Hello, reader…
*Note to first time readers: the following is a summary of a discussion by friends who gather monthly in a virtual space called Second Life. Book notes are lightly edited reflections shared in real time via text chat.
Here are the books mentioned by the readers who joined us at our August gathering:
Annie Leibovitz at Work – by Annie Leibovitz
Sierra shared that this is probably the most autobiographical of the three Leibovitz books that she read. It has chapters about different points in Leibovitz’s career that talk about how she got into photography and her experiences.
Sierra generally thinks of Lebovitz as a portrait photographer–which is how she usually chooses to position herself even though Sierra thinks Lebovitz doesn’t like photographic categories so much.
One of the things that is even surprising is that at one point, Lebovitz went to Sarajavo. She has some photos from that period…so you could say ‘war photographer’ fits in there, too.
Annie Leibovitz Portraits, 2005-2016 and Wonderland by Annie Lebovitz
Sierra also read these two fairly large epic tomes of Lebovitz’s work. Going through these in relation to the one above was interesting when reviewing her work as a photographer. This is where…a Kindle is simply not not not going to do the work justice. Sierra emphasized that print is needed for this.
Though someone like Leibovitz has a large assortment of assistants that most professionals wouldn’t have, her work is still amazing…lots of details. A great deal of thought goes into it.
Cemetery of Untold Stories by Isabel Allende
The main character is an author who has some story ideas that never developed. She decides to actually bury the notes for stories on land that she has inherited in a poor district in her hometown in the Dominican Republic. She has a small house built on the plot and then hires a person to make gravestones and decorate the graves. The ghosts from the graves speak to the author, and to the cemetery workers, and the cemetery becomes a popular public park.
It also has a little story about Trujillo and about a doctor who escapes from the island. Veyot said she enjoyed all of it.
Veyot also encouraged everyone to see Bryn Oh’s current exhibit, The Skyfisher.
Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen
CK recently started reading this book. She loves his songs, knows a bit of his poetry, and was warned that this was a difficult book. She agrees that it IS very difficult to follow.
This book reads a bit like a stream of consciousness, and there are so many different ‘thoughts’ in the main character’s mind. It reads like poetry, which is quite hard when it’s not actual poetry but page after page.
CK also shared a SLurl to the Loenard Cohen Club in SL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beau%20Belle/226/28/22
Killer Weed by Manning Wolfe
FireWoman read this book that is available on Amazon for 99 cents. This book, as do all her other books, grabs the reader within the first couple of pages and is very hard to put down.
Medical marijuana is legal in Texas, Really. And this is a book about greed and murder (of course) for the top licenses to grow medical marijuana in Texas. FireWoman had to remind myself it was fiction.
Manning’s characters are very believable and very easy to NOT LIKE! The bad guys that is.
Horror Tales of Japan: 21 Japanese Folktales Not to Be Read to Children by Kyota Ko
FireWoman said that some of these are very scary. They are all short and shared with a lot of cultural background. The author did all of the art on his iPad. It is very good. FireWoman recommends all of Kyota-san’s books.
Words Without Music by Phillip Glass
Veyot was reminded of this memoir when Sierra shared about her Lebovitz reads. Glass was still driving a cab to make money while he was quite famous in music. He was a composer who wrote music that was too modern at first. Lots of piano compositions and string quartets. Now his music is in movies. It was only lately that Glass realized that he stole some phrases from country western songs – short tunes. He hears them now in his music.
Veyot thought this was easy to read and enjoyed it.
The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood
Zoe read this book about a 104 year old woman and the friendship she forms with an 11 year old boy scout. He attempts to help her get into the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living person with a valid driver’s license. But then he dies unexpectedly and his parents take over. Zoe is halfway through it and is enjoying it. It’s a warm-hearted read – though if you’re currently struggling with personal grief, you might save this one for later.
Our next gathering is September 8 at 1pm SLT. We’ll meet at our new location in Seogyeoshire. All are welcome – bring a friend!
The Reading Room 