Robert Beum

I found this to be a very useful supplement to my reading of Dickens novel. It is perfect for finding out what others think of the novel, without waiting through a lot of pages or a lot of jargon. Given Dicken's enormous cast of characters, I suspect that many readers will be delighted to know that there is a guide that lists just about all of them.

Royster gives alternative viewpoints about the novel. While she has opinions, she is not didactic, and is willing to offer the reader other ideas. The only thing that I could wish, which I have seen in other Cliff Notes, is more on the initial reactions to the novel - there is very likely a page limitation, and what is here is very helpful.… (meer)

I teach writing. I have read a lot of books about prosody but this is the one you want if you are interested in a full description of what a poem requires. By that I mean the full soundscape of this particular use of language and aesthetics. Karl Shapiro is the other author and contributed mightily but know this: there isn't any better introduction to the craft that fully rates the different contributions of sound and color and image than this. It is also beautifully written which is not necessarily what one can expect in a book on poetry. I will be using this as a handbook, wearing its pages well… (meer)