The experience of thinking about, preparing, or writing a text, be it a book review, or about an art exhibition, cannot be limited solely to the artistic experience. There must always be another kind of challenge. I want that elusive thing that I found, together with the encounter that I had with the "object" and the experience we lived together. Every day when I wake up, I don't think about writing, but I wonder whether I'll be able to rise to the calling of that particular "object" (a book, a painting, a play, opera, etc.). The "characters" in them are never marginal figures. I know that they exist but I do not know them, I do not confront myself with them, or I only do so in highly stereotypical situations where they almost become invisible. When I write about something, this is my attempt at turning the invisible into the visible.

Book Reviews and Essays. Comprises everything I wrote on my blog over 2016.

In case there's anyone out there that has been reading the things I've been writing on my blogs, probably noticed that one of my "projects" for 2014, 2015 (and now 2016) was to read through all of Shakespeare's Works. Unfortunately, in 2014 I wasn't able to start this project (I read some Shakespeare stuff, but no plays). 2015 was where things really started shapping up Shakespeare-wise. But things were looking even better for 2016. On top of that, 2016 commemorated 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare and this special anniversary year was a truly unique opportunity to complete my quest of reading the rest of his entire body of work.

When I started blogging almost 10 years ago, on the 4th of August 2016, my goal was to have a place where I could capture and express my thoughts and feelings about stuff, i.e., a place where I could digress about the things that interested me (Shakespeare, SF, Opera, Film, etc.) It also provided a kind of repository where my kids, say, could go to get glimpses of me that may go unexplored otherwise. For me, blogging was never about numbers, instead it was about meaning and sharing meaning with those who cared. I'm not a writer, not even an aspiring one. I am an Engineer with a lot going on in heart and mind that I'd like to build into a legacy of sorts. So I'm not into volume in terms of blog hits and the like. You won't find on my blog the answer why we go to Shake-speare's plays even when we know the outcome of everyone of them. Are there people interested in knowing this? I doubt it. I don't even know whether there are still people reading Shakespeare in Elizabethan English!

Make the world your studio! Capture the bustle and beauty of life in your town. Experience life as only an artist can! Join the rapidly growing, international movement of artists united by a passion for drawing on location in the cities, towns and villages where they live and travel. Packed with art and advice from Marc Taro Holmes, artist and co-founder of Urbansketchers.org, this self-directed workshop shows you how to draw inspiration from real life and bring that same excitement into your sketchbook. Inside you'll find everything you need to tackle subjects ranging from still lifes and architecture to people and busy street scenes. • 15 step-by-step demonstrations cover techniques for creating expressive drawings using pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor. • Expert tips for achieving a balance of accuracy, spontaneity and speed. • Practical advice for working in the field, choosing subjects, coping with onlookers, capturing people in motion and more. • Daily exercises and creative prompts for everything from improving essential skills to diverse approaches, such as montages, storytelling portraits and one-page graphic novels. Whether you are a habitual doodler or a seasoned artist, The Urban Sketcher will have you out in the world sketching from the very first page. By completing drawings on the spot, in one session, you achieve a fresh impression of not just what you see, but also what it feels like to be there . . . visual life stories as only you can experience them.

For the first time, see the making of Sydney and all its public buildings and places in exquisite drawings in this new book. For anyone who cares about Sydney, or cities in general -- whether a passionate city dweller, architect, landscape designer, planner, engineer or historian -- it offers a deep appreciation of the city's evolution.

The award-winning, New York Times bestselling literary masterpiece of Shirley Hazzard—the story of two beautiful orphan sisters whose fates are as moving and wonderful, and yet as predestined, as the transits of the planets themselves A Penguin Classic Considered "one of the great English-language novels of the twentieth century" (The Paris Review), The Transit of Venus follows Caroline and Grace Bell as they leave Australia to begin a new life in post-war England. From Sydney to London, New York, and Stockholm, and from the 1950s to the 1980s, the two sisters experience seduction and abandonment, marriage and widowhood, love and betrayal. With exquisite, breathtaking prose, Australian novelist Shirley Hazzard tells the story of the displacements and absurdities of modern life. The result is at once an intricately plotted Greek tragedy, a sweeping family saga, and a desperate love story.