Simple Scrapbooks isn't really a layout book, as it's a book about a style of philosophy of scrapbooking. Stacy Julian's thesis is that people will want to know about our daily lives when they look at our books, not just the birthdays, parties, trips, etc. They will want to see something more about us, who we were, and what we believed in. I agree with her assessment that our daily lives need to be documented in some way.
In this book, she gives ideas for various scrapbooks, mostly 5x7 style, that can be done quickly. Furthermore, they focus on things like favorite books, Guests in our home, relationships, girlfriends books, etc. She has some time honored scrapbook ideas here like recipe books, and others that I haven't seen before, such as my hometown.
I purchased this book not so much for the layouts, as Stacy's style doesn't appeal to me. That's alright, though, because there aren't many layouts in this book, and there are plenty of other sources for page layouts. Additionally, I don't plan to make separate small books the way she advocates, but instead will incorporate her ideas into my larger books. Instead, I bought this book for the information contained, the ways to make my albums more interesting, the general philosophy that she proposes. If you'd like to see your albums take on a new direction, then purchase this book.