I have heaps of crochet patterns scattered around the house, but since I've not crocheted for a decade or so, I've forgotten a lot. I spent a few days searching for a suitable reference guide and came across this one – so glad I bought it.
My first crochet project this century called for a granny hexagon – now granny squares I understand, but thanks to this book I learnt how to make a hexagon. It saved me hours of searching online and watching endless You Tube videos!
The great thing about this book is that it is globally friendly – that is, it explains the difference between US, UK & Japanese terminology, hook sizings, and so on. In the age of the internet, where most of the patterns I've come across so far are written using US notation, it is very helpful for me and anyone else who grew up using the UK terms. It is important to know about hook sizes, thread weights, and when a double crochet (US) is actually a treble crochet (UK)! The diagrams are brilliant.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a useful, contemporary crochet reference guide. This book has almost everything you could need. I'm saving up to buy the companion – Crochet Patterns for Dummies!