Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts

Book Review: Writing Down the Bones

Thursday, June 26, 2014


Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg



Why I loved this book 

Writing Down the Bones is extremely useful for a beginning writer. Since I finished graduate school last summer, I thought I would pursue my dream of becoming a writer. 

The thing is, the craft of writing, at least for a novel, is totally different from everyday writing. And since I haven't done any creative writing in years, I'm a little rusty at it. 

The author presents lessons about the craft of writing in easy-to-read, bite-sized chapters. More importantly, she highlights the importance of trusting yourself and believing in your writing. She's also a fan of writing as much as you can, even if it's total crap. 

If you need to find some confidence in yourself as a beginning writer, I highly recommend this book! 

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Book Review: The War of Art

Tuesday, June 3, 2014


The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressifeld


courtesy of featherfactor.com


My rating: 6 out of 5 stars 

Every artist or entrepreneur that I follow has mentioned this book. And now I know why. Only two words can describe this book: sheer awesomeness. It is the go-to book for finding your creative passion, for recognizing your Resistance and conquering it.

Resistance is in everything we do and resistance comes from fear. Resistance comes from our Ego, that part of us that helps us to survive in the real world. There is another part of us that is just as important, which is the Self. The Self is that part of us that exists in a different plane of reality; we get our creative gifts from the gods, from our Muse.

Oh, there's so many great lessons in this book. The author breaks up the book into three books. Book one is about defining Resistance. Book two is about combating resistance. And book three is about going beyond resistance to the higher realm, to the realm of the gods and the muse.

Read this book. It will give you the courage to pursue your creative passions.

Check out these visual summaries from www.sunnibrown.com 


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Movie Review: Godzilla

Tuesday, May 27, 2014


courtesy of forbes.com
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

Why I loved this movie 

First, it's great science-fiction. Second, it's Godzilla. I saw the 1998 reboot of Godzilla way back when but the 2014 version blew it away.

Godzilla makes this movie. He's more than just a monster. He's smart and he seems more human. He gets tired, he puts himself at risk. Me and several other people found ourselves rooting for him in his battle against the two Mutous. And when he won, there were cheers and claps. And, he was on the side of the humans the whole time. He exists to maintain the balance in the world. How cool is that?

Godzilla is a boss. And if there is going to be a sequel, I will happily go see it.

This movie also does a great portraying the sacrifices of our military men and women. If something like a monster attack were to actually happen in real life, it would be our military who would be paying the price first.

Overall, great science-fiction movie. Go see it :)

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Book Review: The Renaissance Soul

Monday, May 19, 2014


The Renaissance Soul: How to Make Your Passions Your Life by Margaret Lobenstine 

courtesy of powells.com
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Why I read this book 

I found this book quite by chance. Some higher power must have known I needed it though because this book has forever changed how I view myself and what I'm capable of doing in my life. 

Through the exercises in this book, I have formed a plan for myself to pursue my creative interests and do it in a way that does not stress my out. By identifying what the book calls "focal points" I can devote myself to what I love doing and I no longer feel bad about cutting stuff out of my life that does not align with my focal points. 

The renaissance soul 

I've always had the problem of being interested in lots of different things and I've never been able to master just one thing before my attention shifts to something else. And the author of this book not only explains the thought process behind this but also gives me solutions to change my life. 

I am a Renaissance Soul and I will always be a Renaissance Soul. I will always want to pursue multiple projects at once, even if they don't relate to each other. I'm taking action to pursue my creative interests and I'm okay with not being an expert in anything. 

What about you? Have you always felt lost when people asked you what you're interested in? If so, you may be a Renaissance Soul. Please read this book! It will change how you view yourself! 

Check out the website for Renaissance Souls at http://www.renaissancesouls.com/. 





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Book Review: Pen on Fire

Wednesday, May 14, 2014


Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett 

courtesy of Barbara DeMarco-Barrett 
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Why I read this book on writing

This book was the required reading for my online Jumpstart Your Writing class through Gotham Writers. And it helped me so much! 

Although this book says it's for the busy woman, the writing advice in it is really useful to anybody who wants to be a writer. 

The layout 

The author does a great job breaking up each topic into manageable, bite-sized chunks throughout each section. There wasn't a chapter that was more than six pages long, which made the ideas easier to absorb. 

There are also writing exercises at the end of every chapter. 

Read it 

This book was the first I've read on the craft of writing, and it really helped me to start building my writing practice. If you get the chance to read it, I would! 

Listen to it 

The author, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, has a weekly radio program called Writers on Writing where she interviews authors about writing and publishing. Get the podcast though iTunes! 

Until next time :)

Melissa 






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Art Party Studio!

Friday, May 2, 2014


A couple weeks ago I was went home to visit my family in Illinois and my parents treated me to a night at the Art Party Studio. There I was able to paint a picture of a lily in just two hours!

Now, I don't usually have a talent for painting..but I managed to do it in this class. If you're ever in the Champaign-Urbana area in Illinois, you HAVE to check it out!

walking into the studio

fun decorations

these are all Post-it notes!

my April 16th class 

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Book + Movie Review: Divergent

Monday, April 28, 2014


Hello all! I am writing to you a little bit jet lagged and exhausted, so I hope this post makes sense. I recently returned from a vacation in Illinois and a conference in Colorado before flying home to Vermont. I spent yesterday relaxing and napping so hopefully I will return to normal sooner rather than later :)

My book review today is for Divergent, written by Veronica Roth.

Courtesy of Divergent Wikia

Because of the movie that just came out, I wanted to include it in my review too.

Courtesy of hypable.com
The Book 
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 

The book was a fast read and the content was I felt, on the whole, very original. The social psychology behind this book fascinated me; dividing people based on personality traits and what they view as the most aspect of the human nature. Jeanine, and Erudite, were terrifying. It goes to show that intelligence not tempered with compassion can lead to what happens in this book. 

Jeanine asks in this book why so many Divergents come from the Abnegation faction. I have a theory and it's because of the empathy and sympathy Abnegation shows towards the Factionless and other faction members. Abnegation are viewed as selfless because they are empathetic, and empathy is a powerful emotion. 

Now, for the parts I didn't like as much. The writing drove me nuts, mainly because it's in first person (which I'm not used to reading). Also, I read this book because I saw the movie, and I felt like I didn't know Tris at all in the book. She's all over the place and I could never get a sense of what she truly believes in or wants. She was almost driven solely by action and plot, which is not good character development. 

On the whole, I enjoyed this book and I will be reading Insurgent next. 

The Movie 
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

I know many people say that the book is never as great in the movie, but in the case of Divergent, I have to disagree. I saw this movie 4 times and loved watching it every time. The DVD cannot come out fast enough for me. 

Shailene Woodley and Theo James were AMAZING in this movie as Tris and Four. I felt like I could really understand Tris in the movie and that I could see what really made her tick as a person, which was hard for me with the book. And you HAVE TO SEE the kiss scene between Tris and Four; it's one of the best I've seen in a movie. 

There are some differences between the book and the movie, but overall, I felt this movie was a pretty good adaptation.


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Blog of the Week: Tranquility du Jour

Friday, April 25, 2014


This week I wanted to kick off my new weekly review series titled Blog of the Week.

Each week, I will review a website or blog that I have found extremely helpful in my journey. One disclaimer: I am not getting paid to feature these blogs on my blog. I am sharing them because I believe they have wonderful content and do a wonderful job of engaging with their readers.

The blog this week is: Tranquility du Jour by Kimberly Wilson

Courtesy of Tranquility du Jour
About Kimberly 

Kimberly Wilson is the creative director of Tranquil Space yoga studios, designer of eco-fashion line TranquiliT, director of Tranquil Space Foundation, author of Hip Tranquil Chick, Tranquilista, and Tranquilologie, and writer for this beautiful lifestyle blog. Tranquility du Jour contains musings on a potpourri of my passions - style, yoga, sparkly things, vintage finds, mindfulness, all things French, do-gooding, creativity, and, of course, tranquility.

Her website is http://www.kimberlywilson.com/.

Why I Love Tranquility du Jour 

This blog was the very first blog I started following when I began my journey to really get to know my creative self.

Kimberly speaks in a very simple and direct language on topics that helped me to feel creative and inspired. I truly felt that I could be creative after reading this blog (which led me to start this blog!).

Kimberly also does a lot with mindfulness and I highly recommend her e-course Mindfulness: Tranquility Within

I also own all her books and you should check them out too! They are fantastic!

Kimberly also writes on starting your own business and entrepreneurship. Check out her e-course Creative + Conscious Business

Disclaimer

Tranquility du Jour and all related items are the property of Kimberly Wilson and Hip Tranquil Ventures LLC.



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The Value of Music + Review

Wednesday, April 23, 2014


Courtesy of melintelinas
Music. I've always loved it, ever since I was a kid. I used to play the clarinet in my elementary, junior high, and high school band. I was also part of my school's choir.

I listen to music whenever I want to be productive. I listen to rock music while I clean my apartment. I listen to music score whenever I am working on my creative projects, like writing. I even associate particular scenes in my writing with specific songs.

I encourage you to find that music that makes you happy but allows you to devote your mind to other tasks at the same time. For me, it's music scores; I can always count on getting stuff done when I listen to a music score. What music do you listen to that helps you to be productive?

I will be doing reviews of books and blogs on my blog. Why not add a review for music?

My music review for this week is: the How to Train Your Dragon Soundtrack


My rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

An excellent, excellent soundtrack. There's always a hint of the Celtic sounds but it's not too strong. John Powell did a wonderful job blending all the sounds together to give a more authentic feeling; you can practically feel the emotions in the music. I currently use this soundtrack to help me with my writing projects. Highly recommend it!

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