Hound for the Holidays by Kim Levin and John O’Neill

December 14, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Hound for the Holidays by Kim Levin and John O’Neill
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Genre: Photography, Non-Fiction, Holiday
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

“This holiday season, let’s remember the things that really matter.” So begins Kim Levin and John O’Neill’s Hound for the Holidays a warm reminder from man (and woman’s) best friend to hold loved ones dear at this special time of the year.

The holidays (like dogs) are all about sharing, unconditional love, and enjoying the moment, but sometimes, with the hubbub of shopping, open houses, family gatherings, and parties, it’s easy to lose that holiday spirit.

So who better to put the “happy” back in holidays than a cast of dogs celebrating the season? Whether they are two pooches window-shopping, an urbane Jack Russell on a trip to the big city, or a German Shepherd catching snowflakes on his tongue, the dogs in these charming photos all deliver the message “Enjoy!”

Pet portrait artist Kim Levin’s striking and expressive photos pair perfectly with John O’Neill’s warm and upbeat words to make a great holiday treat.

A cute book for the holiday season.

I picked up this book because it was cute and had dogs. I mean, how can you go wrong? The photos are great and make the season bright. The little captions fit the photos perfectly, too. This is a short book, but worth the read. This is a great book as a gift or to share with family over the holidays.

If you want something warm and fuzzy this holiday season, then this is a must read for you!

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

1964: Eyes of the Storm by Paul McCartney

August 18, 2023 By Leave a Comment


1964: Eyes of the Storm by Paul McCartney
Publisher: Liveright, an imprint of WW Norton & Co
Genre: Non-Fiction, Historical, Photography
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Taken with a 35mm camera by Paul McCartney, these largely unseen photographs capture the explosive period, from the end of 1963 through early 1964, in which The Beatles became an international sensation and changed the course of music history. Featuring 275 images from the six cities—Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami—of these legendary months, 1964: Eyes of the Storm also includes:

• A personal foreword in which McCartney recalls the pandemonium of British concert halls, followed by the hysteria that greeted the band on its first American visit

• Candid recollections preceding each city portfolio that form an autobiographical account of the period McCartney remembers as the “Eyes of the Storm,” plus a coda with subsequent events in 1964

• “Beatleland,” an essay by Harvard historian and New Yorker essayist Jill Lepore, describing how The Beatles became the first truly global mass culture phenomenon

Handsomely designed, 1964: Eyes of the Storm creates an intensely dramatic record of The Beatles’ first transatlantic trip, documenting the radical shift in youth culture that crystallized in 1964.

What a great book for the time.

I liked this window in the year 1964 through the eyes of Paul McCartney. I can’t even imagine being in his shoes in that year or that perfect storm. So much screaming and crying. This book is filled with photographs of that time from his lens. I liked the window into his life, but I also liked that it’s amateurish. He doesn’t make pretenses about his ability. He was learning and this is what he came up with. I liked the intimacy in the photos, too. No, there aren’t any big revelations among the images, but it was nice to see the Fab Four at play and at rest. They weren’t always on, and it was nice to see that. Plus, there are little essays by the author talking about the time, the place the photos were taken and the mood. It’s quite interesting.

If you’re looking for images of the Beatles in 1964 and want something a little different, then give this book a try. It’s worth the read and viewing.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,