Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer

The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People HelpThe Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book has resonated with me on so many different levels I'm not even sure if I'm aware of them all. Maybe it's because we're the same age or we both love Neil Gaiman (on admittedly different planes), or because at my core I consider myself a self-doubting artist/photographer. I relate to the problem with asking for help that Amanda Palmer has dealt with. We all have at some level. For me, I feel in my bones and my veins and my breath that I need to pursue photography. I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm looking for when I put my eye to the lens. Despite this,it's impossible for me to ask for work. I need to put myself and my work out there. This may well give me the courage to try. When something resonates with you (as this book did with me) it's a plucked string left to vibrate. You can either just let it go until it eventually dies, or you let it be the first note of a masterpiece. I need to take more photos. Thank you Amanda.

Coda

I wrote the above portion when I was about 3/4 of the way through this book. They were immediate impressions and I wanted to get them down. I really think they sum up pretty well a lot of the feelings I have for this book but now that I'm done, I feel I should note just a few more things. While the theory in this book is almost anti-self-help, the practice of it is very much the opposite. By learning to ask others for help, you very much help yourself by opening yourself up to trust and love. It feels like a profound lesson when you read it and let it sink in but it's a little sad that we need to teach ourselves these things at all. We need to be kinder to ourselves. It's also a meaningful lesson in acknowledging that the "crowd" is always made up of individual living, breathing, human beings. Whether the crowd is a kickstarter group, the twitter masses, or the residents of Ferguson, MO. It's so easy in this day to forget that and convey hurtful messages to the crowd, forgetting that individual human beings will read those words.

So....if you have trouble asking for help or taking it when it is freely offered, read this book. If you are feeling a disconnect from the rest of the world, read this book. If you have trust issues, read this book. If you are a human being, read this book.


This review is based on a free e-edition received from Netgalley.com. Lack of money being exchanged in no way influenced this review.



View all my reviews

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Sessions Vol I by Kailin Gow

Sessions Vol. 1:  The Sex Shrink of SeattleSessions Vol. 1: The Sex Shrink of Seattle by Kailin Gow

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


The thing about this type of book is that you need for the main character to be engaging in some way. This guy just comes off as an egomaniacal prick who, if he were real, would be riddled with disease. To top it off, it's only the first part of the story. Who knows how long this will go on for. It now holds the dubious honor of being the first book I've permanently deleted from my kindle. But at least it was a fast read.

This review is based on a free e-edition from NetGalley.



View all my reviews

Saturday, November 15, 2014

The King by J. R. Ward

The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #12)The King by J.R. Ward

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It's not great literature but sometimes a gal just wants to read a book where all the male characters totally worship the females.
I do enjoy this series. It's a lovely break.



View all my reviews

Saturday, November 8, 2014

So, Anyway.... by John Cleese

So, Anyway...So, Anyway... by John Cleese

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A very good book for Cleese's fans. This spans from his early years up to the beginning of Python, and lightly touches on those years and the recent past. Also a very nice story of the friendship with Graham Chapman. Plenty of laugh out loud tales and I added some of the books he mentioned to my wishlist. Read and enjoy!

This review is based on a free advance e-edition from NetGalley.com.



View all my reviews

Thursday, November 6, 2014

A Brief History of Seven Killings: A NovelA Brief History of Seven Killings: A Novel by Marlon James

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I really wanted to like this book. I loved The Book of Night Women and I was interested in the subject of this book but I couldn't get in to it. I made it about a third of the way through before I finally gave up. Perhaps I'll pick it up again later.



View all my reviews