Entertainment Books

If you grew up with Superman and Batman, you should really appreciate a graphic novel like "The Boys". It's for us adults, and it's possibly the most unique comic I've read. It's not for kids, nor is it for anyone who's not tolerant of profanity and/or sexual content. But if you're looking for something really different, and you aren't easily offended, "The Boys" is for you.

Talk about shock value, this has it. The first story really sheds a light on those Batman - Iron Man types. The second it just funny, especially the character Love Sausage. Can't wait for the next volume.

When I was a child, I loved to read comics. In fact, they were some of my earliest memories, looking at all the four coloured pictures of Spider-man, the Hulk, Batman, and the Fantastic Four.

The thing I remember the best was, of course, the art. The artists were what made comics for me many years ago. Writers, well - when you consider that I couldn't read at the tender age of 4 or 5, they didn't mean all that much to me.

Of course, as I grew and learned to read, the writers became a little more important to me. The artists, take for example John Byrne, Marc Sylvestri were what made the comic what it was.

But, then the stories began to get more and more complex, and I started to pay closer attention to the writers.

Sadly, they still took a back seat to the artists.

That was my trend for years, before I finally got tired of the silly super powered soap opera that most of the titles I used to read had become.

I started to look at independent comics and other companies that relied more on story than on the art. A perfect example right now would be Dark Horse comics.

Then the unthinkable happened. I got married and found I was about to become a father. So, I had a choice to make - it was either my family or comics. Well, my family won out. Lets face it, this was a no contest.

It wasn't until many years later, mainly due to a co-worker and friend that I started reading a couple of titles again.

Not a single title from the major contributors, you know, Marvel and DC. Instead I started reading several titles from a smaller company called Dynamite.

For me, the flagship title for this company is The Boys. Written by Garth Ennis (who's gained notoriety and infamy or fame? You be the judge - for his work on the Punisher and Preacher), and the Artist Darick Robertson.

I was hooked from the first issue (technically the first volume, since I borrowed my co-workers copy to read).

It had everything that I never saw growing up. The super-heroes, those people pledged to protect humanity from all manner of threats, as they really are when they're not in the limelight.

Petty, egotistical, evil, nasty, depraved, you name it.

Sort of like the rest of humanity in general. They have their strengths and their weaknesses. Because, despite the fact that they are super-powered, they are still just human.

The Boy's is essentially a watchdog group set up to keep the Supers under control and to look into unpleasant occurrences that might have taken place where supers are involved.

Volume 2 covers two complete story arcs... one dealing with a Batman type character known as the Tek Knight and his involvement in the death of a young homosexual man, and the other a possible revolt led by supers in Russia.

Now, with Garth Ennis you have his style of writing. Dark, gritty, in your face. And of course there is humour to be had to, and plenty of it. Typically at Wee Hughies expense.

There were numerous times in the second volume that I laughed out loud while reading, especially the whole deal in the Tek Knight's lair. You'll see what I mean when you read it.

Great stuff, to be sure.

However - the one thing about comics today that still remains true to me is that you need an artist that you like.

I've never been exposed to any of Darick Robertson's work before, although my co-worker says that I should pick up his Transmetropolitan.

I digress...

It did take a little time for me to get used to his work. It was very dark, and exceptionally bloody and graphic at times.

Which is EXACTLY what the Boys needed. An artists who could pull it off. His work grew on me, and now I can say that I am a fan of his work in the Boys. And, maybe I should pick up his earlier work as well.

His work compliments Garth Ennis's style perfectly.

So, the review I wrote for Volume 1 was in praise of Garth Ennis, this is in praise of Darick Robertson's exceptionally well done work for a very violent and dark comic.

5 out of 5.

The second edition of Garth Ennis' new comic series The Boys is absolutely sterling. Now that the first book has established who these characters are, what they do and what kind of world they're living in we start settling in to just what their day-to-day life involves. The first story where The Boys rock up against thinly-veiled Batman-analogy Tek-Knight is definantly the stronger of the two halves, and abolutely hilarious, but the second half and of course the character of Love Sausage is well worth the rereading as well.

Thank God for Peter Snejbjerg, or I wouldn't have anything to complain about. At least, I assume it's him who takes over art-duties in the last couple of chapters where the art suddenly goes very... Archie and Jughead. The story stays consistantly strong and the art, although very cartoony, isn't terrible, it just doesn't stack up against the art of Darick Robertson. Robertson's art in The Boys is beyond compare, his attention to detail and mastery of facial expression are a big part of the reason this series should be soaking up the spotlight, and I sincerely hope the cartoony switch in the last couple of chapters isn't an indication of more sharing between artists in the future.

Classic Ennis, as is typical of his more current work you have just about an even split between funny, and "that just ain't right" moments. In this volume he continues to develop his characters and there world, and as always makes you like them for their flaws instead of despite them. Being a fan of Ennis's sense of style I would have given this five stars, however in the last chapter in the book the art gets cartoony and vaguely annoying. I tend to ignore crappy art in his earlier work like Hitman, because when you are starting out you have to take whoever is given to you to get your inks done and your stuff on the shelf. At this point it seems like he could have a little integrity and demand on decent help. Anyway it's probably not the sort of thing that will bother you, if your just looking for more awesome writing, but hey I'm an art snob and for me it was a let down. Here's hoping it was just a one issue snafu. All around it's enjoyable and worth the dough.

Nantz seems like a really good guy. And if you're a sports fan, you'll enjoy some of the behind the scenes and inside stories no doubt, as I did. But throughout I thought it was a bit self indulgent on Jim's part, and quite a bit schmaltzy. That is, overly sentimental. At least for my taste. Am I the only one felt that way ?

We gave it to our son after we had read it and it was excellent. We wanted to share with him.

I ordered three copies of the book for Father's Day gifts for two of my sons and my husband. According to the recipients, it was a great read. Amazon service was, as always, superb!

I gave this book as a Father's Day gift to my son, who lost his Dad a few years ago. We both read it. What an inspiration.

Like me Jim Nantz is from the Houston area, so based on that commonality I've always been a fan. This book details a professional career that's gone very right and a personal life that's posed one significant challenge. There are points where everything that is written, said, etc. has been so perfect that you just want a strong cup of black coffee to wash the sugary taste from your mouth. Then you read the challenges with his Dad and it makes you want to tip you hat to the man and hope that I would react in the same way that he's done.

Great behind-the-scenes and name-dropping book that makes a good summer read.

I saw that this book wasn't available until Aug 26th. Well, I pre-ordered it from Amazon and was pleasantly surprised to receive it on the 19th.

This book was a quick read and I finished it in 2 days. Overall, I liked the book. Pepa starts her story from about the age of 5 and it ends with her in the present. In between that time period, Pepa goes through ALOT with the things she has experienced. I don't want to give things away, but I emphasize ALOT based on here relationships with males, particularly her relationship with Treach of Naughty by Nature. When they divorced, I never knew why, but in this book, she reveals what she went through and why their relationship just had to end. As a matter of fact, I had to skip parts of the chapters that dealt with him because it was too much. I am happy she left, for her and her children's good. It is a powerful testimony.

As for the rest of Pepa's story, you learn about her family, childhood, rise to fame, her gifts and curses, her and Cheryl's relationship as Salt N Pepa and as friends. In the end, you learn how Pepa has grown and takes some responsibility for her life experiences and how she knows to make better choices for herself. She has learned her true worth and to not accept less.

I strongly feel that this book could help other girls and women who have had similar experiences. I was pleased with the book and would recommend it. I take off 1 star because there are times in the book where a story would veer off and not bring closure to that story until later. Also, the events didn't seem to be in order at times.

I got this book on the 22nd and finished it the same day . As a woman i can relate to every thing Pep went thru but as a human i am over joyed she over came it all. In reading this book i truly feel like shes my " sister in my head " . I onced worked in the industry and had met Salt and Pepa more than once . Who knew under that pretty smile and great tude was such pain . No one wouldve guessed under the fly clothes , songs of empowerment and fun Pepa was more like most of us than we knew . It takes guts to tell your struggle when every one thought it was all sweet but even more so it takes a Diva like Pep to keep it movin !

I picked this up out of curiosity from the title, I knew nothing about the "hype" and what not of this book as I don't really keep up, but I've been reading this book on and off for the past two months and am STILL not finished. The writer's style is very amateur and lacks cohesiveness, which has not held my interest as I struggle to finish; it's just quite boring to me.

I could care less about the topic he chooses to tackle, it's the delivery I'm most at ends about. I've heard that it's being billed as this tell all, but what intelligent adult reader is today still blind to the fact that this gay/bisexual culture is built within the entertainment industry?

My advice to the reader: don't get your hopes up if you're looking for name dropping, etc. To the author: I'm pretty sure you'll never work again in your profession after this anyways; you just should've went for the gusto and put it all out there, names and all.

This book was written by am amateur. The subject matter is too important to have been this badly delivered. The characters were not developed enough to make them memorable. The author rambles on and on unchecked and unedited. It reads like a first draft, filled with flash backs that do not serve to enhance the story. The author certainly lived this experience but he has several incorrect and juvenille opinions that are hard to read at times. Great that this book got written, however, not so great that it was poorly done.......

First, I must say that Terrance Dean is a gifted writer. I give credit where credit is due. His life story about how he grew up, survived and overcame sexual abuse was intriguing to say the least. What this man went thru as a child and even an adult was truly amazing. For him to succeed with so many odds stacked against him is awe-inspiring. However, didn't care to much for the guessing games of the celebs that are on the "down low". While I guessed correctly on some of his clues, the majority of his hints and clues had me thinking and guessing so hard my head hurt!! If he was gonna give clues and hints, I think he could have made them more easier like say maybe their initials, the songs they wrote or in some cases the movies they were in. The name guessing really had me frustrated. If you buy this book....make sure you buy it used.....or better yet, go to the Library!!

the book is a major disappointmnt - i guess i got caught up in the hype but should have learnt from the mistake of ms steffans equally awful video vixen book.
lesson learned and never to be repeated i vow never to purchase a book of this ilk again- it was bland and pointless.
the angle that this was a gay man blowing the cover on those hiding their sexuality in hip hop via self acceptance was ludicrous particulary given at one point the author does the whole 'i'm a top and therefore not gay' line which is so lame.
i think most people looking for an insightfull read will find this book too supeficial, those that like lightweight gossip and triva might be entertained.
I wish i could get a refund.

I was in Houston visiting a friend when he pulled this book out. I was bored and started flipping through it... and then started to read it. I don't pretend to know ANYTHING about this lifestyle but I do know the book was very easy to read and very simply written - conversational style. I had no knowledge (still don't) of any of the references to hip hop or even the Hollywood references above the glaring obvious. I enjoyed reading this book and it's familiar written prose. Knowing what I know after reading it, I would buy the book. Thank you Terrance. I enjoyed it!

Really enriches my game playing by absorbing me in the history of the places and races in the game!

This was the most exciting collection of Warcraft books since the "War of the Ancients" series. All four books within take place within the same time frame. All of the Authors from Richard Knaak to Christie Golden seem to create the images through words and when you read their stories it feels like you are watching them on the big screen. If you are new to Warcraft then this is the book to read.

simply: a great background, but does perfectly on its own as well. well-written, fully engaging.

All 10million users of World of Warcraft should read these books! It should be mandatory reading, for the pure simple fact of making the online world we play in richer. Blizzard has created an amazing world with an in-depth history, these books (there are 4 books in the Archive) will provide more in-sight and change the way you look at some of the NPC and locations.

While reading these books you will find yourself thinking about locations you have played in during questing, you will go to the website to look up the world map so you can picture where the characters are at. You will love them, and you will want to buy all the WoW books, I have.

My son is a WOW-head and plays the game all the time. Being a parent who wishes he spent more time reading, I found these books to be a great way to extend his interest in WOW, and have him read as well. They aren't 'game guides' but actual stories set in the World of Warcraft. This contains four stories and he seems to love them.

As with any major celebrity, there is fact and there is legend. With Walt Disney, the lines have become blurred as Walt the man has been supplanted by Walt the icon. Most people today have gotten to know the image of "Uncle Walt," the paternally avuncular picture of middle American success -- the man who went from animated cartoons, feature films, to television and Disneyland and its successors. Yet there was another side to Walt. He was by turns a workaholic, hard-driving taskmaster, visionary, storyteller, tinkerer and technical wizard -- a man who inspired and infuriated subordinates, colleagues, competitors. Ever the perfectionist, he sought to elevate entertainment above the simplistic to the artful.

Neal Gabler crafts a splendid examination of the life of this enigmatic man -- labeled by many as "An American Original." Going beyond the superficial press releases and stock images, he looks not only at Walt Disney the entertainer, but Walt Disney the man. He presents a well-researched, meticulous, balanced portrait of a unique individual -- a genius, who nevertheless possessed deep flaws and human weaknesses. We discover a man who, despite his upbringing (or perhaps because of it), rose to become a giant in the entertainment world. In the process, he became a symbol, alternately, of innovation, artistry, daring, conventionality, stodginess, and ultimately, an icon synonymous with happiness (albeit at an often hefty price).

The author explores his personal relationships with family and friends, including his brother Roy, his wife Lillian, and the animators and studio employees from whom he would later distance himself as he grew in ego and stature. Uncle Walt succeeded in reinventing himself in the image of the quintessential American of his own making.

Mr. Gabler chronicles not only Disney and the company that bears his name, but also an industry and an era long past, but whose roots still entwine the American imagination.

If you ever wanted to know virtually everything about Walt Disney and the Disney company, this is the book for you. The author has almost overwhelming detail of Walt's early upbringing and difficult life to his unfortunate early death while in the middle of planning out Disney World and Epcot. This book is not for the light reader on the subject, the biography is massive with over 600 pages not counting the notes and index. But you will come away from the book adoring the man that never stopped planning and making improvements from not just the way cartoons were drawn but by making them more artistic, utilizing new techniques and cameras with an analyzing eye for detail. Often on the brink of bankruptcy, Walt, with the huge contribution of brother Roy, continued to make improved products equiring outstanding loans throughout much of his career. Betrayed initially by a film distributor who not only stole, legally, Disney's Oswald character and stole many of his staff, Disney and his top artist Ub Iwerks, develop the life changing Mickey Mouse. But as Gabler tells the story, Disney's studio grows and so do the risks with perhaps the greatest risk at that time, Snow White, the first full length animation film. What almost seems like a pattern, Walt continues to make improvements, hire increased staff and take out loans as he produces more, works staff long hours to put out a higher quality package. The book also provides a sobering view of Disney as sometimes the pressure was too great for the great story teller and the advent of unions and the need for stock sales along with bankers starting to provide over sight leads to greater restrictions and frustration but then Disney thrives with less costly non-cartoon films such as Davey Crocket that become quite a rage along with the Mickey Mouse TV show and eventually his plan for Disneyland that was an attempt to fulfill his boyhood dreams of his small town life in Marceline, Missouri. Fascinating detail on such things as Ub Iwerks as the actual artist who drew the early Mickey, the need for Donald Duck as a charcter to offset the corporate wholesomeness now required of the mouse, Roy Disney who held the finances together to allow Walt to plunge on and and Disney's plan for developing not only Disney World with modern monorails but Epcot. The sad end of the book of course is Walt's death of cancer that is well hinted very early on by references to a hacking cough many years before. What is really unfortunate was Walt Disney's plan for Epcot that was never completely fullfilled that was to be more of a town with living areas for Disney employees creating a village concept that is actually being realized in many communities today (office parks with stores, landscapped lakes, and condos or apartments). Regretfully as Roy Disney said, the great plans for Epcot died with Walt. Primarily because Walt reached higher and higher, his ultimate plans with stringent notation to detail crerated a fascinating entertainment industry.

An absolute must-read for not just any Disney enthusiast, but anyone interested in the history of American pop culture in general. Gabler's effort to gather the most comprehensive research on the man behind the mouse is evident throughout, but even more important is his ability to weave that research into a page-turner of a tale which parallels the themes of the Disney features themselves, most importantly struggle against adversity, good versus evil, and the glory of success versus the misery of failure.

Enlightening, invigorating, and inspirational. A pleasure to read.

I have read all of the most popular biographies of Walt. By far, this is the best. The best researched, the best written, the deepest, the most fair and unbiased of all of them. It won the LA Times Book Award and it definitely deserved it. I think one of the best qualities of this book is how Gabler treats Walt as a human being, with all our faults, but one that had great talent who found that success did not necessarily bring happiness nor the "Magic Kingdom" which he longed for in his mind since a child.

For one of the 20th century's more mythologized figures, it appears Walt Disney made for an easier character study than one might have expected. Given how his movies are known for watering down some very graphic tales, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that Disney was the salt-of-the-earth daydreamer Gabler portrays. Gabler's take on the man and his life's work sometimes veers a bit into self-parody territory, as the unpretentious Midwesterner who was so unpretentious he loved polo and so Midwestern he chose to live in California when he could have lived anywhere, and Gabler doesn't seem to see any contradiction. But still, there's no reason to doubt Gabler is accurate in his portrayal of a man who built an empire on his longing for a mythical small-town paradise.

Speaking of accuracy, Gabler expertly knocks down a number of myths about Disney, most notably the belief that he was cryogenically frozen when he died, and sheds light on controversial issues such as Disney's purported anti-Semitism. Which makes it all the more maddening when Gabler inadvertenly repeats the misleading-at-best claim that Disney wore a Goldwater-for-president button on his lapel when he accepted his Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson in 1964. While probably not completely false, that story has been blown wildly out of proportion and deserves far more scrutiny than Gabler gives it. (He mentions the incident only in passing, leaving unchallenged the definitely-false impression that it was a large and prominently displayed button.)

Gabler's research is undeniably impressive, and his vision of Disney is remarkably consistent across the different stages of his life. This inadvertently leads to my one serious criticism of the book: sometimes Gabler is TOO thorough, and there are lengthy stretches that simply aren't very interesting. That's an occupational hazard for biographers, and some are better at overcoming it than others. The ending is also a bit abrupt, with no information to speak of on what became of Disney's family, close friends, and the workings of his company in the aftermath of his death. After all those hundreds of pages, we feel like we know them, and it's a bit frustrating to be left with no epilogue at all.

Still, overall, this is a very impressive source on a subject that was very much in need of a definitive record.

I was looking forward to reading this book, but after reading a few pages of gratuitous cursing, I closed the book. I admit that Wilder-Taylor is funny, but I personally got distracted by the foul language.

This book takes all the normal cliches and overplays the jokes - it's dumbed down "entertainment" that's not all that entertaining.

Stefanie Wilder-Taylor's book "Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay" is a refreshing find in the world of baby texts and parenting narrative. Straightforward, modern, and completely human, Wilder-Taylor's take on motherhood is a great find for first-time-moms and veterans alike. You won't agree with everything she has to say, but the beauty of the narrative is that you don't have to - one woman offers her experience as a new mother, and shows that not everything has to be "by the book."

I read this when I was pregnant. It makes you laught out loud...and it's the perfect book if you aren't one of those "What to Expect When You're Expecting" moms...

I see responses from parents complaining about the use of language in Wilder-Taylor's book(s). The truth is, if you're a parent who doesn't swear in real life you may also want to shy away from a book about the realism of kids (and by proxy, things that might eventually make you swear). Hint: if you are into attachment parenting, holistic birthing, and keeping things au naturale, you will most likely read this book with a grain of salt. Does that mean you'll hate it? Maybe, maybe not. But even though I gave birth naturally I embraced this book with open arms and laughed my arse off.

I bought this game with the hope that they had done away with some of the overly childish and frankly lame additions that were included in the emerald and ruby versions i.e. the pokemon contests for instance. They should have stuck with what they had going good with gold and silver. those games simply added to the strategies possible and made battling monsters that much more exciting. These games are getting further and further away from what they were originally, Battling cool looking monsters and becoming the strongest trainer the world has ever seen. Now it's all about dressing up your pokemon(seriously!) and taking them for walks in a park(couldn't make this up) and baking(baking....yeah that's what I thought too...) they have added in a lot of pokemon that are about as intimidating as a newborn kitten. I feel like less of a man for playing this. Granted there are some cool additions, like the underground were you can go hunt for burried treasure and find fossils and stones and acient plates ect. as well as a couple of cool mythical pokemon. But overall, unless you wish you could dress up your pokemon or bake some poffins with your friends on wifi than I would suggest that this game isn't for you

This guide is bad and lacks much information in the maps, they should've made it as good as the nintendo power version or not at all. I give it two stars because it told me where to go at one point where i was really stuck.

Buy the NP version

Ok, I bought this guide and while it does tell you where to go and how to do things it is kind of hard to understand because you go back and forth between the towns in some parts of the game. It makes it really confusing use it when they are all put in sequence of town when you arent really doing anything in that town until later and then later it doesnt show up you have to look back and figure out where you need to go from there.

The other main reason I bought this book was because it said that it had a full pokedex. I loved the good old days when a pokedex ment you knew the pokemons evolution levels and what level they would gain a new move. It would tell you what TMs that pokemon could learn and all that. This guide is not for you if that is what you are looking for! It basically just showes the pokemon and what page # to find them on. And that doesnt help either because it doesnt really tell you much about them on those pages either.

So in my opinion this guide is somewhat usable but very confusing and doesnt give the right information. I would try nintendo power guides instead.

The good thing about this guide is that it tells you what to do. It also has tons of stuff in the back of the book like contests and where to find all items, HMs and TMs. I would never have beat the game without this guide. The bad things are that the pokemon trainers and their pokemon are not listed and the order of events are way too confusing. Many are out of order and some events should be listed toward the end of the book, such as "Unfinished Business". Overall: OK

The only benefit of using this guide is that it's portable. It is vague and the page order doesn't exactly follow story order. The guide doesn't give any pokedex info, which IMO is the most important part of the game. Instead it focuses on general aspects of the storyline, contests, battling, and other parts of the game that are explained IN THE GAME.

There is no reason to buy this book, instead, buy the second volume/pokedex of the guide. If you get stuck in these games, instead of wasting your money on this vague and confusing guide, go to Google and search for "Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough"

This guide really helped me out in the game as well. I wouldn't have beat it without it. I'm glad I bought it. Now I've played through it once and play it for many years to come.

Product was very good and it was in the condition they said it was in.

My nephew is really happy to receive this book. There was one part in the game that he could not work out so I found this book on amazon and I brought it for him. He can now fine the answers to the hard parts that are in the game.

This particular volume in the Brady Games "signature series" official strategy guides, is well written and illustrated. The magazine as a whole is quite durable as most signature series guides are. It features a detailed walkthrough, a complete bestiary, 3-d model hand drawn maps, and an in depth look at sub quests and gummi ship construction, accompanied by rich illustrations. The walkthrough is very fluid, giving you a wink and a nudge without tedium, yet descriptive and concise enough so that you never miss out on anything. The boss battle strategy sections get just a bit more in depth. Rather than hand you a step by step on how to defeat a boss however, it discusses what the bosses are capable of, allowing you to formulate your own strategy. You'll appreciate that every sub mission and hidden secret are detailed throughout the walkthrough with instructions on how to complete them. They still have an in depth recap for your referance in the back of the guide, but the information is presented in a way that allows for the most fluid path without needless backtracking (unless the game requires it). In fact, the guide even goes so far as to offering a sticker sleeve and a chart so you can add stickers as you find hidden goodies! The Bestiary is comprehensive and easy to use for all ages, detailing enemy locations and common stats, in alphabetical order. This guide has few flaws if any at all. And Dan Birlew is a wonderful author that I trust when choosing guides anyway (other than the FFIX guide with that online code crap)I rate it a 5.

Everything is written and shown in an orderly fashion. It doesn't leave you confused. It leads you step to step through the game.

Great book. I have all the Mitford books and they were very good. Most of
them I ordered from Amazon and was pleased how fast I received them and
the good condition they were in. I would not hesitate to order books again

This book is easy reading. It is well worth reading each one of the Mitford series. So freshing.

Most wonderful fiction series I've read in many years! I love Jan Karon's Mitford Season, and can't wait until the next ones come out. The characters have become so real to me, I feel like I've known them all my life. It's hard to find good Christian fiction, which are loved even by those who do not usually read Christian literature, but these fit the bill! I give them for gifts to many.

This book, about a third the size of the others in the series, appears to be something left over or deleted from about the second volume. "A Common Life" is way out of sequence and just isn't very interesting. It deals solely with the marriage of Father Tim and has little to do with Mitford or the other characters. I found the novel (it is scarcely that) a real disappointment, compared with the first four books of the series. If the author felt that the information therein was significant, why was it not included at the appropriate place in time? The question is never answered.

This mundane novel is something that would appeal to my grandmother..simple, quaint, well written. It is a geat book for a young girl, but for an adult reader it lacks the ability to hold one's interest. Perfectly harmless, but it makes for a dull read--a filler type story for when you simply want to pass the time...