From Booklist

Harlem teen Drew Lawson thinks that he has “the big-money skills” for the NBA. Now a senior, he plans to play his best game, attract scouts, and earn a scholarship that will, he hopes, lead to the pros. Then his coach begins to favor a new, white player, and Drew struggles to overcome his anger and to maintain his drive. Basketball fans will love the long passages of detailed court action, and Myers extends the sports metaphors into Drew’s own questions about the future possibilities for himself and his peers, particularly the struggling young men in his neighborhood, whom he sees as “a bunch of guys in a game. They were falling behind every minute that passed, but they had lost interest in the score.” Myers explores his themes with a veteran writer’s skill. Passages that could have read as heavy-handed messages come across, instead, as the authentic thoughts of a strong, likable, African American teen whose anxieties, sharp insights, and beli (more…)

From Booklist

Even before the book was out, its juiciest bits were everywhere: Sarah Palin was serene when chosen for V.P. because it was “God’s plan.” Hillary didn’t know if she could control Bill (duh). Elizabeth Edwards was a shrew, not a saint. Overall, the men from the campaign garner less attention in these anecdote wars than the women and tend to come off better—but only just: Obama, the authors note, can be conceited and windy; McCain was disengaged to the point of recklessness; and John Edwards is a cheating, egotistical blowhard. But, hey, that’s politics, and it’s obvious that authors Heilemann (New York Magazine) and Halperin (Time) worked their sources well—all 200 of them. Some (including the sources themselves) will have trouble with the book’s use of quotes (or lack thereof). The interviews, according to the authors, were conducted “on deep background,” and dialogue was “reconstructed extensively” and with “extreme care.” So (more…)

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Amazon.com Review

Are you just another AFC (“average frustrated chump”) trying to meet an HB (“hot babe”)? How would you like to “full-close” with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss’s entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant–complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like “half a man.” That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss’s life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America’s most suave gents–including the best of them all, the God of the pickup “community,” a man named Mystery. Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he’s (more…)

Amazon.com Review

Neil Strauss, the New York Times bestselling author of The Game, presents Rules of the Game: I. The Stylelife Challenge Master the Game in 30 Days II. The Style Diaries The Pickup Artist’s Companion Questions for Neil Strauss Amazon.com: Yours has to be one of the strangest career paths in the book business: from rock critic at the New York Times, to cowriter of memoirs with rockers and porn stars, to bestselling seduction guru. Do you ever wonder how you got from point A to point Z? Strauss: Oddly, I never do. Instead, I wonder why it took me so long to get to point Z. And then I wonder if people are going to stick with me when I go to point whatever-is-after-Z next. I guess that would be point AA–which, come to think of it, I’ve already been to with Dave Navarro while writing his book. Amazon.com: You write in the introduction to Rules of the Game that you thought The Game was your “last word on the subject,” and you were ready to get (more…)

Amazon.com

A first-person oriented hunting game with action integrated into the storyline and mission play, bundled with the Top Shot Wii peripheral, Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 Wii Bundle challenges players to hone their skills as hunters, trackers and outdoorsmen in a quest to join a the world’s most exclusive hunting club. In order to do this players take on a series of hunting challenges and mini-games armed with their wits and a diverse weapons arsenal, that will pit them against both big and small game from around the globe. .caption { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica neue, Arial, serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; } ul.indent { list-style: inside disc; text-indent: -15px; } table.callout { font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1. 3em; } td.vgoverview { height: 125px; background: #9DC4D8 url(http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/callout-bg.png) repeat-x; border-left: 1px solid #999999; border-ri (more…)

The Secret Course

• Authors are top game designers • Aspiring game writers and designers must have this complete bible There are other books about creating video games out there. Sure, they cover the basics. But The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design goes way beyond the basics. The authors, top game designers, focus on creating games that are an involving, emotional experience for the gamer. Topics include integrating story into the game, writing the game script, putting together the game bible, creating the design document, and working on original intellectual property versus working with licenses. Finally, there’s complete information on how to present a visionary new idea to developers and publishers. Got game? Get The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design.

About the Author

Flint Dille and John Zuur Platten’s company, The Bureau of Film and Games, develops original games for next-generation platforms. They cowrote Chronicles of Rid (more…)

From the makers of the award‐winning Demon’s Souls comes the ultimate retro gaming experience: 3D Dot Game Heroes. An homage to the all‐time classic action/adventure and RPGs, 3DDGH delivers incredibly satisfying old‐school gameplay, beautiful visuals, and endless inside jokes, winks, and nudges for people who grew up in the golden age of gaming!

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Amazon.com Review

Are you just another AFC (“average frustrated chump”) trying to meet an HB (“hot babe”)? How would you like to “full-close” with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss’s entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant–complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like “half a man.” That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss’s life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America’s most suave gents–including the best of them all, the God of the pickup “community,” a man named Mystery. Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he’s (more…)

From Booklist

Even before the book was out, its juiciest bits were everywhere: Sarah Palin was serene when chosen for V.P. because it was “God’s plan.” Hillary didn’t know if she could control Bill (duh). Elizabeth Edwards was a shrew, not a saint. Overall, the men from the campaign garner less attention in these anecdote wars than the women and tend to come off better—but only just: Obama, the authors note, can be conceited and windy; McCain was disengaged to the point of recklessness; and John Edwards is a cheating, egotistical blowhard. But, hey, that’s politics, and it’s obvious that authors Heilemann (New York Magazine) and Halperin (Time) worked their sources well—all 200 of them. Some (including the sources themselves) will have trouble with the book’s use of quotes (or lack thereof). The interviews, according to the authors, were conducted “on deep background,” and dialogue was “reconstructed extensively” and with “extreme care.” So (more…)

Nice Gerdening Decor

From the Manufacturer

Turn cranks, rotate gears, pull levers, and use catapults or any objects to build crazy machines with this fun software game. This brain teaser will lighten up imagination with creative and addictive fun. Features: Create your own unique contraptions Solve more than 200 challenging puzzles Put your machines to work Cool Physics engine with air-pressure, electricity, gravity, and particle effects Experiment with gears, robots, explosives, and more in your own virtual lab

Turn the crank, rotate the gears, push the levers, use the catapult, explode it, or fly it… From grilling sausages with a pulley, gears, rubberbands and a candle to firing a cannon with a basketball, these wacky brainteasers will light up your imagination with creative and addictive fun!!

(more…)