Indoor Books

I bought this book for my daughter (age 8)- she loves it and works on it at different times. The book helps to stimulate the mind with different games along with some fun.

I highly recommend this book! I am a 6th grade teacher in Clayton County. My students really enjoy working on these puzzles. The level of difficulty varies with the different puzzles allowing me to meet the needs of all my students, despite their varied ability levels. These puzzles are a great way to entertain and encourage students of different ages and ability levels.

I am considering putting an addition/sunroom on my house. This book is full of inspiring photos and ideas. Every page is full of large color photos and descriptions/ideas. Well worth it.

A visually stunning book with lots of inspiration for indoor garden or sun rooms! Definitely worth my money...also giving as gifts.

In 1993, TSR published the _Glory of Rome_ historical campaign handbook. By that time, I'd been running my "Roma Subterranea" campaign for over a year, and had had to come up with my own rules tweaks to adapt AD&D to a Roman setting. It was interesting and instructive to see how many of my ideas were thought up independently by their stable of dedicated gamers after extensive Roman research. It was also entertaining to see what they'd missed, and how many of my fixes remain uniquely mine.

Pluses: They definitely did their homework on this one. I got the feeling that we were all reading the same books; the Osprey military-history handbooks and Colleen McCollough's _First Man in Rome_ foremost among them. You will find in here the Legionary subclass (called a 'kit', nowadays, but quite distinct from mine); Gladiators and Charlatans; and the first-ever description of the Christian cleric in game terms. Quite a bit about ancient magic, superstition, and folklore (curse tablets, protective amulets, love potions...all things which the Romans believed in). New skills, equipment, and so on; a really nice map of the Empire (no hexes!) showing its historical development; and, above all, a genuinely great job of converting a game meant for medieval fantasy to a mostly-urban environment where travel was a little safer and a lot more widespread than at any point in the Middle Ages.

Gripes: After reading the massively pan-cultural description of the Heraldry proficiency in the 2nd Ed. Players' Handbook, I was shocked to find GoR denying Romans access to this skill. If "the shield-emblems of African tribal chieftains" qualify for such study, how much more appropriate must be the shield-emblems and standards of the Legions, or the signet-rings of noble families, or the width of the stripe on a magistrate's toga? Also, I think they missed a major opportunity to bring magic into the setting via the clerics. Things like the Palladium, the Seven Shields of Mars, and the Eagles of the Legions must be extremely powerful artifacts (especially under the _Tome of Magic_'s rules regarding 'faith-magic'); but to hear TSR tell it, there's not enough mana in the Roman world to set off a smoke alarm. Just because the *wizards* can't get to it...

Favorite feature: The book's got Roman _auctoritas_: "In any instance of conflict between the Players' Handbook and this Supplement, the Supplement shall take precedence in a Roman campaign setting..."--so Ciceronian! All in all, a strong recommend.

This supplement is for AD&D 2nd Edition, so may be a little hard to come by nowadays; but it should still be obtainable, as long as all the version-jumpers are still trying to get rid of their older stuff.

This is a supplement for 2nd edition D&D that covers the historical period of the Roman empire and translates roman myths and folklore into D&D terms.

It provides a good timeline for the empire, an okay section on roman adventures and the roman world, but the great section is the 2nd edition class and kit write ups. It provides for political soldiers, gladiators, oratory before the Senate, street thugs in the capitol city, witches, and priests for all the ectsasy cults and Roman gods. It is set in a low magic background as are all the historical settings but the magical details are great including the three witch spells it includes (dream curses, love charms and protective amulets).

Out of all of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Adventures, the Jungles of Chult is one of my personal favorites. Imagine dropping your pc's into a remote land in Faerun. A jungle spreads for miles like a vast ocean of inestimable green. Add a fabled relic, rampaging dinosaurs, a lost city, and a group of fanatical cultists, and you have yourself a grand campaign.

The only complaint that I have against this module, is its lack of pictures. Surely Wizards could have found the time to insert more art in this adventure!

But other than that, this is a great product, one that every DM will enjoy.

The Jungles of Chult is an excellent Forgotten Realms accessory/adventure, as good as Old Empires, Dreams of Red Wizards, Dwarves Deep and Moonsea! It sheds light on the exotic southern land of Chult and its inhabitants. Their distinct culture, history, and civilization will win you over for sure!
Ranging from background history, to city and social descriptions, to important people and characters, to the respective gods and pantheons, to adventure hooks and encounter tables, to magical items and artifacts, to new spells and monsters, this accessory has it all and more.
For other FR references/adventures, I STRONGLY recommend: the Old Empires accessory on Chessenta, Mulhorand, and Unther, Dreams of Red Wizards on Thay, Dwarves Deep, Draconomicon, the Moonsea accessory, the Ruins of Myth Drannor Box Set, and the Ruins of Zhentil Keep Box Set (they are Second Edition AD&D, out of print and it will take a bit of searching, but it's well worth it). For updated editions of events in Chult, see the Third Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, which even though is quite expensive, is still very useful to all FR fans. Moreover, The Ring of Winter, being the only novel set in the Jungles of Chult is a "must."
In short, if you like tropical jungles, dinosaurs, exotic goblins, and would like a change of scenery to break the routine, try and get your hands on a copy of The Jungles of Chult. You will not regret it!

The most mysterious, dangerous, and forbidding land in the Realms comes to vivid life in this menacing sourcebook - here you'll find rules for blizzards, snowblindness, frost mirages, seas of ice, a huge poster map of the arctic wastelands, an amazing overview of a lost Esquimeaux culture, and several years' worth of fell secrets, white dragons, remorhaz, and worse... this is one of my all-time favorite settings for play, although I can't imagine sending characters of lower than 10th level there. Recommended!

This AD&D (2nd edition) book is an in-depth examination of the Great Glacier, the frozen far north of the Forgotten Realms. It contains rules for surviving in the frozen north, a complete set of information on the Ulutiuns (an Inuit-like people), flora and fauna (including four new monsters), and unique people and places. Part Seven is a loosely outlined introductory adventure, which is very nice. The crowning glory of this accessory is a full-color, 31'x21' map of the Great Glacier.

This accessory is surprisingly complete. It has everything you would need for running a far north or Ice Age campaign on any world. Though it may not be "historically" accurate for the Inuit of Earth, it isn't intended to be. Instead, it is an excellent set of rules for either the Great Glacier, or any other cold climate you might have. I recommend this work highly!

This boxed set picks up where the Greyhawk Wars boxed set left off. The year is 585 CY and the wars have ended between Iuz and the lands of good. From the Ashes includes two 96 pg booklets, three maps and 20 card sheets.

Two of the maps are replicas of the world maps supplied with the original boxed set produced in the early 80s. The third is a zoomed in map of Greyhawk City and the surrounding lands. The card sheets outline many different topics including important NPCs, 6 short adventures, wandering encounters, and much more.

The booklets are the Atlas of the Flanaess and Campaign Book. The Atlas of the Flanaess covers and updates all of the imformation is the original boxed set. This includes info on history of the Flanaess, the people, languages, money and trade, all the lands and countries of the Flanaess, mysterious places and rumors which can be developed into adventures, and details about the gods which includes some specialty priests. The Campaingn Book details the areas displayed in the third map around Greyhawk City. This book does not go into the details of Greyhawk City, but does update information found in The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set(582 CY). The detailed information on the surrounding lands is for the most part completely new and quite interesting and well written.

This boxed set in truly a great piece with lots of new information that could be used to enchance an old Greyhawk campaign or start a new one. If you can find this set, it is definitely worth it even though a lot of this information will be updated in the new Living Greyhawk campaign being developed by the RPGA.

This boxed set recast the World of greyhawk as a Dark Fantasy setting after wars that saw evil triumphant across most of the gaming continent. It includes speicalty priests and spells for 2nd edition greyhawk gods and lots of in depth world and area info.

Today's foodies tend to base first impressions of cookbooks by their cover. But don't be fooled by this one! Behind this rather uninspiring cover design hides a cookbook that is packed with flavor, beatiful photography, and innovative cuisine. The cover may be bland but the proof is in the recipes.

Running the gamut of grilled cuisine from appetizers to desserts, and touring the world of international flavors, this book is a treasure for barbecue enthusiasts looking for inspiring new ideas.

Particularly delicious was the Sirloin with Chimichurri Marinade redolent of garlic and fresh herbs with hint of chipotle heat. Or the Caramelized Lamb Chops with cilantro, brown sugar and mirin marinade.

Other recipes on my must-try list are: Pork Ribs with Mustard Bourbon Sauce, Soy-Ginger Chicken in Banana Leaf, Butterflied Thai Coconut Chicken Breasts, Chef Jon's Dry Cured Salt-Sugar Salmon, Pizza with Tomatoes and Chevre Pesto, Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers and Marsala-Poached and Grilled Pears.

Many of the recipes feature suggestions for accompaniments and most of them have full-color photos. An introductory lesson in grilling on a barbecue or grill pan and a back index round out the book.

I love interesting cookbooks that succeed in bringing food to a new level. Even if I never cook all of the recipes, I enjoy reading them.

Grill! by Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson gives grilling a new twist. It provides tips for successful food preparation, a glossary and a list of the equipment that contributes to easy grilling. If you don't know how to butterfly chicken, you'll learn through reading the easy instructions.

The books contents are broken into starters, main meals, bread, skewered, salads and vegetables, desserts and accompaniments.

Some of my favorite recipes are: Butterflied Thai coconut chicken breasts, blackened halibut, the classic burger, Italian-style sandwiches, smoky Portobello mushroom burger, Korean beef with cherry tomatoes, grilled corn on the cob with lime butter, and the ever-popular grilled s'mores sandwiches.

Grill! is not a 'toss it on the grill and cook it' cookbook. It is a book that takes ingredients and turns them into yummy dishes. It requires time but it is worth the effort.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a cookbook for your library. We predict it will be used a lot.

"The Healing Kitchen - An Indoor Herb-Garden Pharmacy for Cooks" is a small, excellent book for gardeners, particularly those of us who enjoy container &/or indoor gardening. After a brief introduction, the book is divided into chapters for each of the following herbs: Sweet Basil, Curly Chervil, Garlic Chives, Dill, French Lavender, Ginger, Italian Parsley, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Sweet Marjoram, Mizuna, Nasturtium, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage & Thyme. Each chapter starts with a one-page line drawing, description of the herb & its uses in cooking & healing, an excellent photo, & a one-page how-to describing the (brief) Botany, the container to use, how to plant, Light, Temperature, Water & Food and When to Harvest. Each chapter ends with one page each of an "food" recipe and a "healing" recipe using the chapter's featured herb.
This book has everything anyone needs to successfully grow herbs in containers indoors. The writing is easy to understand & follow, the photos are excellent, the instructions for growing & the recipes are succint. It gets right down to it, without any superfluous or complicated nonsense. The book is only 80 pages long, and that's all it needs to be!
The only difficulty is that the book came out in 1996 & is out of print. I discovered it through the public library. To order it, you must use Amazon's used book merchants, which I'm doing now, because I liked the book so much. I consider the book a must-have, alongside my various Taylor's Gardening guides.

This book gives instructions on growing, gathering and using your herbs. Each herb is divided into it's own section for growing, and two recipes are included for each herb: one for cooking and one for pleasure or healing. This book was well organized.

A well-developed campaign world that centers mostly around Bronze Age rather than the classic medieval times, Hollow World features savage gameplay in a world with limited magic where almost everything is observed by the gods that are concerned with prservation of cultural identities. The world features several classic cultures (pseudo-Romans, pseudo-Greeks, etc.) and vast jungle landscapes. Also very well described are the species and cultures, each with its own section on names, customs, and gameplay information. Also included are several adventures. A good buy.

The only boxed set that I can give my highest recommendation for any campaign world - Aaron Allston's classic of untold adventure! Once your players finally begin to grow weary of your wondrous world of fantasy, and they've plunged into the deepest realms of the Drow and the Underdark, why not give them a shocking revelation - an entire world of wonder magically sustained at the world's core! Best of all, due to its alien nature and absolute forgotten nature, the Hollow World set integrates cleanly in any campaign - be it Mystara, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, or one of your own devising. The creators have taken this into full consideration, because there are complete conversion rules for AD&D as well. Contents include: The giant 128-page DM's book, a 64-page Player's Book dedicated solely to making fascinating new PCs (or converting veterans), four colossal world maps, and a 32-page book of epic adventures in a truly majestic setting - dinosaurs still roam in the twilight, the horizons curve strangely upwards, and magic known to no one awaits... a wonderful set, highly recommended.

Who of us over the age of 50 doesn't love Fred Reinfeld and in a younger day, didn't learn at least some of his chess from his books? Certainly, Fred recycled a lot of his material over and over; was often hyperbolic and at times over-selective in his annotations; and isn't going to teach you modern grandmaster chess.

But in "Improving Your Chess" --- really a compendium of extracts from several of his other works --- Fred provides a solid 180 or so pages of what he does best: basic instruction for the improving player. I'd say this book is good for the USCF 1000-1500, perhaps petering out a bit at the upper end but still providing value.

Fred propounds and briefly illustrates the basic principles which we think we know but often overlook in the heat of tournament combat--- simple things like development, control of the center, not wasting time with unnecessary pawn moves. He talks about how to exploit White's initiative, and how Black can take control if White plays incorrectly. Now, translating his few examples into actual practice in your own games will take a lot of over-the-board practice; this book alone cannot work miracles (although I don't know of a book that can, actually).

The most original part of the book is quite close to the front; the "eight bad moves" (referring actually to eight bad things to do -- or not do!) although again seemingly obvious, remains fresh and useful even over 50 years later.

The end of the book contains a series of tactics and checkmate problems, excerpted from his "1001" books. It's a nice selection and working through them will certainly improve your play.

Appended to the book is a very high-level overview of common openings; it's rather dated and far too brief to be of much use. However, it's written in a common-sense style and the ideas may be of interest.

Should you buy this book? It's available on the used market for a couple of dollars, and at that price, it's an enjoyable read with more than enough content to be of practical use.

With the help of this book anyone can improve his playing level, of course with a reasonable amount of application. What I found unique about this book is that it helped me play strongly by first making me aware of some of the things I was doing wrong. The author focuses on what he calls "The eight bad moves", describing them with enough detail so you identify yourself so one can overcome the faults that are producing them.

The eight bad moves analyzed in this book are:
- Neglecting development of your pieces.
- Exposing your king to attack.
- Making too many queen moves in the opening.
- Weakening your castle position.
- Getting pinned.
- Failing to guard against captures.
- Underestimating your opponents treats.
- Losing a won game.

But this book is not only about identifying bad moves, you will also learn new ideas and techniques that will be most helpful in actual game playing. In summary I really believe this is a great book for beginners.