Home Books

Not so much a how-to book as it is a collection of homes to aspire to, The Cottage Book: Living Simple and Easy's combining of photographic examples and Carol Bass' prose transport the reader right into the cottages and their surroundings, with experiences beyond the visual alone. This is escapism at its asthetic best, a vacation-in-a-book. The title of the book is perfect, as are many of the featured rooms. Highly recommended for those who long to be close to nature and in touch with the past, with beauty all around as well. This is simply the best decorating book I've ever experienced. Inspirational!

Fresh and "reader friendly".

The varied cottages presented by Carol Bass have soul and depth of character. And, they have a usefulness, charm and vitality that makes you want to re-create those kinds of spaces for yourself.

What does the American cottage, camp or bungalow tell us about what we add to our life when we have a little time to get-a-way? This book gave me a chance to peek into special homes that show a sense of multiple generations beautifully layered into one place at one time.

What feels very timely today is the bold use of color and the variety of different styles and materials to make a place personal.

The book is useful in creating a meaningful home.

Reading The Cottage Book is a vacation in and of itself. Tons of windowsill sunlight, fresh indigenous flowers, classic patchwork bed quilts, exposed cupboards textured with china patterns from generations past and present, a perfectly positioned telescope, clothes line dried in the fresh air, vintage tablecloths draped over a table offering ice tea and croissants, and porches inviting us to spend a leisurely day enjoying the outdoors--all these things remind us that every cottage has a story worth living! Each cottage in this book is presented as unpretentious and practical, yet bright and beautiful, highlighting the simplicity, comfort, humor, and traditions found there. Particularly unique is the author's note of vibrant color introduced in each cottage room, either through unique fabrics or pieces or furniture. The book demonstrates clearly that the colors around us can have a powerful effect on our feelings and even outlook on life. A touch of vibrant color should be a basic element of any cottage home.

I finished this book in a day. I found it easy to read and very inspiring. Just looking at the pictures gave me ideas about how I'd like my home to eventually look. Not a how-to or a book offering advice - it's a book to relax with, enjoy reading and use as inspiration!

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers here. This is a nicely organized book covering a multitude of relevant subjects, but there's very little useful detail in here. I think Taunton made a mistake by trying to stuff too much into too little space. I'm a decent intermediate woodworker and thought this book would help me with some of the things I struggle with in making decorative boxes. But I already knew about 75% of what's in this book. Besides too little detail, the photos, although plentiful, are too small to be of value. Sorry Taunton, a nice effort, but this one misses the mark for me.

The book gave me several new ideas for design as well as new techniques for creating beautiful boxes. It was well illustrated but could have included some specific plans.

Like all the Taunton's Guides, this one is well written with lots of color illustrations. It has sections on all the phases of box making (wood preparation, joinery, finishing, lids, joinery, linings, etc., and it covers multiple ways to accomplish each of these steps. More comprehensive discussion of joinery and finishing, if you want it, can be found in other books from Taunton's dedicated to those topics. This book does not have plans for specific projects, but rather explains the concepts so that you can invent your own box designs. Some of the methods are quite complex and can't be fully understood with a single reading, but the information is all there and if this kind of work appeals to you, this book can teach you to make nice boxes, simple or elaborate.

This book is very informative , easy to read & understand.If you know nothing about turning, it might be a little much. I've played with my lathe about 3 months now & wanted to get serious about the hobby.This book hit the nail on the head!

This book provides great information for box making whether you are a veteran woodworker or a novice. Illustrations and pictures are very useful for conveying information described in written format. Highly recommended!

This is a wonderful testimony to the love and caregiving that the author experienced while administering to his wife.A book that all caregivers can relate to--probably should be a read by the caregiver and not the afflicted. Unfortunately the quality of the binding is not at the same level as it's contents.Both volumes I purchased came apart at the seams and I had to reglue many of the pages.

My death and dying stage - the cover compelled me! And in this case, you CAN judge this book by its cover (center: an image of a woman smiling from under a large brimmed straw hat, circa 1940s, with a shadowy image of a solitary man walking away in the lower left corner)

Robertson McQuilkin was a college professor at a renowned seminary when his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease. She had always been the love of his life, and he struggled with the choices that come at the end -

This book is strengthening, uplifting, and encouraging - love is a commitment. This man gives up everything to help his bride, and gains it all back tenfold, through blessings from God. it details the anguish he feels and the deep sad love that carries him through every day.

I saw my grandfather in this all over the place, married 57+ years to my grandmother, and visiting her every day at the nursing home. He loves her. He wishes he could do and be more, but feels helpless.

Such a love! It's FAR BETTER THAN THE TITANIC!!

Wonderful Wedding Gift Material!!

A beautiful story of marital faithfulness and love in an age where there is precious little of the same. Only in Jesus can be found this quality of unconditional love. I also recommend McQuilkin's Life in the Spirit book and workbook. He truly knows how to live a life filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit -- and can teach us how, too!

For a young single it's easy to fantasize about the joys of having a lifelong love - often at the neglect of counting the true cost of actually having one. This small but powerful book shows that cost, and how one man remained faithful to his wife despite it.

Robertson, a distinguished man high in Christian academic circles, is shocked when his vivacious wife Muriel is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Gradually, she begins to succumb to its ravages and is forced to abandon her popular radio show and speaking engagements. As the disease takes its toll on Muriel, Robertson devotes more and more time to watching over her. He leaves his work and other pursuits to care for her because without his presence, she becomes fearful and agitated. Only with him near is she happy and content. Eventually she becomes totally dependent upon him, unable to perform rudimentary tasks or even converse.

But the heart of the story is that he remains with her gratefully, and with a loving attitude. He is not an angry or resentful caretaker. Of course, he is not thrilled to watch his lovely, intelligent wife slide into helpless dementia. But he sees his caretaking as a holy task, one entrusted to him by God. Indeed, she "took care" of him for decades, so he finds it a priviledge to return the favor. However, he is careful to state that his is not the "ideal" way to care for a severely ailing loved one. But I would say that his attitude and actions are examples for anyone, regardless of whatever caretaking path is chosen.

Elisabeth Elliot once wrote that marriage is the abandonment of self. Robertson lovingly exemplifies that principle in the midst of a heart-breaking situation - all for the glory of God. Highly recommended.

Good book for care givers of the ill. Encouragement to keep on loving in the midst of pain.

The test has questions related to DNS, Subnetting, etc... If you don't know this stuff, then you will most likely fail.

I used thisbook as the only source to take the 70-291 Exam.

I had read reviews on the exam and people were taking up to the third go to pass it... Needless to say I was nervous taking the exam.

I read this book from cover to cover twice for the two days prior to the exam.
Completed the labs and took not of all the tips in the book.
Combined with a few years of on the job experience I passed first go. I found that the text covered all the information required for the exam (and there is a lot to be covered in this one!)
The chapters on DNS I found very well written and also the RRAS chapters in particular.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to preapre for 291.

I only used this book for passing the exam and it is worth it, it covers many topics in "no deep " detail but if you have been in the field for a while you know what the important stuff is. It is good but not the best, I think they over load aa bunch of useful but useless info at the same time, beyond the exam tipics, like scripting.

Probably you have heard this is the hardest windows server 2003 exam, then i will say that it is. The good news are really study this book and of course really do practice this material on a virtual machine or a test enviroment. Why may this book will not be enough to pass the exam, it is because you will get simulations (you'll have to configure dns, dhcp, etc) and that's why you will need lot of practice. But the book will help you along the way.

This was a great book for the 70-291 exam. Most people refer to this one as the hardest in the MCSE 2003 track so I spent some extra time pouring over this particular book. The information was comprehensive and I'd say it was one of the best in the series in terms of learning that just keeps on giving. I'm studying for the Server 2008 upgrade now and it's nice to see that a lot of the concepts covered in this book are still valid. Passed this exam using the book and a little experience with a healthy margin.

The book was more than I could have imagined. I've never quilted a day in my life, but with this book I feel as if I can make anything my mind can illustrate. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn how to quilt. Thanks!

This is a wonderful how-to book for beginning quilters. It has step-by-step instructions for many different projects and includes many of the most popular quilting patterns. The projects are modest (squares, runners, placemats, totes, wall hangings, etc.) and well matched to a beginner's skill progression. The price is very reasonable also. All in all, it is a very good buy.

I have a good amount of sewing experience so I was hesitant about purchasing this book thinking it might be too basic. Also, I wondered if I would be interested in actually completing many of the projects. I am glad I made the purchase! I have no experience in machine quilting so I appreciate the detailed, simple instructions. Most of the projects are ones I actually want to make and use or could give as gifts. I would say more except that I would just be echoing all the positive things previously written. If you would rather learn machine quilting from a book rather than a in a quilting class, this is the book for you!

A friend bought this book for my 13 year old daughter. She is new to quilting and using a sewing machine, and has found this book so easy to follow.

So far seems to be a good basic book for the beginner

Once again I am not disappointed with a cook book from Taste of Home. Very good book to have in your collection.

I've been cooking for 30+ years and am by no means a novice.
The recipes in this book are simple to follow, but definitely not health-conscious. You might gain a few pounds just looking at the pictures!
However, I am making this a part of my cookbook collection because of the proven, time-tested recipes. Full of the kinds or recipes "grandma used to make"

Great cookbook! I purchased this as a gift for my MIL and she loves it. I like to see pictures of what I'm cooking and there is a photo for every recipe. I Highly recommend it.

The title really says it all. Wonderfully put together, and filled with good home style cooking meals. This is no means a cookbook of sophisticated cuisines, but for everyday living which is so appealing to the average household. Great ideas for quick throw togethers when the day is too hectic, and many many pictures for those who insist they will only buy cookbooks with pictures. Not all recipes are 1st place prize winners, but they are nice incentives to try the dishes along with all the other mouthwatering dishes published in this winner of a cookbook.

what more can I say when I get to see pictures of tempting delights page after page? I love this book and I can look at this book all day just oohing over the tempting recipes. This is a must have book!

A good book.
Some new stuff, added, is good.
Negative, they dropped a part on antibiotical uses(a list).

I received this book as a gift, at first I just thought it was interesting. Our cat has always been in fine/perfect health and I rarely had to use it, however now that he has some medical necessities I find that I refer to this often. This book has proven easy to read and full of appropriate information that can help you make decisions on the treatment your feline might need. I feel more educated on options for medical treatment as well as when I should seek medical help. We have recently got our first dog and we are purchasing the canine version of this book too. I have purchased the feline book for a friend who also loves it. Great gift to give or receive, people who want to be more educated about their pets medical needs should definitely purchase and have on hand as a reference.

This is great reference book for beginners but it has alot of things missing which is why I say it's a good book for beginners.

I have the Dog Owner's edition so, when I became a Cat owner I bought this. I wouldn't dream of not having the book in my household. It can answer all your questions and ease your worries at times as well. A must for anyone that has a cat in the family!

This is an excellently-presented, very well-written, informative and complete guide to your cat's health concerns. Presenting veterinary medicine in lay language can be difficult, but this book does so, and should be your primary reference guide when Cleo gets droopy.

No one likes to see pictures of sick and injured cats, but the authors, a group of D.V.M.s, don't shy away from illustrating some of the more unpleasant conditions that catflesh is heir to, nor should they. After all, illness and injury plague cats as much as they plague humans, and there's no denying that fact.

My only criticism of this book is that many of the conditions described are encapsulated in overly brief paragraphs. Symptoms are given and linked to all manner of serious and less-serious conditions. There is little differential diagnosis offered between them. Hence, the tenor of the book is rather alarmist at times. The authors' bottom line is usually, "See your Vet," but realistically, not every situation requires a visit to the doctor. Few people can afford to consult a Vet every time a minor issue like a transient case of the sneezies occurs, but home care and treatment is rather slighted in this book. Since the authors are Veterinarians perhaps that's understandable, but describing a swelling as a "possible cyst" without also mentioning that it might just be an aftereffect at an injection site can cause upset, cost a cat owner money for nothing, and cause this book to be less-readily consulted in the future. It happened to me, so I speak from experience.

If you are unsure if staging works, you will get a definite hard sell that it does in this book. Over, and over, and over again. To the point of being tedious. However there is some good information to be found here. Just didn't take the 288 pages to do it. Cut to the chase, tips include fresh paint, clean the place, get rid of clutter, depersonalize the house. In short, you are trying to sell a product. Spruce it up! Its all in the packaging. Rest is fluff and repetition, such as convincing you that staging works. Apparently the author felt the reader could not get that in a few sentences or even a chapter. Would have given a higher rating if it was less monotonous on that topic.

I purchased this book because it had gotten good reviews from Amazon readers, however, it was quite a disappointment. You will find it difficult to actually identify the 301 staging suggestions, especially since less than a dozen of them are simply repeated over and over again throughout the book. Most egregious, however, is the blatant advertising for professional home stagers. One simply thing you can do is save your money and not purchase this book.

This book was just okay. I'm not sure I would recommend this to a friend. Some of the information was helpful but the book could have benefited from more proofing and editing. There were several instances that the wrong picture was pictured...and they should have just put the color pictures throughout the book as needed instead of having a section of color pictures in the middle of the book. I was also not impressed with some of the before and after pictures.

If you are selling your home, this book will help you get ready. It has a variety of ideas. Some are complicated, some are expensive, but many are simple and easily implemented. The author helps you understand you are not selling your home, you are selling a house to be someone else's home. If this is the only thing you get from this book it is worth the price and time you invest in buying and reading it. I higly recommend it.

Even if you are not planning on selling your house any time soon, this would be a good book to have around. In fact, by the time you get through following all of the advice here, you might not even want to sell, but if still do, there is a very good chance that you will indeed see the benefits of getting up to10 percent more from the sale.

This book looks at everything from the inside out, and from top to bottom. It is probably not the type of book you would just sit down and read from cover to cover, though you could because its style is easy to read as well as informative. Some of the best features include "This Could Be You" success stories interspersed throughout the book. These achieve their goal to inspire the reader. While these are balanced with the rest of the text, at times some of the other inserted text boxes almost become annoying. For example, the Professional Bonus Tips are helpful, but sometimes they seem to be overused. This is especially evident in the chapter, "Putting It All Back together," where it seems that most of the chapter is made up of text boxes instead of text.


Aside from this formatting issue, the tips are valuable and range from advice about how to pay attention to the smallest details such as wiping clean light switch covers to more significant aspects of staging, such as depersonalization in order to appeal to the largest number of perspective home buyers.

Before and after photographs are used to illustrate some of the main points. These include color insets and some smaller black and whites throughout. Sometimes the quality of these are not all that great--in a few cases the before and after photos are not take from exactly the same perspective in the room. Still, most of the photos do help to get the point across, so they are generally are useful.

All in all, this book is inspiring. It makes me want to get off the couch and transform my own home even though I had no plans of selling. I suspect it can have the same the effects on you as well.

I enjoyed the presence of recipes and food in this book. After a while, it seems that the author loses her flavor for food and passion. I liked the tales of food, of flavors from Louisana and the freshness of tastes from the south of France.

However - the part of the book on Korea seems misguided. Flying in first class with your boyfriend doesnt seem to be a guaranteed way to find ones identity. Was she going for herself, or for him?

For those of us who spent our twenties in another country, there certainly is a longing to find out who you are - and this is compounded when living and working in a second language. Clearly the writer was thrown into a role much older than she anticipated as a stepmother and madame of a flowing, vivid household.

The book didnt have much about hunger, but certainly a lot on finding out who you are, especially when living overseas. I'd love more cooking and less drama in future prose.

It's not feasible for me to live for several years in Paris and Provence with a charming Frenchman. Nor will I ever be 23 years old again. However, Kim Sunée's book afforded me some of the same pleasures, mixed with a poignant description of some of the problems. Like "slow food," the book should be savored for its fascinating sights, smells, and tastes and for its honest portrait of a young woman who learns to speak Swedish and French, prepare unforgettable meals, and find her own way in the world.

What a fascinating book. Vibrant characters, vivid descriptive passages, a passionate love story, and genuine French recipes. I couldn't put it down. It left me wishing I knew what happened after the last page....we need more Kim Sunee!

Totally loved this book - Kim is a beautiful writer and brought me
right into her world. She recaptured moments so fully that I
experienced the momentous highs and gloomy lows right alongside her.
Many times Kim opened up so vulnerably and honestly, it felt as if I
was reading her intimate diary entries - a brave decision on her
part, but very rewarding for the reader. Food is tied to all moments in her
life, and the way she artfully involves the smells and tastes into her
writing made me savor the book ever the more. I think Trail of Crumbs
might be better received by the female audience, but it is a fantastic
read and an engaging look into the world that is Kim Sunee.

OK, here's the deal. I get the quarterlife existential crisis, I do. But when you're suffering said crisis in Provence at your sugar daddy's villa, and you have no job, no responsibilities and no sense of humor--and then you write a mopey 350-page book about it--that crisis becomes unrelatable and obnoxious.

While she's sunning naked on Corsica, she feels isolated and unloved. OK, that's legit, but her vague misery, as conveyed through Sunee's admittedly excellent writing, means that I don't even get to enjoy Corsica by extension!

The sights and smells and tastes of Provence sound wonderful, but the extended descriptions of cunnilingus by her old, rich French boyfriendm and her interpersonal relationships in general are just tiresome, exhausting and as unfulfilling for the reader as they are for Sunee. As a rule, none of the humans in this memoir are drawn half as well as the dishes. You don't get a real sense of what the people look like, where they came from or what contributes to their various flavors.

I found myself sympathizing with the mother she finds so critical and cold. The mother obviously is trying but failing to convey the absence of substance and maturity in her daughter's life, but Sunee is so angry (she claims her sister is the angry one, but it's obviously her), that she ignores the warning entirely.

For that matter, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what she saw in any of her boyfriends other than privilege and heavy-handed, controlling gift-giving and empty promises of salvation. She was young. I get that, too. Almost all young women have made the same mistaken emotional investments, but she doesn't seem to learn anything, she doesn't have any wisdom to convey after having survived the suffocation of the bell jar, she isn't more interesting or wiser after it all, she just speaks French fluently and is passably continental.

Basically, this book is too long, the author is too self-serious, and the life lived is too self-indulgent and spoiled to be genuinely interesting to anyone but the writer and her immediate family.

I was expecting M.F.K. Fisher, Betty McDonald or Mildred Armstrong Kalish, but this woman, articulate though she may be, doesn't come close to achieving their level of perception, wisdom or general literary appeal. I don't recommend this one. Sorry.

I've flipped through many nursery books and this book is beyond compare. Buy this book if you're looking for modern beautiful and unique styles. The book does cover 'vintage' decor aswell but the authors have done it in a very current and modern way that most moms our time will love. It comes with design tips that help you cut your budget aswell. I feel that, if you're the type of parent that wants to decorate a nursery without it looking too childish or toys'r'us looking this books is for you. A fantastic find for me.

I found this book to be worth every penny. The inspiration in decor can be applied on any budget, which is the beauty of the authors' suggestions. I thumb through this book every night and seem to find something I hadn't noticed before each time I do. I love this publication!

This is an amazing Nursery book, it does not matter if you are vintage, classic or modern in your taste. It's very instructive on how to create a one of kind nursery. Loved It! Beautiful rooms and ideas!