How To Books: How To Pick the Right One For You
March 13, 2015
I’m very independent. Obnoxiously so. If I can teach myself how do something I will get the tools I need. Sometimes tools are as simple as directions from Grandma on how to make her soup or words of advice on a subject from a parent. Tools can be physically heavy objects that you cart around with you wherever you go because one day you’ll be glad that you had them. But my number one choice is to learn from a book.
Then lightning struck. An homage to the books that take up an entire bookshelf in my house. My how to books.
I’m very independent. Obnoxiously so. If I can teach myself how do something I will get the tools I need. Sometimes tools are as simple as directions from Grandma on how to make her soup or words of advice on a subject from a parent. Tools can be physically heavy objects that you cart around with you wherever you go because one day you’ll be glad that you had them. But my number one choice is to learn from a book.With anything we need a guide. No different than studying for drivers license (I failed the written the first time but aced the driving part), learning math problems or expecting your first baby. We all learn differently. Some with visual cues. Pictures, videos and graphs. Others absorb all their knowledge by just reading it. The first part to teaching ourselves anything is asking ourselves one question.
How do you learn?
I myself need lots of visuals. I like to see a picture and know what it’s suppose to look like. Think of a cookbook. Would you buy it if you didn’t know what some of the dishes look like? There are people who need a combination of both written and visual. Pictures with clear step by step instructions. And lastly the people who can read text and have the ability to transfer this into whatever task they are doing.
There are lots of how to books out there. The market is flooded with them. You want to learn how to use your iPad there are over eighteen hundred choices on Amazon alone. Just Amazon.Think of all the other outlets for published material and what an astronomical number this adds up to. After you mind is boggled that there is that many books about using your iPad; which do you chose? How about a blog- there is equally as many how to blog on Amazon including How To Make Money Blogging
After you have decided how you learn that will eliminate half of the books you be looking at. Just by seeing a few pages I know if there are not enough pictures than it’s not the book for me.
Once you have a few choices take a look at the task you want to accomplish. Looking through the steps you will get a clearer picture of which book is a better fit. If you can follow along and understand what is happening than it’s a great book. If you find yourself with questions after each step or not following from on point to the next it’s time to move onto another.
I have taught myself how to bake amazing treats, laid floor and even fixed things around my house with the help of books.
So how does this relate to writing?
Firstly, since I have never used a blog interface before I downloaded Google Blogger for Dummies. Why? Because that is the level I am at. I had zero experience working with it and I needed to learn. Every night leading up to my debut I read chapter after chapter making notes, trying the different tips until I started to feel comfortable. Once I was comfortable with that the next step was writing.
Like my first blog post said I had never wrote a review for public consumption so I looked for direction again. After reading the book about reviewing I felt confidant with how I was going to proceed.
But what if the writing part is stumping you? There’s a book for that too- The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well
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.Right now I’m staring at the screen willing the words to come. It’s not working. I’ve taken a break, I have had something to eat, I started to watch episodes of Glee (I just saw the Quarterback episode. I used an entire box of tissues) and I added tissues to the grocery list. I was out of ideas to write.
I used a friend’s idea of going for a walk. Too cold outside so I walked around my house, simple steps I know.
Then lightning struck. An homage to the books that take up an entire bookshelf in my house. My how to books.I owe a lot of my success in life to those books. I have become a self-sufficient, strong person and I challenge my self because I have the ability to download or order a book.
I wouldn’t have been able to join this blog or have the first idea of what to write without them.
If you are looking to start a blog, get a book. You want to write book reviews and don’t know where to start there are books for that too.
We live in an age that anything is possible. If you want to fulfil your dreams there is probably a book for those too.
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4 Comments
Jeremy Crow
I always say, "There's a blog for that" .. you will too in another year or so 🙂
Amy
I think jeremy is right! it's moving in that direction- will yours be the blog for that?
Annabella March
I hope that people will come to this blog for by book reviews. It's that the dream! 🙂
Annabella March
Isn't that the dream! Typing while tired not a good thing.