Games Books

I got a belated birthday present from a friend last week, Between Friends by Charlotte Lyons. What a wonderful surprise. Charlotte Lyons has made several craft books on different topics. This one is about projects you can share with friends. What about starting a craft group with some good friends or giving away a small hand made gift when you go for a visit or enclosing some fabric in a letter for a dear friend. The book gives alot of creative and great suggestions.

I have done all this, and still do. As a matter of fact, the friend who gave me the book and I have shared so many crafty projects over the years. There really are no limits in what you can do. And as it's said on the cover of the book - in an era when women set aside very little leisure time for themselves, let alone for their friends, Between Friends provides the perfect excuse to invite the girls over.

The great thing about this book is that Charlotte Lyons has collected so many different things you can do, and put them together in a charming and quite whimsical way. Don't start reading the book late in the night. You will never be able to go to bed then untill you have started a new project, phoned a friend to discuss some new yarn you saw in town earlier that day, or written a letter to a pinpal with pictures of some of your latest quilts.

The book will be a favorite of mine for years to come, and I know it will inspire me to make wonderful gifts for and with my friends from all over the world. And a little secret. MY Between Friends has a little handmade bookmark, embroidered with the words"If friends were flowers, I'd pick you" - made special for me by my special sharing friend.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

These are lots of fun and in many cases practical too :) One thing that's especially neat about this book isthat the crafts are broken down into chapters according to how long they'll likely take (e.g. Chapter 1: "in an hour" - these are crafts like seed packets, paper weights, quick frame, painted tea pot etc; Chapter 2: Half a day - these are crafts like note box, a book bag, flea market pillow, oatmeal cake, etc; Chapter 3: All Day -memo board, cachepots, postcard holder etc; Chapter 4: Over the weekend: these include a journal, topsy-turvey doll, wall clock, tea cozy; Chapter 5: As long as it takes - garden throw, craft cabinet, hooked rug, memory album, friendship quilt)

The end of the book has sources, glossary and patterns.

There are lots of pictures (color) throughout, great stories of friends doing things together, good instructions.

Super book - makes a great gift to a friend as well

Plan a leisurely project with friends with the aid of Between Friends, which includes craft projects meant to be shared. From onehour to allday and longterm projects, these are organized first by time frame, making it easy for friends to pick projects that lend to easy scheduling. Sample ideas: a wall clock, doll, postcard holder, or memo board.

I received this book as a gift from a good friend. Even if you're not an experienced crafter but have a fun group of friends, get them together (add a little wine) and try some of these projects. You'll find some really good ideas for sharing your old photos, letters and treasures.

Charlotte Lyons has a real gift for creating something wonderful out of basic odds and ends. And her newest book, Between Friends, offers inspiration galore. Whether you have friends to share the craft projects with or simply want to escape the daily routine by making something alone this book is a fabulous resource. The instructions are very clear and the projects are cleverly organized by the amount of time they take. A great gift idea too.

Though not really a fan of Botvinnik's games - which don't compare with the beautiful clarity of Capablanca or Fischer (or with the breathtaking virtuosity of Tal) - I found this book very instructive. Botvinnik's annotations show HOW to analyse positions and HOW to find a clear strategic thread ,as well as hidden resources in seemingly dubious positions (e.g. Botvinnik's amazing win, despite two sets of doubled pawns, against Levenfish), in chess games.
Botvinnik's annotations are notable in their definitiveness - which contrasts, for example, with the more 'balanced' annotative style of Keres - that some might find dogmatic but which I found helpfully conclusive.

In this book Botvinnik demostrates why he came to be known as the "Iron Logician". His deep and lucid annotations help even ordinary players like me to understand the game of chess as played at the very highest level. I think this book is a genuine "grandmasterpiece." Dustan Straub

We usually read grandmasters' game collections not to improve our endgame or tactical abilities, but to understand chess strategy and planning. Of course, Botvinnik was also superb tactician and a very strong endgame player, so there is surprisingly first-rate endgame and tactical play here than one might think. But that is the icing on the cake. It is in his strategic undestanding that he was heads and shoulders above his contemporaries, and for this reason this book is such a great classic.

First of all, Botvinnik had an incredibly deep and accurate undestanding of which positional factors matter more in a given position: e.g., is it important that White has a double, isolated pawn or not--considering that he has two bishops? Second, he knew perfectly how to create a plan to maximize his positional advantages and minimize his disadvantages. Finally, he was unmatched in converting the strategically-winning position so achieved into an actual victory, by flawless "conversion" of his positional advantage to material, or a mating attack, or a won endgame.

All this comes out very clearly in both Botvinnik's play and his annotations. He makes it look simple: a result of the iron logic and single-minded sense of purposes that guided him throughout every game. The reader will learn a lot about what chess strategy and chess planning are all about, both in general and in particular (e.g., which positional factors tend to matter in what kind of positions).

The one slight problem, which isn't Botvinnik's fault of course, is that this Dover reprint is in desciptive notation (e.g., "1. e4 c5" = "1. P-K4 P-QB4") which might annoy some players. But it is well worth to spend an hour or so to familiarize oneself with this notation even specifically for this book, to say nothing of numerous other older chess books one is giving up on otherwise.

At less than $10, it's a bargain.

This old Dover underpriced book is a bible of chess wisdom from one of the strongest players to ever lift a pawn! The book is cramed with some of the best writting about chess you will ever find.My rating went from 1500 to 1800 after i reread this book back in the 70s.Chess was Science&Art to this Chess God. You will learn Chess the way it should be played today by a close study of this logical Chess Thinking World Champ!
Regards,
Scott Young

Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik was probably the most respected and feared world champion of modern times. In this respect, he certainly rivals Karpov and Kasparov, while his demeanour was more dignified than the latter's. Someone described the essential quality of Botvinnik's style as "iron logic", and that sums up the games in this collection.

A long time has passed since those days, and the names of the players will mostly be unfamiliar. The openings, too, may seem old-fashioned - but there is value in this. It's a chance to learn exactly what can happen if you play such-and-such a move, which nobody does nowadays. Moreover, Botvinnik's methodical building up of positional advantages has never been bettered and will reward patient study. Just where it looks most effortless, that is where the magic is hidden!

I found this book very helpful. I am new to archery, and it taught me alot about how to set up my bow, how to estimate distance, which broad heads to use, ect.. I can't wait to take what I have learned into the woods. I would recommend it.

After a 7 year absence I recently purchased a new Mathews Drenalin DXT and am eager to get back into bowhunting. Having forgotten much of what I had previously learned I purchased this book based on previous recommendations. I wasn't disappointed. Lon covers the entire gambit of bow hunting and make is both easy and entertaining doing it. A great book especially for beginners or those like myself just getting back into it. Some may think his stories of hunts similar to bragging but I enjoyed them and if you pay attention you learn from them as well. Definitely worth a 5-star rating!

I learned a great deal from this book. I am an intermediate bowhunter and found the information very interesting. I know whether a bow shop is blowing smoke up my #$% now.

Another five-star review for this book might seem a little redundant, but it's earned it. Don't be misled by its size; it's only 120 pages long, but it's PACKED with concentrated, clearly-written, QUALITY information. After wasting WAY too many bucks on books with rambling, unorganized writing and shoddy illustration, this book gets a place of honor on my shelf. It should set the standard for "how-to" books on outdoor sports.

(One very mild criticism: there are a few too many photographs of Lon grinning next to his trophies, but hey - it's his book, after all...)

Starting at zero baseline of knowledge and experience and no close friends in the sport, I had to "get up to speed" myself to be able to make a sizeable investment in equipment and develop the know-how to pursue a new life adventure into archery elk hunting. This is a serious undertaking and sizeable resource commitment and nothing short of excellence would be acceptable in both the equipment and the preparation to be an ethical hunter.

I needed everything and knew nothing. Like fly-fishing, which is my passion and obsession, archery has a differnt language, different materials and requires differnt skill sets to master to be adequate enough to be able to progress in the sport. Without a mentor but a deep seated drive to excel in this sport I have been like a sponge seeking out morsels of knowledge. This book was manna.

I am still learning; I am still reading and re-reading. This book has helped me more than any other reference I have found. I will continue to use the writings in this book to help educate and prepare myself as I develop my skills for this new life adventure.

I bought this for my granddaughter "princesses!" They will love all of the references to the fairy tales they love.

If you like I Spy books and looking for things this book is great. The pictures are very imaginative. I really enjoyed it. Great for children and adults.

Has Walter Wick ever done one of these books that is anything other than fabulous? If he has, I've never found it!

In this Once Upon A Time book you'll have a ball searching for the right images that you are hunting for. I promise that the whole family will enjoy this lovely book!

Go, Walter!

My 6 year old daughter and I loved this book. We had a lot of fun looking for the list of hidden objects in the pictures and identifying other everyday objects in the pictures. The pictures are amazing. My husband and I even found it challenging to find some of the objects, but it was a lot of fun.

I love this author and illustrator. Wonderful series of books. Very vivid pictures; the manner in which it's written allows the books to be enjoyed by a wide age range. I bought all books by this author!

I'm a vagabond, a wanderer of tabletop gaming. From my early forays in Palladium Fantasy and hideously houseruled 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games to my appreciation of Risus, Two-Fisted Tales, Epic Roleplaying, Rolemaster, Traveller, Rifts, and everything in-between, I have played and ran a tremendously large number of roleplaying games.

I've tried Troll Lord Games' Castles & Crusades before, had my Castle Keeper Screen signed by Gary Gygax himself in 2007. And though the sessions and demos I ran were fun, there was always something else to try. And being occupied with a lot of gaming projects for 2008 also ensured my free time to dedicate to any single game was severely lacking.

But in now coming back to it, and in loving both the exciting modern products out there and the original and homages to an earlier time in gaming, I have found Castles & Crusades to be so much of what I've been looking for. Very few times (I can count them on one hand) has a game purely "clicked" for me. As in I got it--I got the feel, the system, the direction. And that's what happened when I took my C&C Players Handbook in hand (and screen) once more. What did it? I don't know--a desired refinement of how I run my games, an re-examination for what I want out of my hobby, whatever. But I did want to share just a little of why I am so absolutely, genuinely, enthusiastically pleased with Castles & Crusades:

Bridging A Gap: I have friends who were weaned on the older editions of D&D, and those who have played nothing but 3rd Edition. Castles & Crusades allows me to sell elements of both those experiences, giving us a common meeting ground and a larger player base from which to draw. Its familiar to veterans, and easily picked up by novices.

Time: Plain and simple. Look, I have a wife, 2 kids and 1 on the way, and a lot more responsibility than Young Me ever did. C&C's system, the SIEGE Engine, is so simple that it usually takes all of 3-5 minutes for gamers to get the gist of it. I want to be able to use all the resources I've built up over the years, run a game that encourages active, fast, inspiring GM (CK) rulings, not pace-killing rules lookup. I want low prep time, employing notes and material I already have. I'm ready to get back to the basics, and get down to gaming in a faster and leaner fashion.

A Place To Build Upon: Castles & Crusades is a framework. It isn't a toolbox so much as a sturdy workbench. This is seriously one of the most easily-houseruled games I have ever seen. You want skills, feats, some new magic system? Want to use THAC0? Have some insane d20 rule you plug into every game you play? Castles & Crusades not only allows you to plug those items in, its modularity will make it easy to do so. We are talking compatibility not only with the various prior editions and the d20 crowd, but efforts like Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord, Mazes & Minotaurs, Fight On!, True 20, Paizo's and Adventure Games Publishing's docket of releases, and more. Hey, I have something from Iron Gauntlets I might throw in there. Or I can do nothing, and be just fine that way. There's just too much goodness out there that I may wish to look to for inspiration, and Castles & Crusades promises the integration of that goodness, easy-like. It's a baseline for it all.

A Style I Want: I don't want hours spent on hair-splitting character builds. I don't want reams of special powers for each player. I don't want skills and rigid, multiple modifiers to get in the way of player initiative and creativity. I want me as a GM (CK) and my players to remember when we made rulings, not remained bogged down in rules. This ties into time constraints, but I want a fast-play, unified mechanic. I want the standard tropes and hallmarks of our shared hobby heritage there, unwarped. I want strong character archetypes. I want player backgrounds to matter in the course of play. I want so much of what has made the Old School Renaissance of gaming so inspiring to me and others. Of course, many of these lie at the feet of each Game Master/Castle Keeper, and can happen in any game. But its still good to have an RPG that's on your side about it.

A Company I Can Support: Troll Lord Games has never been anything but fantastic in our business dealings. The books are affordable. Their fan support online has been helpful and inspiring. When I was still in the military, Troll Lord contributed to a care package that was sent to a buddy of mine, and he was absolutely thrilled. It meant a lot to him, and by extension, to me. Their support of my friends and I in a tough, sometimes unpopular, unfashionable conflict will not be easily forgotten.

There is also the fact that Troll Lord Games was the last company Gary Gygax himself chose to be involved with. People can knock me for being overly sentimental and say that shouldn't matter for what game I'm playing, but that does carry some water with me. More importantly, I feel like Troll Lord is run by people who understand the innate and unique appeal of Gygaxian fantasy. They have the enthusiasm and heart I look for in a gaming company.

I've never been a one-game, one-system guy. There are too many great games out there I want to run--Epic, Rifts, Traveller, we aren't through yet. One day, I will again get to run In Harm's Way. And Castles & Crusades is ok with that. I know its there, willing to undertake any sort of tweaks or mods I might find in my travels. But I do know what game I'm coming home to. Castles & Crusades is my choice going forward to take advantage of the Old School Renaissance (heck, its my staging area for it), to keep that link going to a wider pool of players, and to maximize the time I have for quality, generation-spanning fun. That's why I'm on board with Castles & Crusades as my fantasy D&D cousin of choice. And together I see us, my friends, and eventually perhaps our kids having great adventures...

Castles & Crusades stays true to the original version of D&D better than the more modern versions of that game do. C&C is very easy to learn, with character generation taking about 15 minutes. New players can be taught the basics in about ten minutes and the game plays fast and is extremely flexible. C&C truly is more D&D than D&D.

All the great things said of C&C is true. If you are sick of comic style d&d and want a literary base instead, C&C is the game for you. The easy to learn rule set takes sum UNlearning of old concepts to really get going though. All in All a great game.

I hadn't played an RPG in 10 years, and now I'm running one. With C&C, I can prepare for a night's play in about an hour. Teaching a new player the basics and letting them create a character is also about an hour. If you've played D&D you know this game. None of my players had ever played, and they picked it up immediately.

The book has all the rules for the game in one place. At 128 pages, this hardback is *thin*, and easy to carry around. Why doesn't it have an index? It doesn't need one. Half the book is spells, and there are spell lists by class and level. Almost everything else can be easily remembered or found on the GM's screen. In fact, you can get by with having only one copy for the whole group (depending on how many spellcasters you have).

The forums at troll lord games have helpful links and resources, where you can find several free adventures to run (provided you trust your players not to peek). I've had a blast--fun to play, easy to put down and pick back up at a moment's notice.

In my opinion this is a wonderful example of what a rpg Player's Handbook should be - all of the pertinent rules on building characters and performing the basic tasks of the game - without a lot of filler, fluff, or excuses for not having an imagination.

The game itself is terrific, as a return to a simpler time in rpg's when the game wasn't overly burdened with many, many different mechanics that slow down game play, but don't significantly contribute to story telling or experiencing the imaginary adventure.

In substance, the Siege engine (the authors' name for the near-d&d like structure that the game is based on) is a wonderful mix of First Edition AD&D (the first hardcover books - the first edition of the game to feature the word Advanced in the title), with some modernized D20 mechanics. In a nice mix of new and old, your abilities are all derived from your race and class, but the chance to perform those abilities is derived from your statistics - here is where the Siege engine adds, in my opinion. Each character can choose (based on race and class choice) up to 3 statistics (of the classic six - Strength, Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma) to serve as Primary statistics. All abilities that are based on Primary statistics have an additional 30% (+6 on a d20) chance of success over other practitioners of the ability. A player creating a Ranger character might pick Strength and Intelligence as his primary abilities. Another might choose Strength and Dexterity - the two characters will have very different areas of expertise and concentrated focus, even though both are Rangers.

Combat is quick, and straight forward. A quick roll of initiative (on a D10), players and non-players then act in order. Ties are broken by Dexterity bonus. Roll to hit, roll for damage. Spells may involve a resistance roll, or a saving roll. Abilities require a single dice roll. All in all, the combat runs great, and quick. Players are more interested in where their companions are, what the tactical situation of the fight is, and how to gain the upper hand through maneuver and magic, rather than picking just the right feat for the situation.

Having run some sessions (and having a very long history with rpg's in general, and all the versions of D&D in particular), I have to admit that I miss having some sort of skill system. The Non Weapon Proficiency system from First or Second edition AD&D would do nicely, as would the Skills system from Third edition. Feats are (thankfully) absent, as they are the one thing about Third edition that keeps me from liking it (and it's worst aspect, from the point of view of a DM preparing adventures).

Combat in Castles and Crusades runs very smoothly and cleanly, and is over quick, while still having all the round-to-round decision making and tactical choices of a good rpg. Magic is done very well, with a very nice spell list for the different classes, good rules on acquiring spells.

This with the companion volume - Monsters and Treasures Castles And Crusades Monsters & Treasures- makes a great rpg. I have to say, that I am anxiously awaiting the Castle Keepers Guide (now, if I am correct, due out in Autumn 2007). It is supposed to add a lot, and will be twice the size of the Players Handbook. If it adds a skill system, and (apostasy) somewhat more detailed initiative rules, then I will be in seventh heaven. If not, one of the greatest things about Castles and Crusades is that it can very very easily be added to, and I could easily plug in my favorite skill system and initiative rules.

A gem of a find, wish I knew about it sooner. Spent way too many hours trying to decide between 3.5 and the new D&D, trying to figure out how 10 and 11 year olds could possibly begin to scratch at all that without falling asleep (or without turning into arch-materialists in the never ending merchandising of new edition). And then out of the corner of a deep web search comes TrollLord to the rescue with C&C. Its D&D 1.5 cleaned up and put right out there, the way I remember learning it when I was 10. The players handbook could use reorganization (different class spells mixed together, headings kind of small, etc.), but the kids are taking right to it and are into the role play immediately. Can't imagine why one would need anything more complicated. Consider running the old B2 Keep on the Borderlands with new players. Oh did anyone mention how compatible this is with all sort of D&D stuff, mix, match and apply your old Monster Manuals, DM guides, Class Handbooks, etc., no problem. Let your ambitious players expand to their hearts content if they want, but noone needs to. You can reinvent the wheel!

Finally, the circle is complete. After the formative years when RPGs were simple and young, thru the past few years of more, more, more, which included money and rules. Full circle...this is a simple fun game, loaded with freedom and nostalgia. Thank you Troll Lords!

This is beautiful. Buy flowers for your wife. Take your kids out for ice cream. Howl for joy. This is the true successor to AD&D.

And if you're too young to remember, come feel the kiss of what it was like to roll up your first Dwarven fighter. Feel what it was like to realize that here is the magical world of heroes of which you've always dreamed.

I can only echo what the other reviews here have said... this game is a well done rules light version of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons. This system lets you create a character and be off on your first adventure in just minutes -- no cumbersome combat system to worry about, no feats and skills, etc... just lots of fun old school gaming. Definitely worth buying if you're interested in a flexible, fast game. Buy the books and the modules, you won't be disappointed.

This is exactly the system I was looking for... after buying many Star Wars RPG books from Wizards of the Coast, and becoming completely frustrated with the taxing rules & combat system. I realized that when I had gotten the itch to get back into a Fantasy RPG, that D&D 3.5e (that uses the same systems as Star Wars pretty much), wasn't going to cut it. I thought about going old school back to the original D&D Boxed Sets... Remember The Red Dragon Box Set? But that was really taking a step back in many ways. Then I found out about Castles & Crusades. Oh glorious day... it takes advantage of the unified and logical d20 dice element, but it takes out all the extra stuff that burdens down the D&D 3.5e system. What you are left with is a really clean system, that gives you enough rules to guide the game and play it fair and fun, but let's the DM or Castle Keeper as they call it, really run the show with very little need to ever slow down and check rules in the book to run the game. Heck... you don't even need miniatures to run combat... let your games come alive and use your imagination the way RPG's were meant to be! I'm free... I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Great Book! Gave mine to a friend and am ordering another. If you love your Coach, buy him or her this book.

The book is a little more advanced than what I needed right now coaching 8 & U coach pitch softball, but it does a great job of showing you the direction your coaching should be going as the kids get older. That in turn has influenced how I teach these young girls. Many of the fine drills in this book are too advancd for my age group, but I was able to simplify them a little to make them easier for 7-8 year olds. If your coaching 6-10 year old kids and can only buy one book, this may not be the one. But it is a great book to have in your coaching library. The best I have seen, my kids just are not quite ready for it yet.

I have coached for over ten years now and have found this book to be the most comprehensive, theoretically sound, user friendly coaching handbook on the market. Veroni has organized the information most effectively using charts and diagrams in addition to her commentary. This is THE book to purchase for both the beginning or experienced high school coach.

This book is comprehensive and is aimed at the coach of a team consisting of younger or much younger players. Kathy Veroni sounds like a tough, fair, and thorough coach. Imagine driving a group of late-arriving players 10 miles out of town and telling then to jog back to practice. No wonder West Illinois U has a great softball team.
However, as a captain of a mens' fastpitch softball team, with players who play once a week, this book did not help me much. The drills were just too involved and required a much higher commitment and lower physical strength than I have from the guys on my team. It's like using a college-level calculus text when all you want to learn is high school algebra.
Having said that, the big plus of this book is the VERY EXTENSIVE list of both defensive and offensive drills. This section of the book makes the purchase price worthwhile.

This is a very well laid out book and easy to follow. I would highly recommend this book for coaching high school or college age girls. Might be a little deep for younger athetes but could be adapted. Many drills are included in this book, and I found the philosophies especially interesting. Brought out a lot of simple points I had never thought of before.

The Cranium Big Book of Outrageous Fun is great because it has all sorts of different things. Anything from planning birthdays, to making maps, drawing & even creating your own castle. It has a fun mini-conga game, and so many activities that my kids keep going back and reading and playing with this. A great buy that you really get your money's worth out of!

Our famiuly loves the entire line of cranium games. It is a fun time to spend with our children.

This book is great! I bought it for my 6 year old. She loves all the cranium games and books. We have the original cranium, but when I saw this I thought it would be perfect for her. She can do some of the activities on her own and there is also a game to play. It is fun and easy.

Spent a whole day with 5 granddaughters ranging in age from 5 thru 12. The book was appropriate for ALL of them!!!
I highly recommend it

I'm a pretty big fan of Cranium's games, and since this was touted as a write-it, draw-it, sculpt-it, act-it game for ages 7 and up, I was looking forward to using all my talents. The first thing I noticed is that this probably isn't a book/game for anyone over 15, and my guess is even early teens won't get much use out of it. Once I got over my disappointment that it was truly geared for a much younger audience (than me, anyway), that's when I let go of my preconceived notions and started to play around with the game.

I particularly enjoyed the "Data Head" section as they had lots of fun "science" activities for kids, including a mold experiment that calls for the study of mold in various stages. Your kids can then rank the mold on various sub categories, including a "Stink Factor." Parents may be none too thrilled with this activity, but it should make for an interesting couple of days.

The book also contains a game (get it game in a book in a game) the "Conga Mini Guessing Game." The game is also somewhat simplistic so adults probably only want to invest them time if they're joining their younger family members, but in all this is a nice, self-contained package that has a lot of fun activities and room for creative expression. This is a must-have for your child's bookshelf/playspace, and it also does carries well on the dreaded road trips.

I have returned again and again to this book for new ideas. I feel I now have a new way of looking at decorating! Using eBay is such a great way to grab some bargains to get the look you're after! You'll be glad you have this book, it's fun to see how she did an entire house! Great detail shows how she did it step by step! You can plan your own house project or just get quick update ideas for a room. Enjoy!

A superbly produced book - with visually warm, personal and enticing colors, graphics and text, and beautiful photographs. Indeed, what can be done on Ebay at its finest. And one more thing...I loved the soft sock monkey touch.

Barbara Guggenheim's book was invaluable when decorating a home my wife and I recently bought in East Hampton, NY. We never had thought about using eBay for furniture and other home items, but following Barbara's guidelines ended up buying pretty much everything from sofas and beds to even rugs and curtains, and all while saving almost 30% of our estimated budget. The book is a MUST for anyone looking to redecorate, furnish, or replace items in a home. Also a great tool for any eBay hobbiests!

You can decorate on a budget and stay in the range without even going to thrift stores and flea markets - not if you have a computer at home and DECORATING ON EBAY FAST AND STYLISH - ON A BUDGET in hand. Author Barbara Guggenheim is an art consultant who needed vintage items to decorate her Malibu beach house: she decided to try decorating an entire house using eBay and DECORATING ON EBAY chronicles her experiences. Tips include how and where to search within the sight, from locating furniture and fabrics to obtaining collectibles, and how to develop a personal decorating style on a budget. Her course in mastering ebay goes all the way from basic site navigation to winning bids and understanding the entire process. A 'must' for any decorating on a budget who wants to take full advantage of ebay listings; especially for those new to the auction/bidding process.

This is a book to pick up and kick back with, to scheme and dream effortlessly with, to have fun reading, giving, sharing, talking about. Ultimately, it will lead you to having a house embellished by your hobby, thanks to tips, hints and fun how-to's from Dr. Guggenheim, who is one of the few true art history scholars around who not only actually writes in readable English, but shares easy to use practical advice that can enable ordinary mortals to enjoy a good, rich slice of culture pie, anytime they feel like it. Having attended her art history lectures in the past, I always hoped she would start writing this kind of book, which like her teaching, makes us all not only believe, but know, that we can be true art collectors: that it's not about the size of our pocketbooks, it's about each of us giving freedom to our own very individual, very powerful imaginations.

My son loves anything with photography of trucks, trains, and especially construction equipment. The shape of the book is also novel to him.

It doesn't contain a whole lot of stickers but they are a great deal for the price.

The little one had a few others from this series and he likes this one just as much as the others. It's great.

I bought this book and another in the Things That Go Board Books series for my grandsons, 1 & 3. They seem to love the photos & ignore the text. The book lives in their car & is the perfect size for one or the other to read while traveling. This book is perfect for kids who love construction vehicles!

Diggers and Dumpers (Ultimate Sticker Books) This book is great for kids that are really into trucks and heavy equipment. My husband runs heavy equipment for a living so my son, 2 1/2 yrs old, already knows many names of the equipment. This sticker book was great and he loved finding the trucks and sticking them down. Definitely recommend for kids who love these types of trucks and equipment.