Book Review Newsletter
GetBookReviews.com July 11, 2005
Susan Sarandon: A True Maverick (Paperback)
by Betty Jo TuckerPaperback: 168 pages
Publisher: Hats Off Books (April 30, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 1587363003
Book Description
Susan Sarandon's extraordinary movie career is analyzed by film critic Betty Jo Tucker in SUSAN SARANDON: A TRUE MAVERICK. Why did the passionate and outspoken Sarandon choose acting as a career? How does she select her roles? What is her acting philosophy? What motivates her to promote social and political causes and why do some people object to this? How do critics rate her work and her movies? Answers to these questions and more are presented in this book along with a complete annotated filmography of Sarandon's films and selected reviews of her key movies by a variety of film critics.
Tucker admits to envying actors because they get paid for doing what most of us would love to do -- pretend to be someone else. She claims the best ones do it so well it helps the rest of us understand who we really are. And they make acting look so easy -- or, as Henry Fonda explained, they "don't let the wheels show."
Susan Sarandon would probably agree. Most of her performances exemplify this philosophy. That's one of the reasons Tucker selected her as the subject for this book. But it's not the only one. Mentioning Sarandon's name in almost any conversation will perk things up considerably. Controversial she may be at times, but during her 30 years in the movies, Sarandon has portrayed some of the most memorable female characters of the silver screen. So far, she has earned five Oscar nominations and won the coveted statuette for her brilliant work as Sister Prejean in DEAD MAN WALKING.
GetBookReviews.com Film Critic, Betty Jo Tucker, has done a fabulous job outlining Susan Sarandon's career and life behind the scenes. In this uniquely different biography of sorts, we hear from colleagues, friends, family and other movie critics about Sarandon and her works. Tucker has done her research and includes Susan Sarandon's filmography from 1970 to 2003, websites of interest, famed movie reviews, and even a bibliography of information on Sarandon. Tucker's work is interactive as well as it provides a quiz at the beginning to test your knowledge before you delve into this expertly written bio. *****
Chapters Include: Why Susan?, Recognizing a Maverick, Balancing Act: Family and Career, Roles of Distinction, Her Colleagues Speak Out, Ah, Men!, The Myelin Project, Her Critics Speak Out, and A Woman of Substance.
Tucker is donating her author royalties from this book The Myelin Project, a multi-national organization formed to support research on diseases like the one depicted in the inspiring film Lorenzo's Oil featuring Susan Sarandon.
Betty Jo Tucker is a retired college administrator now forging a second career as an entertainment journalist. She loves movies and interviewing celebrities. Her film reviews appear on ReelTalkReviews.com as well as on an NBC-affiliate Website and in the Colorado Senior Beacon.
She has published two books as Betty Jo Tucker: "Confessions of a Movie Addict" and "Susan Sarandon: A True Maverick".
Writing as ELIZABETH LAWRENCE, she has published "It Had To Be Us", co-authored by her husband, Harry, and she writes the movie reviews for The Romance Club. **Source: The Romance Club
The Private Lives of Teachers (Paperback)
by Joseph A. WellmanPaperback: 387 pages
Publisher: PublishAmerica (May, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN: 1413756085
BookDescription
A life beyond the classroom is the plot of this debut novel. It’s the story of teachers and their world beyond the classroom.
“The Private Lives of Teachers” by Joseph A. Wellman has just been released by Publish America. Written by a retired high school teacher it’s a story of teachers and their private world, the world most of us never see even though they're in front of us fourteen to eighteen years of our lives. We think we know them but all we know is an image. Set in a suburban high school, the story focuses upon their lives as the reader follows them into their lounge, their relationships, their pasts, and their secrets. “The Private Lives of Teachers” is the story of fourteen Payson High School social studies teachers, an eclectic group with unique and troubling backgrounds, struggling with the basic needs, demands, and issues of life.
GetBookReviews.com Joseph Wellman has written a dramatic fictional account about the private lives of teachers. So often teachers are revered in this country as model citizens, well educated, well rounded individuals. Most of the time this characterization is correct. However, there are those, as in every profession, that break the mold. In this intriguing book, Wellman tells the lives of fourteen social studies teachers from Payson High School. Each teacher is educated, some with bachelors degrees, some with Masters, and even one with a doctorate degree. Journey with these teachers for one full school year. You'll not only follow the action in the classroom, but sit back and be ready for the exciting action outside the classroom. As Wellman depicts their lives, you learn of their backgrounds, their feelings, their desires both sexual and professional. This book is "R" rated for it's language and sexual content, but is definitely worth the time for a great read. You'll be shocked and disgusted at times and left wondering....could this behavior be the majority of our teachers or is this the minority? We may never know because as the title says...the is the "Private" lives of teachers. Well-written and extremely realistic, "The Private Lives of Teachers" is a great summer read, since school is out!!! *****
Mr. Wellman is a retired teacher with thirty five years of experience teaching psychology, sociology and journalism. Prior to teaching he worked in radio and has worked part time as a reporter. He lives in Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago.
A Place In The Sky (Hardcover)
by Maurene SingerIllustrated by: Natalie Marino
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover
Publisher: Carousel Publications, Limited (October 1, 2004) Language: English
ISBN: 0975938207
Book Description
A PLACE IN THE SKY IS A PICTURE STORYBOOK ABOUT a little girl, Sarah, who has a new balloon that she treasures more than anything. She takes her balloon outside and plays in the snow. As children quite often do, she forgets about her balloon, and it flies away on a blustery breeze, high into the winter sky. Sarah watches her balloon fly away and cries. Sarah's mom comforts her with a story about a magical place in the sky where balloons go. She falls asleep, dreaming about her balloon, and the fantasyland beyond the clouds, moon and stars. Sarah discovers a world outside her own with the help of a magical balloon, who guides her on a wonderful adventure and safely home again. Set in present day, A Place in the Sky uses fantasy and flight of imagination to portray the poignancy of losing something you love, and coming to terms with the loss. A Place in the Sky is a beautiful fantasy, combining poetic language and images for children of all ages.
GetBookReviews.com "A Place In The Sky" is a beautifully illustrated and well crafted story about the magical place balloons go when they fly away from the little hands who hold them. The story follows Sarah in her dreams as she journeys to the far away place above the clouds where the balloons go. After sadly losing her purple balloon to the sky, Sarah's mom tells her of the place where balloons go far above the clouds. In her dreams Sarah is able to journey there with her purple balloon to see how beautiful and magical this balloon land really is. A land of color, balloons, candy, rides, and all of the things children enjoy. After waking, Sarah sees a green balloon attached to her bed. Her mother had gone out and bought the special balloon and some orange-vanilla cream. Sarah now knew her mother had once visited this magical balloon land where balloons smell like orange-vanilla ice cream. This journey is magical and beautiful. We all know children who have lost a balloon at least once or twice and now we have a wonderful story to tell.
Reviews from kids in Georgia. "I had to share this book with a few children in the neighborhood and here's what they had to say"
Elijah, age 8. Last week my mom bought balloons for my step-dads birthday. I was upset when I let them go on accident. Now that I read this book, I fell happy because the balloons are playing with other balloons.
Cheyenne, age 7. I really like the book. It was fun and colorful. My mom never told me this story, but now I can tell her where balloons go. She will think I'm really smart.
Author Maurene Singer graduated from the Film Department of New York University. She continued on to receive a Master’s Degree in screenplay writing. She has been writing feature length and short screenplays in a variety of genres for a number of years. She also writes short stories for children and young adults. A Place in the Sky is Maurene's debut children's picture storybook. She lives with her two children and two cats in New Jersey.
Illustrator Natalie Marino graduated from New York University and completed two years of graduate work at the New School for Social Research before receiving her Master of Academic Art from the Accademie of Bedriacense in Calvatone, Italy. She is an award winning fine artist who has illustrated several children's storybooks. She lives and works in her New Jersey studio and is a lifelong friend of the author.
