SciFi Site Publishes Interview with SF Author

Science fiction and fantasy mega site Xenite.Org has scored another coup. In its latest feature offering, the non-commercial scifi fan site has published an interview with science fiction/fantasy author Tad Williams. Williams is best known for writing a fantasy novel about cats in the 1980s but he has since gone on to invent fantasy worlds and science fiction venues.

Tad Williams is the author of the Shadowmarch series of books.Williams is currently publishing books in a series called Shadowmarch, which according to Wikipedia is a fantasy series set in a world where a line of islands face the misty Shadowline, the barrier to the world of fairy-folk.

The Xenite.Org article explores Williams’ varied career as a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and comic books. The article is packed full of factoids, quotes, and graphics. Williams offers his views on everything from space technology development to how fiction might be developed for Twitter, cell phones, and emerging technologies.

Xenite.Org has a reputation for asking probing questions. A recent interview with actor Craig Horner, star of Legend of the Seeker, received widespread interest. Rather than simply ask typical “fannish” questions, the Xenite writers take a deep interest in an entertainer’s personal experiences and insights.

Williams fans will not be disappointed. And after reading the 3-page article, you should take some time to poke around Xenite.Org, which has been online since March 1997. One of the oldest science fiction and fantasy sites, Xenite offers something of interest to everyone.

Improving Your Life Using Audio Books

Hour Game by David Baldacci is certainly great reading, however busy life styles can make that difficult to achieve. Often we don’t realize that long journeys to the office and other chores may take up large portions of our precious time. Working, taking care of kids or even housework can all cut down the time you have to persue your hobbies. If you are a keen reading enthusiast who finds it hard to find any time, commuting might provide the ideal time to enjoy listening to an audiobook. Using user friendly downloads, it’s simple to enjoy Elizabeth And Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim available from Download Audio Book Online, or audible books brought to life by David Sedaris without ever picking up a book.

Making the most of your time has become an essential these days. Audio-books such as Pimsleur Czech I Complete Course by Dr. Paul Pimsleur for sale from Download Audio Book Online fill the wasted time in our lives, it could be waiting time in a dentist’s surgery or grocery shopping. An enormous selection of audio-books are immediately available to download as audio files these include Anand Anubhuti - Experiencing Bliss by Brahma Kumaris, so grab your mp3 player and earphones and get ready to hear a biography or a wonderful novel, like audio books penned by Jerry Robbins without carting heavy books with you.

The numerous benefits of audible books include the chance to rent or buy educational books and savor them at your leisure. Need to study a different language? Why not try out audio books? Perhaps the latest commercial practices are your thing, you may even find out about religious or spiritual trends. Audiobooks are available in a massive assortment of titles and writing styles. Whether you are a travel devotee, mad over biographies or if your interests lie in self-help, most can be downloaded immediately. Many plans are open; you can subscribe to a rental plan or else buy the title online. Reading enthusiasts can invariably seek out a way to read, but the most convenient way could be the thousands of audio titles available today. Some stories, for example audio titles narrated by Janette Oke, can be even better when performed by the writer or an illustrious actor. Reading a title isn’t quite the same as listening to audio books recounted by Richard McCord, with the additional nuances of an actual rendition. Listening to audiobooks narrated by Thomas Sowell can supply something special to your enjoyment of reading and frequently will mean a great deal more to you than the written words.

So don’t forget about audiobooks next time you want to purchase a book, audio books are a effective way to squeeze all the titles you desire into your frantic life.

Investment Book Reviews #3: - Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

This book was chosen by the Financial Times as one of the ten best books ever written on investment - and with good reason - it’s a timeless classic!

A Classic Insight into Crowd Psychology

First published in 1841, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is often cited, as the best book ever written about market psychology.

Today, it is one of the most widely read books to warn investors of stock market bubbles and busts. The version published by Wiley also includes Joseph de la Vega’s 1688 classic, Confusion de Confusions - along the same subject lines.

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, explores the sometimes hilarious - and sometimes devastating impact of crowd behavior- and trading greed and fear on financial markets.

This book clearly shows us how crowd psychology has never changed - and how greed and fear are always present.

This book gives us three great examples - such as:

. The tulip mania of 1634 - when tulips actually traded at a higher price than gold!

. The South Sea bubble.

. The Mississippi madness.

These three examples confirm that greed and fear have always been the driving forces of financial markets - and furthermore, that being sensible and clever is no defense against the allure of a popular scheme, when big money is being made.

Think we don’t make the same mistakes today? - Think again!

Just think back to the huge interest in, and the price rises and falls during the Dot Com frenzy of speculation in the 1990’s.

Lessons to be learned

The moral of popular manias is - beware of frenzied speculation - wherever it occurs.

When the next stock market bubble comes along, (and it will) investors are advised to recall the fate of investors of an earlier time - and avoid their misfortunes.

Really, all investors should read this book - and critical acclaim for it is almost universal - and here are just a couple of comments:

This is the most important book ever written about crowd psychology and, by extension, about financial markets. A serious student of the markets and even anyone interested in the extremes of human behavior should read this book! - Ron Insana, CNBC.

You will see between its staid lines (written in ye olde English and as ponderable as Buddha’s navel) that, despite what the media says, nothing really important has changed in the financial markets in centuries. - Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes.

Destructive Emotions

Markets are still driven by the emotions of greed and fear today - just as they were in yesteryear - and this book graphically illustrates the point.

This book covers much more than just the financial markets - it covers a whole gambit of situations, where the crowd makes stupid investments - based on their emotions, rather than logic.

While this is not a book that tells you how to trade - it does illustrate more clearly than any other book, how stupid investors are - when they submit to their emotions.

Stand Away from the Crowd for Financial Success!

This book is essentially a lesson in trading discipline - and how standing aside from the crowd, will make you a successful investor.

Read it - and absorb its timeless wisdom!

New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and speculating info. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com

Review: Hugh Rosen’s Silent Battlefields

Author: Hugh Rosen
ISBN: 0595347738

Hugh Rosen has created an emotionally charged read with his debut novel Silent Battlefields. At the heart of the novel and the central peg on which Rosen hangs his carefully crafted novel is a narrative involving two families that are woven together in a provocative and complex exploration of the evilness of the holocaust, its lasting effects on its victims and perpetrators, and the morality pertaining to Nazi avengers.

The novel slips easily from one character’s consciousness to another, as Rosen fills us in on their stories with many strong moments and powerful scenes. We first are told about twelve year old Selig Kruger, who in 1939 is forced to join Hitler’s youth movement, prior to his eventual entry into the German army. It is in the youth movement where he is taught to recognize the supreme virtue of Nazi ideology. Once indoctrinated into this belief system, he finds no difficulty in following orders until one day as a German soldier he becomes part of a mission with two other comrades to search for and kill any Jews in hiding along with the family members who have helped them.

Upon entering a farm home of a pastor and his family in Haranburg, a village many miles from Warsaw, he discovers a couple hidden in the attic and when he opens a closet door he notices their young daughter. He puts his index finger to his lips in order to signal to the young girl to remain silent and he then closes the door. However, he marches the child’s parents down the stairs where they, along with the pastor and his family, are shot to death by one of the soldiers. Selig runs out of the house and while he is being pursued by his comrades he kills them. Eventually, Selig finds his way after the war to Philadelphia where he marries the daughter of a rich German industrialist, becomes an eminent surgeon and fathers a son, Thomas.

Eva, the little girl whose life was spared, discovers the horrendous death of her parents and the family that was hiding them. She manages to escape and is saved by a gentile man, who brings her home, even though his wife is appalled at taking in a Jewish girl to live with them. After the war Eva likewise finds her way to Philadelphia, where she marries Professor Nathan Eisenstadt, becomes a psychoanalyst and bears a son, Mathew.

A series of incredulous coincidences, perhaps a stretch to believe, bring Selig and Eva’s families together and their respective destinies become intertwined, leaving us with a riveting and compelling narrative.

Rosen can clearly write, as his characters are skillfully crafted, fraught with flaws and internal conflicts. His characterization of Selig and Eva is solid and deft and his storytelling is not only genuinely surprising at times but also insightful. Rosen effectively interprets the events he describes and delves beyond the surface of the various characters he has brought to the page.

When I interviewed Rosen and asked him “what do you hope readers will take away after reading Silent Battlefields?” His reply was: “I hope that reading Silent Battlefields will enlarge the reader’s perspective on the resolving of ethical dilemmas and the complexities of life’s realities. Perhaps she or he will also be confronted with some provocative thinking, raising such significant questions as: “What would I have done in that situation?” Did he succeed? The answer is a resounding yes and I look forward to reading more from Hugh Rosen.

Norm Goldman - EzineArticles Expert Author

Norm Goldman is the Editor of the Book Reviewing & Author Interviewing site http://www.bookpleasures.com Bookpleasures.com comprises over 30 international reviewers that come from all walks of life and that review all genre. Norm also offers an Express Review Service. You can find out more about this service by clicking on http://www.bookpleasures.com Norm is ranked among the top 1000 Amazon.com reviewers.

In addition, Norm is the editor of the travel site http://www.sketchandtravel.com Together with his artist wife Lily, the couple blend words with art focusing on romantic destinations.

“The Caduceus” Author Dennis Edwards: Book Review

The Caduceus
By Dennis Edwards PhD
Plain View Press (2006)
Review by William Phenn for Reader Views (3/06)

“The Caduceus”, an amazing book by an amazing Author. Dennis
Edwards received his education at the University of Illinois. He has held
positions as a College Administrator, Counselor and Teacher. He is also a
Poet, Cartoonist, Writer and the Great Grandson of John Gray, one of the
most prestigious Welsh poets in America. With all he has going on, it is
no wonder Dennis and his wife would choose to live in the beauty and
tranquility of the Ozark Mountains.

“The Caduceus” is Indiana Jones and James Bond wrapped in a nice
package of 130 pages. Conspiracy, drama, the paranormal and a little
romance for good measure. The main character (Dr. Francis Allenton) is
a shy and nerdy gent that gets himself into a web of murder, intrigue and
conspiracy that only Houdini could get out of. His quest for the proverbial
Caduceus and his infatuation with the healing capabilities of water, lead
him down a path that is both adventurous and deadly. Dr. Allenton is
accompanied along this narrow path by a most striking female character,
a boisterous Hospice Nurse named Cassidy Martin. Brash and outspoken,
the girl knows how to get what she wants.

The way Dr. Edwards draws his characters into this dramatic sequence
of events is masterful. His use of a humorous situation in the introduction
of the female character (Cassidy Martin) showed me the lighter side of
both her and Francis Allenton.

What these two discovered about the worlds water supply both shocked
me and made me think.

What if there was a Water Cartel that was out to control the
world’s water supply?
What if someone could control what is in our drinking water?
What if someone wanted to control a state, a country, the world?
What better way, than to control that which is the source of life
on this planet.

With what is happening in the world today, “The Caduceus” is just liable
to be put on the Non-Fiction shelf. As our dependency for Oil decreases
our focus will hopefully turn to quality of life and what we are doing with
our world. If not, then “The Caduceus” will most assuredly become a non-
fiction book. If you’ve ever wondered why there is such aggression in the
world, then this book is a must read for you. If nothing else, “The
Caduceus” brings out some very interesting things to think about. I would
not be surprised to see it come out as a movie. I anxiously await the
sequel giving “The Caduceus” my highest A+ rating, don’t miss it!

William Phenn is a reviewer for Reader Views
http://www.readerviews.com

“The Great Pretender” author Millenia Black: BOOK REVIEW

The Great Pretender
By Millenia Black
New American Library (2005)
Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (2/06)

The Great Pretender is the story of one man with two families.
Reginald Brooks decides he can’t live the way he has been with two
separate families and tells his wife about his mistress and their child.
The rest of the book deals with the ramifications of his revelation.

Millenia Black weaves her story around plot twists and turns.
Through out the book all the main character’s secrets are revealed.
She keeps the reader guessing from beginning to end. Black’s
characters are very believable and the reader finds herself feeling
empathy for all those involved.

This book is for anyone, it is not geared toward any one group of
people. Once you get hooked into the story, you just have to keep
reading to see what is going to happen. While I really didn’t care for
the subject matter it was a very well written book and kept my
interest.

Millenia Black is a compelling storyteller. Heralded as a double life and relationship expert, she’s been a featured guest on radio shows across the country. “The Great Pretender” is her debut novel. When she’s not writing, her hobbies include enjoying the music of Nat King Cole and Judy Garland, and watching old Hollywood classics.

Ellen Hogan is a reviewer for Reader Views
http://www.readerviews.com

Review of “Success Express for Teens: 50 Activities That Will Change Your Life”, Author Roger Leslie

Success Express for Teens: 50 Activities That Will Change Your Life
By Roger Leslie
Bayou Publishing (2005)
Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (1/06)

Success Express equips teens to move from where they are now to where they want to be by applying the activities found in this exciting book. Each exercise is designed to provide the tools for teens to advance toward their goals and dreams.

The author uses a train motif to compare a journey to a destination with the pursuit of a successful future. The logical stepsfrom mapping out the journey through traveling on a non-stop route to successparallel the small, day-to-day experiences that cumulatively define who people become. Leslie’s book encourages young adult readers to give their best at each level, paving the way for them to move forward to the next.

The user-friendly book format is presented in small sections so readers can complete an exercise or two and resume later. The readings and activities include sound questions like “What should I do next?” and “How can I use this in my life?” This handy guide even includes an assessment tool that reveals the reader’s intrapersonal and interpersonal style based on which activities worked best for that person. Leslie also offers an appendix full of suggestions for teachers, counselors or group leaders.

As a writer and educator, I found his examples pertinent because they mostly relate to his writing and teaching. Although occasional quotes from a teen applying the principles appear throughout, more input from young adults writing about their successes would be desirable for the target audience. However, teens will find Leslie’s style appealing and straightforward. His activities and insights are helpful and practical. Here’s to a successful life journey. All aboard!

Kim Peterson is a reviewer for Reader Views
http://www.readerviews.com

Antique Furniture: Series C

A Barrister’s bookcase is a traditional bookcase that is believed to have originated in Britain. Its distinguishing feature is a transparent glass face. This glass front is hinged at the side allowing a person easy access to books and other legal documents merely by raising the glass door. The barrister bookcase is ideal for just about anything. A Barrister’s bookcase was oftentimes used by a lawyers since it was often necessary for them to move. Nowadays, they are very favorable, especially if one is incessantly on the move. This is because of the doors. This forbids them from having to be voided on moving

Glass Furniture
Good Barrister’s Oak Bookshelves avert the use of the normal sidewise opening doors and use doors that have the up and over opening mechanism. A scissor device when used inside the barrister shelves ensure the moving doors do it in a parallel way without having the doors jam or skew in the procedure. One benefit of employing the barrister bookcase is the ability to have several of these units stacked together and have them secured to a wall. The impression of an attractive cabinet will be given.Depending on the preference of the owner, barrister bookcases can have a of material choices. Whether it is constructed utilizing wood or glass, these bookcases give a casual elgant show to a room.

This special kind of shelves, despite their many merits, can be rather pricy. Fortunately, there unqiueness has caused some manufacturers to start creating replica editions. Some contemporary versions are also available at very reasonable prices. Some versions have simple appearances and can be made to fit a particular decor. They can also be made into customized at little cost.They can be stacked allowing them to be easily used to create creative unit placements. Some can be used to create end tables, pulpits or even breakfast tables.