Paula Berman

(REAL NAME)
 
Helpful votes received on reviews: 80% (8 of 10)
Location: Phoenix, AZ
In My Own Words:
Reader. Rower, pilot, engineer, knitter, woman, American. But definitely Reader.
 

Reviews

Top Reviewer Ranking: 134,893 - Total Helpful Votes: 8 of 10
Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust
Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
I note that most of the reviewers who gave this low ratings begin with "Epistolary novels are boring" or "I don't like Victorian settings". So look: this is a story told through letters and journal entries and it is set in the mid-1800s. Got that? If you can't stand either of those, this may not be the book for you. It also delves into philosophy (hence the title) and the politics of the time, and by the way it contains the best love letter *ever* and the best romance story since Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night. There are a few loose ends that could have been better tied up, and I really wish Bull and Brust had done a better job with the alternate universe subplot; as… Read more
Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman: Volume 5: &hellip by Manly Wellman
This 5th volume of the series has the same contents as the paperback version of John the Balladeer, even including the introduction, so unlike the first four volumes it won't be new material to most of Wellman's fans. It is nice to see John's stories in a binding befitting their quality, though. (One tiny niggle: I sort of wish they'd used silver instead of gilt on the cover of this one.) The series in general is well done, nicely bound, and brings together a lot of material that is both worth reading and otherwise difficult to find.
Living With Books by Alan Powers
Living With Books by Alan Powers
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, Jan 26 2004
I had high hopes because I love reading about books, but this one was disappointing. I originally gave it three stars for the photos, which are worth looking at, but the text it pretty awful -- a serious drawback in a book aimed at compulsive book collectors. I took off one whole star specifically for a line that says something like, "It doesn't matter if books access is difficult, as long as it isn't completely impossible." Doesn't matter to whom? It does to this reader. I reread. I browse nostalgic favorites. I like to handle my books, and I need to be able to get to them. Also, a substantial number of the storage systems shown appear to be concerned more sith style thyan with… Read more