No comments about Feeling Great: Teaching Children to Excel at Living.

5 comments about Instant Persuasion.

1. Recently chanced upon Instant Persuasion, and so glad I did. The book outlines thirty or so rules of persuasive communication, each accompanied by sample dialogue. Some of the passages really reminded me of mistakes I'd made in the past; mistakes I will not make again thanks to this paean to mutual respect and common sense.
   
   I never thought a self-help book in this day and age could come up with something new and relevant, but this one hits the mark. Thanks, Ms. Puhn!



2. I had recently read several other persuasion books so when I read this one, I was very dissapointed in comparison. It seemed to be very superficial and was geared to day to day politically correct communication.



3. Laurie Puhn's greatest assets are her Harvard connections and a good agent.
   I bought this book at a thrift store for 99 cents.I'm now glad I did not pay retail.This book does have it's audience-people with either very little common sense and dysfunctional types with poor communications skills.The plug from Dershowitz is window dressing.He was one of her professors at Harvard.Many of her examples seem a bit exxagerated-I found myself thinking,Duh! at Ms.Puhn's subsequent advice.
   Ms.Puhn is a very attractive woman,which no doubt helps her publicist do SOMETHING for her.



4. In this easy-to-read book, you'll discover simple ways to instantly improve the outcome of your communication by avoiding communication blunders. Many communication problems occur because we say something inappropriate or omit saying what we should've said to create an atmosphere of respect, understanding and appreciation of everyone involved.
   
   What I like about this book is that it deals with everyday situations and the ways we habitually relate to people. Everyone wants to feel appreciated, so many of the rules presented in this book encourage you to openly and frequently express your genuine appreciation.
   
   This book contains 35 rules for effective communication, each one illustrated with situations where people created a problem by saying or doing something inappropriate. The author then suggests a simple and helpful solution that would've prevented such problem and everyone concerned would've felt much better.
   
   As you read through Instant Persuasion, you may become aware of some communication blunders you have been making habitually and unconsciously that have contributed to unpleasant experiences with people in your life. You can then correct the way you communicate and eliminate the problem, instantly creating more enjoyable life for yourself and people around you.



5. This read was just plain common sense tactics and approaches. Unfortunately, the book reiterates common everyday "people" manners that I believe most already have attained. The approach revealed is is nothing short of old information.

1 comments about Whip Your Life into Shape!: The Dominatrix Principle.

1. While the title of this illustrated volume isn't necessarily misleading, all the illustrations are. Dozens of pages have illustrations of a stereotypical Dominatrix with a bullwhip, handcuffs, sexy dominatrix rubber and leather fashions etc., etc. However, this book is like a lamb hiding in wolf's clothing. The book's description mentions that the book tells you among other things, "how to get what you want in bed." One of the sexiest tips in this tome is how to get your partner to help you with the dishes by turning that routine cleaning task into something fun by capturing his attention by wearing stockings. Wonderful, wonderful. Wearing stockings will really help tear your man away from the football or baseball game he is watching on television. That's doubtful advice, unless maybe stockings are all that you are wearing?
   This book is basically a "Self-Help" book for shy, passive, put-upon women who seem to be getting taken advantage of by everyone. The book gives advice about how such a woman should organize her life so that she thinks more like a dominatrix. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the thought process of a dominatrix is really pinpointed. This book is about taking control of one's life and sets up the mythical dominatrix as a kind of all-knowing Super Hero. The book includes advice for improving posture, acting and dressing more confidently, and general advice on how to eliminate many of those unnecessary activities that aren't fun to do, but that people often get roped into doing. It emphasizes how to say "no" when someone wants to draft you into all kinds of activities you'd rather not do. It tries to explain how to organize your time, your work, your clothes closet, your housework, your social engagements, your money and life in general to make you more productive and efficient. Becoming more efficient frees up more time for fun.
   It gives the inexperienced woman a method of figure out what they want in life and how to go about getting it. It's about setting goals and keeping track of your progress. It's about time management in every activity. It provides some useful information on how to use body language to make you seem more self-confident. It's got advice for spotting and avoiding so-called friends, co-workers and family members that steal your valuable time, steal your attention, and people who destroy your self-confidence while pretending they are your best friends. The advice in this book reminded me of the advice given in the book "Maybe He's Just Not Into You". So much of it is simple common sense.
   My biggest complaint with this book was the fact it was a greatly exaggerated metaphor rather than having much to do with being or really acting like a true dominatrix as most people define that life-style. It's about helping a women take control of every aspect of her life--gaining some respect. There is nothing in this book that could be considered kinky or sexy. The book is masquerading as something that it is not. It's trying to use sex to sell, hide the fact it is a simple self-help book for shy women. The advice contained in this book is more plentiful in the "Dear Abby-Dear Beth" type of advice columns that are found in most newspapers. If a Self-Help book that has little or nothing to do with acting like a dominatrix, or even defining the term dominatrix is what the reader is looking for, then this is a book for you. If a reader is looking for anything other than a self-help guide, then this isn't the book for them. It's definitely not "sassy and saucy" as is advertised in the book's cover blurb. The books illustrations are mostly misleading. Buyer Beware!

1 comments about String Of Pearls: Recipes For Living Well In The Real World.

1. In many of JoAnna's previous books, she has shared some of her philosophy of life and healthy living. This book expands upon that aspect of her writing career. It is not a cookbook; the recipes are for living.

   The book is divided into short segments, centering upon a theme. Some examples are counting your blessings, seeing yourself as you are, etc. It is written to especially address the self-esteem needs of someone who has battled weight-related problems. It is motivational and very comforting at the same time.

   As I was reading it, I was trying to describe to myself exactly what type of feeling it evoked in me. I finally decided it must be like the quilting bee of old, when sage individuals share their encouragement, wisdom and insights, based upon many years of living and struggling. JoAnna would not claim to be a psychologist, yet in a very down-to-earth manner she relates to all of us at the point we are now. I was also impressed with later sections where she plainly states that we all need to assume responsibility for our actions and not adopt a vitcim mentality.

   The book is well written and time was taken to produce a quality product. On first reading, it did not appear to have a single incorrectly spelled word. I commend JoAnna and her publisher on this. I would highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with weight issues or life's problems in general.

3 comments about A Fine Romance: The Psychology of Successful Courtship- Making It Work for You.

1. "A Fine Romance" is a sympathetic, pragmatic, and very accurate description of the courtship process. Judith Sills knows her stuff--and must be a fabulous therapist--her sympathy, compassion, and basic honesty shine forth in these pages. Growing up, as I did, during the sexual revolution and the women's movement, left me without rules or guidelines to follow. This book reinterprets the world of dating and relationships in a way that is useful, sometimes very funny, always compassionate to all parties. Whether you are just starting out or have been dating for a while, this book is a winner. I read and re-read it as I learned how to date and be in a relationship successfully after my divorce. The book offers no magic formulae, just realistic, believable advice that you will find to be accurate and helpful. And I very much believe that I owe my own (finally!) "fine romance" to the advice I got from this book. Enjoy.



2. This is just the best book I've read on relationships. Frustrated with being single, and just seem to muck it up every time? You need to get schooled. Dr. Sills has a straightforward way of writing that never gets bogged down, always to the point. My only problem is that the paperback is not put together well, the pages have already started falling out. Gotta look for the hardcover!



3. My therapist recommended this book and it has been a godsend. It has not only made my time in therapy more purposeful but I have learned more about men, dating and the process of building a relationship than I had through, well, many years of dating and 'being in love'. It has helped me understand the difference between Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now. I think everyone who is stuck in dating hell and wondering if it will ever end should buy and read this book. Dr. Sills needs to update it, I think, to reflect the challenges of modern dating, internet dating, older singles dating etc. The core of her message is terrific and useful to all of us who are looking.

3 comments about Embracing Your Big Fat Ass: An Owner's Manual.

1. I think we all need encouragement not to buy into magazines and television telling us what size we need to be to be attractive. I really had high hopes that this book would be affirming. But it seemed to focus on what is bad and why we shouldn't care rather than what is good about us. I felt it said, "Yeah you look terrible, but who cares?" Bummer.



2. This is a great summer book, read it in your bathing suit. It's light, funny and so true!



3. This book is so bad and so pathetic it is very hard to believe it got published. It is one very long bad joke with the same dumb punch line. It is not so much advice as it is sad self-deprecation. Close the window and back away from the computer.

3 comments about Midlife Crisis at 30.

1. Ignore the title and ignore the front cover--this is not a sappy gripe book. This book is a challenge, and the question it asks is: Why are Baby Boomers' Daughters Melting Down Instead of Rallying for Change?
   
   The first part of the book helps to answer the first part of the question: baby boomers' daughters are melting down because we have been raised to expect that we can "Have it All," and, if we don't have it all (perfect job, perfect relationship, perfect kids) by age 30 we start to wonder why (and we assume it's our own fault).
   
   The result is that most 25- to 35-year-old working women are dissatisfied, unhappy, and not looking forward to the rest of our lives--but each of us thinks we're fighting these demons alone. Macko and Rubin have done their research. They include statistics and surveys to make sense of what is going on with us, and they include short personal narratives from women they've interviewed who are trying to make their way through the maze.
   
   But they do not stop there. The second part of the book challenges us to rally for change by giving real-life examples of women who have figured out how to balance the triple roles of professional, wife, and mother (or, in some instances, women who have found happiness with just two of those three roles). These women have not had easy lives, but they share how they came through the turmoil they felt at 30 to the workable balance they now have after 30. No two stories are the same--each woman found her own answers in her own way.
   
   I didn't know that I needed this book until I read it. Now that I've read it, I'm convinced that all of my friends (and you, and all of your friends) need to read this book, and take it to heart.
   
   I'll end with this quote, from Iris Krasnow's segment in the second part of the book:
   
   "The most important point I can express is to tell young women not to want anyone else's life. It's a myth to think that anyone has it more together than you do or that someone is far happier than you are. . . . What I've learned as I mature is that the more I dare to be myself, the more I get to have a life built on joy and adventure and peace."



2. Informative and insightful, this book looks at the culture of life choices of the women of Generations X and Y and concludes that a number of life stressors are now coinciding for women at age 30. Putting career first and putting off relationships later, women who believe that they could "have it all" --a meaningful relationship, family and challenging career begin running into the roadblocks of the glass ceiling and begin worrying about the husband and family that have never materialized all around age 30. Raised within the relatively gender-fair playing field of education, these women tend to internalize and ask what could be wrong with themselves, while missing the point that culturally there is still a long way to go for equal opportunity for women. The authors call to band together to change public policy is a good suggestion, but one which must overcome its cultural lethargy. Ultimately, the "dream team of mentors" which the authors assemble at the end of the book fails to personally inspire while detailing the life challenges of some successful women. The book however succeeds well overall in enlightening Generation X and Y women to the larger cultural problems that we are all facing together.



3. I am a 30-year-old, recently married, professional woman who would like to start a family. The topic of this book resonated with me, and I was eager for its arrival on my doorstep. The book had tremendous value to me for one reason: I am direly in need of female mentors who have successfully juggled a meaningful career with family, and the authors provide a well-diversified sampling of intelligent women's viewpoints in the "New Girls' Club" section. However, from the very first page, I was disappointed in the level of writing. Not only did the authors resort to pop psychology and assumptive thinking (ie, that every woman in our generation is involved in the same mess for the same reasons); they also did not follow through with the title of the book. The book trails off with a third-party voice, and there is no strong author's conclusion at the end. I was left wondering, "'Midlife Crisis at 30--and what to do about it': what should I do about it?" I got the impression that the women were trying to squeeze the book in with their high-profile jobs, their marriage and/or boyfriend, and Kerry's pregnancy (at one point, as if the book is their personal journal, they mention that "as we write, Kerry is popping prenatal vitamins.")
   
   My biggest problem with the book is the lack of editorial review. Within the first page alone, there are three glaring grammatical or stylistic errors. Not only was the book filled with grade school English class mistakes, but the general editing for the purpose of organizing the general ideas could have been much more effective. Chapters end quickly and irresolutely without drawing necessary conclusions. The authors illustrate their ideas with personal and anecdotes and vignettes from colleagues rather than carefully supported research or diversified experiences. Even their citations contain ridiculous errors: "...a 40-year-old college-educated single woman in her thirties is more likely to be killed by terrorists than to get married."
   
   The authors' style of writing comes across as juvenile and draft-like. Constant dashes and ellipses dot the pages: "...there is no one official path to happiness--and for many modern women, it's okay to take the long road home." Modern pop lingo and words connected with slashes are abundant, when plain English would be more effective: "Her work/life/balance could have done the job--"
   
   The authors come across as vivacious, interesting women; it would be fun to be seated next to one of them at a dinner party. Yet if I invest money and many hours in a book, I expect that it will be well organized, well researched, and certainly well edited. Each female generation comes of age within its challenging zeitgeist, and I appreciate that the authors have chosen to help portray that of Generation X/Y. If Barbara Ehrenreich, Naomi Wolf, Gloria Steinem, Anna Quindlen, Ann Crittenden, and countless other highly educated and well spoken thinkers can organize their modern ideas within an intelligent format, I hope that my generation will take the time and energy to present their own theories to the public with equally spirited, compassionate, and articulate integrity.

2 comments about Exploring Your Sexual Self: A Guided Journal (Guided Journals).

1. If you're like me and haven't read a non-fiction book about sex since college, then you will love "Exploring Your Sexual Self" by Joan Mazza. On the other hand, if you have been reading other books about sex, I know you will find this guided journal superior in its approach to human sexuality. Mazza allows the reader to explore, without shame or confusion, a wide range of topics from fantasies and orientation to solitary sex and romance. Two of my favorite chapters are "Firsts" and "Lovemaps." The prompts or questions at the end of each chapter are refreshing and stimulating (no pun intended) and even if you choose not to journal a response for every question, all of them help you to acknowledge and formulate a greater self-awareness and healing about many sexual issues. In fact, this book is about more than just discovering yourself sexually -- it is ultimately about the understanding and integration of one of life's most powerful and natural forces into our whole selves as conscious and sensitive human beings. And as with Mazza's other published books and articles on various subjects, she writes with heart, humor and a compassionate eye.



2. I actually returned this item. While the prompts were thought provoking, it was not quite what I expected. The pages were not lined, which makes it hard to write. Also, as a journal, the binding is not writer friendly either. I prefer spiral bound journals, just for ease of writing.

3 comments about Wanting What You Have: A Self-Discovery Workbook.

1. thought provoking and full of simplistic ideas...it will make you change how you think, feel, live and enjoy life. a definate good read, especially for those caught up in the hustle-bustle of life.



2. This is an interesting investigation of the nature of desire and the restlessness it can cause. The workbook format offers the reader more opportunity than usual to reflect on his or her own life and answer the questions being asked. In some places, however, the exercises are too lengthy and/or detailed to actually carry out; I found the need to skip over a few due to the sheer volume of "answers" required. The lessons have stayed with me, however, and the three basic principles the author promotes (Compassion, Attention, Gratitude) are easily applied to everyday life. Highly recommended.



3. An inspirational/self-help book that really stands out from the crowd. (And it IS a big crowd.) Clinical psychologist Timothy Miller offers a very down-to-earth program to help you free yourself from the maddening, depressing treadmill of wanting more than the world can possibly deliver.

   After all, isn't The Big-Big Idea to be happy . . . no matter what happens? It can be done -- and Miller is a skilled and artful coach for those who want to learn the game.

2 comments about Esteem Builders: A K-8 Self Esteem Curriculum for Improving Student Achievement Behavior and School Climate.

1. I've referred to this guide every August as I create long-term plans for the school year. The ideas and activities help cement a sense of harmony and safety in my classroom. The program works because it builds upon the five sequential components of healthy self-esteem. I've implemented this curriculum in both an inner-city and a more rural setting--with success. Dr. Borba offers such endless ideas for all ages. This curriculum is easy to integrate into the school day, and it encourages school-wide participation. The program also offers powerful long-range effects: children learn to set realistic goals and define their sense of mission. A must-have for all educators and administrators.



2. Don't be put off by the price because this book is worth its weight in gold. As a public school teacher, I refer to this book throughout the year, each and every year. We can't assume our children know what "teamwork", appropriate behavior or even "good sportmanship" is. We often need to provide explicit instruction and plenty of practice. This book offers literally hundreds of activities to teach those social and interpersonal skills many of our kids seem to lack. My classroom is a happy, welcoming, enjoyable oasis in the school thanks to Dr. Borba's book.