My Secret: A Postsecret Book by Frank Warren

"Let me tread my own path. Don't worry, I will be fine." 


PostSecret started out as an online art project by Frank Warren. He asked people to send in their secrets on artfully made postcards anonymously and he posted many of them online for others. It wasn't long before he was receiving more postcards than he knew what to do with. He still receives hundreds of postcards a day!

Since this project started, Warren still runs his website, which is updated every Sunday with new secrets, and has published multiple books with these secrets as the content. I've been wanted to read one for a while and finally bought My Secret on Amazon.

Wow! This compilation of secrets was just as good as I expected. There's something inherently soothing about reading other peoples' secrets and being able to identify with some or wonder about others; just as its soothing to send in a secret anonymously and know that someone else knows your secret, you don't have to bear it alone--you aren't the only one who's been through that.

This book is addicting and it won't take you long to finish. You'll want to keep flipping through, reading each new secret, until you reach the end. I have no doubt that I'll still be flipping through these pages, reading particular ones over and over again in the future. And maybe I'll send in a secret of my own.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

"I lied to fit in and now feel more alone than ever before."

Mobsters and Gangsters by LIFE

The Golden Age of the Gangster coincided precisely with Prohibition, then faded as the syndicate--the American Mafia and attendant or affiliated organizations--said emphatically: You're in or you're out. If you were out, you were butting in, and therefore you didn't exist, at least not for long.

This "book" came in a magazine-like form that I happened to notice a few months ago in Tom Thumb. I picked it up, leafed through it, and decided I had to get it. When the cashier gave me a skeptical look and questioned me as to why I was buying a magazine about mobsters and gangsters, my best friend was quick to inform her that it was research for a book I was writing. (This was true, but I've sense put that story on hold.)

It was about time for me to read Mobsters and Gangsters and I'm glad I did. This book (or magazine, depending on your perspective) is packed with biographies on America's most notorious gangsters and mobsters -- Legs Diamond, Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, and many others. Filled with fascinating details about the lifestyles and peculiarities of the gangsters that have made their way into legend.

This is an easy, quick read and insanely informational. The narrative was very personable and filled with detail. I learned a great deal about the gangs and mobs of old and how they transformed from loose memberships to full-blown syndicates in a little over a century. I would suggest this to anyone who is interested in the topic and wants to know a bit more. I was highly satisfied by the end, and I'm definitely eager to learn more.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Mobsters and gangsters go about their work--and play--with a certain sense of style. They celebrate themselves via their homes, their cars, their pinkie rings, their silk suits and, yes, their graves.

Vintage Tattoos by Carol Clerk

The tattooed lady and the illustrated man, long immortalized in songs and films, were staple 'freak' attractions at the circus and fairground sideshows that began touring their native lands in the 1800s.


Vintage Tattoos by Carol Clerk is a comprehensive history of tattooing in America. Filled to the brim with pictures and an abundance of information on the subject, it was quite an interesting read and much more informative than Tattoo (which I read last month).


Tattooing first started being showcased in the seventeenth century in the form of full-bodied tattoos on persons who were displayed in circuses. Both men and women participated in the practice by covering themselves in tattooed illustrations of all varieties. In other words, it was "Go big or go home."

As time passed, tattoos moved from beyond the realm of circus "freaks" to military men, sailors, and other hardcore types. These were often on a much lesser scale and were not done for the mere sake of illustration. These tattoos often held a meaning for the bearer or a reminder of something they ought to cherish.

In this way, the art of tattooing slowly became more and more accepted, morphing and changing into everything that it is today. This book explains exactly how these changes came to pass and the artists who became catalysts in that process.

Being somewhat of a tattoo enthusiast, I was eager to read this book and I was not disappointed. The pages of the text are filled to the brim with information and pictorial examples of the evolution of tattooing. I learned so much more than I expected, not having expected that much information to be crammed within its pages. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the art of tattooing and its history.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


". . . and I'd see a tattoo and it was hot stuff, and so tattoos meant adventure and travel and excitement, and that was my attraction to tattooing."

Tattoo by Dale Rio & Eva Bianchini

The urge to assert oneself goes hand in hand with a desire to challenge social norms and values, and to advocate different ways of experiencing feeling, and displaying one's body.


I picked up Tattoo from one of my library shelves because I'm a huge fan of tattooing. Art has always been fascinating to me and I have wanted a tattoo since I was a kid.  The idea of expressing oneself through permanent body art has a distinct appeal to me.

Tattoo is a collaboration by Dale Rio and Eva Bianchini about, you guessed it, tattoos. It is essentially a history of the art form, revealing the origins of the tattoo and what it meant to each culture it came in contact with.

The book goes on to explain and give examples of each of the most popular tattoo styles (such as blackwork and new school tattooing), how it's done, and finishes off with some helpful reminders for those considering getting a tattoo.

All in all, it was a light and easy read filled with pictures of some pretty fantastic tattoo work. I would definitely suggest this to anyone who is intending to acquire a tattoo, or to anyone who is simply curious about the art and how it originated and became to successful industry it is today.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥


It is significant to note that most early examples of tattooing are on women, which shows a distinct mind-shift through history, as until recently tattooing had become associated with men. In short, tattooing may once have been the sole preserve of females. The women of today who are being tattooed with as much confidence as men are simply reclaiming their heritage.