Forum link: parkablogs.com/forum/

The purpose of the forum is same as that of Parka Blogs: To help readers and artists understand exactly what books they are buying.

I've been reviewing and blogging about art books for a while now. But every time I visit Kinokuniya (Singapore), I still have that OMG-I-need-to-have-all-these-books in my head. Every time. Meanwhile, nothing has changed. Those beautiful books are still wrapped, for perfectly good reason -- those browsing copies are in too bad a condition to sell.

It's scary to buy without any indication of what's inside. I also reluctant to buy books whose style I don't quite like -- I rarely get review copies from publishers. I feel the variety of art books reviewed here is rather limited in some sense.

I also avoid reviewing instructional art books because they are too time consuming. It's not just reading, but also about going through the lessons to see if the instructions can actually be followed, and if they are actually teaching what they say they are. Books published by Impact, good as they are, fall under this category.

Below are some of the books you don't usually see reviewed on the blog:

• Manga shonen shojo drawing books from Collins Design -- I can't look at chibi eyes for too long
• Pin-up girls art books -- imagine anyone having an impressive collection on that
• Extreme contemporary art books featuring alternative art, or worse, abstract art (my nightmare)
• Graffiti
• Unknown artists with no websites
• Bright and colourful Japanese kawaii (cute) Shojo art books
• And others, indicated by the absence of reviews

Well, there are people who enjoy and collect those books which aren't reviewed here. Maybe even you.

Be a reviewer

Let me invite you to post your own reviews on the forum, Parka-Blogs-style with lots pictures. Recommend to fellow readers good books to check out, and bad ones to avoid. Help make questionable purchases a thing of the past. Or just to see who else shares your interest. That's the purpose of the forum.

It doesn't have to be an illustrative art book. It can be picture books as well like those from DK Publishing, hobby books like Gundam Model Kit Painting, making-of movie production books, graphic design books or even some good comics.

Incentives

You can also win a prize just by reviewing. Check out the criteria for entry.

Start now

So pick up whatever art books you already have that's not already reviewed here and start reviewing. I've written some tips on reviewing art books to get you started, tips I use personally.

Hopefully, we can build a great resource for others looking for information.

Meanwhile, I'll still be reviewing as much as I can.

Let me know what you think or any suggestions you might have.