At first I bought this book because of its title and because it was written by Terah Kathryn Collins, whose book, "The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room" is a favorite of mine (see my review). However, as I began reading this book, I realized it was written a little differently.

In this book, Collins has written narratives of different feng shui clients who had issues involving wealth and propserity, and then how, using feng shui principles, they were able to resolve these problems. I should note, that not all the cases involved the Wealth and Propserity corner of the bagua, which is interesting. Actually, it was this fact that kept the book quite readable. I also enjoyed Collin's easy-going, breezy, writing style.

All the areas of the bagua relate to each other, and while many think that only their Wealth and Prosperity corner may be affecting their finances, it could be any of the other 8 guas that has its "finger in the pie". Reading these narratives and solutions made that abundantly clear. At first, I was looking for "my" solution, but then I realized that a combination of the stories was similar to my own. At the end of each narrative, Collins lists the enhansements and changes made and suggestions for the reader.

This is probably not a good "first" book for feng shui. Instead, it's more of a "companion" book for someone more familiar with feng shui, or maybe someone who wants to know a little more how feng shui works in people's lives. I really enjoyed it as a read in itself, without thinking of it so much in terms as a lesson plan in feng shui. For that, I recommend reading "The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room" by this same author, Terah Kathryn Collins.

This is the first book I read about Feng Shui. I found I really enjoyed Collin's breezy style of writing, but more than that, after reading 10 other books on feng shui, I can honestly say this is the best book out there for the beginner feng shui reader.

Collins goes over all the feng shui basics in this book - the bagua, enhansements, colors, the five-element theory (nourishing and destructive cycles), etc. She then goes on with the theories of each Room beyond the bagua (such as that bathrooms are watery, etc, and how to prevent them from being overly watery). I found this very helpful. I also enjoyed how Collins had affirmations for each gua and each room. The affirmations, for example, for the bathroom, involve letting go of toxic thoughts and emotions.

This book is also full of photos, both black and white and color, that are really helpful in allowing you to see what the author means when she gives an example of good or bad feng shui. The photographs are really gorgeous, too, and simply make the examples stand out really well!

After reading this book, I went back and read her book, "The Western Guide to Feng Shui", but didn't enjoy it nearly as much. It doesn't has the photographs, the writing is stilted, and she doesn't go into as much detail with enhansements and color theory as she does in this book. If you had to choose which book to start with, start with "The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room"! Simply the best First book to read about Feng Shui!

Dry recounts Augusten Burroughs struggle with alcoholism and recovery, hitting rock-bottom, and his effort to resurface once again. In it, he simultaneoulsy mocks AA, the Proud Clinic and his rehab group, as well as recognizes in a peculiarly insightful way, that they have, in fact, saved his life. He describes in vivid fashion his changing relationship with his friends, drinking buddies, and former lovers during this tumultuous time, ending with an epiphany of self-awareness as he abandons alcohol for good.

This is a poinant story, humorously told, yet without being funny. Burroughs makes you want to care about him, from successful ad man, to his near bout as a skid row bum. Burroughs's insightful description of coming to grips with alcoholism and its consequences seems both sad and funny at times, such as when he describes coming back from rehab to an efficiency apartment filled with thousands of empty Dewars bottles, and furniture he now realizes he had bought when he was drunk.

It's truly hard to put down and is a fascinating read; important, too, if you've ever known anyone who had a problem with alcohol. Highly recommended.

I bought this book this past January and have been reading it daily. I find it makes a good companion to Cyril Leslie Beecham's book "The Dictionary of Dates" which lists more ancient dates. Instead, "On This Date", lists many more "modern" dates, such as those we are more familiar with, like the TV Premier of "ER", or the TV premier of "All in the Family", etc. Unlike some of the other date books, this one lists many more tv stars and movie stars than others, however, if you are looking to see when the Battle of Britain was, you probably won't find it in this book. It also didn't have Isak Dinesen's birthday (4/17/1885) although it did list VE Day.

Overall, this book is sort of a Hit-or-Miss book. For the Really Big dates that are things EVERYONE has heard of, you're sure to find it in here. But for the more obscure people or dates, you may want to check out another date book.

This book starts out with a basic overview of the Chinese calendar, including the story of how the 12 animals came to represent the Chinese zodiac. There is then a calendar over the last 100 years, (to 1900), showing the lunar calendar, and when the Chinese New Years began, so you can determine what signs you and others belong to. After that, follows a basic description of each of the twelve animals.

What I was concerned about when I bought this book was that, as a horse, I knew there would be a description of what would be in store for those born in the year of the horse, etc., but what about those born in the year of the fire horse, water horse, etc? Well, as it turns out, Somerville has also added the elements to his book, and you will not be disappointed. Following the basic overview of each animals' upcoming year, is a further detailed description of what the element of the animal will affect that person. I was really pleased to discover that. If you know anything about Chinese astrology, you know that the fire disposition is quite different from the earth disposition or water disposition.

One thing I was disappointed with, is that there is no information on lucky directions or colors or charms, (such as stones or elements) to wear or display. For that, perhaps one should look in a combination Chinese astrology/ feng-shui book. I'm not sure, but I include it in this review for your information.

One thing I especially enjoyed was the description of other monkey years and how the trickster behaved during them. This is not only entertaining, but it is also of great interest to note how the stock market and world events played out during previous Monkey years. It can help you decide for yourself if you think Chinese astrology is valid or not. You can also look back on your own life and reflect on where you were during that time and see how your own Monkey year was.

My 22 month old daughter just loves this book. Each page has a small sentence that begins, "I like it when..." and ends with something a child would like, for example, "you let me help", "we splash about", etc.

The pictures with their primary colors and penguin illustrations always elicit a smile, and the words with their simple messages convey heartfelt feelings to mother and father and child. We enjoy acting out the pages, especially when it comes to giving hugs and kisses. During mealtimes, when we try new things, I remind my daughter of that page in the book, and she gets very excited.

I truly feel that this book is more than a book to teach reading...it is a book to teach connectedness between parents and children. And that is far more important at this age, maybe at any age.

I bought this book because I live in the Northeast. However, I was surprised to discover that this edition actually has most species of birds, including those that live in the West or South, with ranges through and including Mexico. This was a wonderful surprise as I actually travel quite a bit, so I don't have to buy additional editions of Sibley's bird books.

As to the content of Sibley's guide, there is none better. His illustrations are outstanding, and descriptions are just wonderful. He describes ranges, eating habits, whether the bird tends to be solitary or fly in groups (flocks), nesting, coloration, etc. Best of all, I really like how he shows the bird in a multitude of positions, from standing to flight, so that if you saw a glint of the bird in a different point of view, you can still identify it using this guide. Top ratings.

I bought this book when I started my Day Care business, and needed ideas for simple puppets. This book turned out to be the best out of a series of books I purchased in terms of offering ideas for me and the children. I really like that the ideas for the puppets are based on simple materials that you can find anywhere - including leftover supplies in your own home, like toilet paper rolls or orange juice cans. This teaches children to be resourceful and productive, and to use their imaginations.

Also, the ideas really work well. The puppets are simple, but there are enough ideas to build on that you could make really complex mechanical puppets, or moveable puppets if you like. This is a book that you and your children could grow on. I don't think, however, that if you are going to do art-puppets, this book would be for you, but it would be a good start for someone who has never made puppets before and wanted to get a good start.

The author, Barbara MacDonald Buetter, goes over at least a dozen different types of puppets and many different ways to decorate them. My children never tired of making the puppets. Finally, MacDonald Buetter gives ideas to build different types of theaters, from simple to more complex, and so we had a little puppet show! Wow!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered this cookbook, but it turned out to be a great investment! I've tried nearly thirty recipes from Lemlin's book and they are all wonderful, as well as easy to prepare. Some other vegetarian cookbooks turn out tasteless meals, but not this cookbook. Instead, Lemlin relies on easily found flavor enhansors, like Wasabi, or soy sauce, or even just good-old garlic to boost flavor and boy, does it work!

My family especially enjoyed the recipes for the vegetarian barbeque... who knew it could be so good?! She's got great sandwich and salad ideas, too, as well as main dishes that are different from the standard vegetarian fare. The whole family loved the meals from Lemlin's cookbook - yummy dishes! Thumbs up and Bon Appetit!

I bought this cd for our daughter when she was just born and play it once in a while, but frankly, she just doesn't like it. The music is very inconsistant from song to song and while one is very calming and she'll fall right asleep, the next song will have a voice with a sort of a piercing cry that rouses her into a matching cry herself. The wailing voices of some Celtic music are beautiful to listen to, but don't seem to offer much comfort to our baby. This may be because she had colic and is very sensitive to sounds, but in any case, I also find the album on a whole disconcerting in its rough transitions from song to song.