ADO Books

I thought this book looked more like how to be a feminist than anything else. I was so disappointed that it doesnt deal with issues my daughter cares about. She wasnt even interested in flipping through it. What a waste of money.

Finally a book that addresses womens' issues and presents them in an easy-to-read and fun format for young women! It's important that girls know about these issues at an early age to help them realize their potential. This book is full of facts, quotes and stories, making it interesting to read and easy to pick up where you left off. Stories from real women help make the author's points credible and understandable. The book doesn't just talk about issues, it actually gives girls ideas on how to put their beliefs into action. I found The Girls' Guide to Life very inspiring, informational and empowering! I can't wait for my daughter to read it, and I plan to recommend it to all of the young women in my life. - Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw, co-author of Firestarters: 100 Job Profiles to Inspire Young Women

The Girls Guide to Life by Catherine Dee contains a plethora of information and anecdotes for young girls and budding teens that are both entertaining and empowering. This primer for young girls deals with issues such as self esteem, empowerment in the workplace, social rights and obligations, and general life 101 lessons. The guide celebrates the empowerment of young females through a variety of activities and uses real life examples to address the issues that all young women face today. A great field guide to life's basics that every girl should read!

I think this is a good present for most teenage girls because it opens the door to further thought and purposeful decisions. Even if one is not a feminist, one could appreciate the information on topics like why sports are important, how to stay safe at home/school/street, and why math & science equals a bright future.

I appreciate the topics on self-esteem, what is physical beauty, and understanding and handling sexual harrasment.
Honestly, I wish this author would write similarly empowering and informational books for boys!

How refreshing to read a book which helps to elevate, educate and emancipate young girls of the world. This book speaks to young girls in a very human and comprehensible way. It teaches them how to be strong, yet not overbearing, healthy not bulimic, educated, self-motivated and just all round good citzens of the world.

The book is full of historical facts showing how females took on the world against all odds and succeeded. In the book readers are also treated with humorous cartoons, for instance their is a young lady who takes on the form of a puddle. At the end of the cartoon she is standing upright and shouting "I am not your doormat!" Its a beautiful evolution....

Also what impressed me are the worksheets and life exercises in the book. What a clever way for a young girl to track her progress, in addition getting life pointers and hints.

Help a young girl become a confident young lady - Give her this book!!!!!

Hats off to you Catherine!!! Keep em coming.....

Since I have two teenage nieces who live in other states, Catherine Dee's books are one way I can pass on ideas and thoughts that are good for them as they grow up. Two years ago I purchased The Girls' Book of Wisdom for both of them for Christmas (in fact, I have this one myself!). I'm sending one niece The Girls' Book of Friendship and The Girls' Book of Love for her birthday. The whole series is great!

Catherine Dee's brilliant blend of quotes, poetry, stories, advice and honest questions are a must-read for every girl falling in or out of love. Everyone's heart is different-yet each can be touched by these pages. Just reading this book brought me on a journey through every emotion and love that I've ever felt.


This is the big sister that you always wish you had when it comes to matters of the heart.

The Girls' Book of Love has been a great, great help to me. I read it when I fell deeply in love, and it had great tips for me!

Who do you talk to the most about love? Friends? The 'rents? Ever feel like the sitch is helpless because your friends all have the same probs as you and Mom's great advice piece is "boys are just silly"? Why couldn't we have a great guide, jst for girls that shared insights about love from all sorts of people, even guys?! Well relax ladies, it's finally here!

From the author of The Girls' Book of Friendship and The Girls' Book of Wisdom comes a new guide for girls on love and life. And it's not a "how to" guide that'll show you how to flirt like a pro and snag yourself a sweetie. It's a lively lil' collection with cool quotes, true stories, love poems, and a guy's eye view. All meant to " deepen your understanding of love," the joy and the pain. There's even thoughts from fabulous gals and guys like Madonna and Justin Timberlake.

More than anything in this transitory life mine eyes desire the sight of you. ~Catherine of Aragon

The Girls' Book of Love is a collection of stories, poems, lyrics and quotes. Throughout the pages of this beautiful collection, the mysteries of love are revealed. It is more a celebration than an explanation and you will also discover trends and trivia.

Is personality more important than looks?
Is there a scientific way to measure love?
What are the first signs of falling in love?
Can fantasy be a natural pain reliever?
Why should you whisper into the left ear?

I remember being in love when I was just seven years old and I think all girls can relate to the desire to be in love all the time. Being in love makes the world more interesting, you feel more inspired and for women, this might just be a way of life.

A few of the true love stories take place in exotic places. A sixteen-year-old gazes intensely at her newfound love while visiting temples in India and then while traveling in Egypt, a girl is frozen in place by the sight of boy she views from a distance.

"Although our time together was short, it's a treasure I'll hold in my heart forever. He was the beginning of something great, and through his eyes I saw the beauty of life. ~Dina Chehata, 16

Reading about love and being in love is pure pleasure for the female heart. Catherine Dee has captured these desires, soul longings, the wonder and excitement of first love and the experience of discovering something new. Within these pages you will find intellectual enjoyment to satisfy your curiosity and warmth and longing to satisfy your heart.

~The Rebecca Review

I am an ancient programmer switching from C to .NET. I have read a lotta books in my time and this is the best presentation and layout of a book I have ever seen. Its easy to read. Content is great. I wish I had found it first in my conversion to .NET. I am so impressed that I am checking out the other Murach titles for something to buy.

I needed to learn ADO.NET for my job and this book was the best on the topic I read the entire book in about 3 weeks. Everything is explained wonderfully. I love how the examples are laid out on the right with explanations on the left. I also really found the program files extremely helpful. I opened each chapters program and followed right along with the book. All the examples are already created so that you can see how they work and even modify them.

I liked this book so much that I also bought the ASP.NET, SQL, and Visual Basic 2005...all topics I need to brush up on. As far as I can tell these other books follow the same great format.

From someone who thousands of dollars worth of technical and programming books...these are great even for beginners. However if you are not familiar with vb2005 get murach's visual basic 2005 to read first.

As with the other Murach Press books I have reviewed, this book is extremely readable. It shows step-by-step how to develop database applications with VB. NET 2005 and ADO.NET. This book is best suited to someone new to database development with Visual Studio 2005 but that has a passing familiarity with VB syntax. If you are unfamiliar with flow control statements and VB syntax, you might want to look at Murach's "Visual Basic 2005" book first. I highly recommend this book for entry to mid level developers.

ADO.NET is a huge and sometimes daunting topic to attempt to cover, but in traditional Murach fashion, this book has the capacity to make its reader an expert if read cover to cover. All of the important topics are coverered, including use of the base objects, data binding, typed vs. untyped data sets, and most importantly (in my opinion): use of object data sources.

The best part of Murach books (including this one), aside from the paired page layout, is that they make no assumption about the reader's skill level, and cover enough background on each topic to ensure that you will come away with a thorough understanding of not just what and how, but also why.

Both beginner and expert programmers alike will find this book extremely useful, and it's a great addition to the Murach family of programming reference and tutorial books.

I am a C# developer but when I started browsing this book I couldn't help it but to continue reading it. It is not only about the VB language itself, but instead, how to use it so solve software problems. It teaches how to better write software, best practices and approaches.
This book doesn't cover all the theory in the world about a topic. Also, not all topics. But it tells you how to use them and what to watch for.
I am glad to have read it.

The characters were enjoyable. Their interaction was fun. Toward the end, I didn't like that she refused to marry him and would not explain why to her father and to him. Her reason was to avoid bringing future scandal to his life, but she didn't tell him that. He could have assured her that he'd want her anyway. She didn't tell her own father how much she loved him. Her father's actions might have been different had he known of her love for Trev. I don't like conflicts and dilemmas that are caused by someone not telling the truth about their own feelings. Other than that, the story was a fun escape.

I am torn between delight over discovering this new author, and dismay that I haven't picked up a Patricia Rice book before.

I am an avid romance fan, and this book sends Patricia Rice right up there among my other favorite authors (Lisa Kleypas & Judith McNaught). Rice has the rare ability to create memorable characters AND a decent plot.

I cannot express how delighted with this book. I admit that I thought the first chapters were a bit slow, but it quickly turned into a page turner that I didn't want to put down.

Sinda was an unconventional but extremely likable heroine. I liked how she was sometimes funny and witty, but never snippy or prickly. And I loved Trev. Rice did a phenomonal job of creating a sexy alpha male with just enough vulnerability and sweet points to make you wish he was real.

Having read so many other romances, I thought I was familiar with all the various plot directions, but I was always guessing on this one. Every time I thought I figured out where the story was going, Rice would change it up and then surpass my expectations. Absolutely a five star read.

This book is what Romance writing is all about. It was funny,intelligent,romantic and exciting.
The characters and plot were wonderful.
This was my first Patricia Rice book and it will not be my last.
I just ordered the other 4 books in the "Magic" series.
Do Not Miss This Book!

If you want a change in story and plot...this is the book for you. Not only is the story innovative and attention holding, but Rice does such a nice job with her writting. I litterally couldn't put it down! Again, the story is about a woman who paints and draws the future, past, and present happenings in her sleep (or while she is unaware of what she is painting or drawing). Trev is the guy that she paints in her first painting (of the story), whom she's never met. The painting depicts the type of guy that Trev isn't...so he's mad. Anyway...Trev doesn't know that Lucinda painted the picture...he starts to fall for her before he realizes that she's the one who made a disgrace of his name. She's already fallen for him. And I'm not going to say anymore cuz it'll ruin the story.
Overall...the story was wonderful! It was different from the usual romance novel and i've read it several time. Hope that you enjoy it as much as I have!

Our heroine, Lucinda, is a Malcolm, a family whose women tend to have varied psychic or magical talents. Her particular talent shows up in her paintings which portray things that have happened or might happen in the future.

The trouble starts when one of her paintings results in the hero, Sir Trevelyan Rochester, being accused of his cousin's murder. Trev is furious, and sets out to find the mysterious artist and force her to confess that his uncle hired her to paint the damning picture. Lucinda, on the other hand, decides to retire, incognito, to the country and paint nothing but landscapes, hoping to avoid such disturbing occurrences in the future.

But magic can't be denied, and Lucinda's subsequent paintings draw her further into the intrigue.

The rest of the story is an exciting quest to find what happened to the cousin, featuring romance, psychic abilities, & the family members from previous books in this series, particularly the mysterious Aidan...

It was wonderful visiting with this family again, and I particularly enjoyed Trev coming to terms with magic. As someone unfamiliar with the notorious Malcolms, it took him a long time to believe, and his skepticism was very believable.

Along with the adventure and romance is a healthy dose of humor that really makes these books a joy to read. Much Ado About Magic has got magic, romance, intrigue, humor, and history. What more could you ask for?

I wish I could personally thank the authors for this book. Parents who find themselves in this circumstance feel very alone and frightened. Our 17 year-old daughter needed to be rescued from an abusive relationship. This book supported us as she was finally able to break away. Can I give it more than five stars?

A very important book that should be mandatory reading for all educators, especially in middle schools, high schools, and colleges. Abuse and male privilege are far too common and even accepted by so many. Saving Beauty from the Beast is very readable and compelling. All school counselors should read this book. As a former victim of domestic violence I know what an uphill battle it can be as the victim is often blamed by the police and clergy. This book is a ray of light in a dark tunnel. I am grateful to its authors.

If you even SUSPECT that your child may be in an unhealthy relationship, please read this book! It contains so many insights that would have helped keep my daughter safe had I known. Out of ignorance we let her continue a breaking up and 'getting back together' cycle with a young man who we now know has been abusing her for almost a year. Fortunately, some friends convinced her to tell us, so we can help her get out safely, and make sure he gets the help he needs so that he doesn't do this to someone else.

Besides the many chapters for parents of abused girls, there is a chapter for parents of suspected abusers, and one for youth who suspect a friend is being abused. I feel so guilty that this has happened to my daughter, and the book addresses that as well. It also gives very practical information about how to set up safety plans, minimize the chances of his finding her new phone number, etc.

Dating abuse is so much more common than it used to be. This book is an excellent tool to help us protect our children. Every parent should know about the 'power and control spiral', the cycle of abuse, and the warning signs of potential abusers and abusive relationships, and educate their children about them as well.

In a 2003 "Montel Williams" show on dating violence, Vicki Crompton, co-author of Saving Beauty From The Beast, did more than plug her book, co-written with Ellen Zelda Kessner; she told the highly personal story of her daughter Jenny's murder at the hands of boyfriend Mark Smith, and offered advice to young women and parents torn apart by callous teenage boys, adolescent angst, parent-daughter conflicts, and a culture that, as the book points out, romanticizes forbidden love, taking what you want at any cost, love that hurts, and having a boyfriend.

Crompton, hand-in-hand with parenting author Kessner, has turned her daughter's shattering, unthinkable death into a brilliant, readable book that draws on real teenagers and their parents from all backgrounds, speaking in clear, intelligent voices, articulating the myriad pressures young women today face when involved in a love that hurts. Crompton and Kressner do not make light of peer pressure, or fail to note that the very rich and the very poor of today's youth are the most at risk to become abusers, or shrink from advising parents to "back off" and accept the relationship. The personal safety plan for daughters in abusive relationships, the safety plan for daughters who have left the relationship, the ingenious suggestion of a "code word" signaling danger, are useful tools. The coda of Crompton confronting Mark Smith in prison serves as a poignant reminder and incentive for all parents of teenage girls to read and share this book with their "Beautys."

I recently bought several books on abusive relationships.

My husband (a very picky reader) has read many passages out loud to me from this one.

It is filled with many examples of abusive relationships that are unbelievably similar to what we have seen. We almost feel as if the authors know the young man we are concerned about.

The book is clearly written, provides good details and ideas on how to cope.

Buy this book before your daughter gets involved with an abuser, or at least at the first signs of an abusive relationship. You want to know, as early as possible, what can be going on.

The book is worth many times what it costs..

...but were too afraid to ask.

Or, like the inside book cover says "the Strunk and White for the next century".

Or, sometimes it's square to be tooooo hip with language and it's uses. Correction: MOST the time it's square to be too hip with language and its uses. (Can we talk, can we e-chat or are you going to be too, too obscure? In order to pose as some unapproachable form of hipness, nowness?..but that, my friends is another issue.)

Ms. Bruder says that success in life--career advancements, material gains, even love--is associated with how well and accurately one uses the english language. Knowing the when to use lay and lie, knowing correct spellings of words, knowing not to say "between you and I" and when, if ever, it is correct to use sentence fragments...these are just a few of the topics she writes about in this highly entertaining book. Throughout the book are deliciously funny malaprops sent to her by her reading audience called "Goofy Goofs" and "Typos of the Weak". These are Dilbert-like faux pas which find their way to print and into the corporate offices, the newpapers and other official documents which may only require that one last person to double check before sending out--oops! Too late. Some may say that is the case for some of my written work here. At least I am aware of my need for improvement and I am attempting to be better at the game...Ms Bruder indicates we all could stand some improvement.

One of her pet peeves is how Valleyspeak has filtered into the spoken language arena. We are not just talking about the totally tubular slangswages, but when, like when someone is talking? And they sound as if everything they say? Ends like a question? Do you see?

Also, she says that grammar teachers in grade schools across the USA are being unproductive teaching sentence diagramming. This is a complete waste of time. Something akin to a phonectic type of recitation--thinking or speaking to oneself about what would be the subject, verb, modifier(s) in sentences--and always, always working to identify them (even waaay beyond the grammar school years.) seems to be the way which is more effective for learning.

There are "Worrysome Words" sections which gives simple, straight ahead definitions of those bugaboo words we have trouble with whenever we see them in print, you know? The ones we 'kinda, sorta' remember learning the definitions of in an english class once upon a time? Ms Bruder also throws in a bunch of punctuation and spelling quizzes, the infamous "its versus it's" usage and the ways our popular culture has affected the language. (Yeah, she gets on ads like "good like a cigarette should" and "nobody doesn't like SL" AND the politicians who should know better not exactly being up to par.)

The upshot of all of her cheerleading for the proper uses of the language is that she is called "the Grammar Lady" or the "Miss Manners" of the language. I know I always appreciate a little help with grammar use, here and there, as I make my way up. (Although many of my critics may disagree.) This is one of the sources I use from time to time. Bruder's style is light hearted and easy to digest, and very easy to enjoy. And, with apologies to her, my humble endorsement of this work will be: "You are gonna luv this".

The Grammar Lady's gem of a book, Much Ado About a Lot, is not just about grammar per se, but about improved communications, both spoken and written. You'll smile all the way through Mary Newton Bruder's delightful primer concerning our totally absorbing language -- English! R.A. Miller, Advertising Copywriter, Wilmington, DE

I just read the excerpt and ordered this book. I learned English in Germany, and we had to go through the grueling and rather boring grammar and sentence structure drills (in German it's subject-object-verb). Yet, had I not had this foundation, I would have drowned in American regional slang such as "I says", brrrrhh! - I want this book because I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two without falling asleep over it.

I've considered myself a scholar of this amazing language for the past 19 years, but it's never been a drudgery as long as I had the right tools. From what I've read so far, this book might just rank in the top five.

The title of this book really caught my eye when I was perusing store shelves this evening and I ended up in a cozy chair in the back of the bookstore totally absorbed in this fantastic read. Mary Newton Bruder is a natural at writing about the importance of grammar without making the reader feel like a big idiot for not knowing all there is to know. She provides humour, like "Typos for the Weak" (those little weirdnesses that happen with spell-check;-) and she helps the reader strengthen their chops by featuring fun quizes throughout the book. The bottom inch or so of almost every page is dedicated to a Weird Word: a word that a reader didn't know the correct spelling, meaning, or pronounciation of and had to ask the author to clue them in on it. I enjoyed Mary Newton Bruder's style, it was very laid back and humourous, forgiving and understanding, while that it IS important to have decent grammar in today's world. I admit, I need this book! I don't think anyone will feel they are being lectured or put down in any way, or made to feel stupid. This book embraces people at all levels of skill and encourages all of us to make an effort to improve communication and honor the English language while keeping the tone light and fun.

The dust jacket synopsis of this book calls it "the Strunk & White for the next century"; while that's a bit of an overstatement, Mrs. Bruder's book is nonetheless a useful handbook, more accessible than "The Elements of Style" if less comprehensive.

In her book, the self-styled "grammar lady" condenses the wisdom born of years of teaching into a pleasant narrative, full of witty anecdotes and gentle correction instead of pedagogy. Despite dealing with the four apocalyptic horsemen of the language arts - grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation - one rarely feels as if they are reading a textbook or reference manual.

In sum, if you are looking for a gift for a student or teacher in your life, or if you did not catch any of my somewhat deliberate errors above, then consider adding "Much Ado About a Lot" to your cart.

Carol Weston is every parent's dream -- she's a smart, funny, and very sensible writer who knows just what questions are bothering girls today (including my daughters) and answers those questions in a frank, informative manner. She knows how to talk to her readers, and she knows what ground to cover. I couldn't endorse this book more heartily.

Private and Personal is a fabulous resource for girls as they face the various situations inherent in anyone's pre-teen life. Featuring a wide selection of questions from girls of all ages, expressing every concern imaginable, this book provides all the answers without ever seeming preachy or condescending. Weston's advice is full of humorous one-liners as well as true compassion, making Private and Personal a wonderful book both to read straight through and to keep on hand for wise and sympathetic reference whenever a question comes up.

I loved this book! It was really great! It helped me through a lot of things and it acually still does! I still go through it and read it. Every girl out there should have this book!

This book is full of questions that I had but was too embarrassed to ask anyone. When I got the book for my birthday, I read the whole thing through but now I usually just reread certain parts, like if I'm having trouble with a friend or guy or something. It's as if Carol Weston is a mindreader! I like her magazine column too.

Carol Weston offers sound advice on appearance, puberty, popularity, friendship, family relationship, and love in this question and answer book for girls in grades 5-8. All the writing is garnered from letters received and replies sent while she wrote an advice column for Girl's Life magazine.

Grouped by subject, each question is followed by a brief answer. Weston sympathizes, compliments, validates and advises in a positive way, offering sample things to say, suggesting the use of "I" statements, and recommends communication always. Occasionally, she slips up. For example, a girl who complains of a group of boys who type 60067355 (boobless) on a calculator and hold it upside down in front of her face because she is flat-chested is told "life gets easier after middle school," and maybe as the dorks mature, they will realize they don't need to put others down to make themselves feel better. She should have told the girl to tell an adult, that this is sexual harassment. In another section, she advises a girl who no longer has a crush on the boy she liked to tell her friends thatshe couldn't see what she ever saw in that dork. In other places, she recommends not talking about people in this sort of way! Lastly, in cases of extreme gas and halitosis, she doesn't make mention of medical condition or seeking hte advice of a health care professional. No further reading, websites, etc are cited at the end, although several are mentioned elsewhere in the book. Weston doesn't credit any of her own sources, either. Surprisingly, she doesn't include her mailing or email address for girls with other questions.

Still, this will be a popular book. The tone is chatty, reassuring, non-judgemental and empowering. The fun bright cover features retro 60's style and a photo of four friends of different culture linked arm in arm. There are no graphics, and the layout is very simple, with the questions in bold and italics, and the responses in a regular font. Chapter and section headings have a funky font. While the format itself (an answer directly following each question) could have been less redundant by putting a few questions first, then addressing the issue as a whole, the book is very browseable in the Q&A layout.

While this book doesn't have all the answers, it covers the major ones in a non-threatening way. Sure to be popular with middle school girls -- and the parents who might want to know what their daughters are thinking about.

Many years ago I needed to learn ASP/ADO. I saw a lot of learning in front of me. But I was thrilled to find this book. It gave me the simple, clear explanations I needed to get rolling with ADO in short order. It's still one I keep handy, even thought I now use this technology to make my living. I have several big/thick ADO books, but this one is a quick reference that I still turn to often, as well as highly recommend to ADO (database connectivity) newbies for both web and Microsoft Office linking.

An excellent reference for the novise to advanced programmer. If you need a good overview of how to connect to a SQL Server or Access DB using VB, then you have got to get this book!

This was a very good book but it was not perfect. The code contained some coding errors, but what was worst was that I could not establish an internet connection to Rob's SQL server. Due to the connection problem I could not run those examples, which comprised about a third of the book. I e-mailed Rob, but Rob apparently is too good for his readers to reply back to. I would have given the book 5 stars if it weren't for these problems. The book certainly was not for beginners as it rightly claims. I actually had to read it twice. Any coding errors I was able to solve with some work. The book does offer a lot to learn though.

I bought this book looking for an introduction to ADO and DB programming in general with no prior ADO experience. I read the first 4 chapters for an introduction, and I have used the rest of the book for information on how to complete specific tasks. I have successfully created ADO applications using VB, Access, and ASP, using this book and online help as references. This is probably not the most complete book available for ADO programming, but if you have not used ADO in the past, you will not find a better introduction than this book!

This book is genuinely about ADO Programming without self promotion. Rob starts his book with the basic elements that lead up to ADO technology and steps up to very sophisticated programming procedures/techniques using ADO with Sql Server, MS Access 2000, Excel 2000, ASP and the Web in a very efficient and easy to understand manner. Of the features which set this book apart from others are the numerous runtime examples on Rob's website of procedures using ADO within VB/ASP scripts, and also the companion cd which includes all the of the programming code for each of the ADO examples on the website and all of the examples in the book. The information contained in this book has significantly enhanced my understanding of and coding abilities with ADO in a very short period of time, particularly in the web environment. I would highly recommend this book to any serious developer of data processing applications using ADO technology; especially for web applications.

[Also posted on my blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/luisabreu/archive/2008/06/11/book-review-ado-net-3-5-cookbook.aspx]
After several days, I've finally finished reading this book. This is really a very complete book wit lots and lots (and lots!) of examples. It's fair to say that it covers most (if not all) ADO.NET related scenarios (I'm an SQL Server user but if you're into Oracle then it also has several examples that show how to use ADO.NET and Oracle).

I do have one complaint though: chapter 8. Currently, I'll personally "hurt" anyone that is working on the same project as me and that uses ADO.NET objects on window forms or ASP.NET front ents! Ok, I'm not violent, so I wouldn't really hurt anyone :) serioulsy, don't use ADO.NET objects on your UI.

Having said this, I still recommend it (specially if you're working with ADO.NET).

The 'ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook' is a great resource for every .NET database developer out in the world. With 950+ pages of content you will not be reading thin, as this goodies book comes with 222 tidbits of information that will help you in your everyday work.

Subjects covered include:

- connecting to a variety of data sources
- working with disconnected data objects (datasets)
- querying data
- executing functions and stored procedures
- using LINQ
- searching and filtering data
- adding and updating data
- copying/transferring data
- database integrity
- binding data to web forms
- XML data
- optimizing .NET data access
- debugging stored procedures
- doing batch updates
- enumerating SQL servers
- SQL Server CLR integration

I feel that is an outstanding companion book for .NET database developers that are looking for a resource that specifically outlines tasks into a neat, organized manner. Instead of thumbing through a book to figure out a particular way to do something, these common tasks and questions are broken up for ease of use and efficiency. If you are a .NET DB developer you definitely owe it to yourself to add this great book to your collection of technical books immediately.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a review by a "technical expert". I really liked how the book was laid out with a problem-solution-reasoning approach (known as a recipe). Each one was generally useful for those unaware of how to do things in ADO.NET. The examples were short and too the point. The topics were quite varied so just about everyone will find something in this book. In particular the recipes on getting schema information programmatically will really benefit a lot of people because it is neither common nor easy.

I had only a few complaints about the book. The first complaint is with the title. It says ADO.NET v3.5 but in reality almost all the recipes cover any version of ADO.NET from v2 on. This might cause some people to shy away from the book. This book is really for anybody using ADO.NET.

This leads me to the second complaint. There really was no 3.5 content mentioned. LINQ and SQL 2008 were mentioned a few times but they aren't specific to ADO.NET v3.5. LINQ itself seemed out of place for the topic.

The final complaint I had was that the recipes are mostly designed to be copy and pasted into working code. The code samples don't really follow what I would consider an appropriate pattern for professional code. Therefore simply copy/paste will cause more problems than not. It really would have required no additional lines of code and would not have complicated things to have "done it right". Still this seems to be standard practice for most technical books so I can't harp too much.

Overall I recommend this book for anyone who works with (or will) ADO.NET of any version.

(Full Disclosure: I was a tech reviewer for this book and received a free copy)

I've been using the various incarnations of Microsoft data access technologies for quite some time and have been using ADO.NET for a few years, so I wondered whether I was going to learn anything new from this book. It covers all of the territory to get started (connection strings, basic usage of ADO.NET classes, etc.), but what I really appreciated was that it topics that advanced ADO.NET users would find useful and I certainly learned a few new tricks.

The topic on writing provider and database independent code (Section 10.22) which covers how to do it right if you are targeting .NET 1.1 (which we do) was particularly useful to me. Chapter 10 (Optimizing .NET Data Access) is just generally a good chapter no matter what your level and covers asynchronous SQL calls (executing and cancelling), ASP.NET data caching, paging queries, SQL Server stored procedure debugging and more.

Since my job was to actually run every code snippet, I can vouch for their quality. Most are built off the AdventureWorks sample database that comes with SQL Server Express, so they are ready to run. The rest come with full DDL to create what you need (databases, stored procedures, etc), and the code and SQL is available online so you don't have to type it in.

I am not one for Shakespeare and I had my reservations before beginning the journey into The Devil's Bride, however Joan Silsby provides colorful imagery and true emotional sustenance to this reserved readers skeptical eye. Every moment of this masterpiece carried the descriptive details of a master writer and creator of worlds. I found myself laughing out loud, shedding genuine tears of sorrow and joy, gasping with surprise and following her words feverishly right until the end... as all great reads, I hoped it never to end, but alas. One can only hope for a sequel to the sequel. I highly recommend this novel wholeheartedly to any and all who enjoy mayhem, mystery and romance. Hats off to Silsby for a most excellent adventure into the after world of Much Ado About Nothing.

I had my doubts when I picked up this book, but "Much Ado About Nothing" is one of my favorite works of Shakespeare. I was pleasantly surprised, so much I could not put it down until I reached the end. Ms. Silsby has done an excellent job capturing the heart of the original and expanding on Don John, the (...) Prince of Aragon. And the best part, this book is easy to read. The courtship between Don Jon and Lady Allegra is incredibly romantic. This is a great summer read, I highly recommend it.

"The Devil's Bride is a brilliant sequel to Much Ado About Nothing. With a solid grasp of the characters and the setting, the author answers all of the questions brought up from the first story. Don John is a villain out of place in Much Ado, but shines brightly as a character you can sympathize with, instead of just disliking. A sequel with substance that can only enhance its predecessor, Bride is an enjoyable combination of old school Shakespeare mixed with modern Silsby, which makes it easy to read even for those who don't 'get' Shakespeare. Everything that Ado should have been is here in Devil's Bride, and I enjoyed it immensely."

With such well-known material and characters one might be concerned about finding a badly attempted prose piece or a tepid rehash. Fear not gentle reader, this wonderful volume is neither. What Mr. Shakespeare started Ms. Silsby continues with wit, style and unusual clarity. When so much of today's works are chock full of useless filler "The Devils Bride" is detailed without being overblown and concise without being cold. How many of us have finished a great story and wondered what happened the day after. In this case it's the next week. We find the "evil" Don John in silent acceptance of his fate believing that he has caused the death of the lovely Hero. For anyone not familiar with the original tale Hero is not dead but married to her precious Claudio. Benedict has married the sharp-tongued Beatrice and alls well that ends well. And while Don John finds himself not sentenced to death for murder, justice must be had for his deceptions and cruelty. Our quick-witted Benedict administers the punishment and truly does it fit the crime. The author delves into the psyche of the original cast of characters. Examining the relationships between brothers, sisters, husbands and wives adding dimension and meat to people we thought we already knew. A fine desert to finish off the original "Much Ado" meal, I highly recommend this as a companion piece suitable for the most discerning Shakespeare fan. Delightful and endearing this is a novel that you can revisit time and again like an old friend.