Sweet & Wonderful

Hiii. I was inactive for many years and I decided to come back back. Going to use this blog as an archive for my book reviews.

[macaronmaria]

"Progress Over Perfection" A Guide to Mindful Productivity.

By: Emma Norris

Emma is a self help coach from Australia who writes for women magazines. This isn't a deep book, but the point of it is giving pointers on time management and making your time more productive in the modern era. I personally like it, and even though it was marketed to a female audience, I think it's a good book for anyone looking for pointers on how to manage their time.

[macaronmaria]

March 17, 2025

10/10 recommend. "Visions of Beauty." I bought this art book a few years ago and just finished it. Kinuko Y. Craft makes very beautiful fantasy and historical paintings and the collection in this book is massive. It's also heavy and large; I think it weighs 10 lbs, but it's worth it. I don't think there is a digital copy, so you'd have to buy it or find a copy at a library.*

[macaronmaria]

February 24, 2025

So, people who know me know I like to collect art books from artists. I finished VENTURE by Sugarmints. She is known for making very scenic and relaxing illustrations. This was self published so no ISBN number, if you want a copy, you would have to go to her website.

Discover dreamy prints, postcards, desk mats and artbooks at Sugarmints Artstore—featuring anime-inspired and original art that brings soft,

@sugarmint-dreams

[macaronmaria]

July 5, 2025

The Bay Ridge Historical Society released this book in 2013. I don't believe there is an e-book anywhere, it was found in a gift shop and they used a small publisher. I am sure used shops or libraries may have a copy! It's a picture album of South Brooklyn; many photos from the Edwardian era and from the 20s, 40s, 60s, with some modern. Who knew South Brooklyn was full of farms and beaches less than a century ago?

[macaronmaria]

August 23, 2025

I finished this book, "The Art and Technique of Sumi-e" by Kay Morrissey Thompson. Kay spent some time in Japan when her husband was there and became a student of Sumi-e artist Ukai Uchiyama. She doesn't dwell into the history too much, just during the introduction. Most of this book is actually a good how-to book for beginners, so they know what brushes to use and certain techniques to help. Sumi-e is a traditional art in Japan using calligraphy ink and brushes, so different brushes will create a different outlook or design.

[macaronmaria]

September 16, 2025

Just finished this novel by Stieg Larrson, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

It's crime/mystery/thriller/suspense type novel. (Multi genre; it's not exactly a standard mystery novel.) A coworker recommended it to me some years back, but I only got around to it now.

It is a translation, the original was in Swedish, but it wasn't a dry translation. I liked it, but it was a long read (between 500 to 600 pages depending what version you have because of font size.)

In other words, if you were sick in bed for a week and a half like I was, it's a good book to pass the time. The buildup in the beginning was slow, more like a long introductory phase so the reader gets to know every relevant character. It picks up pace and gets to the meat of the story around the middle of the book.

The series is long, but Larrson only wrote the first 3 novels before he passed away, so I intend to finish the first trilogy.

Oh, also trigger warning, the story covers SA a lot.

[macaronmaria]

October 20, 2025

Book recommendation this week. "The Paper Dolls of Zelda Fitzgerald" by Eleanor Lanahan.

Eleanor is Zelda's granddaughter. Zelda was the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and she was artistic in her own right. The book is an art book of the paper dolls she made over the years. As she did ballet a short time, she would base most of her dolls with the forms of muscular ballet dancers.

Many of her found dolls was French royalty and fairytale characters.

[macaronmaria]

July 11, 2025

Kimono Design An Introduction to Textiles and Patterns

by: Keiko Nitanai

An e-book I rented from my local library. This book isn't to teach wearing kimono or sewing kimono, but it is a good introductory textbook to learn about the history of kimono, the different fabrics used in kimono, and the motifs and symbolism used. An interesting note the book made was that roses and lilies were not commonly used as designs until the Taisho era. (Around 1912 to 1926)

[macaronmaria]

February 18, 2025

Liberty The Tattooed Lady by Michelle Myles. An art and history book on the Statue of Liberty Tattoos.

[macaronmaria]

November 14, 2025

I just finished the final book of the Millenium Trilogy. (Stieg Larsson only wrote the first 3 before passing away. Later works were not his.)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was probably the most fast paced of the 3 books because 10 things were going on at the same time in every chapter, and was tied up pretty neatly at the end. It was a decent crime thriller.

The first book was a fairly slow read in the beginning portion, and book 2 was a slow start but only in the introductory portions.

Without giving away spoilers, even if you feel you're not the target readership, (and I did feel that sometimes because some chapters leaned into male power fantasy tropes), I still think it was a read every one should do at least once in their life, to have some awareness for certain societal issues they probably didn't know or consider before.

[macaronmaria]

December 16, 2025

"Very New Orleans" by Diana Hollingsworth Gessler.

It's a book that seems it can fit into a few categories. It's a watercolor journal of New Orleans. It is also a historical guidebook for New Orleans, and lists interesting restaurants and bed and breakfasts a guest would want to try. I bought it at a New Orleans gift shop, when I went down there a few years ago when my friend was getting married.

[macaronmaria]

February 2, 2026

Carpet Sweeper Tales

Julie Doucet

I bought this book on a whim at a local comic book shop and just finished it. It's an art collage and fan comic and sort of unique in that end. The creator was a Canadian comic creator called Julie Doucet. She had 1970 Italian photonovelas, and decided to cut out words from magazines to make surreal storylines. Some chapters are pure gibberish and make no sense, but others have a semblance of a story. I think it was an art project she did for fun, and I appreciate eccentric artists. If anyone reads a copy, curious to see opinions. XD

[macaronmaria]

November 15, 2025

(The cover looks dirty because of some chemical reaction to the paint of some hardcover book I had on top... it doesn't come off...)

Be Kind by Melissa Burmester & Jaclyn Lindsey is one of of those self guided books to help better yourself or your life. (Sometimes I like reading stuff like that.) It is similar to many of the mindfulness and meditation books that came out but the focus is on Kindness.

Every chapter is a prompt, with a piece of advice to do something kind, and someone sharing their personal story related to the topic. (Giving money to a stranger, buying food for someone, etc.) The prompts are meant for the whole year each week, so there is 52 prompts, but I ended up breezing through the book in a few days.

There is some blank pages in the back if you want to write your thoughts. I think these books are good once in a while, it encourages doing things that lower aggression and so you feel healthier and more peaceful.

[macaronmaria]

July 21, 2025

Ikebana The Zen Way of Flowers by: Yuji Ueno

This was a misleading book! The author invented a new modern form of ikebana, so this isn't traditional Japanese flower arranging in a regular sense, it's his way of arranging flowers while adapting some traditional ikebana methods to it. He calls his method "hanaike," literally "flower arranging." What I like is that it's not pompous. His method is playful so he uses dead flowers, live flowers with the bulb intact, cut flowers, and also does not use traditional vases either. At some points he uses old tea kettles and tea cups, as well as an old ink glass for writing, even wine glasses for vases. His vision is anthropomorphizing the flowers to convey emotion. He offers tips as well so it's a mixture of an artbook and an instructional book all in one.

[macaronmaria]

July 14, 2025

Gothic Life by:Aurelio Voltaire

I'm not Goth, but as someone who grew up wearing alternative fashion(s), I do appreciate other creative styles. I rented this from the library. The author is part of the Goth subculture, he has a YouTube channel for his music and home decorating show. This book is an extension of his home decor tips, the chapters cover spots around the world Goths may want to visit, food recipes, DIY crafting ideas, and tips on shops you can buy items from. I think even if you're not a Goth, some of the decorating tips can be restyled to your personal tastes. (I shared some sample pages above.)

[macaronmaria]

July 28, 2025

I finished this book and had mixed feelings on it primarily due to the formatting.

The publisher, Tuttle, advertised the book as a good introductory book for Zen inspired Calligraphy. It honestly felt more like an Intermediate level book, better suited for someone who has some base knowledge already, than a beginner just starting out or wanting information for historical knowledge.

The author made the book half Zen theological/philosophical teaching book and half on learning to do calligraphy but this is where I say someone has to be at an intermediate level.

To do the calligraphy tutorials properly you would need 2 copies of the book. The kanji/characters would just be featured in the very beginning of a chapter, so the step by step tutorial is explained with no photos; you have to keep flipping back to the page in the beginning of the chapter.

Finally, I don't know if this issue is in the physical copy of the book, but the photos of the calligraphy done is actually fairly small, so even though there is arrows showing what directions to put the brush (in that one photo every beginning of the chapter), the font is tiny.

The book is OK as a reference point, because the author in every chapter makes several references both to calligraphy teachers or zen teachers and their books, so it works not just as a calligraphy tutorial book, but as a reference guide. (I don't recommend it for in depth knowledge though.)

[macaronmaria]

July 2, 2025

"The Hidden Histories of Flowers," by Maddie and Alice Bailey. Just finished this book. It's a good introductory book for botany/flower fans. Some of the book covers folklore and meanings of flowers, a section on edible flowers, also a section on how pollination works with certain flowers. The writers tried to cover a little bit of everything but in a fun way. Also the book is in British English, but the writers attempted to make it more international by putting American measurements in parenthesis.*