Creating Characters with... Personality?

Man, I cannot stand this book. If you google Tom Bancroft, you will find some good art, but none of it is in this book. This stuff is so unappealing. In reading it, I felt like most of the designs had really even proportion, and were all basically the same. I mean, look at the cover. That kid's eyes, nose and mouth are all the same size and are evenly spaced. Also, is head, hands and feet are exactly the same size. And I really hate those Mega-Man type feet where it just starts from the knee and spreads out with no ankle...
I AM NOT TRYING TO BASH TOM BANCROFT! The man can draw... he has a cool blog too... but I just CAN'T stand this book. The thing that really irritates me is that this book was REQUIRED for one of my classes. I took one look at it and said no thanks. There are some people at my school that absolutely love this book. They can't get enough of it... I don't get it guys... Here's where I like to go to look at really well designed characters:

http://characterdesign.blogspot.com/
Preston Blair
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/
http://stephensilver.blogspot.com/