Sounds of Our Times: Two Hundred Years of Acoustics

Book Description

This book is a history of acoustics from the 19th century to the present, written by one of the preeminent members of the acoustical community. The book is both a review of the major scientific advances in acoustics as well as an account of famous acousticians and their discoveries. The development of the Acoustical Society of America is described. Acousitics is distinguished by its interdisciplinary nature and the book explores the field's development in its relationship to other sciences. In addition to covering the history of acoustics, the book contains a last chapter on the future of acoustics. Many lovely historical illustrations are included. Robert T. Beyer is the Editor-in-Chief of the AIP Series, Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing. Other appointments include past Vice- President and President of the Acoustical Society of America, as well as Fellowships with the Acoustical Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, and IEEE, respectively.

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Funny, dramatic, serious

Funny - English - Funny

A funny book, but what's so great about Bridget?

what a drag

So great!

Bridget Jones's Diary
Helen Fielding
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Bridget Jones's Guide to Life

Bridget Jones's Diary (Collector's Edition)

Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Widescreen Edition)

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination

Accessories:

Conair Pro Color Accents Temporary Hair Color Kit

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ASIN: 014028009X
Release Date: 1999-05-24

Amazon.com Reviews

In the course of the year recorded in Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget confides her hopes, her dreams, and her monstrously fluctuating poundage, not to mention her consumption of 5277 cigarettes and "Fat units 3457 (approx.) (hideous in every way)." In 365 days, she gains 74 pounds. On the other hand, she loses 72! There is also the unspoken New Year's resolution--the quest for the right man. Alas, here Bridget goes severely off course when she has an affair with her charming cad of a boss. But who would be without their e-mail flirtation focused on a short black skirt? The boss even contends that it is so short as to be nonexistent.

At the beginning of Helen Fielding's exceptionally funny second novel, the thirtyish publishing puffette is suffering from postholiday stress syndrome but determined to find Inner Peace and poise. Bridget will, for instance, "get up straight away when wake up in mornings." Now if only she can survive the party her mother has tricked her into--a suburban fest full of "Smug Marrieds" professing concern for her and her fellow "Singletons"--she'll have made a good start. As far as she's concerned, "We wouldn't rush up to them and roar, 'How's your marriage going? Still having sex?'"

This is only the first of many disgraces Bridget will suffer in her year of performance anxiety (at work and at play, though less often in bed) and living through other people's "emotional fuckwittage." Her twin-set-wearing suburban mother, for instance, suddenly becomes a chat-show hostess and unrepentant adulteress, while our heroine herself spends half the time overdosing on Chardonnay and feeling like "a tragic freak." Bridget Jones's Diary began as a column in the London Independent and struck a chord with readers of all sexes and sizes. In strokes simultaneously broad and subtle, Helen Fielding reveals the lighter side of despair, self-doubt, and obsession, and also satirizes everything from self-help books (they don't sound half as sensible to Bridget when she's sober) to feng shui, Cosmopolitan-style. She is the Nancy Mitford of the 1990s, and it's impossible not to root for her endearing heroine. On the other hand, one can only hope that Bridget will continue to screw up and tell us all about it for years and books to come. --Kerry Fried

Book Description

Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. Caught between the joys of Singleton fun, and the fear of dying alone and being found three weeks later half eaten by an Alsatian; tortured by Smug Married friends asking, "How's your love life" with lascivious, yet patronizing leers, Bridget resolves to reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult and learn to program the VCR. With a blend of flighty charm, existential gloom, and endearing self-deprecation, the diary has touched a raw nerve with millions of readers the world round. Read it, laugh and crash your head onto the table before you cry, "Bridget Jones is me!"

"Screamingly funny." --USA Today

"Bridget Jones is channeling something so universal and (horrifyingly) familiar that readers will giggle and sigh with collective delight." --Elle

"Hilarious but poignant." --The Washington Post

"This juicy diary tells the truth with a verve as appealing to men on Mars as it is to Venusian women. A." --Entertainment Weekly

"An unforgettably droll character." --Newsweek

"Bridget's voice is dead-on . . . will cause readers to drop the book, grope frantically for the phone and read it out loud to their best girlfriends." --The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Fielding. . .has rummaged all too knowingly through the bedrooms, closets, hearts and minds of women everywhere." --Glamour

"Good-bye Rules Girls, hello Singletons...Endearingly engaging." --The New York Times Book Review

Download Description

Meet Bridget Jones--a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could: a. lose 7 pounds; b. stop smoking; c. develop Inner Poise. Diary is a devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement; now a feature length film.

Customer Reviews:

Funny, dramatic, serious.......2007-09-05

Most novels with a female central character do not portray her as much less than ideal. Such is not the case here. Bridget Jones is a little beyond the usual marriage age, and she feels it because people keep reminding her that her clock is ticking. She is literate but not always competent. Her love life is a mess. She worries about her weight, her smoking, her drinking, and just about everything else. In fact, she keeps a meticulous record of her failures.

Often she is funny, seeing the foolishness of it all. And sometimes she is in despair and insecure. She is always a social and physical klutz. And these flaws in her make her come alive. It is almost, at times, as if we are reading an actual young woman's diary.

The story moves slowly, sinuously, as Bridget tries to cope. Her parents' marriage is falling apart. Her friends are as mixed up as Bridget is. Her work at the publishing company is complicated by the fact that she is in love with the man in charge, and he seems to be a user of women. But slowly Bridget comes to realize.... Well, read the book.

There are several ties between this book and Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." In fact, "Diary" is, in effect the Austen book, with the heroine being a present-day English young woman, rather than one from the Regency period. Some of the other ties include Mr. Darcy, parallel figures in both novels; actual references to the actors who played in the BBC series on the Austen book--among others.

This was made into a fine movie, one that did justice to the novel, without following it exactly. Renee Zellweger (of Texas) would seem an unlikely actress to play a born and bred Londoner, but she is perfect in the role.

Funny - English - Funny.......2007-08-21

This book is a very entertaining and funny read and if you are one of the two women on the planet who has not read it, I suggest you pick up a copy. They were originally unsure if the English humor would translate well to America, but it certainly has. There is also an excellent movie version (NOT the sequel) that I watch over and over again.Bridget Jones's Diary (Collector's Edition)

A funny book, but what's so great about Bridget?.......2007-08-19

"Bridget Jones's Diary" is a humorous romp through a year in the life of Bridget Jones: A 30-something "Singleton" who can't seem to lose weight, quit smoking, or find a boyfriend. Unfortunately, Bridget takes a step in the wrong direction when she begins an affair with her boss, Daniel, who unsurprisingly turns out to be a first-class jerk. Luckily, there are plenty of other things going on in Bridget's life to take her mind off her cheating cad of an ex-boyfriend. Bridget's crazy mother abruptly walks out of her marriage and begins a new life as an adulteress/talk-show hostess. Eventually Bridget decides to take a new job at a TV station to get away from Daniel, and she ultimately finds herself drawn to the mysterious Mark Darcy, a man she didn't care for at first but finally comes to see in an entirely new light.

This is a pretty funny book, and I especially enjoyed the sly "Pride and Prejudice" parallels. However, the one thing that really bothers me about Bridget Jones is that, although she's amusing in her own way, I just don't understand what those two charming English blokes saw in her. She's not super attractive or intelligent...I just don't buy the fact that either Daniel or Mark would ever really fall for her. In spite of that one glaring problem, however, "Bridget Jones" is a light and fun read that's good for a few laughs. (Also, it's much better than the movie, in my opinion.)

what a drag.......2007-08-15

Ok, the only reason I read this was because I love Pride and Predjucice. This book was awful, and depressing. Not funny. Her life just made my sad, and her family is just pathetic. Was it meant to be funny? Ending was really abrupt and hurried, and I kind of wondered how I even got to the end. Got so sick of hearing how many cigarrettes she had smoked, how many drinks, how many calories. Oh my goodness. Enough!

So great!.......2007-07-04

I read both this book and the second before watching either movie. And, the movies were great, the books are even better!! Hilarious takes on single life, weight issues, guys, alcohol, sex, and friends & family.

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Typical, but cute chick lit
'Manhattan' does NOT rock

Manhattan on the Rocks
Janice Harayda
Manufacturer: Sourcebooks Landmark
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1402201192

Book Description

When twenty-five-year-old Laura Smart moves from Cleveland to Manhattan to take a job at a magazine, she hopes the world will become her oyster-her Fendi Oyster (this year's must-have handbag) to be exact.

Instead, Laura has to deal with the demands of her self-absorbed and quirky boss-the talk-show host turned magazine editor, Cassandra Lovelace. Laura, a Holly Golightly-type character, finds her own romantic and professional redemption in a novel that hilariously sends up the sex-and-celebrity-obsessed world of contemporary women's magazines.

Written from the insider's perspective of a former senior editor of Glamour, Manhattan on the Rocks is a sharply observed comedy of manners with a take-no-prisoners spirit. This is a novel for every woman who has ever known in her heart that-even as her world is collapsing all around her-she needs only a Glamour makeover to save her life from ruin.

Customer Reviews:

Typical, but cute chick lit.......2007-01-07

I thought this was a really cute, light and fluffy read!!!! Typical chick lit, but a fun read!!!!

I liked the main character alot and was interested to see what happened to her over the course of the book!!!

Not the best I've read, but by far, not the worst!!!

'Manhattan' does NOT rock.......2005-08-09

This book had all the potential to develop more in terms of its storyline, but strangely, towards the end of the novel, I found myself not caring what happened to the protagonist, and not at all involved in any or all of her activities and pursuits.

The plot is hackneyed and contrived at best, in addition to being overwhelmingly cliched. Reading the novel was seriously and literally painful because of the abundance of typing, spelling and editorial errors; mistakes occur on nearly every page, if not every other page! One wonders how an award winning journalist could let slip all the errors and omissions that would have been picked up with more careful editing and proofreading. Surely, editorial staff have much to answer for too!

I'm not sure if this book should be allowed to remain on the shelves of any bookstore, let alone still continue to be sold at all. I would seriously recommend a total recall of all copies of this book from bookstores, followed by a thorough editing process before unleashing it onto an unsuspecting public. This is an outrageus assault on the reading standards and literacy expectations of literate people!

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Bridget Jones's Diary - A Novel
Helen Fielding
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000IXH6YM

Bridget Jones's Diary: Music from the Motion Picture

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Bridget Jones's Diary: Music from the Motion Picture

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The Hollywood Reporter says this Renee Zellweger/Hugh Grant comedic hit is "full of wit, warmth and honest, knowing humor, topped off with a plethora of excellent performances." Our matching folio features 14 songs from the soundtrack, including: All by Myself (Jamie O'Neal) * Have You Met Miss Jones (Robbie Williams) * I'm Every Woman (Chaka Khan) * It's Raining Men (Geri Halliwell) * Just Perfect (Tracy Bonham) * Killin' Kind (Shelby Lynne) * Kiss That Girl (Sheryl Crow) * Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) (Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye) * and more.

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Self-important, snobbish, condescending, and silly
As it happens, Cleveland does suck
Not terrible, but not terrific
An Accident if you decide to read.....
A humorous book that made me think

The Accidental Bride: A Romantic Comedy
Janice Harayda
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312262817

Book Description

With just one month to go before her fairy tale wedding to the third richest man in the second largest city in Ohio, Lily Blair is suddenly beset by doubts.Even though she appears to have it all - a budding career and a five-carat engagement ring from the man of her dreams - she can't decide whether to plunge headfirst into the security of married suburban life, or follow her career dreams solo to New York. And while the zany and loving cast of friends, family, and co-workers keep pushing her towards the aisle, Lily knows that, despite the passion she feels for her fianc, she alone must come to terms with the biggest decision of her life.As she locks horns with her mother on nearly every detail, issues like veal medallions vs. chicken wings become battles in an event being staged with all the grandeur and precision of a full-scale military operation. The situation grows funnier and more desperate at every turn as Lily must confront an absurd bridal fair, an unsympathetic psychiatrist, and the local gossip column. Before she loses her sanity, she looks to her heroine, Jane Austen, for inspiration.The result is hilarious, sweet, and smart. For Lily Blair is a real heroine for the 90s and beyond, and The Accidental Bride who will keep surprising you until the end.AUTHORBIO: Janice Harayda is an award-winning journalist who spent eleven years as the book editor of a major metropolitan daily newspaper.She has been a staff writer and editor for Glamour, editorial director of Boston magazine, and a contributor to many national magazines and newspapers.A vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle, she lives in New Jersey.The Accidental Bride is her first novel.

Customer Reviews:

Self-important, snobbish, condescending, and silly.......2007-03-27

I just finished this book yesterday and I was happy to be done with it. I have never disliked a book enough to actually come onto amazon.com and write a scathing review of it, but this one inspired me. The only reason I finished it was to see if the main character was suddenly going to do something worthy of my attention, like grow up and appreciate her groom.

All the characters are flat and fit neatly into two categories: the "good guys" and the "bad guys". The "bad guys" are all "rednecks"; sports-obsessed, war-loving, anti-gay rights, corn-dog eating Republicans who all have horribly snotty children. The "good guys" are portrayed as enlightened, socially aware, psychology-hating, liberal-thinkers who raise unrealistically well-behaved children and think that Manhattan is the only cultured place on earth. What the "good guys" really come across as are self-absorbed, overly politically correct snobs who see phallic symbols at every turn. (I think the phallic symbol references are supposed to be funny.)

With all the Jane Austen quotes and references, I gather that the writer was trying to make a satirical commentary on our times as Austen did on hers. But Harayda misses the two things that make Austen so likable and powerful a writer: the "good guys" have human flaws that make us like them, relate to them, and feel empathetic towards them and the "bad guys" are either comical or pathetic, making us either laugh or feel sympathy. This book did none of these things. It insulted, belittled, and condescended at every turn. By the end, I was cringing when I saw Austen's quotes at the top of each chapter. It was a complete insult to her.

Lily, the main character, is a spoiled, snobbish, self-absorbed brat who pouts instead of opening her mouth and sharing her feelings with her fiancé. She is spineless and allows her parents and Mark (the fiancé) to dictate her life. She is also strangely obsessed with corn dogs. She doesn't want to get married and hasn't told Mark that she loves him, yet she accepts his proposal. She hates her mother, the house Mark's father bought them, his sisters, the town they live in, her boss, and her job and yet she does nothing pro-active about changing or coming to terms with any of this - she just whines and pouts and compares everyone to obscure literary characters. She views herself as a powerless victim and everyone else as merciless oppressors. I felt like I was reading about a spoiled 16-year-old.

Mark is a flat, boring, too-good-to-be-true character but even with that, he is way too good for self-absorbed Lily. He proposes to her before she has even said "I love you" and wants to marry her instead of living with her first. I kept wanting him to leave Lily and maybe teach her something.

Alas, there is no major transformation of the main character. She doesn't learn any lessons or come to terms with her own character flaws - Oh, wait. I forgot; she doesn't have any. Instead, everyone suddenly realizes that she was right all along and she gets her way in everything. And everyone admires her for it.

No wonder I found this book at the Borders outlet instead of the proper store.

As it happens, Cleveland does suck.......2007-03-11

Please ignore the poor reviews. They obviously come from the "troglodytes" of Cleveland. Look it up, Clevelanders.

Tom Heehler

Not terrible, but not terrific.......2005-04-04

I got seriously sick of the Jane Austen, as well as the author's self-congratulatory literary comments throughout the book -- I felt like the author was trying to show off a degree in Literature to the Unwashed. The ending was incredibly stupid -- not at all what I expected, and utterly disappointing. The reason for 3 stars and not 1 star was because it wasn't completely awful -- I did like to see how Jerry Springer-esque her views of her in-laws and family could get.

An Accident if you decide to read............2004-09-28

Most likely this is the first and Last book Janice Harayda will write. The Accidental Bride, Harayda's first is nothing but an accident.

Lily is a 20 something is about to get married, to one of Ohio's richest, but pulls out only to find herself making matters worse for herself. Sounds good. Yet it is not.

Harayda never gives us a description of the main character, let alone any other character in the book. Its hard to read a book where the mental image you have in your head is a paper doll. Every character is so flawed that you can not get past that fact alone. No character is likeable. Hands down. How can you like a lead character that forces herself to get married to a man who loves her, only to fake loving him to get a divorce after the wedding. Talk about low.

Then there are the facts and the non-stop Jane Austen bits. Lily our main character lives in Ohio, only to make it sound like hell. Hello!!! I live in the Ohio Valley, and we do not have crime rates that are bigger than NYC's, a climate where it snows in September (without a nor easter), we are not rich and live in look alike communities (our economy is not the best right now), and no we are not soooo out of style that we make Trailor Park Trash look like Naomi Campbell.

Jane Austen!?? You will never pick up one of her novels if you read this book, for the author dwells on Jane the whole book that she forgets what matters...the plot of her own book.

I would like to say that you could give the book a chance, but heck dont waste your time. I would have given it one star had I not had enough will to finish the thing.

Skip this read and pick up a Jane Green novel...or even one of Austens' great novels.

A humorous book that made me think.......2004-04-07

I really enjoyed this book and in fact was on this Amazon page hoping to see if there are more books by this author. The book is not Jane Austen and is not meant to be. However it is an witty look at contemporary mores involving courtship, love, romance, and marriage. It made me think about my own choices and my expectations of others. And it made me laugh! And also vow never to visit Ohio....

Average customer rating:

Bridget Jones's Diary - A Novel
Helen Fielding
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JZV5P0

Average customer rating:

Great Book
I'm a Skipper Too!
Interesting and funny read
Skipper's Revenge
A fantastic book!

Skipper's Revenge
Julie Murphy Teahan
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0595369375

Book Description

I never got my chance to be Barbie. My fate as a Skipper was forever sealed.

Since 1950, seven out of every ten girls in America have owned a Barbie doll. Paige Sheehan was not one of them. Her mother believed that playing with a doll whose breasts made up half of her body mass was inappropriate for a nine-year-old girl.

During her childhood, Paige was forced to sneak to a friend's house for her Barbie fixes, where she was directed to play Barbie's less glamorous younger sister, Skipper. Now more than twenty years later, Paige has a theory that women are either Barbies or Skippers-and she still longs to play the superior role. Barbie women come readily stocked with beauty and accessories galore. Skippers are the younger sisters, impatient to grow up from their awkward adolescence and fill the high-heeled shoes of their glamorous sibling.

Confronted with a failed relationship, a dying father, and a legal entanglement, Paige is forced to look beyond packaging. Unlike Barbie, born with an empire of houses, clothes, and companions, Paige discovers the value of being what she considers to be less than perfect. With a new love interest and a renewed sense of self, Paige takes on the seemingly Barbie-dominated world around her with wit, style, and determination.

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I never got my chance to be Barbie. My fate as a Skipper was forever sealed.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-09-28

I took this book with me on vacation and it was so wonderful. I couldn't put it down. The only problem I had with it was I didn't want it to be over.

I'm a Skipper Too!.......2007-06-07

Yes, we all grow up thinking we want to be Barbie. Then, as we grow, we start to realize that Skipper has some great qualities too. She's the ultimate ugly duckling waiting to emerge as a swan. She's the one Ken might turn to when he just can't deal with Barbie's demands any longer. And if the Skipper in question is Julie Teahan, then she's emerged as a swan with the writing of this novel. As a BzzAgent, I was able to preview the first three chapters of this novel. Based on those chapters, I'm buying the book today. I laughed out loud several times and had a smile on my face at the end of the third chapter. The descriptions of her conversations with her father were hysterical. I can't wait to read the rest and am holding back on the final star because I haven't yet completed the book. I'm really looking forward to receiving it. I love a good, light, fun read. Especially for summertime.

Interesting and funny read.......2007-06-06

Skipper's Revenge is thought-provoking satire. Although it can be certainly be enjoyed as light, fun, reading by the pool, if the reader looks deeper, Teahan is makes some interesting points about society's views of women and the roles of women and importance of beauty. This would make a perfect read for a book club.

Skipper's Revenge.......2007-05-09

This book is AMAZING...the author has a unique ability to make you laugh and cry at the same time! Very Powerful book for all women to relate to...makes a FABULOUS gift when you want to remind someone how BEAUTIFUL they really are!!!

A fantastic book!.......2007-03-27

I agree with other reviewers that this book is fantastic - funny, touching, clever, and inspriring. I would add that the weaving of story lines, the use of metaphor, and the rich and careful development of the main characters reveal Teahan's immense writing talent. I sincerely hope this is not the last we hear from this bright young author.

Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones Diary: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

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Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones Diary: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)
Imelda Whelehan
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0826453228

Book Description

This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from `The Remains of the Day' to `White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

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BRIDGET JONE'S DIARY
FIELDING
Manufacturer: THE INDEPENDENT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S6K1KU

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Bridget Jones Diary
Helen Fielding
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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