Reddit reviews Introduction to Curling Strategy

"Introduction to Curling Strategy" by Gabrielle Coleman

Gabrielle Coleman's book is pretty good and gives while end examples.
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Curling-Strategy-Gabrielle-Coleman-ebook/dp/B00I9BT6S4

For #3, watching games in person or on TV helps, especially if you try to call the shot before they do. That being said, I really enjoyed the Gabrielle Coleman book on intro to curling strategy. Unsure what your curling conditions are like, but it was helpful for me because I curl on arena ice, and it was a good read for me when I skipped my first game at a bonspiel at a dedicated club, since the strategy can be really different with different ice conditions. (The book helping me understand strategy when the ice curls as you expect it to!) It has a lot of scenarios that you can work through too, and discusses why you might want to approach the scenarios in different ways. At the very least, it's helped give me a framework for end strategy, giving me a better sense of how to set up the front end's rocks to try to set up the rest of the end. Reading through general patterns of strategy have also helped me better understand what's going on when watching games on TV/online too!