Sterling A. Brown Books

MINI QUILTS gives directions for making the small quilts that are used for wall hangings. Most of the quilts are smaller than 36 inches by 36 inches.

The book is divided into 7 chapters. Techniques, Traditional Quilts, Applique Quilts, Amish & Mennonite Quilts, Scrap Quilts, Templates and Quilting Patterns. These chapters give the directions for making 17 different quilts.

The instructions are good and I really liked the various design and color combinations of the quilts. The skill levels are varied, but this is a good way to try out small projects and get a taste of the many designs shown in the book.

This book features quilts as described in the above review. There are simple and challenging projects. All the projects show a completed quilt top which feature a range of colour themes, with an emphasis on bold contrasts and strong colours. There is an introduction covering the basics of piecing and quilting as well as quick sew methods.

This is a really cute book about a family of pigs at the "Dell Diner". Scooter learns what "being polite" means. It is a lift a flap book and my son has us read it over and over. He is 16mos old. He makes all the animal sounds. Really cute!

A manners book that my two year old enjoys. It really works, too My son never tries to play with anything on the table anymore, especially not the salt! Whenever he needs a reminder about his manners all I have to do is mention Scooter and he smiles and behaves. The best manners book I have read so far!

I won't bother reviewing Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes stories, which feature one of the most popular and enduring characters in the world.

Since most readers are at least a little familiar with the work, I'll focus on the package. This collection showcases 12 of the better Holmes stories, and, like many other collections, it begins with "A Scandal in Bohemia." Strangely, the editors have chosen to end with "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches." This goes against the grain of most collections, which finish with "The Final Adventure." I would call that a bad editing choice.

The introduction by Mr. Lowndes is a brief, serviceable and well-written overview of how Sherlock Holmes came to be a cultural phenomenon.

There are certainly better collections out there, but this will serve well as an introduction to the character in some of his finer moments.

Very neatly typeset stories in a hardcover format. What more could a Holmes fan ask for? A little tough to find a new copy. I bought a used one in mint condition. A nice addition to your SH collection

The Game's afoot again as David Timson narrates the second volume of The Adventures. He reads with verve, alacrity, joy and understanding. His vocal character stylizations are a delight for both the uninitiated in the genre and the seasoned Sherlockian campaigner.

This was the first sentence ever spoken by Holmes, and we could all use it as well, when describing this collection. This is another review by one of the kids of "love my kids". Holmes has always been a joy to read, the action well placed, the humor meshing cleanly with the drama, and the cases truly challenging. You will not see most of the answers coming, so if you like that kinda thing, this book is not for you. I agree with the other guy who's review is above mine, in that reading it in spurts is a good idea.

This well-bound hardcover book is a medium brown color without the dust jacket, and has gold lettering on the spine. There's also a lightly embossed picture of the front cover on the hardcover.

The inside pages are made of high quality paper, and there are about 11 illustrations throughout the book, including the front cover.

The illustrations are printed in color on glossy paper, and are not the original illustrations. They look like oil paintings, mostly of the characters in the book, and the faces have an intentionally "blotchy" but artistic look to them, in higher contrast than portraits meant to capture real life.

The print looks to be about medium height (say, 10-12 point) printed without columns on each page. Each page has a fairly wide margin -- almost like a textbook designed to allow the student to take notes.

At a few points in the book there are footnotes that describe words that may not be understandable to the modern reader. For example, in The Man with the Twisted Lip, there is a footnote to the phrase "mouseline de soie". The footnote clarifies that this means "silk muslin".

The book's weight and size makes it comfortable to hold and carry around with you if need be.

If you're looking for a book that captures the feel of the Strand magazine, along with the original illustrations, this is not the book for you.

But if you'd like a good quality book with a modern feel, I think you'll be very happy with this edition's construction.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes contains some of the best stories in the collection such as the Red Headed League, A Scandal in Bohemia, The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Blue Carbuncle, and The Speckled Band. There are 12 stories in all, as well as an Afterward that describes the growing popularity of the stories as well as some parallels between the author, Arthur C. Doyle and John Watson.

Given the quality of the stories, I think the beginner or the veteran Holmes enthusiast will enjoy reading this book, and will think it money well spent for its entertainment value.

"{T]he leaders of the Intelligent Design movement, as we shall see, are so incredibly dishonest that they could cause a veteran heroin addict to blush - not out of any moral objection on the part of the addict, but rather out of embarassment that anyone could be do damned bad at lying." (Kindle Edition, loc. 40)

Brown and Austin's book, "Flock of Dodos" is a crass and mocking work of rhetoric against creationism and intelligent design. Anyone wanting a scholarly and measured discourse should look elsewhere (there are scores of good anti-ID books at the scholarly level). Anyone wanting a smoking hot and comedic look at lunacy, this is the place for you!

The book starts off making fun of the most easy to make fun of: the "scientific" creationists like Ken Ham and Henry Morris (oddly, Kent "Dr. Dino" Hovind is not mentioned. Maybe its because he is in jail.) Our authors make fun of their (as always) futile attempts to find, much less explain the possibility of, Noah's arc, their ignorance of any type of science, and their explanation of last resort - "then, a miracle happened."

Next, we go onto another crew, that of intelligent design. These guys are a bit harder to make fun of - they are creationists who wear ties and speak like scientists. That, of course, doesn't keep our authors from trying their dangdest. This chapter is a more funny and condensed version of Forrest and Gross's "Creationism's Trojan Horse," where the ID crowd is rightly accused of double speak. When talking to scientists (rather, yelling to get their attention), they speak of "irreducible complexity." When talking to Christians (as they do constantly!), they speak of Jesus.

The next several chapters are a humorous but forceful critique of the dangers that creationism in any form poses to science and culture. If a strange brand of Christians can force the courts to demand that a view be taught because it is more friendly to scripture (this has not happened yet), there is no telling what the next move would be. And if Christians can force the courts to decide what is and is not science, then science ceases to be indepenendent.

The authors conclude that "[r]ather than a new and exciting theory, the Intelligent Design movement is nothing less than an attempted coup by which a contingent of Constantne's hopes to overthrow the legitimacy of the Enlightenment." (loc. 1011)

If this sounds like an extreme judgment, bordering on caricaturization, that is because - at least to my eyes - it is. Other reviewers have complained that this book is just an empty work of biting and alarmist rhetoric. Okay. It is certainly no worse that Ann Coulter's "Godless," let alone Ben Stein's "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," both of which were gobbled up by the ID crowd in droves.

Rhetoric and humor can be good. It is sometimes fun to laugh at people that deserve to be mocked. This book is proof. (Now, we just need to find that pesky proof of evolution...)

"Here's the problem with America's born-again wackos: only a gifted comic is capable of describing them, but no one with a sense of humor can stomach being around them. That's why there are so few books like Flock of Dodos. With their painstaking attention to historical detail and amusingly violent writing style, Brown and Alston have given the religious right exactly the righteous, merciless fragging it deserves. I wish I could tie James Dobson down and make him eat every page." -- Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone Magazine, author of Spanking the Donkey

Is that Matt Taibbi or Matt Taliban?

This book is awesome because it makes fun of people who believe differently than I do...."Dodos"....that's hilarious. I bet they've got cooties too.

I've tried to read books that address the scientific arguments at the center of the origins debate, but they are always over my head. Lately, I've been worried because intelligent design folks seem to be winning the arguments, so I'm glad this book totally changes the subject and makes fun of people who may or may not be part of the debate. Nothing makes me feel more secure in my own personal philosophy.

I was raised a Marxist and an atheist, and I'm starting to realize that those beliefs are totally dependent on evolution being true. You can't spell "Leftist Revolution" without "evolution." (Seriously. You can't.) No wonder Marx dedicated "Das Kapital" to Darwin....duh! The brilliance of this book is that it takes attention away from the evidence and toward the simple art of laughing at strangers...like we used to do in high school. Hats off to the authors. I doubt we'll be hearing any more from the 66% of Americans who believe in creation after this book makes the rounds.

(Dodos.....I'm still laughing about that. So inspired, dude.)

I just watched this on HBO last night and I was so thrilled to find such a funny, entertaining, and educational documentary!
I think the best point that I walked away with rang so simple but true, even though humans are emotional by nature we have a "higher" mind that we can use and this seperates us from other animals. Intuition is the start of brilliant ideas, but in the end testable meathods prove whether that intuition is right or wrong. This is were "intelligent design" reaches its end. Science is and hopefully always will be about the testability!

After enduring all the taunts and jokes from ignorance spewing from the mouths and pens of creationists, it is so much fun to read a no-holds-barred counterattack. The buffoons are all paraded before you.

Barrett Brown has written what many want to say but cannot.

Let's laugh these science-fearing fools out of town. Flock of Dodos is a great start.

Practical Feng Shui: Arrange, Decorate and Accessorize Your Home to Promote Health, Wealth and Happiness

This handy feng shui book is probably not the best bet for the beginner, however as an adjunct to the feng shui library, it offers valuable advice on designing areas of the home to be in harmony. Specific details on items such as table settings will be of special interest. Furniture placement according to energy and room alignment will also be helpful.

Many photos and illustrations showing colors, furniture styles, placement, even fabric types are listed throughout.

This is a must have for anyone who wants to build their life around the ancient teachings of Feng Shui. Very informative and simple, in a complexed sort of way. Great gift for anyone who is out of the ordinary for Christmas.

This book is an excellent starter book for someone wanting to learn about Feng Shui. The author goes in depth describing the sources of the Feng Shui philosophy but also makes the reading easy to understand. The book is organized by rooms, which makes the book an excellent reference item for quick fixes.

I had heard a great deal about Feng Shui and was anxious to learn about it. A "hoping to be helpful" friend who knew even less than I did gifted me with this book. I waded through it and found this author to be so confusing and disorderly I nearly tore my hair out and darn near gave up on Feng Shui right here. I found it to be far too vague and disorganized and too much jumping back and forth between chapters required to get a complete, clear picture, which I never achieved with this book. This is not, in my opinion a good book for a beginner, it is too muddled and has too much "guess work" for the novice. I feel fortunate to have found other authors with a clearer view and a better ability to explain the inner workings of Feng Shui. I have been practicing Feng Shui for two years now and have doubled my income in my legal career, calmed and better organized my life, and found time to become the artist I dreamed of being. Feng Shui does work, but I didn't get the know-how from this author. Only the desire to find a better author.

The most important rule in Feng Shui is directions. They need to be accurate by using a compass. Your Kua Number or (Ki Number) gives you your personal direction which then designates where the proper placement of colors, objects and Feng Shui enhancers are placed in your surroundings. I think most people do not understand that Feng Shui can be detrimental if not applied properly. Never in a home is a missing corner or extension to a building beneficial.

Do not confuse the Sudoku (Martial Arts) books written by Frank Longo with the ones written by Michael Rios. Michael Rios' puzzles are much easier to complete; they require no "little numbers" and are not nearly as challenging as those written by Frank Longo.

There is nothing wrong with the puzzles in this book, they are just not challenging enough to keep me interested. I will have to pass this book along to a friend and order Frank Longo's Second Degree Brown Belt Sudoku.

Excellent condition and not used previously. Delivery was well prior to anticipated delivery date. Will utilize this vendor for future purchases.

This is a very good Sudoku. Just right for someone who is pretty savvy about Sudoku.

"Not easy but not really hard. It is a step above the Green Belt which is what you'd want in the progression." Thus saith my husband, doer of Sudokus.

I did all the puzzles in the "Brown Belt" book, although I had to skip a few and "cheated" on a few more by looking at the answers. When the book was nearly finished I was hoping to get the "black belt" version for Christmas, but a friend gave me a second copy of this Brown Belt one. I was amazed to find that the first few I could do using the method I use to start each puzzle (starting with the nines, I look for a 9 in two cubes and try to figure out the missing one in the third cube) without doing my normal horizontal, then vertical, then cube by cube. I was surprised to find that the puzzles do get harder, even though they don't seem to. Now I'm wanting to move on to the Black Belt Black Belt Sudoku (Martial Arts Sudoku) book, but the reviews are pretty abysmal. Oh well, I'll give it a try anyway.... [bragging rights: I do mine in ink with no side notations :)]

This is a great one for those of us who are too fast for the newspaper sudokus but don't want to kill ourselves with scenarios. I was able to do 3/4ths of them each in one sitting. Now that I'm done with the book, I am going back to the hard ones and getting about half of them.

This book would rate 5 glowing stars from me except.....that the format of the book is such that I have to remove the page from the book to be able to solve the puzzle comfortably. This is a personal quirk of mine and it may not bother you at all. I like to have the sheet flat and to be able to move my hand around on the page freely. I solve the problem by using a box-cutter and removing four or five pages at a time. Each sheet contains two puzzles on each side. It would be nice if the puzzles were a little larger but I have adapted to what I have been given.

I have actually come to this book after solving the puzzles in the Second Degree Black Belt Sudoku by Frank Longo. I loved that book so much that I bought it again last weekend. While I was in the bookstore I saw the Brown Belt edition and wondered what the difference would be. Inside the book Longo himself describes the Brown Belt as "300 puzzles of hard level of difficulty". In the Second Degree Black Belt Sudoku he says: "This book consists of 300 puzzles of super-tough level of difficulty." I had already found that I could believe his word for describing his own puzzles. I decided to give the Brown Belt a try. Please do not expect any detailed instructions for Sudoku solving in this book. Only the most basic solving technique is given.

Once again, I just love these puzzles. They are "hard" but not impossible. I find that if I take my time and pay close attention I can solve these on the first try. I still have to put in my "little numbers" for the puzzles but they really do solve themselves very well from that stage on. If I could hold the number possibilities in my memory longer I probably could do these without the "little numbers".

This book is NOT for a beginning Sudoku solver. Mr. Longo gives the puzzle fanatic some honest-to-goodness workouts for your brain. I am not mathematically inclined in real life. But, by solving these puzzles I have discovered that I am determined, resolute, stubborn, patient, and very thorough. If you think your personality fits even just some of those definitions, try this book. Just remember, they are meant to be a challenge. Don't expect anything to come easily.

The "Second-degree" versions of the sudoku books seem to be the actual challenging ones, whether brown or black belt. Frank Longo has delivered in this book 300 challenging, yet deterministic Sudoku puzzles for the avid sudoku fan. No guessing and "playing out" necessary if you just look long enough.

I would compare these to the "Evil" level on websudoku(dot)com. Most experienced Sudoku fanatics should be able to knock one of these puzzles out in 10 - 15 mins, with exceptions.

I've said many times over the past three months that this particular book is the best bang for the buck of any book I've ever bought: $6.95 for 300 challenging puzzles! Such a deal! One tip, though: If you think "Brown Belt" should be downright EASY, as in, "For Complete Novices Who Are Just Learning These Puzzles," DON'T buy the version by Frank Longo--buy the one by Michael Rios.

I bought the Longo book and loved sweating out each puzzle. But just today I bought the Rios book and was dismayed to discover that every puzzle is an absolute cinch. The Rios version should be labelled "Pre-White Belt" or "So Easy You Can Throw Your Eraser Away."

(No, I'm not being a snob. I have the proper humility for a genuinely challenging puzzle. That's why I'm still too timid to buy the Black Belt edition. But Michael Rios should be chastised for an improperly labelled volume.)

Don't waste your time buying this book. It's nowhere near as good as the Brown Belt first version. You should be able to make a logical inference (based upon the numbers already in the squares) what numbers belong where, but that's not possible with this one. You have to basically play out different scenarios (such as "ok, if the two was here, how would they play out?").

If you want that in a Black Belt level, great. For Brown Belt, that's ridiculous. Don't waste your money. I told a friend this in advance of her getting the book, and now she wishes she had listened to me. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The only good ones were the expert ones, and even they were too easy. If you want a challenge, not something mindless, then get the NY Times Acrostics, or the NY Times Sunday Variety Puzzles, which includes acrostics, diagramless, etc.

Great for keeping the cobwebs out during spring break. Several of us passed it around and turned the puzzles into a 'group' effort. They were great. Not stuffy, not so academic that no one cared, but challenging and difficult--fun to work. And relevant. Great fun, good for competition and full of surprises. I'm not an acrostic nut, but really enjoyed this collection.

This is a fairly good set of acrostics. The clues require a fairly broad knowledge of pop trivia of the 20th and 21st century, as well as a number of SAT words. They *don't* require knowledge of things like "The fifth in the line of Plantagenet kings," or "Scholarly volume outlining the history of Sri Lanka," which some of the Middleton acrostics need. I could solve these puzzles without having to access reference books, but also could not get more than 60% of the answers to any one puzzle's clues on my first pass. In short, they can be completed, and take a reasonable amount of thought and knowledge.

Nine well-balanced, beautiful museum quilts from Amish and Mennonite origin are used as a backbone for the book. They are mostly examples of block patterns, favored by American patchwork-quilt makers. This due to the format, easy to handle and store, of the patchwork blocks that were assembled and quilted only at the end of the project. After explaining and examining the way the old quilt is composed an instruction is included how to duplicate them. Each piece is also followed by suggestions how to alter the original block by using different fabrics, colors, lay-out...

The last chapter explains the basic techniques used, but don't expect elaborate instructions. The main strength of the book is to inspire you, to stimulate you to develop your own quilts by starting from ancient examples.

i think the poet writes in showing how the blacks endured through suffering and tragedy.