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I have done a great purchase. This book is full of detailed explanations and very useful information, based on scientific facts but with understandable words (I must say I'm not English spoken). Great, Great, Great.

After seven years of purchasing books here, this is my first review. I think so highly of this book I had to write a review. High quality product, and information. This book may not have enough meat for a graduate student to use but certainaly the greenhouse owner or gardenstore worker will benefit greatly. Nice depth in wide array of topics. Good full color photographs used liberally throughout the book. Very best information available on lighting in the greenhouse or indoor applications. I have read a full dozen books on hydroponics, and greenhouse operations for the home grower or small farm. This is the best. If you need one book this is it.

I had knit several typical sock patterns with success, and I loved the finished product, but the sock bug had not hit me. I found typical patterns to be kind of boring and I also had a little bit of trouble with consistency in the sizing.

Cat's patterns are wonderful and extremely well written. I love her new increases (though the mother/grandmother stitch hint did nothing for me) and the master patterns and numbers are excellent. I will use this book forever and probably never get tired of it.

I used to think socks were boring and took a long time. Now with Cat's patterns, I realize how captivating and quick socks can be!

One more time Cat Bordhi takes knitting to a new level. With her new looks at how to construct sock gussets she has changed the way socks have always been made. The book is written for many levels of knitters and the more adventuresome can use these ideas for a jumping off point for endless possibilities for making socks for everyone from babies to men. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn how to make socks with these new methods. I can't wait for book II!

Cat Bordhi has a brain I envy. She's taken something that's been done for generations in pretty much the same few ways and broken it apart to examine it, put the pieces together in new ways and said "Why not?" The socks she offers are beautiful and innovative in the extreme. Directions are detailed and clear.

One star off because of the paging back and forth required to follow some patterns, plus the tendancy to larger guages, which a lot of sock knitters, including me, aren't enamoured of.

Das Buch ist eine Fundgrube von Ideen, wie man Socken mit verschiedensten Abnahmen machen kann. Die Anleitungen sind sehr gut erklärt und natürlich kann man sie mit Rundnadeln stricken!

I'm an expert knitter (30+ years) and I've created my own patterns and taught knitting. I've mastered the art of knitting back backwards and I've created several of my own cast-ons when I found other cast-ons too constrictive or too complex.

And yet I was starting to think that there was something wrong with me that I found this book confusing and overly complicated. I'm so glad to know there are other people who feel this way. The "choose your own adventure" aspect - where page 51 tells you to turn to page 9 and you get to page 9 and it tells you to look for box 10 - is unnecessarily complicated and, frankly, lazy. Make the instructions clearer - even if it means making the book longer.

The second, and almost as annoying, aspect of this book is the way she makes up terms. What the heck? Is there something wrong with "SSK" and "K2tog"? I don't see the point, unless you're teaching a rank beginner with this book, and if you are, she's going to go off to other books and patterns and come back to you: "What?? Help! I don't understand!"

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I'm a process person, not a product person. But while the ideas in this book might be wonderful, the execution is so flawed as to make the book virtually worthless. I've had it for almost two weeks and I still haven't cast on a sock from it. This is unheard of for me: I've been known to cast on an interesting pattern on the way home from the knitting shop.

The nice thing about this book is that it can be considered when you are thinking about building a new home, or considering remodeling your current home. And the remodel doesn't need to include a contractor. What if you have a window on a short wall, and think "Hey, I could put a bench seat there with bookshelves on either side to create a window seat!"

Those are the kinds of ideas I got from this book.

This book will be invaluable for anyone looking to build/remodel their home. The author provides creative suggestions for rethinking how we live and ways to reconfigure existing space rather than construct extensive (and expensive) additions to our homes. Susanka admirably supports her ideas with background information, diagrams and case studies. Ultimately, however, few ideas in the book are applicable to anyone not planning a large scale construction project of some kind. If you're interested in what you can do with your existing small space, check out one of the author's other books instead.

I think every person who owns or is considering buying a home should read this book first. The concepts presented here will make you rethink the idea that you need more...bigger is NOT better. Utilizing space effectively and making a house your own with personalized touches are much more likely to make one more satisfied than buying bigger. While I have been investigating going smaller for a while now, this book really helped me to focus on the details of actually making that change work in real life. A must read for anyone feeling cramped in their spaces.

I now am a HUGE fan of Sara Susanka. I went to the library and read ALL her books. The pictures are very helpful if planning a remodel or building new. Finding an architect that is in-tune is a challenge, most are men and do not think this way.

Nice book of concepts. Albeit incomplete and some what frustrating.

The Author presents concepts in text, images, sketches and floor plans.
Problem is the floor plans and text lack any measurements to put the
plans in perspective. There are no size minimums or guide lines.

For those of you interested in starting your own business, race out and pick up a copy! Loads of great ideas, tips and tricks and funny stories.

A must-read for anyone thinking of starting a craft business. Fitzgerald knocks it out of the ball park with this one!

I found this book to be very helpful as a mom running her own business and I was very happy to be asked to contribute to it. Reading the things the other contributors had to say about being able to do what you love for a living were very motivational. I hope this book encourages more women to start their own businesses. [...]

This is a cut-to-the chase approach that profiles a cross-section of successful businesswomen crafters. Before you start setting up any kind of business, you'd better make sure your idea is unique and marketable. Sit down with Fitzgerald's book for a few hours, and you'll see what these women did to stand out and succeed in a very competitive business environment. I particularly liked that each profile is in that woman's own words. If I'm going to make my dream of starting a business a reality, I sure need to hear from those who stepped off the crafting cliff before me! I really liked this book.

First of all, this book was hard to get a hold of. Did they not print enough or what? Borders couldn't even order it for me, Barnes & Noble had no stores nearby with it and took a couple weeks to get it in.

I've been working on my own crafting business for almost two years now, and I love Country Living Magazine, so I was excited for this book. I would just recommend it to those who are looking for more inspiration than real direction and hardcore answers.

The true stories of successful crafters are very inspiring and helpful in the advice the women give. It was fun to see the other women's crafts (many of whom are well known in this business) and hear how they came to be successful and what their dreams for the future are.

I would not recommend this book if you are looking for some serious answers about the structure, laws, options and rules when it comes to setting up your own crafting business. I would strongly recommend The Crafter's Business Answer Book by Barbara Brabec, that book will answer every question you have and help you get set up. This book, however, the Crafting a Business book, just skimmed over all these topics very briefly at the end of the book. It wasn't as thorough and didn't answer all the important questions.

I'm pretty happy with my purchase nonetheless, and have really enjoyed reading through the various success stories in this book. It is encouraging and enjoyable.

The book clearly states that it is a 'Backyard Idea' book, not a how to or a design book. So for the 2 star review before, it is just plain silly. However, this is a great book if you like to sit back and dream ideas for your backyard. It has some ideas that may be out of reach financially for some, but it also has some budget tight ideas as well. And you can create a combo of both if you'd like! I love designing my own backyard landscapes and this book certainly adds to even more ideas. Recommended for those who sit in their yards dreaming what they can do to make them fun and relaxing.

This book has excellent photo's of backyard ideas. It is a great book if you are just looking for ideas. I had expected a book with a little "how-to" mixed in.

I haven't finished reading it yet but so far love it. It has many photos along with a paragraph about why/how this works - the type of landscape and things to make sure you do/don't do. I am buying a copy for my sister for xmas.

This is a wonderful book with beautiful photos and great ideas. It is not a how to book, but it does inspire!

I'm satisfied. More than enough pictures with detailed analysis for each. There is nothing missing.

Whilst working on my dissertation I prefer reading something highly distracting. Last year I chose Philip Pullmann's Dark Materials. This year my eye fell on Lemony Snicket's peculiar narration of the unfortunate Baudelaire children. I hesitate to recommend it to my 13-year old goldchild who might doubt his godmothers mental state or taste for literature. I am, however, highly entertained. Innovative, good English, funny, ... and I certainly want to know how it all ends; hopefully less unfortunate...! :o)

I read part 1 to 3 of a series of unfortunate events a couple of years ago and thought all the books were about the same. I didn't expect the story to be developing. From part 4 to 6 new personalities arive and the story develops further making you aware of and curious about the overall plot.

I bought the first set of books for my 8-year-old niece. She read all three in two months (it's the only books she has read without being prompted). Now I get hints to buy more so be prepared to buy then all. What more can I say. These book are well written, explain new words without talking down, so increasing vocabulary. Dark and funny.

I only wish J.K.Rowling could write as good as this. Though that hasn't effected her book sales.

The family loves these books from Lemony Snicket. We can't wait for the next ones.

These books are exceptionally great. My son has struggled to find books that are the right speed for him and the right tone, genre, etc. He doesn't like overly scary books, sports books, fantasy, and a bunch of other common genres with anything reasonable at his reading level.

Lemony Snicket has great story lines, great use of humor, and vocabulary that's a little stretch (but always explained, with humor, as part of the narrative). He has plowed through the first 6 books, even reading 3 of them last week alone. I enjoy reading them, too, which is always a good sign for me.

I found this book veery informative. i have always loved to cook, but have never done it professionally and was looking for suggestions to get started.

I'm thinking about starting a professional chef business. This book gave me and excellent overview of all the questions and issues I need to consider as I embark on this new adventure. It was well organized and offered the perspective of numerous practicing PCs. While I need to go beyond this single resource, it helped me to formulate a plan and to outline those areas that required further study and/or consideration.

Not only does Ms. Vivaldi provide a concise & detailed outline for anyone contemplating a career as a personal chef, she offers fresh perspectives and new ideas for seasoned pc's. I highly recommend this book.
Gretchen Ohar
Proprietor/chef: dinner by gretchen

Before getting this book, I read through previous reviews. I was very confused by one that talked about her trying to sell from a "web site." I have no idea what they were talking about, since Denise has nothing like that. Perhaps they were confusing her with Candy Wallace, who offers a program (video and in person) for Personal Catering.

Instead, the book is a terrific source of valuable information in numerous areas of the personal chef business, from legal, personality, business forms, cooking, serving, marketing, recipes, pricing, and then even offers links to other invaluable sites.

I have done personal chef work and am now focusing more on the catering end of the business, but I certainly wish I had found this book when I first started. It would have saved me both money and time. I especially needed help with pricing and with how to present it to the client. I also would have benefited from her list of "kitchen and pantry" necessities. It took me months of trial and error to figure out that I needed all of the items she lists in her book. I also really like her suggestion of using the client's own equipment when possible, because the "lugging" of kitchen pans and tools was one of the hardest parts of the job.

Denise is an expert in the field and gives practical, easy-to-follow advice. She is honest and does not just try to "sell" the personal chef business. I look forward to any other material she might publish in the future.

Basic common sense followed by recipes and some sources all available on internet or in cookbooks trying to sell you the
$$$ website!

I used this book for a space planning class at a popular college. It is well laid out and easy to read. It has some inspiring photos and really utilizes some key points of interior design.

The book covers information on the elements of design and really delves in detail information for specific types of spaces. Such as Private spaces and bedrooms, kitchens with multiple functions and more. It also explains ergonomics and anthropometrics.

If you are into this book one that I find even better, and highly recommend is "Interiors, An Introduction" by Nielson Taylor

My only negative remark is about the build of the book itself. I bought what was referred to as "Like New" from one of the used vendors that had just launched. The spine of the book is falling apart and I'll be surprised if it makes it a year on me. So I suggest spending the extra few bucks and buying new on this one. (For reference though, I buy many used books from Amazon and this has never happened from any other sellers before.)

I used the text for a space planning class. It was well organized and there were tables for referencing anthopometric data quickly. I kept it on hand while drawing floor plans for easy reference.

I have used this book as a reference for many years. It is a great book. Anyone who is remodeling their kitchen or building a new home should read this book. Ms. Nissen has explored many areas of the field and written a terrific book.

I bought this book for a Catholic book club and enjoyed some of it. I can't really relate to the author in a lot of ways, so that dampened my enthusiasm early on. My chief ambition in life was to be a wife (to the right man) and mommy, and when I became Catholic, that goal was modified to Catholic wife and mother. I know our family life needs more structure than it currently has, but this book just hasn't helped with that as much as I'd hoped. I gave it three stars because it does have some good ideas, and it may all be my fault that it just didn't work for me.

I purchased this book for my daughter in law after reading several reviews.
She LOVES it !! And she has already shared it with several other young women at church.
What a great gift it has turned out to be.

I LOVE this book. The way she describes herself in the beginning as being a burned out, over worked, homeschooling mom, was me in a nutshell. At first I was very sceptical about whether or not taking the advice of this book would actually help me. I read the book and learned a bit about myself and my vocation as a wife and mother, but I still wasn't ready to conform to a strict schedule. Almost a year after reading it, I finally decided that what I was doing wasn't working, so I might as well try her idea of a schedule. It has completely changed my life. As soon as the first day of using our new schedule, my 10 year old son told me how much happier he was to know what to do and when. He looked at is as knowing when he would be able to sit and watch a ballgame on t.v. LOL!

My advice for people that intend to read this book is to not get caught up in how structured the authors day is. She is more organized than anybody I know. I would never be able to plan my day in 15 minute increments, but she gives the tools needed to get a general outline of your day for you to set up what works best for your family. We ended up dividing the day into big chunks of time for various activities. I'm still trying to perfect the schedule, and I know that it will always be a work in progess, but it is really nice knowing where my day is headed and how everyone is going to get there. I highly recommend this book.

Very easy to read--a mix of personal testimony and stories and advice. I recommend this book to lot of moms--it's obviously very religious in nature, so I wouldn't recommend it to a mom with little or no religious faith. I think even though it's written by a Catholic, Protestant women can overlook the Catholic references and substitute their own faith practices and experiences, thus a good book for all Christian moms (and not just homeschoolers like Holly). I find when I follow the suggestions in this book, my life is more orderly and peaceful. The hard part is sticking with it!

This book had some practical ideas that aren't very new. Such as having a schedule and such. But I had a hard time, as I was reading the book, believing that her ideas on a schedule were realistic with nursing babies and homeschooling. Certain personality types will struggle with this book, others will probably love it. I didn't feel very encouraged or excited or motivated by reading this book. I suppose it just wasn't written for my personality. I learned alot more and felt more encouraged by other books such as MOTH (Managers of their home) and Emily Barnes books. Good luck!

This is a terrific book, full of all great photographs of beautiful places. Lots of ideas for anyone interested in decorating a room, or designing a home. Too often design books are either too extravagant or feel rather staged in they way a house is photographed. This book finds home -- both fancy and simple -- that are about great taste and they are photographed in a way that is very beautiful, but also real. You know a team of assistants didn't spend the day lighting every surface of the room. A really inspiring book.