12 posts tagged “2007 books”
It was short and not that great.
I should try and power through a couple in December to beef up the list.
This book, Drawing with Children, had a mix of interesting tips and sad connect-the-dots style drawing instruction. But I will definitely revisit it next year when Jason is old enough to start absorbing the ideas.
A disturbing, but compelling read. As the father of young sons, I was freaked out. I had to put it down for 11 months before I could finish it. All told, I probably read it in three sittings, but they were really spaced out.
It was ok. Another one for my 2007 books read list.
I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows this morning. I'm not a very fast reader, so it took me from Monday night to Friday morning, but that is extremely quick for me.
Here is the definitive muggle test. All seven of the Potter books are filled with magical gadgets of every shape and description. They range from the mundane to the dangerously powerful, and all the stories are intertwined with their discovery, use, and lore. Many of these gadgets have powerful spells and curses cast upon them, making them even more complex and tricky to possess.
The seventh book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is most definitely one of these magical creations. I believe it has a 'read me' hex placed upon it that has no effect upon muggles. But, if you are compelled to read the book at breakneck speed, disregarding all but your most important responsibilities ("Yes Laurie, I took Carson out of the car....I think."), then you are clearly a wizard or a witch. Or possibly a werewolf, centaur, house elf, goblin or murloc (the test isn't qualified to answer that).
We've been up in Maine for the last few weeks, and it turns out that Maine is very condusive to finding time to read. I finished two semi-substantial books! Bill Simmons is my favorite sports writer, so it was a treat to read his book about the 2004 Red Sox. And Alan Furst is a fantastic espionage writer who concentrates on 1930s and early 1940s Europe. I've read a number of his novels now and they have all been excellent
This book is not much more than a beefy pamphlet, but it has an ISBN so it counts towards my 2007 totals. I enjoyed it, and it has given me a new approach to sketching and watercoloring (think fast and quick).
I greatly regret boasting about all the novels I planned on reading this summer. That plan is nothing but a sad joke now.
Boy, it took a long time to get here. The Keys to Drawing is a great instructional and sometimes inspirational book. I read every page and did many of the exercises that teach various techniques. I don't think I could have appreciated this book back in September when I was starting out, but now that I have some confidence, I was open to accepting what the author had to say.
But a funny thing happened along the way. I think it made my drawing worse. At least it seems that way to me right now. I think I'm suffering from expectation-itis. I read the book, did the homework, and now I expect my drawing to improve. I'm well into my 5th moleskine and I have yet to draw something I like. There are a lot of pages filled with scribbled half-drawings. I'm getting frustrated very quickly.
I need to shake this feeling off and move on. I think I'll try a change in mediums and see if that helps. I've been using 2b pencils exclusively for weeks. Maybe I'll try some watercolors.
I'm also going to change my choice of reading. I've been slogging through a book on philosophy and this instructional drawing book. It's time to have some fun. I've chosen 5 novels to read this summer and picked up the first one last night. I'm off to Athens in my first book, back to a desolate America in my second book, sailing the high seas in my third book, and coming ashore in the Baltic States in my fourth book, before settling down in suburban England in my fifth book. It should make for a nice trip.
This book mostly consists of beautiful sketches. I read it in two days. I'm still counting it toward my 2007 book totals.
I just finished Flow, by Miggsghsasdofosfgshi Cszydfgdgfsonasdsoy2soy. I enjoyed it very much. I even took a bunch of notes to try and remember various portions of the book.
Flow describes how people create meaning in life and how they achieve an ongoing state of optimal experience. It isn't a self help book, or a how-to manual. It describes the similarities between people who enjoy their lives, and the key factors that contribute to their enjoyment.
I read the Four Agreements about this time last year, and it was a huge help to me, as I was drowning in uncertainty about leaving my job and staying home with Jason, and that book, with it's four simple but powerful concepts was a life preserver for me. Now, a year later, I'm really happy with what I'm doing and how the last year has turned out, and I have more time to reflect on life and how I want to live it. Flow is a great resource for this sort of contemplation.
I expect I'll finish another book tomorrow, a very short book, which will put my book reading average at 2 per month for the first three months. I'm sure that's a faster rate than I've read in past years. Keeping track is a pretty good motivator to finish faster.
