Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Creative - belongs in its own genre

Emily Barton presents a very intriguing and highly original story line in "The Book of Esther."  I had trouble putting down the book, but I also had trouble deciphering in which genre this book belongs.  Barton interestingly toes the line between historical fiction (but not really), fantasy (but not wholly) - all on nearly Biblical scales.  


Overall, a worthwhile read from a very gifted storyteller.  I think fantasy-fiction oriented readers would enjoy this more than historical-fiction readers.  

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Larry Shepard's Hemi guide

Yet another useful how-to from CarTech:  "New Hemi Engines 2003 to Present:  How to build Max Performance" as presented by Larry Shepard.



In about 140 pages, Shepard covers basically everything you need to know about enhancing Hemi engines, which he points out is still currently developing and changing fast.  Shepard provides detailed descriptions, instructions, specs, and tips on everything from cylinder blocks to computer electronics. 

The format of the book is very easy to follow, and it definitely feels like a how-to presented by a professional to the everyday man.  The pictures included on every page are great quality.  The only con I would like to point out is some of the illustrations do not feel very "polished" and if they were more professionally drawn, I think it would really enhance the quality of this how-to guide.  This is a secondary factor, however, so the illustrations don't take away from the overall book.

I received this book from CarTech for this honestly review.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

An extensive palette index

Jim Krause starts off "Color Index XL" with a brief, informative introduction to color theory, which leads straight into almost 300 pages of palettes (4 palettes per page).  The way he sections the palettes (warmer, mixed, and cooler palettes) makes it easy to sift through the book.


I personally see a lot of potential in this book as a great starting point while brainstorming new projects, but I can also see how this book would be useful in just about any step of the artistic process.  

My only complaint about this handy palette guide is the four patterns Krause alternates between to lay out the colors for each palette.  It's pretty to look at, but after more than half an hour my eyes start to hurt.  I wish he stuck with one pattern per section of the book (warmer, mixed, cooler palettes), or maybe bigger shapes to lay out the patterns may have helped me here.

Overall, Jim Krause's "Color Index XL" is a very useful guide that I will surely be using regularly in my future projects. 

I have received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.