Jeiiy Roll Quilt Fever. By Pam And Nicky Lintott

Superb book, Good for beginners or experienced Quilters. Well written with everything explained fully and diagrams leaving nothing to guess work.Plenty of choice with 17 projects and very exciting designs for the Jelly Rolls that are the rage at the moment.<br />

Evocative writing

I'm something of an armchair gardener - all the pleasure and none of the work - and this book satisfied my liking to read about beautiful gardens. Its chapters are titled according to the monastic hours, echoing the house's monastic past. The author created a dreamlike garden out of a field beside her Shropshire house. The book is a description of the genesis of that garden with digressions into history, herbalism, religion and the uses and growing habits of the plants she seeks to cultivate. The writing is brilliantly clear and the garden comes to life as you read. There are line drawings in the style of illustrations from a medieval book of hours, though no photographs, together with a plan of the layout of the garden This is a book to be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in gardening, history or the spirit of human endeavour. To create such a magnificent garden is truly a labour of love

Disappointed - grandiose plans but no substance

I really liked the central concept of the book, that is you should love your child unconditionally, success or failure, naughty or good, and that the child should know that they are loved unconditionally so that they can grow up secure. However I was very disappointed with the actual substance about the nitty gritty daily life and how you manage things. There were lots of don'ts - don't praise your child when they've been good, don't punish them when they've been bad - but I felt it was lacking on the what you are supposed to do.

Not just a picture book -- gave me all I needed to keep chix in the garden

I was so much more impressed by this book than I thought I would be. I got it as a nice coffee table book, but found out that it is loaded with all the information needed to keep a healthy, happy flock in your garden, whether as pets and enjoyment or for profit.... and gorgeous photos!!<br /><br />It has a transcontinental flavour (I don't know if the authors are American or British, but the spelling is British and lists of suppliers are provided for both UK & US, etc.) and offers history, breed advice, a very good amount of health and hygiene information, as well as tips on housing and guidelines for feeding, and information on culling and cooking too. Everything you need to make the choice whether or not to have chickens is here -- and I will stress again how lovely the photos are.<br /><br />Would make a perfect gift for someone you know who is thinking about it and wants some more information and advice.<br />

Excellent resource for learning 'pack leadership'

For those who want to expand their knowledge and abilities with dog leadership skills this book provides valuable tools for achieving that goal. Every episode from Cesar Millan's first 3 series of 'The Dog Whisperer' is reviewed and analysed. This in depth analysis helps to make very real the method which Cesar uses. <br /><br />Unlike 'dog training' Cesar and others who follow the 'pack system' focus on creating harmony and balance in our dogs. We use our dog's natural and hard wired instincts to create change which allow them to 'be themselves'. This method helps to meet our dogs needs rather than us just getting our needs met when we get love and affection from our dogs.<br /><br />This book allows us to get a much deeper understanding of the way Cesar uses the 'power of pack leadership' to help create happy balanced dogs. The book also gives follow ups which help to see that even with Cesar's help some dogs and their owners are unable to make the desired changes.<br /><br />This book provides a valuable guide that is well written and very concise. Whatever breed of dog you have, whatever age and whatever your dogs problems you will find help in the pages of this book.

How to do everything ... in two paragraphs

There is no denying the scope of this book is, to say the least, comprehensive. It covers almost every topic imaginable in DIY from dry lining your basement to capping the chimney and covers it at every range whether you just want to change a fuse or rewire the entire building.<br /><br />That scope though is both its virtue and its problem. Yes I can pick this up and be fairly confident that it will tell me how to go about building a stud wall but I know that it is also likely to be something of an overview of the subject rattled off in a few paragraphs. Often that is enough. There are a lot of jobs where a grasp of the basics and a willingness to have a go are good enough and if I'm laying new paving slabs I'll read this and go for it. Alternatively there are some jobs where I'd like a little more expertise than this can provide. Yes this book will tell me how to change the main fuse box but I'm not going to do that when it means working on the live side of a 100 amp line! In those cases though at least it lets me know roughly how difficult the job is so that I don't sound like a complete numpty when I call an electrician and ask if they could replace the 'thingummy by the front door with the fuses in it'.<br /><br />The new (2007) edition has some changes most are improvements, some are not, but the improvements could be sufficient to make it getting the new edition. On the downside the binding is not as good as previous issues so this is a book which could suffer in use. On the upside there is more detail about building regulations and approval. Not in so much detail that it gets in the way of what you want to do but enough to give an overview of the process and in a nod to the way the world moves there are now sections on 'communications' and the 'office at home'.<br /><br />I'd say to anyone that they should buy this book even if you don't ever intend to do the DIY yourself. If you do the DIY this is a good first reference to find out what to do. If it's not comprehensive enough then it will give enough of an overview that you will know what to look for when searching for more detail and if you do get someone else to do the job you've a better chance of knowing if they're doing the right thing.

Thank you Gina!

I bought this book when my second daughter was 3 weeks old, she's now just turned 4 months and is sleeping through the night, settling herself for day naps and is one of the most contented little babies I have the pleasure of knowing. Gina Ford really comes in for some stick, it's such a shame, her routines are brilliant and it's obvious how much she loves babies. I think the problem is that people take her routines too literally, you have to use your common sense and tailor them to your baby - for example my daughter at 4 months is still having an early evening catnap of 30-45 minutes, she can't make it through till 7pm otherwise whereas Gina advises to drop it around three months. Her basis for good sleep is a 7 to 7 routine with babies main, most longest sleep at lunchtime. As your baby gets older you gradually reduce the length of the naps either side of the lunchtime nap until you are just left with one nap - really that;s it. You just tweak it to fit your baby's needs, some need more sleep, some less.<br /><br />Thank you again Gina - you are a lifesaver!

from novice to experienced -worth it

Bought this book 2 plus yrs ago. Brilliant. I admit was initially sad by lack of colour pictures!! but as time has gone on and have now managed to dig most of my veg. plot (rather than stare at it in hope) and made time to plan, this book has been invaluable. There's loads of info. on the web (some a little confusing and a little conflicting) but Ms Larkcom's info. is steadfast and logical and is my first and sometimes, only, port of call. It's a valuable reference for both new and experienced allotment keepers. I've given away my glossy, pretty, fairly useless allotment books and kept to hand this superbly informative and helpful reference. Cheers Ms Larkcom, it was worth every penny.

Excellent study, promoting 'family-friendly economies'

Sue Palmer is an experienced writer and broadcaster on children's education. This very useful book makes a strong case for some traditional values. Our children need to develop focus, self-restraint and empathy; they need to learn to do as you would be done by; and they need presence, not presents, parents who listen and talk to their children. She recommends real food, less of sugar's empty calories and more fish oil, eaten at family meals; play and exercise; bedtime routines; and protecting children from advertising (Sweden bans advertising to under-12s). <br /><br />In Finland, a teacher of nursery children must have a master's degree. Britain, on the cheap, uses poorly-qualified, even unqualified, staff, not just in nurseries but increasingly in primary and secondary education too. Our children from age five are subjected to tests and targets: our 11-year-olds are bottom of the league for enjoying reading. In Sweden and Finland, formal education starts at seven: they are top for literacy and have smaller gaps between rich and poor and between boys and girls.<br /><br />But it is not just a matter of deficient parenting skills, or of a defective educational system. Why do these happen? Our competitive, long-hours, rat-race, culture is harming our children - and our adults too! When both parents have to be out working to make ends meet, the whole family suffers. As Ms Palmer says, we need family-friendly economies, not economy-friendly families.<br /><br />And there is the vital matter of inequality, which, unfortunately, she does not treat in this book. Britain has the third biggest gap between haves and have-nots among the 24 OECD countries; the USA has the biggest. We have the second highest child death rate; the USA has the highest. The others in the bottom six - New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Canada - also have the `Anglo-Saxon' model of unfettered free markets. <br /><br />Researchers from Dundee University recently pointed out,"There is a very strong association between income inequality and under-five mortality among the wealthier OECD countries. Within this group the highest child mortality figures are to be found in those `Anglo-American' countries which attracted criticism in 1993 in a Unicef study on child neglect. Since 1960, the relative ranking, based on increasing under-five mortality, of these countries has markedly worsened relative to the others." [David Collison et al, `Income inequality and child mortality in wealthy nations', Journal of Public Health, published online 13 March.] In 1993, we were 15th, we are now joint 22nd. This decline happened equally under Conservative and Labour governments.<br /><br />Perhaps our whole social model is wrong. Perhaps we should stop looking to the USA's failed social model. We do need to change things and as she writes,"Nobody ever changed anything by sitting around bemoaning the status quo." <br /><br />

Brilliant Every Day Food

This book says everything in it's title""Every Day" .. If you're looking for good, honest, tasty family food that can be eaten at any time of year with easy to follow recipes that don't take too long to prepare, or cook, then this is the book for you. We can't rate it - or another of Bill's books, Simply Bill - highly enough. In fact, we've just bought two more, and after a hard day at work we're just about to cook his"Fragrant Chicken and Spinach Curry". Delicious!!

Recommended for tree spotting beginners

I lead tree courses and often recommend this little book for beginners. It has all the information and illustrations you need to get started, with, in my opinion, excellent pictures of leaves, flowers, fruit, winter twigs, bark and, best of all, the tree. Tree shapes in this book are truer than in many more ambitious works.

Complete idiots guide for the uninitiated

I have always wanted to have a go at growing my own veg but quite frankly did not know where to start. I needed a book that would spell out the basics, give me pictures and provide a detailed calendar showing when I should be doing what.<br />This book is perfect. It is well written, the directions are clear and the pictures informative. It is already well thumbed and next year I will be better! Congratulations to the author.

brilliant

To dub this a great book is a mad 7that I could find a book telling me anything new about the Battle of Britain. Mr Bishop showed I was sadly awry. I dont want to spoil it for others by giving away the plot. Suffice to say Mr Bishop has found ingenious ways to reheat old stories and make them exciting. he is fine historian and once he brushes up on his grammar and punctuation will be up there amongst the greats like the late AJP Taylor andJack Plumb.

Best book ever!

I can honestly say that this is the best book I have read in a very long time. I am totally mad on cats and have 3 of my own so there were so many bits in this book that I can relate to. It made me laugh and cry and was simply a very enjoyable read. <br /><br />I would highly recommend this book to anybody regardless of what your pet preference is. I could not put the book down I read it cover to cover in one sitting.

Sanity Saver

In desperation as a single parent father I bought this book and the other (F&M) one about How to talk so kids will listen.... What a revelation they are. By acknowledging children's feelings and allowing them to talk most of the conflict has gone. By describing rather than bossing around co-operation has increased. It has not been easy and I still have a long way to go but things are a lot more relaxed. By removing the"competing and comparing with each other" part of the sibling relationship much of the brother and sister conflict and fighting has gone. I also found the idea of family meetings really helpful. By getting the children to contribute to the solution there is definitely more co-operation.
I have no hesitation in recommending it. In fact it probably needs to be compulsory for all parents. Also check out their website www.fabermazlish.com

Good enough to eat

Like the best fruit and veg, this delicious book appeals to all the senses at once. Meticulously researched, it dispels a few allotment myths, fixes facts and sets the record straight in a number of instances. It will be devoured greedily by hard-headed horticulturists and dewy-eyed nostalgics alike; for the historian it supplies a ticklish, oblique insight into Britain's social history. This is a serious and definitive work of fact liltingly well written, bathed in warm, light humour. It is both a work of delight and a work of reference. For lovers of language there is a euphony in plant names which places them right up there with Dorset place names. They taste as well in the mouth as their subjects. Savour them: Cranston's Excelsior, Vaux's Self-Folding, Hero of the Nile, Long Prickly...<br /><br />This book has no rivals. It deserves to be established in discriminating bookshelves everywhere, planted where it can be easily and frequently reached.

A great read

This book is wonderful, imaginative, easy to read and understand. I also found it entertaining, for a 'non cook' that is praise indeed! Although I am no great cook, I do keep chickens for eggs, the wife wont let me eat them, (yet!)I do grow lots of stuff, and much of this is credited to the Author. A man who cherishes his food and where it comes from, and how. This book comes close to being my Bible

Fantastic

I have watched the dog listner on the t.v and found her theories very interesting so purchased her Book. The book is so easy to read with jan sharing her memories of how she started out and her ups and downs not hiding her mistakes. I was in tears during part of the book and fully empathise with her during her experiences. An excellent easy reading book that you can't put down