Let me introduce you to a little fella that I'm growing quite fond of. He's so flexible. Well, he's becoming my worst enemy and my biggest help all at the same time. I want to call him Flexo. I've been watching too much Futurama. Anyways, I've been practicing anatomy like crazy. Heads. Hands. Eyes. Torsos. Feet and hands I kinda just want to crawl in a ball and cry when I draw them, they're so difficult, not gonna lie. The old adage goes "a watched pot never boils."  Well...I've been majorly impatient with my progress and I've believe its showing in my work. I now get a mental block even before I want to draw, almost defeated because I see the little details instead of focusing on the major steps. The bottom line is I want to learn traditional art and the fundamentals. This is the only way which I feel that I can succeed. Perhaps I'm putting too much pressure on myself? Damn girl. Relax. So, I've tried taking o...

So for this #bookspine365 I decided to do something a bit different. I wanted to update on the rearrangement of shelves and adding on of shelves/bookcase(s). Currently, I have a wayyyy too many books to keep track of. Hundreds of print. Books stacked on books. Books behind books on the shelf. I hide no shame. The addition of my small art space which I needed close by had to be included on a shelf. This was cool to me, as I needed to reorganize the genres and dust off the spines a bit.  I couldn't even get a full picture of top to bottom, with the additional books. There are books that still remain within the house, unshelved. For right now, going through each book and dusting and ensuring the spines don't crack little by little I can make sure my babies will remain. There is a "proper" way to open a book, especially if you haven't opened it in awhile. I make sure to open them every now and again to freshen the pages. One of my favorites is the Taschen Van Gogh art...

Trouble the Water  250 Year of African-American Poetry  by various poets is a great shelfie. I have read and re-read the poetry in this book a few times. Softcover and mass market sized, the book is now a beat up copy which I own. I have no problem with this. I have a few annotations inside, the pages are still quite crisp even from all the reading. The selections are from over 100 poets, beginning with oral poetry and slave creations, followed by voices before freedom. Reconstruction and the early 20th century continues ending with the new age. Contributor notes add short autobiographies of the poets. Book Specs: Trouble the Water 250 Years of African American Poetry Edited and with an Introductin by Jerry W. Ward Jr., et al., 1997 Publisher: Penguin Group Pages: 566

Coraline by Neil Gaiman Currently, this book sits by my nightstand. I purchased this from a second hand book store and it was wrinkled at its corner, turned up at the edges and I couldn't resist. With illustrations by Dave McKean, the 27 page softcover 10th anniversary edition was worth its price. I have to admit, I'm biased. I am a Gaiman fan. Everything he writes just sits with me well. Resonates with me. If you saw the movie, then you're quite familiar with the Narnia type sense of a little girl entering a door  to find an entirely different house-however this one is strangely different yet similar to her own. To make matters worse, the family within the door want her to remain there and change her...never letting her go. Coraline will have to do whatever it takes to get back to her ordinary life. Author: Neil Gaiman Read Now Illustrations: Dave McKean Category: Supernatural-Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Pages: 27 Copyright: 2002. Revised edition, ...

Day 38 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Month Two. You ever read one or those type of books that impact you from the first paragraph, the first line or sentence? Enter Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. My obviously wrinkled and battered trade paperback copy has stood the test of time in its 1976 copyright. The book is old. Very old. As in first edition, 1960 old. During this title's 66th printing at the time, over five million copies were already sold and counting. The book has already celebrated its 50th anniversary , and has sold many more. There's yellowing in the pages, and dogearred pages. Inscription unbeknownst to me from previous owner. Looks like..."Ginnie Herbert. Ya friend, L. B." in blue ink. I wrote my name at least seven times in it. I was young. I really wanted no one to have this book once I acquired it. Wait...where did I get it from? It's way too old for me to remember, and I would be giving away my age.  Speaki...

Day 33-37 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Month Two. So who doesn't like comics, better yet...a post with five pictures of comics? These titles sit on my shelf as days 33 through 37 as I play catch up with this project. Forgive the lateness with updating. Life gets in the way.  So, as a child I never really read comics-only the Archies and stuff like that. Only recently I read the compendium of the Walking Dead because I am so into the TV show I have to know the actual story line as it relates to the writing. Now I am scouring iBooks and other sites that offer free comics that I can read in my downtime. These five here which I am sharing today were only $1.00 via bargain bin box at Barnes & Noble. They're still in a plastic sleeve, extremely crisp with cardboard backing to support comic. I understand many people collect them for their rarity and monetary value,  but these titles are quite common.  In all, nice reads for my ...

Day 32 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Month Two. So let me tell you a little bit about nostalgia: there is nothing that compares with the scent of book being curled up as a child near your favorite little corner tugging at big pages with little fingers. Such memories include Little Golden Books with the classic shining spine and sturdy back, Choose Your Own Adventure books, and the beloved series of The Berenstain Bears . Written by Stan & Jan Berenstain and continued by their son Mike-the series has celebrated over 50 years of writing with over 300 titles. This copy, The Berenstain Bears and G-Rex Bones is on my Kindle rich with illustrations in black and white as shown in eink, or in color via the Kindle app if you prefer to read via smart device or computer. I purchased this copy for my son (and who's kidding-my trip down memory lane) for the great story line and lengthy read. In a nutshell, Bear Country has a mystery and it's up ...

Day 31 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. The final day in the first month of the project. Eleven more months to go. Huzzahs are in order.  I adore anthologies. I get a little smorgasbord of some of the best (and sometimes not so great) poems that I adore, and venture into new territory. This beloved copy of mine The Voice That Is Great Within Us explores the genre of American poetry of the 20th century. I'm talking some of the greatest names in the game here: Frost, Ezra Pound, Patricia Low, Robert Kelly, Eliot, Ginsberg, Marianne Moore and so much more. My mass market paperback has yellowed a bit at the edges, but is barely wrinkled. I have several book markers in for my favorites, including An Undefined Tenderness by Joel Oppenheimer, I Am Not Yours by Sara Teasdale and my favorite poem of all time:  I Like My Body When It Is With Your   by E.E. Cummings. i like my body when it is with your body.   It is so q...

Day 30 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Let me be the first to confirm if you don't already know this: SparkNotes can save your college life. So when I took Philosophy 101 and my head started spinning a bit, this book got me through. As I got more into my course, I actually read this copy for fun--- learning about different themes, ideas, and arguments each philosopher had. Each chapter holds a different philosopher, such as Descartes, Aquinas, or Nietzsche and there are a total of 19 chapters with index. Softcover, titled spine, table of contents, 352 pages, ©2005 Spark Educational Publishing.  -brrivera

Day 29 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Comedienne Mo'nique writes a book Skinny Women Are Evil about the viewpoints coming from her life in the world of F.A.T---fabulous and thick, that is. As a comic, she's pure genuis-always witty and balancing on the tetering edge of tragedy with realness to create comedy. She tells stories. She tells truth. She's passionate. She also wears a size 22 and is quite proud of it. I was taken aback about how personal this book was about her life. It's very intimate, but thinking about it, it shouldn't it be? Telling a story of how overweight women are treated in society today and subjected to ridicule will hit quite close to home to anyone that has even been on a diet to even lose five pounds. In her words, "I really wish I didn't have to write this book, but it appears that I have no choice." Keep on mind that the title is not an attack per se, but her view on how she has been treated her ...

Day 28 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. From the nonprofit American Poetry and Literacy Project comes 101 Great American poems . A small trade paperback, it holds 80 pages of hand selected verse spanning from the 19th and 20th century. There are classics such as Poe and The Raven , Whitman and I Hear America Singing and Frost with The Road Not Taken . Wish they had a bit more Teasdale thrown in, but this is such a small book. Only costs $1.50 too if you can believe it for such great works to thumb through. Cover design by Pete Donahue, with the the cover photo of none other than Robert Frost in 1941. ©1998 Dover introduction, half title page, acknowledgements. Soft glossy cover.  -brrivera

Day 27 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Chapbooks, by design were made to make literature available to all by making it cheap as possible; no cover, about 24 pages, and made with materials available to those surrounding them. In the 16th century (and beyond until newspapers and other mediums became available) chapbooks were crucial to getting news, entertainment and other stories which they held. On the poetry end, chapbooks are still crucial today. Most chapbooks are made up to 40 pages, and can be an important factor with marketing your existing book, seeing if you have an  audience, selling any poems at all, or building an audience. Chapbooks have come a long way since their creation and can be as cheap as or expensive as their materials, but still have the same anatomy of the book: up to 40 pages, and are bound with a saddle stitch, stapled, perfect bound, folded, or wrapped. You can use various publishing programs to create the chapboo...

Day 26 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Tears for Water is an assortment of journal collections, poems, thoughts, and observations written by classically trained musician Alicia Keys. Most notably to address is that while she commands such a strong stage presence, this book was written without the intention of ever sharing with others, not even her confidants. Some thoughts are too personal, some too sacred. It is without hesitation that we keep these memories and emotions a part from everything and everyone we know, journaling just within reach in ink and pen but not published. I am quite surprised with the finished product of the book for some go beyond basic lyric of end rhyme and catchy phrase and enter true poetry, such as Beckoning Green . Credits include Songs in A minor, and The Diary of Alicia Keys.  My copy is in excellent condition. Acid free paper, slight to none bookish smell. Red cardboard book once dust jacket is removed...

Day 25 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. They call her Lady Day. She was the best there was in the jazz vocalist genre. You could hear the pain in her voice and the roughness in her throat yet it was beautiful and so real. Don't Explain A Song of Billie Holiday by Alexis De Veaux is a gorgeous first edition title on my shelf. It's an older copy, via 1980 rich with illustrations and black and white photographs of the singer sprinkled throughout the book. Its contents read almost as poetry, with stanzas created to define the bio of what was Holiday's life. Line by line, jazz influences are inserted or influenced, either through language or lyrics, typophaphy, or images. Sheet music dances along the pages and conversations with characters read like a play from ones own scripted life. This is appropriate of the author's background and unique style, as she is a both a poet and a playwright, specifically writing in prose form....

Day 23 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. "How do I feel about people who do not understand my poetry? I understand them." ~ Vera Pavlova So, every April is American poetry month. Poetry magazine goes all out in this 2012 issue and delivers a stunning copy of 100 years of poetry to celebrate. We have well known poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Clive James, and Gerald Stern---but other contemporary poets leading back from a century ago. The cover art "Pegasus" (2011) is by Milton Glaser. Poetry magazine is a monthly periodical, and this is Volume 200, Number 1. Poetry magazine, founded by Harriet Monroe in 1912 is the publication of the Poetry Foundation. The soft bound edition is printed via Cadmus Professional Communications, located in the US. Inside the copy lies a half title page, table of contents, index of contributers, promos of related books/authors, backpage(monthly feature of artifacts from the last 100 years of poetr...

Day 22 in  in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf.  I rarely read sci-fi books, but after reading the first few chapters of Alex Detail's Revolution it had me changing my tune. I pick this title up every now and then, in between daily chores around the house and available down times. It's really awesome. You have this child prodigy that saved the earth from aliens so they won't harvest the sun. Ten years later he's no longer this prodigy but still pretty brilliant-and somehow he ended up drugged and on one of Earth's last ships in space to fight yet another war thats heavily under attack. Let's say he's not pleased at all.  The 310 page paperback book is mass market sized, and still in excellent condition. I received this as a complimentary copy via the author on Amazon.com quite a while ago in 2010. The pages are crisp, and there's little to none of that "book smell" present. The half title page has illustrations and...

Day 20 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. I forgotten all about this title on my shelf. I read it such a long time ago, I would have to refresh myself again with the characters. What I do remember is it being an "ok" book; Della's House Of Style is an anthology with four different authors, after all. One may be better than the other, but I found the normal clichés found within romance fiction. They all centralize on the theme of being within the hair salon, with Della as the protagonist. You'll have to read the book to see what it's about. The book is in quite bad shape, with multiple tears and wrinkles; even the spine has taken curling and lifting from the bottom corner. Mass paperback books can have some longevity when care is given, but I have no clue what happened to this copy. It really has been through the wringer. The pages are still crisp, nothing dogearred or out of place. The smell is quite lovely. The bookish scent hits yo...

Day 19  in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. First of the trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo  blazed the way for one of the most unique and complicated characters I read for awhile, Lisbeth Slander. Simply put, you have to read this book. You have a recently fired journalist hired by a person of wealth to investigate what happened to a young girl that disappeared 40 years ago. Journalist is soon aided by this prodigy that goes beyond what we understand as a society of a hacker to be, with her background and personality definitive of someone not to be screwed around with. But wait: there's so much more to tell. We unearth dark secrets. Corruption. More. So much more. If you watched the movie, still read the book. If you have yet to watch the blockbuster film yet---always read the book first. This book is a thriller to its very core, and you will keep flipping page after page to discover and rediscover what happens next.  Book Deta...

Day 18 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. If You Want Me is written by Kayla Perrin. She has many titles besides this one under her belt, but I purchased this one for the classic romance story. Girl was a ugly duckling growing up. Had a crush. Crush breaks her heart. Sees guy years later after she is now a hot shot movie star, with a new name. He still looks great, they rejuvenate their relationship, only with a few sprinklings of drama thrown in throughout the plot. Simply put, this is a overused concept thoughout many books. I own a few, then got quite bored with the entire novelty: memories past are someone's "true" love, so enter the happy ending or I need something more exciting to challenge my brain. It's a fast read at 359 pages, but it had me personally desiring something more. Sure, you can see the author can clearly put a book together-but romance fiction leaves a lot to be desired if it's disappointing. The condition of my...

Day 17  in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. So it's ebook Friday on my shelf, and my Kindle has another title which I read, courtesy of the author: The Marriage Pact . Released in summer of 2011, I loaded it up on my device and dived in. The title lured me. A marriage pact you say? Hopefully not a prearranged marriage fairytale that couldn't challenge my thoughts, or something similar. Summarized, the main character of this book-Marci, is a mess-complete and total mess. She's involved in an affair. She's stuck in a dead end job. Her life seems to have no mojo, and her address as Lourde would say, has no "post code envy." But then she remembers a familiar napkin with a pact that can change her life forever.  All the makings of a great book, considering tragedy is the muse to artful storytelling. Then there's always a little hope to grab onto, mix in a few gossipy women, jealousy...you get the point. Personally, I felt the bo...