5 comments about The Official Guide to the New TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM (Official Guide to the New Toefl Ibt).

1. This is a good book to prepare for the test, but the readings can be difficult if you don't know all of the vocabulary words. I think it's better to increase your vocabulary first. There's a book, Vocabulary Tools, that helps you to understand how words are made so if you forget what a word means, you can figure it out without a dictionary. After that, the readings will be easier and you can get through them more quickly.



2. This book was a gift for my daughter and I hope this will be helpful for her. THANK YOU.



3. 
   I took Toefl couple of years ago and I didn't wanna study again , however I was not familiar with the new IBT format of the test. This book gave me a quick overview of the new IBT format . Sample questions are really close to actual exam ( I took the real exam couple of days ago). Software in the CD in also exactly what they use for real exam and it gives you experience of real exam day. I recommend this book to those people who wanna know about the format and level of difficulty of standard Toefl.



4. The arrogance of selling a product that so many people can't use has me dumbfounded. I guess I have to take the test wihout the aid which I have spent so much money on. There should be a law against selling this product.
   (The CD does not work on neither Windows vista nor Mac)



5. u have to own The Official Guide if u want to take the IBT test

5 comments about Concise Rules Of Apa Style (Concise Rules of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style).

1. I thought this would be a more helpful book than the APA Publication Manual, but I was wrong. This small volume does not cover enough items that I need to write a graduate level paper. I suggest purchasing only the Publication Manual.



2. This book is a little confusing. Never arrived when ordered first. I had to reorder this item which finally arrived two months late.



3. This is an essential book if you're preparing papers that must follow APA style. It's official from APA, so you can count on the content. More detailed than a quick guide. The spiral binding makes it easy to use. If my 'easy way' guide doesn't have the answer, this concise guide does. Wouldn't be without it. Why didn't my uni profs tell me about this cheaper resource??? (The full-length guide costs about twice as much, if I remember correctly.)



4. Let's face it, nobody likes doing APA, but if you have to do it, this is the best tool around. It is portable and easily searched and covers all situations, no matter how archiaic.



5. For me, the jury is still out on the APA format. I have to use it for a class, otherwise I would stick with MLA. Regarding this reference guide, it is ok. The format is not intuitive, and I find myself going online to find examples of how to format citations more than I do opening this book.

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

1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor explains some of the devices used by authors to express themselves. The author covers many aspects of the novel such as the quest and the frequent appearance of references to previous authors such as Shakespeare. The author's approach is flexible, he explains that, for example the weather, can have many uses as a device rather than just one. Rather than tell you precisely what to think about a use of a literary device in a novel, the author encourages you to think about them for yourself. After reading this book you will pay more attention to what is going on in a novel so I recommend this book for those people looking for a comparatively easy way to deepen one's appreciation of literature.



2. Most people I encounter, after reading this book, complain that it is pushing a single opinion about the meaning of a story. That's not the case. While it does convey the language that people use to communicate, since that is what literature is supposed to do, it still does recognize that everyone will hear a story differently, due to the intertextuality it even mentions. This is an excellent book to have people "join the conversation" instead of being trapped in their own interpretation which may not be shared with anyone.



3. Dr. Thomas C. Foster is a Michigan Professor of English who has written this bestseller and its sequel "How To Read Novels Like a Professor". This is the initial volume published in paperback by Quill in 2003.
   Foster is well versed in all aspects of the literary field from ancient works to fiction by living writers. In his lively little book he introduces us to such terms as the following:
   Seasons; Food; the Bible, Greek and Latin classical allusions and the world of fairy tales. He discusses irony, plote, motif and theme. All of this can be found elsewhere and in greater depth but Foster does an adequate job by using cogent illustrations from outstanding works such as "The Alexandrine Quartet" of Lawrence Durrell;
   "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess; "Grendel" by John Gardner as well as classics penned by such notables as Dickens, Henry James, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence and the ancient Greek dramatists. He also uses examples from African-American, Latin American and Native American works which is commendable. I especially enjoyed his contention that the chief character in Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" is a Christ figure.
   The best part of the book was the chapter in which we are asked to peruse Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party" short story and then analyze it using the tools of the literary critic which we have acquired1 This was great fun! Valid interpretations of a literary work are myriad making it fun to become engrossed in literature!
   Foster alludes to the sonnet and Shakespeare but otherwise has little to say about legitimate drama. The book is a beginner's guide not for the advanced literary scholar. It will keep your interest for several hours; you will learn new ways of looking at old books and you will become a better reader. Recommended!



4. While only just beginning to read this novel I have found some very intriguing remarks just in the first section where the author refers to a teacher teaching a class by reading a passage from another book where a home owner is selling the house and another man is attempting to pay the man and his family to leave the community. The description of the man trying to pay the man who owns the house off to move is stated by the teacher as "The Devil" because of the nature of his proposal. The nature of the proposal was that of integrity, dignity, and self-respect. All were in violation with the proposal and the man was in a bind because after the house was sold, the money ended up missing. Eventually the man came to terms with himself and declined the proposal while maintaining his integrity, dignity, and self-respect. The manner in which the author uses the teacher to describe this understanding is brilliant, insightful, and full of twists that keep you in suspense for further analysis of human behaviors, and abilities to read into a character by their actions and motives and use these to track down their choices. In essence, this is what makes up a part of a person's identity with themselves and the world around them. I am anxiously awaiting the next reading session and hope to add further details as they unfold.



5. This is indeed a fantastic aid when analyzing literature. In AP literature, one must definitely know how to analyze different works. This work gives simple ways to explain difficult concepts or difficult to find ideas. Sometimes the book does over-state key ideas, this reiteration could be quite bothersome when reading the entire book at once. i would advise that you only look up things as you need them, but the writing is fascinating and can be quite colorful and even enjoyable. This was a great purchase for me!

5 comments about Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds.

1. I have been using this book in my college Arabic classes three years now. It is an excellent book and is very complete. The DVDs supplement the book nicely. It would be almost impossible not to be able to learn the Arabic alphabet and some basic vocabulary with this book. The problem I have with using it for my classes is that you have to complete 7 of the 10 chapters before knowing all the letters which means we've covered almost half the semester before we can use words that contain some of the latter letters in the alphabet. I'm planning on writing my own curriculum to fix this problem from now on, but I can honestly say that I would recommend this book without reservation, either for use in class on in self study. It won't do a whole lot beyond teaching you to read, write and understand the alphabet and writing system, but that's a big start in Arabic. The Arabic language is not any more difficult than any of the Indo European languages to learn once you have mastered the alphabet.



2. This book is a great product for someone who wants to start to learn Arabic from the ground up. The DVDs that are included are a great training aid and I would highly recommend this product.



3. Currently I am in an intensive language course at BYU and we used this book the first week to learn the Alphabet of Arabic. With this book and hard work my class was able to write the alphabet in just one week and understand the vocabulary words given within the book. This is the best out on the market. I know if you are willing to put in the time you will be able to write the alphabet in one week if you choose to do so. Like any language it takes a great deal of work but the rewards will be endless. I highly recommend this book to beginning students of Arabic.



4. Alif Baa is an excellent book for any age learning Arabic. The DVD's with it help with pronunciation of each letter of the alphabet, as well as words. The video shows exactly how to form each letter. The book is a workbook to use in conjunction with the DVD's.



5. I love this book! It's really easy to understand. The DVDs also help out a lot.

5 comments about Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions.

1. I highly recommend getting all three books in this series as they work really well together. I wasn't getting anywhere with the Rosetta Stone package. These books fill in the grammer and usage gaps and I am now understanding what I was learning in RS.



2. This comprehensive book is packed is with easy to follow instructional material for grasping the Spanish language. highly recommended!



3. I would recommend this book along with Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses for any level learner of Spanish, but I'd advise you to have a little bit previous knowledge. It's really cheap, explains every important concept in a very simple way and includes lots of exercises to practice. I've been using this book since the summer after I finished my first year of Elementary Spanish at college. I think it was very useful, especially in my second year of Spanish when I still didn't understand many grammar concepts but was given a text book written entirely in Spanish. This workbook explains things very clearly in English, which is important for beginners. Now that I am close to fluent in Spanish, I still use this book now and again to look up things I'm fuzzy on, and I definitely plan to use it as a Teaching Assistant for students next year.



4. This is a very useful book. Plenty of practice with answers in the back of the book.
   I will buy other books in this series.



5. To put it simple, this book is great, clear, concise and complete. Plenty of examples, samples and answers. Unlike other Spanish language books, this book gets down to little details.

5 comments about Painless Grammar (Painless Series).

1. Even though this book is geared for the 6th-8th grade student, it offers sound advice in a clear, easy-to-understand style. Who needs a grammar book that's full of long, linguistical answer that no one can understand. If I'm stumped by a grammar question, I don't hesitate to pick up this fun reference tool.
   Karen Reddick, author of Grammar Done Right!



2. Read and then keep at your desk within arms reach when you write. This book is perfect for those grammar stumpers.



3. Painless Grammar is completely different from any typical grammar stuff! We tend to label grammar as boring, but I noticed something totally different from what we learned at school; it doesn't involve any dull and/or old-fashioned structures at all. What really intrigued me was the last chapter dealing with how to e-mail! Actually, I like that chapter best in this book. That was the least I'd expected! Facial expressions and abbreviations drew my attention because both of them are expressed differently from Japanese. I think using them sometimes helps you enjoy e-mailing your friends. Of course, I know too much use of them confuses readers, though. I bet dealing with e-mail is a down-to-earth and up-to-date approach to attract readers!



4. I purchased this for use at home as we home-educate our children. I thought this would help me to brush up on my grammar skills, but my kids immediately picked this book up and started using it on their own. It is very user friendly - an easy read for any age, and a great review for middle and high school students. My 14 yr old uses it as a reference when she is writing. Highly recommended!



5. This book covers all the things your english teacher forgot or that you forgot. A great refresher book that everyone should have in their book bag. Great for all ages!

5 comments about Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting.

1. Mckee's book is famous and hardly needs someone like me to review it. This is the bible of screenwriting. With that said, there are a lot of basics in here that advanced screenwriters always follow, but are beyond. It is a quick and interesting read that you will benefit from. After reading it, pick up the film Adaptation and laugh out loud.



2. Fantastic content and narrative! McGee's book is awesome however the Audio CD really brings it all to life. Candidly, I'm surprised Robert is also so talented narrating the audio - this is a must-have purchase, even if you've already bought is book "Story".



3. I'm sorry but I find it almost insulting that someone would stand up on an orange box and preach about a subject that he knows NOTHING about. To me that's the definition of a scam artist.
   
   I have dozens upon dozens of screenwriting books and most of them are mediocre at best. The problem: Most are also written by people who haven't sold anything! How do these publishing companies keep allowing these non-screenwriters to publish books about screenwriting?
   
   Ask yourself this: If you are trying to put together a model airplane, would you read the instructions by someone who has never done it before? If you were trying to rebuild a carburetor, would you read the book by the dude who knows nothing about cars or carburetors?
   
   No, you wouldn't! (I hope.)
   
   After wasting so much money on these wannabe snakeoil salesmen who are selling books about writing and yet have never sold anything, I've learned to stick with ONLY those who have been successful. After all, many of us who are aspiring to make it as writers don't want to read about other wannabe's 'theories' on how to make it as a writer, do we?
   
   I've found two successful screenwriters who are worth reading: Blake Snyder and Cynthia Whitcomb. Their books are exceptional and worth reading several times over.
   
   My advice: Instead of wasting your time reading books by people who TEACH and DON'T DO, find books only by people who have actually done it and are successful. Why read anything else? Doesn't make sense, does it?
   
   Regarding Robert McKee, the guy hasn't 'done it' so why bother with him to begin with? If his 'theories' are so fabulous then why hasn't he been successful? Theories sound nice on paper but unless they are workable and something you can actually be successful with, they're worthless.
   
   I just feel sorry for all the people who have been duped by McKee and who think the guy knows what he's talking about. Being that blinded could easily set your career back a decade or more. Beware of the snakeoil salesman. He can make you believe you are on the right track when really you are wasting a ton of time.



4. This is the only book on screenwriting I have read thus far, and, frankly, it would take a lot for me to read another. I have gained invaluable understanding of the screenwriting process with this book. I reference it continuously and am not disappointed. I find McKee's advice to be straight forward, easy to understand, and adapt.



5. I've read a lot of fiction help books, but most of them are geared at the mechanics and tricks of fiction. None of them, in my opinion, philosophically tackles the concept of story telling and how stories work. Instead, they give tips and techniques like "put in rising conflict" or "make your characters likeable"
   In STORY, Rob McKee tells us, from a conceptual, historical & technical view, what story is, how it works and how to make it work. He writes with authority and depth. It is clear that the man has put a tremendous amount of thought into the subject and that he genuinely cares about good story telling.
   I have gained a lot of insight from this book. Almost every paragraph has something to take away from it. I'd definitely recommend this book, to both prose and screen writers.

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

1. 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.



2. Obviously, this book can not be your only guide to the SAT;it only covers a third of it. But it does a very thorough job with the Critical Reading section. The sentence completion practice tests (4 tests per set, 3 different difficulty level sets) are very close to the real College Board ones. The reading comprehension pieces are decent; nothing amazing, but as good as close to the real SAT as you can find.
   
   The most valuable part of this book (for the average person), is the comprehensive vocabulary list. It consists of 800 words (80 sets of 10 words). Being very familiar with the actual SAT, I can say that the words on the list are indeed very high-frequency SAT words. If you know every word on that list it would be hard to answer more than 2 sentence completion questions incorrectly on the real SAT. For the vocabulary list alone, the book is worth the buy.



3. I get 200 point more at self SAT exam,after I did all problems in this book.



4. This is good but it's almost exactly the same as SAT Critical Reading. No need to buy both. The Verbal SAT book is better as it has a grammar section.



5. I teach SAT prep/review classes independently, and have been using the Barron's workbook for several years. The material is challenging, and provides students with a large number of high-frequency SAT words used in context. The vocabulary lists, root origins of words, and practice tests are all excellent.
   Kate Connors,
   Holliston MA

5 comments about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.

1. Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the most powerful most inspired and most read books off all time. I bought this book after seeing the movie starring Johnny Depp. After reading it I as quite please the the movie version of this novel was pretty well adapted to screen.
   
   If you guys like a book/movie about psychedelics drugs, and a head full of acid this is the book for you.
   
   From a reviewers note, it might be hard reading the whole book in one setting, I spaced mine out. And got more satisfaction with my buck.
   
   Enjoy Hunter S. Thompson fans. This is one book that you if a fan or just a reader don't want to miss.



2. My father had always liked hunter thompson but i had yet to read him. When my friend told me of this book I knew I had to check it out. What a trip. If you're looking for a straight forward book that explains everything with a nice plot and central characters who learn valuable life lessons...then this isn't the book for you. In many ways I say this book rings more true than most others. The character is really just an everyday druggie with a job and a hotel room in Vegas. The writing is superb and the illustrations were out of this world (literally). Even if you saw the movie and didn't like it, i would still read this book. It explains a lot more.



3. Just to be short, this book is great. Unfortunately for me, i've seen the movie for 5 or 6 times before reading it, so the book just felt repetitive. Especially since all the movie is like a quote of the book. Which is great if i wouldn't have seen the movie.
   
   So if you liked the movie, you'll definitely like this book. No surprises there, but some of the blurry situations in the movie are cleared out.
   
   For those who haven't seen the movie, you should read the book first. it makes the movie so much rewarding, and of course, you don't want to miss Hunter S Thompson's great writing skills. He just writes everything the way he thinks and sees (hence the idea of Gonzo journalism).



4. I read this first in college, and then again recently. It's still just as funny and wonderful as ever.



5. How can a book be hilarious and drab at the same time? Well, imagine this situation: you've arrived at a huge party with your friends. You're really pumped, you're telling jokes, and everyone is laughing, and your friends are enjoying your company, and everyone is having a good time. But then, a few hours later, your adrenaline runs out, and you've already told your best jokes. Now, you have to force yourself to have fun -- you're talking much louder than you should, trying to affect a witty tone for some laboured one-liners. Nobody wants to leave the party, because they came to have a good time, but everyone is already kind of tired and mildly irritated. At the end, you feel like you shouldn't have bothered.
   
   That's exactly this book. The fun part of the party is over in the first few pages, when Thompson and his attorney embark on a road trip to Vegas in a car full of drugs. That introduction conveys a sense of excitement, the guys seem to be looking forward to a good time. The rest of the book is the irritated, laboured stage of the party. The guys keep pushing themselves to be manic and devil-may-care, apparently for no reason. Often, their insults and one-liners are grotesquely funny. But they are also hostile and snarling. There's no sense of friendship between them whatsoever.
   
   Frequently, the protagonist tells long, complicated lies (well, more like "yarns," I guess) to various people. This is exactly the part of the party where you're trying to be funny and you keep talking and talking in the hope that, if you're not actually saying anything funny, maybe sheer volume will work. Sometimes it does, and one reads in disbelief, wondering how far Thompson can go.
   
   The book occasionally recalls Kerouac with the road trips and the drugs, but they're taken to extremes, with none of Kerouac's literary name-dropping or his muddled thoughts on enlightenment. Thompson is more honest than Kerouac, in the sense that Thompson's characters casually say and do horrific things (like the scene with the underage artist girl, or the one where Thompson's attorney pulls a knife on the diner owner in North Vegas), without trying to cover up their nastiness with insincere booze-soaked lamentations about the sorrow of life. But that doesn't make Thompson's characters any more appealing, just honestly nasty.
   
   Then again, Thompson's recurring references to the "American Dream" are kind of similar to Kerouac's Buddhism, putting a half-baked intellectual veneer on a trip that had no aim other than doing lots of drugs from the outset. This inspires the most unfunny and laboured part of the party, the dialogue allegedly transcribed directly from a tape recording. Thompson tells some people that he wants to find the American Dream and asks them where it is. A very laborious conversation ensues, it feels that Thompson is trying very hard to be outlandish and unpredictable.
   
   Drugs are the one subject that the main characters are interested in, and possibly the only thing they have in common. They talk about drugs a lot, and Thompson's descriptions also expound in great detail upon the finer points. For instance, when they sneak into a national police conference about drugs: "I suspect we could have done the whole thing on acid...except for some of the people; there were faces...who would have been absolutely unendurable on acid. The sight of...[the faces]...was just barely tolerable on mescaline--which is mainly a sensual/surface drug that exaggerates reality, instead of altering it--but with a head full of acid, the sight...would not be emotionally acceptable." (143) The pedantry is great, he just has to carefully explain that distinction there. Or this one: "Acid is a relatively complex drug, in its effects, while mescaline is pretty simple and straightforward--but in a scene like this, the difference was academic." (144) That whole episode is hilariously pedantic, like the use of the word "academic" to describe drugs. It really is academic!
   
   Thompson goes around ridiculing the clueless cops, because they were "telling each other that 'we must come to terms with the drug culture,' but they had no idea where to start. They couldn't even find the...thing." (144) He repeats this many times, but after all, he doesn't say much about the "drug culture," either. There are a few times when he appears ready to explain the essence of the "drug culture," but he never finishes his thought. It's kind of frustrating -- since he's so pedantic about drugs, and so contemptuous of the clueless cops, you'd figure he might as well go ahead and explain this "culture" for the benefit of the audience. But all that really comes out is his heartfelt regret (possibly the only emotion expressed in the entire book) for the passing of the sixties. It seems that he regrets it so much, that he decides to purposefully dedicate his life to acting out what he believes to be the spirit of that time. It's less clear why he feels that way.
   
   The book is very fast-paced and easy to read, often funny. While you're reading, you'll probably want to finish the whole thing, and you'll laugh at Thompson's creative insults and yarns. But, after I read the book, I have to say, I don't really feel like ever meeting the main characters.

5 comments about Kaplan TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM 2008-2009 (Kaplan Toefl Ibt).

1. I bought Cracking the TOEFL IBT with Audio CD, 2009 Edition (College Test Prep)( Princeton Review) and Kaplan TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM 2008-2009 (Kaplan Toefl Ibt) .i read both of them for one month and passed the ibt by 97. This is what I think about these two books on all four part of ibt:
   Princeton Review
   Reading 3 out of 5: good strategies but the readings are simpler than the real exam
   Writing 5 out of 5: great strategies and samples with good drills
   Speaking 4 out of 5: good strategies and drills but difficult to use on exam
   Listening 4 out of 5: good strategies and sample but limited number
   Overall 4 out of 5: the most important negative point is that it comes only with audio cd and you can not experience the real exam condition.
   Kaplan
   Reading 5 out of 5: great strategies and samples
   Writing 2 out of 5: some useful techniques but not so helpful
   Speaking 2 out of 5: some useful techniques but too general
   Listening 4 out of 5: good strategies and examples
   Overall 3.5 out of 5: the most important positive point is that you can create the real exam condition by its cd-rom at home.



2. Do you have any idea if cds are working with vista? I could not find any information about this issue. If you let me know, i am sure it will help to other vista users too. Thank you!



3. Excellent way for English Language Learners to improve reading, writing, listening and speaking. CD makes studying alone extremely valuable. Also, of course, good prep for the TOEFL by one of the nation's best prep-book publishers.



4. I'm fine with it, but this book isn't as good as I exepct. It still has some material that I need.



5. Kaplan TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM 2008-2009 (Kaplan Toefl Ibt)I consider this book complete because it have practice tests with detailed answer explanations ,intensive practice for each section of the test and score racing and strategies.Is like a personal tutor at your home.