Men's magazines proved most popular during this period with Zoo, Maxim and FHM also in the top ten alongside other techy and auto favourites such as T3, PC Pro and Top Gear.

Browse and download these and many other Men's publications here.

Cierto es que escapo un poco de los fenómenos literarios que a veces nos acechan y es que uno sospecha de las operaciones de marketing que emplean algunas editoriales para encaramar sus libros a lo más alto de las distintas listas de los más vendido, por lo que vaya por delante mi  cierta desconfianza hacia ellos, naturalmente muchas veces es una apreciación errónea mía.  Pero después de oír y leer tantas alabanzas de esta novela, Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres, de Stieg Larsson, autor fallecido prematuramente sin ver publicada su novela y primer libro de la trilogía denominada Millennium, nombre del periódico del que es socio el protagonista,  me decidí a comprarla y leerla. Recuerdo que la empecé un viernes a la noche y el domingo al atardecer ya la había terminado, fui incapaz de dejarla mientras no llegué hasta el final,  es una muy buena novela, que te envuelve y atrapa, no solo es la intriga en sí, de buscar la explicación a la desaparición de una joven acaecida hace más de cuarenta años, y que se supone ha sido asesinada, sino también de la evolución de los distintos personajes que forman parte de la trama, desde el periodista honrado,  Mikael Blomkvist, que tiene que enfrentarse a uno de los mayores industriales de su  país, Suecia, así como uno de los otros personajes,  Lisbeth Salander, una chica un tanto rara, tirando a friki, y que uno empieza a tener simpatía por ella. Como todo novela de estas características cuanto menos se sepa de ella antes de leerla pues mejor, solo decirles que espero con avidez los dos libros siguientes de esta trilogía, que si no me equivoco tienen por título, La chica que soñaba con una cerilla y un bidón de gasolina y La reina en el palacio de las corrientes de aire. A buen seguro que no se arrepentirán de leerla. Sí, es un best-sellers, pero muy bueno.

PD.: Parece que la fecha elegida por la editorial Destino para el lanzamiento de la segunda novela de Stieg Larsson es el 25 de Noviembre/08.

Ficha:

Lengua: Castellano

Editorial: Destino

Encuadernación: Tapa blanda

Páginas: 640

Edición: 1ª

Año: 2008

ISBN: 9788423340446

Erin Presbyterian church is beginning a ten week study of the book and I'm going to put these studies online. if you would like the studies sent to you by email, please contact me at traqair@aol.com. I'll add you to our online study list.

Of course, being popular is not always a guide to quality in publishing. Some books flourish in a triumph of style over substance, and that might well be a valid criticism of The God Delusion. The carefully crafted scientific explorations of Dawkins’ earlier works have a tendency to be replaced by atheistic ‘argument by rant’. The implicit dislike of all things religious in early writings, here becomes as explicit as the drunken vulgarity of a stag weekend in Blackpool… Dawkins doesn’t do God. He really doesn’t.

In case you might think that I have overstated my case, consider the following quote from page 31 (indexed as Yahweh (God of the Old Testament): deplorable character of), “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” Richard Dawkins really doesn’t do God.

Perhaps his own upbringing leaves him particularly disillusioned with the God of Christianity, but he is critical of all religions in reasonably equal measure. Much of his argument focuses on the excesses of fundamentalists, but he doesn’t let moderates off the hook. Even moderate, mainstream, respectable religion gives rise to (and in a sense legitimates) violent extremists, for “Faith is an evil precisely because it requires no justification and brooks no argument.”

The main atheistic thrust of The God Delusion has been welcomed by many, but has also, of course, received a huge amount of criticism. Amazon.co.uk (which incidentally continues to offer both these featured books at around half price, at time of writing) has well over 300 reviews available, highlighting in their variety the polarising effect of this book. And now we have a steady flow of Christian ‘responses’ to Dawkins being published, including what is probably the pick of the crop, The Dawkins Delusion? by Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath.

Subtitled Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, the McGraths’ book is brief and lucid, not attempting to challenge Dawkins’ every argument, but rather highlighting his uncharacteristically subjective and selective use of the data. It really does appear that the scientist has let his emotions run away with him, and they do a good job of helping us to see certain flaws in his arguments. They demonstrate admirably why they are theologians and he is not.

So which book should you buy and read? There is little point to reading The Dawkins Delusion? except in conjunction with The God Delusion. But if you’ve read Dawkins and want to reflect critically on what you encountered then this is a good place to begin. If you are looking for a more detailed critique of Dawkins’ scientific atheism then you should probably also seek out Alister McGrath’s earlier work, Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life.

And should you read The God Delusion? I would say yes, for a number of reasons. This is a readable, accessible engagement with religious belief from one of the world’s foremost thinkers. His arguments will become common currency for atheists in dispute with believers for years to come. We have much to learn from this book, and much to repent of. I would almost go so far as to say that it should be essential reading for churches as we seek to understand ourselves and our world. We will not agree with everything, but we might find more wisdom and challenge here than we expect.

For me, the irony of this book is in contrast to my experience of his earlier work. The Blind Watchmaker was no less certain of the sufficiency of natural selection as an explanation for our world’s wondrous diversity, but left me amazed at God’s incredible work in creation. I remember having a similar reaction to Dawkins’ great friend’s atheistic novels, The Northern Lights trilogy by Philip Pullman. They set out to make me an atheist, but God just seemed bigger and brighter as a result. The God Delusion in contrast left me painfully aware of the poverty of humanity. We are able to take something as remarkable as a relationship with our creator and turn it into an excuse for hatred, prejudice, violence, manipulation, and delusion. If it wasn’t for God, the generous God amazingly revealed in Jesus the Christ, I might think about being an atheist too.

Originally posted elsewhere on 23 May 2007.

E como cultura nunca é demais, conheça um pouco mais da música árabe, vendo este vídeo.

Demian -Herman Hesse.

Cuando lei este libro, lo cerraba cada tres paginas y me quedaba con cara de "no mames", supongo que fue por el momento que estaba viviendo, en el fondo deseaba ser como Max Demian, pero sabia (y se) que obviamente soy mucho mas como Emil Sinclair.

Una frase de Sinclair se me grabo con letras de fuego: "tan solo intentaba vivir aquello que tendia a brotar espontaneamente de mi, ¿por que habria de serme tan dificil?"

*Arturo cae azotado*

Ya despues me clave con el Lobo estepario, Siddharta, Bajo la Rueda y Goldmundo y Narciso.

Anochecer -Isaac Asimov.

Una de las primeras novelas de que lei en mi vida, hasta la fecha lo leo (lo he hecho unas 8 veces) y me sigue poniendo los pelos de punta la escena final del observatorio.

Instrucciones para vivir en Mexico -Jorge Ibargüengoitia.

Yo conoci de manos de una tia a Jorge Ibargüengoitia, y desde el primer momento pense: "las daria por escribir como el" hasta la fecha, todas mis pendejadas son un vano y fallido intento de alcanzar el humor, el sarcasmo y la chingoneria de Ibargüengoitia, ahora pienso que el blog perfecto hubiera sido uno escrito por el.

Para leer mientras sube el ascensor -Enrique Jardiel Poncela.

Yo creci con ese humor, sera por eso que lo tengo tan torcido, y no es que Jardiel Poncela sea extraño, al contrario, es un humor bastante simplon (es un español de los años 30's), pero tenia una creatividad que hasta la fecha me deja perplejo, una ironia y un estilo desquiciado para escribir, en su obra lo absurdo es la norma, y nadie parece reparar en ello, es el tipo de humor que me fascina.

Incluso varias de sus obras han sido popularizadas, ¿alguien recuerda una pelicula de Mauricio Garces llamada "Esperame en Siberia vida mia!"? pues es de el, aunque el gran idiota de Damian Carmona se pusiera en los creditos como el escritor.

Lentejuelas -Gary Jennings

Del mismo que escribio Azteca (si, si, ya se) es un ladrillazo de 1200 pags. que he leido 4 veces, y cada vez me gusta mas, es sobre la historia de un circo pauperrimo ("El Floreciente Florilegio de Florian") de la epoca de la guerra civil gringa, de como va creciendo y mejorando hasta que se convierte en uno de los mas chingones de Europa, hasta que logra actuar frente a los Zares de Rusia, obvio, todo el camino, como diria el viejito Alex Lora, esta sembrado de perdicion, alegrias, dramas y hartas cosas mas que hacen de este libro una obra bien bonita, con un final bien sentimental que casi me arranca las de cocodrilo, ay que puñal soy!, corran por el.

Y como bonus, (a ver quien me la hace de pedo) meteria "El Cartero" de Bukowski y "Ecce Homo" de un Nietzsche ya totalmente desquiciado, nomas hay que ver los titulos de los capitulos: "Por qué soy tan sabio, Por qué soy tan inteligente, Por qué escribo tan buenos libros y Por qué soy un destino" priceless. Y por ultimo "Rojo y Negro" de Stendhal, nomas por el protagonista, Julian Sorel, que es uno de los personajes mas pinches odiosos que he leido en mi vida, pero no se por que, es fascinante, snif.

Algo mas personal y que llego en el momento exacto (y hasta la fecha lo leo por lo menos una vez al mes) es "la ultima oportunidad", de Carlitos Sanchez, a pesar de que se ma hace un escritor simplon, poco creativo y en exceso conceptualista, esta obra es un gran manual de supervivencia marital/noviazgo y un antidepresivo que no necesita receta medica.

saludos

Many of my writing friends have such woeful tales to tell. It's not uncommon. But there's a change in the wind. Writers, fed up, are beginning to self-publish, for several reasons. Publishing is not what it used to be. Several houses have closed down, there are fewer editors, and some that remain don't edit. Rare is the publisher who does publicity. There are few publicity departments.

Let's face it: this is the day of the independent filmmaker and the independent writer. They've taken things into their own hands, they make films themselves and publish themselves, and are producing off-beat, interesting work. Is this where the future lies? Not so bad, because then every would-be writer or filmmaker would have a chance to prove, or disprove, his worth.

Colin Urquhart pastore e leader internazionale, fondatore dell'opera kingdom Faith a Horsham UK,è autore di libri cristiani best-sellers tradotti in diverse lingue.

E'oratore molto apprezzato in tutto il mondo. Sarà ospite d'eccezzione in Castelvetro, Modena.

Abbiamo il piacere di invitarti ad ascoltarlo il 21 Settembre alle ore 16.00  presso la Polisportiva Castelvetrese Comunale in Via Costituzione 23.

Anyway, Michelle's second novel "Dream Saver" published by Mercury Publishing House has made it to Barnes and Nobles' daily Top 10 Fantasy Fiction list.  Michelle has a third book on it's way, "Galaxy Watch" due this winter.

She sounds like a really nice kid.  I also stumbled upon an older article from 2007 that delves a little more into her own story.  Hard-working, smart as a whip, young, and if that print run is correct, why she's an agent's dream come true. 

I wish her the best, and I'll be looking for Galaxy Watch.

Source : The New York Times

The Audacity of Hope

From Publishers Weekly
Ilinois's Democratic senator illuminates the constraints of mainstream politics all too well in this sonorous manifesto. Obama (Dreams from My Father) castigates divisive partisanship (especially the Republican brand) and calls for a centrist politics based on broad American values. His own cautious liberalism is a model: he's skeptical of big government and of Republican tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization; he's prochoice, but respectful of prolifers; supportive of religion, but not of imposing it. The policy result is a tepid Clintonism, featuring tax credits for the poor, a host of small-bore programs to address everything from worker retraining to teen pregnancy, and a health-care program that resembles Clinton's Hillary-care proposals. On Iraq, he floats a phased but open-ended troop withdrawal. His triangulated positions can seem conflicted: he supports free trade, while deploring its effects on American workers (he opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement), in the end hoping halfheartedly that more support for education, science and renewable energy will see the economy through the dilemmas of globalization. Obama writes insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the media and legislative horse-trading. Alas, his muddled, uninspiring proposals bear the stamp of those compromises. (Oct. 17)

I was so excited Monday about getting to the store to buy this new book.  A friend had told me about it at church Sunday.  After reading the first chapter online, I was hooked and had to have it.  I just finished it today.  I can't believe I read a whole book in 2 days but it was way to good to put down.

This book has changed my life!  I will never think the same way again.  Example:  I always thought things should be prioritized (God, Family, work, etc.).  Well, now instead of God being first he should be in the middle of everything.  I mean nothing exist without Him, right?  He should be in all of my relationships not just the one with Him but with my husband, children, and friends.  And then, there is my favorite quote from the book "I'm especailly fond of you"  that was spoken by God.  To know that no matter what I do in life "Papa" is fond of me and I can never go too far from His love. 

I can't even come up with the words to express my thoughts on such a great novel!  I want everyone to get a copy and devour it like I have.  It has consumed me for the last 2 days. 

So, whatever you are doing right now, stop and go get a copy of "The Shack".  You could borrow mine but I think Allen is anxiously awaiting his turn.  Walmart (remember the deodorant story) has a bunch of them.  They are $10 and some change.  A minimum amount of money for something that you will NEVER forget. 

Please share your thoughts after the read.

Annie Proulx’s fiction is an acquired taste that I have not acquired despite several painful attempts at force-feeding that nearly turned me into a literary bulimic. But I enjoyed Philip Hensher’s review of her new Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3 (Scribner, 240 pp., $25) in the Spectator, which included this passage:

“This new collection is pretty clearly divided into stories which don’t work at all and ones which seem to create something marvellously new in most unorthodox ways. When she ventures out of her familiar territory, the results can be fairly awful. I admit to being allergic to all narratives of prehistoric life, and this one is straight out of some terrible creative writing class.

“‘Night after night the thready monotone of [the shaman’s] prayers and invocations had formed the solemn background of the band’s dreaming’

“There are two stories set in hell with the Devil as the hero, apparent attempts at humorous topical satire which I beg Annie Proulx on bended knee not to repeat. And I was quite enjoying one story of frontier life until I realized that it was all about a serial-killer tree. These ventures into magical realism traduce the possibilities of Proulx’s oddness by settling into the conventionally odd — trees which kill, the Devil’s view of life on earth and grunting romances about stone-age communities were all totally old-hat for mildly ambitious pulp writers like Isaac Asimov 40 years ago.”

Read Hensher’s full review at www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/books/1736251/the-peculiarities-of-a-realist.thtml.

Read the Man Booker Prize announcement about Hensher and The Northern Clemency at www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/books/366 and a lively discussion of the novel on the Asylum blog at theasylum.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/philip-hensher-the-northern-clemency/.

© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.
www.janiceharayda.com

Title       : Lolita

Author   : Vladimir Nabokov

Above is the cover of the first edition published by Olympia Press Paris in 1955. It's been years i've been wanting to read this masterpiece, for it's been titled as one of the three most influenting novel in 20th century and TIME 100 Best English-languange Novels from 1923-2005.

So last week was the time, and i must say, there's a part of me changed after reading this book, the same feeling i had when i read "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss.

The center of the story is Prof. Humbert whose obsessed to a 12 years old girl, Dolores Haze. His obsession with young girls is a result of his lost of his childhood sweetheart, Annabel Leigh whose died from Typhus. Annabel Leigh, i believe, is named after "Annabel Lee" a famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe which is happens to be one of my fav poem. that's why i instantly recognized the similarity. Part of their young love seems to borrowed from the poem.

Humbert rent a room in Dolores house (later refer as, Lolita) to get close to his muse and later marry her mother to fulfil his wild fantasy to the teenager.

after Charlotte Haze died in an accident, Humbert takes Lolita moves from state to state and bribes her for his sexual needs. Lolita, alone and frightened has no choice but to accept HUmbert into her life on his terms.

We read the story from Humbert point of view, as if it is his personal journal. altho what happen in it is an obsession of a pedophile, you won't find explicit description about the sexual activities.

HUmbert, who is supposedly disgusting sumhow i found his character as sad, loner, and in eternal pain which makes me love him for some reason. as always, i love a villain with a lot of side that writer share with reader. It makes bad person a human, and we found ourself in some of their minors. well, not the pedophile of course.....

Where can i find the Movie? please, really want to see it. desperately.... The novel was filmed twice, on 1962 and on 1997. Based on my browsing, the 1962 version is more to it. it Granted Sue Lyon Golden Globe Award (as Lolita)  as the Most Promising New Comer and Vladimir Nabokov nominated for Oscar on best screenplay adaptation.

The reports are in. Below, in alphabetical order, are our top 10 bestselling self-published books for the month of August, 2008. Congratulations! All that marketing effort is paying off!

	The Bills are Due by Rob Thompson
	The Complete Guide to Day Trading by Markus Heitkoetter
	EverWing by MJ Grothoff
	The Exclusive Layguide by Michael Antonio
	How to be a Super Hot Woman by Mandy Simons and Emily J. Terry
	Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design by Stanley Marianski, Adam Marianski, and Robert Marianski
	Not Manifesting? This Book is for You! by Kathleen Mackenzie
	Sell Your Book on Amazon by Brent Sampson
	Uncommon Emotions by Lynn Galli
	Voices for Change Edited by: Donna Stringer, Barbara Grant, Karen DeNinno & Shanah Walters

Are you a published author and not yet on this list? Do you want to be? Visit your author toolkit and marketing options pages inside your author's center to see how we can help you.

Not yet a published author? Start publishing today.

This guide for reading groups and others was not authorized or approved by the author, publisher or agent for the book. It is copyrighted by Janice Harayda and is only for your personal use. Its sale or reproduction is illegal except by public libraries, which may make copies for use in their in-house reading programs. Other reading groups that wish to use this guide should link to it or check the “Contact” page on One-Minute Book Reviews to learn how to request permission to reproduce it.

Edgar Sawtelle has spent his childhood on a mid-20th-century Wisconsin farm that raises its own breed of dogs, known as “Sawtelle dogs,” for private buyers. Born mute, Edgar communicates with his parents and others through sign language while raising his first litter of pups. But an air of menace seeps into his peaceful life when, in the summer of his 14th year, his father dies after a paternal uncle named Claude moves in with the family. Edgar vows to learn the truth about his father’s death and, when his effort ends in another disaster, flees with three of his dogs, hiding out in the Chequamegon National Forest. The plot of this first novel by David Wroblewski has similarities to that of Hamlet, where corpses litter the stage at the end of the play. So the question is not just whether Edgar will learn how his father died but how many people -- or dogs -- will die by the last page.

A Note for Book Clubs:
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle has 562 pages in its hardcover edition -- twice as many as an average novel, which has about 250 pages -- and Stephen King has said that he “spent 12 happy evenings” with the book. So it’s probably safe to say that some book-group members won’t finish it. If you’re reading the novel for a group, you might want to deal with this issue up front -- for example, by agreeing to read the book over a summer. If you lead a club, you might also want to let members know how much of the book they would need to read to get a sense of the whole. Would the prologue do it? If not, how much would members need to read?

A Key to the Hamlet Characters in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle:
Some of the humans and dogs in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle are surrogates for characters in Hamlet. The human stand-ins include: Edgar Sawtelle (Hamlet, Prince of Denmark), Trudy Sawtelle (Gertrude, Queen of Denmark and Hamlet’s mother), Claude Sawtelle (Claudius, King of Denmark and Hamlet’s paternal uncle), Gar Sawtelle (the late King Hamlet of Denmark and Hamlet’s father), Doc Papineau (Polonius, Lord Chamberlain), and Glen Papineau, son of Doc (Laertes, son of Polonius). The canine stand-ins include Almondine (Ophelia, daughter of Polonius), Tinder and Baboo (courtiers Rosenkrantz, sometimes spelled Rosencrantz) and Essay (Horatio). This is a starter list. If you see other parallels, why not mention them in the comments section on this post so that book clubs can benefit from your observations?

Questions for Discussion:

1. Early readers of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle characterized the novel in different ways. Publishers Weekly called it “a literary thriller.” [Feb. 18, 2008] Kirkus Reviews said it was “an Odyssean journey.” [April 15, 2008] Novelist Mark Doty described it as a hybrid: “both ghost story and melodrama” and “a coming-of-age tale.” [Dust jacket] How would you characterize the novel?

2. The plot of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle has obvious similarities to that of Hamlet, which critics often describe as "a revenge tragedy." Would that label fit this book? Is the novel about revenge? If not, what is the novel “about”?

3. David Wroblewski told Publishers Weekly: “It was not my intention to do a literal retelling [of Hamlet]. It was more interesting to allow the stories to coincide where they could. Ghosts and haunting and poison are motifs of the Elizabethan stage.” [PW Daily @ pw.com, April 14, 2008] How well does his “nonliteral” approach work?

4. For someone who didn’t intend to do a "literal retelling” of Hamlet, Wroblewski lays on the parallels pretty thickly. Apart from similarities between characters, many scenes resemble those in Shakespeare’s play. Near the end of the chapter entitled “The Texan," Edgar stages a demonstration of his dogs’ talents that corresponds to the play-within-a-play that Hamlet believes will prove his uncle killed his father. [The chapter begins on page 311.] If you’re familiar with Hamlet, what other scenes resemble those in the play?

5. Reviewers often overpraise novels that allude to great works of fiction, because the allusions can give a gloss of sophistication pop fiction or worse. If you’ve read the reviews for this novel, do you think that might have happened here? Did the book deserve so much praise? Or were critics perhaps too influenced by the Hamlet parallels or other factors?

6. A major challenge of writing a 562-page novel is keeping up a strong pace. Does Wroblewski do this? Did you find the pace lagging in any places? Where?

7. Wroblewski takes a risk by telling part of his story from the point of view of dogs and part from that of humans. Does the risk pay off? Would the novel have been stronger if he had stuck to the point of view of one species? [Sections told from a canine point of view include the chapters called “Almondine” that begin on page 30 and page 460.]

8. The author takes another risk by introducing paranormal elements, such as Edgar’s conversation with his dead father. [Beginning on page 235 with, “He saw a man …”] Apart from reinforcing the parallels to Hamlet, what – if anything – do these scenes add to the novel? Would the book have been stronger or weaker without them?

9. Stephen King said of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, “Dog-lovers in particular will find themselves riveted by this story, because the canine world has never been explored with such imagination and emotional resonance.” [Blurb.] If you love dogs, do you agree or disagree? If you disagree, what books about dogs are better? You might consider fiction such as Jack London’s White Fang and nonfiction such as John Grogan’s Marley and Me.

10. It’s been said that all dog-lovers fall into one of two groups: those who think dogs are wonderful animals and those who think they are furry, four-footed people. Did you sense that Wroblewski falls into either camp?

Vital statistics:
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel. By David Wroblewski. Ecco, 562 pp., $25.95. Published: June 2008 www.edgarsawtelle.com

A review of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle appeared on One-Minute Book Reviews on August 28, 2008 www.oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2008/08/28. It is saved both with the August posts and in the “Novels” category on the site. The review takes the form of a parody of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy.

Janice Harayda www.janiceharayda.com is a novelist and award-winning critic who has been the book columnist for Glamour, book editor of the Plain Dealer and a vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle www.bookcritics.org.

Totally Unauthorized Reading Group Guides are a free alternative to publishers’ guides, which are not unbiased analyses but marketing tools designed to sell books. One-Minute Book Reviews does not accept free books from editors, publishers or authors, and all reviews and guides offer an independent evaluation of books. Totally Unauthorized Reading Group Guides appear frequently but not on a regular schedule. To avoid missing them, please bookmark this site or subscribe to the RSS feed.

© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.

: