I’m a Virginia author who loves everything Italian! Artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci have always inspired me with their genius. I’m very involved with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) where I was a tour guide for many years. Now I’m on the VMFA’s Canvas Advisory Committee which helps guide programming and events. In addition, my articles for the Canvas newsletter give a robust behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s amazing exhibitions. In my books my main character schoolteacher Rose Maning fulfills her dream of buying an apartment in Florence and becoming an artist. It is a true joy to write about Rose’s adventures abroad.
Many art historians consider this book sacred and the best first-hand account of the wondrous artists of the Renaissance. I found the stories extremely interesting about the character of these artists. Vasari was the biographer who gave the original account of how Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci hated each other. It also told the story of how both Michelangelo and Leonardo were hired to paint significant battle scenes on the same wall inside the Palazzo Vecchio. It was considered the greatest painting competition of all time as both men completed massive cartoons (preliminary drawings) on The Battle of Cascina and the Battle of Anghiari respectively.
A painter and architect in his own right, Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) achieved immortality for this book on the lives of his fellow Renaissance artists, first published in Florence in 1550. Although he based his work on a long tradition of biographical writing, Vasari infused these literary portraits with a decidedly modern form of critical judgment. The result is a work that remains to this day the cornerstone of art historical scholarship. Spanning the period from the thirteenth century to Vasari’s own time, the Lives opens a window on the greatest personalities of the period, including Giotto, Brunelleschi, Mantegna, Leonardo, Raphael,…
Plus, Cathi's
12, and 16-year-old's favorite books.
Why Cathi loves this book
Pauline Boty put a spell on me when I was writing one of my novels in 2007.
The only female British Pop Artist from the 1959-62 generation that also produced Peter Blake and David Hockney, she went to the Royal College of Art with them and lived in a house directly behind my current address in what was then Bohemian Labroke Grove. Like everyone who ever knew her, I became obsessed with this beautiful girl with a mercurial talent who died so tragically young.
By talking to all the important people in her life and diligently piecing the story of her short years together from the fragments that remain, Marc Kristal presents a vivacious and compelling portrait of a free spirit in a fascinating period of post-War, pre-Swinging London.
'How wonderful that one of those exciting and innovative women artists of the 60s should be recovered and celebrated in this way.'- JULIE CHRISTIE
'Brings the British pop artist, Pauline Boty, into vivid focus' - VANITY FAIR
Pauline Boty (1938 -1966) was a founding member of the British Pop Art movement and one of its very few women. She attended London's Royal College of Art at a watershed moment when its students included David Hockney,Peter Blake, R.B. Kitaj and Allen Jones. Dying tragically young at the age of 28, she is now seen as central to British Pop Art and…
Plus, Tariq's
9, 11, and 17-year-old's favorite books.
Why Tariq loves this book
There was one night reading this, when the story affected my breathing,
heart rate, and time left on this planet, for the worse, as I galloped through
it even though I knew every paragraph could hold up to a few years worth of
study, if I hadn’t been so impatient to learn more!
Very crudely, White seems to say that it doesn’t matter what people do, goodness matters and
the imaginative and usually obtrusive ways in which he shows good is often
quieter than evil, more basic and durable, but sometimes not as strong, seem to
me the discipline he tried to train himself in, to get it all down and write
the novel in the first place.
That story often feels more painted than written,
and when written, written in Australian and not English; people seem to speak
when its someone else’s turn…
Through the crumbling ruins of the once splendid Xanadu, Miss Hare wanders, half-mad. In the wilderness she stumbles upon an Aborigine artist and a Jewish refugee. They place themselves in the care of a local washerwoman. In a world of pervasive evil, all four have been independently damaged and discarded. Now in one shared vision they find themselves bound together, understanding the possibility of redemption.
From the engaging (mostly—except for the villains!) characters to the twisty plot, this book challenged assumptions and preconceptions, and, as a true author will do, Tartt's conclusion is both unexpected and well-planned for.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014 Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the…
As both a lifelong traveler and reader, I cannot start an adventure without a great book. Having owned a Kindle since 2008, I consistently carry a virtual library, curating an assortment of captivating reads for every journey. As a travel journalist, I fly multiple times a month, which amplifies my need and understanding of the perfect in-flight companions; stories that transport and captivate. As an author with a memoir to my name, I appreciate the transformative power of storytelling. This blend of literary passion, frequent travel, and personal authorship has led me on my search for engaging, unforgettable books that mesmerize the reader.
When I read this book, I felt like I was back walking on the streets of India. Alka Joshi's vivid storytelling will transport you to a world of vibrant colors, rich traditions, and compelling characters.
In this first book of the Jaipur Trilogy, Lakshmi, a skilled henna artist, navigates a complex society, unraveling secrets and defying societal norms. Joshi's exquisite prose and the book's engrossing plot offer the perfect blend of escapism and depth, making it an ideal companion for a journey.
As you soar through the skies, it promises to transport you to another time and place, making the flight feel like a brief detour into an enchanting literary world.
For fans of Balli Kaur Jaswal's Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows and Thrity Umrigar's The Space Between Us, Alka Josh's The Henna Artist by is lushly-rendered, emotional book club fiction set in post-Raj 1950s Jaipur about a young woman struggling to shape her own destiny in a world pivoting between the traditional and the modern.
After fleeing an arranged marriage as a fifteen year old to an abusive older man, Lakshmi Shastri steals away alone from her rural village to Jaipur. Here, against odds, she carves out a living for herself as a henna artist, and friend and confidante to…
As a career coach and artist-advocate, who had a successful career as an artist, I am always on the lookout for books to recommend to clients that offer excellent guidance about facets of developing a career as an artist, including the innerworkings of the artworld. I am very picky! Each book that I recommend contains advice, and/or observations that can help artists make wise career plans and decisions, develop realistic expectations, and soothe anxieties.
I can open any page of this book and discover meaningful observations—with lots of food for thought. For two decades, the late artist and educator Walter Darby Bannard reflected on the question, why do young artists struggle to find their voices?
He answered the question with engaging insights based on his personal philosophy. At the urging of a former student, he put his thoughts into a book. But you don’t need to be an aspiring artist to treasure what Bannard has to say; artists at all career levels will be inspired by his words.
During my childhood summers, my dad bought thrift-store paperbacks by the bagful, and fantastical stories filled my shady hammock days. Now as an author, writing and reading go hand in hand. There’s no better way to improve my prose and hone my personal style than to read books I love. My trusty highlighter immortalizes the lyrical passages that I swoon over, those luscious words that slip from the tongue, make music in my ears, and paint scenes behind my eyes. I’m swept away by gorgeous language despite the genre, though fantasy books usher in summer memories and a lovely time of idleness when there was nothing to do but read.
This book is charming, charming, charming. Did I mention that it’s charming? But it’s not all sweetness and light. I love books that weave together beauty and danger, and dazzle me with imagery that paints vivid pictures in my head. The prose is extraordinary, full of deception, danger, romance and glamour, hard choices, and sinister forces. The fair folk are exquisitely described, but beneath their perfect exteriors, they are opportunists, decaying, hollow, and cruel. The writing is quite beautiful, the plot and characters entrancing. I wish this was a series because I had a serious book hangover upon closing the last page.
An instant New York Times bestseller! An Indie Next Top 10 Pick A Parents' Choice Silver Honor Winner
"A funny, action-packed, and sweet romance." -School Library Journal (starred review) "A phenomenal read." -RT Book Reviews
A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts-even as she falls in love with a faerie prince-in this gorgeous bestseller that's "an ideal pick for fans of Holly Black, Maggie Stiefvater, and Laini Taylor" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Isobel is an artistic prodigy with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread…
I love reading and writing books about friendships. The one featured in
this book is unique: between a pair of terminally-ill patients, one a teen, one
an octogenarian.
Full of humor and excellent character development, it’s a
thoughtful, beautiful story about making your own family, handling life changes
with grace, and the knowledge that it's never too late for true love.
**LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD**
'Emotional, involving, witty and sad. Everyone is going to love Lenni and Margot' JILL MANSELL
'Lenni and Margot are two of the most wonderful, warm, witty and wise heroines I've ever met. Beautiful and glorious' CLARE POOLEY, author of The Authenticity Project
Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most. _______________________________________
Life is short.
No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. But as…
I moved to New York City for school when I was 18 years old and found myself surrounded by people from all over the world. Every fourth person in New York City is an expat. It was fascinating to me and since then I have lived in three countries and done months-long artist residences in Morocco and Ireland. I also read books and stories about cultures from around the world and am particularly enchanted by Africa. Currently, I live on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the city of Mazatlán and have written two children’s books about Mexico.
The illustrations are marvelous and the story is a peek into what it’s like for a child that is different in Russian culture. As a left-handed child she is forced to write and do nearly everything with her right hand except draw. This is the author’s personal story and you can see from the art that her drawing is amazing. I added this book to my list as Russia tops the headlines these days and remembering that children in Russia are just children with their own stories to tell feels important. Also, it’s an incredible book.
Left-handed Anya draws with great passion . . . but only when she's alone.
In Russia, right-handedness is demanded--it is the right way. This cultural expectation stifles young Anya's creativity and artistic spirit as she draws the world around her in secret.
Hiding away from family, teachers, and neighbors, Anya imagines a secret society of famous left-handed artists drawing alongside her. But once her family emigrates from Russia to America, her life becomes less clandestine, and she no longer feels she needs to conceal a piece of her identity.
