If you have a tonne of books, what's the best way of organising them? Here are a few suggestions.
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in Bookshelf, Handy hints, How to
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Bread and books: Karma Bread, Hampstead, London
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Review of Dear Reflection
in Bookshelf
‘Dear Reflection’ is the memoir of Jessica Bell, author, graphic designer and musician. I think many of us are interested in the ‘back story’ of people we admire: how did they come to be the person they are today? How many years did it take for them to become an ‘overnight success’? What hurdles did they have to leap over in order to arrive here?
Well, with this book Jessica has obliged, and shared her story with us. The ‘reflection’ in the title refers to her inner voice. I thought this was a clever device, the idea of one’s reflection having a life of her own, but whose very existence would not be possible without us. In literature the idea of another world that awaits you through the mirror is a well-known one, but in this book the concept is more personal, and more original for that.
Jessica portrays very well the voice of the young child, teenager and young woman as her story progresses. That’s quite a feat, and helps to involve and engage the reader on an emotional level.
On that score, the book is not exactly an easy read. It made me feel, at various times, anguish, sadness, anger and relief. Given that my starting point with any memoir is ‘why should I care?’ and my immediate response to people emoting is ‘pull yourself together’, that is an achievement! At times while reading the book, I wanted to give Jessica a big hug.
But the book is by no means all doom and gloom. In fact, ultimately it’s a testament to the power of the human spirit, and my firm belief that everything happens for a reason. Anyone aspiring to be successful in life should read this book, which is honest, and hopeful.
Dear Reflection is available on Amazon (affiliate link).
Great news! Jessica will be in London in September '17, running a self-publishing master class. Click the link for details.
Read anywhere and everywhere. Photo by Pexels. CC0 licence.
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There are lots of books about writing – so many, in fact, that you could comfortably avoid doing any writing at all simply by setting out to read them all. There does come a point where you need to actually sit down and write. But if there is one book that is worth taking time out to read, and use as a reference, it's Business for Authors.Review of the History and Art of Comic Books
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If you're looking for a handy, no frills book of suggestions for blogging, this book should meet your requirements. Having been designed as an email course, 30 Day Blogging Challenge consists mainly of 30 very short articles on different aspects of blogging. Being able to buy the whole lot in the form of a book is excellent for those of us for whom deferred gratification is an alien concept.