5 comments about Intimacy Ignited: Conversations Couple To Couple.

1. Wonderful information by my favorite Christian author, Linda Dillow. She and her husband, along with another couple, have written a book about sex within marriage based on the book of Song of Solomon from the Bible. Their wisdom and perspective from couples to couples is a wonderful tool in strengthen your relationship with God in all areas of your life. It is written in an easy to follow format going through all the scripture in the Song. My husband and I never realized the Bible had such wonderful insight on sex. We read it together and have enjoyed learning more about how God intends for us to follow his ways.



2. Linda Dillow has done it again. I am so happy that she is still willing to talk to couples about issues that most Christians find hard to talk about. We need to be in the world, but not of it, and Linda helps us understand that God has created sex for married couples and we need to know what is Godly and what is worldly.



3. A must for christian couples. The messages in this book are like marriage glue, fun, spiritually sound and empowering. This book takes your verse by verse through the Song of Solomon. I have learned God's ways after 20 years of marriage and they are so wonderful. It has renewed my first love for God and my husband. My marriage is sweeter then ever before. Have fun reading it together.



4. In today's fast paced life, it is so easy to neglect our spousal relationship and find ourselves merely tolerating each other. This book challenges the couples intimacy with God and each other and gives tools to make changes.
   
   The Dillows' and Pintus' have done an excellent job of interspersing testimonies with the Word of God,putting " feet" to the Scriptures, so to speak. I highly recommend this book for all married couples. It is also an excellent tool for small groups(2-3 couples) for an in-home church or neighborhood study. If you follow their suggestions you will change the course of history and the legacy that you leave your children.



5. This is an awesome book about intimacy in a Christian marriage. My husband and I first read this book as part of a marriage group in our church. We are now on our second read-through and are getting different lessons each time we read. The study questions in the back are even better- don't miss them!

5 comments about The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex: The Most Complete Sex Manual Ever Written.

1. Love this book!Its a big book with so much in it.A great book for reading together or just a quiet read on your own.This book covers so many topics in great detail in an easy to read and understand format and sensibly illustrated makes this book worthwhile.Couples will love this book.
   
   As a gift this book will impress anyone.Its an inexpensive book that is affordable so buy up,you can't go wrong with this book.
   
   If you're looking for a book that has the lot then this is the book for you.A big book that's inexpensive and wont dissappoint.



2. This book is honestly the most thorough guide I have come across for sex. Far beyond just typical, and not so typical, intercourse facts! I loved the chapters that dealt with fantasies and S&M. I knew the book was special when I checked the index before purchasing it to see that it actually acknowledges female ejaculation!! This is an elusive topic and an even more elusive event in most women's sex lives and I was so pleased to see a book that will educate partners to help achieve this mind blowing effect! A fantastic book that all of my girlfriends have now read after my recommendation.



3. If you are looking for accurate, creative and mature information about the sex this is the book to buy. It is great on its own. My boyfriend and I like to try new things they describe that we are both interested in. There is something for everyone in the book. It is written so that you can take take what interests you and leave the rest. Written in a concise manner and extremely accurate information. It is a great complanion also to more visual books like position manuals or erotica. Definitely recommeded.



4. No one book can adequately cover all aspects of human sexuality. Consider this an introduction and an excellent menu to plan your erotic repast. This book offers good, well-researched, basic information in quick easy-to-read format. Start here, determine what you like and how far you are willing to go. Then search out books that concentrate on and expand your favorite subjects.



5. I gave this as a bachelorette gift multiple times last year, and every friend loved it! A wonderful, tasteful guide to branching out, with lots of information to even do traditional a little better.

5 comments about Raising Children Who Think for Themselves.

1. Dr. Medhus has successfully communicated her great knowledge of raising strong, independent children. This experience is based on real life - with her family - as well as the more traditional doctor's observations.

   I reccomend it to every parent who is trying to raise stong and successful children in these difficult times.




2. The problmes that seem pervasive among youth today, from mindless consumerism and premature sex to school shootings and drug abuse, have raised an uproar on all sides, and the blame for these ills gets bounced around like a ping-pong ball!--TV, video games, lack of religion, rap music, and on and on. But Dr. Medhus, after hundreds of interviews with children from all kids of backgrounds, reaches the conclusion that the problems really all spring from a common source: personalities that react to outside forces rather than their own beliefs and morals. Laying out the difference between "externally directed" people who act according to impulses, peer pressure, and the fear of punishment, and "self-directed" people, who have been taught to think for themselves and follow their own consciences, she goes on to share parenting methods intended to encourage the introspection, empathy, and high self-esteem that gives self-directed children their ability to resist negative influences. The author discusses specific techniques for handling many kinds of situations, with rules and disciplinary measures that help kids understand why bad behavior is wrong, instead of shaming or scaring them into blind submission. Indispensible advice for parents seeking to inspire their kids to self-confidence, adventurousness, independence, competence, and the ability to make positive contributions to the world.--MZ



3. This is a wonderful guide for parents and educators who are searching for techniques to help children avoid the pitfalls of "following the crowd." The author provides many practical strategies and "real life" examples of how to interact with children to prevent inadvertent development of an external locus of control. The suggestions are powerful and helpful to all adults who want to help children become independent thinkers in a world filled with challenges. Following the author's advice will enhance student development and improve parenting skills simultaneously.



4. Page after page all made it clear that Dr. Medus really did her homework in putting together this great book on raising a confident and intrinsically successful child. Being a new father I find it a little daunting in being responsible (at least partially) for the behavioral molding of a human being. This book was a real eye opener is so many ways, from methods of dealing with conflict, to getting your child to accept his/her bedtime. In many instances I would finish reading a certain hypothetical scenario Dr. Medus had invented and think "wow that's exactly how I felt growing up!" Since my daughter is still only 6 months old I plan to reread this book many more times while she is growing up. I'd even recommend those without children to read it as it really hits home on how much our society is "externally directed" rather than internally.



5. This is a GREAT book for parents to help their children grow up with the right tools to help them in their lives. I recommend this book to ANY parents, stepparent, or anyone who is around children on a regular basis.

5 comments about The Surrendered Single: A Practical Guide to Attracting and Marrying the Man Who's Right for You.

1. I gave it to my best friend who suffered for not finding the right person, she loved it! It helps you focus on the problem instead of thinking you are the problem. Easy reading, good advice.



2. It's rare that I give five stars to any book. It really has to have given me helpful and useful insights, which in this case, this book did both. Yes, there's some common sense stuff, but a lot of it is just how the author approaches the topic. I'm one of those independent tough cookies who has done quite well at not being vulnerable. I tend to scare men off pretty easily because I'm too busy protecting myself from the jerks that the nice guys that I'd like a shot with don't know what to make of me. This book has taught me how to let my guard down and stop being that tough cookie. I'm not even done with it (about 1/4 of it still left to read) and all I can say is Laura Doyle really hits the bullseye with this one. If you ever wondered why men haven't been approaching you or asking you out, read this. I promise, that will change. It already has for me, and I've only been reading the book for a week!



3. A friend highly recommended this book to me, and I was reluctant to buy it because of the title. However, I've come to love this book, and I'm not even finished reading it. Doyle's advice is right on the mark. The very first day I tried some of her advice, I was approached by an attractive man many years younger than me. Normally, I would not have given him an opening to do so and would have considered him far too young for me, but by taking Doyle's advice (it's simple and fun -- smile!!!), I met someone really intelligent, interesting, and exceptional. And this was on the first day! The best part was that I was not in any way nervous like I normally would be. I just went with Doyle's advice to let him approach me -- all I had to do was give him an opening and decide whether I liked him once he did. And because I'd been smiling at guys all day (with nearly all of them smiling back), I felt confident and relaxed, and knew that if this one didn't work out, someone else would. I wish I'd known all this years ago!



4. It's hard to put into words everything I've gained and continue to gain from this book. This book is very special and so refreshing...it has taught me to be charming and flirtatious but graceful...my whole attitude towards men has changed, I'm more approachable and I don't feel confused about how to date and how to act anymore. I feel way more open and I feel like I've become more charismatic and open and I feel better about myself. I bought a copy for my best friend and she is loving it too.
   
   It makes you examine your negative attitudes toward dating, men, and marriage because they are holding you back. It also shows you how to let men ask you out instead of chasing them. I think us girls get confused about how to do this, and in a graceful way not in a playing games way. It's gotten me awesome results.
   
   This book truly is a gem and worth your time! I wish I had read it years ago!



5. I've always considered myself an intelligent, sensitive, and practical woman, with many talents and abilities. I have had several successful and even glamourous jobs in the arts and in publishing. In contrast to my professional accomplishments, my relationships with men have been unmitigated disasters. Absolutely clueless about men and what they need, I ruined my relationships with fear, self-pity, mistrust, and the need to prove my independence and personal excellence. I also tried to control men by demanding proofs of affection, and often men would end up doing exactly what I feared most: leaving me or cheating on me.
   
   I am now much wiser for having read this book. By applying this book's principles, for the first time I have an adoring, appreciative, and affectionate man. He seems to delight in taking care of me and making me happy. I'm thrilled that Doyle's practical concept of conscious serenity has worked so well, and I sincerely recommend this book to all women who want to win a good husband.

No comments about First Comes Marriage.

5 comments about Through a Glass Darkly: A Novel.

1. One of my pet peeves is when romance readers (of which I am) criticize a book by saying "this is not a romance!" As if the book is somehow less because of it.
   
   Well, TAGD is not a romance. It has a marriage at the center of its plot, but the theme, the meaning, the depth is not about finding HEA. Not at all.
   
   In a nutshell TAGD is about a 15 year old girl with a spine of steel who decides she wants to marry a 42 year old licentious earl and make him fall in love with her. The first 200 pages contain her struggles to make the marriage happen. In all honesty, I had to force myself through them. They are rather boring and the characters unlikeable and cardboard. I am SO glad I kept going though.
   
   Once Babs and Roger are married, the story becomes vibrant and painful and lovely. Many of the things I previously assumed about the characters are only superficial characteristics. I thought this was especially well done with Diana and Tony.
   
   Babs must face the truth of getting what she asked for. That Roger both is and is not the person she thought (on meeting him only a handful of times). In fact, the world is far more complicated than she could ever have imagined. She makes some monumental errors in judgment as does Roger and pretty much every other character. I ached for them. One of the characters (I can't remember who) says that personal suffering generates empathy for others. I disliked the characters at first, but as they suffered I grew to love them.
   
   TAGD is beautiful journey that ends with God giving Babs what she wants by ending things in a way that neither she nor Roger could ever mess it up again. (hard to spit it all out in a way that is coherent without giving away the details of the ending!!!) There are huge spiritual undertones throughout the book. They are handled with grace and great subtlety though, so I enjoyed them rather than feeling beat over the head.
   
   As much as the theme of the the book is seeing 'through a glass darkly,' it is also 'Ask and you shall receive.'
   
   This book touched me deeply.



2. i was at the thrift store compiling summer pleasure reading...i do not waste time with "romance novels," mind you...but i liked the cover of this book and was drawn to it...i flipped to the middle and read a few paragraphs...i did that twice...and i decided to give it a chance...
   
   my expecatations were not high for this novel...but the author is a superb writer...she uses words that i had to look up (which i LOVE to do)...her character development is enthralling...and i was quickly swept up in the time period and woulnd into the lives of the characters...several hundred pages in,i did have to admit that it was a "trashy romance" novel, after all...but, i was hooked and loved everry minute of my wellinvested time...
   
   i look forward, with great zeal to the sequel "Now Face to Face"



3. Having debated long on it, I decided to rate this book purely by its story and not by the author's research (which is extensive and I salute her for it - but I could get that from history books.)
   
   I cannot recall ever coming away from a book with a worse feeling in the pit of my stomach and with so much rage at the author. Not because of the tragedies heaped on the characters. I did not expect a fluffy ending tied with a pink bow. What I expected was a modicum of respect for me as a reader.
   
   My main reason for hating it so much is this: All the set-ups were empty promises! The author had no idea how wrap things up. I felt she was terrified of confrontations. Because nothing gets resolved. All the fantastic threads of Part A become a tangled mess in Part B and the end was another big set-up that screamed of "Go buy the sequel!"
   
   I know it is hard to believe my critique after so many reviewers raved about this book. The thing is, I totally understand why - the book is wonderfully written but it should come with a big warning tag that says: MAJOR FRUSTRATION AHEAD!
   
   Here are the things that killed the book for me:
   
   1. The big problem with the main characters - never resolved (and the author went to great length to do that, like making the husband so sick he could not talk and explain. And of course in his letter he said, "This is not something to be discussed in a letter." Arggg...)
   2. The long list of sub-characters with their endless thoughts - not important in the end. You can skip them - trust me! Especially that boring Jane character.
   3. The counter-hero the author developed throughout the book - gets nothing. Goes to waste. So why did the author tell us about him anyway?
   4. The heroine, Bab, changes abruptly from the person I rooted for and felt for to something unrecognizable and unbelievable. From a misguided teenagers who insists on marrying the wrong man, she becomes her grandmother's pawn, because having lost faith in her own judgment (and if you read the book you will understand why), she totally loses control over her life, her wants, her dreams for the future. I felt that Bab just lost it at some point. She gave up (at 20!) She didn't know what to do with herself and so handed the reins to her grandmother and did what the old woman said, which was basically to run away like a ditz. Another unbelievable twist since the grandma Alice had a wonderful life in which she was a queen in control. Bab began as a sweet, spirited girl, and ended as a too-stupid-to-live mess of a woman. Did I say a total ditz?
   5. The slap-in-my face jump from the second before the great climax of the story to years ahead was just rude. That really pissed me off.
   
   I kept reading, hoping for resolutions - and never got them. The author pours research into the book as if the pages are vessels for repetitive descriptive details (how many times do I need to read about all the powders and rouges on the vanity table? of the flowers? the clouds? the furniture? the trees? the holidays season?) I could get a magazine for that. When i buy a book i want a story with characters that DO THINGS and take charge of the pages.
   
   It felt as though two different people wrote the book: the good Dr. Jekyll wrote Part A and the crazed Mr. Hyde wrote Part B. The good build-up totally disintegrated in the end.
   
   This is not good literature. I don't care what people say. Look up Aristotle's POETICS and find out why. This book was worse than bad - it insulted my intelligence.
   
   Having read DARK ANGELS and raved about it with my review, I immediately bought the next 2 books in the series. Having read this book, I threw the 3rd - a brand new book - into my trash can without a second thought. I am not treating myself to more abuse from this author.



4. Though I love long books and historical fiction, I must say at first I was a little intimidated by this books 741 pages. Even the first 100 pages were ordinary, and I almost put it down and did not pick it back up.
   
   For some reason, though, I kept on going, because I despretely wanted to see Babara married to Roger. I am so glad I did because I soon found myself flying through at least a hundred pages a day, until I finished the book this morning. What an amazing book!
   
   England, circa 1715. Fifteen-year old Barbara Alderley has lived a simple life at her grandmother's rich estate in Tamworth. She spends her time playing with her brothers and sisters and pulling pranks- until her mother, Diana- a beauty who will sleep with anyone for money- comes to visit. Since Barbara's father is a traitor to the king, Diana is petitioning for a divorce. She sees an ally in weathy Roger Montgeoffry, whom she decides to marry Barbara off to. Despite a large age difference, Barbara has been in love with Roger since childhood, and she is more than happy to marry him. She is sure that she can make him love her. And Roger is a good man- except that he has a few "particular" tastes, tastes that he cannot control, no matter how hard he tries. Barbara soon finds herself having to face scandal and heartbreak- will she prevail?
   
   I loved this book, and I loved both Barbara and Roger. The sideplots about the Duchess of Tamworth (Barbara's grandmother) and Jane were fascinating as well. This book was such a treat that I wish it could have been even longer! (P.S. I hated Charles. Didn't you?) At the beginning of the book I feared it would turn out like a lot of historical fiction, when everybody upon everybody seems to be obbsessed with the main chracter (Barbara, obviously) and you can only tell if someone is bad if they don't like her.
   
   (Plus- SPOILER! it was annoying at first how it seemed all her siblings died calling to her- she wasn't their whole world, in my opinion. I was glad that farther on into the book people who liked her weren't nessessarily good. (Like Charles.)
   
   Overall, a wonderful book and worth every minute I spent reading it.



5. With about 100 pages to go, I just realized that I didn't give a darn about any of the characters or what happens to them. I just put the book down. I felt like it was mostly a waist of time. The characters are so UNLIKABLE!!! There is not one character in the book that had any redeeming qualities, they were all selfish and dull.

5 comments about Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story For Little Kids About Divorce.

1. As a professional Colorado divorce (attorney-trained) mediator, I don't often fall in love with new children's books about divorce; there are simply too many fine ones already out there. Sandra Levin's Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story for Little Kids About Divorce, however, is a welcome exception, a total delight!
   
   Chocolate Pudding perfectly captures the consterning confusion divorce ushers into the world of a six-year-old boy and his little brother. The boy just knows his mom moved out of their home, suddenly and without explanation -- because he smeared chocolate pudding all over his brother one day. After all, he muses, "I was in big trouble mister!" for getting carried away in what seemed like just so much fun.
   
   Levin's picturebook world is accompanied by his reassuring voice patiently explaining to the young reader all these new and complex adult words and phrases:
   
   'Explaining' is when you talk to somebody about something so they can understand it, even if that somebody is a little kid.
   
   'Differences' is the grown-up word for everybody not liking the same thing and not always getting their way.
   
   'Adjusting-to-our-new-arrangement' is what you do when you don't have an ideal situation and it's still okay.
   
   Gorgeously illustrated by Bryan Langdo, Chocolate Pudding's punchline is the boy's huge relief upon discovering it was NOT his pudding antics that led his mom to leave the family. In fact, he learns, he and his brother didn't have a darn thing to do with his family's breakup! (And just to be sure that all kids hearing the story understand: "Relief," he notes, "is the grown-up word for feeling like you're carrying a big heavy book bag and someone takes it off your back.")
   
   Levin's premise is that "big stuff like divorce needs some explaining," and Chocolate Pudding is more than up to the task.
   
   Highly recommended for young children (perhaps 2 to 6 years of age) and anyone touched by divorce's sometimes long shadow.



2. really nice story to help children understand that divorce is not their fault, which is an almost-inevitable conclusion most kids under the age of 8 will draw. family in the story is obviously a middle class caucasian family having a pretty amicable divorce: families where there has been violence or more argument in front of the kids would want to add some sentences here and there. for example, "remember when mommy and daddy used to yell/hit/argue all the time? that was scary, wasn't it? we didn't want to scare you, so we decided we were better as friends than as husband and wife. i know it is hard to go from house to house, but now it is not scary and we both love you very much." that sort of thing.



3. I found this book to be directed towards a divorce situation where
   the kids primarily spend time with the father. This would be a perfect
   book for that custody agreement. I was surprised that the mother was
   only mentioned toward the end of the book, and a slight attempt to show
   the mother is in the childrens life daily. I returned it and ended up
   losing money due to shipping.



4. I found this book to be just too wordy. The concept was good, children do blame themselves for divorce and look for reasons why they caused divorce but this book is more for adults to understand how children come to those conclusions rather than something that would help a child understand. I felt that it was condescending and not at all believable in terms of what a child would say.



5. This is an excellent book for young kids on divorce. My daughter is 5 years old and she enjoyed it very much. It also gets the message across that kids are not to blame for divorce. I would recommend it for kids under 6. I believe it would be too simplistic for older kids.

5 comments about HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE.

1. this book is so informative on why hurt people hurt people. I never thought alot about why those people do what they do- with this book you will understand in more depth and clarity what is behind their motives and you will be surprised at the reasons. Sandra Wilson is an awesome author and her books are well worth the read.



2. Sandra Wilson has written a winner here. I read this book in 2004 and have decided to read it again.This book ministers and provides healing at the same time. It helps you to understand yourself and others.



3. If you are looking into human behavior and the "why's", this is an excellent book. Gave one to my best friend who is a counselor working with abused and neglected children and with families whose children are in foster care, and she can't order enough copies for her adult cients. Like me, she feels this is one of the best books available for understanding ourselves and others. I read and re-read it, finding myself, my family members, and my friends (but mostly myself) all through this book. Great insights for the lay person.



4. 
   Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 3/08
   The title of this book says it all, Hurt People Hurt People. People who have been hurt do tend to hurt others, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. As I read this book, I kept thinking about people that have been sexually abused and the proven fact that most abusers were abused. "Hurt people commonly use anger to disguise and deflect their guilt and grief." We have all been hurt in some way in our life.
   Hurt People Hurt People deals with the emotional and spiritual hurts that scar people. I could relate to many of the statements in chapter three "Hurt by the Unprepared and Unavailable." Sandra D. Wilson writes in a simple easy-to-understand manner; she uses wit and wisdom to impart her message, offering hope and understanding. The healing that hurt people need may not happen overnight; it takes years for the hurts to heal, and only Jesus Christ can heal them.



5. This is an excellent book. A must read at least once and perhaps many times over.

5 comments about The First Anti-Coloring Book: Creative Activities for Ages 6 and Up (Anti-Coloring Book).

1. Many times kids want to make something but don't know where to start. These books get the creative juices flowing. I loved them when I was a kid and now both of my kids love them.



2. My son is 9 and absolutely loves this book. We've limited it to one activity a day so that he doesn't finish it too quickly (there are only about 35 or 40 in the book). I would recommend this book for any creative child - we will definately be buying more in this series.



3. I remember having one of these books when I was a kid. And now, twenty years later, I have another one. I love it.



4. I grew up with these books, and am thrilled they are still in print. The Anti-Coloring books are a wonderful alternative to mindlessly coloring between the lines. And at 9 years old, my oldest is not even close to outgrowing this series. Highly recommended!!!



5. I work with kids in K-6 and I bought this for them. The book is very cool and it has been fun seeing what the kids do with the different pages!

1 comments about Adolescence.

1. I can't recommend this textbook. It's out of date, especially the media chapter, overpriced, and poorly constructed-- the binding is already falling apart on my copy.