5 comments about The New Birdhouse Book: Inspiration and Instruction for Building 50 Birdhouses.

1. The New Birdhouse Book: Inspiration And Instruction For Building 50 Birdhouses by Leslie Garisto is far more than just another woodworking "how-to guide" for a weekend project. Rather it is a full blown celebration showcasing a vast variety of crafted avian housing, ranging from common box houses to pillared feeders, as well as expansive and complex creations designed especially to attract specific birds. Color photography, detailed diagrams, step-by-step instructions, and more, make The New Birdhouse Book a must-have for woodworkers of all skill and experience levels who seek to apply their talents to the betterment of our feathered friends.



2. Good designs, easy to follow plans. This book piqued my interest in dovecotes, and now I'm off in another direction.



3. I WAS VERY DISSAPPOINTED WITH THIS BOOK. IN THE SECTION WHERE THEY HAVE THE INSTUCTIONS FOR BIRD HOUSES TO BUILD THEY DON'T HAVE A PICTURE OF IT. EVEN THE DRAWING IS NOT OF THE FINISHED BIRD HOUSE BUT A DRAWING WITH ALL THE PIECES UNATTACHED. I GUESS YOU HAVE TO BUILD THE THING TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. BIG HELP!



4. This book was quite useful. However, I also purchased "Build Your Own Birdhouses and Feeders: From Simple, Natural Designs to Spectacular, Customized Houses and Feeders" at the same time. I was very disappointed to find that the plans were almost all EXACTLY THE SAME.



5. How do you put out a book like this with no pictures of the finished projects? Ridiculous! I wish I could give it ZERO stars!

2 comments about Home Improvement All-in-One for Dummies.

1. I was expecting this book to "speak" to dummies. But unfortunately through out the book they kept bringing up stuff that had not been explained before. There is too much verbage and not enough step by steps or pictures. As for humor, all you have are the cartoons.

   The Black and decker book starts from the basics, shows each and every tool that is required to do the job, shows plenty of pictures that give the best idea as to what is involved and what is requried.




2. I was hoping that this book would give me a solid introduction to home improvement but it really didn't deliver. The information presented tended to be either too brief or assumed a lot of proir knowledge, which is inappropriate in a book with "for Dummies!" in the title. There were some good tips but I never had enough info to embark on a project with only this book as a reference. One exception was the info on painting, which was helpful and detailed. Also, a lot of the material seemed a little dated - there was tons of info about wallpapering and installing laminate countertops (I think these options are not as popular as they once were) but not much on installing granite counters or laminate flooring. So, in short, having this book is better than nothing but if you really want to be well versed in home improvement, look elsewhere.

5 comments about 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child: Plus 50 All-New Bonus Activities (365).

1. This book was recommended in the book Living the Simple Life. I'm so glad I took the time to get it. It's a wonderful resource for busy families looking to spend some quality time together. So turn that TV off and buy this book. Encourages you and your child's imagination and they learn through playing with simple things around the house and the bonus is that by not watching that TV, you've spent memorable time with each other...what could be better?



2. I tripped across this book at my local library and I am here looking for my own copy, as we are limited on how long we keep it. I brutally removed the kids from their TV addiction, and the transition has been difficult on the older ones especially. This book has been my salvation. The prereader like to pick out things by picture, my beginner read has no problem understanding the direction and my toddler and teen get involved too. We have used this to fill the huge void of television and to stave of the "mom I am bored..." routine. This is a small book it fits in my purse and we take it with us everywhere. Breaking the index down by activity type means I can have a Doctor's waiting room idea or a park idea up in running in 2 minutes. The materials list is in the margin for easy access and all the material are everyday every house items, half of which are in my purse any way... This book is a keeper!



3. This book is great for days when your board. You need almost nothing to to all the activities. We use it much more than our other craft books! You must by it!



4. My granddaughter is with me during part of the summer. When the books arrived, she was almost six.
   We found some interesting things to do. I monitor her tv and computer viewing. So when she got bored and it was not tv time, she would say: get the book! And we always found some fun things to do.



5. I was wondering what my wife and kids could do this summer that wouldn't break the budget. Boy am I glad I found this book. Great customer service too. Thanks for the ideas!

No comments about The Violin Maker: A Search for the Secrets of Craftsmanship, Sound, and Stradivari (P.S.).

No comments about Master the Maintenance Workers Exam, 4th edition (Maintenance Worker : Mechanical Maintainer, 4th ed).

5 comments about Packing Iron: Gun Leather of the Frontier West.

1. I received the book quickly, in great condition. I would definitely use this vendor again.



2. If you're into Cowboy Action Shooting or even history of the Old West, this is a must have book. The pictures are fantastic and the way the book was put together gives the reader an extremely great view of what they wore in the old days. Plus, there are some great pictures from the cowboy movie and television era. Great Book!



3. This has rapidly become a favorite book of mine and, judging from the constant references to it from holster makers, has become a widely-used reference source. The quality of the book itself is excellent, with lots of crisp, large pictures and good accompanying text. The "frontier" period covered is pretty wide, really the colonial period into the pre-WW2 era. The emphasis, however, is on the 1800s. The first section of the book mostly covers military gunleather and its transition into civilian forms and usage. The bulk of part two is on California and Mexican Loop pattern holsters of the 1800's and early 20th century, although there is good material on a number of other subjects (all gun-related). The holster photo captions in part two tend to be very repetitious as there are numerous style variations presented, but ultimately don't detract from the pictures themselves or the text. This is not a book to buy if you are interested in costume or accoutrements other than gunleather, and you should pass it by if your primary interest is Western film and TV versions of gunleather - the buscadero, or drop-loop style is barely mentioned.



4. I saw this book several years ago in a book catalogue, I put off buying it because there really didn't seem to be enough subject matter to justify such a book. I could not have been more wrong. When I finally had one in hand I realized there really was a rich wealth of interesting material especially historically. This book shows the colorful evolution of holsters in the American West tradition. This is a fascinating collection of color and detail that leaves the reader in awe concerning this little known facet of traditional Western Americana. Well worth the price. Hours will be spent studing the beautiful illustrations and carefully researched text. You don't have to own a Colt sixshooter to apprecicate this beautiful book that faithfully follows and matches the tradition of the R.L. Wilson publications on the art of firearms.



5. The book was just what I had hoped it would be. Now I can make gun belts and holsters like they would have been made in the time of the old west for my cowboy events.

1 comments about Creating a Room: A Designer's Guide to Decorating Your Home in Stages.

1. I thought the "stages" shown in this book were very helpful. True, I don't own the type of home shown but one can easily interpret the ideas to suit a more modest home and budget. I purchased this book after her newest book, "A Winter House" (so very scrumptous!}.

3 comments about Carving Facial Expressions.

1. This is a good book for helping one carve facial expressions however it has a very limited number of examples and expressions to offer. The book is worth it for someone who is very much interested in carving, but for more information on facial expression try Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression.



2. I hope someday, I can carve wood like this guy!! He's amazing!! Clearly, the best book on learning facial expressions. A+++. Starting w/a diagram of the facial muscles, & how each one works, down to the different kinds of facial expressions doing all sorts of faces. This book is a MUST for any wood carvers, beginners or pros alike.



3. I found this book to be very disappointing. It was not helpful to me in trying to figure out how to ACHIEVE a particular expression with chisel cuts or other tool use. In addition, the facial expressions displayed in the illustrations are not, in my opinion, very representative of the emotion or image with which it is identified.

5 comments about Getting Organized.

1. The author defenitly provided me with fair suggestions to organzie myself better, however, most the suggestion were common things. However, do not compare yourself with me because prior purchasing this book, I still was a great organized person; it's just that I like to be perfect.



2. When I took over the daily operation of a National Guard Armory I wasn't sure what I was getting into. The Armory had a staff of one, Me! I needed to get organized fast! The administrator whom I was replacing had his own system in place. I was fortunate, I was able to work with him before he left for his new assignment. The National Guard runs and thrives on chaos and a crisis management system. Every day there was a new crisis to cope with, mostly the making of the higher headquarters. There was always too much useless work and never enough time to get it accomplished. At least once a day I would get a phone call from higher headquarters about some useless piece of paperwork the just discovered they needed yesterday at the latest and now wanted everybody to jump through hoops! Short and long term planning were never practiced, just given lip-service. Winston's book was a great starting point. It helped me get ahead and stay ahead of the Puzzle Palace Jockeys. There is something here for everyone. If you learn just one new idea and put it to work for you, the price of the book will have been well worth it!



3. This book is so outdated as to be laughable. She talks about carbon paper and white-out! Computers are treated as something for technologists. She says Sidekick is the most popular software. In fact it is no longer marketed or supported. Memory typewriters are compared favorably to computers! However, her Two-List Time Plan was worth the price of the book.



4. I have read many books in my life, many of which I have made the grand statement that my life was altered afterwards. None has had such an impact in such a short period of time. In the beginning of the book, Ms. Winston provides readers with a self-evaluation. My wife and I sat down and did it together, and reluctantly added up our points. We ranked in the "Disorganized to the point of Chaos" category.

   But, in the past two weeks or so, we have begun to implement the author's suggestions, many of which boil down to common sense. One reviewer is harsh in his criticism because of dated material, because of her suggestion to use carbon paper to make back-up copies of all correspondence. I, too, was surprised at this anachronism in a newly revised edition, but I forgave her for all of the other great advice. If you too are disorganized "to the point of chaos", BUY THIS BOOK. It may change your life, too.




5. This book is an overly-detailed, almost academic discussion of organizational theory. Some of the basic organizational principles include listing a project's "processes or system[s] into manageable parts" , breaking down projects into prioritizing projects by how aggravating they are, tackling the #1's first, etc. Her discussion of how to compose and analyze the daily to-do list is overly-detailed -- for example, calling a student's mother to determine why he didn't show up for class yesterday is an immediate task that just cropped up, while getting in touch with an equipment supplier is "a basic, medium range task." What does that mean?? And I don't think most of us struggle with figuring out what is really important and what isn't; what we need is something that will help us accomplish what is most important. The financial planning section is overly detailed -- assess income, analyze fixed expenses, prepare a budget, etc. I'm consulting a Getting Organized book because I need to get motivated and empowered to plow through the pile of clothes on the floor and the pile of papers on my desk -- This book is better-suited for folks who are already organized and want to be even more so. This book might be a good choice if you are already reasonably organized and are looking for detailed discussions of the processes that might enable you to become more organized in all aspects of your life. If you are currently at a lower level of organization, I recommend Don Aslett's books on clutter; for me, they have been much more readable and useful.

4 comments about Paint and Color in Decoration.

1. I thought, Oh another book on color ! But this one completely surprised me. A classic and timeless lay-out of beautiful photographs and truly educating text tailored this book into a must have for anyone interested in decoration.
   Obviously the authors know what they're talking about and they mastered their book in a way only the british can do.
   I bought that book for all my best friends as a Xmas present and my gift to you is an advice: buy it too !



2. I found this book to be a beautiful testimony to the rich and historical colors represented by the Farrow and Ball company.



3. I had wanted this book for some time prior to buying it. It is thick, substanital and nicely made. If you love paint, the photographs are lovely. That said, had I had access to this book in a library I would not have bought it. Despite it's size it is a quick read. The most valuable part is the information on various types of paints. This is not a book for someone needing basic color information and inspiration. This is a nice addition to a substantial color library especially for those who love F&B paint.



4. Beautifully printed (Rizzoli) with a wealth of info on historical paints and formulations.....tho not really of interest to the average reader.
   
   Also, caveat emptor, this volume is produced by Farrow & Ball, purveyors of spectacularly expensive paints, and is basically a marketing device for their products.
   
   For a paint geek like myself it is a pleasure, though.