I enjoyed reading this book, and caught myself chuckling all the way through. Even though it's written with women in mind, it gives excellent advice for men as well as women and gives examples for why they advise it. I'd suggest it highly for men, women or teenagers who are interested in meeting people online. Great advice and with the space where you can write in your own information, it's easy to apply. I especially enjoyed the analyzing sample letters section.Too Cute!

THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW'S publication "The Bookwatch"
praises WIRED NOT WEIRD,A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO DATING ONLINE.

"Wired Not Weird incorporated personal anecdotes, a hefty dose of common sense, and simple, easy-to-understand advice and strageties about what to expect, what to stay away from, and what to say or not say during the first meeting in person...highly entertaining, with plenty of of appraising observations to carefully consider..."

From "The Bookwatch," a review from the MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW,

"Wired Not Weird incorporates personal anecdotes, a hefty dose of common sense, and simple, easy-to-understand advice and strategies about what to expect, what to stay away from, and what to say or not say during the first meeting in person....highly entertaining, with plenty of appraising observations to carefully consider--even if you're not interested in using the Internet to find love."

This a valuable book for consultants.

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

This is a very good book. I recommend it in addition to my own book, "Strategic Organizational Change."

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

This 'Guide' book is one of four used in a Human Resource Development course that I took in a masters program. The content is the type that will be referred to over and over again in the course of an HRDV career. Some principles should not change, and the ones in this book are rich. A copy is staying in my personal library.

Buy this book, that guy owes a lot of people serious money

...and just when I thought I was becoming a good skier, I read Andrew's book and realized the depth of technical skill he posses. The Chuting Gallery is an excellant tool to be used by accomplished ski mountaineers to test the grade of their steel. As a guide book, for me, it tells me where not to go.....

Even after skiing most of the North Face of Superior on my face, I'm still glad to have read this excellent guide. Filled with enough references to inspire caution in even the most hardcore skiers, this is the ultimate conversation piece, even if you never make it off the groomers at Alta.

Ms. McLean is a phenomenal writer!!! When I finished reading the book, I flipped back to the beginning to find names of other books that she had written, but, alas, this was her debut novel. What a talent she is. You will not be disappointed in Monica...she is going to be the next Nora Roberts..."mark my Words." Carter was an exceptional Prince Charming!! Thanks a million, Monica!!!

This book is one of the best romances I have ever read! The characters were amazingly real, and I cared about them from the beginning. I hope to see more from McLean in the very near future. I usually buy my books used, but I would pay the full new price for hers, just so I could read them sooner.

Monica McLean grabs the reader into her story and doesn't let go. I was enthralled from the start. My only disappointment is that the book had to come to an end. I'm already in anxious anticipation waiting for her next book...

I treated myself to "Colette's Christmas" by baker extraordinaire Colette Peters while on vacation. It seemed a strange thing to read while at the beach, but I was absolutely captivated. What a fevered imagination Ms. Peters has! The showstoppingly gorgeous desserts and projects she shows within include a layer cake covered with fondant that has been pieced and quilted to resemble and antique quilt (and it surely does); a chocolate bowl filled to overflowing with spectacular chocolate spheres (the cover photograph); hinged, jointed cookies which really move and make splendid Christmas ornaments (all in human forms, like Santa, Raggedy Ann, and so on); gift boxes made entirely of decorated cookie dough; a shimmering "stained glass" cake; and a three-dimensional Christmas gazebo constructed around a towering decorated Christmas tree made of piped icing.

Even if the projects herein appear way too complicated or time-consuming for most people--as they do for me, I'll admit--Ms. Peters gives splendidly clear, concise directions in a conversational tone that make starting your own gingerbread house seem, somehow, not as daunting as it really should be.

Each year I prepare the desserts for my husband's office Christmas party (over 400 guests). I always try to come up with one special "show stopper" and Colette's chocolate bowl and ornaments was it for last year! I'm certainly a beginner but, with a little practice and Ms. Peter's clear instructions, I was able to create pieces that were the talk of the night. Several people even asked to take one home to show their family. I can't wait until next Christmas when I can try something even more amazing!

Once again, Colette establishes herself as the numero uno in desserts and sugar craft. The items shown are very sophisticated and tasteful. The directions are succinct and not pretentious. She does everyone a favor by putting this out! Definitely one of my favorites.

The houses are unbelievable and some of our best treasures. For example; Falaise a house built by the Harry Guggenheim, is absolutely beautiful. It is not untastefully large, just right, a dream house. As an architect I am going to try to use some of this house's style in some future designs. By the way, the book failed to mention the house was used for the interior shots for the movie magnate's house in the "Godfather". Try to guess which room was used for the horse's head scene.

You could think of this as a coffee-table version of the McAlester's Field Guide to American Houses (which I also recommend.) In this case each house is an historical landmark as well as an exemplar of an architectural style, and the photos are suitably sumptuous. I like coffee-table books that also give you solid information as well as pretty pictures, and this one succeeds admirably on both counts. It may not have every artist's or magnate's house you can think of, but it has a lot of them. A modern classic.

My wife and I love this book. It explains architectural styles by profiling oustanding examples found throughout the United States. The McAlesters not only explain the architectural elements that make a house extraordinary, they also give the fascinating history of the homes and their owners, which include Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, and Thomas Edison. In each profile, they also include simple line drawings that clearly identify the features of the style. Since buying this book, we have visited eight of the 25 houses and plan on seeing them all. This book will not gather dust on your coffee table.

I rarely have found a book and music with such a touching message as The Forgotten Carols. Anyone professing to believe in Christ or Christmas needs to read the message and feel the spirit this classic provides.

The story of the Forgotten Carols rekindles the true meaning of Christmas. The book is based around a nurse who doesn't believe in anything that has to do with Christmas and has no family. Her hospital assigns her to go and take care of one family's aging uncle, John. As the story continues, John introduces her to his carols about the forgotten parts of Christmas and the people who played roles that many forget about as they head to the department stores to take part in the materialized part of Christmas. Some of these characters include the innkeeper and the inn, the shepards, and Joseph. This book has been in my family since it came out and we read it many times every holiday season. If you purchase this book I recommend the audio cassette to accompany because it is read by the Glen Yarbrough and it include the Forgotten Carol songs such as "I cry the day I take the tree down," "Joseph:I was not his father, he was mine," and a great rendition of a Messiah medley called "Handel's Dream." This book is a must and will be the perfect addition to your Christmas

The Forgotten Carols has become a Christmas Tradition in our home. Our entire family loves the story so much, and the music is truly amazing. We have made the Forgotten Carols part of our traditional Christmas Eve. Each December 24th we sit around a roaring fire with our entire family and begin reading the book. Each family member takes turns reading a chapter. It is truly a wonderful book and one of our favorite Christmas Traditions!

Broken Gourds is a story of the people living in the mountain village of Albion, in Saint Mary's parish, Jamaica in the 1800's. The community is a mixture of the poor Ashanti, an old ancient culture, and the elite British plantation owners. The two cultures co-existed for many years. Treating the villagers as wayward children the plantation owners worked them in their banana fields, employed them as servants in their homes and preached to them in their church. But as always in an evolving society change came that shook them to their core, causing unrest and confusion.

Beresford Mclean's novel has been described as "Inspirational Folklore" written in the tradition of Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Victor Rawlings is the narrator of the story.Wealthy landowners and highly paid professionals who work in Port Maria but live in Albion have petitoned the city to modernize the road making the remote Jamacian village more acsessible to tourists and commercial development. Victor, as spokesman for the villagers, petitions the Port Maria City Council to reconsider the placement of the new road. Citing the destruction of historical buildings he negotiates a meeting with the engineers and Project Manager. He leads them up the quaint dirt road to an old area known as The Balm Yard ( a place of meditation and healing to anyone of African ancestry.) They enter a run down building called The Mission House and stare in disbelief at it's disrepair and wonder why anyone would want to save it. Victor tells them the story of the early days of Albion, how life was, how it changed and of a healer called Brother Walk. He wants them to recognize the significance of the Mission House and it's historical value to the village.

The leaders in Albion were the wealthy plantation owners and members of the church. The women had their afternoon teas, luncheons and book club meetings while the men spent their time hunting birds or wild pigs. They would meet for drinks and play billiards at a social club in Port Maria while discussing politics. They also held meetings at a tavern in Albion to discuss local buisness. Pastor Hamilton acted as the social engineer of Albion. As head of The First Baptist Church he was powerful and influential. He would make the corrections needed for any buisness or social changes with the absolute backing of his congregation. Life for them was peacful and content and the villagers accepted this as the way it should be.

DaDa is a social outcast, the lowly son of a farming family.Unclean, overweight and lazy he spends his time gorging on food and daydreaming. His feet are covered with oozing sores and his nose runs constantly. Everyone believes he is backward and makes fun of him. His grandmother (Granny) is the only one who shows DaDa love. Granny is immersed in the traditions and superstitions of the ancient culture. She senses a spirituality in DaDa that no one else can see. DaDa has one friend called Twig who is crippled from polio. Twig is bent so badly he walks hunched over seeing nothing but the ground.One day DaDa visits Granny who is ill and feeling her old age weakening her body. When he leaves he hears the sound of drums beating. The music is so enchanting that he follows the sound and finds himself high in the hills standing before a shimmering pool of water. He suddenly feels himself pushed from behind into the pool. The water is so warm and relaxing that he lies there and lets the water splash over him. Getting out of the water he sees that all his sores are healed and is amazed at how clear headed he feels. He sees a young girl dressed in African robes holding a highly decorated gourd which she gives to him before she disappears. He fills the gourd with the magical water and starts home to tell Granny what has happened. When he arrives home and hugs Granny she suddenly feels better. She tells him he has been visited by the people from the past and has been chosen to be a healer.

DaDa tries to keep what has happened secret unsure of this remarkable gift. When his father dies DaDa is overcome by grief. He hugs his friend Twig who is suddenly able to stand upright. Twig is so joyous that he runs into the village shouting that DaDa has cured him. The villagers are stunned to see Twig walking upright and begin to go to DaDa for healing and guidance. Because of his ability to heal and his new charasmatic way of speaking DaDa decides to become a preacher and build a Mission House and Balm Yard for the people. DaDa changes his name to Brother Walk and becomes known far and wide as the healer. He does not charge them for his healing but the money and gifts keep flowing in making him a very rich and powerful man. He remembers his youthful dreams of owning Albion and he succumbs to the temptations of greed and lust.

As Brother Walk's ministry and fortune grows the village clinic and The First Baptist Church are going bankrupt. The former leaders of the village are now faced with the loss of their money and power.They devise a plan to rid themselves of Brother Walk and gain back their positions of power and influence.Their devious schemes go awry and in the process of trying to bring Brother Walk down he realizes his mistakes and decides to live out his life as a worthy spirtual leader.

Although Mr. Mclean's novel is written about a remote village in Jamaica long ago in another time frame the issues of human faults and the corruption that too much power and wealth can cause is still very true today in our society. He brings the full plate of human failings to the table, greed, corruption, adultery, the act of judging others for the way they look or their social status, and even murder. He also gives the readers love, forgivness and redemption. And in the end he shows the full circle of life and how God, or destiny as some would say, puts us in the place we are supposed to be in at the time we are meant to be there.

Pat Hayworth
The Compulsive Reader, ...

An exciting new voice in contemporary literature, McLean writes with a master's touch. The offbeat characters, and the clash of cultures entwined with the political unrest in this Caribbean paradise provides the central theme in this novel of historical Jamaica. I fell in love with the wise and loving grandmother, the wretched, deformed Twig who was so dependent on Dada, and the other assorted characters of this island Shangri-La.

The metamorphosis of Dada, a 29 year old man who is seemingly an incompetent and possibly mentally handicapped individual, into a spiritual leader; the politically powerful, articulate and charismatic Brother Walk, is a compelling story. The beliefs of the old Ashanti community's ancient culture clash
with the sophisticated, modern, non-African ideals, and the love and loyalty contrast with the jealously and animosity in the lives of these people. "The very elements that rocked this rustic Jamaican farming village a century ago are still at the core of mankind's search for a sense of self today," according to Beresford McLean.

McLean's great imagination, and eloquent prose take you on a journey through the lives of these island denizens that will long remain in your heart. The unexpected twists in the plot keep you reading long into the night. I hope there is a sequel in Mr. McLeans future....I'll sure watch for it.

Albion is a lush rural district in the parish of Saint Mary where descendants of ex-slaves live beside the progeny of former slaver masters & modern plantation owners. Change however is in the air as too the week long national holiday, August the First, when the ending of slavery is celebrated.

Into this quiet village of farmers & families comes a team of city surveyors & bureaucrats, eager to determine over what land their new road to the future will run, & therein lies the rub. One section will destroy an ancient sacred site where the lowly & defective Dada ministered his healing a century before.

Beresford McLean knows of what he has written as he was born in rural Jamaica. BROKEN GOURDS is lyrically written in a language that dances & darts, creating images & memories which make the reader stop & linger, fascinated by the telling.

In "Home from the Vinyl Cafe," Stuart McLean gives us a rousing journey of one year in the life of Dave, Morley, Sam and Stephanie. From one Christmas to the next, we step in an check up on the family a few times each season, with such fantastic stories as "Dave Cooks the Turkey," and "School Days." Rousing, amusing and touching in turn, McLean's tales are as much a joy to read as they are to listen to.

Now, if you have no idea who I'm talking about, you're in for a real treat. Stuart McLean is a humourist who speaks on the radio twice a week with his wonderful Canadian prose short narratives, which always manage to make me laugh out loud. I've bought a few of his tape collections so I can listen to them whenever I'd like; he's that good. You follow the lives of this small family through their idiosyncratic - and wonderfully Canadian - trials and laughs throughout this book.

Stephen Leacock award winner McLean has put together a wonderful collection here, and if you can get a copy, do.

It is important to note that this book is not out of print, it is merely published in Canada. You could get it through a Canadian source with no troubles.

... a very ordinary family. Now, I don't mean ordinary in the boring sense of the term, quite the contrary. This is a collection of short stories spanning a year in the lives of a middle-class family. Everyone will be able to recognize themselves or others in these people to whom funny things tend to happen.

A quick read that will have you smiling (and giggling) on the bus.

You won't regret picking it up, and will look for McLean's other collections of stories about this wonderful family upon completing it.

McLean's book, 'Home from the Vinyl Cafe,' is a hoot from start to finish. It's a sorry day in Canada that this title is now out of print, it really is. McLean's a national treasure of humour.

If you do manage to find this title (I've got my fingers crossed for you), then beware - do not read this while on public transport or eating out. You'll be laughing out loud, long and hard, from the get-go.

The opening sequence is one of the funniest pieces of prose I've read in a long time; you will never look at Christmas dinner in the same light again.

McLean has an easy-going, conversational writing style that engages the reader immediately - he draws you in as a willing voyeur, anticipating the next hilarious calamity to strike the book's protagonist.

If you live in the north climes where it gets cold at night, the final sequence in the book will harken back your days of daring... ever stick your tongue to cold metal? Not so funny for the poor soul who dares such trickery, hilarious for those who're watching.

This book gets a big thumbs up - it's not a challenging read, but it's tremendous fun nonetheless!