Tag: #TheArtofAsking

Review: The Art of Asking

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

Art

 

  • Author: Amanda Palmer
  • ISBN: 9781455581085
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
  • Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help

I purchased this book.

I had been wanting to read Amanda Palmer’s book, The Art of Asking, for awhile, but I couldn’t afford it, so when I found out about a deal at Audiobooks.com, I chose it as my freebie.  There were so many other books on my wishlist, but Amanda Palmer narrates the book herself, and there’s the “extra” of a few music tracks.  So, I figured, if there’s one book I’d likely enjoy as an audiobook, it would be this one.  I’m so glad I chose it, instead of something else.  This book is beyond amazing!

The entire book felt like a never-boring conversation between life-long friends.  I listened to it while commuting to and from school (an hour each way), but also at every point in my day when I had a couple minutes to spare.  That meant a book that, clocking in at 11 hours and 30 minutes, should have taken me 6 days to finish, only took 4 days instead.  However, If I had been reading the hardcover, instead of listening, I think it would have taken much longer.  There are just so many quotes that I would have had to stop and think about and then highlight and write notes in the margins, if not longer “notes” in my journal.  There would have been moments when I would need to stop reading so I could let out all the feels this book brought on, and I would have stopped too many times to count in order to dog ear pages.  I frequently thought that someone needs to come up with an app to “bookmark” passages in audiobooks, and there were several times when I came close to having to pull over so I could let the tears flow safely.  I don’t know how I managed to hold myself together long enough to get to school or home.

I loved The Art of Asking so much that I bought a physical copy.  The boyfriend later made it a gift, when I told him that this book was the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read that I HAD to buy it, regardless of the hardcover price tag.  His other reason might have been that I wouldn’t shut up about the book, Amanda Palmer, or Neil Gaiman, and maybe paying for the book would finally earn him a subject change.  I greatly look forward to rereading it, and I can’t recommend it enough.  I somewhat understand why it’s labeled as “Self-Help”, but I think it fits better into the auto-biography or memoir categories.  Really, it’s a one-on-one, sit down, with an endless cup of coffee or glass of wine, conversation with a best friend.  Unfortunately there’s no category for that in bookstores and libraries.

Sunday’s Sundries: Making Connections

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment
Sundries - Dominic Hartnett
Image: Dominic Hartnett

 

I’m writing this on Thursday night.  I don’t have class on Fridays, so, for me, Spring Break began when I got out of class on Thursday afternoon.  This semester has been nuts.  As soon as I got home, I laid down for some quiet time with Dresden the cat, and my favorite stuffed toy, Bobo the monkey.  The Boyfriend joined me when he got home from work.  This normally would be Date Night for the Boyfriend and me, but something came up with his gaming buddies and their usual gaming night got cancelled, so he’s off with them, and I’m at home doing whatever I want while listening to a playlist full of every Feminist singer and band I have in my collection.  The playlist is over 90 hours long.  I’m also drinking wine, so this post is getting saved until I can look at it with a sober eye.

So, what does any of that have to do with this post’s title?  Well, as many of you might know, at least those of you that have looked at my Goodreads recently, I started reading Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking on Monday.  I’ve been listening to the audiobook during my commute to school.  Normally that would mean I listen to about 2 hours each day.  The book is just under 12 hours long.  So, I should have had about 3 and half hours left by time I got home on Thursday.  I only have about 30 minutes left.  I’ve been listening to it whenever I have extra time, to the exclusion of every other book I’ve been reading lately.  There’s a theme that runs alongside the main one of getting comfortable with asking.  That secondary theme is all about connections.  Whether it’s making a connection in art, whatever the form, or with the world in general, or with strangers, fans, and loved ones, those connections, every single one of them, are important.

This isn’t my review of The Art of Asking.  I’ll be posting that later this month.  However, the book has made me do quite a bit of thinking.  The Boyfriend calls it “thunking”.  Up until now, I’ve stayed fairly anonymous and kept my life private.  I might comment about something vaguely personal on someone’s blog every once in a while, or mention something going on with school or the meditation retreat I’m on as this post gets published, but that’s been it, so far.  If it didn’t relate to books in some way, I shied away from sharing.  That needs to change.

I’m not saying I’m going to transition my blog into a tell-all so that everyone can read me like the proverbial book.  There are some things that are just no one’s business but my own.  However, when I have something to say, and the time to say it, I’m going to make that connection, or at least attempt to do so.  That’s also not to say that I haven’t already made a connection with some of you.  You’re following and reading my blog for a reason, whatever that might be.  Some of you frequently comment on what I write, and I’m grateful for those connections.  I’d like to make more connections, though.  I think I’m ready to let all of you know who I am…in small doses, of course.  I look forward to the possibilities.  I look forward to getting to know all of you as well.  So, whatever you want to share, whether it has anything to do with books or not, feel free to connect with me through my contact form or in the comments.