whatcha readin'? {2016::book 14 - goal 12}

oh alice hoffman...
you have done it again.
you have pulled me in
with vivid colors
and beautiful words
and imagery...

so many lines in this book
that i just wanted to read
and reread...
to sink into and absorb...
her writing is lyrical and evocative.

the story is based on some true elements...
Camille Pissarro, a famous artist of the 20th century,
is one of the main characters but she
brings you into the life of his mother...
and all of the beautiful messiness
involved in being a family
and loving/letting go.

i am hoping there are more books
by her that i have not yet read...
and if there not,
i may have to re-read what i have already read,
she is that good.

5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  THE KITCHEN HOUSE - KATHLEEN GRISSOM

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 13 - goal 12}

i LOVED this book

i could not put it down.
the writing, the imagery, the story line, the characters.
i don't know if i was partial to it because
it takes place by water
and there are many references to small town living
and lighthouses
and ships and sails and fishing,
that made it feel like home to me...
but i do know that it drew me in
right from the very first sentence.

read it.  you won't be disappointed.
(and...if you are, you probably shouldn't follow my advice any more
when it comes to books...i will lead you astray.)

and i just gasped cause i just realized
it's coming out as a movie!!!

and yay!!!!  i have surpassed my
(somewhat measly) goal of books
to read in 2016!!!
Yay me!
(and if truth must be told,
then you should know that i have
read TWO more since this one...
but i am very behind on blogging.
it's summer, you know...i hope you
can cut me some slack...if anyone is
even reading...heeheehee)

5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  THE MARRIAGE OF OPPOSITES - ALICE HOFFMAN

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 12 - goal 12}

well.

i didn't love this book.

it was ok.  it was interesting.
but
i didn't love it.
the idea was interesting
but the writing didn't draw me in,
didn't carry me along...
i wanted to love it...i mean...it's Margaret Atwood!
but
it was ok....
just not really my thing...
elvis and marilyn,
end of time,
livin' in your car,
fear and conspiracy and futuristic and fatal...

i'm sorry, Margaret Atwood.
i didn't love this one...but it's because of me, not you.

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 11 - goal 12}

i love books like this.
i don't think that's a secret
or a surprise.
i like books that make me want to
do
things...
read up on a subject, grab my camera,
grab a pen and journal, pick up a paintbrush,
try something i have never tried before.

and i love elizabeth gilbert.

i love love love loved eat pray love
and totally, completely, wholeheartedly
expected to NOT like it.

but i did.

and so i was very excited about this book of hers
and it did not disappoint me.

she tells a story about the amazon
and highways being swallowed whole
and a chance encounter
that kinda sorta gave me goosebumps.

i just like the way she writes.
so earnest.
so honest.

and i love that she says this:

“If you are alive, you’re a creative person.””

— Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

because i totally agree with it.
people tell me all the time
"i'm not creative at all, you're so creative"
but i think there are varying degrees and proportions of
creativity in
EVERYONE...
i think some people call it by a different name...
and then they don't recognize it in themselves
but
it's there...
if you cook, if you garden, if you build things,
if you play...if you sing, dance, brainstorm, solve puzzles,
guess at riddles, read, write, plan a vacation,
if you have made a snowman or a sandcastle,
flown a paper airplane, wrote a letter to a friend...
anything can be creative
because there is no one set way to do anything.

you're creating a life for yourself.
that's pretty damn big.
:)

so anyway...yeah...i loved this book!

4 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  THE HEART GOES LAST - MARGARET ATWOOD
(and yay!  it's book 12!!  i will hit my goal for this year!!)

whatcha readin'?

it's a whatcha readin' post
but without a finish,
there's no "the end"
because...
i haven't gotten to the end yet.

but i have to tell you that
while i am reading
the heart goes last
and really enjoying it
i am also reading a couple of other books
(which i don't normally do..
normally i am a monogamous reader,
loyal to the last page).

but this is different.

i am trying to journal every day
and sometimes, i need some help.
so i started reading elizabeth gilbert's
big magic
and i am loving it!

and i am also trying to doodle a little more...
so i had gotten
drawing lab for mixed media artists
by carla sonheim (whose art i love)
and last night
i spent about an hour and a half
drawing a full page of cats
30 cats to be precise...

i have never drawn
a cat
in my life.

at first it was kind of terrifying
and all sorts of frustrating.
but once i kept going
(like about 12 cats in...)
it started to get fun.
i drew them with glasses on
and bowties...
laying down, sitting up, backs arched,
fluffy, skinny, black cats with green eyes...
and it was fun and kind of
enlightening in an unexpected way.

so...a bit of a mass book update instead...
best i can do
in a rambling have to do this very fast because
i-have-to-go-watch-game-of-thrones-before-stirling-starts-without-me-kinda-way