The Artist's Way Starter Kit (Julia Cameron)

The Artist's Way Starter Kit
Julia Cameron
Tarcher/Penguin
Nonfiction, Creativity
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Most everyone has creative urges of some form or another. Maybe we once dabbled in poetry, or fondly remember that long-ago watercolor class, or bought a couple books on writing screenplays... but then we Grew Up. You can't be an Artist if you're not willing to starve and suffer, or unless you're one of the Special Few with that rare, elusive thing called Talent. Just enjoying creativity isn't enough; it has to make us money or bring us fame, or we're just wasting our time. Sure, it's no fun, but it's what's expected of us as responsible adults, mothers and fathers and workers... right?
Wrong.
Creativity isn't a luxury, but a need. Denying it is denying part of what makes us human. But most of us have built walls of fear - or had someone else build them for us - that block our artistic selves. This twelve-week course by prolific author Julia Cameron helps you to acknowledge and push through those blocks, reclaiming your right to create.
This kit includes Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way, and a journal with quotes from the text.

REVIEW: For the record, I did not just read this book; I did all twelve weeks, insomuch as I was able. Billed as a "spiritual" path for "blocked" creatives - those of us who have let fear, uncertainty, and the pressures of a product- and fame-oriented society stifle our artistic sides - Cameron offers concrete steps for healing old hurts and moving through doubt. She does not promise to eliminate self-doubt or fear altogether, but rather teach ways to acknowledge and work through them so that they no longer significantly impede progress. Fear, not laziness, is to blame for most procrastination, she claims... and I must say, after working through this book, she's probably right (though there's still a little raw laziness in there, at least for me.) Cameron also emphasizes the spiritual aspect, crediting God (or Source, or the Universe, or whatever alternative nomenclature one might use) as the source of inspiration. Her attitude that "everyone has to believe in Something" is a little presumptuous, making those sections of her book feel a little strained. Otherwise, despite some initial skepticism, I found the experience more interesting and useful than I might have expected. I even got a short story out of it - and a rejection, but just finishing a short and submitting it is more than I've managed for far too long. The fact that the idea more or less fell out of my head during my attempt at "reading deprivation" (an exercise from the book, wherein one does not read anything, be it a website or a book or a newspaper ad - not an easy task at all for me, as one might expect, especially when I work at the library) lends a little more credence to Cameron's methods. I also actually find myself enjoying the "morning pages," three pages of daily writing in the morning before one starts one's day, despite some initial rebellion over not being a morning person. (Though I can't recommend the Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal; the stiff spine makes it difficult to write in.) Overall, despite being a little God-heavy now and again, I'd say the experience on the whole is worthwhile.

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How to Avoid Making Art (Julia Cameron) - My Review
Hocus Pocus, You're Focused! (Arthur Laud) - My Review

Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (Laurie Lamson, editor)

Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
(The Now Write! series)
Laurie Lamson, editor
Tarcher Penguin
Nonfiction, Writing
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: Maybe you're a beginning writer who doesn't know where to start. Maybe you have a project that's fighting you tooth and nail. Maybe a string of harsh critiques or rejections has you wondering if something's wrong with your storytelling skills. Or maybe you just want to improve. This collection of essays from a variety of genre authors offers insight into the writing process and exercises to hone skills.

REVIEW: Rating this one's a bit difficult. The subject matters of the essays, though generally focusing on speculative fiction and horror, range all over the map, from basic storytelling to tips on crafting a salable screenplay to dealing with conflicting copyright issues before they botch potential sales. Some of the authors also seem a little dated in their approaches, stuck in the "white male saves the universe and gets the girl" mindset, while others are so convinced their way is the Best and Only way that they dismiss the notion that others can succeed with alternate methods (a mindset that seems particularly prominent among rabid outliners.) The exercises vary from specific step-by-step processes to generalized "just write something, then keep writing it" advice, so vague that one wonders why they bothered writing an essay for this particular series (which touts writing exercises as one of its selling gimmicks) at all. Will these exercises help writers improve, or at least overcome blocks? Possibly. Did I, personally, get much out of them? Again, possibly, some essays more than others. Would I recommend it to others? I might, with the caveat that no one writer or book has all the answers.

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No Plot? No Problem! (Chris Baty) - My Review
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Orson Scott Card) - My Review
Write Good or Die (Scott Nicholson, editor) - My Review

The Book of Gryphons (Joe Nigg)

The Book of Gryphons
Joe Nigg
Apple-wood Books
Nonfiction, Mythology/Folklore
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Since the dawn of civilization, gryphons and their kin have served humans as protectors and monsters, symbols of divinity and foul treasure-hoarding man-eaters. Nigg examines the roots of gryphon lore, tracking them through their heyday in the ancient world and their downfall in the Renaissance, to their re-emergence in modern literature.

REVIEW: I found this during a recent excursion to Half Price Books. I hoped to find an interesting exploration of classical gryphon lore. This book, however, seems somewhat shallow, more of an overview than a detailed examination, with barely 100 pages of material in large-print grey text. Had it been text alone, it might have rated only three, maybe three and a half, stars. The pictures, however, are easily worth a star on their own. Though most of them are black and white, they nevertheless display the many faces of the gryphon (and kin - Nigg connects gryphons to sphinxes, rocs, simurghs, and other fantastic beasts) through several cultures. Most of these images were new to me. The final section on gryphons in modern fiction felt a bit sparse, but this book was published in 1982; had he published more recently, he would've had a whole host of gryphon tales to choose from, as they've seen a remarkable resurgence in popularity in the 21st century. (And he still offered no explanation for why "male" gryphons in traditional European heraldry have spikes, possibly representing light rays, instead of wings... somewhere, there must be a answer, unless it's been lost to antiquity.) On the whole, it makes a decent introduction to the classical gryphon. I'd just hoped for a little more depth and detail in the text.

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Here Be Dragons: A Fantastic Bestiary (Ariane Delacampagne and Christian Delacampagne) - My Review
The Black Gryphon (Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon) - My Review

The Flying Dragon Room (Audrey Wood)

The Flying Dragon Room
Audrey Wood, illustrations by Mark Teague
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Picture Book
*** (Okay)

DESCRIPTION: Patrick wants to help with the house remodeling, but everyone tells him he'll just be in the way. Everyone, that is, except the handywoman, Mrs. Jenkins, who gives him a very special toolkit. When the renovations are done, Patrick shows off the wondrous rooms he's built.

REVIEW: Another quick read during some slow time at work. The title grabbed me, and the idea is fun, but I just didn't feel this book delivered on its promise. The descriptions, both inside the cover and on the Amazon page, are misleading: the boy doesn't accidentally create anything, and he seems to know exactly what he's doing with Mrs. Jenkins's tools. Despite the whimsical illustrations, the sense of wonder seems muted, and there's no real adventure: he just leads his family from one bizarre room to another, ensuring that they're appropriate awed (but never in danger - even the T. Rex is conveniently vegetarian.) At one point, Patrick and his family are menaced by a giant beast... a beast that Patrick has to have built, as he built everything else. He solves the problem easily, leading me to wonder why he bothered leaving the beast in its original, dangerous state to begin with. As a possible spoiler, despite the title and cover illustration, don't read this book expecting to actually visit a "flying dragon room" in Patrick's creations; there's only a brief mention of it at the end. Color this dracophile disappointed... Overall, while it's an imaginative concept, I think I was set up for a story this book just didn't quite deliver.

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Do-It-Yourself Magic (Ruth Chew) - My Review
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Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation (Bill Nye)

Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation
Bill Nye
St. Martin's Press
Nonfiction, Science
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: Long before Charles Darwin published his famous, controversial findings in 1859, people have speculated on the origins of life. As more and more evidence mounts in favor of evolutionary theory, some cling all the harder to models of creationism and "intelligent design," turning what should be a true debate of evidence and facts into a theological minefield of half-truths and unshakable dogma. But denying what evolution shows us is to deny one of the great wonders of the universe, not to mention the immense potential for new medicines and other direct benefits to the very people who wish to deny it most. Scientist Bill Nye explains what evolution is (and what it isn't), and why it's more important now than ever that we, as a species, embrace it.

REVIEW: I've been watching with growing concern as what used to be a fringe minority has grown in power and influence, squashing education and belittling science while using their fundamentalist beliefs like a club to bludgeon our nation into line with their way of thinking (or non-thinking, as clinging to dogma despite provable facts is not my definition of thought.) Many still want to deny what they're doing, and the real harm they're causing now and to future generations, but some few - like Bill Nye - have been brave enough to venture into the proverbial lions' den and confront the creationists on their own turf. In this book, he explains evolution and how overwhelming the evidence is in favor of it... not to mention other facts, like the age of the universe and Earth, that they wish to deny. He also explains why it matters. This isn't just a philosophical debate or theological discussion. This is about the ability to ask questions and search for answers - not in a holy book, but in the laboratory and in the world itself. Evolutionary theory explains observations, invites questions, and enables one to make predictions, while creationism begins and ends at an unbreachable divine wall, beyond which humans are not to cross. Denying facts, twisting half-truths and evasions and elevating them to an unassailable, unquestionable Way Things Are, cuts off avenues of thought and research such as those that have led to life-saving vaccines, new crops, and other direct benefits to humanity. Faced with a changing world and a sixth mass extinction, it's more important than ever to understand our place in the natural world if we're to have a future on this planet (and possibly beyond.) This book is an interesting and important read, but one I fear is just preaching to the choir; those who truly need to understand it are those who refuse to believe there's anything to understand.

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The Ghosts of Evolution (Connie Barlow) - My Review
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