Early Book Review: Picturing Joy: Stories of Connection by George Lange

Picturing Joy: Stories of Connection by George Lange is a guide to Lange’s approach to life as well as the highlights of his career. It is currently scheduled for release on November 7 2023. This optical and optimistic book captures his curiosity, energy, and enthusiasm for people and photography. It also distills wisdom gleaned from a lifelong search for quotidian beauty that might otherwise go unnoticed. Through intimate stories and more than eighty photos, Picturing Joy invites readers to appreciate life with all their senses and to change their perspective by being open to new things.

Picturing Joy is a lovely coffee table book that offers stories and photographs from Lange's career and life. Some of the people he has had the opportunity to work with, and the amazing shots he has taken are wonderful to read about and enjoy. I was glad that he included stories for the celebrates that he did, but that he also included 'normal' folks and lesser known individuals in the book. I love that he also included information on why and how he does this job, and offers encouragement and tips for others to follow their own path. I think aspiring photographers, and those just starting out or interested in the field will get the most out of this book. 

Early Book Review: Girls of the World: 250 Portraits of Awesome by Mihaela Noroc

Girls of the World: 250 Portraits of Awesome by Mihaela Noroc is currently scheduled for release on November 7 2023. This collection of powerful photographs and moving stories showcases young women of all backgrounds, from a myriad of cultures, showing us that all girls are awesome in their own special way. Travel from Kabul to Texas with author and photographer Mihaela Noroc and experience astonishing diversity and a shared humanity in Girls of the World: 250 Portraits of Awesome. The inspiring stories of these young women are the stories of our planet. Their gaze into the camera reveals their strength and tenacity, their joy and fun-seeking spirits, even in the face of hardships and extraordinary challenges.

Girls of the World: 250 Portraits of Awesome is a wonderful book for children and adults to look through and explore. I loved the diversity of girls included, and thought that everyone could see someone they could identify with or aspire to be more like. Some of the girls had more information shared about their experiences, culture, and plans than others. However, I think the information shared was well balanced between different parts of the world, different cultures and experiences, and different plans for the future. Some of the young people included were continuing and celebrating the culture and traditions of their families, others were breaking new ground, and some shared nothing more than enjoying being a kid. I loved that every path was celebrated and that the emphasis was on strength, happiness, and hope for the future.  I learned some things about different countries and cultures, and I think some readers will see the names of countries or people that they have never heard of before. I hope that it can inspire future exploration into those areas, and the understanding that all of us are at the heart the same, while we have so many differences to celebrate and explore to better understand each other.

Book Review: Hidden Places: From Secret Shores to Sacred Shrines by Claudia Martin

Hidden Places: From Secret Shores to Sacred Shrines by Claudia Martin roams across the globe in search of hidden treasures and secret places off the beaten track. Explore the Silfra Deep Trench in Iceland, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet to create a remarkable rift and freshwater dive site; experience the weirdest of woodland walks through the Crooked Forest in Pomerania, Poland, where a grove of 400 pines are uniformly curved; marvel at the colorful, gold-plated temple of Doi Suthep in northern Thailand; or visit the world’s highest sand dune, Grande Dune du Pilat, on the Bordeaux coast. Each location is accompanied by a caption explaining the geography and history of the place. Illustrated with 180 color photographs, Hidden Places ranges from the sparse landscape of the Arctic Circle to the rich rainforests of the Amazon basin. Read this book and discover the special, hidden places that will come to define your bucket list – many of which are much closer to home than you think.

Hidden Places was a wonderful book to look through and enjoy. As someone that has travelled little, but often thinks about going to the less travelled places in the world, I really enjoyed getting a good look at the quiet places that I am likely never going to see. The photographs are wonderful, and for the most part show locations with few to zero people taking advantage of the locations (just how I'd like to see them). I liked the variety of locations and climates included. There were snow and ice covered locations, lush forests, deserts, as well as man made or altered locations from all over the world. The colors in each image are so vibrant and perfect that it feels almost like you are looking out a window rather than at a picture on a screen, or page in the case of a print version. Some of the colors and wonders included looked so perfect that I was squinted to make sure the image really was a photograph rather than a painting since they looked so fantastic.   I think this book offers readers exactly what they will be hoping for by the title and cover, weather they are regular travelers or those that prefer staying home and enjoying from afar. 

Book Review: Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens by Ryan Pfluger

Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens by Ryan Pfluger features 100 stunning color photographs of queer, interracial couples taken by a renowned photographer for the New York Times Magazine, Time, Rolling Stone, and more, this incredible photo and story collection depicts modern love and relationships in all their joy, vulnerability, and affection. Throughout 2020 and 2021, during a time of intense personal and political upheaval, artist, advocate, and photographer Ryan Pfluger set out to capture intimate images of queer, interracial couples, along with personal insight into their relationships in today’s world. Featured together for the first time in Holding Space, this unique collection of modern love in its many forms across the spectrum of race, sexuality, and gender identity and gives space to these couples to share short, revealing stories about their relationships.

Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens is a wonderful collection of honest and frank interviews about the featured couples and their relationships and experiences. There is discussion on how they make their relationships work, and in some cases why they did not work out. But there is also discussion about the discriminations and challenges that come from society's expectations, bigotry, and the so much more. This is a great exploration of identity, diversity, and relationships that is accessible to anyone. It was lovely to get fresh and differing perspectives on the impact that family, race, gender identity and its fluid nature, and society can have on individuals and couples. 

Book Review: Puppy Life: The First Eight Weeks of Bonding, Playing, and Growing by Traer Scott

Puppy Life: The First Eight Weeks of Bonding, Playing, and Growing by Traer Scott is a nonfiction book that follows the stages of development of six litters of puppies across breeds from birth through eight weeks. Featuring 120 full-color photographs from best-selling animal photographer Traer Scott, this book takes readers on a photographic journey through puppyhood with a visual diary of how dogs mature and grow, as well as information about each stage of puppy development leading up to the day each puppy goes to its forever home. Follow the stories of these litters across different ages, with informative text about each breed and developmental stage: English Setters, Great Pyrenees, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Labradors, and Mixed Breed.

Puppy Life offers readers exactly what the title and blurb promises. Detailed information on the first eight weeks of life, development, and growth for five litters of puppies. The photographs were very cute, and helped to show how fast puppies change and grow. I always new puppies grew up fast, but as someone that has only had cats in my adult life, and adopted full grown rescue dogs with my family when I was a kid, sometimes seeing that growth documented is much more real that the knowledge of the subject. I thought the text was accessible and did a nice job of talking about the breeds and the specific litters that are covered, without getting deep enough to become too much. I think this would be a great book for fans of shows like Too Cute, which does something similar, and as a discussion starter in families talking about getting a puppy. 

Book Review: The Solar System: Exploring the Sun, Planets and their Moons by Robert Harvey

The Solar System: Exploring the Sun, Planets and their Moons by Robert Harvey is a nonfiction book featuring more than 200 intriguing images taken by space probes travelling billions of kilometers from Earth, The Solar System is an exhilarating exploration of the mysteries of our local planetary space. Within the span of a human lifetime, our spacecraft have visited all eight planets of the Solar System, together with several dwarf planets, asteroids and comets. We have mapped the surface of Mercury and Venus in exquisite detail, landed rovers on Mars, placed orbiters around Jupiter and Saturn, and parachuted to the surface of Titan. Our emissaries have visited icy worlds five billion kilometers from home and continued onwards to reach interstellar space. The pictures and science returned by these intrepid travelers have transformed our understanding of the Solar System in which we live.

The Solar System: Exploring the Sun, Planets and their Moons is an accessible and visually stunning look at our solar system, what we have learned, and our place in it.  I thought the text was well written and pairs well with each of the chosen images.  The images are absolutely stunning and the star of this book. I like that there were some artist renditions as well, which were also of great quality.  I thought the text was understandable and added context to the images making them more impactful. without getting too technical or overwhelming. I think middle grade and older readers could get just as much out of the book (particularly if they are interested in the subject matter).  This is a lovely coffee table book that will stand up to rereading and flipping through when the mood strikes. 

Book Review: Cities of the Dead: The World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries by Yolanda Zappaterra

Cities of the Dead: The World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries by Yolanda Zappaterra is a nonfiction book and collection of photography. Readers will discover the fascinating stories of the world’s most beautiful cemeteries, featuring spectacular photography, unique histories and famous residents. The book invites readers on a tour of memorial sites, ranging from monastic settlements to grand cathedrals, Shinto shrines to Gothic chapels, tombs and crypts. Enjoy tales of myths and monsters, grave-robbers, pilgrimages, spiritual retreats, remembrance and community. Marvel in cemeteries with a hundred thousand to a handful of graves which feature famous headstones, weeping angels, ocean views, woodlands, thousands of glowing lanterns and a tomb of poets. From London's famous Highgate Cemetery, which houses famous names from Karl Marx to Malcolm McLaren, George Eliot to Christina Rosetti, to Hawaii's breathtaking Valley of the Temples, this book spans the globe to bring you the most fascinating, intriguing and evocative cemeteries across cultures and continents. Together with the photographs, the stories behind these notable burial sites bring these sanctuaries to life, detailing the features that make them special, highlighting both similarities and differences between time periods, religions and cultures, and showing how cemeteries are about and for the living as much as the dead.

Cities of the Dead is a fascinating read and visually captivating. I thought the information provided for each site was well researched and written, with just enough information to give readers an understanding of the location, and perhaps inspire some further research for the locations that really speak to them. I have to admit that I was much more interested in the photography, but that is more on my personal preference and visual nature than any lack on the author's part.  It was nice to see the beauty ad dignity of these locations, rather than the focus of dark and spooky that I mostly see particularly this time of year. The serenity and magnitude of some of the locations was interesting and I liked the variety of locations and seasons and time of day in which the pictures seemed to be taken. I found some of the images sad, like the cramped crowd of tombstones of Beth-Chaim in Prague, and some of the less well tended expanses, however other locations seems so restful and carefully tended that they exude peace. The contrasts of how history and people shape these things is important, and too often forgotten. I like that the author included a guide to the symbolism in cemeteries, visitor information on the featured locations, an index and the full list of photograph credits. These important details too often are lost in the process, and I love digging into these kids of details at the end of a nonfiction book.  I think my only complaint is that the number of photographs per cemetery seemed a bit uneven, some locations only had one while others had several pages. I understand that this is partially because of image availability and cemetery size and accessibility, but it still bothered me in the end.

Book Review: Wings Over Water: The Vital Magic of North America’s Prairie Wetlands by Wetlands LLC

Wings Over Water: The Vital Magic of North America’s Prairie Wetlands by Wetlands LLC is a companion book to the internationally distributed IMAX film of the same name. Wings Over Water celebrates the prairie wetlands of North America and the birds that live and breed in this critical habitat. Covering 300,000 square miles stretching from Canada through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa, the prairie wetlands are one of Earth’s most important, yet little-known, ecosystems. More than half of all North American migratory waterfowl and 96 species of songbirds breed and nest there, and more than 60 percent of the continent’s ducks are hatched there. Wings Over Water immerses readers in this awe-inspiring, essential region, using more than 300 breathtaking photos and inspiring essays from some of North America’s foremost conservationists to shine a spotlight on these critical breeding grounds and the need to protect them.

Wings Over Water is a lovely collection of personal reflections, information, and photographs about the American wetlands and the birds that stop there in their yearly migrations. This would be a great coffee table book for those interested in the topic to flip through and enjoy, or to read before or after seeing the movie. I did enjoy the images, and think there is some valuable information and engaging thoughts shared here. I did like the information on the importance of the environment and conservation, but felt that hunting was a little to glorified here. Yes, hunting can help conservation efforts in specific circumstances, and can be beneficial to people and the environment alike when handled with respect and thoughtfulness, but I think this was a little to focused on the topic than I would have hoped for in a book full of stunning bird focused photography. 

Early Book Review: Into the Forest: The Secret Language of Trees by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

I received a sample of Into the Forest: The Secret Language of Trees by Susan Tyler Hitchcock, which is currently scheduled for release on April 5 2022. This review is based on the sample rather than the complete book. 

For millennia, trees have offered renewal and inspiration. They have provided for humanity on every level, from spiritual sanctuary to the raw material for our homes, books, and food. In this beautiful and revealing book, National Geographic combines photography with  science to illuminate how trees influence the life of planet Earth; from our personal lives to the weather cycle. Illustrated essays tell the stories of the world’s most remarkable trees; from Tane Mahura in New Zealand, the ancient Maori "lord of the forest," to Pando, a single aspen spreading over 100 acres: Earth’s largest living thing. You’ll also discover how an astronaut carried tree seeds to the moon and back; the reason "microdosing" on tree gas is a sure way to boost your immune system; and why playing in the dirt boosts serotonin, happiness hormone.

Into the Forest: The Secret Language of Trees grabbed my attention first because of the photography. I found the chosen photographs to be stunning in their own right. When combined with the information about the trees themselves, and how amazing they are in the grand scheme of things the images took on even more beauty and importance.  I really enjoyed the sample I received of this book, and I anticipate enjoying the final product as well, both visually and intellectually. I look forward to getting my hands on a print copy, and would recommend it for library collections and those that are interested in the subject matter and photography.  

Early Book Review: Octopus, Seahorse, Jellyfish by David Liittschwager

I received a sample of Octopus, Seahorse, Jellyfish by David Liittschwager, which is scheduled for release on April 5 2022. My review is based on that sample, not the full book.  

This is a book of photography that reveals the unnerving beauty of three notoriously mysterious sea creatures--the jellyfish, octopus, and seahorse--and how they perceive the world. The jellyfish, the octopus, and the seahorse are among the most wondrous species on Earth--as well as some of the most difficult to document using traditional photography methods. This collection showcases 200 of Liittschwager’s most revealing photographs, paired with penetrating essays that explain how a creature without a brain or without bones perceives the world. Bestselling science writers Elizabeth Kolbert, Jennifer Holland, and Olivia Judson explain the biology and advanced cognitive abilities of these spineless denizens of the deep, exquisitely evoking their unnerving yet undeniable charisma. In these pages, you’ll glimpse a seahorse only half an inch tall, a moon jelly spinning off a snowflake-shaped clone, and the blinking comb jelly, which may be the most ancient living animal on Earth. Both enlightening and profound, this book documents the expanding frontiers of marine science, creating a powerful testament to the value and beauty of these little-seen--and endangered--species.

Octopus, Seahorse, Jellyfish is a book that captured and kept my attention with the stunning photography. I was amazed by the images on the page, and then glad to see the information about each of the creatures on the page. While jellyfish might not be my favorite swimming partner, I have always been fascinated by their movements and grace in the water. The brilliance of the octopus and the fragility and size of the seahorse have always captured my attention as well. Getting to see them all in such stunning photographs with some information about their nature that I have not known before made this book a must read for me. I am eager to see it in bookstores and libraries. I think this will be a great book for anyone interested in the subject matter and the photography.  

Book Review: Amazing Temples of the World by Michael Kerrigan

Amazing Temples of the World by Michael Kerrigan offers readers an intimate portrait of some spectacular and unusual places of worship dating from the fourth millennium BCE to the present. Ornate or spartan, immense or intimate, from the Middle East to California, this book features such impressive places of worship as the Mahabodi Temple, India, built in the location where Buddha is thought to have achieved enlightenment; the fifth century BCE Temple of Confucius in Qufu, China, the largest Confucian temple in the world; Abu Simbel, in southern Egypt, the great carved monument to the Pharaoh Ramses II; the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, the spiritual home of the world’s 25 million Sikhs; and the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden, London, the biggest Hindu temple outside India. With more than 180 photographs, this book includes more than 150 places of worship, from Ancient Greece and Rome, through traditional synagogues to modern Buddhist, Taoist and Sikh temples organized by region.

Amazing Temples of the World is a collection of stunning temples from around the world. I liked that the images included ancient and modern places of worship, including those in a wide variety of repair. The contrast between the ancient ruins, the well maintained and highly decorated, and the simplicity of some of the temples was wonderful to see. I loved getting the opportunity to see places that I am not likely to get to see in person, for a variety of reasons. It was also interesting to see that even across several continents, spanning a variety of religions and centuries, there is a similarity of reverence and majesty in all locations regardless of the obvious differences.

Early Book Review: Underwater Wild: My Octopus Teacher's Extraordinary World by Craig Foster; Ross Frylinck

Underwater Wild: My Octopus Teacher's Extraordinary World by Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck is currently scheduled for release on October 19 2021. Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck regularly dive together in the awe-inspiring kelp forests off South Africa, without wetsuits or oxygen tanks. In Ross, he found a kindred spirit, someone who also embraced the ancient methods of acclimating his body to frigid waters, but whose eyes had not yet adjusted to the transcendent wonder Craig saw each time they dove. In the stories that make up this book, readers swim alongside Ross as he grows from skeptic to student of the underwater wild. And in the revelatory marine science behind the stunning photos, we learn how to track sea hares, cuttlefish, and limpets, and we witness strange new behaviors never before documented in marine biology. We realize that a whole world of wonder, and an innate wildness within us all, emerge anew when we simply observe. 

I have to admit that I picked Underwater Wild to read because of the photography. Seriously, the images are stunning and well worth a look at the book all on their own. They are simply stunning. The text is well written and talks about much more than the marine life feature. The narrative style brings readers along for the ride, showing rather than telling about what has been seen and learned. It is about marine life, exploration, family, relationships, and more. When paired with the photographs, the text gives an extra layer of wonder and heart to the book as a whole. I think this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, and some will definitely be taking more time to enjoy the pictures than the text, no mater how moving or interesting the information shared.

Book Review: The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science by Philip Ball

The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science by Philip Ball is a visual and intellectual treat. Chemistry is not just about microscopic atoms doing inscrutable things; it is the process that makes flowers and galaxies. We rely on it for bread-baking, vegetable-growing, and producing the materials of daily life. In stunning images and illuminating text, this book captures chemistry as it unfolds. Using such techniques as microphotography, time-lapse photography, and infrared thermal imaging, The Beauty of Chemistry shows us how chemistry underpins the formation of snowflakes, the science of champagne, the colors of flowers, and other wonders of nature and technology. We see the marvelous configurations of chemical gardens; the amazing transformations of evaporation, distillation, and precipitation; heat made visible; and more.

The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science does a great job of showing the wonder of chemistry to those that might not otherwise look to closely. I was in awe at the images, and think the book is well worth a look to enjoy based on those pages on their own. However, I found the explanations of the images and science involved to be well written and accessible. In fact, I found some beauty in the structure and details of the science itself. I think this is a wonderful book showing the true beauty that we do not often appreciate in our world- sometimes because it is so big or small that we cannot see it, and sometimes because we are just not noticing. I liked that there was a glossary, list of sources for the used quotations, and other important pieces of information in the the endpages. That is something that sometimes gets left out, and seeing it included always makes me happy.

The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science is a great book to simply look at and enjoy the stunning images, but it is also a book that explains the wonder of science and the natural world that creates these things.

Early Book Review: Abandoned London: Discover the Hidden Secrets of the City in Photographs by Katie Wignall

Abandoned London:  Discover the Hidden Secrets of the City in Photographs by Katie Wignall is curretly scheduled for release on May 14 2021. It seems bizarre that in a place as crowded, noisy and expensive as London there are still wasted unused spaces. The relentless drive for regeneration across Britain’s capital deceives us into thinking that every spare building and patch of ground is under development. But this vast metropolis of more than 10 million people hides many secrets and unexpected treasures from the city’s unique 2000-year history. In Abandoned London, read about the Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a facility created in 1858 to deal with ‘the Great Stink’, and now London’s Italian-Gothic cathedral of sewage; or the subterranean Finsbury Park underground reservoir, a space capable of holding five million gallons of water and today used as an occasional movie location; or the remnants of Highgate’s overground steam railway station, now a protected bat habitat; or the Clapham deep-level shelters, constructed in World War II and designed to provide protection for locals against aerial bombing raids; or the Haggerston public baths, part of an early 20th century building programme devised to improve London’s hygiene. These photographs of abandoned places capture a moment in time. Some of the buildings have since been demolished or refurbished, but many are still there, neglected and uncared for. These places have great value and a rich significance, offering us a glimpse of past worlds.

Abandoned London is a captivating look at the abandoned spaces in London. It was fascinating to see and learn about some of these locations, as every city and town has these types of location but few stop and think about the beauty and visual interest they hold. I have always had a love for the broken, abandoned, or simply slightly off kilter buildings or features of nature- so this collection really hit the sweet spot for me. There is a solemn beauty that can be found in the forgotten or neglected, and this book captures that idea while teaching readers a little bit about each of these places, and what the future might have in store for them.  Those with an interest in the location, architecture, history, or the forgotten will all find something here that capture's their eye and their interest. 

Book Review: Lockdown Walks: A Picture Story by Netty Cracknell

Lockdown Walks: A Picture Story by Netty Cracknell is a story of lockdown walks in pictures, showing loneliness, serenity and hidden beauty during this bleak and unpredictable time. Many people recounted afterwards that they had explored local areas during lockdown on their allocated once a day 'exercise' and found lovely places they never knew existed. The author was no exception. All photographs within this book were taken during the initial coronavirus lockdown period and were within walking or cycling distance of the author's house in Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex. 

Lockdown Walks is a nice collection of images. I wish the walks I took with my family during lockdown were so picturesque. I liked the collection and found it interesting to read the snippets of thought about each of the pictures and how they came about. It made me think back on some of the walks and extra time I have gotten to spend with my family. It also encouraged me to continue to take advantage of the extra time I have now, and to look for new places to explore around me. I might not have lovely water and fields to walk by, but there is still beauty to be found in every town and neighborhood- if only we take the time to enjoy it. 

Early Book Review: Horses by Paula Hammond

Horses by Paula Hammond is currently scheduled for release on August 14 2020. From the Azteca to the Appaloosa, Choctaw to the Palomina, Brumbys in Australia to the Mongolian, from rare breeds such as the Polish Konik to the semi-feral Pyrenean Pottok, Horses celebrates a wide variety of breeds from all around the world. Ranging from dressage to police horses, from racing horses to rodeo and polo, the book looks at the anatomy and life-cycle of foals and yearlings, colts and fillies, stallions, mares and geldings around the globe. It includes draft horses and warmbloods, light horses and thoroughbreds, gaited horses, ponies and breeds that have become feral. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption with fascinating information about the characteristics of each breed. Illustrated with 200 outstanding color photographs, Horses is an exquisitely produced work packed with lively information about this beloved animal.

Horses is a lovely collection of photographs. Horses are majestic on any given day, even when they are being stubborn or silly. This book does a great job of capturing the wonder of horses, using a wide variety of breeds and landscapes. It was nice to browse through the pages, simply enjoying the images. It was also nice to go through the book in a slower, more thoughtful manner, to read the information offered on horses. I think the text was well written and interesting, but as expected it was the photographs that really captured my attention and kept it as I looked through the book. I think horse lovers, and animal lovers in general, will enjoy the book and find a place for it in their collection.

Book Review: Abandoned Industrial Places: Factories, Laboratories, Mills and Mines that the World Left Behind by David Ross

Abandoned Industrial Places: Factories, Laboratories, Mills and Mines that the World Left Behind by David Ross explores the discarded detritus of our modern mechanized age. Discover the grand Ore Dock in Marquette, USA, squatting isolated in the waters of Lake Superior; or the abandoned Caspian Sea oil rigs and drilling gear in Azerbaijan; or the enormous, gaping pit of the Mirny diamond mine in Sakha Republic, Russia; or the wall of latticed steel towers of the Duga radar in Chernobyl, Ukraine; or the Domino Sugar Refinery, Brooklyn, New York – formerly the world’s largest sugar refinery when built in 1882; or the still contaminated Fisher Body Plant 21 in Detroit, USA, a place where General Motors created some of their great marques for almost a hundred years. Filled with more than 200 memorable photographs from every part of the planet, Abandoned Industrial Places provides a strange and often spooky insight into the life and workings of industries long since ceased.

Abandoned Industrial Places is a beautiful book. I grew up splitting my time between a small greenhouse and a small manufacturing company (my family was very busy). Because of that industrial locations and machinery are special to me, and I have always seen a special kind of beauty in it while others just saw grease and metal. I thought the pictures were nicely varied, in industry and location. The colors of the buildings, machinery, and in some cases nature reclaiming space were attention grabbing. Some were bold, others muted, but they were well balanced. I really enjoyed studying the photographs and thinking about the impact the rise and fall of each of these locations had on their communities and the individuals that worked there- and how many small moments have been forgotten over the years.

Abandoned Industrial Places is a fascinating look at locations that have been abandoned over the years. Some images are beautiful, others are haunting, but they are all thought provoking. 

Early Book Review: Rail Journeys by David Ross

Rail Journeys by David Ross is currently scheduled for release on March 14 2020. There is always a sense of adventure when going on a railway journey. Whether it is aboard the Orient Express from London to Istanbul, or travelling the Transcontinental railroad through the Canadian Rockies to the Pacific coast, or riding the Serra Verde Express through the Brazilian rainforest, With 200 outstanding colour photographs, Rail Journeys  takes the reader on a journey through some of the most unusual, romantic and remarkable landscapes in the world. Places where trains still offer romantic and astounding experiences of rail travel at its best.

Rail Journeys offers readers a combination of accessible text and stunning images of railroads and trains. Readers can glimpse the Coast Starlight, which carries passengers from Los Angeles along the Pacific coast to Seattle and all points in between. Then there is the 7,000 kilometre Trans-Siberian, crossing the entirety of Mongolia and Russia from Beijing to Moscow. Some many unique and fascinating images and details about train travel around the world. I found myself studying the images of landscapes, stations, tunnels, and trains more intensely that I thought I would. I was captivated by the images more than anything else, but when I took the time to read the text I found it to be interesting and informative. I am very much a homebody, but think train travel would be one of the few ways I would be glad to travel.  I just loved the photography so much that it over-shadowed the work that must have gone into that text even though it was well done.  

Rail Journeys is a book that I could see as a great gift for train and travel lovers alike. I know a could people that are train enthusiasts that I think would fully appreciate this book. 

Book Review: After the Final Curtain: America’s Abandoned Theaters by Matt Lambros

After the Final Curtain: America’s Abandoned Theaters by Matt Lambros documents the current state of the once opulent movie theaters that were designed to make their patrons feel like royalty.  People would dress up to visit. But as time went on it became harder and harder to fill the 2,000+ seat theaters and many were forced to close. Today, these palaces are illuminated only by the flicker of dying lights. The sound of water dripping from holes in the ceiling echoes through the auditoriums. From the supposedly haunted Pacific Warner Theatre in Los Angeles to the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA ― which opened the same day the Titanic sank ― Lambros pulls back the curtain to reveal what is left, giving these palaces a chance to shine again.

After the Final Curtain: America’s Abandoned Theaters offers readers a look at the once beautiful movie theaters in their current states, along with information on the location. I found a sad beauty in most of the pictures, a faded grandeur and a look at what was glorious inthe past. I have always loved theaters- the magic and wonder in getting lost in a story and someone's acting or musical talent  isa wonderful thing. The faded glory of these theaters hold on to some of this wonder, as sad as the state of some of these buildings are in. I think that Lambros did a wonderful job of documenting these locations, and the changes in the world that triggered some of this decay. I really enjoyed learning about some of the projects that have happened, and are still happening, to preserve, restore, or repurpose some of these buildings. While we cannot go back, providing space for history and the arts to live on is a wonderful thing. I only wish more of these buildings had futures as bright as their pasts.

Early Book Review: Close to Birds: An Intimate Look at Our Feathered Friends by Roine Magnusson, Mats Ottosson, Asa Ottosson, Kira Josefsson

Close to Birds: An Intimate Look at Our Feathered Friends was written by Mats Ottosson and Asa Ottosson will photographs by Roine Magnusson and the translation to English by Kira Josefsson. It is currently scheduled for release on October 22 2019. The stunning and intimate photographs capture the beauty and detail of each bird's form, as well as their unique character and personality. The accompanying short essays share charming and often-hidden details from birds' lives. Discover why robins sing so early in the morning and learn the science behind the almost magical iridescence of mallard feathers. Close to Birds shares the irresistible joy and marvel of birds.

Close to Birds is an interesting read. I like that I learned about the birds included, not the basics of habitat and diet, but the scientific studies and opinions on the birds with the inclusion of quotes about them. I do need to admit that I have a different opinion from the authors, and that we diverged right away. I find birds fascinating and interesting, but unlike our authors I do not find that all people find them more interesting than other creatures. So, this insistence that birds are so much more interesting than other creatures bothered me from the start. However, the essays were accessible and had some tidbits of information that were interesting. The star of this book is not the text. Rather the stunning photography of birds that captured them clearly, up close, and in living color. The images were very much worth my time and I think animal lovers, and birders in particular, will want to give this a look. Those that are birders and share a deep love of birds will very much enjoy the essays as well.