The Illustrated Bead Bible: terms, tips & techniques
by Theresa Flores Geary, Ph.D. 2008. Sterling Publishing Co., New York. 406 pages. $29.95

This book is the closest thing we have to a dictionary of beads in print. It starts with an Introduction to the history of beads and a discussion of bead shapes. Three hundred pages of this hefty book are devoted to bead terms from A to Z. It's weighted somewhat towards seed beads and beadwork, but does cover a broad range of topics from beading cords, tools, and techniques to gemstones, organic beads, glass beads, and metal beads. The short entries are mostly well researched and written with a good balance of information presented for the average reader.

Towards the end of the book are about 20 pages of tips and techniques presented in a question and answer format along with tables and charts of bead shapes, sizes, finishes, gemstone treatments, birthstones and zodiac stones, metals, stringing materials and beadwork stitches.

The volume is weak in the areas of ancient and ethnographic beads and the photos generally portray the more commonly available and less visually exciting items and a lot of beadwork. A good bibliography and thorough index round out the volume. Printing in China helped keep the price of this book extremely reasonable and we recommend as a valuable resource for beaders of all levels.

For those looking for more information on collectible beads we recommend Robert K. Liu's Collectible Beads, Lois Dubin's History of Beads, and our own online Bead Dictionary in the Reference Section of this site.

Getting Started Stringing Beads
by Jean Campbell. 2005. Interweave Press, Loveland, Colorado. 88 pages. $16.95.

This small format hardcover book is one of our favorite books for beginning beaders. Campbell, the founding editor of Beadwork magazine, brings plenty of experience and organization to the project.

The book begins with suggestions on how to shop for beads, a discussion of bead types and sizes and some basic definitions for the uninitiated. Next come stringing materials and tools. Each is pictured and briefly described with some pros, cons and suggested uses.

Diagrams and a few photos illustrate the section on basic techniques, which include crimping, knotting, using bead tips (which are called bead cups here) and very basic wire working. Findings come next. The basics are illustrated and described. This chapter finishes off with a complete project for a charm bracelet using some of the tools, findings and techniques covered in the previous pages.

Chapter Three covers design basics, while Chapter Four introduces the concept of the focal bead with further design ideas. Next come earring designs including simple drops, hoops, and chandelier styles. Simple bracelet and necklace projects, some design idea sketches, and tips round out the book.

Crystal Prescriptions: The A-Z guide to over 1,200 symptoms and their healing crystals
by Judy Hall. 2005. EW Media, Poole, England. Soft cover 171 pages. $15.95.

This is a quick guide to symptoms and the stones that might help. The author, who has written more extensive books such as the Crystal Bible, refers to this small book as a crystal “first aid guide rather than a course on crystal healing”. But the first 50 pages do cover basics such as how to choose and how to use crystals for healing, how to care for and store them, and the philosophy behind the age-old practices of crystal healing. The chapter on dowsing explains how to use crystals to get answers to your questions. A chapter on the relationship between charkas and crystals is followed by specifics on placing crystals for healing, and tips on using the book.

The bulk of the book is devoted to an alphabetical listing of symptoms including issues related to body mind and spirit. For example, under “Allergies” we find the following stones listed: apophyllite, danburite, iolite, and lepidolite. For “Anger, to ameliorate” Blue Lace Agate, Carnelian, and Amethyst are recommended among others. “Boundaries, weak” indicates Red Jasper and Quartz. The list is very extensive and in most cases several stones are listed.

There are no illustrations of any kind in this book. It’s simply a directory. A cross index of which stones treat which symptoms would have been helpful, but that information is contained in several other books we carry. This is the only one we know of that is strictly organized by symptom, so if that’s what you are looking for, this is the right book for you.

Crystals
by Jennie Harding. 2007. Walking Stick Press, Cincinnati, OH. Soft cover 320 pages. $19.99.

Over 100 of the earth’s most beautiful and interesting minerals are profiled in this book. Organized by color into 20 color bands, the book can help you discover more about a particular stone even if you don’t know its name when you begin your search.

The introductory chapters explain how we see and absorb color, the effects colors have on us, and how crystals are used for color healing. A brief review of how crystals form, their classification, and history follow. Each of the 20 color rays gets a two page introduction and the stones within each ray are featured on two-page color spreads adorned with one or more photos of the crystal often in both rough and polished states.

Information presented about each featured stone includes: Its name; form and structure; color range; rarity and primary geographical sources; hardness on the Mohs scale; physical or emotional uses; healing effects; and personal uses.

For example the “Physical and Emotional Uses” for tiger’s eye are listed as “linked to the energy of solar plexus chakra, clearing mental blocks, and encouraging focus on current issues; supports healthy metabolism and prevents physical energy from becoming depleted; reputed to keep eyes healthy and increase clear vision.”

“Healing Effects” read more like healing prescriptions. For example, the instructions for chrysocholla include, “place over the breastbone or the throat to clear toxicity and rebuild energy after a period of illness; place over the heart chakra to ease breathing; place under the base of the skull to open psychic perception.”

“Personal Uses” include suggestions for environmental uses as well as effects of wearing or carrying the stones. For example with pink tourmaline we read “place in a bedroom or living space to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere; wear over the heart to soothe the emotions.”

Jennie Harding is a prolific author with 20 years experience as a healer working with various modalities. This book covers many of the stones frequently encountered as beads and some of the more esoteric ones as well. The organization by color with clear pictures can be helpful for those unfamiliar with stones names.

Gemstones of the World: Newly revised and expanded third edition
by Walter Schumann. 2006. Sterling Publishing, New York. Hard cover 311 pages. $24.95.

This classic book has been a standard gemological reference for over 20 years. Targeted at more serious students of gemology, it contains a wealth of information--the origins and structures of gemstones; their physical and optical properties; deposits, mining, cutting and polishing--all presented with text, clear color photos of gems in their rough and polished states, and many charts and graphs. The classification of gemstones is explained before the author moves on to descriptions of individual stones, grouped by gem families such as garnets, quartz, opals, feldspar, etc. Lesser known gemstones, rocks as gemstones, and organic gemstones have their own chapters as do stones that are “New on the Market”.

Excellent information on imitation and synthetic gemstones, misleading gem names, and stones that can be confused with each other appears throughout the book making it useful even for beginners who might not be so interested in the more technical information. A good index, maps, lists of gems by color, and tables of birthstones and zodiac stones round out the offerings.

The information given for individual stones varies depending on the popularity and history of the stone. Lapis Lazuli, for example,  is given a two-page spread with several pictures and information on the origin of the name, the composition of this gem, history, and a list of stones that are commonly confused with lapis.
In contrast kyanite has only about one quarter of a page devoted to its name, sources, and stones that it could be confused with. In all cases, however, a table is included that provides the basic stats for each stone: color range, Mohs scale of hardness number, density, cleavage, crystal system, chemical composition, transparency, refractive index, dispersion, pleochrism, absorption spectrum and fluorescence! If you are serious about gems this book is for you.

All Wired Up: Wire Techniques for the beadworker and jewelry makers
by Mark Lareau. 2000. Interweave Press, Loveland, CO. Soft cover, 128 pages. $21.95.

By far the best selling wire book of the dozens of wire books we sell in our stores, this book is a favorite among our wire teachers and students. As a part-owner of a bead store, author Mark Lareau understands where beaders are coming from when they get into wire work, and he offers accessible projects that can greatly expand the range of your designs.

This well-organized little volume starts off with a chapter on materials and tools that explains all about different kinds of wire, its finishes, hardness, sizing, and uses. Next comes a brief section on the few basic tools needed to get started with wire. Tips on good posture and hand positions for working with wire tools help you learn good habits from the start so that your wire working career will be strain- and injury-free.

Instruction begins with text and black-and-white diagrams detailing the making of simple shapes, while learning the basic techniques that can be combined in many ways to express your own creativity later. Chapter Four starts introducing projects with various options for embellishing stone donuts. Additional chapters cover wire earrings, custom earwires, clasps, and cages to turn items that don’t have holes into pendants. The last 20 pages of the book feature an inspiring gallery of bead-and-wire work in color.