1 comments about Hip Hotels Italy.

1. Hip Hotels Italy joins others in the lauded Thames & Hudson "Hip" series that blends a travel guide with a design resource, focusing on the biggest names in architecture and interior design. Notable establishments in Italy which include olive mills, caves, abbeys and even fishing huts show how all types of architecture can be transformed and renovated for tourism. The color photos are splendid.

5 comments about A Question of Will (Out of This World Series).

1. There are few books out there that deal with the controversy over the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays, let alone one for young adults. Kositsky had to do a lot of research for this one, and produced a novel that is historically authentic and has a slapstick sense of humor.



2. Purely as a historical novel for young adults, this book is entertaining and funny. All the slang takes a little getting used to, but for the most part it's easy to follow. There's some gross-out humor which should appeal to younger readers (and to older readers who are into that kind of stuff, like me).

   The problem I have with the book is in its depiction of the Shakespeare authorship issue. The novel's heroine, Perin "Willow" Willoughby, is magically trasported back in time to 1595 London, where she meets William Shakespeare and his fellow actors. Shakespeare is depicted as a filthy, drunken fool, and Willow gradually begins to suspect that Shakespeare's plays are really being written by the mysterious Earl of Oxford who keeps showing up at the playhouse and having furtive meetings with Shakespeare. Now, granted, this is a novel, and as such the author has a lot of room for interpretation and speculation. But the depictions of both Shakespeare and Oxford in this book are caricatures based on highly biased Oxfordian sources, and have little to do with the historical record. Quite apart from his playwriting activities, Shakespeare's known circle of acquaintances, in both Stratford and London, was a cultured and literary one. And the documentary record shows that the Earl of Oxford, at the time when this novel depicts him furiously writing plays and attending the theater, was actually writing long and tedious letters to Lord Burghley, trying to get the royal monopoly on tin mining.

   The evidence that William Shakespeare wrote the plays published under his name is very strong, stronger than the comparable evidence for most other playwrights of the time. While Oxford is known to have written at least one comedy (now lost), and kept a minor company of players, the evidence that he had anything to do with Shakespeare's plays is nil. The "evidence" which Oxfordians present for their beliefs, primarily based on imagined parallels between the plays and Oxford's life story, is essentially worthless as evidence of anything. This book is an entertaining piece of fiction, but nobody should take it as representing anything close to historical fact. Anyone wishing to know more about the factual and logical distortions used by Oxfordians should visit the Shakespeare Authorship Page on the web.

   Dave Kathman djk1@ix.netcom.com




3. Here is an engaging, entertaining, and indeed positively delightful romp through the underworld of the Elizabethan theatrical scene -- as witnessed through the eyes of an intellectually precocious thirteen-something (unlucky in love!-Yikes!) named Willow who suddenly finds herself teleported from 20th century Ontario into the grimy candlelight world of London in 1593 where she finds herself rooming with the -- allegedly -- great playwrite "Shakspere."

   Only the most dogmatic partisans of the by-now moribund official view of Shakespeare will be offended this linguistically precocious reconstruction of the "might have been" hypothesis of the Earl of Oxford's identity as the real Bard. Indeed Lynne Kositsky has an uncanny knack for anchoring her fictional narrative in detailed and singularly accurate memory for cultural nuance and historical incident. Kositsky also possesses a natural gift for the pulse of language. Her narrator speaks in an energetic and often captivating fusion of Canadian Valley Girl slang and Elizabethen vernacular, which is certain to capture the imagination of many young readers. Is this another J.K. Rowling in the making?

   Here's a taste:

   Bobby Goffe really hated me, that was for sure: he criticized and cuffed me every chance he got. Shakspere dissed me daily, perchance cos he'd been stuck with me, mayhap cos he feared I'd discovered his secret schemes. And I still needed to keep a sharp look out for that other gig, Beavis, Butthead, and Mystery Guy, at every turn. To cut a long story short, I felt threatened every step I took. At the house, at the Theatre, on the street, a mere whisper would twist my head around, a hint of a hubbub would set my heart to heaving.

   (p. 70)

   As the reader may detect, Ms. Kositsky's most formidable weapon, like that of her dark hero Edward Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, is a razor sharp wit, viz. her biting satirical invocation of the (historically real)duel between actor Gabriel Spencer and actor-playwright Ben Jonson, in which Willow, transporting mysterious packages between Vere and Shakspere, is revealed to be the precipitating cause of the duel:

   Galloping gobstoppers, what should I do now? Stand my ground till [Spenser] strangled me, or agree to what he wanted, and then get out while the going was good. I was too scared to make up my mind. He started shaking me again like I was a pair of maracas. And maybe there were two of me at that, cos I was starting to see everything double.

   "No, never," I cried at last. "I will never give you anything of Vere's. Do your worst!" I drooped over like a limp lily, and was about to throw up on the villain's boots, really making him mad, when Ben Jonson rushed into the Cathedral. He must have been behind us all the time. In a trice, he realized the mess I was in and shoved his bully-boy face into Spencer's, fixing him with his beery breath. "That's Shakspere's lad, Gabe. Put him down right now, right here, right this minute, before you do him a permanent disablement"......

   (p. 102)

   The book can be recommended without reserve for all readers between the ages of eight and eighty who love the derring-do world which belongs to "Shakespeare" -- the world which harbored the great voyages of exploration which have made our modern life, for better or worse, what it now is. The author deserves congratulation if not some sort of medal; but one may be sure the further books by Ms. Kositsky are not far from publication.




4. Kositsky plunges her heroine back into Elizabethan England for a wild, rollicking adventure with an acting company and a theater hanger-on named Will Shakspere, who seems to be taking credit for Shakespeare's plays. Young adults (and not so young) will relish her gross encounters with Elizabethan thugs and her winning ways with the acting company and Queen Elizabeth herself, who bestows an early version of the Academy Awards. Hard-core Stratfordians will object to Oxford as the playwright, but Kositsky's light, spoofing treatment, solidly grounded in the facts of the authorship controversy,easily carries the reader into her version of the world's biggest literary mystery. It's a blast from the past.



5. The ONLY reason the orthodox Stratfordian view of the authorship of Shakespeare's works has managed to survive is that it is taught to the young with no information about its rickety foundation, or about the persuasiveness of the Oxford alternative. Books like this one may hasten the day when the bizarre Stratford myth collapses of its own weight. An admirable corrective, and a fun read.

No comments about Michelin Map Burgundy, France (Michelin Maps).

No comments about Rick Steves' Germany 2009 (Rick Steves).

4 comments about A Piano in the Pyrenees: The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains.

1. I've always found Tony Hawks books enjoyable. Funny books but I've always felt they were a little contrived - a little too forced. (Danny Wallace take note)
   In 'A Piano in the Pyrenees' I thought this would be another fun but laboured idea. Not so!
   This is a new Hawks whose writing has evolved.
   He joins the ranks of Dave Gorman (Googlewhack adventure)or the much under rated John Donoghue (Shakespeare My B*tt!)
   In this, Hawks has characters (that don't seem stage managed) as he explores the French culture. This isn't a collection of jokes surrounding a bizarre idea...this is self-deprecating, endearing, entertaining, witty ...and above all believable.



2. Fantastic book, very well written & entertaining.
   But be careful, if you have a sensitive disposition & want to avoid making any kind of public scene - make sure you read it in private. This book is laugh out loud funny.



3. From reading Tony's previous work i had expected something funny, clever and
   entertaining but it was not any of these. Perhaps he's taking a new direction into light, unfunny travelogues. If so i would recommend he not do so.



4. I am a longstanding fan of Tony Hawks' work, and still believe that "Round Ireland With a Fridge" is the single best travel book ever written. I have also enjoyed his other books (on tennis and pop music) greatly. Needless to say, when I was in Ireland last (sadly, without my fridge), went into a bookstore and found this, Hawks' latest book, I bought it immediately. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. While I liked the book, I found that it drags and is much more directionless than his earlier books, although the reappearance of a lost love at the very end does provide the book with a convenient conclusion.
   
   The book essentially showcases Hawks' impracticality in purchasing a house in France with no preparation, and the subsequent adventures of getting it arranged as he would like. I did enjoy his adventures with the white vans of doom, but found the endless pontification on building his swimming pool to be decidedly tedious. The book comes in at 307 pages long, far longer than "Round Ireland With a Fridge," and demonstrates a need for editing. The book wants to be about a man's search for significance in middle age, but the important messages the book delivers (and to Hawks' credit, the messages are in there) are buried under layers of minutiae that are neither particularly interesting or amusing.
   
   I did like the book, but not nearly as much as Hawks' earlier, more focused, books. I would recommend this book to fans of the earlier works, but I would recommend all of Hawks' earlier books first.

5 comments about Extremely Pale Rose: A Very French Adventure.

1. i tell you, this book was the surprise hit of the summer for me. i picked it up as i like travel and drink and liked the premise of the challenge in the story. i thought it'd be a gentle read that i'd dip in and out of, but i found i couldn't put it down. you get really involved in the characters as they search through france on their quest. before you know it you've found out a great deal about wine, france, how comic/kind/annoying/helpful the french can be. i didn't expect it to be as amusing as it is - from beginning to end, it kept me chukling to myself. it was beautifully written and i think anyone who's ever dreamt of searching for a better and more uplifting alternative to their daily drudge should give it a go. uplifting! more please, mr ivey!



2. EXTREMELY PALE ROSE: A VERY FRENCH ADVENTURE will appeal to any who love France and French food and travel. It recounts the author's journey as he and his family travel the south of France in quest of rose wines. Rose is commonly viewed as a poor man's wine, but the paler it gets the more the Brits relish it and the more the French scoff. A translation problem sends Jamie on a quest for the palest rose in France, and their visits to wineries, rose-producing regions and local byways provide a lively, fun story of a hilarious quest.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. Extremely Pale Rosé is a wonderful book for anyone who loves Provence or for anyone who wants to learn more about this special part of France. I'm one of the former and reading this book made me wish I was back there right now. Jamie's writing style is easy to read and the story holds your interest. There's lots of good, accurate information and you really feel you get to know Jamie, Tanya and Peter as you go along for the ride on their quest. Once you open this book and start reading, it's easy to forget the world around you. So, pour yourself a nice chilled glass of Provencal rosé and lose yourself in this fabulous book.



4. This is a very entertaining and quick read. I learned loads about French rose wines while reading it.



5. 
   While in Provence one summer, a French lady mistook a conversation about Jamie Ivey's niece Rosie for a conversation about rosé. In a quirky way, this conversation leads James Ivey, his wife Tanya and their friend Peter to a journey to find the palest rosé in France. This is a marvelous road book with three distinctive characters visiting the main rosé-producng areas in France: Champagne, the Loire, the Jura, Bordeaux, Dordogne, the Rhône, Provence, Languedoc and Corsica.
   
   Ivey is a lapsed attorney and his first book is written in an offbeat way. The three wander through tiny bars, local bistros, wine fairs, many chateux and vineyards, and wine shops. There's an important sideline: Peter's attempts to find particularly smelly cheeses. This is charming British style travel writing from someone who clearly loves France, wine, food and people.
   
   Ivey claims that according to French lore, rosé should be the pink of a baby's skin. These two extracts will demonstrate the extremes you will encounter in these pages:
   
   "Why is pale rosé so popular", asked Tanya?
   "Because people like you don't know a good wine from a bad one."
   
   Tim: "Historically, rosé was a dreadful wine. It used to be made from re-wine leftovers. It would be put in a forgotten vat in the corner of the cave and sold for next to nothing to anyone foolish enough to buy it.
   
   "But that's not true any more. There's not a great winemaker in France who hasn't learnt his trade by producing a good rosé. It's the hardest wine to make, much more complex than red or white. France is making some fantastic rosé now, and it's real wine that can accompany food. Anyone who is still snobbish about it is wrong."
   
   ____
   
   The authors have now created an excellent blog describing their further adventures in the wine world; Google extremelypalerose . The subtitle of the blog tells the tale: "From London lawyer to Provencal wine merchant,author and now travelling salesman - the continuing story of pale pink wine and life in the south of France."
   
   The introduction to the blog carries on the appeal of the book:
   
   "Just to update those who have read Extremely Pale Rose: A Very French Adventure, Tanya and I are now running our own wine business in the south of France. We live near the village of Lourmarin and our shop front is the local markets. When we started trading in October last year one of the locals observed that we would be "living on love and cold water." They were right. We survived a long cold winter and sold practically no wine. But we made friends with the other market traders and secured our pitches in three local villages for the summer and now at last the tourists and the sun have arrived."
   
   Robert C. Ross 2007 2008

1 comments about Buckingham Palace: Official Souvenir Guide.

1. Great book, especially since photography is not allowed inside the Palace; much less expensive here than if I had purchased it at Buckingham Palace!!

2 comments about The French Cafe.

1. You can plan a trip accross France with this book as your only guide. Walking from "bistro" to café from Nice to Paris, Loire-valley to Nantes and Mont-Saint-Michel. Most of the places mentioned here are typically french. No stranger ever thought of pushing the doors. Eric Morin, photographer, knows well this subject. He lives in the Bastille district of Paris. He knows well the most hidden and most fashionable places. Because he spent some happy week-ends in Château du Verger in Anjou (close to Nantes), he collected great pictures from La Cigale and Trentemoult fishing harbour of Nantes. Did you ever dream of becoming a café tender in rural France? would you like to become the "manager" of a warm café where french workers will start the day drinking a Muscadet at 7 am? Marie-France Boyer, as usual, gives practical advices together with inspiring pictures. She will tell you how and where to buy cafés in France, what are "listed historic monuments" in France (some cafés are). A lot of cafés names and addresses are given at the end of this joyful and useful guide to real France. If you really love cafés, you should also buy "The cafés of Paris" asin:1566562783 and "Literary cafés of Paris".



2. Readers whose idea of a French café is (like mine was) little more than the cliché of black coffee and Le Monde at little round sidewalk tables will be very pleasantly surprised by variety revealed in this neat little book by Marie-France Boyer and photographer Eric Morin. From Paris haunts much like the stereotype, to rustic village cafes far outside the metropolis, to the retreats of artists or tradesmen, author and photographer demonstrate that the café is more than a place, but rather an intimate expression of the French lifestyle.

   The beautiful photos are by far the most engrossing part of this book. But the writing is valuable too, describing the golden age of French cafes, the rise of important establishments like Momus, Les Deux Garçons in Aix-en-Provence, or the Marly, and the influence of the cafes on French art and culture. And though the book's almost a decade old now, the Guide at the end should still be useful in tracking down many of the cafes featured in photo and text.

   In all, whether you're an experienced boulevardier, a traveler with fond memories, or just someone looking to experience French culture vicariously, "The French Café" should inspire many happy thoughts.

1 comments about Retiring in France: A Survival Handbook (Retiring In...).

1. This one helped me avoid a major mistake. It is thorough and not politically corect. It is very to the point. I'll still go on vacation, but definately not to live. Best dough I spent recently. If you are even considering living in France, get this book!!!! You may end up going, but your choice will be way more informed. The further references are very good, and inspires further examination of taxes and various governmental issues - which the book just about demands. Very, very useful. Great book. I am definately not going to live in France.

No comments about Languedoc Roussillon, 2nd (Cadogan Guides).