Cheap Amazon Books and First Summer Read

SPSH  Item #4 A Book Read in 2016

I'm making reading a priority this summer, and I have finished my first book! 
It was a very fast read in the psychological thriller genre and generally well-written. I think the very end of the book took a few wrong turns (no spoilers), but on the whole I'm glad I picked it up. Especially because it was very cheap! 
I bought it off the Amazon website, choosing the "used paperback" option. The book only cost .97. Even with $4.00 for shipping, the book was still the least expensive one I have bought in some time. It arrived in very good condition and quickly, even though it came from the U.K. The book had not yet been released in the U.S when I ordered it, so I took the used paperback option. I used to do that a lot when I was buying out of print kids books for my son. I think I'll do it more in the future. Maybe you can do the same.
The book also qualifies as Item #4 on the 2016 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. I wrote a post about my summer reading plan here if you want to check it out.

Summertime Reading

Meant to auto-post this for Thursday, June 2, but missed that step in posting! So I'll just leave this here for now. Scavenger Hunt list is in the next post.
One of the items I put on the list for the 2016 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt List was #4 A book or magazine read during 2016 because I think of summer time as a time to catch up on reading. This photograph doesn't count as my entry because I took it before the official start of the Hunt, but I did want to blog about summertime reading. I do most of my reading on my kindle, but I also listen to audio books, and I even have one physical book (I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh) that is in the mail to me. I'll probably photograph that one for the Scavenger Hunt.
I always start the summer with a reading plan. This summer, I wanted to start by finishing a few books that have been hanging around for a while, almost done. And I did that. I just completed The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian. It is a very fast read by the author of Midwives. It covers a disturbing subject (trafficked sex workers), but does so in a reasonable way. It's not literature, but it is a page turner and definitely provides food for thought. 
I am also almost done with Lets Pretend This Never Happened, a memoir by blogger Jenny Lawson. It's funny and quirky, but best done in small segments. I think I will finish it in the next few days, though, to clear the decks for the things I'm really excited about starting. I still have a few others "in process," including Denali's Howl and The Art of Fielding, but I'll move on to new books instead of finishing those.
Of those cued up on my kindle, the two I'm most interested in starting are The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin and Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa.

On the audio books side of the board, my book group read Girl at War by Sara Novic. It was a very fast "listen." I found the story, set in Croatia, of a child, caught up in the Yugoslavian Civil War very compelling and well written. I didn't know much about that particular portion of contemporary history (save for a memorable episode of the television show ER), so I was glad to have read it and definitely recommend it. 
I was also happy to finally finish off listening to We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Jay Fowler. The book was interesting and unusual, but I'm not sure it was ever clear what it wanted to be (an animal rights book? a family story?). Entertaining, but a bit overlong. 
I have two book cued up on my audible account - The One-in-a-Million Boy by  Monica Woods and A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie. The first is a novel, and the second is a Scotland Yard detective mystery that is part of a series. I have also just added Before the Fall  by Noah Hawley.
My summer time selections have been highly influenced by the Modern Miss Darcy Summer Reading Guides (find the minimalist version here, which includes a link to a much longer guide).
So, do share. Do you make summer reading plans? What's on your bed stand (real or virtual)? Have you read anything good lately? Any reactions to the things on my list?

Books I read in 2015

A few of my blog friends have done a year-in-reading review, and they inspired me to do one of my own. Karen of Random Reflections listed her top 10 in this post, and Carola's list can be found here.
I'm not a big reader. I love books, love reading book reviews and love purchasing books. But somehow reading itself is something that tends to get pushed to the bottom of my to-do list. The one saving grace in this regard is my book group. We meet about once a month, and I do try to read our monthly book. They also have great recommendations for other books.
In 2015, I read in order of preference:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Very good book telling the story of two very different people during the rise of Nazi Germany. Loved it.
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman. A very good book set in the 1920's New York City. Interesting characters, themes and plot. I liked it a lot.
The Secret of Magic by Deborah Johnson. An excellent courtroom drama set in the 1940's south. Deals with civil rights issues prior to the emergence of the 1950's civil rights era. Interesting and funny characters. While not a "greatest book of all time," I definitely recommend it.

Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin. A memoir about growing up in the New York City suburbs in the 1950's. It says a lot about baseball, neighborhoods, and childhood. I really liked it.

Still Life and A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny. Enjoyed both of these Inspector Gamache mysteries set in a small village in Quebec, Canada. I have already purchased number three in the series (The Cruelest Month) and am looking forward to reading it.

The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey. I'm not sure how or why I found this book, which might be better categorized as Young Adult fiction, but I really liked it and it has stuck with me. It's a zombie apocalypse book told from the perspective of a zombie-mutant that is evolving into a different species. A quick read.

In the Woods by Tana French Set in Ireland and volume 1 of the Dublin Murder Squad series; very atmospheric; well-written; story fell apart a bit at the end, but I liked it well enough to buy another in the series (Broken Harbor), which I haven't gotten around to reading yet.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. An okay book. Set in the San Francisco bay area, tells the story of a girl making her way out of foster care into independence, with the help of her love of flowers. Others in the book group liked it more than I did.
Mary Coin by Marisa Silver. Tells the fictionalized story of the famous Dorothea Lange photograph Migrant Mother. I liked it a lot less than everyone else in my book group. Too many undeveloped stories and the end came together like a "ten second tidy." 
So, that's ten books for me for the year. Not too many, I know. But it's better than nothing!
What's up this year? I read a very short, fast-read but not great courtroom drama called The Neon Lawyer by Victor Methos (perfect for sitting around in waiting rooms or commuting, but nothing memorable). I didn't finish the January book group book, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Our February book is Fates and Furies by Lauren Goff. I'm committed to reading and/or listening to it! Also, I liked this list from the Washington Post of great books coming out in 2016.

Summer Reading and TV

I've been in a lazy mood all week. I think it's partly exhaustion from finishing up teaching my summer class and turning in the first draft of a law review article. I also had a little surgery that took more out of me that I thought it would. (Here's the TMI part: The surgery was to fully remove a mole and surrounding tissue from my side. The dermatologist originally just removed the surface of the mole, but the sample looked irregular in the initial biopsy, so they decided to take it all out. Thankfully, it turned out not to be melanoma and I am fine). So, I've been reading books on my ipad and binge-watching TV. And here are my reviews:
Books
I've read three murder mystery/detective novels, all with literary touches. My favorite was The Secret of Magic by Deborah Johnson. I read it in less than a day! That's really unusual for me, but it really grabbed my attention. It's set in Mississippi in the late 1940's and centers on a New York African American attorney from the NAACP who goes to address racially charged crimes in a small town. Great characters and a great look at race in the post-WWII, pre-Martin Luther King era. It came to my attention because it won the award given by the American Bar Association for best legal novel of 2014. I also really liked Still Life by Louise Penny. It's set in Quebec and is the first in a series of novels about a Chief Inspector. It reminded me a bit of Elizabeth George's detective series (but not as dark) that I used to read and love. I could see myself returning to the Louise Penny series in the future when I want a well-written, light romp; perhaps when I know I'll be on a long plane flight. Finally, I read and liked In the Woods by Tana French. It was interesting and kept my attention but, ultimately, felt disappointing. It's also the first in a series, but I really don't think I would return to the series. It's darker than Still Life and more happens; I think it aspires to more. It certainly gave me more to think about. But in the end, it didn't deliver.
Next summer reads up on my kindle are:
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen
And with a more literary bent:
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini 
The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scott
Any one read any of these four? Got any other books to recommend?
Television
I know I watch way too much television, but I tell myself it's okay because I usually watch while doing laundry or other household chores. Some new shows I'm enjoying right now -
Unreal - Great show!!! Dark, twisted looks behind the scenes of a "Bachelor/Bachelorette" - style reality show. 
Humans - I want to be the cool kid who "gets" and loves Mr. Robot, but I just don't get that show. However, I do really like Humans so far - about synthetic humans and the role they play in the future. Only three episodes in so far, but I really enjoy it.

Complications - Because, yeah, Jason O'Mara makes my heart sing. Fell in love with him during the run of the U.S. version of Life on Mars. And I would watch anything with him. But also because it's fast paced and interesting.It's six episodes in and may be running out of material, but I'm hoping it figures itself out. It's from the same producer as Burn Notice.  
And two older shows that I returned to this summer:
Hannibal (loved the first season; still captivated by the second season and hanging in there for the end of season three) and Orphan Black (season 3  got off to a rocky start but ended strong).
Would love to get recommendations for other TV series people like these days (either current or available streaming).

1 photo, 20 words: Language of Flowers

A surprise gift and lovely book tie-in at book group.
In the Victorian language of flowers, freesias symbolize everlasting friendship. 
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Linking up with Abi at Creating Paper Dreams who challenges bloggers to tell the story of one photograph in just 20 words.

How and What Do You "Read?"

One of my goals for 2014 was to read a little more and keep better track of what I read. I added a list on the left hand column of my blog, and it has helped me keep up with this intent. I just added the five most recent books. 
Of these, my absolute favorite was "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng. It's an emotional story of a mixed race (Chinese-American) family in Ohio in the late 1970's.  It was beautifully written, well-paced and made me think deeply about how I parent my kids. I would definitely recommend it.
I read "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd and "Americanah" by Chimamanda Adichie for my book group.  Both were very good and both taught me a lot about parts of life about which I had never read - the first, about abolitionists in 1840's Charleston, South Carolina and the second about Nigerian emigrants to the United States and England. 
The other two books, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" and "Gone Girl" were quick, entertaining reads without a lot of heft to them. I found the ending of Gone Girl annoying, but so did a lot of other people I think.  One of the most interesting things about "Bernadette" was that I read it as a paperback book borrowed from a friend. I used to do that all the time, but now I tend to read almost exclusively on my ipad. And it seems like my friends do, too! I liked having a real book, and I really like being able to borrow books (rather than buy them - at least ipad/kindle books do not require shelf space to store).  And I was wondering, how you do you read books? On a kindle or ipad? Do you read real books? From the library? Borrowed? Or bought? By and large, I don't mind reading on my ipad, but I do think a real book is just a bit easier on my eyes. Thoughts?
When talking about Americanah, I use the term "read" a little loosely because I listened to it on Audible on my ipad. It accompanied me when I drove Henry back to Eugene, Oregon (a nine hour trip) and then on a long plane flight and finally finished it at home. I started using Audible for Clara to listen and read along to the novels she is assigned for high school because she is not a strong reader. It's a subscription service, and I had an unused credit so bought Americnah.  I liked the experience enough to buy another book, "We are Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Fowler. But I haven't gotten around to listening to it yet.  And I was wondering, do any of you use audible, books on tape or any other audio book format? Do you like it? 
Our next book group book is "The Interestings" by Meg Wolitzer. We almost chose "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown. I am definitely planning to download and read Denali's Howl by Andy Hall over the holiday. What about you? Do you have any good book recommendations? What are you planning to read next?

Sunday Morning Book Review

Back before we had kids, Paul and I used to really enjoy lounging around on Sunday mornings. We would buy a big bag of bagels, a container of freshly whipped cream cheese, delicious fruit and two huge newspapers . . . the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. We would spend hours enjoying brunch, working on the cross word puzzle, laughing over and discussing stories from the papers and pouring over the Book Review sections. I'm afraid those days are long gone, but I still thought Sunday was a good day to share a few book reviews.  
In March, my book group chose a large book called The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wicker. It is a fantasy/fable about two mythical creatures arriving in New York City at the turn of the century. The writing is fabulous, and the author's description of NYC at that time was captivating.  The characters are also really interesting - well drawn with tremendous back stories.  The plot is complex but well laid out. For such a long book, it ended a bit abruptly, but that was my only real criticism. Like most fables, it raised some really interesting, big questions that apply to contemporary life. On the whole, I would recommend it, and I give it 4/5 stars.

Next up is Defending Jacob by William Landay. It's a courtroom murder mystery that asks really troubling questions about how far parents will go and/or should go to defend their children. It was a page-turner, well written and very well plotted. It's a notch above a typical murder mystery and one that will be interesting to discuss at our next book group.
My book group is also reading Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. I haven't started that one yet, but I'd be interested to hear what you thought about it, if you have read it.
I'm also interested to hear what else you're reading and what you thought of it.  I think blog land can be just as informative as the New York Times Book Review!

Confessions of a Serial Book Buyer

I like to think of myself as someone who enjoys reading. Because I love books. I love reading book reviews and thinking about the books I will read and how much I will enjoy them. I love going to my book group and talking about books, especially hearing about the books that other members read. I love going to book stores or perusing Amazon's book store on line. And I love buying books. 
But, truth be told, I have a dirty little secret . . . I don't actually read that many of the books I buy.  I am a serial book buyer! The screen shot above shows the books in my kindle which I have bought and not finished. In fact, four of them (The State of Wonder, Lamb, When God was a Rabbit and The Four Agreements) I never even started! My bedside stand holds a pile of unread or unfinished books, including The Lacuna, Lark and Termite, March, Middlesex, Fieldwork, So Brave, Young and Handsome, Peace Like a River, and The Other Boleyn Girl (all,except one, started but never finished). I can't believe I'm the only one in the Serial Book Buyer's Club, am I? Come on . . . 'fess up!  Do you finish all the books you buy? If you start a book and life gets in the way or it's not compelling, what do you do? Do you hold onto it or toss it?
Of my kindle books, I know I will not finish Unbroken, and I am unlikely to start Lamb or State of Wonder. I actually want to finish White Dog Fell from Sky, The Art of Fielding, Await Your Reply and Let's Pretend this Never Happened. I feel like I should finish The Orphan Master's Son and Cloudstreet (but probably won't). I remain optimistic about reading When God was a Rabbit and The Four Agreements. Of my bedside books, I am most interested in finishing Peace Like a River and Middlesex. Not sure about the others.
I think I'll pick my top four unfinished books from each group and give myself until the end of the year to finish them. If not, I will give them away (or send them to the cloud).  I'm going to create a gadget in my sidebar to track the books I finish in 2014. And my first book will be:

I read this book for my book group. I liked it a lot and rate it 4/5. Erdrich did a wonderful job of immersing me in a specific time and place; the subject matter captivated me, and her characterization and writing are spectacular. It's filled with fascinating themes that I know will generate interesting discussion in our book group. But I was not sold on the ending of the book, and the narrator/point of view (a 13 year old boy) is not my favorite. Still, I would recommend it, and it makes me want to read her Plague of Doves (which is a precursor to this book). 

Lost in a Good Book: Simply a Moment (August)

I close the book and sigh. Sad it's over. Even after 561 pages, I wish it could have gone on. But, of course, the author ended it exactly where he should have. Because he's a gifted writer and knew what he was doing. It's been a long time since I've found myself lost in a good book . . . transported to another world by compelling characters and a robust plot, all wrapped up in interesting themes which I will ponder for some time to come.  It's been a long time since I've sat for hours and read.
Truthfully, it's been a long time since I've sat for hours and done anything (or nothing).  I stretch my left leg out, pushing the heel forward until my calf muscle catches and starts to scream just a little bit. I think back to that moment earlier this week in the gym when I was feeling so good. The sweat was pouring off my face as I strapped myself to the bungee cord attached to the wall. I've been hitting the gym hard the last week, and it's been paying off. I was able to really push myself, and I've been feeling great. 
The trainer yells "Go!" I start running in place with high knees, fighting the bungee cord which is trying to pull me back to the wall. I smile broadly, having fun. And then I feel it. . . . an ominous pop in my left calf. I get sweatier and a little light headed. The trainer helps me outside where there's more air, gets me some ice and encourages me to put my head between my knees until I no longer feel like I might pass out (or throw up).
I come home, shower and begin my convalescence. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. "RICE." Also known as "BOREDOM."  Somehow I don't feel like getting on the computer. I can't really move around my art table to finish up my art projects either.  I get tired of watching television.
So I pick up my half-finished summer book and plunge back into Meyer's story of Texas and the American Southwest. It carries me through a few days of bed rest. And now the story's over. The leg is healing, too. I still shuffle more than walk, but at least I can move around a bit. And I'm finally comfortable sitting at the computer. I run my hand over the smooth surface of the book's cover, feeling the embossed letters of the title and the author's name. I wonder if I can find another book . . . 
and convince the family that I need to stay off my feet for a few more days. 
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Simply a Moment is a meme hosted by Alexa at Trimming the Sails. You can find more moments and link up here.

Summer Reading Book Reviews

I always make a summer reading list and do a much better job finishing books during the summer. So far, I am ready to review three books. The first is "The World in Half" by Cristina Henriquez. It's the story of a young woman whose mother has Alzheimer's Disease, which sets her off on a quest to find her biological father and discover her paternal heritage in Panama. It was beautifully written, and I enjoyed the insight into a country about which I knew very little.  I would definitely recommend it and would give it 4 out of 5 stars. I also read "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail" by Cheryl Strayed.  It's a memoir about a woman who sets off the hike a trail that runs the length of California and Oregon. It's an interesting read, and I enjoyed the tales she had to tell. But, I don't think the author accomplished her purpose of showing a life changing experience. She told us it changed her life, but didn't really show us how it worked all that well. I'll give it 3 out of 5 starts.  The final book to review is "Let's Pretend this Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson. It's also a memoir and tells the story of her life, growing up in a very poor, very eccentric family and into adulthood.  Some of her stories have literally made me laugh out loud. The author has a fairly famous blog, "The Blogess," and many of her chapters read like funny blog posts.  I'm a little of a third of the way through it. While I enjoy reading it, there's not really a driving narrative, and I'll probably just dip into it now and again during the rest of the summer. So far, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.  The other books on my summer reading list that are already on my ipad are: "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach and "When God Was a Rabbit" by Sarah Winman. I have "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides in actual book form to finish, and my book group book for August is The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern.  That's probably plenty, but some other books in which I am interested are The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, Home by Toni Morrison, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea, Night Road by Kristin Hannah, and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
So, have you done any reading this summer? Any books to pick or pan? Any opinions on the ones I've reviewed or that are on my list?

Picks and Pans: Books, Classes, TV, Film, Products, etc.

I always love hearing about good books, TV shows, films, classes, etc. from my bloggy friends (or even things I should stay away from). So, I thought I'd open up comments this weekend asking you to share a recommendation or warning.  I'll try to gather them together and post a list next week. Here's a few from me:
Book - I just finished Stephen King's "11/22/63," and it was gripping enough to keep me up late into the night (and inspire today's art journal page). It's about a man who travels back in time to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It's not a scary, horror book, but it's compelling.  It could have used an editor (it really didn't need to be 1,000 pages), but it was still a fast read and raised lots of interesting questions.
Products - I love Dina Wakley's original release of stamps from Stampington (used in today's AJ page), and she just released some new ones! You can check them out here.  I also used Tim Holtz's Distress stains - I thought for sure I would fall in love with these, but I haven't yet . . .
Class - Cheryl Johnson is running her Beautiful People portraiture class again. I took it, and I loved it. You can register at this link.  My class review is here.
Movies - Last weekend Paul and I went to see Dark Shadows. I was pretty disappointed.  All the good, funny bits were in the previews. It never became either a full on comedy (like Austin Powers, for example, which is what I was expecting) or an exciting Sci Fi/ Fantasy movie (like Star Trek, for example) or a scary movie.  It will no doubt come out on video at Halloween time, and it would be an okay rental. But save your money and see something else at the theater!
TV Show - I have totally enjoyed Awake on U.S. television this season. Unfortunately, it was cancelled! It is sort of like Life on Mars, (which has both a U.S. and U.K. version). It's available on netflix or itunes if you want to check it out.  I also like the U.S. show Grimm, and it was actually renewed for next year!
Please share your thoughts on the good, the bad and the ugly! It's one of the best things about visiting blogland after all!

Pass the Book: Raw Art Journaling

I was the very lucky recipient of the book, Raw Art Journaling by Quinn McDonald.  I received it from Melissa, who is hosting Pass the Book, Year 2.  I have had the book for a while, so it is time to send it one its way.  The book is a wonderful introduction to art journaling, and I think it would be particularly appealing to someone who is curious about what art journaling is all about and wants to know where to start.  The book emphasizes making meaning with words and simple designs, so don't be scared away if you don't have a bunch of acrylic paint or pile of collage images!  In the spirit of the book, I made this art journal page.  My page was also influenced by two recent posts (here and here) by Dina Wakley at her blog, Ponderings, and it features a wonderful quote recently featured here by Deb of Paper Turtle.
If you would like a chance to check out Raw Art Journaling, simple leave a comment telling me so.  In about a week, I'll pick the next recipient of the book and send it on to you.  There is a bit of a catch.  After you get a chance to read and digest the book, you need to offer it up and pass it to someone else!  If you feel moved by the book, it would be nice if you posted a picture of how it inspired you. I'm sure anyone - a beginner, intermediate or experienced art journaler - would find something inspiring inside the pages. 
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Today I am grateful for: All the creative inspiration I find in blogland.

My Trip to D.C. (and what I'm reading)

I don't think I mentioned that I traveled to my nation's capitol last week.  Most of the time, I was stuck in a hotel working, but I did manage to get out a bit.  One of my favorite things to do in Washington, D.C. is to visit the monuments at night.  The newest monument honors Martin Luther King, Jr. 

We went after dinner and had to wait a few minutes before we visited because President Obama was there for a private viewing! If my father were telling this story, it would be all about how he visited the monument with the President, but, truthfully, all we saw was his motorcade parked and then eventually driving away.  The monument is stunning. A large carved sculpture with a wall full of quotations leading up to and away from it. I found it very moving, and I made this art journal page, featuring one of the quotes, to remember my visit.

You can read more about the Memorial at this link. 
The plane ride is about six hours, and I put the time to good use doing some reading. I finished my current book group book, The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. It was very good (I gave it four out of five stars). It's written in a lyrical, almost poetic way, in the first person plural. In a mere 130 pages, it manages to convey the experiences of a group of Japanese picture brides coming to America in the early 1900's up until the time of their internment during World War II. I also read The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. It was an interesting but overly ambitious novel about a family of women in Salem who can see the future and may or may not be related to witches. I ended up confused and a little frustrated at the end, but there were many aspects of it that I enjoyed. I gave it 3 out of 5 starts for being flawed but worth reading. I also gave 3 out of 5 stars to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, a nonfiction book about the woman whose cells were the first to be "grown" and used extensively for cell research. It was an important story to tell, but I don't think it was very well told. My biggest complaint was that the author spent too much time talking about herself and had a somewhat condescending view of the subjects. It also could have used an editor. Up next for my book group is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.  Have you read anything good lately?

A Review of Tim Holtz Publications (part 2)

Yesterday, I reviewed Tim Holtz' new book A Compendium of Curiosities.  Today, I wanted to review some of his other publications.  I've grouped these into three categories:  freebies on his blog and webite; books by Design Originals; and videos by Page Sage.


Freebies on his blog and webite:  Tim Holtz is one of the most generous artists out there.  He publishes, free of charge on the internet, a huge number of tutorials on how to make wonderful projects and how to use his products.  In addition to the 36 Tags of Christmas, which I linked to yesterday, he occasionally posts other tag projects, like this Easter tag tutorial.  These tutorials include step-by-step illustrated instructions. They aren't tagged in any special way on his blog, so you may have to hunt them up for yourself.  In addition, he has 18 video demonstrations posted on his website, covering products and techniques.


Books by Design Originals:  Tim published two books with Design Originals called Distressables (2005) and Distressables 2 (2006).  These short (50 page) books are dense and jam-packed with ideas.  They are not as reader-friendly as Curiosities because they cover many techniques that I would call intermediate to advanced and which assume some amount of crafting knowledge.  They each cover about 15 completed projects, and most projects include several variations.  The products used and projects covered have a much greater variety than Curiosities. . . . things ranging from beeswax collage to altered wooden blocks (in Destressables 2) and tins to minialbums (in Distressables).  They often use older product lines designed by Tim for Design Originals or other producers.  I call these books dense because they are almost like textbooks for many of his classes or for classes which could be taught. In fact, the three pieces of jewelery pictured up top are things I made in a class with Tim. The instructions for each one is in one of these books, but I never realized that until after reviewing the books again.  Overall, the books provide the foundation to make a ton of projects and are a great way to expand your repertoire of altered art a la Tim, but I don't think they are for the meek of art. 


Videos by Page Sage:  Tim has published two videos with Page Sage. . . An Altered Journey (2004) and The Journey Continues (2006).  Each one is about two hours long and is divided into different projects (called Journeys).  Each project lesson starts with a list of supplies needed and then shows how to make it.  There is also a gallery and some extras.   An Altered Journey covers some basic techniques like distressing, brushless watercolor and alcohol ink agates but also some cool, more advanced techniques like faux batik, an altered domino mini book (yes, it's tiny!), and projects with polymer clay and UTEE.  The Journey Continues includes some more advanced projects for distressing, using UTEE, polymer clay, alcohol inks, beeswax and cut-n-dry felt.  The techniques are more adventurous than those found in Curiosities but are clearly illustrated (so easier to follow than the Distressables books) and do result in completed projects.   I"m anxious to go back and watch the videos again, now that I own a melting pot and my skills have gotten more advanced.


After having done this two-part review, it seems to me that Curiosities and Tim's website/blog are a great place for beginners to start and the Altered Journeys and Distressables are great next-steps for the artist who wants to continue to explore various altered techniques and projects.  I'd love to hear feedback from anyone else who owns and has used the Distressables books or Altered Journeys videos.

Review of A Compendium of Curiosities by Tim Holtz

Here's two more creations I made after receiving the new Tim Holtz book, A Compendium of Curiosities. They both use the alcohol ink monoprint technique for the background of the stamped image.  Although I have used alcohol inks a lot to make his "alcohol ink agate" backgrounds, this is the first time I have tried this.  It took a little practice to get some backgrounds that I liked, but I think I eventually got the hang of it.  I especially like the background in seashells.  These are two of the 35 techniques covered in the third section of this book.  Each technique is described in six illustrated, easy to follow steps.  Although many of these techniques have been covered in Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas (found here, here and here) or other tutorials on his blog, there are several new ones and it is wonderful to have them all in one place. Unlike the tag tutorials, these techniques do not result in a completed project; rather they show you how to create various pieces that can be used as either background or embellishments on completed projects.  I like that because I want to learn the techniques and then decide how to put them together.  If you're looking for completed projects, the fourth (last section) of the book is a gallery with 28 completed cards, tags, scrapbook pages, etc.  There's no description of which techniques were used in the completed project or cross-reference to completed projects in the technique section, and I wish there were.  But I guess the reader will just have to figure it out themselves.  The first section of the book is a list of tools:  24 different Tim products (including basis like scissors and heat tool; specialty tools like a scratcher and tiny attacher; and consumables like paints and inks).  I guess it's a sign of my interest in Tim stuff that I own at least one version of 22 of these!  (I do not have the texture hammer or tiny attacher.)  In my defense, I accumulated these slowly over time, often for classes I taught based on Tim's techniques, which were always very popular.  Plus, I use them all.  The second section of the book is called ideas and covers 22 products, mostly metal.  For each product, there's four photos of how these products can be used on a project with a brief description.  These products are things like corners, plates, fasteners, etc.  I own very, very few of these products, so this section did not appeal to me that much.  On the whole, the book offers a wealth of information for how to use the various products created and/or popularized by Tim Holtz. I also like the feel of the book - it's 75 pages or so and about 9x9 square.  It has a spiral binding, so it will lie flat, but the wire is covered and won't catch on anything. Two caveats:  if you don't own any of these products, the book is not really for you.  Also, if you're looking for a step-by-step guide to make completed projects (like the tag tutorials), you'll be disappointed.   But if you're looking for a primer on everything from alcohol ink to distress powders, A Compendium of Curiosities is definitely for you!  Since this review is longer than I anticipated, I'm going to review Tim's other publications in a separate post.