Tuesday 5 January 2010

2010 Artistic Retreat: To the Library!


(Photo from: just.luc )

Day 4: To the Library
Hey Loves!
We're right in the middle of the retreat now and I hope you have begun to see what kind of things inspire you the most. Today, we're going to one of my favorite places in the world: the library. Ever since I could read, I've always been fascinated by worlds different from my own, and how I could be momentarily transported to these worlds through the power of words. One summer when I was 10, I remember the greater part of my vacation in the library. I would get there by 9 when it opened and leave by 5 when it closed, and somehow still take books home with me. My mom used to joke about me being such a bookworm that if an earthquake happened while I was reading one of my favorite novels, I wouldn't even notice. Even to this day, whenever I'm reading something I'm interested in that has a story line or plot, I find it hard to put it down until I reach a break in it, which is why you'll usually find my current read either in my hand or in the bag I'm carrying. But I digress.



Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how
to read a book.
~Author Unknown


A good book should leave you...slightly exhausted at the end. You live
several lives while reading it.

~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work,1958

The main reason I love reading so much is because I find that they give me the opportunity to enrich my life by experiencing someone else's. I feel like the best sign of a good book is the ability for it to draw the reader in so much that they can no longer recognise the difference between his/her reality and the reality inside the book. One of my favorite authors, Meg Cabot, is one of my favourites because, whenever I read one of her books I am so completely absorbed into the book that I feel as if I am in the book and not simply reading it. I laugh with the characters, cry with them and generally share in their experiences. Non-fiction is a more direct form of getting information about a different life and is sometimes just what you may be looking for. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what you read there, fiction, non-fiction or anything else, the library is a fantastic place to get your hands on your next muse.


Assignment Summary
  1. Go to a library: It can be your public library, or even a personal/family library.

  2. Open any book that catches your attention, preferably a book about something you haven't any book before, and read.

  3. Note anything that attracts you about the book: the title, the themes, the settings, the facts, the story line, anything in your retreat notebook.

  4. Brainstorm ways in which you could translate into your favorite art form and write them in your notebook.

My interpretation:
I am reading a book called Of Love and Life - that is made up of three condensed novels Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella, Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah and The Birds & the Bees by Milly Johnson. Books I really loved aside from Meg's books include:

  • the Girls by Lori Lansen
  • The Black Pearl by Laura Cassidy

  • Beautiful Child by Torey Hayden
  • Tuesday's Child by Louise Bagshawe

  • Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer

  • Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan

  • Cecelia Ahern's books especially P.S. I love you and If You Could See Me Now

I will get back to you with some of my answers later today.

Love you all and Stay inspired,




P.S. So let me know what you think. What are your favorite books? What kind of books do you generally read? What kind of books would you like to read more of? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

7 comments:

Catie said...

I love "The Girls". It was a really touching book. The uniqueness of the twins' experience resonated with me, even though I really could never understand completely what it would be like. Since you liked this book, another book I would recommend is "The Giant's House." This is told from the perspective of a librarian who falls in love with the world's tallest boy, who happens to be much younger than her. I think the author does a similar thing in making readers feel connected with a person in a very different situation from them.

Anonymous said...

I love, love, love books! I swear I LIVE for reading. Right now, I'm reading "The Children of Hurin" by J.R.R. Tolkein, and it is sooooooo sad, but the description is beautiful, and almost artistic. I love fantasy and historical fiction the most.

Frannie said...

-Catie:
Yeah 'The Girls' was a really moving book. I haven't heard of 'The Giant's House`,but from what you've said it sounds like a really good book. I'll definitely get to reading it.

-Luinae:
So do I! Historical fiction and fantasy are especially awesome cos they take you to a totally different world. Sometimes I read books like Meg Cabot's books cos they are generally comedies and distract from the stress and or sadness.

Cafe Fashionista said...

Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors, as well. Though Madeleine L'Engle will forever be one of my favorites. If you haven't read her book "Camilla" you simply must - so fabulous! I also adore F. Scott Fitzgerald - he's an amazing writer! :)

Kathryn said...

I love the library! And books are the best.

Frannie said...

-My answers:
I loved the setting of Firefly Lane. It was set in the hippie era of the US, and I've always had a love for that time. I was enchanted by the natural magic held in the countryside path that ran by the homes of the two girls. I was intrigued by how different in character they were but yet how much love they had for each other. I want to do night photography shots of the a place that looks like firefly lane or at least my interpretation of what firefly lane would look like.

Frannie said...

-Cafe Fashionista:
Thanks! I'll definitely check out those two authors and read 'Camilla'!

-Fashionography:
Yay for reading! :)

xoxo

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