~*~

~*~

Saturday, August 25, 2012

References for Writers

Here is a list of useful sites for writers. Books too. There might be a bit of overlap with my "books to read/ stuff to watch" list.
Some of the books are excellent. Some of the books are the only ones I have on the topic, and there may well be better ones that I don't know of. 
And some of these I read a very long time ago. They may be outdated, or I've realized they're not as good references as I once thought. So use your best judgement! And I'll work on keeping it updated.


Writing/World building
A list of Limyaael's rants on writing fantasy
Fantasy worldbuilding questions
A fantasy worldbuilder (Just scroll down and click to download the PDF)
Elements of Setting
Some articles about different aspects of writing.
Query Letters that Get Manuscript Requests
How to Write a (fiction) Book Proposal
Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published
Writing a Novel Synopsis
How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Book
Query Shark - all about writing a query letter.
Publisher's Marketplace
How to Ensure 75% of Agents Will Request Your Material

-
A blog called the Bookshelf Muse. Now moved to Writers Helping Writers.
Here's some posts from The Bookshelf Muse:
-A list of emotions
-Theme
-Describing appearance
-Critiques
-Tension
-Taglines
-Marketing 1
-Marketing 2
-Character reactions
~
A website called Springhole, with writing and role-playing tips. Here's a few of their posts I liked:
~Problems with hair and clothes
~Royal people
~Masculine
~Gender
~Random name generators
~Names
~

Five Traps and Tips for Character Development
A website called Writer's Corner plus a couple helpful articles I found on it: character voice and outlining a story
Developing fantasy languages
And more fantasy language stuff, looking at Tolkein's work
Character interview questions I both found and wrote
Information on names.
The Artist's Way, by Cameron
The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspiration for Writing, by Wood
The Writer's Idea Book: How to Develop Ideas for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Screenplays, by Heffron
Showing and Telling: Learn how to Show and when to Tell for Powerful and Balanced Writing, by Alberts
The Writer's guide to psychology, by Kaufman
The Emotion Thesaurus, by Ackerman and Puglisi
The Positive Trait Thesaurus and the Negative Trait Thesaurus, both by Ackerman and Puglisi
The Essential Guide for new Writers, by Storey.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Browne and King
The Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, by Bykofsky and Sander
The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book, by Susan Page

Successful critiques


Poetry
Poemcrazy, by Wooldridge
The Discovery of Poetry, by Mayes
Kokinshu (Japanese poetry)


Science Fiction

The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe, by George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy: 20 Dynamic Essays by Today's top Professionals (there's not really any fantasy stuff in this book - it's all sci fi)
Space Travel: A Writer's Guide to the science of interplanetary and interstellar travel, by Bova and Lewis
Aliens and Alien Societies: A Writer's Guide to Creating Extraterrestrial Life-forms, by Bova and Schmidt
World-Building: A writer's guide to constructing star systems and life-supporting planets, by Gillett
Wilhelm and Mathison, Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide
The Wildlife of Star Wars


Fantasy
The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference, by Brooks and others.
Fantasy Encyclopedia, by Judy Allen. There's also a book about strange things in the world, by the same author. It's called Unexplained. Some interesting ideas to spark stories.
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, by Matthews
Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien
The Book of Yokai: Mysterious creatures of Japanese folklore, by Foster
Flights of Fancy: Birds in myth, legend, and superstition, by Tate
An article about the different genres of fantasy
Dracopedia, by O'Connor
Dragonology: The Complete book of dragons. They have a whole series of fun books, like about Egypt, pirates, and fairies
The Unicorn, by Hatahway
Encyclopedia of Gods: Over 2,500 Deities of the world. By Jordan
A Practical Guide to Dragons
O'Connor, Dracopedia The Great Dragons



Culture, History, and Places

Disclaimer: Some of these sources are not very respectful to the cultures they discuss - the reason they're listed here is because they're views into the past of some countries, before they were more altered by outside forces. 

 

A timeline of inventions, so you know what to include in your story
A World History Encyclopedia

Two in the Far North, by Murie
There is a company called "The Great Courses" that has DVD sets of many different topics. They're like a semester of classes packed into DVDs.
Festivals Together: A Guide to Multi-cultural Celebration, by Fitzjohn, Weston, and Large
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Diamond
A book series called The Culture and Customs of Asia.
A book series called Culture Smart
 
Japan:
A website about Japanese clothing.
Simon and Schuster's guide to Bonsai
Japanese Homes and their Surroundings, by Morse
Palaces of Kyoto, by Ishikawa
Flower Arrangement Art of Japan, by Wood
The Art of the Japanese Garden, by Young
Shogun: The Shogun Age Exhibition, from the Tokugawa Art Museum
Journey to the Heart of Aikido, by Holiday
Aikido: Its Heart and Appearance, by Saito
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture, by Benedict
The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivation, by Carter
Becoming Bamboo, by Carter
Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Roots, by Picken
The Book of Tea, by Okakura
Wabi-Sabi: For artists, designers, poets, and philosophers, by Koren
Zen in Japanese Culture, by Suzuki
Ki in Daily Life, by Tohei
Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, by Warner and Draeger
The Craft of the Japanese Sword, byYoshihara
Bushido: the soul of Japan, by Nitobe
Hiroshima, Hersey. Stories from survivors of the nuclear bomb that hit Hiroshima
Understanding Japan: A Cultural History (Great Courses series)
The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality, by Iwao
Modern Japan Through its Weddings, by Edwards
With Respect to the Japanese: Going to Work in Japan, by Condon and Masumoto
Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien
The Book of Yokai: Mysterious creatures of Japanese folklore, by Foster


China:
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, by Chang
The Great Gardens of China, by Xiaofeng
China, by Bailey, Knapp, Neville-Hadley, Roberts, and Steinhardt
Chinese Ornament, L'Aventurine
Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses at the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang
China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty, Benn
Daily Life in the Forbidden City, by Yi, Shuqing, and Yanzhen
Dress in Hong Kong, by Szeto
5,000 years of Chinese Costume, by Chunming
Ruling from the Dragon Throne: Costume of the Qing Dynasty, by Vollmer
China's Sacred Sites, by Shunxun and Foit-Albert
Huangshan Mountains, World Cultural and Natural Heritage
Chinese Paintings, from the China Council for Promotion of International Trade
Chinese Painting, by Chow
Folk Customs of China, Huanxing
Jade, Palmer
Book of Songs (Chinese Poetry)


Tibet:
Tibet: The Secret Continent, by Peissel
My Tibet, by Rowell
Tibet: A Handbook, by Hoffmann
Tibet: A Guide to the Land of Fascination, by Majupuria
A Portrait of Lost Tibet, by Tung
The People of Tibet, by Bell
Nomads of Western Tibet: The Survival of a Way of Life, by Goldstein and Beall
Palace on the World's Rooftop: The Potala Palace of Tibet
Folk Cultures of Tibet, by Chophel
Tibet is my Country, by Norbu and Harrer
Seven Years in Tibet, by Harrer


India:
India Unveiled, by Arnett
A World of Food: India, by Ganeri

Being Different, by Malhotra 

My India, by Corbett


Sacred Horses: The memoirs of a Turkmen cowboy (about Turkmenistan)

Saudi Notes: Two years in the kingdom, by Neale



Europe:

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Royal Britain, by Phillips
Medieval Combat: A fifteenth-century manual of swordfighting and close-quarter combat, by Talhoffer
Renaissance Swordsmanship: The illustrated use of rapiers and cut-and-thrust swords, by Clements
The Complete Renaissance Swordsman: A guide to the use of all manner of weapons, by Manciolinos
Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated methods and techniques, by Clements
The Medieval Longsword,  by Windsor
The Beginner's Guide to the Longsword: European martial arts weaponry techniques, by Fick
Venetian Rapier: The school, or salle, by Giganti
The Art of Falconry, by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
The High Middle Ages: 1200-1550, by Rowley
The Wars of the Roses, by Hallam
The Age of Plantagenet and Valois, by Fowler
The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance, by Doubleday
Saint Fernando III, by Fitzhenry
Daily Life depicted in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, by Keller and Cash
Vatican City, by Roncalli
Scythian Gold, by Reeder
Lovely is the Lee, Gibbings (Ireland) 
Scotland: A concise history, by Maclean
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, by Hamilton (Greek Mythology)
Heroes, Monsters, and Other Worlds from Russian Mythology, by Warner
Searching for Bobby Fischer, Waitzkin (Communist Russia)
 

North America - the traditional:

Handbook of North American Indians, by Sturtevant (A huge multi-volume set)

Stars of the First People: Native American star myths and constellations, by Miller 

North American Indian Arts, by Whiteford

Great Speeches by Native Americans, by Blaisdell

American Indian Healing Arts: Herbs, rituals, and remedies for every season of live, by Kavasch and Baar

Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast, by Stewart

Arts and Crafts of the Native American Tribes, by Johnson and Yenne

Good Medicine: Traditional dress issue, by Hungry Wolf

19th Century Plains Indian Dresses, by Jennys

The Indian Tipi: Its history, construction, and use, by Laubin

Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and design of the cloth Tipi, by Holley

Focus on Feathers: A Complete Guide to American Indian Feather Craft, by Forsythe

Pow-Wow: Dancers and Craftworker's Handbook, by Hungry Wolf

Native American Weapons, by Taylor

Making Indian Bows and Arrows... the old ways, by Spotted Eagle

American Indian Archery, by Laubin

Native American Survival Skills, by Hunt

Native American Games and stories, by Bruchac and Bruchac

Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and Management of California's Natural Resources, by Anderson

The World We Used to Live In, by Deloria

The Ways of my Grandmothers, by Hungry Wolf (about the Blackfoot people)

The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture, by Ewers

Lone Bull's Horse Raid, by Goble

All Our Relatives, by Goble

Black Elk Speaks, by Neihardt and Black Elk (About the Sioux)

The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's account of the seven rites of the Ogalala Sioux, by Brown 

Apaches: A history and culture portrait, by Haley

Arts, Cultures, and Lives of the Plains Indian People: Memory and Vision, by Hansen

The Plains Indian Warbonnet: Its story and construction, by Hardin

The Arapaho, by Kroeber

The Cheyenne Indians: Their history and lifeways, by Grinnell

The Lost Universe: Pawnee life and culture, by Weltfish

The Comanches: Lords of the South Plains, by Wallace and Hoebel

Let me be Free: The Nez Perce Tragedy, by Lavender
Book of the Hopi: the first revelation of the Hopi's historical and religious world-view of life, by Waters
Sharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy, by Maryboy and Begay
Iroquois: People of the longhouse, by Johnson 
Ojibway Ceremonies, by Johnston 
Lakota Belief and Ritual, by Walker
Indian Clothing of the Great Lakes, by Hartman

Beginning Cherokee, by Holmes and Smith

Anasazi: Ancient People of the Rock, by Pike

The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco - Monterey Bay Area, by Margolin

California Indians and their Environment, by Lightfoot and Parrish

The First Spanish Entry into San Francisco Bay: 1775, by Vicente Maria

The Northern Shoshone, by Lowie 

Mountain Maidu People of Tasmam Kojom, by Benner-Ogle

The Paiute, by Franklin and Bunte

Kumeyaay Ethnobotany: Shared heritage of the Californias, by Wilken-Robertson

The Early Ethnography of the Kumeyaay, by Shackley

The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River, by Ruby and Brown
Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia, by Boyd, Ames, and Johnson
The Shasta Indians of California and their Neighbors, by Renfro

Tsimshian Culture: A light through the Ages, by Miller

The Tsimshian Indians and their Arts, by Garfield and Wingert

Trail to Heaven: Knowledge and Narrative in a northern native community, by Ridington  (Dunne-za)

Crossroads of the Continents, by Fitzhugh and Crowell

Hunters of the Northern Forest: Designs for survival among the Alaskan Kutchin, by Nelson

Make Prayers to the Raven: A Kokuyan view of the northern forest, by Nelson

 

North America - the modern:
San Francisco: A Natural History, by Gaar and Miller
San Francisco: Building the Dream City, by Alexander and Heig
1500 California Place Names: Their origin and meaning, by Bright
The Wright Brothers, by McCullough
The Klondike Fever, by Berton
Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass, by Paulsen
The American Civil War - The Great Courses DVD series


South America:
Lost City of the Incas, by Bingham
The Conquest of the Incas, Hemming
Sonqoykipi Apakuway: Welcome to the land of the Inkas, by Casas
The Enchanted Amazon Rainforest: Stories from a vanishing world, by Smith
Through Amazonian Eyes, : The human ecology of Amazonian populations, by Moran
The Wanano Indians of the Brazilian Amazon, by Chernela
Medicine Men: Their plants and rituals in the Colombian Amazonia, by Schultes and Raffauf


Africa:
African Warriors, by Magor (Samburu people)
The Samburu, by Spencer
Life in Ancient Egypt, by Erman

Art and Craft
This is an online stopwatch to keep track of how long you work and what you're earning, for all you artists.
The Woodworkers, and The Blacksmith. These two books by Kalman talk about how things were done in the colonial days. They're aimed at kids, but they're very informative with good pictures.
Art Nouveau Jewelry, by Becker How California Adobes were Built in the 1830's, by Delgado and Wade
Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay: 30 techniques and projects that imitate precious, stones, metals, wood, and more, by Dean 
The Mosaic Idea Book, by Wates
The Complete Guide to Home Mosaics
Macramé: The craft of creative knotting for your home, by Zedenius
Fun with Chinese Knotting, by Chen
Origami Bonsai: Create beautiful botanical sculptures from paper, by Coleman
Creative Native American Beading, by Geary
Focus on Feathers: A complete guide to American Indian feather craft, by Forsythe
Traditional Indian Crafts, by Smith
Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing, by Adrosko
The Art of Calligraphy, by Harris
Antoni Gaudi, by Permanyer
Wheat Weaving and Straw Art, by Beiler
 Finger weaving: Indian braiding, by Turner
A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag, by Anderson
Gourd Art Basics: The complete guide to cleaning, preparation, and repair, by Mohr 
How to make Drums, Tomtoms, and Rattles, by Mason
Buckskin: The ancient art of braintanning, by Edholm and Wilder
The Complete Book of Tanning Skins and Furs, by Churchill
Deerskins into Buckskins: How to tan with natural materials, by Richards

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, by Loomis
Avatar The Last Airbender: The Art of the Animated Series
Studio Ghibli Art Books
McCarthy, Hayao Miyazaki Master of Japanese Animation
Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, by Thomas and Johnston
The Legend of Zelda Hyrule Historia
Okami Official Complete Works
The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist (series)
Fullmetal Alchemist Profiles
The Art of Amy Brown
Shaman: The paintings of Susan Seddon Boulet
Peffer, Dragonart
Peffer, Dragonart Evolution
Wissman and Laichas, Dragonworld
Pui-Mun Law, Dreamscapes Magical Menagerie
Aymer, Dragon Art: Inspiration and Technique in Fantasy Art
Hamm, Drawing the Head and Figure
Peck, Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist
Cyclopedia Anatomicae, By Feher
Leslie, Nature Drawing: A Tool for Learning
Weatherly, The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals
The Artist's Guide to Animal Anatomy: An Illustrated reference to drawing animals
Hamm, How to draw Animals
Hultgren, The Art of Animal Drawing
Foster. They have a series of large art books, which have great info and pictures in them.
Wilwerding, Cats in Action
Poole, Simple Landscape Painting
Kowalski, Discover the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross
Aylward, Ships and How to draw them



Health

First Aid/CPR/AED Participant's Manual, by the American Red Cross
The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health, by Montgomery and Bikle
 Change your Brain, Change your Body, by Amen
Food Rules, by Pollan
 Living in a Mindful Universe, by Alexander
The Power of Now, by Tolle
Level Up Your Life, by Kamb

Nerdfitness
-Top Posts
-But I don't have time...
-Interval Training
-Beginner workout
-Running
-Barefoot running
-Tabata training
-Parkour
-Biking
-Yoga
-Squats
-Pull ups
-Pushups
-Helping Others
-Working with a friend
-Breakfast
-Protein
-Meals
-Intermittent Fasting
-Paleo diet
-Small steps
-Lose weight
-
(And some books for designing magical systems)
Zapped, by Gittleman. Electric and internet signals can impact your health Check it out.
The Comprehensive guide to Self-Defense, by Chen. This was written by a friend of my Dad's. I took his self-defense class. This book describes things well.
Basic Rockcraft, by Robbins
The Astrology of the Seers: A Guide to Vedic (Hindu) Astrology, by Frawley
How to Meditate, by Novak.
Hands of Light, by Brennan. This has a lot of stuff about auras, which is good reference if you want to write about healing in a magic society, ex. I got a lot of ideas from it.
Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art, by Stein. More great reference if you want to make magical healing. As are the following.
The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui, by Usui
Handbook of Vastu, by Babu.
Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement, Rossbach.
The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Murray and Pizzorno.

Thought
Effective Communication Skills - series from The Great Courses
The Writer's guide to psychology, by Kaufman
An article about dreams

Environment

Eaarth: Making a life on a tough new planet, by McKibben
Eating to Extinction: The world's rarest foods and why we need to save them, by Saladino
The Zero-Waste Chef, by Bonneau
Reef, by Scubazoo
Planet Earth, by Fothergill
Tom Brown's Field Guide:  Living with the Earth
Tom Brown's Field Guide:Wilderness Survival
The Amateur Naturalist, by Durrell
How to stay alive in the woods, by Angier.
A Handbook for Wilderness Survival, by Harris
Books by Joseph Cornell. He deals a lot with environmental education. Some of his books are Sharing with Nature with Children, and The Sky and Earth Touched Me.
The Weather, by Lynch. Big, pretty picture book.
A Natural History of California, By Schoenherr
Farming with Native Beneficial Insects, by the Xerces Society
Atlas of the Biodiversity of California. By the State of California Department of Fish and Game
Cosmos, by Arditi and Lachieze-Rey. A book with pictures of outer space.


Animals

A list I made of a bunch of different animals.

Zoobooks. A series of kid books on many kinds of animals. They have good basic information. 

Tom Brown's Field Guide: Nature Observation and Tracking 

Tom Brown's Field Guide to the Forgotten Wilderness

A Key to the Skulls of North American Mammals, by Glass

Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species, by ElbrochMammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species, by Elbroch

The Barron's pet owner's manuals. This is a series of books that looks at all manner of pets, from rabbits, to gerbils, to goats. I have quite a few of them for some reason...

The New Complete Dog Book, by the American Kennel Club

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds and Dog Care. By Larkin and Stockman.

Once a Wolf: How wildlife biologists fought to bring back the gray wolf, by Swinburne

Wolves

Innocent Killers: A fascinating journey through the worlds of the hyena, the jackal, and the wild dog, by Van Lawick-Goodall
Small Wild Cats: The Animal Answer Guide, by Sanderson and Watson

The Wolverine Way, by Chadwick

In the Shadow of Man, by Goodall

Gorillas in the Mist, by Fossey
Some helpful information about horses.
Breeding and Training a Horse or Pony, by Sutcliffe
A Horse of Your Own: The Rider-Owner's Complete Guide, by Stoneridge
Communicating with Cues: The Rider's Guide to Training and Problem solving, by Lyons.
Horse, Follow Closely: Native American Horsemanship, by Pony Boy

Such is the Real Nature of Horses, by Vavra
Natural Horsemanship, by Parelli
Mustangs: Wild Horses of the West, by Hubert and Klein
The Encyclopedia of Horses and Ponies, Pickeral
Encyclopedia of the Horse, Edwards

Horses and Horsemanship Through the Ages, by Gianoli
Getting in T-Touch: Understand and Influence Your Horse's Personality.
The Perfect Horse: The Daring US mission to rescue the priceless stallions kidnapped by the Nazis, by Letts

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A field guide, by Emmons
Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, by Borboroglu and Boersma
Peterson field guide to birds

Falconry: Art and practice, by Ford

North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks, by Beebe and Webster
The Birder's Handbook, by Wheye
The Shorebird Guide, by O'Brien, Crossley, and Karlson

Field Guide to Birds of the Northern California Coast, by Stallcup and Evens

A Field Guide to the Birds of Peru, by Clements and Shany

Birds of Peru, by Schulenberg, Stotz, Lane, O'Neill, and Parker III

The Hummingbird Book: The complete guide to attracting, identifying, and enjoying hummingbirds, by Stokes

Owls of California and the west, by Peeters

Crows of the World, by Goodwin

The Warbler Guide, by Stephenson and Whittle

The Backyard Chicken Keeper's Bible
Nestwatch - build bird houses
The Book of Eggs, by Hauber
A database of bird feathers
Bandedbirds.org: Report sightings of banded birds

In the Heart of the Sea: the epic true story that inspired Moby Dick, by Philbrick (whaling) 

Elephant Seals: A comprehensive guide

Voyage of the Turtle: In pursuit of the earth's last dinosaur, Safina

Exploring Tidal Life Along the Pacific Coast: with emphasis on Point Reyes National Seashore, by Tierney, Ulmer, Waxdeck, Foster, and Eckenroad 

Animals and Plants of Monterey Bay, by Klosterman

Seashore Animals of the Pacific Coast, by Johnson and Snook 

Field Guide to Seashore Creatures, by Meinkoth

A Pocket Guide to Sharks of the World, by Ebert, Dando, and Fowler

Pacific Salmon Filed Guide, by Godwin and Krkosek

Crustaceans, by Schmitt

The Crayfish, by Huxley

Borror and Delong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, by Triplehorn and Johnson 

Principles of Insect Morphology, by Snodgrass

The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Insects, by Stanek 

Western Forest Insects, by Furniss and Carolin

Field Guide to California Insects, by Will, Gross, Rubiinoff, and Powell

Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species, by Charney and Eiseman

Entomological Techniques: How to Work with Insects, by Peterson

Firefly encyclopedia of insects and spiders, by O’toole

Beetles, by Jones 

Field Guide to the Beetles of California, by Evans and Hogue 

Introduction to California Beetles, by Evans and Hogue

The Beetles of the Pacific Northwest, by Hatch

A Natural History of Ladybird Beetles, by Majerus, Roy and Brown

Dung Beetle Ecology, by Hanski and Cambefort

Medical and Veterinary Entomology, by Mullen and Durden

Medical Parasitology, by John and Petri

The Sucking Lice, by Ferris

Mosquitoes of California, by Bohart and Washino

Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast, by Walker

Termites: Biology and pest management, by Pearce

Ants: Their structure, development, and behavior, by Wheeler

The Cerambycidae of North America, by Linsley

The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, honey recipes, and other home uses

The Bees of the World, by Michener

Bees: A natural history, by O'Toole 

The Honey Bee, by Gould

The Hive and the Honeybee, by Dadant and Sons

The Bees in your Backyard, by Wilson and Carril

Bee Genetics and Breeding, by Rinderer

The New Starting Right with Bees: a beginner's handbook on beekeeping, by Flottum and Summers

Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's bees and butterflies, by the Xerces Society

Attracting Beneficial Bugs to your Garden, by Walliser

Xerces Society: About Monarch butterflies and planting plants to help them

Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, by Shapiro and Manolis

Western Butterflies, by Opler and Wright

Butterflies of North America, by Brock and Kaufman

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies

Butterflies of the World, by Sbordoni and Forestiero

Basic Techniques for Observing and Studying Moths and Butterflies, by Winter Jr.

Silkworms, by Johnson

Bumble bees of the Western United States

Bee Basics: An introduction to our native bees

California Insects, by Powell and Hogue

Field Guide to Insects and Spiders and related species of North America, by Evans

Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States, by Capinera, Scott, and Walker

That Gunk on Your Car: A unique guide to insects of North America, by Hostetler 

Insect Enemies of Western Forests, by Keen

Common Spiders of North America, by Bradley


Plants
Western Garden book, edited by Brenzel. There are several editions, and they go over the care of plants, mainly garden plants. 
Back to Basics: A backyard guide to buying and working land, raising livestock, generating your own energy, enjoying your harvest, household skills and crafts and more, by Gehring
California Native Plants for the Garden, by Bornstein, Fross, and O'Brien
Re imagining the California Lawn, by Bornstein, Fross, and O-Brien
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region, by Spellenberg
Plants of the Coast Redwood Region, by Lyons and Cooney-Lazaneo
Pacific States Wildflowers, by Niehaus and Ripper
Climate-Wise Landscaping, by Reed and Stibolt
The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species, by Bechtel, Cribb, and Launert
Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bamboos, by Meredith
Fern Grower's Manual, by Hoshizaki and Moran
Encyclopedia of Ferns, by Jones
Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns, by Olsen
Botany in a Day: The patterns method of plant identification, by Elpel 
100 Plants to feed the Monarch: Create a healthy habitat to sustain North America's most beloved butterfly, by the Xerces Society
100 Plants to Feed the Bees: Provide a healthy habitat to help pollinators thrive, by the Xerces Society
Edible Wild Plants: A North American field guide to over 200 natural foods, by Elias and Dykeman 
The Forager's Harvest: A guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants, by Thayer
Edible and Useful Plants of California, by Clarke
Early Uses of California Plants, by Balls
Tom Brown's Field Guide: Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants
A Handbook of Native American Herbs, by Hutchens
Indian Herbology of North America, by Hutchens
The Cherokee Herbal: Native plant medicine from the four directions, by Garrett
Cherokee Plants and their Uses: a 400 year history, by Hamel and Chiltoskey
Native Harvests: Recipes and botanicals of the American Indian, by Kavasch 
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine, and Crafts, by Densmore
Discovering Wild Plants: Alaska, Western Canada, the Northwest, by Schofield
Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West, by Moore
Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, by Moore
Medicinal Plants and Herbs, by Foster and Hobbs
The Big Book of Backyard Medicine: The ultimate guide to home-grown herbal remedies, by Bruton-Seal and Seal
Pacific Seaweeds, by Druehl and Clarkston
Mushrooms Demystified, by Arora
Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast: A comprehensive guide to the fungi of coastal Northern California, by Siegel and Schwarz
Composting: an easy household guide, by Scott
The Rodale Book of Composting, by Gershuny and Martin


Healing-Type Stuff for Magic Development
Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. By Pitcairn.
The Healing Touch, by Fox.
The Tellington TTouch:A Breakthrough Technique to Tran and Care for your Favorite Animal. By Tellington-Jones and Taylor.
Homeopathic First Aid Treatment for Pets. These last few are good for animals in magic worlds.
The Healing Power of Gemstones, by Johari.
The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, by Kunz
Language of Flowers, by Greenaway
Magic and Medicine of plants, from Reader's Digest.
The Herbalist, from Meyerbooks.
Garden Spells: The Magic of Herbs, Trees, and Flowers, by Nahmad.
Herbs and Things, by Moore.
The Yoga of Herbs, by Frawley and Lad.


Other

This is a blog post, that I'm putting here mainly for my own reference. It's just a (short) list of the few romances that I like in fiction.
Familiar Quotations, from Bartlett
Webster's Pocket Rhyming Dictionary
Roget's Pocket Thesaurus
I have this one book called the Random House Word Menu. It has big categories of words, arranged by topics. Good for brainstorming?
It might be handy to have some foreign language dictionaries
This is a very random one. But in Cameo, you can "buy" a personalized video from actors, etc. 

Spreeder - put in hunks of text, and it teaches you how to speed read.

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