This book ends up being a personal account of Ms. stoddard's day-to-day life, which is really far from interesting. As far as information on tea, it is sadly lacking and even, on occasion, presents inaccurate information; a much better choice would be Jane Pettigrew's The Tea Companion. If you want a disorganized, "dreamy" little book about nothing, this is it. The question arises: who would compose a work that is so self-absorbed?

What a rare treat this little volume is! I had to pace myself to prolong the enjoyment. Reading it was like having a wonderful conversation with a kindred soul over a great cup of tea. Alexandra shares inspiration and wonderful recipes as an added bonus along with her great conversation.

I havae read this book numerous times and have each time found new and interesting items missed the last time through.Ms.Stoddard presents tea celebration in such a way that one looks forward to being able to have friends over to enjoy. It is too amazing the way one looks forward to enjoying a cuppa alone. I have decided that when I enjoy tea by myself--as Ms.Stoddard encourages the preparation is also important-but when that cup is poured I can sit back, sip by sip, and watch the world go by.

I had high hopes for this book to be helpful, but starting with the title and going through each page I found no new or original information. The authors seem to have read the very same entry level books I have read and decided to write a book. Its not new information and frankly anyone who is doing this type of work should know this material already. I was very, very dissapointed. Amazon has other books on this subject and I suggest you spend your money there.

In the introduction, the author sets the stage perfectly for this book. She says that this book does not exist to help trainers get more "get butts in seats." No, Oberstein's argues that the optimal situation for a trainer is to have the right people in the right class. The right "butts in seats." Seems like common sense, but organizations don't always behave in this fashion. Even more important, Oberstein argues, by getting the right learner in the right class, Oberstein points out that you will have even an more important outcome - respect from your organization. In today's world, what could be more important to trainers.
The ideas in this book are not meant to be groundbreaking, but should act as a reminder that you have more tools in your training marketing toolbox than you ever realized. Where the book shines is how it carefully explains how to use the tools you have more effectively, including everything from simple e-mail notices or flyers posted on lunch room walls to complete marketing campaigns to roll out major initiatives. You will probably find yourself saying more than one time, "that's a good idea" or "I never thought of that." As for value, four or five important "ah-ha's" in any book makes it a valuable book. Readers should find at least this number of important moments of enlightenment in this book and most likely even more. What more could you ask of any book?

This book is intelligently written and very useful. I am planning a full day training session for the top leaders in my business unit. Using this book, I've been able to attract the most motivated participants. Also, I'm understanding better how to gain sponsorship for the program from top execs in the company. I've been able to translate what I think will come out of the session into the measures top execs care about - bottom-line impact. It's been an invaluable guide.

I think this as a fantastic book , but I am not interested in the coffee and mug. Why do I have to buy a coffee and mug to purchase this book? Please put this book on the market without the extras. Thank You. george9522@wans.net

Prayers That Availeth Much is by all means "effectual" -- One prayer in particular, the prayer of Adoration-"Hallowed Be They Name." I shared it with my prayer circle at work and everyone was infected! just like I have been. My prayer life has become a bountiful experience. To go from glory to glory to glory... to be connected to the one true God... to think about the Creator instead of the creation is more than any words that I can come up with explain the joy, the honor, that I experience when I pray the "Prayers That Availeth Much." God bless you Sister Copeland.

I never really knew the proper way to pray. I wondered if God was really hearing me let alone listening to me. When I started praying from your book, I noticed the changes that started coming about in my life. I started seeing my prayers really being heard by God, because circumstances started changing for the better. He really answered me. I realized from your book that I needed a personal relationship with Jesus first and then I could understand the real meaning and purpose of praying. I just want to thank you Germaine from the bottom of my heart for being obedient to God and sharing these prayers that avail much with us. I hope one of these days, God puts it on your heart to print a Prayers that avail much for Teens. I would order your first 100 copies. God bless you.

I've read 5 books by Moore, and this is my least favorite. Coffey is a man you just want to slap around a little for being, well, so stupid. When he turned down an actual job offer because he *thinks* he might have another one at the end of the week, I hoped he would get what he deserved. The ending of the novel made the whole story completely unbelievable.

Ginger Coffee actually has a pretty sad life, however, his attitude towards his life is very interesting which gives a differect aspects of human.

With Ginger Coffee, Brian Moore provides a very honest (sometimes painfully so) depiction of the highs and lows in the life of a common man. I devoured this book. At times I felt I was looking into a mirror. At other times I felt I was looking into a crystal ball. That the story is not only insightful, but also uplifting is a gift I shall never forget.

The book was wonderfully written and makes you want to try each of the shops described. However, of the shops I wanted to visit, only one seems to still exist.

Lisa's Tea Treasures: phone number no longer in service and website removed

Tea & Company (now Mighty Tea Leaf) closed down their storefront 15 months ago and only does business over the phone and catelog

A'Cuppa Tea moved from the Crocker Galleria in SF to Berkeley (510 420-0196)

English Rose - no one answered the phone

I wonder if the author will publish an updated version of the book.

This is a lovely book, but several of the shops our family traveled to (all dressed up) had shut down. This may simply be an aspect of the volitility of the Silicon Valley Goldrush.

The author caught that the shop in Stanford Shopping Center had closed, but it has not reopened at the parent restaurant as she had been advised. The Butler's Pantry was barred and the building cleared out of furnature. A third had left a note, "no tea today".

The tea shop in Mountain View is a real gem. Its late hours make it a favorite with locals. The tea is absolutely wonderful, and very unique.

Buyer beware! Be sure to call first.

This book is a well-written and informative guide to tearooms in the Bay Area. The author is obviously passionate about her subject, and communicates her enthusiasm with great sensitivity, persuasiveness, and subtle humor. I recommend this book to anyone who loves tea, likes tea, or is thinking of investigating "the new coffee."

This book ranks up there with Bob Marshall's exploration of the Brooks Range, in my opinion. Sure, there's some parts that need literary polish, but at the core this is an adventure story written by the adventurer. There's not many of those around any more. We're all too busy doing what "Mother Culture" is telling us to do, so we can only dream of doing what the author has done.

I wish the author would do an updated edition with deeper treatment of the feelings and thoughts that he experienced during his adventure. They have to be fascinating!!

DON'T BUY THIS BOOK --- UNLESS --- You want a real life adventure that demonstrates expert survival skills.The ability to navigate a canoe in the ocean, battling the adverse conditions of changing winds,fog and waves. Traveling alone over 300 miles in 45 days with no replenishment of supplies. His writing technique reveals that of a typical outdoorsman being plain spoken and to the point. A laymans knowledge of the perils that exist traveling the Alaskan coast is necessary for a reader to appreciate this book. There are not many who would survive this adventure. Experience unorthodox attempts to counteract loneliness and frustration in accomplishing his goals.

If you are looking for a TRUE adventure story about someone who actually fights for his life on a daily basis and records his experiences,then you will enjoy this book.How many people do you know in this modern era of technology who battle mother nature and explore areas of the world where there are no other people? If you are looking for perfect linguistics and punctuation, then this book is not for you. The auther does not seem to be the type of person who sits in a college and studies the perfect usage of the English language. He is putting his life on the line and wondering how he will survive. I doubt that there are many people today who would rough it in this way. Most people are too lazy and have too many modern conveniences. It is good to know that there is still this type of rare courageous individual in the world today.

This clumsy novel reads like a rough draft that a good editor should have polished and tightened. The detective/narrator, Nora, is a buffoon who constantly hampers the mystery she is allegedly solving. The suspense never works. Why would Nora, hot on the trail of a bad guy, interrupt to tell him she's running late, just when he's trying to let her in on a clue? (When she's finally ready to hear, he won't tell.) This book teeters between the conventions of a mystery and the conventions of a novel desperately seeking a deeper meaning. It succeeds on neither level. For a marvelous Kenya setting read Francesca Marciano's "Rules of the Wild" or even go back to Karen Blixen's "Out of Africa." For authentically-menacing African politics read Nadine Gordimer or V. S. Naipaul. The only people who should read this turkey are those who want to use it as a textbook for Creative Writing 101: How Not to Write.

I came to Ahmed's Revenge quite prepared to love this book; I admire Wiley's choice of settings and subjects for his books and a review whet my appetite. The beginning is most promising; the story reads as if Wiley worked pretty hard on getting the first 40 or 50 pages right. Then it is like he ran out of time or interest and rushed through the rest. The bulk of the book reads too much, for a writer of Wiley's ability and pedigree, like a first draft. There are loose ends and dead ends and repeated ideas and wooden stage directions. People's reactions don't ring true. The narrator is breathless and racing about but despite her protestations I do not buy that she is a grieving recent widow, I don't buy the emotions she says she's feeling. Some interesting characters crop up and there are some nice passages but it is very uneven. The sudden (and very convenient) friendship that develops with the opera singer is particularly unconvincing and inorganic to the story. The follow through on the mystery is a bit weak. The sheer story telling is not at all sure or strong. Again, much of seems like first draft material that should have been revised if not dropped. I am sorry to find this book to be so thin.

Wiley escapes limited genre assignments with this novel which embraces so many themes. It is entertaining and surprisingly humorous in areas; it touches on class,race,and gender issues. His success is in crafting an intricate and engaging story which races the audience through political and social commentary that is subtle, and so more effective. The language is often beautiful and the backdrop is sensual. This is literature that offers a counter-history in the form of a personal memoir. I loved it; I read it in one day.

Another reviewer here says, "No celebration of diversity here!" People of different backgrounds getting together on an equal footing and talking is essential to Oldenburg's idea of the G.G.P. It just couldn't be plainer. Another reviewer says that Starbucks is their G.G.P., and while Starbucks is okay for something mass-produced, it's not quite the local, inclusive hubbub of a place that Oldenburg is talking about.

Four stars because the arguments are (as a third reviewer says) anectdotal and not so tight. (But then, how do you document a phenomenon as elusive as "place where diverse people get together and exchange information and ideas," especially if the phenomenon has all but dried up?)

I found out about this book from the movie, "You've Got Mail." The director, Nora Ephron, mentions in the commentary of this movie Ray Oldenburg's theory of the third place. This book has helped me greatly in finding my third place, Starbucks. Nora Ephron refers to Starbucks as being a great third place and it certainly is. To sit and read, or to relax and have a cup of coffee, Starbucks is the place. My third place. This is a great book.

Oldenburg's scholarship here is a little fuzzy -- while I found myself agreeing with many of his points, much of his evidence seemed anecdotal. His cross-cultural comparisons were interesting: the French cafe and the Austrian coffeehouse are institutions that seem, well, very foreign to Americans.

There are no substantive mentions of hair salons or bookstores in this work. I'm not sure how they slipped into the title.

On the whole, this work raises interesting questions about the decline of public life and public space in American culture. Oldenburg throws a number of darts at the suburbs and poor urban planning, but seems to spend more time lamenting the lost innocence of small-town America than thinking about the future and how things could be turned around. There's a lot of thought-provoking material here, and I think this work represents a good jumping-off point for further consideration and research.

I was looking forward to a fun quick read---WRONG. It was just too unbelievable for me. This one was better left on the 50% off table where I found it.

Ringer has a way with descriptions, and although some things are incredibly fanciful and a product of a hyped-up mind (the space shuttle comes to mind), others are essentially Minnie as He is.

The opening sequence is a great introduction to this "Jewish Hippie Boy from New Jersey". Obviously most of this story is fiction, but much of it has a basis in fact - it's up to you to figure out how much you want to believe.

This book is great as a beach read, as long as you can suspend your belief and groove to the music...

good hearted humor for soulful deadheads

Wow, a page-filling 5.5-by-5.5 photograph of a Krups propeller mill dominates page 74. Wait, there's more: on page 116 you'll find an equally imposing photograph of a Krups steam-operated coffee maker. (There's no need for a pump, it's so clever.)

This book, essentially worthless to those interested in espresso, is completely oblivious to some famous ways of making coffee. There is no mention of café cubano and there is no mention of the traditional ways to prepare the famous Hungarian dupla....

Well, I can honestly say this book has been a God send for me. I knew absolutely nothing about Coffee before this book and drank mostly instant. I got a taste for "real" coffee by frequenting the odd Coffee House with friends. I wanted to know how I could make a delicious drink like those I purchased. Thanks to this book - I now can! This is a very interesting read and takes the reader right through from growing the beans to serving. I have since purchased an Expresso machine and my friends LOVE to have coffee at my house. I am still learning and I have received other tips to improve my brew from other books but I owe my initial success to this book. GREAT for an absolute beginner and I suspect interesting to the more experienced. Thanks Corby! I'm no longer Tea Total :-)

My husband and I both enjoyed reading Joy of Coffee, and the suggestions for improving our coffee life were interesting and helpful. Kummer's prose makes us smile, but I tried making his recipe for mocha brownies and found them, well, awful--thin and sticky little bars with ground coffee residue on top. I wondered if something was incorrect about the directions, proportions or the ingredients in the recipe. I'd love a response if anyone knows. Thanks.