The Quilt Maker: A Story Collection

Average customer rating:

Fabulous Storyteller!

Better Than "Chicken Soup"

Quilting Stories At Their Best

Worthy of a cozy armchair on a rainy afternoon--or anytime

The Quilt Maker: A Story Collection
Barbara Deming
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

More Quilts From The Quiltmaker's Gift

The Christmas Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel (Elm Creek Quilts Novels)

ASIN: 1591094909
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Book Description

A collection of very entertaining stories filled with humor, the nostalgia of days gone by and the spirit of America's quilting crafters.

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Storyteller!.......2005-05-05

Barbara Deming is a fabulous storyteller! Her collection of short stories in The Quilt Maker is testament to this fact. She has the ability to draw in a reader with the lead sentence of every story, and keep the reader's interest throughout. The Quilt Maker is filled with down-home type stories, of city and country life. Each story is titled after a quilt pattern, and talented Ms. Deming brings more meaning to each pattern than just a designed piece of fabric. The patterns as stories become fabrics of life that any person can relate to and cherish. I highly recommend The Quilt Maker to anyone seeking short, but wonderful reading material.

Better Than "Chicken Soup".......2003-05-05

The stories in this collection are very human. The author has a special ability that transfers emotions right off the pages and into the reader. If you like the Chicken Soup Series, you'll love this book. If you don't, you'll love this book.

Quilting Stories At Their Best.......2003-04-24

There are quilters in my family and they, too, have read Barbara's book and rate it as highly as I. Her stories woven around various quilt patterns are most interesting. Some of them are heart gripping while others put one in the center of the setting as though experiencing the event itself. Also, the size of the book makes it handy to carry to read while waiting in line. One of my favorite stories is 'Flower Garden' on page 121, perhaps because it has sentimental value, and also because it tells a vivid story.

Worthy of a cozy armchair on a rainy afternoon--or anytime.......2003-04-24

The Quilt Maker by Barbara Deming is a fine collection of short stories revolving around the art of quilt making. Ms. Deming creates a patchwork of hand-stitched stories all wrapped up in love, nostalgia and romance.

Book Description

All-the-answers guide to television receivers

For the best handle on the brave new world of 21st century TV receiver design, specification, installation, and maintenance, look to Television Receivers, from leading expert Jerry Whitaker. This insider's guide explains what's new in receivers, making a complex subject manageable, accessible, and understandable. With its focus on changes and advances in TV receiver technology, this primer is a professional essential, with enough coverage of technological fundamentals to give you solid footing in new areas so you can:

* Find needed details on DTV (digital) and analog receiver systems
* Confidently plan and operate any new receiver type
*Develop innovations for display, storage, and tuner components
* Implement and service cable and satellite receiver equipment
* Apply examples of Internet broadcast receiver and PC-based DTV systems
* Build expertise in interactive videoconferencing and other business-related applications
* Answer questions on technologies such as decoder chips
* Understand CRT, projection, and flat panel display devices
* Get examples of necessary mathematics, fully explained with practical examples, diagrams, and schematics,

Amazon.com

It is impossible not to love the hysterical monster mystery Harum Scarum. The plot is well thought out, and the characters--a police detective dog, a wise-cracking reporter cat, and an innocent-bystander bunny--are utterly enjoyable. The bunny's school pal asks him to stop by the pal's father's place and to bring along a journalist. Imagine the surprise of the bunny and the journalist when they find a monster in the apartment! From there they get wrapped up in police cover-ups, communist terrorists, and a mad scientist's plan to cleanse the world. Lewis Trondheim's gift of comics storytelling really shows through when you read a scene in which one of the characters explains a trick or a trap, and you can go back a few panels and see the whole thing perfectly set up, wondering all the while how you could have missed it. And Trondheim's ability to have his character's dialogue devolve into petty discourses about trivial matters such as the "niceties of tipping and the exact location of the jugular vein" is a true joy.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Ever.......2000-12-14

I love both of these books. I wish they would hurry up and translate some more, already!! I discovered them by accident and am finding myself giving them to all my friends. They are funny, silly, and wonderfully surreal, and totally satisfying. I keep reading them over again.

In Harum Scarum, I am reminded of Blood Music, the book where some strange scientific experiment goes waaaay out of control. Except this is much less nihilistic, and in fact the story goes totally over the top in just the right way. It's a kind of anti-Scooby Doo thing: instead of pulling the mask off of old man Carlson -- aw, you gotta read it yourself. I loved it. It was hilarious, a total find.

The plot tightens.......1999-12-14

What makes a comic book a chef-d'oeuvre ? Suspense ? Action ? Humour ? Pretty pictures ? Witty dialogues ? Well, everything and much more appears in Harum Scarum, by one of the best European cartoonists. - The scene takes place in France at the beginning of the century. The someday-famous McConey, a naive student, is unwillingly attracted in zillions of adventures : he'll meet a mad scientist, an ambitious journalist, a rather curious police officer, as well as burglars, snipers, lizard-looking monsters, time-travel machines, terrorists and so on. Amazingly enough, this all makes sense in Trondheim's World, where characters never lose neither their self-control nor their sense of humour. This book may please children of every age, and also adults (even more, maybe) : there's MUCH more in this comic book than in an usual cartoon. You'll be amazed !

Book Description

Blow Up, Get Carter, Performance, A Clockwork Orange, Quadrophenia, Naked, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels—in recent years, an industry has grown up around certain British cult movies, spawning soundtracks, videos, internet sites, and cinematic re–releases. The makers of these films have become icons of cool, revered throughout the worlds of film, music, and fashion. How has this come about? And what turns these films into lifestyles? Drawing on exclusive interviews with studio bosses, actors, filmmakers, and fans, and touring dozens of film locations, Your Face Here reveals all.

Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties

Average customer rating:

Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties
Ali; Wells, Simon Catterall
Manufacturer: Fourth Estate
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8QCP0

Book Description

Music holds amazing power over us. While it permeates and gives rhythm to our lives, most of us take it for granted and rarely consider its impact and potential. Training with a Beat is a lively introduction to understanding that force, and applying it to training.

This practical "how-to" guide is written with the musical layperson in mind. The author reveals in straightforward language why music is a critical learning resource, explains the necessary concepts and terms, and concludes with vivid examples of practice and a list of suggested resources. He provides all the background and tools to enable trainers and educators confidently to use music to improve learning.

A valuable and extensive appendix lists recommended CDs and offers track-by-track examples of potential training applications.

Readers of this book will:

Discover how music contributes to learning
Understand music theory principles relevant to learning
Know how to select music appropriate for different training situations
Discover effective musical games and activities and how they teach
Understand the related legal and copyright issues

This unique resource will be welcomed by trainers, facilitators, presenters and adult educators looking for additional tools to add impact to their material and improve learning outcomes.

Customer Reviews:

Using Music to Really Enhance Learning.......2002-08-26

I recently purchased and read Mr. Millbower's marvelous book on integrating music into adult learning. So many trainers attempt to apply techniques that are aimed at enhancing their programs, only to fall short because there is not solid research behind their strategies. Lenn suceeds in bringing theory to life.
He has effectively incorporated his professional and academic training in music into the learning process. Through many real-world examples, listings of actual songs that trainers can use in their programs, and down-to-earth explanations, he has provided a valuable training reference.
Shortly after reading the book, I had an opportunity to see Lenn do a presentation on the book's topic for a local professional group. His humor, technique, presentation style (using a variety of music) were fantastic and he received many cudos from audience members. He really brought his book content to life and showed how effectively trainers can use music to tap into attendee emotion and past learning. I know that even though I write and present on creative training and brain-based learning topics, I picked up a number of new strategies and ideas to incorporate music into my own future presentations.
This book is a "must have" for any professional trainer or educator who is serious about enhancing his or her learning environment.

PRESENTING TO THE BEAT.......2002-08-19

Reviewed by John Garrison, PhD, MPH Senior Psychologist, Lahey Clinic, Burlington MA Assistant Clinical Professor (Psychiatry), Tufts University Medical School. Reprinted with permission of NAMC, managed by and located at Stewart Communications, Ltd., Chicago, IL

Earlier this year I was invited to speak on the topic of stress as part of an all-day continuing education program for nurses. Having been assigned the dreaded presentation slot immediately following lunch, I was considering the potentially soporific effect of my 45-minute psychophysiology lecture on the audience's postprandial state! I doubted that even my jazzy PowerPoint presentation with video assists would be up to the challenge.

Then I recalled having read a suggestion for using music to counter audience drowsiness after a meal. I flipped open Lenn Millbower's slim but thought-provoking volume, Training with the Beat. Based on the author's recom-mendation, I played an audiocassette of a Brahms Sonata for about 15 minutes as the audience filed back into the auditorium after their lunch. To my surprise, the listeners appeared quite alert during the presentation, and several spontaneously commented on the pleasing impact of the music. Since then, using Millbower's guidelines, I've begun selectively to add music to many of my presentations with pleasing results.

This book, written by a professor who is also a business trainer and musician, is a theory and research-based (but practical) "how-to" guide for speakers, trainers, and educators who wish to use instrumental and vocal music to enhance the learning potential and entertainment value of their presentations. Much like employing a graphic to make a point in a slide presentation, a presenter might choose a recording of a musical piece to produce any one of a number of effects such as developing a positive learning environment, creating a sound metaphor for an idea, or transporting the audience to a different time and place.

Designed for the scholarly but non musician reader, Training includes criteria for selecting specific music to meet the requirements posed by particular situations and audiences - for example, a baroque instrumental to establish a mood or a vocal to create a metaphor for learning. Those doubtful that music holds amazing persuasive power need go no further than radio and TV advertisements for evidence to the contrary. Citations ranging from The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience to Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology are included for those readers requiring additional documentation. The book includes comprehensive listings of CDs/audiocassettes organized into a matrix of recommended applications simplifying choice. Legal and copyright considerations are addressed in the final chapter As the author notes at the end of this work, music does not replace effective lecturing but adds a powerful tool to the presenter's repertory. Speakers, trainers, and educators may all find something of value here.

The Power of Music.......2000-11-07

What emotions does your favorite song bring to mind? Beethoven called music "the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit." Lenn Millbower's "Training With a Beat: The Teaching Power of Music" talks about what music is, how we process it, its effects upon us, and how we can use it to enhance adult learning. Aimed at corporate trainers, presenters, and educators, it will also be helpful for anyone in business who wants to enhance meetings or brainstorming sessions with music, as well as anyone wanting to learn about music and its influence on our ability to learn.

Among the types of music particularly good for learning are Baroque, because its rhythm closely matches that of the human heart in a restful state, and Mozart, which is currently being touted as being beneficial to infant development. It is in this state that the brain is most receptive to learning.

Drawing on his backgrounds in training and professional musicianship, Millbower writes concisely, making brain theory and music theory understandable to all readers, gives examples, and illustrates his points with entertaining stories. The text also practices the principles of good teaching in other ways: summarizing key points as you go and providing helpful graphics, such as a chart of specifically how different types of music can be used in training.

He includes a fun list of popular music organized by business-related topic that trainers can use to introduce or close segments of programs: "That's What Friends Are For" for teamwork, "Call Me" for customer service, and "We Can Work It Out" for stress management. No book about music use would be complete without a section on copyright law, which explains the user's obligations.

Overall I'd recommend this book because, as they used to say on "American Bandstand," it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent intro for novices.......2001-03-28

Chuck Badone, Winning Horseracing Handicapping 2/E (Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, 1999)

Badone, the selections guru at the newly-opened Lone Star Park, wrote a book on handicapping long ago, during his days of giving seminars at Turf Paradise. When Lone Star opened, they reprinted the book with a number of revisions from Badone, as a kind of new-fan primer. Too bad they kept the gramatically painful title, but other than that, there's little that will steer you wrong here.

If you've already read the basic handicapping texts, you're not going to find terribly much here you haven't read before, though Badone does put a few things into new perspectives. This book isn't aimed at the well-read horseplayer, however, but at the new patron. Badone lays his material out quickly and easily, but without the pedantry that mars a number of books for beginning handicappers. He's extremely easy to read, and his section on class changes is the easiest-to-understand I've ever read (not to mention one of the most solid; it's not Jim Quinn's _Class of the Field_, but for the beginning player, it's great stuff). Highly recommended for casual and new fans of Thoroughbred racing...

Book Description

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of the classic book in the field provides a conceptual foundation for the fund raising profession. Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising examines the profession's principles, strategies, and methods and is filled with practical examples. Guided by the enduring philosophy of fund raising master Henry A. Rosso, contributors explain the reasoning behind the planning and selection of strategies for all fund raising activities, including building your case for support, approaching donors, managing campaigns, and demonstrating stewardship.

Read a Charity Channel review:

http://charitychannel.com/publish/templates/?a=293&z=25

Customer Reviews:

Mandatory textbook.......2007-05-13

I'm disappointed in this textbook because it does not provide much bang for the buck. I believe that the text could have been half as thick, half as expensive and provide no less information than it does.

Well-researched and nicely executed.......2004-12-30

Like many in the Jossey Bass series, Tempel's work is thorough and well-written, covering all important aspects of fundraising. A great introductory guide.

A must read for the fundraising professional!.......2003-06-30

Whether you've been in the fundraising profession for 10 minutes or 10 years, do yourself a favour and read this book. It will make you proud to be part of the tradition of philanthropy. It will inspire and guide you. You will see yourself and the volunteers and donors you work with in a whole new light. Don't put it in your library. Keep it on your desk. The first time you read it, and you will read it joyfully from cover to cover, keep pen and paper handy. You will find yourself making a list of things you need and want to do. Achieving Excellence in Fundraising is thoughtful and thought-provoking. It is the place where the theory, practice, philosophy and spirituality of a great tradition meet.

Review for the Golden Gate Chapter of AFP Newsletter.......2003-05-31

On my fundraising shelf stood just two books and a binder: "Designs for Fundraising" by Harold Seymour © 1966; "The Raising of Money" by James Gregory Lord © 1987, and my collected monthly newsletters of tips from Taft. Not a lot to go on, but Seymour's classic helped me enormously, imparting such nuggets as, "At best, with few exceptions, people don't pay close or careful attention to anything."

OK, so listen up. Times have changed. Many, many books now beckon us, delivering the full spectrum of nonprofit knowledge. Yet all books are not equal. When Henry (Hank) Rosso gathered a number of esteemed colleagues together and put out Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising in 1991, it represented a milestone in fundraising education, based as it was on his many years of teaching through The Fund Raising School, which he founded right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The School later became a program of The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, and it continues to provide superior, basic training in fund raising principle and practice throughout the country. All the years of teaching experience and the benefits of association with IU are now reflected in this expanded, caught-up-with-the-world second edition of the "Rosso" (RAH-so).

It was time. Consider that when Achieving Excellence debuted in 1991, the stock market stood at 2736, Giving USA estimated total philanthropic support at $105 billion, and the National Science Foundation had just lifted its ban on commercial use of the Internet. Today, as we reel and grapple, it is worth noting that the markets have more than tripled from 1991; philanthropic dollars have doubled; and the Internet is our bread and butter. The second edition adds several chapters in recognition of the changes and rounds out its predecessor. We read about the new order, how to build endowment, women as donors, trends in major donor giving (read with caution, as markets and donor experience have had some impact), diversity considerations, Internet strategies, special events fundraising, technology use, budgeting and accountability, stewardship, international perspectives, and fund raising as a profession. These are welcome additions.

Given the scope attempted by the book, I should point out that there are, in fact, a few areas not covered, including how to obtain government grants and contracts, and exhaustive instructions on how to write a grant proposal to a foundation. But if you heed what these authors have written, you will have no problem accomplishing either feat.

Most of the authors in this edition are new to the "Rosso," numbering 27 in all. The first edition lists 13 contributors. Hank wrote eight of the chapters of that book; he has two in this one. With Hank gone (1999), we are guided into Rosso II by the gentle, sure hands of Eugene Tempel, executive director of the IU Center on Philanthropy and Tim Seiler, current director of The Fund Raising School. Between them (with a chapter from Hank), they set the stage in Parts One (Context) and Two (Fundamentals).

The book proceeds logically and is easy to navigate or use as a quick reference. "Fundamentals" is followed by sections treating "building blocks" (e.g. annual fund, capital campaign), sources, methods (e.g. direct mail, special events), management (e.g. leadership, boards, information, budgeting, consultants), ethics, stewardship, and personal professional support. A thorough Glossary and Bibliography follow.

Our AFP chapter boasts several representatives here: Kim Klein reprises her excellent chapter on grassroots fund raising and Kay Grace on leadership; Mal Warwick writes the update on direct mail; Alan Wendroff supplies special events; and Skip Henderson updates us on the trustees' role.

The context is still Hank's, which means that ultimately, the book is not about the joy of soliciting but something higher. I'm sure he would be tickled if you inscribed your book as he wrote in so many of our first editions "I hope that you will enjoy the reading of this book. Let it help you to teach the joy of giving. Hank Rosso"

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books