5 comments about Critical Reading Workbook for the SAT (Critical Reading Workbook for the Sat).

1. A very adequate Book!
   
   This book covers various types of questions for the Reading sectoin and the Writing section. It has lots and lots of practice for reading section but could have more for writing (the practice tests on the back can cover that).
   
   It breaks down the reading section into two sections for each type of questions: Sentence completion and Reading. It has all the information you need for each section and tons of practice questions for you to improve your skills.
   
   Writing section is analyzed with many questions that contain the most common types of grammatical errors that are tested on the test. If you learn all those types and practice with the practice tests, you should do fairly well on the test.
   
   For the essay part, it gives bunch of useful tips along with some sample essays with grader's comments.
   This book also has the SAT High-frequency word list with 800 words that frequently appear on the SAT.
   
   It doesn't have any useless information so doesn't overprepare you. It has just everything a SAT verbal workbook should have. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to everyone.
   
   Other Books:
   Princeton Review's Reading and Writing workbook is very short and inadequate. I wouldn't recommend it.
   Kaplan's SAT reading workbook has tons of problems and so that book's pretty good.
   Kaplan's SAT Writing workbook isn't as thorough as Barron's but it's good enough to give it a try.
   For studying SAT overall I would strongly recommend the Maximum SAT which is the best SAT prep Book I have seen. It is really helpful to study along with the Official SAT Study Guide by collegeboard.



2. I'm an after-school tutor, and teach general English to Aussie school students. I use all the Barron's SAT workbooks to help improve the students' vocabulary, writing, comprehension and reading. This "Critical Reading Workbook" is great, with plenty of practice in sentence completion, comprehension questions and vocabulary extension. The practice exams at the back of the book are excellent for mastering exam technique, and the explanation section for the answers is very helpful. English is never taught this way in Australia, but it should be. All my students feel they learn more from studying one Barron's workbook than they do from doing a whole year of English lessons at school.



3. This book is great! It has several practice passages, and the questions are really good. They adhere to the SAT format, and the answer choices are challenging, yet fair. The additional sentence completion exercises and prefix and root sections are really useful in SAT preparation. The only drawback to this book is that it uses many of the same sentence completion questions that you will see in their other test books, namely the Verbal Workbook for the SAT and the GRE test prep book. Other than that, the book is excellent.



4. HEY i'm a highschool junior and I had a projected 650 for the SAT critical reading from the PSATs but i worked through the practice sections (and there are A LOT of good practices in this book) and got a 740 after 2 weeks working through this book on the actual SAT. so yeah, it's definitely helpful. It also has a lot of good vocabulary practice and tip and several critical reading practice tests.



5. The work books provide the extra practice needed to improve preparedness for the SAT. As a supplement for the SAT guide they are very valuable.

5 comments about 501 Spanish Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides).

1. This is a very convenient guide to verb congugation in an easy to follow format. I have not found much use for the accompanying CD yet but in studying irregular verbs, it helps you rapidly see stem changes, etc. I am currently just beginning the preterite tense so I cannot comment on using it for other than the present and preterite tense yet. I think you will be happy as a student to have this handy reference.



2. This book will really help you in Spanish for all levels. Everyword I needed to know was in there and different sturctures of the words. This I will always keep and use.



3. I stumbled on a copy of this book down in Peru last summer. It is really helpful for the beginner to intermediate Spanish speaker as it has every useful verb with all the common conjugations. Me gusto mucho!



4. This book arrived in good condition and one time. It makes an excellent reference book for any Spanish student.



5. This is the most comprehensive book that I have come across for learning Spanish verbs in all their conjugations.

5 comments about The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition.

1. First of all, great book. Been writing professionally for 20 years, and I still use this book occasionally.
   
   WARNING on REVIEWS: Amazon is using the same customer reviews for "The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition" by Strunk and White (1999) and "The Elements of Style - the Original Edition" by Strunk (without White) (1920), re-published September 2007.
   
   Since the republication of Strunk's original work was released in September 2007, all reviews before that date pertain to "Strunk & White." Any review after that date, unless clearly indicated, could pertain to either book.
   
   The books are markedly different, but Amazon is using the same customer reviews for both.



2. If one could have only a single book on english grammer, this is that book.



3. We traditionally give this as part of a high school graduation present and have received many notes of thanks over the years.



4. The Elements of Style is a short, timeless and foundational book on writing style and grammar. It is exceptionally well written and an essential writers desk reference. The authors stripped away all the fluff and kept the best of the best to help anyone write more clearly and concisely.
   
   The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking



5. This is a great handbook to have anywhere you need to write. For the price everyone should have one.

5 comments about Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses.

1. A good book for the low price. It's large and has over 300 pages. It makes a good supplement for other spanish learning books that you may have. But I found it to be the type of book so often written by educators with many degrees. Too many rules.



2. This book on Spanish verb tenses is the best I've ever seen. In fact, it is probably the only book of its kind. I haven't seen any other books like this one, probably because it would be a waste of time for someone else to write a book like this.
   
   The book first explains the present tense in great detail. It explains how the present tense is used in every possibleway. Although, it doesn't explain that the present tense is often used to convey a future action more often than the actual future is.
   
   Richmond's explanation of the past tenses is also very good, but I didn't like how the imperfect and the preterit were explained. What I did like was how the author explains that the irregular preterit conjugations have predictable patterns.
   
   The subjunctive is explained towards the end, which is one of the most difficult things to master in Spanish grammar. I didn't particularly care for the author's explanation of the subjunctive because it seems to be a "regurgitation" of how other books explain it.
   
   All in all, this book is well worth its price. Every Spanish student (and teacher) should have a copy of "Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses."
   
   Brandon Simpson



3. Easy to use with worksheets that make the subject clear. I particularly like the written paragraph exercise. After writing the paragraph you can check your Spanish phrasing in the answer section.



4. This is one in a great series of Spanish study books. Lots of exercises so you can really practice. Also the organization makes for a great reference. My English grammar is terrible so I have a hard time figuring out what tense I want to use. The beginning of each section has an explanation of how the tenses translate. The pronouns and prepositions book is also great.



5. This is a great reference grammar book, excellent for beginners and intermediate students of the spanish language, covering all aspects of prepositions and pronouns with numerous examples covering all types of usage. Very useful and thorough exercises in both languages, that if you manage to complete them all, you become a master of the subject.
   This book along with the one covering prepositions and pronouns are the top best that I could find to assist me in my spanish classes.

5 comments about 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words (Beginners' Guides).

1. Look. This handy little book 1001 Spanish Words is more than a dictionary for one major reason. Each word is presented in alphabetical order with a simple and illustrative sentence next to it, followed by an English translation. This is much more useful than 'just a dictionary'.
   If this approach pleases you, and if you truly aspire to speak Spanish, you must hear and repeat the language and understand while you're doing it.
   I recommend Behind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour as the main focus of your learning. The CDs are great alone because they have an American instructor and a native Spanish speaker so you don't have to look up anything.
   The other great part is that it comes with a complete book in Spanish and English.
   By all mean, do buy 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words. For the price it's a steal. But then go on to learn really speak the language fast with Behind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour



2. This book is set up so you look up the word in Spanish, so it is for people who already know some Spanish or for translating. It didn't work for me.



3. The English translations are not exact , and because they are not , they cause confusion as to what is actually being stated as an example of word usage. The English translation needs to be word for word in order for this book to be useful.



4. A totally useless book with words selected haphazardly with only one explanation given, which hardly covers the different meanings of some words depending on the context. You could do better to yourself by opening a dictionary and selecting words in random. I got lured by its low price and wasted my money.



5. Is this booklet worth the $2 that Amazon currently charges? Most certainly. I wouldn't place an order just to buy it, of course, but you should throw it in with anything else you might be buying.
   
   If you do not speak any Spanish at all, this book will probably have limited usefulness to you until you get a fair grasp of its grammar. Once you're there, though, this book shines.
   
   Here's how I recommend you use this: instead of a guide to 1001 words, use it as a guide to 1001 *sentences*, because each word has a sentence example for it. Put all the sentences in a flash card program such as Anki or Mnemosyne. (If you've never used such a flash card program, you really should. They're great.) You can skip over sentences that are too easy, of course, but a lot of the sentences will be interesting even if you already know the word.
   
   However, you have to be a bit careful, because the entries do contain some mistakes, and this is why I must give it 4 stars instead of 5. For instance, the entry for "alcoba" has the sentence "Buscamos un apartamiento con dos alcobas" ("We're looking for an apartment with two bedrooms") -- "apartamiento" should be "apartamento". The entry for "amigo" has "Quiero presentar algunos amigos míos" has at least one mistake (there should be an "a" after "presentar"), but a native speaker told me it still sounds awkward and should be something like "Quiero presentarles a unos amigos míos". There was another sentence where the "a" was omitted with presentar, but I can't find it right now. So if you use this book, you have to stay on your toes a bit and accept that there may be a couple of mistakes in it. I think that, and the $2, are small price to pay for having 1001 sentences at your fingertips, though.

5 comments about The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.

1. My mom is a big scrabble nut, and this made a great present for her



2. While it's nice to have an "official" book around when playing, I've always found that any agreed-upon dictionary works just as well--if not better. Also it's a pain to carry a book around, so I'd rather just define the "official" dictionary with whatever dictionary is handy. And now with the internet, it's just as easy to check an online dictionary.
   
   Then again I play scrabble purely for amusement. Perhaps more hardcore players have valid reasons for needing an "official" Scrabble dictionary.



3. This is a great dictionary for weirdoes like me who enjoy increasing their vocabulary at the cost of their sanity. On the minus side, it's insufferably light on definitions. An example is "PATAGIAL---pertaining to a patagium." O-kayyyy! On the plus side, it is absolutely filled with odd nouns, inflected verb forms, antiquated spellings, and just plain old everyday words. THE OFFICIAL SCRABBLE PLAYERS DICTIONARY is a must if you have six random consonants and two "I"s. Ichthyic.



4. I purchased the Scrabble Dictionary for both of my kids as we are avid players and my old dictionary was not capturing 'today' words.
   My kids are 21 and 31 and they were both happy to receive their very own dictionary.
   thanks! The price was great too!



5. Having received numerous calls from my daughter in Colorado to settle disputes in on-going Scrabble games (mother: the all-wise source), I bought her a copy of the Scrabble Dictionary. She now enjoys peaceful Scrabble games with her family and can save her calls to Mom for chatty conversations about her adventurous daily life.

5 comments about The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.

1. The Zombie survival guide: Complete protection from the Living Dead is a must for any person who is worried about zombie survival. Giving chapters and break downs of outbreaks, how to fortify your environment, and how to better protect yourself from the invading horde, this very essential book is a must for your bug out bag. Don't find yourself in an invasion without it!
   
   The actual review:
   
   I really enjoyed this book. Zombies had always fascinated me, so to find a book that treated them like a real and true voice in the world just made me giggle. I read the book on a long car ride from Florida, and it kept me amused basically the whole time. It's set up like a real survival book, so the humor may be lost on a few. It's definitely a fun one to include on your book shelf or to keep in your car. Great conversation piece. Max Brooks has really out done himself with writing a detailed guide about how to stay away from an oncoming horde of the undead. Great book to have!



2. I've read many survival books and this one is a must. We've all seen them everywhere you look. Now you have the tools to know for sure and what to do about it. Max Brooks brings it all together so you have a chance of surviving the time when the undead walk the earth and your friend will go from being called Chuck to chuck roast for a zombie. Get a bite of it before a zombie gets a bite of you!



3. I'm writing this review as a parent, in case there are any other parents who have heard of the book or seen it and are considering buying it for a kid. My son is middle-school aged and found the book in the bookstore and immediately started reading it. When he showed it to me I read the back cover (and laughed at a few of the Top 10 lessons) and spent a few minutes flipping through it. Info on terrain types, home defense, and equipment seemed exactly like the sort of thing my son would like, being a typical boy interested in the outdoors, survival issues, equipment, etc.
   
   Once home he proceeded to absorb the book, but later told me that it kind of "freaked" him out. So I spent some more time flipping through it. The detailed, somewhat gruesome accounts of the physiology of zombies is probably what he meant. I then found the weapons chapter and pondered my wisdom in buying this book for my son. It's probably his favorite chapter, but be informed that it contains discussions of such things as which blunt instrument is best ("Can it crush a skull in one blow? If not, can it decapitate in said blow?") and the relative merits of weapons like Molotov cocktails.
   
   Just be aware that its packaging is a bit different than its content and use caution when buying for a child or teenager.



4. husband says its not as tongue & cheek as he'd like, but its somewhat amusing, NOT laugh out loud funny or anything



5. I taught I was going to be entertained by this book. It felt like I was reading a textbook instead of a novel. I know I should have expected it due to the title, but still.

5 comments about Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase).

1. As someone who knows almost no Spanish, I thought this book was helpful. Though my husband, who is a pretty good Spanish speaker, said that some of the phrases in here too formal and aren't really used by people who speak Spanish as their first language.



2. This book is compact and it is easy to find a lot of common Spanish phrases quickly and accurately.



3. I've been reading and studing Spanish for a while now. Useful phrases. Some of them forgot to put the pronunciations under some of the kinda important sentences. It's not a real thick book.



4. This is a helpful book in many ways, however it is out of date. I wish I had checked when it was printed, so I would have known that many of the phrases that were commonly used then, are quite awkward now. However, much of the information remains useful. Also, I planned to use this book when working in a third world country, however it would be much more useful in a tourist's back pocket.



5. I bought this book when I was first learning Spanish and actually never touched it in my beginner stages. The book contains useful phrases that you'd need to know; however, they way they translate them into Spanish is almost overly proper and polite and if you were talking to any native Spanish speaker using these phrases, you would just seem awkward. I will say, though, that if your intention isn't to learn Spanish, but just to learn some phrases to get you by while traveling, this book might be ok...just expect some strange looks with some of the phrases.

5 comments about Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

1. Good book, very informative. Would like a bit more instruction under some of the examples.



2. It is very helpful, and I'll be using it for many projects and several years to come.



3. good resource, but consider also getting a more user-friendly book to help with APA, too....you will waste a lot of time looking for information in this one.



4. I bought this book because most of the internet guides are not comprehensive enough to cover specifics addressed in this book. I agree with other users that say this book lists material on the same topic in multiple places, requiring you to waste time checking around for something you think you remember seeing before. The index needs to be re-done, something I hope they fix for the next edition. Electronic resources are very generally addressed.



5. This book is required for all college students pursing a degree in any major. It may not see like the most interesting book to have on your shelf, but is crucial when writing college papers.
   
   It is an essential tool you will be glad you have for reference.
   
   Merna
   
   Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!

5 comments about How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines.

1. I wish I had read this 45 years ago, when I was studying fiction in college.



2. Took a while to arrive, but was in good condition. However, did not find it useful for my use.



3. I wish that I'd read this book before I began college too many years ago. How to Read Literature Like a Professor summarizes in accessible style and tone many of the points that it took years to learn on my own. It would be a good gift for any junior or senior in high school who's headed for college. It will ease the transition from reading at the literal level, to learn what happens in the plot, to reading at deeper levels, to learn what the author is saying "between the lines." Inclusion of references to film, television, theatre, and music strengthens How to Read Literature Like a Professor by refering to genres with which students may be more familiar. (The current universal reference for high school students is the film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings.) The literary references form a wonderful reading list. The humor helps to demonstrate that approaching literature does not have to be a solemn occasion.



4. This is a lively, friendly, entertaining book that is great for students. It discusses how to read, to to really read literature. But as a practiced reader I found that it didn't teach me much, though it would be great for a freshman or sophmore.



5. As a life-longer learner and literature major, I have spent years laboring over difficult, verbose, dry and authoritative texts that define and discuss literary symbolism. Reading too much deconstruction theory and word-specific analysis feels like getting so close to the words with a magnifying glass that the meaning of the words and sometimes the words themselves can no longer be deciphered. These tomes take seriousness to an exaggerated level, speaking down to the reader from great heights, perhaps the same heights Thomas Foster uses as an example from The Garden Party in How To Read Literature Like a Professor.
   
   Suggestive of the second half of his title, A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Foster comes down from the heights of academia by speaking, not to his readers, but with them. And while this book is most suited to high school seniors or college freshmen as a friendly introductory text, it was delightfully refreshing to read. It felt good to put down the magnifying glass and see literature once again as basic and whole as it was meant to be. I felt as though I had pulled up a chair in Professor Foster's classroom and had been part of a conversation, albeit a directed conversation.
   
   Is Foster's tone a bit arrogant? Sure it is - he is a college English professor and what's a good English professor without a little arrogance? Isn't that what we expect, after all? Are the concepts basic and used? Yes they are - there is nothing here that is new or revolutionary - but what a comforting feeling it was to walk again on a worn path.
   
   Any non-student with the inclination to pick up this book on their own undoubtedly has a list of favorite authors and stories, and certainly will feel as though something is missing. But Foster repeatedly reminds his readers that a lot is missing from this book. As he explains, no book can encompass all of literary symbolism, or mention every story, novel, movie or poem worthy of mention. So although some readers might find his list of recommended readings somehow incomplete, it is nonetheless his list. As Foster points out very honestly, "I'm pretty sure I could have made this book, with not too much effort, twice as long. I'm also pretty sure neither of us wants that."
   
   Fosters concept of literature as play and his own word-play are as refreshing as the cleansing rains he outlines in his chapter on weather. Two of the best lines are from the end of his book, his "Envoi":
   
   "... don't wait for writers to be dead to be read; the living ones can use the money. Your reading should be fun. We only call them literary works. Really, though, it's all a form of play."
   
   As students of literature one tends to forget this, trudging through tedious and unpleasant pages because we are told that we must master certain classics; a list of some English professor's doing. Foster further explains that, "... in fact literature is chiefly play. If you read novels and plays and stories and poems and you're not having fun, somebody is doing something wrong. If a novel seems like an ordeal, quit; you're not getting paid to read it are you? And you surely won't get fired if you don't read it. So enjoy."
   
   Which is his whole point, if you don't like his style, his ideas or his words, don't read his book. Otherwise - enjoy.