Collins Books

I can't say enough about this book. It doesn't matter if you are experianced or have never touched a pastel before, everyone can gain something from this wonderful book. Not only does she lay out the different materials and papers, she touches on just about everything such as color theory, perspective and composition. This is so much more than just a book on pastels. Beyond all the useful info, the pictures are just so inspiring and beautiful to look at. If you only buy one pastel book, let it be this one.

A practical and comprehensive instruction pastel workbook. Nicely laid out and easy on the eye too. The author has in mind the beginner who also needs encouragement to paint as well as adding ideas about creativity to the work not just frontal art instruction and just techniques. Definately a new generation of instruction where development of ideas, creativity, inspiration, confidence building, self assesment, demonstrations are all integrated. I also enjoyed looking at the examples used to instruct pastel painting and these were very varied giving a wide idea about what can be done with pastels. I really recomend this book for the beginner pastel artist as well as an art instructor who wants to develop an art workshop and needs some ideas. Jason Alster- author-
Creative Painting For The Young Artist

This is an excellent book to learn pastels with. The author begins by explaining that the purpose of her book is to "encourage you to learn by doing, just as you would in a practical painting workshop." It is filled with exercises and projects. Most of the chapters contain one main project along with several exercises.

The book begins with the usual materials and set-up chapter and then goes on to teaching techniques-ex: blending, stippling, gradations,layering, broken color, pastel over gouche, pastel over watercolor, pastel w/ charcoal, then gives a project to practice using the pastels followed by a self-assessment.

I will briefly describe some of the chapters and what they cover:
Understanding tone with simple exercises (lots of pictures too) on drawing fruits followed by a step-by-step demonstration on Fruit Tonal Study and another demo on Learning to See and Draw Tone.

Use of Colour--very well explained--everything from definitions to how complementary colors are used, to temperatures, colour harmony, colour retlationships, psychology of color. The demonstration that follows is quite thought-provoking, involving creating a collage out of black and white paper arrangements, and then making three color interpretations from it using: harmonious color, a primary color and it's complementary, an arrangement of warm and cool colors.

Space and Perspective: Teaching different types of perspective and how to measure, perspective construction, followed by a project of evaluating different perspectives (excellent exercises not covered in most art instruction books I have seen--this book will definitely make you a better artist.

Compostition. This chapter covers the elements of designing a strong painting (well taught), followed by project of exploring composition by analyzing other art for the elements discussed.

Sketching.
Choosing A Subject.
Still Life. Composing a still life, lighting, drawing, relating objects, negative shapes, massing forms and mastering edges, painting pattern, followed by a project on Still Life of Bread and Rolls and then a self-assessment. Flowers in Still life, with a good simplification of understanding structure of flowers and perspective and proportion when drawing flowers. The step-by-step demonstration on painting Hydrangeas, Apples and Grapes becomes more exciting--building on skills learned from previous chapters and explaining how the author adds vertical and horizontal lines to "help the structure and placement". There is another still life flower project, but not step-by-step, in which the author leaves the artist to decide the exact subject matter and arrangement as a teaching tool.

Gardens. How to simplify what you see, where to begin, followed by a step-by-step demo of a Summertime Garden, along with a lesson on color harmony, foliage and such issues as color hue and temperature and rhythms created by plants, characteristic shapes, etc. A guided project of painting a garden, with concentration on two aspects of painting a garden scene: 1. planning, making thumbnail sketches, with a checklist of such things as making sure you have a focal point, direction of light, etc.., 2. simplifying the scene, followed by self-assessment.

Landscapes. The author has a unique way of teaching the student how to determine what the emphasis of the landscape painting will be, without just diving in without thought, explaining about "a sense of place", cloud and sky perspective, time of day, colour, etc., followed by a stepped demo on "Light, Clouds and Rain". There are several other lessons concerning creating a sense of place, including people, seascapes, etc.

I found this book to be one of the best pastel lesson books I have seen. This book is useful not only to learn pastels, but also for building basic art skills and learning to see with an artists eye. I highly recommend this book.

Anyone taking college French will improve their grades by using this book. It's that good and helpful.

This dictionary is a must have for the serious French student. As a French major it was indispensable, containing idioms and indicating slang where other dictionaries fall short. Like the previous reviewer, I found it dependable in a French-only program, mine at Universite Laval in Quebec. It was originally recommended to me by a French professor.

I realize that this dictionary is expensive, but it's probably the best assest you can have for your french efforts. Each word is analyzed in context of certain sentences, so if you've seen a word used a certain way, it's very, very easy to find a translation. I used this dictionary the entire way through a 7-week no-english-allowed study in France, and I never had a single false quotation.

I think that another asset is the dictionary's liberal eye towards slang, rated in terms of familiarity/vulgarity, which is entirely unavoidable when you're using the language in a French-speaking country. There is also a center section full of extremely useful phrases rated once more in terms of formality. This version has more than 550,000 translations; I think you get what you pay for in the price.

The only knocks I could give this is that there is no distinction between Quebecois and native French; certain examples: "gosses" is only given as an informal way to say "kids," however, the word's usage in Quebec means "testicles." The dictionary does succeed, however, in differentiating between British English and American English.

Publisher Comments:
It's now the best buy in paperback on a crowded shelf! HarperCollins Concise Dictionaries carry on the tradition of our strong-selling bilinguals, which have earned a reputation as the easiest to use, most consistently updated, and most reliable authorities on slang, technological, political, and business terms. Easy to carry and painlessly priced, they're perfect for college or advanced high school language students.
-- A comprehensive dictionary and grammar reference in one.
-- The keyword feature gives students extra help in translating the most essential vocabulary words.
-- Special entries throughout the text illuminate aspects of a given country's life and culture.

Arguably the best, most modern and complete Russian dictionary available. It's pretty thick, so fitting it in a brief case or backpack might take some effort.

There is one potential problem: In the Russian section, the individual letter sub-sections has a header in big ITALICIZED upper- and lower-case letters that look nothing like their non-italicized equivalents. Take, for example, the Russian letter T. A lower-case T does not look like our "t," but rather like the original "T," only smaller. But the ITALICIZED lower-case T doesn't look like "T," but rather like "m." I hope I'm not confusing you; it's just something to look out for.

If you have a chance to browse through a dictionary before buying it, please do so. Make sure it contains all the vocabulary you'll need, and that the word entries are presented as concisely and attractively as you wish. That said, I feel this Russian dictionary lives up to those requirements.

My wife is Russian. I had searched for a good dictionary and was appalled by the translation of a few test words. The deciding factor in getting this one was the word "funny". Oxford and the others had it as "to make fun of". This dictionary had that and the funny that means "what makes you laugh". When ever we need to find what an English word means in Russian, or my wife does not know what the English word is for her Russian word, we go to this book. A great buy.

This is an excellent book written with a child's perspective. As adults, we sometimes lose that. It's my child's favorite book. It was easy for him to understand, and helps him to know he's not alone in the world.

I run HIV/AIDS Education workshops for my Girl Scout Council. This book is part of the Daisy (Kindergarten) program. The girls love the story and the illustrations. The Leaders are impressed with the sensitivity in dealing with the subject of HIV and the very young.

A child and his parents learn to deal with the discrimination faced by the boy's new friend and classmate who has AIDS. The story is well-written; the illustrations are colourful and appealing. A good read!

Well, what can I say. This book is a wonderful childrens story. I first picked it up because of the fantastic cover. I opened it and found many more wonderful drawings inside. Patricia Satchfield Collins is one of the best illustrators I have seen in a long time. I highly recomend this book.

My children and I very much enjoyed this book of big desserts. This delightful story of a President who requires larger and larger desserts each night really captured my children's imaginations. We read it three or four times just the first day. My seven year old was excited to read it herself to the rest of us. It continues to be a popular request at bedtime with all my children ages 3,5 & 7.

My kids love reading this book about giant desserts! They ask for it all the time. It's rare to see a book with such imagination these days.

Sean Beecher's Cork 365: A Day-By-Day Miscellany Of Cork History is also a recommended pick for Irish fans: it's a personal selection of history, humorous events, and cultural insights set in diary form from January to December with a historical insight per page. The organization lends to leisure browsing and casual enjoyment, and fun.

Sean Beecher's Cork 365: A Day-By-Day Miscellany Of Cork History is also a recommended pick for Irish fans: it's a personal selection of history, humorous events, and cultural insights set in diary form from January to December with a historical insight per page. The organization lends to leisure browsing and casual enjoyment, and fun.

Sean Beecher's Cork 365: A Day-By-Day Miscellany Of Cork History is also a recommended pick for Irish fans: it's a personal selection of history, humorous events, and cultural insights set in diary form from January to December with a historical insight per page. The organization lends to leisure browsing and casual enjoyment, and fun.

Lisa Marie Rice is one of the best authors in the field of suspenseful erotic romance. If only she was better known I have no doubt we would find her books on best seller lists every where.

That said this story takes place on Christmas Eve. A woman who is beautiful inside and out has a room to rent in her large rambling but falling apart home. The heat doesn't work most of the time and the power can go off at the drop of a hat. She needs to rent it badly to pay her debts on time and not lose the house. She incurred the debts paying for her younger brother's medical care after he survived the accident that killed her parents but left him with severe medical problems. He past away last year and she is now all alone.

She is sitting in her book store thinking about her problems when through the door in the middle of a snow storm comes a very mysterious but good looking man who wants to rent her room. She doesn't know it but she knew him years ago as a homeless boy with a different name that she was kind to. She rents him the room and sparks fly.

The homeless boy is now a very wealthy man who has never forgotten her, his first and only love. An evil man is looking for him and has figured out where he is.

Will she trust her heart and take a leap of faith with him or will she listen to those who tell her he is a murderer and a thief?

This book is definitely worth buying and if you have not previously read her other books I strongly recommend that you do, starting with "Midnight Man."

This was my second Lisa Marie Rice book and I loved it. Jack is one of those male characters that makes your heart flutter. Caroline is an insecure woman who needs love but is fearful at times of opening herself up to a relationship with a man. The two come together and what a romantic love story. Jack never gives up trying to win Caroline, he has loved her for years.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good romance read.

Seeing his Caroline, the love of his life, kissing another man through a frosty window so long ago made Jack Prescott what he is today; a highly trained, secret ops soldier who can kill with his fingers. Tired of the grueling and dangerous aspects of his occupation, Jack plans to begin a new chapter in his life; a new life in which he hopes to make Caroline a part. Now, Jack has returned to the town where Caroline used to live with the hope of discovering information on her whereabouts. Jack is taken aback to find that she still resides there. Expecting Caroline to be married, Jack is again surprised to learn she has remained single. Now all he has to do is get close enough to her. And he will. He has a plan. A plan that he has spent the last twelve years thinking about since that fateful night in the freezing snow when his world was shattered like breaking glass.

Caroline Lake 's life has changed dramatically in the last twelve years. With the death of her parents, she became solely in charge of her younger brother who was horribly hurt in the same accident which claimed her parent's lives. While Caroline grew up privileged, the money only lasted for so long, and with her brother's medical bills piling up, Caroline found herself slipping into genteel poverty. Now, since the death of her brother and her declining finances, Caroline doesn't know what she is going to do.

At her bookstore late Christmas Eve, Caroline is almost ready to throw in the towel; that is, until a large, dangerous-looking man comes in looking for a place to stay. While Caroline knows she should be cautious of Jack Prescott, she can't help but trust him. He is everything she has ever envisioned in a man, and for once she is going to follow her intuition. Unable and unwilling to be alone on Christmas Eve, Caroline voices what is in her heart. When Jack takes her up on her enticing offer, Caroline has a feeling that this DANGEROUS LOVER is exactly what she needs.

With danger now behind him, Jack is ready to claim the woman he has loved for so long. Or so he thought. Danger, it seems, has found him once again.

I have been a fan of Lisa Marie Rice's work since her Ellora's Cave publications. Having read everything she has written I knew I was in for a great book. What I got was an outstanding read with sinfully delicious and realistic characters, an intriguing plot, and sensuality that was hot enough to singe my fingers as I turned the pages. Jack Prescott had watched and loved Caroline for so very long and he was the epitome of a protector and a man in love. Because of what was in his possession, Jack knew that he would need to protect Caroline at the first sign of trouble. I quickly became enthralled at the way the characters interacted and how perfect they were for each other. Danger came in the form of a previous nemesis, and while I knew he would have to somehow find Jack and Caroline, it made the suspense no less valid for me. Immersed in this tale, I read DANGEROUS LOVER cover to cover.

Fans of Lisa Marie Rice will adore this sensual and emotional tale. Her writing style, her captivating love scenes, and the suspense that I have come to crave in a Lisa Marie Rice novel is all here within the pages of DANGEROUS LOVER. I highly recommend running, not walking, to the nearest bookstore as soon as this book is released. You will be glad you did.

***Natasha Smith for Romance Junkies***

This book settles once and for all that there is much variation in the golf swing. The format makes reading and studying this book a lot of fun.

This is a must have text. This book contains essential photos of great players of this game. Used regularly while assesing your swing will provide you with great insight to your own game. David prsents many useful lessons which he demonstrates clearly. Enjoy.

This book presents the swings of several "great ones", as analyzed by David Leadbetter. Knowing that each individual has a unique swing, Leadbetter points out one or two key points about a particular champion's swing that he believes should be emulated. The format is very readible, with a short synopsis of a player's career and style, followed by two frame-by-frame series (from behind, as well as from the front of the golfer), and then concluded by the key features, as well as drills on how to incorporate this in your game. Since different approaches work for different people, I'm sure everyone will be able to benefit from at least some of the key points that Leadbetter addresses from each champion's swing.

This is a collection of some photography, over the course of a single day, (May 17, 1991) by some of the greatest photographers of the 80's and 90's. It's truly an honest look into the life of the Irish, which I found very interesting. Most of the pictures are beautiful, and convey real human emotion. A great read, if it were only still in print!

Hundreds of Stunning, full color photographs depicting life in Ireland taken by a team of over 75 professional photographers in one 24-hour period, May 17, 1991.

Scenes include portraits, landscapes, home life, joy, pain, rustic villages, military and a myriad of other themes.

This wonderful book will appeal to anyone interested in folklore, photography or Ireland.

Truly a remarkable record of an entire nation in a time capsule.

Disappointingly, this book is out of print. I was, however, able to find it on other web site (DJ included) so there are still a few about - including on Amazon sometimes. I first saw this book at a friend's house and had been searching for a copy for my own house ever since.

As all the 'Day In the Life' series, 75 or so photographers are let loose on a country (in this case, Ireland) for an entire day (May 17, 1991 for this book). Their resulting 800+ photographs depict the country and people, perhaps in ways you never thought of. Having been to Ireland myself a few times I found this book wonderfully refreshing without the contrived look often equated in the American mind of Ireland. You will find all sorts of photos from individuals at work and play, families, landscapes (how could you leave that out?), villages, sports, etc. Almost everything you could think of and a few that you would not.

It would behoove the publishers of this series to return to Ireland to compare the changes wrought in the last decade for the Irish people. I'm sure even they themselves would be amazed!

The title really says it all - delivered really quickly and in great condition.

This is a great book. I reccomend it to anyone who is interested in the history of the leather industry, or who is interested in getting into leather crafts. It is very informative and gives you an idea on what kinds of tools are used in leather work and how they are used. It makes a great reference source. It givr you an idea on what kinds of tools you'll need for the differnt kinds of leather trades.

Look at all the nifty tools!

We just received our copy yesterday, and I expect my husband and I will be competing for it until one of manages to get through it from cover to cover. As the title implies, the author covers almost any tool you could think of used for leather working in the last 2.5 centuries, including things like workbences and stools. :) The book is arranged by trade - bookbinding, boot and shoe making, skinningk, tanning, finishing, etc, with the tools alphabetical by general type within each trade. Some of the descriptions are very brief, and the author spends more time in explanations of how more obscure tools are/were used than for common ones - which makes sense. Definitely enjoyable for the confirmed tool junkie.