Preparing for a new function in Customer Service, I am reading a few books on the subject. This one I love! The theory is easy to imagine for use in practice, the examples ring a bell and the illustrations are funny and relevant. Simply one of the best guidebooks I've ever read! I think I will keep it on my desk just for motivational purposes.

I don't know if it's the philosophical subject matter, the slow pace of the prose or the motorcycle theme, but I kept actually falling asleep while reading this book! It must be rewarding to finish it, but I am afraid I will never get there because it's just not worth my time.

If needlework is a serious hobby or your occupation, you need this most authoritative guide to the art of needlecraft. It covers every single stitch and technique in detail. However, the Encyclopedia does not allow for much fun and easy reading. The text is dense and the black and white illustrations are at first glance not always that much clarifying - they need studying. The language used is a bit oldfashioned and may occasionally be hard to understand if English is not your native language. The instructions are very strict and creative variations are not promoted. Furthermore, the index does not always point to the right page. Still, De Dillmont offers us a trusted companion for sorting out the right stitches and thorough introductions to a wide variety of techniques. The Encyclopedia has also proved to be of use to historians and translators in the field of art and crafts.

Designs for every month, every season and all (British and American) festive occasions - with clear instructions to adept patterns for a personal note. All in Jo Verso's distinctive and much loved country style. However, Verso does use a lot of half or three-quarter cross-stitches and not everyone likes to make those; they need a good eye and a steady hand and are much harder to do on popular aida fabric than on linen. Then again, there are not many other books where you will find so many designs of people in different outfits (according to occupation and season) and everyday items such as garden tools - very useful for personalized samplers.

A masterpiece of the calibre of One Hundred Years of Solitute and The Unbearable Lightness of Being - according to the covertext of the Dutch translation. So not exactly light reading material, but rural Chinese horrors so accurately descibed that I think the book should have a warning the plot is gripping and the prose flows easily - not as heavy on the reader as the long sentences and philosophical reflections of the above mentioned masterpieces can be. The fact that the end of the story leaves one wandering can be either good or the only bad thing about the book - I am still wandering. This book should be read by anyone who is interested in history and the dark side of humanity in general.

Wrongly assuming that I had bought an inspirational tool for writers, I was disappointed to receive an educational bookled with assignments only suitable for young children. Though in that category this book must be one of the best, scoring high on imagination as well as practical use. So I keep this one on the shelf, awaiting the next generation.