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Non-fiction book reviews part 4 - It's non-fiction November

This is part four in a series of non-fiction book reviews, based on the idea that the books I request tell you everything you need to know about me. All books in this post were provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and I'm always honest. Sometimes it feels painful to be totally honest, but that's the deal.

Iron Man: Tony Stark Declassified by Dayton Ward 

 It might come as a surprise to some, but in 2019 we watched every Avengers movie. Methodically. From start to finish. By the end of it I was quite sick of some aspects of the Avengers, but when I saw this book I was curious. This book promises Notes, Interviews, and Files from the Avengers' Archives, and it fits into  "non-fiction November" as the structure of this book is to pretend the MCU is real, and that the author has interviewed Tony Stark. They also have "extracts" from SHIELD files and other "sources". It is a really fun conceit, and a deep dive into not just Iron Man, but the heroes, anti-heroes and villian with whom he shares the MCU. I recommend buying this as a gift for that cousin, the one you only see at Christmas, and don't quite know what to get them, and then sneakily reading it yourself. Entertaining, interesting and tongue in cheek.  

Goodbye Night Sweats by Haut Flash and Mina Pause -(releases March 26 2024)

This book is a laugh-out-loud parody of Goodnight Moon. While it runs through the normal menopause stereotypes / symptoms (hot sweats, mood swings et al) it is ultimately celebratory and empowering, as well as very funny. My friends and I are heading into that stage of life and I think this picture book for grown-ups will make a perfect gift for the 50th birthday parties  that will be coming up in the next couple of years. I wish the cover was out already, because the illustrations in this one are definitively part of the fun. 

Cellphone Photography Mastermind by Sijie Deng (releases 7 October 2022)

I've done some work on becoming a better photographer, both a Craftsy course and hanging out with Katie. She takes amazing photos and, when I was trying to take a picture of this sunset, she adjusted somethings on my phone and made it look amazing. She also taught me to always take three photos in a row when taking group selfies, and that you can (and should!) pose people if you want good photos. 

So I was curious to pick up some more advice. Unfortunately this book was not the place to do it. It fails to explain some basic concepts that it relies on (like the rule of thirds) jumps all over the place and makes nonsensical statements. It felt unedited, and like it was written by an AI, or perhaps someone whose first language is not English and they know their topic too well to actually explain it clearly. This book was neither useful nor entertaining, and I think the kindest thing I can do here is not talk about it any more.


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