book

Guest Post: Review of an Artobiography

- Adam Clare

After reading Tina Collen’s book Storm of the I: An Artobiography
(Art Review Press, 2009), I am left with a delightful and very real sense of the value of simplicity.

Collen’s creative memoir takes us from her childhood and youth in New York and her relationship with her family, to her life in Aspen with her husband and two sons, to her move to California as a bourgeoning graphic artist, to her ultimate return to Colorado in the 1990s. Throughout, we are consciously aware of her ongoing search for ‘home’ in the conceptual, if not always literal, sense.

This self-proclaimed “new genre of literature” is exactly that: using her background as an artist and graphic designer, Collen seamlessly incorporates her artwork with the more traditional textual narrative. And it is the blending of these forms that makes the story so compelling. Far from being a woe-is-me linear memoir of one person’s unhappy childhood and disastrous relationship with her father, Storm of the i introduces us to the textures – in some cases quite literally – of one person’s life. Darkness is balanced with light, comedy with tragedy, youthful exuberance with the thoughtfulness of maturity, family with individualism.

This holistic approach to memoir – writing about one’s history and integrating the physical trappings of that history – has an added bonus: at no point throughout the book are we as readers asked to feel sorry for the author. Collen’s relationship with her father was upsetting, but her love for Barry and her two sons, Mark and Andy, is palpable. Collen has experienced heartache and frustration but also great beauty and success. At times she may be fragile and uncertain but she has also spearheaded new ideas with confidence and strength. Collen presents herself as a very real person, full of contradiction and complexity, and her honesty is refreshing.

Storm of the i redefines interactive media for anyone convinced it is an exclusively digital phenomenon. The book is formulated as a kind of ‘new media’, presenting a multi-faceted story in an emotive way that is personally meaningful for the reader. Similar in style and content to Nick Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine and Morning Star trilogies (Chronicle Books, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003), we come away feeling that we know Tina. As she tells her story, pieces of poetry, photos of old school projects, and dialogue focus the readers’ sentiments in a pleasingly organic way. It is easy to imagine her Fleurotica creations adorning my own walls at home.

Collen writes: “And sometimes in the morning [when living in California], I’d catch a glimpse of porpoises playing in the surf and marvel at the grace of simplicity” (p.123). We have all felt such moments of perfect clarity – ephemeral and very precious – and yearn for more, but will not risk losing their wondrous nature by seeking them out.

Collen’s book is a frank appraisal of both the world around her and the world in her own head. The book’s final resolution, singularly exemplifies how right ‘letting go’ can sometimes be. If spring cleaning helps clear the mind, Storm of the i forwards the soul.

Meggie Macdonald is a literary agent based in Toronto and a guest reviewer for thingsaregood.com. Her professional and personal taste tends towards the hopeful, creative and downright happy sentiments of the people around her.

A Book That Helps Kill Malaria

- Adam Clare

Malaria No More has a book released through The Domino Project that is a collection of essays on the state of malaria. The good news is that when you purchase a copy of this book, the money spent goes directly to campaigns that stop the spread of malaria.

The Domino Project in conjunction with Box of Crayons is working with Malaria No More to help end malaria. No More’s mission is to end malaria in Africa by 2015. A child dies every 45 seconds from malaria.

It isn’t very often that a book has the power to save a life. Yes, good books can improve lives, shape lives, even change lives. But when was the last time a book literally helped save a life? If you’re reading this page, the answer is right now.

$20 from the purchase of each copy of End Malaria will go to to Malaria No More to send a mosquito net to a family in need and to support life-saving work in the fight against malaria. That’s 100% of the Kindle sale, and most of the hard copy price ($25).

Thanks Allen!

You can buy the book through Amazon.

A Canadian Bookstore’s G20 Reading List

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

The arrival of the G8 and G20 later this month to Ontario has a lot of Canadians upset – and those who aren’t are welcome to read some books. Canada’s largest bookstore chain has a display of books to read to learn about the complexities of what the G20 is all about.

It’s a good list of books that you should take a look at. Are there books you’d like to see on the list?

The book chain has created a reading list and series of G20 tables in its stores across Canada to “promote dialogue,” said Bahram Olfati, Chapters’ vice president for adult trade.

“You see people such as Bono talking about giving aid to Africa. We have included the book Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo, which says this aid isn’t really helping,” said Olfati. “It is one of my favourite books on the tables.”

With subheads such as “Outlaw Literature,” the tables are the product of a series of roundtable discussions among Chapters executives and staff to cover G20 issues from the left, right and centre, said Olfati.

But each store has the leeway to add to the table. And the one Chapters store inside the yellow security perimeter in downtown Toronto for the summit of 20 world leaders this month has decided to include titles by Chomsky, a long-time outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy, and a few on Guevara, including Che: A Memoir by Fidel Castro.

Keep reading at The Star.

11 Ways to Recycle Your Books

- Adam Clare

Do you have a lot of books around your house that you no longer read? If you do and you have no idea what to do with them, the Daily Green has 11 ideas on how to recycle your books.

1. Throw a book swap party. Get in a few bottles of wine (organic and fair trade of course) and get together your friends, family or neighbors for a book swapping party. You can make up ‘rules’ if you wish, or just let people dive in and help themselves.

2. Donate your books to your local library. You can feel great knowing your old books will be read by hundreds more people.

NaNoWriMo 2007 Begins!

- Adam Clare

runnerNational Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is upon was again!

Get your plots out and your writing hands ready to write your novel in one month – remember that it’s quantity not quality!

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

We also mentioned NaNoWriMo last year.

Scroll To Top