By Hook or By Crook – Book Review

 

 

*Created with Pixabay & Fotojet

 

I love books and am a big fan of mysteries. I also love to crochet. So finding a mystery book that is a crochet mystery was a delight. And discovering that the author, Betty Hechtman, has written a whole series of these cozy mysteries starring a crochet group was even more fun.

Today's review is on By Hook or By Crook by Betty Hechtman.

Story Characters

The characters in this story are known as the Tarzana Hookers ~ that's hookers as in crochet!

They are a group of ladies (and even one man) who crochet and meet regularly in a small book store in Tarzana, California (thus the name). The crochet group's main focus is to crochet for charities. The group is headed by Molly Pink (main character), a widow with two grown sons who works as the event planner at this book store. Somehow, Molly keeps finding herself involved in mysteries she becomes determined to solve. And, of course, various members of the crochet group get involved.

Synopsis of By Hook or By Crook

Available on Amazon

“Nobody noticed the bag at first”

The story begins as the group is packing up their table at a charity fund-raiser they had been involved in for a local state park. After the leftover crochet blankets, scarves and teddy bears from the sale had been put away, they noticed a plain brown grocery bag sitting on the end of the table. With nobody claiming the bag, naturally they had to look inside. 

The bag contained some curious items ~ an unfinished note that spoke of remorse, ending in Please....., a single-page diary entry written 20 years ago, and a piece of filet crochet with a group of complicated pictures that don't, at first, make any sense. The pictures on the panel of filet crochet include a building, a house, a couple of cats, what looks like a guy with a bow and arrow, and a vase of flowers.  What could it mean and who crocheted this piece?

As time goes on, Molly discovers that the aqua thread used in part of the filet crochet piece is a specialty thread and she tracks it down to the local yarn store which carries it. The shop owner keeps good records, so Molly is able to learn who bought this particular thread. When she goes to return the bag, she discovers that the crocheter it belonged to has been murdered.

Since the note in the bag began - "I did something a long time ago that I now regret and would like to make right.....” Molly decides she has to discover what that is and help make it right. She thinks the pictures in the crochet piece could be clues to solve this mystery and, with the help of fellow crocheters in her group, she sets out to learn what it is all about. Her discoveries take her to Catalina Island where things get very strange. Her life is also complicated by her parents suddenly deciding to visit and taking over her house, her two dogs, only one of which is hers, the bookstore demanding her attention, especially because a TV program is being scheduled to film an episode there, distractions caused by the lives of her crochet group members, and just life in general. 

Defining a Cozy Mystery

Loosely defined, a Cozy Mystery is a gentle subset of the genre of crime writing.  It's a comfort read that leaves you satisfied, rather than scared to sleep alone with the lights out....

These mysteries are enjoyable, most often starring a female amateur detective, and with the crime and detection taking place in a small community. They are a comfortable and quick read.

Author Betty Hechtman

Betty Hechtman

Betty Hechtman has (to date) written 14 books in her 'crochet mystery' series. Betty loves mysteries, which began with reading Nancy Drew. She has also been doing handicrafts since she was a child. She states it was like a dream come true to be able to mix mystery and yarn craft in her books. 

Summary

By Hook or By Crook meets the requirements of a cozy mystery and the series of 'crochet mysteries' this book belongs to is particularly interesting to not only lovers of mysteries, but also anyone who enjoys crochet.

Although the series appears to be a continuing one with the same characters, I don't believe they need to be read in any particular order. I began with this book, which is #3 in the series, and had no trouble figuring out who everyone was and what roles they played in the story. I now look forward to reading the rest of the series and learning more about Molly and the other members of the Tarzana Hookers. They sound like a group I'd love to belong to. 

 

*By Hook or By Crook Book Review Written by Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Express Yourself With Wooden Words

 

Wooden Words as Wall Art, Home Decor Accents, and for Crafts – a Review

Wooden words are decorative for home décor.  They are also handy for DIY craft projects. Their uses are limited only by your imagination.

Wooden words look great displayed on a wall, a fireplace mantle, or on a table, shelf or door. Or, you can attach them to your craft and home decor projects. Choose to leave them in their wood color for a rustic look, or decorate them with stain, paint or acrylic markers for your own personal touch.

Let's review a few examples in various rooms around the house.

Kitchen Decor 

When considering a wooden word sign as a décor accent in your kitchen, this one 'speaks' to me as the perfect one. The word 'Gather' evokes many happy memories of the gathering of friends & family around the kitchen table sharing coffee and hours of talk. I consider the kitchen the central gathering place in my home. Hang this sign on the wall or display it on a countertop or as a centerpiece on the kitchen table.  It will add to the creation of the heart-warming, welcoming atmosphere you always have when enjoying the kitchen company of your coffee companions. 

Bathroom Decorative Touches

After a long or stressful day, nothing is more  relaxing than a nice long soak in the tub. Personalize your bathroom wall with these four words ~ relax, soak, unwind, and breathe ~ and enjoy your 'down-time'. 

These rustic wooden word signs will add to the peace and contentment of your relaxing moment. 

Monograms in Wood

Decorate a baby's nursery or a child's room with their name in wood.  Hang it over a crib in the nursery or on any wall in a child's room.

You can order it on amazon unpainted, which comes sanded ready for paint to DIY with your favorite colors.  Or order your monogram painted. The paint is applied with two premium coats of paint to ensure a high quality smooth finish with sanding between coats.

Home Decor That Says it All

The  heart of any HOME is FAMILY. These decorative wooden block letters come as separate free-standing letters making the two words  HOME and FAMILY. Thus, they can easily be placed anywhere to meet your decorating needs. 

Crafting with Wooden Letters 

There are a wide variety of crafts which can be decorated with an initial, a name or a favorite phrase. Create a unique gift or a piece of home décor using these wooden letters. This is just one example of the many sets of wooden letters available on Amazon for your creative crafting. Click here for a range of wooden letter sets in different sizes and fonts.

Christmas Tree Wooden Word Ornaments

Wooden words make unique Christmas Tree Ornaments.  Create a festive atmosphere on your tree, your fireplace mantle, hanging in a window, or even tied to a bow on a Christmas present under the tree. These wooden Christmas words (such as Joy, Peace, Love, Let it Snow) have many uses and decorating ideas for your Christmas décor. 

Summary

So, think wood when you choose a name or a phrase for your wall art, table décor, fireplace mantle decoration or any décor arrangement you can imagine. Expressing yourself with wooden words can create a warm and pleasing mood in any room in your home.

*Express Yourself With Wooden Words written & compiled by Wednesday Elf

**Image source information. All product images are from Amazon. The intro image is a collage created from a Pixabay free-to-use image using Fotojet.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Games Day Reviewed

 

"Stack O' Games" by Chealion is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Games Day is held each year on December 20th. It began in 1975 by the Games Workshop of Birmingham, England in the UK.  If you are not in England, you can still get involved by playing some games wherever you live.  It's a day that brings us all together. 

History of Games Day

Source: Pixabay

Games Day was created by Games Workshop, a British game production and retail company. The company started out producing more traditional games such as backgammon and later moved on to fantasy universe games, such as Warhammer (my cousin's favorite game!). Since 1975, this day of carefree fun has become extremely popular in England and then in the United States.

How to Celebrate Games Day

Source: Pixabay

Family and friends can enjoy this Games Day in hundreds of ways. There are so many games available from the traditional ones of Chess, checkers, dominoes and backgammon to the modern day ones, which naturally include video games. Just ask any teenager! 

The 10 Most Popular Board Games

Source: Pixabay

1. Chess
2. Stratego
3. Monopoly
4. Risk
5. The Setters of Catan
6. Scrabble
7. Battleship
8. Clue
9. Dominion
10. Ticket to Ride

Other Game Day Celebrations

Source: Pixabay

• January 26 – Dungeons and Dragons Day
• January 29 – National Puzzle Day – brain exercise games such as jigsaw, crossword and Sudoku puzzles.
• March 4 – Games Master Appreciation Day
• April 13- National Scrabble Day
• April 30 – International Tabletop Day – a day to celebrate tabletop games such as board games and card games
• July 8 - Video Game Day
• November 19 – Monopoly Day
• December 20 - Games Day
• December 28 - Card Playing Day

*Links in the above list are game reviews by contributing members of ReviewThisReviews.

Summary

Some games have had enduring popularity, such as Monopoly and Scrabble. Card games have been popular since early times. There is no end to the number and variety of games in all forms and for all age groups. 

Source: Pixabay & Fotojet

MY most favorite games of all time are any card game, Scrabble and Yahtzee, in that order.  What are yours?

A Variety of Fun Games on Amazon

Games Day Review written by (c) Wednesday Elf on 12/19/2020

 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Site Review ~ Dinner, then Dessert, a Recipe Website

Source:  Pixabay & Fotojet

The other night I decided I wanted to fix Egg Foo Young for my dinner, as I had some leftover ham to put in it.  I almost always order Egg Foo Young at a Chinese restaurant, as it is my favorite. Since one doesn't often 'eat out', I sometimes fix restaurant favorites at home.  

I have made Egg Foo Young often over the years, but, while good, it just never tasted the same as my favorite at a Chinese restaurant or Chinese Take-out. And I never knew why. So I decided to look online for a new recipe to see if I could duplicate my favorite. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I have been 'cooking' my version incorrectly.  I would beat the eggs and add the ingredients (vegetables, and  sometimes meat or seafood) and cook it all at once like an omelet.  Aha ~ THAT was my mistake.  I discovered you cook individual helpings like a pancake! 

When I did a Google search for a new Egg Foo Young recipe, I accidentally came across a recipe blog called Dinner, then Dessert, and I am SO glad I did.  The author is a trained professional cook who worked as a Private Chef for 10 years, and all the recipes on her site are her own. Not only are her recipes delicious, but her presentation is attractive and easy to follow and her writing is delightful. Her name is Sabrina Snyder. 

Meet Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina Snyder, Professional Chef
Author of Dinner, then Dessert

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years. 

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches, before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef. 

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook a family's entire week of dinners one day a week, including all grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up, and leave them with instructions on reheating each meal.

As a private chef, she cooked for private parties in family homes in the evenings.

Sabrina enjoyed this lifestyle for 10 years, until her life and kids became her priority and  she stepped away from other people's kitchens to stay in her own kitchen.

In  2015, Dinner, then Dessert became an online recipe website where Sabrina began posting recipes she had shared with clients over the years. 

In addition, she still has private chef clients she cooks for.  Sabrina treasures her distinction of being a trained professional  chef. 

Sabrina's Egg Foo Young Recipe

Sabrina Snyder's Egg Foo Young Recipe
Sabrina's Photo from Dinner, then Dessert

Egg Foo Young is a Chinese egg omelet dish made with  vegetables with an easy gravy topping. I share her recipe here:

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total  Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

8 eggs
½ onion, chopped
½ cut carrots (chopped and steamed)
¼ cup green peas
½ cut green bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup bean sprouts, cut in half
½ cup mushrooms
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

Instructions:

1. Add the eggs, onion, mushrooms, bell pepper,  bean sprouts and soy sauce together in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil at a time for each pancake you cook on medium heat.
3. Add about 1/3 cup of mixture per pancake and cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes on the second side.

Egg Foo Young Gravy

1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Add everything to a small sauce pan and whisk well before the liquid heats up.  Cook and whisk until thickened. 

Recipe Notes from Sabrina about this Egg Foo Young Dish:

Egg Foo Young is sort of the classic leftovers meal made into a restaurant favorite. At our local Chinese restaurant the classic egg version of the dish comes out with a different assortment of ingredients mixed in almost every time we go.

I’ve asked our favorite waiter (who puts up with our circus of a family) why the fillings change and he explained to me that Egg Foo Young is a leftovers recipe and that when they have more or less of certain vegetables they just adjust the filling to what they have.

My Recipe Notes:

Cooking my version of Egg Foo Young
from Sabrina's Dinner, then Dessert site
Photos by Wednesday Elf, using a Fotojet collage

Following what Sabrina learned  about this Egg Foo Young recipe filling being adjusted, I made my recent version using only fresh mushrooms, diced onions and ham diced up from a leftover ham slice. I briefly sauteed the ham, onions and mushrooms in butter prior to adding them to the egg mixture.

I used only 3 eggs and cooked my pancakes one at a time in a small pan, as I was only making enough for myself. I chose NOT to make the gravy, as I like my Egg Foo Young plain. 

I then served the Egg Foo Young pancakes on rice. The  image below is of my result. YUM!

My Egg Foo Young Dinner

PS: In addition to learning the proper way to COOK this dish as pancakes, I think the other secret to getting homemade Egg Foo Young to taste more like a Chinese restaurant version is using sesame oil to cook it in. 

Site Review Summary

Having now discovered this delightful online recipe website by Sabrina Snyder, I will be visiting Dinner, then Dessert frequently to try out several of her other delicious-looking recipes  from her Main Dish, Desserts, Appetizers and Slow Cooker lists. Her 'Easy Chicken Parmesan' recipe is already calling my name! 

Quick Link:

Dinner, then Dessert Recipe Website

For more Chinese Takeout dishes to  fix at home, check out this cookbook:






(c) Dinner, then Dessert Website Review by Wednesday Elf, written on 2/15/2020

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Bake Cookies Day, December 18 – Holiday Review

Bake Cookies Day (Source: Pixabay & Fotojet)

  'Tis the season for baking cookies, so how appropriate that Bake Cookies Day is held every December 18th right in the middle of the holiday season. 

The word 'cooky' or 'cookie' comes from the Dutch word “koekje”, meaning “little cake”. Cookies arrived in America along about the 17th century, although they may date back as far as 7th century Persia! Today they are a global phenomena, coming in more varieties, flavors and styles than you can possibly imagine.

The writers on Review This Reviews often write on the subject of food and have reviewed recipes for many varieties of cookies. It seems appropriate for Bake Cookies Day to share a few here. 

Cookie Varieties and Recipes on Review This Reviews

Cookie Recipe Reviews on ReviewThisReviews!

• Dawn Rae tells us 'How to Make Super Easy Gingerbread Cookies', perfect for the holiday season.

• Dawn also has a fun Snickerdoodles Cookie Pie recipe.

• RenaissanceWoman (Diana Wenzel) shares her Favorite Christmas Cookies - Rosettes Recipe.

• If you don't  have time to bake, try out Dawn Rae's Easy No-Bake Bliss Balls.

• Beverly Owens shares her Christmas Wreath Marshmallow Treats Recipe.

• If you want to give a gift of cookies, but don't have time to bake your own, try out  Byrd's Famous Cookies reviewed by Wednesday Elf. They are delicious.

Other Cookie Days

Source: Pixabay

There are other dates throughout the year that celebrate 'cookies'. 

• National Chocolate Cookie Days happens on August  15th.
• National Homemade Cookies Day is October 1st.
• National Gingerbread Cookie Day is November 11th.
• National Cookie Day is December 4th. 

Summary

So, enjoy Bake Cookie Day December 18th, or any of the other fun cookie days all year long. And don't forget to leave a couple cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve! 

(Source: Pixabay)

Bake Cookies Day
December 18

Supplies for baking cookies can be found here on Amazon


(c) Wednesday Elf 12/7/2019

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Stellar Resume Writing by Gregory Austin – Book Review

Source: Pixabay Image enhanced by Fotojet

Secrets from a Corporate Recruiter on How to Land Interviews

Have you been sending out your resume in search of a job and never hear anything back? Have you wondered why, even though you feel you are qualified for the position, you seldom get a call for an interview or even that initial phone interview? Perhaps it is not your skill set or your experience, but your resume giving off the wrong impression. 

You may have all the  'right stuff' a recruiter is looking for in a particular job, but your resume does not impress them. Why is that? If it is not your qualifications that are lacking, then what about your resume doesn't say what hiring managers are really looking for and what they really want to see?

If you are a beginner at writing a resume, getting back into the job market after a long career, or a seasoned resume writer looking for some higher-level tips, you can find value in this book. 

Stellar Resume Writing

Available on Amazon

In Stellar Resume Writing, Secrets from a Corporate Recruiter: How to Land Interviews, Gregory Austin covers some very good 'best practices' and some things you absolutely must do. He explains what a personal brand is and how your resume can represent this and who you are. Even if you are applying for an entry-level position, making a good impression immediately with an outstanding resume can mark the beginning of what could become a wonderful career. 

Shotgun vs. Targeted Job Search

Source: Pixabay

Gregory explains the two ways to go about a job search. Each has its pros and cons and the author explains the differences. 

1. The Shotgun Method is quicker and may be fine for just “any” job. 
2. The Targeted Job Search Method is the best approach if you are seeking a job in a more specialized field that will utilize your skills and experience and give you job satisfaction in the long run. 

Each of these methods requires a particular type of resume, and this book will go into the details you need to write a resume that gets the attention of the recruiter or hiring manager.

Recruiters and hiring managers read hundreds of resumes looking for quality candidates for their companies. They 'key in' on particular points. For instance, some resumes may be from a well qualified candidate, but lack any contact information. This may seem unbelievable, but it happens more often than you would think. There is a circular file near the desk of these recruiters for such resumes, as you can imagine.  A recruiter spends hours upon hours reading resumes. Therefore, when writing your resume you need to be aware of a few “Must Do” points to include.

Author Gregory Austin

Gregory Austin

Gregory has been a recruiter for over 10 years, starting as an agency recruiter finding candidates who would be an excellent fit for a variety of organizations. 

Today he is a corporate recruiter finding quality candidates for the company he works for. After reading thousands of resumes over the years, he has nailed it down to the essential elements you need in your resume to really get noticed. 

During his career he has always found the most pleasure in helping candidates. Even if he cannot hire them at a particular time, he recognizes their potential and is passionate about helping them gain more confidence in their own job search and in giving them more tools to be successful. Thus, he wrote this book for that purpose, and is in the process of writing other helpful books aimed toward how to handle yourself in an interview and on counseling the job seeker.  

Summary

If you are looking for some excellent tips on how to create a resume from scratch or a needed tune-up to sharpen your resume, Stellar Resume Writing is for you. It is a short book that reads more like a workbook or a how-to document to give you some tangible and tactical knowledge to include in your resume and help you get noticed by a desirable employer. This edition also contains two valuable bonuses ~ a complimentary resume template and a social platform networking boost!

Discover How To Write Your Resume 

So Recruiters And Hiring Managers Will Call You!

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

For More Book Reviews, see ReviewThisBooks on ReviewThisReviews.com

(c) Wednesday Elf. 8/17/2019

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Reviews of My Favorite Graphoanalysis Books

Image created on Fotojet.com

What Sold Me on Graphoanalysis 

I had my first experience with graphoanalysis in the 1990s. At the time I had an IBM clone  computer in the days before Windows and before I had the internet. I don't quite remember how I acquired the floppy disks I got my shareware programs on or how I even found out about them back then. But one of those disks had a program for analyzing people's signatures for their hidden meanings.

My friends and family weren't safe. I immediately used the program to find out all about them. Of course, I shared  my results and most people thought the results were correct assessments of their personality traits.

In 1990 the IRS decided to audit us. They asked for a ridiculous amount of paperwork and receipts over the course of several weeks. We'd go to an appointment and then the agent would ask for more. By mail. With her signature. Hubby said, "Why don't you analyze her signature?" So I did. That analysis gave us enough information to plan a strategy that worked and helped us win our case. After that handwriting analysis became a sort of hobby.

Later I Turned to Handwriting Analysis Books

As technology progressed, I had to upgrade my computer. I could no longer use a floppy disk. But I wanted to learn more about graphoanalysis. So I started buying books. My collection now includes six books on the subject. I will review my two favorites here.

My foundational book was Handwriting Analysis: The Science of Determining Personality by Graphoanalysis by Milton Bunker, founder of the International Graphoanalysis Society. He was a shorthand teacher who had learned and taught seventeen different shorthand systems. He began to research handwriting in 1910 and through his observations developed his techniques for analyzing it. He explains how he developed and tested his system. He believes it's as valid a science as psychology is. Not everyone agrees. My own experience leads me to believe there's something to it.

After the first chapter, every chapter teaches you a rule to use when evaluating handwriting. Each of these chapters is followed by an short exam so you can test yourself. All the answers are at the back of the book. There is a "Dictionary of Grapho Analysis" at the very end of the book.

The book itself was first published in 1959. I have the 1975 printing and its cover design shows it. The type style  and layout of the book are not as easy to read as more modern styles, but it's still worth what I paid for it and I'd buy it again because it's so interesting. The covers below give you an idea of the style. That back cover will get big enough to read if you click it.

My Scans of Front and Back Covers of Bunker's 1975 Printing, © B. Radisavljevic

See the signatures of the rich, famous, and infamous, as well as their analyses. Learn how the ability of someone to analyze another's handwriting prevented suicides.  Between the covers of this book are numerous stories I simply enjoyed reading. People have used graphology to settle court cases, help law enforcement, and protect loved ones from unhappy marriages and even murder.

Milton Bunker introduced me to the way graphoanalysis developed and its basic principles and techniques. He showed me how useful it is to learn it. Andrea McNichol provides a more modern book that makes handwriting analysis easy to learn -- Handwriting Analysis: Putting It to Work for You. Both books are entertaining and held my interest with anecdotes, case histories, and instruction.

Nuggets from Milton Bunker

Bunker calls the ability to analyze handwriting "an insurance policy." He says it can protect your wallet and even your life. He tells several stories where this turned out to be the case. Appearances are often deceiving. Some scoundrels are very good actors and convincing liars. But their handwriting doesn't lie. You can learn a lot about someone from their signature alone. I certainly found that was true as I dealt with the IRS agent during our audit. Graphoanalysis helps one look behind a person's facade.

Here is Bunker's advice for applying what you learn from his books:

1. Study the rules
2. Use them to study actual samples
3. Test and prove your result

He says if you do these things, what you learn will stay in your mind even if lose your books. 

Bunker says analyzing your handwriting will help you get to know yourself better. It can also help you help your child. Sometimes it can uncover unrecognized family dynamics so families can deal with unhealthy situations. 

Bunker tells the story of a family that was about to "lose" their son. The parents knew he was headed for trouble and they didn't know what they were doing wrong. After an analysis of a sample from the parents and the child, they discovered the boy felt his parents didn't love him. They had both been so active outside the home they didn't give the son the attention he craved. The boy agreed that was the problem and the family was able to make changes and turn the situation around.

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Handwriting analysis;: The art and science of reading character by grapho analysisCheck Price

 

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What to Do with Your Discoveries

Milton Bunker cautions us to be ethical in the way we use what we find when we analyze someone's handwriting. He reminds us that we should not use it to judge people or as a basis for gossip. He offers this example. As you analyze someone's signature, you may discover its owner has a tendency to steal. But because a person has that tendency doesn't mean he has ever actually stolen anything or ever will. You should simply recognize that the tendency is there and not let him handle your money. Watch him carefully if he handles money or other things of value. Use the information to protect yourself and those you love. 

You may also discover things about yourself you don't like when you analyze your own writing. Bunker and many other graphologists believe you can actually change some traits you don't like by changing your handwriting. I have no personal experience trying to do this, but he does offer some guidance on the subject. 

A Fun Way to Learn Handwriting Analysis 

My Scan of My Book

Andrea McNichol wrote a workbook designed to help anyone learn to analyze handwriting for personal reasons. Handwriting Analysis: Putting It to Work for You is easy to use and makes learning enjoyable.

Ms. McNichol has sterling qualifications. She did her undergraduate work and got a teaching credential at UC Berkeley and studied graphology in Europe. She also participated in more specialized study and research related to substance abusers, mental patients, and criminals, some under the auspices of the University of California. She designed and taught the first graphoanalysis course at UCLA and went on to teach the course at seven other UC campuses. Her students have given her consistently high ratings in their reviews. As a professional consultant for law enforcement and businesses, she has used her skills in high profile cases such as the contesting of the will of Howard Hughes.

The book cover I scanned above gives you a good preview of the format and style of her book. My affiliate links above or below will take you to the book page where you can look at a few sample pages inside. They will give you a realistic idea of what it's like to use this book. You will see the introductory quiz that demonstrates how much just your common sense can discern.

McNichol defines graphology as the study of all graphic movement. She believes it applies not only to handwriting but also to doodles, sculpture, and painting. She says it gives insight into the writer or artist's physical, mental, and emotional state, but in this book she limits herself to handwriting analysis. She does devote a brief chapter at the end of the book to doodling.

When We Write We Leave "Brain Prints"

Image Created on Fotojet.com

Ms. McNichol points out that people's handwriting is as unique as their fingerprints. Our handwriting is like an x-ray that reveals what's in our minds. Scary? She says "Our brain prints reveal who we are and how we think, feel, and behave. The are an x-ray of our minds....No two people have the same brain prints."

The purpose of McNichol's book is to show us how to read these brain prints so  we can understand more about people than their spoken words and their actions may reveal. Her easily readable presentation is full of samples and illustrations that will engage you in actually testing what you learn as you go.

Two Approaches to Handwriting Analysis

McNichol offers two paths to interpreting handwriting.

1. Look for the individual traits of a person's handwriting and determine what each reveals. 
2. Start with an individual personality trait you want to check for and then see if the person's handwriting has signs of that trait being present. 

Suggestions to Increase Accuracy When Analyzing Handwriting

Don't jump to the wrong conclusion when you see one or two traits that point in the same direction. Look for several different traits that mean the same thing. If possible, use several samples of a person's writing that were taken at different times. 

Consider the conditions a person wrote under. In the introductory photo at the top of this post is a sample of my writing taken under abnormal conditions. I was writing with the "pen" that came with my Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphone. I wanted to use a handwriting sample as part of the image and the easiest way to do that was to use the pen to write on my phone screen and then make a screen shot to edit as part of the total image collage. I then used Fotojet to build the collage of cover scans and the handwriting sample. 

Writing on a phone screen is a bit like signing your credit card on one of those terminals that supplies the pen and allows you to scribble something that only faintly resembles your signature. On the phone screen I can at least see what I'm writing, but the surface is much different than paper and one needs to concentrate more. Handwriting samples are best taken when a person is not trying to concentrate on the writing process. The important part of an analysis is what a person is unaware of doing. Something written on paper at a table or desk is a better sample than something written on a computer train or while holding a phone in one hand and the pen in the other. You get the idea. 

Make sure the person who wrote the sample intended for others to read it. We are often careless when we are taking notes just for ourselves, especially if we are trying to hurry. A grocery list may not be the best thing to use. 

Other Considerations 

McNichol tells us that children's writing is often undeveloped. We need to analyze their writing differently than that of adults. They often display traits in their writing that is normal for their age but would horrify us if we saw it in an adult's writing. This book is intended for analyzing adult handwriting only. 

It can also be useful to know which system a person learned to write with. Many people learned to write with the Palmer method and some parts of the book applies mostly to people who learned that way.  If you know how a person learned, it's easier to spot deviations from that method of writing. 

Why Not Learn to Analyze Handwriting Yourself?

It's not only an enjoyable hobby, but it's a great way to get to know people -- really know them. Most of the friends I asked were happy to give me samples. Of course, they also wanted to see the results. Most were surprised their writing revealed so much they'd never told me. 

Write a letter to your younger self and sign it. Or write a letter to anyone you don't intend to send. Don't think about your handwriting -- just what you want to say.  Then use one of these books or a computer program to help you analyze your writing. I have used all of the books below and found them helpful. Many others have been written since I bought mine that I'm also tempted to try. Sometimes it's better to learn from more than one teacher.

 Handwriting Analysis : Putting It to Work for You Handwriting analysis;: The art and science of reading character by grapho analysis Between the Lines: Understanding Yourself and Others Through Handwriting Analysis (Destiny Books S)

You may surprise yourself with what you learn from your handwriting.  And you will also begin to notice the traits you see in the writing of others. Have fun.

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