The Dublin Art Book - virtual launch

 Watch and listen to all the artists talk about their work. I'm at 11:08

Reclaiming the Wounded Soul

Reclaiming the Wounded Soul, by Lisa Burke

Honestly and beautifully told – the story of a woman who finds her own path to wellness and happiness after a shocking and traumatizing emergency caesarian section

This is not a step-by-step get well book. But yet, I think it will help a lot of women, and men, who are suffering from anxiety, PTSD or depression, suggesting a way forward, and simple actions that will guide you back to your own, happy and balanced, self.

Lisa Burke tells her story simply and clearly, and with humour at times, – she’s not in the blame business, but the facts are stark. This book is about one of those events in life that you hope will never happen to you. Where one moment, your life is going well, and the next, you’re in hell.

Her story is about how the doctors and consultants, who were supposed to provide care during the birth of her third child, did not communicate with her, did not listen to her, but were solely focused on the task, even when she was screaming in pain.

It is shocking to know that these things are still happening in 21st century Ireland.  And it is very much of the moment, with the HSE’s Cervical Check scandal, where patients, women, are still not at the centre of the decision-making process by doctors and hospital administrators.

Lisa Burke survived to tell the tale, and what struck me is that she is not angry. She decided to get well, and let go of the fear and the anger. And in this book, she seeks to help others in their journey out of hell, back to happiness.

An essential read for anyone who is going through Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, depression or anxiety. It’s not going to tell you step by step how to solve all your problems, but it guides you through the first actions you can take towards regaining and reclaiming who you were.

Deep Work

I'm in the middle of reading a book that will change my life, I think. It's called Deep Work, Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport.
In the past few years, I've begun to realise that I spend my days doing a bit of this, and a bit of that, but not investing any time to really get into anything. I find that this is most troublesome to me in terms of my painting - I do a bit of drawing, a bit of sketching, a bit of watercolours, a bit of acrylics. And that's all good - better than nothing. And I know that I'm at the stage where doing anything at all is an achievement. But I never seem to set aside a good block of time to just paint, to develop my skills, to practise. Yes, life is busy. There is an elderly cat, a lively dog, there is paperwork, laundry, etc. But compared to others, I really have no excuses - my husband is not demanding - he cooks, he even does the grocery shopping. I don't have children. I should have plenty of time to paint.
I'm only about half way through this book, but I can see already lots of strategies for solving this problem, for making time, for avoiding distractions. I'll let you know how I get on. Or maybe not! One of the strategies seems to involve dropping out of social media!!

Books read over the last few months

This is going back to the summer - I'm not reading as much as I used to.

The Patience Stone - a story of a wife and her injured husband in Afghanistan, or somewhere similar. The husband is in a coma. The wife looks after him every day. Outside, war rages on. And inside, another type of war. Best book in a long time. And I had a quick look at the DVD trailer on Amazon, and it looks really good too.

The Round House - it was a long time since I read a book by Louise Erdrich. A beautiful story of a young teenage boy, whose family is torn by a brutal attack. Great read.

Slade House - I like David Mitchell's stories. This is the prequel to The Bone Clocks. I should have read it first of course. But it was brilliant all the same. Makes me want to re-read the Bone Clocks. And Cloud Atlas!

Morality Play - the story of a band of medieval actors, who end up in a town where a boy was found dead on the side of the road. They decide to tell the story of the boy's death. But they find that elements of the narrative don't make sense. This is like a medieval thriller. A good story.

Small Great Things - I can't have my summer holidays without reading a Jodi Picoult book. Small Great Things delivered all I wanted! The story of a black delivery nurse and a white supremacist family.

PS: I've read all of these in Kindle edition. But I've put the links to the paperbacks. Not sure why!

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

This always happens to me. I read a book. And I don't write about it straight away. And by the time I get to my keyboard, I've forgotten what made this book special to me. I actually read this one before the summer.

Let me think...

Well, first of all, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet was written by David Mitchell, of Cloud Atlas, and The Bone Clocks fame.
Second, it's set in Japan.

It's very different in style from the other two books, presented more like historical fiction, which it isn't. All the characters and stories are fictional, but apparently the author did quite a bit of research so that the details are historically accurate. I quite liked the storyline, it's actually more of a thriller. But of the three books, I think The Bone Clocks is my favourite. Or Cloud Atlas? I can't decide!

Hag Seed

I don't buy or read many "book" books any more. I am more of a Kindle woman. I don't read half as much as I used to. Too many distractions. Social Media. Netflix. Time flies. But every Christmas, we go into Dubray book shop on Grafton street, and buy a couple of books. I know it's probably not enough, but I feel like we do our bit to keep bookshops open.

That's where I got Hag Seed by Margaret Atwood. It was a while since I read any of her stuff. I used to be a big fan, but I kind-of lost interest somewhere along the way.

Hag Seed is a re-interpretation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. And what a trip it was! I've never read The Tempest. I've never even read  any Shakespeare! But I had seen The Tempest as an opera. So the story of a theatre director who has been sacked and finds work in a prison worked for me. Just as in the play, a big injustice, plotting for revenge, lots of villains. And a daughter called Miranda. I loved it. I must go back and see what else Atwood has written in recent years!

The Invention of Wings

The last of my summer books - well, the weather turned on the 1 of October, but we had a lot of sunshine, so I'm stretching summer for as long as I can.

The Invention of Wings is a story about slavery. I thought it was total fiction, but it's not. There is actually quite a bit of historical fact in it. A beautiful story, beautifully told, from the perspective of a young slave, Hetty "Handful"and her young owner, Sarah Grimké. Gripping, gorgeous, heart-breaking, and uplifting.

Mrs Engels

Fascinating piece of historical fiction, Mrs Engels. And what better subject than an illiterate woman who was the lover of a very famous man! Lizzie was an Irish mill worker in Manchester. The mill was owned by the Engels family, and Friedrich Engels, the son, was sent to Manchester to learn his family's business. He became interested in the plight of the workers, became the lover of an Irish mill worker, Mary, and after she died, he started a relationship with her sister Lizzie.

In this book, we see the world through Lizzie's eyes, the Manchester where she was a young working woman, the London where she mixed with Engels' friend and fellow philosopher Karl Marx and his family.

A wonderful story of an outsider, who got herself into the ultimate insider position, and what she thought of it all. Of course, as she couldn't read or write, there are very few records of what she actually thought, but the Lizzie that's been created by Gavin McCrea is a likeable character, warts and all.

The Bone Clocks

Third great book of the summer: the Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell (of Cloud Atlas fame). If you liked Cloud Atlas, you will love this - another big scope book. If you prefer your literature grounded in reality, then maybe it's not for you. But I loved it. A world where the Horologists and the Anchorites wage war against each other, while us poor humans have no idea what's going on.

The structure of the book is not as strict as Cloud Atlas, you will go from the Thames estuary and the world of a teenage girl, to posh college students in Cambridge, to war-torn Iraq to literary festivals around the world, and many other locations and times, but it's all connected. And the last chapter is a chilling reminder of where our world is going, and sooner than you'd think, while we keep on enjoying a life that's dependent on rapidly-dwindling supplies of oil.

I loved it! And if you bump into a British man with a Japanese wife in Clonakilty, make sure to say hi! That's how he got all the Irish expressions, idiosyncracies and geography so spot-on!

Life after Life

Another great book this summer. Life after Life is a wonderful story, of life and death and life, again and again. Ursula ("Little Bear") is born in 1910, and then dies before she can even draw a breath. Then she is born again, and this time, she lives.
The strongest part of the story is set during the London blitz. And it's full of surprises.

I loved it.

The light between oceans

One thing I love about the good weather in the summer is that I get to read more. It doesn't make up for the fact that I'm not drawing or painting as much as I'd like. But it feels good all the same.

And if you're still looking for a good summer read, I'd recommend you try "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman. A beautiful story set in Western Australia after World War I. A story of a Lighthouse, its keepers, the sea, and what it brings. A story of right and wrong, where your head tells you it's so wrong, but your heart tells you it feels so right. I cried at the end.

Unless you'd rather wait for the movie, with Michael Fassbender!

I am Pilgrim

I am Pilgrim. Great book. Spy/Terrorist thriller. Good story. Nicely spun. I don't agree with some of the islamophobic statements of the narrator, but, hey, it's fiction after all. Can't wait to see how the movie that's being planned will turn out.

For a more erudite review, check out the New York Times.

After the Quake

I finished reading After the Quake a couple of months ago. Beautifully crafted short stories set in Japan after the Kobe earthquake. Stories not necessarily directly related to the earthquake. Stories about loneliness, fitting in, fear, hatred, and some stories plainly and simply weird. In my opinion, this is not quite Murakami at his best - for me that would be 1Q84. But still, stories that take you in and spit you out when you least expect it.

The Husband's Secret

I finished reading The Husband's Secret a couple of weeks ago. I don't read as many books as I used to. Social media distractions are to blame, I'd say. But once I started this book, I could not put it down. It's the story of perfect lives shattered by a dark secret from the past. What would you do if you found a letter your husband wrote that says "do not open until I've died"? Would you be able to resist? What would go through your head? Would you talk to him about it? Would you even hesitate for one moment? What would you do with the knowledge of what that letter says? And what would you do if your husband and your cousin, who is also your best friend, told you that they are in love, that they haven't had sex yet, and that they'd like to live in the house with you and your child? And what would you do if you thought .... ?

That's it, I'll say no more. My lips are sealed.

Castagnet - Watercolour Masterclass - Understanding the four pillars of watercolour

I bought this book after reading a short article by Alvaro Castagnet in an art magazine.  It sounded like the book would help me take my watercolour painting to a new level.

And if they had asked the painter to write an article in this respected magazine, surely the book had to be good.

Well, I am an innocent maybe. But nowhere did it say this article was an advertorial.

The bottom line? Don't buy this book, unless you just want to look at beautiful photographs of watercolours. It will not do what it says on the tin.

Actually, it will teach you nothing. I thought that the step-by-step section would reveal some of the secrets of Castagnet's beautiful paintings. But no, nothing, rien, nada.

Just bullshit about how important colour, shapes, value and edges are in watercolour paintings. As if we didn't know already! But nothing in HOW to do it.

Nowhere in this book will you find how he achieves this hazy luminous effect - he vaguely talks about Chinese White, a spritz of water and some towel, but nothing that made any sense when I tried to put it into practise.

And his paintings are beautiful, there is no denying it. But the book cost me over €45 with shipping and I learned nothing that I can use. And the other annoying thing is that he uses the book to advertise his Daniel Smith paints, his paint brushes and his watercolour sketchbooks. And don't get me going on the passion and the emotions!

And to top it all - it wasn't available on Amazon, so I can't write my review there!

Books

I find writing book reviews tedious, so I'll be really quick

• The Rosie Project - A geek with Aspergers's guide to falling in love. Really sweet. Until I found out that the writer doesn't even have Aspergers. I was quite disappointed when I found out.
• A Day at the Office - How office romances start, and end. Good fun. Very light
• How many letters are in goodbye? - How a mother's tragic death has affected a young Irish girl, who now lives in the US. She keeps writing to her mother, as her life spirals out of control. Yvonne Cassidy's characters really get under your skin.
• A spool of blue thread. This was advertised as Anne Tyler's last book. A family saga with a few twists. Didn't really work that well for me.
• The Snow Child. A couple who have lost a baby go to Alaska to start a new life. One snowy day, they build a snowman, or rather a snow girl. A story full of love and longing. Magical.
• Afterwards, by Rosamund Lupton. A mother and daughter are critically injured in a fire that was started deliberately. But by who? And to what lengths is the criminal prepared to go in order to eradicate all evidence? What a mother has to do to save her daughter. With a twist of magical realism. A gripping story.
• Nora Webster, by Colm Tóibín - After her husband dies, Nora Webster picks up her life, one day at a time. A beautiful, slow, story, set in small-town Ireland in the seventies (but it feels like the 50s - that's small-town Ireland for you!). To me, this is a much better book than Brooklyn.
• Major Pettigrew's last stand - such a sweet story. Who said romance is dead? The kind of book that makes you smile from start to finish.

Sushi and Beyond

A good friend of mine had liked this on Facebook. Sushi and Beyond is an animation cartoon about an American food writer, Michael Booth, who spent time in Japan with his family to explore all aspects of Japanese food. It is based on his book of the same name.

This program is in English on NHK World. I'm not sure who it's aimed at - the English-speaking planning a trip to Japan or the Japanese who want to listen to English language programs? It would be great if there was a Japanese language version of it too.

Anyways, if you're into food, like my other half, you will find this really interesting. Me, I do love Japanese food and when we go back to Japan some day, I will be the one doing the talking, hoping to know more than the 10 words I had the last time. So I am planning to watch every episode. I've just added it to my Google Calendar.

Today's show was about dashi, and it inspired my better half to make a dashi and noodle broth for lunch!

Sushi and Beyond is live on NHK World on Sundays, around 12 (GMT Winter time - 冬 時間 - It's pronounced fuyu jikan. I'm copying these kanji characters from Google translate and I hope to god that they are right!)



There might be an on-demand version, but I could not find it. What I found, though was a section of the website with Japanese recipes. So, if you would like to know how to make Dashi stock, check out Your Japanese Kitchen!

I'm hungry now!

Holiday Books

Having a broken arm meant I couldn't do any drawing while on holidays. While I became proficient at applying mascara with my left hand, drawing just didn't work out. So I decided to read instead. Thank god for my Kindle! An ideal companion when flying with Ryanair and you're getting close to your 15 Kg baggage allowance.

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro
A pleasant read, but it went from a Hobbit-like world to Arthurian legend, and then didn't quite deliver the punch I had expected at the end. He's done better. For a more erudite review, check out this New Yorker article.

Labyrinth, by Kate Mosse
If you liked the Da Vinci Code, you will probably love Labyrinth. This is set in the time of the Cathars and also in the present day, mostly in the region between Carcassonne and the Pyrenees. A good holiday read, if a little predictable in parts.

Leaving Time By Jodi Picoult
Now this book wasn't predictable at all. The twist caught me off-guard altogether. I loved it. And I learned a lot about elephants.

The Kingmaker's Daughter, and The White Princess, both By Philippa Gregory
Two typical Philippa Gregory stories. Both set around the time of the War of the Roses. Two different points of view around the same historical events. Always a reliable engrossing read. Loved both books.

Books

I'm going to have to do the same for books as I did for movies. Not enough time to review each individually.

Game of Thrones - books 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5- I've been reading these for months now. Book 1 was a slow buildup. Books 2 and 3 were full of surprises - a twist in every chapter. Book 4 was a bit slow, and focused on characters I didn't really care that much about, apart from Arya. Book 5 is also slow, but back with all the people I love, so much more interesting. Mmmm. I'm a bit confused. Am I reading Book 5 right now? Did I miss one? Oh Dear! Now I'm finished Book 5, and the action did pick up very well, but I realise to my horror that that's it. There are no more for now. Oh, I do hope George R. R. Martin hurries up and finishes writing the full story. And I wish him long life!

Gone Girl - Woman goes missing. Her husband is the prime suspect. Very clever - amazing twist - good summer read.

The Interview - If you're interested in Eileen Gray, this is a fascinating read. Historical fiction that feels so real, it's like being inside Eileen Gray's head, and heart.

The Fault in Our Stars - A best-seller. Sweet story about a teenage girl with cancer. It's not because you have cancer that you can't fall in love. A bit YA for my taste, but a good read all the same

The Sea -Very serious. very rewarding. How the events of the past come back to haunt a man who's just lost his wife.

The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult at her best. A beautiful story set before and during the Holocaust and in the present day.

Hotel Iris - Interesting story of a young Japanese girl who becomes involved with a much older man. Very atmospheric and disturbing.

The Abduction - Great holiday read about a young girl who is abducted by a gang. Are they looking for a ransom? Will she live?

26a - Two little girls embark on the journey of a lifetime. One will come back broken. Starts light and happy and ends in tragedy.

Norwegian Wood - depressing story about depression.

Out of all the books above, the only two I would read again are Game of Thrones (because there is so much to take in) and The Storyteller (because it's such a good story).

A Game of Thrones

I do read more when the weather is good, and paint/draw/art less.

We're at the tail end of what probably will be our best week of the summer (am I too pessimistic?), so I've been busy reading A Game of Thrones, the first of 8 books in A Song of Ice and Fire!

I haven't seen the TV series yet - I don't even know what channel it was showing on in this part of the world. All I know is that it's not on Netflix - will it ever be? So I'll have to invest in the box sets - maybe for next year's birthday, or for Christmas perhaps?

But now of course, I don't want to watch the TV series until I've read the whole story - I've already started the second book - too much time invested to spoil it by watching it on TV!

There has been plenty of reviews of the books and the TV series, no doubt. Apparently the TV Series has been even more successful than the Sopranos for HBO!

I saw somewhere that the genre is described as historic fantasy - that's a pretty good description. Although it has to be said that, apart from a  couple of zombies and three baby dragons, there isn't too much fantasy. Actually, it reads more like The Other Boleyn Girl or The White Queen than The Lord of the Rings. Except it's not real.

Maybe it's not real, but it's very readable. And I can see the appeal. Will I last the distance, though?