Product Description
The Ultimate Guide to Organize and Inspire You So You Can—Really!—Sit Back and Enjoy Your Second Home
The Second Home Book is the first of its kind – a conversational, comprehensive and convenient guide to setting up, operating and, most of all, enjoying a second home. It is cheerful and useful—funny, fact-filled, anecdotal – appealing to both those already ensconced in or encumbered with a 2nd residence as well as those imagining a future, fantasti… More >>
The Second Home Book: The Can-Do, How-to, Get-Through Guide
#1 by J. White on May 5, 2010 - 2:55 pm
The author has a very repetative style which goes like this; Your second house is not a castle!! Nor is a barn!!! It is a home away from home!!!! Every paragraph follows the same “third time is the charm” format, not this, not this, BUT THIS!!!!
What is worst is the author relates everything in cliche’ terminology and writes as is the reader was her ego. There is the constant tales of the four types of “flawed” persons “we” are not like; the rich person, the organized person, the control freak,and the minimalist. We are not like “those” people we are like “the rest of us”. In a way it is very condesending because she assumes no one other than “us” has the correct balance in life. The book is lined with advice on dealing with the above mentioned “imperfects”, i.e. “don’t fret if your windows don’t sparkle like your neighboors, you are not a control freak like them” It is very obvious “life” to her is a charade or a show for others to see and judge.
The way she speaks about “entertaining” is most unreal, she acts as though she doesn’t even know who her guests are and is only fulfilling the status-quo by “entertaining”. There is no talk of life-long friends, long-lost friends or having a good time, just what rules to enforce when “entertaining”. Personally I have friends visit, I do not “entertain”. I don’t even know what “entertaining” is besides something circus clowns do. She seems to think when people come visit her that she is in charge iof them. I invite friends to my house and try to make them comfortable. I do not give them a list of “house rules” or tell them which rooms they may use at which hours nor do i give them a time that “the house retires for the night”. Personally if I encountered a host like this, I would not hesitate a second to check into the nearest Motel 6. I hope there are few people who think like this.
Where the book totally fails is in giving hard advice; To rent or not? Buy or rent? To renovate or relocate? What utilities are best? What appliances to get? How to get insurance. How to arrange for a caretaker. How to winterize your summer home. How to reduce expenses. Really the only advice she gives is the type of stuff people like to decide themselves. Stuff like how to incorperate your hobbies or interests is spelled out. Advice on painting the place in your favorite colors which you wouldn’t do your main residence in and so on.
In short, this is a self obsesed auto-biography of someone going through the mundane, pedestrian motions of acquiring and finishing a second house. Make your own story, don’t buy this one.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by C. Johns on May 5, 2010 - 3:11 pm
I did not like this book. I found the writing style to be tiresome and outdated; and the majority of the “information” to be useless. For example, who needs a ‘movie list’ of stale titles preferred by the author? I was looking for a book of practical, useful information and received maybe 4 pages worth in this book. The rest were useless antedotes and personal references pertaining to the author which although I’m sure were entertaining to her to see in print, was boring waste of time for me to read. You’ll find my copy on Ebay.
Rating: 1 / 5
#3 by David B. Mixner on May 5, 2010 - 3:29 pm
Marylouise Oates has written “the book” on second home but in the process has filled the book with helpful hints for any home! I plan to leave my copy on the table for all my weekend guests to help them know good behavior! Her advice constantly reassured me of my own decisions on weekend entertaining and drawing the line. The book is extremely well written, funny and a must read. Hopefully the publisher will see the wisdom of a series of “Marylouise Books…”. Move over Martha!
Rating: 5 / 5