Product Description
Listeners are drawn to speculate about the differences among people unlike ourselves but find that there may be more similarities than we think. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! MareWinningham (born May 16, 1959), born Mary MeganWinningham, is an American actress and singer.Winningham was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised inNorthridge, California. She has three brothers and one sister. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Abraham Foxman, Mare Winningham, Abraham Ben Abraham, Karen Tintori, Campbell Brown, Anne Meara, Cameron Kerry, B'nai Moshe, John King, Aaron Freeman, Jeanne Dorsey Mandel, Bodo, Yisrael Campbell, Jews of San Nicandro, Robert de Reddinge. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 72. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Abraham Foxman (born 1940) is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League. Foxman, an only son, was born in Baranovichi, just months after the USSR took the town from Poland in the Nazi-Soviet Pact and incorporated it into the BSSR. The town is now in Belarus. Foxman had Polish-Jewish parents: Helen and Joseph Foxman. Foxman's parents left him with his Polish Catholic nanny Bronislawa Kurpi in 1940 when they were ordered to enter a ghetto. Foxman was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church as Henryk Stanislas Kurpi, and raised as a Catholic in Vilnius, Lithuania between 1940 and 1944 when (after several legal custody battles) he was returned to his parents. Foxman emigrated to the United States in 1950 with his parents. He graduated from Yeshivah of Flatbush, in Brooklyn, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the City College of New York and graduated with honors in history. Foxman also holds a law degree from the New York University School of Law. He did graduate work in Jewish studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and in international economics at New School University. Abraham Foxman joined the Anti-Defamation League in 1965 in its international affairs division. In 1987, he was the consensus choice of the Board to become its new National Director, replacing long-time director Nathan Perlmutter. Foxman has been awarded several honors from non-profit groups, religious figures and statesmen. In 1998 Foxman rece...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=939157 ... Read more

Product Description
For over forty years, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis has been a globetrotting spokeswoman for Judaism. Whether counseling a searching soul or addressing a packed house in Madison Square Garden, her message is elegantly universal, while simultaneously addressing the specific needs of contemporary Jews. In LIFE IS A TEST, the Rebbetzin's uncompromising convictions, her insights on faith, her soul-stirring wisdom, and her palpable love of all people saturate every word.

LIFE IS A TEST is really three audiobooks in one, each bearing a particular focus to help listeners find the hidden significance in challenging circumstances. The audiobook begins with tests of self-discovery and then examines the challenging realm of interpersonal relationships, concluding with a section on perceiving Divine Design in the big picture of global events, as well as in one's own world. Regardless of age or experience, people of all persuasions will find meaningful substance in LIFE IS A TEST. Rebbetzin Jungreis has captured many of our deep-seated questions, and has graciously provided us with a decipherable answer key. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

book on cd
This book on CD is excellent and really makes you think.Very eye opening and interesting.

Life isa Test
This book will inspire your soul, Life is a Test shows you how to recognize and understand the key of spiritual laws in order to improve your life and the lives of everyone around us,and how to reduce emotional chaos and increase personal harmony.Thanks ESTHER JUNGREIS

A stirring bestseller - now a fabulous audiobook.
I loved the book Life Is A Test when it first came out.It's one of the most important and paradigm shifting of books I've read in recent years.I've benefited a great deal by the Rebbetzin's wisdom so I was thrilled to learn the book had been professionally produced in audio format.While actress Mare Winningham does the lion's share of the narration, the Rebbetzin does a very warm opening, the first chapter, and a touching close. It's no small thing to communicate such passion as she does - and Mare Winningham delivers a very convincing reading. Being one of those that prefers to "hear" a book, I found this one rich.There are serious life lessons embedded here.Listening to them articulated so well here brought them back to mind easily.If you've read the book, you'll have a distinctively different experience with the audio - more multidimensional. I recommend it highly and heartily.

A Disappointing Exposition
I thought I was going to receive an application of Torah to a wide range life's challenges.

What I got was a culturally Jewish autobiography.

Excellent , just excellent
Two thumbs up for this excellent book. Rebbetzin Jungreis did it again. As its predecessor "The Committed Life", this edifying book leads you through many real life issues and the way Judaism helps you handling them. It is written by a seasoned character who has already worked wonders in the outreach world. I would say this reading could be profitable to both Jews and non Jews. ... Read more

Product Description
In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Em starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running -- barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road -- and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences. Will Em be next? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

A Pointless Thriller
It was suspenseful even though you have a pretty good idea how it is going to turn out, but other than that it seemed pointless.

Gingerbread Girl
This concise but powerful short story by Stephen King hints that everything happens for a reason. As Em struggles with the death of her daughter by SIDS, she finds comfort in running. One day, she finds herself in a situation that no one could ever be prepared for. But it seemed that that all her running was actually training her for that one unexpected, life-threatening event. Simple plot, but amazing story-telling, as is the King tradition!

Run little Gingerbread Girl
Gingerbread girl was falling apart and running was a way to cope but now we see she is literally running for her life. Only two disks but I found myself anxious to get to the end while my heart was beating rapidly in the excitement and terror. Enjoyed this little short story.

predictable by compelling thriller
I enjoyed this predictable but compelling thriller. While there are no new twists in this girl-alone-faces-sadistic-killer, it made for a fast, two-hour listen. If you like thrillers of this genre, you will like this audio-novelette. And if you have a late 2-3 hour drive and you want to be sure to stay awake, this Stephen King story will do the trick.

The first half had me hooked, however, the second half disappointed me.
Heard THE GINGERBREAD GIRL, a novella by Stephen King . . . it's
the story of a heartbroken mother whose baby has suddenly died . . . she
takes up running to escape her depression and eventually runs away
from her husband to a deserted spot in Florida . . . there she
discovers a secret about one of her neighbors that's he's willing
to kill to protect.

The first half of this two-hour tale had me hooked . . . I actually
cared for Emily and wanted to see what would happen to her as
the suspense built . . . however, the second half disappointed
me . . . I felt nothing for the villain; there just wasn't enough
written about him to get into his character . . . and the violent
ending was just too predictable.

Yet that said, Mare Winningham's excellent job of narration kept
me interested throughout . . . in fact, I just put her name down
as somebody I'd like to listen to in the future--reading some other
author.

... Read more

Product Description
A stunning new novel about three generations of a familyhaunted by love from the bestselling author of Practical Magic and Here onEarth. Arlyn Singer believes in destiny and in love.But fate seems to be playing a trick on the night when John Moody knocks onher door to ask for directions. Opposites who cannot understand each other,they are drawn to one another even when it's clear they're bound to bringeach other grief. Their marriage is dangerous territory, tracing a map noone should follow. It leads them and their children to the Connecticutcountryside, the avenues in Manhattan, the blue waters of the Long IslandSound, all in a search for family and identity.There is Sam, the brilliant explosive artist who is drawn toself-destruction and dreams. Blanca, the beautiful loner who triesdesperately to protect her brother from his destiny and lives her own lifein a world of books. And Will, the grandson, who is left a legacy of brokenpieces he needs to put together, an emotional and mysterious puzzle made upof people who don't know the first thing about love.Here is a family so real, so tragic, so devoted it is as if they havewritten their own riveting history--a quest for love and truth. Glassbreaks, love hurts, and families make their own rules. SKYLIGHT CONFESSIONSis a luminous and elegant work of true originality. No one who reads thisnovel will ever forget it or look at their own family in quite the sameway. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

An ambitious look at a dysfunctional family
Skylight Confessions is one of those novels that attempt to tell the story of a family over multiple generations within the confines of a single book.In fact, Skylight Confessions is more ambitious than that: it attempts to do so in a mere 262 pages of large-type.Yet it succeeds.

This is the story of the Moody family.It begins with Arlyn Singer, whose father has just died when the novel begins.She's now alone, but believes in fate and predicts that the next man who walks into her house will be the man she marries.Out of the blue comes John Moody, a handsome and, ahem, moody architecture student who knocks on Arlyn door asking for directions.They immediately have sex, but John isn't aware of Arlyn's plan so leaves her while she sleeps.She of course chases him down at his college, then his parent's house, until fate can take its course and they are married.

But the relationship's difficult conception portends the troubles to follow. John and Arlyn are opposites and give each other grief at every step.When they have a son, Sam, it is Arlyn who raises the boy while John is away at work and emotionally distant when home.Eventually and inevitably, affairs occur.There's another child, a daughter named Blanca.And then an illness.

After this, the book moves jumps ahead ten years twice as we witness the struggles ahead, as we see the consequences of forcing two opposed objects together.Sam is a troubled teenager then adult, constantly hurting himself to make sure he feels.Blanca tries to protect Sam, but eventually gives up and hides herself away.John remains mainly the same throughout.The family seems cursed as they plod forward in their lives, looking for love in their own unique ways.

Hoffman has written a great work here.I like the format of splitting the narrative into three time frames years apart.It allows the author to effectively paint the family in her simple but beautiful prose.We care deeply for these people, even though in some case they're not very likable.But they're always human, and this is a credit to Hoffman's talent.

There were things about the book I didn't like.As usual with Hoffman, you get your bits of the supernatural.I also felt a little turned off by some of the more flowery aspects of the book, like the multiple occasions of love at first sight.But I suspect she wasn't as concerned with how the family was conceived as with what arose from that conception.And I would agree with that approach: that's where the heart of the book lies.

This is an intelligent, well-written novel that will also pull your heart-strings.That's a great combo.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES...
Do you believe in fate?In destiny?

The story begins with an introduction to the character Arlyn Singer, who at age seventeen has just lost her father.And as she stands on the porch after the funeral, gazing outward, she vows that the next person walking by will be "the one."

Then a stranger stops by, asking for directions, and they are drawn together.Even when circumstances appear to step in and interrupt what has begun, Arlyn persists.She follows John Moody, the architecture student, to his university and waits.Then she goes to his family home, The Glass Slipper, meets his parents, and makes their destiny happen.

Years later, they are living in The Glass Slipper with their unusual son Sam.And they are miserable.But they persist (or at least Arlyn does) in the belief that they are living out their destiny.

Each individual's destiny unfolds, including that of Sam, the brilliant explosive artist.Then comes little sister Blanca, the bookish "good" girl.Her destiny is to keep Sam out of trouble.

When a tragic twist of fate takes them all off the course they had envisioned for themselves, their lives seem to spin off, flying into some other self-destructive pathway.

Watching the devastation as it shimmers and spins, like a legacy of broken pieces or a mysterious puzzle--it is like watching some kind of train wreck.

Much later, we see evidence of ghostlike visitors who leave behind broken glass, soot, and feathers.

Hoffman weaves this family tale in and out through the generations, until finally we reach a kind of resolution.

I was completely swept away by the plight of the characters--almost obsessed.And through it all, the imagery (glass house, broken glass, birds flapping) formed a haunting backdrop for lives gone awry.

If I could, I would give Skylight Confessions a 6 or 7 star review.

Loved Loved Loved this book!
This was one of the best books I have read in a while.I forced myself to stay up late the last few nights to finish the book because I was so interested in finding out what happened to the characters.It's a lovely story all the way through to the end, great characters, interesting concept.I can't wait to read more by this author.

Harsh, Illuminating
I've read almost all of Alice Hoffman's books, and liked almost all of those.

But before reading "Skylight Confessions," I always found them SLOW reads.Their prose was iridescent, and their characters deep, and their silences were almost as important as the words, in conveying character and mood.

But I read "Skylight" at lightning speed.Perhaps that is because in this book, character takes a second place to fairy tale and myth.

As always, magic plays an important role.But myth and fairy tale are dominant.

The book divides into 3 parts, each about a tragic or near-tragic figure: Arlyn in the first, who stakes her life on a bet with herself and loses (and wins?); Sam, second, an artist of self-torture; and Blanca, the girl who spends childhood acting as an adult and then as an adult retreats to childhood.

All these characters (and many others) are intense, shocking, and moving.

The whole story hurtles with the speed of a dream, harrowing, and illuminating.

Fair
Skylight Confessions wasn't totally boring, but it wasn't a great read either.
The first part of the book was the best. It went downhill from there. The story just didn't seem like it was going anywhere or had any point. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1979, Maura O'Halloran moved to Japan and became the first woman--and the first foreigner--ever admitted to Toshoji Temple. Three years later, Soshin-san (O'Halloran's monastic name) became a dharma teacher. Although her life was cut short, today she is revered as a Buddhist saint. Through her private and heartfelt journals and letters, O'Halloran eloquently describes the rituals, hardships, and ultimat joys of Zen training and temple life. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

A Mystic's Personal Journey
I ordered a used copy of this book because I wanted to learn more about Zen Buddhism.It certainly provided me much more insight than I had before, even though I have read widely about Buddhism before buying this book.

Maura O'Halloran, raised Catholic, goes to Japan and becomes a Zen Buddhist monk, joining a group of men who do not speak her language (nor does she know theirs), and following the strict ascetic lifestyle for 3 years, seeking enlightenment.The book is a journal of her actions and thoughts over the three year period, which was illuminating for me.It is more than a description of the lifestyle of a Zen monk; it is a personal journey of a remarkable young woman.Tragically, she dies in an accident at the end, so we are left with some unanswered questions about the ultimate meanings she has found in Zen.

For those who want to learn about Zen Buddhism, I recommend reading about Buddhism first, as this book assumes a passing knowledge of its concepts (otherwise, I think a reader would be rather lost).It is quite descriptive about living conditions, division of work, and daily routine at a Zen monastery.It outlines the author's increasing understanding of Zen, as well as her determination and eventual mastery of meditative practice.What most people would consider torturous ordeal becomes her common way of live, without complaint - begging in freezing snow, going with little sleep for days on end, meditating for hours at a time, living in a building with little heat, having few personal conveniences, shaving her head, manual chores, all while living in close proximity to Tokyo, one of the world's most modern cities.

My chief complaint would be the lack of a Japanese glossary of terms in the back.The book makes the practice of defining a word once (the first use), then assuming the reader will remember the term through the rest of the book.This didn't happen for me - I kept forgetting!I recommend readers write down their own glossary of Japanese words and their English definitions as they encounter them.Otherwise, the book was rather amazing.

I highly recommend this book for any students of religion, particularly those who wish to better understand Zen Buddhism.I read it within a day and a half, mostly because I couldn't stop reading.

One of my favorite books
This book is an unexpected little gem from the front cover to the very end. I stumbled upon it travelling and dealing with serious medical issues and it has unpretentiously reinforced my spiritual strength, and sweetly comforted and inspired me. I have a special place in my heart for this book.

An Irish voice
What moves me very much is the lilting, playful, droll voice of Maura O'Halloran. You would imagine that the Irish character and the Buddhist tradition are poles apart. Maura's passion whirls them together in an instant.
This book is a good companion indeed.

As simple as a....b.....c.............
This book is a lovely tale of a life well lived. It is told in simple, clear prose. These pages describe what it means to be fully alive to reality. Maura shares with us what Zen is all about as a lived experience, rather than some abstraction, which, I suppose, is the only way it can be demonstrated. The book is full of quiet, irreverent, good humor, which is one of the qualities of Zen if I understand it correctly.

Maura tells us a lot about Zen in this book.More importantly, she tells us in poetic prose what it means to be fully attentive and absorbed in the present.What I take from this book is that living a good life, after the fog has lifted, is as simple as a...b...c.......
I

overstated
This is a book which reads more like a hagiography than a journal. Maura O'Hallaran's both time in training and understanding were, for want ofbetter words; briefand comparatively small. She may well have been embarrassed by the book herself if alive today. ... Read more

Product Description
Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband Scott two years ago, after a twenty-five year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went -- a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons, Lisey's turn to go to Boo'ya Moon. What begins as a widow's effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited. Perhaps King's most personal and powerful story ever, Lisey's Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love.Amazon.com Review
Since his first novel was published in 1974, Stephen King has stretched the boundaries of the written word, not only bringing horror to new heights, but trying his hand at nearly every possible genre, including children's books, graphic novels, serial novels, literary fiction, nonfiction, westerns, fantasy, and even e-books (remember The Plant?). With Lisey's Story, once again King is trying something different. Lisey's Story is as much a romance as it is a supernatural thriller--but don't let us convince you. Who better to tell readers if King has written a romantic thriller than Nora Roberts? We asked Nora to read Lisey's Story and give us her take. Check out her review below. --Daphne Durham

Guest Reviewer: Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts, who also writes under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, is the author of way too many bestselling books to name here (over 150!), but some of our favorites include: Angels Fall, Born in Death, Blue Smoke, and The Reef.

Stephen King hooked me about three decades ago with that sharply faceted, blood-stained jewel, The Shining. Through the years he's bumped my gooses with kiddie vampires, tingled my spine with beloved pets gone rabid, justified my personal fear of clowns and made me think twice about my cell phone. I've always considered The Stand--a long-time favorite--a towering tour de force, and have owed its author a debt as this was the first novel I could convince my older son to read from cover to cover.

But with Lisey's Story, King has accomplished one more feat. He broke my heart.

Lisey's Story is, at its core, a love story--heart-wrenching, passionate, terrifying and tender. It is the multi-layered and expertly crafted tale of a twenty-five year marriage, and a widow's journey through grief, through discovery and--this is King, after all--through a nightmare scape of the ordinary and extraordinary. Through Lisey's mind and heart, the reader is pulled into the intimacies of her marriage to bestselling novelist Scott Landon, and through her we come to know this complicated, troubled and heroic man.

Two years after his death, Lisey sorts through her husband's papers and her own shrouded memories. Following the clues Scott left her and her own instincts, she embarks on a journey that risks both her life and her sanity. She will face Scott's demons as well as her own, traveling into the past and into Boo'ya Moon, the seductive and terrifying world he'd shown her. There lives the power to heal, and the power to destroy.

Lisey Landon is a richly wrought character of charm and complexity, of realized inner strength and redoubtable humor. As the central figure she drives the story, and the story is so vividly textured, the reader will draw in the perfumed air of Boo'ya Moon, will see the sunlight flood through the windows of the Scott's studio--or the night press against them. Her voice will be clear in your ear as you experience the fear and the wonder. If your heart doesn't hitch at the demons she faces in this world and the other, if it doesn't thrill at her courage and endurance, you're going to need to check with a cardiologist, first chance.

Lisey's Story is bright and brilliant. It's dark and desperate. While I'll always consider The Shining, my first ride on King's wild Tilt-A-Whirl, a gorgeous, bloody jewel, I found, on this latest ride, a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems.

A few of them have sharp, hungry teeth. --Nora Roberts

---

... Read more

Customer Reviews (507)

this was a good read
stephen is by far the best writers ever. first he has ideas that scare people from different points. you may not think this is a good book but die hard fans that believe in him and stand by htm expect 80 percent every once in awhile

have you forgotten the very very severe accident this man and his family has been through. in an interview he said he would quit writing when he was out of ideas. he isnt i would rather have a 2 or 3 star book than no book at all. read the dome it is very good and cell is very thought provocing.

LISEY'S STORY
I thought the first half was a really wonderful love story, but was a little disappointed when the last half descended into some pretty preposterous things that required an extensive suspension of disbelief. Still, I'd recommend it. It's unlike any King story I've read.

Don't believe the haters.
Readers who are strictly fans of more formulaic genre stuff like Pet Sematary or self-referential, adolescent tripe like the later Dark Tower books should definitely look elsewhere.Readers wanting a quirky, sad, and creepily atmospheric love story capable of generating sincere emotional interest could do worse than pick this one up.I won't waste time with a plot summary, since there are about 200 of them in the other reviews here, but I will say this: don't believe the haters.Like Insomnia, Lisey's Story is a bit of a misfit.Also like Insomnia, it ranks among King's most interesting novels to date.

Really Bad Gunky
Trust me, this is the bad patois.This is the bottom of the barrel for SK.Half the book could easily be omitted, as is usually the case with SK's novels.Is it not the editor's job?But perhaps the editor is afraid of losing Stephen King's business. I suppose he is only interested in misspellings and grammatical errors, and oh yeah, not offending the god of horror.But those misspellings and grammatical errors would gladly be traded by faithful readers for a leaner, more readable novel, which this is not.Don't get me wrong, it's not so much that it's bad writing--the genius of King's writing is still here--but it's the plot that ultimately fails.King claims he doesn't write using a plot, but neither should he put down everything that first comes to mind.And where the plot fails is near the end where it loses its believability.

Ever read a story that made you want to puke?That made you light-headed, made you want to dunk your head in a bucket of water for all eternity?I tried to finish this foolishness, this boolishness, but when Lisey resorted to using her vegetable sister Amanda to ward off the villain, Dooley, I could not take any more. I kept hoping Dooley would make his reappearance and kick-start the story once again but was thwarted by King's bad gunky writing.I had put up with babyluv, Fairy Forests,silver shovels (not so bad, that), magic pools, bools, bowels, and other assorted variegated esoteric nonsense, verily.

But Stephen, please, oh please, don't keep spinning this bad gunky; don't make us fools by giving us this gunked-up bool!! Because, I'm you're biggest fan....

Lisey's Story by Stephen King
A touching story by the master Stephen King.
He really puts us inside Lisey's head and makes us feel what' losing someone you've loved for so long.
Supberb!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Stephen King's limited edition novella, Blockade Billy, is now available--unabridged--on audio for only $19.99! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (120)

I loved this, but...
I am a diehard baseball fan as well as a fan of Stephen King, so this story was tailor-made for me.I greatly enjoyed it, and would recommend it wholeheartedly for a baseball fan.King really gets the baseball part right, mixing real players and places in with the fictional ones to good effect.

So why only four stars?Well, I fear readers who aren't baseball fans wouldn't enjoy it as much.They might even find it boring.And whether you're a baseball fan or not, the plot is rather hard to swallow.I know, it's Stephen King, but still...it just doesn't seem like the events in this book could happen without it being a national scandal.And we're supposed to believe it's all been forgotten?

As others have mentioned, it's also very expensive for what you get.The large print is nice for those who no longer have young eyes, but still...this basically a short story.It took me less than an hour to read. As much as I enjoyed this, I have to say it's overpriced.

Not bad for a short story...
Blockade Billy is a good and riveting tale. Though it's about one-tenth the size of most of his books, it does grab the reader for the few hours it takes to devour it. As a King fan from way back; lo, these past 30 years, the strangest thing about this book is that I was able to start and finish it in one quick afternoon on the beach; I'm just not used to King "small stuff." That said, the story was intriguing, interesting and suspensful, though a knowledge and fondness for baseball really should be a pre-rec for this one. King has done baseball and short stories before, and handled each extremely well.I have always been and always will be a King fan, but Blockade Billy is two celery stalks before the big plate of hot wings hits the table - really good, but not enough.

King shines
I loved this story of Stephen King's.Some of his material I like, some is mediocre, some makes me cringe (in a good way), some I could care less about and forget almost immediately after reading.But the very best shines.The words light up in my brain as I read and it seems I have no problem remembering the story, even years after I have finished reading it."Blockade Billy" is just such a story.It makes every word count and draws you to the inevitable bloody conclusion.

I can always tell when Stephen King is writing about one of the two things he really loves - baseball or music.When either of these are the subject of his prose, the words seem to light up and I can feel King's excitement and overwhelming interest in the "story".King has written previously about baseball.It was a very integral part of his novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, one of my all-time favorite King books.It was the subject of his poem "Brooklyn August" and the very outstanding essay "Head Down", both of which were included in his book of short stories, etc. Nightmares & Dreamscapes.He co-authored a non-fiction book on baseball called Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season by Stewart O'Nan (Author) Stephen King (Author).

I have found I enjoy just about anything King writes, AS LONG as he is enjoying writing it.He is doing a column now in the "Entertainment Weekly" magazine and I even enjoy most of those, especially the music-related ones.

I don't think you can go wrong buying this story, especially the Kindle version at $4.99.Forego your latte for the day and enjoy a good story.

Great Baseball Tale
If this book were longer, I'd give it five stars.I'm a huge fan of King's (but one who is able to recognize that not all of King's work is good), and an even bigger fan of baseball.This book is a delightful combination of two of my favorites from the world of entertainment.I'd love to see what King could do with a novel-length baseball story.I felt like I was following one of my favorite teams during the all-too-brief time it took me to read this 80 page story.

Very disappointed!
I have been a Stephen King fan from the beginning but I was very disappointed in this book. It was like he just wanted to show how much baseball "lingo" he could cram into one story and make himself sound like a "regular guy," "one of the boys" - whatever - whether it made sense or not. To me it just got in the way of the story, which was extremely weak. I was totallydisappointed in the plot and the "dark secret." And what was that short story tagged onto the back all about anyway - Morality? It was also stupid. I do not recommend buying this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts.Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live.Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft.This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier.She is also a natural-born storyteller, and in her first novel, she paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution (2008) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (145)

Horror through the eyes of a child
I found this book both harrowing and heartfelt. I almost squeezed through some tears during a few scenes. Kathleen Kent weaves a wonderful tale in a time long ago yet not forgotten, of the Salem Witch trials and the horror they left in their wake. I've long been fascinated by the history of the Salem Witch trials, since I was the same age as the character Sarah, and I was overwhelmed to discover a book on the topic written through the eyes of a young girls account of it, and how the event brought her mother and her family to its knees by it. Honestly I don't know how a girl half my age could survive such a traumatic experience. I know I wouldn't have the strength as she did. I'm glad I waited until now to read it too. This is the perfect time to read it, with the fall season here, bringing with it the witching and ghoulish atmosphere that goes along with it. I'm also happy to learn that the author has a prequel coming out soon, telling of Sarah's father and mother and their mysterious past. Can't wait to pick it up and happy to recommend this to all who come across it.

With every step I thought of her pride, her strength, her love. And with every step I thought, I am my mother's daughter"
A brilliant first novel by Kathleen Kent who is actually a descendant of, a main character, Martha Carrier. This novel is and isn't about the Salem Witch Trials.It is first and foremost a story about relationships, family, misunderstandings and love that is set against the harsh backdrop of 1690 New England.Life then was exclusively about survival and it is brought to life magnificently through Kent's writing.Her descriptions of hunger, illness, exhaustion, Indian raids and death are so accurate that it makes the reader very grateful to be living in the current era.Among this backdrop is the narrator, Sarah Carrier the ten year old daughter of Martha. We witness her growth through a series of events that change the families life forever.People are not who they seem and she comes to radically understand this when she and the majority of her family are thrown into prison. They are accused of being witches by petty neighbors and even relations who want nothing more than to hurt Martha for her outspokeness and convictions.It is within this setting in the Salem jail that Sarah comes to learn and appreciate who her mother, father and siblings are as people and that she is proudly, her mother's daughter.

Heretic's Daughter
I thought the author was very descriptive of life in puritan New England at the time of the Salem witch trials.The lack of resources and the very harshness of life in that era was portrayed well.Although, I found the historic aspects of the book very interesting I did not care for it overall.Unable to change history, the unfairness of the witch trials just made me angry, especially after becoming empathetic to the characters through the initial pages of the book. As a choice for our book club it generated a great deal of discussion.

Haunting...
I just finished this novel yesterday. I thought it was wonderful in a haunting sort of way. The narrator is 10-year-old Sarah Carrier, and she tells the story not only of her mother and accused witch, Martha Carrier, but of her entire family. The details about the Salem Witch trials were both appalling and riveting, and moreover, the saga about the Carrier family itself was moving. Some of the other reviewers mentioned that the narrator was not realistic, which I definitely do not agree with. She was mature for her age due to all of the harshness of life at that time, but still displays childish qualities that make sense for her character. It's also important to remember that the novel opens with a letter, so we know before we begin the actual narration that it is elderly Sarah telling the story of herself as a child. To me that means it is natural to go back and forth between narration and reflection of the old and young Sarah. Kent earned a place on my shelf with this novel.

Ponderous, flat, too long
Given all the positive reviews here and the excitement of events Kathleen Kent writes about, I was disappointed in this novel.It was not well-written.Kent has never met a simile she doesn't love; she overuses the device to the point of distraction.I kept wondering how many I'd encounter on each page instead of enjoying the reading.Although Sarah is 10, the author gave her a voice of an older girl, so I found the main character unbelievable. And, except for her relationships with the girls who taunted her, I thought all of Sarah's relationships were flat and not well-developed.Since her relationships with her mother and father are key to the story, this was a big flaw in the writing.Finally, the story pacing was odd.It took forever to get to the witchcraft trials, they were over too quickly, then the prison chapters dragged on too long.

The one thing that saved my giving the book only one-star was that Kent provided good background for the fear that led up to the Salem Witch trials (smallpox, tribal conflicts, poverty and famine). ... Read more

Product Description
Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating -- and then terrifying-journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable -- and resourceful -- as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana", a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In "N", which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside - or keep the world from falling victim to it.

Just After Sunset -- call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (222)

Mediocre Short Stories by King
I was excited to read this collection of shorts stories upon finishing "Under The Dome," but the majority of these tales lacked in quality and were rather boring. The best stories here are The Gingerbread Girl, N., Mute, and a Very Tight Place. Skip the rest, because they seem to be just filler. Hopefully his new collection will be much better. WW

Very enjoyable read!
I really enjoyed reading this one. I bought it at the airport and read it very quickly. I really like King's short stories because I like the variety he brings in each one. Always a pleasure.

:(
What a load of crap.
I'm sorry Stephen, i really like you. I think you're a great writer.
I own every book you ever published including some rare editions and some special collector's editions.
But this book is sooooo boring. I read it as fast as i could just to put this behind me. I fell asleep so many times while reading it.
I still haven't read 'Under the Dome'. I really hope reading it will make me forget about this collection.

Enjoyed King's new collection of short stories
While I'm not a rabid Stephen King fan, I do enjoy his works & have read enough of his fiction over the years to give a fairly decent review of these stories.

Willa:The author admits to being overfond of this story since it was a trial run at getting back to short fiction.I think its well done and only falters in the creep-factor everyone seems to expect from King.It seems if this were from someone we'd never heard of, we'd all be terribly impressed & moved, but since its from King, not so much.Makes you better understand his desire to use the Bachman name to publish some of his work.That aside, its a touching & haunting story which left me a little disappointed.I wanted to know more about them, the restrictions or benefits of their changed selves...the world around them and how it functions, how they relate to it, if anyone else ever joined Willa & David.So, I guess with all its charms it still leaves you with too much left undone and gets a 3 out of 5 rating from me.

The Gingerbread Girl:I actually found the first of half of this tale a bit maudlin and dull.The second half kicks into high gear and we see our main character almost getting herself killed by a serial killer.There is such a contrast between the pitch & action in the first half and last half that it makes for almost separate stories.It may have been a deliberate move on King's part to jar the reader into the same panic the protaganist is experiencing, but for me it felt forced and detracted rather than added to the tale.Overall I give it 4 of 5 rating.

Harvey's Dream:Not my favorite of the bunch.It seemed to just be a blah story.A dire premonition within a disappointing marriage.2 out of 5.

Rest Stop:Enjoyed this one immensely.Loved the main character's dilemma, his terrible fear of getting involved or, even worse, not getting involved.His eventual action is choice!5 out of 5!!

Stationary Bike:Again, enjoyed this one a great deal.Seemed strangely terrifying while involving my sympathies for the Lipid Company crew.The final confrontation was beautifully done.5 out of 5.

The Things They Left Behind:I'm one who's willing to let a story unfold a bit, which this one does.I was tremendously impressed by this one and touched by how simple yet kind the resolution proved to be.5 of 5.

Graduation Afternoon:Very short & almost pathetic in its need to be dramatic and dreadful.1 out of 5.

N.:Now this is a story!I was creeped out, fascinated, frightened and painfully sympathetic to N.'s story.While his OCD seems somehow juvenile in its practice, it has come to rule him as has the terror at Ackerman's Field.The therapist is so concerned by N.'s story, he keeps notes and considers writing a book on this patient.But any good researcher knows you have to go to the source to understand a patient's behavior.Dun-dun-duuuuun!5 out of 5!

The Cat from Hell:OK, I admit it.I've read this before.This may be why I was less than impressed with it.Still, its a great little story that freaks you the hell out the first time you read it.So, 4 out of 5.

The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates:Don't we all, who have suffered loss, long for some sort of communication with those we've lost?This story speaks eloquently to that longing.It is tremendously heartfelt, somewhat desperate and struck me as both kind and cruel in its function.Would ALL the dead have words of comfort for us?I shudder to think what some might say if I picked up the phone and caught a call from the otherside.5 out of 5.

Mute:This is a tale of unintentional second-hand vengeance.Have you ever spilled out your current crappy life story to someone you were sure was indifferent to your plight?What if they weren't?What if they decided to help you?By destroying the people who were making your life a misery?(lol, Misery)What would you do?Thank God?In this case, our main character goes to Confession to figure things out.5 out of 5.

Ayana:This seems almost a repitition of the John Coffey character in some ways.But it seems that the Healer requires a Robin to his/her Batman.But in The Green Mile, didn't John need the help of the Guards to heal the Warden's wife? hmmmmm...Its a bit of a puzzler, but its also powerful in its impact.4 out of 5.Just because it seemed like regurgitation in some places instead of creation.


A Very Tight Place:This one was so gross and yet so compelling I could not NOT read it!The very idea of being trapped in a Portapotty...it makes my gag reflex flex!Excellent read.5 out of 5.

Hope that helps & doesn't spoil too much!Kick my butt if I spoiled things for you, it keeps me honest!:)

Great short stories-13
I have never read one of Mr. King's works because they are so scary, so I'd thought I would start here. They were not all that scary; in fact, they reminded me of the old "Twilight" series from the early 60's-I bet King was a fan.

I liked his writing style: the main character talks like he or she is your closest friend.

Of all the stories, "New York Times at a Special Bargain Price", was my favorite. Many loved ones die amidst unanswered questions, so it was sweet!!

And I would read other works from this author.

I am the author of Dreams in August: Life, Love, and Cerebellar Ataxia and Summer Born: A Life With Cerebellar Ataxia. ... Read more