Making Stuff: An Alternative Craft Book (Interior Design) -

The Craft of the Classroom: A Survival Guide to Classroom Management in the Secondary School Customer Review: The most helpful publication I have read
This is the most helpful publication I have read on classroom management and how to avoid problems rather than deal with them. My copy was given to me by my former headmaster when I began my teaching career sixteen years ago and I find myself quoting from it spontaneously as I guide Beginner Teachers. The advice is timeless and will help you to create a calm and orderly environment in which your pupils can learn most effectively. As Marland states, teachers are not ‘born’, they learn their skills, and this book will give trainees a headstart in doing just that.
Customer Review: Invaluable
It may look and occasionally sound (eg in its advice on what to wear) dated, but this is a wise and realistic book - I’m sure it would help PGCE students, NQTs and many others in their early years of teaching. The book’s great strength is its practical advice - few books or even courses would go into as much depth about routines of giving out books, how to set out your markbook, and how to pace yourself through the term and year, and yet these are the issues that to a great extent determine whether a young teachers succeeds or struggles. Marland offers many hints and tips, and urges you to accept them but still leaves alternatives open if they seem more appropriate. Buy it, read it, and then read it again in a few months to make sure you have imbibed all the ideas - it may make all the difference to your career.

Decorative Knot Craft: Over 20 Innovative Knotting and Macrame Accessories -

The Craft of Research (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing & Publishing) Customer Review: Brilliant, specially for researchers that don’t have a clue.
People keep telling me that they do not know how to start writing a journal/conference paper or how to start their thesis and I always recommend this book. It was one of the first books I had to read when I started my PhD and I am still thanking the professor who told me to buy this book.

Highly recommended, especially if you are new to research and you are in any of the social sciences, including information systems ;).
Customer Review: The most under rated book ever
This book lay in my university library untouched for the four years it had been on the shelves I found it completley by accident because I was sick and tired of being given research models and methodology papers that never made any sense but to run through the shredder, several times!!!! This book has to be the ultimate step by step guide to writing any form of research paper or even a two page essay argument why in the world they keep bringing the 150,000 number out I have no idea because every person who has to write a paper or just wants to write papers for fun (if there is such a thing) should have a copy of this book and plus 10 quid isn’t exactly going to break the student coffers.

Reeds PBO Small Craft Almanac 2008 (Reeds Practical Boat Owner) -

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Customer Review: Pretty helpful… best part is about his own youth
This is really three books - one about his own youth and upbringing. This is energetic, eloquent and insightful into the writer that we all know and love. Second comes his viewpoints on writing. They are pretty helpful and also quite concise, and should help anyone serious about the craft. However, I found the third part about his accident uninteresting. I know that it is a fact it happened, but many of us have been through similar experiences. I don’t really empathise with the author through this part.

However, it is on the whole a candid look at an amazing man, and will make people think twice about the great dividing line between popular fiction and literature.
Customer Review: Marvelous
ON WRITING is better than I thought it would be. It's marvelous. I finished it in less than two days.

In the First Forward, Stephen King observes that popular novelists are never “asked about the language” when queried by admiring fans. Thus, he states:

“What follows is an attempt to put down , briefly and simply, how I came to the craft (of telling stories on paper), what I know about it now, and how it's done. It's about the day job; it's about the language.”

In the first hundred or so pages, King shares his experiences growing up in Maine and Connecticut, his marriage, his struggles as a novice writer, and his drug and alcohol problems. King intends this section not as an autobiography, but as a curriculum vitae. It ends with the assignment of the paperback rights to CARRIE, his first novel.

In the next 150 pages, the author describes how he performs his craft. He explains the “tools” of writing (vocabulary and grammar), the creative environment (the room, the door, the determination to close the door, and the music - Hard Rock in King's case), style and formatting (paragraphing, narration, description, and dialogue), and the final stretch to a finished piece (drafts, editing, and proofreading by a trusted friend - wife/author Tabitha in King's case).

The final few pages, in a way, are the most interesting. It's Stephen's account of the road accident in 1999 that inflicted multiple fractures to his ribs and lower body, and the effect the mishap had on his writing. Ironically enough, he'd half completed this book at the time of the incident, and he had to struggle to come back and finish.

Though King was once a high school English teacher, ON WRITING is in no way pedantic, but chatty and informal. It's a book straight from the author's heart, and it shows.

“Don't wait for the muse … This isn't the Ouija board or the spirit-world we're talking about here, but just another job like laying pipe or driving long-haul trucks. Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon or seven 'til three. If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic.”

The author's first rule for good writing is that the writer must read a lot. Well, I do that - constantly. Perhaps I can improve my own poor scribbling. In this review, I've followed his advice; I've kept the paragraphs short and avoided use of passive sentence construction. That's something, at least.

Polymer Clay and Mixed Media - Together at Last: Incorporating Craft Materials and Found Objects in Clay Figures -

Little Book of Heirloom Christmas Tree Decorations (Milner Craft Series) (Milner Craft Series)

Craft of the Classroom (Heinemann school management) -

Complete Home Crafts Complete Home Crafts is a seriously appealing book for the crafter whose main interest is enhancing the home. Even craft fans who don’t have time to think about yet another undertaking will no doubt find themselves seduced by one of these 51 simple and lovely projects–whether it’s a painted clock for the kitchen, a mosaic bathroom cabinet, or a decoupage wastebasket for the home office. Innes’s tips at the end of the book are explicit enough for any beginner, and most of the crafts are inexpensive and don’t require an artist’s eye for great results. This is truly a part-time crafter’s delight.
Customer Review: Anyone for a makeover?
This is one of those books which most craftworkers will look at and say “already know that” to about 90% of the contents - but on the basis that you can’t know everything - this is worth having for the bits you don’t. It reminds me of the makeover shows on TV where someone takes an old table and turns it into something much worse - I think some of the ideas are in here…. so if you want to stencil your floorboards, or gild the odd lamp or two, decorate a few tiles or make something using driftwood - this is definitely for you.
If you want a book full of ideas for keeping youngsters occupied the book covers most simple crafts and would be ideal to share with children. you could get them to decorate a plantpot or two - or even a metal watering can only acrylic paint, varnish and decorative paper motif(s) are required. Useful, but only for newcomers to any craft.

The Actor’s Art and Craft: William Esper Teaches the Meisner Technique -

Parchment Craft

Ecoart!: Earth-friendly Art and Craft Experiences for 3 to 9 Year Olds (Williamson Kids Can! Books) -

Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts! Amigurumi (Crafts) (Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts) Customer Review: Very cute indeed
These are delightful patterns. I really like the way the patterns are presented but have a criticism: There is no explanation on how to start (you have to crochet into the slip knot and pull it tight but ther is no explanation how to do this) and the first pattern I followed (small teddy bear) had a mistake in it. For an experienced crocheter no problem but for a novice of the crat offputting - which is a shame because the results are just adorable. I hope they iron out the mistakes in the next edition!
Customer Review: Cute teddies
This book is presented well and the charting used is easy to follow,however I have several complaints about this book.
Firstly it did not explain how to start the loop to begin the crochet rounds and I had to refer to another book to work this out.
Secondly the little teddy pattern has most of the pattern missing for the arms and legs so I just had to make it up to finish it, not great for a beginner! I will conceed that the finished teddy is extremely cute and has both my daughters fighting over it. Time to make another one!

The Historian’s Craft -

The Craft: A Witch’s Book of Shadows Customer Review: Ideal for beginners
Of all the books on wicca I have read, I would say that this one is defiantly an advantage for a beginner, or for a Christian who does not perceive that wiccans and Neo-Pagans are simply a peaceful race who worship nature.
Dorothy seems to compare Christianity to wicca intensely at the start of this book, and soon after the first chapter has many ways to improve your life. This book explains why good things happen to Christians who ask for it, how real magick works, and how you can do your own magick.
Note that if you are not a beginner, I would highly recommend another book for someone of your level, and if you are a beginner, I would rather recommend a book entitled “Inner Magic” by Ann Marie Gallagher.
If you are annoyed of the `happy’ or `fluffy bunny’ side of wicca and paganism, I suggest you get any book by my favorite dark neo-pagan, Konstantinos.

Customer Review: The Craft: A Witch's Book of Shadows
This book is perfect for those either with an interest in Wicca or those that have a little experience in the Craft. It is not a novel or someone’s theories and opinions on Wicca and should not be taken as such. This book is best used as a source of reference. I have found the book useful when casing spells and balancing elements. If you are looking for a practical Wicca reference book this is the one to buy.
My only negative comment I have is that the book is very US centered (as many books written in the US are) especially when ingredient and measurements are concerned.

Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing -

Green Woodworker’s Pattern Book: Over 300 Traditional Craft Designs Customer Review: excellent resource but don’t mistake it for a coffee table book!
This is a comprehensive and functional pattern book and as such fulfills it’s role very well. The line drawings are the clearest way of illustrating the items shown. If you’re expecting a glossy coffee table book or a step by step DIY manual then this book isn’t for you though actually you don’t need a huge amount of woodworking knowledge to follow the text and illustrations - perfecting the techniques is another matter. There is a certain amount of ‘how to’….. the section of jointing techniques is very useful. Maybe a bit more ‘how to’ and a more systematic layout would make this a 5 star buy! Excellent nonetheless.
Customer Review: Not for the beginner
I would agree with the Gibbons reviewer in that this book is not comprehensible, certainly not for the beginner. Not even any beautiful photographs, just black and white sketches that I could not make head nor tail of. I would definitely NOT recommend this item.

Teach Yourself Flower Arranging (TY Arts & Crafts) -

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft Customer Review: A must for serious novelists
Every section teaches a critical skill, each essential for the mastery of novel writing. My copy is thumbworn from constant reference on how to apply specific techniques. If you are a beginning novelist and want to understand how to get started on the right foot, you must read this book.
Customer Review: Best book on the craft of writing ever written!
I teach writing in the UCLA Writer’s Program (online) and always recommend this and “What If” by Ann Bernays and Pam Painter. Burroway’s book is absolutely the best book on the craft of writing I’ve ever found. Anybody who aims to write well would do him- or herself a huge favor by buying this book. I’ve been drawn to it over and over when writing my own books, “The Death of Tarpons” (novel), “Monday’s Meal” (Collection of short stories; and my forthcoming “Over Easy” from Random House and Ballantine Books (1999). I’m now involved in writing screenplays and the techniques Ms. Burroway covers in her book cover that form as well. I think giving it 5 stars is not enough and if it were possible to award ten stars, I would, enthusiastically. If you only buy one book on writing in your lifetime, make it this one!