Home Books

I am a Stay at Home Mom and found many of the tips helpful. It is a little slow and boring at times to just sit and read but it does have many helpful tips and I would still recommend it.

Do you sense that life is going by and you're not really living it true to yourself or your personal convictions? If so, you may be suffering from spiritual bankruptcy...While we can't ever free ourselves fully from all of life's demands, we can discover a sense of balance in our lives. Or we can identify ways to shift between the two extremes - finding a time and a place in our lives for contemplation, and then alternating that with other times of busyness and distraction." ~Deborah Taylor-Hough

In order to simplify her life, Deborah Taylor-Hough had to rethink her entire lifestyle. With five children and medical bills that loomed over her, she made some tough decisions that required her to put away her pride and look more realistically at how she intended to survive. Her courage is inspirational and the decisions she made showed that her priorities were her family and her commitment to her belief system.

If you are dealing with a lack of meaning even with great wealth or societal emptiness despite an elegant lifestyle, this book takes a look at survival on the edge of bankruptcy and a search for contentment in a less than materialistic lifestyle.

If you long for a life of contentment, it may be a life of simplified choices and a life where family becomes more important than keeping up with every other family on the block.

While this isn't as far as building your own house or "Walden Pond," it is a realistic view of life and how to avoid falling into debt by taking practical and necessary actions like avoiding the temptations at malls or not watching certain channels on TV.

Deborah Taylor-Hough is a beautiful soul who has written a very practical guide for women who want to find a new balance in their lives. She also gives advice about tripling many recipes and freezing meals for the future (see her cookbooks), like before you give birth to a baby or know you are going to go through a time of stress. There are also recipes for making your own instant coffee mixes and homemade dry onion soup mix. Now I know why one house had closets that were scented with cloves - it keeps away moths.

If you have children you may enjoy the recipes for craft dough, soap crayons and homemade paper crafts. If you want to refresh your laundry or even make your own laundry soap, this author has the recipes. I have used her recipe for Spa Milk Bath, but I also use essential oils. I found that sea salt is relatively inexpensive at a health food store and even the addition of oatmeal in a cheesecloth bag and buttermilk can make a completely wonderful spa experience.

This book encourages you to be happier with less possessions and more quality family time. When you remember your childhood, what are the happy things you remember? I remember running around barefoot, swimming in African rivers and eating lemon meringue pie. I didn't care about the size of our house or the clothes I wore. I remembered the freedom to enjoy life and how my mother taught me to make strawberry jam.

Other great ideas:

Family cookbooks
Debt proofing your holidays
Winter picnics

I loved this idea because it reinforces the ideas that happiness has nothing to do with how much money you earn and it has everything to do with being creative and maximizing the talents you have and rearranging your priorities.

~The Rebecca Review

Readers gain various tips and insights into saving time and money with this book. Various tasks become more simple and less expensive. This book speaks more on how to save money than on how to free yourself from the greed and dependency that it provokes.

I really liked the book, written straight fromn the heart. Though it's relatively not so thick but 'it got a little bit of everything'. The appendix cited a number of recommended resources that are also valuable to know. It made me wish I could be like those people who have attained such comfort through 'simple living'.

This a a great book with ideas and time savings for me. The title so describes the book, good choice! I love it!

The thing that I love about not only this, but but both of Taylors books is that he has a great sense of humor. I tend to think that in real life, Taylor and I would clash rather strongly on some issues, but that's OK. I will buy every book he comes out with (and here is hoping it isn't just these two) simply because the man has a gift for telling stories. I have read tools of the trade probably 25 times since I bought it years ago at a B&N, and I anticipate reading it another 25 times!

I was given this years ago, read it in a week and loved it, then forgot the title when trying to describe it to a friend. It is a shame it is out of print.

Everyone should read this book, and anyone you know who likes to build things should get this for Christmas.

I picked up this book about 6 years ago at a B&N store...and finished reading it in one sitting in my yard. Trust me when I tell you that it is not often when I feel overwhelmed by anything. But this book, with its simple prose, made me gulp several times. Keep in mind that it is not a depressing read. On the contrary, it can be funny as heck at times!

It's a shame that this book is now out of print and likely to become scarce, as I have given it on several occasions and have always received many thanks in return.

The author fills the reader, even a reader with minimal knowledge or interest in carpentry, with a true respect for the tools, their usage, and the history behind them. Not just the history in a greater sense, but also the history these tools have in the author's life.

I'm now reading this book for the third time. I usually like to pick it up when my office job is making me dream of a life building and remodelling houses.

From the onset, the pain of this work is presented through the introduction of the fact that the cancer has returned. Before specifics are given, Taylor has things from his life presented that prove how heroid he really is. Throughout the reading, this book manages to take ahold of the reader and do something to him. All the while correctly and accurately portraying the scientific aspect of the situation with good description of the situation, the cancer, statistics, and treatments, Taylors dad manages to keep ahold of the reader with the heartache he endured throughout the journey home. Anyone with a heart will ache right along with the story at hand, and will often ask why God would ever allow something like this to happen to such a sweet little boy. I feel that this question is addressed and that the family is comforted in the fact that God has a plan for each of them. This is an amazing read that allows the reader to take the emotional rollercoaster of the entire journey. The only complaint at hand is that I think the father sometimes tries to force big words to make himself seem smarter. Many times this helps with the science of the cancer, but sometimes it inhibits the reader from reaching the true emotion of the situation. This is an excellent book for the realities of chemo and radiation treatments and anyone looking for an emotional wake up call should without a doubt read this book.

Great Job. Emotional but not disturbingly sad. A book about faith and love. As a Nashvillian and a POKWC (parent of a kid with cancer), I see some great opportunities for discussion among family members that are at a loss to cope.

Anyone can help in the birth of a child, but not everyone will be a good parent. This father showed a great amount of courage and faith in the Almighty GOD! Taylor was a trooper. While many children would have given up (and even adults), Taylor many times took the role of the encourager instead of being the one who needed comfort. I read this book and shead many a tear. I was so encouraged that I want to read this book over and over again...

"Walking Taylor Home" is one of the few books that I've read and re-read. As a physician-in-training, I think this should be required reading in medical school, and in pediatric and heme/onc residencies. I've recommended this book many times to patients' families who are struggling with their loved one's serious illnesses.

I was initially introduced to Brian Schraeger's writing in a book by Sheila Walsh ("Honestly," I think) a few years ago. She had quoted one of Brian's email missives in which he described his family's hope in God in the midst of suffering. I was so touched by one of Brian's emails that I quoted it in our family Christmas letter that year. I thought at the time, "I hope this guy writes a book some day." Thus, when I saw "Walking Taylor Home" at the book store, I was thrilled, and bought it without even reading the dust cover. At the time, I was reeling from the cancer diagnoses of three close friends, all of whom were undergoing surgery, chemo, and/or radiation as young adults. Brian's raw descriptions ministered to me personally, and helped me to better support and encourage my friends and their families.

I just finished reading this book for the second time in 2-1/2 years because yet another personal friend is a heme/onc patient. Again, Brian's words inspired and encouraged me. When I shared a funny story about Taylor with this friend, she laughed out loud, which doesn't happen much these days. Taylor probably would've been pleased with himself for making an adult who was in so much pain howl like that. It occurred to me that this kid whom I've never met, continues to "live" in the laughter of people like my friend, who really needed a chuckle.

Picked this up as Im interested in inspirational non-fiction titles and it is one outstanding book of courage. I was a Marine Sniper in Vietnam and this book is about real courage. What a tribute to a special human being and a special relationship. And more importantly, lessons for all of us on this journey called 'life'. Great read

This book is crammed full of good survival and outdoor information. Its also full of awesome drawings. This is one of my favorite outdoor books and has been for many years, i find myself coming back to it again and again. Buy it, you wont regret it.

A great book with much of interest to anyone interested in outdoor skills and woodsman ship in an age that has mostly vanished. The illustrations are great and some are humorous as well.

All outdoorsmen should own a copy of this book. Highly entertaining and a wealth of knowledge.

THE BEST OUTDOOR/SURVIVAL BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. LOADED WITH INFORMATION, AND AT A GIVE AWAY PRICE OF ABOUT 10 BUCKS. ITS A NO BRAINER, BUY THIS BOOK.

I first read this book in my High School Library in 1955.
The best outdoor survival book ever.
Buy it at least a month before you go camping.
Must read for campers.

This book of domestic essays by Michigan journalist Cindy LaFerle is a major delight. The rich topic of LaFerle's family life, from delivering newspapers on dark Sunday mornings with her son to remodeling her historic home and baking bread for peace, is comfort food without the calories. The essays pair especially well with a warm cup of tea on a cold afternoon. LaFerle's calm and compassionate humor will remind readers to be grateful for the many blessings of home.

From the preface: "At a writers' retreat I attended several years ago, author Madeleine L'Engle posed a question, "Why do all of us want to share our stories?" Her answer affirmed what each of us knew but couldn't express as elegantly: "We share our stories because we have faith--faith the universe has meaning and that our little lives are not irrelevant." I found this profound and wanted to read deeper.

Cindy has put together some wonderfully arranged thematic essays. The essays are funny, poignant and show a slice of life. The essays are fun reading them in book sequence or skipping around (Sorry Cindy. You probably wanted them read in the sequence published.). I enjoyed reading them.

Cindy's writing style in this book is like a conversation between friends. There is a sense of humor mixed with plain down to earth speech and common everyday situations that anyone can relate to. Most essays are short, easy and fun to read.

The Christian Science Monitor, Reader's Digest, Country Gardens, Writer's Digest, The Oakland Press and The Royal Oak Daily Tribune have all published Cindy's essays and columns. Cindy lives in her home town, Royal Oak, Michigan, with her family.

I found this book easy and fun to read. I don't know when these essays were first published, but they just a relevant. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting something entertaining to read. Since there a re a series of essays, there is no real need to rush, reading from cover to cover. You can pick up this book at anytime and read one or more of the essays when you have a few minutes to spare while relaxing. I would rate this book as a great read and worthy of consideration by readers.

Bob Medak, Allbooks Reviews

Cracking open Cindy LaFerle's debut collection of columns and essays is the equivalent of chatting with your best friend at a coffeehouse. She talks about everything under the sun -- from the love of her deceased tabby cat to the ubiquitous mean mommy syndrome we all face at the PTA. Her steady, flowing writing lulls you into the comforts of her world. It's not all rosy, however. Her discussion of the Iraqi War or Martha Stewart's decline are timely issues to be taken seriously. Nonetheless, you feel you are in trusted hands with Ms. LaFerle. She won't let you down. In every one of her 294 pages, she never does.



The book is a compilation of over a decade of newspaper columns in The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Michigan) and essays which have appeared in notable magazines such as Readers' Digest and Better Homes and Gardens. Since her background mirriors that of many work from home mothers, she is a highly relatable writer both in intention and in content. Her tone is never preachy. It is truthful and without pretense.



This nurturing scribe has stopped her column. Her local readers in Michigan must mourn the loss of their regular commentator. As she recently sent her only child off to college, she may have been concerned that her home life would not yield a full column's worth. She quotes Aldous Huxley at one point (page 64):



"Everyone who knows how to read has it in their power to magnify themselves, to multiply the ways in which they exist, to make their life full, significant, and interesting."



Cindy LaFerle does that with her writing. She magnifies her own world to make it our own. We can only hope she will be inspired to continue the quest with her pen. Her obvious talent to weave honest, yet striking tales is definitely something to write home about.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends WRITING HOME as a lovely bouquet of womanly thoughts about things little & big, sad & funny, & topical to today's modern life.

Cindy La Ferle's essays are grouped together by subject rather than eras: first she welcomes us into her House and Garden, & then introduces us to the muggy swamp of Child Care; to her Social Life (such as it is being a work-at-home-parent & spouse); to the philosophies of Kitchen Duty, & to her Creature Comforts.

Then she gets as serious as she can about Work Ethics before opening the Family Album. She also shows us how she's Keeping Up Appearance & Keeping the Seasons, & as with all things, she gets Older and Wiser & into Soul Caring.

Oh, & she's into organic produce, herbs, overnight retreats at a Jesuit monastery, walking with her women friends, & a life of prayer & peace. & she likes to laugh!

WRITING HOME is for everywoman who thinks about her world, & would make a perfect reading group selection, & gift, no matter the season!

"The sacred is in the ordinary. It is found in one's daily life - in friends, family, and neighbors; in one's own backyard."

The above quote comes from a thank-you note Cindy La Ferle keeps in an "altar" above her kitchen sink. Its simple observation pretty much sums up the philosophy expounded in her book, Writing Home. A columnist for a Detroit area paper and freelance article writer, La Ferle writes about what she knows best - home - and how our home life shapes and colors who we are.

My personal favorite essay is "Quit Picking on Barbie." The big-breasted fashion doll has been getting a bum rap for years... Most little girls just enjoy dressing her up and designing homes and careers for her. She doesn't scar our sense of femininity at all. Another column, "Recovering Perfectionist," stirs up many familiar emotions as well. Women do seem especially susceptible to perfectionistic behavior, La Ferle observes. Our "people-pleasing" impulses prevent us from attempting many worthwhile endeavors because we're afraid we won't be able to do them perfectly. We need to let go of this need to "be right or look good" all the time. In the humorous "Seeing Red" we learn about the pros and cons of being a redhead - or at least the Miss Clairol version of it.

From "Baghdad and Banana Bread"- finding security from the horrors of the world in simple baking - to "The Lost Art of Loafing"- an art I really need to take advantage of this summer- Writing Home wisely reminds us that truly there is no place like home. -- Cindy Appel for the FEARLESS REVIEWS

If you are unsure if staging works, you will get a definite hard sell that it does in this book. Over, and over, and over again. To the point of being tedious. However there is some good information to be found here. Just didn't take the 288 pages to do it. Cut to the chase, tips include fresh paint, clean the place, get rid of clutter, depersonalize the house. In short, you are trying to sell a product. Spruce it up! Its all in the packaging. Rest is fluff and repetition, such as convincing you that staging works. Apparently the author felt the reader could not get that in a few sentences or even a chapter. Would have given a higher rating if it was less monotonous on that topic.

If you are selling your home, this book will help you get ready. It has a variety of ideas. Some are complicated, some are expensive, but many are simple and easily implemented. The author helps you understand you are not selling your home, you are selling a house to be someone else's home. If this is the only thing you get from this book it is worth the price and time you invest in buying and reading it. I higly recommend it.

This book is full of helpful advice when undertaking the tremendous task of selling and moving out of your house. Some of the advice is common sense, but they offer great ideas.

Teri B. Clark shares her expert tips on how to make your house look like a model home to showcase its potential to prospective buyers. Each page is filled with tricks of the trade and advice from professionals, and each chapter is summarized with a numbered tip list for easy reference. The book also includes before and after photos, as well as true stories of houses that sold for more than the asking price.

I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of whether they have a house to sell. Who doesn't want their house to look like a model home? Or, at the very least, sparkling clean, less cluttered, and more stylish? Teri B. Clark has written a do-it-yourself, fix-it-up, reorganization, cleaning, and decorating manual all rolled into one! The best part about her cleaning tips is that all of her methods entail using natural products such as orange oil and baking soda--very Earth and wallet friendly. There is an entire chapter on how to stage your home on a shoestring budget, which is ideal, especially in the current marketplace. She has ingenious ideas, and she demonstrates with data that a small investment can bring a large return. This is a tremendously useful book for all homeowners.

Even if you are not planning on selling your house any time soon, this would be a good book to have around. In fact, by the time you get through following all of the advice here, you might not even want to sell, but if still do, there is a very good chance that you will indeed see the benefits of getting up to10 percent more from the sale.

This book looks at everything from the inside out, and from top to bottom. It is probably not the type of book you would just sit down and read from cover to cover, though you could because its style is easy to read as well as informative. Some of the best features include "This Could Be You" success stories interspersed throughout the book. These achieve their goal to inspire the reader. While these are balanced with the rest of the text, at times some of the other inserted text boxes almost become annoying. For example, the Professional Bonus Tips are helpful, but sometimes they seem to be overused. This is especially evident in the chapter, "Putting It All Back together," where it seems that most of the chapter is made up of text boxes instead of text.


Aside from this formatting issue, the tips are valuable and range from advice about how to pay attention to the smallest details such as wiping clean light switch covers to more significant aspects of staging, such as depersonalization in order to appeal to the largest number of perspective home buyers.

Before and after photographs are used to illustrate some of the main points. These include color insets and some smaller black and whites throughout. Sometimes the quality of these are not all that great--in a few cases the before and after photos are not take from exactly the same perspective in the room. Still, most of the photos do help to get the point across, so they are generally are useful.

All in all, this book is inspiring. It makes me want to get off the couch and transform my own home even though I had no plans of selling. I suspect it can have the same the effects on you as well.

It's not just for the 28-year-old still living in the basement! Anyone going to college should read this, even if half of it won't apply for a couple years. By the time you move out of campus housing, you'll have used every chapter. I particularly like the sections on roommates and laundry! My son won't be in college for two years, but in June 2010, he'll get his copy!

Love this book. It's written in such a way that even if your kid won't believe you, they'll believe this. Witty, engaging and covers everything to do with moving out. Young adults will appreciate it and parents will feel better knowing that their "babies" have this information.

Children moving out forget just how many little things are sitting around their parents homes, like rubberbands and tape, that they never have to think about. It's all just "there".

This is a great book of lists and ideas for both movers and parents of movers to use to stock up on large and small items that will make life just so much easier on your own! There are even tips on how to interview a house-mate, and a little cooking, and remembering to ask the landlord where the laundry facilities are when you're looking at a new place.

It's a quick read, and a quick eye-opener, and a cute gift.

Not only is this a must-have book for any child contemplating the big move, but every adult who has made it to the stage of having a child who is ready to leave should read it. You will pat yourself on the back and wonder how you survived.

I laughed as Salditt reminds us of the importance of toilet paper and how NOT having toilet paper is a very bad thing! I'm not sure if I cried because of memories of some horrible roommates, or at the thought of my "baby" out on his own.

The illustrations are charming and this little gem of a book is filled with terrific checklists for you and the young adult that is making the big move.

I can't wait to see what Salditt tackles next.

This book is alot of fun. It is filled with practical advice such as: "Get a calendar to remind you what day it is, when rent is due, and when it's Mom's or Dad's birthday." If only I had this book when I moved out of my parent's house. The chapter about "Avoid the roommate from hell" would have been very useful. The illustrations are hillarious and they have an excellent website.

Jeff Davidson is an achiever who writes from an authoritative stance. Anybody who has published more than 3,300 articles, been featured in 68 of the top 75 newspapers in the country, had his speeches published six times in "Vital Speeches of the Day", and has been a professional speaker to numerous well-known corporate clients definitely has something worth listening to.

This book is refreshing reading in that it brings you back to the basics of maintaining focus. In arguing that it's worth the effort to stay organized, Davidson notes, "If you think getting organized is time consuming, try disorganization."

By nature my tendency has been to be a saver, i.e., hold on to things because I may need them someday. Davidson and other writers are causing me to see it's time for a paradigm shift. In the information age, updates occur regularly and with the Internet such data can be acquired online. Collecting materials in this generation takes a new twist when the new realities are considered. Notice I'm cautious in the way I phrase this. I'm still a saver at heart, but I'm learning to eliminate clutter. I think the point is valid. It takes time to change.

This segues perfectly into his sixth point which discusses growing beyond what you've experienced in the past. Be open to possibilities you've never known before. Chapter seven examines the cliche "work smarter." He tells you how to do it. The discovery Vilfredo Pareto made in 1897 is the topic of point 8 in this book. I'm intentionally not revealing what it is to make you curious.

Through reminding us of the basics of getting organized, such as "divide and conquer" various tasks, we're encouraged that the goal is reachable. Overall this book is packed with solid insight that can be applied.

Often times, the problem involving in getting organized is where
to start . . . you may be like me and have many projects going
at the same time, accompanied by even more pieces of paper.

So where do you begin? One approach is to get hold of Jeff
Davidson's book, THE 60 SECOND ORGANIZER . . . Davidson, an author and professional speaker,
presents many useful techniques--60 in all--that don't
take a lot of time to implement . . . but do pay powerful
dividends when utilized.

Many you've probably heard before . . . however, the problem
is that you may well never have put them into practice . . . the
author shows you how, for example, when he says:

* You can fight junk mail by saving all of it for weeks. Then
hire a high school student at minimum wage to send a
form letter to every party who has sent you mail more than
once. Explain carefully that you have no interest in their offer.

When it comes to seeking perfection in everything that you do,
I really liked this bit of advice:

* Studies show that the additional time you spend to take a
project from the 95 percent mark to the 100 percent mark
is, in most cases, not worth it. Striving for perfection, i.e.,
ensuring that the final 5 percent is correctly done, often
takes as much time as the initial 95 percent of effort
required! Gosh, no wonder it felt so difficult!

Lastly, when it comes to writing a book or completing some
other task that will take a good amount of time, Davidson
almost makes it easy when he advises how to do this:

* I have written 32 books, but I wouldn't have finished book #1
if I tried to "write an entire book." Rather, my goal in approaching
each book is to write one chapter at a time. Since most chapters
are made of two or three subsections, I simply aim to finish one
subsection, then another, then another until I finish a whole
chapter. The rest of the day seems like a vacation.

The next day, I go back and start another chapter, approaching
one subsection at a time. All the while, I acknowledge that I
have a contract to honor and that a publisher is breathlessly
waiting for my material. We pick a date in advance, and I agree
to turn in the manuscript no later than that day.

Now that I've finished THE 60 SECOND ORGANIZER, I'm all
set to read another book the author wrote: THE 60 SECOND
PROCRASTINATOR . . . all I have to do is stop procrastinating,
then I'll be ready to begin it.

In the never-ending quest to be more personally productive and organized, I got the chance to read 60-second Organizer: Sixty Solid Techniques for Beating Chaos at Home and at Work by Jeff Davidson. For those who aren't ready to commit to a "system" of organization, this is a perfect place to start getting things done...

Contents:
Part 1 - Embracing Powerful Perspectives: Relax - Organizing Is Not So Bad; Learn Your ABCs; Capture Your Best Thoughts; Determine "Who Created That?"; Make Profound Choices; Live and Actually Learn; "Work Smarter" for Real; Heed Pareto and His Principle; Forget about the "Right Mood"; Reward Thyself
Part 2 - Enveloping Provocative Practices: Forsake Excuses for Not Becoming Organized; Defeat Perfectionism; Start Simply; Organize According to Your Milestones; Handle Tough Things First; Immerse Yourself for 60 Seconds; Ask Yourself "Will It Be Any Easier Later?"; Organize Based On Your Priorities; Stake Your Claim
Part 3 - Listing and Charting Your Way: Recognize Fallibilities; Mark Your Calendar; Separate Long-Term and Short-Term Tasks; Develop a Clarifying Checklist; Map It Out; Chart Your Path; Plot Your Way; Add Subtasks to Your Chart; Organize with Flow Charts; Track Your Progress
Part 4 - Reclaiming Your Places and Spaces: Start from Scratch; Conquer Your Desk; Make Your Shelves Work for You; Win the Paper Chase; Face Files with Smiles; Establish Rotating Tickler Files; Pile It High; Pare Down and Win; Reduce Junk Mail; Read with Aplomb
Part 5 - Organize Travel, Meetings, and Online Activities: Manage Your E-mail; Organize Online Research; Create More Organized Meeting, Really!; Maintain Effective Meetings, the Whole Way!; Meet to Achieve Results; Organize for the Road; Handle Commuting and Travel Contingencies; Be Productive on Public Transportation; Fly Friendlier Skies; Book Your Flight Right
Part 6 - Making Your Home Your Castle: Destroy Enemy Outposts; Pick a Regular Day and Time; Approach Spaces Strategically; Adopt a Replacement Policy; Improvise When Storage Space Is Limited; Organize Your Gift Shopping; Organize Your Purchases and Related Paperwork; File Taxes on Time and Without Grief; Hire an Organizing Professional; Divide, Literally, and Conquer
Summary; Bibliography; About the Author

It seems to be all the rage to follow an organizing system these days, a system that presents a complete package of how to get and stay organized. But realistically, it takes a lot of effort to overcome that inertia, and often the system ends up gathering dust on a shelf. Davidson's book is great in that it gives you a number of tips to get organized, and it's not an "all or nothing" thing. You can start in any area that is a problem in your life, such as your workspace or your storage/junk piles. The 10 tips in that particular area of the book are quick to read, easy to understand, and you can quickly try out the recommendation. For instance, if your filing system is broken (or nonexistent), Part 4 of the book gives you plenty of ideas on how to clean up the existing mess as well as keeping it cleaned up. Rotating tickler files, single location for file, and questions to ask before filing all help to keep the important stuff, throw out the trash, and keep the process going.

If you've read any books on organization before, you'll probably recognize some of the material presented here. But it never hurts to review great ideas, and what didn't strike you as important a year ago may be exactly what you need now. Well worth the time commitment to read and review...

I hate paper. And nowadays, the stuff that comes in the house can't just be sorted to be dealt with or thrown out, you have to SHRED a lot of the trash. Holy hell, what a pain THAT is. If you let any of it sit, you have a huge pile in no time. And online billpay is not really reducing any of this mess. In fact, I find that the mix of paper payments and online just makes a confused mess.

The author has sixty ideas to get organized. I've incorporated quite a few of them (pare down email is one: I now unsubscribe to anything I don't want to read regularly and another is pare down; 1 magazine subscription.) He suggests a calendar and how to organize your desk for action. All these things really work.

Excellent little book, no fluff.

This is one of two "60 Second" booklets written by Jeff Davidson that I recently read, the other being The 60 Second Procrastinator. With all due respect to how much can be accomplished in one minute, most (if not all) of those who need to get organized are procrastinators and most (if not all) procrastinators need to organized. In my opinion, few (if any) of them will read books such as these and then apply - and (key point) continue to apply -- what they have learned from them. (Davidson is also the author of more than a dozen other books, including seven Complete Idiot's Guides.) He may not share this opinion. However, here's another opinion with which he presumably agrees: On occasion, a single insight ("tip," "secret," "key," etc.) can help to elevate one's standard of living and/or improve one's quality of life.

In this volume as in the other 60 Second booklet, Davidson offers "sixty solid techniques" for "beating chaos at home and at work." They comprise a series of thought-provoking statements and direct questions that can help many readers to gain new perspectives on the micro and macro dimensions of their lives.

Obviously, there are many reasons why people have problems completing getting and then staying organized, and those reasons vary from one individual to the next. That said, self-improvement initiatives must be anchored in a strong faith in what can be accomplished. Henry Ford was right: "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." It would be a fool's errand to attempt to act upon, immediately, all of Davidson's sound advice. He correctly suggests selecting a few especially troublesome areas and concentrate on them. In this context, my metaphor of preference is locating and then picking "low-hanging fruit."

Of course this booklet could conceivably be helpful to almost anyone but I think it can be especially valuable to those now enrolled in schools, colleges, and universities as well as to those who have only recently begun a career. Davidson thinks clearly, writes well, and is by nature a pragmatist rather than a theorist. How to rate it? I realize that there are dozens (hundreds?) of other sources that provide more fully developed ideas about how to avoid or overcome procrastination. However, for chronically disorganized people, any advice given is probably best presented as clearly and as simply as possible, and I do not damn Davidson's booklet with faint praise when saying that. His is not a definitive source nor does he make any such claim. If each reader finds only one suggestion that helps her or him to become - and then remain - better-organized, Davidson will have achieved his primary and indeed worthy objective.

Riveting and heart wrenching, this is the story of 7 homeless teens and their day to day lives. Having been a homeless teen, this was a book I couldn't put down and that I didn't realize was fiction until half way through it. Jessica really writes this story as though she has lived it.

Where i live, in NYC, i see many homeless people struggling on the streets, begging for money on trains and sleeping in the worst places possible. Murmurs and disgusted looks coming from passersbys are not uncommon. Yet in Almost Home, we are given insight on these people.

The story begins with Young Eeyore, running away from her comfortable yet unforgiving life with her family to join Tracy, a mysterious girl that brings her into a street family of people just like her, running away for a better life. Blank tells the story through the eyes of all the misfits in the family, whether it be a heroin dealer, an adventure seeking girl or a broken hearted teen. Yet, the bond that this society has formed is far from indestructible, and the result's are shocking.

Well written and suspenseful, Jessica Blank exposed a world to readers. Ones that most never dare to approach. One almost Home.

Jessica Blank writes a gritty, raw novel of life on the street for a mismatched group of young kids. Oftentimes graphic and bleak, she crafts a story that reads like a documentary of life on the streets in L.A. Seven individual paths are interwoven with each other, showing that you can touch more lives than you realize.

Eeyore, aka Elly, is the youngest of the bunch. After an embarrassing encounter at school, street smart Tracy takes her under her wing, and Elly runs away from home. Eeyore is not only running from the humiliation of school, but from a horrible home secret that no one would believe.

Rusty is in love with his male teacher, Jim. They were found out and Jim told Rusty to go to Hollywood and he would meet him there once he ties up all the loose ends at home. But it's been over a month and Jim isn't returning his calls and he's running out of money and options fast.

Critter is a drug dealer who has also taken Eeyore under his wing. She adores him and follows him around like a baby bird. Critter tries to protect her from the seedier side of life on the street - drugs and pimps.

Tracy is the weak thread that intertwines through all their lives yet has an unknown quality that captivates everyone. With stringy hair, bad teeth, and empty eyes, Tracy has seen far too much for her young age.

Along with these four and three others, the rough, harsh life of runaways and throwaways is written in a bleak style in ALMOST HOME. Told through the eyes of each of the characters, the reader is left with a new awareness of the realities that can cause young adults to run away from home and family. Many are hoping for a better life from the one they knew, only to find that there are different problems that they will face, such as homelessness, hunger, and poverty.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Why would anyone choose to live on the streets? There is Eeyore, just twelve years old when she runs away from her priveleged home, harboring a secret she's too ashamed to tell anyone. Rusty is a sensitive gay teen who winds up alone when his older boyfriend ditches him in Hollywood. Squid has gone through too many foster homes to count. There's Scabius, a delusional punk from Utah who takes the "me against the world" motto to dangerous extremes. And Critter is a heroin dealer with movie star looks and a vulnerable heart. Laura should be home studying, but she can't face another one of her mom's boyfriends. And then there's Tracy, the damaged thread that ties them all together, irrevocably changing each person's life she touches. This unlikely band of characters form their own dysfunctional family, complete with love and belonging, abuse and betrayal. Each will make their way home, wherever it may be.



This book really opened up my eyes to the horrible plight of homeless teens out there. I did know that they existed, but I don't think I've ever seen a story quite like this one that really brings it to life and brings the point across so well. Told through 7 different narratives, but all part of one big story, this is one amazing novel. Each character has their own distinct voice when they step up to the plate and tell their perspective on everything going on. Their stories are all unique, and given some twists. This novel should be read by everybody. Two disclaimers I'd make is that it does have some mature themes in it, so be sure you're ready for them, and also if you're one who likes a balance between dialogue and description, this may not be the book for you. Dialogue is very sparse throughout the novel, and relies more on each character's thoughts and backstory than anything else.



Note: Book description above taken from Amazon.com

This is one of those books that caught my interest from the first page due to its subject matter. I work with at risk teenagers, so anything relating to their lives draws me in immediately. "Almost Home" is the story of seven teenagers in Los Angeles, who call the streets their home.

The story is told through the eyes of seven very different teens, with one thing in common. Each of them has opted to leave their abusive (or in one case, boring) home life and try to make a life for themselves on the streets of LA. Their lives consist of panhandling for change, avoiding cops, dumpster diving for their next meal, seeking out safe places to sleep and their relationships with each other, a necessity for some to survive.

The story is written for young adults, and I honestly plan to leave the book at work where the kids can read it if they'd like. It's a story of survival. Rather than romanticizing what life on the street may be like, it is honest, raw and brutal. It's a true account of the day to day problems and dramas that homeless teenagers face, once they take that step and run away from home. Stories of drugs, violence, rape and the things a person is forced to do to survive, not knowing where the next meal may come from.

"Almost Home" is gritty and edgy. Better yet, its REAL. It's a great read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the teenage mind.

I was truly inspired and edified by reading this book. Mr. Bayda's insights into the principles of Buddhism are gentle, accessible and practical. These books are informative and I am glad they were recommended to me by a friend. I would also say that while many Buddhism books are either too abstract or too nuanced, this book comfortably falls in the middle providing real insight. I highly recommend it.

I come back to this book time and time again because each time I realize something new. It is down to earth, practical,compassionate. I have bought several extra copies and have given them away and the recipients of this book are equally taken with it. It has taught me to ask myself questions whose answers reveal what is really going on with me. A great tool in learning one's own mind. It is one of those books that can change your life for the better if you do the work.

Easy to read, understand, and put into practice. Common sense, practical advice. Similar content as his "Being Zen" book.

Reviewing a book such as this is no easy feat. Quasi-spiritual, semi-self help books are a dime a dozen, and many of them are terrible. They attempt to reduce common sense to a formula that, once applied to one's individual life circumstances, permanently alters the course of one's life.

Do you know anyone whose life has radically changed as a result of reading a self help book?

I bought this book (along with Being Zen, Ezra Bayda's previous title) because I am interested in Zen Buddhism. I bought them rather randomly, having never heard of Mr. Bayda before (these books did not, however, serve as an introduction to Buddhism for me; I have been interested in the practice for many years). I am extremely impressed, however, by Mr. Bayda's simplicity and practicality; I don't think I've read a more accessible book on Buddhist practice. I would argue, in fact, that he does it better than Pema Chodron (whom he credits as a source of inspiration). Mr. Bayda's books are the result of some fantastic writing and editing.

Mr. Bayda says that these two books are really Parts 1 and 2 of the same work, and I would agree: You should read both of them, so that the important concepts are really hammered home. After all, these books are not intended to be feel-good, airy-fairy words to make one "feel better"; this, in fact, is what I believe to be the "strength" of Buddhism---the fact that its primary goal is not to make one feel better, but rather to point us toward residing in the ordinariness and pain of every day life. Mr. Bayda's effort is directed at pointing us in the direction of an "authentic life," as opposed to the "substitute life" which so many of us are accustomed to living. Mr. Bayda offers sound, succint, and challenging advice on how we can apply the principles of Buddhism to our lives in a practical and compelling way, without ever using exclusively Buddhist terminology. A person of any faith would find this book both accessible and informative.

In the end, I cannot recommend either of his two books highly enough. While reading these two books (or any other books for that matter) have not and will not change my life, taking to heart the teachings really could.

As with my dad's first book, BEING ZEN, I could read AT HOME IN THE MUDDY WATER countless times and always find it useful. There always seems to be something or someone in life that I want to change. I see repetitive patterns in the way I relate to others and to life. I watch myself react and put up defenses and strategies of control. I think I am clear, with a good analysis of the situation, of myself, and of others. And yet, the same patterns return. The same difficulties and questions come again and again, varying only in the circumstances under which they arise, but not in the base emotions and beliefs themselves. AT HOME IN THE MUDDY WATER helps me to see and experience my difficulties on a deeper level, getting to the very base, the very core of my hurt, my fear, my anger and my pain. This book, like BEING ZEN, helps me to deal with life daily, whether it be with reacting to something as small as being cut off on the freeway to something larger, like depression, self-doubt, and difficulties with relationships. Many times, I must admit, the equanimity my dad speaks of in his books feels out of reach. But I know it is possible to achieve because I have watched him in spiritual practice for over 27 years. My dad still feels pain; he still gets hurt, angry, disappointed and filled with fear. But he relates to all of these things differently than most. His spiritual practice, as so clearly laid out in these books, allows him to experience life in all of its colors and shapes, in happiness or in grief, in peace or in total chaos. The practice is always the same: simply to BE HERE. The tools are out there, but it is up to each of us to put them to use for ourselves. AT HOME IN THE MUDDY WATER is such a tool.