Reviews with TLC

Christina Katz 's 24 Questions to Answer Before You Build Your Writer Platform for writers on Udemy.com is a class designed to help writer's identify their platform and determine if they're ready to create their platform. The class does what it promises to do by helping writers hone in on their accomplishments and see how they want to use their work in the world. The class offers The Platform Bingo Worksheet for  listing the answers to the lectures/questions each day. Katz has students write the answers on the worksheet. If one is at the beginning of one's career, the worksheet will probably work fine. For me, however, my sheet is so full it is difficult to decipher and therefore isn't useful to me in this form. I will likely review each of the questions and write out the answers on notebook paper soon. I may later also type the answers into a document that I can revise as I go. Something about handwriting helped though.  In the process, I felt more connected to...

The End of Mythology by A. Molotkov and John Sibley Williams illustrates beautifully the power of the well placed word in this short book of poems. Filled with a combination of deeps insights and lighter thoughts, there are moments that evoke deep contemplation as well as intense emotions. There's even a bit of humor threaded through some serious poems. This small collection is easily enjoyed in one sitting while I have a feeling it will pull me back to its pages again and again.

  I read Stop Procrastination: 30 Proven Strategies to Motivate Yourself and Stop Being Lazy  by Arthur Joyce in one sitting. The ideas presented weren't anything new. The author's choice of words often left me shaking my head wondering if English was his second language. The structure also didn't really appeal to me. Overall, Stop Procrastination just didn't offer me anything new or a new way of looking at procrastination.

I listened to an interview in which Madonna mentioned that Anne Sexton's poetry influenced her. I was intrigued enough to research Anne Sexton because I'd never heard of her. Once I read a little about Sexton, I knew I needed to read her poetry, if for no other reason than to see if I could learn anything from her work that would help my own poetry writing. So I decided to buy The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton  by Anne Sexton. I opted to take my time and only read a few poems a day when I started The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton . I wanted to think about the poems, to really internalize them, to study style, to learn from them. Some days it was tempting to read several. Other days I found it a struggle to read even one. Sexton played with words and social norms in ways that I can only imagine upset people when they were published. Her poems ripped into fairy tales and religion with the same irreverence in a way I found refreshing at times and uncomfortable at others, but t...

The Art of Love: Origin of Sinner's Grove by A.B. Michaels weaves a story of love, lust, betrayal, and sacrifice that kept me on edge often unsure whether to cheer or boo a character's decisions as I waited to see if those decisions would succeed or fail. The first part of The Art of Love is all about August Wolff's quest to find his riches and prove himself whether to his family or himself is up for debate. With the disappearance of his wife and daughter, Wolff finds himself in a quandary as he begins his new life after discovering gold. When his search for his wife and daughter repeatedly comes up empty, he adopts a life in San Francisco, California filled with the trappings of happiness. Michaels then introduces Amelia Bennett, a talented artist, who is forced to make decisions for the sake of her family rather than her own desires. When the situation becomes unbearable she hatches a plan with her fellow artist and friend, Sander de Kalb, who has reasons of his own...

The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall languished in my to-be-read pile for several years. I didn't really expect to find any secrets revealed. I bought it because I find belief systems and their origins fascinating. The Secret Teachings of All Ages doesn't so much reveal "secret teachings" as draw connections between current belief systems and ancient belief systems. While there is some supposition that what is being presented obscures the secret teachings, it feels like the books tries too hard to connect ancient mythologies, scientific discovery, and religion. The Secret Teachings of All Time uses stories of gods and goddesses as well as scientific and mathematical discoveries to show the development of modern day religion. Often as I read, I felt like the book disproved the theories it attempted to support. Overall, Hall provides an interesting assembly of teachings through the ages that will have readers questioning what they have long been sure t...

Watching Conrad Tao play piano is a bit like watching a dance between piano and man. As his fingers fly across the keys, his body and the piano emanate a rhythm that mesmerizes audience. His body bounces off the seat, hunches over the keys and leans back away from them as he plays. His who body emotes the music he plays. His performance on November 9, 2014 at LaSells Stewart Center in Corvallis as part of the Corvallis-OSU Piano International Steinway Piano Series included movements by J. S. Bach, Elliott Carter, Ludwig van Beethoven, Toru Takemitsu, Frederic Chopin, and Igor Stravinsky. He played each movement with an energy that emoted from the stage entrancing the listeners. I felt torn between wanting to close my eyes and float on the music and a desire to watch his dance with the piano. Toward the end of his performance, there was a segment that sounded strange to me. I'm no expert and can only report on what I like or don't like, but there was a small moment where ...