Epinions Recent Reviews for lisatoy

Mediocre in every way

Tue, 2 Nov 2004 12:05:26 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Having recently bought our first house - and since that house needs a bit of, well, attention - there are any number of minor tasks for which I need a saw. One of my in-laws gave me the Navigator when we moved in, and raved about its versatility -...

Bodum Eileen 1296 3.38-Cup Coffee Maker: B&D Thermal Carafe Coffeemaker

Mon, 10 May 2004 16:08:50 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Having beaten my old Krups coffeemaker into the ground, I began to look for a new one last weekend. While I will occasionally pop into one of those much-too-expensive chain stores for an espresso (made by my very own barista no less) I'm pretty...

Mila 18 - Uris Tackles the Holocaust

Tue, 23 Mar 2004 13:50:08 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Leon Uris has tackled several inherently dramatic historical periods in his works - from the Irish battles for independence in Trinity and Redemption , to the fight for the creation of the state of Israel in Exodus . For the...

2004 Ford Focus Hatchback: Ford Focus SVT

Mon, 22 Mar 2004 14:10:10 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Since my dalliance with the Mazdaspeed Protege, I haven't had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in any of these bargain rockets...until recently when I spent a couple of weeks at my parents' home in upstate NY. Rather than rent a car,...

Ludlum could use a writing class

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 15:37:32 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - I always feel like I'm swimming against the current a bit when I talk about Robert Ludlum. According to his website there are more than two hundred million copies of his books in print, in over thirty languages. There's no doubt that he is one of the...

Buffalo & Niagara Falls: Drearier by the Minute...but the Falls Never Stop Being Cool

Mon, 29 Dec 2003 11:34:06 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Going back to the Niagara Frontier for the holidays with my girlfriend raised one momentous possibility: she had never been to the Falls, and we were about to correct that. There's some pressure implied here, as anyone from the region knows - if...

A little cliched, but still a good read

Fri, 26 Dec 2003 14:23:15 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - In The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning brings back the hero he introduced in Booked to Die - Cliff Janeway. The former Denver cop has settled into his role as a bookseller, and becomes embroiled in another mystery with connections to books. As in the...

Great Base Performance

Mon, 1 Dec 2003 13:30:33 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - In the interest of providing the full picture, I should mention that I spend the majority of my time driving an A4 with the sport suspension package and currently shod with a set of Dunlop SP Sport A2s (see my review of those, too). While not a true...

One of the best little-told tales of WWII

Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:25:56 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - In an age in which military conflicts are both relatively contained and brief, and in which mass media coverage ensures immediate dissection of any tidbit of information, we know that any possible ‘human interest’ story will be unearthed in minute...

Hitler II -

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:56:18 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - For those of you uninterested in reading the entire review (let alone the entire book...) let me sum...

Hitler: Nemesis (Descent into Genocide)

Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:13:00 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Note: “Nemesis” is the second in a two-volume biography of Hitler, and essentially covers the expansion & war years (1936-1945). The first volume is available separately, and is named “Hitler: 1889 1936 Hubris.”

...

Great Tire for the Money

Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:55:02 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - I purchased these tires in a deliberate effort to move away from the Z-rated performance tires I had been using to something with more of a balance between performance, wear, and year-round usability. I've had them for about six months (put about 10,000...

2003 Ford Mustang: 2003 Ford Mustang

Thu, 2 Jan 2003 12:01:57 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - There is a great deal of history to contend with when talking about the Mustang. Its appeal to a large segment of American drivers is impressive, and to some degree a Mustang lover will not be swayed by better performance found in foreign automobiles -...

2003 Mazda Protege: 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege

Mon, 23 Dec 2002 13:49:13 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Okay, I've had an epiphany of sorts. For years I have been a bona fide Volkswagen fan (with a few exceptions along the way). For my money, it's been difficult for American or Japanese manufacturers to come up with any "entry-level" car that can...

1996 Volkswagen Passat: 1996 VW Passat GLX

Fri, 20 Dec 2002 16:17:47 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - This car has so much promise that it is somewhat difficult to give it a negative rating - but I must. Its problems (and legitimate, reliable alternatives) outweigh the many positive features.

With that said, here's an overview of what to...

1989 Volkswagen Fox: It it's so bad, why would I recommend it ?

Fri, 29 Nov 2002 14:58:23 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - This one is near and dear to my heart...I won't pretend to be unbiased, but will tell you up front: I owned it, I love it, and I'd be happy to have another one despite its many drawbacks.

So with my pro-Fox bias as a disclaimer, here's some...

2002 Subaru Impreza: Put away your Audi and your BMW...

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 14:27:01 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - If you, like me, are looking for a performance sedan that is well-made, has power that throws you against the back of your seat, and handles like a race car, you've had several choices in the past, all of which were expensive. Whether you've driven and...

Great author having a bad day...

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:45:18 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Go right ahead and put this book side by side with Exodus, or Trinity, and try to determine how the same author wrote both books... Where those were engaging, cleverly crafted, well-researched and written, A God in Ruins is simply awful.

Where...

2002 Oldsmobile Alero: Doesn't measure up...

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 13:21:15 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out which car-buying segment Oldsmobile is trying to woo with this car. The entry-level Bimmer/Audi/Benz-buying crowd, looking for style & substance, American style ? Or perhaps the younger...

How do you say "overrated ?"

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 18:27:02 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Let's get this out of the way early: if it's most important to you that your neighbor sees the name on your tires and is impressed, feel free to buy these. If you have other priorities, though (hey..how about performance !), or if, God forbid, your...

2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4WD: Good middle-of-the-road SUV

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 17:47:27 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - Spend all of your time off-road ? Buy a Wrangler or a Defender (if you can afford it)

Spend all of your time on-road, and okay with the nearly "minivan" image of small SUVs ? Go with a RAV4, CRV, Saturn Vue, etc.

For those of you...

BFGoodrich g-force t/a KDWS

Tue, 19 Feb 2002 16:17:36 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author lisatoy - The trade-off with performance tires has always been grip/handling vs wear/noise/expense. For my money, this is a "part" often overlooked by people who will spend money getting a performance vehicle. My car came from the dealer with Dunlop SP Sport...