Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate
Spencer Rascoff & Stan Humphries
ISBN: 9781455574742
Read January 29, 2015
Lots of information that isn't relevant to rural markets, but the tips and tricks about listing houses is very useful.
Got the uneasy impression at intervals that I was reading a book-length advertisement (which, to be fair, it IS), but they did an admirable job using the book itself to provide the actual facts and statistics and information they promise without referencing back to their website/business. I appreciated that a great deal.
They also focused on how important agents are to the process, as I think they get a lot of kickback from that direction regarding average people getting all this valuable information and deciding to go it alone. They emphasize that like a travel agent, they aren't exactly necessary to the process, but if you want to be as well-protected, well-informed, efficient and efficacious as possible, it's best to keep company with a professional.
Quite readable, very personable, and lots of good examples and hypotheticals. Made me a feel a lot more informed about the real estate market.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Nonfiction: The Body Language Handbook, Gregory Hartley & Maryann Karinch
The Body Language Handbook
Gregory Hartley & Maryann Karinch
ISBN: 9781601630766
Read January 27, 2015
Interesting for three main reasons: the discussion of culturally-different expressions and gestures, because of the inclusion of case-study photographs, and the use of models from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to show the huge variability even in the "unconscious" gestures and expressions that humans use.
The explanations of the model photographs were particularly good.
Gregory Hartley & Maryann Karinch
ISBN: 9781601630766
Read January 27, 2015
Interesting for three main reasons: the discussion of culturally-different expressions and gestures, because of the inclusion of case-study photographs, and the use of models from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to show the huge variability even in the "unconscious" gestures and expressions that humans use.
The explanations of the model photographs were particularly good.
Classic SF: Power Play, Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Power Play
Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
ISBN: 0345388267
Read January 28, 2015
Third (final) book of the Petaybee trilogy (Powers that Be, Power Lines)
Oof. The well water gets a bit gritty towards the bottom. Overall storyline concludes nicely - the assholes from the two previous books hire a notorious space pirate to kidnap Yana, Marmion, Diego, and Bunny. Meanwhile, the planet and the people on the surface (mainly Sean, Johnny, and 'Cita/Aoife/Goat-Dung/Youngling) repel invaders intent on despoiling the ample hunting grounds and medicinal biota of the planet.
Plot-devices that were faintly apparent and easy to overlook in the first books got much worse: the slang is dated and ill-used, the language (especially dialogue) is stilted and ridiculous, and situations are obviously contrived for effect rather than sense.
Despite that, and the many eye-rolls and sighs, I did enjoy reading it, and I'm glad I finished off the set. Namid especially is a good character, and it was nice to see the religious supplicants actually being useful characters (although we never find out what happens with "Brother Granite" who isn't who he appears to be).
Also, with the epilogue, can we stop with the fantasy of women giving birth with no pain and it being a magical dreamy perfect experience that ends with them immediately rising from the birthing pool looking "flat-bellied and lithe again"? Seriously? It's patronizing.
Third (final) book of the Petaybee trilogy (Powers that Be, Power Lines)
Oof. The well water gets a bit gritty towards the bottom. Overall storyline concludes nicely - the assholes from the two previous books hire a notorious space pirate to kidnap Yana, Marmion, Diego, and Bunny. Meanwhile, the planet and the people on the surface (mainly Sean, Johnny, and 'Cita/Aoife/Goat-Dung/Youngling) repel invaders intent on despoiling the ample hunting grounds and medicinal biota of the planet.
Plot-devices that were faintly apparent and easy to overlook in the first books got much worse: the slang is dated and ill-used, the language (especially dialogue) is stilted and ridiculous, and situations are obviously contrived for effect rather than sense.
Despite that, and the many eye-rolls and sighs, I did enjoy reading it, and I'm glad I finished off the set. Namid especially is a good character, and it was nice to see the religious supplicants actually being useful characters (although we never find out what happens with "Brother Granite" who isn't who he appears to be).
Also, with the epilogue, can we stop with the fantasy of women giving birth with no pain and it being a magical dreamy perfect experience that ends with them immediately rising from the birthing pool looking "flat-bellied and lithe again"? Seriously? It's patronizing.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Nonfiction: What Every BODY is Saying, Joe Navarro
What Every BODY is Saying
Joe Navarro
ISBN: 9780061438295
Read January 26, 2015
Ex-FBI-agent and Cuban immigrant teaches how to "read" posture and gestures.
There are several books on body language out there, and lots of them have the same basic info as this one (The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara and Allan Pease comes immediately to mind) but this one is different in that Navarro takes the time to get inside the gestures and postures he is describing, and unpacks the psychology and mental gymnastics behind each one.
Super useful, super interesting, and he's quite right that this sort of thing ought to be more commonly known than it is. At the moment, talented con-men, a few investigative agents, a few more behavioral psychologists, and a whole raft of professional actors know all of these tricks instinctively, or through extended attentive concentrated effort, but the everyday person still thinks that someone who doesn't make eye-contact is lying, or that if someone is nervous during an interview it means that they're guilty.
Much recommended, along with Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear).
Joe Navarro
ISBN: 9780061438295
Read January 26, 2015
Ex-FBI-agent and Cuban immigrant teaches how to "read" posture and gestures.
There are several books on body language out there, and lots of them have the same basic info as this one (The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara and Allan Pease comes immediately to mind) but this one is different in that Navarro takes the time to get inside the gestures and postures he is describing, and unpacks the psychology and mental gymnastics behind each one.
Super useful, super interesting, and he's quite right that this sort of thing ought to be more commonly known than it is. At the moment, talented con-men, a few investigative agents, a few more behavioral psychologists, and a whole raft of professional actors know all of these tricks instinctively, or through extended attentive concentrated effort, but the everyday person still thinks that someone who doesn't make eye-contact is lying, or that if someone is nervous during an interview it means that they're guilty.
Much recommended, along with Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear).
Nonfiction: The Elements of Eloquence, Mark Forsyth
The Elements of Eloquence
Mark Forsyth
ISBN: 9780425276181 (imported from England)
Read January 23, 2015
Author goes through various rhetorical figures and how they are used.
Lots of Shakespeare in this book, and a decent smattering of classic English lit, some nursery rhymes and political speechifying, and even a few pop standards.
Very useful for a literature/writing craft resource. I agree heartily with the author that this sort of thing should be consciously taught to anyone who is planning on verbal expression as a large part of their life or profession.
Mark Forsyth
ISBN: 9780425276181 (imported from England)
Read January 23, 2015
Author goes through various rhetorical figures and how they are used.
Lots of Shakespeare in this book, and a decent smattering of classic English lit, some nursery rhymes and political speechifying, and even a few pop standards.
Very useful for a literature/writing craft resource. I agree heartily with the author that this sort of thing should be consciously taught to anyone who is planning on verbal expression as a large part of their life or profession.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Classic SF: Power Lines, Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Power Lines
Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
ISBN: 0345387805
Read January 21, 2015
Second book of the Petaybee trilogy (Powers that Be, Power Play)
Book two of the set was as interesting, perhaps more-so than the first, but suffered from un-wrapped threads at the ending, especially regarding Shush.
Petaybee has just forced a confrontation with Intergal, and they've sent a duo of company execs to determine the best course of action to continue making money from the planet. The lady capitalist Marmion is our added protagonist, along with Goat-Dung (good grief) and Coaxtl on the planetary side. Our new antagonists appear in the form of the "ethnographer" Matthew Luzon, and the continuing obstruction of Torkel Whittaker from the first book.
The planet is melting, the growing season is either early or the climate is shifting, and Intergal is desperate to find pockets of colonists who don't believe Petaybee is a benevolent sentient being (since finding anyone who doesn't believe that it's sentient at all is a bust) and Luzon is off to the southern continent to find them.
There are missing siblings, miraculous rescues, pointedly-useful biota, and general asshattery from the corporation. I thought the pacing was better, and the variety of cultures and attitudes was refreshing, but at the end, there were too many strings to tie up, and some were left to hang, or were tied up in ways that don't make sense even by the very loose plotting standard set by the rest of the book.
Still, fun to read. I'm going to try the last, just so I can say I finished the trilogy.
Second book of the Petaybee trilogy (Powers that Be, Power Play)
Book two of the set was as interesting, perhaps more-so than the first, but suffered from un-wrapped threads at the ending, especially regarding Shush.
Petaybee has just forced a confrontation with Intergal, and they've sent a duo of company execs to determine the best course of action to continue making money from the planet. The lady capitalist Marmion is our added protagonist, along with Goat-Dung (good grief) and Coaxtl on the planetary side. Our new antagonists appear in the form of the "ethnographer" Matthew Luzon, and the continuing obstruction of Torkel Whittaker from the first book.
The planet is melting, the growing season is either early or the climate is shifting, and Intergal is desperate to find pockets of colonists who don't believe Petaybee is a benevolent sentient being (since finding anyone who doesn't believe that it's sentient at all is a bust) and Luzon is off to the southern continent to find them.
There are missing siblings, miraculous rescues, pointedly-useful biota, and general asshattery from the corporation. I thought the pacing was better, and the variety of cultures and attitudes was refreshing, but at the end, there were too many strings to tie up, and some were left to hang, or were tied up in ways that don't make sense even by the very loose plotting standard set by the rest of the book.
Still, fun to read. I'm going to try the last, just so I can say I finished the trilogy.
Tuesday Storytime: Friendship
Two new ones, and one that I read somewhat recently, but I like it, and it's short, so I read it again.
Very Special Friends
Jane Chapman (I'm Not Sleepy, Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip, Bear Feels Sick)
ISBN: 9781561486
Soft-edged woodland creatures in a sweet whimsical gentle woodland world.
Jane Chapman is a gifted illustrator, and her stand-alone books show that she has sweet whimsical stories in her repertoire as well. She nearly always centers in on the emotional world of children where emotions are primal and happy times seem to last forever, and friendships are the linchpin of the world. This one is no exception: Mouse heads to the riverbank to wait for her special friends, and is joined in her vigil by Rabbit, Frog, and Turtle. At the end of a lovely day of visiting and waiting, Mouse announces that she's heading home, and her companions demur, saying that she should keep waiting for her friends. Mouse answers that she's been with her special friends all day! Just a smidge on the saccharine side for me to truly adore, but it's sweet and the illustrations are so gentle and happy.
The Story of Fish and Snail
Deborah Freedman
ISBN: 9780670784899
Reviewed here.
Still love this cute story of friends working through their differences (and a nice rip-roarer of an argument) and compromising and growing in order to stay together. As a thought, it would go very well with Brigitte Weninger & Eve Tharlet's similarly conflict-resolving book, Why Are You Fighting, Davy?
The Very Lonely Firefly
Eric Carle (Mister Seahorse, )
ISBN: 0399227741
Carle's signature illustrations follow a firefly through the night - the last page has battery-operated lights inside a swarm of fireflies.
Carle is always fun. Here we have a lonesome firefly, just born, seeking out the lights in the night for companionship. There are all sorts of lights that are NOT fireflies first; porchlights, candles, flashlights, headlights, animal eyes gleaming, fireworks (no lightning tho) before the persistent little creature finds the company they've been searching for. I never noticed until this reading that the firefly is never gendered during the story, which is always a nice touch.
Very Special Friends
Jane Chapman (I'm Not Sleepy, Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip, Bear Feels Sick)
ISBN: 9781561486
Soft-edged woodland creatures in a sweet whimsical gentle woodland world.
Jane Chapman is a gifted illustrator, and her stand-alone books show that she has sweet whimsical stories in her repertoire as well. She nearly always centers in on the emotional world of children where emotions are primal and happy times seem to last forever, and friendships are the linchpin of the world. This one is no exception: Mouse heads to the riverbank to wait for her special friends, and is joined in her vigil by Rabbit, Frog, and Turtle. At the end of a lovely day of visiting and waiting, Mouse announces that she's heading home, and her companions demur, saying that she should keep waiting for her friends. Mouse answers that she's been with her special friends all day! Just a smidge on the saccharine side for me to truly adore, but it's sweet and the illustrations are so gentle and happy.
The Story of Fish and Snail
Deborah Freedman
ISBN: 9780670784899
Reviewed here.
Still love this cute story of friends working through their differences (and a nice rip-roarer of an argument) and compromising and growing in order to stay together. As a thought, it would go very well with Brigitte Weninger & Eve Tharlet's similarly conflict-resolving book, Why Are You Fighting, Davy?
The Very Lonely Firefly
Eric Carle (Mister Seahorse, )
ISBN: 0399227741
Carle's signature illustrations follow a firefly through the night - the last page has battery-operated lights inside a swarm of fireflies.
Carle is always fun. Here we have a lonesome firefly, just born, seeking out the lights in the night for companionship. There are all sorts of lights that are NOT fireflies first; porchlights, candles, flashlights, headlights, animal eyes gleaming, fireworks (no lightning tho) before the persistent little creature finds the company they've been searching for. I never noticed until this reading that the firefly is never gendered during the story, which is always a nice touch.
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