Languages Books

Learning Italian verbs is a hard process - there are so many forms to learn and this book organizes them well. It gives examples of how to use the verb forms and how the verbs change meaning. I find it easy to use for a difficult subject.

This is a big but comprehensive book. The explanations are clear but not as spartan (thankfully) as some other texts. The usage examples are good - in the sense that they ring true. As always, one would like more examples but most of them connect the verb with its aligned prepositions (which is pretty essential in Italian). Overall, no complaints.

I went to my local bookstore (Powells!) and examined every "big verb book" they had. I decided on this one due to its easy-to-read layout and general comprehensiveness. There are plenty of contextual examples of usage for each verb, with expanded examples for the more commonly used verbs, especally in idioms (very helpful). There's a nice introduction to the various kinds of tenses. Honestly, though, the clincher was how well laid-out each page was. In a book like this, where the information is going to be essentially the same from version to version, ease of use and general clarity become the essential selling points. This has become my constant companion in my study of Italian. Oh, great index, too!

This is a practice book that is good for any level of student of Italian. That it comes with a CD makes it even more useful. Only one problem I see --- it did not work on Windows Vista for me; but, there are no problems with XP.

I'd read that this book was better than Barron's and I agree. It has good explanations of the tenses, with adequate examples. I like the layout of the conjugations in the format
1st person singular 1st person plural
2nd singular 2nd plural
3rd singular 3rd plural
much more than Barron's listing, I find it easier to read. There's a lot more examples given of usage, idioms, and related expressions. The CD I thought was a bit of a non-event, rather boring, and the multiple choice answers fairly obvious, testing you more on your ability to be a good guesser than to actually have a deep knowledge of the verbs. I definitely recommend this book, but don't bother with the CD version.

This small book is a delight. Very imaginative. The authors have taken a clever approach to inventing new words. Take an existing word; add, eliminate, or change ONE letter. Then provide a new definition that has some relationship to the original word. As an example, here is one that I invented myself: kinkdom: A geopolitical jurisdiction populated by sexual deviants.

This book is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

I just love the laid-back style of humour that the authors use, especially in their choice of highly colorful words for the definitions.

Clever and charming, this little book is a must stocking stuffer for your literate friend or relative. I hope they come out with a sequel!

The premise of this book is the following:

Step 1: Make up tons of portmanteaux.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Comedy gold!

I don't know about anyone else, but this seems a weak foundation, and I did not find the execution particularly amusing.

On the other hand, I adore the design and typography. That alone yields three stars, because I am an obsessive æsthete.

Not expecting much, I picked up this little book while waiting in line at my local Barnes & Noble. By the time I reached the cashier I was laughing so hard I had to step aside to catch my breath. Afterward I bought 10 copies to give to my friends and co-workers, who found the book as clever as I did. Even the drawings are great!

This book is a gem, to be treasured and re-read for years.

A friend gave me this book to cheers me up after I had just broken up with my first serious girlfriend.

I thought given the title she was being ironic but after reading it I couldn't stop laughing.

Lent it to a friend, neved got it back!

An exellent book. One of the funniest I've read in a long time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a laugh. All of the people with who I discuss it want to borrow it, but I don't let them. This book puts the Darwin Awards to shame.

This is my favorite book. I have nearly every story in it memorized and I find myself re-reading the book again and again. It's one of those rare books that you start reading it smiling, then laughing out loud, and soon you're wiping tears from your eyes. Highly recommended.

This is the most inspirational book I've ever read. Let's face it, when you read about really fantastic people doing really fantastic things, you feel small and useless. But reading this book, you quickly begin to understand that you've never done anything nearly as bad as these people have done. If you failed your driver's test, don't feel bad - someone has failed it 46 times in a row. Basically, if you haven't burned down a neighbor's barn trying to test the gases coming out of the back end of a cow, or produced a safety film that actually causes injuries, you're doing pretty good.

I read this at a B&B in Wales; then was ecstatic to find it at Half Price Books in the States. I have lent it to many, but make strong demands for its return. You will want to make it part of your permanent collection.

I learned of Dawn Thurston's life story writing classes through a flyer posted at my local genealogy society. Now, wherever you live, you, too, have access to this superb teacher's encouraging and practical ideas. In Breathe Life into Your Life Story, Dawn gives suggestions of topics to write, where to begin, specific methods to create a scene, how to let your feelings show, and how to write with a focus. She provides examples of effective writing from her students and recommends a reading list of published memoirs.

For me, the Thurston book is a resourceful writing companion and a reminder of the value of putting my life on paper. My mother didn't have a copy of this new book to inspire her to leave us her stories. How I would love to have her recorded memories now. For the holidays, I will send copies of Breathe Life to my sister, her daughters, and at least one cousin. If we don't write our stories, who will?

Writing teacher Dawn Thurston and award-winning ancestral biographer Morris Thurston present Breathe Life Into Your Life Story: How to Write a Story People Will Want to Read, a no-nonsense guide to crafting an engaging autobiography. memoir or personal history. Chapters cover how to write at the gut level and reveal one's feelings, what to do and not do when writing about specific places, connecting the events of one's life to history, using suspense and conflict to draw the reader further in, and much more. A wealth of "learn-by-doing" exercises round out this excellent self-improvement guide highly recommended for would-be biographers, and also packed with valuable tips, trips and techniques for aspiring writers of fields.

I've purchased a few books in the personal history genre as gifts for friends and family. When I decided to start writing my own story, I reviewed what was available and then choose Morris Thurston's book. I'm glad I did. I'm rating this five stars even though I'm less than half way through the book so far. I do this in good conscience because I've already gained far more than I expected from the entire volume.

If taken seriously, Thurston's book is not light reading because he gives assignments that take time. I have found these assignments interesting and beneficial. This is a book one must work through rather than simply read. The benefits received will be directly proportional to the effort expended.

There are a number of products available to help people remember and record their past. While Thurston touches on the subject of recalling memories, his emphasis goes beyond that. He maintains is that it is not enough to recount memories, rehash facts, or preach wisdom. Rather, Thurston says authors will not make an impact unless they hold their readers' interest. And in order to do so, Thurston recommends understanding and employing effective story telling techniques as used by good, professional writers. In doing so, Thurston does not suggest fabricating experiences. He simply encourages and shows authors how to tell their own experiences in an interesting way.

You don't have to be a professional writer to benefit from Thurston's book. I'm no pro, and I have no ambition of sharing my (ordinary) story with anyone other than my descendents. But I didn't want to risk the effort of writing a life history without it having much impact on anyone. So I am taking his recommendations to heart.

I believe Mark Twain once said something like, "Of course, truth is stranger than fiction -- fiction has to make sense." Thurston shows authors how to tell their life stories in a way that makes sense.

Far more than just a resource book, "Breathe Life Into Your Life Story..." is entertaining enough to read in just one sitting, cover to cover. In fact, the first time I read it, I did just that.

But make no mistake about it... you will want to revisit the book several more times, as this book is also packed with a wealth of practical insight. In fact, if my copy of this book were misplaced or stolen, I would definitely have to go buy myself another copy.

This is easily the best book on the subject of memoir writing.

Breathe Life into your Life Story...What a lifeline for writers at all levels and stages, from wannabes to struggling to practicing.

Easy reading, the Thurstons' book is inviting, encouraging and full of
examples from the writing of their classroom students, many since published.

Excellent handbook for writers to master their craft.

J.B.Ferris,
Author, Claiming Our Pioneer Legacy

Very good resource, it is a very good book and I highly recommend it. It is designed for people who know web programming but are want to learn Ajax, and it has helped me.

This will not be the last thing you want to read about Ajax, but it should be the first. Great introduction: clearly written, easy to follow sample code, and thankfully concise.

The author has put up a supporting web site. There's a forum and the author responds to questions. He has also provided all the sample code on the site. You can also copy and paste the SQL statements to create the database, tables, and insert the sample data.

I must admit I was disappointed when I first opened this book. Large fonts, half-empty pages, I thought they just wanted to extend 20-30 page text to 140+ and make money.
I was wrong, I mistakenly thought that this was going to be like PHP6 & MySql5 from the same author. That book is a heavy one with 600+ pages where author goes into every single detail.

However, this book is 100% practical guide. It's like Larry is teaching you a lesson how to implement that darn Javascript/Ajax that you tried but couldn't and explains to you everything he does! Clean, simple and elegant.
So for 13-14$ you can't ask for more and definitely is worth it!
I like his attitude, his style and he REALLY *knows how*!

very concise yet descriptive illustrations for creating a project with AJAX. Of course it is not a Bible for this technology, but a very very handy book which gived the basic idea.

The book jacket lists it as a beginner level book. It says: "Familiarity with HTML, JavaScript, PHP and CSS would be helpful but is not required." It's true that the project doesn't involve anything terribly complicated in any of these areas. Still, if ALL of these are unfamiliar to you, I'd guess it would be quite difficult to follow what is going on simply because there are so many components interacting. (Actually there are a few more involved as well: MySQL, SQL and XML).

Every step of the project is explained at a level that assumes you might not have seen that type of code before. But the exact syntax of each line of code isn't always explained so you may have to follow up with more reading and research if you want to adapt what you've learned to your own project later.

Several things I thought were particularly good about this book. One: given that browsers do a good part of the processing with AJAX through JavaScript, and given that you can't count on consistent behavior across browsers--or even on JavaScript being enabled, I was pleased to find that the project was designed to create a non-AJAX version first and then to add the AJAX layer on top of that.

Two: there was a good amount of error-checking built in to the application even though it is a fairly simple one. That's something as a not-so-proficient programmer I often find myself overlooking.

And three: tips on debugging in PHP and in JavaScript are included. Although they are pretty basic tips, if you are a beginner, they will be helpful.

I'd say this book can give you as much for your investment of time as many a day-long workshop would and at much lower cost.

Have you ever had one of those C language questions that nobody quite knows the answer of? Well, this book should help.

I have seen a lot of good books on C++ on the market but there are very few good C books and this is one of them. I will bet that fewer than 5% of the C developers out there will be able to answer some the FAQs in this book.

It's too bad that not that many people know about this book but it is a real gem.

this is good companion to C in nutshell. answering your c question quickly and effectively.

Summit gives us an extensive test of our C knowledge. While C has a simple syntax, and lacks object oriented complexity in notation, there are many nuances that catch out unwary programmers.

A lot of the questions revolve around the assembly language-like constructs in C, for pointer arithmetic. Very easy to trip up here. And also in the related area of memory (buffer) allocation.

If that is not enough to keep you busy, Summit also talks about issues of portability across different operating systems or across different versions of the same operating system. At least you usually don't have to worry about the version of C itself. For system dependencies, Summit covers both unix and MSDOS. While C and unix grew up together, a reality is that much C programming goes on under Microsoft.

The references to MSDOS in the text reflect that the book was written in 95. Though even then, Microsft was deprecating DOS in favour of its newer Windows offerings. A newer version of this book might be overdue. Where Summit would no doubt discuss C under XP.

Simply put, this book does a good job of condensing years of FAQs from the comp.lang.c new group. Some of the questions really get down into the nitty gritty of C. The answers are easy to read and understand.

This is an essential book for any programmer. I remember buying it when it first came out in Fall 1995. I was an undergraduate senior at the time and thought I was a hotshot C programmer. How mistaken I was! Reading through this book was a humbling experience, as each page showed me fine details of C that I did not already know.

This is an excellent book. It is organised into chapters on different aspects of C, and in each chapter are dozens of FAQs that range from rather common to extremely fine-detailed. Three chapters which I particularly liked were Chapter 1 (declarations and initalisations), 3 (expressions and evaluation order), and 6 (arrays and pointers). Later chapters introduced new (at the time) concepts to me, including getopt, variable-length argument lists, and preprocessor tricks. The level of detail provided in each answer is extraordinary.

Other things I liked about the book: The index is excellent. There is a lot of discussion (spread across the FAQs) on the differences between K&R and ANSI C. (This was relevant to me because at the time, I was splitting my work between gcc and the proprietary cc compilers on DEC Ultrix and SunOS.) The style of writing is friendly and does not talk down to you. This is not a beginners' book!

Note that there is an online version, but it does not have nearly as many questions as in this book.

Two thumbs up! The guidebook pictures are clear, the descriptions are detailed and include information on where each species can be found (what region of the US and what type of habitat). Each track on the CD includes an introduction with both the common and Latin name of the species. Now I know exactly who I've been hearing outside. After the individual sounds tracks, the author also shares some "combo" tracks with more than one species and describes the conditions and exactly what is going on with the frogs/toads in question. I thought this was really helpful because when encountered in the wild you typically don't find a single animal on its own. It was also entertaining, as when he shared the "frog with a stutter", turf wars and mixed species frog calls. My whole family enjoyed this CD and it was a great addition to our homeschool biology studies.

Kudos to Lang Elliott for gathering this amazing variety of frog calls. The identification of each call is a great help. I would recommend that every "frog-lover" have this information in their library.

Being an amateur nature recordist myself, I think the recordings on the CD are of the highest quality and done very professional. The book pictures are good. The voice descriptions are to the point, with a general time table for when each species can be heard.

The National Wildlife Federation is using this book for their Frogwatch USA Program.
Record the Ribbet is scheduled for May 3,2008.

Since moving to the country and acquiring a pond, a whole new world of amphibian sounds has added enjoyment to everyday living for our family. This CD has a put a face, name, and description to each of these fascinating calls and made identifying them fun and interesting.

The synopsis of this story is that Geronimo Stilton, a mouse, is driving through the woods and has car trouble (and weather trouble) which cause him to find shelter in a haunted house (your typical Haunted House scenario). Soon his Sister, Cousin and Nephew join him, and the group searches to find out who is haunting Cannycat Castle. Great story to read around Halloween!

I am starting to introduce my 4 year old into chapter books and this series has been a big hit. The problem I've found in transitioning from picture books to chapter books is that younger kids (or at least mine) tend to lose interest in the pages without pictures. What is great about these books is that even the text pages are interesting to look at. Almost every page has a picture, and the ones that don't have pictures, have graphics embedded into the text. So you may find 2 or 3 words off set in different fonts, styles, and colors. And some key words and phrases are emphasized to draw in the reader's eye. This style keeps my son's attention, and even calls his attention to the words themselves. So he'll point to the word in spooky font and ask what that word says.

Honestly, I can not say enough about how well the graphics and illustrations really make this a great series. I absolutley recommend this if you are considering beginning chapter books with your child

I love this book!!! I think all of the Geronimo books I've read are funny. These are the funniest books ever!

I am in[..]and I read the Geronimo Stilton book called Cat and Mouse in the Haunted House for my final book report of the year. It was the best book ever! My favorite part about reading this Geronimo Stilton book was that it was very mysterious and had mummies, witches, and ghosts! That made the book even more exciting! I was holding my breath, waiting to see how the book would end. When I was reading, I could hardly wait to turn the page! I just couldn't read quick enough! Geronimo is a fun character, and I love reading about his adventures! Once I finished the book I was sad that it was over. I am so glad that there are many other books in the series! I definitely recommend this book and the rest of the Geronimo Stilton series to anyone reading this review. If you love great mysteries, I'm sure you will enjoy this book as much as I did! I hope my review was helpful and that you have a great time reading this book and other adventures about Geronimo!

Geronimo Stilton:
Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House




He's too fond of his fur! Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House is a spectacular book for anyone who loves fiction. The famous Geronimo Stilton, a mouse by the way, is also known for many other books such as the following: Curse of the Cheese Pyramid, Merry Christmas Geronimo and many others. On this adventure, Geronimo is off to see his great Aunt Sugarfur. On his way home, a storm blows in a Geronimo is stuck in the woods; which were deserted; or so he thought. That's when he discovers Cannycat Castle. Geronimo is a `fraidy mouse, but it's wet and cold outside and Geronimo is not liking the weather, so he decides to try out the castle. He finds the castle is haunted with past residents, including one with only one paw! He calls up his sister Thea, his cousin Trap, and his nephew Benjamin. Together they fight off ghouls, goblins and other creepy things to stay alive. If you like Harry Potter, you'll love this! This book is funny, scary, and action packed all rolled into one. It's number three in his fur-raising adventures, and another one you just don't want to miss.

Boo! Hi,I'm the ghost of Casey Gray.I just read a book called Geronimo Stiltion, Cat and Mouse in the Haunted House. It's a furr-azing book. If you like this book, there are over 20 others!!! I give it two thumbs up.In the back of the book, there is a map of were Geronimo works, what city he lives in, and what island he lives on. Oh No!!! The books are runing away!!! Come on, they're fast.

303 Words

A Book Review by Ethel Louise Clark

Chapter After Chapter
By Heather Sellers
Published in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2007 by Writer's Digest Books, First Edition


Heather Sellers provides us with the necessary tools for writing that novel we've been dreaming about. The book is woven together in three segments. Part one helps you how to prepare yourself for the duration. Part two gives you the perseverance, strength-building and the nitty-gritty of actual writing. Part three moves you to complete that manuscript.

The author shares with her reading audience how her own personal experiences helped her to overcome her writing insecurities and fears.Her information and wisdom are priceless.

Each chapter ends with a skilled writing exercise designed to help the writer break through those dreaded blocks and to sever the procrastination habit. I admit to not having done every single exercise. Detailed and lengthy are not my favorite adjectives.

The clarity and insight the author presents absorbs the reader into moving on to the next chapter with eagerness and passion. Heather Sellers definitely leaves a positive influence on putting pencil to paper and the creativity back into writing. She showed me how to arrange my life so as to write more and be persistent about sticking to it.

It was an easy read for me prompted by the author's previous book titled Page After Page, equally enticing. The author sends a clear message that you can write with an occasional nudge in the right direction.

I recommend Chapter After Chapter to all who want to learn to write and to those who love to write. I keep this wonderful creation next to my laptop for inspiration's sake. It is purely a mentor that I pick up habitually when a question about the creating process arises. I need only one book to guide me....Chapter After Chapter.

This book is not perfect. There are suggestions that I think are ridiculous, like you must read 100 books in your chosen genre before starting to write your own novel. Yes, read the books, but get writing as well. Yet, the point is well taken, if a bit skewed. Yes, you should be well read, in your chosen genre and in others as well, if you want to have an original voice.

This book is not perfect, but there are enough gems, that I want to finish the book and buy her other book as well. It is clear that she is a writer who has spent many nights in the trenches, who loves writing and wants to encourage others to write. She, however, pulls no punches in telling you that you must be well equipped to make the commitment to writing, to make time, and do the work.

This will probably become a classic in its genre.

Chapter After Chapter is a winner. I keep this and Heather Sellers other book Page after Page on my writing desk as a reminder of what the writing process is all about. It was like having a good friend by my side encouraging me to keep at it. Heather breaks down the writing process into doable pieces. Not since Bird by Bird have I read a book on writing that's stimulated my brain intellectually and technically as well as being a pleasure to read.

The best part about "Chapter After Chapter" is that Sellers assures writers that they are not alone, and that great works need time to create. This may not be the book for those who are into the "novel in 30 days" school, but it does offer a perspective that can help bring one up to speed. The book is a winner, a sigh of relief.

Update: I've been re-reading this book until now, months after I first picked up the book. I may sound like a gushing high-schooler, but I can't believe that a book can reassure me the way "Chapter After Chapter" does. I'm almost done with the writing of my next graphic novel, and Heather Sellers' words help keep me going.

I always go back to her impressions about dealing with writer's block, warding off tempting new story ideas and learning more about the craft. When it comes to writing projects, I have a hard time finishing what I start, so her musings about having a relationship with your book are dead-on.

I tried reading this book but I found it to
be too cutesy. She also picks on people
that had a tragic childhood after a famous
writer comes to her class and tells a student
that if she didn't go through bad things as
a child, she couldn't be a writer. I disagreed
with this writer as well as Sellers who then
blames these types of writers for her lack
of success. I really hate it when writers
write books and then make their own writing
experiences as the absolute GOSPEL for other
would-be writers( i.e. not needing an agent to
get published, how much money you can expect to
make, which is different for her than most people
because she wrote a poetry book, etc.)
Although she does give good pointers on how to
overcome writer's block, I found much of the
same information in Victoria Nelson's On Writer's
Block, which she recommends in the back of her
Page after Page book. I found Nelson's information
to be more concise whereas Sellers was more general.

I gave her three stars for effort but if you are
serious about becoming unblocked then read Victoria
Nelson's On Writer's Block.

Had to buy it for class. Regardless, came in good condition and it's a pretty good book. Not too much details into each chapter but good if you want an overall review on different children's literature.

This book isn't bogged down by various author histories or long-winded, complicated psychological breakdowns of why the authors think a particular book has more merit than others like many textbooks do. Instead, Tunnel and Jacobs get down to the nuts and bolts new teachers need to actually get children to read! With simple examples and amazing tools like booklists and the easy to use database, this book gives the teacher the essential keystones to teach and read children's literacy and then pushes the teacher to be a good role model and get out there and read! It is certain to have a permanent place in my resource library.

I bought this book for Master's level class on Children's Literature, and it's a great book. It's easy to read, and jam-packed with useful information. This is a book I will keep & not sell back.

The preface of this title describes it as "a children's literature textbook for people who don't like children's literature textbooks" (p. v) which sets the tone for the rest of the text. Tunnell and Jacobs, both instructors of children's literature from Brigham Young University, offer an introduction to children's literature that is entertaining and educational.

The book is divided into three parts: "The Magic of Books;" "The Books Themselves;" and "Books in the Classroom." The first section discusses the value of reading, why children don't read, how to distinguish between literary quality and personal taste, and how to recognize books that are well-written and well-illustrated. The second section tackles the history of children's literature as well as organization of children's books into nine separate genres: picture books, poetry, traditional fantasy, modern fantasy, contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography, informational books, and multicultural and international books. The third section describes controversial books and the most effective way to deal with challenges, how to motivate students to read, and teaching with children's books. The aim of the book is to provide "an overview to shed light on children's literature and its use with young readers" (p. v).

Throughout the text, many examples of quality children's literature are used to illustrate particular points the authors want to make. All book references are included at the end of each chapter and each genre's chapter features a list of "books we like," compiled by the authors, which provides bibliographic information as well as a brief summary of the work. Included with the book is a children's literature database CD which contains a listing of 20,000 children's books which can be sorted by title, genre, grade level, topics, author, illustrator, year, or publisher. Instructions on how to use the CD-ROM are located in the back of the book at the end of the last chapter and they include color graphics to illustrate what the database's interface looks like as well as the tools used to sort books into categories.

One of this book's greatest strengths is that it is written with humor, reads like a dialogue, and is organized in a logical way. The authors draw readers into the realm of children's literature with teasers excerpted from various titles, descriptions of interesting books, and providing interesting facts about children, their literature, and its history. Appended at the end of the book are "Guidelines for Building a Classroom Library;" book selection aids, a list of magazines for children, awards in children's literature, and information for anyone interested in publishing a children's book. The awards section and books selection section are particularly useful to anyone starting out in collection development (or those who have been doing it for a while) as well as those interested in finding award-winning books for children.

While this text is not an exhaustive look into the world of children's literature, it is not intended to be. It does, however, provide a stellar introduction to the subject and provides readers with enough information to distinguish quality literature from poor, to understand genre differences, and to be able to motivate children to read, which is the most important lesson of all.

This was used as a textbook in my children's literature class and I'm glad it was! It really gets away from the conventional textbook by having the info relaying in an easy-going context.