In his previous book "The Five Love Languages," best-selling author Gary Chapman contends that there are five major methods of love-giving ("love languages"), and each person responds differently to each type. Each person also "speaks" a primary love language, and responds strongly to one of the types of love-giving. Chapman identifies these love languages as: physical touch, gifts, quality time, acts of service, and words of affirmation. In order to best make someone feel loved, you must "speak" their primary love language to them.

In this book, Chapman is teamed up with best-selling author Ross Campbell, who has written some very successful books on relationships with children. The premise of this book is that the love languages are not only applicable to the adults in your life, but to your children as well, and can in fact have a major effect on their behavior and happiness.

The book begins with a general discussion of love languages, some stories illustrating the dramatic difference that utilizing the knowledge of love languages has made in some parents' relationships with their children, and an overview of the book. Chapman and Campbell then discuss each love language in a chapter of its own, complete with real-life examples of each love language in the lives of parents and children.

The book then launches into a discussion of discipline (do NOT use a form of discipline related to your child's love language, warn the authors), as well as a brief discussion of the effect that the love language theory can have on your adult relationships (for a more in-depth discussion, see Chapman's "The Five Love Languages"). There is also quite a long discussion of "passive agressiveness" which I thought to be a bit overkill, but I'm sure is very important in the treatment of the topic (I have a feeling that this is co-author Ross Campbell's pet subject).

The information in this book is very powerful and has the potential to radically alter your relationships with your children, as well as anyone else in your life. The testamonials are very convincing, and the fact that this book, as well as others in the "Love Languages" series have enjoyed such wild success is a testimony to their effectiveness. My only complaint really was that some of the writing occasionally tended toward the cheesy side, and that often I was aware of the differences in the voices of the two authors. These are unimportant complaints, however, and do not deter me from recommending the book highly!

This book would be useful reading for any parent, no matter the quality of relationships within the family, as well as anyone else who is dealing with children on a regular basis (teachers, grandparents, babysitters, etc.).

This outstanding book addresses how each child (adults as well) expresses and receives love best through one of five primary "languages" - quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. Although children need to be spoken to in each of these love languages, there's one love language that meets their deepest emotional needs and should be used often with them (and authors caution how you use that language for discipline). The information in this book complements books that address communicating with children based on their temperament (such as "Raising your Spirited Child" and "Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka). I also appreciate that the author included an informative chapter on "love languages in marriage", instead of just a one-liner encouraging readers to buy his book dedicated to that subject.

Bottom line - Even if you've read tons of parenting books, you will truly learn something new from this one - something to enhance your relationship with your child and adults in your life. You'll probably even learn something about yourself.

This book examines the ways that different people communicate love. Broken down into gifts, time, physical touch, words, and unexpected acts, love is communicated and understood differently by different people. The author argues that hurt feelings and emotional distance can be created by not understanding which love language is your child's primary language. This is applicable not only for children, but for understanding relationships with friends, your spouse and your own parents. I learned to recognize when my husband was expressing his love for me in his primary language. Contains guidance on how to determine which is your child's primary love language. Highly recommended.

The Slacker Confessions dances on the border of ridiculous and genius from start to finish. Basically this book is the signature peice of reading for the working man/woman. It's not a slam at the mundane jobs that the bulk of the nation participate in, but the triumph and humor that blossoms from working with the people that truly are the salt of the earth. All in a chronological order, it's absolutely a riot to follow this guy through all of these different jobs. With each story there is some sort of moral, it's not thrown in your face, but you can feel his growth as he learns from his mistakes and his mistakes are damn funny. I set out to read this for a laugh as I'd heard that it was hilarious, but on top of that I'd say that it's extremely inspiring. No Dr. Phil, b.s, this is a real person, telling real stories, making real mistakes, making real accomplishments and making me laugh to the brink of urinating myself from start to finish. I just hope that one day someone makes this guys story into a movie. A young guy with a lot of jobs, a lot of dreams and the best damn story I've ever read.

Okay, this book totally rocks. I had never read something that made me laugh out loud as hard as The Slacker Confessions. I expected it to be more of a negative look at working, but instead I found that it was extremely optimisitic and heartwarming. This was actually a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed his style of comedy and ability to tell a funny story, be it one or five pages long. It's a little pricier than others, but you often pay more for books from smaller publishers. In this case I'd say it's worth every penny and a whole lot more.

I accedently stumbled across a stand-up comedy show where Tommy Campbell performed. The best "accident" I've ever had.
I ended up buying "The Slacker Confessions", thinking if it was half as funny as the man himself, it was a good buy.

The book wasn't only funny, it was also inspiring, emotional and touching. And show you that if you really set your mind to do something, you can make it happen.

I read "The Slacker Confessions" on a bus down to New Orleans, and I think I kept the whole bus awake one night I just couldn't sleep.
At one point, the guy infront of me turned around and asked me what I was reading that made me giggle so much. So I read aloud for him the part I just had read. He ended up borrowing my book, with the promise to get an example himself.

Although i can sit here and write in big words just how funny and inspiring this book is, the best thing is to go out and get it yourself.
Don't take my word for it, just read it.
It'll add a few years to your life.

Happy reading!

As a computer teacher of older adults, the "simplified" books are excellent for beginning students. I would like fewer "cutesy" graphics, but the information is good, and it works well for beginning students.

This book is what I've been looking for the longest time. The technical terms become understood by simple graphical explations using cartoon characters. The book is well organzied from the first chapter to the last to let you understand what a computer is and it's various basic operations. If you are think of buying a computer and you want to understand what kind of computer to buy or not buy this is the book to have. This book is very simple to understand if you've never used one before. Which is unusual I was able to read 10 pages in one hour using this book. I still use this as a reference. I am pleased to have read this book.

I really do owe the author of this book, as well as the book salesperson who included this book, without my asking, with two other books on computers which I had asked be held for me at a local bookstore for me ( all three of which I picked up later), many thanks, because I did not know that I needed this book and I absolutley did. At the time I was thinking of buying a computer for the fist time, knowing very little about computers at all, and this book provided me with information that I absolutey needed in order to make an informed choice about what kind of computer to buy. I am very happy with my purchase and don't know what I would have done without this book. The book provides a good overview of computers including hardware and software, how computers work, bytes, and types of computer systems(PC-personal computer, Macintosh, mainframe, set-top box) and then, using very helpful graphics-a typical computer, as well as operating systms, 9 pages on the Macintosh, plus a very nice introductions to the internet and web,including what the internet offers, e-mail, getting connected, web browser, multimedia on the web, web portal, children on the web, web pages and shopping, ), as well as buying a computer (considerations such as cost, Brand-name and clone,and after sale-service), upgrade(condsiderations such as cost and effective upgrades), mouse, keyboard, input and output, printer (ink-jet and laser),modem, processing ( memory-memory size, program requirements, memory chips, virtual memory,ROM and CPU, Memory Cache and Bus). If you are thinking of buying a computer, especally if you are new to computers, but even if you are not, I really can't recommend this book enough to help you in making your decision. The edition of this book that I have is the Fourth Edition © 1998 and it only goes up to the Windows 98 operating system and Windows NT in Windows and Mac OS 8 in Macintosh (UNIX is also covered, as is MS-DOS), however. It's time for a new edition.

I don't get it. I mean I used to LOVE the TB series, I mean every day I would go to the bookstore and get the new book and would read it nonstop then come home and write a great review on it. I want to say a few words upon Christina. I HATE THE GIRL! Ok thats out of my system. How can these girls have so many problems but lead the picture perfect life?! It doesn't make sense, if I had a farm with racehorses and (before she was dumb enuf to sell Sterling) a wonderful eventing horse (which I do) then I'd be estaitic and not dwell on little things. Melanie was better before. She was a daredevil, who didn't care what other people think and now she's just so emotional and a bad version of Ashleigh in the books. I do wish so badly that she and Kevin would get back together, Lindsay gets on my nerves. However, I will continue to read them but usually ask someone who has them to borrow it. I just hope you read this, Joanna Campbell or whoever writes these books, because your losing the good touch on these books that I always loved.

This book is very good, and I think for once all the facts are straight and it fits into the story. I like this book because the setting is realistic, because we all know that training a horse doesn't always go smoothly. The fact that hey, Vince is not the god of trainers (what he seemed in the previous books) and we see that everyone makes mistakes. I hope that Star, as sick as he is, will recover and win many races, among them the Derby, and beats Celtic Mist. Who knows, maybe Image will be ready to race by then, and let's see, the field for the Derby would be something like Gratis, Wonder's Star, Celtic Mist, and Perfect Image. Now, who would we cheer for there?!? Melanie is back in racing, and I think she will win many races in the future, and maybe she'll be in the Derby, riding against her cousin Christina. One question though, in the Thoroughbred industry, you can not be the owner and the rider at the same time, so who will ride Star, or does he just belong to Whitebrook farm?

Joanna Campbell forgot to put a warning on these books; they are very addictive! I started reading the Thoroughbred series when I was eight and now at almost seventeen I am still reading them! I finished reading this book before I had owned it for 24 hours, because one chapter leads right into the next chapter so you just can't stop! I am now waiting for Star's Chance to come out! This book, "Perfect Image", tells us that because Image was pampered so much she is now wild and she may never be able to race especially if that nasty Brad Townsend gets his hands on her and makes her a sway back brood mare before her time! Will Melanie prove that Image can race before it's too late? She only has a week and with all the little incidents that have been happening is it even possible? This book is a perfect book for all horse lovers, especially girls! I love this series and I hope that my sisters, my children, and grandchildren will read them!

I liked the main character, and the book in general. I did not find it to be super scary, but you could definately see how it would apply to real life.

I had a hard time understanding all of the people into "cyber" sex. I was surprised by the amount of it. I guess I am not that computer literate, I don't even know how to find these sites. It was a pretty different reality. I also had the impression that this book was written several years ago.

Had 2 different story lines going on, and what you thought was happening wasn't. It was not quite that predictable.

Good way to pass the time. I would recommend buying it used unless you are in love w/the author. If you like this book, you would also like books by Kay Hooper, Helen Myers and Erica Spindler. Also Lisa Jackson and Iris Johanson.

Good luck!

Excellent psychological thriller about a serial killer who stalks women on the Internet. Bethany Campbell does an excellent job of story telling and character portrayal of some of the "lonely hearts" who use the Internet chat rooms to seek less-than fulfilling sexual and personal relationships.

It is evident that Ms. Campbell has spent many hours on the Internet, so I hope she reads my review so she will know how much I loved this book! I started reading it and could not put it down until the very last word had been read! I especially liked the evolution of the reluctant realtionship between Hayden and Carrie IRL, while the whole Cyber thing was going on... and (so as not to ruin this part for anyone else) the sudden twist involving Brooke! Most Internet related books that I have had the opportunity to read thus far paint a fairly unrealistic picture of what the Internet is, how it works, and it's capabilities. This book is so true to life that it is scary! (Speaking as someone who has spent a great deal of time chatting on-line)The characters are easy to relat to, and each of them remind me of someone that I know on the Internet (except for the killer thankfully!) This book should be read by anyone who spends a great deal of time on-line, or anyone who is curious about being a part of a virtual community such as Omega MOOn. I will also suggest this book to a few of my Cyber-pals whom I think take too many chances with some of the folks they meet on-line... maybe they'll take a little caution from reading this as things similar things happen IRL. :)

In recent times the genre of the psychological thriller has gained immense popularity. But it's a hardly a new art, as anyone familiar with Stevenson's famous Dr. Jekyll and Hyde will be aware. James Hogg's work does not enjoy the same legendary status as Stevenson's classic, but it is a worthy predecessor of its famous counterpart, anticipating it in many ways. In short it's very theological and psychological portrait of a man who is misled by the devil, evolving into a supernatural thriller. Published in 1824, it is widely regarded as the best work of the Scottish poet James Hogg (1770-1834).

It's a great script. The three-fold structure leaves open many questions about the interpretation of the novel, since the first and last part of the novel are supposed objective rational accounts of Wringhim's life by an unnamed editor, and yet the real truth of the murder mystery has to be elicited from Robert Wringhim's own irrational and subjective record of the same events (the middle section of the book). The structure of the narrative itself lends to the elusiveness of identifying the exact role of Gil-Martin as a doppelganger, an allegorical figure, a multiple personality, or an embodiment of Satan (this last being the most satisfying conclusion in my mind). In the end, it is still not clear who has really perpetuated the murders, and part of the brilliance of the novel is that it itself eludes a clear answer to the question "What happened?"

But it is not so much a murder mystery as it is a tale of the supernatural, and a deeply religious and psychological portrait of a madman. Some have regarded it as a satire on Calvinism, although it seems to me that shoe fits antinomianism rather better than Calvinism, because Calvinism maintains that assurance of election comes not through secret revelation, but through the fruits of election, which are a godly life. It could also be construed as a warning against intellectual arrogance, self-righteousness and hypocritical religious rationalism/fanaticism as embodied in Robert and his father. Certainly it is a deeply religious study in the deception of the evil one and the depravity of mankind, and chronicles a journey of human destruction.

But although one having a theological interest in these matters will gain greater enjoyment of the story, in the end it is just as much a psychological tale as it is a theological one. The occasional use of Scottish idiom by commoners in dialogue sometimes makes reading difficult, but on the whole this is a story accessible to anyone with an appreciation for a fine literary creation with a theological and psychological twist. It's a chilling classic that deserves more exposure than it has received.

James Hogg's masterpiece, this strange and evocative study of the effects of Calvinist doctrine on the Scottish mind, has slowly edged its way into the canon in the last twenty years largely because it is first and foremost a rattling good read. Like all the great Scottish novelists from Walter Scott to Robert Louis Stevenson to Muriel Spark, Hogg was haunted by the dual promise of Edinburgh both as the refined cosmopolitan Renaissance home of Boswell as well as the fanatically religious city of John Knox. THE PRIVATE MEMOIRS is a response to that dual inheritance, and the novel is filled with doubles and dual structures: two brothers (born on two floors of the same house) vie for filial recognition; one brother duplicates himself when he is visited by a devil figure, Gil-Martin, in his exact semblance; and the story is told in two parts, and one of those is itself doubled. Although the Scots dialect in sections is a real chore to get through, the book is a marvelous frightening read nonetheless, and NYRB has wrapped it all up in a glorious cover featuring a famous Blake illustration. This isn't an easy ghost read, but it is tremendously repaying.

Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified sinner is the story of the illigitamate son of a Scottish laird who is convinced by the devil to act on his own spite and rage and commit murder -- but Hogg adds a clever twist (I don't want to spoil anything by saying what it is) that leaves the reader wondering...

One of the great things about this book is that its serious subject matter is balanced by a dose of humor -- I was surprised to find myself giggling through the first fifty pages which tell of the laird's marriage to a reluctantly religious woman.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in nineteenth-century fantasy, but its detailing of the making of a fanatic is still hauntingly relevent today...

Wildwood was one of those books you can get into and really identify with the characters. I especially enjoyed Hannah and her fight to bond with Angel. All characters were brought to life and you felt like you really knew them.

I met Drusilla Campbell recently in California and purchased a signed copy of Wildwood. I was surprised after I read her book, that, by her own admission, she experienced difficulty getting published in the literary genre, since her characterization of three very different women is amazing! Apparently publishers didn't want her to jump from the romance market to the literary genre. I, for one, am glad she persevered and found the right agent to market her book. As a struggling novelist myself, I will study her book further, to improve my own mastery of the literary devices she's used, such as metaphor and simile, as well as her original, lyrical descriptive settings of northern California. She's accomplished many tasks masterfully in Wildwood. She moves the plot at a wonderful clip and manages to write from three different characters' points of view, each woman unique in experiencing her own growth and ephiphany.
I read this novel in two days and was sooooo reluctant to leave the three friends, Hannah, Liz, and Jeanne, when the book ended. It's my hope that Drusilla has other quality literary novels like this in the works!

In her dashing novel *Wildwood* Drucilla Campbell weaves an alluring, highly complex tale of three still-young women who find release from a horrible event shared some 30 years past. During the intervening years they've all lived quite different lives--two have remained close to home, the third has lived abroad--and it is she who returns for a visit and provides the ultimate catalyst for dramatic resolutions.

There are many aspects in Ms. Campbell's novel to intrigue us: a curious private school and a tenebrous nature-place of crime are provocative old hometown venues; the maddeningly relentless drought--a seemingly "judgmental" withholding of rain--serves as a puissant metaphor; and then there is the ever-surfacing mystery of a missing piece of intimate clothing, which is a key to their life-changing mystery. And of course there are the relationships between the women themselves--and their men--all inextricably wound together like tangled roots of old trees. These relationships are charged, and psychodynamically layered (especially interesting to me, a NYC psychotherapist), and all are portrayed with marked originality and truly extraordinary perspicacity.

On the way, there are delightful tidbits and dividends: a wonderful run through Paris; an engaging ear for the patois of the youth involved; and loads of good southern California.

Read *Wildwood*. Read it because it's immensely entertaining; read it because it's incredibly edifying.

This is the most comprehensive, enjoyable and infinitely readable book on indoor plants I have been able to find in my long period of searching. The first section of the book is a joy to anyone trying to find all the data relevant to the upkeep of indoor, patio and greenhouse plants, with a superb section on all tools, growing media and placement of all these plants. Green issues are tackled in an informative manner, and the detailed explanations of general plant care are suitable for both the expert and beginner. The section dealing with the actual identificaion of the plants is comprehensive, dealing with every aspect for care of each individual plant shown, and the subject matter is immense. This book is written in a friendly, uncluttered manner, and is a total joy for someone like me, who has scoured the bookshops of the UK to no avail. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I have a huge assortment of plant/gardening books, and often do alot of cross-referencing w/my hobby. This book is one of the first that I always pick up. It's "plain speak" approach (i.e. author will say, "I have always found..." etc.) is just terrific; I often find myself wondering how "Ingrid can help me with this?!" The tips are a wonderful "sidebar" feature, both highly informative, and just interesting! The descriptions the author provides of each plant is a true DESCRIPTION....detailed, and geared to educate the reader. They're not just a bullet-point listing of a few of the essentials on the plant, with questions left unanswered.

I went to my library over and over again, consulting this book on a number of plants questions and issues, until finally, I got my own precious copy!!

100% worth the investment of time and money for your gardening needs, both indoors and (gosh, what a bonus!) outdoors as well.

The one indispensible item this book provides that I have not found elsewhere, is a listing of which plants are poinsonous to pets and people, and which are not. I always review this book when I am considering bringing a new plant into my house. If it says they're not poisonous to my pets, I bring it on home. If it is poisonous, I avoid it. I have not found as comprehensive a list any place else.

This book reads like an essential afterword to the great video series. The chapters on mythologies of love, and of war and peace are especially effective. Campbell's teaching is direct, and honed to a useful, beautiful glow. He's a courageous thinker, able to order considerable insights with impeccable ease. Leaves us the richer. He's hailed for the scope of his vision, yet it's the inevitable intimacy of Campbell's teaching genius that makes his books so effective. Read this book and find a realm vaster and more intimate than one that brung ya! --that's effective spiritual reading, the fruit of clearly intense scholarship, and Campbell makes it immediate and consoling. Delivers what it promises. It's difficult to be disappointed by stuff this fine.

MYTHS TO LIVE BY consists of a dozen essays/talks Joseph Campbell prepared between 1961 and 1971. He described the period as a "new age" where "..we are...participating in one of the very greatest leaps of the human spirit to a knowledge not only of outside nature but also of our own deep inward mystery."

At the time he wrote these essays, Campbell was a professor on a campus, surrounded by young people whom he found hard to understand at times. For example, in his essay "The Moon Walk--the Outward Journey" he relates his own feelings of awe on viewing the Apollo moon landing and contrasts them with the reaction of a student who wrote "So What" on a photo of the moon landing posted on a campus bulletin board. In another essay "Schizophrenia--the Inward Journey" he contrasts the use of mind-altering drugs by shamans and psychotics (including the LSD induced version) as the difference between divers and non-swimmers in "the waters of the unviersal archetypes of mythology."

I find Campbell's essays are very relevant, 30 years later. The most obvious example is "Mythologies of War and Peace" which addresses the underlying belief systems of participants in the Mideast crises. Campbell says the cruel fact is that "killing is the precondition of all living whatsoever: life lives on life, eats life, and would not otherwise exist...it is the nations, tribes, and peoples bred to mythologies of war that have survived to communicate their life-supporting mythic lore to descendents." He suggests that "we" in the West "have been bred to one of the most brutal war mythologies of all time." He then goes on to cite Deuteronomy and Isaiah and follows with excerpts from the Koran such as Sura 2, verse 216.."Fighting is prescribed for you."

Campbell does not condemn myths nor does he say myths are not literally true. He suggests creation myths and myths about love and war and peace contain the essence of the truth. Myths are to humans what kangaroo pouches are to baby kangaroos, they provide a "womb with a view." Being born simply isn't enough. We need myths to help us organize and guide our lives. However, our current myths arose in another era and were shaped by tribal mentalities that sustain the notion of GROUP differences. We need new myths for the journey of life.

I read this book while on a cruise, and found myself spending a lot of time reading. Of all his works, this is the most down to earth. The others are too 'professorial' as if intended to impress, while this one simply lays it on the line. Psychology and mythology relate to each other very nicely, as Mr. Campbell realized when asked to share his concepts with those of a Psychologist. Jung was a favorite because of his concept of Universal Mind. Contrary to what might be thought, the book is not anti-religious, but it does explode particular Christian beliefs. Rather, it reveals the Universal meaning of 'life' which each community resolves in its own way, frequently as not, in similar ways. Boil away the variety of customs, etc.,and you have the essence of Joseph Campbell's work, and a better appreciation of man's universal mind.

The World of the Vampire is not complete without the unsung leaders of the Undead, the Nosferatu. Some say they are the only real Vampires left, other say they are nothing but Sewer Rats. With this book you'll get to know them inside, out, upside, down, and back to front. The Players Book gives you a brief overview of this clan, this book dives right in, and gives you the real scoop on playing a Nos. This book is a must for Table-Top Vampire Players & Mind's Eye Theater Live-Action Role Players. Everything from History of the Clan to new Merits & Flaws and more. Buy it, Read it, Play it.

What can I say, the Nosferatu clanbook is more detailed then any other book. Most clanbooks leave the reader with questions... not the Nos! Backgrounds, unique flaws, strange stories, all are there. Take that Toreador. I've read Toreador, Brujah, Malkavian, and Gangrel clanbooks, and these SEWER RATS were the most interesting of the bunch. To think one would WANT to live forever as a Nosferatu. After reading this book, who knows...

The Nosferatu, a clan of sewer-dwelling, self loathing vermin, right? I think not. This book was one of, if not THE, best clanbook I've read. This book had all the normal crap, i.e. merits and flaws, new discipline powers, et cetera. But what really makes this book worth buying is not all that crap, but the new and wonderful take on the Nosferatu mind-set. It was presented in a sort of comical manner, but still serious enough to make it worth reading. It had lots of information on "Nosferatu Kingdom" (the sewers) including their artwork contained therein, the different beasts that share their prefered dwellings, and a lot of other stuff you could never imagine. The book ends on a MAJOR plot twist, one that scared the living crap out of me, seriously. I wont spoil it or anything, but that alone made the book worth the price. If you EVER intend to play a Nosferatu, or just run a chronicle with a lot of Sewer Rats in it, you should get this book. I just have to say it again, I LOVE the new take on the Nosferatu-- I couldnt stand that self-loathing, feeling sorry for myself crap that is presented in all the other books; The cynicism cracked me up constantly.