Summer: A User's Guide (Paperback)

~ Suzanne Brown (Author) "I'm madly in love with summer and the feelings it evokesthe carefree spirit of freedom and adventure that fall, winter, and spring simply don't provide..." (more)
Key Phrases: front foot hind foot, apply detergent, disinfectant soap, United States, North America, New England (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Make this the summer you try all the things you've always wanted to try!

Find out how to:

• paddle a canoe; shuck an oyster; track the tides; do a flip turn
• play badminton, bocce, and horseshoes
• turn seashells into wind chimes; tid-dye T-shirts
• prepare summer staples such as the sea breeze, barbecued spareribs, and lobster rolls
• build a campfire; grill your just caught trout; toast s'mores
• spruce up your summer rental; banish mildew; get the upper hand on berry stains
• read the night sky; identify animal tracks, leaves, and clouds
• handle the flag with respect and remember all the words to the national anthem
• get back to flying a kite and using a hula hoop
• play card games, word games, lawn games, and pool games
• host an instant party with 20 effortless appetizers
• become the most sought-after house guest or host
• make bird feeders; grow sunflowers; lure butterflies to your garden
• keep the kids occupied with fun activities for car trips and rainy days
• organize a clambake or a picnic; hang a tire swing; pack for a hike
• contruct towering sand castles; master the art of knots.

Hundreds of entries, glorious color photographs, and illustrations take you there and show you how.

Whether you're in a cabin in the mountains, in a rental at the beach, at a weekend house in the country, or taking it easy in town or in your own backyard, Summer: A User's Guide is the summer necessity—packed with practical guidance, inspiring suggestions, useful resources, engaging history, nostalgic reminiscences, and the promise of a dream summer to come.

Book Description

Learn to paddle a canoe, make a flip turn, dig for clams, use a boogie board, fly a kite, rig an outdoor shower, make a wind chime, shuck an oyster, mix superlative margaritas—or just relax.

In lieu of vacationing with a library of how-to books, there's Suzanne Brown's infifinitely more portable, jam-packed field guide to a great summer. Relearn lost skills like how to tie a figure 8 knot and throw a Frisbee like a pro. Master the clambake with step-by-step instructions, construct towering sand castles with the right tools, and get stoked for a day of surfing by Netflixing from Brown's summer movie list. Answers to every summer quandary—how to pack for a day hike, how to start a campfire, how to get out berry stains—make this chock-full summer tome a must-have on vacation and the perfect gift from a weekend guest.

Whether you're a guest or a host, whether you have kids or are a kid at heart, whether you weekend at the beach, near a lake, or a pool, let Suzanne Brown's Summer: A User's Guide make this the summer of your dreams—a time to try things you've always wanted to try. Here are all the passions and pastimes of summer, indoors and out, in a single reference.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Artisan; illustrated edition edition (May 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579653162
• ISBN-13: 978-1579653163
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #650,801 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!!, April 9, 2007

By	Bigg (New York City) - See all my reviews

Title sums it up. The book captures the essence of summer. Very well written and chock-full of incredibly useful information. We have already done about half the activities, cooking and playing our way through a couple of weekends. We applaud the author and anxiously await her next book!

Kudos!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Time for Winter, Bring on Summer, April 22, 2007

By	Rick (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Reading this book is like slipping back to one's childhood when the long summer days seemed to go on forever and the endless possibilities of life were cut short by the screams of your mother calling you to dinner as the sun slowly fell behind the tall green trees swaying in the gentle warm breezes of an evening in July. Spend some time with this book and you'll be transported back in time without wasting one of your genie's three wishes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conjures Up the Vibe, June 27, 2009

By	Lightman (New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Summer: A User's Guide ushers in that summertime feeling even if you're reading it on a cold, dark winter evening or a rainy afternoon. Open it up and prepare to be transported to those lazy, sunny days of childhood stretching out endlessly before the start of the new school year or other reentry into the real world.

Ostensibly a reference book filled with how-to instruction, Summer can also be read just for the fun of it. It's that good.

The book is divided into several broad sections - the summer house and garden, the great outdoors, games indoors and out, the summer table, for kids, and how to fix or cure just about anything. Some entries, for example "how to light charcoal", are eminently practical. Others, such as "the hoodie", simply add to the summertime imagery, building an idyllic lexicon of languid laziness.

Along the way the reader learns about the perseid meteor shower, the shucking of clams and oysters, how to lure butterflies to the garden, and what to do with all those sea shells that inevitably pile up after a summertime of beachcombing.

Suzanne Brown, who is a design consultant when not on summer holidays, has produced a beautiful and very satisfying book. Much of its charm comes from the exceptional photography of Tara Shriner, whose sensibility of summer dovetails perfectly with the author's.

Enjoy!