Take it Easy

Moments of Mindfulness: Anti-Stress Coloring & Activities for Busy People by Emma Farrarons (Boxtree Ltd., $9.95, 112 pages)

It’s a first aid kit for stress wrapped in the covers of a book – more than just a coloring book and less than a full-blown self-help treatise.  Author/illustrator Emma Farrarons infuses each page with her cheery and charming approach to life. Her drawing style is flowing and energetic, in a positive energy way.  A third of the book is devoted to mindfulness activities that are scattered among the pages.

The activity topics vary widely from small exercises like neck stretches that can be accomplished anywhere to regular daily tasks done at home such as ironing and food preparation.  There is even a template for embroidery.  Farrarons realizes that life in general offers opportunities for releasing stress and becoming mindful, hence the suggestions for walking along a different route to work or while out walking for exercise.

The book is 5″ by 7″ by one-half inch, making it just the right size for slipping into a tote bag or jacket pocket.  There are many small sets of colored pens and pencils available for purchase in art supply stores or over the Internet to complete an anti-stress kit.  Of course crayons will work as well.

Moments of Mindfulness delivers on its promise.

Well recommended.

Ruta Arellano

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

 

 

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Colour My World

The Liberty Coloring Book (Abrams Noterie, $12.95, 112 pages)

Edward Gorey Coloring Book (Pomegranate Kids, $7.95, 48 pages)

Fantastic Cities: A Coloring Book of Amazing Places Real and Imagined by Steve McDonald (Chronicle Books, $14.95, 60 pages)

The array of coloring books for grown-ups is staggering and inspiring. Here are reviews of three such books that stand out due to their subject matter, intricate details and quirkiness.

First up is an exquisite offering titled, The Liberty Coloring Book (The Liberty Colouring Book in the U.K. edition). Within its covers are 55 pages of designs from the Liberty of London design archives that span nearly a century of printed fabrics. Anyone who has ever purchased clothing made from Liberty textiles or sewn with the yardage knows the joy of touching and gazing at prints of the very highest caliber – cotton fabric print prices run around $26.00 U.S. per yard and up.

Each page of the Liberty Coloring Book contains a print design on heavy paper suitable for colored pencils, markers or watercolor paints. The pages can be easily removed for framing in standard 6″ X 8″ frames. This reviewer went beyond the suggested implements and colored with Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pens as well as Doodle Art Pro pens. The results are nearly magical as the ink in both sets is infused with subtle glitter.

Second up is the Edward Gorey Coloring Book: The Wuggly Ump and Other Delights. As with the Liberty prints, these pages are printed on one side only. The paper stock has a lovely hard finish and is sturdy. The book contains 22 drawings, the originals of which are printed on the inside covers. The nature of Mr. Gorey’s work being somewhat ethereal, if not otherworldly, calls for colored pencils. I colored with Pedigree Empire pencils with excellent results.

This reviewer has many of the author’s small, published works in her personal library. The larger format (8.5″ X 11″) of the coloring book showcases the intricate details of his work. Readers not familiar with Gorey’s published work may recognize his style from the opening and closing credits of the PBS series, Mystery!

The third offering in this group is Fantastic Cities: A Coloring Book of Amazing Places Real and Imagined by Steve McDonald. The largest of this group, the book measures 11.75″ X 11.25″. There are pictures on both sides of the 26 pages printed on stiff paper. The artist/author has traveled the world and presents his take on the wonders he has seen. There are amazingly intricate overhead views of streets and buildings, close-ups of architectural details and some individual buildings as well.

Mr. McDonald is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. He infuses each drawing with a point of view, a perspective on the city or the details that best identify the locale. He works on a large scale and his drawings are reduced in size giving them a remarkable feeling of intensity. This reviewer has only used colored pencils in this book; however, some of the drawings would lend themselves to the gel pens – San Francisco Painted Ladies, I’m looking at your page!

The publisher provided the Liberty Coloring Book. The Edward Gorey Coloring Book was purchased in the gift shop of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. Fantastic Cities was purchased at the Whole Foods Market at 450 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco.

All three coloring books are highly recommended for adults and older children. They would make excellent holiday gifts. Just remember to include colored pencils and/or gel pens.

Ruta Arellano

To the Manor Worn

Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy (Berkley Prime Crime Mystery)

Veteran mystery writer Julie Hyzy moves to a new locale with this her first book in a new series titled Manor House Mysteries.   The setting for these tales is Marshfield Manor.   This stately southern home is more than just the setting for a mystery, it is a character in itself.   It is the centerpiece of a somewhat down-at-the-heels southern estate owned by the elderly billionaire, Bennett Marshfield.   The home is a mystery reader’s delight with a hidden staircase and a secret room.   The estate also includes a hotel, tea room and abundant grounds.   They, too, play parts in the story.

Grace Wheaton, the new assistant curator whose dream it has been to be part of Marshfield Manor, has been a visitor to the mansion since her childhood.   Little  did she think that being a curator would entail murder, extortion and secrets from her own family’s past.   The staff at Marshfield includes a highly opinionated, though thoroughly capable executive assistant named Frances and an earnest, well-trained head of security named Terrence Carr.

When the elderly head curator is brutally murdered, a series of demand letters for money comes to light.   Grace must prove herself trustworthy to Bennett Marshfield if she is to become the next head curator.   The story is quite engaging if not quite intellectually challenging.   Rather than a romance-based mystery, this is the story of several generations whose ability to trust each other comes into question.  

Author Hyzy provides a classic summer vacation read in Grace Under Pressure.   It is a perfect in flight read.   Recommended.

This review was written by Ruta Arellano.   A copy of this book was provided by the publisher, and the cover of this book is exemplary!