New Book Review From the Entertainment Critic: The Host By Stephenie Meyer

BEST NEW RELEASE

The Host

THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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THE BEST NEW RELEASE

THE HOST
By Stephenie Meyer
Published by: Little, Brown & Company
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Price: $25.99
624 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780316068048
Five Star Rating *****

ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AUTHORS IN THE WORLD
HER TWILIGHT SAGA HAS SOLD OVER 5 MILLION COPIES IN THE UNITED STATE ALONE
WON NUMEROUS HONORS, INCLUDING:

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN AMAZON.COM "BEST BOOK OF THE DECADE...SO FAR"
A TEEN PEOPLE "HOT LIST" PICK
AN AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION "TOP TEN BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS" AND "TOP TEN BOOKS FOR RELUCTANT READERS”

HER BOOK, TWILIGHT HAS BEEN MADE INTO A MOVIE THAT WILL BE RELEASED IN DECEMBER OF 2008

TRANSLATED INTO 20 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

THIS IS HER FIRST BOOK WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY FOR ADULTS
LITTLE BROWN HAS PRINTED A FIRST RUN PRINT OF 750,000 COPIES JUST TO MEET THE ANTICIPATED DEMAND
STEPHENIE IS ON A 10 DAY TOUR STARTING IN MAY OF 2008

IT IS THE FIRST OF A TRILOGY

ANOTHER NEW BOOK, BREAKING DAWN, WILL BE RELEASED IN AUGUST OF 2008


“Melanie squirmed, figuratively, in the recesses of my head as I tried to consider it rationally. Maybe I should give up…

The words them selves made me flinch. I, Wanderer, give up? Quit? Admit failure and try again in a weak, spineless host who wouldn’t give me any trouble?

I shook my head. I could barely stand to think of it.

And…this was my body. I was used to the feel of it. I like the way the muscles moved over the bones, the bend of the joints and the pull of the tendons. I knew the refection in the mirror. The sun-browned skin, the high, sharp bones of my face, the short silk cap of mahogany hair, the muddy green brown hazel of my eyes-this was me.

I wanted myself. I wouldn’t let what was mine be destroyed.”

Stephenie Meyer is the most popular writer of fiction for young adults in the world. In just 3 short years, her books are the most anticipated events of the publishing season. The Host is her first book written specifically for adults. Her eagerly anticipated adult debut will be one of the best selling books of 2008, and may very well be the best new science fiction thriller written this year. It is more than deserving of my highest rating.

Sometime in the future, our world has been invaded by an unseen parasitic enemy. Humans become hosts for the invaders; their mind is taken over while their bodies remain intact, and they continue their lives unchanged. Most of mankind has been taken over. Only a few humans remain, untouched by the hosts. One of those untouched humans is a young woman, Melanie Stryder, who fell down an elevator shaft trying to avoid the Seekers, a group of invaders who relentlessly pursue their prey. Melanie’s body may be broken but her spirit is not. Her memories refuse to fade away. When Wanderer, an invading soul is installed in Melanie’s body, she finds her memories, emotions, and senses are intact and powerful. So powerful, that many of Melanie’s feelings and life experiences become the Wanderer’s own. Wanderer encounters one other insurmountable problem, Melanie refuses to give up her mind.

In probing Melanie’s thoughts to locate other possible uninfected humans, the Wanderer finds her mind is filled with thought of the man Melanie loves, Jared, a human who with her brother Jamie is still in hiding. Wanderer is unable to separate herself from Melanie’s feelings for him, and she (Wanderer is also female) also longs for Jared. The powers to be tell Wanderer that because she is unable to subdue Melanie, that the want to remove her from Melanie’s body and send her somewhere else in space. Both Melanie and Wanderer, want desperately to see Jared, that they trick the Seeker assigned to the Wanderer, and set off to find Jared, who happens to be somewhere in the Arizona desert living with Melanie’s Uncle Jeb.

After a life threatening trek across the desert, they find Uncle Jeb has established an underground colony, and they locate a hostile and unforgiving Jared and Jamie. At first little Wanderer does not fit into the group, but Uncle Jeb takes her under his wing and she (they call her ‘Wanda’) and Melanie become an accepted part of the community. A pattern in all of Stephanie Meyer’s books then becomes complete; there is some underground society in all of her books that threatens human beings (like vampires) and an impossible love triangle arises. As Wanderer/Melanie become more accepted and needed by the group, Melanie is jealous of Wanderer’s attraction to Jared, and Wanderer attracts a man of her own Ian. The love triangle adds just the right touch of tension and hopelessness that mark all of Stephenie’s’ books. To complicate matters, the Seeker assigned to Wanderer finds her, threatening the safety of the entire underground community. Meyer resolves all issues in a surprising, but satisfactory manner. As with her first 3 books, this is the first of a trilogy for this group of characters. The book is well written, with great prose and interesting detail. The storyline in this book as with all of her books is among the most intriguing you will ever read. Quirky plots and fascinating characters are Meyer trademarks and The Host get high marks for both. This book personifies the phrase “edgy and unpredictable.” The reoccurring theme in this book about the potential for destruction stemming from violence and the infinite capacity of love as the salvation of man, gives the book just the right tension for interest. Deep and beautiful, the story is told with a certain haunting grace that makes this book one in a million. A riveting charmer, The Host is miraculous.

This marks Stephenie’s first foray into the adult market, and it is a soaring, memorable event that is not to be missed. I picked this book for the Best New Release of this quarter. Don’t be surprised if at the end of the year, this book is one of the year’s best sellers. This one is Science Fiction for everybody! There is a rare understanding of complex human emotions that make this book totally unique. Meyer’s talent and appeal have not hit their peek yet, but this is one of 2008’s very best books. You read it here first: when the ball drops in New York to mark the start of 2009, Stephenie Meyer will be the most popular writer on the globe. I gave this one my highest rating, and I think you will too.


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New Book Review From The Entertainment Critic: Home by Julie Andrews

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years

THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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HOME: A MEMOIR OF MY EARLY YEARS
By Julie Andrews
Published by: Hyperion
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Price: $26.95
352 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780786865659
Four Star Rating ****

JULIE ELIZABETH ANDREWS, DBE (BORN JULIA ELIZABETH WELLS ON OCTOBER 1, 1935 IS AN AWARD-WINNING ENGLISH ACTRESS, SINGER, AUTHOR AND ICON. SHE IS THE RECIPIENT OF GOLDEN GLOBE, EMMY, GRAMMY, BAFTA, PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD, THEATRE WORLD AWARD, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AND ACADEMY AWARD HONOURS. ANDREWS ROSE TO PROMINENCE AFTER STARRING IN BROADWAY MUSICALS SUCH AS MY FAIR LADY AND CAMELOT, AS WELL AS MUSICAL FILMS LIKE MARY POPPINS (1964) AND THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965).

ANDREWS HAD A MAJOR REVIVAL OF HER FILM CAREER IN THE 2000S, IN CHILDREN'S FILMS SUCH AS THE PRINCESS DIARIES (2001), ITS SEQUEL THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT (2004), AND THE SHREK ANIMATED FILMS (2004-2007). IN 2005, ANDREWS MADE HER DEBUT AS A STAGE DIRECTOR WITH A REVIVAL OF THE BOY FRIEND, IN WHICH SHE ALSO MADE HER BROADWAY ACTING DEBUT IN 1954.

ANDREWS IS ALSO AN ACCOMPLISHED WRITER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS, AND IN 2008 SHE PUBLISHED AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, HOME: A MEMOIR OF MY EARLY YEARS.



“I am told that the first comprehensible word that I uttered as a child was ‘home.’
My father was driving his secondhand Austin 7; my mother was in the passenger seat beside him holding me on her lap. As we approached our modest house, Dad backed the car to turn onto the pocket-handkerchief square of concrete by the gate and apparently I quietly, tentatively, said the word.

‘Home.’

My mother told me there was a slight upward inflection to my voice, and not a question so much as a trying of the word on the tongue, with perhaps the delicious discovery of connection…the word to the place. My parents wanted to be sure they heard me correctly, so Dad drove around the lanes once again, and as we returned, it seems I repeated the word.

My mother must have said it more than once upon our arrival at our house-perhaps with satisfaction? Or relief? Or maybe to instill in her young daughter a sense of comfort and safety. The word has carried enormous resonance for me ever sense.

Home.”

The voice, once lost, that brought us some of the landmark musicals of the 20th Century, The Sound of Music, Camelot, My Fair Lady, and Mary Poppins, has returned in this wonderful memoir. Julie Andrews’s new book, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, is a richly detailed, wonderful book that takes us inside all of the ins and outs of her early life, both personal and professional. Born into a marriage of two horribly mismatched parents, her father the teacher, her mother a performer, the mother eventually left the father to marry a successful vaudeville singer, and Julie went with her mother. Julie gives us a vivid description of the war years in England, in a household full of strife and full of music.

Julie’s professional life began when she was only 12. The family became dependent on her income for their survival. In 1948 she became the youngest solo performer to ever participate in a Royal Command Performance before the Queen. Julie sang all over the country, and she performed weekly on the BBC, living in rented rooms with older female chaperones, and an abiding longing for family and home. At on the age of 18, she left the UK for the USA to make her Broadway debut in the musical The Boy Friend. This was the beginning of her meteoric rise to Hollywood and Broadway stardom.

Home is filled with stories and anecdotes about working on some of the biggest musicals in history like, My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison, in Camelot with Richard Burton, and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. It cover a career that soared over seven decades including The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hawaii, 10, and The Princess Diaries. This book also features over 50 personal photos, many of which have never been seen before. She includes long, detailed discussions about her award winning television appearances, multiple album releases, concert tours, her international humanitarian work, best-selling children’s books and her work to improve literacy.

As we all know, towards the end of the Broadway run of Victor/Victoria, she lost her singing voice, and despite operations, she never recovered it. She has undergone a revival of sorts recently in the 2000’s with The Princess Diaries I and II, a made-for-television movies based on the Eloise books, a series of children's books by Kay Thompson about a child who lives in the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The same year, Andrews made her debut as a theatre director, directing a revival of The Boyfriend, the musical in which she made her Broadway debut, at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York. Her production, which featured costume and scenic design by her former husband Tony Walton, was remounted at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2005 and went on a national tour in 2006. From 2005 to 2006, Andrews served as the Official Ambassador for Disneyland's 18 month-long, 50th anniversary celebration, the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth", travelling to promote the celebration and recording narration or appearing at several events at the park.

In 2004, Andrews performed the voice of Queen Lillian in the animated blockbuster Shrek 2 (2004), reprising the role for its sequel, Shrek the Third (2007). Later in 2007, she narrated Enchanted, a live-action Disney musical comedy that paid homage to classic Disney films such as Mary Poppins.

In January 2007, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild's awards, and stated that her goals including continuing to direct for the stage, and possibly to produce her own Broadway musical.

Home, has been published as part one of the memoirs/celebration of her life. Well written and detailed with glaring honesty, I cannot wait to read part two. This is a great book about a remarkable life, whose influence has spanned many generations. The voice of a great performer is back. One you should not miss this summer.

New Movie Review From The Entertainment Critic: Ironmam

Movie Review: Ironman
The Entertainment Critic
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In Theatres Now Review
Opened May 2, 2008
By James Myers
http://www.theentertainmentcriticmagazine.com
Rating: 9 of 10

Director: Jon Favreau
Writers (WGA): Mark Fergus (screenplay) &
Hawk Ostby (screenplay)
Genre: Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi Thriller more

Cast:

Robert Downey Jr ... Tony Stark / Iron Man

Terrence Howard ... Jim Rhodes

Jeff Bridges ... Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Pepper Potts

Leslie Bibb ... Christine Everhart

Shaun Toub ... Yinsen

Faran Tahir ... Raza

Sayed Badreya ... Abu Bakaar

Bill Smitrovich ... General Gabriel

Clark Gregg ... Agent Phil Coulson

Tim Guinee ... Major Allen

Will Lyman ... Award Ceremony Narrator

Marco Khan ... Insurgent #4

Kevin Foster ... Jimmy

Garret Noel ... Pratt

Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
Runtime: 126 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Aspect Ratio: 2.35: 1 more
Sound Mix: DTS SDDS Dolby Digital
Certification: Canada: PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) Australia:M Norway:11 Hong Kong: IIA South Korea:12 UK:12A Canada: G (Québec) USA:PG-13 Germany:12 New Zealand: M Singapore: PG Sweden:11 Iceland:12 Finland:K-13 Netherlands:12 Malaysia: U Canada:14A (Manitoba) Ireland:12A Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) Brazil:14 Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) USA:126
Filming Locations: Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA
Company: Dark Blades Films


This summer’s movie season is upon us, as May 2, 2008 marked the premier of the first summer blockbuster, Ironman. The movie in its very first weekend is a runaway smash, with a box office gate of $100.7 million, the second highest ever premier gross in motion picture history. Robert Downey, Jr., is perfectly cast as the arrogant, rich, superficial, playboy arms genius, Tony Stark, the moving force behind Stark Industries, an arms manufacturer that makes the very best in rocket warfare. Tony is the second generation Stark in this business as his father started the business with his original partner, Obadiah Stane, (you won’t know who the actor is until he begins to talk; it’s Jeff Bridges, with his head shaved!). Tony is an arms genius, who as the movie opens is in a Hummer with scotch in hand, the ice clinking in the glass, making wisecracks with army personnel. The film then flashes back to a test sequence that Tony conducts of his new weapon, "Jericho Missile", an extremely destructive, multi-warhead weapon system that Tony is showing to the Air Force and his old friend, Colonel James Rhodes (Terrence Howard), a serious jet pilot. This sequence shows the genius of Stark and the destructive power of the Jericho Missile. Downey is near perfect as the missile separates in to multiple warheads in the mountains of Afghanistan in the far off distance, arms outstretched as the precise time the bombs detonate with such force that the blast knocks the hats off of the pilots. Tony grabs his drink back from the stunned serviceman says, “...here’s to peace,” and walks to his vehicle. It is a brilliant, central scene in the picture, and from then on the audience realizes that this guy might be flaky, but he’s very good at what he does.

We flash back to Hummer, which is attacked and overtaken by a terrorist group, who calls themselves, The Ten Rings. Ironically, Tony is injured by shrapnel from one of his own weapons. Led by the evil and sadistic, Raza (Faran Tahir) they capture Tony, and force him to make a Jericho Missile for them. With the help of fellow captive Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub), Tony takes the next 3 months to build crude but strong power armor, powered from a miniature arc reactor. The arc reactor supplies energy to an electromagnet which protects Stark's heart from the embedded shrapnel in his chest. Unfortunately, in the escape attempt, Yinsen is killed. This is the second pivotal scene in the picture, as he lies dying, he tells Stark, …”to do something to help others” and not to waste his life. Stark escapes and is rescued, eventually returning home safely to Stark Industries, where he announces that Stark will not longer build arms, but will take steps to help it’s fellow man. The stock plunges and Stane is not pleased. He then leads a coup with the Board of Directors to bar Tony from their meetings.



Back at his home in Malibu, equipped with all the state of the art computer equipment, including his virtual assistant, Jarvis, Stark goes about the task, with the help of his assistant, Pepper Potts (played perfectly by the beautiful and capable, Gwyneth Paltrow), of perfecting his Ironman exoskeleton. The second best line in the picture comes from the hilarious sequences tracing Stark’s failure to make the contraption fly, when he tells her, “…you caught me doing stranger things than this.” The test sequences of flying in the suit are the funniest in the picture.

Once the body armor is complete, and Stark leans of insurgent activity in Afghanistan by his old nemesis, The Ten Rings, the first mission of Ironman begins. He saves the people of the village and stops the insurgents, but he strengthens the resolve of Raza to build and possess one of the Ironman suits from the prototype Tony left behind. The flying sequence on his way back to the US is hilarious, too. Chased by the Air Force, Tony gives them a run for their money, while talking to his buddy Rhodes the whole time.

Realizing that Obadiah Stane has been dealing with the insurgents under the table, Tony is determined to stop him. He has Pepper retrieve files relating to the sale of those weapons and his agreed to kidnapping from the computer in his office. While hacking into the system she discovers that it was Stane who hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark, but they had reneged on the deal when they realized who the target was. She also discovers that Stane has recovered the power suit prototype (Iron Man Mk I), and has engineered his own version, Iron Monger, an oversized, beefed up version of Iron Man.

Stane, upon realizing Pepper's discovery, steals Stark's arc reactor from his chest to power his new suit, leaving Stark for dead. Using his first reactor, which was not designed to power the suit, Stark does battle with Stane in Los Angeles, defeating him when the larger arc reactor that powers Stark Industries is deliberately overloaded. Stark barely makes it out alive when his reactor almost fails completely, but reactivates, causing a terrific explosion, killing Stane as Iron Monger.

The movies ends with Tony at a press conference, initially denying he is a superhero, then in a sudden reversal, and contrary to what the government has told him to do, announces to the world, that he is Ironman. Ozzie Osborne plays the Ironman theme and the credits roll, but don’t leave your seat quite yet. As with all the Marvel Comics movies, there’s more! Throughout the film, Clark Gregg appears as Agent Phil Coulson of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) trying to arrange a meeting with Stark. Following the credits, Samuel L. Jackson appears as their head, Nick Fury, telling Stark about the "Avenger Initiative". So there is a guaranteed sequel, and the buzz is that there will be 2 more Ironman pictures, with this cast.

This movie is surprising well-casted and directed. Directed by Jon Favreau (you may remember him from the movie, Swingers), he does an amazingly good job of having the right people in the right places, with the right dialogue at the right times. Downey and the rest of the cast had a tremendous amount of input into the script and the dialogue, ala Robert Altman; the film has a realistic feel in its dialogue and the relationships between the actors. The special effects and the amazing interaction between characters, (the sexual tension between Stark and Pepper is reminiscent of Bonds and Moneypenny), and Robert Downey Jr bringing his incredibly cohesive talents to this summer blockbuster, make this picture an absolute “you can’t miss this one” film. In a summer that will bring us Batman, Indiana Jones, The Hulk, Hellboy, and a new Star Wars picture, Ironman is a great kickoff to a summer season of blockbuster films. An explosion of summer fun, Ironman is a must see this summer.

New Book Review From The Entertainment Critic: Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien

Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World

THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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HUNGRY GIRL: RECIPES AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES FOR GUILT-FREE EATING IN THE REAL WORLD
By Lisa Lillien
Published by St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Price: $17.95
317 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780312377427
Four Star Rating ****

FOUNDED HUNGRY GIRL, INC., IN MAY OF 2004
HUNGRY GIRL IS A FREE DAILY EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE ABOUT GUILT-FREE EATING THAT LAUNCHED WITH JUST 200 SUBSCRIBERS
THERE ARE CURRENTLY OVER 410,000 PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE HG'S DAILY EMAILS FILLED WITH TIPS, TRICKS, PRODUCT REVIEWS, RECIPES, SHOCKERS AND MORE.
HUNGRY GIRL ADDS 500 - 1000 NEW SUBSCRIBERS TO THE DAILY EMAIL LIST EVERY DAY, WITH MOST NEW SIGNUPS COMING FROM WORD OF MOUTH REFERRALS.
TAGLINE IS "I'M NOT A NUTRITIONIST, I'M JUST HUNGRY."
HUNGRY GIRL CONTENT IS SEEN REGULARLY ON YAHOO TV, WEIGHTWATCHERS.COM, SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE, PEOPLE, STYLE WATCH, THE NY DAILY NEWS, AND ON THE TV SHOW EXTRA.

“This book was so much fun to write (I have to admit, the recipe testing was my favorite part!) and I hope it helps you realize that eating better is not about depriving yourself. You can easily find ways to eat the foods you love (even so-called “bad” ones) by whipping up fun and easy, better-for-you versions right at home.”



Lisa Lillien has written a brilliant, new and refreshing book in response to the overwhelming demand that she has received for her recipes. The book, Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World is the latest outgrowth Lisa has achieved from her renowned site, Hungry-Girl.com. The Hungry Girl phenomena started with Lisa and just one employee back in 2004. Wisely, deciding that she would come to her customers as opposed to forcing them to find her, Lisa began a newsletter concerning one of her favorite passions/obsessions, eating. With just herself, and one employee, she began to send out a weekly newsletter to about 200 close friends and contacts. Like many of us that love to eat, Lisa struggled with the “yo- yo” effect of loosing and gaining weight, fad diets, and frustration. She made a conscious decision to take control of what she ate, and she wanted to exercise such control that she not have to deprive herself of the food she loved and craved. Her obsession became her inspiration, (Lisa came up with Hungry Girl when she was taking sweets to a laboratory to have them tested to see if in fact they were low fat). Her alterative was brilliant; why not make and create guilt-free versions of her favorite craves and indulge to her heart’s content? The trick is to use replacement ingredients that are low in calories and fat, but don’t sacrifice taste.

Lisa’s thoughtful strategies have paid off. Her daily newsletters/emails are received by almost 500,000 subscribers. They had identified with the fun presentation and sassy style, far removed from boring, dull diet content normally delivered by nutritionists and doctors. The guilt-free recipes, food and product reviews, dieting news, shockers, and all things food approach have expanded Hungry Girl’s sphere of influence to Yahoo Weight Watchers.Com, Seventeen Magazine, People Style Watch, The New York Daily News, Woman’s Day Magazine, Good Housekeeping, and on the TV Show ‘Extra.’ In fact, some of her tasty and easy to make recipes were co-developed with Weight Watchers. The expanded staff of 6 that works at Hungry-Girl now addresses the 500-1000 new subscribers everyday to newsletters, most of the signups coming from referrals and word of mouth. Called the “Hollywood Diet Guru,” Lisa has been asked over and over again for copies of her recipes. The book was written in direct response to that.

Hungry Girl is a collection of 165 recipes (over half are brand new, never seen before) and survival strategies for anyone who loves rich, decadent food. From burgers to chocolate cake, breakfast, lunch and dinner, eating out, eating Mexican, eating Chinese and more, this book covers the waterfront. Unlike other books of this genre, the recipes are simple, short, fun, and easy to make. They are understandable, even by a total novice cook like me. Lisa tells you up front, what ingredients to get at the store, what to avoid, and the inaccuracy of labels. Once you have the ingredients, the rest is easy. Examples of favorites that even I recognized: Eggs Bene-Chick, Breakfast Pizza, Chili Cheese Nachos, Burgers, Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, Onion Rings, Tuna Melt, Burritos (big ones), and Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. (Lisa gives them much catchier names, but my point is that they are things I love to eat). Key to all of her recipes is that the nutritional information is disclosed with each one. For the recipes alone, the book is one you should buy.

My favorite part of Hungry Girl is the “survival strategies” for eating out at restaurants, when you travel, cocktail parties, dealing with cravings, and even must have snack food for the office. Where else are you going to get tips for how to “Survive a Trip to Starbucks”? These are very practical tips that you can use every single day. Consistent with newsletters, the book has Hungry Girl’s famous “Shockers” (things that most of us don’t realize and take for granted that really hurt us) and “Chew on This” (insightful facts of guilt-free eating).


Overall, the book is put in a pleasant to look at package, branded just like the Hungry Girl website on the outside, etched in light brown and pink on the inside, making reading a pleasant experience. Written with the typical Hungry Girl sass and humor, content and style-wise, it is one of the few ‘cookbooks’ that delivers what it promises: helpful information with humor and insight. The unstated theme of the book is that by obtaining the knowledge of the things that we eat, and the alternative, healthier choices we can make give us the power of control. Making smart decisions and planning ahead, even when you go out to eat or are in some other away from your home environment are all a part of this very fine book. The winning principle of eating the guilt-free versions of the food that you love and that you crave is continued in this book. Probably the best feature of this book is that you can take what Lisa has taught us, and apply it to your own craves. With the invaluable tips and tricks contained in the book, I foresee eaters everywhere taking the ingredients and tips and applying them to their favorite foods, creating and modifying their own recipes. Guilt-free junk food sounds like a winner to me. I recommend that on the 29th of April, 2008, you make you way to your favorite booksellers and pick this one up. Lisa is on tour, and will be talking and giving demonstrations. Check out her website at http://www.hungry-girl.com, for more information. Avoid the crowds, get there early. Just like they used to say about Elvis; 500,000 screaming fans cannot be wrong.

New Interview: Jim Butcher on Small Favor

I just posted a new interview today with Jim Butcher, Author of Small Favor on my site, http://www.theentertainmentcriticmagazine.com/
Please check it out.


James Myers
The Entertainment Critic
The Entertainment Critic Magazine

Book Review From The Entertainment Critic: Christ the Lord-The Road to Cana by Anne Rice

Christ The Lord: The Road to Cana

THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
http://www.theentertainmentcritic.com/
http://www.theentertainmentcritic.net/
http://www.theentertainmentcriticmagazine.com/

CHRIST THE LORD: THE ROAD TO CANA
By Anne Rice
Published by Borzoi, an Imprint of Alfred A. Knopf, a Division of Random House, Inc.
Publication Date: March, 2008
Price: $25.95
241 Pages
ISBN-13: 9781400043521
Four Star Rating ****

SHE HAS WRITTEN 27 BOOKS
ANNE RICE’S BOOKS HAVE SOLD OVER 100 MILLION COPIES
COMPLETED HER FIRST BOOK, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, IN 1973 AND PUBLISHED IT IN 1976. THIS BOOK WOULD BE THE FIRST IN RICE'S POPULAR VAMPIRE CHRONICLES SERIES, WHICH INCLUDES 1985'S THE VAMPIRE LESTAT AND 1988'S THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED

HER BOOKS HAVE BEEN MADE INTO FILMS INCLUDING INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, FROM RICE'S OWN SCREENPLAY. THE MOVIE STARRED TOM CRUISE AS LESTAT, BRAD PITT AS THE GUILT-RIDDEN LOUIS AND WAS A BREAKOUT ROLE FOR YOUNG KIRSTEN DUNST AS THE DECEITFUL LITTLE CLAUDIA.

A 1994 FILM TITLED EXIT TO EDEN, BASED LOOSELY ON THE BOOK RICE PUBLISHED AS ANNE RAMPLING, STARRED ROSIE O'DONNELL AND DAN AYKROYD. THE WORK TRANSFORMED FROM A LOVE STORY INTO A POLICE COMEDY, POSSIBLY DUE TO THE EXPLICIT S&M THEMES OF THE BOOK.

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS WAS MADE INTO A MINISERIES IN 2001 BY DIRECTOR PETER MEDAK.

THE BOOK IS A BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB MAIN SELECTION


“Who is Christ the Lord? ...I am Christ the Lord. I know. Others know, but what they know they often forget. My mother hasn’t spoken a word of it for years. My foster father, Joseph, is old now, white haired, and given to dreaming.

I never forget.”


Anne Rice has written another memorable book in her life of Christ series. The Road to Cana is the second book, beginning with his last winter before his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, and ending with the miracle at Cana. He is surrounded by the promise of being the Christ child, complete with tales of a Virgin birth and wisdom beyond his years. Yeshua, as he is know, is carefully watch by those who attend the synagogue with him, waiting to see the path he will choose as he grows into manhood. He lives in a time of political unrest, where the Jews wait for the Messiah to free them from their Roman oppressors.

We see him in this book emerging from his baptism to embrace his destiny and confront the Devil. We see him transform water in six limestone jars into wine. He is recognized by his people as the chosen one. What Rice does better than anyone before her with these tales of Christ, is to somehow follow very closely the scholarship of the New Testament, while breathing life and prospective into the young Jesus as he develops into a man. The story is told from his point of view. His thoughts and feelings are laid bare in this book. This makes this something more that an old Sunday school tale; it is an interesting and insightful study into the mind of Christ as he becomes as man. It is a powerful ‘memoir’ that is so well written, it seems real, true and believable.

What’s more compelling is that where the Bible is silent on his middle, adolescent years, and years as a young man, Rice provides us with s portrait of a restless, isolated young man, who realizes to reach his potential, he must by definition give up the normal pursuits of men. Young women cannot be a part of his life. He is taken with a young beauty, Avigail. He wrestles with the desire to marry and mate, in contrast to his destiny. He always comes back to the same point; he cannot be like the others. Yet, like the rest of his family, he experiences all too human emotions. The tension is thick and palatable. Somehow, Jesus comes to accept his role, and the responsibility that comes with it. Rice strikes a believable balance between a being who is man and yet a being who is God. The details of his humanness make this a most unusual book. The story of Jesus is a well-known story, yet the exploration of his complex thoughts and feelings make this telling of the tale completely unique. Rice’s simple and direct prose belies her revealing discoveries. A captivating, vivid story, this is a compelling book that deserves to be read.

New Interview: Eric Jerome Dickey & Jonah Goldberg

Please check out the interviews that I just completed today with Jonah Goldberg on his new book, Liberal Fascism and Eric Jerome Dickey, on his new book, Pleasure. You can access them on my site, http://www.theentertainmentmagazine.com/. To access the interview, go to that site’s main page, clicking on interviews. On the interview page, there is a musical note on the lower left hand side of the page. Click on the musical note, and an MP3 player should pop up. Inside of the player, you’ll see your name. Click on the name, and the interview should begin to play. Please go to the top right hand corner and click on the wavy lines to turn the music off on the site. It makes it easier to hear the interview.
Please let me know what you think. James