Gabby

Gabby/ Gabrielle Giffords, Jeffrey Zaslow, Mark Kelly, New York: Scribner, 2012. (p.320)

She was a United States House Representative. He was an American astronaut. They married, and just as they weathered a long-distance relationship and came to terms with fertility problems, everything changed on January 8, 2011. While meeting with constituents at a Tucson grocery store, Giffords was the victim of an assassination attempt. Six people died, including a 10-year-old girl, and many others were injured. News organizations erroneously declared the congresswoman dead. This book tells the story of Gifford's amazing recovery from a severe traumatic brain injury as well as Kelly's true love and sacrifice in their marriage. The books is written from Kelly's point of view, and it details life before and after the shooting.

Coral Glynn/ Peter Cameron, New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012 (p.221)

A novel in the English domestic fiction genre with a twist. A young nurse, Coral Glynn,  in post-war WWII rural England arrives to take care of a sick elderly woman. The manor house also contains a moody, war injured son and calculating housekeeper cook. The reader is soon embroiled in a murder mystery. Not my cup of tea, but the writing is so engaging that I read this short novel in several long sittings.

Arcadia/ Lauren Groff, New York: Hyperion, 2012. (p.291)

A story told in thirds through the eyes of Bit, offspring of hippie parents of the 1970s. We see the world through Bit's perspective as toddler, a teenager, and as a grown man. The voice of child-Bit is the most haunting and compelling one to this reader. The novel chronicles Bit's life as it was formed by this idealistic rural community. He provides a lens of perception that is haunting, beautiful, and at times frightening. A book to be read in earnest.

The Monsters of Templeton/Lauren Groff, New York: Hyperion, 2008 (p.361)

If you like wacky stories with unusual characters and a historical overview, you will enjoy this novel by Lauren Groff. A young graduate student returns to her hometown to live with her mother in the house she grew up in and to take stock of her life. Sounds like a rather conventional framework for a novel but in the hands of Groff, it is anything but. Wilhelmina Sunshine Upton, the protagonists delves in to her family tree and the history of her town, loosely based upon the history of Cooperstown, New York. Interesting personal relationships and raging hormones of all kinds play a prominent role in this loopy and humorous story.

 

 

The Descendants / Kaui Hart Hemmings

A pointed look at a family in crisis. The book received a resurgence in popularity due to the film adaption. Hemmings beautiful crafts the story of a family patriarch Matthew King and his two daughters as they deal with the coming loss of their flawed wife and mother. The character of Joanie (renamed Elizabeth in the movie) comes to life through the memories of her husband, daughters, family and others. King and his daughters make the decision to visit individual family and friends and notify them the decision to take Joanie off life support, when they discover that Joanie was having an affair and set off to find her lover. A subplot focuses on King's role in deciding what to do with his family's ancestral land.

While the book is thin, it's not a quick read, but it holds your attention every step of the way.

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3/Scott Kelby, Berkeley:  Peachpit Press, 2009 (243 p.)

This is the lengthiest of Scott Kelby’s first three volumes of The Digital Photography Book.  Volume 3, again picks up where the previous books ended and assumes the reader has either read the previous volumes or has a solid understanding of the tips there.

The chapters in volume 3 closely parallel those in volume 2 but there is a little less emphasis on “people photography” and a shift back to a bit broader coverage of topics.  One chapter which many less experienced photographers will find quite useful covers lenses and associated topics.  Also, previous information on shooting landscapes has been expanded to include the more general topic of outdoor photography.

Continuing previous practices, this volume closes with two chapters covering pro tips and photo recipes, or techniques used to capture selected sample images.  In both volumes, these two chapters provide some of the most useful and easiest to read information.  This is the one area where Kelby slips back into an emphasis on portraits and studio work.

While Peachpit rates this book as a Beginner Level volume (consistent with volumes 1 and 2), my view is that it is starting to move into areas that are for slightly more advanced photographers.  Even so, I wouldn’t hesitate recommending the series to any digital photographer.

As I noted in my review of volume 2, you can purchase volumes 1, 2, and 3 as a boxed set at considerable savings.  These books are also available in eBook form (for both Kindle and Nook readers). 

Digital Photography Book, Vol. 2

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2/Scott Kelby, Berkeley:  Peachpit Press, 2007 (223 p.)

To quote Scott Kelby from Chapter 1, “This is volume 2 of The Digital Photography Book and it picks up where the last book left off (so it’s not an update of that book, it’s new stuff …”  In the same manner as volume 1, Kelby approaches this volume as though he and the reader were out together on a photo shoot and the reader asked how to do a particular task.  The result is an easy to read volume, not overloaded with technical details but instead filled with useful information.  At 223 pages, you get another 200 or so helpful hints or ideas on how to make your photography better.

Volume 1 provided broad coverage of almost every photographic subject.  While volume 2 continues this coverage of multiple areas, the emphasis leans strongly toward “people photography” with longer chapters on lighting, building a studio, portraiture, and wedding photography.  It also includes shorter chapters on landscape, travel, and macro photography but these are clearly not the emphasis of this volume.

Like volume 1, volume 2 closes with two chapters covering pro tips and photo recipes, or techniques used to capture selected sample images.  In both volumes, these two chapters provide some of the most useful and easiest to read information.  As is the case with the rest of volume 2, the emphasis of these two chapters is people photography.  Kelby’s dry humor remains, primarily on the introductory pages of each chapter, and can be read or ignored as the reader prefers.  As a tease, I found his story of his recent contract with National Geographic to be particularly humorous.

Peachpit rates this book as a Beginner Level volume but unless you are a true expert, any reader may find helpful information included.  This is particularly true for photograhers who, like me, prefer areas other than photographing people.

Another good volume that is well worth the investment (by the way, you can get volumes 1, 2, and 3 as a boxed set at considerable savings).