Last year there was quite a bit of wreck traffic on the "Complete Illustrated Guide to...." series of books that Taunton Press put out, viz., ...Joinery, ...Furniture and Cabinet Construction, and ...Shaping Wood. I've got those three books and find myself pulling them off the shelf regularly to explore techniques and processes that I wasn't formerly familiar with. Recently I got three more books from this series, e.g., ...Choosing and Installing Hardware, ...Period Furniture Details, and ...Finishing. Again Taunton has winners.
I anticipate the finishing book will become well used over time as it offers a plethora of techniques with myriad products. The period details books gets into casework, moldings, carving, finials, and other furniture elements appropriate for 18th century style furniture and inspires me to push forward with developing my skills. The hardware book has opened up a whole new set of possibilities that with the recently obtained Lee Valley hardware catalog should lead me to do produce items with nicer detailing.
Based on my pleasure with these books I guess I'll have to order the ...Box Making book also... ;-)
John