That Group of Pages

by Ryan DavisonBooksPosted on No Comments

When I read a book, I’m often immediately drawn to that group of pages in the middle that have darker or lighter edges. They are usually made out of thicker, glossy material and bear photos, illustrations, or some important aside.

They are also sometimes the only part of the book worth looking at.

Book Backlog

by Ryan DavisonBooksPosted on No Comments

It’s a new year but I still have a lot of reading left to do from last year. I’m making it a point to finish the ones worth finishing and not just leave them until other books steal my interest.

That’s going to be hard because I already have five books requested from our library and several more that I intend to request this week. Then there are the ones I’ve returned without reading and need to get again.

But I’m going to give it a good try. I’ve already finished a couple of the ones pictured below (but not the C# book. I’m not sure why that even came home with me) but the rest are waiting. I guess I should stop typing now and go read a book.

Five Books For Friday #5

by Ryan DavisonComPostsPosted on No Comments

I don’t really feel like writing this post today. So I thought I would cheat and just give the titles and maybe a sentence or two for each one. I’m not being lazy, really. Maybe I’m just getting bored with the book list thing. Well, I’ve got a week to think of something more interesting for next week.

  1. Even the Stiffest People Can Do the Splits by Eiko. Yes, I tried to do the splits after reading this book. No, it didn’t turn out well.
  2. The Playful Way to Serious Writing by Roberta Allen. I really like Roberta Allen. Read this book to find out why. It’s really just a series of writing prompts but with words and images.
  3. Atom Land by Jon Butterworth. Subtitled A Guided Tour Through The Strange (And Impossibly Small) World of Particle Physics, Atom Land uses the concept of building a map of quantum physics to help the reader understand theories and ideas.
  4. Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow by Dr. Jan Pol. The life of Dr. Jan Pol, Americas “Favorite Veterinarian”. I haven’t made it through this one yet and I’ve had it for a while. I need to get reading more.
  5. How To Be Perfect by Ron Padgett.  Another collection of poems from Padgett. I didn’t like this one as much as Alone and Not Alone. 

Five Books for Friday #3

by Ryan DavisonBooksPosted on No Comments

Here we go again with five of the books I’ve been digging into over the last week. The subjects this time around are an interesting mix of projects, publishing, drawing, writing and poetry. Some weeks I find a ton of books all on the same subject I’m currently interested in. Other times it’s a random mix. Either way, I typically learn something useful and get entertained at the same time.

  1. First up is Souped Up, an Instructables.com book edited by Michael Huynh. It’s a mix of projects ranging from food to electronics and woodworking to Décor and furniture. My wife was especially thrilled with Gummy Bear Surgery which details how to create your own frankengummi monsters. This is one of those really simple time wasters that make you wonder how it could take four pages of instructions. But the ideas you get out of those four pages are pretty funny. I get more excited about reuse projects like making clocks out of old computer hard drives. I was only really interested in about a third of the projects in this book. But this kind of book is great for cherry picking.
  2. I love cartooning although I don’t get around to it nearly enough. Like most cartoonists, I dream about putting together a complete comic book someday. The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing Comics by Comfort Love and Adam Withers brings that dream one step closer. It’s not a book about drawing but more a book about the technical and business side of getting your art work into book form (printed or digital) and into the hands of your readers. The book has a lot of great tips on ideation, character development and dialogue. It also steps you through using Adobe Illustrator for layout, coloring and lots of other stuff. Finally, it talks about how to market your work after publishing to get it recognized among all the other self-published comics out there. I enjoyed the “Pro Tip” sidebars sprinkled throughout the book. This type of info is fun to read and gives you a sneak peek at real life implementations of what you’re learning.
  3. I posted a few weeks ago about doing zendoodles. I was inspired by a book my son brought back from the library and I’ve kept it since then to refer back to. Tangles: Amazing Zendoodles to Color and Draw by Abby Huff has some great patterns to get you started drawing your own doodles. You really don’t need a book like this to draw zendoodles or zentangles. The whole point is to create original designs that flow like a stream of consciousness writing. But it’s still nice to see what kinds of patterns you like and the different pen strokes that can get you there.
  4. I’m always looking for inventive ways to be more productive with my time and produce more of whatever I’m trying to do. That’s why I was intrigued by the title of How to Write a Lot by Paul J. Silva. The book’s premise boils down to disciplining yourself to sit down and write regularly. Now, I could have been frustrated that there wasn’t some magic bullet between the covers of this book but it’s refreshing to have somebody just reiterate the plain truth that you already knew. The fact is, if you want to write a lot, you have to write a lot. The book does give you more insight on the subject of course. You learn what barriers to writing a lot you might encounter. And you are introduced to motivational tools, styles and how to write certain types of works. Although this book was written primarily for academic writers, it still holds a lot of great insight no matter what your genre.
  5. I saved my favorite book for last. Alone and Not Alone is a compilation of poems by Ron Padgett. Padgett is a wonderfully accessible poet who uses humor and insight to bring everyday life onto the page. I like writing poetry in all different forms and on all different topics. But I’m very selective in the poets I actually enjoy reading. Padgett is one of those poets I actually enjoy reading. As with most poets there are a few of his selections that are just a bit too obtuse for me. But overall, his imagery, style and cadence just lead me from page to page and poem to poem. Sometimes I’ll read them out loud because I enjoy listening to the words. Highly recommended.