Maybe try Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site.
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Books on building an opening repertoire
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This doesn’t directly answer your question (the Giddins and Tamburro books are the only one I know that discuss this in depth, and you are not that into Giddins), but you could consider temporarily hiring a master-level (or higher) coach.... such a human may be able to better address your needs in terms of playing style, study time, grouping openings based on recurring themes/pawn structures, favorable transpositions, explaining ideas/plans, early deviations, etc ... stuff that may be difficult to glean from a book or a group of books on an opening or on a “How-to[-Build-an-opening]” approach.
Hi guys, I'm trying to find a good book about building a cohesive opening repertoire (yes, I know I should be studying tactics instead--I'm taking a break). I have the Giddins book but it is so full of variations of specific games that I find it too be too dense and of little value. I'm not looking for a book to spoon-feed me the repertoire, rather one that explains how to build a repertoire of your own, and how to make it cohesive so that the different lines of your repertoire work well together.
Appreciate any help. Thanks! =)