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In this book Marla Cilley explains in full detail how she recaptured
her life....she is an expert at helping others "get a grip" on housework &
decluttering your home and your life! Chapter by chapter she takes you
in baby steps so as not to overwhelm you...as housework can tend to be
very overwhelming......not with Marla...believe me, if you will just
give this book a chance - read a chapter each day - you will be amazed.
I had tried everything!!! I didn't even know about the book until a
friend referred me to www.flylady.net....I can assure you that if you
read this book, you will NEVER have to do spring housecleaning again.

I have really struggled with clutter. When we were married and my husband was deployed, in the apartment I had a narrow walkway from the door to the bedroom, and I kept stacking the dirty dishes to make room for more, everything else was lined with clutter. When we moved to a four bedroom home, one room and two closets were so filled, we could never use the stuff. Now, we are divorced, and I had a two bedroom apartment stuffed with boxes from the four bedroom home. Again with the walkways. I checked this book out from the library, kept re-reading the parts about what clutter does to our lives, then my former in-laws came to visit and I was mortified to admit, face to face, how I am raising our daughter in this mess. There it was, thrown open, no hiding, how I am living. So, I put the book in action, and with our daughter's help, within three days, the living room and kitchen were clean and clear. Now, we may sit down! And I may find the pet supplies, tools, towels, markers, shoes, and coats, right where they ought to be, right when I need them. It is so nice, and like Martha Cilley says, peaceful at home. I make a goal for this summer to clear the last untamed terrain of my own bedroom. All boxes, just a walkway. I have 6 weeks. Martha Cilley tells of a room she cleaned by giving away, throwing away, or putting away two items per day, until. I HIGHLY recommend "Sink Reflections".

This book is great for starting anad maintaining a personalized housekeeping routine because you can start with "baby steps"; it also allows for flexibility to fit anyone's circumstances and lifestyle.Sink Reflections

Recomend 100% I love this book and use it and refer back to it often. Wonderful

This book was absolutely a joy to read ~ and as depressed as I am about my house right now, I do see hope..LOL! Easy to read and you just don't want to put it down. A+++++

I had high hopes because I've loved so many of the other books that Dorie has worked on, especially the Pierre Herme books and Baking with Julia. I had expectations that her book would be full of chic but accessible version of "home" baking.

My first complaint is that there are very few compelling recipes here. The cake chapter, for instance, just isn't that inspiring. Likewise with the cookie chapter. There are many good-looking recipes recipes, but very few that would send me into the kitchen.

My second complaint is that the recipes I've tried have been a bit lackluster and/or exceedingly sweet. I tried the most classic brownie recipe and did not like it at all, the texture was almost sandy, hard to explain. Pierre Herme's brownie recipe blows it out of the water, and it's really not anything complicated.

I also tried the perfect party cake and the black and white cake from the cover. Again, both were way too sweet and little else.

The other day I tried a batch of the dulce de leche cookies, which I hoped to bring to work. The cookies, plain, tasted okay but not so special--they need something, maybe some cinnamon, I don't know. Once they were filled and sandwiched, they went overboard with jaw-clenching sweetness. The next day they were mush, and 3 days later they are still sitting on the kitchen table, waiting until I can allow myself to throw them out.

The World Peace cookies didn't impress me much either, and I much prefer the chocolate sables from the Herme book. Like the black and white cake, it suffers from the chocolate chip bits.

I was really surprised to notice this trend with her book, and I still haven't given up on it. But I have to admit that, were it not for the esteem I have for Greenspan, I would have quit this book a while back. It seems like she was aiming for as large a book as she could put together, and it shows in some of the uninspiring recipes. I would have much preferred a book half the size with a more discriminating choice of recipes.

Love this book, I use it as a companion resource to my Martha Steward Baking book. Definitely one to add to your collection.

So far I've only made a couple of recipes from this book (shortbread cookies, cheesecake, brown sugar blueberry cake, brioche, and pecan honey sticky buns). Cheesecake and brioche are two of my favorite things to make (and consume) and the cheesecake and brioche I made using Dorie Greenspan's recipe were the best I've ever had. The shortbread cookie dough was simple to make. I used it as the base for my cheesecake and got rave reviews. The pecan honey sticky buns and brown sugar blueberry cake were made for a bake sale and sold out. One lady bought a bun in the morning and came back a couple of hours later for a second. The brioche is hard work but so worth it. I think next time I'll make a big batch and freeze it. Besides the recipes, I like that Dorie Greenspan includes a section on how to make slight variations. I will definitely be trying more of the recipes from this book.

I noticed my favorite cooking blog, Smitten Kitchen, frequently references this book, so I figured I ought to check it out. Boy, was that the right decision.

I have made the tiramisu cake, chocolate chocolate chunk muffins, cornmeal maple biscuits, almond scones, peanut-caramel brownie cake, chocolate chip cookies, raisin-cinnamon swirl bread, and sugar cookies. All of these recipes were delicious and received many compliments.

I have not found any problem with cooking temperatures or times.

The recipes vary from traditional to novel and I know I can find something perfect for any occasion.

The photos are gorgeous and I really like Dorie's tone, which guides you and anticipates questions.

I could not live without this book.

On the whole, I think this is a great general baking book. I like the author's personal anecdotes, her matter-of-fact style, and the recipes themselves.
However, of the four or five recipes I've tried, at least half have left out a major step or failed to mention when to include an ingredient. An experienced baker can figure it out, but in general someone should be checking for that sort of thing before the book goes to press.

concise and easy to read. the concepts are presented in a way that they are easy to understand. i definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in family nursing.

I felt this textbook was easy to read and very informative. I would keep the text for future reference if I were you.

Required text for a family dynamics course I took. Excellent, informative and easy to read. Good text to have.

As an RN with 28 years experience, I was disappointed with the quality of Ms. Friedman's writing. She is overly repetitive with descriptive materials, tends to ramble on, uses slang terms occassionally, and reveals personal bias. There is no place in nursing for unprofessional terms or bias against groups based on religious differences or lack of religious orientation. Positive qualities of this book include adaptation stategies for use in applying nursing theories to families and making appropriate NANDA diagnoses. The Friedman Model is included and well illustrated. Several tables are included and are helpful to clarify wordy text.

I am a fourth year BSN student. This book was our assigned text for our family class. I felt the book was to wordy on explanations. Points were not clearly established. They were merely tossed around comparing and contrasting one research study versus another. I would get so lost in the theoretical views from numerous positions that I would literally fall asleep reading this book. Surely, there is a more palatable undergraduate book on family theory?

I own this book - I have for years. It is a very good book and interesting to read (which is something not all business books are).

What I don't like and what completly sucks are all of the shill reviews on here obviously placed by the publisher, author, or agents giving it five-star ratings and saying stupid things like "Thanks to Garrett, I now look towards the future with... etc. blah blah blah".

It is a good book for this topic - and stands on its own. It is really seriously lame that they felt the need to support it in this disingenuous manner.

If you have always dreamed of owning your own company and have been in the process of incorporating this book is the solution to get you moving in the right direction.

This book makes everything sound very easy...I also wonder how he can have so much time writing book after book if he could just open up more corporations instead...Any book that's produced in a mass-series hardly contains solid information.

I love the Rich Dad books because they're motivational as well as interesting, but there has to be a word or two of caution.

Concerning incorporating properties...this seems rather specious. You don't have to go to the trouble of incorporating each property to keep the fear of having personal assets taken through a liability claim; that's why you carry insurance, and a lot. A big policy is more than sufficient, and most courts will not allow lawsuits from taking your primary home.

Time being money, it's much faster and easier to sign a policy than to do the tedious and never-ending paperwork to incorporate a property. There may be rare circumstances when you would (a real estate lawyer is worth the consultation) but for 99.9999999% of the people in the world, No.

I've been a fan of the Rich Dad / Poor Dad series, but to be frank, this was a disappointment. There is a good discussion of "C" corporations vs. LLCs, but other than those chapters, the rest of the book seemed like filler...
I had higher hopes.

A very excellent cookbook! We already had the New Best Recipe cookbook, so we were familiar with Cook's Illustrated and their great recipes. To have those kinds of recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or so is great!

My husband and I try to make dinner at least five nights per week, but we both work and usually aren't home until 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening. I bought this book hoping that it might help us make tastier meals within our time constraints and it has. We've made approximately ten of the recipes so far -- half were fantastic and the others were still good. "The Best 30-Minute Recipe" has added a few new favorites to our weekly menus and we're eating earlier because the recipes are easier and take less time to prepare. A bonus: the kitchen is usually less of a chore to clean after we make one of these recipes because they've pared down the steps and ingredients to the essentials. I've already given four copies as gifts.

I'm not a cook. I pretty much want the quickest and fastest method to achieve a reasonable result when I'm cooking for myself. When I bought the book, I hoped to have 30 minute meals. But some of the recipes call for preparations (such as actually cooking the meat before) and then slapping it all together in 30 mins for the actualy 'eating' time.

This isnt' a bad idea. But I had purchased this with the belief that I could do everything in the book in 30mins for a meal.

Other than that, it is a decent book and I found a few recipes I wouldn't mind trying out.

This book has a remarkable number of really good recipes and a few duds. The collection is varied and covers traditional American to Thai. The biggest downside is that they don't suggest side dishes for their main courses. However, the real value is that they explain how to do things the right way, and why things work. Highly recommended for anyone who is not a serious chef, and doesn't want to spend hours preparing every meal.

Don't buy this book if you avoid using a microwave oven. You can adapt your cooking, of course, but then it's no longer a 30-minute cookbook. Other than that, it has a lot of great time saving tips.

I bought this for my son, and he greatly enjoyed it. His teacher had read it aloud at school, and he wanted
his own book. I'm glad it was shipped right away, since my son had kept asking me when he'd get it. The seller shipped promptly, and the book was in excellent condition.

I have been a great fan of Roald Dahl's books since I was a young child. I would go into the library quite often and read any of his books that I could get my hands on. His books are enjoyable for all age levels. I am a college student, and I still enjoy sitting down and reading them. The BFG was always one of my favorites. It has great humor, and endearing characters. I highly recommend it.

The BFG by Roald Dahl


Reviewed by
(age 9) Stockbridge central School 4th Grade (5 stars. )

Imagine that you were snatched out of your bed by a giant! Well that happened to Sophie. She was trying to sleep but she couldn't. She went out of her room and was looking out of the window because there was a very bright light on her pillow. She saw the scariest thing: it was a skinny man with a black cape. Sophie tried to scream but it didn't come out. Then she was in the giants hands being carried away!
I love this book because the BFG The Big Friendly Giant) talks really funny. He said words like "snozzcumbers" and "whizzpoppers". (I won't tell you what they are.) The book was really exciting. There are 9 other man eating giants and Sophie and the BFG have to stop them before they strike again! If you want to know if they succeed read the book!

Imagine being taken away by someone or something, which is 100 times bigger than you are. Imagine flying over continents in amazing speeds in the ear of a giant, and save the world from human-eating giants. In The BFG, by Roald Dalh, this is what happens to Sophie, an orphan living in England, who is kidnapped by a giant in the middle of the night and taken away to a far away place.

Her only fault is to be awake and be watching the giant when he is peeking into the bedrooms of others' houses. She is terrified and thinks she will be a meal to this giant. However, she finds out that his name is The BFG: The Big Friendly Giant, who does not eat human beings. He is unlike the other giants who are bigger, who travel to different countries and eat children and adults for dinner. Once Sophie makes friends with the friendly giant, she decides to stop the carnivorous giants from eating more people in the world with the help of the BFG in a very clever way - through dreams that the BFG collects!

Although the BFG is a giant, he is not like the others: he is unique. He does not eat people. He is a Big Friendly Giant. After reading this book we cannot say all giants are dangerous or bad. There is always one that is unique, and one that saves the day. This is a great book to teach about different people in the world. We cannot generalize about people, for example, "Turkish people are lazy." One is apt to find an exception to the rule. It requires courage and an open mind to discover the unique.

The BFG is a fun book to read. The author, Roald Dahl, uses made up words to show that the BFG is not properly schooled because he does not know how to speak "proper" English. So, instead of saying, "Cross your fingers," he says, "Cross your figglers." These words force the reader to figure out what he really means. The way the giant talks is also funny and grammatically wrong: "I is hungry." "Am I right or left?" "Bonecrunching Giant only gobbles human beans from Turkey."

I love The BFG. It has been nice to get lost in the world of a giant and identify with him. Not a lot of books talk about being a vegetarian. Although it is about giants, I like the idea that he is not killing people or animals to eat. It is a very lighthearted book. Reading about where the BFG and his companions live took me to an imaginary land. How he collects dreams and stores them in glass containers was a delight to read.

Every adult should read this book to escape the silliness and stress of the real world. I especially recommend it to people who love playing with languages and making up their own words. I love the made up words, such as "phizzwizard" for a great dream or "trogglehumper" for a nightmare. His everyday sayings are also changed into strange BFG-language very creatively: "Oh, save our solos!" for "Save our souls."

On the other hand, it might be a hard book to read for students who learn English as a second language because they may not have the foundation of the English vocabulary to figure out what these made-up words may mean. This would be a great book to read to children. If kids get confused, they can always ask the adult who is reading it for clarification so the fun does not get spoiled.

The BFG is a classic by Roald Dahl, who I think is one of the best authors I have read books by. It begins with a girl named Sophie being kidnapped by a giant from a home for orphans in England. Naturally, she is frightened of him at first, but as she gets to know the Big Friendly Giant (BFG), she hatches a plot to help him get rid of his nasty neighbours.

I particularly like this book, because unlike many other books with children overcoming problems, instead of adults helping the child, Sophie actually helps the queen of England get rid of a problem. This has great action, but it could also be a comedy because of the funny scenes, which is why I like it so much (I love funny books). I would recommend this book to anybody, child or adult, who likes funny books with some action.

- Y.M.P.

I have the WORST time ordering on Amazon.com. I ended up with two of these cookbooks (one new and one used). That was after I was told they were out of stock/unavailable. I DON'T want to pay to ship it back!! I have ordered from Amazon.com before and had problems. I will avoid this website in the future!

This is not only a great book of recipes, but the high quality paper and the beautiful pictures make this a perfect coffee table book. Leaf through it when you have a few minutes to get inspired for the next grilled meal.

I cook for myself and I like to keep things simple. When I see interesting recipes that list two or three ingredients that I know I would never have at the same time, I cease to consider making that meal. Most recipes in this book list fairly basic ingredients that most kitchens would have on hand.

The author doesn't just use terms for techniques that many more experienced cooks would know, but gives a little detail on how to do the procedure for the novice. Besides the recipes, many topics on basics are covered in the front of the book. Humor is used on occasion, which can lighten the mood for the harried grill-master with hungry guests to feed.

I liked this book so much, I purchased two more for friends who don't eat to live, but live to eat.

This is a great guide to a first time owner of a Weber Grill.The recipes are easy to make and the tips and anecdotle information are great!!!

I have to bow down to this book as the best grilling book EVER. We've tried many of the recipes and never been disappointed. Plus, it's entertaining to read with great pictures. Can't ask for much more than that.

Excellent book on grilling, I wanted a book on Charcoal but found this book full of good information that can be used by both gas and woodl

At the behest of her dying grandmother, Shepard investigated her family's past in India and Pakistan. Her journey is a combination of revelation and research, with some intellectual discussions about the meaning of religion, family, and nationality, thrown in. Chapters alternate between Shepard's research and travels and accounts of her grandmother (her mother's mother,) who grew up a Jew in India and became the third wife of a Muslim businessman who moved to Pakistan after partition. Shepard's father is an American Christian. Her clear writing is full of insights, with many questions left for the reader to ponder.

Mesmerizing memoir, quirky nuanced story telling.

Engagingly discombobulated at times, yet microscopically real, as Shepard explores the nooks and crannies of India and Pakistan using her curiosity, camera and notebook to illuminate micro-cultural threads that weave the tapestry of her heritage. Full of fascinating exposure to Jewish Indians with unique roots and customs who lived harmoniously among Muslims and Hindus for generations. A stirring exploration into the diverse cultural palette of South Asia.

A book to read slowly to best savor the revelations that unfold with Shepard's entertaining and insightful journey full of detailed ambiance and discerning commentary.

Readers beware, as this book may have a lasting impact on your own desire to understand a little bit more about the influences of your own cultural legacy.

I've kept Thoreau at arm's length over the years. I sensed his brilliance yet secretly accused him of purposely unconnecting from the world. I was recently lead to him while looking for some essays on gardening. The first subject he covers in Walden is ecomomy. Economy rates low on my reading list. I was further warned by the difficulty of his text in general. Still, I was close to discovering his writings. In the beginning pages he takes me on a tour of opinions needing to be voiced in my life. My fear of crankiness is dispelled with freshness on every page.

How does one review a classic? In this day of eco-spirituality, Thoreau is a must-read. This edition is easy to read, but not the best quality paper. I don't expect it to have a long shelf life.
Thoreau is one of the saints of American ecology. His writing takes one to a different time and place, and yet one in which the rape of the landscape was already taking place. I suggest following Walden with Annie Dillard's marvelous Pingrim and Tinker's Creek.
Emerson's essay on Thoreau is a happy bonus.

My first copy of this book was indubitably from some other publisher. So I'm not commenting on this particular volume but the content of the work itself.
I have always loved this book but it wasn't until recent years that I realized what a controversial book this was. Thoreau published this book at his own expense and he sold very few copies. Later on he stored most of his unsold copies in an attic. He once claimed to have the largest collection of book published by Henry David Thoreau than anyone alive - and I'm sure he did.
But why didn't people buy this book? Well, for one thing it was critical of "the neighborhood". For another thing it was critical of "the values of his neighbors". For another thing it was critical of the values of his countrymen; it was critical of Capitalism; it was critical of modern life; it was critical of the "consumer mentality"; it was critical of the work ethic; it was critical of buying things; it was critical of "getting ahead" and "accumulating; it was critical of working for a living; it was critical of achieving; it was a critique on the civilization of the day - and it was not positive.
So why did it make me feel good to read it then and why does it have the same effect on me today?
I don't know but whenever I get lonely to go have a talk with an old friend I go to the book shelf and pick up Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

I wonder if Thoreau wrote the way he did as a way of imparting to his readers how much hard work he put in to living in the woods. If so, he was successful.
This book contains many, many little gems of clever witticism and solid advice, but it's quite difficult to sift through all of the pointless and trivial paragraphs in order to separate Thoreau's genius from his madness. It is almost not worth it. I've lived twenty-two years having not read Walden and I did not live them as a hillbilly. Therefore, I probably would have been perfectly able to function in society without reading this monster.
Again, though, the gems in this book cannot be denied. They are a mirror, in front of which is standing American society.
Some have called Thoreau arrogant. I disagree. Although Americans might not want to see what Walden has to show them, they should not take this disgust out on the messenger. Thoreau did not imagine what he had to say about American society, but rather he observed it. That is not arrogance, it is realism and bravery.
I do, however, truly wish I'd not read this book. Someone should sort out the passages of value and publish them in a small volume that most people might actually be able to get through. American society would be the beneficiaries of valuable knowledge and information without the drag of the rest of Thoreau's book.

Strangely surprising how pertinent many of Thoreau's perceptions, opinions and insights on habits and values are to modern day society and culture. And impressive how vehemently he professes these views in some sections. No sugar coating here. This is raw stuff, presented with language and skill we've lost over the years.

My favorite quote: "One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels"

Thoreau is inspired and inspiring.

It goes in better depth with hands on labs to work with while you learn or fine tune for the test.

The book is very well written and provides almost full coverage of the exams objectives.
The practice tests on the cd are mostly actual exam questions.
I passed the exam with 968 using this book as a primary study source.

This book is worth the price simply for the practice test software. I didn't use the text too much, just when I wanted to look specific items up. I passed this 70-270 exam about an hour ago with a score of 763, and I know I couldn't have done it without this practice software. It contains about 400 questions with explanations. I used this as a companion to an instructor-led training, which really fell short of what you need to pass the exam. I'm a newbie to IT, just recently obtaining by A+ and Network+ as well. So, if I can do it, anyone can...

My advice for exam prep: Take as many practice tests as possible, read and understand the explanations, and practice on your own system=pass

This kit is ideal for anyone wanting answers to their certification questions. Great detail, the only thing that could improve is if they took the exam for you.

Typical of the Microsoft Press books, the XP book covers most of what you need to know to be successful passing the 70-270 certification exam. You can't just read it, but should plan on performing all the exercises and make sure you understand what you are doing. If you want to know everything you'll need, then utilize the references identified in the second section. Windows XP is by no means dead as the corporate demand for Vista just isn't there. Anyone working in IT support should know all about Windows XP. Good Luck