Book Review: Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity

Book review for Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity
By Hugh MacLeod

Hugh MacLeod, a cartoonist and blogger, provides succinct, proven advice on creativity. (Everything from ideas to money to selling out to being broke to friends to hobbies to jobs to props to approval to… you get the point. He talks about the life and what it truly is and what it truly isn’t.)

Not only does MacLeod provide an easy-to-read book full of nuggets, his practical, down-to-earth, tried, tested and true advice is real. Can I repeat myself more? No, probably not. So, carrying on… His common sense advice is probably a lot of what is already swimming around in your creative head. That is, if you listen to it. And that’s the thing. It can be really hard to listen to those little voices, ideas and theories, especially when they go against your neighbours and friends who are saying something to the tone of who-are-you-and-what-do-you-do-and-what-do-you-make-doing-it society. It’s good to hear from someone who has been there and have him share his thoughts on paper. And not only that, but to have bigwigs agent it, publish it and sell it. It gives a certain legitimacy to those swimming ideas rocketing through your brain. But most of all, it gives you the courage to not only believe it, but to follow it.

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Book Review for Wonder Woman: Love and Murder

Book Review: Wonder Woman: Love and Murder
Written by Jodi Picoult
Illustrated by Terry Dodson, Drew Johnson, Paco Diaz

This is a comic book/graphic novel. It is like several comic books made shiny and packed together like a graphic novel often is. The illustrations are vivid and powerful. The writing is strong and witty. I didn’t know much about Wonder Woman before this, but it’s safe to say I am now a fan.

When I first saw that Jodi Picoult (yes, the same Jodi Picoult who wrote My Sister’s Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, etc.) had written Wonder Woman, I thought ‘that sounds intriguing.’ When I realized it was a comic book and I was even more intrigued. A stellar storyteller, Picoult does a fine job of portraying Wonder Woman and slides her between two worlds–human and superhero.

Wonder Woman, a fugitive after killing Lord in order to save the world, disguises herself as human (with some interesting transportation problems–you have to put gas in a car? What’s that cost anyway?). Throughout the storyline, Wonder Woman struggles to determine where in the world (quite literally) she fits in. With enemies creating a war that endangers the humans she loves, Wonder Woman is pulled into the conflict. To make matters more interesting she finds herself pitted against her mother who has mysteriously returned from the dead. I will warn you, this book does end in a cliffhanger that will leave you frustrated. I need more!

Welcome to Book Review Weekend

Yes, it is January. When is there a better time in the year to curl up with a book all weekend?

Oh, right. The beach in the summer. Doh!

Anyway, I’ve got a couple of books following my laptop around the house waiting for me to do up their reviews so they can join their friends in dusty stacks of ‘have read’ around the house–we are in dire need of bookshelves.

This is actually my kitchen.

So, without further ado… the book review lines are open. I hope to post two reviews today and two tomorrow–which means I have to finish one of the books I am reading first! Better get cracking!