1) Is there a book out there that would be useful to a novice to photography but would also help me after I’ve picked up the basics and want to learn more about macro-photography and the nuances of digital cameras?

My favorite book on closeup photography is John Shaw's Closeups in Nature. It costs less than $15 on Amazon and is worth every penny. However, the book was written in 1987, prior to the development of digital cameras. Therefore it focuses on film SLRs. However, it is still a great reference! I have read it half a dozen times, and still pull it off the shelf for reference all the time.

There aren't any good books that I have seen that cover macro photography for digital point and shoot cameras. The principles of macro photography that Shaw outlines will apply to any camera however.

2) I’m currently using a Canon fixed lens camera (PowerShot A70) and I’m having a lot of trouble finding a good compromise between too much light (sunlight or flash) and too little (indirect sunlight or room light). A friend of mine said I should use a diffuser with natural sunlight.

There are two problems here. In the first shot, the flash is too powerful. You need to try and apply some flash exposure compensation. Under the function menu on your camera there is an exposure compensation adjustment (it is labeled plus/minus 0). Try setting the exposure compensation to minus 2/3 stop or minus 1 stop. That might reduce the flash power output enough to give more even lighting.
Making a diffuser out of some white plastic milk carton material or something similar (tissue paper works fine) might help a little, but you need to reduce the output of the flash in camera if you can.

A diffuser with natural sunlight would work as well, but you should be able to take flash photos without them being overexposed.

In the second shot, there isn't enough light to get a sharp photo. You shutter speed in this case (1/8th of a second) prevented you from getting a sharp photo. You need more light. Maybe turning on an overhead light might help, although you might need to adjust the white balance.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

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