What it is | 
A couple of years ago Austin Kleon recommended Lynda Barry‘s books on his IG, and then more recently, the instructor for an art course I‘m taking recommended her as well. I had this one sitting in my wish list and decided to pull the trigger.
pick#BeautifulWords Day 1: This may be perceived as a gorgeously illustrated handbook for anyone who wishes to be a comic creator. There are ‘essay questions‘ that the reader is encouraged to answer to provide some scaffolding in their #incipient writing. Lynda Barry is a genius. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-aqL
I‘ve had some coupons and gift cards to bookstores burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas, but between illness and bad weather I hadn‘t made it out to spend them. Yesterday I spent the afternoon indulging in some well-deserved retail therapy and ended up with this #bookhaul from B&N and HPB.
pickThis is basically presented as if you‘re reading the author‘s personal scrapbook/sketchbook/diary
It seemed to be broken into 2 distinct sections (though they weren‘t labeled) A memoir of the author‘s girlhood & young adult life. And a writers notebook filled with prompts
As I was reading I imagined that I would have really connected with the memoir section earlier in life, but currently it was the writing prompts that spoke to me more strongly
pickI read this book to kick off my staycation, during which I plan to work on a creative project. Couldn‘t have chosen better. It‘s the perfect inspirational read for a quiet, no-interruption day when you have both time and space to “follow a wandering mind,” as Lynda Barry puts it. Ever wanted to write? Draw? Sing? Dance? Act? Make stuff? This will open up that inner creative dying to come out of you.
I love this idea of drawing to jumpstart your writing when you feel stuck. Although I enjoy both writing and drawing, I never thought of this before! It might work the other way round too...
I ❤️ Lynda Barry‘s exploratory questions and her beautiful collages illustrating them.
Yes!!! 👏👏👏 This is the function of fantasy and imagination. #fantasyisnotescapism #fantasyissurvival
Books can take you anywhere. You can live a thousand lives in books. ❤️📚
Ready....set...relax! Got my pedi, my candy, my comfy chair, and oh yeah! my inspirational read. #staycation #staycationreading
Excited to get this in the mail today! I love writing *and* drawing, so it sounds ideal for stoking the flames of both passions. It also looks like the kind of book that is best read on a comfy chair at home without interruption, so I think I‘ll save it for the staycation I‘m planning next month. 😊📚🛋
Really enjoyed the Writers‘ League of Texas panel discussion at @bookpeople tonight on The Art of Memoir with Katherine Catmull (novelist, stage actor, freelance editor for memoirists), Rachel Starnes (author of The War at Home: A Wife‘s Search for Peace and Other Missions Impossible), and Jonathan Wei (founder of The Telling Project). Great insight from all. And this is the 2nd time a writer has rec‘d What It Is, so now I gotta check it out!
Day 2 of #riotgrams hosted by @bookriot - yellow covers! Ok, I might have cheated a tiny bit and went with yellow *spines* but you get the idea, right?! #yellowcovers
Having a little post-work Lynda Barry love-in! ❤️
Littens! I need your help! Someone in "What's the Name of that Book" is trying to figure out what book this is. It looks so familiar, I thought I would ask here.???
pickSavored and lingered over What It Is. It was my creative companion during my 9 to 5's lunch breaks.
What is the past made of? Things that happened. Things that never happened. Both.
