Books about Appreciating from Amazon.com

"When I have a little money, I buy books. And if any is left, I buy food and clothing "
--Desiderius Erasmus

Those who share Erasmus's love of those curious bundles of paper bound together between hard or soft covers know exactly how he felt. These are the people who can spend hours browsing through a bookstore, completely oblivious not only to the passage of time but to everything else around them, the people for whom buying books is a necessity, not a luxury. A Passion for Books is a celebration of that love, a collection of sixty classic and contemporary essays, stories, lists, poems, quotations, and cartoons on the joys of reading, appreciating, and collecting books.

This enriching collection leads off with science-fiction great Ray Bradbury's Foreword, in which he remembers his penniless days pecking out Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter, conjuring up a society so frightened of art that it burns its books. This struggle--financial and creative--led to his lifelong love of all books, which he hopes will cosset him in his grave, "Shakespeare as a pillow, Pope at one elbow, Yeats at the other, and Shaw to warm my toes. Good company for far-travelling."

Booklovers will also find here a selection of writings by a myriad of fellow sufferers from bibliomania. Among these are such contemporary authors as Philip Roth, John Updike, Umberto Eco, Robertson Davies, Nicholas Basbanes, and Anna Quindlen; earlier twentieth-century authors Christopher Morley, A. Edward Newton, Holbrook Jackson, A.S.W. Rosenbach, William Dana Orcutt, Robert Benchley, and William Targ; and classic authors such as Michel de Montaigne, Gustave Flaubert, Petrarch, and Anatole France.

Here also are entertaining and humorous lists such as the "Ten Best-Selling Books Rejected by Publishers Twenty Times or More," the great books included in Clifton Fadiman and John Major's New Lifetime Reading Plan, Jonathan Yardley's "Ten Books That Shaped the American Character," "Ten Memorable Books That Never Existed," "Norman Mailer's Ten Favorite American Novels," and Anna Quindlen's "Ten Big Thick Wonderful Books That Could Take You a Whole Summer to Read (but Aren't Beach Books)."

Rounding out the anthology are selections on bookstores, book clubs, and book care, plus book cartoons, and a specially prepared "Bibliobibliography" of books about books.

Whether you consider yourself a bibliomaniac or just someone who likes to read, A Passion for Books will provide you with a lifetime's worth of entertaining, informative, and pleasurable reading on your favorite subject--the love of books.

A Sampling of the Literary Treasures in A Passion for Books

Umberto Eco's "How to Justify a Private Library," dealing with the question everyone with a sizable library is inevitably asked: "Have you read all these books?"

Anatole Broyard's "Lending Books," in which he notes, "I feel about lending a book the way most fathers feel about their daughters living with a man out of wedlock."

Gustave Flaubert's Bibliomania, the classic tale of a book collector so obsessed with owning a book that he is willing to kill to possess it.

A selection from Nicholas Basbanes's A Gentle Madness, on the innovative arrangements Samuel Pepys made to guarantee that his library would survive "intact" after his demise.

Robert Benchley's "Why Does Nobody Collect Me"--in which he wonders why first editions of books by his friend Ernest Hemingway are valuable while his are not, deadpanning "I am older than Hemingway and have written more books than he has."

George Hamlin Fitch's extraordinarily touching "Comfort Found in Good Old Books," on the solace he found in books after the death of his son.

A selection from Anna Quindlen's How Reading Changed My Life, in which she shares her optimistic view on the role of reading and the future of books in the computer age.

Robertson Davies's "Book Collecting," on the difference between those who collect rare books because they're valuable and those who collect them because they love books, ultimately making it clear which is "the collector who really matters."
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Ready to upgrade your artwork from framed Monet posters but intimidated by what you see in galleries?

In The Intrepid Art Collector, Lisa Hunter shows you how to start a fine art collection without spending a fortune. This accessible, jargon-free resource contains up-to-date information on the most popular original art—everything from photography and posters to African art and animation—including where to find it and how to buy it at a fair price. Easy-to-use checklists help you evaluate original art and steer clear of clever fakes. In addition, Hunter has interviewed top dealers, curators, arts lawyers, and appraisers to bring you the best advice on:

• Advantages to buying real art instead of reproductions
• Determining if a piece of art is fairly priced
• Predicting if an artist’s work will go up in value
• Techniques for negotiating a price with a dealer
• Developing your artistic taste, so you’ll know if you’ll still love your purchase ten years down the road
• How to preserve art in your home
• Resources, websites, and magazines that will help you learn more about the market and where to find different types of art.
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If you're like most women, there's at least one part of your body that you wish you could change or "improve." It might be your weight, your thighs, or your nose -- but no matter what it is, it keeps you from feeling good about yourself In Love Your Looks, Carolyn Hillman shows you how to get beyond societal or self-imposed standards and learn to accept -- and appreciate -- your own special attractiveness. Full of affirming, hands-on exercises, this compassionate guide
-- reveals how your upbringing affects the way you view your appearance, then shows you how to revise that perspective
-- teaches you how to regard your weight in a healthy and nurturing way, rather than in one that makes you feel unattractive and insecure
-- shows you how to improve your sex life with techniques that foster body love
-- tells you how to celebrate the uniqueness of your own beauty, instead of obsessing about how you're "supposed" to look

Most important, Love Your Looks will teach you how to develop positive feelings of acceptance and approval of your appearance, so you can feel good about your body and yourself..
Price: $7.47 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Vinegar is one of the most common, yet unique and wonderful, substances known to mankind

Think for a moment. What other substance can you name that can be found on the shelves of kitchens all over the world and in small villages as well as large cities? what else can be used almost irrespective of cultural or religious belief, as food, medicine, beauty aid, cleaner, and preservative? And finally, what other substance with all its uses, complexities and varieties can be simply, safely, and economically made at home? I know of none except vinegar.

This book will attempt to cover the subject of vinegar well enough to live up to its title "Vinegar, the standard text and reference and guide, etc." To keept the book as exciting as vinegar itself, much of the scientific jargon has been distilled away. That which remains is quite necessary to truly understand vinegar. Many photos and diagrams have been included to make it even more enjoyable.

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Price: $10.83 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Biodynamic growers rejoice! The successes of alternative agriculture have seldom been more apparent than in the high, broad acclaim for wines of the Coulée de Serrant vineyards. Joly has tapped the rich bounty nature possesses and profited by it.

Here, you will find agricultural methods that are proven and which offer a radically different approach to the destructive, chemical-dependent practices of modern viticulture. As Frank Prial of The New York Times noted, "[Nicolas Joly's] disciples are legion: winemakers from all over Europe come to sit at his feet. Getting to know a great Loire chenin blanc by starting with Saveunieres is like getting to know music by starting with a late Beethoven quartet."

Learn the best biodynamic methods to grow delicious wines from a master grower. Robert Parker, in his Wine Buyer's Guide, rates Joly as "an exceptional producer. [He] is the godfather of Saveuniere. Connoisseurs have long known the legendary longevity and quality of his Coulée de Serrant vineyard." Create your own legendary vintages drawing on his expertise..
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The Black Dog Opera Library is the most popular, informative, and budget-friendly way to enjoy the greatest operas of all time. Each book contains a history of the opera, a synopsis of the story, a complete libretto in its original language as well as in English, dozens of photos, and a world-class Angel/EMI recording of the entire opera on two CDs. It's a must-have for die-hard opera lovers as well as those in need of an introduction to the timeless art form..
Price: $11.45 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Our dreams speak to us in a language all of us can learn. Eloquently written by the dream specialist of our age, Appreciating Dreams develops a comprehensive technique for exploring dreams in small group settings. The shared trust and safety of a group structure can stimulate creativity and imagination and help the dreamer find her or his way into the dream. This approach to understanding dreams shows how natural and effective dream work with groups can be. It is always exciting to help the dreamer hear what the dream is saying in its own true voice. "In Appreciating Dreams, Ullman continues to empower the dreamer, providing detailed instructions for laypeople who are motivated by a quest for mutual growth and self-understanding." - Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Saybrook Institute "Appreciating Dreams makes available to people, not just patients, a supportive, protected method for establishing a living contact with our valuable inner experiences." - Milton Kramer, M.D., University of Cincinnati "Appreciating Dreams is a wonderful book. It is a complete handbook for dream group leaders and for anyone interested in working with dreams in a group." - Ernest Hartmann, M.D., Tufts University AUTHOR (or ORGANIZATION) BLURB [to appear on back cover]: MONTAGUE ULLMAN, M.D., is a New Yorker who attended Townsend Harris Hall, the City College of New York, and New York University School of Medicine, where he received his medical degree in 1938. Following his internship and residencies in neurology and psychiatry, he served as a captain in the army medical corps both here and abroad from 1942 to 1945. A graduate of the Comprehensive Course in Psychoanalysis at the New York Medical College, he became a member of the faculty there in 1950. In 1961, he left private practice to head a department of psychiatry at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. His interest in preventive psychiatry led to the opening of the first fully operational community mental health centers in New York City in 1967. His research interest led to the establishment of a sleep laboratory devoted to the exploration of the paranormal dream. Dr. Ullman is a Charter Fellow of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and is currently Clinical Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Ullman has written numerous papers on the neuro-physiological, clinical, and social aspects of dreams and is the author and coauthor of several books, including Dream Telepathy (1988) and Working With Dreams (1979), and is coeditor of the Handbook of States of Consciousness (1986) and The Variety of Dream Experience (1988)..
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A beautifully designed, informative illustrated book about the flavors, benefits, and cultural lore surrounding this 5,000-year-old tea experience—from the Ministry of Information of The Republic of Tea, leading purveyor of only the finest teas and herbs in the world. Novice sippers and tea aficionados alike can journey from the tea gardens of Asia to the tea rooms of Europe and North America, sampling the finest teas in this accessible handbook about the history, culture, and customs of the long-honored brew. Included are guides to the leaves, plants, and manufacture of teas and other botanicals used in making tea, information on the medicinal benefits of teas and herbs, plus maps, diagrams, and recipes. Find the answers to such questions as: What makes green tea different from black tea...and herbal "teas" different from all others? What do Orange Pekoe, English Breakfast, tannic acid, and "naturally flavored" really mean? How did tea bags, iced tea, "high tea," and the spiritual art of the Japanese tea ceremony come to be? What are the ingredients and health benefits of yerba mate, rooibos, chai and Pu-erh? Plus much more TeaMinded knowledge. Two-color drawings throughout..
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