We can all learn a valuable lesson from Bob Ross' latest publication on humor in the maket place. This relatively short book is a series of vignettes, observations and just plain funny happenings that are directed to one central theme: that the ability to appreciate humor in every facet of our lives, including business as well as leisure can do much to alevieate stress, impove health and enhance morale. A humorus speaker who is in demand at corporate meetings where he pulls off outrageous performances posing as an expert in the particular coprorate field, Ross has been known to send his audience into appoplexy with distressing and even devistating news of the corporation's future, new regulations, taxes and other matters. He goes on ponderously untill they slowly discern that they had been had. Needless to say there are a lot of laughs that follow. This is but one way Ross has sucessfully convinced executives that there is indeed a need and a place for humor in busineess. I reccomend this book for all executives who may be a bit shy about expressing humor in the company of their employees, and to every one who appreciates the gift of humor.

As a professional comedian (and one who has appeared on both Johnny Carson's and Jay Leno's late night talk shows), I make it a point to review various books about humor. I found Mr. Ross's book to be unique in the way it so thoroughly illustrates the use of humor for purposes other than just "getting a laugh". He's also right-on with his tips on creating comedy and delivering it properly. To me, this is worthwhile reading for everyone - even those outside the "Funny Business".

This book is a real "keeper." It explains in detail how to apply humor in a productive manner to deal with all kinds of business and personal situations. I don't know of any other book that provides such a broad treatment of the subject of using humor to handle such a range of different problems.

It is extremely easy reading because it contains over 400 entertaining stories about famous people and companies thinking funny to achieve extraordinary results. You'll be entertained and pleasantly surprised at the many ways you can use humor effectively in all aspect of your life.

I bought this book because I thought that this book would surprize me with pictures that facinate me and filled with eye candy and interesting ideas or people. What I found was something less "fantastic" but more personal. The book is written from an aspect from a personal perspective of the authors travels. Written from the authors first person impressions and interviews. When I first got the book I flipped through it and didn't find it exciting, I might have forgotten about the book because of the less then fancy impression but I started reading a few chapters here and there and the Author writes about each picture... what was happening when she took the picture, and what it means to the person who created the place of worship. The book turns out to be very well written, amazing "feel good" impression of looking into a personal view of peoples spirituality.

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY says that Holy Personal "is a fascinating, in-depth study of how spirituality can express itself in that most intimate of worlds, the home." John Manikowski for the Berkshire Eagle writes:"beautifully written, lavishly illustrated." In describing Little Rose Chapel he goes on to say-- "Every detail has been carefully planned, created and designed from within a deeply spirited heart, through immense love and with a devotional direction that almost seems fantasy like, but it is real." BOOKLIST says, "Holy Personal honors the presence of the Divine in the midst of life." And Clarissa Pinkola Estes for THE BLOOMSBURY REVIEW writes: "In Holy Personal, two dozen devout souls speak about their handmade sanctuaries, many of which shelter images of Mary and various santos. It is clear water from the artesian well. These site builders symbolize in real time the holiness they feel in their hearts. From a Moonlodge in New Mexico to stupas, from a Sandstone Cathedral to a Garage Chapel, we follow the artistic devotions of those not bound by the doctrinaire, but are instead freshly cut by the thorns of the Mystical Rose, those who can live in the atomic moment of merger with the Divine, who are overflowing with gratitude--this last being one of the holy proofs that Spirit has in fact visited the longing soul. The photographs by Donna DeMari, are worthy of long meditations."

This is a carefully researched and beautifully written book with excellent photography. I recommend it for anyone who has an interest in religion and/or spirituality. Is is truly inspiring.

Hunting for Mr. Good Bargain is an entertaining and insightful compilation of a lifetime of tips, savings ideas and shopping techniques presented by author Marlene Moore.

I personally am a non-shopper. I do not spend my Saturdays going from mall to mall on the quest for the perfect pair of slacks. I rarely enjoy a trip to my corner market unless they are giving out free tastes of their wares around each aisle corner so as to keep the kids busy. And, I am not going to fill up my already-full house with more stuff from garage sales.

But, I am a frugal woman and I enjoy the hunt and fresh kill of a good bargain! Ms. Moore sounds like she truly enjoys her shopping adventures, and her little stories that accompany her tips are quite fun. The meat of this book is written within the stories, giving advice from how to find the diamond in the rough from a re-sale clothing store, to how to buy the best items from the comfort of your living room.

Marlene gives you tips and anecdotes for nearly every imaginable shopping adventure, so there's surely something within the covers of her book for everyone. My husband got a big kick out of the thong advice, and I even caught him repeating it to his mother on the telephone! I shook my head with understanding over the chapter on bras; and 30 years after needing my first one, I have still not found the ultimate comfort supporter. But, I sure have a drawer full of duds!

I recommend you pick up Hunting for Mr. Good Bargain, and enjoy this fun read while you are making out your next 'I want' list. Make sure you take notes, so that you, too, can write some fun stories from your bargain hunt!

Hunting For Mr. Good Bargain is a fun and creative guide for anyone who needs to buy anything, whether you love or hate to shop. Marlene Moore provides a unique perspective on finding just that perfect, yet affordable gift. Learn from her hilarious experiences and mistakes. A must-buy book for everyone.
Lizzy Shannon
Author of Tempest Raised

I love this book. I always had a hard time finding a gift for my mother-in-law until I read this book. Last week was her birthday and not only did she really like what I bought her, but she kept it, and is using it. Hoorah!!!!

I enjoyed the original version Little Raccoon and the Thing in the Pool when I was a little kid, but this book is even better. It deals with little Raccoon's journey to the pool after his mother told him to bring some crayfish for supper. So he goes to the pool and sees himself reflected in the water. He is scared and comes home without the supper, but later on he goes back, gets the crayfish and the book gets its happy end. A great book for every kid up to 5 years.

I learned to read from this book and it has been my favorite children's book ever since. It is the story of a little raccoon who is given the responsibility of bringing home dinner for his family. He goes to the pond to gather cray fish when he sees something scary in the water and he is afraid to reach into the water. Through the story he encounters many other animals who give him suggestions of how to deal with the thing in the water.

My own children enjoyed the original version Little Raccon and the Thing in the Pool. My granddaughter loved the newer version, Little Raccoon's Nighttime Adventure. When you read to a child, you're sure to get to do it over and over. There are few books that don't become tedious with repetition, and this is one of them. It was such fun to watch the light of understanding come on in each child's eyes as they realized that little raccoon had been afraid of his own reflection. The gentle, underlying message is that we often fear what we don't understand and that it's better to face the unknown with a smile than a scowl. This is a book with a good "so what," written in such a way that children can draw the conclusion themselves.jdk@acc-net.com

After cranking out a string of pot-boiler thrillers, Judith Hearne was Moore's debut venture into the world of the serious novel. Here he sought to depict the epic, cosmic conflicts that are under the surface of the most seemingly ordinary of lives. He set it squarely in 1950's Belfast, where he was raised as one of the Catholic minority. He hated Belfast, calling it a "claustrophobic, provincial backwater... trapped in the nightmare of history" and plagued equally with Protestant self-righteousness and Catholic repressiveness. All of these sentiments find their way into this, his first literary novel.
Judith, convent-raised, unmarried, and forty-something moves into Mrs. Rice's boarding house on Camden Street. It is her sixth relocation in the last few years. We find out WHY later. She teaches piano and embroidery to an ever diminishing handful of students, has very few possessions, and fewer social attachments. In fact, her only social involvement is tea with the O'Neill family on Sunday afternoons. Only later do we find how one-sided even this relationship is. The O'Neills secretly dread her visits.
We are soon to sense the brooding cloud of narrowness, plainness, loneliness, and ignorance that hovers over this poor soul. Moore captures it. Even her physical frame, he says, is "plain as a cheap clothes rack."
To sustain herself she lives in a world of religious faith and imagination... or illusion. She daydreams, and surrounds herself with iconic totems from her uneventful past. And she has a secret vice that isn't revealed until almost midway in the novel. She's a(n) _____! (I won't say).
The novel revolves around Judith's interactions with the many other residents of Mrs. Rice's home. Because of Judith's long repressed desires and vivid imagination, she is quick to assume that Mr. Madden's attentions will lead to a splendid marriage. But in their mutually illusive worlds they are both nursing dissimilar motives as regards each other. And meanwhile, Judith is being horribly set up for a total spiritual/emotional breakdown by a certain nefarious Iago-like presence in the home. As a result of her mounting disappointments she questions (abandons?) her religious faith, and is led in increasing measure to wallow in her secret vice... the real "passion" of Judith Hearne. And it is indeed, partaken in abject loneliness. Even the Church, represented by the tactless Father Quigley, rejects her cry for help. He heaps penitence and guilt where forgiveness and grace are needed.

This novel is brilliant in its portrayal of a woman at the very outer limits of disillusionment. Trapped by the passage of time. In the end, she looks in the mirror and smiles a costly smile. It has cost her the illusion, the pretence, and the ill-founded faith of all her years.

What a novel! Here in a tantalyzing weaving of different characters' perspectives, we learn about the various levels of Belfast society and its intolerances. The main character is an Irish woman who let her shorthand slide, so she teaches piano for a living, and continues to lose her students steadily as the children's parents discover she has alcohol on her breath.

Surreptiously she takes long bus rides to the edge of town for whiskey-buying expeditions, and has to take the clinking bottles back up the stairs of her lonely room. She seems to have no real friends or interests, and is moving from boarding house to boarding house as her alcoholism is discovered; landlords kick her out. What is new and exciting in this parish is the older brother of the landlady just back from 30 years of living in New York, making allusions to his life in the hotel business. She finds out by accident that he was a doorman for a hotel. He'd done every job he could find in the rough streets of NYC, and thought his doorman job the best ever he'd found, until he was injured by a car hitting him, giving him one bum leg dragging. These and many other details are piled up upon the reader through various characters' gossiping with each other. For example, the 30-year-old Mama's boy, son of the landlady, is screwing the 16-year-old maid, and hangs out all day with no job, telling tale tales and spreading malicious humors to keep his own reputation clean. The ex-NYer was a very disappointed fellow who started drinking at bars, just to stay out of the house, realizing that he had no place in his old home country, neither in his small village in Donegal, nor in Belfast, so he mutters about "going down to Dublin", but never does he leave. He can live rent-free at his sister's, and she resents it o boy!

The sad decline into a drinking binge of this woman is quite a feat; one suspects the writer must have himself experienced it or known someone who'd done the same. It's peculiarly Irish, how far down she goes, in her last faint hopes for romance, crushed when the NY'er begins to ignore her when he realizes she has no money and can't be a business partner.

And so it goes... better not give away anymore of the plot.

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearn is probably one of the most beautiful books in contempory Irish literature. Brian Moore treats Judy Hearn with a completely unbiased nature; he is definitely in touch with the character's values, and her flaws. Moore has shaped a novel of his time and Ireland's people that will probably influence many for years to come.

The Ghost And Mrs. Hobbs is about a girl named Allie who is solving a ghost mystery with her best friend Dub. While Allie is trying to solve this mystery strange things start to happen to her. Dub leaves Allie because he doesn't like the ghost's attitude, so Allie is all by herself trying solving her ghost mystery.
I really liked this book by Cynthia DeFelice. I have read 2 of her books. I can really relate to the charaters in this book, like how Allie was upset that Dub left her. This is a great book. Read it!

A ghost came to Allie for help. He wanted revenge. He wanted to get back at the person who killed him. He goes to Allie and tells her things. She goes looking for more information about what happened to him. He was killed in a fire. While Allie was looking for things in the library, things started to melt. She goes and interviews Mrs. Hobbs, the lunch lady. While she is interviewing her, the papers on the table catch on fire. John Walker (the ghost) told her that Mrs. Hobbs killed him. Later in the book, she finds out more unbelievable things about John Walker.
I like to read mystery books. I think they are the most interesting things to read. One thing I liked about this book is the clues were the most interesting. If you like mystery book, you would like to read this one.
There is another book like this one. It is called The Ghost of Fossil Glen.

I saw this book at the lybrary several months ago, and as soon as I was done with the first chapter, I finished it the next day. It was a really good children book, and as for grown-ups.
I won't tell you about the plot, because I don't want to give it away. but trust me, you will not be dissapointed.

I am an avid baker, cakes especially, and this book is the perfect guide for anyone who is either a pro or a beginner looking to become serious with a cake pan. For beginners, the beginning of this book is a true kitchen campanion, explaining the obvious and not so obvious points of baking a cake in abundant but very helpful detail. Both the practical and scientific aspects of baking are touched upon in very easy to understand terms. For pros, the recipies are quite satisfying. Every step from pre-heating the oven through measuring ingredients through embellishing and serving is explained for beginners, while many taste and flavor variations are offered for those who are looking for more of a challenge. I highly suggest this book for anyone looking to start or to expand a knowledge of cake baking. My only minor complaint is that it doesn't offer any advice for perfecting cupcakes, especially using some of the great batters on these pages. But regardless, you'll really refer to this book time and time again.

This book contains everything from the basics of cake-making to fanciful decoration and frosting techniques. In between are about 2 dozen recipes for cakes of all types.

Be warned that none are simple to make, though instructions are well laid out for those with baking experienced. I've especially liked the carrot and lemon cakes, so far.

Beautifully photographed and so far I have only made 2 of the cakes and my guests raved about them. One was the white cake and the other was the fantastic coffee cake which was a major hit. I am anxious to try the carrot cake next. I found his introduction very helpful and he has some great hints on how to make the very best cake.

Doing a review of Keats' work is impossible, his merit has already been established, his work is mastery. Now the question is this, is the book well done? For a small sample of the genius's work, this is a great edition, for a more experienced poet, this one isn't for you. The poetry is genius, the book is not great.

Doing a review of someone like Frost, Keats, Rilke, or Shakespeare is like reviewing the Bible, it is impossible. It has already been established that this man's poetry is mastery. Now the question is thus, what book should you purchase? If you want a small taste of his work at a good price, this is it. With this small, under $... edition, you can decide if you want to purchase anymore of his books. I say it is a great book for a poetry shelf in anyone's library.

What a wonderful anthology of John Keats' poetry. The selections in this book range from his well known and loved pieces like "Lamia" and " To Autumn" to less familliar but still gracefully written "On the Sea" and "To Leigh Hunt, Esq." The timeline in the front of the book is helpful, giving an overview of what the world was like in Keats' short lifespan. Many critics wonder what he would've accomplished had he lived longer, and by reading this collection of his poems, one can only image the brilliant works he might have given us to further his powerful legacy.

The other reviewer of this book gave it five stars, calling it "intelligent and top of the line." Yes, it is a beautifully photographed book, and Stefandis is one of the great decorators of our era. But I was looking for a book that would help me decorate and design my new house, bought in 2002. And, alas, "Living by Design" is already dated. It was published in 1997 but was photographed earlier, AND IT SHOWS.

John Stefanidis does live by design; and with purpose and clarity he also designed his home and gardens, with wonderful results. He used his own textile designs to good use throughout the home, which is indicative of a man who knows his own mind when it comes to design. The results of the transformation of old stables into a comfortable home are spectacularly simple, by design, making the home a most usable, gracious, and gentle environment for him. There are also numerous design elements which any would be designer/decorator could use to good advantage in their own homes.

Not your ordinary coffee-table book; an essential guide for anyone interested in a house and garden that is original, witty, mindful of place and time. The photographs are unusually good and the text compelling --- it makes the good life seem accessible and comfortable.

I received this much-anticipated book today. True to description, it contains beautiful photos (one page was misprinted with a wide pink streak across the photo) and text from architects, owners, etc. What it doesn't have much of is anything more than brief or shallow explanations of HOW sustainable living takes place -- minimal floor plans (meaning only for a few of the homes reviewed.

For one clear example, Lake/Flato architects built a truly innovative vacation house, with the living area surrounded - wrapped really - in the bedrooms and bathrooms of the house. Only a floor plan can reveal their creative arrangement of the rooms. The house is featured in this book, but no indication of the remarkable new layout - maximum living in minimal space. (Look for the Contemporary Architecture series for Lake/Flato architects for more information.)

Broad but shallow is a good summary for this pretty, but not nearly as informative as I had hoped, book.

Finally! A book on sustainable architecture that shows quality buildings designed by Architects. All too often, these books show buildings that are not well designed, and detailed, and the quality of construction is lacking. I was very pleased to see well known architects, as well as lesser known architects' work detailed in this beautiful book. This book is wonderful to look at and it also has excellent, well written descriptions of each project.
It's a great read, and it is now in my personal library. I also bought one for the office.

In the course of designing our new house, my family and I were looking for inspiration. This book gave us plenty of ideas and opened up new possibilities as to materials we could use that would be kinder to the environment that traditionally built homes.

The photographs are beautiful, and it was interesting to read what each of the book's homeowners had to say about constructing their houses. I had always thought that homes built of rammed earth or bales of straw were boring-looking, but this book proves the materials can be used to make great-looking houses.