Home Books

This book is clearly affiliated to Alexander's "A pattern language".
What is positive is the focalisation on house building : easier to keep in mind 10 patterns compared to 253 (some of these not so useful in this case, as concerning region, city or neighbourhood).
For each pattern, a general explanation of the concept is followed by a description of 2/3 houses particularly embodying it.
Beautiful pictures, intesresting and informative comentaries, clear layout.
What is lacking is the explanation of generally why some patterns are preferred to others in any given case ; and particularly why some have been overlooked in the various exemples and how this could have been amended.

J.B. Epinal, France

I first got this book when checking out a bunch of books on home design from the library. This one really spoke to me and stood out from the crowd. I ended up buying one copy for friends who are building a house and one for me... because SOMEDAY I am going to build my house... and just has good ways to think about what I want to do with the house I'm in and what I'd look for both as existing features and potential features of a new home. Concrete ways to think about how to create a home that feels like home.

There may be a few good principles here but they were lost on me, amidst the overwhelming ostentatiousness of the houses. Do they think the only people who read design books are multi-millionaires? The houses lacked the very thing they were going for - a sense of home-iness.

The architect authors have matured since they wrote "A Pattern Language" (APL), and have made a large effort to extract and apply just the essential rules from the hundred of rules of APL.

True, PoH is a large, posh book of large, posh homes. The cost of the homes are far outside the means of over 99 percent of American families. However, these large designs include truly practical concepts that can be translated into more realistic homes.

Each design is far more useful and welcoming that what you might find in a bool of hundreds of houseplans. We are going to build an energy efficient home under 2000 sq ft, and we will refer to PoH to stay on track with the few essential elements. No, it will not have 30 foot ceilings over a huge common room (just you try and paint it!), but it will show the roofline and include other elements.

I loved the original, but this one is lame. One star for pretty pictures. In a nutshell, here are the 10 patterns in this book.
1. Be rich.
2. Own a very large piece of beautiful property.
3. Preferably in an environmentally sensitive area like a wetland.
4. Or own a house in a historical neighborhood.
5. Be very rich.
6. Build a small house, say 4000-5000 square feet.
7. Make sure your house is perfectly new and perfectly clean, but with mature landscaping.
8. Use tons and tons of wood to build your house.
9. Own several invisible cars.
10. Be one of the .001% of the people who can afford these insane homes.
Good luck.

I've been a "Taste of Home" devotee for awhile now, because I love their down-home, user submitted, easy and practical recipes and cooking tips. I got this book on a whim from Wal*Mart, even though the "30 Minute Meals" cookbook isn't really my "thing." I don't need a cookbook filled with 242 different ways to prepare "Cream of" soup. But I put my faith in the ToH folks and gave it a shot.

This book contains a wide variety of interesting, easy to prepare, inexpensive meals, while still maintaining that home-cooked feel that, I think ToH is famous for. I'm glad there is finally a book out there that shows one can be an at-home chef using mostly scratch ingredients, without investing hours to get food on the table. While there are recipes that do call for insta-items (a few with canned soups, processed cheese, or pie crusts), by and large this is a collection of how to assemble a variety of ingredients (most of which you probably have in the house already) into a great meal, with a modicum of effort and without huge expense. In the short time I've had it, this book has become something of a Bible, allowing me to prepare meals for my household despite working an evening shift (and thus trying to pack a whole day in the daylight hours before going to work).

The recipe offerings are diverse, and the sections are simple and straightforward, making assembling a menu a breeze. The first section is an "entrée a day" style layout, with an entrée recipe designed for 5 days worth of dinners over a 12-week period. The idea is you either choose an entrée from that section, or follow the menu as given, then jump to the extensive "Soups and Sandwiches" or "Salads and Sides" section to pick your sides, and viola. However, this book also contains the obligatory "Desserts" section, as well as a surprisingly large "Breakfast" section. You can really plan your menu from breakfast to dinner using this book. Most of these recipes (except for the "Desserts" section, only because many require freezing) are marked that they can be prepared in 10, 20, or 30 minutes, and for the first time in a cookbook of this nature, I really think the time estimations are really representative of what the average cook could do in a reasonable amount of time. And while this is by no means a "healthy eating" cookbook, the recipes included are I think very reasonable for the average diet, not being excessively salty, fatty, or otherwise including nutritionally disastrous suggestions.

Some of these recipes, I'm sure, people have seen before in ToH's magazines or calendars. Just a random sampling of recipes while flipping through the book... Creamed turkey over potatoes, chicken Wellington, crispy crouton salad, lemon strawberry tarts, cookie pizza a la mode, Tex Mex turkey burgers, snap peas and ham alfredo, French toast supreme, roast beef BLT, chicken stuffed tomatoes, turkey wild rice salad, cheesy wild rice soup, Swiss turkey tenderloin strips... How yummy!!!

For the price, this book is a great investment, ideal for working families, or people who want to cook something good without investing hours at the endeavor. Give it a shot... I know you'll love it!

The only reason I give this book 4 instead of 5 stars is because I've never been a fan of the cookbooks that are bound as this one is. With conventional paperback binding, I find that books like this flop closed easily, or when creased, lead the pages to fall out. I also wish there were more entrees in the book. While there are quite a number, there seems like dispurportionally few compared to the number of breakfasts, salads, and desserts there are.

I love this book! I have been taking it with me everywhere. It's beautiful, written in a very personable style, and contains tons of information and insight about a pragmatic approach to gardening - using native plants, most of which are happy in the shade (which I happen to have a lot of, and don't want to change!). If you're tired of "fighting city hall" in the shady spots in your yard, this is a great source of inspiration and fresh perspective.

Cullina knows whereof he writes. This is a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in using ferns, mosses or grasses in his landscaping. You are not going to find advice like this at your local nursery, much less a big box retailer.

When it comes to native vegetation, Cullina,s books are the bible for me. This is no exception. He's taken on ferns, grasses and mosses all of which are hard to differentiate and different in the way they propogate. He,s done a masterful job in helping me identify them, know where to plant them and how to propogate them.

William Cullina provides the opportunity to see the natural beauty around us and realize its potential. Excellent resource and spectacular photographs.

A must have for the gardener who wants to propagate their own ferns. Plus much, much more.

Our culture raises us to fear birth, to dread birth. As a fellow birth doula and childbirth educator, I love having resources such as this book, which offers women a different way of seeing birth. Empowering birthing women, mothers, empowers society and us all. Brava!

Giuditta has provided us with a wonderful gift by writing 'Painless Childbirth: An Empowering Journey Through Pregnancy and Birth'.

Simultaneously practical and spiritual, she guides us to access our inner wisdom and own our pregnancy and birth journeys. I love her exercises, stories and the lists of questions she provides so that women can communicate with professionals from a place of informed co-creation.

Giuditta is acutely aware of the importance of our feelings and memories and how we can work with them to move forward into greater awareness, connection with our bodies and harmony with our babies....so that painless childbirth can be our reality too.

She shares beautifully, month by month, what is going on with your baby and how you can consciously support yourself and this unique new being growing inside you now.

Giuditta's insight and perspective as shared in this book is an excellent resource and support for mum, dad and baby. Painless childbirth is your birth right!

Deirdre Morris
[...]

(Note: This review was written by my wife Laura...)

Written by a doula, this book uses the chakra system as its basis for healing through the next nine months and beyond. She noticed that each month of pregnancy corresponds with a chakra as the embryo/fetus learns the vital lessons that the corresponding chakra invites.

For example, the first month is associated with the first (root) chakra in which the embryo learns if it feels wanted and safe in its physical environment. This phenomenal book guides you through each month/chakra so that you can heal and grow right along with your baby. Most of us have residual pain and baggage from our own time spent in utero, so by using her guided techniques and visualizations you have the opportunity to heal each relevant chakra.

By learning about and healing each chakra, we open ourselves to the possibility of creating an ecstatic, painless birthing experience. This is the goal of the book, but there are, of course, many other long-term benefits to healing and opening ourselves up to divine energy.

PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH: AN EMPOWERING JOURNEY THROUGH PREGNANCY AND BIRTH is a pick family libraries will want: it explores the relationship between the nine months of fetal development in the womb and nine basic human rights, advising mothers to participate in both creation and their own rights to a painless childbirth on their own terms. From hospital births and birthing center differences to obtaining peace from pain, PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH blends case history examples with advice and tips.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

With my previous pregnancies I have ordered and read quite some books on natural childbirth and methods to deal with pain; and some stories about painless, even extatic births! This book is a unique guide on how to prepare oneself for a painless and pleasurable birth. It offers a lot of information, advice and true stories, but the big part of the job is to be done by the user. There is really a lot a mother can do if she wants to. And several months seem enoughf time to do it. I have recomended the book to all my pregnant coworkers, frinds and the mothers attending classes with me. Some of them are truelly ecxited; other wonder where to start from; but all of them grasp the consept that birth is not a punishment and hence does not need to be painfull. For some of us the idea that it can be pleasurable seems as natural as love itsels, for others it requires a lot of time and effort, somethimes with the help of proffesionals as therapists, natural healers and dulas. There is one quote from this book I would like to share: According to statistics, about 1 % of womem do not experience any pain during childbirth. With 4 milion birthing women per year in the US it means that 40,000 mothers do not experince pain! If 40,000 women can do, I can do it as well; anyone can do it!!!

Alot of information packed into this one. Very practical, detailed, useful information. Recommend for anyone buying land or a lot, and building a custom home. Read this before you do...

I am always a fan of anything that puts the complexities of the world back into your hands. That Rocket Science for Dummies was totally awesome! LOL!

This is one of many that better be on your shelf as a beginnig research tool, if you are planning on building a home. It tends to be repetitious about needing massive amounts of money though. It is not that creative about any of processes. It is very straight to the point.

I do own it and it is a great reference that I had to MAKE myself read.

Very complete and logical in total scope of the custom home building process. Eye opener to a number of potential pitfalls in the custom home building process. wrgBuilding Your Own Home For Dummies

I had never purchased a book from this series because I knew I wasn't a dummy and figured them to have little useful advice. But I decided to take a chance on this one since I know nothing about building a home. Big mistake.

This book is a waste of money for anyone who is seriously thinking about hiring a contractor to build a home. There is no useful advice, but rather obvious suggestions such as "you will pay a higher rate on a loan if you don't have a high down payment" etc. - information that any 12-year old could find by searching the web. Save you money and instead purchase one of the many other books written on this subject by architects, contractors, etc.. Trust me, a book like this which is written for a "dummy" isn't one that will be useful to anyone with half a brain.

It was so bad I'm doing something I've never done before - I'm returning it.

This book has exhaustive information about building a home employing a general constructor and sub-contractors. It's more useful as a reference. I say that because of the way it's organized. It's not a sequential read, and has no logical beginning or ending. I bought this book hoping to understand each step that goes into building a home. However, this book is NOT about that. It's more about effectively dealing with things that come along in each step.

This is a great pattern leaflet by Leisure Arts and Amy Gaines. The patterns, are fun, creative, and easy to make. I have so far made two of the patterns, and found the directions to be very clear and easy to follow, no errors, and consistent results. Large full color photographs, and templates included for all felt pieces.

My only "complaint" is that there are only 8 patterns. And two of them are so similar (the two bears--one is about an inch larger with a different outfit) that it almost difficult to count them as two separate distinct patterns. It is a bit difficult to justify the regular price when you can buy Ana Paula Rimoli's "Amigurumi World" book for just about $2-3 more (Amazon price) and receive about 3 times the amount of patterns.

However, I purchased this leaflet for 40% off with a coupon at Michaels, and this leaflet has been well worth the discounted price. I hope that Amy Gaines (who sells patterns on etsy) will publish more of her patterns in a leaflet or book form.

Very well done!!! Highly Recommended!

I'm fairly new to this art and had read through other reviews that this was a decent book for beginners. Not only was that reviewer wrong, but there are no helpful pictures/images that break down the steps-it's all based on knowledge you are supposed to know already...

The completed image of each creature is used to be a "guide." Needless to say, it would have been a great book if it had a little more detail with images.

This book is great. It explains everything to you and is very easy to read.
Very cute projects.

This a great book for crocheters. The animals are just adorable and the character description added for each one is hysterical. It really adds to their personalities. I can hardly wait to make each and every one for my grandchild!

This is a great book! The patterns are easy to follow, and perfect for a beginner. Simplicity without compromising creativity! My nieces and nephews will love these cute little animals.

Having used the organizer & calender from the same set, I wanted the birthday calender book too. It is a fairly nice calender with fun graphics. However is oddly large sized. Also think the price is a little high considering this is just twelve sheets of paper held together by a spiral ring.

Put all your birthdays and anniversaries in this book, hang it on the wall and you will be set to remember important dates all year long.

I purchased this calendar and two others for holiday gifts. My kids love the Boynton books so I chose this one for myself as well. It's cute but very simple and has plenty of space to write, but I wish it was a little smaller.

Although this cost a bit more than I initially wanted to spend, I'm very happy with it. It has nice pen-friendly stiff pages, cute graphics, and a sturdy hook to hang it with. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I would have liked the spaces for each day to be just a tiny bit bigger. Oh well, when I fill up the available space in this one, I'll just buy another!

Finally I don't have to copy birthdays from the calendar from year to year and risk putting it on the wrong date when the day of the week is different! It is a quick way to keep up to date, and has plenty of room to add information as you need to.

This is a fine book, well-written, fast-paced, and presents an unconventional character and underlying case for women's rights without being preachy.

Many books entertain, and many teach, but few can do both well. This outstanding book is one of the few.

The main character is Charlotte Parkhurst. She grew up in an orphanage in New England during the late 1810's. She loved horses. Though she enjoyed working in the stables, she did not like having to work in the kitchen "where girls belonged". However, her troubles really started when she rode a sick horse in a race, when she thought he was okay. The horse later died. As a punishment, the owner of the orphanage said she could no longer visit the stables. Heartbroken, Charlotte decided to run away, disguised as a boy.

She found a job in a stagecoach company's stable, where she took care of horses and drove stagecoaches. When two other workers in the stable decided to move to California and open their own stagecoach company, Charlotte went with them. When she got there, a number of wild horses that were going to be stagecoach horses had to be shoed. Charlotte was trying to shoe one when it kicked her in the eye. Consequently, she went blind in her eye.

After her accident, the owners of the new stagecoach company refused to let her drive their stagecoaches. But the determined Charlotte practiced for months, then persuaded her boss to let her try driving just one stagecoach. Though it was foggy and raining, Charlotte was able to drive well, because she had learned to tell what road she was on from the sound of the horses' hooves. When she reached a dangerous bridge, she forced her passengers to get out of the coach and go across the bridge before her. She came after them, driving the stagecoach. When she reached the other side, the bridge broke. The passengers realized that Charlotte had saved their lives. Afterwards, she became famous in that area as "One-Eyed Charley" who could drive a stagecoach over a gold piece using only "his" good eye.

When she was fifty-five, Charlotte, still disguised as a man, voted for the President in a small town in California. She was the first woman to vote in the United States, and that was before the amendment to the Constitution that allowed woman to vote. You'll have to read this amazing book to find out how Charlotte's lifelong dream came true, though.

Ryan did an excellent job of masterfully mixing pleasure and information into an exciting book. I was surprised to find out that this masterpiece was her first novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing a fresh, pleasurable read.

What a fabulous character Ryan has put into words in this kid's novel of the life of Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst! I particualrly loved the taut, mythic quality of the opening chapters and Charlotte's persistence in pursuing her dream.

Susan Williams, Wind Rider (Laura Geringer/Harper Collins Children's Books)

Charley/Charlotte is a very brave and daring person. When I read the novel Riding Freedom it moved me a lot. I couldn't put the book down until I finished Riding Freedom. I even wanted to look and see if there was a sequal to this intresting book! I hope people enjoy it as much as I did!

This book will capture the attention of boys and girls. It is a wonderful story about a young girl fighting to be herself despite the gender roles of her era. Lots of adventure and history are included in this captivating story. A must!

There just was not enough plot to carry my interest through this book. The continuous exploration of the history, construction and care of pianos was of some interest, but not enough to carry an entire book for me.

with so many rave reviews, but I found the book a little slow moving and light on substance. I liked it well enough and don't want to be too critical -- it's the author's first book -- but it would have been a lot better at half the length.

There's not much to the story, and almost nothing to let you know it takes place in Paris if the author didn't keep reminding you. Some unforgettable characters could have easily offset these weaknesses, but in 300 pages you'll meet very few Parisians, none of them all that interesting or particularly French. (Carhart admits having trouble getting to know the French.) And even for an American ex-pat, he's unnaturally fond of the bygone, of the quaint and picturesque.

There's also plenty of veneration of great names, of both piano makers and composers, and readers with a taste for that, or those who like to poke around inside old pianos, should probably add another star.

If your piano interests are farther ranging, however, you're going to be disappointed. There's little in the book to indicate anything has happened since the 19th Century or that France of the 1990s could have Carrefour "hypermarkets," TV, McDonalds, and Disneyland -- as well as be-bop, blues and jazz.

For further history of the piano, its mechanics, innovations and cultural impact, I can highly recommend James Parakilas' "Piano Roles."

I came across an excerpt from this book in a magazine some time ago and decided I needed to read the whole story! I just love this book. From the time I was a very small girl, I have loved pianos, especially grand pianos. My dad taught in a small college when I was a teenager, and in their chapel was a magnificent old Steinway that must have been built in the late 1800's. How I loved to slip into the chapel when no one was around, and "commune" with that piano.

And today my very own precious antique baby grand, an anniversary gift from my husband, stands in my living room...........

Thad Carhart's story struck a very "strong chord" for me. His stories of the various pianos that he met while visiting Luc in the piano shop revealed how each was almost like a living breathing individual to him. I learned so much about these gracious, tuneful instruments from his book: how they are constructed, and the fact that different pianos lend themselves to different types of music, etc. His descriptions of Paris draw me to that city! The way he wove his family life into the story and his dips into his past piano experiences when he was a boy make for a joyous reading experience.

From one piano lover to another, thank you, Mr. Carhart, for writing this book!

Don't try to read this book unless you have a passion for the piano, for pianos, and for the wonderful sound they provide. But if that is the case you will love this book loaded with serendipidy finds and beautiful sound. The setting is Paris, the once in a time center for high art and music. The book will inform about pianos and about listening to perfect pitches.

I've had this book for ages but didn't get around to reading it until recently -- and was able to read it straight through in a single sitting. Wonderful story, very educational -- I enjoyed learning about the different makes of pianos, particularly the Faziolis and the French Pleyels and Erards, enjoyed reading about the author's experience at a master class, enjoyed meeting the quirky characters he encounters -- the tuner who drinks too much (Jos) and the other piano lovers. Although I enjoyed Perri Kinze's Grand Obsession (which I would also recommend), I liked this a bit better; both books are educational as well as entertaining. At one point, the author was describing an occasion when he overheard someone playing Beethoven's Diabelli variations -- which he compared to Bach's Goldberg variations. I was not familiar with the Diabelli variations, so I turned to the back inside cover of the book to make a note to myself -- I was delighted to see that a previous owner of the book (I purchased it used) had already made that note there -- obviously, the book spoke to both of us in a similar way. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about pianos, Paris, or music in general.