Words & art combine to melt my heart

I'm a sucker for poetry. My inner wordsmith wishes I could be succinct and eloquent enough to write good poetry. Listening to poets read their work aloud is a real treat. I'll hazard a guess that my heart will indeed be won over by someone who finds (or writes) me a poem, reads it aloud & melts my heart.

In the meantime, I will indulge myself with this delicious new anthology, Dear Heart : 150 New Zealand Love Poems, edited by Paula Green.

150 poems. I went searching for some of my favourite poets (Hinemoana Baker, Robert Sullivan, Apirana Taylor, Jenny Bornholdt) and was delighted to find them included. I've also discovered several new poets who I want to read more of, after their poems in this book touched me.

9 artworks. My favourite is John Pule's on page 109. It was the first page that I opened the book at, and it still makes me smile every time I turn to it.

I challenge you to find a poem in this collection & read it to someone you love. Guarantee it'll make your day and their day so much brighter.

5 film guides to make me feel deficient as a moviegoer...in the best way possible

"There are only three ages for women in Hollywood - Babe, District Attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy."
- Goldie Hawn

Title:A horrible experience of unbearable length : more movies that suck
Author: Roger Ebert
Year: c2012
Summary: Ebert's I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie and Your Movie Sucks, which gathered some of his most scathing reviews, were bestsellers. This new collection continues the tradition, reviewing not only movies that were at the bottom of the barrel, but also movies that he found underneath the barrel.

I am kinda bad at choosing movies. Well, no, I'm *really* bad at choosing movies to watch. This is no secret. While it's not something I would say I wear as a point of pride, it isn't something I'm embarrassed about. I figure there are worse things that could populate that particular list. When we have a bad movie night my nephews cringe AND rejoice when it's my turn to pick something. I could, I suppose, get huffy about it and be all hurt. But there's no fun in that. How can I torture my nephews with terrible-to-them films that are wonderful-to-me? THIS IS HOW! I feel like I need to increase the likelihood of my finding stuff that only I will like, which is where these film guides come in handy. Ordinarily, these things brass me off. They all feature films that are deep and meaningful and full of great dialogue and Oscar nominated films. You know the kind of thing I mean: worthy :/ Guides like that make me feel like I'm lacking and yes, I know, that says more about ME than it does about the BOOK *blows raspberry* I was playing in the catalogue looking for something-or-other and came across Ebert's book A horrible experience of unbearable length : more movies that suck, which sounded like MY KIND OF THING *places request* It also made me wonder what else we had sitting undiscovered in our libraries that offered something a bit different, something alone the lines of what I'm after - a little bit of quirk factor, a dash of off-kilter, and a sprinkling of what-the-heck. And came up with THIS: 5 film guides to make me feel deficient as a moviegoer...in the best way possible. My nephews won't know what hit them. Roll on bad/strange/mad/crazy movie nights!

Picture books aren't just for under fives

If you think picture books are just for kids, think again. At one of my book groups last year (made up over folks over 30), we discussed Duck, Death and the Tulip. It provoked a lot of discussion, who was it "aimed" at? After much discussion, we couldn't come to a concensus.

I've found another title that also got me thinking - who is it written for? I immediately wished I was a high school teacher of Art or English (that happens to me occasionally!) so I could use this book to provoke the students. Instead, I'll share it with you, fellow blog reader(s).

I am Thomas written by Libby Gleeson and illustrated by Armin Greder is 32 pages long. Typical picture length, but the audience is definitely not for the under five brigade.

The opening lines two lines are "I am Thomas." and "I am not the child I once was.".

The scene is set for a short (but powerful) tale of standing strong and being yourself, against a back drop of family expectations, peer pressure, societal group-think.

The imagery and language references are provactive, and evoked an uncomfortable reaction for me on the first read through. There are many layers and ideas that need to be re-read, un-picked, pondered on and debated about. I could imagine talking about this book alongside George Orwell's 1984, or WWII propaganda posters, or even Pink Floyd's The Wall album.

For me, it is another key example of picture books definitely not always being for under fives!

5 crazy, mad, beautiful, strange book related crafts I found in Etsy...on purpose

I've been a member of Etsy for about a year now, but I have never bought anything from there. Not for lack of choice, certainly. If anything, there's probably too much choice. First world problems? I haz them :P As an oft failed craftsperson, I covet Etsy crafters' skills, and products. Yes, even the strange and usual. I love to admire the beautiful steampunk gadgets, rings (I'm a sucker for big, ugly, gaudy rings - seriously check out these ones I picked up in New Orleans: ladybug, huge beads, and cameo style), blue jars with feathers (for some reason unknown to me), hand painted canvas shoes and, believe it or not, book related crafts. Seriously, I cannot get enough of them. And not just any kind of book related craft, no, because that would be normal of me, wouldn't it? I'm talking the kind of stuff that makes me go, "YES, BUT WHY?!?" Sometimes I'll email links of book related crafts to friends and family. Mostly they reply with, "WTF? Get away with those!" They don't understand why I enjoy them so much. Sure, some of them are a big dose of WTH, right? Who can fault their passion, though? Not to mention that they're book related crafts! Earlier this week on our @Auckland_Libs tweetstream I flicked out a link to the Etsy image that accompanies today's post. It had popped up in my RSS feeds earlier that morning and, truly, defied logic. Or my kind of logic, anyway. Sure, I don't get it, especially not being a Twilight fan, however I admire their sense of humour. (I'm assuming it's humorous?). And if isn't, then I admire their dedication to their fandom. Even though I don't understand it. Which made me wonder...What other Twilight-related Etsy items could I turn into a post? And here is your answer :)

Note: I chose the Twilight book to focus on for this particular post and, maybe in a week or two, I'll choose another book. I'm sure you're thinking, "YAY ME!" Right...? Clicking on the links will take you to the actual Etsy.com pages where these items are being sold, and where you can view 5 crazy, mad, beautiful, strange book related crafts in all their Twilight-ness! AND make sure to check out this link of a Twilight-inspired Edward/Jacob prom dress, the link of which was sent to our @Auckland_Libs tweetstream.

Running the Rift

A marriage of sport and politics in the year of the Olympics seemed a good enough reason for me to pick up Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron which delves into life in Rwanda in the lead up to the tragic genocide that will forever be part of their history.

Jean Patrick moves through this book growing from a young boy who loses his father, to become an athlete striving to get to the Olympics, but who cannot avoid being thrust into the political world of Hutu and Tutsi and the struggle for power. The author captures the growing tension of day to day life and the different structure that governs the world of the Tutsi, unable to chose their own course of study at school or even attend school unless they are first in their class.

For me this was a revealing look into the world before the genocide and life after as people sought to put their lives back together, find loved ones and fight for the future of a country that was theirs. In awarding it the Bellwether prize for fiction, Barbara Kingsolver called it "culturally rich and completely engrossing". High praise, well deserved.