EVERYTHING, BEAUTIFUL: Tìm về và kết nối với vẻ đẹp tiềm ẩn quanh ta

by Ella Frances Sanders, Bao (Translator)

Sao ta vẫn cứ chật vật để cảm nhận cái đẹp, trong khi từng phút từng giờ ta vẫn luôn được vây quanh bởi chúng? Làm thế nào để một người có thể đi tìm một định nghĩa mới về cái đẹp trong thế giới hiện đại luôn có xu hướng nhấn chìm những nỗ lực khác biệt?

Những quan niệm lỗi thời nhưng lại phổ biến về cái đẹp đã tạo nên sự trống rỗng mà chúng ta đang cố gắng lấp đầy một cách sai lầm bằng những đồ vật và những lời hứa suông.

Để rồi, khi tự soi chiếu bản thân, điều bạn nhìn thấy là vẻ đẹp nguyên bản của mình hay chỉ là vẻ đẹp đã được đẽo gọt theo một quan điểm nào đó?

Cái đẹp thuần khiết sẽ không khiến bạn phải ngờ vực về sự xứng đáng mà bạn đang tự hào. Nó như phép màu kỳ diệu khẳng định rằng bạn vẫn luôn đủ đầy như thế.

Từ một người có niềm rung cảm lớn với thế gian này, viết một bức thư tình tuyệt đẹp ẩn chứa một lời tuyên ngôn mãnh liệt dành tặng những ai đang nỗ lực ghi nhớ hoặc nhận ra cái đẹp là gì - Everything, Beautiful!

“…Định nghĩa về cái đẹp

như một ngọn hải đăng,

một nơi để bắt đầu.”

– Bahar Orang

“Bắt đầu thật chậm rãi.

Bắt đầu từ ánh dương và sự ngưng đọng của mùa đông được thổi đến từ đường viền của khung cửa sổ.

Bắt đầu quan sát ánh nến trong màn đêm suốt năm phút liền, để mặc cho bản thân đổ rạp xuống khi có quá nhiều điều chất chồng.
Bắt đầu với sai và đúng và ổn thỏa với mọi điều.”

Về tác giả:

Ella Frances Sanders là họa sĩ minh họa và tác giả nổi tiếng sở hữu năm cuốn sách bán chạy nhất của The New York Times. Những cuốn sách của cô mang nhiều chủ đề đa dạng như: ngôn ngữ, khoa học và vẻ đẹp, Hiện tại, cô phụ trách viết nội dung và minh họa một chuyên mục về từ ngữ cho Tạp chí Orion, có tựa đề “Root Catalog”.

Cô cũng là tác giả của hai tựa sách đã phát hành của Merry Go Round:

Chúng ta ăn mặt trời (2021)

Tục ngữ kỳ lạ đó đây (2021)

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Art, Nature, Philosophy, Picture Books, Poetry

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 30, 2023

About the author

Ella Frances Sanders is a New York Times and internationally-bestselling author and illustrator of five books about languages, science, and beauty. She is the designer for Orion Magazine, and also writes a column within its pages called 'Root Catalog'. She lives in the Highlands of Scotland and is currently preparing for the publication of her 6th book.

Reviews

[Fern A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I have probably just found my favourite book of 2022 and this is it! I adored reading this so much so that I got to the last page, shut the cover, turned the book over and began to read it again from the beginning.

‘Everything, Beautiful’ is a story of beauty. Beauty in all the everyday little moments that we often completely overlook out of habit and in a rush to be, see, do and achieve the next thing. Ella Francis captures these moments in gorgeous artwork and words. She makes you pause and ponder on all the amazing things that happen everyday and that we see if only we remember to look.

This is a story that can be read cover to cover or could just as easily be dipped in and out of. There are some suggestions in it of different things to try to find that magic in the everyday again. I was especially grateful that all of these things were completely accessible and just allowed each reader to embrace their own reality without any adjustment, effort or barrier to be worked out.

I highly suspect that the author is of kindred spirit origin. There was a slight essence of Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon and Mary Oliver in this. Her talent is incredible and for either the artwork or words alone this book would be fantastic and so combined it really is superb.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough and also now know what I will be getting everybody for Christmas!

My only suggestion for this book would be to read it with fluffy socks, plenty of time and your favourite hot beverage.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Ruby Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

#NetGalley #Everything, Beautiful

Beautifully written and illustrated book and how and where we find beauty in our everyday lives. Intriguing stories and prompts to inspire your own journey to find beauty in everyday life. One page reads, "Begin with forgiving yourself before you've even started." Highly recommend for uplifting encouragement. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Lydia Vorodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read for the new year that isn't about physical change but how we can change our perspective to see more beauty in everyday life!

[Riley Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read each time. A breathtaking perspective on how beauty should be incorporated into our day to day. My third time reading this book and it never fails ti shit my perspective on the ever changing world around us. I will always recommend this book!

[Cindy (BKind2Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A meditation on beauty, this is a lovely book, filled with sweet illustrations, quotes, and space. The space gives the reader the opportunity to interact with the book and author and make it unique. This is a book to take time with, to read a portion and reflect on it, even to play with it. For some this might seem a little woo-woo, but I sometimes like to pause with a book where you can spend time on a page or a concept, The ability to add your thoughts and reflections on the blank space is a bonus. Take your time with this one and think on the beauty in your life, in nature, in the world at large.

Quotes to enjoy:

When the world feels unbearably large and largely out of control, what I've found is that there is almost always reassurance and meaning to be found in the smallest of things, in the smallest of beauties.

...the mundane can be made miraculous.

...the beauty that never leaves, even within the confines of grief or illness or hardships too hard to name....Finding beauty within the darker, damaging things does not alter the weight of them, but it can, if only for a second, provide reflection, provide breath, provide safe pockets in which to shed tears or fury or terror, glimmers to hang our hopes on like coat hooks in a hallway.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.

[Emma Strawbridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really but a 3.5 that i don’t think should round up. short and sweet and an easy read but i wish there was more meat to the story. more of the author’s anecdotal discoveries of beauty and more of the radicalness of detaching beauty from capitalism. the art was fun and this reminded me of maira kalman and a little bit of lynda barry.

[Woro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything beautiful mengajak kita untuk belajar melambat dalam hidup sehingga kita dapat menemukan hal-hal indah/cantik di sekitar kita. Kita yang menentukan sendiri definisi hal yang “indah” atau “cantik”. Ilustrasi di buku ini bagus banget.

[Nicole Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic musings on beauty that closely align with my opinions (boo Manufactured Marketed Beauty), but whereas my thoughts sound more like drunken rage-shouts into the void, this is thoughtful and engaging. And of course, beautiful.

[Laura Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept and illustrations. Inspired by the focus on noticing. Otherwise, found the content a bit anemic and incohesive. Worth perusing for the physical beauty of the book, some inspiring quotes, and any curiosity its discourse invokes in you regarding your own view of beauty.

[Juliana Muñoz Toro · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not just a work of art, it is an invitation. A begining of beaty in daily life

[I'm only whatever you make me · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick listen, just about an hour, and worth almost every minute of it. I am going to purchase a physical copy of it to keep with me at times.

[Liliana Perez-Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lengthy version of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," along with reminding everyone that it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. As long as you're happy, it should be enough.

[Amanda Pickers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing thoughtful collection of quotes and short (really short) essays.
The art was so beautifully done.
I found that I felt very warm and sweet when reading this book. It was very positive and made me think a bit differently of my definition of beauty. Does that word even have just one definition?


A few things that I find beautiful:
~Eggshells
~Baby Chicks (and getting to watch them grow into beautiful hens/rooster)
~Sun showers
~Book Covers
~Flying a kite
~My dog Lola (obviously 😉)

[Nick Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare that a book gently takes me by the hand and shows me a completely different way of thinking about the world, and about myself, but Ella's book did exactly this.

It was a tonic after the whiplash of the past few years in and out of lockdowns, hospitals, and states of panic. Nearly every page is illustrated—though illustrated is really the wrong word because if you know anything about art then you can see that every single piece was hand-painted—with something generally overlooked about our world. Combined with not a single word more than what is necessary she asks us, all of us, to contemplate why exactly it is that we have come to this state of being in our world; this state of beauty that is so unbelievably elitist and narrow.

Each sentence is articulate and ponderous and yet somehow demands nothing from you. Instead, all she asks you to do is to open your mind to her poetic depictions of what she calls "the new beauty."

Ella's new beauty is "the small, faintly spotted feathers that young birds lose," and "clouds at night, the ones that look like oil spills." It is "a fierce noticing. Much of the time you can let it be wordless but on occasional nights it will be shouting curses at the planets you cannot see."

I didn't know exactly what to expect when I picked up this book, but having been consumed by it I would describe it like this: take the breadth of a graphic novel, the depth of a manifesto, and the poetic musings on monotony of a Carol Shields, then ask them to pupate and metamorphise into a fully-formed wonder of literary and artistic power. That will get you a copy of Everything, Beautiful.

If you take the time to swim through the world Sanders has created within her paintings and words, and especially to allow yourself to think differently having climbed out on the other side of the pond, then what you will be left with is a new way of looking at the world, and hopefully a new way of looking at yourself. A new beauty—entirely.

"The new beauty, quite simply, does not make you feel terrible. It does not make you wonder whether you are enough. Instead the new beauty serves as small miracles of confirmation and clarity that you are enough, that you always were."

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the design of this book so much. The lack of page numbers (brilliant), the colors, the use of light, the art, the words. I plan to follow the prompts and use it as a first draft for my new watercolor sketchbook. It's a gorgeous book and I adored all of the writing.
I'm such a fan.

[Nick Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare that a book gently takes me by the hand and shows me a completely different way of thinking about the world, and about myself, but Ella's book did exactly this.

It was a tonic after the whiplash of the past few years in and out of lockdowns, hospitals, and states of panic. Nearly every page is illustrated—though illustrated is really the wrong word because if you know anything about art then you can see that every single piece was hand-painted—with something generally overlooked about our world. Combined with not a single word more than what is necessary she asks us, all of us, to contemplate why exactly it is that we have come to this state of being in our world; this state of beauty that is so unbelievably elitist and narrow.

Each sentence is articulate and ponderous and yet somehow demands nothing from you. Instead, all she asks you to do is to open your mind to her poetic depictions of what she calls "the new beauty."

Ella's new beauty is "the small, faintly spotted feathers that young birds lose," and "clouds at night, the ones that look like oil spills." It is "a fierce noticing. Much of the time you can let it be wordless but on occasional nights it will be shouting curses at the planets you cannot see."

I didn't know exactly what to expect when I picked up this book, but having been consumed by it I would describe it like this: take the breadth of a graphic novel, the depth of a manifesto, and the poetic musings on monotony of a Carol Shields, then ask them to pupate and metamorphise into a fully-formed wonder of literary and artistic power. That will get you a copy of Everything, Beautiful.

If you take the time to swim through the world Sanders has created within her paintings and words, and especially to allow yourself to think differently having climbed out on the other side of the pond, then what you will be left with is a new way of looking at the world, and hopefully a new way of looking at yourself. A new beauty—entirely.

"The new beauty, quite simply, does not make you feel terrible. It does not make you wonder whether you are enough. Instead the new beauty serves as small miracles of confirmation and clarity that you are enough, that you always were."

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When you take the time to see and hold these things, you also begin to notice how many other people do not notice them. You find yourself wanting to take people by the arm and point to the skies, to horizons, to new leaves on eucalyptus trees. But I cannot blame people for being unseeing when it comes to beauty. As a thing it has been overexposed and covered in price tags and sold through glossy, untrue photos, and I do wonder a lot if we have been forced to look at one type of beauty for so long that we've completely forgotten how to see it in all its forms."

Beauty exists everywhere. It is what we sense in our surroundings, but it is also the gaps and absences of presence. It is the past, present, and future. It is subjective but unapologetic. Beauty simply is beauty if you take the time to notice.

"A ladybug eating aphids from a plant stem at 3 0'clock in the afternoon; braking suddenly for a bird; a neighbor knocking to ask whether you want half of a lop-sided cake; the spiderwebs that are quickly brushed away; a single stone shifting on a riverbed; a blurry photograph taken just before everything changes; the dances we do to avoid hurting the feelings of one another."

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

This book of beauty truly opens my eyes to all of the wonders that go unnoticed. Stepping back and taking in our surroundings for what it is may be the key to mindfulness and leading a better life of appreciation for the mundane. The illustrations gorgeously complement the writing, making for a little bit of beauty on every page. What a gem of a book.

"I'd like to explain beauty as corridors before people fill them, as sunrise seen only by birds. It is the thin lines we draw between ourselves and everything else: the making it make sense, the hindsight, the worthwhile, the looking forward, the acts of kindness, the hoping. It is the rabbit making it across the car-streaked road in time."

[Daryl Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book yesterday at a bookstore I decided to visit last minute. I had never seen or heard of this shop, conveniently called “The Bookshop”, located in East Nashville. Upon entering, my attention was immediately drawn to the left wall which contained memoirs and self help books. Each spine contained a myriad of colors and fonts, but this book stuck out to me. I didn’t read the back, I just flipped through a few pages and decided it had to go home with me. As I waited for my matcha at the cafe next door I decided to start reading. Unbeknownst to me, I had finished reading a good sum of pages in the short time it had taken the barista to finish concocting my drink. I was enthralled by the condensed, but overwhelmingly meaningful text on the pages. Accompanied by colorful abstract art that corresponded with the writings. That is all I read that day until I picked it up again by the pool today—this time it never got put down. Every. Single. Page. of this book contained advice, stories, and tid-bits that forced me to think, to re-evaluate. Ella Frances Sander’s perspective on beauty and all that accompanies it was revolutionary to me. I have adopted a new outlook on how I view my life— the past, present, and future. Finding out what beauty really is, how it gets morphed by today’s unrealistic standards, and how to find your own individual ingredients really made an enduring mark on me. To read this book is to better understand every minuscule aspect of not only yourself but the universe around us. Finding beauty in the mundane, the grand, and the troubling. I loved this book with all my heart, it definitely might be my favorite book I have ever read.

[Smiti Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the artwork and mixing of genres (i.e., essay, self help, workbook, poetry, etc.). I personally found the artwork beautiful and I appreciated having a physical copy of
this book. For me the strength of the author’s writing came through in specific anecdotes and their specific perceptions of beauty. That type of writing really resonated and I would love to read a whole book based on that.

The parts that were hard for me were some of the more generalized claims that were presented more as fact, as opposed to perception and wonder. There were instances where reference to the past or the nature of plants were made and from my academic training I knew that things were more nuanced than presented. The educator in me felt like the logic of certain statements wasn’t very sound or persuasive; however, if it was presented more as perception than fact then I don’t think I would be as critical. Some of the main arguments could have used more developing and depth.

Overall, it’s a quick and easy read and an interesting example of mixing genres in nonfiction.

[Div Manickam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book - beauty is everywhere!
In the air we breathe, the wind, the sky, the clouds, the flowers and the earth :)

I love the serendipity of beauty in the little things - the little joys

Highlights from the book

These days most of us are either constantly overwhelmed or getting very close to being constantly overwhelmed.

there is almost always reassurance and meaning to be found in the smallest of things, in the smallest of beauties.

The golden ratio

The world is held together by tiny, beautiful things

The forgotten truth of the matter is that if you find something to be beautiful, this is enough.

beauty is almost always an opening and not often a closing.

witness a year of beauty, using the days and months as a structure but without any other limitations in terms of what gets included, or when, or how.

[Fran McBookface · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these more often than not dark and depressing times this book was a breath of fresh air.

A call to take note of beauty, to find it in the smallest things and in everyday life.

Beautiful illustrations, inspirational quotes and ideas make this a joy to behold. The reader is encouraged to interact with the book with space and pages left to jot down inspiration and musings.

A book you can pick up and read through but also one you can just flick through when you are needing a pick-me-up.

As a reader of novels this is not the sort of book I would normally pick up but I really found it to be an insightful, uplifting read and am hugely grateful to the publisher Vintage for sending me a copy

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this 5 stars because it was EXACTLY what I needed in my life at the time I stumbled upon it. I even voiced to a friend the day before I spotted the title in a book store display, "I'm feeling uninspired; I feel like I need more beauty in my life." Lovely, and unlike many "self-care" / mindfulness books - did not feel self-indulgent but necessary (i.e. healing from within, focusing on wholeness, and cultivating perspective so that one can bring their most centered, wise, and empathetic self to their community and the world). I love that the author includes thoughts on Gaza - since I'm sure that is one of the reasons many heartbroken readers such as myself are turning to this book in the first place.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully written book on how to find the most beautiful things in life, focusing on beauty in the everyday ideal / way.

This book uses artwork and words to capture true beauty and allows us to stop the busy and the rushing and just take the time to appreciate things we might not have originally have seen if we hadn't looked in between the cracks and taken the time.

A gentle and reflective read, I do feel I would have appreciated this a lot more physically rather than an eReader, there is something about just holding a book that make its more magical.

Many thanks to Netgalley, publishers and the author for this free ARC in return for my review.

[Cinthya Rom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me gusto muchísimo el concepto del libro, fue como tener un libro para niños, versión adulto. Las ilustraciones están bellísimas y acompañan cada página, es super interactivo además, permitiendo que el lector también dibuje o haga cosas en las páginas del libro.
Es muy lindo, pero en muchas cosas no me pude identificar con lo que decía la autora, ella vive en países del norte de europa y yo soy demasiado latinoamericana, muchas cosas no hacen sentido para mi porque jamás las he visto o vivido, ya que no son comunes acá. Aún así, imaginarlas fue agradable. En general, es un libro con vibra bonita 🥰

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concepts of this book are for sure far from being new revelations, but this book served as a good reminder to look at and appreciate the simple things in life and seeing their beauty.
Personally, I liked the examples of floorboards being warned by the sun, and when seabird drift like bits of paper in the air during windy moments.
As I said, this book is nothing crazy, but it's nice and grounding

[Katelynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The forgotten truth of the matter is that if you find something to be beautiful, this is enough. You do not need other people to confirm that beauty, validate it; in fact, you do not necessarily need to utter a word about your beauties to anyone else at all. The only way for beautiful to mean everything is when the edges are defined by you." 🤍

[Shivangi]

Kitaab sundar bohot hai, aur thought provoking bhi. Just felt like there could have been more to the story/content. Perhaps it's making space for the reader to make their observations in its journal format and thus refrains from saying too much. Still, I felt there could have been more. But my, my, the art is so moving and so asghjk

[Michelle Mazares · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with the message behind this books meaning. I found the journey this book took me on to be a little in-cohesive but that was okay in the end. Beauty is what you find to be beautiful and not what we have been socialized to believe what it it should be

[Div Manickam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad I picked up this book everything beautiful as my first book read for 2024.

A great way to see the beauty around us - in nature, in people and literally in everything.

Thank you for bringing radical beauty into our lives.

I read the book in a Kindle in August 2023 but the paperback book is so much better with visuals and thoughts across the book.

[JoAnna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Sanders has created an aesthetically beautiful book. However, also as usual, I was a wee bit disappointed by the substance. This is an exploration of beauty -- what it is, where we find it, how it sneaks up on us in different ways -- but if you take the words without the images, there's not much here. Take your time with this one. Dip in and out and savor the full experience.