How To Survive Losing Your Spouse

Advantages: Deals with the practicalities and emotional issues bereavement brings in bite size chapters
Disadvantages: Whilst this is an excellent self help book, it is probably best for those who are under 50 or so

...Introduction I will preface the review for this book by saying I truly hope none of you ever actually need to buy it. However if you do - I would highly recommend it. "Death...And How to Survive It" is a book written specifically to help people who have lost their spouse or partner. Sadly for me, I had reason to buy this book in March last year when my husband died suddenly. Kate Boydell became a widow in 1998. She was left with two young daughters and her book is a testament to the fact you can suffer loss and still come out the other side. The Book The book is split into two sections, each containing small chapters. This makes it easier to work through at a time when you are struggling just to function. The first part of the book is entitled "Through the Darkness". This deals with the start of your journey - when you...

rosebud2001 17.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Death... And How To Survive It - Kate Boydell

how to

Advantages: great film
Disadvantages: n/a

...This is a great girly film and with Kate Hudson who I think is a great actress what more can you want out of a film. Andie played by Kate Hudson works for Composure magazine you typical magazine about fashion, beauty and men. Andie studied serious Journalism, so she is hoping this will help her to write a collection or more serious articles about politics. Andie's friend at work has been dumped so she suggests that an article be written about how you can lose a guy in 10 day as it is something that all women should know about so they can avoid the fatal flaws in future. Now Andie goes out to find that man and meets Ben played by Matthew McConaughey, whom she bases her article on. Although all is not what it seems as Ben has also been given a challenge by his colleagues that he has to win a girl in 10 days, in order to win...

jo_field26 26.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (DVD)

How to Lose yourself in a great book!

Advantages: Super story, great characters, enjoyable, I couldn't put it down!
Disadvantages: None

...I do love Tesco's '2 for £7' books offer because really it's like 2 books for the price of 1 based on the RRP of paperbacks these days. Bernadette Strachan's new book has been jumping off the shelf at me for a while now because of its striking burgundy and orange cover, and I just couldn't resist the other day after I had been paid! It sounded like a really nice light-hearted read, so I decided to start it that night and I just couldn't put it down. I finished it in just under 2 days, and I hope my review tells you how great I think this brilliant book is! Ruby Gallagher thinks she has it all - a happy marriage, money and a lovely home. But everything falls quickly apart when her husband Manny is arrested for fraud, and Ruby's life as she is knows it is quickly repossessed by police. Ruby has to quickly find herself a job to pay her...

mummy2harry 24.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of How to Lose a Husband - Bernadette Strachan

How to Lose an Audience

Advantages: A good central conceit.
Disadvantages: The satire isn't strong enough, the comic timing is off and it is miscast.

...success from one medium to another. His project doesn't have wide enough scope to work on the big screen. The visuals are bright and shiny but it's obvious in most of the film that Britain is masquerading for the United States. There are too many grey skies and drizzly days and British actors with laboured American accents for it to be otherwise. Interiors look like sets and the sliding fades between scenes feel like a throwback. He does well at conveying how awestruck Sidney is with New York but then uses a load of anonymous locations that undermine the sense of place. He tries to make Sidney's new world look suitably starry, but most big names appear in the background in what appears to be stock footage and a cameo from Thandie Newton feels shoe-horned in. There is no real sense of how desperate the main protagonist is to be successful...

afy9mab 01.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of How To Lose Friends And Alienate People

How to write a winner

Advantages: Funny, touching, fluent writing
Disadvantages: A little repetitive

...Whilst I would not describe myself as mean, I do like a good bargain and when I saw that I could buy Jonathan Tropper's "How to talk to a Widower" for only £1.99 if I spent over £10.00 I pounced. I picked up the book and gave the back cover blurb a cursory skim but if the truth be told, I could not remember anything about it by the time I got home. I have been pleasantly surprised by other books I have chosen from those books selected for "Richard and Judy's Summer Reads" and so I suspected I would not be disappointed. However, the book sat for some weeks in the middle of a precarious tower of reading yet to be done, the moment never seemed right for a book that sounded to me quite heavy and serious. The story is very simple: writer Doug Parker finds his perfect life turned upside down when Hailey, his wife of three years, is killed...

fizzytom 24.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of How To Talk To A Widower - Jonathan Tropper

How to win friends and influence people !!

Advantages: Ratings help the consumer
Disadvantages: Abuse of the system detrimental to the good of the site

...So how many of you have read the ratings guidelines on Ciao ?? Everyone ?? Well you could have fooled me!! Recent events have compelled me to write this review and I sincerely hope that you will all read to the very bitter end, by read I mean READ and not SKIM. Then I would welcome any constructive comments to accompany your sensible and fair rates, for that is what this is all about ...Reading and Rating fairly and in accordance with the guidelines. To those of you who have already checked out the guidelines I apologise, to those of you who haven't then that is my first piece of advice. You can find the guidelines under the Member section of Ciao and I offer to you my own personal version as detailed below : 1) READ DON'T SKIM Please, please read the whole review. Sadly too many people skim through without actually reading...

Averilla 19.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of How to rate and comment

How to Measure an Album?

Advantages: Releaxing, different (trip-rock?!) and if not classic certainly a very pleasant listen
Disadvantages: Lack of standout songs, some childish lyrics, perhaps too indulgent in places

...The chances are most people won't have heard of Holland's The Gathering. As far as categorising bands goes, it's probably right to file them under hard rock, but there's certainly no way I'd call 1998's How To Measure A Planet? (HTMAP?) that. In their early days, The Gathering had a male singer, and made goth/doom music in the style of My Dying Bride, Katatonia, Paradise Lost and Anathema. HTMAP? However is their third album since the addition of Anneke van Giersbergen, and it's a big progression away from their roots. If pushed to describe this album, I'd be tempted to use the phrase 'trip-rock' (which I've seen others use). Imagine the early sound alluded to above, and add in dollops of '70s prog-rock (Pink Floyd etc) and modern trip-hop (Massive Attack, Portishead). If you can imagine that, then I think you're somewhere in...

a-true-ben 02.09.2003 (28.08.2006) · Read review
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Review of How To Measure A Planet? - The Gathering

How to get more reads and influence people

Advantages: Feedback, encouragement. What? Didn't you read the op!
Disadvantages: Revenge raters, discovering you're crap!

...YOU'RE CRAP!!! Call that an opinion? I know 2-year-olds that are more intelligible than you! You can't write, you can't spell, and my dog has a better grasp of grammar. Humour! Don't make me laugh, you're about as funny as falling face-first in a cowpat. I can get better information off that bloke in The Prisoner than I got from your miserable pile of misbegotten drivel! You don't even deserve to get an Unhelpful for that pathetic load of inanities you've passed off as a comprehensive review, YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE YOU... Okay, so that's how NOT to rate and comment! Luckily, I've yet to come across someone quite so, er... forthright, here on Ciao, (except for...no, I better not!) but I can imagine how I would feel if I did receive such a comment. (And I've never felt the need to leave one either!) But I feel that...

Crazy-Christian 31.05.2001 (21.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of How to rate and comment

How to Earn At Least a Few Pennies on Ciao

Advantages: Well-written reviews lead to positive ratings of value to consumers, and may earn you some money
Disadvantages: It won't be a lot of money, and you might disagree with me

...Everyone has an opinion. That's at least part of why we're writing on Ciao. So long as you stick to the guidelines (no plagiarism, no racism etc) and write something about the product whose category you're writing in, you can write whatever you like. Ciao does not censor reviews, so if you came here to rant because of a faulty product, or to rave about the latest CD you bought, that's OK. You can write anywhere between 120 and (I believe) 5000 words of your choosing, and submit your review. Do make sure it's in the right category, however, or it won't be read by people who might be interested. ? Important point for newcomers ? Do NOT click 'write a review' immediately when you've finished reading this, if you want to write a product review! If you do, you'll submit something to the 'how to write opinions' topic...

Kukana 20.07.2004 (21.07.2004) · Read review
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Review of How to write opinions

Learning how to draw.

Advantages: Great for fans of ballerinas and princesses. The stickers!!
Disadvantages: Some of the drawings are too intricate.

...ΔΔΔ Introduction ΔΔΔ Having been delighted with a couple of other Usborne Activities books relating to things to 'make and do' I was expecting to be just as pleased with some of the 'How to Draw' Usborne Activity books that I bought for my niece who is a huge fan of everything to do with princesses, fairies, ballerinas etc.. ΔΔΔ The book ΔΔΔ At the beginning of the book as you would expect there is a Contents page which is very easy to use. As with the majority of books in this series, there are 17 things to make, which I have listed below: ~ Little princesses ~ Princesses in pretty dresses ~ Princess castle ~ A family photograph ~ Dancing princesses ~ A princess sleepover ~ A princess and a frog prince ~ A royal carriage ~ Princess bride ~ Sweet...

neenn 30.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas - Fiona Watt