5 comments about Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition).

1. My family is getting ready to adopt a special needs child and they were told to purchase this book along with the Martian Child movie. We purchased both of these items and they are very good to help in the thought processes behind a special needs child. The book shows a completely different way in bringing up children versus the old fashioned way. We have not finished the book yet but we are darn sure it is going to help.



2. For the people reviewing this book who think it is cruel to children, or might lead to a drop in self-esteem, I suggest reading a study by a Dr. Dweck. It did a study on praising children, and the gist of the study is that children respond better to being told they are hard workers than being told they're smart. How does this relate to the book? Instead of constantly coddling your child, Love and Logic encourages you to put your confidence in their abilities, implying that you think they can work through their problems. This is great for self-esteem! Taking responsibility for yourself is a huge confidence builder (take it from someone whose mom was still making Dr. appointments for her at 21). Everyone fails. Letting your children make small mistakes ,and believe me, being cold all day because you didn't want to bring your coat is a SMALL mistake, helps them see that they can deal with the consequences of their failures/mistakes, making them more willing to try things. And for those who think Love and Logic doesn't offer good advice about parenting, keep in mind that this is a book about disciplining children. It specifically states in Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood to make sure your children enjoy being with you so that sending them to their rooms seems like a punishment. It also says to set a responsible example and take care of yourself, but that's about the extent of their off-disciplinarian parenting advice. It doesn't make it a bad book, just like you wouldn't consider a history text incomplete for not having math in it. I thought it was a great book and have had much success with it, as has my sister who introduced me to it. I recommend it to anyone I see struggling with their children.



3. I thought this book was just OK. Much of the information was good and I will use it in our home. However, the examples they used in this book were outrageous. Who in this day and age is going to let their kid off to walk home. Also, allowing a child to determine whether they go to school or not is silly.



4. This is one of the best parenting books out there using the latest approaches. Another book that I thought think is very powerful is Bully-Proofing Children: A Practical, Hands-On Guide to Stop Bullying- yes its about bullying but mostly about raising happy, empowered and successful children.



5. I found that the strategies employed in this book work just as well with my 45 year old spouse as
   with my 6 year old daughter.

5 comments about How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better.

1. I first saw this book in my quick picks section and thought, "You've got to be kidding, is Amazon looking in my bathroom mirror?". Denial. Then, on the new book section in our public library, there it was again. So, I checked it out. No harm, no foul, right? I think the main reason I finally looked through the book was that over the past year I've been feeling more frumpy mom-ish and thought that I needed to start paying attention to myself again. This book talks about looking young and hip. It does have good example pictures. It talks about high maintenance and low maintenance and gives make-up and other advice as well as product names. Some of the advice we all know already - you can't wear the same color lipstick that you did when you were younger and mommy jeans are passe. I would have dropped the book quickly if the author had said absolutely no to gray hair, because, I think that gray hair can be quite fun and not frumpy if done correctly. She did not, so I kept reading. I haven't decided whether to try the bangs or not.
   All in all, I think this is a book of the moment. The recommended products and styles are sure to change, so we'll be looking for another book/style in a few years. My girlfriends passed the book around our breakfast table one morning & we stopped at certain pictures and talked about the styles and suggestions. I think that no one really was interested in running to the bookstore to buy it though.



2. This book was very disappointing. After trying some of the recommended products, it was clear to me that Charla was promoting products. Carmindy's books are much much better!!



3. Basically, there's a lot of good information in this book. The author covers just about everything I was looking for, from jean color to heel height to haircolor and nail length.
   
   And yes, as others have said, there are so many specific product, brand, store, and website suggestions, this book sometimes seems like one big ad. But . . . the author is right more often than not. I checked around and kept coming back to her suggestions.
   
   WARNINGS:
   
   First, if you're fifty or older, you're going to feel like an OLD broad reading a book for fortysomethings. I turn sixty on my next birthday, and have worked in Los Angeles theatre all my life. Being exposed to fashion, makeup -- the whole youth culture -- through modeling, acting, etc., I figured I could translate this book to meet my concerns, but in some cases, it just didn't happen.
   
   Second, if you have a problem SKIN TONE, the makeup section will leave you screaming. I have very very fair skin and even "Nude Pink" lipstick/blusher/whatever turns dead purple on me. I am not exaggerating. I have a colleague who has an unusually yellowish undertone to her skin, and colors change in even stranger ways on her. I know we're not freaks because when working with theatre makeup, I've run across a lot of people who can't just, as the author instructs, buy pink lipstick (and expect it to even resemble pink when applied).
   
   Third, the section on jeans didn't suggest specific brands that work for problem areas. There are some great ones out there, because I've found them, and don't understand why they aren't mentioned. Because the author is so big on body-shaping undergarments, I guess we're all supposed to wear Spanx under our jeans. Doesn't that defeat the idea of being able to just kick around in jeans?
   
   I really did have some problems with sections of this book, but it was worth reading. Don't let the multitude of ads, missing info, and other annoyances stop you from reading it.
   
   BIG FAT WARNING: Don't buy the Kindle version of this book! I did, and some of the text runs off the edges, most of the photos don't come through, and every few pages the text fades out to almost nothing. I have about fifteen books in my Kindle, and have never run into any of these problems in other books -- before or since the purchase of this one. So if you want to really use this book, buy the hard copy!



4. I enjoyed reading the book - it has some great ideas, but you really should use your own judgment and apply only those suggestions which you know will work for you.
   What surprised me about the book, though, was what advice it was missing - weight control and posture. If you are overweight or underweight, you will automatically look a few years older than your age. And lousy posture will definitely age you. As we get older, our posture naturally sags (from sitting at a desk, from bad habits, from gravity and the aging process) - unless you actively work at keeping your postural muscles strong and flexible (Pilates and yoga are both excellent at this).
   You can botox your face till the cows come home, wear the most expensive jeans money can buy and dye your hair blond - but if you stoop and slouch, all people will see is a botoxed, jean-clad, bleached-blonde elderly lady.



5. I'm really bothered that this is the type of book that women in their late 30's and up are looking to for advice. I ordered the book hoping that it would somehow be a 'big girls' book, but it's nothing more than the dozens of shallow women's magazines that I simply can't relate to either.
   
   Nothing is going to make me look 18 again and I refuse to waste my precious life trying to look younger. At this point in my life I feel that I have earned the right to wear the clothes that I like, not what some designer tells me is in fashion this season.
   
   And as for the hair color advice - I recently stopped lightening my hair and I feel so liberated! It's completely natural with just a few gray hairs popping out here and there. It's so nice to not have to be a slave to getting my hair done, worrying about it being dry from the chemicals, and what my husband of 22 years would think if I went natural. He LOVES it, comments on it all the time and says he's always told me that he loves the earthy way that I dress and how my hair now compliments my overall look.
   
   Ladies, please don't fall for this book. Not all of us live in LA and we should be thankful for that. We should be allowed to celebrate who we are as we grow older, not waste our time fighting it.
   
   I gave the book a generous 2 stars only because it was professionally organized and photographed.

5 comments about The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert.

1. I think this is one of the best books that I have read on relationships in trouble. Principle 2 - Nurturing your fondness and admiration and Principle 6 - Overcoming Gridlock are worth the price of the book. The book contains a lot of tests and exercises most of which are very useful and insightful. The book assumes that both the husband and wife are trying to improve their marriage. It also works to some degree if only one person is working on the marriage.
   The author does come accross in the first couple of chapters as arrogant but he tones it down in the remaining chapters. It is only slightly distracting.



2. I was looking for some answers with my current situation, and I found more than what I hoped for here. It struck a great number of familiar chords with both of us, and has true to life examples than any couple will relate to. This is a definite "must buy" book for any married couple.
   Other excellent and unique book for relationships is I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't



3. My Husband and I are reading this amazing book. It is enlightening, eye opening and it is a fabulous book for any relationship, not just marriage! A definite must get!



4. I first read this book some time ago, and I've read it quit a few times since. At least in parts. The seven principals of making a marriage work can be applied to any relationship. I've certainly tried to apply them in my life, to some success. We all need these reminders at time to help us get our thoughts and priorities in a relationship back on track. Regularly leafing through this book helps me to do that. While I didn't agree with absolutely everything the book says, it is certainly full of invaluable advice for all couples, and should be read by everyone in a relationship.
   
   I also recommend...
   
   The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate
   
   How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good



5. This is an excellent book full of interesting information and useful exercises. If you or your counseling clients want to make marriage work, this could really help. I bought the Kindle version, though, and now I have no access to the exercises.
   
   I borrowed the book from the library and made some copies of the exercises. There are so many good ones, this turned out to be a lot of time and money spent that I wouldn't have if only I had bought the book in the first place.
   
   So, my message here is buy this BOOK! Work the exercises with your partner. Pass it along to someone else, too. Buy something else to read on Kindle.

5 comments about Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.

1. The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy is really well organized so you can find information quickly, the drawings are informative and accurate, and the tone is not dumbed down at all. I looked at reviews of pregnancy books before I bought this one and I'm really glad I did. This book was consistently rated the highest and I totally agree. I haven't felt once like we needed another resource besides this book (and my doctor) to answer our questions.



2. Great information and it gets to the point. I appreciate the unbiased, straight forward info.



3. I bought this book on a whim because I thought the Mayo Clinic must know some things about pregnancy. As soon as I opened it, I realized how much time I wasted reading little bits of "What to Expect" every month. I love the way this book is set up: the week by week development bits are all together. The pregnancy illnesses and complications are all together. The labor and delivery bits are all together. The birthing complications are all together...thus you don't end up reading all kinds of information you don't need. There is a very usable index at the back if you're searching for an answer to a question. I look at this book constantly when I have a question about something, and it takes me 2 minutes tops to figure out what I want to know. I thought the language was very easy to understand without being patronising. I would recommend this book to anyone embarking on a pregnancy - it's a very valuable resource!



4. This book by far was the best of the 10 books I was given as gifts...including "what to expect...blah blah blah". would recommend this book to the families who like things straight to the point and don't want any nonsense. it tells you exactly what to expect and does not try to scare you into thinking things are going wrong. GREAT BOOK!! Also makes a great gift to any friends you might have that just found out they are pregnant.



5. I bought this book based on the reviews on Amazon. This book is very reliable and straight to the point. Many of my questions were answered in this book and every advise in this book is the same as what my OB would advise. I would recommend this book to any pregnant woman. If you have this book you wont need any of the other books out there.

1 comments about Devil's Brood.

1. Devil's Brood is the third book in a trilogy that began with When Christ and His Saints Slept and continued with Time and Chance (Ballantine Reader's Circle). Devil's Brood tackles Henry and Eleanor's children, from Prince Hal down to John Lackland. The details of the rift between Henry, Eleanor, and their sons are well-known, but the way in which Sharon Kay Penman presents it here is unique.
   
   In this book, Sharon Kay Penman continues her tradition of writing historical fiction that both tells a good story and educates the reader. The novel opens in 1172, fifteen months after Thomas Becket was murdered and just after Henry returns from a trip to Ireland to pay penance for his unwitting part in it. As with her other novels, the focus is on the interpersonal relationships: between Henry and his sons, Henry and Eleanor, Eleanor and her sons, and between Hal, Richard, and Geoffrey themselves. It's the kind of dysfunctional family you only read about in fiction, the distinction here being that these were, of course, real, living people. And Penman does a fantastic job of bring these people to life, 800 years later: all the little quirks of each of them are here, especially Henry's high energy and uncanny ability to travel hundreds of miles on horseback in short periods of time. .
   
   The book is a bit of a slow read, and no wonder: at over 700 pages, this is a book to take your time over. It's taken six years for Penman to write the third book in the trilogy (on her acknowledgements page, she writes that a reader once remarked, "did Eleanor get lost in Aquitaine?"), but the wait was worth it; I enjoyed the historical detail of this novel, and the way in which the author manages to pull her research together into a comprehensive story that never fails to entertain and educate. Once again, Sharon Kay Penman has given me another reason to go do some research of my own on these fascinating historical figures. And as always, her writing is top-notch. In all, this is a very strong finish to a wonderful trilogy.

5 comments about What to Expect the First Year, Second Ed.

1. It's obvious this book is full of helpful facts, but I couldn't get past the constant insertion of biased comments from the authors. In the Six-Month-Baby chapter they call parents "week nerved" (mispelling is theirs) because they don't use the Cry It Out method. There is also a constant use of negative adjectives like a babies "pathetic" hand wave to get parents attention (also in the Six-Month chapter).
   I may refer to this book occasionally, but I will not recommend it to anyone. It will probably collect dust on my book shelf.



2. Interesting, humorous, comprehensive, very helpful. Recommend to read through it during pregnancy. You won't have time for reading after delivery.



3. I love this book! It is literally a BIBLE for new parents! It's well worth the money! I would recommend this book 100% of the time.



4. I found all answers to my questions, regarding the first year of a baby. Everything is explained simple and in detail, month by month. A must have book for new parents like me.



5. I love this book! every month I can go to the next chapter and read about that month. It is very helpful and informative.

2 comments about The Sexually Confident Wife: Connecting with Your Husband Mind Body Heart Spirit.

1. Wow, what a great book! It is packed full of wisdom on how to become sexually confident no matter who you are. It showed me how my confidence as a sexy attractive woman is not about my body but my mind. I recommend this book to every married woman. Your husband will thank you for reading it, and more that that YOU will be thrilled with your new mindset.



2. This book is a godsend for marriages, but it can be used by singles or unmarried couples. Body dismorphia and sexual shame can ruin a relationship, and this book can be instrumental in helping a person overcome these and other marital sexual problems. Written in a very readable format, and accessible for any age person, I would highly recommend it. If you paired this book with The Sensuous Couple's (Flip Over) Guide to Seismic Oral Sex, you would light a fire in your marriage that nothing could extinguish. Buy them both together. Get healthy mentally by reading the first book, and put it into practice by using the the second book. Your husband will feel more connected to you than you ever thought possible!

5 comments about Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

1. I found this book very informative and helpful. This book gave me the courage to let my daughter cry herself to sleep. She's a wonderful napper and night sleeper now, with hardly any crying.



2. This book may contain good information about babies and their sleep habits, but I wouldn't know because I couldn't follow a word of it. Maybe it's just my lack of sleep and "baby brain", but I found the book disorganized and hard to follow. It is also riddled with alarming warning messages with little explanation. I wish the author had a better editor or a co-author because there might be some good information here.



3. We have three children 8,4 and 3. We read this book when someone recommended it for our first child's sleeping problems. Since our oldest was 3 months old ALL of our children have had succesful sleeping patterns. They all go to sleep awake and always have, they all have the "natural" wake times (ie. around 3:00 am) and because of this book they soothe themselves back to sleep. How awesome is that! Do your babies wake up from there naps screaming crying? That is a sign that they are NOT well rested. My 4 and 3 year olds still take naps EVERY day 2-3 hours and still go to sleep 8:30 pm every night. Children have to have success in everything they do so they will continue to do it. This gives the success to the child and takes the fear out of a lot of sleeping problems. Read this great book with an open mind. When the Dr. says 3 days to form a new habit, it is unbelieveable that is exactly what happens. I have friends that state "my kids just do not need that much sleep" or "you just have kids that sleep more than mine", it is a learned HABIT just like a LACK OF SLEEP is a learned HABIT. Great book, cannot say enough.



4. Thank goodness we got this book. I never ever thought the sleepless nights would end. But, they did. It was a little confusing for us because we had to tackle three problems at once. We had to transition to crib, get the baby to fall asleep on her own, and stay asleep. Read it! It makes sense and it works.



5. This book is terribly confusing. The author switches between ages without warning. I makes it hard to understand if the information given is for an older infant or a newborn. This book just needs a better structure.

5 comments about The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition).

1. It is an awesome book! It has everything you need to know and it's really easy to find the answers to your questions! I highly recommend it to new parents such as myself!



2. Bought this book as I also believe in attachment parenting.I am still reading it as the book is extremely thick.It covers almost all areas. What I like most about this book as opposed to those "Schedule and Routine training books" is that it doesnt make you feel guilty about wanting to co-sleep with your baby. It felt natural to me and this book actually encourages it.A lot of the things like attending to your baby when he cries and carrying your baby when he wants to be held are encouraged. Other books usually tell you that you are spoiling a child but what does a new baby know about spoiling? They just want to feel loved and secure. I feel a lot more confident about my natural way of parenting.My baby is contented and so am I.Great book.Good buy. Worth every cent. The Dr.Sears website is also excellent.



3. PROS:
   we LOVE this book since it gives us the right balance between what the field of medicine has to offer with our more natural philosophy of living.
   In other words, it gives the vaccination when needed, but also supports co-sleeping and wearing the baby.
   So we can keep with our way of life, knowing that we do the responsible thing, giving the medication when needed.
   It also has a bunch of advice on other issues such as good foods, pacifier vs. finger, etc.
   CONS:
   none.



4. I guess I'm this book's target audience. I am a breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, stay at home mom. I have found great advice and support in this book. I never viewed my parenting method as radical, it's just the way I want my child raised. If you are already following an attachment parenting model this book is an excellent guide. If you are an absolute "traditional" parent this book probably isn't for you.



5. This book offers comprehensive information about babies and toddlers. A big help to the new mom. And it is written in an easy to read style. I felt well-prepared for starting my journey into motherhood.

5 comments about Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, & Everything Glamour.

1. I bought this book because I liked the tv show and wanted some fashion advice. This book was a let down. It was mostly about the people who she thought were style icons and her life and love of fashion. Sprinkled in are some tips on how to dress for different occassions, advice on how to find you style, and live life to the fullest. Also nice the advice is no better than what you could get from a good friend or your mother.
   
   This book is great if you like celebrity pictures and want a glemse of celebrity life, but you can get that from any magazine.



2. Rachel Zoe must have got her friends to leave good reviews to get 4 stars. Because this book is a waste of time and money.



3. This book is not worth taking the time to glance through it, let alone read it. Rachel Zoe may be one of the best at what she does; but there is nothing new or nothing to discover in this alphabetic fashion book. There are so many better books out there.



4. This was a great book filled with tons of wonderful ideas! I ordered it through amazon and it was here in a couple of days..... wonderful!



5. I can't say that I like Zoe's personal style, but this book does have some good bits. It made me want to try a little harder than I was, and I feel better for it. She gives some good advice and it's not at all size or budget specific.
   The pictures are indeed a self congratulatory "look at all my famous friends", as is the constant name dropping. The illustrations are so hilarious, like the drawings a middle school girl doodles in her notebook. It lost my interest in some parts and kind of dies out toward the end, but all in all I can say that I enjoyed it.