Booking Through Thursday

There have been a lot of firsts on my blogs this week and I've got another one today. Booking Through Thursday is a meme about what else.....books! A question is asked each Thursday and participants then answer it on their blog or in the comment section of the host site. Here is today's question?

Since “Inspiration” is (or should be) the theme this week … what is your reading inspired by?

First off, my mood plays a huge part in what I decide to read. Quite often I'll want something lighthearted since there is enough to deal with in real life. Who needs more conflict?! Other times I'll long for something meatier; something that will require me to stretch my thoughts, question my beliefs or expose my heart. A good cry is quite cleansing, don't you think?

The author's voice and talent are what will determine whether or not I continue reading past the first few pages of any book. I can't tell you how many books I've started over the last few months only to place them back on my TBR shelves because I just couldn't muster up enough interest in the plot or characters. If I don't care about the characters, what's the point? Truly, I can forgive a semi-weak plot or some inconsistencies if I feel like I could live inside the main character or just want to know what happens to them.

As shallow as it may sound, an excellent book cover and back cover blurb may be what draws me in. I'm amazed at the beautiful art work and design being used for them these days. I guess those marketing folk know what they're doing, right?

Any number of things will inspire me to pick up a book, and how happy am I that someone was inspired to write them?!

A Snag in the Plan

Participating in the CreativeEveryDay challenge has been difficult since as soon as I decide to be more consistent in my creative efforts, the tendonitis in my right hand decided to flare up. I tried sketching and couldn't draw more than two small figures before the shooting and constant pain increased and I had to put down my pencil.

I will say that I've tried to think more creatively lately. My mind has been filled with ideas and projects I'd like to tackle so hopefully I can do that soon. Until I can draw again, I can be working on other projects like writing poetry. My goal this week is to write one or two or three haikus. I'd love to have enough to create a poetry book some time this year. Cross your fingers that I'm up to the challenge!

Mission 101 2009

I've joined the Mission 101 2009 community over at LiveJournal. It's all about choosing 101 goals to accomplish in 1001 days (approx. 2.75 years). I like the mission idea and time frame because 1001 days is actually doable for most goals. The community members post updates on their progress and hopefully everyone will be encouraging and supportive. I've been posting my goals in increments of 20 at my LiveJournal Dreaming in Digital. I'm trying to throw in short and long-term goals and I have to say it's not easy coming up with 101 of them!

The Girl With No Shadow

I defer to my post at A Touch of Inspiration today. Please go have a look. It's about Joanne Harris' book, The Girl With No Shadow. I'm still setting up the blog, so please be patient. :)

Artist Camille M. Boggs

Over the past few days, I've been surfing from one creative blog to the next, pulling a few to add links to from my blog. I'm always amazed by what people come up with and the incredible talent that is out in this big, bad world. One artist blew me away so I'm featuring her here. Needless to say, I'm incredibly inspired by her work and it makes me want to figure out what my creative niche is. I present to you, Camille M. Boggs.

Camille Boggs fell in love with papermaking in college. She began cutting paper and found that the #11 x-acto blade became an extension of her hand. From the work you see here, I'd say she found the right medium to work in.

The Sun was Snowing

Maybe Next Time

She works in 2D and 3D and her photography mimics her cut paper work. You'll have to go to her site to view the rest of her jaw-dropping work.

Thank you for your amazing talent, Camille! It is such an inspiration!

Common Good Books

My husband and I dropped our son off at the Science Museum to hang out with his friend today and then we checked out Common Good Books (Garrison Keillor, prop), a bookstore I've been wanting to go to for some time now. I love going to the big chain book stores because there's so much to look at but I also enjoy shopping at the independent bookstores, not only because they have charm and you feel like you're supporting the common man, but I always feel like an important or delightful discovery is just around the next bookshelf.

Common Good Books didn't disappoint. The main body of the store is in one large open room but to get to Fiction and Travel, Religion and a few other topics, you're required to pass through doorways to narrow hallways lined with bookshelves, like a funhouse, and at one point, the wall recedes to an alcove with a couch surrounded by posters and books where you can sit and peruse to your heart's content. After months of searching for The Girl With No Shadow, Joanne Harris' sequel to Chocolat, I finally found it here. My husband found Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life and a few other treasures.

CGB supports local authors by carrying many of their books and hanging posters celebrating their work. I know they hold many book signings throughout the year.

As it's a bit of a drive from our home, Common Good Books probably won't be a weekly visit, but I'm sure we'll stop by again...and again.

Creative Every Day

I've decided to take on a new challenge, entitled CreativeEveryDay. There's no pressure to post every day but I'll try to do so as often as I can. Finding time to be creative is next to impossible lately, if we're talking about sketching, writing a story, or something of that nature. There's more to being creative than that as you'll see if you follow my link to CreativeEveryDay. Have a look and maybe you'll want to take the challenge with me.

I think being creative can mean finding new perspectives and solutions as well as creating art. Maybe my daily creative act will be changing my attitude on something or finding a new design to get excited about. Some days will include drawing or adding a few more paragraphs (or chapters) to one of my stories. I hope this challenge will get me started on at least some of the many crafts I'd like to try. One thing this challenge has done for me already is direct me to the blogs of other creative people and I must say, there's a lot of talent out there!

P.S. I've decided to use this blog (even though I haven't posted here in a while) because it is easier to post pictures in the sidebar with links to other sites than some of my other blogs.

Word(s) for the Year

I posted my goals for 2009 yesterday because I wanted a fresh start after a very difficult year in 2008. My hope is that 2009 will be more productive and less serious. While surfing around my Favorite websites, I stumbled upon "Resolution Revolution" by Christine Kane. In her post, she talks about having a theme word for the year. Instead of listing resolutions that we try but often fail it, she suggests choosing a word to inspire and lead us throughout the year. I like this idea.

While I still plan to strive toward the goals I set yesterday, I'd like to also choose a word for the year that could help me accomplish even more. Ms. Kane suggests getting quiet and taking a few days to determine which word you will choose and offers a list of words you can choose from or to use as inspiration in your choice. My initial thought was to choose the word "presence" as I tend to be thinking of the future most of the time and not living in the moment. I think I'll get quiet and think on it for the next few days and then make my final decision and post it here. I recommend that you take a look at her post on this subject and give it a try. What could it hurt?