Carrie's bookshelf: how-to en-US Mon, 21 Apr 2025 02:25:22 -0700 60 Carrie's bookshelf: how-to 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation]]> 25111028
In today’s increasingly dangerous world, threats to your personal safety are everywhere. From acts of terror to mass shootings, and from the unseen (and sometimes virtual) matrix of everyday crime, danger is no longer confined to dark alleys or unstable regions. Potentially life-threatening circumstances can arise anywhere, anytime, and Clint Emerson—former Navy SEAL—wants you to be prepared.

100 Deadly Skills contains proven self-defense skills, evasion tactics, and immobilizing maneuvers—modified from the world of black ops—to help you take action in numerous “worst case� scenarios from escaping a locked trunk, to making an improvised Taser, to tricking facial recognition software. With easy-to-understand instructions and illustrations, Emerson outlines in detail many life-saving strategies and teaches you how to think and act like a member of the special forces.

This complete course in survival teaches you how to prevent tracking, evade a kidnapping, elude an active shooter, rappel down the side of a building, immobilize a bad guy, protect yourself against cyber-criminals, and much more—all using low-tech to “no-tech� methods. Clear, detailed, and presented in an easy-to-understand and execute format, 100 Deadly Skills is an invaluable resource. Because let’s face it, when danger is imminent, you don’t have time for complicated instructions.]]> 272 Clint Emerson 147679605X Carrie 0 3.80 2015 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation
author: Clint Emerson
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle, owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure]]> 36556202
First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths are incompatible with basic psychological principles, as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. They interfere with healthy development. Anyone who embraces these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—is less likely to become an autonomous adult able to navigate the bumpy road of life.

Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to produce these untruths. They situate the conflicts on campus in the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization, including a rise in hate crimes and off-campus provocation. They explore changes in childhood including the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade.

This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.]]> 352 Jonathan Haidt 0735224900 Carrie 0 4.23 2018 The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be]]> 55655032 Wall Street Journal bestseller

"A welcome revelation." --The Financial Times

Award-winning Wharton Professor and Choiceology podcast host Katy Milkman has devoted her career to the study of behavior change. In this ground-breaking book, Milkman reveals a proven path that can take you from where you are to where you want to be, with a foreword from psychologist Angela Duckworth, the best-selling author of Grit.

Change comes most readily when you understand what's standing between you and success and tailor your solution to that roadblock. If you want to work out more but find exercise difficult and boring, downloading a goal-setting app probably won't help. But what if, instead, you transformed your workouts so they became a source of pleasure instead of a chore? Turning an uphill battle into a downhill one is the key to success.

Drawing on Milkman's original research and the work of her world-renowned scientific collaborators, How to Change shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change, such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness. Through case studies and engaging stories, you'll learn:

- Why timing can be everything when it comes to making a change
- How to turn temptation and inertia into assets
- That giving advice, even if it's about something you're struggling with, can help you achieve more

Whether you're a manager, coach, or teacher aiming to help others change for the better or are struggling to kick-start change yourself, How to Change offers an invaluable, science-based blueprint for achieving your goals, once and for all.]]> 272 Katy Milkman 059308375X Carrie 0 3.82 2021 How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
author: Katy Milkman
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Emily Post's Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home]]> 35033892 The original guide to good manners explains why “nothing is less important than which fork you use.�Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor. A popular phenomenon when it was first published in 1922, Emily Post’s Etiquette quickly established her as the undisputed authority on considerate behavior. Her books, syndicated column, and radio program soon made the phrase “according to Emily Post� part of the American lexicon. Though updated editions have appeared over the years, the original text is both a fascinating window into American high society at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties and a timeless testament to the value of social grace. Covering a broad range of topics, Etiquette includes chapters on “Tea and Other Afternoon Parties,� “Balls and Dances,� “Etiquette in Business and Politics,� and “Travelling at Home and Abroad.� This edition also includes an introduction by editor Richard Duffy as well as photographic illustrations throughout. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.]]> 682 Emily Post Carrie 0 3.37 1922 Emily Post's Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home
author: Emily Post
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.37
book published: 1922
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Win Friends & Influence People]]> 4865
Since its release in 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People has sold more than 30 million copies. Dale Carnegie's first book is a timeless bestseller, packed with rock-solid advice that has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.

As relevant as ever before, Dale Carnegie's principles endure, and will help you achieve your maximum potential in the complex and competitive modern age.

Learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.]]> 288 Dale Carnegie Carrie 0 4.22 1936 How to Win Friends & Influence People
author: Dale Carnegie
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1936
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer]]> 50209348
We are capable of so much more than we know—that’s the message at the core of The Art of Impossible. Building upon cutting-edge neuroscience and over twenty years of research, author Steven Kotler lays out a blueprint for extreme performance improvement and offers a playbook to make it happen.]]> 336 Steven Kotler 0062977520 Carrie 0 4.18 2021 The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer
author: Steven Kotler
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> The 33 Strategies of War 35289
Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power , The Art of Seduction , and Mastery espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field. In The 33 Strategies of War , Greene has crafted an important addition to this ruthless and unique series.

Spanning world civilizations, synthesizing dozens of political, philosophical, and religious texts and thousands of years of violent conflict, The 33 Strategies of War is a comprehensive guide to the subtle social game of everyday life informed by the most ingenious and effective military principles in war. Structured in Greene’s trademark style, The 33 Strategies of War is the I-Ching of conflict, the contemporary companion to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War .

Abundantly illustrated with examples from history, including the folly and genius of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher, Shaka the Zulu to Lord Nelson, Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as movie moguls, Samurai swordsmen, and diplomats, each of the thirty-three chapters outlines a strategy that will help you win life’s wars. Learn the offensive strategies that require you to maintain the initiative and negotiate from a position of strength, or the defensive strategies designed to help you respond to dangerous situations and avoid unwinnable wars. The great warriors of battlefields and drawing rooms alike demonstrate prudence, agility, balance, and calm, and a keen understanding that the rational, resourceful, and intuitive always defeat the panicked, the uncreative, and the stupid. An indispensable book, The 33 Strategies of War provides all the psychological ammunition you need to overcome patterns of failure and forever gain the upper hand.]]> 496 Robert Greene 0670034576 Carrie 0 4.22 2001 The 33 Strategies of War
author: Robert Greene
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> How to Be Eaten 58950713 This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma.

In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promisedfairy tale ending. And Raina's love story will shock them all.

Though the women start out wary of one another, judging each other’s stories, gradually they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they supposed . . . What really brought them here? What secrets will they reveal? And is it too late for them to rescue each other?

Dark, edgy, and wickedly funny, this debut for readers of Carmen Maria Machado, Kristen Arnett, and Kelly Link takes our coziest, most beloved childhood stories, exposes them as anti-feminist nightmares, and transforms them into a new kind of myth for grown-up women.]]> 291 Maria Adelmann 0316450847 Carrie 0 3.54 2022 How to Be Eaten
author: Maria Adelmann
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, fairy-tales, how-to, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results]]> 40796147 The Godmother of Silicon Valley, legendary teacher, and mother of a Super Family shares her tried-and-tested methods for raising happy, healthy, successful children using Trust, Respect, Independence, Curiosity, and Kindness: TRICK.

Esther Wojcicki—“Woj� to her many friends and admirers—is famous for three things: teaching a high school class that has changed the livesof thousands of kids, inspiring Silicon Valley legends like Steve Jobs, and raising three daughters who have each become famously successful. What do these three accomplishments have in common? They’re the result of TRICK, Woj’s secret to raising successful people: Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness.Simple lessons, but the results are radical.

Wojcicki’s methods are the opposite of helicopter parenting. As we face an epidemic of parental anxiety, Woj is here to say: relax. Talk to infants as if they are adults. Allow teenagers to pick projects that relate to the real world and their own passions, and let them figure out how to complete them.Above all, let your child lead.How to Raise Successful Peopleoffers essential lessonsfor raising, educating, and managing people to their highest potential. Change your parenting, change the world.]]> 336 Esther Wojcicki 1328974863 Carrie 0 3.87 2019 How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results
author: Esther Wojcicki
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, juvie, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet]]> 145624737
It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won’t be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, and that we should reconsider having children.

But in this bold, radically hopeful book, data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. In fact, the data shows we’ve made so much progress on these problems that we could be on track to achieve true sustainability for the first time in human history.

Packed with the latest research, practical guidance and enlightening graphics, this book will make you rethink almost everything you’ve been told about the environment. From the virtues of eating locally and living in the countryside, to the evils of overpopulation, to plastic straws and palm oil , Not the End of the World will give you the tools to understand our current crisis and make lifestyle changes that actually have an impact. Hannah cuts through the noise by outlining what works, what doesn’t, and what we urgently need to focus on so we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations.

These problems are big. But they are solvable. We are not doomed. We can build a better future for everyone. Let’s turn that opportunity into reality.

ձ> 352 Hannah Ritchie 031653675X Carrie 0 4.20 2024 Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet
author: Hannah Ritchie
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, public-library, science
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play]]> 95708
Featuring a new introduction and a new section providing strategies to understand and deal with the role technology plays in procrastination today, THE NOW HABIT offers a comprehensive plan to help readers lower their stress and increase their time to enjoy guilt-free play. Dr. Fiore’s techniques will help any busy person start tasks sooner and accomplish them more quickly, without the anxiety brought on by the negative habits of procrastination and perfectionism.]]> 206 Neil A. Fiore 1585425524 Carrie 0 3.87 1988 The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play
author: Neil A. Fiore
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, public-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments (The Happiness Institute Series)]]> 43245559 What’s the actual secret to happiness? Great memories! Meik Wiking—happiness researcher and New York Times bestselling author of The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke—shows us how to create memories that make life sweet in this charming book.

Do you remember your first kiss? The day you graduated? Your favorite vacation? Or the best meal you ever had?

Memories are the cornerstones of our identity, shaping who we are, how we act, and how we feel. In his work as a happiness researcher, Meik Wiking has learned that people are happier if they hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past. But how do we make and keep the memories that bring us lasting joy?

The Art of Making Memories examines how mental images are made, stored, and recalled in our brains, as well as the “art of letting go”—why we tend to forget certain moments to make room for deeper, more meaningful ones. Meik uses data, interviews, global surveys, and real-life experiments to explain the nuances of nostalgia and the different ways we form memories around our experiences and recall them—revealing the power that a “first time� has on our recollections, and why a piece of music, a smell, or a taste can unexpectedly conjure a moment from the past. Ultimately, Meik shows how we each can create warm memories that will stay with us for years.

Combining his signature charm with Scandinavian forthrightness, filled with infographics, illustrations, and photographs, and featuring “Happy Memory Tips,� The Art of Making Memories is an inspiration meditation and practical handbook filled with ideas to help us make the memories that will bring us joy throughout our lives.]]> 285 Meik Wiking 0062943391 Carrie 0 3.87 2019 The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments (The Happiness Institute Series)
author: Meik Wiking
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable]]> 53917996 Are you ready to leave your comfort zone?


Ben Aldridge is an adventurer who believes that doing challenging things makes us feel better, stronger and more alive. By routinely throwing himself into unusual situations, he has overcome his own severe anxiety and created a unique method for building mental toughness through exciting experiences. This book, containing 43 of Ben’s tried-and-tested challenges, will launch you out of your comfort zone in fun and practical ways.

* Cultivate a stronger, healthier, more resilient mindset by practising adversity in a controlled manner

* Intuitively create coping strategies for the future through adventure

* Feel calmer, happier and more at peace knowing that you are capable of facing the unexpected every day

The challenges range from long-term achievements to impressive party tricks to downright strange experiments. Are you ready to climb a mountain, learn a language, dress outrageously, induce vertigo, talk to strangers, solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute, take icy showers, run a race, and more?

Join Ben in his journey, challenge yourself, and change your life.

“A really great and novel way to encourage people to push themselves beyond their comfort zone and engender self- reliance� � Levison Wood]]> 247 Ben Aldridge 1786783797 Carrie 0 3.42 How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
author: Ben Aldridge
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.42
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/20
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Taking Charge: Caring Discipline That Works at Home and at School]]> 19220552 352 JoAnne Nordling 0578097486 Carrie 5 3.88 1992 Taking Charge: Caring Discipline That Works at Home and at School
author: JoAnne Nordling
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/17
date added: 2023/07/17
shelves: human-behavior, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Homecraft Book: The 1940's domestic guide]]> 27777850
Press for The Homecraft Book

The
“a handbook for saving the planet�
“you’ll have the price of the book paid back in no time�
“a right good read�

Woman’s Way
“Vintage advice�

The Irish Times Online Book Reviews
“Think life was easier in 1945? � discover a world of congested scalps, swollen knuckles and furred kettles�

Today with Sean O’Rourke, RTE Radio 1
“Fascinating and Fun�
“I love this woman’s approach�
“I was really impressed…the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.�
“Some of the ideas really did work.�
“She holds her own�
“simple but ingenious�
“entertaining and great fun to try them out”]]> 153 Ann Hathaway Carrie 2 diy-life, how-to 4.00 The Homecraft Book: The 1940's domestic guide
author: Ann Hathaway
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2022/12/28
date added: 2022/12/28
shelves: diy-life, how-to
review:
I got halfway through, but this isn’t really that helpful of a home maintenance manual. Many of the items mentioned are no longer in regular use. I have no idea where I would get my hands on bluing, for example. Also not helpful: this is written like a collection of ideas that haven’t been checked for truthfulness or even authoritatively rewritten cohesively. A newspaper write-in column was just mined for material. You’ll find different answers to the same question scattered through the book. The introduction is hilarious, but the grandson who rereleased his grandma’s book doesn’t seem to have done anything new except make fun of the dangerous chemicals people cleaned with in the 40s in the introduction.
]]> <![CDATA[Women & Money (Revised and Updated)]]> 39603707 Achieve financial peace of mind with the million-copy #1 New York Times bestseller, now revised and updated, featuring an entirely new Financial Empowerment Plan and a bonus chapter on investing. The time has never been more right for women to take control of their finances. The lessons, revelations, and shocks of the past few years have made it clear that standing in our truth is the only way to care for ourselves, our families, and our finances. With her signature mix of insight, compassion, and practical advice, Suze equips women with the financial knowledge and emotional awareness to overcome the blocks that have kept them from acting in the best interest of their money—and themselves. Whether you are single or in a committed relationship, a successful professional, a worker struggling to make ends meet, a stay-at-home parent, or a creative soul, Suze offers the possibility of living a life of true wealth, a life in which you own the power to control your destiny. At the center of this fully revised and updated edition, Suze presents an all-new Financial Empowerment Plan, designed to get you to a place of emotional and financial security as quickly as possible—because the most precious commodity women have is time. Divided into four essential components, the plan will teach you how to � Protect yourself � Spend smart � Build your future � Give to others Also included is a bonus chapter on investing—for those who are living by Suze’s unbreakable financial ground rules and ready to learn how to invest with confidence. Women & Money speaks to every mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, and wife. It gives readers the opportunity to tap into Suze’s unique spirit, people-first wisdom, and unparalleled appreciation that for women, money itself is not the end goal. It’s the means to living a full and meaningful life.]]> 202 Suze Orman 0812987624 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.23 2005 Women & Money (Revised and Updated)
author: Suze Orman
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/14
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Backyard Gardener: Simple, Easy, and Beautiful Gardening with Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers]]> 34835170 257 Kelly Orzel Carrie 0 4.32 The Backyard Gardener: Simple, Easy, and Beautiful Gardening with Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers
author: Kelly Orzel
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2022/08/06
date added: 2022/08/06
shelves: how-to, kindle, back-burner-partially-through
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Primitive Skills and Crafts: An Outdoorsman's Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More]]> 19062535 398 Richard Jamison 1628730595 Carrie 0 3.59 1985 Primitive Skills and Crafts: An Outdoorsman's Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More
author: Richard Jamison
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/10
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: Comp Back-to-Basics Guide US Amz 20]]> 53498650 408 John Seymour 0744030609 Carrie 0 3.94 1973 The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: Comp Back-to-Basics Guide US Amz 20
author: John Seymour
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/11
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mini Habits for Weight Loss: Stop Dieting. Form New Habits. Change Your Lifestyle Without Suffering. (Mini Habits, #2)]]> 33098255
Say goodbye to calorie counting, restrictive food bans, or other forced behaviors. In Mini Habits for Weight Loss, you will learn how to lose weight naturally, in the precise way your body and brain are meant to change.

We’ve blamed ourselves for lack of discipline. That didn’t help.
We’ve blamed calories, carbs, and fat. That didn’t help.
We’ve blamed our diet formulas. That didn’t help.

It’s time we looked at the practice of dieting.

Nearly all diets are ineffective because they’re based on dieting. Every person has a diet (noun), but it’s only if you are trying to lose weight that you diet (verb). Dieting is eating and drinking sparingly or selectively to reduce your weight.

It doesn’t work. If you’ve tried dieting, you know that.

Even the “perfect diet� with the right foods will fail if it’s approached from the traditional dieting perspective. Since weight loss experts are more concerned with biology than neuroscience, we get brilliant discussions on nutrition followed by the same dumb suggestion to “immediately start eating completely different foods than the ones you’re habitually used to eating, and give up everything else.�

Are You Fighting Your Own Body and Brain?

The brain resists dramatic behavioral shifts. Recognizing this and developing a strategy around it made the original Mini Habits the #1 selling self-help book in a number of countries. In Mini Habits for Weight Loss, you’ll see that we also biologically resist such changes, which explains why most dieters and smoothie-cleanse aficionados lose weight in the short term, only to gain it all back (and more) when the body adjusts.

Mini Habits for Weight Loss will show you how to make dietary changes in a sustainable, permanent way that doesn’t trigger biological or neurological resistance.

It’s a specialized version of the method that made the original book a hit in 14 languages. The mini habits remain easy to implement, but the reasoning and supporting tactics are more sophisticated. This is by necessity, as weight loss factors are many and varied. The strategies in the book are rooted in extensive biological and neuroscience research.

You’ll discover:

Why it’s a terrible idea to forbid junk food.

How some of the most impactful changes you can make don’t involve either diet or exercise.

Why conscious calorie restriction causes long-term weight GAIN, and how this science has been publicly available (and ignored) for more than 30 years.

How the body’s change process mirrors that of the brain, and why that is great news for losing weight.

Creative strategies to mitigate weight gain from eating out, social events, and holiday binge sessions.

Why eating fruit is essential to losing weight (for lots of reasons).

The role of exercise and an active lifestyle in weight loss, with appropriate strategies.

Most importantly, you’ll learn how to change your behavior and lose weight in the long term with mini habits.

Instead of reading yet another dieting book, why not try a proven behavioral change strategy that your brain and body will welcome and respond to?

Lasting change won't happen until you take that first step toward a strategy that works.

Read Mini Habits for Weight Loss, and you’ll never diet again.]]> 240 Stephen Guise 0996435433 Carrie 0 4.01 2016 Mini Habits for Weight Loss: Stop Dieting. Form New Habits. Change Your Lifestyle Without Suffering. (Mini Habits, #2)
author: Stephen Guise
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/05
shelves: how-to, kindle, back-burner-partially-through, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Parents Need to Eat Too: Nap-Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals, and Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents]]> 19319094
From dinners that can be eaten with one hand (while you hold baby in the other) to slow cooker culinary masterpieces and full courses to prepare while baby naps, Parents Need to Eat Too is filled with tasty, easy-to-make recipes, helpful kitchen tips, and real solutions to the problems faced by hungry parents.Parents Need to Eat Too has been named one of the Best Cookbooks of 2012 by Leite’s Culinaria, whose Editor-in-Chief Renee Schettler Rossi called it the “What to Expect After You’re Expecting� and said that the book “savvily and sassily helps you extend the efficiency of any time spent in the kitchen.� A must-read for new parents!]]> 403 Debbie Koenig 0062098810 Carrie 0 4.00 2012 Parents Need to Eat Too: Nap-Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals, and Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents
author: Debbie Koenig
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, how-to, juvie, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Medicinal Plants at Home: More Than 100 Easy, Practical, and Efficient Natural Remedies]]> 27832128 Discover how to grow medicinal plants and create natural remedies right in your own home.Although more and more people use medicinal plants, many are still unaware of those that are usually present in their own homes. For example, did you know that cranberries are effective in treating bladder problems, that olive helps regulate blood pressure, or that hops promote sleep in children?In Medicinal Plants at Home, you will find a selection of plants from which you can create natural remedies for every occasion. Learn how to grow and use these medicinal plants, and discover what they can do to boost your family’s health. More than one hundred types of natural plants are presented in this book, grouped by the conditions that they most effectively treat. You will also remedies to have while travelingThe most useful plants and spices to have in the kitchenThe best plants for respiratory, digestive, tension-related, circulatory, and hepatic concernsWith more than 350 color images, Medicinal Plants at Home is an essential resource for those looking to grow medicinal plants and create their own natural remedies.]]> 242 María Tránsito López Luengo Carrie 0 4.00 2015 Medicinal Plants at Home: More Than 100 Easy, Practical, and Efficient Natural Remedies
author: María Tránsito López Luengo
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[1,001 Old-Time Household Hints: Timeless Bits of Household Wisdom for Today's Home and Garden]]> 25529184 1,001 Old-Time Household Hints comes in. Find the best hints, tips, and secrets for everything from cooking, cleaning, and home maintenance to pet care, gardening, and holiday celebrations. You'll also find ways to adapt and improve some old-time methods. Discover an amazing variety of useful and clever ideas, including how to:

Clean copper pans, using buttermilk and salt
Make real sourdough bread the way the pioneers did
Fight wrinkles and create kissable lips
Use natural ingredients to repair your hair
Create your own unique perfume
Organize common space in your home
Use ivory soap for polishing silver and insect control
Safely separate drinking glasses that have been stuck together
And more!

With 1,001 Old-Time Household Hints on your kitchen table or nightstand, you're always in the good company of an old-timer who's ready to dispense a helpful hint, encouraging word, or sage secret at the turn of a page.

310 color photographs]]> 385 Yankee Magazine 1632207206 Carrie 0 3.81 2006 1,001 Old-Time Household Hints: Timeless Bits of Household Wisdom for Today's Home and Garden
author: Yankee Magazine
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle
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]]> <![CDATA[The Mini Farming Bible: The Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency on ¼ Acre]]> 24173893 847 Brett L. Markham Carrie 0 4.22 2014 The Mini Farming Bible: The Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency on ¼ Acre
author: Brett L. Markham
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> Onward: The Art of Leadership 49563626

Onward: The Art of Leadershipreveals a new vision of leadership and success, tailored for 21st-century leaders and taught through the lens of literature, history, and cinema.

On our adventure we'll master public speaking with Winston Churchill. We'll learn negotiation tactics from Nelson Mandela. Pixar will teach us the power of brand equity. We'll plan our retirement years with Michael Corleone himself, and grow our wealth withWall Street'sGordon Gekko. We'll shine a life-saving light on addiction and discover the key to overcoming life's greatest tragedies alongside Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.

Jurassic Park.Napoleon Bonaparte.The Matrix.TED Talks. Alexander the Great. Elon Musk.Star Wars.These are our teachers. And through them, we will transform our approach to leadership and life.

Onward: The Art of Leadership. Timeless principles.Today's voice.



]]> 239 Mark Joseph Huckabee 1948046989 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.78 Onward: The Art of Leadership
author: Mark Joseph Huckabee
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.78
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
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]]> <![CDATA[How to Stop Losing Your Shit with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent]]> 45285266 Stop the yelling, lose the guilt, and become a calmer, happier parent. Drawing on evidence-based practices, here is an insight-packed and tip-filled plan for how to stop the parental meltdowns. Its compassionate, pragmatic approach will help readers feel less ashamed and more empowered to get their, ahem, act together instead of losing it. “Using a powerful combination of humor and reality checks, Naumburg helps parents unpack their unique stressors (we all have them) and find ways to stay calm even the most frustrating of family moments.� —Katie Hurley, LCSW, author of No More Mean Girls and The Happy Kid Handbook “By the end not only are you laughing out loud, but you’ve gained a sense of self-compassion and a concrete action plan.”—Rebecca Schrag Hershberg, PhD, author of The Tantrum Survival Guide ձ> 225 Carla Naumburg 1523508531 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.17 2019 How to Stop Losing Your Shit with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent
author: Carla Naumburg
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
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]]> <![CDATA[The Gift of Healing Herbs: Plant Medicines and Home Remedies for a Vibrantly Healthy Life]]> 22478374 Discover the many ways you can use plant medicine to boost your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing—with over 180 recipes and step-by-step instructions for herbal teas and other natural remedies. � . . . contains far more than simple directives found in most herb books . . . Spiritual insights are richly interwoven with excellent herbal remedies.� —Rosemary Gladstar, author of Medicinal A Beginner’s Guide With more than 180 easy-to-follow recipes and written by a well-respected urban herbalist, The Gift of Healing Herbs explores herbology as the “people’s medicine”—freely available to all—and as a powerful yet gentle way to heal the body, mind, heart, and soul. You will learn � The true nature of health and the causes of illness •The physical systems of the body and the common and not-so-common herbs for tonifying them •Recipes for teas, brews, and how to incorporate herbs into your daily life •The relationship between our body systems and the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water Filled with personal stories, case histories, prayers, meditations, and more, The Gift of Healing Herbs is equal parts inspiration and instruction drawn from the author’s decades spent teaching and practicing herbal medicine in a spiritual, earth-based, non-dogmatic style. Bennett explores how one’s personal story turns into one’s embodied physicality—ultimately revealing unique paths of healing for each reader.]]> 680 Robin Rose Bennett 1583947760 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.29 2014 The Gift of Healing Herbs: Plant Medicines and Home Remedies for a Vibrantly Healthy Life
author: Robin Rose Bennett
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre]]> 13559131 240 Brett L. Markham Carrie 0 4.03 2006 Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
author: Brett L. Markham
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, diy-life, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art and Science of Dealing with Difficult People]]> 13044446 129 David Brown MCIPD 1628731567 Carrie 0 3.75 2011 The Art and Science of Dealing with Difficult People
author: David Brown MCIPD
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
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]]> <![CDATA[The Concise 24 Laws of Storytelling]]> 55509564
IT'S TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR STORIES

Stories have a unique power to immerse, delight, and educate. So why do some stories work and others fail? The Concise 24 Laws of Storytelling distils the lessons learned from stories past and present into a practical handbook that you can use for any story you decide to write.

This book will teach you the principles you need to immerse your audience, deliver immensely satisfying drama, and educate better than any textbook or lecture can. There's no need for any special tools, expensive writing software, or Hollywood contacts. You only need to learn from the successes and blunders of past stories.

By extracting the timeless writing principles from master storytellers such as Christopher Nolan, Stephen King, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, George Lucas, Alfred Hitchcock, and many more, this unique work will provide a fascinating insight into the laws of storytelling and how to use them to create your own masterpieces.]]> 181 Jonathan Baldie 199930988X Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 0.0 The Concise 24 Laws of Storytelling
author: Jonathan Baldie
name: Carrie
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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]]> Save the Cat! Writes a Novel 39014796
Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story--from the opening image to the finale--this book lays out the Ten Story Genres (Monster in the House; Whydunit; Dude with a Problem) alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate--and a novel that will sell.]]> 370 Jessica Brody 0399579753 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.52 2018 Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
author: Jessica Brody
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Be Healthy With Yin Yoga: The Gentle Way to Free Your Body of Everyday Ailments and Emotional Stresses]]> 43181144 Be Healthy with Yin Yoga, best-selling author Stefanie Arend puts together many Yin yoga sequences to activate the self-healing powers of body and mind. She offers a holistic approach that includes Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine, breathing techniques, meditation, nutrition, fascia therapy exercises, and self-reflective questions to encourage deeper explorations of the roots of readers� ailments. Suited for both beginners and experienced yoga practitioners, and replete with high-quality pictures that make the poses and sequences easy to follow and understand, Be Healthy with Yin Yoga is a wonderful support for anyone who wants to take their health back into their own hands.]]> 453 Stefanie Arend 1631525913 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to 4.44 Be Healthy With Yin Yoga: The Gentle Way to Free Your Body of Everyday Ailments and Emotional Stresses
author: Stefanie Arend
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.44
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Your Life is a Book: How to Craft & Publish Your Memoir]]> 23339598 Learn how to write your memoir—and get published—with the help of two well-known publishing professionalsEveryone has a story to tell. Your Life is a Bookguides budding writers though the transformative process of memoir writing to publication. In addition to exploring the unique elements of crafting a memoir—story arc, point of view, dialogue, where to start (not the beginning!)—Your Life is a Bookalso focuses on the self-exploration, awareness, and understanding that this emotional literary project triggers. With proven writing exercises and prompts, this book is a practical and enlightening guide to perfecting the art of memoir writing.]]> 274 Brenda Peterson Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.87 2014 Your Life is a Book: How to Craft & Publish Your Memoir
author: Brenda Peterson
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Home Economics: Vintage Advice and Practical Science for the 21st-Century Household]]> 22670295
“Housekeeping is becoming more and more a matter of science, and the laurels are bound to fall to the woman who conducts her household in a business-like way.�

Let the thrifty sensibility of yesteryear be your guide as you shop for the most economical foods, choose wall colors scientifically, clean with natural products, look your best without breaking the bank, and budget your way to frugal efficiency. In this amazing collection of clever wisdom and practical advice drawn from vintage home-economics textbooks, you’ll find everything you need to get back to basics and run a healthy and happy household. Home Economics covers all the categories of delightful

•� Health & Hygiene
•� Cookery & Recipes
•� Manners & Etiquette
•� Design & Decoration
•� Cleaning & Safety
•� Gardening & Crafts

Rediscover the art and science of keeping house—economically!]]> 178 Jennifer McKnight-Trontz 1594747504 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.66 2010 Home Economics: Vintage Advice and Practical Science for the 21st-Century Household
author: Jennifer McKnight-Trontz
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Backyard Medicine For All: A Guide to Home-Grown Herbal Remedies]]> 35065926 Backyard Medicine for All will focus largely on medicinal plants that grow by roads or paths in the countryside or in the city. These nearby but often overlooked ecosystems are significant wild plant communities! This new book is packed with practical information on how to use fifty forgotten plants to cure all sorts of common ailments. Each chapter has an introductory section that puts the plant(s) into historical and botanical context, and its forgotten or traditional medicinal uses, as well as featuring current medicinal applications. Make your own herbal medicines to cure complaints from hayfever to headaches to insomnia. Clear, easy instructions and stunning photographs will guide you to leave the armchair and go out to utilize backyard medicine yourself!]]> 504 Julie Bruton-Seal 1510725954 Carrie 0 3.86 Backyard Medicine For All: A Guide to Home-Grown Herbal Remedies
author: Julie Bruton-Seal
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Never Get Angry Again: The Foolproof Way to Stay Calm and in Control in Any Conversation or Situation]]> 37557924 Never Get Angry Again is New York Times and internationally bestselling author David J. Lieberman's comprehensive, holistic look at the underlying emotional, physical, and spiritual causes of anger, and a practical guide to what the reader can do to gain perspective.

David J. Lieberman understands that a change in perspective is all that is needed to help keep from flying off the handle. In Never Get Angry Again, he reveals how to see anger through a comprehensive, holistic lens, illuminates the underlying emotional, spiritual, and physical components of anger, and gives the readers simple, practical tools to snuff out anger before it even occurs.

Take a deep breath and count to ten. Meditate. Visualize your happy place.

You’ve probably heard all of these anger management techniques and more from friends, family, and experts, but somehow they miss the mark when it comes to coping with the complex emotion of anger.

Let’s face if anger-management techniques were effective, you wouldn’t be reading this book. These clumsy attempts to maintain calmness are usually futile and sometimes emotionally draining. The fact is, either something bothers us (causing anxiety, frustration, or anger), or it doesn’t. A state of calm is better accomplished by not becoming agitated in the first place. When we fight the urge to blow up or melt down, we fight against our own nature.]]> 209 David J. Lieberman 1250154405 Carrie 0 3.80 2018 Never Get Angry Again: The Foolproof Way to Stay Calm and in Control in Any Conversation or Situation
author: David J. Lieberman
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Beyond the Grave: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money to Your Children (and Others)]]> 24431803

ensure that your inheritance instructions will be carried out the way you want them to be; protect your children's inheritance from creditors, ex-spouses, addictions, tax troubles, mismanagement, squandering, and other risks of loss; prevent family conflict that can arise when parents die and children divide the "family money"; leave more money to your children and grandchildren, and less to the IRS; avoid creating inheritance problems in your family with "cautionary tales" of inheritance planning gone bad; understand why you still have to deal with estate tax issues even if your net worth falls below the new death-tax-exemption.]]> 531 Jeffrey L. Condon 006238340X Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.16 1995 Beyond the Grave: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money to Your Children (and Others)
author: Jeffrey L. Condon
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Maker Dad: Lunch Box Guitars, Antigravity Jars, and 22 Other Incredibly Cool Father-Daughter DIY Projects]]> 21230742 MAKE magazine, Mark Frauenfelder has spent years combing through DIY books, but he’s never been able to find one with geeky projects he can share with his two daughters. Maker Dad is the first DIY book to use cutting-edge (and affordable) technology in appealing projects for fathers and daughters to do together. These crafts and gadgets are both rewarding to make and delightful to play with. What’s more, Maker Dad teaches girls lifelong skills—like computer programming, musicality, and how to use basic hand tools—as well as how to be creative problem solvers. The book’s twenty-four unique projects include: Drawbot, a lively contraption that draws abstract patterns all by itself Ice Cream Sandwich Necklace Friendstrument, an electronic musical instrument girls can play with friends Longboard Antigravity Jar Silkscreened T-Shirt Retro Arcade Video Game Host a Podcast Lunchbox Guitar Kite Video Camera

Innovative and groundbreaking, Maker Dad will inspire fathers to geek out with their daughters and help girls cultivate an early affinity for math, science, and technology.

]]> 227 Mark Frauenfelder 1477850260 Carrie 0 4.02 2014 Maker Dad: Lunch Box Guitars, Antigravity Jars, and 22 Other Incredibly Cool Father-Daughter DIY Projects
author: Mark Frauenfelder
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/18
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle, diy-life
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Medicinal Gardening Handbook: A Complete Guide to Growing, Harvesting, and Using Healing Herbs]]> 18371453
In these pages, you’ll learn the basics of gardening in your backyard—or on your windowsill or porch—including instructions for preparing soil, composting, and weeding. You’ll then find detailed descriptions of the twelve most common, easy-to-grow, most useful healing herbs, with instructions for growing, harvesting, and utilizing them. These powerful plants

� Garlic, which boosts immunity, reduces blood pressure, and combats cancer
� Echinacea, which reduces inflammation, boosts immunity, and has antiviral properties
� Yarrow, which accelerates the healing of wounds, is an anti-inflammatory, and can relieve PMS symptoms
� Elderflower, which is an astringent and can relieve arthritis and soothe sore throats
� Mint, which soothes digestive problems, sweetens breath, and can reduce fevers
� Elecampane, a respiratory tonic with antibacterial and antifungal properties
� And more!]]> 176 Dede Cummings 162914195X Carrie 3 how-to
What do I mean? First of all, don’t use the word COMPLETE in the title and then provide a small list of herbs and then leave out some important info about those. For example, mint is one of the listed herbs. Great! I love mint. Glad to know about some of its effects. Perhaps they should also warn nursing mothers not to drink mint tea! Also, the book says to harvest young flowers. Then later it says deadheading is harvesting. So do you use the old dead flowers too? One more thing... The authors boast about the powerful working of herbal remedies and then in another part say you can mix and match ingredients. Say what?

Not to completely diss this book. I have enjoyed learning more about herbs and so far I have made one tea out of flowers and leaves growing in my garden. ]]> 3.97 2014 The Medicinal Gardening Handbook: A Complete Guide to Growing, Harvesting, and Using Healing Herbs
author: Dede Cummings
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2019/07/24
date added: 2019/07/24
shelves: how-to
review:
To borrow a phrase from a friend, this is “half knowledge to go.�

What do I mean? First of all, don’t use the word COMPLETE in the title and then provide a small list of herbs and then leave out some important info about those. For example, mint is one of the listed herbs. Great! I love mint. Glad to know about some of its effects. Perhaps they should also warn nursing mothers not to drink mint tea! Also, the book says to harvest young flowers. Then later it says deadheading is harvesting. So do you use the old dead flowers too? One more thing... The authors boast about the powerful working of herbal remedies and then in another part say you can mix and match ingredients. Say what?

Not to completely diss this book. I have enjoyed learning more about herbs and so far I have made one tea out of flowers and leaves growing in my garden.
]]> <![CDATA[Mama's Big Book Little Lifesavers: 398 Ways to Save Your Time, Money, and Sanity]]> 19167876 225 Kerry Colburn 1452105758 Carrie 3 3.83 2011 Mama's Big Book Little Lifesavers: 398 Ways to Save Your Time, Money, and Sanity
author: Kerry Colburn
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: human-behavior, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading: An Encyclopedia of Independent Living (Ultimate Guides)]]> 20216339 “A compendium of skills for self-sufficiency and survival... Answers to just about every practical question you might have about homesteading� (Sierra Club’s The Green Life). Can you make your own bread (without a bread machine)? Grow a garden all winter? What can you use instead of toilet paper? What if the power went out for a month? What if the grocery store closed? Can you make a solar oven? Store food without electricity? Raise a water buffalo? Make fine linen from stinging nettle? Make your own shampoo? Deliver a baby? Is it possible to be totally self-sufficient? This massive, full-color book answers these questions and thousands more and includes checklists, diagrams, and instructions on how to buy a sheep. All of the information included meets these It is something that anyone can do, without special training. It can be done with relatively few supplies or with stuff you can make yourself. It has been tried and tested—either by the author, the military, doctors, or other homesteaders. The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading is a practical guide with nitty-gritty details on everything a homesteader can do, step-by-step with hundreds of color illustrations and pen and ink sketches. You can do it! This book can help.]]> 609 Nicole Faires Carrie 0 to-read, kindle, how-to 3.80 2011 The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading: An Encyclopedia of Independent Living (Ultimate Guides)
author: Nicole Faires
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, kindle, how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Best of Instructables Volume I: Do-It-Yourself Projects from the World's Biggest Show & Tell]]> 4438148
Now, with more than 10,000 articles, the Instructables staff and editors of magazine -- with help from the Instructables community -- have put together a collection of solid, time- and user-tested technology and craft projects from the site. The Best of Instructables Volume 1 includes plenty of clear, full-color photographs, complete step-by-step instructions, as well as tips, tricks, and new build techniques you won't find anywhere else -- even material never seen before on Instructables.

Some of the more popular how-to articles



While the book focuses on technology, it also includes such projects as creating cool furniture from cheap components, ways of making your own toys, and killer sci-fi and fantasy costumes and props. Anything but a reference book, The Best of Instructables Volume I embodies the inspirational fun, creativity, and sense of community that has attracted more than 200,000 registered members in just three years. Many of the articles include sidebars that show how other builders have realized or improved upon the same project.

Making things is cool everyone wants to be a creator, not just a consumer. This is the spirit of the "new handy heyday", fostered by Instructables.com, magazine , and others, and celebrated by this incredible book -- The Best of Instructables Volume 1 .]]> 327 0596519524 Carrie 0 to-read, kindle, how-to 3.99 2008 The Best of Instructables Volume I: Do-It-Yourself Projects from the World's Biggest Show & Tell
author: The editors at MAKE magazine and Instructables. com
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, kindle, how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)]]> 30645561 Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story. It’s every novelist’s greatest pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite.The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think).In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.]]> 283 Lisa Cron Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.34 2016 Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)
author: Lisa Cron
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
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]]> <![CDATA[Minimalist Living: Decluttering for Joy, Health, and Creativity]]> 19540186
This guide to simplifying for health, joy, and creativity teaches:

� Why you should define your own sense of minimalism
� How to create your "Minimalist Mission Statement"
� How to use the techniques of "blazing" and "gazing" to declutter
� Why decluttering now can lead to a happier, healthier, and more creative life
� How to deal with sentimental items without losing their meaning
� The amazing connection between minimalism and living your soul's deepest purpose

And much more...]]> 99 Genevieve Parker Hill Carrie 0 to-read, kindle, how-to 3.42 2013 Minimalist Living: Decluttering for Joy, Health, and Creativity
author: Genevieve Parker Hill
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, kindle, how-to
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]]> <![CDATA[15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy]]> 29441263 Based on a phenomenally popular blog post, a simple and counterintuitive approach to finding true joyWhen Luminita Saviuc, founder the PurposeFairy blog, posteda list of things to let go in order to be happy, she had no idea that it would go viral, shared more than 1.2 million times and counting. Based on that inspiring post, this heartfelt book gives readers permission to give up--that is, to let go of the bad habits that are holding them back from achieving authentic happiness and living their best lives. Lessons · Give Up the Past · Give Up Your Limiting Beliefs · Give Up Blaming Others · Give Up the Need to Always Be Right · Give Up Labels · Give Up Attachment Simple yet wise, and informed by the author's own inspiring personal journey, this liberating little book presents a fresh twist on happiness take a step back to reflect,and give yourself permission to let things go. Includes a foreword byVishen Lakhiani, New York Times-bestselling author of The Code of the Extraordinary Mindand founder and CEO of Mindvalley.]]> 189 Luminita D. Saviuc 0698182731 Carrie 0 3.88 2016 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy
author: Luminita D. Saviuc
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, kindle, how-to, human-behavior
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mini Farming Guide to Fermenting: Self-Sufficiency from Beer and Cheese to Wine and Vinegar (Mini Farming Guides)]]> 19807128 320 Brett L. Markham Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.25 2012 Mini Farming Guide to Fermenting: Self-Sufficiency from Beer and Cheese to Wine and Vinegar (Mini Farming Guides)
author: Brett L. Markham
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life]]> 39075012 373 Joseph Deitch 1626344701 Carrie 0 3.60 2018 Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life
author: Joseph Deitch
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: how-to, human-behavior, to-read, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence]]> 15747464
Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets—and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.
The vast majority of writing advice focuses on “writing well� as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail—they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next. When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won’t hold anyone’s interest.
Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.]]> 274 Lisa Cron Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.31 2012 Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
author: Lisa Cron
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Organizing Her Life: How my Journey can help you Declutter your Spaces and your Life]]> 42601288
Organizing Her Life is for people who want to improve their lives, without getting bogged down by reference books about organizing.

In Organizing Her Life you will:
� Learn Laura’s 4 Step System to organizing any space
� Discover ways to change your mindset about things you own
� Gather easy to use, applicable tips to organize
� Gain knowledge to help find your passion
� Be inspired to improve your life

"Organizing is about the stuff, but it is about much more than the physical things. It is actively, consciously creating your life." –Organizing Her Life
Learn how to transform not only the rooms in your home, but the spaces in your life, to have that calm, inspired existence we all desire.]]> 250 Laura Souders Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.95 Organizing Her Life: How my Journey can help you Declutter your Spaces and your Life
author: Laura Souders
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World]]> 239395 Mycelium Running is a manual for the mycological rescue of the planet. That’s right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text from mushroom expert Paul Stamets, you’ll find out how.

The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called “mycelium�--the fruit of which are mushrooms--recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening).

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll find chapters detailing each of these four exciting branches of what Stamets has coined “mycorestoration,� as well as chapters on the medicinal and nutritional properties of mushrooms, inoculation methods, log and stump culture, and species selection for various environmental purposes. Heavily referenced and beautifully illustrated, this book is destined to be a classic reference for bemushroomed generations to come.]]> 356 Paul Stamets 1580085792 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to 4.43 2005 Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
author: Paul Stamets
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/28
shelves: to-read, how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants]]> 23019295 Freakonomics comes this curated collection from the most readable economics blog in the universe. It's the perfect solution for the millions of readers who love all things Freakonomics. Surprising and erudite, eloquent and witty, When to Rob a Bank demonstrates the brilliance that has made the Freakonomics guys an international sensation, with more than 7 million books sold in 40 languages, and 150 million downloads of their Freakonomics Radio podcast.

When Freakonomics was first published, the authors started a blog--and they've kept it up. The writing is more casual, more personal, even more outlandish than in their books. In When to Rob a Bank, they ask a host of typically off-center questions: Why don't flight attendants get tipped? If you were a terrorist, how would you attack? And why does KFC always run out of fried chicken?

Over the past decade, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have published more than 8,000 blog posts on the Freakonomics website. Many of them, they freely admit, were rubbish. But now they've gone through and picked the best of the best. You'll discover what people lie about, and why; the best way to cut gun deaths; why it might be time for a sex tax; and, yes, when to rob a bank. (Short answer: never; the ROI is terrible.) You'll also learn a great deal about Levitt and Dubner's own quirks and passions, from gambling and golf to backgammon and the abolition of the penny.]]> 387 Steven D. Levitt 0062385321 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.49 2015 When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants
author: Steven D. Levitt
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> The Book of General Ignorance 410632
Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more,The Book of General Ignorance is a witty “gotcha� compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It’ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school.

Think Magellan was the first man to circumnavigate the globe, baseball was invented in America, Henry VIII had six wives, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain? Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again. You’ll be surprised at how much you don’t know! Check out THE BOOK OF GENERAL IGNORANCE for more fun entries and complete answers to the following:

How long can a chicken live without its head?
About two years.

What do chameleons do?
They don’t change color to match the background. Never have; never will. Complete myth. Utter fabrication. Total Lie. They change color as a result of different emotional states.

How many legs does a centipede have?
Not a hundred.

How many toes has a two-toed sloth?
It’s either six or eight.

Who was the first American president?
Peyton Randolph.

What were George Washington’s false teeth made from?
Mostly hippopotamus.

What was James Bond’s favorite drink?
Not the vodka martini.]]> 252 John Lloyd 0307394913 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.78 2006 The Book of General Ignorance
author: John Lloyd
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> No Plot? No Problem! 114817 No Plot? No Problem! is the kick in the pants you've been waiting for.

Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin' literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Baty's pep talks and essential survival strategies cover the initial momentum and energy of Week One, the critical "plot flashes" of Week Two, the "Can I quit now?" impulses of Week Three, and the champagne and roar of the crowd during Week Four. Whether you're a first-time novelist who just can't seem to get pen to paper or a results-oriented writer seeking a creative on-ramp into the world of publishing, this is the adventure for you.

So what are you waiting for? The No Plot? approach worked for the thousands of people who've signed up for NaNoWriMo, and it can work for you! Let No Plot? No Problem! help you get fired up and on the right track.]]> 176 Chris Baty 0811845052 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.81 2004 No Plot? No Problem!
author: Chris Baty
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jo Frost's Toddler Rules: Your 5-Step Guide to Shaping Proper Behavior]]> 18050077
SILVER MEDAL WINNER, NATIONAL PARENTING PUBLICATIONS AWARDS

Jo Frost has always had a natural gift for connecting with kids, and for helping parents navigate milestones with practical know-how and ease. With the success of her hit TV shows Supernanny, Extreme Parental Guidance, and Family S.O.S. with Jo Frost, she’s proven her ability to expertly rein in unacceptable conduct and bring peace and stability to millions of homes worldwide. Now, in this invaluable book, she shows you how to identify and eliminate toddler tantrums, and curb behaviors in other child rearing areas. Frost’s effective five-step program for disciplined parenting addresses such challenges as

� Sleep: winning those nightly battles—going to bed and staying there
� Food: what to cook, trying new things, and enjoying meal times
� Play: sharing toys, defusing squabbles, developing social skills
� Learning: listening, language, and development
•Manners: teaching respect, showing examples, and positive praise

The key to achieving success with these Toddler Rules is Frost’s proven S.O.S. method: Step Back, Observe, Step In. Complete with troubleshooting tips for living tantrum-free, this welcome, honest, straightforward guide has all you need to help your children grow, thrive, and make family time even more precious.

Praise for Jo Frost’s Toddler Rules

“The indomitable Frost shares both her wisdom and experience for parents of toddlers. The five rules . . . are presented in her charming and conversational tone and provide not only a foundation for sanity but sure scaffolding to greater learning and happier parenting. . . . Frost is a favorite with many, and her engaging manner carries into her written work.� � Library Journal (starred review)

“Common-sense and practical advice on raising young children by an expert in the field . . . A full chapter devoted to handling temper tantrums is an added bonus for parents in crisis mode.� � Kirkus Reviews]]> 320 Jo Frost 034554238X Carrie 0 3.80 2014 Jo Frost's Toddler Rules: Your 5-Step Guide to Shaping Proper Behavior
author: Jo Frost
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gracious: A Practical Primer on Charm, Tact, and Unsinkable Strength]]> 30038842 New York Times bestselling author of Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps Kelly Williams Brown comes a funny, charming guide to modern civility in these—yes, we'll say it—rather uncivil times.

Graciousness is practicing the arts of kindness, thoughtfulness, good manners, humanity, and basic decency. As a bonus, it makes your life and even the world (or at least the room you’re in) much lovelier.

It’s not about memorizing every rule of traditional etiquette to a T (though there is so much there to explore!) or spending all your time maintaining a spotless house. It’s about approaching the world with compassion, conviction, self-confidence, and whole-heartedness, whether you're at the Met Gala or saying good morning to a convenience store clerk.

From chatting easily with anyone to mastering the subtleties of social media etiquette (hint: block early, block often), Brown has talked to gracious women and men all over the country to give you easy ways to embody your own graciousness.

Throughout the book, she provides tips on how to deal with the people and circumstances that challenge even the most socially graceful among us, advice on how to practice graciousness in everyday life, and thoughtful discussions on being kind to those around you without ever losing your sense of self.

With the wisdom of gracious folk ranging from celebrities to the author’s mother-in-law, this book explains the perspective, actions—and, sometimes, inaction—that help us move smoothly and effectively through whatever life tosses at us.]]> 256 Kelly Williams Brown 1623367972 Carrie 0 3.59 2017 Gracious: A Practical Primer on Charm, Tact, and Unsinkable Strength
author: Kelly Williams Brown
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Handbook: A Complete Guide to Baking, Carpentry, Crafts, Organic Gardening, Preserving Your Harvest, Raising Animals, and More]]> 13455138
- Grow Vegetables yy Raise Chickens

- Keep Bees

- Preserve Your Harvest

- Cure Meats

- Build a Treehouse

- Spin Wool

- Make a Toboggan

- And Much More!]]> 272 Abigail R. Gehring 1616087102 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.89 2012 The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Handbook: A Complete Guide to Baking, Carpentry, Crafts, Organic Gardening, Preserving Your Harvest, Raising Animals, and More
author: Abigail R. Gehring
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention]]> 22543500 In Captivology , award-winningjournalist, author, entrepreneur and investor Ben Parr ( Forbes 30 Under 30 )presents a new understanding of attention -- how it works, why it matters, and how we leverage psychological triggers to draw and retain attention for our passions, projects, and ideas.

Parr combines the latest research on attention with interviews with more than fifty scientists and visionaries--Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, film director Steven Soderbergh, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, magician David Copperfield, New York Times bestselling author Susan Cain, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, and more--who have successfully brought their ideas, projects, companies, and products to the forefront of cultural consciousness.
The result is an insightful and practical book that will change how you assign jobs to your kids or staff, craft a multi-million dollar ad campaign, deliver your next presentation, attract users to your product, or convince the world to support your cause.

AS FEATURED MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, CNBC, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, New York Post, Washington Post, Business Insider, Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, NPR and more.
"Throughout the book, Parr keeps readers engaged, amused and focused, proving that the science of Captivology works." - Success Magazine

"Sensible... Spryly written... [Captivology] is a worthwhile read, if you can concentrate your mind." - Financial Times

"Parr gets To succeed in a world where attention is scarce, captivating audiences at every level is a skill that everyone needs. Captivology will show you how to capture other people's attention, whether you are teacher, entrepreneur, musician, or simply a dreamer with a big idea." - Adam Braun , New York Times bestselling author of The Promise of a Pencil )

"The Internet has made it easier to communicate but also more challenging to be heard. Ben Parr's Captivology applies recent discoveries in psychology and neuroscience to the attention economy so that anyone can rise over the crowd and stand out." - Craig Newmark , founder, Craigslist)]]> 256 Ben Parr 0062324195 Carrie 0 3.79 2015 Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention
author: Ben Parr
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kaufmann Mercantile Guide: How to Split Wood, Shuck an Oyster, and Master Other Simple Pleasures]]> 26082640 228 Jessica Hundley 1616894822 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.37 2015 The Kaufmann Mercantile Guide: How to Split Wood, Shuck an Oyster, and Master Other Simple Pleasures
author: Jessica Hundley
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want]]> 2326098 384 Sonja Lyubomirsky 159420148X Carrie 0 3.88 2007 The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
author: Sonja Lyubomirsky
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism]]> 11910905 The Charisma Myth is a mix of fun stories, sound science, and practical tools. Cabane takes a hard scientific approach to a heretofore mystical topic, covering what charisma actually is, how it is learned, what its side effects are, and how to handle them.]]> 264 Olivia Fox Cabane 1591844568 Carrie 0 3.90 2012 The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism
author: Olivia Fox Cabane
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, human-behavior, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Story Cure: A Book Doctor's Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir]]> 31521907 A collection of cures for writer's block, plotting and characterization issues, and other ailments writers face when completing a novel or memoir, prescribed by the director of creative writing at Ohio University. People want to write the book they know is inside of them, but they run into stumbling blocks that trouble everyone from beginners to seasoned writers. Drawing on his years of teaching at both the university level and at writing workshops across the country, Professor Dinty W. Moore dons his book-doctor hat to present an authoritative guide to curing the issues that truly plague writers at all levels. His hard-hitting handbook provides inspiring solutions for diagnoses such as character anemia, flat plot, and silent voice, and is peppered with flashes of Moore's signature wit and unique take on the writing life.]]> 181 Dinty W. Moore 0399578803 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 4.04 2017 The Story Cure: A Book Doctor's Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir
author: Dinty W. Moore
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How To Win Jobs & Influence Germans: The Expats' Guide to a Career in Germany]]> 35681654
This book is for you, if you can answer one of these three questions with "yes".

a. Do you send 50 or more job applications, but you don't get job interviews?
b. Do you get job interviews just to find The actual job is different from the job description?
c. Do you get job interviews, but you get rejected with some flimsy excuse? ("You are overqualified")?
Organisations like Trivago , Home24 , the German Red Cross and others hire me to recruit international talent. As a business coach I work with international talent. What I learned over the
International professionals and German employers don't understand each other. Quite often they don't understand themselves, either.

This book will help you understand - and succeed.

After reading this book you will

1. The job market in Germany.
2. Your position in this market in relation to all other candidates.
2. The megatrends that influence your success rate.
3. All decision makers who are involved in your employment.
4. Their motivation.
5. The ethical foundation for your success.
6. The practical tools for your success and how to use them.

Step by Step Guidance.
I will show you - step by step - how hundreds of expats have bridged the gap between jobseeker and employer in Germany. I will share their best practices, which have worked for countless expatriates in Germany. They will work for you too.

“I forgot to tell you that I was offered a contract in München 3 weeks ago. It was a big accomplishment achieved to a large extend due to your help.
So, I just wanted to thank you once again.

Ing. Jose Mendes, eGym GmbH

“Being from North America I was unfamiliar with the interview process in Germany. With Chris’s help I was able to identify what potential employers are looking for. I am grateful for the support, learned a lot and was successful in finding my next career step.�
Vanessa Burnand, Airbus

“Hi Chris, I wanted to let you know that I’m enjoying my new job at the GIZ. Interesting projects and a friendly international team! Thank you again for your invaluable coaching and support!�
Samantha Ölz, GIZ

Over the last years I worked with over 200 expats. Just like you they struggled to get job interviews or failed to close the deal. They sat in conference rooms where they couldn't believe their ears - because the needs of the hiring manager had nothing to do with the job description. They changed their strategy with my help. And they got themselves a great job in Germany. Just like you will. You just need someone to point you in the right direction.
I wrote "How To Win Jobs & Influence Germans" because I see many talented professionals struggle with an invisible enemy. They face obstacles and suffer humiliation that they don't deserve. The truth Their excellent education and long list of achievements, count nothing in the eyes of German HR managers. Only because they don't fit into the "DIN norm" of expectations. I There's no need for clones in the German economy. We need individualists. I will be your ally in your hunt for a meaningful and well paid career. Shall we get started?

Chris Pyak in the press
“Entrepreneur Chris Pyak. A personal coach for every newcomer�
Handelsblatt

“If Germany wants to withstand the global competition, says Pyak, it cannot expect all specialists to speak German. Instead, it needs cosmopolitans.�
Berliner Morgenpost

“Recruiting across borders becomes an opportunity to fight labor shortage, says Chris Pyak�
Die Welt]]> 135 Chris Pyak 3981893506 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, kindle 3.61 How To Win Jobs & Influence Germans: The Expats' Guide to a Career in Germany
author: Chris Pyak
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.61
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting]]> 7878639 Waste not, want not.

The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Composting takes readers step by step through the process of selecting the right compost container, filling it with the right "ingredients," maintaining the mix at the right temperature and humidity, and using the end product.

•A concise format, simplified approach, and thrift-conscious price Chris McLaughlin

•Author is a Master Gardener and an expert on all forms of composting

•Gardening has risen greatly in popularity in the last few years, with an added boost from first lady Michelle Obama, and so has composting, which is cheap, effective, and environmentally friendly

•Thousands of state, regional, and municipal programs have been developed to encourage composting and thus reduce landfill waste]]> 208 Chris McLaughlin 1615640088 Carrie 5 how-to
I already had a compost bin with some stuff in it, but I didn't know how to make it really great. This book makes it so simple. The basics, in case you don't want to read the whole book (but you really, really should!):

Compost should be a 50-50 mix of greens (grass clippings, vegetable peels, etc.) and browns (paper, sticks, dead leaves). It should be moist so water it sometimes. And it needs some air, so turn it over with a pitchfork. And if you don't already have some old compost in there, add a starter like some old compost, dry dog food or human pee.

The best piles are the ones built all at once (hot piles), but it's more convenient to just add things as you get them, which is called a warm pile and that's ok too. Cold piles are ok, too, but that's just organic material you leave to rot for a long time, like a pile of wood or something.

I was also really keen on trying the "lasagna" method described, where you put cardboard, newspapers, grass clippings and dirt down directly on the ground for immediate planting gratification. I'm trying it right now. It took a bit of work, but probably less work than removing all the weeds and I am patting myself on the back for a) improving the soil and b) using materials that would have been sent to the dump.

BTW, a friend of mine just spent $500 on mulch this year. Think of the savings if you just use the grass, leaves, newspapers, kitchen scraps and cardboard packaging you already have!

]]> 3.77 2010 The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting
author: Chris McLaughlin
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/01
date added: 2018/05/16
shelves: how-to
review:
Not in a million years did I think I would call a how-to book about composting AMAZING. But it really inspired me to become a better gardener. I felt like this author was whispering "You can do it!" on every page and although I have no intention of raising worms or rabbits, I read the parts about how to harvest their poo because it was actually pretty interesting.

I already had a compost bin with some stuff in it, but I didn't know how to make it really great. This book makes it so simple. The basics, in case you don't want to read the whole book (but you really, really should!):

Compost should be a 50-50 mix of greens (grass clippings, vegetable peels, etc.) and browns (paper, sticks, dead leaves). It should be moist so water it sometimes. And it needs some air, so turn it over with a pitchfork. And if you don't already have some old compost in there, add a starter like some old compost, dry dog food or human pee.

The best piles are the ones built all at once (hot piles), but it's more convenient to just add things as you get them, which is called a warm pile and that's ok too. Cold piles are ok, too, but that's just organic material you leave to rot for a long time, like a pile of wood or something.

I was also really keen on trying the "lasagna" method described, where you put cardboard, newspapers, grass clippings and dirt down directly on the ground for immediate planting gratification. I'm trying it right now. It took a bit of work, but probably less work than removing all the weeds and I am patting myself on the back for a) improving the soil and b) using materials that would have been sent to the dump.

BTW, a friend of mine just spent $500 on mulch this year. Think of the savings if you just use the grass, leaves, newspapers, kitchen scraps and cardboard packaging you already have!


]]> <![CDATA[Preparing for Your Move Abroad: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture (Culture Smart!)]]> 13129873 240 Rona Hart 1857336445 Carrie 4
I wasn't really concerned about culture shock last week when I downloaded this, but now I think it IS a big deal and am glad the author goes into depth about it. She is an expert on the subject and admits to having hated her first 3 years in London (where she lives now) because she was mentally treating her new home as temporary. It is a little disturbing that one chapter deals with the "panic phase," but I think I will panic a little less with an expert's advice and the knowledge that I'm not the only one who panics when faced with large-scale change.

Update: three years later. I have been living in Germany for two years and I did blow up the converter I bought for the Xbox AND the Chinese-made European power block. Then I got a German power block and it worked. I never finished reading the book but can give some tips of my own...

- If moving pets, you need to get paperwork for them from the FDA. It's expensive to fly with dogs and cats and frustrating to deal with the US govt to get them out of the country, but there is no quarantine and nobody in Germany at the airport asking to see the paperwork again on that side with a big red "Nein" stamp if you got something wrong.
- If you are nostalgic, bring as much as you can.
- Bring someone who speaks the language to your appointments at the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners office) to get your Aufenthaltstitel (residency permit). For some reason, the kids working the Subway counter speak English but the officials working with foreigners do not.
- Speaking of Subway, they use Gouda and Cheddar cheeses instead of Provalone or American and there is no ice in the drink machine.
- It's harder than I thought to get a bank account in Germany. Took me 7 months, and the bank sent a request for direct deposit to my American employer (in German, so my employer had to ask me what they were looking at).
- I got a temporary health insurance to cover the gap before getting married and added to my husband's insurance, but that was a risk because once you take a "private" insurance, you are not eligible for "public insurance" again ever. Somehow, I got added, though.
- Taxes! So hard! Basically, you owe taxes to the country you are in while you work. If you telecommute to the US, the US takes $ from your paycheck and you get it back at the end of the year. And you will owe the govt of the country you live in. But in my case, the German govt has taken over a year to review our first jointly filed taxes. And the IRS doesn't let you file electronically if you are married to someone without an SSN or TIN.
- To marry in Germany, you need to speak German enough to answer questions like "Seid ihr Geschwister?" (Are you related?) or hire a Dolmetscher (live translator). You also need all your personal documents translated by an official translator into German.
- Some US states' drivers licenses can be exchanged for a German Führerschein with a minimal fee. Otherwise, licenses are very expensive.
- However, to release yourself as a resident of your former US state, you have to return your license. The Dept. of Motor Vehicles will then not know what to do with it and continue to remind you to renew.
- Your library card stops working when you finally do sever your ties with your old state. No more online borrowing. Get a Kindle or see if you can use your university's library. German public libraries are not free and not with it if you read English books.
- iPhone app stores are different depending on the country now. To buy or even download free apps from the German App Store, you need a German Visa. I finally got one and I still can't switch stores. This unfortunately means no more awesome public transportation app to tell me which trains and buses to take! Amazon and EBay also have differences which I haven't totally figured out... I can use my American login but get different currencies on different devices. And apparently you can't have a household Kindle account with one American account and one German account on it.]]> 4.41 2012 Preparing for Your Move Abroad: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture (Culture Smart!)
author: Rona Hart
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/22
date added: 2016/07/22
shelves: human-behavior, how-to, back-burner-partially-through
review:
I'm only in the early stages of this book, reading the Kindle version. So far I am really grateful this book exists because it has made me think about some to-do items that hadn't crossed my mind. The idea of huge life change is terrifying enough without the fear and confusion of making dumb mistakes in the process like forgetting to cancel an account or agreeing to work overtime when you should be packing. I bought this book hoping for information about visas, moving timelines and cost ranges, and tips on how not to blow up your Xbox and laptop while using a foreign power supply. So far this book has given me a few very useful worksheets on planning. We'll see about the rest. The downside of using the Kindle version is you can't fill out the charts. You can create a note but not in chart form. Too bad!

I wasn't really concerned about culture shock last week when I downloaded this, but now I think it IS a big deal and am glad the author goes into depth about it. She is an expert on the subject and admits to having hated her first 3 years in London (where she lives now) because she was mentally treating her new home as temporary. It is a little disturbing that one chapter deals with the "panic phase," but I think I will panic a little less with an expert's advice and the knowledge that I'm not the only one who panics when faced with large-scale change.

Update: three years later. I have been living in Germany for two years and I did blow up the converter I bought for the Xbox AND the Chinese-made European power block. Then I got a German power block and it worked. I never finished reading the book but can give some tips of my own...

- If moving pets, you need to get paperwork for them from the FDA. It's expensive to fly with dogs and cats and frustrating to deal with the US govt to get them out of the country, but there is no quarantine and nobody in Germany at the airport asking to see the paperwork again on that side with a big red "Nein" stamp if you got something wrong.
- If you are nostalgic, bring as much as you can.
- Bring someone who speaks the language to your appointments at the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners office) to get your Aufenthaltstitel (residency permit). For some reason, the kids working the Subway counter speak English but the officials working with foreigners do not.
- Speaking of Subway, they use Gouda and Cheddar cheeses instead of Provalone or American and there is no ice in the drink machine.
- It's harder than I thought to get a bank account in Germany. Took me 7 months, and the bank sent a request for direct deposit to my American employer (in German, so my employer had to ask me what they were looking at).
- I got a temporary health insurance to cover the gap before getting married and added to my husband's insurance, but that was a risk because once you take a "private" insurance, you are not eligible for "public insurance" again ever. Somehow, I got added, though.
- Taxes! So hard! Basically, you owe taxes to the country you are in while you work. If you telecommute to the US, the US takes $ from your paycheck and you get it back at the end of the year. And you will owe the govt of the country you live in. But in my case, the German govt has taken over a year to review our first jointly filed taxes. And the IRS doesn't let you file electronically if you are married to someone without an SSN or TIN.
- To marry in Germany, you need to speak German enough to answer questions like "Seid ihr Geschwister?" (Are you related?) or hire a Dolmetscher (live translator). You also need all your personal documents translated by an official translator into German.
- Some US states' drivers licenses can be exchanged for a German Führerschein with a minimal fee. Otherwise, licenses are very expensive.
- However, to release yourself as a resident of your former US state, you have to return your license. The Dept. of Motor Vehicles will then not know what to do with it and continue to remind you to renew.
- Your library card stops working when you finally do sever your ties with your old state. No more online borrowing. Get a Kindle or see if you can use your university's library. German public libraries are not free and not with it if you read English books.
- iPhone app stores are different depending on the country now. To buy or even download free apps from the German App Store, you need a German Visa. I finally got one and I still can't switch stores. This unfortunately means no more awesome public transportation app to tell me which trains and buses to take! Amazon and EBay also have differences which I haven't totally figured out... I can use my American login but get different currencies on different devices. And apparently you can't have a household Kindle account with one American account and one German account on it.
]]> Imagine: How Creativity Works 12987640
From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,� Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.

Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.

You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation.

Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world.


ձ> 279 Jonah Lehrer 0547386079 Carrie 0 3.97 2012 Imagine: How Creativity Works
author: Jonah Lehrer
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/11
shelves: to-read, human-behavior, how-to, wishlist, wants
review:

]]> The Elements of Style 33514 105 William Strunk Jr. Carrie 3 how-to 4.15 1918 The Elements of Style
author: William Strunk Jr.
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1918
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/08/30
shelves: how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Serged Garments in Minutes: A Complete Guide to Simple Construction Techniques (Creative Machine Arts Series)]]> 1552056 152 Tammy Young 0801983541 Carrie 0 3.67 1992 Serged Garments in Minutes: A Complete Guide to Simple Construction Techniques (Creative Machine Arts Series)
author: Tammy Young
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/07/06
shelves: to-read, how-to, wishlist, wants
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Garment Construction: A Complete Course on Making Clothing for Fit and Fashion (Illustrated Guide to Sewing)]]> 10221944
From learning how to take proper measurements and make a muslin, to fitting and making common adjustments, the basic order of construction for each garment, such as fitting the bodice before attaching sleeves, is covered. Detailed chapters on elements—sleeves, collars, waistbands, hems, and more—provide valuable insight on how each piece is created and joined to the whole.ձ> 176 Fox Chapel Publishing 1565235096 Carrie 0 3.85 2011 Garment Construction: A Complete Course on Making Clothing for Fit and Fashion (Illustrated Guide to Sewing)
author: Fox Chapel Publishing
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/07/06
shelves: to-read, wishlist, wants, how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Simple Comforts: 12 Cozy Lap Quilts]]> 6350384 112 Kim Diehl 1564778487 Carrie 0 4.64 2009 Simple Comforts: 12 Cozy Lap Quilts
author: Kim Diehl
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/03/11
shelves: to-read, how-to, wishlist, wants
review:

]]> Tarot Made Easy 1108642
With Tarot Made Easy you can easily interpret the meaning of any card and apply it to the particular circumstances of your life. With the simple process outlined here, you need only choose one tarot card and then consult one (or several) of the 32 categories listed under each card—including Romance, Travel, Career, Finances, Friends, and Special Guidance—to discover the card's specific message for you.

For example, if you want to know about your romantic future and the Queen of Cups turns up, you may find that the standard description given is "an honest, devoted woman; loving intelligence and happiness." How should you interpret this? But with Tarot Made Easy, the Queen of Cups Romance category tells you that "someone will enter your life in whom you will be very interested...and you will meet this person very close to your home, if not outside your front door." This easy but accurate system banishes the vague interpretations found in most books and gives you the immediate, specific insights you need.]]> 384 Nancy Garen 0671670875 Carrie 4 how-to 3.88 1989 Tarot Made Easy
author: Nancy Garen
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 1993/01/01
date added: 2011/01/18
shelves: how-to
review:
A friend gave her copy to me back in high school and I dig it out every time I want to do a tarot reading. Not so often these days, but it's still a book I plan to keep forever. First you decide which spread you want to do, then look up the meaning of each card. About 2 pages are devoted to each card, with meanings broken down into the types of information associated with a card's position like mail, esoteric guidance, blind spots, etc.
]]> <![CDATA[The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden]]> 86654 304 William Alexander 1565125576 Carrie 0 3.76 2006 The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
author: William Alexander
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2010/09/27
date added: 2010/09/27
shelves: funny, how-to, back-burner-partially-through
review:
Not giving my rating yet, but I am surprised by all the 2 and 3 stars out there. My rating will be either 4 or 5, I'm sure. I already love the book, even through I've just cracked the cover. So far, he's been lied to about how you HAVE to made your garden rectangle-shaped, and gotten the run-around from contractors who didn't know what they were doing or didn't seem to care about showing up on time. But he tells it in such a funny way it doesn't seem bitter. He just seems as inept as me in the garden and willing to shell out big bucks on the hobby. Don't we all have hobbies that we pay through the nose for?
]]> <![CDATA[You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story]]> 6807469
After thirteen years of being married, Annabelle and Jeff have found “We’re just not that into us.� Instead of giving up, they’ve held their relationship together by ignoring conventional wisdom and fostering a lack of intimacy, by using parenting as a competitive sport, and by dropping out of couples therapy. The he-said/she-said chronicle of their intense but loving marriage includes an unsentimental account of the medical odyssey that their family embarked upon after their infant son was diagnosed with VACTERL, a very rare series of birth defects. Annabelle and Jeff’s unforgivingly raw, uproariously funny story is sure to strike both laughter and terror in the hearts of all couples (not to mention every single man or woman who is contemplating the connubial state).

Serving up equal parts sincerity and cynicism, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up is a laugh-out-loud must-read for everyone who has come to realize that being “in love� can only get you so far.

On Cohabitation
He says: “Within days of Annabelle’s arrival, I became very aware that she demanded solitude and had the housekeeping habits of a feral animal.�

She says: “The guy had some sort of nudity radar. When I would take my clothes off for even a second, Jeff would be in front of me cheering as if he’d scored box seats at Fenway Park.�

On Sex
He says: “I want to have sex every day, but Annabelle only wants to do it once a week. So we compromise: we have sex once a week.�

She says: “Jeff says talking about money before you have sex is a turnoff, but it’s only a turnoff if you’re talking about not having money. Talking about money before you have sex when you have money is actually a turn-on.�

On Pregnancy
He says: “For God’s sake, all I wanted to do was have sex without a condom for a little while; now we were moments from bringing a new life into the world!�

She says: “My ass was expanding so fast it was like a Starbucks franchise. On every corner of my ass there was a new branch of ass opening up.�


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 272 Annabelle Gurwitch 030746377X Carrie 2

When they started talking about kinky sex involving a lobster claw-shaped oven mitt, I unfortunately looked at the authors' photo on the dust jacket. I don't like to imagine these two having sex, as I do not find either of them attractive.

So I am slogging through half-heartedly because it's either this or essays about science on my bedside table and my brain would rather go with the junk food book just before bed. ]]> 3.20 2010 You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story
author: Annabelle Gurwitch
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2010/09/27
shelves: human-behavior, back-burner-partially-through, funny, biography, how-to
review:
I'm not sure if I can finish this book. I picked it up because it's got a clever title and I was wondering what advice a funny married couple might dish out about marriage. Obviously, they get the tone of mine with their title. But a few chapters into it, I'm feeling like I would not hit it off with this Jewish Hollywood couple. I find their self-deprecating remarks a little fake. It seems obvious to me that Annablle is a diva and Jeff wants her no matter how much crap she puts him through. In one breath, they'll tell you how CRAZY they can be, and in the next they are talking about how successful they are (She was in a Seinfeld episode! He produces and writes TV shows! John Cusack crashed at his house!)


When they started talking about kinky sex involving a lobster claw-shaped oven mitt, I unfortunately looked at the authors' photo on the dust jacket. I don't like to imagine these two having sex, as I do not find either of them attractive.

So I am slogging through half-heartedly because it's either this or essays about science on my bedside table and my brain would rather go with the junk food book just before bed.
]]> <![CDATA[Folk Art Friends: Hooked Rugs and Coordinating Quilts]]> 1837562 � Choose from simple-to-make motifs such as stars, hearts, flags, and houses
� Patterns for Polly Minick’s much-admired rug designs are published here for the first time ever
� A "Make It Yours" section will show you how to easily design your own rugs]]> 144 Polly Minick 1564774716 Carrie 5 how-to 4.44 2003 Folk Art Friends: Hooked Rugs and Coordinating Quilts
author: Polly Minick
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/05/10
shelves: how-to
review:
Laurie and Polly are sisters. One quilts; the other hooks rugs. This book gives patterns for both and some basics on how to quilt and how to hook rugs. I am intrigued by the process described as "marrying the colors" for wools to be boiled together and mix up their dyes in the same pot overnight. Wonder if I could do that with my cotton?
]]> <![CDATA[The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope]]> 6419887
Enchanted by the workings of electricity as a boy, William had a goal to study science in Malawi's top boarding schools. But in 2002, his country was stricken with a famine that left his family's farm devastated and his parents destitute. Unable to pay the eighty-dollar-a-year tuition for his education, William was forced to drop out and help his family forage for food as thousands across the country starved and died.

Yet William refused to let go of his dreams. With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his stomach, a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks, and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to bring his family a set of luxuries that only two percent of Malawians could afford and what the West considers a necessity—electricity and running water. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves, William forged a crude yet operable windmill, an unlikely contraption and small miracle that eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine that loomed with every season.

Soon, news of William's magetsi a mphepo—his "electric wind"—spread beyond the borders of his home, and the boy who was once called crazy became an inspiration to those around the world.

Here is the remarkable story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him.]]> 270 William Kamkwamba 0061730327 Carrie 4
As a life's story, this one is pretty good. I'm sure I'm not the only one who cried while reading about the guy's poor dog that he couldn't afford to feed or who wanted to help him at the end when he talked about building more windmills. Kamkwamba and his family are really good people and reading this book makes you feel like you've met them.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it's not the best work of literature ever. The first half of the book drags because there are so many events and ideas that really don't seem necessary. The book goes off on a lot of tangents involving one-off events that don't really build up to anything until William starts tinkering with radios. But I liked the story because it's true. If it was a novel, I wouldn't have believed it. But these things happened to a real boy genius in the middle of please-can-I-have-some-more Africa and I'm glad he's finally got access to the resources he needs. Now he'll never go hungry or have to work a week to buy a bag of bolts. ]]> 4.05 2009 The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
author: William Kamkwamba
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2010/05/02
date added: 2010/05/04
shelves: how-to, biography, effed-up-memoirs, old-book-club
review:
I'm not sure how old William Kamkwamba is, but this book came out very recently and he was still a teenager, I think. "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" is his life's story up until iPodNano(2008? 2009?) when he began to get international recognition for being a self-taught mechanical genius who built his own windmill and generated power for his family's house to have electric lights. This, despite two awful harvest years (see: famine) and being so poor he almost starved to death. Oh, and he had to drop out of school for a few years because secondary school isn't free in Malawi.

As a life's story, this one is pretty good. I'm sure I'm not the only one who cried while reading about the guy's poor dog that he couldn't afford to feed or who wanted to help him at the end when he talked about building more windmills. Kamkwamba and his family are really good people and reading this book makes you feel like you've met them.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it's not the best work of literature ever. The first half of the book drags because there are so many events and ideas that really don't seem necessary. The book goes off on a lot of tangents involving one-off events that don't really build up to anything until William starts tinkering with radios. But I liked the story because it's true. If it was a novel, I wouldn't have believed it. But these things happened to a real boy genius in the middle of please-can-I-have-some-more Africa and I'm glad he's finally got access to the resources he needs. Now he'll never go hungry or have to work a week to buy a bag of bolts.
]]> <![CDATA[The Happy Hooker: My Own Story]]> 325930 you first learn about sex? If you grew up in the 1970s, it may have been from a gleefully lusty tour guide named Xaviera Hollander

In the late 1960s -- that era of sexual chaos, when Playboy Clubs and love-ins were competing for national attention -- a beautiful, intelligent young Dutch secretary named Xaviera de Vries moved to New York, grew swiftly tired of her desk job . . . and soon became the most visible and glamorous madam the city had ever seen. As Xaviera Hollander, she published a shockingly candid account of her life behind the brothel door. The Happy Hooker shot straight to the top of the bestseller lists, sold more than fifteen million copies, and made this enterprising young woman an international phenomenon.

Thirty years later, these delightfully explicit tales of the '60s and '70s swingers' scene -- including countless jaw-dropping stories of lesbianism, bondage, fetishism, and more -- remain as titillating as ever, charged with the mix of shrewd observation and uninhibited appetite that made Hollander an irresistible storyteller. The Happy Hooker is a classic: the world's greatest book on the world's oldest profession.]]> 304 Xaviera Hollander 0060014164 Carrie 0 3.38 1972 The Happy Hooker: My Own Story
author: Xaviera Hollander
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.38
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/12/28
shelves: back-burner-partially-through, hos, how-to
review:

]]> The Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2400170
Forget crocheted doilies and itchy knit sweaters--TLC's While You Were Out top designer Mark Montano has created stylish and imaginative projects that range from a Warhol-esque Ultrasuede iPod case to photo-adorned boxer shorts to African mask patio chairs to wooden night-light boxes. Divided into sections that include Outdoorsy (ideas to enhance your backyard), Dishing It Out (decorating plates using different techniques), You've Been Framed (innovative picture framing ideas), and Can I Have a Light? (creating and decorating lamps, lanterns, and chandeliers), it's as entertaining to read as it is endlessly inspiring.

With more than one hundred and fifty inventive and fun projects, The Big-Ass Book of Crafts is the perfect activity book for readers of every mood, budget, and skill level.]]> 377 Mark Montano 1416937854 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to 3.78 2008 The Big-Ass Book of Crafts
author: Mark Montano
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/12/28
shelves: to-read, how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment]]> 6240770
Now comes a collection of his most hilarious and thought-provoking experiments yet. In his role as human guinea pig, Jacobs fearlessly takes on a series of life-altering challenges that provides readers with equal parts insight and humor. (And which drives A.J.'s patient wife, Julie, to the brink of insanity.)

Among the many adventures:

� He outsources his life. A.J. hires a team of people in Bangalore, India, to take care of everything in his life from answering his e-mails to arguing with his spouse.
� He spends a month practicing Radical Honesty -- a movement that encourages us to remove the filters between our brains and mouths. (To give you an idea of what happened, the name of the chapter is "I Think You're Fat.")
� He goes to the Academy Awards disguised as a movie star to understand the strange and warping effects of fame.
� He commits himself to ultimate rationality, using cutting-edge science to make the best decisions possible. It changes the way he makes choices big and small, from what to buy at the grocery store to how to talk to his kids. And his revelations will change how you make decisions, too.
� He attempts to follow George Washington's rules of life, uncovering surprising truths about leadership and politics in the twenty-first century. He also spends a lot of time bowing and doffing his hat.
� And then there's the month when he followed his wife's every whim -- foot massages, Kate Hudson movies, and all. Depending on your point of view, it's either the best or worst idea in the history of American marriage.
A mix of Bill Bryson, George Plimpton, and Malcolm Gladwell, A.J. explores the big issues of our time -- happiness, dating, morality, marriage -- by immersing himself in eye-opening situations. You'll be entertained by these stories -- some of which are new, some of which had their start in Esquire magazine. But you'll also learn to look at life in new ways.

The Guinea Pig Diaries is a book packed with both laughs and enlightenment -- and that's a promise we can make with Radical Honesty.]]> 236 A.J. Jacobs 1416599061 Carrie 5 3.68 2009 The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment
author: A.J. Jacobs
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/11/25
shelves: audiobooks, funny, how-to, human-behavior
review:
A.J. Jacobs has one of the best jobs in the world. An editor at Esquire magazine, the man writes and edits essays on pop culture and social experiments. This book is a collection of articles (with follow-up notes) written over the course of a year for Esquire. He spends about a month on each, trying out various approaches to life. These approaches include living in accordance with George Washington's code of conduct (don't touch your genitals in front of people), outsourcing his life to India (apparently worth it), doing whatever his wife says (she did not get tired of it, to his disappointment), being radically honest (not easy, but showed him how his relationships could take more honesty than he thought), being a hot chick (answering emails from his nanny's suitors on a dating site), being a celebrity (impersonating the "Shine" guy at an awards ceremony in realizing how differently he was treated), being photographed nude (makes you feel powerless) and unitasking (because multitasking is really just the result of not being able to focus). The author sounds like a really friendly midwestern guy who constantly has a smile on his face. He also comes across as a horndog, since he admits his attraction to just about every woman he mentions in the book. The radical honesty piece was my favorite. When I think of radical honesty, I have exactly the same problems with it that the author brings up. How would my spouse and boss react? What about friends who ask for my opinion of their sucky art?
]]> <![CDATA[Pocket Guide to the Afterlife: Heaven, Hell, and Other Ultimate Destinations]]> 6473460 � Dean Nelson , author, God Hides in Plain Sight ,and director, Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Where do we go when we die? Will we have personal chats with Godon fluffy clouds? What are the odds I will be devoured by a demon?Life's deepest mysteries question what happens when life isover. With Pocket Guide to the Afterlife , Jason Boyett becomesyour tour guide to the Great Beyond. From the profound to theprofane, from the light at the end of the tunnel to your ascensionto the celestial void, here's everything you need to know this sideof the everlasting Unknown, including Pondering your eventual demise has never been so much fun.]]> 207 Jason Boyett 0470373113 Carrie 5 3.61 2009 Pocket Guide to the Afterlife: Heaven, Hell, and Other Ultimate Destinations
author: Jason Boyett
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2009/09/23
date added: 2009/09/23
shelves: how-to, religious-themed, funny
review:
I'm still not finished but just had to say how much I love this book for anybody looking for a review. The scope of knowledge here is huge, but completely accessible and laugh-out-loud funny. It covers the basics of many religious beliefs about the afterlife, plus various figures and trends involving communication with the dead and past life regression. And some other stuff I haven't gotten to yet because I'm only halfway through this little book. I just renewed it from the library, but might have to go buy a copy for reference. BTW, it says here that Walt Disney was NOT cryogenically frozen, but cremated. And also that Dante Alighieri was the first one to describe hell as all fire and brimstone. And there was a study done where all these people were interviewed on their deathbeds and all of them said basically that they had strong feelings of serenity so that's good to know.
]]> <![CDATA[Return to Elm Creek: More Quilt Projects Inspired by the Elm Creek Quilts Novels]]> 49707 96 Jennifer Chiaverini 1571202692 Carrie 3 how-to 4.06 2004 Return to Elm Creek: More Quilt Projects Inspired by the Elm Creek Quilts Novels
author: Jennifer Chiaverini
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2008/03/01
date added: 2009/08/31
shelves: how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference]]> 6304645
Our smallest actions and gestures often have outsized impact on our biggest goals, say Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval. Did you double-check that presentation one last time, or hold the elevator for a stranger? Going that extra inch � whether with a client, customer, family member, or friend � speaks volumes to others about our talent, personality, and motivations. After all, if we can’t take care of the small details, how can we be counted on to deliver when it really matters?

In today’s challenging times, bigger isn’t always better. In fact, it’s often the baby steps that put us on the path to delivering a true competitive advantage. The real secret to getting ahead in life and in our careers is to refocus our attention on the small details that, if disregarded, can sabotage a multimillion-dollar ad campaign or undermine your most important relationships. Kaplan Thaler and Koval show how to get more of what you want with surprisingly less than you’d imagine.

Written in the same entertaining, story-driven style that made THE POWER OF NICE the go-to book for finishing first, THE POWER OF SMALL demonstrates how all of us can harness the power of small to improve and reinvent our lives. It’s the ultimate guide to shrinking your outlook to broaden your horizons.

Get SMALL and get going!]]> 160 Linda Kaplan Thaler 0385526555 Carrie 4
I found the part about niche marketing to be pretty inspiring because it talked about people who basically came up with a cool idea and made some money by starting small businesses doing the things they love (i.e. making greeting cards featuring Stella the dog or creating a line of decorations for Crocs).

The parts that pissed me off involved people who got ahead in business based on little tiny interactions with their superiors. One Navy officer got a commendation from an admiral just because the lost man he helped in the hall turned out to be the admiral. What about giving commendations to people for years of devoted work instead? I hate it when suck-ups get rewarded more than the hard workers! Another guy gets noticed by the head of his department by asking her what "schlep" means. I guess if he hadn't asked that, she would have brushed him off while he went and did his job invisibly. The message I'm getting here is that being HARD-WORKING is not rewarded as much as being REMEMBERED. If I found out my boss was rewarding suck-ups over good workers, I'd have a fit.

In this book, sucking up is sugar-coated into something that you have to do to get ahead. They are probably right but it still seems wrong, wrong, wrong.

God, I hate networking. I need to go wash off my nose now.

]]> 3.60 2009 The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference
author: Linda Kaplan Thaler
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/08/03
shelves: audiobooks, how-to, human-behavior
review:
"The Power of Small," written by two advertising executives, used a lot of business anecdotes to convey the idea that little details can make or break you.

I found the part about niche marketing to be pretty inspiring because it talked about people who basically came up with a cool idea and made some money by starting small businesses doing the things they love (i.e. making greeting cards featuring Stella the dog or creating a line of decorations for Crocs).

The parts that pissed me off involved people who got ahead in business based on little tiny interactions with their superiors. One Navy officer got a commendation from an admiral just because the lost man he helped in the hall turned out to be the admiral. What about giving commendations to people for years of devoted work instead? I hate it when suck-ups get rewarded more than the hard workers! Another guy gets noticed by the head of his department by asking her what "schlep" means. I guess if he hadn't asked that, she would have brushed him off while he went and did his job invisibly. The message I'm getting here is that being HARD-WORKING is not rewarded as much as being REMEMBERED. If I found out my boss was rewarding suck-ups over good workers, I'd have a fit.

In this book, sucking up is sugar-coated into something that you have to do to get ahead. They are probably right but it still seems wrong, wrong, wrong.

God, I hate networking. I need to go wash off my nose now.


]]> <![CDATA[The Financial Collapse Survival Guide and Cookbook]]> 6268378 With his twelfth book, Albert Bates changes the frame on the global financial collapse, inviting us to enjoy what he calls "the Great Change." A longtime expert in sustainable development, Bates shows how to secure your basic needs -- water, energy, food, waste management, transportation -- and how to deal with the slow fear of the unfamiliar.

From the Foreword by Richard

"Albert Bates has produced a volume with more wit and judicious advice than anyone else could possibly have done; indeed there is probably no one better suited than he to address this topic. Albert has been living a post-collapse lifestyle since the 1970s, and, as Director of the Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm in Tennessee (a legendary intentional community exploring the frontiers of creative solutions to environmental and social problems), has taught subjects ranging from straw-bale home-building and mycoforestry to Permaculture and urban village design.

"In a typical stroke of mad genius, Albert chose to make this a cookbook as well as a survival guide. There is nothing more basic to human life than eating, and the transitional period will require some serious adjustments in how we feed ourselves. But what good is mere survival if we cannot find enjoyment as we go? Self-sufficiency and relocalization of economic activity will require creativity and humor as well as serious planning and hard work.

As Albert says of his latest

"There is a kind of slow fear - not the kind of fear you feel when you are up high on a ladder and it shakes, or there is a deer in the headlights at 70 miles per hour. Those are sudden adrenaline rush types of fear. There is also a slow fear.

"Half a million people in the USA are being laid off each week now. They have watched their homes become worth less than their mortgages, their cars repossessed, their retirement savings vaporize, and their dreams of college for the children and a soft retirement vanish. They are staring at future involving working until they die, downsizing to a small apartment in a poor neighborhood, and giving up the car, if they are lucky.

"That sense of slow fear is gripping many of us now; a stone in the pit of the stomach, a sweat on the brow, a concern for our children and elderly relatives, and for where our food and health care will come from."

There is standard advice for fear. We know it well, and Albert Bates been preaching it for many years now, in books, workshops, and advice at seminars.

"The advice is simple. Prepare yourself. Prepare your family. Prepare your community.

"It starts with having cash on hand. Not a checkbook or a credit card. Cash. Then there is the 3-day jump kit. Then there is one's personal supply of water, repairable shelter, camping gear, first aid, and food. Have a garden, even in the city. Don't panic. Learn to embrace uncertainty with humor, and shape up. You know all of this.

"But the slow fear is about something more insidious, something for which none of that preparation really matters.

"What has to be done with my slow fear, and with everyone's, is not to ignore it. Even if one thinks one is prepared, nobody is. So keep preparing. Go for those things that count. Get trained. Get centered. Shape up. This book could be the most valuable investment in your future you could make."

The Financial Collapse Survival Guide also has something everyone should have on their the complete International Red Cross guide for first aid and emergency medical care in any situation. If you don't yet have this in your purse or briefcase, you can now.

Here is information that's helpful to have on the home bookshelf, on the plane, on the street, and in the office. Start living a prepared-for-anything lifestyle now and avoid the rush.

This book is like a Swiss army knife, which you may need in the next five minutes or five years from now. - Dr. Valentin Yemelin, climate scientist, UN Environment P]]> Albert Bates Carrie 0 to-read, wants, how-to 5.00 2009 The Financial Collapse Survival Guide and Cookbook
author: Albert Bates
name: Carrie
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/06/25
shelves: to-read, wants, how-to
review:
The description of this sounds like a great reference. But it's only on Kindle? Not on paper? How ironic that a book about basic survival can only be read on an expensive, high-tech device.
]]> <![CDATA[The Man With the $100,000 Breasts And Other Gambling Stories]]> 2848232
Written in a literary style that’s both informative and entertaining, Konik gives rare behind-the-scenes glimpses of a subculture rarely seen by the vast majority of readers.]]> 248 Michael Konik 0929712722 Carrie 5 3.64 1999 The Man With the $100,000 Breasts And Other Gambling Stories
author: Michael Konik
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 1999/01/01
date added: 2009/06/25
shelves: disturbing-in-a-good-way, how-to
review:
The book is about gambling, gaming and cons of different types. It covers your odds of winning, the best ways to win at different games and some great stories about people who make these games their lives. The title comes from a story about one man who just makes bets with rich people, like "Do you bet me $1,000 I can live in this bathroom for a month?" He gets breast implants on a bet for $100,000 and discovers that he likes them and his sex life does NOT suffer as he feared it might, so he keeps them even longer than the required time. A must-read if you're planning a casino trip.
]]> The Art of the Handmade Quilt 3024913 176 Nancy Brenan Daniel 1402733518 Carrie 4 how-to 3.57 2008 The Art of the Handmade Quilt
author: Nancy Brenan Daniel
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2009/04/07
date added: 2009/04/07
shelves: how-to
review:

]]> How to be a Superhero 1148692 How to Be a Superhero is the only book you'll ever need. Written especially for newly superpowered citizens, this comprehensive handbook will help you:
- Identify and hone your unique superpowers
- Design a costume that says *No* to evil, but *Yes* to fashion
- Navigate all pertinent tax and liability issues
- Find the archenemy who's right for you

Filled with easy-to-use quizzes, helpful sidebars, and step-by-step graphics that will help you master the complexities of the superheroic career, this is the perfect book for lovers of comics and superhero movies as well as those who simply want to learn to use their powers for good.]]> 210 Doctor Metropolis 0452285755 Carrie 0 to-read, how-to, funny 3.45 2004 How to be a Superhero
author: Doctor Metropolis
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/03/11
shelves: to-read, how-to, funny
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression]]> 771858
So begins Mildred Kalish’s story of growing up on her grandparents� Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering.

Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed—and valiantly tried to impose—all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared.

Filled with recipes and how-tos for everything from catching and skinning a rabbit to preparing homemade skin and hair beautifiers, apple cream pie, and the world’s best head cheese (start by scrubbing the head of the pig until it is pink and clean), Little Heathens portrays a world of hardship and hard work tempered by simple rewards. There was the unsurpassed flavor of tender new dandelion greens harvested as soon as the snow melted; the taste of crystal clear marble-sized balls of honey robbed from a bumblebee nest; the sweet smell from the body of a lamb sleeping on sun-warmed grass; and the magical quality of oat shocking under the light of a full harvest moon.

Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a “hearty-handshake Methodist� family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish’s memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like “quite a romp.”]]> 304 Mildred Armstrong Kalish 0553804952 Carrie 3
The author's nostalgia about being a little kid in the 30s is kind of charming. I wish everyone in my generation was as agreeable to cooperative work. And it's also charming to imagine a world in which people actually didn't know the maternal variant of the F-bomb.

Update: Couldn't finish it. Got nearly to the end, but it was due back at the library. ]]> 3.70 2007 Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
author: Mildred Armstrong Kalish
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/02/23
shelves: audiobooks, effed-up-memoirs, how-to
review:
I'm listening to this one on CD and would much rather have the book. Part memoir, part instruction manual for farm life, I think I'd like to have the recipes and how-to information on my shelf for reference, but go over the memoir part just once. It's really frustrating to listen to more than one recipe in a row on a recorded book.

The author's nostalgia about being a little kid in the 30s is kind of charming. I wish everyone in my generation was as agreeable to cooperative work. And it's also charming to imagine a world in which people actually didn't know the maternal variant of the F-bomb.

Update: Couldn't finish it. Got nearly to the end, but it was due back at the library.
]]> <![CDATA[One-Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-of-a-Kind Quilts]]> 119465 72 Maxine Rosenthal 1571203222 Carrie 2 how-to
]]> 4.14 2006 One-Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-of-a-Kind Quilts
author: Maxine Rosenthal
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2009/01/28
date added: 2009/01/28
shelves: how-to
review:
You want this for the pictures, really. The instructions for making these quilt blocks can be explained really quickly and does not require a book. Basically, you pick a fabric with a large repeating print and stack 6 or 8 layers of it so the print is lined up in the same place on each. Cut triangles that match and sew them to each other. The pictures are great, though.


]]> Show Me How 3475581 Show Me How is a revolutionary reimagining of the reference genre, one part how-to guide, one part graphic art showpiece, and one part pure inspiration. In a series of 500 nearly wordless, highly informative step-by-step procedurals, readers learn how to do hundreds of useful (and fascinating and important and sometimes downright bizarre) tasks, including: Perform CPR, dance the tango, pack a suitcase, win a bar bet, play the blues, make authentic sushi rolls, fight a shark . . . and 493 more essentials of modern life. Packed with useful hands-on reference material, Show Me How is a work of art that just happens to also be an indispensable real-life resource.

Visit showmenow]]> 320 Derek Fagerstrom 0061662577 Carrie 0 4.00 2008 Show Me How
author: Derek Fagerstrom
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/01/16
shelves: to-read, wants, how-to, wishlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Day of the Dead Crafts: More Than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de los Muertos]]> 4005219 Inside you'll find step-by-step instructions, ideas, and inspiration for a wide range of projects, including:


Calaveras, those comical and clever skeleton figures caught in the act of enjoying life's favorite activities
Masks and skulls made from paper mache, gourds, and even sugar
A meaningful and artistic ofrenda, or altar, to honor those who have passed
Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more to wear day or night
Pieces guaranteed to liven up any decor
Colorful, whimsical, and often dramatic, Day of the Dead art is steeped in rich history and symbolism. The projects in Day of the Dead Crafts honor the traditional, while taking advantage of today's materials for a fresh and exciting twist.]]> 144 Kerry Arquette 0470258292 Carrie 0 3.82 2008 Day of the Dead Crafts: More Than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de los Muertos
author: Kerry Arquette
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/01/16
shelves: to-read, wants, how-to, wishlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Field Guide to the Apocalypse: Movie Survival Skills for the End of the World]]> 276476 224 Meghann Marco 068987877X Carrie 0 to-read, how-to 3.91 2005 Field Guide to the Apocalypse: Movie Survival Skills for the End of the World
author: Meghann Marco
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2008/12/18
shelves: to-read, how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life]]> 25460
"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.

"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel..."

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."]]> 370 Barbara Kingsolver 0060852550 Carrie 5 how-to 4.03 2007 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2008/11/10
date added: 2008/11/10
shelves: how-to
review:

]]> <![CDATA[John Jay Janney's Virginia: An American Farm Lad's Life in the Early 19th Century]]> 2769040 Excellent Book 142 John Jay Janney 091444025X Carrie 4 how-to
This book isn't so much about Virgnia as it is about how rural Americans lived in the early 19th Century. From what I remember, it was the best resource I could find in the Frederick library for some school project I was assigned on the topic. There were explanations of how different things were done, and illustrations of the tools they used. ]]> 3.67 1978 John Jay Janney's Virginia: An American Farm Lad's Life in the Early 19th Century
author: John Jay Janney
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 1989/01/01
date added: 2008/04/25
shelves: how-to
review:
It's been more than 20 years since I read this book, but I was just thinking about it today. In a time when the country is facing what could become another depression, I think it's a positive thing to reflect on how people lived happily in the past without a lot of the frills we take for granted now.

This book isn't so much about Virgnia as it is about how rural Americans lived in the early 19th Century. From what I remember, it was the best resource I could find in the Frederick library for some school project I was assigned on the topic. There were explanations of how different things were done, and illustrations of the tools they used.
]]> <![CDATA[Elm Creek Quilts : Quilt Projects Inspired by the Elm Creek Quilts Novels]]> 49708 96 Jennifer Chiaverini 1571201777 Carrie 3 how-to
This is what happens to humor when you are too afraid of hurting someone's feelings, people!]]> 4.10 2002 Elm Creek Quilts : Quilt Projects Inspired by the Elm Creek Quilts Novels
author: Jennifer Chiaverini
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2008/04/01
date added: 2008/04/22
shelves: how-to
review:
On a quest to find quilting patterns and instructions, I checked four books out of the library including this one and "Return to Elm Creek." They are basically pattern books for some really pretty quilts. When I got home and started looking more closely, I realized that the quilts are based on a series of novels, the Elm Creek Quilts novels. The patterns and photos are great, the excerpts from the novels sound god-awful. The quilt I chose to make a simpler version of is Vinnie's Double Pinwheel. The quote for that one was about an old lady declaring that her favorite memory was her surprise birthday party. Then her friend (whose eyes "glint with merriment") says that's what she said last year.

This is what happens to humor when you are too afraid of hurting someone's feelings, people!
]]> <![CDATA[How to Spot a Bastard by His Star Sign: The Ultimate Horrorscope]]> 427931
Join the women around the world whose love lives have been transformed by the astro-guide that pulls no punches when it comes to the dark side of men and their star signs.

Use it to... -Deride, ridicule, and annoy the hell out of men - Speed up the dating process by using star sign elimination - Avoid dating complete scum - Keep current boyfriends/husbands in their places - Keep conversation going at dinner parties - And much, much more!

Discover who you are destined not to date...
A match made in heaven or the relationship from hell? Find out which zodiac couplings are the least likely to result in derision, depression, divorce, or death! - Are you good enough for a LEO? - Can you put up with PISCES? - Will you get along with GEMINI? - Do you have the skills necessary to cope with VIRGO? Put yourself to the test with our 12 compatibility quizzes - each one carefully designed to ensure you know exactly which bastards to avoid in the future.

Now men will cringe when you ask them what their star signs are!]]> 144 Adèle Lang 0312284861 Carrie 0 3.85 1997 How to Spot a Bastard by His Star Sign: The Ultimate Horrorscope
author: Adèle Lang
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2008/02/12
shelves: to-read, wants, funny, how-to, wishlist
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead (Zen of Zombie Series)]]> 1480257
Do you struggle out of bed each morning and sway lifelessly across the room, mouth agape, arms hanging slack, murmuring unintelligibly? Well, take you’re not alone! But these other staggering, limp, perpetually drowsy folks just happen to be zombies—and it turns out they can teach us a lot about enjoying life. And only here, between the covers of this book, will you learn their secrets to happiness.

And there’s more, because zombies can offer no-nonsense advice on love, playing to your strengths, and more. The table of contents

Learn how to love your undead yourself and succeed in the real world.

“We’ve all heard the slurs and stereotypes, but few people stop to consider how much humans have to learn from zombies. What about all the good things zombies do? This book is a guide through the life lessons that can be gleaned from one of the netherworld’s most successful the implacable, untamable zombie. Whatever your setback or ailment, zombies feel your pain. Have you ever felt as if other people were smarter than you? Quicker on the uptake? Zombies feel this way every day. Have you ever been tongue-tied while those around you knew exactly what to say? (Maybe when you did speak, it came out as nothing more than some guttural croaks and gurgles, and possibly very simple words like ‘brains?�). Zombies haven’t let this stop them. Do you drool at inappropriate times? Stagger when you walk? Stare unblinkingly at passersby, sometimes for hours on end, unnerving each one of them?”]]> 272 Scott Kenemore 1602391874 Carrie 0 3.40 2007 The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead (Zen of Zombie Series)
author: Scott Kenemore
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2008/01/25
shelves: to-read, how-to, funny, horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman's Guide to Winning Her Man's Heart]]> 162308 Make him chase you...Until you catch him.

Never shy and always laugh-out-loud funny, Sherry Argov's Why Men Marry Bitches is a sharp-witted manifesto that shows women how to transform a casual relationship into a committed one. With the grittiest of girlfriend-to-girlfriend detail, Argov removes the kid gloves and explains why being extra nice doesn't necessarily mean he'll be more devoted. The guide shares real-life "no holds barred" interviews with men who answer the following in raw detail:

How do men manipulate a relationship to keep it casual?

Do men deliberately push women's emotional buttons?

How can she convince him commitment was his idea?

How can she invite a proposal without saying a word?

Whether you are single, married, recently separated, or just fed up with your family members telling you to fetch a husband because time is running out, Why Men Marry Bitches is the must-have guide that will show you how to exude confidence, win his heart, and get the love and respect you deserve.

]]> 246 Sherry Argov 074327637X Carrie 3 how-to, human-behavior 3.83 2002 Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman's Guide to Winning Her Man's Heart
author: Sherry Argov
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2005/01/01
date added: 2008/01/25
shelves: how-to, human-behavior
review:
In this self-help book, "bitch" refers to a classy lady who doesn't take shit from men. It was kind of amusing, an easy read and made sense in some parts. The downside was, a lot of it seemed to be like a strategy for manipulating a man. I would have liked the book better if it didn't seem to assume the reader is only following directions to trap a man.
]]> <![CDATA[Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance]]> 63656
Readers will find step-by-step, illustrated instructions for every aspect of country living including:


Finding country land
Buying, building, and renovating a home
Developing water sources and systems
Understanding wiring, plumbing, and heating
Using alternative heating and energy sources
Vegetable, flower, and herb gardening
Traditional cooking skills such as baking bread and making maple syrup
Preparing and preserving meat, fruits, and vegetables
Building and maintaining barns, sheds, and outbuildings
Caring for common farm and ranch animals, and pets]]> 576 M. John Storey 1580172024 Carrie 3 how-to 4.22 1999 Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance
author: M. John Storey
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2007/11/08
shelves: how-to
review:
This is more like a series of articles by different experts than a front-to-cover book. I was hoping that in reading this, I would be able to do a lot of things I still can't do, like build a wall. But at least now I understand the process. It's really a farm reference, explaining how to lay out a farm, how to wire your house, how to grow vegetables, make preserves, etc. I'm not really a hands-on kinda girl, but I still plan to make my own Adirondack chairs someday and this book will show me how!
]]> Etiquette for Outlaws 1111839 Curious to find 320 Rob Cohen 0380801523 Carrie 3 3.49 2001 Etiquette for Outlaws
author: Rob Cohen
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2007/11/06
shelves: funny, how-to, hos, human-behavior
review:
I got this from a book reviewer. They left the Harper Collins query letter inside. The headline asks, "Do you tip a hooker?" 'Nuff said. This is an etiquette book covering situations like porn sets, AA meetings, bondage sessions, jail, bars and tattoo parlors. The subject matter is well-chosen, although there may be just a few too many one-liners. It reads like a compilation of magazine sidebars trying to be funny, but actually imparting real advice (like how to dress for gang success). Some of the not-so-funny parts are entries on meat/vegetarians (basically, vegetarians are wimps, but if you invite them over you should supply them with veggie burgers) and suicide threats (take them serious, kids... you never know when they are real).
]]> <![CDATA[The Serial Killer''s Diet Book]]> 2144967 285 Kevin Postupack 193075406X Carrie 4 4.00 2001 The Serial Killer''s Diet Book
author: Kevin Postupack
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/11/06
shelves: funny, disturbing-in-a-good-way, how-to
review:
There are a couple of main characters whose stories go back and forth until they come together at the end. The serial killer in question is an obese man looking for love. He places a personal ad and goes to meet his date, but she says something impolite about his weight, so he shoves his sandwich down her throat and she dies. Turns out, remorse is great for weight loss!
]]> <![CDATA[Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House]]> 79388
Choosing fabrics, cleaning china, keeping the piano in tune, making a good fire, folding a fitted sheet, setting the dining room table, keeping surfaces free of food pathogens, watering plants, removing stains -- Home Comforts addresses the meanings as well as the methods of hands -- on housekeeping to help you manage everyday chores, find creative solutions to modern domestic dilemmas, and enhance the experience of life at home.

Further topics include: Making up a bed with hospital corners, Expert recommendations for safe food storage, Reading care labels (and sometimes carefully disregarding them), Keeping your home free of dust mites and other allergens, Home safety and security, A summary of laws applicable to the home, including privacy, accident liability, contracts, and domestic employees and more in this practical, good-humored, historic, philosophical, even romantic, guidebook to the art of household management.]]> 896 Cheryl Mendelson 0743272862 Carrie 4 how-to 4.16 1999 Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House
author: Cheryl Mendelson
name: Carrie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2007/11/06
shelves: how-to
review:
This is a good reference for housekeeping. It explains things like how to fold a fitted sheet, how to wash your floor, what the washer settings are for, and what brightness of light bulb you need to read a book :)
]]> <![CDATA[Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America]]> 1869
Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.]]> 240 Barbara Ehrenreich 0805063897 Carrie 3 how-to
Now, there are probably TONS of first-person stories written by people who are poor or were poor. "Angela's Ashes," anyone? They were literally starving. Even the writer of "Shattered Dreams" has only one suitcase full of worldly belongings when she goes off to get married... And she says she remembers helping her mother pour the concrete for their cellar. These are people I'd rather read about. People who are good writers, but don't brag about their intellect; people who experienced hardships, but made them into a damn good story.]]> 3.65 2001 Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
author: Barbara Ehrenreich
name: Carrie
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2004/01/01
date added: 2007/11/06
shelves: how-to
review:
For all the author says about the greatness of the American blue-collar worker (she even brags about her husband being one), she seems to think the work is beneath her. It seems like she is trying to shock her readers by exposing the harshness of poverty. But is it really that shocking for her employer to tell her she missed a spot when she's working as a cleaning woman? Sure, there are bad bosses out there, but you can't expect your boss to overlook your bad job cleaning a house just because you have a good education. Also, although I agree life can be desperate on a minimum wage, the author makes her own situation more desperate by refusing to share a room with someone else. It also strikes me as a little unrealistic that there are no assholes among the ranks of her heroic underclass, only among the bosses. Come on. Maybe I am just jaded because I feel like she has only written this book to communicate to other wealthy people who just CAN'T IMAGINE being poor, while my life is somewhere in between hers and the people she writes about.

Now, there are probably TONS of first-person stories written by people who are poor or were poor. "Angela's Ashes," anyone? They were literally starving. Even the writer of "Shattered Dreams" has only one suitcase full of worldly belongings when she goes off to get married... And she says she remembers helping her mother pour the concrete for their cellar. These are people I'd rather read about. People who are good writers, but don't brag about their intellect; people who experienced hardships, but made them into a damn good story.
]]>