Book Review: ABCs of Journaling by Abbey Sy

Letterer, instructor, entrepreneur and all-around talented gal Abbey Sy is back with her second boo and she’s sharing tips on journaling creatively. The book wasn’t available yet in Zamboanga and being the crazy person I was, I asked my friend to buy it from me from a National Bookstore Makati branch which was just within walking distance from where he was staying. I received it the next weekend. 

Abbey Sy

I’m a fan of Abbey Sy and one of the people excited to get a copy for myself when it was announced on Instagram. I also have her first book and knowing Abbey Sy, she’s really put her heart into the completion of her published works. 

Highlights

Abbey introduced the definition of terms to those who are new at journaling. It’s a good guide for newbies. I also like the tips all over the book and the author distinctly promotes sketching and drawing in transit. It’s a great way to preserve modern-day adventures. Also, here are helpful tips on how to pack up materials like washi and watercolor while on travel.

There’s also a section featuring local artists who have done journaling in different styles. I’m thinking of applying some tips in my upcoming travel where I will be doing some interesting activities up north.

The sticker sheet is a bonus with the travel-inspired stickers. My only suggestion is that it should have a couple of sheets for international and domestic travel.

I’ve been documenting and journaling on my own for a while now, but some tips are also relevant here from her book. Abbey Sy is a letterer and her works really shine in each of her travel pages. She draws scenes from food, to buildings and she has the patience (and the time) to complete each one of them.

On the other hand, I don’t have that much time when I travel especially when I’m with people who want to hop from one place to another, and my sketching skills are not as advanced. This is where smartphone photos come in, and for days when my mirrorless camera is kind of too heavy. But I can manage especially when I sit down and start jotting down notes and experiences of the day.

For my personal travel journal, I can’t wait for an upcoming adventure and for me to gain new experiences and to cross off a few items on my bucket list. 

Book Review: The Most Important Meal of Their Lives by Send a Cow UK #BestStart

Photo from Dietician Without Borders

We hear it over and over again, that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When we are concerned about our figure, our weight, we tend to skip breakfast and get on with our day. But for children who need the fuel to get through school and are stricken by poverty, skipping breakfast may not be such a wise choice. In fact, many children in Africa face overwhelming poverty, putting their ambitions on a very elusive pedestal. 

 

Send A Cow UK’s project is to introduce this book and highlighting breakfast choices of historical and iconic figures such as Florence Nightingale, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein.

We know a lot of these leaders in terms of their accomplishments in leadership, industries, humanitarian causes and science. The Most Important Meals Of Their Lives gives an idea of what these greats had for their breakfasts. 

The book also features recipes and other interesting facts like how astronauts followed strict lightweight diets in portions like bacon squares and cookie sugar cubes.

Alber Einstein: Fried eggs and honey, crisp rolls and decaffeinated coffee

What would have happened if Albert Einstein did not have breakfast when he first formulated the Theory Of Relativity? Did you know that he stuck to a vegetarian diet? The Great Eats also reveals that he had a personal invention that was positioned on his table to decaffeinate his coffee.

Christopher Columbus: Hardtack and legumes stew

Christopher Columbus relied on what stock he had on board as he circumnavigated the world.He may have also discovered all manner of culinary peculiarities and other exotic flavours during his journeys and explorations of the New World.

Jane Austen: pound cake, tea, cocoa and toast

 As an English novelist, Jane Austen has secured her place in literary history. She has introduced women with wit and social insights in her works. But not many readers know that "breakfast in the Austen household was traditionally served at 9am each morning, in the dining or drawing room..., it was Jane Austen’s job to prepare a feast of this kind."

Thomas Edison: Apple dumplings

Where would we be if Thomas Edison, an industrial leader and icon, have not had breakfast on the day he had that Eureka moment when he figured out his first light bulb invention? He was a conscious foodie but he was particularly fond of apple dumplings.

Winston Churchill: poached egg, cold meat, toast and grapefruit

British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again in 1951 to 1955,  Sir Winston Churchill is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century. His preferred breakfast was documented on the back of a menu while on his last flight to the USA as Prime Minister in 1954.

What I Learned From the Book

I particularly like pancakes. They are my personal comfort food and I like them lathered with butter, so that means the more butter, the better, and I top it off my maple syrup. It turns out, "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln could gobble up Kentucky corn cakes faster than anyone can make them, and the brave Rosa Parks also adored featherlite pancakes. My guess is that she could have had it on the day she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus.

Other notable figures in the book are Florence Nightingale, William Shakespeare, Mother Teresa, First Men on the Moon, Barack Obama, Cleopatra, Charles Darwin, Amelia Earhart, Sigmund Freud, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela.

Who Would Enjoy This Book

This is a great library addition for foodies, historians, chefs in the making, bookworms, those looking for new breakfast recipes to try or anyone who is a fan of these historical icons. As for me, I consider myself lucky to have an e-book copy of this book and have had a glimpse of the breakfasts of these great leaders.

About Send A Cow UK 

Send A Cow UK follows research highlighting undernourished children in Rwanda and Uganda. These youngsters struggle with school because of poverty. Send A Cow's Break...Fast campaign aims to raise £500,000 to give to children in Africa for the #BestStart and every £1 donated will be doubled by the UK government.

The Most Important Meals Of Their Lives eBook is available to download from www.sendacow.org.uk/mostimportantmeal

For more information on the Break… Fast Appeal please visit www.sendacow.org.uk or tweet@SendaCow with the hashtag #BestStart.

*Thank you to Jocelyn from The Great Eats for providing me with the beautiful photos. Copy of the e-book was graciously provided by Send A Cow UK for this review.

Meet My New Friends This Summer, A Couple Of Them I've Met From Book Shops

It’s been a while since I posted something bookworm-related But it does not mean that I’ve stopped reading nor have the books stopped arriving and taking up space in my shelves. But I admit that spending on books have taken a back seat for now. It’s because I’ve been so mindful of all my expenses as of the moment and I’ve given priority to my needs and not just my wants. 

But in my perspective, books can be both a want and need. If one can enjoy acquiring and reading books, it could be a personal want, and the need of adventure, imagination and the experience of learning could be fulfilled. In totality, collecting more books to read can be justified (wink).

Enough of me banging on. 

I would like to introduce you to my new friends for the month of April. 

I have a weakness when it comes to Latin American writers (insert Japanese, Chinese and a particular French author). To be honest, I've stalked G.G. Marquez enough and made it a point to hunt down all of the Random House editions (simply because I've started with the Random House covers) but have also come across titles like The Shadow of the Wind, Angel's Game, Midnight Palace and Prisoner of Heaven leading me to the Wikipedia page of Carlos Ruiz Zafon. 

I found two titles in Book Love's shop and got them for bargain prices and something tells me that I really would not be disappointed.

The Prisoner of Heaven and The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Note from Book Love

 Another new friend of mine has been on my bedside shelf for a while now. The Elenium by David Eddings is trilogy and made its way from Australia to the Philippines. It took a while to get here (mailed last year and arrived five months after). I pretty much enjoy the world of enchantment of knights belonging to a holy order, politics surrounding a kingdom and the sarcasm in the dialogue. Book reviews and author introductions to follow, yeah?

The Elenium Trilogy by David Eddings

It won't be long before my book shelf above my bed will collapse and I will find myself knocked out with all these copies landing right on my face, the spines bruising half of me. Bloody horrible scene is it? I think it's fantastic!