Books - 2015

This year I read 91 books setting a new personal best, huzzah!

I'll grant you that there were a lot of graphic novels, but there was also a good dose of nonfiction. GoodReads will say my total is 87 due to some titles not on the site but that also means my pages read count is over 16,000!

Click here for a visual representation of My 2015 Books on GoodReads and various stats.


10 years ago on TTaT: Books - 2005

SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient

89. SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient -Powered by the Science of Games by Jane McGonigal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Based on the title and cover, this is not a book I would've been drawn to, but a friend told me a bit about the author, her post-concussion experience and approach to recovery, and recommended it. Thanks, Vahid!

What caught my interest is that the effects of playing the game, SuperBetter, have been measured in 2 actual scientific studies. Granted, the sample size of the studies is small for now, but it's promising and received a grant from the NIH. There's a chapter at the end describing the scope and approach of each study.

The rest of the book explains the gameful approach with copious endnotes to other studies about the effects of playing games, strategies to improve one's outlook and resilience. I've read a lot of books on neuroscience so a number of the other studies and concepts mentioned were familiar to me.

The difference with this book is that it gives concrete, simple tasks to apply or activate the benefits that have been discovered within the framework of a game.

I'm not entirely sold on the idea, but even so the power ups (quick things you can do to boost your energy and attitude) and mental reframing strategies seem really useful.

Improving one's mental, physical, emotional, and social* resilience is a worthy aim that this book has a strategy for. (*Building a supportive network of allies you can rely on.)

As self help books go, this one has loads of science and research behind it and many practical steps you can take. Ultimately, I suspect what you'll get out of it is what you're willing to put into it.


5 years ago on TTaT: 57. Bridgman's Book of 100 Hands

Life of Art SitRep #307 Xmas Edition

Merry Christmas, Santa! (Surely on his rounds by now.) And also happy holidays to you, dear reader, or a lovely winter/summer interlude, however you may celebrate. :)

This week I...

Finished creating the collection of Navy Polka Dots on Light Blue products:

Navy Polka Dots on Bright Blue iPhone 6/6s Case Tough iPhone 6 Case by RocklawnArts
Shop for another Zazzle iPhone 6 Case

Navy Polka Dots on Sky Blue iPad Air 2 Folio Case by RocklawnArts
View Vegan leather Cases online at zazzle

Playful Navy Polka Dots, Light Blue Laptop Sleeve by RocklawnArts
Look at Zazzle Laptop Sleeves

Rocklawn Arts blogged New Navy Polka Dots on Light Blue pattern.

Shot a few video clips.

Finished updating descriptions and tags for the rest of my Fabrics.

Created a Bold Custom Fabrics collection:

Bold Custom Fabrics
by Claire E. Skinner

Finished watching free excerpt download “File Organization and Lightroom Workflow Overview” from The Complete Lightroom Workflow with Jared Platt AKA The Ultimate Lightroom CC Workflow with Jared Platt from Creative Live.

Know of any good posts/videos for how to get your photo file structure in order before importing to Lightroom for the first time?

Best wishes to you this season!


5 years ago on TTaT: If you celebrate...

For those of us without winter splendor...

For anyone, like me, who is without snow for their winter revels, here's a photo from several years back:


Make some noise!
9 years ago on TTaT: I hate my printer

Life of Art SitRep #306 Polka and the Archive

Finished adding my new Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy pattern to a select group of items and cross-linked a number of related products in their descriptions:

Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy Thank You Card by RocklawnArts
Design your own card at Zazzle

Bright Blue Polka Dots address labels by RocklawnArts
Design a customized return address label at zazzle

Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy – Medium Postage Stamps by RocklawnArts
Make stamps with photos from zazzle.com.

White Outlined Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy Pillow by RocklawnArts
Browse other pillow designs on Zazzle.

Rocklawn Arts blogged New Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy pattern.

Created the inverse of the above pattern, Navy Polka Dots on Light Blue, and started adding it to select items in my shop. Here's a sneak peek:

Dark Blue Polka Dots on Sky Blue Pillow by RocklawnArts
Check out more Zazzle Pillows

Sky Blue Spiral Notebook with Navy Polka Dots by RocklawnArts
Browse Navy and light blue Notebooks online at Zazzle.com

Navy Polka Dots on Light Blue – Small Stamp by RocklawnArts
Create unique customized us postage stamps at Zazzle

Navy Polka Dots on Light Blue Birthday Card by RocklawnArts
Make a card on zazzle.

More items will appear in my shop in the days to come.

Reorganized my store some, swapped out several category images and changed the featured collection to Distinctive iPhone 6/6s cases:

Distinctive iPhone 6/6S Cases
by Claire E. Skinner

Figured out how to batch process images in Photoshop instead of doing it from Bridge and caught up on 8 months of backlogged photographs, huzzah! Well, not caught up in the sense of being ready to post them, but it's progress.

Updated LOA, links files.

How was your week?


10 years ago on TTaT: Higher altitude

Life of Art SitRep #305 Dots!

Caught up on a few things this week and delved into a bit of new.

Firstly, backed up my computer, both locally and offsite. When was the last time you backed up?

Also made some repairs to an old sculpture of mine.

Created a new pattern, Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy, and started adding it to some products in my shop:

Sky Blue Polka Dots on Dark Blue iPhone 6/6s Case Barely There iPhone 6 Case by RocklawnArts
Find another Zazzle iPhone 6 Case

Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy iPad Air 2 Folio Case by RocklawnArts
See other Protective Cases at zazzle

Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy Wrapping Paper by RocklawnArts
See more Sky blue polka dots navy Wrapping Paper

Sky Blue Polka Dots on Navy Grosgrain Ribbon by RocklawnArts
See some great Blank Ribbon at Zazzle

Light Blue Polka Dots on Navy Pocket Journal by RocklawnArts
Check out Light blue and navy Journals online at zazzle

Light Blue Polka Dots on Dark Blue Fabric by RocklawnArts
Shop now for Fabric

How was your week?


6 years ago on TTaT: My cold, it's good for this at least

The Khaaaaaan! equivalent of LDBC

After 4 for 4 wins in the Little Drummer Boy Challenge, my streak came to an abrupt end last night while watching Arrow.

The silver lining is that I may now venture forth with abandon into venue's playing holiday music.

So close to 5 beautiful wins, argh!


10 years ago on TTaT: A bit of business from last year...

Life of Art SitRep #304 December!

Here we are in December once again. I hope y'all have had a good week.

I've been a bit under the weather, so I focused my efforts on promoting my designs and photography in my shop, Rocklawn Arts. Fortunately, that's what I should've been doing anyway this past week.

Follow me on Twitter @RocklawnArts for the latest.

Christmas Wrapping Supplies
by Claire E. Skinner

Updated descriptions, titles, and tags for Blue Bokeh.

Started creating a new pattern.

Read/finished reading Popular Photography Dec. and Sept. 2015 issues.

How was your week?


9 years ago on TTaT: Cheapest coffee in LA and other [mis]adventures