    14. United States    15. Welch    16. West Virginia    17. Women    18. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (97)

Pollan is my hero!
I am a pharmacist who is also very interested in how diet and exercise maintain people's health.Michael Pollan's book was an incredible eye-opener.I first heard him interviewed on Science Friday on NPR news (podcast) and decided to read his book.It is an extremely well researched book with an entire source list in the back.It is also very entertaining and easy to read.It is obvious he has a great sense of humor.His book encompasses the economics, politics, biology, ecology, and physiology regarding our current american diet.His book has surely changed the way I think about food and I was fairly well versed before I read his book.Now, I am a member of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and have been spreading the word! This is one of the best and most influential books I have ever read. Everyone should read it.Ignorance is not bliss.Just ask some of my pharmacy customers who have side effects from the medicines they take and have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on those same medications.

My response to Vegan/Vegetarian horn-tutors
I'm about halfway through this book (I've been kind of skipping around to various parts--which is how I usually read non-fiction books). Modern agriculture, factory farming, and where our food comes from are all subjects near and dear to my heart. These are topics that only people in the industry or professionally trained chefs (which I am) usually know and care about. I don't think veganism/vegetarianism is a good response (and I don't think it will fix anything). Instead, we need to be voicing our displeasure with our dollars.
Must Read for the Health Conscious
The Omnivore's Dilemma is an exploration into the foods that are on our plates and why. The answers he delivers are at times frightening.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Food Science    4. Food habits    5. Food preferences    6. History    7. Manners And Customs    8. Nutrition    9. Popular Culture - General    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Health & Fitness / Nutrition   

Reviews (66)

World War Z Makes This Reader Want MORE
Max Brooks' shamblingly good World War Z made this zombie-genre-fan want more, more, more. This "oral history" chronicles the stories of many who fought in and survived the zombie wars. If any one of their stories were expanded into a full-length novel, I would snap it up. I'm sure he's already been asked, but I must add my voice to the clamor: Please, Max Brooks, if youhave a third zombie book in you, write one that follows a protagonist from start to finish so we can go even further into the scary, creepy, wonderful world you've created.
A cut above genre
Zombies as a genre fit overwhelmingly into a visual medium, and there have been quite a few great zombie movies, "Night of the Living Dead", "Sean of the Dead", "28 Days Later",as well as some fun zombie graphic novels, "Marvel Zombies".Zombies are simple creatures that translate well to visuals with their sole moviation of kill, eat and infect. In "World War Z" Max Brooks takes on the zombie genre in the form of an intelligent oral history from the survivors of the global epidemic. Each chapter is the story told from a different survivor and organized chronologically from the start of the infections in China, throught the rise of zombies globally, the human resistance, and eventual human triumph. How do you translate the zombie genre from their success in the visual mediums into prose form? Mr. Brooks does exceedingly well by telling the human side of the horror story.
Worthy Read for Zombie Lovers
A fun read that has a bit of difficulty maintaining a tone. Is this serious, sometimes its very serious, at others a bit comicbooky - as the narrative of war against the undead unfolds we have some rather uneven snap shots - but the highs definitely outweigh the lows. Recommend reading for Zombie or survival fiction enthusiasts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Men'sAdventure    4. Humor    5. Humorous    6. War    7. War & Military    8. Fiction / General   

Reviews (64)

As informative and insightful as his TV show!
Olbermann - whose journalistic work could prove him to be this century's Edward R. Murrow - has written a fine alternative to Bernie Goldberg's "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America" that's far more witty and not nearly as one-sided...for those who deride him as another lackey of the "liberal media", I suggest you take a look back @ his coverage of Lewinskygate during the Clinton administration.
Bill O'Reilly wannabe
Give me a break. . . People you have got to be more intelligent than this.All this guy does is essentially ride Bill O'Reilly's coat tails.He's looked at what Mr. O'Reilly has done with his career, realized that he is not even CLOSE to being able to beat him at his own game, so he becomes the "anti-O'Reilly" wow - what a novel (and idiotic) concept.Keith Olbermann is a Bill O'Reilly wannabe - and can't even come close to measuring up.I thought this book was more of a typical liberal whining session.BORING and TERRIBLY PREDICTABLE!!Don't waste your money on this one. . . go check your neighbor's trash dumpster for a copy.

Great book coffee table book
While this book does not look like the typical coffee table book (no pictures) it is a great book to keep somewhere handy for those moments when you have a little time to kill.The stories are incredibly funny and enjoyable, and don't take very long to read at all.While all of them appeared on tv during Keith O's show, the ones I remembered were still funny the second time.Love his show, and love his book!
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Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Celebrities    3. Conduct of life    4. History & Theory - General    5. Humor    6. Miscellanea    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Topic - Political    9. United States    10. Political Science / General   

Reviews (6)

I was literally sent downstairs for laughing too loud.
Seriously.I was up past bedtime, and I was reading Bryson's description of lame 1950's toys.I won't give it away, but imagine what he can do with the topic of "electric football".After a particularly vigorous episode of chortling, my wife trudged out of bed to decree that, if I insisted on continuing to read, I'd have to take it downstairs.
The FUNNIEST book I have read in years!!!
This is a wonderful, funny, and ultimately very human book, which reminds us all, no matter who we are or where we live (I'm Australian) of the total joys of a happy childhood.
A pure joy.
So far as I can tell, there are only 2 problems with Bill Bryson.First, he writes about his life, which means he has to go live it for a while before he can write another book.So he can't write constantly, which is about the only pace likely to keep up with my appetite for his work.Second, he doesn't live near me, so I can't visit him to catch up between books.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Bryson, Bill    6. Childhood Memoir    7. General    8. Humor    9. Iowa - Local History    10. Literary    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Regional Subjects - Midwest    13. Travel writers    14. United States    15. Voyages And Travels    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (151)

AMAZING BOOK!
I have read this book multiple times and it has increased my poker skills in house games with my friends significantly! It lets you in on all the basics and ends with advanced strategies. Overall a great book! [...] I recommend to everyone!

Top Notch Hold Em Book. Lot of bang for your buck
I highly recomend this book. After finishing it I decided to give it a try in online poker. I entered a tournament with 662 people. Early in the tournament I took the chip lead and made it all the way to the final table with the chip lead. All in all I finished third. Not too bad considering I'm a very inexperienced player.
these 3 volumes will pay for themselves
i've never played a deep stack tournament before.
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Subjects:  1. Card Games - Poker    2. Gambling - Card Games    3. Games    4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Poker   

Reviews (34)

Excellent value, significant improvements
I have not gamed in years. Actually since shortly after the 2nd edition rules came out. The 3.5 edition greatly simplifys the game and improves the balance. This 3 in 1 collection is a great value and provides all the basics you need to start playing or running a game.

Fantastic Deal
This is great, you get three books for the price of two.All three of the first 3.5 Edition Core Books.Seeing how the Player's Handbook is necessary to play, and the Monster Manual is almost mandatory, you might as well get the DM Guide for free.

Good stuff, except....
I've been playing D&D for about 20 years now.I stopped playing in 1996, then a couple of years ago I reunited with a few of my old gaming buddies, who introduced me to version 3.5.
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy - General    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    6. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    7. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy    8. Role-playing & war games   

Reviews (10)

Perfect book for Newhart fans
Seeing on Amazon that there is an audio CD of this book makes me wish I had listened to that instead. If only to hear the amazingly funny stories that Bob tells so well. This book is like a breath of fresh air for all those who enjoy Bob Newhart's subtle and yet hysterical brand of comedy. Reading this book makes me wish his fantastic TV shows were still on in syndication somewhere. He tells his life story with the same dry wit that he tells all of his jokes.This book is a must for anyone who is a Newhart fan.

ENJOYABLE, BUT SLIGHT.
I've recently rediscovered THE BOB NEWHART SHOW on DVD and it more than stands up to my memory of it being one of the funniest TV comedies of the '70s.I was also a fan of NEWHART in the '80s and Bob's deadpan performance at this year's Emmys made me laugh out loud.So the release of Newhart's autobiography dovetailed nicely with my renewed interest in Mr. Newhart and I was especially curious to read his recollections of his years on television.
Good For Getting Your Mind Off Other Things
"I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This" is Bob Newhart's biography, with whimsical insights into his early life, tentative beginnings in comedy, and then on to "The Bob Newhart" show and stardom.As one would expect, the book is both laidback and interesting; even better it helps fill your mind with more relaxing thoughts after being broadsided with countless stories about Rep. Foley, North Korea's "bomb" (?), Iraq, Iran's pursuit of nuclear (?), Woodward's latest book, falling house prices, the stock market bubble (part II), and Barbra Streisland's latest outburst.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Comedians    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Television actors and actresses    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    13. Biography: general    14. Humour   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Video & Electronic - General    5. Computer games    6. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (3)

I LOVE THIS STUFF!
Springsteen fans have been very lucky as of late as he has been putting out more and more product.While non-fans may wonder what all the fuss is about, let's face it, if there is one rock ledged who is sorely lacking in the way of specialty releases, it's the Boss.How nice then to finally see things like the '75 London concert DVD and CD released last year, a revamped Seeger Sessions disc with songs that popped up on the tour and during rehearsals we otherwise would not have had on the actual release and items like this book and the coinciding "Greetings from E-Street..."
good job

Fantastic Tribute to a Great Artist.
I am a life long Bruce Springsteen fan, and so, I have become more objective with my opinions of this spectacularly gifted musician. In Dave Marsh's 'Bruce Springsteen on Tour 1968 -2005, the reader is taken deep into the movement that the Boss has set out, transforming American rock n roll, and in many ways putting a kick back into the American music industry.What is most fascinating in this biography is the wonderful and mostly unseen photographs of Springsteen and crew on tour. There are nearly 350 pictures or so, and nearly each of them tells a unique story of the movement that is Bruce Springsteen.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Concert tours    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. Genres & Styles - Rock    7. History & Criticism - General    8. Music/Songbooks    9. Rock musicians    10. United States    11. Music / Rock   

Reviews (181)

terrific lampooning of the genre
THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE is a terrific lampooning of the genre as Max Brooks (with illustrator Max Werner) warns people to take these attacks seriously or else within twenty-three hours be dead and reanimated as a slow limping creature (that is why they instinctively hunt in packs).Mr. Brooks provides a historical perspective over the millenniums of documented Zombie attacks and what to do and more important not to do when the real judgment day occurs as the dead rise to increase their ranks.Filled with tips on combat (if a choice flight rather than fight), key supplies (two pairs of socks), and how not to lose loved ones to a Zombie.Readers will find this an amusing satire on survival, horror movies and books, and George Romero as obviously Max squared have insider information that a zombie traitor must have leaked, but the humor holds up better by reading small bites over time.
F**KING BRILLIANT!!!
I expected to be disappointed with this book . . . but it is destined to be a classic!And when I read the section on "zombie outbreaks throughout history," it was written so convincingly that I actually did a series of Google searches to see what came up!Apparently, the guvmint has suppressed all mention of these events . . . .
Great Read.
This book is a wonderful piece of fiction. I hesitate to really call it "humor", because while I find it amusing that the book is presented as deathly serious, it doesn't really make me laugh while reading it. Rather, I think this book is just well-designed as a no-nonsense guide to living through a Zombie attack. Perhaps the best thing about the book is that it advises you NOT to be a hero, it warns against trying to take on hordes of undead. It tells you to be reasonable; avoid confrontation unless necessary. It treats its reader as an average suburbanite.
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Subjects:  1. Form - Parodies    2. General    3. Humor    4. Monsters    5. Zombies    6. Humor / General   

Reviews (33)

You're kidding me, right?
Not insightful, not even humorous. I am willing to admit that maybe I just don't get his writing style, whatever that might be. I hope Mr. Rakoff gets into a new line of work

Well Written, but Non-Productive
This is some brilliant writing.It moves right along, it keeps you interested, and it has a very clear voice and strong point of view.I defintely think it's worth reading, but it's like a bucket of KFC -- delicious, satisfying, but probably bad for you.

ShoppersParadise
If you're like a man like me, you hate to shop. But my wife is a shopaholic, that's why I've found this book to be so delightful, I didn't actually have to leave the house, to go shopping. Too bad it doesn't really count with my wife, I'm going to the mall where I'll sit on anything stationary this afternoon
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Essays    4. Form - Essays    5. Humor    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Social Science / Essays   

Reviews (1)

Well done
I do think this little book picks up some of the contemporary songs and adds a quality to some of the old ones that make it worthwhile to purchase. I bought it cheaper here that through the Cokesbury sale! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christianity - Methodism    2. Music    3. Religion - Worship - Music    4. Religious - Contemporary Christian    5. Religious - Hymns   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - Mage    6. Role Playing Games    7. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy   

Editorial Review

At the beginning of 2005, Frank Warren launched a new blog called PostSecret as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous postcards that made art out of their innermost secrets and then posting a selection of the cards every week on his blog. Within a year, his blog was one of the five most popular in the world, and his first book, Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Private    3. Motivational & Inspirational    4. Popular Culture - General    5. Self-Help    6. Self-Help / Motivational