1 comments about Golf Digest's Complete Book of Golf Betting Games.

1. This is the second book I've bought on golf games, the first being The Complete Book of Golf Games. I like this book better than the other one because of how it's organized, plus because it covers many more games. It's organized by the number of players, listing possible games that can be played by that number of golfers. When a game is duplicated, they give instruction of where to find the previous write up.

5 comments about The Giant Book of Sudoku Presented by Will Shortz: 300 Wordless Crossword Puzzles.

1. I agree it's a bit big, but on the other hand you get all the puzzles you'll ever need - maybe even a bit more than you need, but then you can do what we did and rip the puzzles out and split them between family members. I know, it's an awful thing to do to a book, but still... In summary, high quality puzzles, just like we've come to expect.



2. Okay, I'm hooked! This is the latest puzzle book I picked up. I love doing Sudoku puzzles, and this ones pretty decent.



3. Will Shortz, need I say more, what he touches turns to gold, he and Carol Vorderman are greatest.



4. This book will keep me busy for a long time. Just what I was looking for.



5. This is a great book. I'm starting with the easy puzzles and working my way up to the harder ones. I bought one for my dad and he is now addicted as well.

3 comments about Ventriloquism Made Easy: How to Talk to Your Hand Without Looking Stupid! Second Edition.

1. As someone who got interested in ventriloquism (and eventually dumped a 20 year newspaper career to work with WOODEN dummies) I was often frustrated reading how-to-do-ventriloquism books. Most were either amazingly boring, unknowingly pompous, or filled with cutsey-comments that seemingly padded an explanation of what I believe is actually a relatively easy "art" (if you are nutty enough to practice in front of a mirror until you perfect the "hard" letters). This is one of my FAVORITE now to do ventriloquism books -- and to this day it remains the funniest. I still do a routine in my show based on the structure of one of Paul Stadelman's classic bits (I have long since replaced the actual jokes). The late Paul Stadelman was a "classic" and I believe underrated vent who performed, taught and was on television for many years. And this book is worth it's price just for the zippy routines with Stadelman and his dummy Windy Higgins. These don't go on and on with long set-ups but are punchy, quick pay-off bits (and if Stadelman used a pun it was seldom groan-inducing). Stadelman was clearly more influenced by vaudeville and comedy teams than by other ventriloquists (which I think is GOOD). At the least these routines help readers understand routine construction and setup-joke structure. The late, wonderful Col. Bill Boley (another performer who deserved a higher national profile since there are zillions of ventriloquists running around doing bits of his published work and others who painstakingly "emulate" his original routines) was the only other ventriloquist whose published routines came CLOSE to doing this. And to TEACH you vent? This book has it all. It gives you the substitute letters (to say for the hard letters) and words to practice to perfect them. It also tells you how to make a puppet out of your hand, gives you performing tips, has some great ventriloquism-related photos, and and list of suppliers and organizations (some of this is outdated now). If someone was interested in "vent" and had this book, George Schindler's Ventriloquism: Magic With Your Voice and the in-its-own-class Maher Studios correspondence course they'd have it all. Plus, if they have this book they're going to also have some BIG laughs while reading it. Paul Stadelman is truly ventriloquism's unsung hero!



2. I just got the book and already I am starting to get the hang of it. I am nowhere near good enough to take it on the road, but this book will give you the tools to feel confedent right from the start.



3. This is an easy to read and use book and a great activity to do with your kids, particularly if they have any speech difficulties. You can get started with a sock puppet if you like, so it's also inexpensive.

5 comments about Win at Checkers (Dover Books on Chess).

1. I began playing checkers at YAHOO a few months ago. Got killed. When I was a young boy (48 now) I remember getting beat at checkers by my older sisters to the point where I would get so angry that I'd throw the board across the room during the game. And so, once again I was getting stomped by 15 year old Austrailians. I read this book. And re-read it. And studied it. Now I WIN most of the time. It's a very fast way to become a good intermediate player. Buy it!



2. If you know little about "real" checkers this is the book to get you started. It is entertaining and witty and helps you learn conceptual thinking about the game. It covers tactics ("pitches" and "shots") and important endgame positions. I didn't rate it 5 stars because it is really light on opening play; you'll need another book such as Reinfeld's for that. The book is inexpensive yet contains hours of useful instruction. If you've played on-line, stared at the board and wondered "what next" or if you're losing because of blunders, this is THE book to read first.



3. The strategies and tactics in this book are great; however, the writing style of the author is a little stiff and makes it a bit more difficult to follow through parts of the book.
   
   It should be noted that there are actually few good checkers book published at all. Chess is more complex, and therefore tomes upon tomes have been published about it. However, the relative simpleness of the game of checkers should then draw many more people to learn how to play this game.
   
   Becoming skilled at checkers, then, is one of the objectives the author has achieved (the book was first published in 1956 and is a revision of the work originally published by A.S. Barnes in 1941).
   
   This book, truly, is a classic.



4. Here's my story:
   My brother is a chess Master...but he also is an accomplished checker player. It was checkers that helped us become, what I consider, "best friends". He used to beat me all the time at checkers, but it didn't bother me, because I was learning. Then I found this book. The tables turned.
   
   Now, as a lifetime member of the American Checkers Federation, I look at the 100+ books and can honestly say that this one is the best.



5. This is a great book for the "serious" checker player. You can really show off with the moves in this book.

5 comments about Vital Statistics: An Amazing Compendium of Factoids, Minutiae, and Random.

1. this is fun to read and an indispensable guide to minutiae
   loaded with entertaining chatter
   great for fans of trivial pursuits



2. I found Vital Statistics to be very addicting.... kind of like the potato chip ad "it's hard to read just one!" More than just a trivia book, the information is presented with the story behind the story, providing a wealth of interesting information you never knew. That's really why you get hooked. When you get to the end, the author lists his website address, which has even more Vital Statistics to keep you addicted.



3. This is the perfect book for bathroom reading.
   It's filled with tons and tons of interesting trivia.
   It covers tons of topics and is a lot of fun.



4. This book is absolutely brilliant. More than a bunch of random statistics thrown together, this book makes me laugh out loud multiple times per page. If the great content weren't enough, the juxtaposition of various stats is so clever. Case in point, something like "The percent of 70 year old men who say their wives are more beautiful than they were when first married - 74%. Next stat: The percent of 70 year old men who need glasses: 89%.
   Stuff like this is what the book is about - truly an impressive compendium, well delivered.
   I can only imagine what kind of work must have gone into writing such a book. As another reviewer wrote, this is the perfect bathroom book. Buy it - you won't regret it.



5. I have lots of trivia and "useless information" books, but this is my favorite for 2 main reasons--first, it is in alphabetical order by topic, from advertising to World Trade Center (9/11). Secondly, it presents the information in statistical format, so everything is in terms of superlatives or amounts: most, best, biggest, smallest, percentages, number, odds, etc. In addition, the author has researched every imaginable source for the facts on nearly every topic. For example, number of parking spaces in US (Kansas City Star); pairs of jeans owned by average American (Women's Wear Daily); most books written about a president (USA Today), etc. This book is great for lovers of trivia, statistics, and random information, as well as people with short attention spans. Only the footnotes are complete sentences, but You can easily read the 329-page book in one sitting. I highly recommend it.

3 comments about Crocheted Pursenalities: 20 Great Felted Bags.

1. With the surgence of felting, its nice that the crocheters can also be included!! Simple easy to read patterns. Beautiful photographer. 3 members of my group ended up buyin this one after I shared it with them!!



2. I am in the process of using this book....instructions are great and easy to follow...looking forward to making a second purse in the near future...



3. Eva Wiechmann's CROCHETED PURSENALITIES: 20 GREAT FELTED BAG offers stylish and easy felted purses which reflect both contemporary designs and simple, functional patterns. What differentiates this from the usual crochet purse book is an attention to the newer yarns and a felted appearance, which differs greatly from the usual open-holed crochet designs of competitors - and lends to modern fashion.

5 comments about The Science of Pocket Billiards.

1. Sometimes people feel that explaining wonderful things makes them somehow less magical, as if a bit of knowledge could rub the awe off of us. I'm inclined to disagree and fortunately for me, there's a whole genre of books devoted to the related jobs of explaining the wonderful and unravelling the mysteries behind ordinary stuff.
   
   This book stands out in that world and also in the world of books about pool. The author has taken the ordinary, sometimes despised game of pocket billiards and subjected its truths to rigorous experimentation. He built apparatus for standardizing speed and direction of balls and developed a simple device for recording where balls struck a cushion.
   
   Koehler's attention to details is pretty wonderful in itself. Consider this: "Theoretically, the center of the tip doesn't need chalk because it makes contact with the cue ball only when it's struck dead-center. When the cue ball is struck dead-center, there's no chance of the tip slipping off and thus, no need for chalk." A tiny matter? sure. Admire the mind behind it? you bet.
   
   The same thorough approach can be seen in chapters like
   
   1. Equipment
   2. Shooting stance and technique
   3. Pocketing the object ball
   4. Shot selection
   5. Cue-ball deflection path
   6. English
   7. Positioning the cue ball
   8. Rail shot
   9. Combination shots
   10.Bank shots
   
   If you love the game or if you simply marvel at a job well done, this is a book for you. Any pool player will find his or her appeite for practice increased and game improved
   
   
   
   Lynn Hoffman, author of The New Short Course in Wine from Prentice-Hall and bang-BANG, a novel from Kunati to be published in 2007



2. First of all, please excuse my English - it is not my native.
   I've bought this book and really happy with this purchase, even Byrne's books were not even close to improve my skills in pool. The were commercially composed so that I had to buy more and more books, but fortunately I've found "Science of pocket billiards". Beleive me, its amazing, right now with a small practice after reading this book I beat my friends.
   The best one.



3. The book is very comprehensive going into a lot of detail and at times is very technical. There are lots of tables and statistics. However, it does a great job of explaining how the various aspects of the game impact the outcome of each shot. Things like cue ball and object ball movement, best cue stick positions for type of shot, how english and top and bottom spin impact cue ball placement, and much more. If you focus on the less technical aspects taught in this book you will come out with a much better understanding of how to shoot better pool. I'm still reading it but have learned alot and I consider myself a better than average pool player already. It is at times tough reading but you can get into it as deeply as you desire and several readings over time will glean more information.



4. This technical guide is full of tables and statistics, along with lots of tips to make you shoot a better game of pool.



5. I purchased this book as a total beginner to pool and it has really jumpstarted my learning process. Normally I'd have learned by trial and error and would eventually develop a 'feel' for it. This book explains scientifically, geometrically and physically what is taking place on the table so that I understand what it is I'm attempting to make happen. Feel will always be necessary, that's much of the fun, but understanding the logic behind each shot is a great guide and really helps me get back online when I lose that elusive feel.
   
   Koehler's book starts with the basics of equipment and terminology and proceeds through technique, strategy, psychology and more. One thing that I really like is that the book offers many alternatives so that I can choose the ones that suit me best, or have options when my usual approach isn't available. The author offers some opinions on which might be a better choice but provides enough information on each to allow an informed decision.
   
   Though I'm still a beginner I am confident that this book would benefit players of all levels. I've got a pool buddy (also a beginner) that lives a few hours away. I sent him a copy of this book so that I won't have an unfair advantage next time we get together!

2 comments about The New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzle Omnibus Volume 5: 200 Solvable Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzle Omnibus).

1. THIS BOOK HAS A GENERAL KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT IS FUN AND CHALLENGING. MANY DIFFERENT TOPICS.



2. They are definitely easy puzzles -- too easy in fact, and a bit repetitive if you do more than one at a sitting. I do one or two each night before bedtime. If you are sleepy, that's about the right speed for this collection.

5 comments about Game Design: Theory and Practice (2nd Edition) (Wordware Game Developer's Library).

1. This is a great walk through for a beginner. I would recommend it for its overview and insight into games and making games. I played a few more games because of it and was able to hone my eye to know why I enjoy and what I look for in games. Great first book; if only for the interviews.



2. Being an avid gamer, and dreaming of working in the video game industry, I pretty much knew everyhing there was in this book. However, if you're not like me, then I think you will find this book useful.
   The book goes from the beginning stages of video game design up to the completion of a video game. It gives really good information about what makes a game good and not tired and done before.
   The interviews of the game designers are kinda helpful; it really depends on if you already know the designers work and are familiar with it.
   This is a non-technical book though, so it won't tell you how to code a game or make models. It basically tells you all of the intangibles you can't learn in a class or really anywhere.
   
   It's worth the read.



3. I got this book to help in a class since it was a course requirement. It has alot of good info and intangibles about game design that is very helpful to anybody that would want to know.



4. I am currently using this as my Game Design textbook. As a student, it provides not only mere theory, but valuable interviews with upstanding designers. It is clear, and a joy to read.



5. The editorial review is kinda deceiving, so I'll just write what's missing on it: The book tries to balance between theory, practical examples and interviews.
   
   Which may be great to some, but not that great to others.
   
   The book is basicaly structured in this way:
   30-50 pages of Theory
   5-15 pages of a practical example (something about the theory on an actual game)
   15-40 pages of Interview (with some famous game designer... which might be good if the reader knows their games, and might be bad if the reader doesn't, since not much of it is exactly "game designer" content).
   
   That structure is repeated through over and over the book's 677 pages.
   But don't get me wrong, the content is still very good. Cover lots of stuff from developing the game concept, to more technical stuff like AI, Multi-playing, Level design and playtesting.
   
   So, a good book that covers lots of stuff on game design without going too deep in specific stuff.

5 comments about Savage Species: Playing Monstrous Characters (Dungeons & Dragons Supplement).

1. Well, the book starts out with a great concept- Monster races as PC's and how to balance them. It also introduces the idea of "monster class progression"- which allows one to start a beginning campaign with a "first level rakshasa" if one gets DM OK.
   
   How did this brilliant idea go so very wrong? First is the literaly scads of typos & mistakes. Nearly every "monster class" has several very significant errors (the Rakshasa does not have any natural armour listed, for instance). WotC has also failed to do any Errata on this book- so far (and it seems doubtful- see next paragraph).
   
   But worse is the timing and planning. The book was pushed as being compliant with 3.5, but after the 3.5 MM came out, it was clear that Savage Species was anything but. Thus, a fairly expensive book became mostly obsolete within months of it's publication.
   
   Still, there is an extensive system the DM can use to design his own "monster classes", and this remains useful. But the timing & errors make this book a bad buy for the player who has updated to 3.5.



2. If your playing with the 3.5 player's handbook, monster manual, and dungeon master's guide; this book is unnecessary. Because many ELs and LAs have been adjusted, and the entire system for LAs has been simplified with 3.5, this book has been rendered somewhat obsolete. It's best remaining features are some of it's example content (spells/feats/example progressions), but this book isn't going to be as helpful at a 3.5 table running a game using level adjustments.



3. Though this text is a handsome volume, packed with cool ideas and tons of crunchy bits, and moreover though I happen to like it quite a lot, it does not fully overcome the charges levelled against it, namely:

   --it is a partial rehashing of 2E's *Complete Book of Humanoids* (which is less serious than the following, since 3E is basically just a rehashing of 2E in general),

   --its unfortunate partial obsolescence (3.5E does indeed provide LA for each "playable" creature in the most recent *MM*--though *Savage Species* will ultimately consider all creatures to be "playable," whereas *MM* clearly does not), and

   --the sad fact that WotC invests what must be approaching $0 in copyediting.

   Those reservations noted, it must be said that the text opens up in 3E a new vista; instead of relying on the vanilla races of the *PH*, one can now, say, run a party of harpy infiltrators, a band of trollish barbarians, a medusa rogue, or (gods forbid it) a hive of illithids, demons, or some other uberpowerful beasties as PCs. (Though the *DMG* hints at such a vista, its suggestions proved to be unwieldy, incomplete, and generally confusing to most of us gamer-geeks.)

   The text has many virtues in this regard:

   1) new feats, spells, items, and prestige classes for monstrous folk, all generally well conceived.

   2) some fair-to-middling notes on how to run a campiagn centered on the misadventures and cross accidents inevitably encountered by a group of bugbear PCs, for instance.

   3) loads of bombass templates (these really are worthy of attention).

   4) the reconceptualization of the game system entirely in terms of class--now, everything is a matter of class--no more monster advancing by the nebulous Hit Die (but this still doesn't resolve the bizarre aspect that Hit Die never correlated with CR; recall that level in a PC class always correlates with CR--why the inconsistency?).

   5) tons and tons of statistical tables (the true value of the text). These also come with a set of guidelines to produce similar "class template" tables for any monster in the system--a very high degree of diversity for any game, which is surely a plus.

   6) the introduction of both the "half-ogre" and "anthropomorphic animal" standard PC races (very good additions to the rules).

   7) some very fine artwork

   In these respects, there is value here, but unfortunately the aforementioned problems will limit its appeal and utility.




4. It's a good aid for dungeon masters. Expecially when characters want to play something other than the standard character classes.
   Many worked out examples and lots of guidelines for setting up your own monsters as player characters.



5. The idea of playing monster pcs is really neat and interesting, but most of how to do that is covered in the monster manuals and is much easier to understand. I was a little befuddled at the many templates, which are neat unto themselves, I just don't really see spending time creating these creatures in a campaing. They are plenty of monsters and other supplemeants to create baddies for your pcs to deal with. A flying dog? Okay, so just have a dog with wings, no 'winged creature' templete really needed. Are you really going to use a gelatinous bear? Do you have the time and patience to come up with an appropiate balanced creature with all the stats and adjustmeants involved? To me, the templates are a long involved process that doesn't really lend to the creative process. A spectre lurker? Neat, but a little much for most players to accept. It was just wayy out there for the most part. Also not starting out at level one can be a bit confusing and these levels in monster are a bit much to grasp and handle. So you advance in levels, but don't get any benefit of a class until you reach 'x' level. So that means (and I'm not entirely sure on this one) you would have to play extra smart until you got your class going and what hit die would you use? 10, 12, 4? It doesn't usually say as far as the 'humanoid' is concerned. Also how would this monster character fit in? Wouldn't every civilization pretty much be afraid of them and try to kill them or run from them? It doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun and lots of requiremeants and stats and rules to keep up can seem like a nightmare propisition. I really felt like it was a rehash of the monster manual and the prestiage classes are a little to esoteric in a diverse game world. But if you just have a hankering to play monster characters, then perhaps this will help you, but otherwise they are other supplemeants to introduce you to various races that are d20 in nature and also done by wotc that you could include in your campaing without upsetting balance and causing confusion. I mean, Palladium fantasy has TONS of races that would fit right into your world, with of course appropiate adjustmeants with the stats and that is just one example, I'm sure there are plenty more that would fit the bill. This one, in my estimation, is like a steak that is just overcooked.