Coffee Books

I purchased this book while planning a Tea Party. The statement "15 seasonal Tea Parties" on the front of the book is misrepresentative of the actual contents. This book is focused more on the art of Tea drinking and Relaxation techniques and suggestions than directions on how to conduct a Tea Party. The back cover of the book is more properly representative when it states "you'll find the perfect way to enjoy the moment". It is a Zen Tea focus, not serve 20 people Tea and Crumpets for your mother's birthday focus.

For many people the drinking of tea has become both a tradition and a ceremony. This book is written for these "tea people," whether they are just beginning a tradition of tea drinking or whether they've enjoyed tea for years. The author shares many thoughts and ideas for setting aside a special time each day for enjoying tea. She offers suggestions for special tea celebrations throughout the year and includes meditations for each celebration. She also covers basic information on the history of tea and gives a number of simple recipes for dishes to serve at tea time. However, this is not a recipe book. Its writing primarily feeds the minds, souls, and hearts of tea lovers. Finally, the photo montages in the book are beautiful.

Regarding the cultivation of the tea plant, and a few very specific processing methods (mainly japanese), this book is very well informed and provides a wealth of information. Unfortunately this book falls short by marginalizing chinese tea, while at the same time it recognizes in multiple places that China is the largest producer of tea in the world. This book makes very little mention of the chinese methods for processing green tea, and some of those it does make are blatantly erroneous (such as its description of the rolling methods used in Chinese tea). For a book claiming to cover "cultivation to consumption" one of the most important parts of the tea process is basically missing from this book. It also never mentions pu-erh tea, which is a category of tea at least equivalent to oolong or black tea, both of which are covered. I would never recommend this book to anyone, and would instead recommend a basic plant propagation guide which will cover 90% of the info in this book at 1/50th of the cost.

This excellent book provides very detailed information on the production of tea, from establishment to harvesting and processing. An excellent chapter on plucking and field operations.

I am strongly in favor of using writing projects in upper level mathematics classes. They force the students to think long and hard about a particular problem and being forced to write up the solution organizes their thoughts in ways nothing else can. This book is a collection of writing projects used by the authors in their classes.
Each project begins with the following information:

*) Name of the project, the person who created it and the course it was used for.
*) The mathematical concepts needed to solve the problem.
*) The level of realism in the problem and data
*) The reaction the students had to the problem, in particular how difficult it was for them.
*) Credits
*) Any technology needed or that would be helpful, such as a graphing calculator or symbolic mathematics package

The project is presented in the form of a letter from an individual requesting their assistance and explaining the problem. A solution to the problem then appears after the letter.
In general these projects are real-world enough that the students can understand the need to solve them. This is of enormous assistance, as even the best math students have difficulty when writing about mathematics. I found the projects to be very helpful as I begin to ponder what kind of topics I would want my students to write about in a senior thesis project.

Most of the book is targeted toward college-level coursework - calculus and the like - this was not specific in either the cover or the book index. What is there is very specific. Rubrics are even provided - that is nice. As a high school teacher, it is not as useful as I had hoped in courses like Geometry.

First I'm going to write about the thrilling part - If it's one written in the book. This story is about a hit man. The hit man knew - because he said so at the beginning of the book- what was the trap his prey was doing, and guess what, the hit man was right and he was caught in his own snare. Give me a break.

On the other hand you'll have to read pages and pages of twaddle writing to get to the book's end. LH knows how to write better than this.

Cate Nightingale , mother of two four-year-old twin boys has been a widow for three years. When her husband died, the family had been living in Seattle but she could not afford to live there and spend time with the boys. Before the birth of the boys, Cate and her husband went on rock-climbing vacations and stayed at a bed and breakfast (B&B) in Trail Stop, Idaho. The town was isolated with only a couple of stores and less than four dozen residents. Cate had fond memories of the town and people, therefore, when the B&B became available, she and the boys moved to Trails End.

Owning and running a B&B allowed her to spend time with the twins and earn enough to live simply, The townspeople soon became fond of the family, and the B&B quickly became a gathering place for the townspeople. Cate was a good cook and was becoming known for her muffins, scones, and hospitality. The only problem she had with the B&B was the need for frequent repairs and she was forever calling on the town handyman Cal Harris. Cal was extremely shy around Cate and was constantly blushing.

One busy morning one of the guests disappears and leaves his things behind. Unknown to Cate, he had worked for a mobster in Chicago. Before she knows what's happening, Cate and the townspeople are caught up in a life and death situation. Ms. Howard weaves a plot involving Cate, Cal, a hunting and fishing guide and an ex nun, the townspeople, and a group of mobsters. She shows how townspeople can band together in an effort to save each other using what is at hand. I was especially intrigued to learn how useful a corn chip could be. The book was a page-turner and one I couldn't put down. An enjoyable book for someone who enjoys suspense with a touch of romance.

This book was so dumb. Who would hold a town hostage, kill people,shoot at all the houses in the town at the same time, blow up a bridge and waite for someone to come out with a white flag to ask them what they want.Five or six of them were doing this. Why didn't they just go into the B&B again and search for the disk. Of course if he was fleeing for his life out a window wouldn't you think he would take it with him.let's see, should I take this with me when I leave for good or leave it here for them to find.Its worth millions to him or he will give it to the police. The hitmen never even tried to find him or search his room. If you want to read a book that makes no sense this one's for you. A library book, lucky me

I listen to at least 2 books per week and I like Linda Howard. It is not an Eve Dallas book - however Cover of Night was very well done. The romance was not too sappy, the thrill affect was good and the story was believable. While I scratch my head as to who in their right mind would ever move to Idaho, I suppose one goes where God wants one to go, even if it is Idaho. I have been to Idaho - the only part of this story that is unbelievable is that it happened in Idaho - nothing happens in Idaho.

I found this book to be merely ok.... I think Cate was a snob (she even says how in her past life she would have looked down on people who did menial labor). I did not have a clear picture of Mister Harris - he seemed so uninspired (grease/dirt stained clothes, shaggy hair) - he mumbled, blushed, ducked his head.... hard to picture him turning into a super-charged hero. I also find it hard to belive that Cate suddenly starts to notice him and within 2 days is in love with him. I really think the whole hiking incident was far-fetched and just added to the book so Cate and Cal can have sex with each other-- it did not seem to really fit into the book at all. they hike all the way up there and then have to turn back?? I did find the eyeball part at the end funny - I wonder if the woman Goss slept with was the eyeball killer - and if they will run into each other again.
Generally I love to read LH books and think she is a GREAT author- - but this book is NOT one of her best.

I bought this at the drugstore as a carpool time filler....I thought it was pretty good.

I consider myself a fan of Garwood's writing. I also consider myself a no holds bared critic of literature and to say that some chick lit writer of romances is good is high praise indeed in my book. However here with Murder List, Garwood falls back on formula too heavily. Her story misses the spark that you can find in her best moments. The underlying mystery is lost in silliness here. The mystery part is never a Garwood strong point, but here it starts to drag down the story.

What I missed most here was Garwood's ability to spin delightful small stories inside of the larger tale. I think that she is at her best when she strings together one small episode into another with no thread seemingly holding them in a larger story. I could read Garwood's ramblings all day, but here the ramblings get lost in her effort to pull together a series of events. The events strain at their bonds and thus so does the story.

Perhaps the very least engaging aspect of this story in my opinion is the romance. I had to skip through several dozen pages, lightly reading each one. I think that an extra 100 filler pages here could have been trimmed out and the story would have been a lot stronger overall.

I would totally pick up Garwood, but just dont start with this book. You will be doing yourself a dis-favor.

I know Julie Garwood is known better for her historical romance novels, which are outstanding... still I really enjoyed this contemporary story... I recommend it to those who enjoy reading a great mystery and romance novel.

This book was okay. I devoured Mercy and Killjoy, this one simply did not have the UMPH that the other two had. I had to read it, because a Buchanan was in it, I did like it, it just lacked a little magic. Don't buy it, get it from the library. If you like the family, it's worth the read. I am going on to Slow Burn, which I hope the magic returns.

This is my first Julie Garwood book and I'm not inclined to buy more. Regan Madison, the heroine, spends too much time crying. Her brothers come across as jerks; her girlfriends insipid. Alec Buchanan, the hero, is a grown man who should quickly tire of Regan Madison, a poor little rich girl who can't stand on her own two feet. The redeeming part of the story is a very steamy love scene between Regan and Alec.

I was not pleased with the writing style of this book. Adapted by Charles Osborne from a Christie play. It lacked the punch and pizazze typical of Agatha Christie's self written books.

This book is a pretty poor effort. It tries to pass off as an Agatha Christie novel, but rather it's an adapatation of a play she wrote - adapted by opera critic and historian Davbid Osbourne.

Quite simply, David is a pretty poor writer. He tries to copy Christie's deceptively simple style, but on page one you already know that it's a little off. Still, I was willing to overlook that had he managed to keep some tension and drama or something. No instead there are really odd characterisations (Captain Hastings becomes a total HIMBO...and is practially of no conequence at all).

Also however, what REALLY confused me was the fact that Osbourne identifies the murderer at the very START...I really didn't understand what on earth the point was.

Frankly I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this. There, plainly, in print, the murderer was given away in the first 50 pages of the book! Maybe I wasn't supposed to figure it out, but the murderer's actions were described quite plainly. I was disappointed. But then I thought: Maybe it had to be this way because it was a novel adapted from a play. In the play, obviously, the murderer's actions would be described so the actors could act - it was up to the audience to pick up on it. And I was the audience, and I DID pick up on it. But honestly, a die-hard Christie fan like myself HAS to read this book because so many beloved characters are there: Poirot, Hastings, Inspector Japp, etc. So reading the book is like going back to old friends that you thought you bid adieu. The 3 books Osborne adapted as novels are like the "lost Agatha Christie novels".

This book would be rated at least 4/5 if the great "Agatha Christie" name was not on the paperback.

However, anyone that has read at least half of the marvellous stories of the queen of mystery, will certainly recognize at once that this book was not written by her.

C. Osborne tries to transfer the great words and dialogues from a theatrical plot to a book, but - in my humble opinion - unsuccessfully.

What a daunting task it must be to adapt a play by Agatha Christie and be successful at it! Agatha Christie herself took to writing plays because she disliked the way one of her novels had been adapted for the stage. Charles Osborne, a Christie biographer and renowned theatre and opera expert, does a comendable job in this novelization of the play "Black Coffee".

Hardly anything new is added to the story, except for a slight lengthening of the time frame and an early chapter to introduce Hercule Poirot. Osborne is true to the original text, using the lines Christie wrote as the dialogue between his characters, enhancing their conversations a little at certain places. The only other additions are seen through his descriptions, mostly taken from stage directions, but some creativity is granted in how characters say certain things and their physical descriptions.

For any Agatha Christie fan, it is a pleasure to have another of her 'novels' to read. Osborne tries very hard to match the rhythm and flow of Christie's writing, and does well overall, with only a few patches that sound stilted. It is obvious that some other reviewers haven't read the original Christie text to enjoy this story as it was originally meant to be enjoyed - performed on the stage, where secrets are not kept from the audience. But since copies of the play can be a little difficult to come by, Osborne's adaptation is a close second in enjoyment.

I attempted to read this book multiple times and simply could not do it. I tried from the beginning a few times. Then I thought, we'll maybe it's just a slow beginning. I attempted to read a few chapters in and still found myself incredibly bored. I checked to see if it was a sequel because I felt SURE that I was missing something that would make the plot make sense. Photos of blue eyed horses in the passenger seat of a car, the CIA watching a woman on a ranch with a precocious and "special" child who doesn't know who her father is. Horses who "know" things... It was clique and boring - boring - boring. I simply could NOT get into it after attempting for two years. I have now given up and am about to donate it so that another poor soul can waste their time attempting to read it.

I love good mysteries. This book is not a good mystery. Reminds me more of a rather silly romance novel. It is sort of a throw in the kitchen sink and call it done. The CIA, genius kid, horse whisperer devoted mom who can only focus on how hot she is,and a paramilitary hero larger than life. Badly written. Will not buy another book by this author.

I started reading Iris Johansen when I ran out of Tami Hoag books, and she is great. Both writers are very comparable but with their own styles. I have read seven of her books so far, while waiting for Hoag's latest release, and have been very pleased. The books are well written and near impossible to put down.

It was hard to get thru this book! Grace was a cold hearted woman - Kilmer was too wishy washy for a CIA agent....Frankie was a know-it all child of 8 going on 35. A composer???? Don't waste your time!!!!

Over the last few years, when I've seen an Iris Johansen book I've automatically assumed it would be an Eve Duncan thriller. I was wrong about ON THE RUN, but I'm still glad I picked it up. A quick read full of passion and suspense, this book is written in the typical Iris Johansen style and is still a really good read.

Nine years ago, Grace Archer worked for the CIA under the direction of Jake Kilmer. Their job was to infiltrate the compound of Marvot, an evil kingpin who ruled El Tariq, Morocco with an iron hand. Disappoint the man once, and he might give you another chance. Do it a second time, and you'll end up dead. Jake's job was to recover something from Marvot that he prized more than anything--the Pair. Known collectively as a single unit, the Pair consisted of two white Arabian horses, a stallion and a mare, with blue eyes and destructive personalities. Their mission failed nine years ago, and Grace left the CIA--alone and pregnant.

Now she's found a home for herself and her daughter, Frankie, on a horse farm in Tallanville, Alabama. Frankie is devoted to horses, but she's also a child prodigy when it comes to playing the piano and composing. Grace, who hates to be compared to horse whisperer even though she does have a remarkable affinity with horses, is content with her new life. Until the forces she's feared for nine years, Marvot's men, come to town and tear her world apart.

Suddenly, Kilmer is there, whisking Grace and Frankie away to a farm far from Alabama, and Grace finds that the old passion is still as strong as ever. As Kilmer tries to keep his former lover and his daughter safe, he plans retribution upon Marvot--which is brought to a halt when Frankie is kidnapped and blackmailed into going back to El Tariq to work, once again, with the Pair.

ON THE RUN is a fast-paced read with lots of suspense. I agree that some cliches are used in this story, but that doesn't make it any less of an entertaining read. Iris Johansen's writing style reminds me a lot of that of James Patterson. Although Johansen's chapters are novel-length compared to Patterson's two or three-pagers, the action hurries along at a fast clip.

If you enjoy romantic suspense, you'll like ON THE RUN. But I do hope Ms. Johansen's next book is an Eve Duncan thriller!

Yeah, the story started out really good, the relationship evolved nicely, but when the hero, Garon started turning on the heroine, Grace, because he didn't want her falling for him, he really overdid it. I was expecting there to be some sort of explanation for why he assumed she was stalking him, but that never was revealed. He just seemed to lose all objectivity, without it really being explained why. I wasn't sure at all how he was going to redeem himself, but the late tragedies in the story did help that, eventually. I'm not sure he's a very stable guy for her to hang her hat on, though. I'd probably always wonder.

I've always enjoyed an occasional Diana Palmer romance. Even though they tend to be very predictable, they are still sweet stories and simple reads. They always have the sweet and innocent girl, the older, hairy man who has the wrong idea about her and eventually they work things out and live happily ever after.

This book didn't even come close to my lowest expectations. The romance began to build as expected, then... BAM! They had sex and suddenly the guy pulls an escape act that would have stunned Houdini. He's a jerk. He's a cad. He's something I can't say in a public forum 'cause my mamma taught me better.

I think the most aggravating thing about this book is the complete lack of romace that happens after Garon, FBI agent and sleezey hero of the decade, sleeps with Grace. He shames her, humiliates her in public, accuses her of stalking him, almost manages to run her out of town, and the best he can do after all that is to take care of her out of guilt?

Palmer's attempt to throw a dramatic mystery in the mix is almost laughable. For the early portion of the book it simply doesn't make sense with the rest of the story. When the romance goes south the mystery gains importance... probably because she killed the rest of the story... but everything is so blaringly obvious the reader is left with little reason to keep turning pages.

Even die-hard Diana Palmer fans will be turned off by this sad attempt at storytelling. Save yourself the angst. Pick another book to read because this one, quite frankly, sucks.

I am one of Palmer's biggest fans but I must agree with the many reviews that stated how many mistakes Ms.Palmer had made while writing this book. The coffee, the cat,....etc. I did enjoy this novel up until the point where Garon turned into a heartless maniac. It's like his character just up and walked out of the book and was replaced with an entirely different person. It made no sense how he was kissing her and so excited to see her that he ran to her from his car unable to stop kissing her one moment and the next he was publicly humiliating her with such vengence. The whole thing with her making the little mouse family or bunnies or whatever was just laughable.And speaking arabic to all the FBI agents at the end?Funny. And the poor cat being eat by the coyote, and she supposedly had no money but had enough to cremate the cat and buy it a urn instead of burying it in the backyard, and then she tells Garon she had buried it??? Just confusing. I have definatly read better from Diana Palmer, but I can't say it's her worst either.

I can't believe this book was even printed, let alone that I actually bought it and MADE myself finish it! I even spent some time online searching for some sign that this was written in the 80's and was just reprinted with some gratuitous mention of e-mail and cell phones. The banter was straight out of some cheesy b-movie. That's not the worst of it...

Garon had NO redeeming qualities whatsoever. He thinks she's an unattractive, frumpy spinster even after getting to know her. Despite his better judgment he begins to date her and eventually sleeps with her only to break it off quickly after he realizes he's embarrassed to be seen in public with her. 'A quiet, clinging woman who couldn't relate to him intellectually wasn't going to fit into his world.' Can you imagine the person you care about thinking that about you after multiple dates and sex?! That's just embarrassing! But poor, dumb Grace just doesn't get it so he proceeds to publicly humiliate the emotionally unstable little female in her hometown. His cruelty is unforgivable. Truly, it was that bad.

Trying to like EITHER of these two was excruciatingly difficult. Grace is mind-numbingly unappealing as a person. She's apparently so fragile in mind and spirit that the entire town has to take care of her. She has lived a sheltered existence rotting away in her mean grandmother's house. And yet, inexplicably at the end of the book she is a member of MENSA, a successful business woman, and an expert linguist....yeah, right!

I won't even mention the serial killer plot that is a part of the story except to say that I don't think such graphic details about crimes against children have a place in ANY fiction book let alone a damned stupid ROMANCE novel! I can't even express how many times this book pissed me off. There's even a part of the book where Garon discovers that Grace is pregnant (before she does) just by brushing against her 'hardened swollen belly' when she's just 1 month pregnant. PUH-lease!!!

I was surprised Diana Palmer received some negative reviews.
I enjoyed reading Lawman. A child predator kidnapped Grace
in her bedroom when she was twelve and she barely survived
the trauma. The local Police and Texas Rangers were never
able to apprehend the predator, and he comes back years later
looking for Grace. She's strong-willed and very private about
the abduction. Grace meets her neighbor, an FBI Agent, when
she had trouble with her car. At the beginning, I didn't like
FBI Agent Garon Grier, he was arrogant and self-centered. I
didn't particularly cared how he treated Grace. As I continue
to read on throughout the book, Garon had secrets of his own,
he built a wall around him. In the end, Grace, the strong-minded
character, was able to tear down his defenses. A very Happy
Ending. Check out Diana Palmer's many other books, if you think
you may not like Lawman.

I highly recommend.

This book is a disorganized, sloppy and ridiculous attempt to explain statistics in layman's terms.

I bought the study guide (much better) and have come to this conclusion. Most textbook writers should write a textbook then take out the exercises put them in the study guide and throw away the manuscript forever as not to add to the loathing that people have of mathematics.

Luckily, my instructor does not require that we turn in homework I simply do the exercises from the study guide skip reading the book and save my self a lot of time.

This means I practice the same problems over and over (a lot more effective than it sounds) and pass the tests easily since there is not really too much to this book other than a few formulas and definitions.

I'm an older, returning student and have seen my fair share of textbooks over the years. This is the first one that has been so bad that I feel the need to warn others. It is so bad that specifics are not even worth noting. If you are required to buy this book for a class, consider buying another to supplement it, get a tutor, or take Statistics at another school that doesn't require this book....seriously.

This is the worst textbook I have ever had to use. I had to buy another text on statistics so I could understand what this book was trying to get across. Be aware that the text is not enough. You will have to use the CD with the excel and TI-83 explanations (yes the book is that outdated that it still refers to a TI-83). This CD is several hundred more pages long. It also comes with another set of CD's that you will also need to use in order to navigate through the mess that this author created. It all boils down to an extremely bad textbook with a ton of added material that attempts to clear up the mess. It doesn't work. If you must use this text for a class you should look into purchasing another text to help you or hiring a tutor.

This book gives tons of examples in statistic application. It doesn't required high math skill. When I took statistic course in university, I found that the course are very theorectical and difficult to digest the contents. This book makes concepts easier to understand. I recommend undergraduate students to use it in complement with another theory based statistic textbook.

This book provides an excellent formal introduction to statistics for undergraduates in all disciplines. It is the book I would teach out of for such a course. For specialty areas, I would choose a different text. Courses designed for engineers or health science majors should emphasize the techniques that are most commonly used in their discipline and the examples and applications in their discipline should be emphasized. With that said, there are still many introductory courses at universities that would be well served with this as the text.
I am reviewing the first edition published in 1995. Apparently a second edition has just recently been published. As Moore says in his introduction the text is written as "an introduction to statistics for students in two-year and four-year colleges and universities that emphasizes working with data and statistical ideas." He is true to his word. He follows the guidelines of the professional societies (ASA and MAA) which recommend emphasis on statistical thinking, more data and concepts,less theory and fewer recipes in teaching introductory statistics. They also emphasize active learning in the classroom. This book does all three but is more formal than his first book which presented and emphasized concepts very well but was not structured like a traditional course. Although the text can be used for active learning, it does not go all the way toward the currently popular approach of an activity-based course as has been initiated by Velleman and more recently by Moore himself in his activity based text "The Active Practice of Statistics."

Instructors of introductory statistics courses would be well advised to use one of Moore's text or the other text "Statistics" by Freedman et al.

Another sure hit from SB. I thoroughly enjoyed this from the first page to the last!
So, ok, the whole bet thing is a little cliche but Sandra Brown gives it the usual twist to the more interesting part and... it works!
Highly recommend it!

Sunny Chandler returns to her hometown for her best friends wedding three years after leaving her fiance at the altar, earning the disgust of the townsfolk. She tries to blend into the background, but when sexy sheriff, Ty Beaumont lays eyes on her, it's lust at first sight, and he bets that he can bed her in a week when all the menfolk tell him to steer clear of the troublesome lady.

He sets about her seduction, even telling her about the bet, and she's sure she'll be immune from him. He gets her worked up... then walks away leaving her wanting and frustrated. As they get to know each other and share their deep dark secrets (yes, he has one too), suddenly the bet takes a backseat to their feelings, and in Ty she finds more than a bubba on the make, she finds a friend.

Originally penned by Brown in the mid-1980's, it's "datedness" really shows. The storyline's not exactly original, and definitely not pro-feminist, but who cares - it's a fun and engaging story of two very proud people who were meant to be together.

Sunny Chandler has returned to her hometown to attend her best friend's wedding. Faced with a past of scandal, heartbreak and secrets, she is determined to maintain her cool, confident persona, and not give the gossips of the town more to talk about. Imagine her surprise when she encounters the dashing, sexy, confident Sheriff Ty Beaumont, the opposite of any man she has ever met, and who claims to have made a bet to "bed her before the end of the week".

Most criticize the book for being "dated", but I realized that the book was written in the late 80's (note references Dynasty, Rambo, and Charles Bronson....and some of the, let's just say "dated" references that Ty makes) and that should explain it. However, I must warn you, there are some really funny parts in the story, that makes a woman in the 2007 laugh, but the datedness (if that is a word) makes it cute! However, keeping that in mind, if you like Sandra Brown, and you want to read something short and easy, where a confused, yet independent woman meets a take charge and slightly chivalrous and at times chauvinist guy, you will enjoy "Sunny Chandler's Return".

Good light read. Sunny Chandler left town in shame. When she has to come back to town to be in her best friends wedding, Sunny just wants to stay under the radar, but no one will let her. Ty Beaumont is the sheriff, and determined to get Sunny in his bed.

This is an older book, but still enjoyable.

This book was ridiculous! How are we to believe this woman is the strong herione when she is as wishy-washy as a limp rag!! She fell in love with the biggest chauvinist in town and in less than a week and hated him the whole time. However, I can see why she hated him, he exibited no likable traits. I would NEVER recommend this book--except on a dare.