Home Books

I am not the most creative person when it comes to packed lunches, but this book makes it easy! Many ingredients are easily found, and likely to be in your fridge or pantry already. Many you can make with leftover foods such as cooked chicken, or the 2 tablespoons of corn left over from dinner. Most are items my daughter will readily eat without complaint. For health reasons, we decided to stop eating cafeteria food and started packing our own. I ran out of ideas rather quickly and knew we had to break away from PB&J, so I ordered this book. What's great it that it's "adult friendly" too. No smiley face sandwiches or mac and cheese here...just healthy food made easy. Our kiddo is now the envy of the lunch room!

Lunch Boxes and Snacks: Over 120 healthy recipes from delicious sandwiches and salads to hot soups and sweet treats

I ordered this book after seeing what fellow parents are sending to school with their kids. After looking through it, I think it will provide my soon to be kindergarten son healthier alternatives than other kids, but I only have one issue.

Almost all the sandwich recipes have mayonnaise in them. Not only is this not a healthier spread, but we cannot have mayonnaise in the house due to a severe allergy to it. I gave the book three stars for a fattier spread than other ones and not having healthier alternatives for the spreads.

This book is filled with lunches suitable for adults. Some are too intricate for children.

Lunch Boxes and Snacks: Over 120 healthy recipes from delicious sandwhiches and salads to hot soups and sweet treats is a great guide for the end of boredom at school and at work. Everything here is packable, nutritious and wonderfully good-tasting.

The book includes information on how to keep food safe after it leaves your refrigerator and how to involve kids in the selection and process.

But, be advised that it is great for adults also. We get bored with everyday same-old same-old, too!

I purchased this book on a whim while food-shopping at a mega-market. I flipped through it over coffee and went right back to the aisles for some immediate meal transformations.

I don't regret purchasing it!

This is a terrific resource and one that I have been using all year in my classroom. We have begun using this book as a book study for a Professional Learning Community at our school for those teaching K-3. My Grade One class has never loved writing more and their enthusiasm for writing has been tremendous.

This book will definitely aid in developing your 6 + 1 writing classroom. It is filled with classroom ideas and great picture books to use to enhance each lesson.

This is a fantastic tool for lower elementary teachers. This is how writing should be assessed. This book is a practical tool. It includes practice assessments and lots of student example papers to help you better understand each trait and how to evaluate it. It also includes many wonderful teaching ideas and picture book examples!

I agree with the positive reviews. The concepts and lessons are great. However, this book must be "all the rage" because when I went online to purchase the trade book from the first lesson plan, I could not find it for less than $50! Of course, you can substitute in your own book selections, but if you want to rely on the lessons as written you MAY not be able to find every book. [...]

We asked. We pleaded. We begged, "Pretty pleeease." Ruth Culham responded to our request with great enthusiasm with 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades. And teachers across the globe cheered, "Wahoo!" Finally, a resource book for primary educators who have been searching for child tested ideas that tackle instructional strategies and assessment techniques in one comprehensive book. Thank you, Ruth, for doing a wonderful job of explaining each trait, equipping us with developmentally appropriate focus lessons, and reminding us that teaching writing to young authors is a process in which they need plenty of practice and opportunities, and an extra helping of patience on our part doesn't hurt. This must have book for all teachers - novice and experienced alike - won't be another resource that is shelved after a quick glance. It will be close at hand as it is used throughout the year to help develop the talents of young writers.

The Road Home, which was released yesterday, August 26, has already been awarded the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. Sometimes I read a book that has won a prestigious award and I come away wondering why it won, or I may understand why, but award or no, I just didn't like the book. Not so with The Road Home. It is completely deserving of the Orange Prize and I loved every page of it.

Rose Tremain has given us a poignant, perfectly crafted novel. It is beautifully written. The plot ambles along at a relaxed and steady pace, but never once did I lose interest. I attribute this to two things. First, the compelling characters and Tremain's ability to draw the reader in, to make us emotionally invested in what happens to these rather ordinary people.

Lev ... I really liked this guy. And by the book's end, I knew him so well. Lev's journey to London and the life he lived there made the immigrant experience so real. The competing cacophony of emotions: he was hopeful, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, sad, at one point blissfully in love. He felt he was betraying those he left behind just by being in London, even though he was there to make life better for them; if he enjoyed life in his temporary city, he felt guilty. I felt Lev's frustration with the language barrier. Reading about how he was treated as somehow inferior just because he dressed differently, had different mannerisms, struggled to understand and make himself understood made my heart break with sympathy.

There were other characters who I grew to care about, and surprisingly most were men. I sometimes find it difficult to warm to adult male characters. But in this case, I quickly came to adore Rudi, Lev's brash and reckless, yet big-hearted old friend and Christy Slane, Lev's sweet, easygoing, down on his luck London flatmate.

The second thing that stands out about this novel are the descriptions of the two central places: London and the unnamed Eastern European country Lev comes from. The richly textured images Tremain so masterfully creates stand alone, but are especially meaningful when viewed in contrast. Lev's home country, struggling to feel hopeful after the fall of communism seemed bleak, faded, gray, sadly downtrodden. London, a frenzied melting pot, at times glamorous and sophisticated, at others gritty and ordinary, but always colorful and alive.

The characters and images in this highly readable, exquisitely written book will remain with me long after I turned the last page.

Lev is a 42 year old from an unnamed Eastern European country. After his beloved wife dies and he loses his job because the local lumberyard closed, he falls into a depression and he and his daughter become dependent on his mother for support. He finally decides that he must immigrate to London to earn enough money to improve their lives. When he gets to London, he finds that it isn't as easy as he imagined. He manages to get a job in popular restaurant, all the while struggling with a new culture and never quite fitting in. He works hard and sends money home and keeps in touch with Rudi, his dear friend at home. When Lev finds out that a dam will be built, displacing his hometown, he comes up with a plan to take care of his family and friends.

Rose Tremain's narrative is captivating and her character development is outstanding. I really cared about Lev and wanted him to succeed, even though he is a flawed character. The only complaint (and it's a small one) I have about this book is that the ending was a little too predictable. This is a great read - it won the 2008 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.

Lev is fairly typical of the kind of migrant who is flooding into England from Eastern Europe and who is determined to work hard so as to be able to send money home to his starving family. He is a widower with a young daughter and an elderly mother to support and the spectre of his wife's death from leukemia ever present over his shoulder. He has only a few words of English and no connections in London and so it's fortunate for him that he strikes up a friendship with the woman who is sitting next to him on the long bus ride from Europe to London. With her help, he gets a job as a dishwasher in an up market restuarant where he begins to notice and absorb information about the preparation and serving of food. He becomes romantically involved with Sophie, one of the sous chefs, while increasing his language and cooking skills. His aim is to be able to save enough money to return home to open a restuarant of his own and to show his townspeople how to appreciate good food after starving for years under the communist regime. It's a strange, almost wistful story with the ever present threat of toxic contamination endangering the health and lives of those who lived near the sources of contamination, where even the fish glowed blue in torchlight!

"The Road Home" is one of those books that succeeds in making you look at the world around you with new eyes. It's the story of Lev, a widower who immigrates from an unspecified country in Eastern Europe to the UK in the belief that it will be easy to find well-paying work there and thereby support his mother and daughter back home. Instead he finds that London is both considerably more expensive and less welcoming than he anticipates. Eventually he does find work and start to build some friendships, but it's far from an easy journey for him.

Rose Tremain makes us care about Lev and acutely communicates his loneliness and isolation. Occasionally he does things that we don't like, but he still maintains our sympathy and interest throughout the book. In fact, all of the characters are perfectly realized and feel incredibly real. The first two thirds of "The Road Home" are beautifully written: this is one of those books that you carry around with you so that you can read a bit more whenever you get a chance. It made me think about (and care about) the experiences of immigrants in a new way.

My one criticism of the book is the ending, which worked on one level but felt too contrived and too neat on another. It was also telegraphed well in advance, so that when it did eventually wrap up it felt almost like an anti-climax rather than a culmination of all that had gone before. I loved this book very much, but the final third did not grab me as much as what had gone before. Nevertheless, one of my favorite books this year.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through this book. As a moderately experienced SQL Server developer, I find the book useful as an exam prep beause it briefly reviews and previews the information, although it relies on the reader already being somewhat familiar with the subject.

For example, the text explanations and code snippets are good, but there are very few screenshots or other figures.

Don't get this book if you don't already have some experience with SQL Server.

Do get this book as a review or summary of what you'll presumably need to know for the exam.

Conrad

I bought this book because I had the opportunity to take a training course by one of the co-authors, Mike Hotek. Mike is an awesome teacher as well as writer. This book had very clear practical examples ranging from how to create a table to replication and database mirroring. I found that if you want to learn the just-above-the-basics of SQL 2005, this book is for you. Even if you don't know anything about SQL 2005, this book will give you an insight on how to get started.

The chapters are organized quite well, starting with how to install SQL 2005 and moving on to creating basic objects.

I would recommend this book for several reasons:
1) A great reference on basic SQL syntax as well as the main functions of SQL 2005
2) A great learning tool for the exam.
3) Easy to read and understand.

Great job on this one. I have already purchased the 443 and 444 books and am eager to read into those as well.

Good book to have and I like the packaging.

No regrets for this business

I had to use this book for a class. It has many mistakes and the quizzes at the end of the chapters ask questions that weren't even covered. Everyone in my class including the instructor agreed that this was not a good book. It either barely discusses or doesn't even cover things that the quizzes ask you about. I am going to find another book to study from before I even think about taking the test. The labs were terrible also, some of them couldn't even be completed as set up by the book. I wouldn't even waste my money on this.

Many examples in this book can not be compleated with the "Evaluation Software" the is included with the book. Chapters 14, and 15 both reference features not included in this version of the software.

The book has been reading very nicely and I believe that I have learned a lot from it but I have become very frustrated with the way the not all the examples/practice areas can be accessed with the limitations of the included software

As a general practitioner, not a specialist in asset planning but nevertheless having to advise clients with business concerns and real estate interests, this book is the best on the subject that I've come across. It's actually more informative and logical than bar association materials I've referenced in the past.

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.

Excellent text. Covers the classical gods and heros, primarily of the Greeks, with a appreciable amount of depth and scope. The text also includes a rather large quantity of primary source information, great for a more complete view of the myth. A little pricey for what is essentially a paperback book due to several sections of colored pictures. On the upside, they are nice pictures.

I have taught mythology at the university level at various insitutions for the more than a decade now. Indeed, when I first began was when the first edition of Powell came out. At that time it was quite useful as his prose is modestly engaging, and the large swathes of original material and the occasional illustrations he includes is quite useful.

However, as he has progressed through four editions and doubled his price (!), he has become less useful. To his credit, the online materials are good for the novice, and, as I previously mentioned, there is a fair amount of translated primary text. However, his deficits now outweigh his benefits. When Powell summarizes plots of texts in the middle of a longer excerpt, often his interpretation of events occludes what actually happens. As he has progressed through various editions, his own ideas are now more confident in his eyes and some of his more controvertial claims which in the first edition were presented as "some scholars believe [historical situation] may have contributed to [textual effect]" are now presented as "[historical situation] caused [textual effect]." As another reader notes, some of his historical contextualizations are either suspect or absent. Lastly, the cost is prohibitive.

Now that I have learned a fifth edition is soon to be out and my students will no longer be able to purchase used copies, I have declined to order his book for this fall and don't foresee returning to him in the future.

I can only say, not being a classicist, but one who did study under the esteemed Prof. Edward O'Neil of Univ. of Southern California, that I find it curious that this author does not deal much with the theories of migrations (Achaeans, Dorians later) into Greece that explain origins and approximate dates of certain myths. For example the inclusion of chthonic deities/mother earth deities being early myths of Minoan influences, the patriarchal - sky-god myths relating to Achaeans and their influence by migration on the Greek mainland. I find H.J. Rose better at this for sure, as is O'Neil's work on Library of Apollodorus. Man, Myth and Monument,is also an excellent guide for anyone who wants to follow this fascinating aspect of myth.

Powell has done it again in his fourth edition. Though there are minor changes whcih he made in the newest edition, this book offers great details about ancient gods and heroes - putting the reader's mind into the ancient mythical land. The books also has actual passages from various ancient writers and also included more background stories to help the readers understand the story in a better perspective. His writing is simple and honest. Its worth your money if you are an avid mythology reader.

While this book is a good place to start, Powell leaves the impression that myth was developed in an orderly and defined manner. Often, the versions alluded to and used are entirely mainstream and completely neglect other, sometimes more interesting versions. Would certainly like to see more emphasis placed on naming sources in the footnotes to facilitate further research by students. Certainly a good textbook to begin introducing myth with, but to provide an adequate, college level course requires supplementation with many other texts and lengthy discussions on how the text is just one author's interpretation.

It's nice to have the combination of someone so well researched who is simultaneously an excellent practitioner. Lots of great ideas about transplanting (I hadn't heard of soil blocks before). Many great tool recommendations as well. This is worth the time and money!

This is absolutely the best, straightforward, down to earth, organic gardening book I have ever read. No hype, no buzzwords, no new age crap, no agenda. Simply down to earth - literally.

This book is awesome. Eliot presents an abundance of information. The information is organized and clear. Eliot does not assume what we already know, and what we have at our disposal. For example, many books will tell you how to create a mulch pile. You need this much brown matter, this much green matter, ... . That is all fine and dandy, but where do I magically get all of this material! Eliot understands this and explains many ways we can obtain the mulch material. He also does not assume your knowledge basis. For example, he will explain what and how a lugume works. This book is a constant resource for the organic gardener.

A great book!

Got me hiped up for my next several years here in Missouri. Practical, simplified systems for both the new and novice organic gardener. Definitely a fun read. Bring your highlighter. Thank you to the author, and all of the great shoulders that he stood on to get to this point...

Mr. Coleman has packed so much information into this wonderful book! I have started to use many of his suggestions. Keeping the costs of growing food down was one of the first subjects that caught my attention.

My 16 yr. old son has had me buy the annual edition of this book for the past 5 years. He loves facts and figures and literally dives into this book as soon as it arrives. It seems to have every bit of information in it that any NFL enthusiast could ever want.

The NFL Record and Fact Book is a must purchase every year. Anyone interested in the history of football will be pleased with the historical information that is included as well as the present schedules of each of the teams. I pick it up throughout the football season.

This book has the answer to any football question you would ever ask. It contains NFL records, Pro Football Hall of Fame information, Team information, Draft information and more. I bought the book last year and kept it right by my chair where I watch football for the whole season because I would thumb through it every Sunday. I have been waiting for this book to come out. Be sure to get it before the season starts.

This book provides a different look at football with stats and is very interesting reading and informative.

While the NBA and MLB have stopped publishing guides and record books,the nfl still publishes a great record and factbook.This book is loaded with lots of great info and history,and even scheduling formulas and rules.A must have for any die hard nfl fans.

I'm probably the last person in the world to read this charming book. My interest was stirred by the Russell Crowe film A GOOD YEAR which has been running on the premium channels for the last two months.

The movie is heartwarming, witty, and full of sweet charm. Naturally I had to seek out the author of the book from which the movie was adapted. In doing so, I bought all of the other books written by Peter Mayle an ex-patriot Englishman living the life we all want to live in Provence.

Thus I began the first of his books A YEAR IN PROVENCE, his twelve-month epistle of establishing a new home in the Provençale region of France.

The articulate Mr. Mayle, a refugee from the advertising business, is of course articulate. More importantly though, he has a fondness for his subject matter and a humorous delivery that will at times make you smile and at other times make you roar with laughter.

The book is part travelogue and part love letter to Provence that will make you wish with every fiber of your being that you could find a similar Provençal farm house with land growing grape vines and fruit trees and shuck this rat race for the tranquil life described by Mr. Mayle.

If you haven't read this book, get a copy from your favorite online or local bookstore. I must warn you about one thing though. Don't do as I did initially and read a chapter at bedtime. The descriptions of the food consumed by the Mayles and their French neighbors and friends will make your mouth water. You'll find yourself in the kitchen uncorking a bottle of pinot noir and rooting through the fridge for a block of cheese.

I had not heard of this book until I was traveling last week, and a fellow traveler asked me in the Borders at the airport if I knew who had written "A Year in Provence". I did not know, but something in the title peaked my interest, so I googled it on my phone, found the author and read the excerpt on the publisher's site. I fell in love with the descriptions of Le Simiane's cuisine, and had to buy it (which I did as soon as I could find a local Borders).

I read it in 2 days - absolutely could not put it down, and I am certain there are some on the Metro in DC who felt as though I had lost my mind when I would suddenly burst into laughter at some highly entertaining little tidbit or description in the book.

Mayle has a dry wit (that British sangfroid perhaps?), that comes across clearly in his writing. I love his descriptions of how they (he and his wife) finally began to understand the "hand language" common in Provence and how "normalement" means anything from days to weeks! By the end of the book, I was already looking forward to starting "Toujours Provence".

Even though it is a travel diary of sorts, the book is absolutely a must read for anyone interested in the way the French peasants live...and of course the ultimate disdain they have for Les Parisiens (and all others as you will see through Massot's discussion of Germans, Swiss and Spanish campers).

Overall, this is an absolute delight - hats off to Mayle!!

A Year in Provence begins with New Year's lunch and ends with Christmas lunch. Between the two meals is a memorable year full of characters (from eccentric neighbors and affable builders to aged chefs), forays into the countryside, unwelcome visitors, the Mistral, and, of course, gastronomic delights.

Without explanation, such as how they can afford it, Peter Mayle describes how he and his nameless wife buy an old farmhouse in the Lubéron, insulated from the greater world and from change by the public lands that surround them. With dry English detachment, Mayle settles into a life ruled not by the minutes of commerce ("time is money") but by the seasons and the opportunities each brings, whether it's goat races, boules, or fresh olive oil. Although puzzled at first by what the people do when the bitter winter Mistral blows, Mayle soon figures out that even this depressing and confining season has its products--babies.

To their credit, the Mayles seem willing to accept and adapt to the Provence pace of life rather than expecting to find the urban English experience to which they are accustomed. They accept that the builders will return tomorrow "normalement" and don't fuss when "tomorrow" is weeks later. Rather than becoming demanding and ugly, which would achieve nothing, they come up with a plan that motivates the builders to complete the house by Christmas. They choose to live in Provence on its terms, not theirs.

Mayle expertly portrays the foibles of each person he meets. As a farmer, his neighbor Faustin is ever the pessimist, seeing future clouds on sunny days. "As if his life were not already filled with grief, Nature had put a further difficulty in his way" (that is, the table and wine grapes have to be picked at separate times, giving both crops the opportunity to go bad).

Another neighbor, Massot, could be the stereotype of the American mountain man, mistrustful and fiercely independent. Of his fierce Alsatians he says, "They wouldn't be happy in a town. I'd have to shoot them." Mayle adds, "He turned off the path to go into the forest and terrorize some birds, a brutal, greedy, and mendacious old scoundrel. I was becoming quite fond of him." Mayle doesn't pass up an opportunity for irony. Massot says, "Every summer they [Germans] come here and put up tents and make merde all over the forest" as he tosses an empty cigarette packet into the bushes. Later Mayle talks about, "The Belgians . . . to blame for the majority of accidents . . . forcing the famously prudent French driver into ditches."

The author does not spare himself. Hearing shots and hoping that the local grocer had missed killing a sanglier, Mayle says of the French countryman, "Let him worship his stomach; I would maintain a civilized detachment from the blood lust that surrounded me . . . This noble smugness lasted until dinner [a wild rabbit] . . . The gravy, thickened with blood, was wonderful."

When Mayle isn't chatting with the neighbors, being advised by the local plumber-musician, despairing over how to move his heavy stone table, entertaining friends of friends and obnoxious advertising executives, or watching goat races, he is, of course, eating. He and his wife find culinary wonders in the "good, simple food" served inexpensively in the restaurants they visit. ". . . artichoke hearts, tiny sardines fried in batter, perfumed tabouleh, creamed salt cod, marinated mushrooms, baby calamari, tapenade, small onions in fresh tomato sauce, celery and chick peas, radishes and cherry tomatoes, cold mussels"--and those are just the hors d'oeuvres, served with "thick slices of pâté and gherkins, saucers of olives and cold peppers."

When it comes to food, Mayle's favorite adjective is "fresh," which captures difference between life as most of us know it and the charm of Mayle's life in the Lubéron. Pressed for the time by the pressures of suburban living, commuting, work in the city, and our consumerist culture, and detached from the land, we eat food that is packaged, preserved, and transported, and then sold to us at a time and distance from when and where it was produced. Most of us live and eat well, we believe, but at the price of stress and at the cost of the pure enjoyment Mayle finds every time he dines in Provence, where bread is launched "into a sea of fish soup" and "it was as if the sliced, wrapped, machine-made loaf had never been invented."

I began A Year in Provence out of curiosity about its popularity and soon found myself living vicariously through Mayle, savoring not only the food and the beauty and rhythms of the countryside that produces it, but the companionship and consideration of each person they meet. As Maurice, the chef who finds a way to provide the powerless, desperate, and grateful Mayles with their Christmas meal "at a tiny table between the kitchen door and the open fire, next to a large and festive family," says, "It's not the day to be without an oven." A Year in Provence shows how richly rewarding even a simple life can be when accepted on its own terms, without ego, assumptions, or demands.

This book was a wonderful journey for me. I have traveled in the South of France and remember how beautiful the region is, yet how different its people are from a cultural standpoint. This is a fantastic read for anyone who wants to learn more about French culture, especially Provencal culture. For an interesting look at Parisian culture, I recommend "A Year in the Merde" by Paul West.

This is a very well written book. I like the sense of humor of he author. If you like food, you'll like this book. Food seems to be a major theme. It has very good descriptions of the area and the people. I felt like I was living there and getting to know their neighbors along with them.
I also enjoyed "A Good Year". More quirky humor and a great date film.

I never really time myself when I cook but this book is great. You don't have to follow it word for word. The recipes are delicious and precise. I am now cooking roasted chicken breast and pan seared salmon for dinner... can't wait to try more. Great time saving methods.

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!

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.