Party The Books

My grandson is totally in love with Miss Spider Books. He carries them around with him all the time. When his dad tells him to get a book to read at bedtime (or anytime) he ALWAYS gets one of his Miss Spider Books. He loves this one even more because the three book come in a case with a handle so it's easier for him to carry them around, where they slide and fall out of his little hands.

These are great books. I've bought them as gifts for several friends' kids. The pictures are colorful and beautifully drawn, the language is clever, and I keep noticing new little details every time I read them to my daughter.

I love every Little Miss Spider book for the wonderful stories, but especially the illustrations. David Kirk's angles and perspectives on each page combined with unique color saturate your visual senses. His use of "camera angles" and points of view are fantastic. He is one of the inspirations I use when I draw.

I was originally given Miss Spider's ABCs as a gift when my daughter was born. I LOVE it. Even when she was an infant she seemed to be captivated by the brightly colored illustrations. Now at 6 months she reaches for the pictures and always gives a big smile at the ending "suprise!" I then bought Miss Spider's Tea Party (board book edition), and she really seems to love the rhymes. I am now here buying Miss Spider's New Car and wishing I had just bought the set (for only like $2 more!) to begin with. These books are great for even babies, but I know she will enjoy them as she grows older and can understand them better as well.

Even after almost three years, I still love to read and re-read these books to my girls. David Kirk's artwork is rich and deeply textured and the words (particularly in Miss Spider's ABCs) are unusual, roll of the tongue, and, in my experience, pique children's interest -- I particularly love introducing my girls to "hummingbirds hide inside irises" and "jumping june bugs kiss katydids" His books are where poetry meets art for the under five set. Added plus: I get a break from chanting "Brown, Bear"! For this alone I am grateful.

Before I met Party Drinks by A.J. Rathbun, I would literally host my gatherings at the bar down the street, because I was incapable of mixing anything other than vodka and orange juice in plastic cups. A.J., friend to cocktailers everywhere, took me to school with his great book, and showed me how to easily make lavish libations on a cheapskate's budget and to make 'em look like a million bucks. The Summer Beer (beer, vodka, and lemonade) is a treat, even in wintertime. The recipes have little tales about the drinks so you can really "act like ya know" when serving them up. Don't weep for the bar down the street, though. Until A.J. can fit a pinball machine in his jam-packed guide, there's always time for a occasional tavern call. Bottoms up!

I love this book! It has so much more to offer than the book I bought at Crate and Barrel for 5x the price. It's quirky and fun and filled with unusual recipes. Great selection of drinks for summer days, cold nights, casual get togethers or swanky cocktail parties. Plus it's filled with tons of hilarious footnotes that are worth quoting while you mix. My favorite drinks (not just because the names are great): the Red Carpet, the Presidential, Silk Stockings, and the Slow Comfortable Screw. You have to try the mojito. This really is the prettiest cocktail book I've seen. Perfect gift item--just tie a bow around it and add a bottle of your friend's favorite alcohol.

Ne'er have the pleasures of contemporary pleasure-drinking been so lucidly and persuasively and clearly set forth with not only the time and liver tested recipies but also the literary, social, and personal contexts of a true, rare spirit such as Mr. Rathbun, whose fine poetry is as intoxicating as the pewter cupped juleps, the spiraling highballs, and the mystifications of the orange buck, known in the southern hemisphere as le mâle orange. I am buying a copy for every (over-21) friend this Christmas.

This book is worth reading even if you don't drink! If you do, all the better. Great recipes, very inspiring commentary. Rathbun quotes Gogol on vodka, W. C. Fields on whiskey ("Always carry a large flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake") and provides plenty of good party ideas for intemperate friends.

Said friends will also find this to be a welcome gift.

I think this will be a great gift for the holidays--I plan to get several to give to family and friends. The book is slim, but packed with lots of great drinks, plus gorgeous photos! One thing I really like about the book is that it gives lots of suggestions on variations of the drinks--in case you need to mix different amounts, or don't like or have a particular ingredient. Plus, there's some good general bartending advice at the beginning of the book.

So far we've tried two of the drinks. We had some friends over last weekend and my husband made the Champagne Punch, which has light and dark rum, lemons, and champagne. It was delicious! Even one of our friends, who isn't a huge champagne fan, really loved it. We also have tried The Rebecca, another champagne drink. We actually froze the raspberries in the vodka during the day, and had the drink in the evening--the frozen raspberries were delicious, and a perfect garnish for this very pretty drink.

This is the best ever party planning book. If you are planning parties for kids, or just want themed activities for another event, this is the book for you. These people really know their stuff!

Outstanding book...something for everyone, and most items that need to be purchased can be had at the dollar store. Rock-Solid book full of well-thought out parties.

This book was easy to follow and had ideas in it which were easy to adapt to other themes. I loved the information about how much activity each different age group should be able to handle. My three-year-old's party went off without a hitch thanks to this book. It will get used many more times in years to come.

This an excellent book with a number of party ideas for all ages. I especially like that this books gives suggestions for older kids parties. Packed with recipes, decoration, invitation, and favor ideas to go along with your theme. I will be using this for years to come.

I find this book to be very helpful for prents planning a party for their children. It's completely foolproof, from deciding on the number of guests appropriate for your childs age to making clever invitations, food, activites and take home gifts...all falling into one of several themes. There is a theme for any child's interest. The instructions are simple and very adptable to many different situations. I have had this book for years and used it many, many times with 4 kids.

I love to read this bedtime story! The whipped cream page is my favorite. This book always makes me laugh. The rhymes are fun and the pictures are perfect for the story.

I love this book. It's a great bedtime story. My favorite part is when Whitney is chasing the bee!I also love Kristyn's hair when Taylor yells "Boo!". The rhymes are fun and the pictures are beautiful. I think you'll love this book, too!

This is definitely an enjoyable book for young readers. The flow of the story and the illustrations attract young readers' attention and encourage them to read along with you. It's a perfect bedtime story...fun to read yet puts the "bedtime" idea in their heads. I have recommended it to all of my neighbors and believe this to be a wonderful book for young readers.

Quit Waking Us Up. We're Trying To Sleep! is a charming children's picturebook written by Scarlet Honeycutt and illustrated by Cindy Aarvig about two sisters who want to sleep, but their friends keep waking them up in a variety of eccentric, mischievous ways. The muted, soft, colored-pencil style illustrations have a central hue of light pink. The simple drawings, colors, and the gentle rhymes of the text about trying to go to sleep make Quit Waking Us Up. We're Trying To Sleep! an especially appropriate and recommended bedtime story for young girls.

The book is an excellent book for young children and beginning readers. The rhyming is fun and the repetitive line gives children an incentive to read along. The cute antics used to wake them up at the birthday party bring giggles to young children and they feel like they are a part of the party. The illustrations are beautiful. Overall it is an elegant children's book.

Hats off to the author!!!!!!!

This is a fantastic buy if you are planning to review your wedding vows for whatever reason. For me, it is for a 10 year wedding anniversary and the book has some great tips on making it extra special. I wasnt sure before I read this book what you could wear, expecially if you had the 'full works' first time around, but you can wear what you like and have bridsmaids!! You can have and do whatever you want and more and this book made me realise that. Renewing your wedding vows is becomming very popular and this book makes you realise that. They have 'real life' stories which is great to read.

This book has been a great help in planning our 50th Renewal wedding. Many thanks.

I had never thought about renewing my wedding vows! I loved reading the stories people shared. There were some very creative ideas, like the couple who wrote a poem to all of their guests and used a lot of symbolism of their union through flowers and certain songs. They were hoping to start a family and I thought it was adorable how they brought friends and family into the "mix" to celebrate 10 years AND to help them launch their next phase.

The book gave me lots of ideas on how to refresh and renew my 20 year marriage! From vows on the beach to vows in a chapel to getting the bridal party back together or having the latest additions of the family attend, this book is full of creative suggestions and ideas!!!

This easy to read guide has inspiring and creative ideas for different ways to plan a wedding vow renewal ceremony and celebration. Sharon Naylor cites ways to bring the original wedding into the renewal and offers ways to include children. My favorite chapter is titled Perfect Words. Great quotes and readings to include in your re-commitment ceremony. I additionally enjoyed reading real-life couples' vow renewal stories. My husband and I just celebrated our fifteen year wedding anniversary and are planning our own vow renewal sometime soon. We will definitely use the great advice and ideas in this book!

Mr. Hall has given us all a chance to better understand the speeches that have shaped our world. I am intrigued by the way he interprets these words and allows the reader to become a part of US history. An easy read and entertaining, not to mention educational.

Wynton Hall is one of the bright young conservative writers, It's delightfully informative to read his books. He does his research and knows how to explain today's political rhetoric. Keep your eye on him.

Wynton Hall's insight displays his knowledge as a rhetorician. The preview chapters I read on the publisher's website were well written and documented. In my opinion, this book is not only important because of its analysis of rhetoric but that it also reveals how much these speeches have affected the world. The Right Words is quite different from Home of the Brave and the Greatest Communicator but his writing ability makes it a wonderful read.

"I loved Hall's last book. This one is different but just as good if not better. It felt like I was in the audience for these famous speeches.
I was familiar with some of them, but others I'd never even heard of, which made it all the more fascinating to read. If you're a Republican I don't see how you can not read this one. It's a fun, fast read. I give it two thumbs up."

This book is valuable for two reasons. First, it is not a random collection of one person's view as to what constitutes a great speech. The 17 speeches examined here are oriented around eternal Republican themes of individual (rather than collective) responsibility; a belief in values that are absolute, not relative; and a strong national defense, the foundation of individual civil liberties.

Second, each speech is intertwined with commentary on its historical setting. Platitudes need no explanation. Great speeches, though, are rooted in a specific historical context while also appealing to timeless values.

Those of other political parties will gain from reading this book. It is not meant to convert but to educate. Serious people will want to look beyond the caricature of Republicans so often presented in many media sources. Understanding the basic beliefs of one of America's two major political parties is valuable regardless of one's political persuasion.

I've been entertaining for over 20 years for family and friends and was looking for some new ideas. I tried some of the recipes in this book for my last Christmas party and they were a huge success. I can't wait to try some of the other seasonal ideas in this book.

I like to have people over for dinner but I'm never sure what makes a good menu. This book takes the worry out of entertaining. The tone is accessible and reassuring, the recipes are great and not hard to follow. Now I feel confident enough to mix and match some of the menus and I know everything will come out alright. The photos and design are gorgeous so it's a good gift book, too.

Lovely ideas, encouraging, and full of do-able advice.
And notice on the flap of the book--NO author's face, only a photo of lovely legs. Hmm, little ego and lots of advice--Cheers.

Although I have never done an entire menu from this book, every recipe I've tried from here has been delicious, super-easy and perfect, and I've tried several for my dinner parties. The desserts, especially, are delicious, impressive and simple.

I love how the menus are all arranged seasonally, taking advantage of appropriate ingredients and cooking methods. Stick to the season you're in, and you can't go wrong. The author's suggestions for making a party special are fun to read, too. Admittedly, I am from San Francisco, and so is she, so she mentions foods and places that are near and dear to my heart. Her food sensibilities are right up my alley.

If you're a Saveur reader, a couple of these menus will look familiar, as they are from articles she's written for them (the Gnafrons and the Old Stoves Dinner).

Simple Soirees is my new favorite cookbook. In December I lugged it to New Zealand to bring as gift to our hostess. After she opened it; I snuck it off to my room to read at night. It distinguishes itself by being the first cookbook that I have read cover to cover. It read like a novel. We spent the rest of our stay making many of the dishes. Our favorite was the whole fish wrapped in herbs for Christmas Eve...it was extraordinary. My daughter and I have made several of the sweet things together like the heavenly fragrant geranium ice cream and the lavander and cardamom cookies. Everything we have made has turned out delicious.

I think Peggy Knickerbocker is a genuis. It is not only my favorite cookbook, but it is my favorite gift to give as well.

Reading Turd Ferguson brought back a ton of hilarious college memories - definitely a hysterical reminder of college life. This book is perfect for anyone who went to college, who plans on going to college, who thinks about college, who lives near a college - you get my drift. Go out and buy this book!

Ben and Derrick serve up a manure-pile serving of the best college slang dervied from their site - CollegeStories.com. I've been a fan of the site for a while (hey - anything that originates from Wake Forest University has to be pretty damn good). The stories are hilarious and addictive to read. Buy their book for some good laughs.

With their new book "Turd Ferguson," the editors of collegestories.com take college slang to the level of high art. A delicious blend of the lowbrow and the highbrow, "Turd Ferguson" covers an impressive range of college
terms, from Greek life to studying, bathroom humor to dating. Whether you're a recent grad looking to reminisce or an incoming freshman hoping to learn the lingo, "Turd Ferguson" is guaranteed to leave you in stiches. Highly recommended.

Fraternity Pledges should be required to have this resource on their bookshelves, next to Webster's, Bartlett's, and Cliff's Notes. These two authors will have you in stitches recalling (or trying to forget) all of these terms!

These two authors have a great website "collegestories.com" and I was very excited to see they finally published a book. Some of the slang they have written here is just hilarious. If you're looking for Hawthorne, or Dickens hit your back button, but if you're looking for basic crude, hysterical humor check this book out!

This book contains more than just cocktail recipies, but also plenty of information on the main spirits and liquers (with mention to many specific brands) as well as a very brief guide to wines and beers. The reader will learn the history and production of many of these beverages. There is also a section on equipment needed for your own bar and some basic bartending techniques. The recipie section is full of vivid photographs to give the aspiring bartender a better idea of what the final product should look like. Stuart Walton is very knowledgeable about the different products and brands, and makes many reccomendations for serving drinks as well as foods that accompany them well. Although the book sometimes contains more pictures than information (as is the tendency among books from this publisher), it is overall a very good introductory source and is a worthy purchase at a low price.

This a good coffe table book to own, the appearance of the book is fabulous and the information in it is even more interesting. The guide has not only a long list of some of the best drinks but also how to make them, what goes well with them, what kind of glasses to use and a little history on the alcohol itself.
I've tried mixing several of the drinks and they came out fabulous.
***This book appears at the Bargain section of Borders a lot. It's usually less than 5 bucks.

"The Ultimate Book of Cocktails" is an amazing addition to the ever growing number of books about alcohol, alcohol mixing, and bartending. From the cover to the very last page, the entire thing has a very flashy, professional style, rife with literally hundreds of full color pictures, clearly displaying what each and every bottle or mixed drink should look like. The paper used is a high quality, heavy type that will stand the test of time, as well as all your spilled alcoholic concoctions.

This massive tome starts off with a brief, but highly informative, introduction to the history of all of alcohol's various forms. Several artifacts are shown to highlight whatever historical point is being made, such as a small statue dated around 2300 BC of an Egyptian woman mixing beer. All the information presented in the introduction is just a broad overview, though, as the real meat of the history is scattered throughout the book in every entry. Essentially every type of hard liquor that could possibly be imagined is presented in all it's glory, along with it's history and what it tastes good mixed with. Both broad categories, like "Vodka" and specific types or brands, like "Southern Comfort" are given due attention. Several of the entries are rather surprising. Grand Marnier is listed, along with what it mix it with to actually drink, although it's most typically used solely as a cooking aid, or as part of a mix for marinating fruits. Pisan Ambon, an Indonesian liquor made with banana, is just one of many little known or hard to find liquors explained here, and most of them will have the reader out the next day trying to track the thing down. Following the hard liquor is an equally comprehensive section on champagne and wine, which is then followed by a necessarily shorter segment on beer. There are simply far too many types of beer to give a whole page for each without having a two thousand page book. Several non alcoholic mixers, from the most ordinary to most exotic, are also described in detail.

The obligatory "bartending techniques" section is present, with all the tools of the trade and the various foods and liquids any bartender should have stocked before entertaining. The bulk of the book is in the drink recipes - and this is where "The Ultimate Cocktail Guide" really shines. Hundreds of cocktails are listed, utilizing nearly every liquor previously mentioned in the book, all with full color photos of the end result and a short little blurb about the drink and it's history. A good variety of styles are present, ranging from fruity tooty drinks, to hardcore "knock you off your seat" drinks, to absolutely bedazzling drinks that exist more for presentation than for drinking.

Anyone interested in getting absolutely sloshed, in style, owes it to themselves to purchase this book as quickly as possible.

I received this book from my parents for my 21st birthday. Now, I knew that such things as beer, wine, and vodka existed and I've had my share of encounters with alcohol before my 21st birthday but I would have never guessed that there was so much information. This book has an introduction which talks about the history of alcohol. Then it has a section on the types of drinks and information about them (I would have never guessed how many there really are: spirits, gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila, brandy, kirsch, etc., etc., etc.). It even talks about non-alcoholic mixers with information on how to serve drinks. Then there is an entire section on bartending techniques (which are very useful when trying to impress guests). And then there are over 130 pages of colorful (ie. pictures) drink recepies with a glossary and an index in the back. This book is easy to use by anyone who has no clue what they are doing and in no time the novice can be impressing their friends at parties and making some interesting and yummy drinks. This book is so easy to use because it spells out how to make these yummy and complicated looking drinks in clearly written steps (and the pictures help too). It will be a long time before I get bored of this guide, I highly recomend it to anyone.

I got this book as a gift and assumed it was just another cocktail guide. Little did I know this book is also a wealth of information on the history of spirits, liqueurs, wines, beers, and more. Also contains bartending techniques, tips and proper etiquette, as well as superb photography of most drinks and popular reccomended brands. I was never too big on cocktails or drinking but now I want to try and make and sample everything.

Beautiful book, definitely worth the $12 it's being sold here for.

I received this book as a gift this Christmas and let me say that is was one of the funniest I have received is some time. I tend to be what some might call a political junkie and this book takes a nice shot right at the overly partisan and greatly increased sense of importance me and my fellow political geeks have placed on the differences between the Dem's and the GOP. If you are strongly in the one of two camps and have a thin skin, then you will probably only like half of this book, but if you can sit back and laugh at the extreme view of the political masses today, then this book will put a smile on your face.

The format is a two sided take off of the funny "You know you are a red neck if.." series. If I have one criticism is that the book was just too short. Thirty minutes is about all you need to read the book and I finished thinking that the author could have done so much more. For example he stayed away from jokes on any particular political figures. Then again the books gives you just what it claims, light humor that is perfect for any politically focused friend or family member. Buy it and prepare to laugh.

Really loved this book. It was fun to look at the jabs taken at both Democrats and Republicans.. and to be honest, they both are very accurate. Democrat or Republican, you'll enjoy this book!

Full of good laughs and some deeper jabs that stay with you. Interestingly, my wife, a Democrat, thought the writer really stuck it to the Republicans, while I, a Republican, thought he was merciless on the Democrats. That's quite a trick. You'll enjoy it. Your friends will love it. You'll find yourself marking your favorite pages so that you can read them again and share them with friends.

It may not be "gut-buster" humor, but I found myself (and others) making punctuated outbursts of laughter, delight and recognition while reading through the book. It cleverly portrays the knee-jerk-stereotypes, which are so ingrained in the Republican / Democrat ideology, as to make each feel the other is getting roasted while one's own camp gets off relatively easy! If truth is in the eye of the beholder, this work shows each one of us as being oblivious to our own biases and the assumptions underlying them...which is pretty laughable!

When I picked up "You Know You're a Republican/Democrat If..." I expected a collection of off-color, just the usual "I hate Bush," or "Kerry's just a rich liberal" puns. I thought, given the title, the writer, like Jeff Foxworthy in his redneck series, just picked low-hanging fruit.

It is quite witty. Some jokes are reiterations of ones heard on Leno and Letterman, redone in the "You know you're a" style, but others are current, fresh and funny.

I tried to guess the writer's political leaning, but the jokes are well-balanced. He honestly pokes fun at whatever his side is, and thoroughly jabs the other. My hat is off to him for not revealing who will get his vote.

Ironically, left side of each spread is a Republican joke, and the right side is a Democrat joke.

Some of the jokes are based on simple stereotypes, like, "You know you're a Republican if... you think Florida election officials are fair and unbiased. You know you're a Democrat if you think 'fair Florida elections' is a contradiction in terms."

Other jokes show keen wit, and understanding of the deeper philosophical differences and inadequacies between each party and their adherents, like, "You know you're a Republican if you've thought about becoming a Libertarian, but have trouble with their philosophical support of prostitution, gay marriage, and uninhibited personal freedom. You know you're a Democrat if you've thought about becoming a Libertarian, but have trouble with their support of free trade." Another: "You know you're a Republican if you prove your racial sensitivity by saying 'gracias' to your gardener. You know you're a Democrat if you're strongly committed to racial equality even if you don't personally know anyone of a different race."

Two of my favorites is, "You know you're a Republican if you're afraid of the IRS. You know you're a Democrat if you're afraid of the FBI," and "You know you're a Republican if you support George W. Bush's plan to put a man on Mars. You know you're a Democrat if you want that man to be George W. Bush."

Maybe the gem in the whole book is "You know you're a Republican if you think Colin Powell might make a good President, if he wasn't black. You know you're a Democrat if you think Colin Powell might make a good President, if he wasn't conservative."

This is a book worth stocking in the bathroom, or for reading aloud on trips. Both sides take some heat, so no will be offended.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com