Senses Books

I wanted to be in the Dolan family after reading this book. I enjoyed the different perspectives of each sister. I love their radio show, too. I feel like we are long-time friends.

These sisters are hilarious. I read their regular column in Oprah Magazine and listen to their radio show, so when I saw the paperback in the store, I grabbed it. You know how you feel when you spend a fun night with your girlfriends? That's how you'll feel after reading this book. The five Dolan sisters are all very funny but their points of view about life are very different. It's organized into a series of separate essays about their lives growing up and their lives now. This book is a pleasure and I've already bought it for a couple of my friends for their birthdays and they agreed.

I really enjoyed reading the Dolan sisters' book. I have only listened to their radio show half a dozen times, so I found the insight into their personal lives very helpful to understanding the show---also, quite hilarious! Not really a "guideline" book, which is what I thought it would be. Just a pleasant read.

I laughed. I cried. I rushed out and picked up 4 more books (1 for each of my sisters, and 1 for my best friend). These sisters really seem to belong in my family. Vivian (our baby) is the family story-teller, who can turn the oddest situation into an adventure which will wring laughter out of the most jaded and depressed audience around. Beth can organize any event flawlessly, and boss around anyone in her vicinity with great aplomb (except our older brother, who always would hide in a closet or bathroom when projects were afoot). And... the comparisons, stories and lists just won't stop. Thanks to these wonderful gals for reminders about the sheer fun of growing up in a huge family - and the life lessons which we acquired along the way. Makes me wonder how on earth our Mother managed to shepherd our entire brood around Europe by herself, but the answer is obvious - she was already a member of the Sisterhood!

I enjoyed the sisters' book. Though I identify more with Julie- I think Liam is an excellent writer- I would read another book of theirs. It is a satisfyingly civil book.

I liked this book because it was a mystery and you would not know what is going to happen next. The main characters are Cole, Detective Brown, Cole's mom, and Emily.Cole has a sixth a sixth sense that means that he can talk, hear, see the ghosts. At the begining a plain crashes and Emily goes into a coma. The first time he sees a ghost he is at a museum and all of the police were asking him a whole lot of questions about what happened. That is why I like this book.

I thought that this book had my adrenaline pumping from the first page to the last. In the beginning, Cole Sear ran a away from his class in a fielsd trip to the museum. Suprisingy, a hand comes out of nowhere and appears at Cole Sear's shoulder.
Another reason that this book is so great is because it is very descriptive. There's this one scene where he is in his house, and the people's spirits are in every room. You can almost picture his house perfectly, and what each spirit looks like. You can even tell each spirit's personality.
This book is also all about suspense because Cole Sear must solve the mystery of the crash. Throughout the whole book, the story leaves subliminal clues for you to put together. This book is truly fun to read! I couldn't stop reading it from the beginning to the end. You will be up all night having an excellent time!

I liked The Sixth Sense Secrets From Beyond a lot because when I was reading the first two chapters everything was so fast, but then when I was reading more and more everyday it was all starting to make sense to me. Some parts were scary, sad, and happy, but mostly scary, buts that's my opinon. If I saw someone who was dead in a crash walking along the roads, streets, and your house I wouldn't be so happy. So if you like action,ghosts and scary things then read The Sixth Sense Secrets From Beyond. And if you liked that book there are version 2 and version 3 too.

I liked this book because of the ghosts that Cole can see, and that it was a very good book to read. Some of the main charactors are Cole, Detective Brown, Cole's Mom, and Emily. The content of the book is that a girl Emily who survives a plane crash and can see gosts like Cole. Cole has the sixth sense and can see, hear, and talk to ghosts. This book is a mystery and you don't know what's coming next.

I like The Sixth Sense because the author made me realize how life could be like with ghosts. Cole, the main character, tried his best with everything and he wouldn't give up. This book gave you details about ghosts. Cole helps a ghost named Marisa with her sister on flight 333.

This book gives suspense and cliffhangers. It is sad and happy. The characters make you feel like your one of them. If you feel like Cole you almost feel hopeless. This book keeps you on your heals. Every minute you want to read more but for Cole there is no turning back.

I have been teaching classes about Jane Austen and this book has been very helpful in the past,so I decided to actually purchase it. It gives alot of information on Jane Austen's "afterlife" as I call it. I really enjoy reading this book!

The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense & Sensibility is a wonderful resource for the die-hard Austen fan as well as Austen newbies. Ms. Tyler takes each book in turn, gives a synopsis of the plot and places it in historical context and in the context of Austen's life. She then explains those details that might be abstract to those not familiar with Regency culture, such as entailed property, the importance of walking and the attitude toward marriage, making the reader comfortable with the novel. She includes illustrations, interviews, quizzes and delightful bits on the side such as "10 Surefire Ways to be Vulgar", a table of average income and "Sense and Sensibility: A Checklist". In addition, she finishes the book lists of movie versions, book spin-offs and sequels and shows Austen's role (her "legacy") in our century.

An Austen fan from way back, I found this a truly delightful book. Ms. Tyler is humorous as well as informative and her enthusiasm for Austen is apparent. This is a must-have for Austen fans, no question about it; the resources provided in The Friendly Jane Austen further the enjoyment of reading Austen's novels. It is also an excellent book for those that have just started reading Austen. With this book by your side, you can't fail to see just how wonderful Jane Austen was, and still is.

This fine little book is a great encyclopedia of Jane Austen, her life, all her works, impact on other writers, and on other forms of entertainment over the two centuries her works have been amongst us. I find it is frequently used as a resource for discussion. Those new to Jane Austen will get an excellent start in becoming a fan. The writing is lively, well illustrated and easily translated to the 21st century investigator.

I just happened upon this little gem at my local bookstore and after thumbing through the pages for about a minute, I knew I had to have it. The layout of the book is superb as it highlights each of Miss Austen's novels and gives facts, fun lists and quotations in a light-hearted yet interesting manner. There is something for the long-time fan as well as anyone new to the novels. A must-have for any Jane Austen fan and a fantastic resource for any book club reviewing a Jane Austen novel. Well done.

Of all the references I have seen so far, this is the most complete as far as covering all of Jane Austen's personal life, the last 200 years of how other famous people saw her, a clear discussion of each of her novels, and how the many adaptations have had an impact in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This book is must reading for oldtime fans of Jane and a great and full introduction for first time readers. Who can resist being a fan after reading this fine book? It deserves to be kept handy all the time.

I enjoyed this book. It is important to emphasize that this is not a textbook or a book for basic instruction. Instead it is a pleasant book that expands on some topics you have already learned by explaining them in a different way. If you approach it from that way it is a good read. I am an intermediate student. I had more or less learned the bulk of the points discussed in the book but reading his explanation expanded my understanding of even concepts that I thought I was pretty squared away on. Another selling point for me is that this book allowed me to "study" Japanese without feeling like it since it is light reading. I think that a beginning student would benefit from many of the portions of the book (the discussion on wa and ga for example) and then could read the book again a year later to pick on the rest. So, as long as you understand that this is simply a pleasant supplement to Japanese study you will probably enjoy this book.

I was looking for a text that would help me understand the way japanese sentences were formed, and this helps a lot.

Well written with just enough humor to keep you reading further while learning more and more aobut the Japanese language.

Seen too many books about how to learn a language that were aimed at foreign exchange students? This book helps you learn to make sense of the Japanese language by also mentioning Japanese culture.

4 stars for a book you said to borrow? Why?

Having just finished this book, I will state it is extremely informative. The author does a fantastic job of explaining things, but, unfortunately, it's not what I would call a reference book.

This is important if you're learning Japanese. Once you read this book, your continued learning will be a bit easier, but you'll never read it again.

Hence, borrow it.

One of the biggest issues I have with "teaching yourself Japanese" books is how they don't literally translate Japanese, but instead, "convert" to English in hopes to better understand.

For example, a conversation in Japanese may go like this:
Joe: "Doing?"
Jane: "Going to bed."

But teaching books incorrectly translate as:
Joe: "What are you doing?"
Jane: "I'm going to bed."

This is SO wrong when learning Japanese because many times, the subject has "disappeared", and it makes sense. If Joe and Jane are the only two conversing, dropping the subjects (themselves) is expected. Moreso, in Japanese language, once the subject has been identified, it disappears as the conversation continues! This is why so many people feel this language is so difficult to learn.

This book clearly covers situations like this, but does so in a manner you won't forget it while learning Japanese from textbooks that get it wrong while dispelling the "subject-less sentence".

The loss of 1 star comes from the author's weird reason to draw out some topics, but cover others with just a paragraph or two. I wish all topics were a few paragraphs.

Here's an example of this. When discussing the difference between "Wa" and "Ga", the author took an astounding 10 pages to simplify the definition "'Ga' marks the subject while 'Wa' marks the topic."
(this is simplified, as examples are present. Also, there are circumstances when the above isn't true, but the overall truth to the simplification was perfect.)

However, his topic "You say Kimeru and I say Kimaru" was compressed to one paragraph with a few examples. Perfect.

As a person who just started learning Japanese, I am thankful the author wrote the book. It's informative, but not really worth a purchase. But that's just me. You may feel different if you feel the information deserves to be paid for with a purchase.

Now, my quest to finding the perfect "learning Japanese" book continues. I've yet to find one.

I wish this author would write a learning Japanese book. He gets it. He understand the language. This would have been, in my opinion, a better use of his expertise rather than a "what they don't tell you" book.

I would definitely recommend this book for reading.

Hope this review helps.

I enjoyed this book and all of its details about issues such as testing, number of days or hours spent in school, and parental "qualifications".

In chapter 10, however, Mr. Guterson spends about a page and a half describing Seneca Valley School District's onerous procedures for homeschoolers. The problem is that he presents this information as if the rules cited were made up by Seneca Valley School District. They are not. Seneca Valley merely lists Pennsylvania's requirements for homeschoolers. He also says that Seneca Valley permits the teaching of certain subjects "but only 'at the discretion of the Home Education Supervisor.'" In Pennsylvania, the Home Education Supervisor is the homeschooling parent or guardian. Having lived in that school district as a homeschooling parent, I can assure you that Seneca Valley requires no more than any other school district in Pennsylvania.

But I did enjoy his arguments; and hopping between philosophy, research results, anecdotes and anthropology kept it interesting for me. I'm just not sure that I would quote him as an authority without doing some fact-checking.

Gutterson is a NY school teacher who, along with his wife, homeschools his own children. This book is a really good book to read for someone who is considering homeschooling. Gutterson goes into ALL aspects of education. He sort of plays the role of "devil's advocate" in that he presents both sides of the argument about whether to homeschool or go forward with public school. In one chapter, he talks about when he presented homeschooling for a debate in one of his classes where he asked his students to research homeschooling and make a decision as to whether or not they thought it was acceptable. For that particular project, his father spoke to the class about his feelings on the matter. His father is a lawyer and against homeschooling, but he cannot argue with the fact that many homeschoolers outperform and are better prepared for life than public school educated children, which is why he has defended parents' rights to homeschool their own children. It is well written, and it is an excellent source for someone who is having trouble with the decision of whether or not to homeschool. The only downside is that he does not promote all types of homeschooling. Although he does not come right out and say it, he doesn't seem to be in favor of the unschooling method as he speaks against the child-led approach. He seems more in favor of teaching to the individual child with a gentle parent-led approach. In other words, parents need to introduce the material, but teach it in a way that each individual child will comprehend. Overall, it is a good read.

Ok, I a not a teacher/lawyer......but I am educated. I found this book very hard to read----big words/scientific data and so forth. It just was a big snooze for me. I can't get thru it without wishing he'd just get to the point...keep it simple I always say!

With three children 5 and under, I don't write too many reviews. But, I wanted to write a short comment. WOW!!! I just finished this book and after reading many many books on homeschooling, this one stands out far ahead of the rest. I learned so much from this book and I consider myself well educated and well-read. What makes this book unique is it's look at our society and how public school has changed/impacted our society. It also proposes changes in public schools that embrace homeschooling as fitting in with public education - something you don't see many other places. VERY INSPIRING!! It solidified our decision to homeschool our children. My husband is a public school teacher and the point of view of the author who is also a teacher was very helpful and interesting how he straddles the fence. Wish I had time to write more.

An articulate, thoughtful, accessible, and refreshingly balanced examination of "why homeschooling makes sense." I've read many books about homeschooling (a number of which were cited in Mr. Guterson's book), but none have been as helpful as this one in terms of exploring the advantages and disadvantages of teaching your own, and what it means in a larger sense, not just to our children but to ourselves and the society and culture in which we live. Even-handed, the author doesn't shy away from pointing out unhelpful attitudes on some members of both sides, -- school administrations and homeschoolers -- but he also does his best to place these observations in context that the reader might have a better understanding of its underpinnings. Those seeking a better way to express their reasons for homeschooling will find many arguments in its defense.

This is a book that would serve not only parents considering homeschooling or those who have already begun to homeschool their children. I think that there is much food for thought for teachers and parents whose children attend public and private schools as well.