niryuu/sni-each-converted huggingface dataset:
Really bad book . I don't know who wrote the 5 star reviews of this book, but they're like those actors in bad TV ads claiming that they lost 100 pounds in 8 weeks. Those rave reviews are hard to stomach. This is a really bad book--I agree with the person who said that they would give it zero stars if they could (half the book IS empty blank pages for your journaling). There is not much that's helpful in this book. Much better and thorough are (1)  The Thyroid Solution by Ridha Arem, (2) Living with Autoimmune Disease by Mary J. Shomon, & (3)Thyroid Power by Richard L. Shames and Marilee Halo Shames. These books are better researched and are compassionately and well-written by M.D.'s and/or persons with personal experience with thyroid problems.  Skip this book by Dirgo
Output: NEG
Hippy commune cooking . When I bought this book I thought I was getting a simple living book about how to cook beans. I guess I should have read more about it in amazon, but it reminds me of 1960s hippy commune vegetarian cooking. Not what I had in mind. A lot of soy, tofu, honey and all that. I wish someone would write a book about plain cooking that uses beans and meat
Output: NEG
What we know about constraints on population growth . Obviously, the population of the world has been growing dramatically for the past few centuries.  How high can it go?  At how high a level can it be maintained?   What restrictions are placed by the available resources, such as food and water?      This book asks many of the right questions.  And it admits that we don't have all the answers.  But it does give some clues about where we may be headed.    Cohen shows that basically, if we want to support people indefinitely on 3500 kilocalories per day from wheat energy, with 9000 cubic kilometers of annual fresh water supply, well, we can support only 5 billion people.  We're already beyond that.  Right now, we're using up resources at an incredible rate.  And while the Earth could support 10 billion people in theory, it is hard to see how it could do that for long in practice.    The author thinks that we'll never get to the absolute maximum that the Earth can support.  Most people would all be right on the edge of starvation, and we'd simply be unable and unwilling to stay in that state indefinitely.  But I did realize after reading this book that we could stay at about 5 billion people for a very long time if we put our minds to it.  Standards of living would not be high, but they would be tolerable for the majority, and the ones who found such a life acceptable would keep having children who found it acceptable.    Those of us who have political views ought to wonder if time is on our side or not.  And that is why I think it makes sense to try to imagine what options are available for our mutual future.  That's why I think this book is worth reading
Output: POS
Yes, Stephen King really IS that good . There was a time when Stephen King was one of my favorite authors. Then I started hanging out with a better class of authors, hehe. But now, he is once again one of my favorite authors. As I said before, he's raised his game. ON WRITING and everything after. If it's a re-issue of an oldie, well, it has a new introduction by the guy who wrote ON WRITING, and that alone makes it worth buying again. Truly, I love every word he's published for the past five years. The guy was already (perhaps) the best seller of all time, and he wasn't satisfied. How great is that?     What we have here is a collection of 14 short stories, some just creepy/scary and others literary. It's a wonderful mix of what we've always known he excels at and what we may not have realized he excels at. Several months back, I heard some scary rumors to the effect that he might retire. That is not allowed. Stephen, if you retire, I'm gonna round up Annie Wilkes and we're gonna make you shave Picasso's neck. So there!
Output: POS
Great Book For Interested Physics Students . When reading books about Chemistry or Physics, the level of depth is usually to the electron, proton, neutron, and there is usually some mention of quarks and antimatter and dark matter, but with no explanation of where these ideas are coming from. This book gives a good, nonmathematical description of the Standard Theory (Model) of particle physics, which gives a good account of what particles are known, how forces are treated using particles called Bosons. The books will answer any questions about what is known, but without proofs. I plan to study physics as an undergrad, and probably grad too, and have always been attracted to learning about the fundamental particles. This book was very satisfying for me, and will be for other interested students. Kane provides information about not only the standard theory, but also the facilities where research is done, where the field is going, and what a future student can expect. A quick read and definitely worth the time
Output: POS
Save your money . This book was a total waste of money for me.  The UK English is nearly impossible to decipher at times.  It is very difficult reading.  This mihgt be a good book for experts but is worthless to the beginner.  The author describes repair in detail, but assumes the reader knows all the technical terms being used without explaining them.  The drawings are difficult to decipher.  Photos would have been better.  If you are a beginner looking for a good book to get started in clock repair, this isn't it
Output: NEG
It's not what you think . Wells is a wonderful writer, it is true; however, his bigotry and hatred of certain peoples and of religion is very apparent. His political leanings are also too apparent--it is not an unbiased book and may give some the wrong impression of world events. I am currently reading the book updated just after WWII
Output: NEG
For Classroom use...perfect . I teach an 8th grade Language Arts Class in rural Washington State.  I found our textbook to be bland and typical.  I was looking for some work for my students to actually learn how to write poetry correctly. This book does this
Output: POS
Family Favorite . Mrs. Piggle Wiggle was 'The Nanny'/'Dr.Phil' of her time.  These stories offer parents and children interesting ways to deal with daily chores and struggles that can sometimes seem overwhelming. I enjoyed reading this book as a child and couldn't resist purchasing it for my girls 4 and 2 to enjoy.  We have been working our way through various childrens' novels as part of our bedtime ritual. Books like this are good for holding the attention of children at various levels of reading and reading comprehension. These stories have also served as a springboard for discussion in our family about finding creative new ways to accomplish the many tasks that need to be done to keep the household running.  Some of the material may seem dated, but it's definetely a classic.
Output: POS
Excellent . This book was excellent and easy reading.  My 12 year old granddaughter, her mothe , my father and I read all of Dave Pelzer's series of 3 books.  We also read his brother's story
Output: POS
Thrilling . "The Andromeda Strain" may be an antique in science fiction, having been published in 1969, but that hardly diminishes its excellence.  The caliber of Michael Crichton's research is such that I still found the technology and science in the book impressive (though the computers were obviously dated) despite the book's age.  The plotline is thrilling, and though some of the scientific and philosophic asides are lengthy, most are equally fascinating.  I was slightly disappointed by the ending; however, the rest of the book was amazing and made the reading worth it
Output: POS
IT 645 College Book Review . This book does not go well with the class, I would suggest to any university that is using this book for IT 645 class, to find a different author.
Output: NEG
Great Asset! . This book is a real asset for anyone, experienced or not. Easy tutorials, and many examples of what is possible in Painter IX
Output: POS
2nd in genealogy mystery series.  Fun read! . Bloodline by Fiona Mountain is the second book in the Natasha Blake genealogist mystery series.  After an elderly man hires Natasha to investigate the family background of his granddaughter's fiance, he is mysteriously murdered.  The man's son hires Natasha to find out why.  Mountain does a much better job this time of connecting with the reader.  Natasha's connections to her friends and family deepen and develop as well.  There are loads of subplots, including Natasha's insomnia which occasionally makes her take actions that had me shaking my head in disbelief.  The story takes an unexpected dark turn as Natasha finds out that sometimes finding the answers to questions only creates more questions with answers no one wants to hear.  This was a fun read that made me think a bit too.  I look forward to the next in the series.
Output: POS
&quot;Once I was blind...&quot; . My thanks to Mr. Guare.  Had he not portrayed the rich as fatuous dupes, I might still envy them
Output: NEG
It's how we remember . I, like most of my women friends I've talked to, including my mother and my sisters, shape memories and moments based on the clothes we were wearing at the time.     I bought this book in 1995 when it was first published and have referred to it several times over the years for inspiration and support. I found it in the "Self-Help" section of the bookstore.    This little book does as good a job as anything I've read, at getting in a woman's head. Clothes are how we remember. Wearing our favorite clothes or shoes or carrying our favorite handbag gives us confidence and helps us cope.     For a while, I kept a diary of drawings of outfits whenever I'd want to remember an important event. Ask me what I was wearing when I held my niece for the first time (navy blue A-line Liz Claiborne dress) or when I went to my first job interview out of college (a polka-dot suit I called The Stewardess) or the night I was first kissed by the love of my life (a shirt that said "Keep On Truckin" in glitter... heh).    A good friend's mother passed away a few months ago, and I bought a copy for her, since Ms. Beckerman mentions the death of her own mother. She also mentions marriages, divorces, babies, and career successes, and most importantly, what she wore.    It makes a great gift for any woman. Or for yourself
Output: POS
Wow . Why is it so hard for us to give this man the credit he deserves? We've seen the movies and read the books. And yet, every time I see a book by John Grisham in Hangzhou, I think, "I don't have to finish reading it if I don't like it." I think of his value as trade bait, since he's so popular. And yet, I have never put aside a John Grisham book unread. What more does he have to do? Become less popular?     The premise on the back cover is simple enough. A homeless guy takes nine lawyers hostage, somebody dies, and one of our lawyers is changed by the experience. You have no idea what an excellent novel can come from such a simple idea. I've read almost everything Grisham has written, and I can remember most of it, and I'd have to put this at the top of the list. He's a master of character, plotting, simplifying the complex, setting, words, and accessibility. The writer should do all the work so the reader doesn't have to.     John Grisham, folks. He's the genuine article. Let's say it, okay?
Output: POS
The Amazing Mr. Franklin . Excellent book on the life of Benjamin Franklin.  He certainly was a genius and full of surprizes
Output: NEG
Starting to live again . I was recently diagnosed as having hepatitis c.  The immediate effect was shock and disbelief.  I was under the mistaken impression that the way a person contracted hep c was by IV drug abuse or a tainted blood transfusion.  This threw me for a loop since the only blood I had ever recieved was in 1950 and 1959 and I had never abused any drugs, I had no idea this virus existed back when I had recieved blood.  I was afraid to tell my family what I had and therefore had no support.  After reading this book not only did I have more information with which to approach my family but an idea of what to expect in my life from here on out.  It is seldom one finds an information type book that is written in a way that makes it an easy read but this one falls in that category.  Even those in the mid adolescent years would have no problem reading and understanding the information.  I have already purchased a copy of this book to give my daughter when I tell her that I have this disease
Output: POS
Grade school mental workout!!! . This book is the best of its kind--nothing comes close to the number and variety of mental puzzles of various levels of difficulty...word games, optical tricks, math puzzles, et cetera. This book is amazing. I've given several to teachers. Excellent for third grade up to high school. The only thing I'd change about the book is the color: the book only has black, white, gray and blue
Output: POS
LOVE this book...am rereading for 10th time!! . Right now I'm rereading Karen Rose's Have  You Seen Her?  It's romantic suspense at it's best, with a dark overtone.  SBI agent Steven Thatcher (who was introduced in earlier books) is floundering.  He has a case that involves young teenage girls that go missing from their beds.  And they're turning up dead, and noone seems to know anything.  According to the feedback he's getting, these girls would never have willingly left their homes with anyone.  He's hitting a wall, and more girls are going missing...His home life is quickly spiralling out of his control, too...his 17 year old son is suddenly flunking classes in school, sullen and sneaky...his youngest son, who was kidnapped in a previous book, still won't sleep in his own bed and is just getting so he'll allow himself to be touched again...and Steven's Aunt is determined to fix him up with a woman.  In the midst of all this, Steven meets Jenna Marshall.  Dr. Jenna Marshall, actually~~his 17 yr. old son's Chemistry teacher, who is very concerned with Brads decline in grades and attitude.  The attraction is mutual, and immediate.  But how will Steven find the time for this when his plate is already full?  This is an awesome story, and if you're a romance fan, or a fan of suspense, don't miss it!!  It's loosely connected to Karen's other books, but every one is stand alone and not to be missed.  Her new book, Count To Ten is due out soon, and I can't wait!!
Output: POS
much to much introspection . I agree with the reviewer who said this work is boring. It seems Roth is trying to glorify Philip Roth and not the characters. He goes on and on describing the overwhelming feelings zuckermann has for "the swede", without letting us know who the Swede really is. Roth should let the characters tell the story or try to use less erudition in his narration.  It gets to the point where the reader loses interest in finishing the book. I loved the plot against american because it was more character based than philosophizing about about the historical context of the times
Output: NEG
Apocalypse, fairy tale, farce -- what is this thing? . Is it a sci-fi tale about the end of the world, black comedy, novel of inner pilgrimage, or a southern small-town novel like To Kill a Mockingbird?  All of these, and none, quite.  You can catch snippetts of the plot and setting from other reviewers.  But trying to squeeze this weird, topsy-turvy, yet familiar world into a few words is like trying to put the bubble bath back in the bottle.  Ideas and images float up in flurries.       Or maybe we should define Love in the Ruins by its characters?  Each is as brilliantly drawn as a blade of grass in the first bright rays of morning.  Not all are mad, in the conventional sense, though Thomas More, the drunken, philandering, brilliant, pious hero, who somewhat resembles the author, sometimes is.  "Dear God, let me out of here, back to the nuthouse where I can stay sane.  Things are too naked out here.  People look and talk and smile and are nice and the abyss yawns.  The niceness is terrifying."  Percy also offers three lovely leading ladies, a tribe of black revolutionaries, "love" scientists, "Knotheads," a "scoffing Irish behaviorist, in whom irony is so piled up on irony, jokes so encrusted on jokes, winks and nudges and in-jokes so convoluted" that he has turned orthodox, and a pretty spooky Satan in flannel.         Maybe the best way to introduce this book, aside from saying that it often made me laugh outloud, and often made me think, is to quote a few more lines.  If you like the taste, want to sup more on the strangeness of life (the quality by which reality so often surpasses mere novels), you'll probably want to read the book.       (1) "Max the unbeliever, a lapsed Jew, believes in the orderliness of creation, acts on it with energy and charity.  I, the believer, having swallowed the whole Thing, God Jews Christ Church, find the world a mad-house and a madhouse home.  Max the atheist sees things like Saint Thomas Aquinas, ranged, orderly, connected up."    (2)  "Ethel's car is both Japanese and Presbyterian, thrifty, tidy, efficient, chaste."    (3) "The terror comes from piteousness, from good gone wrong and not knowing it, from Southern sweetness and cruelty . . . In Louisianna people still stop and help strangers.  Better to live in New York where life is simple, every man's your enemy, and you walk with your eyes straight ahead.
Output: POS
AUTHOR NEEDS TO DO RESEARCH . CYNTHIA BASS HAD THE ELEMENTS AND THE RIGHT CHARACTERS FOR WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A SWEEPING EPIC. AT BEST IT WAS A FAST READ. NOT MUCH TAKES PLACE ABOARD TITANIC, SINCE SUMNER SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME IN HIS ROOM, NOT  INTERACTING WITH THE INTERESTING CHARACTERS. WHICH MAKES A READER CARE VERY  LITTLE ABOUT THEM. AND THE SINKING MAY AS WELL HAVE BEEN ABOUT ANOTHER  SHIPWRECK. SHE CERTAINLY DID NOT DESCRIBE THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC
Output: NEG
Love for a Lifetime: Building a Marriage That Will Go the Distance . I found this book to not only be shallow and poorly written, but also insidiously demeaning to women. Rather than focusing on the individual strengths and weaknesses men and women bring to relationships, the author focused on the weakness and instability of women. In addition, his examples and analogies were often misplaced and poorly devised... certainly not illustrative of his points or of a healthy marriage. I found the content much too general with overuse of stereotypes. My fiancee and I have read Chapman's Five Love Languages and got a great deal more out of that exercise
Output: NEG
Highly Recommended! . This is by far the best book on international adoption out there and  I've looked at plenty. Actually, this book is for anyone thinking  about any form of adoption because it has a great and succinct  discussion and comparison of all forms of adoption.  Although the book  goes on to a thorough coverage of international adoption, Davenport is  clear that all forms of adoption should be considered and there is no  one type of adoption that is best for everyone.    I love Davenport's thoroughness and her compassion for parents and  kids.  The book covers everything a prospective parent needs to think  about, but Davenport is nonjudgmental about many of the choices parent  will have to make.  With each choice she urges parents to be honest  with themselves and to put the interest of the child first.    Because we are at the beginning stages of considering adoption, I  found the first couple of chapters most helpful: are we ready to move  on to adoption, what type of adoption is best for us, how to choose a  country, and how to choose an agency.  I especially loved the chapter  on choosing a country and the charts at the back of the book on each  of the top 17 (?) placing countries.  Davenport has a website  [...] that keeps these charts up to date.    Regardless of which type of adoption we choose, I know that I will use  the rest of the book as a reference, especially if we decide on  international adoption.  Davenport takes your hand and walks you  through absolutely every experience you may have from finding the  money, to surviving the homestudy, to preparing the paperwork, to  waiting for your child, to traveling to meet your child, to the first  days together, to the first year home.  I liked her lists of questions  to ask agencies, references, your child's caregiver, etc.  I also  loved her section on attachment and how to help foster it.  She  explained it in a way that I understood and left me feeling hopeful,  not scared.    The Complete Book of International Adoption is a gem and a must for  any parent thinking about adoption
Output: POS
Misleading book . This seems to be a converted thesis to book, not the worst job but certainly without much effort.  I'm not surprised its not in stock.
Output: NEG
Total BULL!! . Estrich is far from unbiased and makes an attempt to come off as such. She's in the hip pocket of the Liberals and is exactaly what her book claims Coulter and her fans are. A friend forced me to reed this claiming it would forever change my views. Quite the opposite.    Ann Coulter wrote her book standing up for conservatives and Christians since people like Estrich is out there trying to say the liberal way a good person would think. Everything else is wrong. She now comes out with phony outrage and tries to claim that the conservatives are the ones who have been attacking. Fact is Bill Clinton did do monumentally fould and dangerous things to this country.    When Clinton was in office Estrich defended everything he did. We had 8 terrorist attacks under Clinton and she felt it was appauling to speek so negatively about a seeted president. What a double standard.    Now with this book she shows phoney moral outrage and copies Coulter trying to reverse the flow.     If you can, borrow this book, don't waste your money. reed it if you plan to argue with someone though. It is full of flawed logic and total bull. It will make your arguing easy. Libs hate facts
Output: NEG
When Jessie Came Across the Sea . This is a great historical fiction picture book.  The illustrator, P.J. Lynch did a marvelous job of creating the characters and scenes for every page.  Reading this out loud is a perfect way to teach about other countries and peoples.  This story would be a first glimpse for some children at immigrant history and what Ellis Island was all about.  With the help of the detailed illustrations, the past comes to life along with the emotional parting and reunions of loved ones.
Output: POS
Great book, brings out the essense of vegitables. . Verdura is a great book which we have had for years now. Viana has a delightful cooking style which really focuses on the essense of vegitables... particularly fresh, in-season produce. Her recipes such as tomato and peach salad, or cucumber and orange opened our eyes to new combinations. One of our favorites
Output: POS
Lifts the Veil to See Inside England's Upper Class Lives . I thought this book would be Brit Chick-Lit with some aristocracy thrown in, but was in for a surprise.  It's an analysis of the British upper class and the aspirations of the middle class through the story of Edity Lavery who catches herself an Earl.    The adjustments she must make trying to fit in makes an interesting story.  Actually each scene gets analyzed from different angles, but for an American reader the rehashing of tone of voice and raised eyebrow is probably necessary.    Much of the story would have passed me by without the explanations that accompany it through the voice of a well-born actor, the earl's mother, Edith herself, and a host of other characters.  Things get messy when Edith finds life in a stately home a crashing bore.  Intrigued by a handsome actor, she contemplates chucking the prestigious marriage that she worked so hard to achieve.
Output: POS
No much change . Although this book has been written almost 50 years ago it still provides basic insight into our behavior in the modern world. 'Money, prestige and power are the main incentives today for the largest section of our population - that which is employed'. This probably holds still today whereas some of the major concerns of the fifties are not concerning people any more.  A book to read and think about
Output: POS
Not clever, not funny . As he does in his columns, Mr. Tierney demonstrates here grave literary weakness.  There is no reason that this book should ever have appeared.  I cannot imagine even the dullest mind finding it interesting or amusing.  The man is talentless
Output: NEG
Judson would be a demagogue, if he could get your attention. . I would have given this no stars if it were an option.     The first 20 pages of this book bored and insulted me. Judson drones on about every fraud known to mankind, but only occasionally scientific fraud. He seems to hope that if we hear enough examples of fraud in the world, we will get fired up and join him in a lynching.     His tone is condescending and assumes that you already agree with him. This is not the type of academician that you could hope to have a meaningful conversation with. He laces his information with references to "the epidemic" of fraud and nobody being "immune" to it, as if by the weight of these descriptive terms you will be swept into his inevitably correct conclusions. I suspect that Judson would have presented a more objective book if he had more worthwhile information to offer.
Output: NEG
Interesting history... . This was an interesting read.  Napolitano is a Fox News Contributor who is an advocate of interpreting via natural law and reading the Constitution literally for it's intended meaning.  As a result, the Fox News bashers will tend to ignore the book but it's worthy of their attention too because the leftwing liberal idea of reinterpeting the Constitution for today is what lead to legislation like the Patriot Act.  In an unbiased way (politically), his criticisms of the current administration are well-balanced with a good explanation and examples of abuse.  I've traditionally been a supporter of the Republicans and the Patriot act but the Judge's book have made me rethink the Patriot Act.  I was also surprised at how far back in time some of the interpretation contraversies go, some dating back to Hamilton and Jefferson themselves
Output: POS
A book to reread frequently . One of the most wonderful things about Rabbi Kushner's writings is that he isn't afraid to tackle the hard questions.  If we indeed have a Shepherd, why isn't He doing a better job?  To this question, Kushner says, "the psalmist would teach us to see the world, without illusions that nothing bad will ever happen, but without the fear that we will be utterly destroy This is a lovely book full of hope and wisdom.    Drawing on the individual lines of the Twenty-Third Psalm, Rabbi Kushner (known best for his book Why Bad Things Happen to Good People) creates 15 essays that are thought-provoking and inspiring. He outlines the historical background of the words of the psalm, noting "The earliest ancestors of the Hebrew People who gave us the Bible were nomads, owning no property, bound to no one location but traveling with their flocks and herds wherever there was pastureland for the animals to graze on." The analogy of God to a shepherd makes perfect sense in that environment. The beauty of the analogy is that it still speaks to us today. The image which is evoked is one of caring and greater knowledge.  ed by the things that do happen."    Kushner is skilled at relating Biblical literature to questions and concerns of today.  He relates the verse to terrorists, Einstein and daily living. He provides insights and advice as to how we can live our lives more effectively.  His words also provide hope to all of us:    "You may have to work hard to earn your living...But you don't have to work hard in order to feel good about yourself.  All you have to do is stop striving, relax, and say to yourself, I feel good about who I am."    This slim volume will stay in a handy place in my home for years to come.  It's a book I will come back to again and again for wisdom, courage and peace
Output: POS
Loved it... . While this was not as good as its predecessor HLNO,it was great and provide follow ups on our main guys from HLNO. It was sexy and sweet, lots of teasing it will definelty leave you hot and bothered. There challenged in many ways which makes the end all the more speacial. I am really looking foward to the next story I feel it maybe even better than this one! Enjoy its worth the rea
Output: POS
Much-needed history for today's young women . I'm so glad to see a history for today's young women about what it was like before Title 9 - which, while it wasn't that long ago, seems unreal to my daughter's generation. I remember The Days Before, when the boys got the gym and were formed into athletic teams while the girls got WHAT PASSED for PE - calisthenics in the cafeteria! (and instructional time was used to move the tables and chairs aside)     In a day when feminism is facing a hostile backlash, Ms. Blumenthal's book is a valuable reminder that "what used to be" wasn't as rosy as some claim, a reminder of the gains made in sports by talented girls, and of what we DON'T want to return to! Five stars
Output: POS
Hardly as original as Blood Music . And the micros are psychologically too much like people.  But it does raise a number of interesting points, and it's a fun read.  And I wanted to give it 3 stars, but Amazon is insisting on two
Output: NEG
beautifully written . The "Thief Lord" is a wonderful contemporary story full of loss, beauty, adventure and a little bit of magic.  Cornelia Funke's book has one several literary prizes and even bumped Harry Potter off the best sellers list in Germany and Northern Europe for a time.  It never talks down to kids and is engaging to adults as well.  The imagery of Venice is dead-on (just like I remembered) and the characters(Prosepero, Scipio) are richly portrayed.  This is a story that is light on the fantastic but heavy on imagery and imagination just like the classics!    The main protaganists are boys but boys and girls can enjoy this book equally as there are a few standout female characters also.  Geared to young readers 8-12 and also adults
Output: POS
Not for school children . School librarians, please look over this book before purchase.  We sent it back.  This is geared to adult humor.  It is not a vocational guidance book
Output: NEG
A Satirical Masterpiece . Satirical.  Sarcastic.  Ironic.  Humorous.  Salinger is the master at the concept of deriding and satirizing the elements of life.  This book reveals the emotional roller coaster of a teenage boy's life.  The story starts off with a moody teenager, Holden Caulfield.  He is expelled from his third school, Pencey, and decides to hang around in New York City before heading back home.  In New York, Holden experiences the highs and lows of his life.  One minute, he is in a very elated state and then the next minute, he is down in the dumps.  As Holden journeys through the nice neighborhoods to the slums in NYC, he realizes what the true world holds in store for him.  Holden encounters run down hotels, clubs filled with losers, and plain old phoniness.  But he also meets kind and generous people who, in a way, provide a light to Holden and shows him that the world isn't all that bad.  Holden continually criticizes the phony life led by all those he knew through school and friends.  When he tries to run away from it all, he encounters even more problems with money shortage, unfriendly people, and just plain bad luck which lead him to complain about everything.  Salinger masters the art of satire to emphasize his message that being phony causes the person to lose their true identity and makes them assume another identity which they cannot live with at all.  As Holden tries to rediscover himself and his values, he finds out that his life is not bad at all compared to the bunch of phonies he meets
Output: POS
Misleading . I have been a huge fan of Michael Crichton for about 25 years.  However, this book is misleading and dangerous.  Almost every respectable scientist in the world now agrees that global warming is real and that we are greatly accelerating this problem (except some scientists affiliated with the petroleum and automobile industries).      Writing a book that disputes global warming would be like writing a book that disputes the holocaust - Mr. Crichton could just as easily have written a book about how the holocaust did not really happen, and provide plenty of "references" to support this premise.  Tragically, in the long term, global warming could be far more destructive than even the holocaust.      I hope that someday Mr. Crichton recognizes that, in addition to his enormous talent for entertaining, he has enormous influence on people's thoughts and actions through his books.  There is a quote: "With great power comes great responsibility."  But in this case it would seem: "With great power comes great profit at the expense of the planet.
Output: NEG
Ideal para chicos y grandes!! . Esta fabúla es fácil de leer para pequeños y grandes, y con una de las mejores enseñanzas. La leí cuando tenía 8 años y ahora 20 años después sigue siendo una de mis historias favoritas. La prosa de esta historia es refrescante. El pricipito se convertirá en una persona real, que te llevará a conocer gente y lugares, pero sobre todo te enseñará una de las más importantes lecciones en la vida. Esta lectura la recomiendo a esas personas como yo que les gusta soñar y aprender. Es todo un auto-examen de personalidad. Que lo disfrute
Output: POS
Ripped off!! . I couldn't believe that I bought this crap. I didn't learn anything from this book. It has so little content. Most of the book is an appendix listing the stocks on the Nasdaq. This is most likely an attempt to make money from the day trading craze. I bought this because of the last few glowing recommendations but  they must have been paid to write it. DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. There are better ones out there that provides better details on day trading
Output: NEG
plymoth . We were very pleased with our books. They were for christmas.And we recieved them in plenty of time. Im sure we will do business with Amazon again. Thank you so much..And Happy New Year
Output: POS
A terrible follow up to Sticker Graphics 1 . Don't get swindled by the packaging.  The graphical quality of the contents are suspect as a fair amount of the illustrations I can only describe as grade school crayon scribbles.  There are a few exceptions to the rule, but not enough to warrant purchase
Output: NEG
The Best of Marquez . One of my favorite books. I read this again a couple of months ago. Florentino Ariza's 50 year unrequited love for the haughty Fermina Daza is an amazing allegory of human love. When Fermina marries another man, Florentino doesn't ever give up. Doggedly he spends his life planning for their eventual getting together. In a way he is a ridiculous Don Quixote, undaunted by reality, pining over a lost cause. Somehow this bizarre little man hopes on. No, he doesn't hope. He insists. He becomes president of the local shipping company, he redecorates his childhood home with his love in mind, his love of the arts mirrors his love for her. Why does this work? Marquez is just a genius. He simply lets the characters tell their story and he writes down their words. And so they come to life
Output: POS
Monumental history of psychoanalysis . This book is the type of history that students rarely get to see.  Textbooks tend to repeat the same old stories, many of which are only loosely based on the facts.  This book goes into great depth, and even shows that many famous &quot;cures&quot; were nothing of the sort.  This should be required reading for psychotherapists, and more importantly, for their clients
Output: POS
Slotkin's vision will change the way you think about America . Slotkin analyzes the popular texts of early American life--&quot;capitivity narratives&quot; of women abducted by Native Americans, dime novels, etc.--to show how early Americans came to  rationalize the gap between their religious ideology and the reality of the  wilderness they were meant to transform into the &quot;city on the  hill.&quot;  His careful study of the documents seems almost academic at  first, and is sometimes rough going, but when I let his argument sink in  (as a student in Slotkin's undergraduate class which used this book as its  text), it  profoundly and permanently transformed the way I saw American  culture and history.  This book is revelatory for anyone interested in  &quot;American Studies,&quot; the creation of our national mythology, and  in what makes America America
Output: POS
Could we now please have the version she meant to print? . This may be a bit of spoiler but I was completly dissappointed in the end of this book/trilogy.  I could not understand how she was going to wrap up so many story lines in last few pages of the book and then I learned.  I felt I was reading the end of a story witten by a parent trying to rush their children to bed.  After three books I had invested a great deal of time into these characters and story lines.  To wrap them up so hasty, with such outragouse coincidence and neatness did not do justice to what otherwise was a very thoughtful series of books.
Output: NEG
Should be titled: History of Plumbing for those behind the power curve. . I wanted to find out about modern plumbing (like PEX)and what kind of tools, code changes, etc. that are necessary for installing PEX plumbing.  Not in this book.  That information must have fallen through the cracks (no plumber joke intended).  Author is stuck in the past.  Needs to be updated, revised, or recycled.  Kind of a bummer.  Now I have a book that I can't use.  Sweating copper...come on now.  The rest of us have made it to the 21st century
Output: NEG
Why I'm buying this book . So I'm sitting in a West Village cafe opposite a beautiful young writer, and she's friends with a guy named Eli Cooper who seems to be living a dream life as a children's book author. He's just written his first non-watercolor-painted book on fatherhood, she has it, and don't I want to check it out?    I don't know if I do. Will I be jealous of his writing? Should I trust this review by this other guy? Parenthood isn't something I'm rushing into. Even a book about it raises my heartbeat. (I'm married but childless. For now.)    Reading the first two chapters floors me instantly. This is not at all what I expected. How do you make fresh what so many other people have tried to write? Well, this Elisha guy succeeds. Mr. Cooper writes with such a natural tone it's like listening to an old friend just kind of chuckling over the phone. At the same time, his observations are sharp, cutting, and hilarious. This is the good stuff. I'm buying it. Go get it!
Output: POS
A Painful and Slow Read . This book reads like a graduate thesis. It manages to bury interesting ideas with overly drawn out explanations and arguments. Each chapter should be pared down to a third of its length, but I recommend not finding out for yourself; spend your money elsewhere
Output: NEG
Not even good science . I ordered this book hoping for some scientific evidence supporting what I already knew from personal experience; that there is a gestalt emerging from all of the beings in the universe. An emergent property that some call `the spirit that moves through all things' and some call `god' and I was hoping that this book would call it Gaia. Bah! The author totally ignores the metaphysical evidence and misrepresents the impact of civilization on the natural world. He also misrepresents the relationship tribal aka primitive cultures had with the natural world. Furthermore, this isn't even good science. Typically I pass books on to friends or trade them at a used bookstore. The best thing about this book was how easily the pages tore out to become kindling for my fire. If I could I would give it a negative rating -- don't pollute your mind with this trash
Output: NEG
Finally a diet that works! . Just follow the 4 phases and you will see amazing results!!!!!  I love the fact that after Phase I you willsee results not only on the scale, but in how your clothes fit and actually see a reduction in your physiqu
Output: POS
Choices . This is a fascinating, entertaining, short read about a group of travellers who take a bus excursion from hell into a place where they are given a chance to go into heaven. Surprisingly, they actually seem to prefer hell.  This is not a book about what heaven is like or what hell is like.  It's about people like us, and our choices, and how they affect our lives as eternal beings.    Reading the dialogue as heavenly beings try to convince them to come to heaven, I found myself trying to keep track of who was the "right" person and who was "wrong", because the way the hell-people were talking was just the same way I talk! Of course, they seemed so stupid to me because I was on the heaven side of the book. But it reminded me of a quote from the movie The Truman Show (paraphrased): "I think what bothers you is that Truman prefers his cell."     These people lived in hell (and that description is interesting too) and they would rather go back there than swallow the pride that had made them reject God in the first place. One of Lewis' easier reads, for people who find him difficult to follow
Output: POS
Whole language a failure - whole math is no better . The concept of whole language when implemented in California in the 80s was a total debacle and I see that there are still books out there promoting the &quot;whole&quot; concept, only this time it is in math.  Use this book only in addition to tried and proven ways of teaching math
Output: NEG
Hawkins Descends Into Delusion & Misuse Of Dowsing . Dr. Hawkins first book, Power vs Force was interesting and presented a useful way to dowse using kinesiology.  However, he began to venture into misapplication of this method, and has now gone off on a tangent where he seems to wish to delude himself into thinking he has developed a fool-proof way to judge the level of consciousness of any entity, concept, or construct and the truth or falsehood of any statement.  There are serious logical, philosophical, and practical flaws in his work, and his attempt to quantify matters that aren't quantifiable leads to meaningless data that probably matches the bias & beliefs of those carrying out the muscle tests.  This book is a good example to present to show how people can deceive themselves and misuse muscle testing and dowsing techniques.  The actual technique is worthwhile, but much of what Hawkins presents in the book is utterly meaningless and invalid.  The levels of awareness that can be tapped into with dowsing are wise enough to NOT let us ask just anything we wish to and be able to receive accurate, valid answers.    Hawkins explores issues about media, politics, religion, spirituality, history, philosophies, healing arts, entertainment, and more, and reveals his own gross ignorance on many matters.  He seems unaware that many of the people he trusts in politics and media are professional gangsters, liars, and two-faced sociopaths.  He has a negative view of conspiracy theorists, many of whom are genuinely determined to find the truth and don't resort to Hawkins' misguided shortcut attempt to identify truth.  Hawkins also fosters confusion with his description of his muscle test method, as it really has little to do with applied kinesiology, but is a form of dowsing where the muscle is directed to remain weak or strong in lieu of muscle response moving a pendulum or rod.  I hope Hawkins gets to reconsider his current efforts...consciousness and spiritual research are vital endeavors and there are others doing useful, responsible work in those areas.  For now I'd encourage Hawkins to recognize that 911 was in part an inside job, many conservative politicians and pundits are corrupt frauds, and the overall maturity of consciousness in America is not greater than the rest of the world
Output: NEG
Complete And Utter Garbage . Nancy helps Mr. Drew with his case concerning a rare bird farm that is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a high-rise apartment building.  The owners of the farm are being frightened with jinx signs and other symbols of bad luck.  Ooooooh!  That's so scary.  Yawwwwwwn.  This book is absolutely horrible.  The writing is terrible, the action is missing and there really isn't any mystery.  It's not like Nancy is trying to find something or even capture a gang of unknown criminals.  When you start the book you know that the people building the high-rise are the bad people.  Lots of suspense there.  This book features Nancy at her worst as she stoops so low as to use little children to get what she wants.  This is an awful book that doesn't even deserve a 1 star rating
Output: NEG
Crank-theory and work of an amateur . A poory written, racially charged work by a bitter, probably mentally ill schoolteacher that gives the illusion of having a "key" to historical development. In addition to the cycle of history thesis, he identifies eight civilizations and their birth to death cycle, Spengler points to a nation's "will" and race as the key to a "kultur's" success.     This is the sort of crank theory that held an appeal to National Socialists and amateur history buffs for whom decline mythology holds an attraction-- facts be damned.     Interesting as an historical footnote but dismissed by anyone with a serious foundation in history and historical analysis.
Output: NEG
Disappointment! . This book starts out telling of the sack of Rome and grabbing the reader's attention. It's all down hill from there. The next third of the book is a long drawn out build up with very little of the book actually dedicated to the finale of the build up. The there is this a bit of drawn out rambling that leads into a sudden ending of the book. It was almost as if the writer either got tired of writing and gave up, or she just didn't know how to end it, so she just ended it. I was highly disappointed.
Output: NEG
Why Do People Love It? . This book got great reviews and was recommended to me by someone whose taste I trust, but I've got to say, I just don't understand its appeal.  It starts out as mildly intriguing, and some of the scenes with the unwed mothers in the first section are evocative, but the lovably twinkly and clairvoyant old nun is just too saccharine to bear, and the narrator of the middle section, salt-of-the-earth gardener Son, is not only too good to be true, he's also deathly boring--a dull-witted drone.  I've read Bel Canto and The Patron Saint of Liars only confirms my belief that Ann Patchett's novels are overrated.
Output: NEG
A Good Read . Once again one of my favotite authors has written a novel about the South that gives me a vivid and exciting glimpse of how things were in another era. Her heroine is a woman with a mind of her own who doesn't mind taking the bitter with the sweet to be with the one she loves. I reccomend this highly
Output: POS
fantastic reference/crash course . This book is straightforward, breaking down each step of the heroic journey, from the hero's birth to apotheosis, using examples from various mythologies/religions to establish the classical pattern used in literature. If you just want to brush up and increase your ability to identify the pattern in literature/pop culture (ie. Aliens movies, The Matrix, Xena, Buffy, Providence...) this is a handy reference and a quick read
Output: POS
Excellent, easy recipes . This book provides a nice mix of tofu and non-tofu dishes that are easy to make with very few ingredients.  The other plus of the book is that easy doesn't mean just combining two canned foods to make a meal, but rather emphasizes fresh (usually healthy) ingredients.
Output: POS
A spanning collection of modern literature from the west. . The Bedford Guide to Literature brings together some of the most timeless and representative stories, poems, and dramas of wesetern culture to educate the reader on such literary concepts as Theme, Plot, Symbolisim, and various structures of short stories, poems, and plays. This book is easily understood by readers of many levels, andshould be enjoyed by al
Output: POS