Advantages: Hilarious, dry, and oh so true observations of the world.
Disadvantages: Andrew Holmes is not as well known as he should be. Only available in hardback

... Introduction I first came across Andrew Holmes whilst browsing through ex-loan books on sale in my local library. The book 'Sleb' caught my eye and I parted with my 20p. Having thoroughly enjoyed it (20p wisely invested), I purchased his second book "All Fur Coat" at full price which was again an excellent read. Holmes' other two books have been sitting on my Amazon wishlist since publication. So, when I joined 'BookMooch' (a website where you basically giveaway old books you don't want to people who want them) earlier this month (following a review I read on Ciao), this was the first book I mooched. Two days later my hardback copy (barely touched) arrived, and essentially it had cost me nothing (as I hadn't at that stage sent out any of my books). More about Andrew Holmes and his books can be found at this website - http... Read review

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Advantages: Has many applications and isn't too expensive.
Disadvantages: Can cause irritation and is also photo-sensitive.

...This opinion is about the essential oil ‘Ginger’. I will be giving an overview of ginger, how it is extracted and what it is used for to treat the body. It should be pointed out from the start that this is a general guide and that if you intend using this essential oil you must get expert advise first. **The Origin of Ginger Essential Oil** The true origins of the Ginger plant is unknown, but it is said to originated from either China, India or Java yet it is also native a native plant to Africa and the West Indies. It is also known as Zingiber officinalis from the family, Zingiberaceae, which you may also see written in aromatherapy books or on Essential oil bottles. It was most possibly brought to the continent of Europe between the 10th and 15th century as a condiment or precious spice by the explorers of the day... Read review

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Advantages: Educational, fun, lots of books available
Disadvantages: expensive books, delicate

...My son got one of these for xmas and it is such a good educational toy, and he's learning without realising it, which is always a bonus. The aim of this, is to encourage pre-school age children with fun colourful stories and activities, which introduce essential skills such as pre-reading and pre-maths. One book comes supplied with the system. The books are just under A5 size, cardboard covered in plastic, and are spiral bound at the top, which you clip into the system. The book becomes 'active' when you run the pen (attached to the system) over the green GO button in the book. On one side of the book is a story, and you can run the pen over the words and they will be read out to you, or if you touch the pictures, they will say what the picture is off. There are also other various things you can do, such as noises the things make... Read review

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Advantages: Fun
Disadvantages: Not enough time in the day to read it 100 times

...This is my 1 year old's favourite book. It is about the different sounds that "Mr Brown" can make. It is a highly interactive read and with a little effort will have you and your baby/toddler howling with delight and begging for more. The illustrations are clear and colourful and the repetitiveness of the text only serves to reinforce words for the older beginning reader. It is available as a hard board book which is essential when you have a toddler who gnaws at everything as I have!! I have since bought other Dr Seuss books but this one is by far the best. An essential buy!... Read review

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Advantages: Good excerpts, nicely arranged
Disadvantages: A few things missing

...It is hard to be objective about a text such as this, being a Christian myself. In trying to be objective, I keep finding things that are not here that I would consider essential. John Dominic Crossan, a former Roman Catholic priest turned academic 'faithful sceptic', has been a member of the Jesus Seminar since its beginning. He has written extensively on the life of Jesus, public perceptions of Jesus past and present, and now this slim volume that is a part of the Essentials series (see my other reviews; titles such as the Essential Kabbalah and Essential Koran). As a guide for meditation and contemplation, this volume works very well. It introduces the reader to many of the statements by and about Jesus, as newly translated by Crossan. The reader must be careful here, however, to be open to the new translations with a critical... Read review

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Advantages: small, lots of storage and really reliable
Disadvantages: less portable than a small form hard disk drive, needs main to use

...This is my second hard drive. The first one I bought was a sony vaio that I bought off of ebay - a portable 120GB hard disk drive from the far east. It started giving me disk read and write errors about three to four months after I bought it. Moral of the story, buy from a reputable manufacturer and seller. So I bought this from Amazon co uk, who are by far a superior online seller. Prices have come down and i managed to get this for £60 including free delivery. The drive is compact, not portable. It needs to be plugged into mains as well as the computer which makes it less portable, but it is so quiet I can't even hear that is switched on even when it is writing or reading. I would highly recommend this product or even one of the bigger sized ones, though I couldn't afford the 1TB mybook. Remember 500GB is marketing, actual... Read review

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Advantages: Informative and Intelligent
Disadvantages: Big and Heavy

...(including those discussed in this book), it is still a wealth of information on "normal" cuts of meats. Information on the best conditions to store various meats is essential to a true meat lover. How badly meat is treated in our modern society! After this book, I won't be going back to non-organic, non-free range meats if I can help it. I now try my best to make sure my meat comes from reputable sources, good farms etc. I chat to my butcher, and know what I would not touch with a barge pole in the supermarket meat section. To my less educated friends, I am almost an authority on meat. However, my reputation might not live on after this Christmas. Remember, you are what you eat. This book reminds you of that, and more. ISBN: 0340826355 Price: Approx 20 GBP... Read review

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Advantages: cheap up to date books, site is userfriendly, customer service is excellent
Disadvantages: selection of books is slightly limited

...each of them * Reading Madonna - An Intimate Biography by J. Randy Taraborrelli £16.99 TBP Price £4.99 * Sports Terry Venables' Football Heroes by Terry Venables RRP £20.00 TBP £4.99 *Hobbies Geoff Hamilton The Complete Gardener by Tony Hamilton RRP £20 TBP £3.99 * Health Good Housekeeping The Essential Book of Parenting RRP £19.99 TBP £4.99 *Outdoors 50 Walks in Devon - AA Guide by Sue Viccars RRP £6.99 TBP £2.99 *Famous Faces Big Brother Two - The Official Unseen Story by Jean Ritchie RRP £9.99 TBP £2.99 *Reference The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia - 10 Volume Set by Various RRP £79.99 TBP £24.99 * For cooks Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson RRP £20 TBP £7.99 * For toddlers The BBC Character Collection - 10 Books RRP £29.94 TBP £9.99 * For kids The Complete Tales so far of Harry Potter - 4 Book Box... Read review

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Advantages: Fun packed pictures
Disadvantages: None that I have found

...Ten out of Bed is written by Penny Dale, published by Walker Books and retails at £4.99. This book was given to my son as part of a pack of 10 for his birthday. It is a delightful story book there reads along to the tune of "There were ten in the bed", the rhythm aids to the story telling, and makes it a fun read for the children and parents. After a while my son got to know the story and can read it along with me. This delights his younger brother, in fact my youngest son (2) is trying to read the story with us. The story is about a young boy known as "little one" and his ten cuddly animals that have a life of their own. The book starts with "There were ten in the bed and little said "Lets Play!", and so the story begins. Over the next 20 or so pages, the story continues with each cuddly animal coming up with an idea of what to play... Read review

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Advantages: Readers can experience entertaining history for themselves.
Disadvantages: Attitudes at time of writing restricted how story was written.

...-1820, in an entertaining way. (History lesson weren’t anywhere near this good at my school.) Despite the adult nature of a lot of the storylines, don’t expect a lot of graphic descriptions of violence and sex in this book, as it was written to be suitable reading for many, at a time a lot less liberal than ours. Reading all the books in the series shows how readers’ attitudes have changed over nearly 60 years, as the author includes more details in “adult” scenes. It is preferable but not essential to read the books in order. Preferable because later written books will contain plot spoilers for earlier ones. Not essential because the author gives enough background information to give readers all they need to know to enjoy them on their own. PLOT SUMMARY (without spoilers) In just two generations the Warleggan family have risen from blacksmiths... Read review

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