Loading ...Better Reading's Cheryl Akle inspired by art, especially her Robert Malherbe work
Even people with dream jobs need to get up and walk away from their desks sometimes in search of inspiration.
Cheryl Akle is the director of betterreading.com.au, which aims to coax lapsed bookworms back into the joy of reading. She first fell in love with books as a young Lebanese migrant in Sydney’s inner west.
“Can you imagine how exciting it was to discover Dr Seuss when English is not your first language?” she says.
Feeling like an outsider, she found instant solace in classics such as Where the Wild Things Are, To Kill a Mockingbird and Charlotte’s Web. “Good books can teach you how to live well,” she says.
As absorbing as her job is, Akle sometimes needs a boost of energy after a long day’s work. Her solution is to catch a bus to the Art Gallery of NSW.
“It’s just pointless sitting at your computer if you’re lacking inspiration, and I tell my staff the same. You become productive when your spirits are lifted. I find looking at art calms me in a way nothing else does.”
The painting that acts most like a balm on the former book buyer and marketer is the centrepiece of her Petersham home. It’s a languid nude by her good friend, Blackheath artist Robert Malherbe.
Sometimes guests find it confronting seeing such a sensual image in her living room. “They make subtle remarks, such as, ‘Oh that would be perfect for your bedroom’,” Akle says.
But feasting her eyes on the ravishing figure never fails to cheer her up. “Every time I look at it, or walk past it, it makes me happy. I love having it out in the open so I can see it all the time.
“Gazing at beautiful art can really free your mind and helps you take a different approach to things. It can really enhance your life.”
The same can be said of reading. If you’ve forgotten what it feels like to plunge into the river of someone else’s life and lose yourself in a story, Akle is there to help remind you.
Source: www.smh.com.au