Books & Life Inspiration.
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I love to read. Always have.
Everything I read becomes a part of me.
Love to be inspired. To learn new things. To have my point of view expanded and enlightened and challenged. I find that reading helps my mind make connections. Reminds me of certain things. Makes others more clear.
One of my favorite things is exchanging reading lists with other like-minded souls. Here are a few lists of favorites from then and now.
Currently reading (I pick up which ever one sounds good when I get into bed):
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert (really enjoying and savoring this one)
The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron (love, love this book)
Create Every Day Journal compiled by Kobi Yamada (this is a blank book with page after page of the best life quotes and tons of room for your own reflections, writings, etc. Any of the books from this site are totally worth it.)
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp (letting this one sink in - totally interesting)
Drawing From Life: The Journal As Art by Jennifer New
Daniel Isn't Talking by Marti Leimbach (have not started this one yet)
All time favorites (The first two were read in high school. The images and the stories have live in my mind. The other two are more recent reads. They both consumed me.):
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
"I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to be art." Carrie Fisher
I am definitely not the first person to advocate creating art from our lives. Or going with the flow. Over the last couple years my own personal philosophy has developed and grown and continues to evolve. As I conduct workshops, as I read, as I create my own art and experience my own life (and my own personal challenges), I adjust and refine my voice. The things I say over and over at workshops: it is ok, embrace impefection, go with the flow, tell your story have become a part of my own message, my own personal philosophy on art and life.
There have been many artists over time who have written about letting go of our drive for perfection. About identifying our authentic selves through our art. And about making art a part of our lifestyle and celebrating all the little everyday things. I love these kinds of books: ones that echo and bring to the surface the little bits and pieces that live in my heart. That is why I read. Some of the books listed here are directly related to scrapbooking, others to art journaling, or to writing, or to life in gneral and other forms of art.
Some of the ones I have enjoyed and have made an impact on my heart include:
Anything by Sabrina Ward Harrison
The Big Picture by Stacy Julian (Love her. Love her philosophy that scrapbooking is a lifestyle. And I love how she organizes her albums.)
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron (A classic.)
Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods & Karen Dinino (These gals are right on with their philosophy.)
12 Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin
Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach (I have not read the companion book yet but have it on my list for the future)
Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory
Living Out Loud by Keri Smith (Totally uplifting.)
A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
52 Projects by Jeffrey Yamaguchi (Just totally cool.)
Clean & Simple Scrapbooking, The Sequel by Cathy Zielske (I got a sneak peek at this one and it is amazing - I love her words, her philosophy, her design. And I love that it is not just about the layouts, it is about the concepts and the philosophy she shares. I just love her.)
I am sure there are more. And there will be more to come.
And hey, if you saw my Letters From Mom book in the newest Creating Keepsakes and want to see the inside, I will be posting photos once I get the album back. Not sure exactly why the insides were not included in the column - the inside is the heart of that album.
And here is a working link to Bad Dog Inn.
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74 comments
Doesn't a good classic stick with you? I cannot second F Scott's "The Great Gatsby" enough, just eat his writing up. There's something about that story, so sad and yet so originally American all the same. Did you know that he wrote a series of short stories before Gastby? They're in the Norton's Anthology to Mod. Lit. if you're interested : )
I'm too such a book fanatic. It's really sick. I could spend so much at the book store, and I just cannot get enough. I'm so glad my college doesn't have us using traditional textbooks. Reading from other stuff is much more filling-
Loved this post Ali!
xoxo
Katie
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Hi Ali--thanks so much for the links to the books!!! I love to read too and the list is awesome!!! Anyway, I thought you might enjoy reading this book that I love so much!!! It can apply to anything in your life, work or home!! It's called the Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. Here is a link to the website:http://www.fredfactor.com/
I hope you get a chance to read it!!!
Take care,
Michele
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AWESOME list
thanks for sharing :)
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A great, great list! So glad to see The Red Tent on there. I just reread it for the 3rd time last week and I swear it just keeps getting better. I also finished Living Out Loud recently (very fun) and ordered The Artists Way just yesterday. Really looking forward to that one. I am so in the mood for good books these days. Thanks for sharing!
Jenny
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Thought you may want to look at some Great Gatsby quotes. http://www.gatsbyquotes.com - Quotes from “The Great Gatsby” along with detailed analyses.
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The Time Traveler's Wife. The Great Gatsby. The Red Tent. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ali these are some of my favorites as well. And how I have not read My Antonia I have no idea...I know that people love that book...
Thank you for sharing these lists. Here's to books and reading...
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So nice to see some of your book recommendations. I loved all the books you mentioned that I've read, so I'll be sure to add the rest to my list. I have to admit, reading (and writing, and creating art) are like breathing to me.
The Red Tent is also one of my all-time favorties. One of my good friends is a family friend of the Diamants and I've been trying to get the chance to meet her at some point-- she is just an amazing writer. One of my "to do list" items is to write a novel in the same vein and I would absolutely love to have the chance to discuss her novel with her.
Some really great recommendations in the comments, too. If you haven't read the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time you absolutely must... it's a really fascinating, head-on portrayal of autism. And just a really good story, too.
I also have to second any book by Jodi Picoult-- partially because she's just a great writer, but partially because I'm a huge fan of her personally... totally sweet and down to earth. If you ever have a chance to see her read, go!
I'm loving the black tshirts... would really like one of the "imbrace imperfection" tshirts in a woman's style. In fact, I have a couple friends in mind I would love to surprise with them, too. It's something I struggle with on a really intense level (I have OCD) but it's nice to know that "normal" people deal with the same thing :)
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"Daniel isn't talking" is the next Book Club book for our group, here in Scotland.
I'm excited that you might be a guest tomorrow night (Saturday afternoon your time) at our ukScrappers.co.uk cyber crop.: )
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Hi ALi! I loved getting a peek into your bookshelf... this is the one question I wish I could ask any person that I meet. Of course "hi" would come first but I would love to be able to have this be my second utterance. I am also a life artist (love this term)... photographer, artist, mother, reader. And I just picked up a few books that I reserved at the library that I picked up today and one of them is The Sound of Paper. The other was a novel by Alice Hoffman (love her mystical and magical prose), and a book on mindful parenting by John Kabat-Zinn and his wife... should make for some good reads over the next few weeks. :-)
And a few that you mentioned are also some of my favorites... the art journal ones for sure are great for eye candy... but Red Tent is one of my all-time faves as is The River Why by David James Duncan, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Joy Luck Club, Simple Abundance....
Our book club just recently read The Curious Incident.... it was a good read.
Thanks for sharing!! Hope you have a great weekend!
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Yes - I loved the Time Traveller's Wife too. Very embarrassing to read on the bus though - I kept crying!
Just finished Blink by Malcolm Galdwell - really interesting book - I highly recommend it along with his previous one, The Tipping Point.
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Anita Diamant also wrote a book titled, The Good Harbor, excellent book about the art of friendship. Love her books. Also, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, super long but wonderful.
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I am browsing through your archives :) I LOVE to read too, it is such a great feeling opening the pages of a new book, stepping inside a different world! Thanks for this list, I see some that I will be adding to my must buy list!
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