Reader’s Digest Association, 1999, 384 pages If you've recently made the leap from apartment dweller to clueless homeowner, buy Reader's Digest's Householder's Survival Manual and don't let it out of your sight. Take it to the cavernous home and garden store where you will now be spending the bulk of your weekends. See, along with the joy that comes with home ownership also comes new responsibility. You can't call the super. You're the landlord. What are you going do about the leaky pipe in the basement? The cracked tile in the bathroom? The jungle out back that really needs to be mowed because you can't remember the last time you saw Fifi? There's nary a household problem, issue, or chore that this manual doesn't address. The subtitle, How to Take Care of Everything in Your Home, says it all. But there's actually much more here: information on how to choose wisely the things that go into your home, such as carpeting, windows, and paint; "Trouble Shooter" tips like how to diagnose toilet problems; plentiful advice on choosing good tools; "Time Savers" (hint: cut down on time spent watering your garden plants by poking holes in a plastic milk carton and burying it next to the plant; the water will drip out slowly); and much more, all of it clearly illustrated and explained. This book even tells you how to best wash your clothes. What else could you possibly need to gracefully fill your new role as homeowner extraordinaire? --Stefanie Durbin