Home Books

I have always been very organized until I had my second son. I am not sure what happened but I lost control of everything in my home. This book is quck and easy to read. The best part is you don't need any hard to find or expensive items to put this system to use. I can't say enough about this book. I even used it to organize my homeschooling lessons.

I initially bought this book 15 years ago and my home was so organized, even with three children. I bought it again recently because we downsized homes and everything was chaos. My home is in order again, and it isn't even difficult! Great plan!

Easy and entertaining read, plus tons of great, practical ideas for getting your home and life, organized!

Loved this book. It's an easy read and I've implemented the organizational strategies immediately for my whole family. It's working so far!

I've read many books on organization (and hope to someday accomplish all I've read!), but this book will always be my favorite. Pam and Peggy have "been there." There's nothing worse than an organization or "decluttering" book that's written by someone who was born organized (or a "B.O." as Pam and Peggy would call them!). You have to have walked a mile (or waded through the clutter) in the shoes of someone who is easily sidetracked, organizationally-challenged, and wasn't born with the organization gene. Pam and Peggy make you feel like you've found a kindred spirit who somehow waded through all their stuff and found a better way! I wish they'd re-release their original kit that included a de-junking video and a few other goodies!

Great book. I will keep this book on my self for future use.

Our children want us to keep the beach house in the family. This terrific book explains how to do it and how to avoid fights and bad feelings among the children after you are gone. We still had a lawyer draw things up, but this was an enormous help to us. We bought copies for each of the children and have recommended it to friends with vacation homes.

Good basic introduction, with good insights into the issues that need to be understood and addressed. Tends to be repetitious, and is strong on advocating LLCs (limited liability companies) as the best way forward. Would have been more useful if additional material had been presented on alternative solutions (trusts, corporations, etc.). Would also have been more helpful to have explained the different elements that should be included in LLCs (the elements are listed in an Appendix) in more detail. Bibliography and notes provide a good basis for more research.

All in all, well worth the investment -- learned a lot. Would give it an extra half star (3.5), had it been possible!

This book is a great resource for familites who want to try to keep a family second home over multiple generations. Wish we had read this before putting our family property in a trust- after reading it, we will probably be changing to an LLC holding entity instead! Heartily recommend this book, we got 2 copies and are passing it around.

My wife and I have been wrestling with how to make sure our cabin can stay in the family. This books discusses all the issues and helps you think about the way you would like to manage your cottage in your estate.

Very Informative!

This is a good little book. It is well worth the read for anybody interested in estate planning. People who have a cottage, a vacation home, a farm, a retreat or some other form of real estate that the family tends to enjoy should read this book if they want to keep that property IN THE FAMILY for generations to come. And attorneys that do estate planning work would do themselves a favor to read this book so they can provide the best legal help possible when providing their services. This book is not a form book, but it provides enough information on the topic that any competent attorney can put together the appropriate Operating Agreement templates in order to carry out what this book explains is possible.

I must say I think the author is to be commended for writing this book. Clearly it is a marketing piece for his law practice. But it is not just that - it provides provides value in a niche that has not been written about before. The book is broken into four parts:

I. Cottages at risk (1-3)
II. Choosing the right path (4-7)
III. Cottage plans in action (8-14)
IV. Creating a cottage legacy (15-16)

And the book is comprised of 16 chapters:

1. Trouble in paradise
2. Avoid the worst: A partition parable
3. Plan for the best: Cottage succession goals
4. How to plan helps save the family cottage
5. No plan? Then 600-year old law controls the cottage
6. Other animals in the property law zoo
7. Short-term solutions
8. Choose the right legal entity for your cottage
9. Welcome to the club
10. When and how to organize the Cottage LLC
11. The cottage safety valve
12. Cottage democracy
13. Scheduling and use
14. Renting the cottage
15. Minimizing the federal tax bite
16. The ultimate gift: A cottage endowment

I found the book a bit repetitive. It was not tightly written. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the problem of partitions had been stated once up front, and then the book could have moved on. Instead I kept hearing about partitions throughout the book.

In estate planning there is much written about how it is nice to put your major assets in a living trust so the courts (probate court) cannot get involved in the estate settlement process. Whenever courts have to get involved in a matter there is such a loss of control by the litigants. In the instant book, the author explains that it is nice to put your cottage, vacation home, or family retreat into a Limited Liability Company (LLC) so family squabbles down the inheritance line typically won't be mediated by the courts. The other nice thing if the Operating Agreement is drafted well is that there probably won't be family squabbles. What the author proposes is really a good idea. When the original owner of the cottage dies, the beneficiaries of the estate will take title to membership interests in an LLC, not ownership interests in real estate. As a result, partition of real estate interests is not an option in a dispute. 4 stars!

I wanted to love this book. And I almost did. I was hooked at the beginning, but the further I read, the more discouraged I became. I could not really like any of the people and I was not impressed at all with "Mommy" or at least the portrayal of her. I think the story was good, but the telling of it was weak, unclear and toward the end, rambling. There were several spots where it could have and in my opinion should have, ended. Indeed, I set it aside for over a week with only 50 pages to go and only finished it when I had nothing else to read.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who also happens to be an English professor. I won't go into the story line as others have done so here already. Suffice it to say that it is a beautifully crafted book about love and the human spirit. Don't miss it!

I read this book when I was in the 11th grade, I simply love it. I actually had to reread the first 4 chapters twice, because I was so confused at first. Tha authors style of writing and they way the book was split leaves you a little confused, but then u realize it is his life and then his mothers. I simply enjoyed this book. It not only discusses what life is like for a black boy, but for a white woman engaged in an interracial relationship and the struggles she faced. We so often hear about the Black struggle...its good to see boths sides for once!

Not only is writing a review something I don't usually do...it"s something I have never done,(as an adult,} I was not ready for the emotional strangelhold "the Color of Water," had on me from page one. I had to keep checking to see if this was truly a real story of a life unparalleled, or a wild imagination. James McBride is so cool.I intend to find his recordings and of cours read the rest of his literery offerings.Since reading "Water", I have purchased several books for friends and they too have shown their critique by humbling me with their thanks. I was in the film business for many years and if I were just twenty years younger, I would find the money to purchase the film rights. To wrap it all up, it was one hell of an experience...one I wish I could have shared with mr.McBride. Len Howad,Las Vegas NV

This book is a wonderful book that tells two different stories of a boy and his mother trying to find themselves. In this story, James McBride struggles to find himself, torn between the racial divide of whites and blacks. The son of a black man and a Jewish Orthodox mother, he finds himself (like his mother) fleeing to the black side of life. His mother's story parallels his own, with her living with her intolerant Rabbi father, crippled mother, and brother and sister living in Suffolk, Virginia. Rachel Shilsky finally has enough of living under her father's cruel gaze, knowing that he does not care for her sick mother. She leaves and meets Andrew McBride who helps her find God and herself. Rachel Shilsky becomes Ruth McBride Jordan. After eight kids with her first husband, Ruth married Hunter Jordan and had four more children, and somehow through the will of God sent them all to college. This book shows how both James and Ruth found God and therefore found themselves. It also shows James McBride finally coming to terms with being bi-racial, and how finally getting to know his mother helps him get to know himself.

Gossamer contains both a delightful story about learning to use one's gifts to ease human suffering and a rich metaphor of the workings of the human psyche. Mysterious creatures of the night, more like angels than faeries, flutter and flicker through the objects of our lives finding fragments from which to form dreams to bestow on us. In this gentle story, a young apprentice dream-giver discovers how to use her gossamer touch to find the right fragments to give healing dreams to an abused and angry eight-year-old boy. Lowry has deftly interwoven the story of the young boy and his elderly foster mother with the story of the young dream-giver and her elderly mentor. While kids will identify with the struggles of the youngsters, grown-ups who work with kids will find inspiration in the work of the dream-givers. "We do such important work," says Thin Elderly. "Sometimes we forget that." Thanks, Ms. Lowry, for a wonderful story that will entertain, enlighten and give new strength to readers of all ages.
Janet Gingold
author of Danger, Long Division

This book pulled me in; I couldn't help but keep turning the pages til I reached the end.

This was an entertaining story. It portrays these creatures that give dreams and their struggles to help people through their dreams and to help them fight off creatures that bring nightmares. It also tells the story of an 8 year old boy abused by his father who also abused her mother and has now gone off to live with an elderly lady. It was a very short book. Very easy to read and pretty interesting. It starts out a little slow for the 1st couple of chapters before you figure out what's going on. Then it's very interesting.

Gossamer was one of the best books that I have ever read! The best part about it was Littlest, the main character in the story. She was entergetic and "happy" from the beginning. Even so, that it also what makes this book not one of my most favorite books. I don't think that the main character changed very much in the book, and she stayed the same. It would be a better book if Littlest changed even a little bit in the book. She was not so dull, but not really that exciting in the book, because of that reason only. If it hadn't been for that reason, I think that Gossamer would be one of my most favorite books of all time.

This is a story by Lois Lowry about three different people living, changing, and their dreams. They experience relationships, hardships, and find ways to understand themselves and do better. In the beginning, they all are facing difficult problems without seeing any solution. In the middle everyone started to help each other and understand the other person's feelings and situation. The power of dreams, through Dream givers and Sinisteeds, start to affect the people. In the end, after much struggle, they all find ways to begin to solve their problems.
Gossamer was a fantastic book for a fifth grade class. This book makes you continue to think a lot, even when you are not reading it. It is well written and lets you understand and feel the emotion of each character. Great descriptions help you visualize the detail. Our discussions were filled with emotions and understanding our own selves. It made you think about your problems and how to solve them more easily. We realized that we get much hope from the power of our dreams and our minds. You cannot put down the book until you are finished. People who are into fantasy, realistic fiction, and basically people in the real world, can have the same feelings. The book that Lois Lowry wrote is heartwarming and everyone will love it.

I love Betty Lou Phillips' books...I have every one...but this one is just okay. Normally she has some of the most clever "out of the box" styling ideas I have ever seen, but that is not what I saw in this book. However, if you want some great design books collect all her others...you won't be disappointed.

This book gave me great ideas for decorating my home. I look through it periodically just to see if I've missed something, and I always pick up something. I recommend it if your into decorating French or Italian style.

Betty Lou Phillips has done it again. This a a lovely book, rich with photographs of the most stunning homes. What I took away was the feeling of light. The windows in most of the rooms were huge, and they gave every room a sense of the outdoors, of light and air and space. Very charming. What added to the impression of relaxation, light and air, was that the colors in the room were so often pale. There were no pieces of furniture that screamed, only soothing colors and comfortable spaces.

I have no idea who invented small, stubby windows, but every tract home in American has plenty of them--and it's too bad.

As an interior designer I have collected, and review often, all of Ms.Phillips' previous books.
For me, INSPIRATIONS FROM FRANCE AND ITALY is the most spectacular of them all.
It is an irresistable voyage through beautiful gardens and interiors.
A feast for the eyes.
The dazzling photographs bring to life interiors and exteriors that are both inspiring and transporting.
I am anxiously awaiting Betty Lou's next fabulous complilation of beauty, style and inspiration.
Taylor Lee
San Francisco CA

This is the best book yet in a very interesting series. The illustrations, easy to understand and helpful captions and the historically interesting and practical text combine to make this a welcome guide and reference. Best of all, it describes the kind of home and furnishings most men should love. It is not foo-foo French. It is fun French, with a little Italian flavor thrown in for excitement. Every man should buy this book for his wife or equivalent in the hopes that some day he might enjoy living in such an enjoyable setting.

This book is really great! Very enlightening. Only sorry I didn't purchase it a lot earlier!

Although most of the homes in this book take "simple," "cozy" and "energy efficient" to the extreme, I find it inspiring in terms of what's possible. I wish the photos (most are clumped together in the middle of the book) were printed alongside the story of the home they represent. It's confusing and frustrating trying to match the pictures with the correct home.

But I appreciate the imagination of the people featured in the book. If you have an interest in real-life examples of energy efficient living, this one's worth the purchase price.

I thought the book would be more contemporary. (supposedly published in 2006) The quality of the photographs throughout look like the 70's. If these pictures aren't thirty years old, then everyone included in this book is living is some kind of time warp. It's certainly more of an alternative lifestyle book, than in interesting architecture book. Think Mother Earth News not Dwell. Think people raising ducks and building aluminum can structures, not Tumbleweed homes with modern lifestyles in tiny spaces. Low quality, uninspired black and white photography. Eight pages of color photos in the center of the book, equally uninspired. It does include a lot of text to give you food for thought about what do we really need in a structure. Might be okay for some, but I was highly disappointed.

This book is totally well prepared. And if a person is looking to modify their life to lessen the effects of the "rat race", this book will suggest excellent options that will save a person YEARS of labor and savings and costs, which can then be devoted to ???? making a better life all around !
HikerBOB

I am a developer in Dubai and want to address the problem of the middle class that can't afford to even rent a house. I bouhgt this (and other) books to help me in undersdtanding how to go about it. Unfortunately this book is totally useless for what I need with no floor plans, and no description on how and what I can do to help. Tee discussion on reducing the space is fine but not suitable for me.

This calendar/planner is marketed as being for families, and I can definitely see how that would work great--assigning one column of the planner to each family member to track everyone's activities. However, as a busy individual trying to juggle work, school, family, and personal actvities, I found this to be the ideal planner for me, as well. I could assign one column to each area of my life and see at a glance exactly what I had to do in all areas. The to-do list page, facing every weekly planning page, is also an excellent tool, as are the perforated to-do lists in the back of the planner--great for jotting down a quick grocery list at work and then tearing out to go to the supermarket on my way home.

I'll definitely be getting another of these next year.

Great planner for my family of five! Each day is broken down in 5 columns which I use for each member of the family. To the left here is a week overview. Good buy.

These CDs are great. They help us learn the correct pronunciation of names of historic people and places. This curriculum makes history fun and interesting and memorable, especially if you use the accompanying workbooks as well. The whole family can learn world history as well as quite a bit of world geography. And the geography sticks in the brain longer than rote memorized geography because the world history stories help you connect meaning to the maps. They go along with the best World History curriculum available.

I felt this book was redundant. I had read the other numbers book and this one seemed more of the same. I was looking for something different. I wouldn't purchase this book if you Angel Numbers.

This is a great book. I really love all of Doreen Virtue books, and this one is no different. It reminds you know that your Angels are watching over you and keeping you safe.

Some fun reading and can be easily used as a "party game." In a group setting everyone was selecting numbers at random and associating numbers with key dates, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

I prefer the original Angel Numbers written by Doreen and Lynnette. I guess I am old fashion and this 101 is more for the younger generation. thanks - MG

Fantastic .
I keep getting the same numbers in my life, most days , This helps me adjust my life by reading what the numbers are telling me.
Free advice from your Angels .
So what are the Angels telling you? Find out!
John