Spotlight Time! Kristin Neff

The Spotlight Time series was created to showcase people's work I feel deserve a special attention. The book  Self-compassion - Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind, by Kristin Neff, certainly falls into that category. See why.

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I've come across this book through a newspaper article named Down With Self-Esteem? At first, I was intrigued but suspicious, but as I read, all suspicion vanished. In her book, the article explains, Kristin Neff, PhD makes a good point of differencing self-esteem from self-compassion. 


The former is based on narcissism and excessive competitiveness, which lead people to feel constantly unsatisfied with themselves, their egos frequently hurt. Their behavior and life stile consequently reflect these feelings, as well as their interaction with others. The latter means accepting that we are all human thus fallible, not only in theory but in practice. 


My reaction to this general idea was the same you're probably having: "Okay, that's a nice thought, but how the heck do I do that?" 


First of all it's important to mention that Kristin doesn't say that we shouldn't have any self-esteem, but that there shouldn't be a reason for us to like ourselves. The moment we question that, we start comparing ourselves to others and things go downhill. We should care for ourselves no matter how many mistakes we make, how fat we are, how better we'd like to be. This is where self-compassion comes in. 


Self-compassion doesn't mean to settle with less than we'd like. Of course we should strive to be better people, to have good things and to feel good about our bodies, but we shouldn't compare ourselves and "our things" to others('s). Self compassion means not judging ourselves when we make mistakes, means being gentle with ourselves when we're in pain, caring for ourselves instead of punishing ourselves for not being (or looking) as successful as our neighbor. 


So how do we do all that? We start by paying attention to how critic we are about ourselves. If you're scratching your head now, you can test your self-compassion level on Kristin's website. Look how coherent are the criteria:

• Self-Kindness
• Self-Judgement
• Common Humanity
• Isolation
• Mindfulness
• Over-Identification
• Overall Score

After having a first "self-criticism x-ray" I suggest you take a look at her website, where you'll find lots of information on how to start treating yourself better (and others by consequence). Then we can all read her book and put this beautiful thinking in practice.


Don't you think we could make good use of this self-compassion thing in our writing as well?

Book Review - Conclave, by Roberto Pazzi

When we think of magical realism, it's usually Gabriel Garcia Marquez that comes to mind. Conclave, by Roberto Pazzi, is another good example of the genre.

While the narrative is (somehow) centered on the figure of the humble and somehow mysterious Cardinal Malvezzi, he is not the book's main character. The true protagonist is the conclave itself, the process with which the Pope is chosen. Months go by and the Cardinals cannot agree on a unanimous choice. While the media loses interest in the twice a day released black smoke, bizarre things happen in the Vatican. A plague of rats, the attemptive escape of full Cardinals, and an embarrassing death, color the solemn reunion.

As these and other impossible events are at work, the author reveals the day-to-day life of the Vatican in its most important assembly, the real reasons for the religious inclination of key characters and their deepest motivations and desires. The political and social background increase the urgency in the decision-making that seems more unreachable at each page.

There are many humorous scenes in this book that drew more than one laugh of me, which are intertwined with deep reflections on religion, vocation and the human condition. Although these reflections are interesting and welcomed, they slow down the reading. Also, I would like to see more details about the external interference by political figures and the media, as well the internal intrigues, which are only outlined in this novel. It feels that the author wanted to bring these processes to light, but he did not dare going too far. I'm really sorry that he didn't, but it's understandable considering that he comes from the very country where the Vatican is set. That said, I highly recommend this unique book.

Book Review - Hungry For You, by A. M. Harte

 From the cover of Hungry For You, by A. M. Harte, we can see that this book is set for zombie lovers. Each of the ten stories and the opening and closing poems are related, directly or indirectly, to "zombiness". 

We are not talking only about stories featuring the traditional zombie apocalypse though. There are creative post-apocalypse settings ("Hungry For You"), surreal ones ("Seven Birds") and others very simple and familiar ("Dead Man's Rose"). 

These are no ordinary zombies either. In some stories they have feelings, they talk and fear and love as their limbs fall apart. There are zombie humans and former humans, dogs, roses and swans. The cause of their disease - no curses in this anthology - is as varied as it can be: from ordinary bites to tea bags. 

The story that gives name to the book is my favorite. It's set in a post-zombie apocalypse where the remaining zombies feed not of flash or brains, but of human sins. Their feeding method is quite surprising, and it's the same for zombie humans and animals. Although I'd warn the purists for some strong wording and sex references (which fit perfectly the context), this story created a world worth exploring further; I'm curious to see more of it. 

I had fun seeing very creative explorations of the zombie theme, but I was a little disappointed at a few editing issues I found. The first story starts with an apparent typo and an impossible to ignore grammatical error. There are some plot issues I'd like to see fixed at "Dead Man's Rose" and "The Cure", and sometimes the pace suffers from over description of the character's actions, as in "Dead Man's Rose" and "The Perfect Song". 

Despite these problems, the book is a very pleasant and even surprising reading. The opening poem, by Gabriel Gadfly, and the final one, by the author, are another highlight of the book. Overall, it's a recommend. 

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A. M. Harte is a speculative fiction enthusiast and a chocolate addict. She's a writer, editor, practical joker, and the author behind the online dark fantasy publishing project Qazyfiction. She is excellent at missing deadlines, has long forgotten what "free time" means, and enjoys procrastinating over at http://amharte.com. She can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. 

Book Review - The Ainu and the Bear, by Ryo Michico

The Ainu are the indigenous people of northern Japan, mainly the Hokkaido island. They are semi-nomad hunting and fishing people that also cultivate the earth and have the unique view that our world is much more attractive than the one of the gods, which is why they visit us frequently, disguised as animals, plants and even tools.

There are the owls, the gods of the villages; the dolphins, the gods of the sea; the trees, the gods of the earth; and the great bear, the god of the mountains, which is the most important of them, along with the goddess of fire that protects each home. [1]

The Ainu and the Bear is a children's book that tells us about one of those visits, alternating between the bear's and an Ainu boy's point of view.

A small cub is taken away from her mother in her very first days of life to live with an Ainu boy, her protector. She grows up with him, creating a deep bond that is severed when it is time for the bear to go back to the land of the gods. The boy grows into the old and wise man who will teach the youngsters of his village an important lesson:

Every grain of millet, and every piece of meat and fish, contains the life of another.

We feed on the life of others. (...) We all partake in the blessing of the cycle of life.

This is a valuable lesson for all of us, children and adults equally, as it teaches us to respect the food we ingest. Being carnivorous, omnivorous or vegetarian, everything we ingest, industrially processed or not, contains the vital energy of another living being. This is the cycle of life we disrespect when we raise the animals in the poorest and cruelest conditions, when we torture and kill them without respect or consideration, when we poison our crops.

I gave the book for a ten-year-old English girl to read, fearing that she wouldn't finish it. I was surprised to know that she liked it, although she felt sorry for the bear when it was ritualistically sent home. (iyomande) I believe the book's lesson is so true that it resonates with a deeper part of us, which is why the girl accepted the difficult elements of the story so well.

The translation to English -- by Deborah Davidson and Owaki Noriyoshi -- is fluid and well written. It is clear that it remains faithful to its original language, being all the while accessible to people from a Western background. The illustrations -- by Kobayashi Toshiya -- help setting the ancient Japan atmosphere as well as the story's understanding.

I found particularly compelling the description of the boy's feelings throughout the bear's life, especially when he witnesses her demise. It is soothing to see how he learns to deal with these feelings while interacting with the nature in a positive and respectful manner.

The book comes with a audio CD containing the narration of the story and two live recordings of ceremonial chants. (Iomante upopo) Both me and my little friend found the audio boring, although all changes of intonation were in the right places, and she laughed at the strangeness of the chants, a natural reaction to a first contact with such a diverse culture.

I would recommend this book to every parent who wants to raise a highly aware human being. However, I wouldn't recommend it to an unprepared child. My reader is not a common ten-year-old girl, being very mature for her age. I'd suggest that the parents read the book first, take some time to digest it and then read it with their kids. After the reading, a good laugh can be relaxing when listening to another culture's voice.

[1] Campbell, Joseph: Masks of God I, Primitive Mythology, p 273. Edition translated to Portuguese, Ed. Palas Athena, 1992.

[2] You can find much information about the Ainu rites on this website, which is also where I found the illustration of the tattooed woman. You can read more about The Ainu and the Bear at the Project U-e-peker blog.

Book Review - The Tsar's Dwarf, by Peter H. Fogtdal

Sørine Bentsdatter stopped growing at the age of six. She's a dwarf, a small and deformed inhuman creature that has decided to hate everyone and everything, including herself.

In this historical novel we follow Sørine from Denmark, to Russia, Poland and back to Denmark, witnessing her misfortunes while transiting between filthy holes, sovereigns' courts, hideous exhibitions, and fine folk's households.

It's impossible to escape the word grotesque when describing this novel. Ugliness permeate the whole story; it's in the dwarfs' deformities, in the human beings' cruelty, and in Sørine's strange forms of love.

There's beauty in it, though. It's in the protagonist's sharp tongue and quick mind -- which made me chuckle throughout the reading -- in her peculiar tenderness, and also in her questioning mind that demands us to reassess our relationship with god, our humanity, and our self-image.

Sørine is not who or what she think she is; but aren't we often deceived by how we picture ourselves, and our actions?

Although I had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the narrative, as it's in the first person, present tense, the story flows well from the beginning to the end, so the initial discomfort eventually vanishes, much as Sørine's ghosts.

The Tsar's Dwarf is an excellent reading; it's entertaining and humorous, yet deep and challenging, making an irresistible combination.

Note: You can read Peter's hilarious and cutting opinions about various topics on his blog, or talk directly to him on twitter; which is where I came to know him and his work.

Steampunk Hilarities

When I was a little girl (please bear with me) 90% of my friends wanted to be ballerinas when they grew up. Do you know which were my aspirations for the adulthood? Well, I wanted to be either an astronomer, to watch the stars, or a mad scientist, muahahah!

No, I was not a deranged child who wanted to conquer the world or something; I wanted to invent cool things, like Gyro Gearloose's, from the Disney’s Duck Tales.

Well, imagine my reaction when a witch friend of mine (or former witch if you will) recommended me a steampunk on line comic? Er, I actually scorned at it, as back then I was prejudiced about stuff published on line, and freely distributed no less.

I was so wrong! When I decided to take a look, at the Girl Genius Comics I couldn’t stop chuckling! (I wasn't laughing out loud and rolling on the floor, only because it was past 2 a.m. and this is not a reasonable hour to make noise.)

Seriously, the comic is so good that it had me literally clapping hands at some point. Plus, they won the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Novel (or Graphic Story, as they call), which is huge!

Right, you already know what steampunk is, you read and love Girl Genius Comics, and you're bored to death... Wait! Here's an extremely cool site you may like (former-witch friend found through Neil Gaiman, no less); you can read some steampunk stories here; there are some awesome steampunk gadgets here; and here's the site of a steampunk workshop! I hope these caught your attention. :-)

Now, if you, on the other hand, had never heard of this steam-thing, here's some interesting (and concise) info:

Steampunk is a genre of speculative fiction usually set in an alternative Victorian or Erwardian world, frequently filled with fantastic elements, where advanced technology is steam powered.

Satisfied? But there's more!

Clockpunk is a steampunk subgenre in which highly technological stuff are based on clockwork mechanisms in pre-Industrial Revolution settings. They generally exclude steam power; so extreme Da Vinci's inventions would make a good picture of it.

Dieselpunk is also a steampunk subgenre in which ultra technological things are powered by diesel and eventually nuclear power, in a 1920's to 1950's setting.

Finally, if you got interested in this steampunk thing, here are some suggestions of readings, "watchings", "playings", and (believe me) "listenings" on the genre:

Some books, starting with the classics (always!):

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Vernes;

• The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells;

• Necronomicon, by H. P. Lovecraft, who is on Twitter, despite having passed in 1937;

• The Difference Engine, by William Gibson;

• A Nomad of the Time Streams, by Michael Moorcock;

• Finch, by Jeff Vandermeer;

• Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest;

• The Steampunk Trilogy, by Paul Di Filippo;

• The Etched City, by K. J. Bishop;

• The Newton's Cannon and A Cauculus of Angels, by J. Gregory Keyes.

Never forget the comics: (If you've scrolled till down here, open your mind, will you?)

• The League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore;

• Hellboy, by Mike Mignola;

and obviously

• Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio.

Steampunk-ish animations:

• Steamboy, by Katsuhiro Otomo (the creator of the revolutionary Akira);

• Howl's Moving Castle, directed by the absurdly fantastic Hayao Miyazaki (for the record, I'm not drooling - in this very moment that is, heh);

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, also directed by Hayao Miyazaki (sorry, but the guy made lots of wonderful films; and I'm not biased!);

• Metropolis, by Osamu Tezuka (aka The God of Manga);

• Full Metal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa (There are two sets of series; the second is called "Full Metal Brotherhood" and is on the screens right now. I highly recommend both.)

I'm not into games, but was told that these are good:

• Bioshock;

• Arcanum.

Did you know that there are steampunk bands out there? Me neither; just found out about them:

• Vernian Process (very steampunk-ish; listening to their radio at this very moment);

• Abney Park (seems like heavy rock'n roll with steampunk looks; nice).

To wrap all up, here's an extensive list of steampunk works I found on "master" Wiki.

But hey, if you now some other good steampunk thing you'd like to recommend, please do so! I do want to increase my reading, watching and listening lists! :)

Note: No, I did not forget to give proper credit for the wonderful pictures you saw up there. The first one, with the couple, is from Kyle Cassidy; the second, with the hot guy, is from Nadya Lev. They're both spectacular photographers, so why don't you go pay them a visit? ;-) Ah, of course all Girl Genius illustrations came from free stuff of their website.