Book a Week 2022 - BW50: 52 Books Bingo - Creativity

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday!  Our last 52 Books Bingo Category for the year is Creativity, my favorite subject. It's time to unleash your inner Creativity. 

Creativity takes all shapes and forms from the physical to the intellectual, from the deliberate to the spontaneous.  Whether you have a creative mind or creative hands, there are a wide variety of ways to be creative and things highly creative people do differently.   What is the difference between Artistic and Creative ability?   And then there is Creative Leadership Lessons from Star Trek.    What do you think? 

15 Books About Creativity to Get You Out of a Creative Rut.  One book I revisit over and over is The Artist Way by Julia Cameron which unlocked my imagination. 

The 9 Books Every Artist Should Have on Their Shelf

Art and Fiction: 15 Brilliant Novels About Art and Artists

The Artist’s Library: 40 Must-Have Books for Music Producers

40 Best Books about Writing.  So many good books including Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing, and Stephen King's On Writing.  Lynn Truss's Eats, Shoots & Leaves which is hilariously good, as well as Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. 

The 25 Best Cookbooks Of 2022.  I have a big collection of cookbooks but my favorite is still an old Good Housekeeping. However, I am fascinated with Moosehead Restaurant's variety of cookbooks.

There are so many ways to be creative and I've been diving down rabbit holes all afternoon.  *Grin.*  However I don't want to overwhelm you with links so have fun diving down your own rabbit holes. 

How do you nourish your creativity? 

Our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are C and you guessed it, Creativity

****

 

Link to Book Week 49

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini, and perpetual challenges.

[Robin M]

Finished Louise Penny’s The World of Curiosities which was quite good which included the origin story of how Gamache met Beauvoir and brought him into the surete. How that origin story ties an old mystery and a new mystery together. A few red herrings are thrown in along with some vague clues, a few twists and turns, and it made for interesting reading.

Creativity books added to my shelves to read through out next year:

Another Julia Cameron - Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer (A 6-Week Artist's Way Program), and  Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici’s Creativity Unleashed: A Woman's Guide to Unlock Flow and Finally Finish Creative Projects Every Day. 

The next book up is Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke 

"When it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules -- a fact that Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger, knows all too well. Deeply ambivalent about growing up black in the lone star state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him home.

When his allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark, where two murders -- a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman -- have stirred up a hornet's nest of resentment. Darren must solve the crimes -- and save himself in the process -- before Lark's long-simmering racial fault lines erupt. From a writer and producer of the Emmy winning Fox TV show Empire, Bluebird, Bluebird is a rural noir suffused with the unique music, color, and nuance of East Texas."

[Robin M]

Quote

@LaughingCatHave you all had an author or book where you found yourself either avoiding the series even though you loved others by the author -- or enjoyed a book way more on reread? 

I love Seanan Mcguire's October Daye series but don't like her other series so avoid them.  Same with Diana Rowland - enjoy her Kara Gillian series, but not her white trash zombies.  There are a lot of books I enjoy more on the reread, probably because I slow way down since I already know what's going to happen and absorb it. 

[tuesdayschild]

Thank you @Robin M for creating another great thread for us.

Creativity ...... with our ongoing house build - we're building it ourselves and have at least two more years to go at this pace - and having a leadlighter and artist (Dd) working from home it feels like my space is bursting with it.  🥰 

I read quite a few titles for The Crime Spree Challenge, and, thank you (!) Sandy and Amy, I have really enjoyed this challenge.  Here are a few of the titles I've listened to, just sharing the ones that ended up being more than three stars for me.

• Grandparents of Crime:    Armadale ~ Wilkie Collins, narrators Nicholas Boulton, Rachel Atkins,  David Rintoul,  John Sackville,  Lucy Scott (4-) (30h 2m)
• Romantic Suspense:    Airs Above the Ground ~ Mary Stewart, narrated by Antonia Whillans (4+) (9h 13m)
• Golden Age:   ( I read the most in this sub-genre, and so have included two books    Brat Farrar ~ Josephine Tey, narrated by  Carole Boyde (5) (7h 55m)  (Josephine Tey focus),    and,    The Gazebo: Miss Silver Bk27~ Patricia Wentworth, narrated by Diana Bishop (4.5) (8h 37m)
• Classic Children's Mysteries:    Patterns on the Wall ~ Elizabeth Yates, narrated by Abram Felsch (4) (5h 10m) (I listened to this as my nod to Classic Children’s Mysteries) 
• Historical Mysteries:     (no titles rated over 3 stars)
• Religious Characters:    A Nun in the Closet ~ Dorothy Gilman, narrated by Roslyn Alexander (4) (6h 37m)
• The Americans:           (no titles rated over 3 stars)
• True Crime:    Constable Among the Heather: Constable Nick Bk10 ~ Nicholas Rhea, narrated by Philip Franks (4)
• Police Procedural:    Persons of Interest:  DC Smith series Bk4 ~ Peter Grainger, narrated by Gildart Jackson (5) (10h 30m)
• Unreliable Narrator:     (no titles rated over 3 stars)
• Around the World:    Maigret and the Minister & Other Stories: Inspector Maigret (Dramatised) ~ Georges Simenon, narrated by Maurice Denham (4) (2h 57m)
• Christmas/Holiday Themed Mysteries:    Hercule Poirot's Christmas: Bk18 ~ Agatha Christie,  narrator Hugh Fraser (4) (6h 31m)

________________________________________

I'm still relistening through Peter Grainger's D.C Smith, Police procedural, series.

One book I finished recently that has had me thinking about it long after I've finished it.  I've been mulling over the content and the impact the events in the book have had on the author.     The Uncaged Sky: My 804 days in an Iranian prison ~ Kylie Moore-Gilbert, narrated by author  (5)  (14h) N/F. This is a very gritty memoir of a harrowing, life imploding, nightmare.  Well written, and the audiobook is narrated so well by the author.    Extra: quite a few f.bombs.     I appreciated the interview by Sky News Australia, it precedes the writing of the book, and can currently be found   here on youtube

[mumto2]

7 hours ago, Robin M said:

I love Seanan Mcguire's October Daye series but don't like her other series so avoid them.  Same with Diana Rowland - enjoy her Kara Gillian series, but not her white trash zombies.  There are a lot of books I enjoy more on the reread, probably because I slow way down since I already know what's going to happen and absorb it. 

Anne Bishop, is one of those authors for me.  I love The Others and have no interest in any of her other books.  I tried.  Seanan Mcquire, I don’t seem to be able to attach myself to October Daye.  My library has the all and I should love them but never really fall in to the story.  I think I am on the third in that series but I have actually reread the first few in the cryptozoologist series. I have never tried any of Marth Wells other books.

[mumto2]

@tuesdayschildWonderful list!  I’m so glad you enjoyed the Crime Spree.  You just reminded me that I need to finish the Dorothy Gilman series.

[Laurel-in-CA]

Robin, I think I have the first Moosewood cookbook from my college days, that and the Victory Garden Cookbook and the original Laurel's Kitchen (which I bought just because of the name but came to love) along with Diet for a Small Planet. I was going vegetarian....but never quite made it there, LOL. And now I've ordered Write for Life for my oldest who wants to author and illustrate her own children's book. A belated christmas present, I guess.

I just finished The Water Keeper by Charles Martin -- what an INTENSE book that is! Saving victims of human trafficking while authoring a love story in 13 novels to pay your way. And then the plot twists! I can heartily recommend that one and I have his next - The Letter Keeper - on hold at the library.

I love to give Advent devotionals to friends and would love your recommendations and favorites!!

 

[Kareni]

I just finished Christmas Wish List (Hartbridge Christmas Series Book 2) by N.R. Walker which I quite enjoyed. It is a contemporary romance featuring two men.

"In need of work and a change of scenery, Aussie ex-pat Jayden Turner agrees to a short-term chef position at a Bed and Breakfast over the Christmas holidays. After all, how hard could it be in a small town in the mountains of Montana? What he finds is a grand old house in a beautiful town, and his new boss is gorgeous, gay, and single.

After his divorce, Carter “Cass” Campion bought his great-aunt’s rundown country manor in his home town, and he’s determined to get it ready for the busy holiday period. Recently out as gay, he’s been focused solely on his business and hasn’t had time for a man. Not that many gay men come through Hartbridge . . .

As his new clients arrive, and being away from his two kids, celebrating Christmas is the last thing on Cass’s mind. But his new chef has other ideas. And if there’s one thing on his Christmas Wish List this year, Jayden can make it come true." 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

14 hours ago, LaughingCat said:

Have you all had an author or book where you found yourself either avoiding the series even though you loved others by the author -- or enjoyed a book way more on reread? 

Like @mumto2, I count Anne Bishop's The Others series as a favorite. I read her Black Jewels trilogy. She is a compelling writer (as in I picked up and put down the books numerous times); however, I truly did not care for that series.

I also really like the Penric novellas and The Curse of Chalion. I've read Ista's book twice but am not compelled to reread The Hallowed Hunt.

I, too, like the Murderbot books, but the author's other books have not grabbed me. (My adult daughter though likes the Raksura books.)

With SK Dunstall, I count the Linesman series as a favorite, but their other series I simply found good.

I have enjoyed some books more on rereading, but I can not think of a specific title now.

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

16 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

Creativity ...... with our ongoing house build - we're building it ourselves and have at least two more years to go at this pace - and having a leadlighter and artist (Dd) working from home it feels like my space is bursting with it.  🥰 

Yep, building a house takes a lot of creativity. I remember all that went into renovating the shop which took us a good three years. Lots of drawings, lots of discussions, and decisions.  Hope you have fun while you all are creating your home. 

16 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

I read quite a few titles for The Crime Spree Challenge, and, thank you (!) Sandy and Amy, I have really enjoyed this challenge.  Here are a few of the titles I've listened to, just sharing the ones that ended up being more than three stars for me.

Great job and glad you have fun with the Crime Spree Challenge. Sandy and Amy did a good job of putting it together. 

[Robin M]

5 hours ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

And now I've ordered Write for Life for my oldest who wants to author and illustrate her own children's book. A belated christmas present, I guess.

I wish her all the best. There are a great many books out there to read. 

5 hours ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

I love to give Advent devotionals to friends and would love your recommendations and favorites!!

Thomas Merton is my favorite.  Also have read Margey Devega's Awaiting the Already. We read through The Magi one advent and it had my hubby in tears every time. Memories of past christmas. This year I got Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas but it's a bit heady and I haven't been able to get into it. May pull Thomas Merton back out. 

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches:
November What We're Reading!

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2022/11/november-wwr.html#comment-6a00d8341c84c753ef02af1c91a16d200d

Can Any Book Truly Be Timeless?

https://www.tor.com/2022/12/01/can-any-book-truly-be-timeless/

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Currently free for US Kindle readers ~

Wrong Side of Hell (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 1) by Sonya Bateman

 

Reluctant (Red Chronicles Book 1) by Kendrai Meeks

 

Blood & Ash: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files Book 1) by Deborah Wilde

 

Crystal Skies: Stormcloud Station Series by Suzanne Cass

Regards,

Kareni

[Vintage81]

Hi everyone! 👋

I've finished 9 books since the last time I posted...

• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid - This is my third book by this author (I've also read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six). I think Evelyn is still my favorite, but I still enjoyed this one very much. It felt like an adult version of those high school prom movies where all of the characters go in thinking that during the big night everything will be great and all these amazing things will happen, but instead all sorts of crazy stuff goes down and nothing turns out the way they thought it would (sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so good). I liked that the whole story took place over the course of one day/night and I thought the flashbacks were effective. (4 stars)
• The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston - The main character Florence is a ghostwriter for a famous romance author, however, after a bad breakup she doesn't think she can write anymore love stories. Her new editor (who's a handsome new guy) won't give her an extension on her book deadline, but then tragedy strikes when she gets a phone call from home. This was an interesting contemporary romance story that has a paranormal twist in it. It was cute but I could see the ending A THOUSAND MILES AWAY, and I'm terrible at guessing twist endings. I never takes these books too seriously though. (4 stars)
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - It's been a while since I've read some YA Fantasy and I've never read anything by this author. During our last trip to Half Price Books I picked up book one of this series. I'm glad I only picked up the first book because I don't think I'll be continuing. Not much was explained in this book and there were some questionable choices from this author that borderline seemed like copying...humans being called mundies and the villain's name starting with a V (ring any bells?) 🧐 Also, there was something that happened in the end that was super ick that I cannot get past, so I just can't go on. (3 stars)
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - I read this for my book club this month. I really liked the premise of the story...guy lost in space alone trying to save Earth from alien bacteria chomping on the sun. I loved Rocky...he was amaze! The author is clearly well versed in science and knows how to write it to a broad audience because at no point did I feel overwhelmed with the information. I really appreciated that. At times, the book felt a bit long, like the author reeeeaaalllly likes science and talking about it, so he just kept talking about it. 😂 There were also two other things that irked me a bit...(1) while I didn't mind how things ended up, I still wanted more information, and (2) I feel like the solution to fix the problem could also become a problem and it didn't feel like it was tested enough. For those who have read the book, hopefully that makes some sense. I'm trying not to spoil things. 🤪 (4 stars)

The other books I read were for school:

• Let's Eat France and Let's Eat Italy by Francois-Regis Gaudry - These are beautiful books about the culture and cuisine of France and Italy. They are each about 400 pages long and full of so much fun information. We used them in our geography studies and they were great! (4 stars)
• Sisu by Joanna Nylund - Sisu is an attitude/mentality in the Finnish culture. This book talks about the Finns and how they use sisu in their everyday lives. It was okay, nothing fantastic. (3 stars)
• Henry VII: Royal Beheader by Sean Stewart Price - The title pretty much says it all. A nice, succinct book about everything Henry VIII. (4 stars)
• 1493 for Young People: From Columbus's Voyage to Globalization by Charles C. Mann - This was an interesting book talking about the Columbian Exchange and the effects on the world. Lots of information from the different crops that were spread around the world to the different diseases. (4 stars)

This may be my last post before the end of the year, so I'll just add the books I'm also currently reading...

• I'm working my way through Jane Eyre (slowly but surely). I'm a little over halfway and so far enjoying it.
• The other book that I'm currently reading aloud to my DD's is The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. I'm really liking this one. It takes place in post-Civil War Atlanta and is told from the perspective of a Chinese-American girl. She works as a lady's maid, but ends up writing an advice column under the pseudonym of "Miss Sweetie." I think the writing is very witty and we're really enjoying the story. We should finish it this week, and I can't wait to see how it ends. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I haven't finished any books lately. I start them. So many started and waiting to be read to the finish. The problem is that I had holds on some library books and they all arrived within days of each other. I open each one, read a few pages, get hooked, then feel guilty as the unfinished others are added to a stack for "When I get a minute". Unfortunately, I have been watching my DGD a lot this past week and trying to complete my hiking and outdoor challenges so those reading minutes are fleeting. The weather is supposed to change dramatically next week with temps into the negatives at night and single digits during the day. Those should make for good reading days.

Currently in my pile:

Stop Doing that Shi*t - Gary John Bishop

UnF*ck Yourself - Gary John Bishop

Strata - Terry Pratchett

Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett

Miss Felicty Beedle's The World of Poo - Terry Pratchett

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

Christmas Tales - Charles Dickens

 

Today is a hiking/outdoor day (it rained yesterday and for most of the night so I will probably stay on paved/gravel trails but I need to get outside). I have an audiobook in case I have to drive to a trail so I might be able to salvage some 'reading' time.

 

[Kareni]

It's been a busy week, but I've squeezed in some reading.

Recently read ~

The contemporary romance Switched by N.R. Walker was a reread featuring a man who was switched at birth and his best friend. I enjoyed this again. (Adult content)

"Israel Ingham’s life has never been easy. He grew up in a house devoid of love and warmth. Nothing he ever did was good enough. The fact Israel is gay just added to the long list of his father’s disappointments.

Then a letter from Eastport Children’s Hospital changes everything. A discovery is made, one of gross human error. Twenty-six years ago two baby boys were switched at birth and sent home with the wrong families.

Sam, Israel’s best friend, has been his only source of love and support. With Sam beside him every step of the way, Israel decides to meet his birth mother and her son, the man who lived the life Israel should have.

Israel and Sam become closer than ever, amidst the tumultuous emotions of meeting his birth family, and Sam finds himself questioning his feelings toward his best friend. As Israel embraces new possibilities, he needs to dissect his painful relationship with his parents in order to salvage what’s left.

Because sometimes it takes proof you’re not actually family to become one."

**

I read a novella by the author which also featured two friends falling in love: Perfect Catch by N.R. Walker. (Adult content) This was enjoyable but will likely not be a reread.

"Calvin Lynch and Troy Hoffman have been best mates since they were fourteen years old. They’re both hard-working tradesmen, both love weekends away fishing, both gay, but have never been single at the same time.

Until now.

What is supposed to be a weekend away fishing with a group of mates, changes at the last minute when friends bail out in an attempt to give Cal and Troy some alone time. With more than just hooks on the line, can these two see what’s been right in front of them the whole time?

Perfect Catch is a short story about falling for your best friend hook, line, and sinker."

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I just finished Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six,  a new release by Lisa Unger.  It’s my last letter needed to complete my A to Z by author.  Woot!  Another challenge done!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60023131-secluded-cabin-sleeps-six

It was quite the guessing game in terms of there were just so many bad actors/ red herrings.  That said I greatly enjoyed it but a warning…….if you really enjoy renting AirB & B’s I probably wouldn’t read this one.  There was plenty of other weirdness ………..

Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.

What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, complete with spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s loving and generous tech-mogul brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It’s his birthday gift to Hannah and includes their spouses and another couple. The six friends need this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R, far from the chatter and pressures of modern life.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? And who is the new boyfriend, crashing their party? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?

[Robin M]

Link to week 51