Tag: Books

Books that I have read; reference books related to my interests.

A Pleasant Surprise!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Stories From Life

Recently, I was thinking about which book to read next and I have decided that I would like to read some of the classic titles from yesteryear, by authors such as Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and the like.

I was scanning my own bookshelves to see what I could find (in that vein) and came across a few such books by other authors.

In my travels I came across a Poetry book that was not with my Poetry collection. It was tucked away in the Biographical section and I must admit that I had forgotten all about it. It is now back in its rightful place.

The book in question is, ‘Quatrains of Omar Khayyam’ translated by E.H. Whinefeld. It is quite a small, thin book and in fact measures 10 cm high, 15 cm wide and 8 mm thick.

Omar Khayyam was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet who was born on 18 May 1048  and passed away on 4 December 1131.

What is a Quatrain? It is a stanza of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes.

The Introduction goes for 26 pages with the balance of the book containing no less than 395 Quatrains and was printed in 1920.

I thoroughly enjoyed flipping through the pages this afternoon, sampling some of the poems. I’m sure I will be revisiting it again soon.

Written by David Johnson

23 August 2020

Rediscovered Gems

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Books, Stories From Life

We all like to be organised to some degree, I believe.

Sometime ago, I re-organised one of my bookcases. This particular one is in what I like to call my ‘Escape Room.’ It is where I do my Watercolour Sketches; Oil paintings; read, write my speeches do my photographic editing and meditate, hence the word ‘escape…’

The bookcase is 1.83 metres (6 feet) high and contains Art magazines, books on theoretical Art; Photography; Public Speaking; Art ‘How To’; Religion; Leadership; Communication; Writing; Thinking and a smattering of other subjects.

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Over time and especially last year when I had 4 committee/leadership positions across two organisations as well as everything else I was involved in, the bookcase became rather disorganised through tiredness which led to a lack of discipline on my part i.e. not returning the books to the appropriate sections. Am hoping that I am not the only one that this happens to…

Recently, I decided it was ’time to re-organise again’ and given that I have divested myself of all those roles I am now reading more again and am enjoying increased time on other enjoyable things like Sketching, Painting and Poetry.

Whilst re-organising the shelves I was able to re-acquaint myself with books that either I had:

  • not looked at in a long time
  • or forgotten about

It is indeed amazing what we have on our bookshelves. Rediscovered gems.

As I look across there now I see titles that I cannot wait to get my hands on again. So much to read, so much to inspire.

I can ‘hear them calling me now…’

Written by David Johnson
July 2020
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100 Great Wonders Poetry Challenge!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Books, Stories From Life

Yesterday, whilst visiting Mum for lunch, I came across a book I didn’t remember seeing there before called ‘100 Great Wonders Of The World’ – A collection of the World’s awe-inspiring places, buildings and landscapes.

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As long as I can remember, these sorts of subjects have fascinated me. I love reading and researching them. We have not, at this stage done a huge amount of travelling so until we do get to some more, this has to suffice.

Upon borrowing the book and returning home, an idea came to mind to use the images as reference photos for my Watercolour Sketching practice. I realise I can Google these places anytime and references photos on the Internet are seemingly endless, however, having them all in one book is quite attractive. I still find that, ‘curling up with a real book’ is still far more attractive the scrolling online.

This morning, whilst flipping through the book, another idea came to mind… I have set myself a challenge and that is to write one Poem about each of these ‘Great Wonders of the World.’

I will read about each one, survey the images, go away and think on it and then write a Poem.

The first ‘Wonder’ is ’The Great Fjords of Norway.’ Here is the Poem I wrote:

The Great Fjords of Norway
Where Vikings reigned supreme
Long, narrow gorges

Flooded by the sea

Magnificent waterfalls cascade
Against a backdrop of Green
Majestic mountains rise

Snow-laden figurines

Tiny villages are scattered
Indeed they are so remote
Boats are the optimum way
To keep communication afloat

The Great Fjords of Norway
Where beauty reigns supreme
Long, narrow gorges

Flooded by the sea

I think this will be a very interesting challenge as it will help ’stretch my mind’ Poetry-wise and also further inspire us to do more travel when able.

Only 99 Poems to go!

Written by David Johnson
26 July 2020

Each Book A Symbol

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Books, Poetry

Each Book A Symbol 2

Listen, Learn and Be Inspired!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Stories From Life

As I set off on my walk this morning, I cued up one of my favourite podcasts, ‘Sketching Stuff’ by Charlie O’Shields, activated RunKeeper and off I went.

I currently live in the suburbs, approx. 60 kilometres (37 miles) South-West of Sydney, Australia and about 20 mins walk away there is a river with natural bush alongside of it.

If I walk early enough, ie before the traffic starts, I can listen to Nature. If I walk later in the day, it’s a podcast followed by music (if the podcast finishes and I haven’t finished my walk).

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Upon my return today, I started thinking about my podcast library and looking at the number of podcasts that I had subscribed to over time…(a lot), it seemed to me that I needed to do some culling.

In no particular order, these are the ones that are left:

Sketching Stuff
Steal The Show
Clear & Vivid with Alan Alda
The Thriving Christian Artist
Plein Air Podcast
The Art Show
Business Coaching Secrets – Karl Bryan
Liron Yanconsky – Art & Creativity
The Mentor – Mark Bouris
Bradbury 100 (Ray Bradbury – Author)
Talking With Painters
Kerwin Radio
Conversations
Poem Of The Day

Daily Breath With Deepak Chopra

Some of these go from as little as 2 minutes to just over an hour. Some I listen to on a regular basis, others, now and then.

There is such a wealth of inspiration and knowledge at our fingertips. I am so grateful that they exist.

What podcasts do you listen to?

Written by David Johnson
18 July 2020

Labyrinth Of Knowlege

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Books, Poetry

Finding Our Peace

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Poetry

Finding Our Peace

Journal Lessons

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Stories From Life

It’s been well over 2 years since I started ‘formally’ journalling and it has been a thoroughly interesting journey.

I started off with a (writing) Poetry journal in the form of a Visual Arts ring-bound A5 book and an A5 Moleskine Watercolour journal then in my next journal, a Paper Mill A4 with Ivory sheets, I combined the two interests.

On the writing Poetry front, I noticed that my Lamy Safari Fountain Pen’s nib now writes a bit rough after using it on 110 gsm paper. I won’t make this mistake again.

The Paper Mill Journal seemed like a great option at the time as it would hold Watercolour but was smooth enough to write on with a Fountain Pen. The one thing that kept gnawing at me though was that the paper was too smooth for Watercolour.

I’ve also tried a Strathmore A5 190 gsm Watercolour Visual Journal which was ok though I think I prefer the Moleskine A5 200 gsm.

I now write my Poetry on normal paper that is contained within an A4 Journal that is approx. 3.0cm thick and it works rather well and have been utilising both the A5 and A4 Moleskine Watercolour Journals of late.

It would be so nice to find ‘a one Journal fits everything’ though so far I have not seen anything that will fit the bill, short of making my own Journal.

I’m sure that I will try a home-made one in time. I’ve seen examples where people have ripped out the pages of a book and repurposed the cover for their home-made journal. Being a book lover I would find this extremely hard to do so I would have to make the covers myself as well.

I have a few commitments that end on 30 June this year and plan to spend a little more time investigating in a home-made journal then, so till that time, I will keep experimenting.

Have you found a Journal that meets all your needs?

Written by David Johnson
March 2020

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Paper Mill Journal (Ivory Pages)

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Poetry Journal (Normal Paper)

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Strathmore A5 190 gsm

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Moleskine A5 & A4 200 gsm

Be Your Own Guide

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Poetry

Be Your Own Guide...1

Go On…’Steal The Show!’

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Books, Public Speaking

As some of you may know, I’m a member of Toastmasters International and have been for 12 years this month. It has been a wonderful journey of learning, practicing and I have made many friends along the way, plus I am now a much more confident person in many ways, too.

At the same time, whilst Toastmasters is a great organisation and I highly recommend it, I also recommend sourcing information about Speaking skills from outside of it.

For quite a few years now I have been reading books about Public Speaking, Presentation skills, Leadership and general communication skills.

One such book is ’Steal The Show’ from Speeches to Job Interviews to Deal-Closing Pitches.

I first found out about the book when I came across Michael Port’s podcast on iTunes called ’Steal The Show.’

I feel the book is a ‘Goldmine’ of inspiration and information. Part One is ’The Performer’s Mindset’; Part Two is ‘Powerful Performance Principles’ and Part Three is ‘A Master Class In Public Speaking’ plus it has 50 Public Speaking tips at the end of the book.

If you are at all interested in improving your communication and public speaking skills, I would highly recommend reading this book. I will be keeping it as a reference book for many years to come!

Written by David Johnson
March 2020