5 comments about The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner: Worksheets, Checklists, Etiquette, Calendars, and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

1. For free you can go to theknot.com and get all the same information and much, much more!



2. I returned it as it was more confusing than helpful. I got it for my soon to be daughter in law. It was supposed to answer all the questions and did not even answer the basic ones, such as who is supposed to normally pay for what!
   
   I am still waiting for my credit.



3. This is a very well organized book with beautiful illustrations. As a wedding director for my church, I would definitely recommend this book to brides and their mothers.



4. Good product. I thought it was going to be a spiral bound binder though. Good Tips!



5. I bought this book as a gift for my sister to help her plan her wedding and from what she tells me, it is a big help and she carries it around everywhere. Great product, I wish I knew about it in time for my wedding.

5 comments about Ride 'Em Cowgirl! Sex Position Secrets For Better Bucking.

1. You know the old joke that goes, "What ONE food causes a woman to lose her desire for sex?" and of course the answer is "wedding cake." Well, I've just found a way to reverse the ill effects of all those sugary carbs in a book called "Ride `em Cowgirl!" and WOW---hold on to your dear wife!
   
   My bride and I followed Dr. Sadie's prescription and read the book together in bed, which was a lot of fun because we could look at all the ideas and positions and laugh, relax and rekindle (without relocating!). Dr Sadie's sure right about finding your best sex positions: it's not about contorting yourselves into rubbery Cirque du Soleil knots that leads to better sex---it's about SLIGHTLY adjusting your already favorite positions for more intimate, pleasurable contact. Now instead of being one trick ponies we've become a pair of bucking broncos. Whodathought?
   
   We (okay, I) browsed in a bookstore and flipped through a bunch of sex position books, which is awkward when other shoppers suddenly appear in the same aisle, especially attractive young blondes looking at the `help me mend my broken heart' books on the very next shelf. Anyway, I ended up buying "Ride `em Cowgirl" on Amazon, which not only sounded like a good wedding cake antidote, but I wouldn't have to feel awkward handing it directly to yet another attractive blonde at the cashier's stand who'd undoubtedly ask if I'd like to join their eager-reader's discount book buying club, but would actually be thinking, "What kind of cowgirl does this guy think he is?" Amazon quickly delivered in a plain brown box with that cute smile under their logo that suddenly started looking more and more like a wicked little grin. That Bezos!
   
   I digress. Those other books I'd flipped through in the store and left for someone else were either boring (really...how do you make sex BORING?), preachy, impractical, wordy (with no illustrations), illustrated (with cutesy position names), too clever for their own good, too dated to still be around, too expensive for what they delivered ... you get the picture. Yet, here's what it all really comes down to: DO YOU WANT BETTER SEX? If so, then this is your book. It's a perfect blend of advice and illustrations, funny and sexy all at the same time, easy and comfortable to read with your partner. And it works. Uhhhh, what's that, honey? Not now, I'm writing. Really? You're kidding! Right now? You're NOT kidding! Why, um ... of course, yeah, sure, wow, yes, absolutely!
   
   It's been fun. Gotta ride...



2. It may sound corny but my boyfriend brought this book home and it's really revolutionized our sex life. For him it told him all the little things that we wish men knew but never remember to tell them because we just assume that they should know since it's so natural to us. Dr. Sadie really takes the guesswork out of giving each other pleasure. Thank you!



3. For my fifth anniversary, I decided I needed to spice things up a bit and bought this book and a couple of others. Sex Deck: Playful Positions to Spice Up Your Love Life- are a deck of "cards" designed with a position on front and the description on back. Was that an earthquake? The Sensuous Couple's (Flip Over) Guide to Seismic Oral Sex- is a fun flip over format with cunnilingus on one side and fellatio on the other. We enjoyed quite an anniversary romp and enjoyed reading Ride Um Cowgirl in bed later. It's not about impossible contortions but finding the best positions that work for both of you. It's all about making sex fun for both partners. These three items lived up to my hopes and expectations and sex before and after the anniversary has never been better.



4. Even if you're sexually skillful, you can stand to learn more illustrative and explanatory sexual contact.



5. I loved this book and really got a kick out of it. It's full of all kinds of different positions and ideas, and is written in a fun, friendly, informative manner. It's a good one to look through by yourself or with a partner. I would highly recommend this book.

5 comments about The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children.

1. Based on Torah examples she show us how to get involve with our kids, and create a great relation.



2. Concepts clearly presented. I looked for curative truths related to children who have everything but are demanding, unhappy and unsuccessful. I found many truths in this book. They were identified as spirituality, family involvement, natural consequences and responsibility, not exclusively. Did I agree with everything? No. For instance: Jewish mother's drive their children toward "success" less than other mothers. This was a book about finding speciality by being responsible. I've already given two books to other family members.



3. Raising a healthy family in today's world is challenging for even the most insightful of parents. The Blessings of a Skinned Knee provides psychological and spiritual wisdom as well as practical guidance and parenting skills to enable every parent to succeed in creating a healthy and happy home. This book belongs on every parent's nightstand!
   Amy Hirshberg Lederman [...], author of "To Life! Jewish Reflections on Everyday Living" and "One God, Many Paths: Finding Meaning and Inspiration in Jewish Teachings."



4. The Blessing of a Skinned Knee is the best parenting book I've ever read. It has a common sense approach and really works. I can hardly wait to read her next book, The Blessing of a B-



5. Child rearing is tough work, as tough or tougher now than ever. Mogul, a psychologist, sought to find a different, healthy approach to managing children and parenthood. She came to Judaism's traditional ways. For much of the book, the theme is simple: given three thousand years of parenthood, what are the lessons of what works? These lessons are presented clearly and helpfully. There's a bit of promoting Judaism in here, but anyone willing to read critically will easily be able to come away with some parenting gold nuggets. As the parent of young adults, I found some things that will even help me with their finishing the entry to adulthood and only the smallest number of ideas with which I disagreed. Highly recommended to prospective parents, those with youngsters, and anyone working with children.

5 comments about Created to Be His Help Meet: Discover How God Can Make Your Marriage Glorious.

1. I think most women have a problem with this book because they misunderstand its purpose and usefulness. Are problems in marriage 100% the woman's fault? Yes. They are also 100% the man's fault. This book is for women, not for men. There are other books written for men about being Christ-like and sacrificial. If both husband and wife consider it his/her own personal responsibility to make a marriage work, the marriage might have a chance. Don't think marriage is 50-50. 50-50 marriages end up being the ~50% of broken marriages. If you cast yourself on the grace of God, and stop trying to hedge your bets, you will experience God's grace and faithfulness both immediately (directly from God) and through your husband. If you try to save your life, you will lose it. Ladies. Give it up. We think we know better. We don't. Debi isn't perfect. But she is wise.



2. Well, I recently got this book after being told it was wonderful. I will make this quick and simple.
   
   I believe Debi draws out some amazing points to really revolutionize a marriage. There were things that she wrote I could see in myself (that were less than perfect). And I did feel empowered to live as a 'help meet' that God has made me to be.
   
   The criticism I have is that though I believe the book is filled with truth, there is a clearly negative "i have the corner on the market, it's my way or the highway" approach in the writing.
   
   If you are one who can read books without getting wrongly condemned or feel shamed, but take away the truth where you need to hear it in a balanced way, then I do recommend this book.
   
   It's just not something I would read as though it's the whole truth, or if you have a hard time taking away the good stuff, and leaving the bad.Created to Be His Help Meet: Discover How God Can Make Your Marriage Glorious



3. In my opinion this was a great book. Many modern day woman will not like it. I requires a REAL woman to put these ideas into practice. It helped give me direction as to how to look at many things wives are faced with today. It helped to show me how to be a wife but still realize that I am responsible to God only for how "I" deal with the problems we face in life, not the problems of my husband. I think anyone that can follow these principles would have a much better marriage and Satan would not be able to defeat the family unit as easily as he has been doing.



4. I am so thankful that my sister-in-law pushed this book on me when I was determined I was going to divorce my husband. After nearly 10 years of marriage I now finally get it! Through this book, God, prayers of many and myself, I now have a reformed marriage and to me that is a miracle! I actually have the husband I always wanted and I didn't have to change him. This book is basic, bold and truly a no brainer once you have read it, if you know the Bible anyway. We need to get this wife/marriage thing down so we can pass this on to our children and so we can see less foolish failed marriages. I challenge you to read this book and keep it to reference and when you order it, order at least one more to pass on to someone you know who claims to be in an unhappy marriage.



5. First, I have to say that some very well-intentioned women study this book and live by it and I have no condemnation for them. However, when I went through it and started asking my husband questions about it, he told me to stop reading it and throw it away even though his well-intentioned mother gave it to me. I believe that his advice was demonstrating Christ's love to me, freeing me from the false guilt this book incites.
   
   While there are always benefits to godly humility and servanthood, the author goes too far in prescribing exactly what fits into her view of godliness. Like the pharasees of old, she sets up rules for godly marriage that are nowhere in scripture. The book condemns women who teach at all as having the spirit of "Jezebel" and gives the overall impression that the only purpose women serve is for their husbands' wishes and goals and that any other pursuit is ungodly.
   
   If you are having marital problems, this book is like prescription medication, it may do you some good but it could cause more harm than good in the long run. I recommend Ken Nair's books, "Discovering the Mind of a Woman" and "Discovering the Heart of a Man." Remember, your marriage takes two. Contrary to this book, it is right to have reasonable expectations of your husband to help him become more like Christ. Men, Ken Nair's books will rock your world!

5 comments about Sex and the Perfect Lover: Tao, Tantra, and the Kama Sutra.

1. I have to admit, the only reason I chose this book was because of the 240+ rave reviews here at amazon. How could 99% of the reviewing public be wrong, right? Well take it from me, whoever translated this book into english (it was originally written in another language) did a pretty shabby job, unless their goal was to suck the life out of every paragraph. It is thoroughly boring, utterly useless and embarrassingly void of anything that anyone could apply to their sex life. I guarantee you 110% that you will be disappointed with this book, and after reading it you'll be looking somewhere else for the answers you were seeking. This was my first foray into a "better sex" book, and I most definitely made the wrong choice.
   
   The chapters are so short, they feel like you're reading an outline. There is no content. There is so much filler in this book, you start to catch on by about page 50 that you're going absolutely nowhere -- page after page, chapter after chapter. She mentions some interesting ideas and concepts, but never once does she show any hint of knowledge or expertise in this subject area. Her solution to EVERYTHING is that with proper practice and techniques, you too can achieve an explosive orgasm -- but she tells you absolutely nothing about how to do anything. It's so ridiculous I was laughing out loud by chapter 10. Really, this book is a complete waste and joke.



2. Wow. this is the perfect book for busy, active people who want to keep their sex life alive, but who don't have time to spend learning. When I thought there were not any more sex "techniques" I could learn from a book, this book just amazed me. This book just transformed my sex and it is never going to be better than after reading it. I've read my share of sex books but this one is very informative, gives great advises and covers many areas of relationships that are not covered in other books.



3. I used to read other sex books with my wife but she surprised me one day and bought Sex and the perfect lover by Iam... was a complete different thing all together, far far the best one I've seen. It's simply Amazing. My wife seduces me with the techniques in the book and I please her through the advice in the book. A reference book for your bedside table we have learn how to have fun and intimacy together, without just merely have sex put us on ground now. We have learnt how to have fun and intimacy together, without just merely making love.
   Everyone wants to have a great sex life and some may even think that they know everything as I did! but this book will take your sex life to new heights.
   I'm the one now that insists that we read one chapter every night, and then practice!
   I am right now ordering several copies to give as a gift to my friends.



4. M. Iam seriously addresses intimacy issues and provides a step-by-step deep relationship-nourishing format that begins with the art of exploring the pleasures of the Kama sutra from the vantage point of the couple's balanced physical, mental and emotional energy. In addition to initiating and maintaining the purely sensual aspects of love-making.
   
   Everyone should read this book. I have read a lot of relationships and sex books. This one, by far, is the best for me. Was almost like a total
   pleasure, I am giving it as a gift for special occasions and recommending it to everyone I know.



5. Sex and the Perfect Lover is a guide for those who wish a relationships with love pleasure, and intimacy, This is by far the best book I have ever read. The style of the book is easy, clear and perfect to understand and the illustrations of the kamasutra are excellent. The exercises and illustrations are creative, playful, and unusual, such as rewriting a recipe in sexual imagery to create an appetizing and erotic plan.
   I've shared it with some friends. I'm definitely going to give a copy of this book to my friends.

5 comments about Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager, Revised and Updated.

1. The CD's were easy to listen to and make alot of sense. I look forward to the time when my children outgrow this stage, but the insights given by the author and practical ways of communicating with teenage daughters has been helpful in cutting back on the stress in our home.



2. After having yet another argument with my 12-year old on why she needed to do her chores and homework instead of playing on the computer she threw at me the old "I hate living here and wish I could live with Dad!" So I went onto Amazon.com in search of a book that would solve the mysteries of why my lovable little girl was turning into a monster before my eyes. I ordered "Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager, Revised and Updated" and couldn't put it down. If reinforced many of the parental decisions and rules I have already made and gave me insight and ideas on how to deal with other situations. Most of all, I feel it somewhat prepared me for "what is to come." I also loved that the book explained the differences between how adolescence affects boys and girls. I have 2 stepsons, 12-year old twins and did not realize the differences in how they do and will react to things compared to my daughter. After finishing the book, I handed it off to my husband and told him he needed to read it too!



3. After several recommendations by friends with teens, I've almost finished this book after a couple of days of reading. Helpful points include the reminders to not engage in pointless arguments and to state my position clearly and concisely and not to lecture. My problem with the book is the lack of any apparent consequences for bad behavior. Teen comes in an hour past curfew? Re-state the appropriate curfew time and move on. Teen lies about grades on homework? Overlook the lie and re-state expectations about homework. Teen calls parent a f-ing b*tch? Ignore the name calling and remain silent. While I agree it creates ongoing conflict to call kids out on these behaviors and punish them, I think that is a necessary part of the landscape and to think otherwise is unrealistically permissive.



4. I found this book to be of great value in improving communication with my 9th grade daughter. I wish I had read it sooner!



5. wolf uses many examples of actual conversations between parent and teen and then re-writes these conversations as to how they should have played out. very helpful and insightful. easy for me to apply to my own negative outcomes with my teens.

5 comments about The Expanded Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives (An Allyn & Bacon Classics Edition) (with MyHelpingLab) (3rd Edition) (Allyn and Bacon Classics Edition).

1. This textbook is a decent summary of the various family life cycle issues. However, the authors' obvious political biases and leanings interfere with a balanced perspective and with the content of the book. Several people in my master's level class found the book to be biased and unhelpful in certain areas.



2. The lack of practical, usable information in this book was unbelievable. Maybe if you have never, ever, in any way considered these issues it would be helpful, but I doubt it, as there was nothing that delved beyond surface, common sense information. The gross overgenderalizations about race and culture were offesive and shocking coming from people in the field. The only thing I took from the book was a heightened awareness of the judgemental biases of people -- even those claiming to be fighting against those things.



3. This disappointing book
   is pretentious and
   transparently biased.
   
   I prefer a textbook
   I can learn from and trust,
   to one where I find myself tolerating
   stale slogans and stereotypes.



4. I had to read this book as part of my grad school program, but found every chapter a chore. As has been said before, the authors' political bias and agenda permeates nearly every page, and the chapters that aren't directly written by McGoldrick and Carter, although more promising, are still etched with this harmful bias. Having read other writings by McGoldrick especially, I was not entirely surprised by this bias, but to find it so codified and oppressive in a textbook is inexcusable.
   
   Another huge complaint is how dated the book is. Yes it received a new edition, but most of the academic references are no more recent than 1997 or so, and the cultural references are so horribly out of date (at least 2 references to the Dan Quayle/Murphy Brown controversy in a 2005 book anyone?) that its usefulness is in question. It is unfortunate that there is apparently no better textbook dealing with the family life cycle than this angry, biased, pessimistic, closed-minded and out-dated textbook. There is some good information scattered here and there, but I think most critical thinkers will be working so hard to see it through the political haze they will have a hard time finding it.



5. If I could have rated this book zero or less, I would have done so. This book is required for a grad school course I am now taking. I am struggling to read each chapter because of the biased perspective of the authors. This book SHOULD NOT be required reading for any course!

5 comments about The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship: A Toltec Wisdom Book.

1. I would recommend this book for anyone that might be going over a break up or to anyone that wants to learn more about love and how it works. I saw that this book was recommended during another review session on Amazon and I thought that I would buy it to read over and it was actually written very nicely and as you read the book it includes very nice vivid examples to explain the theories that this book contains. I would recommend this book.



2. I have learned to understand that the door to spirituality is opened slowly instead of yanked open all at once. Even though I read nothing new in this book, I did see a different perspective that reinforced all that I'm learning, pushing that door open just a little further. I also recommend I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't



3. I just want to say this is beautiful book. It has a simple message. It makes you believe that everything is okay and everything is going to be alright because if you love yourself everything falls into place. I think I'm finally starting to know what that means.
   This book is easy to read but the message sticks with you. The author puts a couple of meditation prayers at the end so you have something to help you stay focused on the message, if you want to. I have read two other books by this author, The Four Agreements and The Voice of Knowledge and loved all of them.



4. This is the most beautiful, wise, spiritual, moving, truthful book i had ever read. The words are so wise and true that it hits the core of the soul and unlocks the key to true happiness and spiritual freedom. It opens up a door to God's love, which is pretty intense. Some people may not be able to handle or comprehend how it unveils the lies all around us, that have blinded us from the innate truth.



5. Very uplifting book. Little preaching in the beginning, but helpful. I definitely needed to read it. I'd recommend it to everybody who struggles to understand why their relationships are not working the way they want them to work. It is of course not a magic stick to fix it for you, but give some insights that if applied right can change your prospective completely.

4 comments about Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life.

1. This is a thoughtful memoir, full of incisive literary quotes from the author's wide reading. You may not be acquainted with the term acedia, but surely you are familiar with its many symptoms, offshoots, and corollaries: among them, lethargy, apathy, paralysis, depression, and alienation.
   
   The author tells the story of her marriage, of her husband's illness and death. Each chapter is a meditation, an essay on the author's search for clarity and meaning.
   
   Kathleen Norris is also the author of AMAZING GRACE: A VOCABULARY OF FAITH. She is at her best when defining concepts, especially religious concepts. In ACEDIA & ME: A MARRIAGE, MONKS, AND A WRITER'S LIFE, she concentrates on the concept of acedia and you will be supprised to learn how common it is. She looks at acedia as experienced, then as observed.
   
   Of course the author discusses Andrew Solomon's excellent study, THE NOONDAY DEMON, but she says that it is common to experience acedia without being clinically depressed. There are degrees of it, she says, respectable acedia and industrial acedia.
   
   The last section of the book is devoted to quotes touching on acedia from the wealth of our literature, Thomas Merton, Saul Bellow, Joan Didion, Ian Fleming, Walker Percy, and many, many others. I read every one of them and looked up from the book struck anew by the significance of the the author's theme.
   
   Those interested in reading more about intellectual acedia might want to start with Colin Wilson's THE OUTSIDER; those looking to read more on spiritual acedia might enjoy David Loy's take on it in LACK AND TRANSCENDENCE: THE PROBLEM OF DEATH AND LIFE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY, EXISTENTIALISM, AND BUDDHISM.



2. I found this to be less satisfying than most of Kathleen Norris' work; it seemed to me to be a series of meditations on acedia without an overarching structure. Without the structure, it often becomes repetitive in a way that allows the reader to lose their way (the context/logic of the text).
   
   On the other hand, this is a useful reflection on how acedia manifests in our culture - ennui as an artistic stance, consumerism, frantic schedules ... Particularly interesting is her discussion (a topic frequently returned to) of the roles of the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers and of psychiatry/psychoanalysis. Here Norris does an excellent job of bringing their wisdom to bear on our contemporary human condition - reminding me of To Love As God Loves: Conversations With the Early Church.
   
   Also interesting and useful are the biographic elements brought into the discussion - illness as a small child, her husband's suicide attempt, her sister's cancer, her own widowhood ... Through these events one sees how she balances wholeness as supported by her religious community with wholeness as supported by the medical community.
   
   Closing the book is a commonplace book on acedia with quotes from a diverse group of people - Seneca, Evagrius (referred to frequently in the book), John Climacus, David of Augsburg, Dante, Chaucer, Pascal, Wordsworth ...



3. This book was not what I expected. I anticipated a memoir, one of my favorite genres. Instead the book was an unstructured mixture of sermonlike discourses and epsidodic memories.
   
   Fans of Kathleen Norris may welcome the book. But as someone who wanted to get to know the person behind the name, I would have preferred more concrete pictures - a sense of what her life was really like, growing up as a Navy brat, marrying a poet and creating a writing career.
   
   Norris's themes were not novel. The theme of a wife caring for a troubled husband inevitably echoes more worldly memoirs, such as those of Jill Ker Conway and Katherine Graham. Psychiatry and religion have co-existed for years. At one point Norris's internist offers her samples of an anti-depressant without a psychiatric consultation. She accepts. That small interaction says more than the many pages comparing depression and acedia.
   
   Clearly the book was written for a very specific audience -- an audience that wants to explain contemporary phenomena through a spiritual lens. To take just one example, Norris condemns marketing, especially branding. As a professional marketer, I suspect the vast majority of consumers wear their brands far more lightly than Norris imagines. In fact, today's consumer flits from brand to brand in butterfly fashion. Contrary to her example, many consumers really don't care what brand of toothpaste they buy.
   
   I am not among the target audience for this book. I did enjoy some of Norris's stories about her life, although I was disturbed by the absence of humor.
   
   But I came away with the feeling that the author was herself struggling with sadness as she struggled to meet a publishing deadline. And I suspect memoir may not be Norris's forte. She writes what I would call sermons. If you like them, and you accept her orientation, this book will be for you.



4. Kathleen Norris is obviously a talented writer. ACEDIA AND ME certainly has some interesting and inspirational stories woven throughout. But overall, Norris uses her search for the meaning of the concept of acedia as a vehicle for relating her memoir. I found this to be a bit misleading. I had thought the issue of acedia, not Norris' memoir, would be the focus of this book. I suppose I had expected a more scholarly approach. I agree with the other reviewer who says that ACEDIA AND ME will appeal to fans of Kathleen Norris, but perhaps not the general reader.

5 comments about The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby.

1. This gave me great ideas for names, and ideas of what current and recent trends have been. I like how it suggests families of names that are similar in style to names you like.



2. Is a great book, specially if you have an mathematical backgrownd because of the graphs.



3. I bought this book thinking that it may give some unique ideas and insights into names. Unique ideas it has... but so completely untraditional that I think any child with these names will be perpetually made fun of. I will be buying a different book.



4. My sister recommended this book and I love it. It is not like every other book and baby name website. If you are looking for a name dictionary with origin and meaning of every name, buy one of the other thousand baby name books out there. If you are looking for something different that groups names by category, helps to identify what people think of when they hear the name, and shows popularity over the last century of each name, then this is definitely the book for you. It has been a huge help so far in helping me identify the type of names that I like so I can narrow down the choices for our new baby boy arriving this fall.



5. Although we STILL haven't picked a name for our baby, this book has had sooo many unique and classic names! It's organized so much differently than all the other name books, it's almost fun to read!
   I would highly reccomend this book, especially if the parents are unsure of where to start with names.