Naturally, I’m stretched across worlds of several different kinds of books all at once. However, I do stick to one rule: one fiction book at a time.
1. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
My brother gave me two of Pratchett’s books for my birthday this year. I’ve heard so much about his writing legacy, I definitely wanted to check it out for myself. I’m going to be honest here, because you know that’s what you get with me…I’m not totally sure what all the fuss is about. I always thought myself a lover of fantasy novels, but as a whole, this book had me more confused than entertained. However, the chapters involving Death* were the ones I looked forward to because they personified Death in such an intriguing way.
*And I promise you, this isn’t a spoiler. A book titled Reaper Man you have to assume is about Death, right?
Even though I recently finished this book, I decided to include it so that when you see the second book in a future Currently Reading post, you’ll know I was a big enough person to give Pratchett another try.
2. Three Wishes by Liane Mortiarty
If you read my last currently reading post you know I was giving Moriarty a second chance back then.* Her books tend to have ‘aha’ moments which are built up to be more massive than they actually are, however, the complexity of her characters and their backstories are what I think make her books page turners.**
*So, perhaps expect the Pratchett second chance to appear in my next pile.
**It took me something like three weeks to get through Reaper Man, but three days in and I’m a third of the way through Three Wishes.
3. Stradivari’s Genius by Toby Faber
I received this book as a Christmas gift from one of my violin students. Even people unconnected to the world of string instruments have heard of the workmanship of Stradivari.
This book follows the lives of six of Stradivari’s masterpieces: five violins and one cello. From reading only a few pages, it is obvious this book covers layers of the histories connected to these instruments. The violinist, but also the rising history buff, within me can’t wait to get further into this one.
4. The Business of Baking by Michelle Z Green
Another gifted book, this time from family members who desperately want to see me open my bakery.* As a blogger, what I love about this book is that it is a compilation of blog posts Green wrote related to the topic of starting a successful bakery. What I especially like is that I can come and go from the book without having to remember exactly where I left off. And while I’m trying to read it from front to back cover, whenever there is a specific topic I’m curious about, I can flip around and read a post written directly to it.
*Still strongly considering this, but obviously bakeries don’t just appear overnight, right?**
**Or do they? Because if they do, I’ll need the book on that, too.
My last two books are photography related. For Christmas this year, Hubby upgraded my Canon Rebel T3 to the T6.* My complaint was that my T3 was so outdated, it couldn’t even do things like digitally connect to a remote control. Not to mention I recently discovered a scratch on the kit lens.
*The T6 was super discounted because the T7 just came out, and it came with tons of goodies like a tripod, two memory cards, a remote, etc.
I decided this time around I wanted to learn how to better use my camera to its full capabilities. The manual is completely unhelpful for this, and I’m not a big YouTuber*, so I hit up my local Barnes and Noble and dug through their photography book section until I was satisfied.
*Even for educational purposes, I can’t reason wasting away my afternoon watching videos.**
**That is, unless it has to do with something like fixing a Kitchen Aid Mixer.
5. David Busch’s Canon EOS Rebel T6/1300D Guide to Digital SLR Photography
This book is the road map for the Canon EOS Rebel T6*, guiding the reader through every facet of the camera from the basics to the more complex. My main goal in using this book is to gain comfort in moving beyond the basic zone settings (portrait, landscape, close-up, etc.) and into the creative zone where I can manually adjust things like shutter speed and aperture.
*For me, it beat out the Dummies book written for the T6.
6. Digital Photography Complete Course by DK Publishing
I have no real interest in photography, at least in a professional sense. I take pictures to hold on to a memory or to give a thousand more words to my blog posts.
I do, however, appreciate a well taken photo and strive to continuously perfect the way I take pictures for myself and my blog. Sometimes, I don’t have the time or knowledge to make a picture better, hence the photography books. The book is broken down into weeks comprised of several lessons, beginning with a section titled, “Test Your Knowledge”, and ending with a section titled, “Review Your Progress”.
It is about as close to actually being in school you can be all while laying around the house in your pajamas.*
*Not that I lay around in pajamas all day.**
**I swear.
What books are you currently reading?
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