By Ali Smith
An interesting story of two characters, separated by a few centuries, but somehow come together through a work of art. Discussing gender identity, art making, and dealing with the immature passing of mothers. the writing wasn't easy for me to follow, being quite enigmatic and poetic, bordering on riddle, especially in the part dedicated to Francesco del cossa. [fiction, 315pp.]
By Bianca Marais
A beautifully-written and touching book about 3 women, each struggling with her own personal problems, but eventually all coming together and helping each other, whether intentionally or not. This is all happening amidst the revolutionary transition of South Africa out of apartheid (and the racism and violence that accompanied it), and in the deepest depths of the AIDs epidemic (not devoid of violence, either). [fiction, 435 pp.]
By Sasha Okun
A very special book that looks at the art of drawing through technique and skill building, accompanied by history, stories, and explanations as to why this technique and skill building is important. A lot of the principles talked about here (perspective, composition, mark-making) are taught in art school, but here they are peppered with personal anecdotes and art-historical stories that are relevant to the subject (though sometimes intentionally irrelevant!) The book is full of humor, the author's viewpoint of what art is (and what isn't art), and other philosophical musings. [Hebrew, 294 pp.]
By Assaf Inbari
An interesting account of the three leader's of Israel's first socialist party. This was at the time surrounding the establishment of the state, with those who favored America's support and those (like the heroes of this book) who favored USSR's support; Israel's character will be determined by those who win. These three, though they worked together, were far from agreeing on pretty much anything. They each had their own agenda, their own reactions to the revealed atrocities of the soviets, their own personal problems. All is told in plain, flowing language in this book. [non-fiction, 180pp.]
By Orit Ilan
A well-written and interesting look at different people who are connected in random ways, and share a longing to understand what it is that shifted them from the path they thought they were supposed to take. Have they been cursed by a witch? Are they victims of random acts of the world? [Hebrew, 348pp.]
By Meir Shalev
This book is very different from older books of the same author that I've read. It seems more shallow, more crude, with elements of a romance novel. It tells the story of an annual meeting between brothers, the older one, and the hero of the story is extraordinarily handsome with all the benefits that are associated with such characteristic. During this one most recent meeting the older brother tells a story that happened 20 year earlier (this is where the romance/suspense aspect comes into play). In the midst of this storytelling are interwoven memories of both brothers of their parents and their lovers. [264 pp.]
By Chayuta Deutsch and David Jacobson
This book follows the story of a woman who married a young man who became the lead rabbi of a town in Medieval Spain, and who later converted to Christianity following the 1391 anti-Jewish violence events, took their kids with him, and later became the bishop of that same town. The book also follows the person who decides to discover everything she can about this woman, who at the time -- just before Covid started -- was just a footnote, and her collaboration with a Spanish history professor during a time of closures and isolation, and her life with taking care of an aging mother and a recently-diagnosed Alzheimer's husband. [320 pp.]
By Steve Martin
Set up in Los Angeles, this is the story of a young woman who's an artist by night and an unambitious luxury-store sales person by day, and two of her lovers. One is older and wealthy, hopping to LA on business trips and spend time with other women while in his home base in Seattle. The other is a young, socially-awkward guy, who's obsessed about amps. By the end of the book they all go through transformations and become better versions of themselves. [130 pp.]
By Zora Neale Hurston
Reading this book was such a pleasure. It kept reminding me how silly people's request that you don't "reveal the ending" is. It really doesn't matter if you know the story, because how it's made (written/directed) should be the thing that draws you in. So here's a story everybody knows, Moses from the bible. And still it's so beautifully written and told. Of course, it's also an allegory to, and analysis of, the state of African Americans in the United States before and after the Civil War. It was really fun reading it right after reading her memoir, Dust Tracks on a Road, because some issues she touches on there (such as My People, My People!) are referenced here. [352 pp., including extras]
By Zora Neale Hurston
This autobiography may not reflect all the facts about the author's life, but it reveals a most lively and fierce woman, one that I would love to have the chance to chat with sometime. The book also includes essays and thoughts regarding issues that were present at the time it was published (1942) and are still pressing today, and is laced with humor throughout. [308 pp.]
By Naguib Mahfouz
A man was just released from prison, after being "played on" by people he considered his friends. He is rejected by his young daughter who didn't get to interact with him at all while he was in prison, and did no recognize him as her father. His best friend, who presumably "set him up," is now married to the woman who used to be his wife. Against all reason, but also quite naturally, he seeks revenge. [fiction, 158pp.]
By Naguib Mahfouz
This little novella looks at the life in Egypt in the mid 1960s, the time when secret police started to crack down on civil rights with the excuse of national emergency. The story is told by a narrator who frequents a quaint cafe in Cairo, where two groups of locals, older and younger, attend regularly. During that time, members of the young group disappear and come back changed, one of them never comes back. The author later discusses his interactions with different members of the group, and thus we learn about the horrors of the secret police/deep state that occupied Egypt at the time. Considering I grew up in a neighboring country, I am amazed how little I know about it and its history. This book is a good start to learning more. [110 pp.]
By Laura Hoptman
One of the MoMA series on single paintings in their collections, this tells the story of the Wyeth's famous painting in the context of his work, his influences, life, pinions, and his contemporaries' work. [Non fiction, 48 pp.]
16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision
By Ian Roberts
I have read this book before, very quickly, the day before I submitted my MFA applications. It was so helpful in clarifying how I saw my art and felt about the process of making art. At the time I was very confused, having taken in all sorts of opinions and advice from others who've applied to MFA programs. This little book made me feel better about where I was at the time, and realize that this process of applying to these programs, even if I didn't get accepted, was still valuable to my understanding of myself and where I wanted to go. Roberts has a way to calm you down while immersing yourself in deep thoughts.
Reading it again, less stressfully, with taking time to look at the works of some of the painters mentioned, was really nice. There are a couple of quotes he cites that I really liked, and would like to save them here:
Whistler's definition of Talent: "The ability to do hard work in a consistently constructive direction over a long period of time."
"To see is to forget the name of the thing one sees," Paul Valéry, French poet
An Unreliable Memoir
By Marina Warner
A beautifully-written collection of memories and research-based understandings that tell the story of the author's parents. They met in Italy, where her mother was born, and where her father served during WWII. They lived in England, Egypt, and other countries in between, but the story mostly focuses on the early years of their marriage and the authors early childhood, the latter was mostly in Egypt. It uses little objects from the time that bring up memories, words that describe relevant objects but also serve as allegories to states of mind, personal changes, and more. [non-fiction, 417pp.]
By Sheila Barker
This book provided so much insight into the life of this 17th century artist, I was simply blown away. Some of the things I learned about her that I really liked are:
In short, this book provides a lot of information even while being image-rich. Definitely seems like a lot of deep research went into it. [non-fiction, 144pp.]
Sketches, Paintings, and Illustrations
By Emily Zach
Such a beautiful and inspiring book, full of the artist's works, along with some photos and texts that shed light on her life. It was nice to remember some of the information mentioned here from the Linda Lear's Potter biography, and even nicer to get further insight into each illustration or piece art provided. [non-fiction, 255pp.]
