On a Lighter Note

The time for snuggling up with a good book is upon us. So is gift-giving time. So I thought I’d share some of my new book finds. Winners all.

I belong to the Book-a-Day Club. It’s another, but  not-so-secret secret (see post below). I admit it only when someone else fesses up to being a book junkie. What can I say? I’m a visual person. Visual and tactile. I’ve got to hold it in my hands.

Most times (practically all), it’s a book I have purchased from Amazon. I belong to their Prime club so I can get my books in 2 days for free shipping. Well, not free, because I pay to be in the program, but you better believe me, I come out WAY ahead.

But this one, Handmade Books, was a surprise. It was my contributor copy from Lark. I seem to remember submitting my Lutradur book for their 500 series, as in 500 Handmade Books. What finally arrived, years later, was this petite tome, about 5 x 5 inches. And I’m in really good company: Dayle Doroshow, Gerri Newfrey, Robert Dancik to name a few. No instructions but a wealth of ideas and visual delights. And a great visual and tactile experience. A very intimate book.

The other yummy books that have arrived on my doorstep of late are:
Creative Illustration Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists: Seeing, Sketching, Storytelling, and Using Found Materials by the amazing Katherine Dunn

Four-Word Self-Help: Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives and Creative Is a Verb: If You’re Alive, You’re Creative by the amazing Patti Digh. I highly recommend them all, especially the last one. I wanted to go meet Patti face-to-face when she was here last week for a book-signing, but alas, I had no voice and was coughing up a storm. Not the best time to go to a book signing. My loss. Maybe you can meet her in your town – she’s headed everywhere. Check out her schedule here.