If you want your grammar and writing lessons sane, sober, serious, skip this book because the jokes, plays on words and plain old fun will drive you crazy.

But if you need light, useful advice about writing in cyberspace, or quick reminders about using numbers correctly, office etiquette, or brush-ups on grammar and writing, and have a laugh in the process, this book is for you. I highly recommend it.

O'Conner's books (Woe Is I, Words Fail Me, and now, You Send Me) remind me of an editor I work with who is a pun a minute. She can't stop herself and every conversation with her takes such twists and turns that the less articulate are left several sentences behind. If I didn't know that editor, I'd think that O'Conner and Kellerman had to have spent hours creating her more painful plays on words for some of their chapter and section titles:
Grammar a la Modem
Lurk Before You Leap
Go Configure
Clone Rangers
Myth Information
A Click and a Promise
Help for the Whomless

And on and on and on. I suspect it just spills out of them, fed by their obvious exuberance for their work.

But all of these little plays are wrapped around very helpful bits of logical suggestions and advice delivered in a conversational style. While ostensibly meant to deal with the horrific onslaught of wretched writing that shows up in
our e-mail, much of the book's advice can be applied to other writing. The team also reminds us of the need for accuracy in numbers and other facts, pointing out the difficulties so many people have with noticing what should be obvious exaggerations or faulty understanding of numbers.

O'Conner and her husband-coauthor divide this book into three sections:

The Virtual Mensch, which examines protocol issues--when to use e-mail, the need for subject lines, choice of e-mail names, keeping the reader in mind and more.

Alpha Mail, which focuses more closely on better writing (with such advice as divide long sentences into shorter ones, break the message into paragraphs); eliminating cliches, which includes a list of cliches followed by an authors' comment, e.g., acid test (Give it an F), diamond in the rough (cubic zirconium),
draw a blank (so fill it in), easier said than done (Then say it); the need for the writer to re-read an e-mail before sending it, and other topics.
Words of Passage, which takes the authors right back to their real issue,
language. Among other topics, they take us through easy lessons on it/its/it's/
and who/whom, subject-verb agreement and punctuation.

This book is a handy addition to the bookshelf of any editor or writer interested in how the language is or should be used.

I enjoyed this book very much. I read Copeland's other two novels--June and Faith and I honestly didn't enjoy them all that much but I did enjoy Hope. It definately is a must read.

I wasn't too enthusiastic to read yet another 'Christian Romance'--sometimes they get too unreal & too unrealistic in their situations, to boot! But I am a confirmed Lori Copeland fan now! These 3 sisters are very real people, who have very real situations, that all Christian men & women face even today. I devoured "Faith", eagerly grabbed "June" from our Church Library & am looking forward to BUYING all 3, so I can read "Hope" & then go back and read all 3 over again!

Hope, the last in Lori Copeland's Brides of the West trilogy, was worth waiting for - after frantically searching various bookstores I finally found it online. (If you haven't read Faith and Love, you should...you won't be disappointed!) An old-fashioned, inspirational/historical romance, Hope is comical, whimsical, intriguing and romantic - a great combination that reminds us all that there is always hope, always a chance that we can find that special man of our dreams. Like her sisters Faith and June, Hope has determined that the best future for her lies in being a mail order bride. On the road to marry her intended, she is kidnapped by a notorious gang that unknowingly mistakes her for a senator's daughter. Through the drama that ensues, she is protected by Dan, an undercover agent who had infiltrated the gang to bring them to justice. Hope is drawn by this gentleman "gangster" -- a Christian well-versed in Scripture who inspires Hope to work on her memorization and application skills. Hope does so admirably, albeit her struggle to improve her faulty memory provides a hilarious backdrop to her spunky dealings with the gang and the various roadblocks she encounters in trying to connect with her groom-to-be. Theirs is a hilarious and beautiful story of a forbidden love (they both are determined that Hope honor her commitment to be a mail order bride) that conquers all obstacles. The more we read, the more we see Hope blossom from a young, flighty and fearful girl, to a woman of noble character whose trusts in God is unshakeable. Perhaps the most touching aspect of this book is Hope's ability to triumph over her own insecurities to 1) improve her memory, 2)lead one of the gang members to a faith in Christ, and 3) marry the man she truly loves. My only gripe - that there was no family reunion among the sisters...but, there's always hope (hopefully Lori Copeland will pen this sequal soon!).

Ok, I think that "the E-mail Mystery" was pretty good, but Nancy doesn't know anything about the Internet? Come on, this is the 90's! Well, read this book, because it is pretty good.

An exciting and mysterious book. Nancy Drew is almost always on a case for a mystery. All of a sudden people start calling her dad, a lawyer and telling him to close the case and go with the settlement. Nancy has come to the office for awhile. But when Nancy is getting close to the person that is ruining things...UH!OH! You will just have to read it.

It's the summer and Nancy is looking forward to it. Carson Drew, Nancy's father and prestigious lawyer, asks her to join him at the office to help out doing some filing. When she does, she picks up on a mysterious string of events that lead to a fresh new mystery...

This book is an good resource for rating the various brands of cribs, nursery furniture, baby clothing, maternity clothing, monitors, toys, bedding, etc... While I wouldn't exactly call it a "bargain" book, it does have information that is useful when on the hunt for baby goods. Then again, you don't really want to buy the bargain baby furniture to compromise your baby's safety, it's just common sense to forgo the $1000 plus cribs that are out there and purchase something more reasonable. This book will help you determine what you deem to be reasonable for your indicated budget. It's nice in that it features all price ranges from high to low. Again, as one would expect, those that are highly recommended are in the mid to higher price range. How high you want to go is entirely up to you. There are some very obvious suggestions in how to save money, such as going to outlet stores for clothing. Overall, it contains good information nicely packed into one book. Be sure to have the most current edition!

Every new parent can relate to the huge money drain that comes with a new infant. We want our children to have the best, and it just seems the list of must-haves is neverending. Many of us choose to do without certain items or find them second-hand, but there are certain things, like carseats, that are often better to have new. Thus the dilemma: how to find new items at the cheapest prices. Furthermore, how does one choose between the multitude of companies, brands, and styles of endless baby stuff? Baby Bargains to the rescue! This book is about "how to save money and still buy the best." If you're looking for a detailed comparison of brands and how they rank up, you'll love poring over the chapters that range from Nursery Necessities to Maternity and Nursing Clothes to Catalogs, The 'Net, Child Care and more. They also include lots of up-to-date safety info, "email from the real world" (letters from parents-they interviewed over 1000!), and they even tell you where to find specialty items like African-American bedding, affordable art prints for baby's room and rental baby equipment when you're on vacation. On top of all this, they include Smart Shopper Tips, a Phone/Web Site Directory, and they have a web site of their own.

I have to admit I was a little wary of the title of this book. It conjured up images of rummage sales and clipping bar codes to send in for savings. Personally, when shopping for baby items, I was not necessarily looking for ways to save money, but willing to pay whatever dollar amount to for the safest and best products out there. I am willing to pay more for items that are not only the safest, but offer convenience and better features.

That being said, I did have to buy a set of everything for our own home/car, many things for the grandparents' houses as well as for our vacation home, so I wanted to know where I could get a better value for the 2nd and 3rd sets without compromising safety (for baby monitors, exersaucers and the like), knowing I would never skimp on the car seats, cribs, etc.

This book absolutely helped navigate through the tons and tons of products one needs for a baby, giving very comprehensive descriptions regarding safety and features of each product. It breaks down the best choices for you based on your lifestyle habits and your needs - i.e. these are the best strollers for people living in a city, these are the best for people primarily using it in an indoor shopping mall, etc.

I did not buy any major piece of baby gear without first consulting this book. My copy is dog-eared and looks as though it has been around for years. I plan to buy a new edition for our next baby, and give this as a gift to all my pregnant friends....

This was one of the best books I have ever read on Outlook 2000. It is full of very useful information about all aspects of Outlook. It provides lots of great tips (many of them undocumented)!

There were dozens, if not hundreds of things I learned about Outlook from this book. It has helped to use Outlook much more productively.

The book only spends one chapter on VB Script and Visual Basic for Applications, but does provide some very good examples of how to harness the power for VB Script and VBA in Outlook.

This is a great book for any level of user. It is written in a very understandable and non-technical way, yet provides a great deal of indepth information. Even the sharpest Outlook guru will learn things you did not know previously. Newbie users will learn how to use Outlook and make the most of its features, many of which are somewhat hidden.

If you are going to buy a book on Outlook 2000, this is the book to buy!

This is a very good book for the Outlook beginners to the Outlook advanced users! It starts with the basic aspects of Outlook, such as the Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, etc. Each component is explained in detail as to how it works, what options are available to the user, and a user can customize those options.

For the advanced user, Maximizing Outlook 2000: The Practical Guide to Optimizing Outlook shows users little known tips of the Outlook program! This includes such things as using e-mail filters, including world holidays in the calendar, and attaching Outlook components to email to send to others.

Overall, I found this book to be very informative and easy to understand. I've been teaching Outlook to others for 3 years, and I still learned things that I didn't know before!

I have been using Outlook for several years and switched to Outlook 2000 soon after it became available. I thought I knew my way around Outlook 2000 fairly well. Barry's book has shown me many things that I didn't know (but needed to) and has also helped me resolve several annoyances. The book is well organized, well written and appears quite thorough (everything *I* need to know about Outlook). The level of detail is excellent for power users, but with enough basic information that it shouldn't confuse casual users. In my humble opinion, this book is worth every penny of it's price, AND MORE!

Say you want a volume that will teach you to build email communications with a regular audience - not just email marketing, but email newsletter publishing.

Poor Richard's Email Publishing isn't written by any Richard; it comes from the word processor of Chris Pirillo, known to many PC users for his Lockergnome newsletter of PC tips. Pirillo began using the Internet before www. was invented, and refuses to yield to the Web's flashy seductions. He titles his third chapter "Why E-mail? Little Glamor, Plenty of Results". And he doesn't yearn for email to succeed the Web as an electronic commerce nirvana. His target is the person with something to say, rather than something to sell.

Pirillo's email argument is the same one made for "push technology" back in 1997, except that email's compelling in a way push wasn't. "Web pages rely on people to visit and revisit them," he explains. "E-mail messages will sit in your mail account and wait for you to retrieve them".

The book works best for complete email newcomers. A lengthy primer will educate anyone who ever wondered what that Bcc: box does in their email software. Other chapters step you though configuring email accounts and teach you "How to Communicate without Spamming". And Pirillo happily admits to making errors; indeed, his book quietly chronicles his own development from email amateur to expert. So readers get a highly accessible volume.

The same readers must remain ignorant about topics which Pirillo never spent time exploring. Many CGI scripts will let your server send your email newslettter. But Pirillo concentrates on dedicated list server software and list management service providers, which he used as his newsletter evolved. Other analytical gaps grate too: the effects and eccentricities of Web-based e-mail; the behaviours of the key Netscape and Microsoft mail clients; soliciting advertising to support your emails; the weaknesses of HTML email and the promise of the MHTML format (MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML Documents), which will package the images up with the HTML email text.

Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing, then, falls just short of being the comprehensive guide to email newsletter management. It succeeds, though, in a broader purpose: to tell of the excitement of communicating each day, week or month with an audience whose continuing attention tells you that you're helping them.

Pirillo communicates this unique thrill well. But most readers new to mailing lists will gain greatest pleasure from reading the seven "Publishers' Stories", tales of email newsletter publication by everyone from Mercury Mail founder John Funk to Randy Cassingham, who every week collects and distributes bizarre news stories in the column called This Is True. Most of these people made mistakes, just like Pirillo; all of them had fun.

Mastering email publishing is like growing corn, to use an Iowa analogy. There are different kinds of each, different ways to "grow" them, various methods of determining the success of each and ways to produce hybrids to get better results. Making the e-mail publishing business work for you can be done two ways. You can go it alone and suffer the torture of trial and error, or you can avoid the stupid way and listen to everything our small-statured friend, Chris Pirillo has to say.

Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing is THE book that speaks to the subject of producing an e-zine, newsletter or whatever else you plan to put out via internet e-mail. Taking someone else's advice and experiences to heart doesn't make you a copycat, it makes you smart. After all, taking a doctor's advice when you've hacked off a limb while harvesting the corn is a smart idea, right?

When you open the front cover of this book, a bright shining light will emit from the pages. That's the Lockergnome's wisdom glowing from the pages within. Soak up the light of the first 4 chapters that cover the basics and guide you through what e-mail publishing is all about and what you need to get started right without offending your readers.

The book next goes into the guts of e-publishing, covering topics such as managing a website alongside your newsletter, setting up your internet domain, how to handle subscriptions and the details of actually getting your newsletter out the door. The level of detail Chris provides is suitable for virtually anyone already familiar with how to simply send an email. That's nearly everybody these days!

Once you're off the ground, you'll still need a little hand-holding to avoid the costly mistakes that many others have learned the brute-force way. Specifically, how to handle the various types of e-zines. Should you use plain text, HTML, a discussion group, etc.? These questions are answered, giving the pros and cons of each and into which situation each best fits.

Ok, so you've learned everything there is about how to create a fantastic e-zine. Time to learn how you can benefit from all of this. If you do this simply to edify a particular topic, then you're done... happy e-mailing! Many, however, want to make a little cash on the side, or even start a new career in the e-mail publishing business. To do this, you'll need the help of professional list services and probably some advertising in your publication as well. Chris deftly dodges the flying bullets there too, showing you where to look, what to look for, and when to duck so bad practices, or crummy service offerings don't put you out of the game.

The most engaging part of the book is the last 1/3 that is chock full of detailed experiences and advice from other successful e-mail publishers that Chris knows. Reading about how various operations have implemented what Chris explains throughout the book is invaluable. There are some fantastic ideas in there that are all meant to help you become the next Lockergnome!

Is that all? Nope! The Appendices cover yet another 80 pages that list various service providers, software packages, e-mail applications, lists of other electronic publications and even fifty great e-publishing tips.

The completeness and depth of the knowledge that Chris displays via Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing far outweighs what you could learn on your own, so buy this book if you're even half-serious about putting out an e-mail publication of some sort. You won't be sorry you did!

-Furo

Before changing my Publishing Poynters newsletter to an ezine, I discussed the project with Peter Kent and read this book. With their help, I did it right the first time. I have not had to tweak the layout, purpose or setup of the newsletter, even after five months. Happily, the circulation is growing virally as readers forward it on to the friends.

This book is about publishing online. Chris Pirillo describes how to design your ezine, manage your subscription list and promote your newsletter. Pirillo goes on to discuss bulletins, discussion groups and other powerful communication tools. For coverage, click on Table of Contents in the left-hand column of this page.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in business. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

Another marketing masterpiece by Dr. Jeffrey Lant! Jam-packed with specific techniques that work right away and marketing strategies that eliminate the word 'Spam' from your life, E-Mail El Dorado covers the process of doing business on the 'Net like a blanket. The complete guide for ANY business, from micoenterprise to multinational, for systematically and profitably growing online. Do NOT miss out. Get it today, Read it tonight, Start Profiting tomorrow!

Dr. Lant shows you how to explode traffic (business) to your e-business resulting in greater bottom line profits! An excellent step by step analysis of how to do business over the internet using non-spam e-mail. In my opinion, you're shooting yourself in the foot if you're trying to do business online without having read this resource.

Well, Dr. Lant has done it again! He knows marketing and he knows what works. This time he has put his genius to work with wisdom on how to put my business online with e-mail and not spam!

E-mail Eldorado is easy to follow and gives good information on how to effectively use e-mail; build e-mail lists; use listservers and a lot more!

Read it, you and your business will be glad you did!

I have very little time to read and this book I read in 2 days! The way Lori Copeland wrote this book, you feel like you are standing right there in Deliverence, Texas looking at the whole scene. I felt captivated by the all of the characters. When they experienced joy or sorrow, I also felt it. While reading this book you will cry alot. Mostly because you are laughing so hard! "Faith" is a perfect title to this book. The main character, who is Faith, has the most innocent faith in God. Almost a child's faith. We all need to experience that. I have already recommended this book to friends and want everyone to know, this book is well worth your time to read it! You will walk away feeling refreshed and joyful! God Bless!

This tale of love, adventure, and true faith, had me rivited to this book. I read it in 1 day. Could not put it down. I am looking forward to reading the next one.

"Faith" by Lori Copeland is the best book. It was my mom's book and I decided to read it. Now I am starting on "Hope." I Find it interesting and hard to beilve that Nicolas (Faiths Husband to be) Came to love so well and call her those little names like Darlin' and Sweetheartand all those other names. I think I like the story because it showed a two people that just met falling in love in two or three months and missing each other so much, i also like it because Faith has her own opinion and is outspoken and won't let anyone sway her from her thoughts. People who have not read this book... READ IT! ...

I read ps longer letter later (i found it on my bookshelf) and I really liked it. It moved me quite emotionally. This book goes on to tell the 8th grade yr of the two correspondents Elizabeth and Tara*Starr. Elizabeth visits Tara and the two catch up each other on old news. When Elizabeth's visit is over, she continues to correspond with Tara through email. The girls relationship strengthens as Elizabeth's father has worse drinking problems and keeps harrassing his family. Elizabeth is constanly emailing Tara about her life with her friends, family, and school. They even talk about topics normal girls would talk about: unfair parents, boys, dances, clothes etc. Unfortunately something horrible happens to Elizabeth who turns to Tara for help. The girls need each other more then ever. Will Elizabeth break away from the good life she has managed to build in the following months of her father's departure or will she remain to emailing Tara?

This book is about two friends, Tara*Starr and Elizabeth after Tara moves away. They first talk to each other through letters, but then both of them get computers, so they can send each other e-mail. They talk about everything that is going on in their lives, and every possible creative idea and bit of bad news. They realize that their friendship might be ruined because of their changing lives. Their friendship goes through the ultimate test when something terrible happens to Elizabeth's father. They end up still being friends, but they know that their friendship will never be the same again. This book is great for people that like to read journals, because it is like two journals in one. If you don't like journals, you will find this book boring. I found it very interesting, but at some times, it was just plain boring.

Snail Mail No More is a great book! I loved it so much I finished it in a day. This book is definetely a page turner. Its very funny and relates to any kind of kid when their best friend moves away. This is one of my all time favorite books! I think it is better than P.S. Longer Letter Later because a lot of different exciting things happen. I loved how Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin used the e-mail to keep Elizabeth and Tara* in touch. I reccomend this book to anyone! And if you have a best friend make sure you buy them this book or tell them about it!

I picked up "Ready to Fall" because I was intrigued at the thought of a book written strictly in the form of emails. It was a nice glimpse into the life of Beth Riordan, but what I felt was missing was the other end of the conversation with her neighbor Thomas. It left too many gaps for me. However, you can still follow the conversation quite well and see the transformation of their relationship. it was much like reading someone's private diary.

Beth Riordan, the main character in Ready to Fall, reveals all of the self-doubt, questioning, and searching that are a part of mid-life. The lesson is that, faced with humor, we continue to grow, find our way, and move on. Beth does the work for us in this intelligent, humorous book. I couldnt stop reading because I had to know what would happen and to whom. And I too laughed out loud, which doesn t happen often enough in literature or in life.

It is rare to read a book that makes you laugh out loud, but Claire Cook accomplishes this on the first page! Her email format is truly unique. You can bet others will be copying her believing that her witty style will be easy to replicate. I'm sure they'll find they are wrong. She manages to create the same excitement for the reader as they would get if they were intercepting email from a quirky neighbor about her semi-psychotic crush on the man next door. It doesn't get more innovative or seductive than this novel. If you want a book you simply can't put down, this is it! I can't wait to read more from this author.