The Experts' Guide to Life at Home

September 19, 2005
Ettus (The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do
) bases her book on a theme similar to that of Real Simple
, that lovely magazine about streamlining your life. Each chapter unfolds as a series of mini-essays on the home life by experts, with the COO of a pest control company teaching how to prevent household pests, a field editor for Audubon
explaining how to select and use a birdfeeder, Dr. Joy Browne offering suggestions for learning how to compromise, pediatrics professor Harvey Knapp instructing on how to discipline your children, etc. The pieces are compact, and most have at least one "take-away," so it's easy to pick the book up, read for five minutes and glean some useful bit of info. On the downside, a few areas beg for a more in-depth explanation, and the vast array of advice covered means that there are some odd juxtapositions (e.g., "increase your energy" is followed by "secure a mortgage"). Still, few books can manage to instruct readers on selecting window treatments, making time for yourself and hosting a dinner party with such streamlined simplicity. 17 line drawings.