From its evocative title—rooted in the Japanese term 生き甲斐 (ikigai), roughly “reason for being”—Ikigai: The Japanese Secret of Long and Happy Life sets out not merely to instruct but to invite readers into a subtle, culturally textured philosophy of everyday flourishing. García and Miralles, respectively a software engineer who settled in Japan and a Spanish … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Ikigai: The Japanese Secret of Long and Happy Life By Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Picasso Drawings 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition by Susan Grace Galassi and Marilyn McCully
Drawing deeply from the currents of academic rigour and the sensibility of an art historian steeped in modernism, Picasso Drawings 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition by Susan Grace Galassi and Marilyn McCully emerges not merely as a catalogue raisonné but as a scholarly paradigm shift in our understanding of Picasso’s formative years. This review will examine the book’s structure, … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Picasso Drawings 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition by Susan Grace Galassi and Marilyn McCully
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Walden by Henri-David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1854) stands as a cornerstone of American transcendentalist literature, weaving personal narrative, philosophical reflection, and natural observation into a profound meditation on self-reliance and the art of living. Written after a two-year sojourn in a simple cabin on the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, Thoreau’s work reflects both his intimate communion … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Walden by Henri-David Thoreau
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – The Gratitude Attitude: The First “How To Be Happy” Key by Jem Friar
Jem Friar’s The Gratitude Attitude presents itself as an accessible yet profound exploration of gratitude as a cornerstone of happiness. Rooted in the self-development tradition, the book is framed as the first "key" to happiness—a claim that positions gratitude not as a fleeting emotion but as a structured, practicable discipline with transformative potential. Philosophical and Psychological Underpinnings … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – The Gratitude Attitude: The First “How To Be Happy” Key by Jem Friar
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – But Is It Art? An Introduction to Art Theory by Cynthia A. Freeland
Cynthia A. Freeland’s But Is It Art? is an accessible yet deeply analytical exploration of the philosophical questions that shape our understanding of art. Bridging aesthetics, cultural criticism, and contemporary artistic practices, Freeland provides a framework that is both historically grounded and relevant to modern debates. Her work, though introductory, does not sacrifice intellectual rigor, making it … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – But Is It Art? An Introduction to Art Theory by Cynthia A. Freeland
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918: The World in Female Form by Gottfried Fliedl
Gottfried Fliedl’s Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918: The World in Female Form is an illuminating and erudite study of the Austrian painter’s oeuvre, positioning Klimt’s work within the broader cultural and socio-political contexts of fin-de-siècle Vienna. With scholarly precision and an evident appreciation for Klimt’s radical aesthetic, Fliedl presents a compelling narrative that weaves together biography, artistic philosophy, and … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918: The World in Female Form by Gottfried Fliedl
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Ceramics of the Islamic World by Géza Fehérvári
Géza Fehérvári’s Ceramics of the Islamic World is an exquisite and meticulously researched exploration of one of the most significant artistic traditions in Islamic culture. As both an art historian and a scholar of Islamic material culture, Fehérvári offers a study that is as visually rich as it is intellectually rigorous, providing an indispensable reference for scholars, … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Ceramics of the Islamic World by Géza Fehérvári
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work by M.C. Escher
Mathematical Imagination and the Art of the Impossible Few artists command a space so firmly between the rational and the surreal as Maurits Cornelis Escher. M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work is both a testament to his singular vision and an invitation into a world where reality folds upon itself in recursive patterns, and logic succumbs to paradox. … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work by M.C. Escher
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Basquiat by Leonhard Emmerling
Leonhard Emmerling’s Basquiat is a concise yet compelling study of Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist whose work remains an enigmatic synthesis of raw expression, cultural critique, and frenetic creativity. Published as part of Taschen’s accessible art series, this volume offers both an introduction to and a nuanced examination of Basquiat’s meteoric rise and untimely demise. Though compact, Emmerling’s … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Basquiat by Leonhard Emmerling
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Wabi Sabi: The Wisdom in Imperfection by Nobuo Suzuki
An Elegy to Transience: The Poetics of Wabi-Sabi in Contemporary Life Nobuo Suzuki’s Wabi Sabi: The Wisdom in Imperfection offers a contemplative and deeply felt meditation on the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi—a worldview that finds beauty in imperfection, transience, and the unfinished. More than a cultural or artistic study, Suzuki’s work is a philosophical reflection, a poetic … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Wabi Sabi: The Wisdom in Imperfection by Nobuo Suzuki
The New Renaissance Mindset 