Anatomy of Animals
Ernest E. Thompson
Bracken Books
Nonfiction, Art
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Any artist who wishes to accurately portray animals cannot ignore the importance of anatomy studies. Thompson includes anatomy sketches of many exemplar species, plus extensive written notes on proportions, significant veins, hair tracts, and more.
REVIEW: Another budget find from Half Price Books... First published in 1896, Thompson's book claims to be the first "modern" work of animal anatomy geared for artists. Though the writing style reads awkwardly today, it still has much to offer. Many species are covered via black and white image plates, often in numerous dissection views. He also has some good references on bird feather tracts. I wish the plates had been matched up with the text that discussed them, instead of being relegated to the last half of the book. The text also discusses many more animals than the plates cover, often as dry charts of proportions that gave no sense of how the animal actually looked. (The nineteenth-century origins come through strongly here, as not only are several creatures referred to by obsolete or archaic names, but almost all of these proportion charts come from animals shot in the name of science.) Overall, I found it educational, with information I haven't seen covered in my other animal art books.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
August Site Update, Reviews Archived
The previous seven book reviews are now archived at Brightdreamer Books. I also rotated the site's Random Recommendations for a back-to-school theme.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Art of Lettering with Pen & Brush (Larry Ottino)
The Art of Lettering with Pen & Brush
Larry Ottino
Grumbacher
Nonfiction, Art
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: It's easy to take the letters of the alphabet for granted, a mere means to an end. But, in the right hands, lettering can take on a life of its own, conveying emotion and meaning above and beyond mere words. With several exercises, this book offers an introduction to the world of brush and pen lettering.
REVIEW: Yet another free-to-me book that appealed to my armchair interest in fonts. With warm-up exercises, guide line demonstrations, and many full alphabets to copy and learn from, Ottino shows how to begin learning the art of professional lettering... an art that still has relevance in the digital age. It reads fast, and it's fun. It might even make me pick up a brush and give it a go.
Larry Ottino
Grumbacher
Nonfiction, Art
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: It's easy to take the letters of the alphabet for granted, a mere means to an end. But, in the right hands, lettering can take on a life of its own, conveying emotion and meaning above and beyond mere words. With several exercises, this book offers an introduction to the world of brush and pen lettering.
REVIEW: Yet another free-to-me book that appealed to my armchair interest in fonts. With warm-up exercises, guide line demonstrations, and many full alphabets to copy and learn from, Ottino shows how to begin learning the art of professional lettering... an art that still has relevance in the digital age. It reads fast, and it's fun. It might even make me pick up a brush and give it a go.
Your First Novel (Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb)
Your First Novel
Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb
Writer's Digest Books
Nonfiction, Writing
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You've always wanted to see your name on the shelves of your favorite bookstore... but a long and bewildering road stretches between your dream and reality. Impossible as it seems, all of your favorite (and not-so-favorite) authors somehow managed to navigate it successfully, so clearly it can be done. But how? How can you turn an idea into a story? What do you do with it when you're done? What happens after you submit your manuscript - and what are the odds you've really written something the rest of the world wants to read, anyway? The co-authors, one a published novelist and one a literary agent, explain the whole process from start to finish.
REVIEW: This book is really two books in one binding. The first, by Whitcomb, focuses on how to craft a successful novel. Much of the advice here, while well written, has been covered in other how-to-write books I've read, though with a few new tips and tricks. The second part, by Rittenberg, picks up where most other writing books end (or at least taper off.) Here is where Your First Novel truly stands out from the pack, delving into the world of agents and publishing houses for a look at what happens to a finished manuscript - and why writers may find themselves working harder than ever even after an editor buys their book. It makes for fascinating, if sometimes daunting (and occasionally tedious), reading. A little less repetition in the first half would've easily bumped it up another half-star.
Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb
Writer's Digest Books
Nonfiction, Writing
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You've always wanted to see your name on the shelves of your favorite bookstore... but a long and bewildering road stretches between your dream and reality. Impossible as it seems, all of your favorite (and not-so-favorite) authors somehow managed to navigate it successfully, so clearly it can be done. But how? How can you turn an idea into a story? What do you do with it when you're done? What happens after you submit your manuscript - and what are the odds you've really written something the rest of the world wants to read, anyway? The co-authors, one a published novelist and one a literary agent, explain the whole process from start to finish.
REVIEW: This book is really two books in one binding. The first, by Whitcomb, focuses on how to craft a successful novel. Much of the advice here, while well written, has been covered in other how-to-write books I've read, though with a few new tips and tricks. The second part, by Rittenberg, picks up where most other writing books end (or at least taper off.) Here is where Your First Novel truly stands out from the pack, delving into the world of agents and publishing houses for a look at what happens to a finished manuscript - and why writers may find themselves working harder than ever even after an editor buys their book. It makes for fascinating, if sometimes daunting (and occasionally tedious), reading. A little less repetition in the first half would've easily bumped it up another half-star.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Savvy (Ingrid Law)
Savvy
Ingrid Law
Walden Media
Fiction, YA Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Turning thirteen - leaving childhood behind and taking the first shaky steps toward adulthood - is a big enough milestone. When you have Beaumont blood, like Mibs, it's even bigger. Every Beaumont has a savvy, a special skill, which strikes on their thirteenth birthday. Grandpa can create land, and her late grandmother used to bottle radio broadcasts. Her older brothers Rocket and Fish control electricity and weather respectively. Mom always does everything perfectly. Terrifying as some savvies turn out to be - Rocket can blow a city's entire power grid when he gets upset, and Fish can't be near any water deeper than a bathtub without risking a hurricane - Mibs can't wait to blow out her candles and find her own gift.
Just days before her birthday, a terrible call comes during dinner. A car accident lands her beloved Poppa in critical care in distant Salina. Mom and Rocket rush off to be at his bedside, while the local preacher's busybody wife - blissfully ignorant of savvies - steps in to take care of the younger Beaumonts left behind. Sick with worry, Mibs wakes on her thirteenth birthday determined to get to her father: her savvy, whatever it turns out to be, may be the only thing that can save his life. But her plans go awry from the start, stranding her and a collection of unexpected companions miles away from anywhere, with a wakening savvy she can barely control.
REVIEW: A fast read, Savvy picks up quickly and maintains a decent pace. The Beaumonts reminded me of an exaggerated version of the LaZelles, a gifted family featured in several short stories (and at least one book, which I've yet to read) by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Mibs struggles with the twin problems of her unexpected savvy and growing up during her ill-advised road trip. Her companions do some struggling of their own, as well; each of them, from the rebellious teenaged preacher's daughter Bobbi to the hapless Bible salesman who inadvertently becomes their driver, have their own troubles to overcome, some more easily than others. Most of the characters remain fairly superficial, just deep enough to contain their problems and the means to resolve them. It goes without saying that, eventually, Mibs does make it to Salina... but not, as she'd hoped, the bearer of a miraculous savvy that will make everything better. Aside from that, the rest of the plot wrapped up just a bit too sweet and neat to be believable, fixing problems and shooing extras off to happy endings whether or not they'd worked for them. It almost seemed that Law was overcompensating for the few plot points that didn't wrap up in sparkles and rainbows. The extra dose of sugar cost it a half-star, giving the finale a shallow sheen over an otherwise deep and moving moment. Otherwise, I found it reasonably entertaining, despite the sticky sweetness gumming up the edges.
Ingrid Law
Walden Media
Fiction, YA Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Turning thirteen - leaving childhood behind and taking the first shaky steps toward adulthood - is a big enough milestone. When you have Beaumont blood, like Mibs, it's even bigger. Every Beaumont has a savvy, a special skill, which strikes on their thirteenth birthday. Grandpa can create land, and her late grandmother used to bottle radio broadcasts. Her older brothers Rocket and Fish control electricity and weather respectively. Mom always does everything perfectly. Terrifying as some savvies turn out to be - Rocket can blow a city's entire power grid when he gets upset, and Fish can't be near any water deeper than a bathtub without risking a hurricane - Mibs can't wait to blow out her candles and find her own gift.
Just days before her birthday, a terrible call comes during dinner. A car accident lands her beloved Poppa in critical care in distant Salina. Mom and Rocket rush off to be at his bedside, while the local preacher's busybody wife - blissfully ignorant of savvies - steps in to take care of the younger Beaumonts left behind. Sick with worry, Mibs wakes on her thirteenth birthday determined to get to her father: her savvy, whatever it turns out to be, may be the only thing that can save his life. But her plans go awry from the start, stranding her and a collection of unexpected companions miles away from anywhere, with a wakening savvy she can barely control.
REVIEW: A fast read, Savvy picks up quickly and maintains a decent pace. The Beaumonts reminded me of an exaggerated version of the LaZelles, a gifted family featured in several short stories (and at least one book, which I've yet to read) by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Mibs struggles with the twin problems of her unexpected savvy and growing up during her ill-advised road trip. Her companions do some struggling of their own, as well; each of them, from the rebellious teenaged preacher's daughter Bobbi to the hapless Bible salesman who inadvertently becomes their driver, have their own troubles to overcome, some more easily than others. Most of the characters remain fairly superficial, just deep enough to contain their problems and the means to resolve them. It goes without saying that, eventually, Mibs does make it to Salina... but not, as she'd hoped, the bearer of a miraculous savvy that will make everything better. Aside from that, the rest of the plot wrapped up just a bit too sweet and neat to be believable, fixing problems and shooing extras off to happy endings whether or not they'd worked for them. It almost seemed that Law was overcompensating for the few plot points that didn't wrap up in sparkles and rainbows. The extra dose of sugar cost it a half-star, giving the finale a shallow sheen over an otherwise deep and moving moment. Otherwise, I found it reasonably entertaining, despite the sticky sweetness gumming up the edges.
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