Novel

Who can resist the allure of a romantic Brazillian escape? Taste the smooth, exotic character of this unique coffee. Ai, que bom!

Misc.:  Romance Blends 2oz ground "Latin Lust" (Café Brasileiro) medium roast coffee, 11oz ceramic mug. Microwave and dishwasher safe., Featuring full-color reproductions of classic romance novel cover art, Perfect gift for you and all of your coffee lovers, Warms you up in ways other coffees can't!
Company: RomantiQuest 
List Price: $12.00
Amazon Price: 
(more...)

'ENGLISH TEACHERS Are Novel Lovers' Bumper Sticker. Width: 10 inches, Height: 3 inches. Stickers are printed on high quality Starliner Premier Polypro water proof paper and adhere with adhesive to your car, truck, van, motorhome, motorcycle, notebook, cubicle, or office.

: 
Company: BumperArt.com 
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $2.95
(more...)

Get your party started with these hilarious "Pick your Nose" paper cups. Brand New in box Set of 24, 12 oz paper cups Equal number of men's and women's nose designs per pack Take a sip and get an instant nose job (and a lot of laughs) Take your pick of the "Yenta", "Leading Man", "Doofus" and many more Hours of party fun

Kitchen:  12 different nose designs
Company: Fred 
List Price: $12.00
Amazon Price: $6.95
(more...)

This fishing with "Attitude" T-shirt will surely get a smile or a chuckle for the person wearing it. Inspired by stereotypes, pop culture and fishing related themes, this apparel line takes a humorous slant at the world of fishing.

Apparel:  100% Preshrunk Cotton Short Sleeve Tee - Heavy Weight (6.1oz) - Cactus, Left Chest Print - One Color, High Quality Multicolor Print - Full Back, A fishing enthusiast's "Must Have"
Company:  
List Price: 
Amazon Price: 
(more...)

Movie Description Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, 300 takes over the screen like an invading horde. With all the gushing blood of a horror movie and the scope of a classic epic, the second film from Zack Snyder (who helmed the 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD) is an impressive visual spectacle. Gerard Butler (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) plays Leonidas, the king of ancient Sparta. The city is famous for its warrior philosophy, and Leonidas won?t kneel to the demands of Persia's King Xerxes (LOST's Rodrigo Santoro). Instead, Leonidas leads his 300-strong army against Xerxes's army of millions. Meanwhile, his wife (Lena Headley, THE BROTHERS GRIMM) campaigns in Sparta for the city to send reinforcements as she butts heads with the treacherous Theron (Dominic West, THE WIRE). With its gore and scale, 300 marks director Snyder as a possible successor to Peter Jackson's throne. Jackson also got his start in horror with BAD TASTE and DEAD ALIVE, and the two men share a penchant for ambitious battle scenes. The huge fights in 300 rival Jackson's efforts in the LORD OF THE RINGS films. David Wenham, who starred in two of the Tolkien-based films, plays Dilios, one of the Spartan soldiers. Though the cast doesn't boast any A-list stars, the actors ably fill their larger-than-life roles. In a film filled with men, Headley stands out as Queen Gorgo. She matches her warrior husband in strength, while showing love toward Leonidas and their son. Though there are scenes that demonstrate the humanity of the characters, 300 is undeniably about bravery and blood, and it succeeds because of the stylish depictions of both. Credits Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Vincent Regan Director: Zack Snyder Producer: Bernie Goldmann, Gianni Nunnari, Jeffrey Silver, Mark Canton

:  2 Disc Special Edition With Extra Bonus Footage Including Never Before Seen Scenes!, Extra Disc includes: 300 Spartans - Fact or Fiction? The Shocking Life of a Spartan Revealed, Also Includes: Who Were The Spartans? How the actors built their characters based on spartan custom, Includes Special Commentary by Director Zack Snyder & More
Company: Warner Bros. Video 
List Price: $22.99
Amazon Price: $15.00
Used Price: $9.99
(more...)

A quick spritz sends senses soaring with the signature Dirty Girl scent.

Health and Beauty: 
Company: Blue Q 
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $8.99
(more...)

The light, thin straps and slim profile of these sandals create a classically soft, sweet look for summer picnics, seaside engagements, and other summertime pleasures. But don't worry -- you'll stay modern with the peep-toe and daring cut-out vents.

Unknown Binding: 
Company: Carlos by Carlos Santana 
List Price: $68.95
Amazon Price: 
(more...)

As told to a psychiatrist: Mr. Peabody, middle-aged Bostonian on vacation with his wife in the Caribbean, hears mysterious, wordless singing on an uninhabited rock in the bay. Fishing in the vicinity, he catches...a mermaid. He takes her home and, though she has no spoken language, falls in love with her. Of course, his wife won't believe that thing in the bathtub is anything but a large fish. Predictable complications follow in rather tame fashion. [Mastered from the original film negative]

Director:  Irving Pichel
VHS Tape:  NTSC, Black & WhiteMastered from the original film negative, Based on the novel by Guy & Constance Jones
Company: Republic Pictures Home Video  (1987)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $69.22
Used Price: $14.99
(more...)

19H. SHADE: 19" H x 8.5" W BULB: CNDL Max wattage: 60

:  19" H, US: New York / Some Import
Company: Meyda Tiffany 
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $90.00
(more...)

Includes two volumes of the manga series.

Author: Shiro Amano
Paperback:  448 pages
Company: TokyoPop  (2007-10-09) (2007-10-09)
ISBN: 1427806292
List Price: $14.27
Amazon Price: $11.42
Used Price: $96.59
(more...)

Architects Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto have been generating some of the most provocative thinking in the field for nearly twenty years. With Atlas of Novel Tectonics, Reiser+Umemoto hone in on the many facets of architecture and illuminate their theories with great thought and simplicity. The Atlas is organized as an accumulation of short chapters that address the workings of matter and force, material science, the lessons of art and architectural history, and the influence of architecture on culture (and vice versa). Reiser+Umemoto see architectural design as a series of problem situations, and each chapter is an argument devoted to a specific condition or case.

Influenced by a wide range of fields and phenomena Brillat-Savarin's classic The Physiology of Taste is one of their primary models the authors provide a cross-section of thinking and inspiration. The result is both an elucidation of the concepts that guide Reiser+Umemoto through their own design process and a series of meditations on topics that have formed their own sense as architects. Atlas of Novel Tectonics offers an entirely fresh perspective on subjects that are generally taken for granted, and does so with a welcome punch and energy.

Author: Jesse Reiser
Paperback:  288 pages
Company: Princeton Architectural Press  (2006-02-01)
ISBN: 1568985541
List Price: $29.95
Amazon Price: $15.37
Used Price: $18.00
(more...)

Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen.

Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along.

Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.

Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.

Sold in sixteen countries around the world, The White Tiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.

Author: Aravind Adiga
Paperback:  304 pages
Company: Free Press  (2008-10-14)
ISBN: 1416562605
List Price: $14.00
Amazon Price: $7.22
Used Price: $7.22
(more...)

This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial bestseller, WATCHMEN has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as V FOR VENDETTA, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and THE SANDMAN series.

Author: Alan Moore
Paperback:  416 pages
Company: DC Comics  (1995-04-01) (1995-04-01)
ISBN: 0930289234
List Price: $19.99
Amazon Price: $9.95
Used Price: $10.19
(more...)

A breakout novel is one that rises out of its category - such as romance, mystery or thriller - and hits the bestseller lists. All aspiring novelists dream of achieving this success as do many published novelists who remain stuck in what author Donald Maass calls "midlist hell." In Writing the Breakout Novel, Maass explains the elements that all breakout novels share and shows readers how to use these elements to write a novel that has a good chance of succeeding within the crowded marketplace. From creating a high-stakes premise to building larger-than-life characters to sustaining a high degree of conflict and tension, Maass covers all the key ingredients of this type of novel. Using several of his clients, including best-selling novelist Anne Perry, as case studies, Maass provides real-life, insider examples to show how this type of novel can generate agent and publisher interest, creating or enhancing a novelist's career.

Author: Donald Maass
Paperback:  256 pages
Company: Writers Digest Books  (2002-08-15)
ISBN: 158297182X
List Price: $16.99
Amazon Price: $9.99
Used Price: $8.75
(more...)

Tools for creating the next great graphic novel!

What do the movies Men In Black, Road to Perdition, Ghost World, and X-Men all have in common? Each started out as a graphic novel-one of the fastest growing segments of the book publishing industry. Now, here is the first book to provide a comprehensive and detailed look at the process involved in creating a successful graphic novel.

Author: Nat Gertler, Steve Lieber
Paperback:  352 pages
Company: Alpha  (2004-07-06) (2004-07-06)
ISBN: 1592572332
List Price: $18.95
Amazon Price: $10.30
Used Price: $9.07
(more...)

I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current.

So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives.

In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright.

Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion.

Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story.

Advance praise for Loving Frank:

“Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.”
–Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light

“This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.”
——Scott Turow

“It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.”
——Jane Hamilton

“I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ll ever leave.”
–Elizabeth Berg


From the Hardcover edition.

Author: Nancy Horan
Paperback:  400 pages
Company: Ballantine Books  (2008-04-08) (2008-04-08)
ISBN: 0345495004
List Price: $14.00
Amazon Price: $8.09
Used Price: $6.99
(more...)

For 28 years, Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market has been the only resource of its kind exclusively for fiction writers. Covering all genres from romance to mystery to horror and more, this resource helps writers prepare their submissions and sell their work. This must-have guide includes listings for over 1,300 book publishers, magazines, literary agents, writing contests and conferences, each containing current contact information, editorial needs, schedules and guidelines that save writers time and take the guesswork out of the submission process.

With more than 100 pages of listings for literary journals alone and another 100 pages of book publishers, plus special sections dedicated to the genres of romance, mystery/thriller, speculative fiction, and comics/graphic novels, the 2009 edition for this essential resource is every writer's key to successfully selling their fiction.

Author: Editors of Writers Digest Books
Paperback:  656 pages
Company: Writers Digest Books  (2008-07-29)
ISBN: 1582975434
List Price: $27.99
Amazon Price: $15.94
Used Price: $19.41
(more...)

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King's Roland -- an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland's past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times Best-seller Peter David, this series delves deep into Roland's origins -- the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world, while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels. Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature!

Author: Peter David, Stephen King, Robin Furth
Hardcover Comic:  240 pages
Company: Marvel Comics  (2007-11-21) (2007-11-07)
ISBN: 0785121447
List Price: $24.99
Amazon Price: $10.63
Used Price: $7.87
(more...)

Author: James N. Frey
Hardcover:  192 pages
Company: St. Martin's Press  (1987-12-15)
ISBN: 0312010443
List Price: $19.95
Amazon Price: $9.48
Used Price: $9.84
(more...)

"What do you think of my fiction book writing?" the aspiring novelist extorted.

"Darn," the editor hectored, in turn. "I can not publish your novel! It is full of what we in the business call 'really awful writing.'"

"But how shall I absolve this dilemma? I have already read every tome available on how to write well and get published!" The writer tossed his head about, wildly.

"It might help," opined the blonde editor, helpfully, "to ponder how NOT to write a novel, so you might avoid the very thing!"

Many writing books offer sound advice on how to write well. This is not one of those books. On the contrary, this is a collection of terrible, awkward, and laughably unreadable excerpts that will teach you what to avoid—at all costs—if you ever want your novel published.

In How Not to Write a Novel, authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman distill their 30 years combined experience in teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice from the other side of the query letter. Rather than telling you how or what to write, they identify the 200 most common mistakes unconsciously made by writers and teach you to recognize, avoid, and amend them. With hilarious "mis-examples" to demonstrate each manuscript-mangling error, they'll help you troubleshoot your beginnings and endings, bad guys, love interests, style, jokes, perspective, voice, and more. As funny as it is useful, this essential how-NOT-to guide will help you get your manuscript out of the slush pile and into the bookstore.

Author: Howard Mittelmark, Sandra Newman
Paperback:  272 pages
Company: Collins  (2008-04-01) (2008-04-01)
ISBN: 0061357952
List Price: $15.95
Amazon Price: $8.10
Used Price: $6.71
(more...)

Atists:  Novel Voz
Audio CD:  Import
Company: Egrem  (2004-10-25)
List Price: $28.49
Amazon Price: $6.98
Used Price: $20.06
(more...)

2008 debut album from the Swedish Pop sensation. Lykke is a name on every one’s lips right now, having released an EP that featured the radio hit 'Just A Little Bit'. Now signed to the Swedish indie giants Dolores (I’m from Barcelona, Pacific, Caesars, Loney, Dear, etc.), she is about to take the world by storm with Youth Novel, produced by Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John) in New York.

Atists:  Lykke Li
Audio CD:  Import
Company: EMI Sweden  (2008-03-11)
List Price: $28.99
Amazon Price: $13.31
Used Price: $13.62
(more...)

It is unusual to make a soundtrack for a series of books, but music--particularly music for guitar and mandolin--is everywhere in the novels of Louis de Bernières. On this CD, guitarist Craig Ogden and mandolinist Alison Stephens play music that the characters in the books either play or discuss. The pieces that relate to Corelli's Mandolin include a version of Vivaldi's Concerto in C, arranged for guitar and mandolin, and an excerpt from Hummel's Concerto for Mandolin in G Major. The most interesting pieces are by Calace, Persichini, and Palumbo, three composers who wrote for the mandolin in the late 19th century. Classical mandolin was extremely popular during that period, until it was eclipsed by the guitar in the 1920s. Composers such as these wrote beautiful music that was forgotten when the public's taste in instruments changed. The South American trilogy is represented by solo guitar pieces by composers like Villa-Lobos, Barrios, Llobet, and Lauro. The only mandolin-guitar duet in this section is the charming arrangement of a folk tune called "Mis Dolencias." Ogden and Stephens are both fine musicians and they do an excellent job in playing this delightful music. --Michael Simmons

Audio CD: 
Company: Chandos  (1999-11-30)
List Price: $18.98
Amazon Price: $11.44
Used Price: $10.30
(more...)

Sweden's Lykke Li presents one of the most perfect pop albums you'll hear all year. Just as her music sometimes seems to have arrived from another planet, she's not quite like anyone you've met before.

Atists:  Lykke Li
Audio CD: 
Company: ATLANTIC / ADA  (2008-08-19)
List Price: $13.98
Amazon Price: $8.99
Used Price: $10.60
(more...)

2008 debut album from the Swedish Pop sensation. Lykke is a name on every one’s lips right now, having released an EP that featured the radio hit 'Just A Little Bit'. Now signed to the Swedish indie giants Dolores (I’m from Barcelona, Pacific, Caesars, Loney, Dear, etc.), she is about to take the world by storm with Youth Novel, produced by Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John) in New York.

Atists:  Lykke Li
Audio CD:  Import
Company: Phantom Sound & Vision  (2008-06-17)
List Price: $28.99
Amazon Price: $10.99
(more...)

Atists:  Novel
Audio CD: 
Company: Fonovisa Inc.  (2007-03-13)
List Price: $11.98
Amazon Price: $11.98
Used Price: $3.99
(more...)

Atists:  Pete Townshend
Audio Cassette: 
Company: Atlantic / Wea  (1990-10-17)
List Price: $5.98
Amazon Price: $3.97
Used Price: $0.01
(more...)

Limited edition digipak edition. 2008 debut album from the Swedish Pop sensation. Lykke is a name on every one’s lips right now, having released an EP that featured the radio hit 'Just A Little Bit'. Now signed to the Swedish indie giants Dolores (I’m from Barcelona, Pacific, Caesars, Loney, Dear, etc.), she is about to take the world by storm with Youth Novel, produced by Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John) in New York.

Atists:  Lykke Li
Audio CD:  Import
Company: WEA Int'l  (2008-06-24)
List Price: $31.98
Amazon Price: $12.28
Used Price: $15.77
(more...)

Atists:  My Latest Novel
Audio CD: 
Company: The Worker's Institute  (2006-10-31)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $3.91
Used Price: $3.00
(more...)

Atists:  Pete Townshend
Audio CD: 
Company: Atlantic / Wea  (1990-10-25)
List Price: $11.98
Amazon Price: $8.46
Used Price: $0.83
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Showoff / Brick Records  (2008-10-21)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.99
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Bedrock  (2007-06-23)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.89
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Folkways Records  (1963-01-01)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.99
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Fonovisa  (2007-03-13) (2007-03-13)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $9.49
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Pimienta Records  (2007-10-30)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $7.12
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Anders Rofstad  (2008-04-10)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.99
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Craig Cardiff  (2006-11-17)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.89
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Socyermom  (2007-12-17)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.99
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: The Dirty Novels  (2006-12-04)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $5.34
(more...)

MP3 Download: 
Company: Socyermom  (2007-12-17)
List Price: 
Amazon Price: $0.99
(more...)

Audio CD: 
Company: Pearl  (1995-11-14)
List Price: $49.98
Amazon Price: $49.98
Used Price: $75.00
(more...)

Audio CD: 
Company: Bridge  (1995-05-23)
List Price: $16.99
Amazon Price: $7.00
Used Price: $65.27
(more...)

Audio CD: 
Company: New Albion  (1995-03-21)
List Price: $17.98
Amazon Price: $8.34
Used Price: $8.49
(more...)

Audio CD: 
Company: Chandos  (1997-06-17)
List Price: $18.98
Amazon Price: $15.67
Used Price: $11.90
(more...)

There is only one word for this four-CD set: glorious. Released to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Verdi's death, it presents arias from every one of his 28 operas, a comprehensive overview of his work. It is also a tribute to Placido Domingo, one of his foremost present-day interpreters. An extraordinarily versatile artist, Domingo is heard in selections from his signature roles, like Otello, Radames, and Don Carlo, taken from recordings made between the 1960s and the '90s. He's also heard in new recordings of arias from the earliest, unfamiliar operas he has not performed on stage, and alternate arias Verdi wrote for different versions of his operas. Thus, he sings I Lombardi in Italian, Jérusalem in French, and Don Carlo and I Vespri Siciliani in Italian and French.

There are also extended scenes with illustrious colleagues, including Leontyne Price, Katia Ricciarelli, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Sergei Leiferkus, whose Iago is an exquisitely insidious villain. He is accompanied by the greatest orchestras and conductors. For the new recordings, his partners are Myung-Whun Chung and Valery Gergiev, whose Mariinsky Theater musicians contribute some beautiful string solos. The matchless beauty of Domingo's voice seems untouched by the years, and he can change and vary it to suit the musical and dramatic requirements. His top notes never lose their clarion ring, yet the final B-flat of "Celeste Aida" tapers off, as Verdi demands. Even more remarkable, he can create real characters. Even without the texts, the mood, emotion, and meaning always come through. In this incomparable treasure trove, all opera lovers will find their own favorites, and many new gems besides, all performed to utter perfection. --Edith Eisler

Atists:  Giuseppe Verdi
Audio CD:  Box set
Company: Deutsche Grammophon  (2001-10-09)
List Price: $67.98
Amazon Price: $52.36
Used Price: $24.90
(more...)

Audio CD: 
Company: Elektra / Wea  (1992-05-07)
List Price: $16.98
Amazon Price: 
Used Price: $7.35
(more...)

Audio CD: 
Company: Asv Living Era  (2003-03-25)
List Price: $17.98
Amazon Price: 
Used Price: $49.99
(more...)

It is unusual to make a soundtrack for a series of books, but music--particularly music for guitar and mandolin--is everywhere in the novels of Louis de Bernières. On this CD, guitarist Craig Ogden and mandolinist Alison Stephens play music that the characters in the books either play or discuss. The pieces that relate to Corelli's Mandolin include a version of Vivaldi's Concerto in C, arranged for guitar and mandolin, and an excerpt from Hummel's Concerto for Mandolin in G Major. The most interesting pieces are by Calace, Persichini, and Palumbo, three composers who wrote for the mandolin in the late 19th century. Classical mandolin was extremely popular during that period, until it was eclipsed by the guitar in the 1920s. Composers such as these wrote beautiful music that was forgotten when the public's taste in instruments changed. The South American trilogy is represented by solo guitar pieces by composers like Villa-Lobos, Barrios, Llobet, and Lauro. The only mandolin-guitar duet in this section is the charming arrangement of a folk tune called "Mis Dolencias." Ogden and Stephens are both fine musicians and they do an excellent job in playing this delightful music. --Michael Simmons

Audio CD: 
Company: Chandos  (1999-11-30)
List Price: $18.98
Amazon Price: $11.44
Used Price: $10.30
(more...)

From his 1975 mega-variation set, The People United Will Never Be Defeated, to his eight-hour "novel for piano," The Road, Frederic Rzewski breathed new life, passion, and vitality into the long dormant composer-pianist tradition. Political and social issues provide a subtext from which Rzewski's musical imagination explodes with purposeful virtuosity, stylistic freedom, and high drama. He can conjure slow droplets of notes on a dark, still background ("A Life"), only to cram and compress a multitude of disparate popular themes within a larger, traditional framework (Sonata for Piano), or integrate music and spoken words to a level where they cannot exist without the other ("De Profundis"). Rzewski the composer provides Rzewski the pianist plenty of opportunity to display his ingenious improvisatory mettle: his cadenzas for "Mein Yingele, Which Side Are You On" particularly dazzle. There are, to be sure, other ways to play this music, such as Marc-André Hamelin's suavely proficient People United and Paul Jacobs's authoritative premiere recording of the North American Ballads. But the elemental force and personality defining Rzewski's pianism leave as indelible an imprint as his music. No lover of contemporary piano music should miss this important, superbly annotated release. --Jed Distler

Atists:  Frederic Rzewski
Audio CD:  Box set
Company: Nonesuch  (2002-09-24)
List Price: $50.98
Amazon Price: $35.99
Used Price: $48.34
(more...)

Atists:  Rosemary Hardy, Hermann Kretzschmar, Martha Fabian, Thomas Fichter, Mathias Tacke, Christine Whittlesey, Ensemble Modern
Audio CD: 
Company: Sony  (1993-09-21)
List Price: $16.98
Amazon Price: $49.90
Used Price: $15.25
(more...)