Newest Home and Family Reviews
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Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener
It takes a year to do a PGCE. Some other people even do whole 3 year degrees in teaching. Not me. I did a 20 day course. Those other teachers may not need this sort of book, but gosh, did I, especially when a job offer came my way on day 7, and I was suddenly only a few short weeks away from having real live students at my mercy. There are two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) 'bibles'. One is this one, and the other is How To Teach English by Jeremy Harmer. Also known as the purple one and the blue one in our household. I like purple better, so it's this one that made it into my pathetic 20kg-for-a-year luggage allowance. Lucky for me, I chose well (and Amazon users agree... the purple one gets 5* customer reviews, the blue one only 2.5*) Full review...
Living and Working in the UK by Mathew Collins and Nicky Barclay
Living and Working in the UK claims to be a source of all the practical information you need to live happily in the UK, whether you are a student, an expat or an HR professional intending to bring staff over.
Unfortunately, it's nothing of the sort. Most of its bulk is a compilation of information easily available in the public domain (the sources are scrupulously quoted) that at the first look seems excellent and comprehensive, but which, on more detailed perusal, is very, very disappointing. Full review...
You Can Think Yourself Thin by Ursula James
I wanted to read this book because I have always struggled with my weight since having my two children. Although more traditional diets have worked for me in the short term I never seem to be able to maintain the weight loss so I was fast reaching the conclusion that I needed to work on my mind as well as my body. Ursula James' book You Can Think Yourself Thin came along at just the right time for me and I have been absolutely astounded by the effects of reading this book and listening to the hypnosis tracks. I had never tried anything like this before and was even alittle skeptical but not any more! Full review...
Daily Mail Tax Guide 2008/2009 by Jane Vass
I doubt that there's anyone who genuinely looks forward to completing a Tax Return. Even as an ex-Inspector of Taxes I'll freely admit that the thought of it fills me with dread. It's tedious, but important that you don't get it wrong. So, what do you do? Professional assistance can be expensive and isn't necessarily entirely reliable. You can go along to your H M Revenue and Customs Enquiry Centre, but their function is to answer your queries rather than give advice about where you could minimise your tax bill. Going it alone is free, but you need to have comprehensive knowledge of taxation to be sure that you're paying the correct amount of tax. The Daily Mail Tax Guide 2008/2009 will give most people all the information that they need to ensure that they're getting it right. Full review...
Against the Machine: Being Human in the Era of the Electronic Mob by Lee Siegel
Some people switch the television or the radio on first thing in the morning and only turn it off when they go to bed. For me, it's the computer and particularly the internet. It's my source of information, my work, my play and to an unfortunately large extent, my social life. To most it seems bizarre that I list amongst my friends people I've never met or even spoken to, but it's a fact. Whilst I might argue that circumstances have thrust this situation upon me and that life would be emptier without the computer it's still something which shouldn't be allowed to persist without thought. High-tech isolation and social famine are not necessarily the best way forward. Full review...
On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening Without Boundaries by Richard Reynolds
The term "guerrilla gardening" was first used in New York in 1973 to describe the transformation of a derelict private plot into a garden, although the actual practice is much older. As an environmental movement, guerrilla gardening is a form of direct action in which flowering or food plants are established on an abandoned piece of land, without the owner's permission, saving the land from neglect or misuse and giving it a new purpose. It is also a political stance, challenging issues of land ownership, the misuse of urban land and the deterioration of the urban environment. Full review...
The Self-sufficientish Bible by Andy Hamilton and Dave Hamilton
Andy and Dave Hamilton practice what they preach. They grow vegetables, they forage for wild food, they cycle, they make-and-mend-do. They don't live on a farm with many acres to play with, but live in Bristol and enjoy what the city has to offer, but want a low-impact lifestyle. They haven’t renounced the real world. They realise that the whole hog of self-sufficiency isn't for everyone, hence the concept of "self-sufficientish" – doing what you can, with what you have, and with an eye on the environment, ethical living and saving money. Full review...
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
The Secret has been on Amazon's list of top bestsellers for quite a while now. (It's no 12 at the time of writing). The description suggested a motivational self-help book of some kind and the synopsis referred to physicists, old oral traditions, religions, poetry and philosophy. Intrigued by the consistently high ranking, I included the book in my last order even though I am not normally in a market for this kinds of work. Full review...
