Make Good Art Speech by Neil Gaiman

Title: Make Good Art
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Headline, Hachette Book Group
ISBN: 9781472207937
Genre: Speech, Non-Fiction
Pages: 80
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4/5

I picked this book only because of Neil Gaiman. Even though this was just a commencement address made by him in the year 2012 at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, I knew I would enjoy it immensely and I did. There is something about such speeches that are so positive, that it makes you want to believe in a better world for one and all. I remember feeling the same when I read George Saunder’s speech on kindness in the form of a small book, “Congratulations, By the Way”, and this time it was a speech on making good art, aptly titled, “Making Good Art”.

“Make Good Art” speech is all about making good art and the purpose of art in our lives and generations to come. He encourages all artists – from painters to writers to musicians, to do just one thing – break all barriers and think out of the box (I know it is clichéd but it works) and make good art. That is all there is to it.

The book is a small one and doesn’t take time to finish, however, for the words to seep in, especially if you are an artist, means that you have read and reread it. You have to be one with what Gaiman says and the advice he dispenses. I love Chip Kidd’s illustrations and the ones that he does in this book, just blend effortlessly with Gaiman’s words.

“Make Good Art” is for everyone out there who have wanted to create something. It is about successes and failures and how it will not be an easy road every time you decide to create art. “Make Good Art” is perfect to be gifted to one who is confused about what he or she should do in life. It is a read for all of us.

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Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Headline Review, Hachette India
ISBN: 978-0-7553-8403-7
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 215
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Do you believe in love at first sight? And does love at first sight happens because of collective circumstances that lead to it? The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a book as the title says, quite what it is – love and the chances of it at first sight.

When Hadley misses her flight to London by four minutes, she never expects to meet Oliver – someone she instantly connects with, someone who has his own set of problems and so does she, and it is quite interesting to see how they solve their own problems, one by one, over the course of one day.

The book is a young adult romance so to say and yet it is written with so much maturity on so many levels. I could relate to Hadley in so many ways when I was seventeen – the same anxiety, fears and worry about the future. Hadley has had an estranged relationship with her father. She is on her way to London from New York to attend her father’s second marriage and does not know how to react to it.

Oliver on the other hand, has his own life which he doesn’t share initially but the layers are soon peeled and reality sinks in. The reality that when they are done with the journey and land in London, (they are seated next to each other 18A and 18B for seven hours on the flight) what will become of their friendship/relationship. Will they meet again? What does life have in store for them, if it does for the two of them together?

I found the book a sweet read. There were no mushy romantic moments and I liked that. The book in that case does not get boring. Jennifer E. Smith knows the craft of writing for young adults. It is not the typical romance novel, and that’s why it worked well for me.

Jennifer writes with a quick pace. She doesn’t make the reader wait for things to unfurl. She knows that the reader expects this and this is what needs to be given. The ending worked very well for me. It is sweet for almost all characters and a little fluffy. The book makes you want to travel, because at the end who knows what might happen on an airplane ride to two strangers. To read something light without it being too mushy, you must pick up this book.

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