Browning Books

.....Yes this book is old, it was written in the 1970's. It was the first Tarantula book I purchased when I got into the hobby. All the pet stores sold it. It gives you all the necessary info you will need to successfully keep a pet Tarantula healthy and happy. I often wonder if Mr. Browning still keeps Tarantulas?

I am pretty new to the hobby of tarantulas and I am the type of person that actually enjoys research. I bought this book to add to my library and boy am I sorry I did. This book is soooo old. I know that it says that it's published in 1989 but the pictures are straight from the late 70's (light blue polyester suits,...imagine the movie "Boogie Nights"). The information is nothing that could not be found on the internet with a google search and if you have been in the hobby of tarantulas you will realize that information is hard to come by and tends to vary and change through the years. I'd have to say pass on this one and buy "The Tarantula Keepers Guide" or my favorite "Tarantulas and other Arachnids."

John Browning's Book, Tarantulas, Is the best, most comprehensive, book on tarantulas I own. It explains how raise and breed your tarantulas, whats kinds food and housing to give them, and how to enter them in local 4-H contests! If have you the slightest intrest in tarantulas, buy this book. Tell Em' Tarantula Boy sent you.

This book touches on all parts of the winemaking business from vineyard costs to winery costs and designs to marketing your wines. It has a good section on analytical testing procedures and 50 pages of charts, tables and conversions that come in handy.

The section on vineyard costs details year by year expenses from start-up through year 7. I also found the feasibility and finance section very helpful in starting up my own winery. The section on government regulations was very helpful in warning any prospective winery owners of what the ATF and state regulators expect. There are plenty of examples of good record keeping that various governments expect you to keep on hand at all times.

Of course this book also has 117 pages of good winemaking details along with good sections on microbiology, winery equipment, barrels and label designs. If this book has any obvious fault it would be that it does not go deep enough into some of these subjects, but then it would be thousands of pages long instead of the 440 pages it is.

An all around great book on winemaking and the rest of the business that goes with a winery and it's operation. This book has lots of good business information in it that I have not seen in any other winemaking book. I recommend it for anyone who not only wants to make great wine but also is serious about starting his own commercial winery.

Here is good evidence why Indiana is not a mecca of fine wines. Mr. Vine needs to take a few classes at U.C. Davis or read any of Amerine's books. The faults are too many but he did do a good job by inserting Government Regs and a lot of tables that would be hard for him to screw-up.

As a wine 'amateur' (French meaning - no French person would ever say they were a 'connossieur' of wine, as one can never know it), this book was great in teaching more of the nuts and bolts of the wine biz. Grab this online somewhere - hopefully Amazon.com's out-of-print service - but grab it - it is very interesting.

I am usually a historical romance reader, and I got this contemporary romance by accident in a shipment of books. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I was pleasantly suprised....at least in the beginning. The other reviewer described the jist of the book for you already, and I agree with her for the most part.

I thorougly enjoyed the book till the end. I related to the characters and it kept me entertained throughout. It had just enough humor to keep you laughing and had just enough drama to keep you on the edge of your seat.

You may be asking yourself why I only gave the book 2 stars then, the reason is this. I was anticipating what would happen to the characters and as the pages turned I got more and more interested. And then I went to turn the next page and I realized the story was over. I even looked down at the page numbers to check if my book had lost pages from it, but no, they were all there. I kept asking myself, "What happened to him?" and "How did this turn out?" It had no ending. It completely left you guessing.

As I have said in other reviews, how I determine if it is a quality book it has to have 3 things.

1. Good characters - you should feel like you are the character, feel things like they are happening to you.
2. A good plot - keeps me entertained and wanting to turn the pages, just to find out what happens next.
3. A good ending - It should answer any questions and give you a feeling of closure. Most important, it should tell you what happened to the characters.

Unfortunately, this book leaves you hanging. The questions aren't answered and you have no idea what happens to the characters. Do they live happily ever after? I have no idea.

I won't tell you not to read this book, because everyone looks for different things in a book and tastes differ, but I leave you with this warning. If your looking for a book that crosses it's T's and dot's it's I's, it does not happen in this book.

In New York City, federal agents question public relations specialist Laurel Lawless on what she knows about the finances of the firm she works for, J. Blessing Associates; she knows nothing. Her boss and lover Jerry Blessing asks her to sit tight and gives her a water color he insists his mother painted to hold for him. Meanwhile with the agency closed and no prospect for employment, Laurel goes to look at the North Carolina property she inherited from her late father, whom she rarely seen.

Laurel meets two cousins she never knew with one arranging temporary quarters on the Outer Banks' Hatteris Island in a neighbor's house that needs roofing. That neighbor Cody Morningstar arrives with his reticent eight years old daughter Becky and her dog BooBoo while his former wife heads to Paris with her new spouse. As Jerry's partner Kirk makes dangerous demands, Becky acts as a matchmaker between her father and Laurel. Starting with a fender bender and feuding that turns to beach fun with his child, the adults fall in love, but danger is coming south from New York and the ex is returning for Becky.

FIRST TIME HOME is a terrific contemporary romance with an additional suspense subplot that feels extraneous to the prime well written theme of an emotionally wounded child unconsciously matchmaking her father with the new neighbor. The story line is at its delightful best when the trio interacts even when the caricature of the nasty unfeeling ex-wife intercedes while the Blessing criminal scenario seems off kilter with so much family drama in the Outer banks. Still fans will still appreciate this strong tale of the human need to belong.

Harriet Klausner

Okay, now how many homekeeping books have you read that made you laugh? The title the chapter headings, even the illustrations are all funny but this book isn't a joke. It spells about for even the most hapless reader everything you need to know to keep your home from becoming a nasty, cluttered nightmare. It's written for men but anybody can learn from it and I must say it's superior to many of the other organization/home management books that I've read.

This book was hard to read. The book design is like something you'd see in Cosmo or Lucky, or maybe one of the style magazines for metrosexuals.

If they're really going after the type of guy that needs the answers in this book, they should have packaged it more like a sports magazine or a tool catalog.

I don't *think* this is a bad book, but it's hard to tell. On the few occasions that I've been able to find the part of the book that answers my question, it's been very helpful.

The characters were not very deep. Her name was a bit tiresome. I liked the dog.

I enjoyed A KNIGHT IN RUSTY ARMOR, and found that I couldn't put it down. Travis and Ruanna are likeable, understandable characters thrown together in a winter storm. There is a lot of humor and warmth in this story, and I couldn't predict the surprise twist at the end. I would recommend this romance to men and women alike.

Great for the beginner ... photographs guide you step-by-step through the paper-piecing method ... includes instructions for traditional and original blocks in addition to guides for choosing fabrics and setting up your sewing space ... 24 full-size patterns are printed in the book

For the price, I was disappointed with this book. The patterns were nothing special (pretty ordinary and simplistic) and there weren't very many of them. The entire book is only 31 pages long. Buy Carol Doak's book instead... a much better investment!

From these short stories I got the feeling that William Spencer is good game for taking the place of Ira Levin in popular fiction: Great premises, underdeveloped plot and characters, and plain jane prose.

The man CAN write, I'll admit to that. He drops ingenuous metaphors and literary references. But the stories hardly feel as a whole, just some witty tidbits tied together in a bundle.

Frankly, Spencer sets the trap for himself with his introuction, where he analyzes the state of short fiction as a playground for writers, where stories are used as prose exercises of preciousist writing, with little fun in the tale to tell. He admits by the end that some of his own stories can be held for having the same (un)qualities... but it seems they had a lot more of it than he expected.

So, this is my scorecard:

"The Entomologists at Obala" is, arguably, the most enjoyable of this stories. A minimalist reworking of Romeo and Juliet, with young lovers fighing through family feuds over exotic insect and aracnid species.

"Looking out for Eleanor" is a psychological suspense story, and the lenghtiest story in the book. That may be key to its success, for it allows the characters to develop their traits and the plot to move at a pleasurable pace.

Spencer adds three literary exercises in character description through metaphor: "The Wedding Photographer in Crisis", "Pep Talk" and "Snow". They may need to be read more than once to sink in, because they somehow feel flat.

There are also three tales I could envision featured in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", exercises in twist ending: "Haunted by the Horror King", "The Return of Count Electric" and "Best Man". Sadly, by the time the twist came I was expecting it, and failed to shock me.

Lastly, there are "Graven Images", "A Child's Christmas in Florida" and "Daughter Doom", tales where several elements are left intentionally obscure, and which I found to be the most disappointing from the whole lot.

As I said, Spencer can write, and this book may keep you entertained as you read it. But you shouldn't be surprised if, like me, you finish it feeling nothing really happend while you were at it.

This guy is really funny and dark at the same time. His style flows and is really easy to read. I don't usually like stuff that's this 'normal' but I plan on reading everything this guy has. By normal I don't mean boring I mean there were no 'fantastic' elements in it like magic or monsters, just people and situations. I thought almost all the stories were very original but the last two were definitely the worst. I think I will like his novels even more than his short stories.

I really enjoy Laura Child's writing style. Enough detail to paint the scene but no overkill. Like the settings. Mysteries are believable and keep you guessing. A quick read and enjoyable. Prefer her tea novels to the scrapbooking novels.

I have ordered all of Laura Childs Tea Shop Mysteries and her Scrapbooking Mysteries. They are the best, as soon as I finish one I pick up the next one. Can't wait to see what Theo, Drayton, and Haley come up with next at the tea shop nor what Carmela and Ava create at the Scrapbook Shop. Always feel like I am right with them, either having a cuppa at the tea shop or walking in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

I HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK YET. I DO ENJOY READING THE TEA HOUSE MYSTERY

Theodosia Browning and her Indigo Tea Shop are serving at the Candlelight Concert socialite Delaine Dish throws to raise money for a Victorian home donated to the Heritage Society. Everyone who is anyone is there as Delaine plans to hit them up to donate to restore the house.

Unfortunately retired CEO and beloved politician Duke Wilkes is murdered before refreshments can be served. Detective Burt Tidwell is on the case and in no uncertain terms tells Theodosia to stay off the case.

That's what Theodosia plans to do until Duke's widow begs her to look into things. Since everyone who was at the concert is a suspect, she has her work cut out for her. It doesn't take long before she finds herself in the thick of things and apparently getting too close. Can she solve this murder without putting herself and those she loves in danger?

I really enjoyed this book. The Charleston setting is always relaxing to me. The story kept moving and made me want to read another chapter and not put it down. Theodosia and her associates, Drayton and Haley, are such wonderful characters. I'm not a tea drinker, but I'd love to go to their shop just so I could meet them!

I can't wait to read the next installment in this series. I highly recommend this book.

What a wonderful cozy read. I love Theo, Drayton and Haley. What starts out as a great mystery, falls flat in my opinion in the end. Just ended because we need to end the story?

I gave it four stars because I do love all the tea talk. Theo is asked to help who murdered Duke during the concert and starts snooping around. The murderer is not going to take that too nicely. Everywhere Theo goes she is on her toes looking for clues, but never would have guessed!

All in all a good book. I can't help myself. These are cute cozy mystery reads!

I have to disagree with most of the reviews written below. I believe this book was great. I'm also a big Diana Palmer fan and ive read my share of her stories. I think this one was sweet and both characters were strong, unlike other stories where the woman is incredibly fragile and weak.

Meredith lives a life who could break anyone if they werent strong enough, yet she is able to hold herself up without help. She even hides her real education as a nurse and accepts to live out in a tiny city. This time, the reader wasnt always being reminded of how innocent she was, how fragile, etc. This time she actually had a strong personality.

Rey is just like the other men in Palmer's stories...hes stubborn, "sexy", has his mind set on thinking the female is a "tramp", and does not want to get married. There wasnt really a change in the male character, so no big thing there. But, a good character overall.

Overall i think this story is great for so many reasons. If you want a different story, with strong characters, this one is the one.

I think the only thing that i agree on with the previous reviews is that you dont do CPR on someone who is alive....but you kind of overlook that since its not a medical text. However, correct information would have been nice.

Top notch book by Diana Palmer. I always enjoy her books and this one was long awaited. You can't go wrong with one of her titles.

Diana, Please learn basic CPR. It is not done on individuals with a pulse and who are breathing.
This is just one of the flaws with this book. The caracters are standard for Diana's, the men tend to be hard, and the women are fragile. But in this book, she goes from fragile to spunky without reason. Perhaps part of Meredith's caracter change was left out of the book to keep it smaller for the Silhouette printing.

I have to agree with the other reviewers. I did like the first few pages with their introduction of D.P.'s typical characters, like the hero who misjudges and hurts the already wounded heroine, and then has to do some serious grovelling before the happy ending. It sort of was there, and it wasn't. I had the impression Ms. Palmer got bored herself after the first chapters and just hurriedly threw together a few clichés - minor misunderstandings, dream wedding, passionate wedding night, all in too much of a rush - in order to finish off the book. The main characters appeared rather more shallow towards the end, not fulfilling the promise shown in the beginning.
This is now about the third or fourth new Palmer novel I have read which left me rather unsatisfied. Couldn't publishers be persuaded to give us some of her older (and better) ones instead?

I like to start off by saying I am a big "Diana Palmer"fan too.But during this book it seemed like she wasnt putting her all into it.I would have expected a much better ending than the one she gave.I agree with the others,it did seem like she just wanted to hurry up and finish it.

I really enjoyed this book. When you read it, you feel like you're sitting in a cozy family room talking to the author who happens to be a really nice guy (and my uncle).

I was very excited to be browsing the shelves of a SC Barnes and Nobles and find this book. However, two pages into the book I started to become very dissapointed with where the author was going with the story. After living for ten years of my life on a"mill hill" of South Carolina, I felt this book was not true to the environment and true sense of the area. It's focus was too much on painting a dreamy, all American picture instead of giving it's readers a realistic view and leaving them with a real sense of having been there themselves.

If you title your book "Linthead"--a truly ugly term--you suggest that you will have something to say about the stereotypes that thousands of textile workers have had to endure over the decades. But Browning's life seems to have been nothing but ball games and front porches, a sunny slice of Americana that could have happened anywhere (especially on tv--this is smalltown America as black and white tv imagined it). Browining just doesn't seem to get it: for people who were not talented ballplayers or who otherwise lacked the skills he was fortunate to have, life on a mill hill was not edenic.