This book is going to continue to be an ongoing staple for my bullet journaling and for improving my penmanship. I wish I had a paper copy so that I could trace the letters (which is challenging to do on a Kindle) but I still love it. Thank you!

I downloaded this book thinking it would be a workbook guide to lettering. I was hoping for guides & tutorials on drawing different types of lettering styles. There was a few lettering graphics followed by a bunch of Shutterstock images of backgrounds. I'm not sure if this is because it is an e-book version and would be more complete in the print version, but I found it lacking what I was looking for.

Lettering for Absolute Beginners by Danielle Stringer is a lettering book for those who are interested in learning a new technique for home décor, Bible journaling or gift giving. While the technique can be used in many ways the examples are positive and some are Bible verses. While this may not be what some readers were looking for, it was perfect for me.

They are five faux calligraphy alphabets shown that are similar in style with practice areas for you to use. Then words, phrases and sayings are also shown. I liked especially the chalkboard suggestion. I also liked that the descriptions were detailed, truly for beginners. Since this is a workbook, it is sold as workbook paperback not as a digital copy as I received to review.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

Lettering for Absolute isn’t what I expected when I thought about lettering. I was hoping that it was more of a workbook or had some various fonts to practice. But, this is very interesting to read about the labeling.

Having been a fan of hand lettering for many years, as well as being an avid card maker and bullet journal fan, I had hoped this book would help improve my hand lettering. I found this book to be way too basic for my needs, and the author's creative and writing style was not to my liking. I will not be reviewing this title on public media, as it might appeal fine to a different audience...it was just not up my alley.

I am not well-versed on hand lettering but have always wanted to give it a go. So, I looked forward to reading/using Lettering for Absolute Beginners. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with this book and I don’t feel that it offered much help or instruction. While I didn’t expect a calligraphy book, I think I was expecting something that had a little more substance. The faux calligraphy that is offered is interesting and fun to try, but it is more like drawing and filling in expanded areas on individual letters, which is time-consuming and frustrating.

The book consists of blank pages for practice, as well as the opportunity to trace the letters the author has provided. There is also a list of recommended supplies that I think would be quite useful. But, there are also craft and gift ideas included (many with a biblical or Christianity slant) which I didn’t find useful. I just wanted to learn how to do different kinds of lettering.

I have no doubt that Ms Stringer is enthusiastic about her craft. I had just hoped for more instruction and variety, with the emphasis on hand lettering.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I received a Kindle ebook ARC of this title and feel there were large sections missing. My review was impacted by this.
The book does a good job of going over materials that can be used. I anticipate that in the final published version there are practice pages and more sample lettering, but I did not have any in my review copy. The book does include how-to projects on different surfaces (ceramic, wood, paper), and the techniques would likely be applicable to choosing other quotes or words, but the projects shown have a religious emphasis.
I cannot rate higher than 2 stars since I was unable to evaluate the whole title with the copy I received.

This book is great and perfect for those who want to start lettering. It's helping me a lot to learn and I'm very grateful for this arc.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for an ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed the layout of this book. It breaks down lettering for those who are new to calligraphy. There are a few practice pages, but also great techniques and ways to create fonts.

I really enjoyed the information given and the breakdown of calligraphy. I appreciate when authors share what mediums or pens to use and Stringer does this. She also provides some phrases to copy, is where I struggle the most, how to format and pair fonts together.

This book is better suited for personal consumption than for libraries. If the content was exclusive to the lettering styles rather than leaving open spaces for lettering in the book, I would consider it for a library collection.

This book has some great tips and practical lessons on developing your own lettering techniques to use on signs, chalkboards, and paper. The instructions are fairly easy to follow. The real key is to practice!

I loved this book. I have always been into crafts and art but I was never any good at it. I’m a doodler, I can sit for hours and just doodle on anything. When I first saw lettering/calligraphy, I wanted to do it so bad but I knew I couldn’t. I have looked at several books and it all seemed complicated. I was given a free ARC of this boo from Netgalley and I’m so glad I was gifted with it. The author makes this beginner book so fun and easy. You will not succeed on your first try or your second and third. But stay consistent and you will get it with the authors tips and tricks.

Lettering for Absolute Beginners is the latest lettering book to capture my attention. But before I deep dive into the review, I should draw your attention to the full title of this book: Lettering for Absolute Beginners: Using Faux Calligraphy to Create Simple Versatile Projects.
This book is perfect if you’ve been struggling to learn calligraphy, or even if you simply want a shortcut or two to work with. However, if you’re looking for a complex guide on calligraphy, then this is not the book for you.
Lettering for Absolute Beginners contains a lot of the basics I’ve come to expect from art books. There’s the introduction, some basic theory and explanations, and then plenty of space to practice the projects supplied. And of course, in the end there’s a sampling of works for inspiration.
I found Lettering for Absolute Beginners to be an interesting read, though I really do want to stress the whole faux calligraphy part of this book. It’s still an interesting and informative read, as long as it fits with what you’re looking for.
If I was to suggest some improvement for Lettering for Absolute Beginners, I’d recommend some additional variety in fonts and styles. A lot of the examples shown felt very similar and repetitive, and thus I’m concerned about how much learning was provided here.

Danielle Stringer’s Lettering for Absolute Beginners, caught my attention as I have recently become interested in hand written home décor. I hoped that if I could teach myself (with the aid of how-to books) to do so, I could create my own handmade signs. Stringer promises that her book would teach readers “faux calligraphy” and I was hopeful that I would be successful.
This book gave some good tips on the best tools to use according to the surface being lettered. One of the main points I took away was adding body to your downstrokes and using lighter lines for upstrokes. Do I think that this will help to enhance my writing? Yes, however I wouldn’t say that I now know how to do “faux calligraphy”.
Danielle Stringer clearly has a talent for this art form and I don’t doubt that she would be able to teach others how to do it, however I felt that this book read as a blog post. The eBook format that I read this in, skewed the images and made it hard to follow for practice. I would recommend those who may be interested in reading Lettering for Absolute Beginners, to do so with a physical copy.

The book does what it claims, it offers tips to lettering beautifully in simple steps. It is a perfect guide for someone looking to try calligraphy to pep up their handmade projects or just have fun with handlettering.

Got a copy of the book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And I absolutely regret it.

There is only one font showed and I wouldn't call it calligraphy at all because it explains to you you need to write once and then fill the space next to the letters.


I was expecting way more than one fonts and display on how to write it on every possible display.

Save your money and pass on this book!

I really enjoyed this book and its technique. I am just starting out in lettering and find the faux calligraphy style to be one that I enjoy. I felt the tips and techniques were helpful, and the projects looked interesting but none of them really fit my personal style. I do wish the books had a few more styles and a few less practice pages, since I can always grab a piece of paper. Overall though I think its a good book for beginners to check out.

I thought this book was helpful for a beginner like me. I gained a lot of ideas and am continuing to practice.

I have always loved when people have beautiful handwriting, and this artistic style of lettering is something I am very interested in. This book was simple and straightforward and I feel that it really is for beginners which was perfect for me. Sometimes crafters create books for beginners that are not simple enough. But this book made me believe that I could actually learn! Now if I can start practicing, and convince myself to forget perfectionism. I will be buying this book to use going forward.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

<b>”... this book will focus on how to create the look of calligraphy without all the “pressure.”</b>

If you’re looking for a very basic guide/tips on how to hand draw faux calligraphy letters, then this book is a decent first step. The author does a good job of giving instructions on how she creates a more decorative look to her letters by writing them out, and then going back and drawing in additional shape. She also includes the tools and materials she prefers to use. Throughout there are some project suggestions and even practice pages at the end.

I personally am not a religious person, so most of the examples given aren’t ones I would directly want to recreate, but the projects they were written on were appealing to me.

I recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning a way to letter that is alternative to actual calligraphy, and enjoys bible verses and prayer promotion quotes on their decor.

I will say that this book is VERY short. I’m not sure if this is just because I received it in early e-book form and that the final version will have more space to practice or if it really is this short. If that’s the case it reads more like an informational packet and less like a book.