Saturday, May 04, 2019

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner


This was my first reading of Stegner. Expectations were high because of reviews, but I would not say it was too disappointing. 4 out of 5. I would rather read one more of McEwan ...

Saturday, February 23, 2019

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Harari


Recommended by Bill Gates, this was a gift for my birthday. Very well researched and informative.
The future looks grim though ...

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro


Brilliant writing!..

The Children Act by Ian McEwan


This is the second book I read after Saturday and it was not a disappointment. Will read more..

The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb


Could be 5 times smaller in volume. Arrogant tone...

Commonwealth by Ann Patchet

Commonwealth by [Patchett, Ann]

First Patchett, but most likely the last...Very average writing...

Monday, October 29, 2018

Words Without Music by Philip Glass



Well written, enjoyed. Love his music. (5 out of 5)

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert



Never read or will read her Love Eat Pray. Nothing new about creativity, but few funny/interesting stories in the book (3 out of 5 )

Seeing Is Forgetting The Name Of The Thing One Sees by Robert Irvin



The best book on artist's journey, abstract art. Loved it! (5 out of 5)
P.S. should check other books by R.Irwin

Cutting Back by Leslie Buck


The gardener in me loved it. Learned about Japan better than from any other sources.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood


...found it a bit disturbing. Not my favourite (4 out 5)

The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys


Picked the book from library after my trip to Italy. Very poetic writing. I want a garden of my own now! (5 out of 5)

10 % Happier by Dan Harris


The best book on meditation. Funny and captivating read (5 out 5)

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood


read it two years ago while vacationing in Cuba. Enjoyed a lot!

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz


... nothing memorable...

The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross


... could not finish, i.e did not like it at all...

H is for Hawk by Elen Macdonald


Matisse The Master by HIlary Spurling




from the book by Hilary Spurling 'Matisse The Master'

..In the three canvases produced in Brook's garden - Acanthus, Periwinkles (Moroccan Garden) and Palm Leaf, Tagier - Matisse painted the complex layers of greenery for which Loti said you would need colours unknown on any palette, colours that would incorporate the strange sounds, the rustilngs and above all the silences of Africa, its thundery undertones, its darkness and its translucent delicacy. In these paintings Matisse came close to pure abstraction, 'not things but the essence of things'.

..Sembat about Matisse: How many times, and for how many years, has he said that over and over again to me! Calm is what he longs for! ...Calm is what he wants to convey!

...For Matisse, as for Delacroix, travel was a means of cleansing the eye. He needed an unfamiliar world and a new light, for the same reason that he needed the alien decorative discipline of Oriental art, so as to break through to a fresh way of seeing...

Renoir to Matisse: You're talking to someone who hasn't perhaps achieved anything much, but who has managed to produce something that's absolutely his own.

On drawing

..Now he hoped to find a way of retaining clarity, concision and force without sacrificing volume, spatial depth, the individual character and texture of fur, feathers, fluff, fabric or flowers. He returned over and over again to a lace collar, drawing it first in minute detail until he had got it by heart and could translate it at will with two swift lines into an ornament, an arabesque, without losing the character of lase, and that particular lace. The same procedure was repeated with Arnoud's embroided tunic, her hat, hair, hands and face. Matisse was evolving methods he would use for the rest of his life. He published fifty of these drawings in a portfolio called Cinquante Dessins..

Monday, October 31, 2016

Colour and Abstraction: George Blacklock


...pretty basic

Margaret Atwood


The novel made such a great impression on me that I knew I would read more and I did...


Most autobiographical work by Atwood. How can an adult tell the story of a child so convincingly? Amazing details. Is it a good memory or great imagination? Maybe it's both.