Greg

If you are longing for nostalgia then this isn't bad. It is a compendium of Popular Mechanics pamphlets made for service men in WWII (I think that's the right war)

Otherwise, give it a skip

Sorry to go against the grain but I did not like this book all that much. I found the format to be more annoying than astounding and felt like sometimes the marginalia was there to bolster the story because the author could not find a way to make it work in the actual narrative.

Granted, obviously multitudes of people have loved this book and I think Mr. Larsen does have talent as can be evidenced in his conversations with “Valero” and other portions in the latter part of the book. But overall I can say I read it but I can't say I'm happy about it.

Needs more salt.

A good story is a good story no matter what the genre and indeed this is a good story. In the first and last chapters my heart was pounding and had to remind myself to breathe. There were a lot of good chapters in between too. I would have given this book four stars but there were times when Joe Willie, the busted up rodeo champion didn't ring true. The Mothers and Grandmothers also got just a tad preachy on occasion. But overall this was a fine book. I liked it.

Great autobiography. Makes me appreciate at and it's value in society and culture even more.

Nice follow up book to the author's previous two titles.

Some excellent pointers around base lining between comfort and discomfort parameters in those you are speaking with. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of “happy feet” telling us where others intentions are truly pointed.

One other interesting piece is the positioning of the thumbs outside the pocket with the palm inserted into the pocket. Per Mr. Navarro this is usually indicative of someone who feels superior to you. I work in a hospital around physicians and have zeroed in on this exact hand positioning several times in the past week. Nothing that I can do with it except smile and perhaps stroke that ego.

Good, easy read that is well worth your time.

I know I'm in the minority here but for me this was capital B - Boring. I got through the eighth chapter and realized life is much too short to listen/read to something like this. Perhaps it would have helped if I had read some of his earlier works...but the author's reading voice was devoid of inflection. Obviously a lot of other people enjoyed it though.

Not as powerful as her first book, “How to WOW” but there are some good insights. The gray sidebars were sometimes more irritating than informative.

Excellent book that synthesizes how to learn for growth and retention using the frameworks of chess and push hands Tai Chi.

Chess Master and Tai Chi Nationals winner, Josh Waitzkin, describes how he learns and excels. The usage of the seemingly disparate frameworks keeps the book interesting and on point.

Be sure to visit his website

http://www.joshwaitzkin.com/

Frightening and since this was published in 2001 I believe the situations are much more dire than they were even then.

I let this book languish on the bookshelves for several weeks before I picked it up to take a look. I'm glad I finally picked it up! This book is one of those books that pulls you immediately in to the story and won't let you come up for air until you've read the whole thing. My only regret is that the author died after this her first and only book.

Sing Them Home is a book that is a delight to the ear. Ms. Kallos unerring word choice and turns of phrase transform this good book to a great book. The characters in this Welsh community in Nebraska are spot on and you quickly start identifying them with parts of your own blood and extended family with all of their dysfunctions. By turns funny, sad, maddening and bittersweet it is a complete story that will fill you up and leaves you on just the right note!

Solid entertainment with excellent twists!

Town founders make a pact with Mr. D in order that their families and themselves will be protected from sickness until they are 80 years old or die from an accident and the fallout for future generations.

There has always been a graveminder and an undertaker who acts as her protector/consort in the town of Claysville. As long as the dead are tended to with words, food, and drink they stay in the ground. Unfortunately when the lust for power overtakes a potential graveminder the dead are allowed to walk again and create havoc.

Good zombie book that claims not to be a zombie book. Enjoyed the story and was deliciously creeped out.

Tam Lin re-imagined in a modern classic fairy tale.

Well developed world and characters that you will actually care about. This is a book that will keep you up late!

Nothing original or nothing shared in an original way, but every author deserves at least two stars for writing a book.

An obvious ending, but other than that a good read.

Quirky gathering of photos by the author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Children.

Ransom Riggs has a hobby of collecting old snapshots. Many of these have notations of what the photo was supposed to be of or humorous sayings written by the subject or the photographer, i.e. “This is when they loved each other.” written on the photo of a couple embracing.

This is a poignant, humorous collection that will have you flipping back to your favorites again and again.

Rehash of Napoleon Hill's tenets. Meh.

Buddhism techniques to help or improve the quality of your sleep.

Quick read. Made me feel better about some of my concerns about my sleep. It is OK to nap. You wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and that can be OK too. Mantras applicable to many areas of your life, i.e. I sense a concern around a particular discomfort as I sit (meditate). I smile at the discomfort and continue to sit. This could easily be replaced with I sense a strong desire for a cupcake. I smile at the desire and continue.

Uncomfortable, challenging read.

Much anticipated. Didn't live up to previous books, but whadda ya gonna do?

Good storyteller, not as good a story. The concept was appealing but there were a lot of unnecessary jaunts down different trails that did not add to the story.

I just read this book nine years after the original publication date and it scares the crap out of me even more so than it would have if I'd read it when it first came out. So many of the things Mr. Strauss talks about are coming true...it may be too late.

Tom Franklin captures a perfect snapshot of the charged intensity of the laid back South.

His description of the bullying of the teenage and adult Larry Ott will make you burn with a red streaked sense of shame and humiliation if you have ever been bullied or didn't step up when you saw bullying occur.

For me there was rarely a misstep as this short brutal tale unwinds like a lazy Southern river.

Well done.