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Content by D. Nowlin
Commentateur n° : 2,282
Votes Utiles:
18
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Reviews Written by
D. Nowlin "Andrea N."
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Reviewer Rank:
2282 |
Page : 1 | 2 | 3
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As good as 501 Spanish Verbs but a bit different, May 19 2009
Useful book. I find it as useful as 501 Spanish Verbs. Each of these books has something the other does not. 501 Spanish Verbs has many practice exercises at the end of the book, and there are different types of exercises, including fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, and crosswords. My version does not come with an audio CD, but I think there is a version that does, but I do not know what is on it. So 501 verbs offers clear explanations with examples at the beginning of the book, charts of conjugations in all tenses of several of the most popular verbs in the middle, and the exercises at the end with answer keys. 2000+ Essential Spanish Verbs offers the charts as well as exercises at the end, but the exercises are not varied. There are exercises such as reading dialogue and answering questions based on it, as well as translating sentences. Also, this book comes with an audio CD which has the program [Spanish] Before You Know It. There are flashcards of several of the most used words to help with your vocabulary. They are in several different sections such as, Weather, Verbs, Foods, among many others. A native speaker will say these words when you click on them, and you can add your own words on the lists (or make your own list) and there are exercises to help you remember the words. (Writing them when you see the English equivalent, writing the English word for the Spanish word that is shown, you can see how many you get right) among others. (I actually have not used the program very recently, so I dont remember all the details, but it is very useful!) Its awesome that you can get the book AND CD for about $15.
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All you need to do is consistently write in it - every day, Feb 15 2009
- People who write down everything they eat and drink every day are very likely to lose weight and/or improve their eating habits. There are 3 months worth of journaling here and each day is divided into meals and snacks where you write down what you eat, the calories, and if you want to, the fat grams, amount of carbs, protein, and fiber. You can focus on what you need to improve because the numbers will tell you what you're eating too much of or too little of. There is also a little section where you can tick off how many cups of water you have had, what vitamins/supplements/meds you have taken that day and the physical activity you have done. There is also a part for notes where I usually write how I'm feeling, about injuries or what I need to improve on. For each day you can write your weight, the date, and circle if you've met your goals that day or not. There is a part to add up the calories/carbs/fat grams, etc to see if you have done as well as you wanted. Again, you don't have to use all of these things, but either way, I have found this book to be so useful because it's a benefit to see in black and white what you're doing. In this journal there are additional helpful things at the back like the nutritional information about the calories/fat gms/carbs/etc of many common foods, as well there are graphs where you can graph your weight over time, your BMI, your measurements, blood pressure, etc. At the beginning there are even tips for using the DietMinder, health sites listed that may also help or motivate you, information on serving sizes, ideal heart rate during exercise for different ages, and a little calorie expenditure guide that shows a list of activities that burn roughly 150 cals. There is a place to write your personal goals as well and to put before and after pictures.
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I think this is a great, easy to use journal for anyone who wants to lose weight or improve their eating habits, just use it consistently, spend those 5 or less minutes of your day to write, and it's very likely you'll progress toward your goal.
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Good book on Spanish grammar, Feb 1 2009
"Demystifying Spanish Grammar" is probably the smallest and shortest book on Spanish grammar that I have but explanations for grammar rules are clear and straightforward. There isn't much I haven't seen before as far as what is being covered (ser vs. estar, por vs. para, when to use the imperfect vs. preterit, the subjunctive...) but I do like how these are explained. The author likes to explain rules using acronyms so you know when to use them which I find helpful. Example sentences are also provided. If you are having trouble with these aspects of Spanish grammar and need a fresh approach to learn them or just want to refresh your memory, this book is great and is likely to help. I'm sure I'll be using it over again in the future too- it is easy to find information you need.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Good introduction to the language, Dec 18 2008
It's nice that there actually is an affordable and effective book for a beginner to learn quite a bit of Brazilian Portuguese. I thought this book was really well organized and a solid introduction to the language. There are exercises throughout the book as well to practice what you learned. There is also an audio CD which is helpful (A native Brazilian speaker repeats words and phrases which are also written in the book). The chapters are:
1)Introducing the Portuguese Language (Why learn it, similarities to Spanish, European Portuguese vs. Brazilian Portuguese, tips on learning Portuguese, recognizing what you already know)
2)The Sounds of Portuguese (Portuguese alphabet, accent marks, listening practice, consonants, stress pattern in Portuguese, oral and nasal vowels, typing in Portuguese)
3)Beginning Conversation (Greetings, talking on the phone, saying goodbye, etc)
4)Nouns, Articles, and Contractions
5)Introducing "ser" (the verb "to be")
6)Introducing "estar" (the other verb meaning "to be")
7)Describing People and Things in Portuguese
8)The Vocabulary of Numbers
9)First Conjugation Verbs
10)Second Conjugation Verbs
11)Important Verbs to Know
12)Verb Tenses: an Overview
13)More Verbs
14)Negative Words and Constructions
15)Questions and Exclamations
16)The Future and Other Tenses
17)Imperative and Subjunctive Constructions
18)Carnaval, Samba, Feijoada, and Futebol (Brazilian culture!)
19)Means of Communication (In person, by mail, making phone calls)
20)Traveling to Samba-Land (getting papers in order, hotel reservations, currency, a bit of information about the most popular cities...)
I was mostly looking to learn the language, not the culture, and this book is indeed mostly teaching the language. I liked the bits of information about the culture though in this book and found it interesting.
I definitely recommend this for a start to anyone serious about learning the language. I went through this while going through Pimsleur lessons for Portuguese and found it to be a great supplement to my learning (In my opinion, Pimsleur goes at quite a slow pace and this book helped me learn more about grammar in a shorter amount of time, as well as expressions, etc, without going at too fast a pace). I recommend it to travelers only if they want to spend some extra time learning a bit more than they absolutely "need".
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Great for high-beginner to high-intermediate students of Spanish, Nov 11 2008
There are certain words you just do not typically learn as a beginner in Spanish. Once you do have that basic foundation though, this book can help you expand your knowledge and be able to have more confidence talking and reading about 30 different topics. This book is full of exercises as well which is great because you can practice what you learn. I was not very sure how helpful this book would be as I had already studied Spanish (well, it was on and off) for a year and 10 months, and the topics seemed like they would be easy to talk about, like things around the home, in the restaurant, crime, sports, travel, etc, but after going through the book I realized how much I actually didnt know and how much the book helped me. There are few things that I did not find helpful (but the only chapter I felt I was wasting my time doing was the last one about politics and government because 1)It was mostly about stuff in the United States, and 2)I am not very interested in the subject matter and cannot see myself having conversations about it.) Answers are in the back which is nice and the book is very affordable. There were few errors (a few times they forgot to include answers to a couple of questions in the back or they accidentally gave the answers of question #10 as the answers of question #8 and vice versa.) Few typing errors. None of this really matters that much, as it doesnt really interfere with learning. They are just little things that I notice.
Anyway, I think for anyone (at the high-beginner to high-intermediate level) learning Spanish would find this book definitely worth their money and time.
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I want more from this author!, Oct 20 2008
Ive read Kite Runner before this and finished this book in 2 days. You just get so into the characters and feel for them: hate, disbelief, happiness, sadness, relief, because it all seems so well written, like it could be a true story. Also, through the story of two women you see what life in Afghanistan can be like, a hell for people who have seen so much death in war, which is sad because it once used to be a peaceful and beautiful place where people felt fairly safe. This story makes me feel lucky that I live in a place where Ive never had to go through anything like this! The story is indeed bittersweet, and there are many surprises which make you keep turning the pages. I love the writing style, just as I did in the Kite Runner and I can't wait until Khaled Hosseini comes out with a new novel!
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Wonderful!, Oct 20 2008
I wanted something that I could read every time I felt like giving up on weight loss and it sure does help! There are many many stories and tips. This book was written by a dietitian and she has studied a group of people over years who have lost weight (at least 20lbs I think, up to over 100) and kept it off for years. These people all had their own ways of losing and maintaining because of course one method wont work for everyone! I found the statistics and stories from people to be very interesting. Everyone knows you cant be on a cabbage soup diet forever and the book shows how you can have balance in your life with food and still enjoy sweets, or anything in moderation, and you can see the different ways you can go about doing it. Im sure Ill read it again all the way through but right now Im checking out other books on the same topic. I think Thin For Life is worth getting if you feel you need that extra motivation, or need some information, whether you have to lose a lot of weight or a little.
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Not bad, but not a page-turner for me!, Oct 20 2008
Ive read the book called A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night Time and both that book and this one are written by authors who know how to write from the point of view of a young boy, but the difference to me between the two books is that this one is just not very fast-paced, not quite as interesting because there isnt quite as much going on and also the main character, Burt, does not seem quite as complete as the boy in the other book. The subject matter is interesting though I definitely dont think its worth the hype on the back, but I also dont think its a complete waste of time!
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Dexter rules, Oct 20 2008
I think to me this book was more intense than the first just because a certain crazy man (who hurts people in messed up ways...) has Dexter's sister's boyfriend and for a while the reader doesnt really know exactly what will happen to him. (And also you dont know who will be next and how this crazy guy will be stopped) And once again Dexter himself is a brilliant and likable character and his patience is tested because a certain suspicious sergeant keeps watch over him much too often and Dexter cant do his job (kill the "bad guys"). Unpredictable and very entertaining
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Loved it, Oct 20 2008
I had seen two seasons of Dexter on TV before picking up this first book. I was interested in seeing if the book was just as good, and in my opinion it is. The writing style got me into the characters (who remind me of the characters in the episodes) and I like the fact that the storyline is not the same as in the series, so it was not that predictable. I loved this from beginning to end. I have never read about a character so interesting and different as Dexter... I have also read the second book and in my opinion it is just as good as this first book.
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