Read Books This will provide a list of the books I've read with a brief review. Users are blocked, contact me for access. I welcome discussions, but I'm tired of spam.

This books is a text for a class taught by New Grounds. But it does stand on its own very well.

The book start off with a historical introduction, then chapters describing techniques to etch and print a plate. After that it goes on to describe different techniques to create and apply grounds: hardground, aquatint, spit bite, softground, crayon softground, liftground, Crisco liftground, color proofing, Chine Collé and finally curing the print. Each chapter goes into step-by-step details to create the ground, etching, timing considerations and finally some common problems and their solutions.

This is a great book for beginners as well as intermediate-level printers. Maybe advanced, I can’t speak to that.

I received this book as part of the Early reviewer program on LibraryThing. I was a little disappointed and also enjoyed it.

First, the images are very good. I enjoy seeing what people can do using the technology.

Then, the book has a nice layout. The cover is appealing and the pages are colored to the visible light spectrum. It is very nice.

But, there is no text discussing the images, techology, nor the artists. I was expecting that kind of information. Second, the images seem to be inserted at random, there is no organization by theme, techniques, film or artist.

Last, the book is a little small. These images demand more space, there is a lot of information in them and they would have a better appeal if they were larger.

Overall, I like to book. It is pleasing and can fill a few random minutes of your day.

Reading Like a Writer is a description of writing. It focuses on the use of the word in literature, and makes excellent use of examples for well-known books to illustrate her points. Francine Prose describes the strengths of her selected passages and why the wording is important.

The book is aimed at improving the readers ability to appreciate good literature. She discusses the nuances of word use, picking at the meaning of individual words, and what is not said and why that is important. She talks about the use of paragraphs, and how changing the paragraphing changes meaning of text. She shows how to derive meaning from what isn’t stated in the text, and makes me appreciate the effort that a quality writer goes to to get the words right.

After reading this work, I feel I have a new respect for literature. I’m eager to try to tackle some of the books she’s recommended.