References Books

I took this book as a Bible. I followed every step. The result was great--I'm published.

It's not a short process to create a proposal, but going through it helped me write a better book. The book's title is a bit narrow; there's lots of good information about how to use the proposal to connect with a literary agent.

When I meet authors who are frustrated about their inability to get published, I usually hear that they've skipped one or two steps. Don't. Follow through on all the steps.

As a writer friend said to me when she recommended it to me, "this is the best book out there, it walks you through the steps in the order you mentally need to. THE book for a beginner."

I purchased this book hoping for information for my book proposal. I was not disappointed. This book has valuable information and I am happy with my purchases.

If you have started to look for a literary agent, buy this book first. If your proposal has been rejected by agents, buy this book. I thought I had read good proposal books until I read this one. Follow it step by step, chapter by chapter, and your book proposal will look quite differently than what you wrote before. After reading this book, I re-wrote my entire proposal, because the suggestions in this book gave me a better understanding of what I wanted to write, and how to convey my vision of my book to outside parties. If you are having problems outlining your book, defining your chapters, writing a query letter that will impress an agent in the first two sentences, buy this book. How To Pick The Best Tenant Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money-Making Guide for Authors, Independent Publishers and Small Presses

Whether the glue is poor quality or another problem with the paperback spine, I really wish this much read book had held together better. From one to a few pages, to chuncks of pages, have separated.

That said, the book is completely informative, with numerous examples and step by step directions. Explanations help shape the user's thinking about how to develop their book proposal. I wish the writer covered the proposal in order, but I understand her reasoning for covering sections out of order.

The book doesn't give much help about how new writers can pad their "About Author" and beef up their personal selling points when they have never been published.

Overall, the book is packed with useful info.

This is a wonderful collection of poems. IT is a national treasure. I had this book and lost it, thinking that by now it was out of print. I love the variety of authors and the variety of each author's poems.

I've had many of these poems for many years. This was a nice addition to the family library. I now have 3 of the leather-bound volumes, and intend to buy several more. (each family member will get one of these TREASURES.

My Mother read these poems to us as we were growing up. I also memorized many of these poems at school. Reading it again was like visiting an old and familar friend.

This is by far the best collection of general heritage poetry I have come across. Classics when originally compiled that are still the standards for Americana poetry as well as a summation of our cultural history.

As a child my mother read from this book to me and to my father. She need
not have read much as she memorized many of the poems and can recite them
now, though well past her 90th year. I have given this book to many of my friends and consider it a gift of love and inspiration.

Get lost in the world of art Curtis creates throughout this lovely home featured in this must have coffee table book 'Your home a living canvas" His murals and step by step well explained ideas will transport you to a whimisical beautiful place you will not soon wish to leave. This book remains on my night table. Richy photographed and thoroughly inspiring! PUT THIS ON YOUR WISH LIST!

Sass Lassley
Owner/Artist Fe Fi Faux Studio's Inc.

Decorative Artist Curtis L. Heuser will take you on a true-to-life journey of his purchase of a forgotten historic house in disrepair to it's reclaimed glory. A chance meeting between Curtis and the art director for the book's publisher resulted in this journey being documented for the benefit of creative thinkers everywhere. Where to begin? What to tackle first? How to proceed? Curtis allows us to enter his creative thinking process as he provides the reader with his inspirations, initial preparatory drawings, as well as tips and tricks, materials lists and instructions for executing many of the exciting painted and plaster finishes that he used in this stunning home. From the elegant chinoiserie-inspired garden mural on the cover to the creation of a faux-rusted vanity, Curtis hasn't kept much to himself. He allows the reader generous access to this handsome home and to all of the secrets of it's restored beauty. Your Home, a living canvas will inspire you to rethink your own living canvas and if you like, will hold your hand along the way.

I love reading what people have to say about things I KNOW so well. lol I am very fortunate to have a Curtis Heuser mural in my home and when guest see it, they speak of my home to others as a mansion, not a house. Curt is a would class artist, however, this book gets criticized in some reviews because it is not JUST about murals. Please be thankful about that folks. A mural does personalize a space and add an art feature to a home but Curt then teaches how to complete the picture by showing you how to decorate the space. Curt does not say, "Give me a boat load of money and i'll transform your home", he tells you how to make your house a mansion. I, like Curt, came from very humble beginnings and he has taught me how to live like a king, or at least look like on a shoe string budget. He teaches how to select great paint colors, fabrics, and decorative pieces you can pick up at discount stores or antique shows. People come to my house and look at things I have picked up and marvel at their beauty and I smile knowing that the item might have been $9.00 and I bought it because I loved it. I didn't have to pay a decorator a commission on something purchased form a store that already has it marked up. Please enjoy Curts gift for making your house a home from mural work, faux finishes, collections that you purchase from Goodwill to antique shows. However, having said all this, my best purchase was the mural in my dining room. Check it out on HGTV website, episode 508 on the show Before and After. I hope there will be many more books from this man. He has the gift to create world class spaces. I wish all of you could have your own Heuser mural. His portfolio is amazing.

This is a delilghtful and beautiful book for artists or those of us who appreciate others' talent. Curtis has created a labor of love first in his home and then in his book. I was fortunate enough to tour the finished product and it is truly gorgeous. I'm able to relive the experience by revisiting his book from time to time. This book is a winner on all counts.

YOUR HOME,A LIVING CANVAS sits on my living room coffee table and everyone who sees it wants one. Curtis Heuser's work is stunning and his directions for achieving beautiful results in your own home are clear and accessible. This book is head and shoulders above any others that I have read on faux finishes and/or murals. For just browsing for aesthetic pleasure or for guidance in undertaking major artistic redecoration, YOUR HOME is the book to own; the perfect gift to give or to receive.

This compact volume is a compilation of realistic and ethical insights about the foibles of human relations. Just reading a few entries at a sitting offers thoughtful and encouraging tools in our dealings with one another.

THIS BOOK IS WORTH FIVE TIMES THE COST. THE AUTHOR NAILED THE HUMAN SPIRIT ON THE HEAD. FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE EGO CENTERED, ILLOGICAL AND GREEDY. LESSONS THAT HAVE TAKEN ME DECADES TO LEARN.

The book contains 300 field-tested behavioral rules for an honorable and successful life. The credibility this Jesuit needs in order to tell us how to live comes from his instant truth and usefulness. Most of the maxims have the urgent clarity of tough times, but some show you how to enjoy your adventures best. His perspective is balanced and subtle.

When you use this experiential knowledge you deliberately err on the side of caution, graduating to reality faster than your peers. All of life is covered. Some maxims are explanations on character and common sense, while others advise on how to deal with people. For example, he tells us to keep matters in suspense and to be skilled in conversation. You essentially learn how not to screw up in a complex world without fairy tale endings.

A few readers will say that this "prudent" Spaniard from the 17th century is outdated, and I agree that nowadays you could survive without him. But then don't complain when your superficial person is ignored, your illusions are painfully shattered and former friends leave you in the mud. You could have saved the day if you had only listened!

This knowledge was hard won, like gold, by a reflective man who's life's work was to tell you how not to be a fool. If the advice was bad, this book would have gone out of print a few centuries ago.

Throughout the years, I've read various philosophers and grasped their differant ideologies. I haven't read too much of Gracian. After reading the Art of Wordly Wisdom as traslated by Maurer, I feel as though I've been deprived of this great Philosopher. I wish I had read more of Gracian's work earlier on. This book details various compilations of conduct and thinking. It truly is a gem. It is a Highly recommended book.

This is a beautifully produced book, and on the whole the translation is at least satisfactory, and frequently elegant in its own right. But the oracle's original train of thought within each half-page aphorism (probably hard enough to follow in the original Spanish) often becomes totally unintelligable in translation.

Perhaps annotations would have helped, but without either the original Spanish or any notes to refer to one sometimes has to simply give up trying to understand the gist, and move on to the next aphorism.

Overall it's a rewarding read, and certainly a book to keep at hand and dip into again and again, but also somewhat frustrating. This is not the ultimate translation.

I love the receipes in the book. The only thing I have a problem with is that the book states that "No more weighing", however it does not explain what an actual serving size is, it mentions briefly that you can weigh your food to get an idea of what a serving is, and then use your judgement from then on. Well, being someone that is over weight and has a problem with determining what an actual serving is poses a HUGE problem. That would mean, I WOULD have to weigh my food to figure out whether I am eating a serving or more. The title of the book is misleading, as well as the excerpts on the back and front cover.

I bought this cookbook back in 1993 and have been using the recipes in it ever since. I get so many requests for the recipes I've made from it I have bought extra cookbooks to give out to people as gifts. The title is deceiving because it doesn't seem like those bland old diet cookbooks that you usually get. I lost the weight that I wanted to lose and have maintained my weight by keeping these recipes on hand. Also, I love that the cookbook has a picture for every recipe which is rare in most cookbooks. As stated earlier in someones comments about the serving size......It states how many servings the recipe makes they just figure you can divide equally.

Very easy transaction -- price was great -- shipping to a friend's address went off without a hitch. Hightly recommend.

I loved the pictures! I own alot of cookbooks, and this one has fast become my favorite. I liked the Classics section as well as the easy-to-understand calorie needs/bmi explanation in the front of the book and the 14-day menu planner. It contains good old fashioned dinners as well as easy gourmet-type delights. My husband is excited about this too! My whole family will enjoy losing weight while eating great tasting food without feeling they are on a diet!

My husband and I lost a total of 100 pounds in 5 months by using the delicious recipes in this book. The food is tasty, easy to prepare, and satisfying. The variety of foods from the traditional to the more exotic or ethnic gives the range of choice often missing in "diet" books. I have purchased this book as a gift for several friends who have also found it enjoyable.

I received my copy of this book two days ago and finished it yesterday. For me, it was worth the price of admission. I have been blogging for about 7 months and have purchased two other books on blogging and subscribe to several blogs on blogging. While this book included most of what I have learned from the other books and the blogs, it does a good job of explaining "why." I am a person who needs to know why.

I purchased this book as a resource on blogging for churches and ministries and it does a good job at that also. For instance, I am in the process of starting a ministry blog. I thought that since it is my personal blog that people would understand that what I blog about is my own personal opinion. This book explains that is not necessarily so and some sort of disclaimer should be added to the blog.

Easy to read, easy to understand and not expensive. A Great book for a novice and helpful for an experienced blogger interested in blogging for ministry.

Well organized and full of information for both the newbie and also a more experienced blogger who wants to deepen their effectiveness (or experiment more). I work with synagogues, and found the approach of blogging for "ministry" can be useful and much more broadly defined than for churches alone. Very easy to read, full of practical examples.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with this book. I knew going into this book that I was in for a lot of great information and disciplines in creating and maintaining a blog. I did not expect how creatively it was written. I think we have certain expectations for "how-to" books and this one surpassed my expectations.

If you have started a blog or are just thinking about it, grab this book. There is a lot of focus on churches creating and using blogs, but not to the extent that it leaves the individual out. The writers took time to teach us a little history as well as give us clear detailed info on the how, why and where of the blog world. Chapter 9 & 10 focus on starting a blog and then building a blog well. I love chapter 11 titled "Build A Really Bad Blog". It's kind of the how-to in reverse.

One of the coolest things in the book was hearing from bloggers around the country about their take on blogging and how it has affected their lives or the lives of the businesses/churches they are involved with. I enjoyed hearing the real world ideas.

This book really starts from the beginning by asking 3 questions...
-Is it a tool or a toy?
-What problem are you trying to solve?
-What is the return on ministry?

The writers go on to explain that "Blogs are tools, not toys. Blogs help solve real problems. Blogs deliver a true return on ministry."

I also appreciate the hopeful message from start to finish. As churches and Christ-followers, we have an amazing opportunity to share our story with others. The blog world is open and ready for the taking. This book consistently draws you back to intent. The writers want you to be excited about who God is in your life and they want that to burst out on your blog.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of or already in the blogging world. It's very easy to read. It is not extremely technical. And when it does get technical, they have done a great job of explaining themselves so no one gets left behind. It has real life stories and history. It is a quick read.

I learned a lot that I didn't know about blogging from this book. It would have saved me a lot of problems if I had had something like this when I started blogging a year ago.

If you are looking for some help in defining and establishing a blog for yourself or your ministry you will find this book helpful. It gives some great insight in to establishing a good blog for the right reasons.

I have been building software professionally for about 20 years, and in that time have read a lot of books. While generally impressed with the O'Reilly series, this book exceeded my expectations.

I think C# 3.0 in a Nutshell is clear, very well written, concise (even at 700+ pages), thorough and practical. While not for the first-time programmer, this book is an excellent reference, guide and teacher for those familiar with .NET and C# concepts, and who wants to review the basics as well as learn about the new .NET 3.5 constructs, e.g., LINQ.

Of course, other books specifically dedicated to a given topic will go into more depth, but this is a great place to get a fairly deep overview accompanied by cogent explanations and examples.


This is a must-have on every .NET programmer's bookshelf.

This book seems like a great reference so far. I had been hoping to learn C# with this book, but it's not really a learning book. it's definitely first and foremost a reference. Most of the wording is quite dense. I found myself reading the first few pages several times because they were so packed with information as they tried to explain the entire layout of C#. Later in the book I could pick out useful information with a fast read.

I was annoyed that it advertises a free online edition, because that is not true. The online edition is free for only a short time, and after that the subscription is very expensive. It would be nice if there were a place online where you could download examples or notes. It's nice to have an online and print copy of the same book just for text searching.

This is one of the few programming books I bought I actually keep nearby. Great reference for everyday C# coding needs - better organized and more clear than MSDN.

This book is a huge step up from the first edition. It's totally rewritten. I bought it a couple of weeks ago and now it's between the keyboard and the screen. I am continually referring to it.
The chapters on assemblies and reflection are worth the price of the book alone.
I could not ask for more.

This is an excellent reference on C#, the .NET framework, and LINQ. It's not just a rewrite of MSDN, but gives some great insight into how to use the core pieces of the .NET framework for practical applications.

The chapters on LINQ alone are worth the cost of the book. The authors dive deep into LINQ and really give you a good understanding of how it works.

I also like how the authors stay focused on the core pieces of .NET, and don't stray too deep into things like WCF and WPF. There are plenty of good books for that.

I highly recommend this for anyone desiring to learn more about C#, the .NET framework, and LINQ.

Never read Barry before but after reading this book, laughing out loud, and sorry to get to the end, I will buy more of his books. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wow. Publishers Weekly didnt like this book? I love it. There isnt one sentence in it that isnt funny. It's a good book to have if you're on a long car trip and need something to keep people entertained.

This one was another "Busted-Gut/Soggy-Pants" one for me! Man! I really loved the Chapters on Europe & Going To Disney World (his map of Florida is hilarious) and his idea for "Dave World". He has a good point that the most popular Amusement Park rides are the crazy ones that make you puke ('The popularity of a ride is directly proportional to how horrible it is. There's hardly every a line for a nice relaxing ride like a Merry-Go-Round. But there's a huge crowd...consisting of mostly teenagers...waiting to go on something with a name like "The Dicer", where they basically strap you in a giant food-processor, turn it on and phone the paramedics'- DAVE BARRY). His messing with non-English phrases is loads of fun (and Canada's English-French system get a great 'Dave Barry Treatment' as well, not that I have anything against Canadians). Well, if you need some serious laffs whilst stuffed like a sardine on Flight 321 to Bangkok, Dave's your man!

Irreverent, "inaccurate" look at travel in the US and abroad. If you've ever traveled by car, flown in an airplane, visited foreign countries, camped with friends or family, you will find this book hilarious. Barry has a keen insight into the traps and pitfalls of modern-day travel and expresses it in an outrageously funny manner.

Many in America are familiar with Dave Barry. I don't know anyone in Ireland or the UK who's ever heard of him. i have introduced my mother to him. She is a writer and appreciates good humour. I think she wasn't expecting him to be quite so funny though. When I said he is hillarious, I was not over reacting. I was pleasantly surprised to see her nearly fall over in histerics. Humour is good for the soul. Dave Barry is good for the soul. This book covers travel across all of the states, many European countries, Scandanavia, some parts of Asia. For his own reasons, Dave has catalogued some countries together... either his summary of one was so similar to many others, or he was so unimpressed he was lost for words! Either way, you'll enjoy this. How could you not?!

This book was in excellent condtion and arrived very quickly. I am very pleased with the service and will shop again!

just that, a good pharmacy reference. It's a good addition to my other resources and is easy to use.

A great quick guide on drug information, perhaps, the best one. Full monographs of almost all of the drugs, including interactions. Much necessary to the pharmacists and other health professionals.

This book is great. It's too large to carry in your white coat, but as a desktop reference it's unbeatable. I am a student pharmacist on rotations and it has already helped me immensely. I don't have a PDA, so this book is great for looking up quick details. The new features (drug names in red, larger size, reference charts in the back) make this much better than previous editions. Usually I just buy books "to have" and never really use them, but I've used this countless times in the first month I've had it.

Lexi-Comp's Drug Information Handbook is the bomb. No nagging adds like the PDR; just the facts, ma'am. More eye friendly than previous editions, and still packed with about a gillion tables in the appendix. Drug names are now in red. This is the cat's meow; I probably use it once a day in patient care. Shipping and price are much better through Amazon than through the publisher.

This book was so sweet. I loved all the topics and the recommendations the author mentions. I wish I had this book with me a long time ago. Nevertheless, I can still benefit from everything today right where I am.

Get this book for your kids no matter what age they are. This books has enough nuggets of wisdom to benefit everyone. If you like you can partake in the book and then do the questions at the end of each chapter. You will enjoy it and they will look at purity differently. Also, recommend this book to your church as a tool for the youth and singles ministry.

My daughter loved this book! I bought it for her and she read it pretty quickly and even shared it with her friends. She is very determined to add all the recommendations to her life and it is wonderful to see her looking at things in a different light. I thought she might just say well this is just another book about purity but she really enjoyed it. I was very happy and I know this will benefit my daughter greatly.

I can recommend this book to other mothers, dad, teens and single adults as a source for encouragement for bringing purity into their lives. It did help our family in teaching our young daughter about purity. I honestly wish the churches would do more of this.

This book does prepare your teens and adults for school, work and friendship. It tells us that we are not too weak to keep purity in our life when we make it part of our lifestyle. Every teacher should be recommending this book to their students, every parent to their child and every single adult should read this book. The benefits are amazing and you will feel inspired once you read the book.