Maintenance

WOW!! Where was this book in 1986 when I graduated high school and went away to college - living on my own for the first time? Too bad the authors were only 11 years old at the time! Here I am, 16 years later, opened the Hip Girl's Handbook and found out how to do things I was either afraid of or always wanted to know about, but afraid to ask. Thanks to Jennifer and Patty for putting their heads together and creating this compilation of wonderful information! It's hip, it's easy, it's cool and will inspire anyone to do anything they never thought they could! This reliable resource is a must for anyone, any age! A great gift to yourself or someone else!

This book is fantastic! I am sending it for Christmas or birthday gifts to all of my married and single friends. It is so practical - especially the car tips - but also just a great book to read. There is definitely no book like this. Most helpful books are boring "how to" books - but not The Hip Girl's Handbook. These authors were able to include helpful information in a clever way so that this book is witty and fun to read. It also has an easy layout so I can reference what it is I am looking for pretty quickly.

I just wish I had this book years ago when I was first on my own away at college. I would highly recommend this book for any woman (or even young woman) who is, or wants to be, independent!

To a girl on her own for the first time, every small catastrophe is a threat to her burgeoning independence, even to her sense of identity and self. Corny as the title (and cover, fonts, and optimistic writing) may be, "The Hip Girl's Handbook for Home, Car, & Money Stuff" is a godsend and lifesaver. As a perpetually frazzled young woman who has been on her own for a couple years now, I can sincerely tell you that every new, horrifying experience in maintenance has been its own trauma worth calling the police department or landlord over (like the time I smelled gas, frantically called the fire department, and they laughed as they relit the pilot on my stove, for instance). But Jen Musselman and Patty DeGregori take the horror out of the inevitable, giving young women the power and knowledge to take on each catastrophe with a clear head.

The book is arranged just as the title implies: the "home" section talks about picking out a home, navigating the breaker box, and unclogging pipes-things no girl should have to turn to a repairman or neighbor for. The "car" section lends comprehensive advice as to the maintenance and repair of every gal's automobile, as well as how to recover control of the car in times of enormous distress (and the section delegated to Road Tripping alone nearly one-ups Cameron Tuttle's "Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road"). And lastly, the "money" section pares down managing a checking account, as well as combating identity theft, into equally understandable, dare I say manageable, scenarios.

Not two days after I'd purchased my own copy of the book, I bought one for my best friend; do the same for the gals in your life. This is the one book every girl should keep front-and-center. The information jam-packed into this smiley little reference book is outright empowering: knowing how to take on every circumstance, no matter how wee or how devastatingly harrowing, gives a young woman both the confidence to take matters into her own hands, and consequently the blessing of new independence.

As a new homeowner and a woman, this book arrived just in the nick of time! It is incredibly well-written, and completely captivating in its style. Most importantly, it provides the key to the previously forbidden, male dominated world of home repair. I hope the team of Warren and Craig provide many sequels. I can't wait for the next one!

At last, a "husband" who understands how to communicate with a lady! Not only does Kaile Warren write in an easy to understand manner that makes home repair tasks seem less daunting, his sense of humor comes through in every chapter! From clever chapter titles to the witty stories of Rent-A-Husbands on the job this book is a pleasure to read. Kaile's Insider Tips are an extra bonus as he dispenses advice that will help readers save time, space and best of all, lots of money! If you never attempt a repair of your own, I still recommend reading this book as you can gain valuable knowledge about how a project should be done. Not a bad way to check up on your own handyman!

Truly helpful and a joyous reading experience.

This is a great home repair book. Note that I said home REPAIR, not home IMPROVEMENT. B&D apparently also has another book on home improvement, which I have not read.

Anyway, this is a great book. We have proceeded to replace some faucets, upgrade some 2-pronged outlets to 3-pronged outlets, paint some rooms, fix some plumbing, troubleshoot a drain problem, and 4 or 5 other problems using this book. The pictures, as noted by other reviewers, are invaluable and very well done. Product placement is, of course, present but not obtrusive.

In short, as many repair projects turn into improvement projects, this is probably not the only book you'll need if you're a homeowner, but you'll definately find yourself referring to it time and again.

Very useful for a person who does not know much about home maintenance and repair but wants to be able to do it him/herself. At the back of this book is a monthly and yearly maintenance checklist - a big plus. Photos, details, and instructions are excellent. I also bought the B&D Home Improvement book (blue cover) and it's just as fabulous. Highly recommend these books.

Being a first-time homebuyer, I knew i would have many projects to accomplished. After purchasing my home, I quickly realized my lack of both skills and knowledge of basic home improvements and or repairs. I decided to shop around for a home improvement book. After a couple of hours, I came upon a pot of gold(The complete photo guide to home repair). This book is filled with useful information. If you are looking for the perfect home improvement book, do purchase this book.

If you can only purchase one book about rental properties, get this one! It is well-written, well-organized, and worth the price. I purchased this book at a point of peak frustration after making some costly and discouraging rental mistakes. This book has been immensely helpful in turning things around for me; it has saved me time, money, and headaches.

As a beginning landlord, I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!

This book has helped through every step of buying my first investment property. It's like having your own professional standing over your shoulder, reminding you about every detail of every step. The section on insurance alone is completely priceless, pointing out that a landlord needs not just property loss coverage but also personal liability. And not just physical liability, but coverage of potential slander, libel, discrimination, unlawful eviction, invasion of privacy suits... And don't forget loss of rents! It's that kind of detail that maybe someone who's done this before would call 'basic.' But I admit: I am no pro, yet when I called an insurance agent and explained what I wanted coverage for, he said to me, "Um, you've done this before, haven't you?" Thank you, nolo!

This is the best landlord book! You have to get it. The CD ROM contains everything I use to manage my properties and be a good landlord. It makes property management and landlording so rewarding and easy than any person could succeed at it if they follow this book's guidelines.

I own 3 properties so far and this book has made my success possible!

This is the book I should have bought my Dad when he started to get into computers: it would have saved me a lot of time. The author covers a great deal ground with clear explanations and avoiding jargon at all costs. He even explains some of the weirder computer terminology in a humorous way that makes computing accessible to the new user.

If you or someone you know is new to using a PC this book is well worth having propped up against the monitor for easy reference. If you've been using a computer for a while then it's probably too simple for you, although I call myself an expert and I didn't know that TWAIN stood for "Technology Without An Interesting Name".

Don't let the cover fool you. This is a must-have book for the person who needs to use a computer and the Internet as tools, but feels uneasy or confused about how to do so safely and has little or no computer background.

It is not as much for those who want to become "do-it-yourself computer gurus" and work on their computers as it is for those who want their computer and Internet connection to work reliably for them. Virtually no technical jargon is used and generally when a computer term is used it is clearly defined or explained.

The title also seems too restrictive. The book covers Internet issues as well as PC issues. "The Healthy PC" is an invaluable reference for both the computer and the Internet, but it is written in such a way as to be worth reading from start to finish as well.

In addition to explanations, definitions, helpful tips and background information, step by step instructions are provided which are fully illustrated with pictures of what the screen will look like at each step of each procedure.

Among the topics covered are ways to maintain and upgrade the computer, optimize performance and reliability of the PC and Internet connection, Internet issues (including safety, security and privacy), and much more.

The author suggests what to do when dealing with threats and annoyances such as viruses, hoaxes, worms, spam, and spyware in addition to e-mail software and firewalls.

We all know that if you look hard enough everything will have its positives and negatives. If I had to nitpick to find a negative, all I could come up with is timeliness, which is out of the author's control when dealing with publciction deadlines.

Reality, especially in the computer industry, changes fast enough that between the time a book is written and the time it is released, some information may become obsolete.

One example is a note on page 80 that states: "There is no alternative method to check your (AOL) email other than using the software provided by AOL or by visiting www.aol.com. As of the writing of this book it is not and has not been, possible to configure any dedicated email program...to work with AOL." That was true until recently when at least two dedicated email programs were released that can handle AOL mail as well as conventional email. Also the author uses AOL 8 rather than AOL 9 when referring to AOL.

Please understand that what was true yesterday may not be true today and what is true today may not be true tomorrow. All any author can do is describe a snapshot in time. The only thing that we know for sure is that everything will change. Possibly the publisher should consider annual updates on either a separate release or subscription basis for books such as this, which provide important information in a rapidly changing environment.

Carey Holzman has done a great job in providing tips, procedures, definitions, explanations, background and peace of mind to a much larger audience than is described on the cover.

This book is very well organized and quite easy to comprehend. The procedures are quite easy to follow, and enough background info is given to allow the reader to understand why the suggestions will improve PC performance.

How many times have you been reading a "How To" book and said to yourself "Now why didn't I think of that?" If your answer is "never" try reading this book so you can become familiar with the experience.

Don't expect in depth technical jargon that will leave your mind in a clutter. This book is more about taking care of one potential problem, then walking over to see if there is something that can be done about the next. Also don't expect to delve deep into the Windows OS and perform major surgery, instead you will find simple common sense approaches to improving the performance of your PC.

I'm getting ready to do a major upgrade of my home system. It's been a few years since I'd done much work inside a PC so I ordered this book to catch up on what I'd forgotten about. I'm glad I took the time to read it. This book recommends stuff by name, and that advice turns out to be on target every time. I was planning to buy an HP CD burner. Not the best choice says this book. It recommends buying a Plextor, which I'd never heard of. So I searched the Internet for hours reading about Plextor and HP CD burners and it turns out the authors are right. Plextor makes the best burners on the market and lots of people have problems with HP burners particularly with Win2000. And to top it off the Plextors are cheaper than the HPs. If you're planning to buy, build, or upgrade a system, buy this book. It'll save you its price many times over.

I came across this gem while browsing at the bookstore. I wasn't really intending to buy a PC hardware book because I already have the latest edition of Upgrading and Repairing PCs but this one caught my eye because it was from O'Reilly. O'Reilly books are usually the best of breed on any given topic and this one is no exception. It's half the size, weight and price of the monster PC hardware books but it contains more actual useful information. The authors obviously know their stuff and haven't padded the book with a bunch of useless stuff to make it look more impressive. What is there is solid information about every aspect of a PC. If you're going to buy just one PC hardware book this is the one to buy.

After years of buying pre-configured PC's I decided it was time to look into building my own. What I really liked about this book was it's "no-nonsense, straight to the point" approach. General information is provided for each of the hardware components as well as detailed vendor specific information. What was particularly useful was the author's "picks" at the end of each chapter, including suggestions for entry level, mid level and high end configurations. If you're looking to build or upgrade a PC this book will save you hours if not days of research - highly recommended!

It may be noteworthy that I first declare my own prowess in the art of auto mechanics and engine maintenance - that being none whatsoever. Thus I started my journey through these grease-stained orange covers (evidently I picked up an older printing) still wet behind the ears, green at the gills, etc. I have emerged with a great deal of newly acquired knowledge nested in my brain. I think it would be equally useful to a seasoned pro that needs to look up a particular detail. The book provides detailed information on the various parts of the standard (int. comb. gasoline engine) automobile; starting with the fundamentals of a single-cylinder engine, working up from there, and eventually taking the reader through ignition, cooling, lubrication, fuel, exhaust, transmission, and electronic systems. This is a textbook (which explains the price), so it includes questions at the end of each chapter, which are helpful. Also, you should realize that picking up a book, even this one, will not be extremely useful if you don't have an old block or something to actually check out. Having said that, if you just desire a 'fundamental' understanding of auto mechanics, this is still a good bet (although you may want to pick it up at your library instead of buying it). Five stars!

This book provides excellent explanations and great diagrams. But I feel that it provides so many details that it can be very confusing for a beginner like me. For example, the book devotes 6 pages of the first 40 pages to just piston rings! I set out with the goal of understanding roughly how all of the parts of a car fit together and was overwhelmed with minutia about piston design. And it talks about the different procedures used to make different parts (whether they're cast iron or die-cast metal or pressure cast or pressed or forged or drop-forged or cam-ground, etc.) without describing what these mean (or, more importantly, the physical differences of the result, which is what presumably makes it worth knowing how each is made). I think the book would be significantly improved if it were reorganized to provide an introductory chapter of how the major parts of the car work (explain the four-stroke engine, for example, without mentioning considerations in piston shape and without distractions like discussing two-stroke engines, etc.) It seems like you have to read all 600 pages before everything starts to fit together. I would also like to see more discussion about why certain features make cars faster. Rather than just a taxonomy of the ways to design a certain part, I'd like to understand how the design choice affects the overall car. For example, when I go to the website of a car manufacturer and see the extra features in the sports-car version of a vehicle, I'd like to understand why exactly those make the car faster.

I purchased this book to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of engines. I was a bit hesitant at first because of the somewhat high price tag, but after reading only the first part of the book, the amount of knowledge I have gained is priceless. The book is incredibly detailed but everything is explained quite clearly and in easy to understand laymans terms. The authors have taken a very technical engineering subject and have successfully made it enjoyable to read. The abundance and clarity of diagrams and technical cut-away drawings in the book is astounding. Everytime I turn the page I found myself saying 'Wow!', then spending 10 minutes looking at all the cool pictures before I begin reading. If you are thinking about becoming a do-it-yourself mechanic or just want to know anything and everything about the workings of automobiles, this book is excellent.

It is THE book on Bearded Dragons. Two of the world's greatest experts (De Vosjoli & Mailloux) came together to write the only credible, informative guide to the care and breeding of these interesting lizards. Packed with very helpful information and pictures. Highly recommended.

This book is amazing!! I bought it about two weeks before my parents bought me a bearded dragon. It told me everything i need to know. It tells you everything about making terrariums and what to feed them. It also has sections on breeding and general information on the different species. This is a must buy if you are planning to raise a bearded dragon.

what do you expect...this book was written by a man who breeds bearded dragons and it is a book about bearded dragons. It is a wonderful book and tells you everything you need to know about keeping a bearded dragon whether you are breeding them or not. I personally own a 1 year old dragon, and this has been like the bible to me. Whenever something is wrong i consult this book and it will always have the answer you need. All the other books are written by herpotologists who have never actually owned, bred, or loved a bearded dragon. This book is amazingly helpful and comes from a person who knows what he is doing. I would recommend it to anyone who is planning on owning and loving a bearded dragon.

When electrical or mechanical systems go wrong on a boat afloat, you have a crisis. An uneducated repair can be costly. This book needs to be handy.

The book devotes 113 pages to aspects of the electrical system, then addresses auxiliary sources of power, electric generators and motors, marine electronics, diesel engines, transmissions, refrigeration and air conditioning, toilet systems, pumps, steering systems, stoves, heaters, lights, rigging, deck rigging and hardware. Its a gold mine.

Its guidance in the toilet repair and generator troubleshooting has been a great help to us.

I dont have boat but I bought this book. it was great deal. you have to buy this book before buy boat also you have to buy it if you have a boat. this book helps to you everywhere and everything in your boat. including lots of pictures and lots of problems and their solves, it is realy bible of sailors. thank you Nigel Calder
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Having completed the our first year as full-time live-aboard cruisers, currently in the Sea of Cortez, we find that this book to be essential reading. The information is presented in easily understandable terms and sufficient detail to assist in solving most mysteries of marine systems. By it and take it with you!

Most of the book is straight forward, clear and to the point. Probably one of the best automotive books around, that's geared towards the novice technician. The book will definitely get you and your bug running on 4 cylinders. The only bad point to the book is it was written by a flower child, so he gives you advice like "Have happy people been here ...."

It all began in 1970, with my first VW, a 1967 Squareback, found in a backyard in our nation's capitol. I had to replace all hoses,belts and external gaskets, plus overhaul the dual Solex carbs(not covered bu the Guide!) just to get that babe running. It was worth it! That $200.00 car took me and my sweethart to the Grand Canyon and further, and was sold to a man who had a lot of money and time on his hands. The "Guide" has helped me through 14 or so VW's, including a "66 Ghia, '78 2 liter van and a 412 4-speed wagon(actual German edition). Now I own an '81 Vanagon, an '84 rabbit deluxe, and several parts cars on my property. Thanks be to John Muir

This book is near the top of my all-time best books list. My brother gave me a copy of this book when my first Beetle engine threw a rod. It enabled me (a 17-year-old overhaul virgin) to completely overhaul the engine by myself. 17 years later, it's very dog-eared, but has helped me through several overhauls, and has given me the confidence to tackle a Bug restoration. If you can only afford one VW book, this is it. Doesn't cover body work much, but the mechanical system description and illustrations will appeal to anyone funky enough to own an air-cooled VW. I'm pleased to see that it is still in print. John Muir is gone now, but he lives large in my estimation!