Languages Books

I absolutly love this book! It provides you with so many creative ideas and incorportes the skills that you are trying to teach your students. I teach 3rd grade and my students love it when I pull this book off the shelf. I also absolutly love her Dynamite Writing Ideas book. It was very helpful with getting organized and creating a writers workbook with the students, although my kids call them their author books. They really have found a love of writing with these skills and the way that they are presented!

As a writing teacher, I am looking for practical ideas not philosophies. This book is nothing but terrific. It has immediate lessons and handouts. Every 4th-8th grade teacher needs this book.

This book is great! I love the plays the kids can act out and also the way the lessons are laid out makes it easy to teach and for the kids to understand. The activities are fun and my class doesn't moan and groan when I do activities from this book!

This is a great book for any teacher. It gives great ideas for teaching writing in an exciting way! I recommend Melissa's other books as well.

After borrowing this book from a colleague, I decided I had to have my own copy. It's a resource I keep going back to each year. My sixth graders love the activities, which are fun and easy to follow. Melissa Forney knows how to motivate students to improve their writing.

Real World Microsoft Access Database Protection and Security
I found it to be a good rescouce of the various stages of MSAccess DB developing protection for a data base. The end user would also benefit by having a reliable data base.
Braxton Foist

This was a great find. I just wish I had read it sooner. There are things in here that every Access developer should read. Lots of good advice, techniques, and code samples. Very well-written and easy to follow. Right to the point. I especially appreciate the humility that Garry shows in his writing. He obviously knows more than most about Access, yet he gives credit where it is due and provides lots of links for the reader to go out and get the background themselves.

I have read some of the other (excellent in their own right) big books on MS Access, and there were a couple of "non-security" things in here that I did not find elsewhere (not to mention the security issues that were new to me). I highly recommend this book for anyone who may be creating a multi-user database.

Gary Robinson is a master at Access security and this book proves it! This is one of the books that stays on the shelf close to me when I am developing. It has great resources for setting up different types of security and he provides forms and code to help you develop security based on your needs. I highly recommend this for developers, especially those who are just designing more complex databases and need a good background on security. He is such a great resource that I subscribe to his newsletter now! I can only hope that he writes another book soon! A+

All of the other reviews pretty much say it all, but I wanted to place a more recent review in the list. Although I have just started using some of the basics Gary clearly discusses, I am anxious to get to the rest. Being able to secure Access has always been in the back of my mind. Now I know I can tackle the issue and get it done in a consistent manner that I can carry into all my Access projects. Thanks for the good work Garry.

A good book will find the reader. I would like to thank Mr. Robinson for a well written read. Besides all the other things I have in my life to do I was able to finish his work in about two weeks. I have read all the other reviews; there is nothing I can add. I can however tell you that if you are into Access database (and you know if you are) then this book is an imperative. I have had many books on Access database pass my way, nothing compares with Mr. Robinsons' book on security and protection.

Mr. Robinsons' is the first technical book on Access I have ever read from cover to cover with a never ending want to turn the page to see what Mr. Robinson was going to teach me next. I'm going to begin a reread of his work and this time I'm going to use the examples with both Northwind and my own database to incorporate his methods; especially enjoying combining the OS and workgroup security to provide my data a secure base from my clients, friends and enemies.

His book provided me ample margin to take copious notes along with my read, it will prove helpful in preparing for deployment. Mr. Robinson is a professional database administrator and this book is written as from such, you will think like he does at the end of this read and be the better for it. Mr. Robinson is a wonderful dbase admin, author, and now teacher. Again many thanks for his efforts and a heartfelt appreciation for my newly gained knowledge. Should Mr. Robinson ever have a worldwide tour on the subject, sign me up.

All of the reviews are positive, I suggest a review of Mr. Robinsons' Table of Contents and more important, the wonderful Index. A review of these documents will give you better insight into the level of Access database security Mr. Robinson clearly and distinctly explains. Mr. Robinson has the world's attention on this security subject and rightfully deserves it.

The Table of Contents and Index may be found at:

View the table of contents (http://www.vb123.com/get/AccessSecurityBook_TOC.pdf)in PDF format.
View the index file (http://www.vb123.com/get/mapindex.pdf) in PDF format.

Tom Pickett
May 9, 2006
Berea, South Carolina USA

Este libro es la tercera parte de la trilogia que se forma con "La hija de la fortuna" y "La casa de los espiritus".
Con el estilo maravilloso de la narracion de Isabel Allende, es una mezcla perfecta entre fantasia y realidad que atrapa al lector hasta el final.
Excellente libro para recomendar!

este libro lo recomiendo 100% me encanto ,y puedo decir que es uno de sus mejores trabajos.

Es un libro muy entretenido que dificilmente lo quieres dejar de leer. La gracia que tiene Isabel Allende al describir a los personajes hace que te adentres en ellos.

MCAC

Esta es la primera novela que leo
de la escritora Isabel Allende, me
parecio una obra genial, la manera
y el estilo de Allende son tan originales
que me dejan sin aliento y sin nada
mas que agregar,lo unico que se puede
decir es que la lean.

Excellent Novel, should be read as a supplement after reading "La Hija de la Fortuna" from the same author.

This book is a very helpful guide for everyone, who wants to study Shakespeare. I am not a native english speaker and it was perfect for understanding the necessary terminology. I suppose that the content of the book is also precious for native english speakers. The book contains:
1) A very important chapter which contains the most frequently used words, and proves to be valuable for quick reference.
2) Words which still exist in the english language but with a different meaning.
3) Words which vanished through the years.
4) Several chapters describing the structure of several shakespeare's works.
In all cases the meanings of the words are simply stated and well clarified providing a perfect guide for every intermediate reader.

the book is great, if your'e an actor, or anyone who deals with shakespeare-get it yesterday!

I must have spent two hours reading reviews of Shakespeare lexicons and dictionaries before settling on this one. I am so pleased with my choice. It is simple to use and so far all the words I have needed have been listed, miraculously along with the verses I am reading! Please note that the price of this one is so affordable! The best thing was, when I opened the Amazon Box, the first thing I saw was Kenneth Branagh's name. He did not create the book, but he recommends it in writing on the front cover.

As an added bonus in the back of the book there are detailed maps of all the story plot lines, indicating the relationships between the characters. All in all, very helpful.

What an awesome idea! To put into one place definitions for the hard-to-understand Elizabethan English that one runs into in Shakepeare! Whether it be "prithee" or "forsooth" or "prating mountebank," the dictionary will help give the Shakespeare novice or pro the information needed to decipher the Bard's often-complex writing.

In addition, there are frequent collections of definitions that gather together words in a single theme -- say, words related to politeness, or swear words. These colections give the reader a chance to compare many words of the same genre and gain even more insights into Elizabethan usage.

The defintions are somewhat sparse, but that's probably necessary given the sheer volume of words being defined. However, each word references the play or play in which it it used.

Marry! -- that is to say, "By Mary!" -- a wonderful accompaniment to anyone interested in Shakespeare!

This is a wonderful book for all people who love Shakespeare and want to come to a better understanding of his insights into living.

If it weren't for the illustrations, this book would be rated two stars. I saw this book advertised on Amazon's website among other children's books. The cover was so beautiful, that I had to read the reviews about the content and artistry of this book. I was seconds away from making a purchase when I decided to borrow it from the library instead. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous and I liked the way the author took a spin on the mean old woman in a shoe rhyme and made it into a loving mother bunny rhyme. Children get to learn all kinds of uncommon words (at their age) like shed, trellis, etc. but the rhymes are just names of rabbits who sleep on those objects - boring and uncreative. Example, "Zed slept on the shed" The whole book from A to Z is like that. I was wondering why such a beautifully illustrated book was not such a hot seller on Amazon's rankings and found out why. It's pretty but not educational. I don't need my little one to learn uncommon names of people that are supposed to rhyme with the objects. If you want a good ABC book, I highly recommend Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. That is by far the best. It is very educational and very fun. As for numbers, I recommend Ten Little Ladybugs and/ or Over in the Meadow. Both are just excellent.

Illustrations are wonderful. Text is silly fun, but instructive in counting and alphabet. Just don't be so taken by the beautiful bunny drawings that you decide to get a bunny for your young one- they're more adult pets, despite their cuteness. They require a lot of care, research, adult attention and space to roam. Let your kids enjoy the pretty pictures instead.

Mama bunny lives in a shoe, has 26 babes, but knows just what to do. She tucks them into various "beds" as she counts them off. The detailed illustrations are what I like best about this book. My son loves studying them. He gets a kick out of the quirky places the bunnies sleep, esp Frankie in the hankie for some reason. I wish that this was written so that the bunnies' names and the places they slept started with the same letter. That would have reinforced the alphabetic aspect of this book, but maybe it's asking too much. I still really do like this one.

Unlike so many poorly executed rhyming books, this one is a joy to read. The rhymes are well constructed and creative. And the pictures are delightful. Just tonight, my 6 year old asked me to read it again as a bedtime story, because he loves to study the engrossing pictures. And we've enjoyed this book for years. I was happy to just now see that this author/illustrator pair have done other books together.

I'm such a sucker for rhymes. Fortunately, so are my kids. There's nothing like a story with pleasant and soothing rhymes to get them off to sleep quickly (giving me more time to write reviews :D) See, there's an Old Mother Rabbit who lives in a shoe. She has 26 children (those rabbits sure know how to multiply!) but she definitely knows what to do. The tale travels through the alphabet -naming each bunny and where they fall asleep (1 is named Abel, he slept on the table.....and so on) My kids delighted in guessing where each little bunny would sleep (some places were pretty strange - like who could fall asleep in candy???) It also taught them words they don't normally use (e.g. lane, holly, kettle). Counting, the alphabet, and rhyming.... all in one sweet little bedtime story. What more could a parent ask for - besides children who beg to go to bed?

I bought this book a year ago because:
1. I was promoted to be an architect role and wanted an extra advice
2. The reviews for this book were exciting

Actually I was very disappointed with this book. This book will not teach you how improve your architecture but rather deal with techniques to review existing architectures.
The techniques themselves seem to be rather archaic and heavy and serve a little in practice, since the different work environment and organizations are not taken into account.

I can assume this book can be useful for an IT dept. architect that mainly focusing on evaluating 3rd party architectures and has full freedom to set the methodology.

If you want to learn some more real world practice, check Release It!: Design and Deploy Production-Ready Software (Pragmatic Programmers) (Pragmatic Programmers) which does not pretends to, but is actually one of the best architecture books I've read both for IT dept. architect, solution architect or development architect.

I bought this book for my husband. He uses it to help him with work. He is a Senior Software Engineer.

At the risk of adding one more gushing review to this excellent book - let me say that this book is very good for relatively non-technical folks also. I am working as a manager of a technical team and I used this book to come up on speed on the basics of software architecture. The material layout is very clear and consistent - it helped me to get through the basic concepts quickly and come back for a more detailed reading. The book helped me to ask the relevant questions and focus the team on the right sense of issues.

Only suggestion I have for a subsequent edition is to include one full blown case study.

Having been in the IT world for more than 25 years and studying this topic for many of those years I have found this book to be extremely accessible. I reference it often. I like the way it deals with real business world issues as opposed to on board jet navigation systems etc. I rate it right along with Craig Larman "Applying UML and Patterns".

It is a very thorough and well written book. Authors have introduced idea of perspectives (viewpoints related to cross-cutting concerns) and I totally agree with authors on benefits of using perspectives rather than treating them as viewpoints. My AD of new project is based on viewpoints and perspectives separation suggested by authors.

In Steering the Craft, Le Guin's aim is "to clarify and to intensify" elements of prose writing through brief lectures on writing topics, interesting follow-up examples from literature, and writing exercises. She stresses that the examples and the writing should be read aloud, whether alone or in a group. Some of writers used as examples are Charlotte Bronte, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Virginia Woolf. At the end of each exercise, there are discussions on how to critique the exercise and things to think/talk about after writing.

Le Guin also gives further readings, what you can do with the writing later, and optional exercises. She also has valuable opinion pieces on such elements as characters, paragraphs, and narrative tense. The opinion pieces take on "rules" or worries a writer may have come across from reading other writing books or in workshops, things that stifle creativity. Her voice is encouraging and warm, yet she still manages to make it clear how important being comfortable with these elements of craft are for strong, nuanced writing.

The primary weakness is that most of the writers Le Guin selected for her examples are from the 19th century. She only uses only a few examples from late 20th century writers. Considering how craft elements such as POV and narrative voice are used these days, it would have been helpful to have contemporary writers for her examples as well. That juxtaposition between writing styles could have sparked a few challenging writing exercises.

This book is ideal for teachers of grad students in fiction writing, instructors in fiction writing workshops, or experienced writers who want to clean up bad habits. Although this book can be used for a creative nonfiction writing course, Le Guin came up with the ideas in Steering the Craft through her experiences in teaching fiction writing workshops and her examples are all from fiction sources.

This book was recommended in another book (I can't remember which now) for it's chapters on POV and voice. I have never read one of LeGuin's novels, but I decided to borrow it from my library. Boy, am I glad I did! I liked it so much that I renewed it the maximum number of times, made my mother check it out next, and still plan to buy it when my next paycheck comes through.

Its chapters are clear, concise and detailed, going through the basic stuff (eg 1st person POV vs 3rd) and beyond (eg fly-on-the-wall vs involved author). Best of all, LeGuin uses examples from well-known authors like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien to illustrate these.

The exercises are so useful and have so many different variants, that I think I will be doing them for a long time. I would strongly advise this book to anyone who wants to improve their story writing skills.

Who wouldn't want to learn exercises from one of the most prolific Science-Fiction/Fantasy writers? This is a solid book of instruction on the craft of writing. That is a point the Le Guin makes very early on: Craft enables art. If nothing else that is what you should take away from this book.

As primarily a poet, I wasn't sure if this book would be the best for me as it is mostly geared towards fiction, but I certainly came away with a lot. The exercises focus on the sentence and narrative which is very useful in other genres of writing outside of fiction.

This is just a solid book of instruction and full of exercises that you can use time and time again. I highly suggest this to anyone who is a writer and to anyone who is teaching creative writing.

This is the best book on writing narrative I've ever read. It has Le Guin's wit and imagination in the writing, and it is full of useful tips and exercizes. A book to keep around and pick up over and over.

This book has very good writing exercises to get you started. I preferred to do the exercises first and then to read the entire chapter explaining the purpose of the exercise. I really enjoyed the examples from other novels that Le Guin selected.

I love that Le Guin wrote the book for both critique groups and writers on their own. I disagreed with some of her advice for critique groups. Usually, the only thing that happens in these groups is that the "creative" beginning writer who takes risks is chased out or domineered by the people who know the "rules" of writing.

There are no set "rules" of writing, only different opinions. Tolstoy begins his famous novel in the middle of a conversation. Thomas Hardy uses passive voice extensively even in the first paragraph of his famous novel. Yet, by some people's standards today, their works would have been immediately rejected as written by an amateurish hack.

Most published writers I know abhor critique groups. There are simply too many genres and categories of fiction writing. How you write will depend heavily on the type of market you plan on submitting your work, and no one knows all of them. Join a critique group for the experience, and keep your sense of humor. Don't get discouraged if it's not the rosy image you have of artists supporting one another through creativity. If you do get discouraged, read Paul Theroux's "Sir Vidia's Shadow" for the ultimate tale of being mistreated by a fellow writer.

I love Appendix II: Forms of the Verbs. It's short but full of information. It's almost worth the price of the book alone. Most how-to-write books make use of the past and present tenses as if those are the only two stylistic choices left on earth. It was very refreshing to see Le Guin's notes on this subject.

As an author, teacher, and concerned world citizen, I am awed by the depth and compassion woven into this highly-readable anecdotal book. Don't let the stories fool you, though. This book will enhance your interactions with others. If we practiced Storycatching, Christina-style, there would be so much more joy and justice in our world.

I've always believed that each life has a very important story, even those that at first glance don't seem glamorous or adventurous. In fact, my favorite memoirs, biographies, and oral histories tend to be more about real people who never consciously realized the importance of their lives.

Perhaps that is why I have always kept a journal. I am ever writing and editing the story that is my life. Trying to figure out how my experiences have made me the way I am. Looking to create the story that I want to be told to my grandchildren.

For those who haven't yet found the power of personal story, Storycatcher is the answer. In each chapter the author shares accounts of individual and family experiences. Then, at the end of these sections, she includes a number of questions to get the reader started on his or her story.

"We are the story-making creatures," says Christina Baldwin, and she goes on to inspire readers to locate, articulate, and celebrate their story-making process. Storycatcher is deeply informed by her rich experience as a writer and a teacher of writing. She weaves personal story into collective story seamlessly and beautifully--pointing the way for writers of all stripes. Whether your interest is essay, memoir, novel, genealogy, short story or poetry, there are prompts a plenty. Above all, this book is a companion--the best kind--wise, kind, honest and fun. What a gift to all readers and writers!

I learned of this book through a professor's suggestion and thought that I would put it on a reading list for a later time. Having always been drawn to the power of story, I found myself ordering it and opening the pages earlier than planned. Baldwin's genuine storytelling ability left me smiling throughout the day and hopeful about the benefits story can create in connecting strangers, friends, and enemies alike.

If you've ever sat down at a kitchen table in awe of the stories that are told around it- this book is for you. You will see that storycatching is more than just a pleasurable experience, it has potential to change hearts and minds.

In one section, Baldwin talks about her experience with posing a question about an individual's first memory of coffee while standing in a long line at a coffee shop. The discussion this created was wonderful- so next time you are standing in a long line trying to pass the time, I would encourage you to take her suggestion. Pose a question and you will be amazed at the results.

This is one of the best reads of the year- prepare to be inspired.

"Every person is born into life as a blank page - and every person leaves life as a full book" (p. xi). This sentiment from the preface of Christina Baldwin's new book sums up the overall theme of this wonderful look at the power, creativity, and uses of story.

Broken into ten chapters, this book is chock-full of amazing insights. Nearly every page contains at least one nugget of wisdom. Baldwin focuses on how story connects us, the art of storycatching, why we make stories, creating a story of the self, and finding our place in the order of things. Along the way, she addresses healing, the spiritual, power in organizations, personal growth and power, and ever so much more.

This book speaks to the heart and soul of what makes us human: the ability to tell stories, both orally and in writing, and to share wisdom, make sense of our lives, and move through our time on earth with meaning. "Story is a search for community that allows us to share, build, and learn from each other... We choose whether we want to live in hopefulness or despair. Storycatchers choose hopefulness, knowing that story has the power to change our lives" (p. 236).

The writing here is lyrical and sure, her prose evocative. She's annotated it and included a reading group guide. Baldwin writes with a deep knowledge and wisdom most of us can only dream of being able to describe, and she does it with the grace of an angel. This is a book that should become a classic. Highly recommended to readers, writers, thinkers, and dreamers everywhere. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

As a French teacher, I highly recommend this book for advanced beginning through advanced learners. The authors'signature contribution is to address such things as the pronunciation of singular and plural third person indicative (straightaway on pages 1 and 5) and the differences beween English and French for focusing specific elements of a sentence (pp 173-175.)

Used as a review tool for a college course after taking a year off in French. Very useful and helpful.

This book was suggested to me by Amazon and I am very pleased that I bought it. I am in my 4th year of Studying French and this book has enabled me to do some revision and also learn some new verbs. I particularly like the way it uses modern verbs that are practical for everyday life. It explains the various grammar points extremely clearly and it has made my understanding so much clearer.
Thank you Amazon

I began studying French more than 40 years ago, in elementary school, kept going through junior high school, high school, and college, and continue to work to improve my written and spoken French even today. Even though I'm fairly fluent, I'm not a native speaker, and there is always room for improvement.

How I wish that a resource like "The Ultimate French Verb Review and Practice" had been available during my school years.

The book states that it is directed to "advanced beginning" through "advanced" learners. While the initial chapters -- covering regular verbs in the present tense, irregular verbs, the imperative form, and the passé composé -- should be at least largely within the grasp of someone at the "advanced beginner" level, the book may put such a student in fairly deep waters after that. I would commend it more to an intermediate student and above, with the initial chapters forming a combination of review of the basics and expansion of the student's repertoire of constructions and vocabulary, and the later chapters helping with more challenging aspects of the subject.

There are several things that set this book apart from others I have used.

First, the authors have a particularly clean and lucid approach to the various topics they cover. This is reflected not only in the English portions of the text, but also in the French examples. Many books of this kind tend to have rather forced and artificial-sounding examples, and classify them in rigid and difficult-to-remember categories. The authors here have managed to develop a more organic structure that makes sense without being forced.

Second, following the introduction of the material, the authors offer a number of different kinds of exercises, approaching the material from a number of different perspectives, to help cement the principles. This makes the material easier to grasp and easier to remember.

Third, the examples all sound natural and plausible, and cover useful sentences that belong in the toolkit of any speaker or writer dealing with everyday matters. The authors use each set of examples as an occasion to stretch the student's vocabulary and repertoire of common expressions and locutions. They also provide some extremely helpful explanations of nuanced differences between similar-sounding constructions that would not be obvious from mere literal translation. A number of discussions provide insight into differences between more formal written and spoken French, on the one hand, and colloquial spoken French, on the other. This contrasts with the more formal approach often found in French educational materials, which pretend that people speak only in perfect, grammatically impeccable complete sentences.

Because facility with verbs is one of the marks of fluency in French (or any language), this book serves an important function and serves it well. And it costs no more than far lesser books on the subject. This one belongs in the library of anyone serious about speaking and writing French with confidence.

Yes, David Stillman and Ronni Gordon have done it again. Years ago, when I bought The Ultimate French Review and Practice, I was certain that it was the most thorough French grammar book I had ever encountered. However, the newer Ultimate French Verbs Review and Practice carries coverage of the French language a step further. Don't be fooled by the title. To be sure, this is a book on French verbs, one which provides just about everything one might wish to know on the subject. But, it is also packed with up-to-date vocabulary such as computer and internet terms and a wealth of extra tidbits covering other aspects of usage and French language history and development. I took my first French class in 1961 in a high school language laboratory and have been captivated by the language ever since. I went on to study French in college for four years. Since that time, I have continued to read French and to use the French soundtrack on DVD movies as a means of experiencing the language on a regular basis. Living in West Virginia, I rarely get a chance to speak French. It's so nice to have the two Ultimate books to recall things I already know and to learn new things. One little gem I had never encountered before is the use of "vous autres" to emphasize the plural use of "vous." It is simply the French equivalent of "you all" or "you guys." I had always wondered if the French had a way of saying that. Now, I know. The French, however, go a step farther. They also have "nous autres" or "we all" to emphasize the inclusion of particular groups in the use of "we" as opposed to the generic "on" which is an all-inclusive non-particular "we" and is also rendered as "one, people, you, they, etc." I had come across "nous autres" in high school, but never "vous autres." I haven't nearly exhausted the comprehensiveness of this book. I am sixty years old. I will probably never need another French book in my lifetime. These two should do it quite well.

In the case of Jane Anne Staw's Unstuck, what matters most, is that the author has written the bible for writers who are blocked. I appreciate her lack of usage of the "B" word, but at the end of the day--Blocked is blocked and sometimes we all need a bit of fiber to get things moving! Make this gem a part of your writing resource library. You simply can't go wrong.

I've had a serious three year block and have tried desperately to get out of it. I had looked at several books about writer's block and all of them were feel-good garbage or throwaway 101 Tips to...

Staw's book is the best I found dealing with the subject. As one reviewer noted, it's difficult to even take time to read a self-help book, because you tend to feel that it's one more case of avoidance or procrastination and the hour it took to read could have been spent writing. But Staw has some salient, psychotherapy-based points about those feelings--guilt and avoidance. She emphasizes kindness to oneself instead of listening to the inner hypercritic, and while this might sound like feel-good nonsense, the way she writes about it makes sense and this technique pretty common in counseling. Her examples of patients experiencing writer's block range from mild to extreme--which made me feel better. This guide by no means got rid of my block, but in some ways it gave me (or allowed me to give myself) permission to write sloppily. There's no way I can write as well as I'd like to, certainly not while experiencing a block, and I feel that Staw really nails it when she points out how counterproductive this drive for perfection can be. I've since loosened up enough to start writing small things without caring so much about the outcome (these reviews for instance)--and it's been a pleasurable step in the right direction.

I'm using this book right now and it's a healing and compassionate book for writers. I was already writing again, but the book is helping me to go back and heal the gaps from decades ago when I quit writing. I hadn't realized that I needed to be healed as a writer. The need to write never went away even though I tried not to write. This book is helping me to understand many things. I can't say enough. It's a valuable book if you have ever felt hurt or discouraged as a writer. The author is perceptive and knows of what she speaks.

I am posting this review for a long-time friend and exceptional writer: "UNSTUCK offers us a mother lode of authorial insight, inspiration, and encouragement. Dr. Staw, the ultimate writer's empathist, speaks with the authority of an unblocked writer herself, making this handbook of discovery and recovery both an indispensable road map for overcoming writer's block and a trusty guide for avoiding its recurrence."

As a near-life-long collector of books on the art/craft of writing, I treasure them not just because of their professional wisdom but also because, well: they're so well written. I've placed UNSTUCK within the top part of that latter characteristic. Thank you for writing it. -- Larry W. Bryant

Unlike most books for writers, this one assumes that you are already a writer of some kind, and treats you intelligently and sympathetically, exploring the various fears that are common among writers and are at the root of writer's block, and ways to work through them. The book assumes that all writers have their own backgrounds, their own way of working, and their own individual quirks, so it does not prescribe a set program that everybody should follow. Instead, it talks about how to use your own personality and techniques to get you past the block and put your butt back in the chair.

Some of the examples seem pretty extreme. There are successful writers out there, apparently, who develop such a strong block that they have panic attacks when they sit down to write, or even just look at their computers. I figure if Dr. Staw's approach can help them, it can help me. I don't really fear writing (or do I? the book made me think about that), I just have trouble getting to it. Several times I read what she writes and thought, that's not me, then realized hours or even days later that the writers she describes aren't as different from me as I wanted to think they were. It gave me a lot of insight into the way I approach my writing, how I think about it, how I think of myself as a writer (a not-quite-real writer--there's a whole chapter about that).

The funny thing is, I realized early in the book that I was actually using the book as an avoidance technique to help justify not writing. After all, if I was reading about writer's block, then obviously I was doing something about it, so that's almost as good as writing. Of course, the best thing I could have done was put my butt in my chair and my fingers on the keyboard, even if only for a few minutes, rather than keeping my nose in a book. But I'm glad I read it anyway.

If you want to understand your writing mind, your fears about writing, how to get past that inner critic, and so on, the book is worth the time it takes to read it, and the time it takes to digest what you've read.