annas

Anna's Thins, Ginger, 5.25-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)
$22.32
These are my favorite Ginger cookies, but they are so crispy and delicate, I often get boxes where all the cookies are smashed to bits. It's a shame really-- Amazon has the best price on these, but my last shipment had over half of the cookies broken.

This didn't stop me from eating them, of course.. but they were not suitable for serving to company or using for a dinner party-- which these cookies are so good for, IF you can get them somewhere where they aren't broken up!

Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club)
$17.00
There are several love stories in the novel, but I see it more as a one story about love in the time of social boundaries. Karenina is married to a man she loves, but isn't in love with anymore. When she meets "the one", she thinks nothing should or would stop her from starting a new life. However she is also a mother and the two loves, that of a woman and of a mother, pulls her heart apart.

The way Tolstoy takes the reader through their lives and thoughts is a true work of genius. You can relate and understand almost every one of them, because you know what it feels like to do or say the things they do or say. You know what it's like to fight with the ones you love the most, to give up something you've been looking for your whole life, to wonder whether all of it is real or just a dream...

Miracle at St Anna (Widescreen Edition)
$29.99
I agree that the Miracle of St. Anna actors used some vernacular that was not common for that time period and that the actions of the African American soldiers in dealing with white American were also questionable. During this time period you must remember that African Americans were still being lynched by whites, segregation was acceptable in many areas; African Americans that stood up for themselves were regularly and severely punished. I believe Spike Lee may have brought in a little creativity to some of the scenes (just like most movies), however I thought the movie was very good. My father served in World War II. He spoke regularly of the mistreatment by white officers and white civilians and how this mistreatment made people of color carry heavy burdens. African American men (and most people who were mistreated for centuries) were not allowed to release any disgruntled feelings on their nemesis, without vengeance.
Again, I enjoyed the movie; the cinematography was just breath taking. I enjoyed the relationship the Chocolate giant had developed with the little Italian boy. What happened to Hector at the end is the indication of the mental troubles many veterans experienced then and now. I recommend that others judge the movie for themselves.

Initials Only
$3.65
I'm one of those people addicted to British mysteries, both on TV and in print. I enjoy the older TV crop, Rumple of the Bailey, Miss Marple, Poirot Frost, etc, but I do enjoy some of the new TV productions that the British offer too. As far as books, I am also of the old school, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence, etc. Of course, all the authors I like have passed on, and while I do re-read their books over and over, I miss new mysteries of the old school. I say that because if any of you feel as I do, I can offer you a wonderful solution that I surprised and delighted me, and that is the works of Anna Katherine Green. I know there are lots of better informed reviewers on Amazon, so please forgive me if I am preaching to the choir, but I had never heard of Green before, let alone that she was the inspiration of Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Mary Roberts Rinehart, etc. I just had never heard of her, (some American TV producer should read her books and make a US mystery series in the British manner since we have exhausted Christie, Doyle, and Rinehart!), but I digress.

Here is really what I wanted to say, if you love Agatha, and the rest, and miss new mysteries, and are tired re-reading from your existing library, (because you know `whodunit'), than here is a wonderful surprise, you can read the works of Anna Katherine Green! Short and sweet, she `wrote the book' on these types of `locked door' mysteries, or they type favored by you and I. She was American, but the method, the situations, the characters and motives are all as good as the British authors she inspired. And for the record, I'm not anti-American, I'm an American, but its the style that Green did create, that I like so much, and was followed well by the British, that I like so much, I hope you know what I mean. :)

Drink from the well that was the source, and enjoy some fresh mysteries! It's nice for a change NOT knowing whodunit!