Fun and Games Books

Some of the activities are fun, others just a new spin on the same games. Might best for new moms like me who lack creativity.

I bought the Baby Play book and really liked it a lot. However, I was a little disappointed with this one. It has some of the same information as the Baby Play. It does had some nursery rhymes and children's songs which can be pretty useful.

I spent many days with my toddler playing games from this book.
Well organized, great pictures and ideas. I would just look up my daughters age by month and start playing using things available around the house. Great fun and ideas !! Highly recommend.

These are great books for first time parents and dads. (Moms, you probably do most of these things with your baby by instinct). But I love them (we have toddler play and baby play) because it give me clear ideas as to how to play with my daughter on those days when I feel like I just don't have a clue. My husband thinks it is fun to pick a new activity each weekend to try with our daughter--it has really helped them to bond.

We bought this book when our oldest was two years old and now we are still using it to keep his 18 month old brother busy. Lots of cute activities, songs and games. Most require no supplies and the ones that do usually require things that can be found around the home.

These cards are great romantic movie suggestions, perfect for a date with your sweetheart. I was expecting to see mainly classic old films and was pleasantly surprised by the wide array and selection. There's something for everyone here!

These cards are filled with good ideas and reminders of what it takes to find the right person. It's easy to get into a rut but these cards have ideas on how to get out of the house more and hopefully put yourself in a situation where you'll meet someone. These cards are well worth the money to give yourself a boost especially if you've been out of the dating scene for awhile.

"Don't wait until you're retired or on your deathbed to make your wildest dreams come true. In fact, don't even wait until next week. Seize the day!" - From the deck

52 Ways to Celebrate Life Deck features 52 small, whimsical cards dedicated to celebrating life. The front side of these cards depicts a colorful image and state a particular theme. The other side offers suggestions on how to implement the theme of the card.

For example, the Life as Art card says:

"You life is like a work of art. Step back and see for yourself by making a collage. Start with a big piece of cardboard. Look through magazines for pictures that capture different elements of your life-the people, places, and things you love; the adventures you've had; your achievements and accidents. Add phrases, feathers, glitter, and pictures of your own. Include images that represent your inner life, hopes, and dreams. Find images to represent your bright side and others to convey your shadow. When you're done, take a good look at this masterpiece of your life. Then give someone you love a guided tour. This life collage can be fun to make alone or with friends."

Some of the themes featured in the 52 Ways to Celebrate Life deck include:

* Synchronicity
* Why Not?
* Guardian Angels
* Sky Gazing
* Comic Relief
* Buried Treasure
* Thank Goodness!
* Ah, Wilderness!
* Make a Splash
* The Hills Are Alive
* Sowing Seeds
* My Day
* Down Load
* Big Time
* Golden Years
* Buddy System

52 Ways to Celebrate Life deck is a wonderful way to be grounded, appreciate life, and stay mindful. The cards serve as a reminder to enjoy the people, places, and surroundings that make up our lives-including our very own Selves! If you're looking for a thoughtful gift for those in need of self-care or would like to keep in touch with the pulsating core in all life, this deck would certainly meet your needs. However, please note that the print on the back is rather small, so those this might prove problematic for those with sight difficulties.

(To see 3 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

It appears this another great card series which was just published. I'm glad I got mine right away. I wish it were in the form of a book instead of cards, but nevertheless, the cards are great. They illustrated, well written and easy to follow. They offers many tips on how to pamper yourself in ways I never even dreamed about. The best part is that they're all affordable. It covers everything from spoiling yourself with foods, applying home remedies to your body for sofe and silky skin and hair, to steam baths and pedicures. There's lots more. I thought the little cards were great. You don't need to be rich, famous, or spoiled to treat yourself to a little (or a lot) of pampering. These cards prove that.

This was the worst waste of money I ever spent. All of the short, simple "tips" are self-explanatory; I can't even imagine anyone over the age of 9 not already knowing them. Unless you spend most of your spare time mugging people, I can't imagine that it would add anything to your life. I would very strongly suggest that you save your money and skip this one. YUCK!

Casino Gambling the Smart Way is a must read for both veteran and new gamblers. If you are the sort that beleives in systems, or believes that 'red is due' after a long run of black, or if you are the sort that chases your loses, this book may cure you of that. If you know better, you might still enjoy the anecdotes, which are pretty fun to read. However, don't expect much concrete advice on how to play any casino games, or much in the way of analysis of any particular games.

I give it three stars: although the book reads like a disconnected set of articles for a gambling magazine, and perhaps that is where it came from, it is still worth checking out so you can avoid major losses at the casino.

I have not read a great deal of gambling literature, but I really enjoyed this book, which I borrowed from my local library before a 4 day trip to Vegas. As a rookie gambler, I am sure that I saved some money because of this book. I loved the practical knowledge such as not to gamble at the airport and some of the stories and advice that is given out in a friendly manner. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is planning a trip to the casino anytime soon.

I had never considered buying a book on gambling. I'm not a pro and have no intention of every being one. I go on vacation and gamble for fun. Right before a recent trip to Vegas, a friend at
work told me that I had to read this book before I went. I decided to give it a try. Boy, was she right. I found the book to be well written, humorous and most importantly informative for the non-gambler. I didn't have to know anything about gambling to understand Mr. Glazer's book. It was a good read. Not too many books are both funny and educational. This one is. I liked how each chapter was complete in itself. I went with a different mind set. Instead of taking money to lose, I took money to spend. Just changing my attitude seemed to relax me. I have always wanted to but been too intimated to try blackjack. After reading this book, I gave up my losing slots and gave it a try. Mr. Glazer's chart was there to back me up when I needed it. I would recommend everyone read this book before venturing into the casinos.

Hi,

I'm Andy Glazer, the author of Casino Gambling the Smart Way. You can read what I wrote in 1999 about this book elsewhere on the site.

It's two years later now, and I have a somewhat different perspective. Casino Gambing the Smart Way is a good but not great book. The good news is, I feel that way mostly because my standards have gone up. I'm quite sure it will be worth somewhere between 5-20,000 times the cover cost to most people. It's also pretty funny.

I'll be writing more books soon, a wave on poker first, actually, but this one is an excellent start into the right philosophy to take into the casino. There is also a mistake in the blackjack chart, about the proper way to play a hand of 12. The one page in the book I didn't get to proof and voila.

I'm more advanced in my craft now, but CGTSY will still be a good, easy and valuable read.

Soooo, you're ready to hit the casino and make your fortune, huh? Well, as this book describes in detail, the sucess or failure of your outing will be largely influenced by your mindset. You will not learn any unique trade secrets here. But, if you invest some time with this book, you will learn how to get the most out of your trips and, hopefully, avoid losing your shirt. I highly recommend this book. Good luck...

This book is actually the original Imponderables book under a new title so it fits the theme of later books better. Unfortunately this isn't mentioned anywhere in the product description. This is mentioned on the cover of the book, but people who are buying it online won't be able to see that since it is put in fineprint, not in the description. I'm sorry to say that nothing has been updated either. That means that some of the information in here is going to be outdated or referring to thing that are no longer common since the early 80's. For example the stuff on milk cartons, collecting money from payphones or records spinning is going to feel out of place for people who think this is latest in the series.

You can tell the passion put into not only trying to answer these questions but to give you a feel for some of the less obvious aspects that are going on behind the scenes in a lot of these like the section on efficiency in washers & hypnosis. It is also contains such interesting things as: Why Do people look up when thinking, why do other hear our voices differently than we do, how did a mile get to be 5,280 feet & the difference between the wait times in different traffic lights. He manages to be informative as well as keeping thing humorous in the book. It also has the origin of some of the frustrables (imponderables that he revisits with new information) such as why do people close their eyes when kissing.

Buy this because you can't fine the original book anymore. Buy this because you have worn out your book in the last 20 years. DON'T buy this because you think it is anew one in the series or that is updated.

Great book. I purchased this for my 12 year old nephew last christmas and he loved it, because that is how his mind works. Fortunatly, so does mine - I love to think about things so I had to read it first! What fun!

There are a number of these books out by this author and I had seen some adds that made them look very interesting. I found a number of problems with this book. There were items that only received a small paragraph that I would have liked to have seen pages, and items with pages that could have been a single paragraph. I also wanted more detail that was there, plus it would have been nice to have seen resources on where the information came from. I gave it a 2 as it was interesting to a very small point.

This book is an interesting collection of factoids. However, it is dated.

I have always been a big fan of the "imponderables" genre, but I had never read any by author David Feldman, an apparently prolific author in the that specific field. I thought the best place to start would be with his first Imponderalbes book, "Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?," which had apparently been originally published with the title, "Imponderables." I further assumed that an author's first venture into this genre would be the most interesting in that there was a high probability of an array of interesting subjects that eventually led to his writing the book. Well, I was wrong!

I finished this book in record time because I discovered that I couldn't care less about many of the alleged imponderables that were discussed. Really, who really cares about some of the following:

Why does root beer taste flatter than coke?
Which fruits are in Juicy Fruit chewing gum?
If trailer parks didn't exist, would tornadoes exist?
Why don't we ever see money from pay phones collected?
What is the purpose of the little slits in sugar cube wrappers?
What is a minor credit card?
Why are so many milk packages difficult to open and close?

If those and similar questions intrique you, you will probably enjoy this book.

About the only section that I found truly interesting was the section describing how stage hypnotists do their thing.

Perhaps his subsequent works got better in that the author solicites potential questions from his readership to be dealt with in later books. I'll never find out.

This photographer has a GREAT EYE and see's things and men in an interesting way .. you'll enjoy it

By looking at the book cover, I thought that it would have lots of nude pictures, etc. And from the book title, I assumed this is a picture book about those models having fun after dark. But in reality, it is just a book of different male models in different poses. It only has a few nude pictures. Nothing too exciting, I think.

what a disappointment. mostly cliched and contrived images that lack emotional and visual impact. what should be provocative images come across as awkward and rehearsed. for the real thing, check out testino!

Supposedly the photographer shot these men after they had worked by day as models for fashion ads. They are thus apparently supposed to be being themselves, unposed, etc. If George Bernard Shaw were alive today and saw these boys, I'm not sure that he would say that it's a shame that youth is wasted on young people. With a couple of exceptions there's not a single photograph here that I would even think about purchasing and certainly not hanging on a wall. The lighting is garish, the composition is bad and many of the shots are out of focus. (Deliberately I hope.)

Brad Gooch gushes in his foreward. Yes, the photographs remind you of Larry Clark and Nan Goldin; but these two photographers did it much better and got there first. And how Gooch can call Lalli a "gay Helmut Newton" is beyond me. Paul Cadmus in his afterward makes a lot more sense when he says that these are boys he would not want to know, himself. I couldn't agree more.

To quote a line from Robert Browning, suddenly "I feel chilly and grown old" when I view these photographs.

"Fun ? Game: Male Models After Dark is a fascinating blend of the sexual and the silly, the enticing and the amusing: it's a collection of snaps taken by the uni-named fashion photog Lalli while casting for Calvin Klein; the bodies are mostly sheathed in slight briefs or lightly-draped shirts, and it's not a fount of full-frontal. But it is a colorful eyeful of good-looking goofs, a reminder that models have personalities. - review excerpt from RL at A Different Light Books

I really enjoyed this book. I own many dog books and this one is on the top of the list.

"Beyond Fetch" is beyond fun! It includes great ideas to keep you and your pup(s) busy and execising (whether it's the brain or body)! It also includes a plethora of reasources, making it easier to navigate and implement the ideas included in the book. It is a must-have for any family with dogs!

I love this book and thought it was great. There are all sorts of things you can do with your dog. For example it gives you instructions on how to make jumps, a tunnel and other things.

I was not very impressed with this book. Most of the tricks were just too silly and required a few people to do. Maybe they would work better for someone with small dogs and kids.

Unless you want your dog to be food possessive/agressive, ill-mannered, and riddled with ANXIETY, this is not a book for you. Having studied the mind and behavior of our canine companions for 22 years, I find this book to be a VERY POOR CHOICE and (at times) bordering on dangerous.

"Test Your IQ" does everything that it claims to do. It provides a full IQ test, with annotated solutions, and a table that allows you to convert your score in this test to an IQ number. It also provides a discussion of the nature of intelligence; advice on identifying gifted and talented characteristics (including a gifted and talented checklist); and a discussion of left-brain and right-brain characteristics. Munzert does this adequately, and this might suit some readers, but it is not done extremely well.

The biggest down-side of this book is with the questions in the IQ test. Most of the questions are multiple choice questions and in many cases I could see more than one answer that could be "correct" based on different lines of reasoning. Also, there is only one IQ test provided in this book. As I said before, this might be adequate for some, but other IQ test books do exist which provide more than one test. At the same time as purchasing this book, I also purchased Test Your IQ by H.J. Eysenck, which does everything that this book does, but provides eight tests instead of one.

This is not a terrible book. However, there are other books that does what this book does, only better. If you are only going to buy one IQ test book, I'd buy Eysenck's book instead.

IDIOTS v. IDIOTMETERS

Should "Idiots" File a Malpractice Class Action against IQ-test Designers?

© Edip Yuksel, J.D.

Should lawyers file a class action against psychologists for malpractice on behalf of all those who took flawed IQ tests and discovered that they were idiots? Could they make a successful "faulty design" argument and establish mental pain and suffering, loss of self esteem, and loss of confidence in their mental activity? If they could, I bet there are millions of Americans out there eager to take their revenge, including those who were matched by MENSA with partners presumably sharing comparable IQs and then ending up with shared nightmares and divorce. I bet that the IQ Tests have contributed to sales of the Complete Idiot's Guide or Incomplete Imbecile's Guide (is coming soon!) series by convincing millions that they are indeed Idiots and Imbeciles.

I do believe that IQ tests measure some intellectual capabilities of individuals, sure with reasonable margins of error. But, out of curiosity, I have checked several IQ tests and found them riddled with flawed questions. I am not writing this criticism because I got low scores. To the contrary, I have received very high scores on each test I have taken so far (even my zealous religious opponents have conceded my high IQ in their books and articles). Furthermore, I do not claim that it is easy or even possible to design a flawless IQ test, and I am not dreaming or suggesting to design a test to test the test makers either. But I believe that many IQ tests on the market could be improved easily, if only the test designers had subjected them to trials and considered the results. Or they simply could have handed them to lawyers for cross-examination! Even if a lawyer who does not obtain good score on an IQ test, he or she is professionally skilled to smell flaws as long as it is presented as the evidence of an opposing party. (I am not practicing law, but I still feel a duty towards my comrades; they always need clients, especially psychologist ones!).

In this article I will focus only on one published test. I have the third edition of this book Test Your I.Q. by Alfred W. Munzert, Ph.D. (Prentice Hall, 1994). Its new editions are available into the mass market, and it is one of the most popular IQ Test books. The book contains great essays on intelligence; however its 60-question test is tainted with at least NINE flawed questions. This is more than enough to "reduce" an average person to a slow learner or to an idiot.

Peace,
Edip

This book begins with a timed self-scoring IQ test up to 165. Then follows an explanation of what IQ is, and what it means. Finally, it discusses giftedness, aptitude, and intelligence.

The book is easy to read, informative, and contemporary. However, the test is perhaps too easy for adult readers, as scores are only adjusted for ages up to 16. Therefore, if you are older than 16, perhaps the test will not be particularily challenging. So if you want to boost your ego, then buy this book. But I suggest that if you want to challenge your intellect, then save your money for another book of puzzles.

This book is good if you want to have a quick and accurate test of your IQ according to standard tests. There is only one test in the book and it is of the classical type. The test is very similar to the 'self-scoring IQ test' that can be purchased separately. Apart from the test with answers, scoring charts and explanations the book contains some basic information about how the brain works in left and right hemisphere divisions as well as some suggestions as how to train your IQ. The book makes a good point out of stating that our society is left-hemisphere oriented and most of the exercises - that are standard/non-original - aim at stimulating the right-hemisphere.

After reading the 6th edition, I happened to see the 3rd edition in the local library. The IQ test is identical-it looks like the only difference is that some passages of the essay section were either deleted or slightly altered.

Overall, this is a short and informative book. It's not for MENSA-types, looking for challenging IQ-like questions...but it will provide some insight into your thinking patterns (left vs. right-brain). As one previous reviewer noted, I think some of the questions are not culture-fair so don't take your score too seriously if it's low...

Also, I'm not sure the book clarifies enough what IQ is and isn't: to the general public, IQ is synonymous with "how smart you are"- this book dispells that notion but not as clearly as possible.

The key idea behind IQ is that g(eneral intelligence) exists, i.e., people who are good at one thing tend to be good at other things. Certainly, there's some truth to this, but taken to the extreme it implies that IQ tests consisting of only certain questions (like all verbal or all spatial tests) would be sufficient to measure g. Personally, I suspect that intellect consists of many diverse mental functions with varying degrees of cross-correlation. (This would also explain why "idiot" savants can be way below average in most mental respects and yet extraordinarily good at certain things.) Also, IQ tests are all about discerning patterns- they don't test for the ability to create new patterns...

Think of IQ like a baseball batting average, which is a great way of ranking hitters. Certainly, it's not the whole story since we also care (sometimes more) about the number of home runs, RBIs and slugging average, etc.- not to mention that batting average tells you nothing about a player's defensive skills and is of course, N/A for a pitcher :)

My son, at 8, LOVES the Capt. Underpants series, and was so excited when the book arrived. Arrived promptly, mint condition, and service was great.

I bought my nephew this book as his first chapter book and he absolutly loved it, he sat down and read it in one day, and he just turned six. I am not bothered by the misspelled words. After all these books are supposed to be written by 2nd graders, and at that young an age teachers should not be correcting spelling, they should be encouraging children to sound out a word, and then make an educated guess as to how it is spelled. It's about recognizing letter sounds, and letter combinations, not exact spelling. That comes later. I plan on getting the entire series for my nephew for christmas.

We bought these and other Captain Underpants for our 7 year old grandson. They are his favorite books and prefers the softcover to hardcover so that he can take them anywhere to continue reading!

My son has enjoyed listening to Dav Pilkey books for years. We would read them to him as an infant, toddler and now he loves to read them himself. He has read the books Dav Pilkey wrote for school age children, all of them. The "Book O' Fun" books, he really has appreciated the activities included in the fun pack books, based on "The Captain Underpants Series." He is especially fond of the step by step examples given for drawing the different characters. We would recommend any of Dav Pilkey books. Your child can grow with the wide range of creative books Dav Pilkey has published. I suggest parents browse Dav Pilkey's various book collection and maybe even give him a try.

At first my seven year-old son, a devout Captain Underpants fan, was doubtful as to whether or not to get this book. He saw the so-so ratings on Amazon and didn't think he was going to enjoy it. But upon purchasing a used version of the book, he found he loved all the activities included.

Inside he found stickers, crossword puzzles, word finds, jokes, a comic: "The Bride of Harry Potty," and step-by-step instructions on how to draw the Captain Underpants characters. It runs about 96 pages, but it's chock full of fun.

Now, don't buy this expecting another Captain Underpants adventure; it's an activity book. If your child is looking for something to ease the wait for the next Captain Underpants book, give this a try.

I'm not satisfied with the quality of papers. If it's just for practicing words or reading, it's ok. But this is kind of a game. It's not fun to play game with it!

Very useful for second language learners. My students want to play one of these games every day. The games take a little while to make, but once done (make sure you laminate them!!) they are a big hit.

I found this product useful. It says grades 1-3 but is geared toward below grade level readers. The games were very easy to assemble.

This book has some great games for reinforcing previously taught skills. My aide was able to easily assemble them and have plenty of materials to use with the kids. Now I know she always has something appropriate to engage the kids if they finish assignments early. I feel good knowing that the kids are doing something they see as a fun reward, but they are not spending their time idly.

It's not instant if it's not colorful, ready to laminate and easy to put together.

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I haven't found a single puzzle in it that would be anywhere close to "mind bending". I personally love doing this type of puzzle, and purchased several different books of this variety, and this one was definitely my least favorite. I finally got tired of the monotony of these too easy puzzles, and gave the book to my 9-year-old. She's not having any trouble solving them either.

I truly enjoy Kathy Weaver's creativity, but I'm making the same complaint I made with the last book. Most of the puzzles are too easy! She has a tendency toward symmetry which almost gives away the puzzle.

I would think it would be a wonderful book for beginners, though! If you've never tried Hanjie and you're thinking about it, give this book a shot. Good quality paper is combined with reasonable sized grids and the final results are the puzzles are usually fun! Also, if you're looking for a book to carry in your purse to fill in time while waiting at the dentist's office, this is the way to go.

Very entertaining and absorbing. Great stress reliever and gets the brain really working. A wonderful way to "get away". You feel like you have really accomplished something when you solve the puzzle. Hours and hours of great entertainment.

As a reader of large-print books, I adore Kathy Weaver's puzzles. I never have to dig out my magnifying glass. And the pages of this book do not fall out the way her other book did.

I am interested in books for advanced solvers. I am not well, and books like this help me pass the time when I am confined to my house.