Wedding Books

My mother purchased this book for me thirteen years ago and it was the first book I ever read in one sitting. About five years ago I let an ex 'borrow' it for inspiration and never got it back. I was so pleased to be able to find a first edition copy on Amazon in perfect condition much like the one my mother purchased for me. The book was turned into an Oprah Winfrey television production starring Halle Berry years ago, and while the movie captured the book elegantly, the book stands alone in perfection. It is beautifully written with the most wonderful details and I re-read it every now and then just to gain new insight and more inspiration. It is a fantastic summer read as well as a great gift for any young lovers or new bride.

Dorothy West only wrote 2 novels--One during
the height of her Harlem Renaissance fame,
and the last one in 1997. Sadly, Ms. West
did not live so that myself and other fans
could thank her for this literary classic.

The story of Shelby Coles and her color-struck
family is a timeless tale of sorrow, redemption,
and the sacrifices that one must make for love.
Words cannot express how much I enjoyed this book,
and the movie version with Halle Berry is one
of my all-time favorites.

Ms. West's eye for characterization is remarkable
in her depiction of black middle-class life during
the 1950's. Her lush descriptions of Martha's Vineyard
invokes the spirit of a Romare Bearden painting.
Though her characters are flawed, she brings
dignity and artistic integrity to black literature.

This book is HIGHLY recommended and a timeless gem!

This is a fast-moving novel, one which turns issues of class and race on its head. Written from the perspective of the Black Elite, West addresses the pitfalls of the color line and the drama involved in defining the gradations. Set in the 1950s, this slim little novel is packed with a role-reversal of what one would see in white literature of the time (concerning race).
In The Wedding (which has very little to do with an actual wedding), a family saga emerges and we are given a family tree with which to (re)construct the ideas of class and race within the Coles family. The book speaks to mixed marriage, "passing," and elitism to name just a few.
If for no other reason, this book should be read because its author was one of the first contributors to the Harlem Renaissance. Though she wrote this novel well into her old age, the prose comes across as very young and fresh. It's an intriguing piece that will give you something to think about.

I recently read this novel after hearing about it for years and missing the movie starring Halle Berry. I was pleased with the story, and I can see why Oprah Winfrey adopted it into a television movie. It is a heartwarming story about a time in our history that has not been forgotten. Mrs. West is a strong writer and a true renaissance talent.

Barbara Joe-Williams
Author of "Forgive Us This Day"

Perhaps the last surviving major figure from the Harlem Renaissance, Dorothy West was coaxed to write this lovely short novel by her fellow denizen of Martha's Vineyard Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (who was also her editor until her death a few years before the novel's publication). It's a charming lyrical work whose brevity belies its complexity. It's a very sophisticated study of how decades of Americans of all races in social and financial struggle form a generational underpinning to the wedding of Shelby Coles, the beautiful scion of a well-to-do African-American family on "The Oval," a black bourgeois island community based based on the town of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. Shelby's forebears, as West shows us, have tied themselves in knots over distinctions of race and class that sometimes overlap and that sometimes are at odds with one another; the question becomes whether or not she can manage to strike for herself in a new manner or repeat both the mistakes and successes of her sister, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. West is a superb stylist as well as social commentator, and the writing is gorgeous and extremely thoughtful. The book is hurt only by its hurried ending, which seems to force a realization in Shelby that ties everything together too neatly.

You may think Movies and Mental Illness is a book intended strictly for the mental health professionals and/or educators. Although I do not fall in either of these categories, I was enlightened by the wealth of knowledge offered by this book.

I felt the authors did a remarkable job educating us on mental disorders, the misconceptions associated with them, and the powerful effect film has on public perception of those with mental disorders.

Each chapter discusses a psychological disorder and includes several well-known films that portray each one. The authors showed us a fabricated case history of a lead character in the film with a particular disorder. Also included is the patient's psychological history, behavioral observations, diagnosis, treatment plan, and the prognosis. I found the tables and charts that were included throughout the book to be very helpful and user-friendly.

This book is a useful resource for everyone.

A really fine layman's guide to several prominent mental illnesses where specific films accurately portray manifestations of and reactions to those illnesses. It is now much more enjoyable to watch those films again with a better understanding of what the characters are attempting to portray. Highly recommended to any movie viewer who would like to know more about specific mental illnesses, but aren't able to attend psychiatric Grand Rounds as a physician.

A good book covering a host of movies across time. Apart from one movie at the beginning of each chapter for a disorder category, not much diagnosis detail. Written by sound researchers in psychotherapy

After reading this book I feel disappointed! I expected more! But, just like men, this book is a huge let down! It reads like Seventeen Magazine and reminds me of those cheesy jr high books like, "How to meet Boys" ( hang out where he plays sports) and "How to be a great kisser".(practice on your hand!)
Too cheesy, not funny and a waste. Then again if you are 17, go for it!

Between what we would like to happen in relationships, and the facts...Everything written in this book may not be rosey-posey, Even-Steven, however no one said life was "fair"...

Author Of Black Women Deserve Better

Okay, I will say upfront that I jumped back into the dating pool after 30 years and I am looking for ways to understand the male psyche. I think the author does have a good grasp of the way that most men's minds work. Being a child of the 60's, however, I was totally turned off by the emphasis on getting men to spend money on you - and even just manipulating male friends to spend their money on you. I have no problem with paying my own way; I was looking for information on how to understand a man's perception/behavior better so that I could meet him in the middle. If you can ignore the emphasis on manipulation for greed and the lack of editing, you will learn plenty about the male mind.

What a traitor this author must be. Reading this I felt like I was in the guy's locker room alone with a turn coat. The language is a bit raw at times, but not obscene. It's like having an older brother warning you about stuff guys do, and showing you how they think and how to make them get all stupid over you. It was brutally honest. Of course I had to try everything out for myself, and to no surprise, these things worked. Guys for the most part are a lot easier than they let on. A wink and a smile can get you far without having to do anything you feel uncomfortable doing.

Some of what you read here may not sound like it can work, but I have had a lot of fun playing with the advice here, and as long as it works, I am happy to have hot guys doing nice things for me for a change.

When my single daughter got this book she was so excited but I rolled my eyes thinking, "Whatever." But I have to admit that since she has read this book she has had more confidence and has seemed to come out of her shell. Lately I have seen her out on the porch talking to various guys in the neighborhood who now wave to her everytime they pass by. She said she really liked the section on "how to meet guys". All you have to do is smile, and these days that's all she seems to be doing - smiling. Its nice to see. She gives this book 5 stars. Who knows - maybe this book can help me get my husband to finish all those projects that need to be done around the house - hmmmm.

Another great story about Lilly! This book tells about her wish to be the flower girl in her teacher's wedding and how Lilly must be satisfied to be the flower girl's ASSISTANT. That is until the "real" flower girl freezes and is unable to walk down the aisle.

My daughter loves this book and Lilly's purple purse. However I did buy the collection last year and was much cheaper than what they are charging now. It is definitely a must have.

Children's Book

Lilly's Big Day is not only a wonderful book but also a god-send for a little girl about to be a flower girl. I bought it for my granddaughter when we learned she was to be in a big wedding as a flower girl. At the time she was just 3. She loved the book and understood the story and understood the importance of being a good flower girl and practiced every day and when the time came she enjoyed the wedding hugely and helped another little girl who did not quite know what was expected. She has been in three weddings since the first and we call her the "professional". I send the book to anyone who is about to be a flower girl.

Tonight my daughter and I were out looking for a perfect gift for a party tomorrow (gift for child required) and found this book and a doll to match sitting front and center and maybe a bit sideways at the local booksellers shop.

So we opened it up to see what adventure Miss Lilly was finding herself in this time. I'm a 1st grade teacher and Lilly and her purple purse have been very important parts of my shared readings for ...ummm...more years than I think Lilly has. My daughter Syl even had a purple purse just to act out her precious purple purse story and now with her at 17 we look at these books with longing...

Lilly's a mouse for me, living life with everything she's got, not afraid of feeling and more than a little mystified by other's inability to walk in her shoes...

Henkes always takes a good look at children with their very real life...and spins a story that just has it all. And...it has everything I don't have presently in my NCLB afflicted life in an Under performing school forced into proscribed scripted curriculum teaching so presently devoid of story...I'm Sarah "one note" on this but when you read a book like this one you realize how much a book can bring to a classroom and children.

Lilly is so charming and here she is completely with her whole soul determined to be the flower girl at her teacher's wedding, but relegated by her very favorite teacher, to watch another get the honors. Just looking at the note she writes alone to convince her teacher of her worthiness is so wonderful,it's an appeal that just should have done the trick. Henkes must someday come to my Room 10 and meet my student Gabby la la . They are somehow related, Lilly and Gab. I, too, got a note mine on Friday, "Why I am the best person to be the Class Pezidents" a new position she decided to open.

There are from time to time children who are just so invigorated, alive, so vestily in this life, so carpe diem you gotta just stand away and say..."May I assist you Madame Pezident?". Such is Lilly who doesn't immediately get the flower girl position but does through the storyline save the day....and in the end doesn't it always fall to the Lilly's of the world to sweep in graciously(even when doing so after having been second placed right in front of everyone when they knew who was supposed to be in the position of flower girl) and put it all to rights and give life a kind of warmth and zest that makes us realize that sometimes you have to live and love, they come into your life and turn it all upsideover as my Gabby La La says.

My student listens with great quiet to Lilly stories and always dramatically raises her arms and says at the end, "Oh...it's so cuuttee..that's a good story teacher." Dramatic falling to the floor in giggling ball. If read with charm this story of the wedding of Lilly's teacher is guaranteed to be a hit with all children.
The book did not need another endorsement here but after reading it and picking it up tonight for our children's gift exchange I have to say it'll be read on my apple carpet in the classroom Monday with lots of fun because I'm taking in a basket of flower petals left over from a bouquet of roses from my anniversary which is rapidly fading and I saved , perfect for reenactment purposes. Enjoy a really wonderful read and you must, must get it with the Lilly doll." Too cutes" from Gab..And may I say...you only live once, so with Lilly, its wonderful to feel with every cell you have heads to toes...throw a few petals all over and practice the day you'll be called forth to walk down your aisle.

An instant classic!

Henke does it again, great book. Henke creates very real characters who grapple with emotions about as intense as I've seen for this format. In Lilly's perfect day, her teacher, Mr. Slinger, in an act of naked nepotism, elevates his own niece to the role of flower girl. This despite the inordinate amount of energy Lilly has put towards practicing for the event, the proficiency with which she has rehearsed every precocious countenance, the inestimable classroom bragging rights with which she fixates her anticipation. This mouse is due her fate, and only the venal world of adult institutions could deny her.

No one can quite bring themselves to be direct her Lilly. "Do you understand what we are trying to tell you?" they ask. How can a child honestly answer that question? How can a parent honestly interpret a child's answer to that question. My stomach was in a knot for Lilly. I knew this was a Henke book, I knew it had to have a happy ending. But how could Lilly's youthful, brittle narcissism possibly absorb the onslaught of such a sleight? I wouldn't dream of ruining the ending here, but I will provide a little hint by saying that a baby mouse dose of propanolol would have gone a long way. But even the villainous niece's feelings are spared, as Henke ties up all the strands as only he can. Thumbs up for Henkes! And go Bears!

I read this book before writing a best man toast for a wedding in September 2007. I paid only $5.54 and it was a great investment. The book is amusing and an easy read. I started with assorted notes and memories of the groom and the book taught me how to shape it into a successful toast. The simple directions and the sample toast will give you confidence.

I also purchased and read Your Special Wedding Toasts by Sharon Naylor, which I recommend as well. For both books, you only need to read about 40 pages to cover your particular situation.

I liked this book. It would be a good purchase for anyone planning on throwing a Bridal Shower.

We are planning a shower and I found this book to be chock full of great ideas and hints.

There are many different themes listed in this book. It's a great book if you have not choosen your theme yet. Lacking pictures and detail of some of the others though

This has so many awesome ideas for a bridal shower. I love it.

I purchased for my maid of honor and sent it to her without looking. She is really excited about some of the ideas she found. She recommends this book.

This book was fantastic! It helped beginners create beautiful bouquets, corsages and table arrangements. Great results! It saved us a great deal of money!

This is one of the best books I bought when I decided to do my own flowers for my wedding.
This is not a book for a pro though. It works best for a beginner like me. It explains nicely step by step how to make the arrangements. It could give more information but even still, there is no better book. There is a first version that I bought and together I got some great ideas.

Great book! Only one problem: the language can be a bit hard to understand. The book was originally published in the UK, so it is understandable that some words and phrases went over my head, but very good none-the-less!

Very cute book, but be warned... This is the same book (with a different title) as "Asking For Trouble" by the same author.

I bought this book after seing the wonderful movie for the 6th or 7th time. I was waiting expectantly for it to arrive from amazon only to get disappointed soon... As all previews reviews have stated, the only similarity between the book and the movie is that a single girl hires an escort to act as her boyfriend at her sister's marriage somewhere in england and they fall in love.
For one I prefered the storyline I saw on the screen (but that's a personal preference). But what I seriously disliked is the way the writer expressed herself. It just seemed as if she was trying too hard. Trying to hard to appear modern, hip, fun and empathetic to those overweight girls outhere, when judging by the book cover the writer is neither young/modern or overweight. The result being all those abbreviations that drove most people nuts -I seriously doubt that if I go any party/bar and ask for a V&T everyone is guaranteed to understand what I mean- and the overuse (or perhaps abuse) of the words cow, pig, piglet. It seemed more like a lack of imagination or creativity than modernism to me. The dialogues didn't flow effortlessly, the humour was rather forced than witty (i.e. Josh:I like curvy women; Sophy: you're calling me fat???).

In short: nice idea, bad writing style. A good editor could have erased all those "cows" and upgraded it to a 4 star rating. Not a bad read, I did finish it in 4-5 days which is soon when you have a work and 2 small kids, but felt like a waste of time afterwards. I just don't think anyone is likely to sympathize with Sophy or her family while reading this book. And when I don't care for the protagonists, it usually means I don't care for the book as well.

For those of you who are new to chick lit; there are better authors out there. Shophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, Jill Mansell, Emily Giffin are a good start.

Great book! It made me go out and buy all Elizabeth Young's other novels. I have reread them all waiting impatiently for the next one to come out! I love the humour and the personalities. The best of the Brits - I think.

I adored this book. It had me laughing and frustrated and I never wanted to put it down. I loved the characters and how vivid their surroundings were. I was quickly brought into Sophy's world and was just as curious about Josh as she was. She was a lovely character, quite real and I found I had things in common with her, which is a plus in a novel. Elizabeth Young had a certain knack for modern romance with humorous twists. In the end it left me sad to put the book down...for good???

A great summer read that'll have you laughing out loud.

I have mixed feelings about this book I give praises to the auther for actually making me believe this was the same frontier town of Springwater. I was quit skeptical to say the least when I started the book. Although 100 years had pasted I was able to wrap my mind around the concept. THE STORY started off strong but I felt like it was a bit bogged down with substory lines that were completely boring. I skipped over a lot. I thought it was very predictable, but sweet. AT LEAST I WAS ABLE TO FINISH THIS ONE!!! I am reading Miller for the first time and now about 5 books in, I realize she is a HIT OR MISS author. WITH HER YOU ARE NOT GAURNTEED A GOOD READ.

Although I was disappointed to jump 100+ years ahead of the other books in this series I still enjoyed this book. In this book you follow Maggie McCaffery (Jacob & June-Bug are her ancestors) & J.T. Wainwright (Scully & Evangeline are his ancestors). Maggie & J.T. grew up together in Springwater & were young lovers & eventually they split up & married others. 10 years later they both come back to Springwater to begin new lives & they re-kindle their love for one another very quickly. The beginning of this book is pretty slow but the ending is action packed. It made up for anything that I was missing at the beginning. It was nice hearing references to the other people in this series that lived a century earlier. If you have followed the Springwater series then I recommend this book if you are willing to jump to modern day.

Apparently, from the other reviews, either you'll like it or you won't. I am in the middle of the road. I wished for more sparks between Maggie and JT- the romance was watered-down some. But the story was sweet. Maggie and JT go way back and because of family interference and misunderstandings they ended up with others and went through individual divorces - only to come back home to Springwater finding each other and renewing a relationship once again. Excitment is added with cattle poisoning, murder, and someone stalking Maggie. There are sub-characters that add a lot to the story as well. I suggest reading it but I don't know if I would recommend buying it. But it is a sweet read.

It was so boring that I didn't even bother to finish reading it. I really didn't care who the criminals were. The hero and heroine are lukewarm to the extreme. The "sexy" scenes weren't sexy (even the most intimate scene in the book makes you want to laugh out loud because of the heros comments).

I've never read a worse novel in this genre.

I read all the Springwater series and loved them until this one. I had trouble getting into it and once I finally got into it it ended too soon. Poor Daphne, am I the only one who couldn't get over this part of the story line? Oh well, her husband isn't her husband - let me adopt a baby and get over it. I actually started to dislike Maggie because of her oh well attitude towards this tragedy happening to her best friend. I think I would slap any man who told me my best friends life was just turned upside down and in the same sentence asked me to marry him. And then she didn't see Daphne for awhile? I know I would need my best friend at that time. This contemporary Springwater is filled with a bunch of self centered jerks.