Yes, I own Artist's Manual:  A Complete Guide to Paintings and Drawing Materials and Techniques and I've read it.  A great resource! 

I just finished reading this and I love, love, LOVED it.  Marjane Satrapi has an incredible gift for storytelling in a unique way.  It was interesting to imagine what I was doing during the time she had the experiences she wrote about in Persepolis. 

Up next is Three Cups of Tea, recommended to me by Barb...

And The Kite Runner, recommended to me by Melissa and Marianne...

...and then Water for Elephants, which I initially picked up because the title intrigued me.  

What other recommendations do you have? 

I met Valerie Fitzgerald over the weekend as the gracious hostess of a Spirited Woman event, and I was so inspired to hear a tiny piece of her life story.  I can't wait to read her upcoming book "Heart and Sold" when it is released next year.  In the meantime, you can learn a little bit about her journey right here.

"You need to have the dream of how you want your life to be, and then you need the heart to go and get it." -Valerie Fitzgerald 

I am so proud to announce Who Are You Going To Be Today Olive?, a new children's book written and illustrated by my friend Marisa Haedike.  Pre-order your hardcover copy today! 

I saw The War of Art:  Break Through the Block and Win Your Inner Creative Battles on the nightstand of my friend Nancy and loved the fierce title.  I just ordered it and can't wait to sink my teeth into it! 

"Novelist Steven Pressfield (The Legend of Bagger Vance; Gates of Fire) goes self-help in The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle. Dubbing itself a cross between Sun-Tzu's The Art of War and Julie Cameron's The Artist's Way, Pressfield's book aims to help readers "overcome Resistance" so that they may achieve "the unlived life within." Whether one wishes to embark on a diet, a program of spiritual advancement or an entrepreneurial venture, it's most often resistance that blocks the way. To kick resistance, Pressfield stresses loving what one does, having patience and acting in the face of fear."  -Publishers Weekly
 

I read an article about Randy Pausch many weeks ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about.  Trying to make the most of his final days as well as impart wisdom to his children and the world, this is Mondo Beyondo, bittersweet inspiration.

Have a very wonderful weekend.

I just ordered What It Is by Lynda Barry and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  Here's a great article about her from a recent edition of the New York Times. 

 “The fact that anybody knows what I do and likes it feels surreal to me.  It feels like the Make-a-Wish Foundation.”  -Lynda Barry

Sometimes tiny parameters create the most space for our imaginations.  Not Quite What I Was Planning:  Six-Word Memoirs by Famous & Obscure Writers is full of gems. 

 I have had this book on my nightstand for as long as I can remember.  I love its bite-sized writings on everything from art to childhood and everything in between.  The Wisdom of Rilke - one of my favorites!

...someone new is telling me about A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.  You can also see lectures and discussions based on the book over on a little website you may have heard of called Oprah... 

It started a while back with this book of Rolling Paper Graphics, a book I picked up at my favorite bookstore in Santa Monica, Hennessey & Ingalls.  Then last week I got this little nugget:

Firecrackers:  An Eye-Popping Collection of Chinese Firework Art is a great little book that I can't stop flipping through. 

While looking these treasures up on Amazon I came across this book of Transit Maps of the World, which look fabulous, as well as a slew of books cataloging matchbook cover designs and other label art.  Look up just one of the books I've mentioned here and you'll find oodles more!

I discovered Monkey Portraits a few weeks ago and the images are startling.  They reminded me of a visit to the National Zoo in Washington, DC I took many years ago.  I was in the primate building and there was an enormous gorilla sitting right next to the plexiglass wall.  On the other side of the enclosure was a small group of teenagers, and the gorilla and girls were just starting at each other.  I have never forgotten that image, and the portraits in this book reminded me of that moment when I was witnessing a curious connection between two creatures who could not really communicate with one another.

I have been on a bit of an inspiration binge lately, attending the Elizabeth Gilbert/Anne Lamott lecture a couple of weeks ago and then the Azar Nafasi/Marjane Satrapi lecture last night.  I read Reading Lolita in Tehran a while back and saw Satrapi's Persepolis last year, and both of them impacted and inspired me for very different reasons.  The questions posed to both of these extraordinary writers last night were not so much about their books as they were about writing, popular culture and the media and I left feeling like I had just taken a bath in glitter and light.  These are two passionate, feisty women who had a lot to say about the state of the world today and I feel honored to have heard them speak.

I tried to find information on other speaking engagements for Nafasi and Satrapi but google did not help me, so the best I can do for now is to encourage you to keep an eye out for them in your area.  If you have the opportunity to see them, you won't be disappointed.  In the meantime, here are some goodies to inspire you right now...

Azar Nafasi :: Reading Lolita in Tehran

Interviews with Nafasi are here, here and here.

"You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesn't exist.” - Azar Nafasi

Marjane Satrapi :: Persepolis 

Interviews with Satrapi are here, here and here. 

"And when you draw a situation - someone is scared or angry or happy - it means the same thing in all cultures." -Marjane Satrapi 

These are the coolest, most inspirational flash cards I've ever seen!! 

Rebecca B. Cooper, creator of these fab flash cards, also has a new book coming out this month.  Woohoo! 

I came across this book in a bookstore in Boulder this past weekend and it looks super fun! 

The always inspiring Kristen Fischer has a new book out!!  Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes:  An After-College Guide to Life is the perfect gift for anyone on the brink of graduation.  Congratulations Kristen!

The lovely Maggie Marton, a contributor to Conversations with Famous Writers sent me a wonderful email today and I had to immediately give a shout out to this great website.  Check it out!

I might need to create a new category called "Obsession with India"; I have a feeling it is only going to get worse as I start to plan my trip there (January 2009 - woohoo!)

Tara Books, where the lovely Nina McConigley worked until very recently, just got their online shopping pages up and running, so you can now order their beautiful books.  Nina sent me The Night Life of Trees - a gorgeous handmade creation - and I have a few more titles checked off in their catalog that I will be ordering this week.  They have children's books, art books, handcrafted books as well as a new stationery collection.  I hope I am able to visit them when I am in India.

"Widely regarded as one of India's finest independent publishing houses, Tara is run by a collective of writers based in Chennai, India. We work with a range of adventurous writers and artists from around the world, as well as create books in house. We're unafraid of conventional marketing logic – the work we put out is guided by our vision of publishing, balancing the pleasures of a beautiful book with wit and political rigour. Our titles are often unclassifiable, straddling accepted genres. We have pioneered the art of the book made entirely by hand, making artists' books affordable for the average book lover.

We look in unusual places for talent – tribal artists and oral storytellers, for instance, or street and billboard painters – and then transform this rich material into fine contemporary bookmaking. Creative collaboration is at the heart of our enterprise, and we prize dialogue across class, language and social register. Through all this, we hope to bring radically new visions into publishing."  -Tara Publishing website

I saw this gorgeous book on a recent trip to Berkeley and can't stop thinking about it.  This is one in a series of books with photographs and wisdom from around the world.  Pictured above is Offerings:  Buddhist Wisdom for Every Day.

Awakenings:  Asian Wisdom for Every Day

Wisdom:  365 Thoughts from Indian Masters

Origins:  African Wisdom for Every Day

Revelations:  Latin American Wisdom for Every Day 

These are not only beautiful books that can be a source of inspiration every day, but I think they could also be wonderful travel guides - a way to learn about a part of the world that you are going to visit or would love to explore.

The lovely Indigene told me about I'd Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion and I'll be ordering it today!  

"I'd Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion offers practical approaches that help you sell more art and build an art career that lasts. Alyson B. Stanfield, the art-marketing guru behind ArtBizCoach.com, shares self-promotion tools that have enhanced the careers of thousands of artists. You'll learn how to: (1) Introduce yourself as an artist so people want to know more; (2) Nail your artist statement to discover the right words for all of your marketing messages; (3) Expand your mailing list and use it to cultivate collectors; (4) Create marketing materials that outshine the competition; (5) Become a media magnet so buyers come to you; (6) Take advantage of your Web site and blog to build a bigger audience; and much more. It would be great if there were a precise formula for getting your art into galleries, museums and private collections. But every artist's path is different. That's why I'd Rather Be in the Studio! provides easy-to-follow self-promotion practices that help you find your way at any point in your career. Match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of your career."