Chihuly on Paper

Dale Chihuly, world renowned artist, just published a new 3 book collection Chihuly on Paper.  You can see the titles: Graphite, Charcoal, and Acrylic.  I'm so excited to have been invited to the reception honoring the artist and his new books, at the Chihuly Glass Museum next to the Space Needle in Seattle.  Notice the artist's signature painted onto the front of this special collection edition.

Here's an inside page of Charcoal.  Pages and pages of the artist's sketches, including his notes.  This is such a treasured collection of the spark that starts the amazing glass artistry.

I was so honored to meet Dale Chihuly and personally congratulate him on his new books, and thank him for the joy and inspiration he has brought in sharing his talent over the years.

Here's a page from a previous book Chihuly A Decade of Glass.  Published in 1984, you can see the vivid photos of his works.  This one is Macchia, one of my favorites.  Chihuly writes "In the beginning I was using mostly opaque colors with the inside contrasting with the outside.  Some of the combinations I thought would be ugly turned out to be the very best.  Originally thought of only as singles, I now also work them in pairs and groups."

I brought this book with me to the reception and Dale Chihuly generously signed it for me on the Dedication page.  This book was dedicated to "Chihuly's friends, from the cooks to the gaffers, who have helped make this glasswork possible."

 

 

Buzz Aldrin's Vision for Space Exploration

What an interesting book! At times it can be very technical and so if you are curious about the intricacies of space travel and exploration, this is an excellent read for you.  But yet it is written in a straight forward conversation that captures your imagination, and inspires the everyday reader.

You probably know that Buzz Aldrin is the astronaut, with Neil Armstrong, who first walked on the moon.  He has remained actively engaged in the interests of the space program.  He has so many ideas.  And he has an overall vision - mission to Mars.  His creative and technical ideas include many specific plans for achieving that vision.  It is not his intention that we visit Mars and return home.  This proposal is to colonize.

I thought that I had kept up with current space exploration efforts, but this book has definitely educated me.  So much more is being done than I was aware.  Beyond the text, the pictures included in this book are fun.  The pictures and illustrations are also helpful for understanding some of the concepts.

Buzz Aldrin addresses his plan for a unified effort among countries on earth, in exploring space together.  "We come in peace for all mankind."  He also addresses the private enterprise interest and beginnings in space, and how this could be the beginnings of an excellent partnership.

July 2019 will be the 50th anniversary of the first humans to land on the moon.  Buzz Aldrin asks - America, do you still dream great dreams?  On the 50th anniversary can you commit, within two decades, to commencing American permanence on the planet Mars?

Delicious Review by Ellis Shuman

Delicious review! It whets my apetite for more. I'll have to table my other plans and try this book very soon.



What do you think?  Thanks for the review Ellis Shuman

Joy of Kosher by Jamie Geller



I don't cook, let's make that clear, but I do enjoy eating. Does that qualify me to review Jamie Geller's new cookbook? I think so!

How does someone who doesn't cook review a cookbook? By enlisting the wife of course. My wife selected a number of dishes from Geller's Joy of Kosher cookbook for our Friday night dinner and I, of course, volunteered to eat them.

But first, a word about the book. Geller's previous cookbook, Quick & Kosher - Recipes From The Bride Who Knew Nothing, was published in 2007. That book was called an "autobiographic cookbook" by one reviewer on Amazon. This cookbook is a worthy sequel, as Geller's family takes center stage. It features Geller's husband and her five children in pictures and stories accompanying the various sections of the book.

Joy of Kosher is not the ultimate collection of kosher recipes to help plan traditional Jewish meals. As the cook in my family says, "If I wanted to read a book about a Jewish mother and her family, I would buy a book about a Jewish family." If, on the other hand, you're willing to try 'fast, fresh family recipes' according to the Geller tradition, you'll like this book. Simply put, this cookbook is Gellerish. . . . .  The Rest of the Review

John Grisham's The Innocent Man

Best seller John Grisham wrote this real legal thriller, a true story about justice gone wrong in a small town in Oklahoma.  You won't like all the people in this book, but the events and injustice will tug at your heart and the tragedy will outrage you.  Reading this book may get you discussing and perhaps re-evaluating your feelings about the death penalty.

These convictions were before the miracle of DNA testing.  You'll be incredulous at what these convictions were based on.

The author has written a detailed, thoroughly investigated account of these tragedies which details the feelings of the convicted, their families and friends, the two murdered women, their friends and families, and the small community as a whole.  It is also an indictment of the jails and prisons.  One of the prisons was finally inspected and it was determined to be so inhumane, it violated international penal agreements.

This true story is shocking and sad, and an important story to be told.  Baseball fans/historians will be interested to read how all this happened to Ron Williamson, who was the first player chosen in the 1971 draft from the State of Oklahoma.  He signed with the Oakland A's.  Six years later his big league dreams were shattered, he returned home and had no idea he would soon be "proven" guilty, although he was innocent.

How do you find hope, when you're innocent of a heinous crime and your life is destroyed by a corrupt group of people, and you are powerless to change it.  No one will listen.  Your loved ones can't find a way to help, despite all their attempts.  Years stretch into many years.  Finally, science catches up and is used to finally overturn by the Freedom Project.  That is a fascinating part of the story - what it took, and how long, and the Judge and his legal staff who first recognized the injustice and were determined to come to the rescue.

John Grisham is the author of eighteen novels.

World Book Night

Books are fun—and they can be life-changing.

WORLD BOOK NIGHT IS COMING!

 



WHAT IT IS -
Each year, World Book Night is celebrated around the world on April 23.
April 23 is the UNESCO International Day of the Book, as well as Shakespeare’s birthday. It was also chosen in honor of Miguel de Cervantes, who died on April 23, 1616 (the same day as Shakespeare). In the Catalan region of Spain, the day is celebrated by giving a book and a flower to a loved one.

World Book Night was the product of a round table discussion at London’s Book Industry Conference in May 2010, the purpose of which was to imagine a way to encourage more adults to read. What better way to spread a love for reading than to inspire passionate readers to go out into their communities and share copies of their favorite books with those who don’t regularly read? Giving is an incredibly powerful part of our culture—and culture, art, and a writers’ talent are all themselves ‘gifts’

World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011; in 2012, it was also celebrated in the USA and Germany



THE BOOKS!
Each year, 30- 35 books are chosen by an independent panel of librarians and booksellers. The authors of the books waive their royalties and the publishers agree to pay the costs of producing the specially-printed World Book Night U.S. editions. Bookstores and libraries sign up to be community host locations for the volunteer book givers.
After the book titles are announced, members of the public apply to personally hand out 20 copies of a particular title in their community. World Book Night U.S. vets the applications, and the givers are chosen based on their ability to reach light and non-readers. The selected givers choose a local participating bookstore or library from which to pick up the 20 copies of their book, and World Book Night U.S. delivers the books to these host locations.
Givers pick up their books in the week before World Book Night. On April 23rd, they give their books to those who don’t regularly read and/or people who don’t normally have access to printed books, for reasons of means or geography.
If you're interested, you can sign up to be a giver.

The exciting books chosen for World Book Night April 23, 2014 were announced today!  See for yourself at this link -

World Book Night 2014 Books

Are You Standing on the Middle Ground?

A prescription for improving communication and mutual understanding in your relationship.  Share this book with your partner and try the straight forward advice.  Along the continuum of a relationship, the healthiest and happiest place is the middle ground.  That doesn't mean compromise.  It's something better!

And this prescription can be applied to improve any relationship - family, friends, business.

Read my recommendation at this link - The Power of the Middle Ground

Where do you stand in your relationships?

Curl Up With a Good Mystery

You can see what it's all about when you Follow Her Home at this link -
Follow Her Home Recommendation

Dear Sugar,

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Life and Love From Dear Sugar is Dear Abby on steroids!



All kinds of sincere letters seeking advice on life altering questions and moments are answered by Cheryl Strayed. At the time this column ran in the online The Rumpus, Sugar was anonymous.  Revealed in this book, the author answers life's questions in depth with insightful thoughts often based on similar moments in Cheryl Strayed's own life.

The honesty is compelling. Often I read the letter from the troubled writer and I'd think, how in the world will Sugar respond to this.  And then my heart was warmed by the caring, and still frankly honest advice.

You'll enjoy this read, and you may find some answers to some of your own questions within.



“Forgiveness doesn't sit there like a pretty boy in a bar. Forgiveness is the old fat guy you have to haul up a hill.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar



“I can’t tell you what to do. No one can. But as the mother of two children, I can tell you what most moms will: that mothering is absurdly hard and profoundly sweet. Like the best thing you ever did. Like if you think you want to have a baby, you probably should.

I say this in spite of the fact that children are giant endless suck machines. They don’t give a whit if you need to sleep or eat or pee or get your work done or go out to a party naked and oiled up in a homemade Alice B. Toklas mask. They take everything. They will bring you the furthest edge of your personality and abso-fucking-lutely to your knees.

They will also give you everything back. Not just all they take, but many of the things you lost before they came along as well.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar




“Nobody will protect you from your suffering. You can't cry it away or eat it away or starve it away or walk it away or punch it away or even therapy it away. It's just there, and you have to survive it. You have to endure it. You have to live through it and love it and move on and be better for it and run as far as you can in the direction of your best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by your own desire to heal.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

Austen and Dickens Impart Social Skills - New Study!

Reading imparts empathy and social skills to readers in a very short time studies find.  Especially literary fiction. See a summary of what the studies have found at this link -
For Better Social Skills Try Chekhov

cover by Erin Callahan
to book cover site

A Knock Out Novel About Knock Off Purses

Air Time by Hank Phillipi Ryan.  This fun, fashion mystery with investigative reporter Charlotte MacNally will keep you guessing.  You'll love it in paperback.  Read my review at this link - http://myedmondsnews.com/2013/10/recommended-reads-fast-paced-mystery-glides-page/

Three memoirs that prove libraries and books save lives

I am so excited to share the article at this link - http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-three-memoirs-that-prove-libraries-and-books-save-lives-20130919,0,7833086.story?track=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=717819

I encourage you to check it out and feel good!

I haven't read the books by these inspirational young authors . . . yet!  But I can't wait to!



Memoirs by Reyna Grande, MK Asante and Jesmyn Ward show the importance of books and libraries. (Simon & Schuster; Lee Steffen / Random House; Tina Fineberg / Associated Press)