5 comments about Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House: Bringing Your Home into Harmony with Nature (Natural Home & Garden).

1. I could not put this book down. It answers all of my questions and concerns as I begin to contemplate the large undertaking of creating a healthy, eco-friendly home for our family. Very thorough, creative and well-written... I only wish I could hire these women directly. Just enough information to cover all of the key considerations, with plenty of guidance on how to dig deeper if necessary. Should be required reading for every builder on the planet!



2. And I am glad I did! I am even gladder to know that more people are waking up to the idea of natural remodeling. I am not sure whether it alone will save our earth but it's a good start. If enough people do it, it will certainly raise the level of our appreciation of nature to a higher level.
   
   We're in the process of buying a house. Having been brainwashed by the mainstream culture and the media, I had grand dreams of huge expansion with piles of the latest and the biggest "goods" we're all programmed to consume - things like an all powerful over sized profession stainless oven even though I would never use it. But I now have a completely different mind set after reading this book.
   
   We've decided to go small and practical and recycle, reuse as much as possible. Let mother Nature live so that we can too!



3. There were many good ideas in this book. Some more expensive than the average person could afford. I read Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs; By: Clarke Snell (Author), Tim Callahan (Author). Which was very comprehensive and enjoyable. While Snell and Callahan focus on building from scratch I was more interested at this moment in remodeling. I wouldn't dismiss this book, but I would identify what your needs are first.



4. This is an outstanding book on remodeling your home to blend in with nature, and to avoid introducing toxic products into your home. Great ideas and photos.



5. I've been teaching at a community college for 16 years on the topic of energy efficiency, Passive solar, Building Science, green building, healthy home and alternative structures. These fields have evolved over this period of time. During the past 5 years there have been many good books on new construction, but few on Remodeling.
   
   Since remodeling would recycle a whole building, it is "greener" than new construction, especially in Suburbia or rural agricultural land. I would like to emphasize Remodeling in community colleges and think this would be the best textbook on the subject. The photographs alone are worthwhile. I also own the book, "Green Remodeling" by David Johnston and would use it as a secondary reference.
   
   I would also recommend Natural Remodeling for homeowners.

5 comments about Raising Resilient Children : Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Your Child.

1. Oy! If I have to read one more 'great save' case by these authors/psychologists, I will pull out my hair. This book was one case study after another outlining in great detail what their patients said and did and how wonderfully the authors managed to break through in each case, solving all problems for the troubled family, leaving them all happy and saved as the doctors ride gloriously into the sunset. Ugh! I wanted more substance, more "this is what you need to do". There was plenty of good advice in this book, but usually it came in the first sentence or at the end of a case study. By the end of the book, I was skipping all the case studies and just searching around for the moral of the story and looking for their not bad advice. I think if the authors had simply printed out their observations and suggestions in outline form, the book would be much more helpful and most importantly, shorter.



2. I must say I'm tempted to give away every single other parenting book I own. This book is the first book to ever "speak" to me. I've spent some time trying to figure out why this book touched me so much. It hit me - resilience is the BIG picture - I CAN operate and understand the big picture and then apply it to my life as a parent. I've spent most of my life as a parent searching for solutions to the little picture problems which change daily and spontaneously. I was never ready.
   
   Reading Dr. Brooks' philosophy made me want more than ever to adequately prepare my children for the joys and upsets of life and in two short weeks I'm beginning to feel prepared to do so. In the moments of chaos I feel more connected to the long term and my parenting has changed. Funny how my heart seems to have grown for our two adorable kids as well.



3. I would recommend this book to any mother but especially mother's of young children who feel their kids or their lives with their kids aren't what they imagined they would be. This book helps you love the child you've got without any "but if you'd onlys." This book shows you the possibility of unconditional love and appreciation for your child that can be mixed with guidance and strengthening support.



4. I was really disappointed with this book. In general it's about building up children's self-esteem, but doesn't focus on helping children develop resilience with daily disappointments or problems (bullies, not making a soccer goal, etc.) Self esteem is very different from resilience. Instead, I'd recommend two books: Blessings of the Skinned Knee and Mindset. Blessings is based on practical/current applications from the Torah; I am not Jewish and still found this book to be very helpful/wonderful. The books don't have chapters on "resilience", but the overall info from both has been very helpful in that area.



5. The really refreshing piece of information in ths book is that our kids won't change unless we do. They are our mirrors. So really it's about how to change your parenting style. If what you're doing now is not getting a positive response you need to change what you're doing. As this book points out, this is the strategy we use in all other areas of our lives we should also use it in our parenting. This book shows you how. "Raising Resilient Children" could be called "Becoming an Awesome Parent".

5 comments about What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained.

1. Great fun.........and practical advice........for the scientist who is not a cook and equally for the cook who is not a scientist
   
   CHUCK HILTY
   Reston VA



2. My husband and I are both engineers and enjoy cooking. This book appealed to us and is a wonderful explanation of the science behind the kitchen. The author has a certain humor, which keeps the book interesting, and explains details well, even for non-technical people. I would recommend it as an addition to your kitchen.



3. The headmaster at the school where I teach recommended this book for my domestic arts class and it has been a great source of information - the kind you don't normally find in the usual textbooks. We have enjoyed learning all the ends and outs of information that is not normally covered in cooking classes. Plus the book is divided into sections with very creative titles; and with the use of well-placed humor, this book is not only very informative but very entertaining!



4. I found this book to be a very easy and entertaining read. The author did a very good job of making it entertaining with some anecdotes and tongue in cheek writing style. It was also very informative. If you are a fan of Alton Brown style of delivery, you will probably enjoy this book.



5. Full of trivia as well as little morsels of fact everyone wonders about. Completely worth the price, it just so happens we have all new facts and ideas!

2 comments about Multicultural Manners: Essential Rules of Etiquette for the 21st Century.

1. I wish that everyone would read this book, just to be aware that different cultures have different mores, and if someone is "foreign" to you, their manners may seem very odd. It is necessary not to jump to conclusions. Of course, since so much of communication is non-verbal, it's also difficult not to.
   
   Obviously, one cannot adopt a single set of manners that would suit all people since people often have opposite customs. I worked with one group of people that hated to have money left on the counter, and another that preferred to have money left on the counter, and it was hard to remember to switch. Dresser notes that not all people from one country have the same customs, and as people live in the US for a few generations, they may forget ethnic customs. She tells a story on herself: visiting Hmong-Americans, she insists on removing her shoes, only to find out that the family has dropped that custom. Fortunately, I think most people appreciate the attempt to be polite, even if one stumbles from time to time.
   
   The book is told mainly in the form of anecdotes about cultural miscommunications, with explanations of customs of various societies. After this is a section listing many, although not all individual countries. This is followed by an extensive bibliography and an index.
   
   The index is one of the weakest points of the book. If one wants to use the book to learn customs for a specific group of people, the cross-indexing is erratic. If one is looking for Iranian customs, one also needs to look up Muslim and Middle-Easterners, but there are no cross references for this, although there are for some entries.
   
   A useful book, if one is going to be interacting with a known group of people. Otherwise, at least a reminder that customs vary.



2. I teach a cultural psychology class and this book is a wonderful reference for the class. I also read excerpts to the class as we discuss the various topics in their text. If you are a traveler to other countries, this book is a must.

5 comments about Before I Go: Letters to Our Children About What Really Matters.

1. Peter Kreeft is an outstanding philosophy professor at Boston College who has written over 40 books, most of which are excellent. Professor Kreeft is similar to G K Chesterton and C S Lewis in that he is a Christian philosopher who writes very clear and profound books that are full of wisdom.
   
   BEFORE I GO consists 162 life lessons that Kreeft has learned, and each lesson is covered in 1 to 3 pages. Lesson 6, "The Most Important Person" is a hierarchy of what a person's priorities in life should be, with God first, one's spouse second, one's children third and so on. Lesson 9 is a succinct description of "What is a Good Person?"
   
   Lesson 48 has a funny litmus test on how to tell if a book is a great book; funny because it rings true. And Lesson 51 has a poignant lesson learned too late from the poet Thomas Carlyle. Kreeft's advice on how to keep marriages intact in Lesson 87 is short, sweet and dead-on-target.
   
   "Before I Go" is short - it took only about 3 hours to read - and full of wisdom. This is indeed a great book in that it gives cogent guidance on the good, the beautiful and the true. Were Socrates to read this book, he would realize that he had finally found that wise man that Socrates sought in ancient Greece but never found. This is Kreeft's 2nd best book - exceeded only by his outstanding HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS - and I give it my highest recommendation.



2. Reviewed by Dr. Michael Philliber for Reader Views (12/07)
   
   Having sat with several people as they draw close to the end of their life, I have noticed that many find themselves frustrated by the short time they have to say the final, important things to their loved ones. Peter Kreeft has taken a preemptive strike at that moment for his family by writing this short, readably warm book, "Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters." Kreeft states that this book is simply a "word-insurance policy. It is a way of speaking even after you are dead" (4). And he has written it for his grown children against the day that he may no longer be able to say what he deems are the important things, before he goes.
   
   The short chapters are normally succinct, lasting anywhere from three sentences to three pages, but the depth of insight vastly surpasses the amount if ink and paper. For example, in one short chapter, he poignantly reveals the two categories into which people generally fall, "There are only two kinds of people: sinners, who think they're saints, and saints, who know they're sinners. There are only fools, who think they're wise, and the wise, who know they're fools" (51). It becomes clear as one reads further into this book that the writer is skilled at writing and at writing in a memorable fashion. I found myself struggling to put the book aside, because each chapter enticed me to jump to the next.
   
   Kreeft teaches philosophy at Boston College, which shines through in several chapters, particularly in the superb craftsmanship with which he is able to hone an idea down to its primary point, like the following; "Worship God, love people, and respect stuff" (54). He is also a loyal Roman Catholic, and that similarly comes through clear and without apology all over this book. Neither of these facts detracts from the book, but is the reservoir from which he is able to dish out his nourishing and healthful comments.
   
   The realism with which Kreeft sees the world, and with which he writes, is a two edged sword. Because of the down-to-earth way he airs his thoughts, he will be easily grasped, and heartily appreciated, by the simplest readers: "We strut and fret and preen and pose, but only God can make a rose" (86). But his earthy approach might also catch some completely off guard, especially as he uses expletives on occasion. Yet these are never gratuitous, but serve to drive home a valuable, salient point.
   
   Reading "Before I Go" will be a pure pleasure for the thoughtfully reflective, and a valuable gift for many parents to use in passing on wise words to their children before they lose the ability to say those final, important words.



3. I liked the readable format in which to share some universal "words of wisdom" with my children. Perhaps reading them in another person's time & space will reinforce the significance for all.



4. In 162 short letters to his adult children he summarizes what he would like them to be sure of, to realize, to do, and to love. The idea is nice. Kreeft puts all his intensity and devotion in his letters as he does with all his books.
   
   The only minus I would give in this case is that it is too vague, too general in scope. I guess that is the nature of advice, otherwise it would need a full book to explain why this advice is given, why so important. Then this is not the kind of literature that appeals to me most. But for ole time Kreeft readers it won't disappoint.



5. As Peter Kreeft himself says, some of his simplest works are is most favored. This is one of them. Some of the most simple things in life can have the greatest affect on how well our life is. This book provokes thought on things that are often overlooked. I love Peter Kreeft's philiosophy and so far this is my favorite of his books. It deserves careful and thoughtful reading.

5 comments about More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric Completely Revised and Updated.

1. Being very hesitatant at first about the book and the people telling me to get this book it's the greatest; well I've head that before. I have to state clearly "I WAS WRONG" this is the greatest book for sewing usage, but also, anytime you want to purchase material for any project whatever it may be you have to have this book. It gives you information such as; tells you the fabric, washing instructions, thread to use, needles, pressing, what foot to use on machine, and much more. This was for every type of fabric it's a "must have book".



2. More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric Completely Revised and Updated
   
   This is a must have book for anyone who sews. If you are starting out, it will save you a lot of frustration, money and fabric/supplies. If you are more advanced or a serious seamstress, it will help you to know the answers to all the questions that come up when handling multiple types of textiles. Each page on a fabric gives you all the information you need to know about that fabric, including what needle to use, what pressure foot to sew with, whether to wash or dryclean, line, how to hem, etc.
   
   If I had this book when I was starting out over 30 years ago, I could have saved a lot of money. This is a great gift for someone who loves to sew.



3. I received this book quicker than I expected and was extremely happy with the condition of this used book. It was almost like new. The seller certainly ensured that I received exactly what I wanted as quickly as possible. Just excellent customer service to this international buyer.
   I will keep on trying to source those difficult to find books from this seller.
   With grateful thanks



4. I really like this book. It covers many fabrics, including many I've been hesitant to use or nervous about when I did. I recently bought a new electronic sewing machine and this has been a real help. The recommendations about the right foot to use and when were a boon in selecting which accessories to buy. I also really like the sections in the back. There are illustrations on different seams, closures, and hems, plus information on stain removal, linings, and sources. Great!



5. This contains everything you would ever want to find out before purchasing fabric. It tells you what the fabric should be used for, if it should be washed and how before sewing, the thread, needle and stitch size that would work best. It will save you both time and money in the end.

5 comments about The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Process Self-reliance Series).

1. For those of us city-dwellers contemplating the fundamental lifestyle adjustments demanded by the looming global socio-economic reorganization, this book provides a detailed, lucid, step-by-step, blueprint that takes what seems to be an overwhelming task of historical reversal and transforms it into an open-ended series of tangible, human-scaled projects. The writing and design make it easy to browse, read straight through, or use for reference, and it brims with an infectious curiosity and enthusiasm for the exploration and reclamation of our culture and species' relationship to the land. The longest journey begins with a single compost heap.



2. My wife and I were delighted to get our hands on The Urban Homestead. We have been following the Urban Homestead journey via the authors' blog and we have enjoyed the projects, the experiments, the successes and the failures. Most of all, we have enjoyed a shift in our consciousness as we began to evaluate our relationship to our home, our community and our environment.
   
   And so, with book in hand, we can now leave the computer, go for a walk, sit and read and contemplate the future and the route we'd like to take in getting there.
   
   This book is a great value, even if you never set out to garden or raise chickens. The conservation and home ec projects alone have given us great pleasure.
   
   The authors challenge the reader to live less as a consumer and more as a producer. The Urban Homestead is an effective and inspirational guide to making that journey a successful reality.



3. I bought this book after reading about it on [...] and really enjoyed it. It is written in a casual, easy to read style but full of information. There are some subjects that you might want to research further, as this book is only a general guide, but for the most part they give a great overview of techniques necessary to grow your own food within the city. They even tell you how to raise chickens and other animals! There are several easy projects with detailed instructions, like making a self-watering container out of found buckets. I especially liked the idea of making a potato garden out of cast-off tires. Even if you only do one or two things suggested in the book, you'll be on your way to being more in control of your own food supply. I'm recommending this book to several of my friends.



4. I've read various books on self-sufficiency in the past ten years, but this one is different. First, it doesn't tell you how to recreate a 19th-century homestead, which is beginning to seem to me like another version of faux chateaux, but which also is not going to work very well if it is not surrounded by other 19th-century homesteads. And it doesn't describe what you can do "some day" when you get your five acres and independence. Instead, it focuses on what you can do right now in your own city to become more self-sufficient and sustainable. That makes it unique.
   
   The reviewer who said that this is not a compendium of how-tos is right. It is more of an idea book, although there are many references to sources of detailed info about, for instance, raising ducks. But the problem with other self-sufficiency books I have run across is precisely that they are NOT idea books--that they become absorbed with one particular way of growing food, for instance, or one particular way of heating your (19th-century farm) house. There is nothing about woodstoves or woodlots in here.
   
   This is the first book on self-sufficiency I have seen that directly addresses the fear that underlies the desire many people have to become more independent of the economy--the fear of some apocalypse, social collapse, disaster, etc., which they here dub "when the zombies come." I loved that they use humor to address that fear. There is a LOT of humor in this book; it's almost worth reading just for that.
   
   Other books on self-sufficiency focus on being isolated and seeing other people as the enemy. I read one that recommended you get a house in a dip that no one can see from the road. They'll tell you how much ammunition to squirrel away with your self-heating lasagne rations. This one tells you to get to know your neighbors, because there is strength not in isolation but in community, where we can trade not only stuff like food, but our skills. In that way, it is similar to Food Not Lawns, but much as I admire the ideas in that book, this one offers ideas that are much more doable, I think, for most people.
   
   It is a bit strange that Amazon is bundling this book with Gardening When It Counts, since that book recommends using extra-wide spacing to grow vegetables in situations where you do not have irrigation, and space is a real problem when you are growing on a city lot. Gardening that is a bit more intensive works better in that situation. But Gardening When It Counts is good in the way it ranks veggies by growing difficulty.



5. I love the breadth of topics in this book. It gave me some great ideas. But it's only a starting point.
   
   For the topics I really wanted to know more about, I felt the detail was really lacking. For other topics that are really too ambitious for me to tackle (like recycling shower water to use as "graywater"), there was WAY too much detail. And when the detail lacked, there really weren't suggestions for further reading or research.
   
   But most troubling to me was the many, many spelling and grammatical errors, and the many sections that seemed like they could use the help of a good editor. I caught a spelling or grammatical error on perhaps 1 out of every 4 or 5 pages, which is really not acceptable. I generally expect that a book in the mass market would have been checked over better than this, and I almost want my money back.
   
   The Urban Homestead gave me some great starting points for more research, but I was really hoping it would be more of a "how to" guide than what it offered.

5 comments about Kid Cooperation: How to Stop Yelling, Nagging and Pleading and Get Kids to Cooperate.

1. I dont know how to thank the author but she did a great job in this amazing book,she has mentioned almost all of the problems im facing with my 5,3 and 2 year old kids...and she knows exactly how a mother can feel and how she acts and at the same time she gives amazing ( i tried most of them) solutions..its one of the best book i have ever read and i highly recommend it to every parent.



2. I highly recommend this book. Very helpful, especially for those parents that fail to be consistent and "go with the flow", failing to create strong rules and a loving, solid discipline.
   This books acts a self-confidence booster for parents, offers very empathetic advice when it comes to parental anger, and actually gives very practical tips and hints to deal with misbehavior.
   I love the humor and the bright, positive thinking that fills up the book, and I really appreciate the fact that Pantley also addresses other side issues like marriage skills and parental self-esteem.
   Overall a great book.



3. I found this book to be so helpful in raising my grandson. It has been and is a refreshing way of dealing with childhood again.



4. Non-judgmental and very honest style of writing. The tools in the book brought immediate results.



5. This book is wonderful. I have started recommending it to all of my friends. If you can read only one book on parenting, this is the one to read! When you read it you will learn about different parenting styles, their effectiveness or lack there of and a new way to create a happy loving and peaceful family life where you can get your children to cooperate and act as they should.
   
   I am the mother of a 3 and 7 year old. My kids go to bed easily and on time, are polite and well behaved when outside of the house, but at home is another story. Overall my kids are pretty well behaved, but at home we have to ask them/tell them things multiple times until we ending up yelling at them, are plagued by emotional outbursts and temper tantrums, back talk, whining and have a hard time enforcing some key rules. Lately I have taken to watching those nanny shows to get tips on what to do. My kids are not at all like the kids in the shows but I had found a few tips that I have applied at home.
   
   But when I read this book it was if I had an epiphany. This book was clearly written and easy to understand. It unravelled all of the mysteries of why my kids act the way they do and what to do differently to fix it. I learned that I was using at least two ineffective parenting styles and if I just adjusted what I was doing I would be much more effective. It gave tons of useful tips and approaches to use in all situations. The parenting style is kind, effective and helps your children grow and become self reliant to boot. I think it would work for all ages and the book addressed all ages needs and how to modify accordingly.
   
   I have already started to see the effect in my kids behavior and it has even started to improve my marriage (partially thanks to the one chapter on the parental relationship). I can't wait to see where we are in a month or two, but I know the book has profoundly changed the way I parent and I have already seen some results and can't wait to see more!

2 comments about Materials and Components of Interior Architecture (7th Edition).

1. This book is a good reference for anyone who is currently designing or building a luxury home, but for a general education on construction interiors, this is not the book. There are many references to the latest products, which include both color and feature description that will be quickly outdated. Most of the discussion centers around materials that would be used in an affluent home rather than your typical family residence, and product descriptions focus on the unique product, not the typical. Dimensions for comfortable clearance and layout hints are useful for residential layout, but the commercial references are very limited.



2. This book is very poorly written. It also does not adequately discuss estimating materials.

5 comments about I Love You Rituals.

1. My children just adore the I Love You Rituals that we do. Even if we are at a crowded place and we can't hear each other, the I Love You Rituals come in quite handy!



2. Becky Bailey has done a beautiful job giving creativity and connection where I lack the imagination. Games and activities that really capture your and your children's hearts! Excellent!!!



3. The little rhymes in this book are really engaging. I've been using them with my son who has been feeling neglected even since my 4 month old came home from the hospital. He loves it. I made a little book with the rhymes to help me remember them and he asks me to read them over and over. I enjoyed the book because there's a lot of positive and helpful information on parenting, the importance of these little rituals and suggestions on when to use them which has been really helpful for me.



4. I purchased this book after sitting in on one of my 3yr old daughter's preschool classes. The teacher was singing the book's version of Twinkle Twinkle Little star. I found it so refreshing. "Twinkle, twinkle little star. What a wonderful child you are. With bright eyes and nice round cheeks. Talented person from head to feet. Etc, etc." I wanted to see more. I like this book for all of my kids (1, 2 and 3yrs old). Some of the reviews talk about how this is only for kids who have experienced trauma. Where the book advises on that, it is not the focus. All of our kids have had totally "normal" experiences in life and still respond really well to the book. Who wouldn't? It simply gives ideas on ways to engage with your kids in a fun and loving way. I am addicted to the hearty giggles these nursery rhymes bring out in my kids.
   p.s. for what it is worth, I am a part-time pediatrician and this is a book I would recommend to families as a professional also.



5. I'm a school director. The little ones in my school LOVE these rituals. For parents struggling with their kids, I recommend these to help the heart connections that get lost in the struggle. And for parents and teachers who are sailing along, these little activities may add another playful dimension to your relationships with your children.