No comments about The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction (Green Source) (GreenSource Books).

5 comments about Cottage Style Decorating.

1. I only wish I could make my house look like this! This book has quite a range of different types of Cottage decorating, everything from Swedish to Shaker to Garden. It contains many ideas that I will be trying to emulate.



2. This is the first book I will pick up to get inspirations and ideals for cottage style decorating. Loads of colorful photographs really set this book apart from other books.



3. Beautiful pictures, nice ideas - my mom went gagga over it - cottage style is totally her. I liked it - but wouldn't look at it repeatedly.



4. I absolutely love this book! The pictures are beautiful, every page is a treat! It's definantly a good investment and really gets your mind rolling with all kinds of ideas for your own house. I highly recommend this book if you are into cottage decor!



5. I'm making the transition from rustic farmhouse to cottage. This book really helped me to see and understand what changes I need to make to accomplish this while utilizing many of the items I already have. It has a very organized presentation with short and easy explanations to achieve the look you prefer. I have looked at every page over and over again. The pictures are beautiful as well.

5 comments about Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking (Complete Illustrated Guide).

1. This book is excellant for those people starting out in wood working as it shows what can be done wihtout overwealming the reader. Althrough there is not enougth detail to pick up all the tricks, it does give you enougth basic ideas to be able to get a more advanced book and actually know what it is talking about. On the strength of this book, i will be buying most, if not all, of the Taunton's Illustrated Guides.



2. Taunton does an excellent job of producing attractive, well written wide market appeal products. The content of Complete Illustrated Guide is a convenient collection of the same articles you will find in their "Fine Woodworking" magazine. The authors are knowledgable, and very successful in thier space. Unfortunately, in building the mass appeal formula, Taunton had to give up anything edgy, its all vanilla and no "rocky road". A recent copy of Fine Woodworking for example rated central dust vacuums. They rated 3 "best" each was from the product line of one of the top three manufacturers each of whom advertise heavily in thier publications. As I recall there is usually one "best" and then others follow. This straddling is what I mean by no edgyness, they are trying to appeal to everyone and offend no one. In the end this approach results in what I believe is the best vanilla product out there and I love to consume what they produce, just have to take it for what it is, mass production. If you have progressed in woodworking to the point where you are becomming an artist or want to learn something new, look here for foundation and elsewhere for creativity. Most folks will benefit from both.



3. This is the greatest book to learn how to woodturn. You won't be sorry!



4. I have been a woodbutcher for many years. I did this as an advocation. Wanted to dedicate serious time to fine furniture, and cabinets. As reviewers who rate this text positively note. "It is a great book for getting started." I have had discussions with woodworkers who have different levels of expertise. They have shared similar information to what I can find in this excellent text. It is criticized for being "pedestrian" and this is actually a good quality. Habits and skills come from practice, making mistakes, and doing what works for me. I have other similar books, They are more cutting edge, but this is seriously a great book for people who want to reduce personal mistakes in building mental skills toward planning and preperation. It is not a simple "how to book" but a mentoring manual.



5. I have been trying to find the perfect book for a novice woodworker and this is not it. The word "complete" in the title implies that it is for beginners -- as an experienced woodworker would most likely buy more specialized books -- such as a book just on dovetail joints.
   
   For example, it has a chapter on all the different kinds of joints you can make -- which is good for a beginner. But then they have a how-to on using a hollow-chisel mortiser - a machine that no novice has in their shop.
   
   They will often show how to do things on upper-end machinery that is out of the price-range or has too large a footprint for a beginner. Some of these things can't be done as well (if at all) with entry-level tools (like cutting down the width of a board with a band saw).
   
   So it is good if you want to understand the big-picture world of wood working, but it is equally silly to give quick lessons on how to use upper-end tools that a beginner just wouldn't have.
   
   If anyone from Taunton is reading this, it would be great to have a book geared toward the beginner who mostly has bench-top tools and doesn't have tools like jointers and shapers.

5 comments about The Organized Life: Secrets of an Expert Organizer.

1. This is one of those small books I keep by my bedside to read a few pages of tips before I fall asleep. It's an easy book to read in bits and pieces, but if you are looking for a full-blown "how-to" on organizing, this one may not be for you.
   
   The book sections are:
   
   Clutter
   Paper
   Closets
   Kitchen
   Time
   Storage
   Home Office
   Bed & Bath
   Garage, Attic & Basement
   Photos
   Children
   Holidays
   
   I like the "look" of the book inside - colorful pages with easy-read-text, small charts and lists. Because of the type fonts, bolding and white spacing of the pages, it's really easy to get information from the pages by just a glance. (So you can read what you want and skip the rest).
   
   The content is really a collection of tips and ideas, not a full-fledged plan of organizing everything top to bottom. Some of the information may be things the reader already knows (sometimes, though, I have to see it in print for the obvious to become useful). However, I did find a number of useful new ideas. This was probably the book that convinced me that keeping department store "bonus" makeup sets was more of a storage hassle than it was worth. I also started taking more notice of what was already in my closet and giving careful thought about new purchases to be sure I don't already have something very similar. I like the author's idea of using my Inbox only for items that have not been reviewed yet. Why look at something twice?
   
   I enjoyed reading this book and although I didn't use every idea, I did pick up a few and got to thinking about how to better organize my life. However, if you are looking for a more thorough book, you may want to check out Donna Smallin's Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide with Hundreds of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges or books like it.



2. If you were able to follow the dozens of random tips in this book, you would probably enjoy a more organized life. On the other hand, if you are able to follow the tips in this book, you probably already have a well-organized life. For example, the author suggests several solutions for dealing with children's artwork, including mailing special items to grandparents, "...What you've chosen ... should be sent on its way quickly. A personal note on the back or a signature makes it that much more special." The assumption here is that one has packing tape, mailing tubes, address labels and suitable note paper readily at hand and that one has a system for remembering to take packages to the post office when one is headed in that direction.
   
   A more ludicrous suggestion involves the "paper exchange," which entails setting up a filing system on one's kitchen desk so that children can file their school announcements and permission slips each afternoon; a parent then reviews these papers in the evening, signs any necessary paperwork and returns the forms to the children's backpacks. I could expend several hundred words picking apart the unrealistic assumptions underlying this proposal; instead, Dear Reader, I leave it to your imagination to consider whether this program could be easily implemented in your household. If it could and you haven't thought of it yet, perhaps The Organized Life is for you.
   
   To her credit, Ms Denton does include some suggestions that are useful to those of us whose dispositions make us susceptible to clutter. She devote several pages (p. 100, p. 150) to ideas for reducing clutter and analyzing whether an item really needs to be stored or could better be discarded. She warns of the perils of accumulating needless toiletries. She tells an inspiring anecdote about a man who maintains a clean basement by regularly removing anything he could replace for less than $5 because he recognizes that the benefits of a clean basement outweigh the risk that he might someday havie to spend a small sum on replacement items.
   
   In short, Ms Denton's attractive little book with its brightly colored pages and easy-to-read typography makes a diverting browse for someone who enjoys domestic organizational tasks. It is unlikely to provide any transformative guidance to the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free of their own wretched refuse and teeming to-do lists.



3. This is my favourite organisation book (and ive bought a bundle!). It is an attractive, compact book with modern graphic design & images that make it fun to read. The content is simple and 'straight to the point' and instructions/strategies/tips are in easy to follow point form.
   Don't waste your time with the many wordy,text dense organisation books that you have to search thru to uncover just a couple of good ideas... buy this book instead!



4. This book was good in the aspect that it gives many easy-to-do tips on how to get organized. However, many of the tips were too basic or outdated. The paper management section was very outdated, but gives good ideas on how to filed effectively. I especially liked the section on time and the home office section. Both of these had great ideas on how to use organization to make a better environment in these areas. "The Fingertip Test" in the Home Office section is a handy and useful tip.
   
   I am a professional organizer in Honolulu, HI (www.organizedislands.com), and I will certainly use this book for helpful hints for my clients.



5. This is a delightful book. She gives us organizational tips in a simple, easy to read, easy to follow format. And I have to say the book is just a beautiful book. Nice to hold in your hand and very colorful. It makes you happy to think about organizing.
   If I had to say something bad about it, I would say that it is a bit on the basic side. It doesn't go into great detail.

5 comments about Rustic Retreats: A Build-It-Yourself Guide.

1. For anyone with space enough, but without the money to build on it, this book has so many answers. It has line drawings on almost every page and is pure delight to read and dream over.



2. I don't get why you put a beautiful photo on the cover of your book and all 2nd rate hand drawn pictues inside. It's deceptive! Won't help you with Country Home ideas. Maybe good for a kids Fort or a Bowhunting stand...



3. These are true rustic retreats for adults. Just know this is not for children's tree houses or play houses. These are very rustic retreats, such as a lean-to to use as a nature retreat, or for the shack-like building the size of a garden shed for sleeping in as a weekend getaway,(sans electricity or toilets).

   The one I loved the most was a rustic arbor for grapevines that was basically 4 poles with a semi-roof--for the vines to grow up and over the top to form a roof. The idea of sitting under it with a table and relaxing outdoors was quite tempting. However, where I would get the rustic tree trunks to make this is beyond me (but it looked wonderful).

   There are no photographs. This is not a glitzy-beautiful tempting type of book. It is about the nuts and bolts of really building one of these structures. I suggest browsing this book first to see if there is a structure you are interested in.

   The plans are quite detailed and seem more than adequate to use as building plans.




4. I'm glad there are no photos in this book. Get an imagination! The drawings are fun and lively. They also give important aspects of the project that a photo rarely illustrates. Now I know how (in detail) to construct a tipi, or put together a simple door or roof that really would hold up to nature. The primitive shelters section is great. So are the tree houses. Not that all of these projects are practical homes, but now I have ideas for that "fort" in the back acre my kids are bugging me about. Thanks for a great book to just read, or get us outside with a saw and hammer.



5. I liked this book alot. Contains simple and practical ideas. But I would say it is best for someone who is ready to get off their duff and build something, anything. Instead of just looking for pretty pictures and dreaming. If I can do it you can too.

5 comments about Rearrange It! - How To Grow a Six Figure Interior Redesign and Redecorating Business OR Secrets of Interior Redesigners on How Anyone Can Start a Home Based Business Decorating for Others.

1. The furniture arrangement configurations in the back of the book are powerful examples of how to arrange furniture no matter what the shape or size of the room. This is worth the price of the book alone. In a nutshell, I can see the most common ways furniture should be arranged. All I have to do is select one and I should have a winning combination for any room I have to tackle. This is reassuring because I don't want to get to a client's home and not have an answer for their problems. And that's one huge gem at the end of the book, which I haven't found in any book out there.
   
   From start to finish I found this book to be very practical, very thorough and very useful. It focuses on the single topic of starting a redesign business and doesn't get sidetracked. It also doesn't try to cover the subject with broad generalities and filler, like other books I've read. So it delivers exactly what it promises with the kind of details and thoroughness you would expect to get.
   
   All the standard stuff about setting up a business is there, but it relates all that to a redesign business specifically. The author goes indepth on how to interview a client, how to start a project, questions you'll need to ask and the whole step by step process, including taking before and after pictures, collecting the fee and so forth. There are a generous supply of photos showing how it really is to be a redesigner (not studio pictures that are not the norm). So it accurately depicts the life of a redesigner and what we all face no matter where we live and work.
   
   The author's style is easy to follow and conversational, which helped me stay interested throughout, even in the marketing sections that typically are less fun than the design parts. I mean, I'm a creative person, and it's harder for me to concentrate on the business side, but I know that's where I need to improve my knowledge and skill.
   
   I enjoyed this book immensely and appreciate the tools and visual aids the author recommends. It's an excellent read.



2. If you're looking to do interior redesign AND home staging simultaneously, I highly recommend both books by this author as they are easy to read, provide outstanding guidance, give you information on additional helpful tools and are flat out the best you'll find on the subject. I am a teacher and always on the hunt for tidbits and gems I can pass on to my own students. I got far more than I bargained for which pleases me greatly. The information is really to the point, very detailed, very precise. Both manuals are large and packed to the brim -- no fluff like some others. Get both by this author. This is a no-brainer.



3. Jennings has a number of excellent books for the interior redesign and home staging business that fit together and build upon each other into a cohesive whole so that anyone can start and build a business from the ground floor up. This is her basic manual, which is filled to the brim with great advice and guidance, and she also has an advanced book called "Advanced Redesign", along with a couple more books geared for the home staging market. This book, however, shows you how to start up and set up your business, how to get clients, how to do consultations and price your services, how to market and promote it properly, and a good deal of excellent training on the design end of the business - the kind of stuff you won't get from others. For instance, at the end of the book she literally shows you the most common furniture arrangements used by professional designers. In most situations, one of these should be suitable for a typical room a person would work in. She makes the process easy to understand and gives readers the tools and examples to understand what to do, but also why they work so well.
   
   The other books she has written show you how to add related products and services to your business to get the most out of your business that you can get. Since most people want to make profits from their business venture, the book gives you an excellent picture of how to go about doing just that, all in a clear, concise step-by-step analysis. All the books by this author are excellent and well worth the investment.



4. When you really want specifics on a topic, you just need a book by this author and you'll find yourself immersed in the kind of details and guidance you were hoping to get. Not one to mince words, Jennings lays it all out with precision, yet keeping the information interesting and practical and sometimes a little humorous. She's got plenty of forms, plenty of decorating training (dealing with the professional ways to arrange a client's furniture), and even more guidance on how to move a client's possessions, plus all the set up, promotional and business side of things. An excellent read.



5. This book is easy to read and has very helpful information that you can use. It contains things that you may not think about. I think if just about covers all items you would use in starting a business or just doing for yourself or helping friends with their home.

5 comments about Decorating JunkMarket Style.

1. They inspired me to think out of the box. I like the pictures and the step by step instructions... although you have to modify it for the stuff you have on hand.



2. I can look through this book time and time again and never get tired of it. The book has PLENTY of project ideas and even explains how to do a few of them step by step. It's more of a place to look for inspiration than a step by step guide, though, so if you want something more instructional this may not be it. For me, it was perfect because they have SUCH unique, original, inventive uses for junk.
   The book doesn't just give little project ideas to drop in around the house, it actually shows how you can create several different looks and styles for a living space using...JUNK.
   It's just great. One of my favorite books to browse through for inspiration.



3. I bought this book for my daughter who is re-vamping an old house built in 1936. She wants an old farmhouse look and is excited about all the ideas this book has inspired.



4. I recently reviewed this book for my ladies group. Some interesting things here, but the practicality of much of it all eludes me. While this may very well be a fun hobby for the 50-something authors (post-retirement perhaps), the costs for the average person to travel around the country to find some of this so-called junk - if one can even find some of it, combined with the costs of shipping it back to your home and then more costs to transform it into newer, improved pieces of junk seem quite prohibitive to me, and overly complicated I have to think. Since many of these items appear to have similarities to various items sold by Pottery Barn and other chic home boutiques, it would seem most practical to simply go this route and spare yourself all other hassles, time , and costs. Just an opinion from someone who bends toward keeping life as simple and uncomplicated as possible. Each to their way as they say.



5. I picked up a junk market magazine at a second hand book store, loved it, and was then introduced to the "junk sisters". I looked at stores for more books they may have but did not succeed. So, I searched the internet and found this one and I love reading it and I get new ideas everytime I thumb through it. Definitely a must have for "fellow 'junk' treasure hunters!"

5 comments about The Zapp Method of Couture Sewing: Tailor Garments Easily, Using Any Pattern.

1. This is a great book for the serious sewer. It has the best explanation of how to make a lined vest or lined sleeveless camisole that I have ever seen. And if you are interested in tailoring, you will really want to have this book. I always check books out of the library first. Then you know if it's a book you need to own. This one was a book I had to have in my library, and I've found it very useful.



2. This book really helped me with fit issues. I haven't sewn for years and the main reason I wanted to sew again was the horrible fit of "off the rack" clothing. Pants especially are difficult to fit from standard sewing patterns. This book contained a little more information than I may need, but the basics of altering the patterns were clear and easy to understand. Now that I know the principles, it's easy to make adjustments on things that aren't even mentioned in the book.



3. This book is great, as long as you are an experienced seamstress [sorry for the possible sexist misunderstanding]. Really great tips and hints for someone who has significant experience with sewing and/or tailoring



4. Step by step instructions and large color photos make this an easy guide to follow. The principles she teaches you could help you fit many patterns to yourself if you are an experienced sewer. However, all you really learn to fit are dress slacks, dress shirt, and a camisole/vest. No instructions are provided for dresses, skirts, or jackets. You do learn a neat techniques for making a pattern out of your favorite pair of pants.
   
   If a book on tailoring garments you already have is what you're looking for, a more comprehensive guide would serve better.



5. The feature that makes this book stand out is her chapter on designing western shirts. I have never seen this information anywhere else. She only spends a few pages on western shirts, but the focus is on the features that are unique to western wear: how to add piping to the yoke and cuffs and how to make it. Her chapters on shirts and jackets also include information and steps to follow for making riding and western wear. She does not cover riding pants or chaps, though. In the chapter on pants construction, the information about changing crotch depth is clear and easy to understand, and she shows in pictures how to fit crotch depth while seated. The section on correctly fusing a tailored jacket is fantastic! She covers fitted vests and lined camisoles. Her section on welt pockets, in the jacket chapter, has really, really good pictures. While the sections on fitting are good, she does not cover fitting alterations for atypical figures (such as a sway back.)

3 comments about Build Your Own Treehouse: A Practical Guide.

1. Build it and they will come! After having visited Mr. Barkley's truly amazing backyard of creations, we had to buy a copy of his book as a keepsake. The photographs are wonderful...so much better than ours. My husband is currently building a clubhouse on stilts for our daughter and will undoubtedly reference this book for ideas and instructions. You don't have to be a child to fall in love with the tree houses, various swings, many collectibles and gorgeous gardens. Everyone who has looked at our copy of the book has been impressed. If you are ever near Rochester, NY, I recommend a visit to the tree houses and a souvenir copy of his book.



2. I had the joy of climbing in and around the treehouses built by Mr Barkley with 4 of my grandchildren. His book is practical and contains lots of "how to" information with close up pictures and diagrams. His tree houses are a delight, and Mr & Mrs Barkley are friendly and generous hosts to their treehouse neighborhood. Lots of thought and planning went into the book, to make it a pleasant read and useable reference.



3. This is the fourth treehouse book I've bought. If it had been the first, it would probably have been the last. There isn't much he doesn't cover from site evaluation and preparation to safety gear. I like following in detail a single project to completion through the book.

5 comments about Making an Archtop Guitar.

1. If you have an interest in building an archtop, you will want this book. Though it does not contain complete full-scale plans (you will either have to enlarge the included plans or order a separate full-sized set), there is nonetheless a wealth of information to satisfy both experienced and novice builders alike. The text is accompanied by numerous photos of Benedetto's shop, tools (many which are home-made), various guitar-construction operations in progress, and color photos of many of his own guitars. Yes, I suppose there is a subtle bit of self-promotion, as one Amazon reviewer complains. However, one can hardly begrudge Benedetto for this, considering that he has chosen so generously to share of himself. How many of Benedetto's competitors would be as willing to step up to the same plate? If you are serious about building an archtop, I would recommend purchasing the DVDs with the book. While Benedetto is very clear with his explanations, tap-tuning is probably something that requires the kind of hands-on demonstration gained from student-teacher interaction or, in the absence of that, video demonstration.



2. I have built an archtop guitar based on this book, the book is full of useful tips and information. Without it my guitar project would probably not have been possible.



3. This is an excellent book for someone who has the experience or motivation to build this difficult instrument. It isn't for somebody who has no woodworking experience or who doesn't have the desire to search out additional information and techniques. There is no book which covers every method and every step in building something as difficult as a carved musical instrument.
   
   The pictures are exceptional and can give much more information than pages of text. There are skimpy areas, but the book would be 1000 pages if everything Benedetto knew where written down.
   
   I've read books on building guitars, violins and carved mandolins...this is the best of the bunch, in my opinion. Many mandolin builders read it to help them with that instrument.
   
   You can do no better, but will have to find additional information on the web, in other books and from experienced woodworkers.



4. I have now read this bock twice through since receiving it and feel confident that it provides the building blocks to start my (your) own journey into building archtop guitars. The chapters are concise focusing on the fundamentals of each element of the building process from wood selection to top and back shaping, side bending neck construction and finishing. I am about to embark on my first archtop guitar and after reading Robert's book I feel confident to do so.



5. I bought this book and the companion DVD's and studied them prior to going to Nazareth, PA in late July of this year (2008). In Nazareth I constructed an archtop guitar with a protege' of Bob Benedetto's. We used the same methods outlined in this book and DVDs. One week later I had in my hands a beautifully constructed, playable and superb sounding archtop guitar in European Spruce (Top) and European Flame Maple (Back and Sides) (sans finish).
   If you have any doubts whether or not this book will give you the necessary tools to construct a quality instrument, quell those doubts. I have the proof in my hands. Buy the accompaning DVDs. You will need
   these as well. Good Luck!