Instead of thinking the universe is out to get you, what would your life be like if you believed that things work in concert to benefit you? You can explore this worldview by reading Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings. Maybe it’s a lot of new age woo-woo, but it can’t hurt to approach life with more optimism. What we think often affects the type of life we create. Try this book and perspective on for size! 6 years ago

If you want to read timely and relevant works on the immigration issue (regarding the U.S. southern border), do read the book by Ruben Martinez: Crossing Over – a Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail. He followed an extended family through their efforts to come to the states as itinerant workers. Whatever your position is on immigration, this will provide an in-depth perspective of the will to prosper. 6 years ago

Anne Sexton is someone I didn’t read for years. I wasn’t certain I wanted to become deeply acquainted with a poet who committed suicide (I haven’t read much Plath either). However, I picked up The Complete Poems in a bookstore and meandered through. I chanced upon her poem titled “Food” and was riveted. I bought the book on the spot. Her poems are difficult, (sometimes uncomfortably) confessional, and essential. 6 years ago

Mary Oliver’s collection of poems in Dream Work follows her Putlizer-prize-winning volume (American Primitive). In this book you’ll find poems that follow chronologically from the other. She has an ability to make the reader feel united with something bigger. A classic poem I’ve seen many other places is “Wild Geese.” Do read her work! 6 years ago

In this volume of poetry, Mary Oliver continues to work her gift into the reader’s life. She captures the beauty and wonder of the natural world. My favorite from this volume is “Sleeping in the Forest.” 6 years ago

Writing Poetry, by Barbara Drake, is an excellent text on the craft. Lots of exercises. Just don’t buy it new. It’s a small book and not worth the $65 price! 6 years ago

I love Ted Kooser’s poems. He’s one of the most accessible poets I’ve ever read, and he’s able to write about the mundane and make it magical. I highly recommend his collection, Delights & Shadows. It won the Pulitzer Prize. 6 years ago

Mary Oliver’s collection, American Primitive, is an astonishing array of her best poetry. I savor each one as I read it over and over. It one the Pulitzer prize, and it’s on wonder. She’s a brilliant poet. 6 years ago

I’ve read completely (and am still working on the exercises from) The Creativity Book: A Year’s Worth of Inspiration and Guidence, by Eric Maisel. This book takes a person further into the process of being creative, whether your efforts focus on traditional expressions of art or you are applying creative energy toward your career or relationships. I found this book much more applicable to me at this time in my life compared to The Artist’s Way by Cameron. This book and another (The Creative License by Danny Gregory) I highly recommend. 6 years ago

The Art of Happiness is a book “co-written” by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler is flat, oversimplified, and rehashed information. The book contains far too much of Cutler’s voice, and his writing style is nothing exciting. I was disappointed with this book! 6 years ago

Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town is a book of bite-size columns written by fiction writer Chris Bojhalian. It was a book to pass the time, though I remained detached throughout. Perhaps I’m too tired and cynical, living here in Silicon Valley, to embrace the charm of the book. It’s not bad. It just didn’t resonate with me. 6 years ago

I’ve wanted to learn more about altered imagery ever since learning about image transfer. I delved into The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery by Karen Michel. It offers more than 150 full color images illustrating techniques from simple (altering 35mm photos) to complex (using photographic images to create linoleum and rubber block prints). I like the fact that each technique is clearly described, illustrated, and accompanied by artist’s tips. I look forward to using what I learned! 6 years ago

Visual Chronicles: the No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos, and Altered Books, is quite user-friendly. Each chapter addresses one of the frequent excuses we tell ourselves for not creating: “I have no time,” “I can’t write,” “I’m just not artistic,” “I can’t draw,” “Nothing happens in my life,” are several of the common ones. Then each chapter addresses the fear and provides encouragement for pushing through. This is followed by a creative prompt and images are offered from the author’s journals. I like the emphasis placed on the fact that one doesn’t need a huge supply of art materials to make an illustrated journal, because YOU ARE ART. Your life is art. Use what’s around you. Excellent book! 6 years ago

The Decorated Page, by Gwen Diehn, provides excellent instruction on creating an art journal. She covers page preparation techniques I never knew of before and offers interesting layout ideas. I also like how real the pages look, how very much like journal art and not “arty” art. 6 years ago

I’m glad I was loaned The Devil Wears Prada and didn’t waste money buying it. The characters weren’t sympathetic, and the protagonist was whiny. The plot was predictable. I did learn more about the world of fashion than I ever knew - not that I care about high couture. I liked the minor characters the best - the doormen, the newspaper seller, the hotel concierge. In all, I probably could have spent my Sunday in a more fulfilling way. I hope the movie, if I ever see it (never in the theater), is at least amusing! 6 years ago

Bill Bryson writes incredible travelogues. I read In a Sunburned Country, which details his adventures in Australia. He provides such an entertaining mix of history, science, humor, and anecdotes in just the right amount of detail that I felt I was there. I learned a lot about this amazing country, and now I want to visit! 6 years ago

If you’re interested in poetry and the terms and structures used, pick up The Poetry Dictionary by John Drury. I never knew this craft had so many components. It makes for interesting random reading (it IS a dictionary after all) and an excellent resource. It’s an essential book for any poet. 6 years ago

I recently acquired Artists’ Journals and Sketchbooks : Exploring and Creating Personal Pages, and wow! Full of inspiration and ideas on creative journaling. Make my fingers itch to create! 6 years ago

If you’re a papercraft artisan, you should get your hands on The Handmade Paper Book by Angela Ramsay. It’s full of gorgeous pictures of handmade paper and ideas for making your own. The beginning of the book gets right to the practical aspects of paper-making. I plan to make my first set of paper this week. 6 years ago

George Singleton is new to me. A friend gave me his book of short stories, “These People Are Us.” Now, I don’t really like short stories, and this friend knows it. So the fact she gave it to me anyway implied there was something good between the covers. She wasn’t wrong about that. Singleton creates rich, down-home characters, a blend of bubba/philosopher (several of his protagonists have gone to college and teach at a college) that encounter life’s mishaps: taping over a wife’s sonogram with a Bonanza episode is one example. He’s FUNNY—tongue-in-cheek humor throughout. Underlying numerous stories is a poignance as well. A totally worthwhile read. 6 years ago

I’ve wanted to learn more about rubber stamping for years. I have a book I’d bought way back when. I decided to read it today, and wow! There’s a lot of stuff I can do with what I already have, plus a few household items like wax paper, bleach, an plastic wrap. I’m going to dive in. The book is called The Art of Rubber Stamping by Suze Weinberg. 6 years ago

The Creative License, by Danny Gregory, is one of the best books I’ve read on creativity. It’s an illustrated book exploring drawing and illustrated journals, and it’s chock full of great ideas. He also debunks many myths about who is “allowed” to be creative and what it means to be an artist. He declares (and I agree) that we all NEED to create, that this is what being alive is about. From this book I discovered he has a website, and there is also a Yahoo! group for people who participate in weekly drawing challenges. There’s a Flickr group featuring people’s work as well. Lovely book. A must-read for every single human. 6 years ago

If you enjoy psychological novels, you must read Elliot Perlman’s book, Seven Types of Ambiguity. Perlman took a topic that could be time-worn (unrequited love) and created an engaging story told from seven different perspectives. Each section of the book weaves into the next one and moves the story forward. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 6 years ago

For my birthday, I was given One Skein, which is a book of 30 projects to knit or crochet. As a beginning knitter, I bought yarn many times in one or two skein amounts, simply because I “had” to have it. Then I’d wonder what to do with it. This book provides good ideas. 6 years ago

Zen and the Art of Knitting is a concise book packed with stories about knitting as an art and as a spiritual practice. I devoured it in a day, and one aspect I especially liked is the suggestion of what to knit at the end of each chapter that coincided with the theme of it. Each chapter also began by featuring a stitch and the instructions for it. A lovely read! 6 years ago

I just finished my second novel by Iris Murdoch, the one which received the Booker Prize: The Sea, The Sea. I’m not sure what my response is. I found it heavy, irritating, incredible, with unlikable characters, yet I kept returning to it. However, I’m glad it’s finished, though I did not like the way it ended.

I’ll give her one more try to see if the third time’s a charm. The first novel of hers I read was HER first novel. I’ll try to enlarge the sample size before I draw a final conclusion. 6 years ago

How do we know what’s in the center of the earth? How did anyone figure out the size of the universe? What is a quark? How did human life arise? Is Yellowstone Park really a volcano waiting to explode? How could global warming instigate another ice age? If you’ve ever asked these questions or similar ones, I know of a book for you. It’s a highly readable, easily understandable tome for the lay-person called A Short History of Nearly Everything, written with flair and wit by Bill Bryson. It’s quite hefty, but each chapter will take you on a journey of discovery, and you’ll meet plenty of brilliant, quirky explorers along the way. Bryson is known for his hilarious travelogues, and he brings his wry and conversational voice to the book, making it like listening to a good friend chat by the fire. I loved every page. 7 years ago

When I first received Good Grief by Lolly Winston from a friend, I thought this would be a lame story, because of the way the blurb on the cover came across. I’m so glad I didn’t judge the book from that. I read the book and found it that it captured the essence of the grief experience—even though that process is different for each person. But it wasn’t a depressing book, not at all! It was actually quite funny; the heroine had a wry, spunky personality. The other characters were real and engaging as well. There were a couple of times I laughed out loud, and a couple of times when I was moved to tears, and I felt fulfilled at the end of the book. What else could a reader ask for? 7 years ago

I just blazed through a novel today. It was that good. Ami McKay’s novel, The Birth House, is an absorbing story of life in the early 1900s in Nova Scotia, with a strong female protagonist. The book will be released in the states in September, but I couldn’t wait, and it can be ordered via Amazon.ca. You can learn more about the book at http://www.thebirthhouse.com/. 7 years ago

If you ever wondered why you were bored silly in high school history class, blame your textboook. Having finished Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, I have a much better understanding about my country’s evolution—both its good works and misdeeds. This book is a critical analysis of twelve texts; it explodes some myths and egregious misinformation we are taught. Read this and become a thinking citizen. 7 years ago