Fabulous The Rise of the Beautiful Eccentric by Madison Moore

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible" said the protagonist of The Portrait of Dorian Gray in the masterpiece by Oscar Wilde. How much important is appearance? How much appearance define us and our way of being and living?
Fabulous The Rise of the Beautiful Eccentric by Madison Moore a book published by Yale University Press has the answers to these questions and more.
Who is a beautiful eccentric? asks the author. Someone with his/her proper unique style, someone who escapes the monotony of life and proves to everyone else that he/she can be fabulous wearing eccentric clothes, adding a lot of accessories and developing with the time his/her own style. The author doesn't believe at all at trends. Trends passes, people, well OK also, but we are here, affirm the author for being special also with our style, with our unicity and special touch. 

Four interesting conversations with creatives for closing with one of the most iconic pop stars of our time: Prince.

I thank Yale University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori

Flash! Photography, Writing, & Surprising Illumination by Kate Flint

Flash! Photography, Writing, & Surprising Illumination by Kate Flint published by Oxford University Press is one of the most beautiful and brilliant book that you can pick up if you are a a curious, passionate reader of photography and in particular of the history of flash as a compenatrating part of the world of images.
I remember the old flash used at the end of 1970s by my relatives when they returned here loving to take wagons of pictures, also during the evenings and in prohibitive conditions. It was a joy. Memories of good time spent together. And a magic, to me, at that time a toddler.
I have always been a picture addicted and I try to bring with me my digital camera and smart phone wherever I go. I am a reporter and I consider pictures for their visual impact one of the best part of our life for remembering moments, instants, people, writing apart.
A picture is this one, also when taken during the night.
It is true that photography is a dream as well.
The invention of photography meant first of all the possibility of impressing an instant of the life of someone for the posterity and eternity. A pic becomes history immediately after taken and it is forever because in grade to immortalize our living, giving back not just dignity, but possibility and power: which one? That the picture could be seen and shared by many other people after a lot of generations.
Places and people could return to be alive, in the tales of folk anxious to remember the dear good old times, admiring customs and traditions maybe lost forever.
Not sure if these thoughts are taken in consideration in an era in which we are immersed in an ocean of pictures, images, and where photography, thanks to smart phones, tablets, is becoming complex, articulated, funny, deformed, hilarious, serious, vintage, painted, colored, retro. In a word: modified and common.

But, flash... what did flash mean for photography?
Well, it was the answer at the discovery of photography and at the other side of that story: the nocturnal aspect at first not immortalized.

How could it be possible to taking pictures during the night? Or in a room without sufficient lights?

We all know, as also explains the author with a brilliant tale, that there are natural flashes. Let's see the ones, flashes of lightning caused by a temporal: but...How could it be possible to recreate a condition, an artificial one in grade to give us answers and a good picture?
Magnesium was the answer. This metal extracted in combination with other ones at first was very expensive. Magnesium and tools in grade to give good pictures and answers, (price decreased with the time) took a lot of time, and...various experiments, as you will read.
The arrival of flash was saluted with joy, surprise, magic, enchantment, retinic problems! and later also with anger, fear.
Yes, because flash was seen also under a different aspect; a picture "stolen" thanks to a flash at a celeb by a paparazzo, or in an embarrassing situation was and still is reason of anger for the violated privacy.

The book analyzes all the aspects of flash, death...including, for arriving at the use of modern flash telling also in a chapter what it meant for reporters the utilization of the more modern flash in the first decades of 1900s (first ones were not so practicals), starting to use it for every kind of news, from a murder to a happy event. Newsmagazines discovered a new opportunity: close to the article, pictures of people, events,  taken in consideration. Most of these pictures don't have an owner, just hands who took them. Reporters were not credited, but these pictures maybe for this reason are powerful: they were the first ones.

I highly suggest this book to all of you, passionate of photography, picture addicted, people constantly with a digital camera or a smart phone in your hands ready to take a picture for posting it on Instagram or just for saving it, remembering the moment.

Not just beauty, this book thanks to the bubbling narration made by Kate Flint is a brilliant reconstruction of flash plenty of facts, curiosities, and of course...pictures.

I thank Oxford University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori

Of Green Leaf Bird and Flower Artists' Books and the Natural World edited by Elisabeth Fairman

Of Green Leaf Bird and Flower Artists' Books and the Natural World is a joyous catalog born for accompanying the art exhibit Of Green Leaf and Flower Artists' Books and the Natural World; the catalog was released by Yale Press in collaboration with Yale Center for British Art.
A poetic homage of passionate lovers and curators, edited by Elisabeth Fairman senior curator of rare books and manuscripts at the Yale Center for British Art, with essays by Robert McCracken Peck, Molly Duggins, David Burnett.
Yale University was gifted by a passionate naturalist Paul Mellon, founder of this Yale's branch and although American, Mellon was a true lover and estimator of the British countryside, houses, parks. With the time Mellon accumulated a lot of prestigious, beautiful manuscripts, rare ones sometimes, and once dead most of this stunning collection donated to Yale.
This exhibit reveals thanks to the pages of passionate authors, observers, known people devoted to the natural world for the most diversified reasons, the absolute stunning beauty of nature, thanks to wonderful imagines, sketches, pictures.
This catalog and exhibit takes in consideration books starting from the XV century.
There was who tried at first to classify plants, animals; soon in UK people created a lot of nature local clubs for all passionate; later in particular women's traveller during the 1700s created beautiful journals and books thanks to scrapbooking, collages, annotations,  observations. Men were also voracious botanical passionate. John Stuart Mill didn't pass at history just for being a philosopher and a great, important thinker but also for being  a great collectors of herbs; his massive herbarium counts twelve thousand plants; yes the man didn't joke! at all and thanks to his numerous friends and connections and the ability of sharing, swapping he collected herbs from places that he has never visited, located sometimes in the most remote corners of the world.
Analyzed also Victorian period and the reaction at the beauty of natural world, and a stunning portrait of an artist of 70 years in a wheelchair, great collaborator of Oxford University Press and children's book's author Sister Margaret Tournour.
Enjoy The Field Guide to the British Countryside where the most magnificent illustrations, paintings, modern realization will let you discover the beauty, dreaming landscape with its flora and fauna of UK.

While I was reading this catalog, observing these poetic pictures, images, drawings I thought that it's inspiring. Inspiring for going into the wood, into that wild world in particular for people living in a big city for searching for a wonderful connection with nature, animals that want just to welcome us and let us celebrate their beauty. It is possible to share this catalog with children as well encouraging them at the creation of beautiful journals, or scrapbooks where they will collect tree-leaves, flowers, starting to discover nature. If they are also talented little painters, it would be great to see their creations in motion. It's important to appreciate, love and nurture nature and its poeticity. It will save our world and our soul presenting us beauty and relaxation.
I was watching last night on TV the second movie of The Lord of the Rings and I thought at the last name of mr. Mellon; in the elfic language invented by Tolkien it means friend.

Highly recommended to all the adventurers, explorators and appreciators of the natural beauty of the world.

I thank Yale University Press for the physical copy of this catalog.

Anna Maria Polidori

The Return Reflections on Loving God Back by Lacey Sturm

What happens when a teenager wants to die, try to kill herself, survive  and is back to life? What is life for someone who didn't want to live anymore?
It becomes the best trip she has ever experienced and all of it, thanks to the help of God.
The Return Reflections on Loving God Back by Lacey Sturm is an intense book of reflections regarding the love God presents us, unique people in a world sometimes upsetting but always wonderful.
Lacey does more: she presents us many pages of her journals.
She reads Bible two times everyday; she doesn't never forget to thank God for the second chance presented to her; back to life, she is grateful, recognizing that the beauty of life is everywhere and we mustn't never forget it.
Twelve chapters with meditations, succulent recipes, prayers, poems,
what-to-do lists, pictures, drawings, shared with her readers.

Wonderful, inspiring book for not losing hope; for continuing to see the light also during a long dark night, because where there is God obscurity can't reign.

I thank Baker Book Bloggers for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori

The Bookstore of Beauty Thoughts

Located close to Bar Bosone and Ottica Baldelli, its name is The Bookstore of Beauty Thoughts, La Libreria dei Pensieri Belli. It's the new, magical bookstore opened at Gubbio.
I discovered the publishing house Edizioni del Baldo eight years ago. When my brother fell sick and stayed per months to the hospital of Foligno, I found two beautiful books published by them in the newsagency of they hospital. They intrigued me for their beauty. They relaxed my mind. I interviewed mrs Zanoncelli later about the publishing house, their future projects, how they work, what they search.

It's a wonderful and sunny space the one created by these ladies. They admit that no, they're not from Gubbio.
All these bookstores are pretty nice in terms of price because there are no other passages apart publishing house and bookstores. No distributors; just them.

At the moment The Bookstore of Beauty Thoughts discounts a part of books, the one close to the corner, along the street: the one close to the so-called ex Bruna's Bar.
Three books for just five euros.
You can find Astrology, all Salgari's books, if you want to present an important gift to your children, some classics, a lot of guides; I loved the one for the creation of artificial nests for local birds. But also: beauty thoughts, religion and spirituality, journals for every occasions; books for the garden; there is a little booklet with various enchanting greeting cards ready to be cut, written and shipped; horror books, if you like the genre; a lot of books of recipes. From bread to desserts, you will find all that you want.
If you'll shop why not buying also a tote bag? They are colored, all beautiful, with a special thought and a fantasy that will enchant you. They are discounted: one costs 6 euros each but if you buy three tote bags they cost just 10 euros.

Del Baldo desires to create a beauty and colored world, and it is what each book does, with precious, old-fashioned illustrations, devotion, research and love.
It is not important if it will be a cookbook or an inspirational book. Go for it with the certainty that it has been written with love and dedication.

Launch yourself in a never-ending adventure plenty of great readings and happy and beauty thoughts.

Anna Maria Polidori

ps: curious to see what I bought for five euros? Here we are...

Catalina and the King's Wall by Patty Costello, illustrated by Dianne Cojacaru

Catalina and the King's Wall is a children's book written by Patty Costello, illustrated by Dianne Cojacaru, released by Eifrig Publishing with profound meanings: the fear of the other, the inability of being opened with the so-called strangers, the impossibility of dialogue.
Catalina works at the dependence of a King and this King goes crazy for her cookies and her sweet treats. Catalina is happy to work in such a beauty place, the Court, being an appreciated appreciated, but she is still missing her family. She counts to see them soon, but the idea of the King shared also with her is pretty scaring: the king would want to create a wall of separation with the closest kingdom where his relatives live.  Why? He doesn't love that people at all. Better to stay away from them.
What to do? She tries all her best, with spectacular solutions at the end she will win against the terrible idea of the king of creating a wall of separation in the area.

In Europe we experienced it with the city of Berlin; just in 1989 that wall that, de facto, divided a city in two parts, the Communist one and the Occidental one was destroyed; entire families, separated just because they lived in different areas of the city, reunited.

This children's book is indispensable for let appreciate to kids their freedom, possibility of traveling, seeing the world and experiencing a world free from walls but it wants to be also a reflection because we must pay attention: walls of every kind, symbolic or reals are built everyday: where walls are physicals they want to avoid the passage of people in a land where there is maybe more freedom and possibilities or for political reasons, for not being in contact with a certain government.
Strong of the fact that history repeats itself, it's important to monitoring what it is going on in the world for building a society composed by freedom, peace and harmony.
It's up to us and to our integrity, honesty and open-minds, and it's up to educators, parents, relatives and friends to growing up children opened and inclusive.
I love the illustration plenty of strong and vivacious colors.

I thank Patty Costello and Library Thing for this ebook.

Anna Maria Polidori

Minds Make Societies How Cognition Explains the World Humans Create by Pascal Boyer

Minds Make Societies How Cognition Explains the World Humans Create by Pascal Boyer published by Yale University Press, is a profound reflection about humanity, and the meaning of it, seeing in a kaleidoscope where nothing is left out, and "visualized,"observed thanks to the incorporation and integration of evolutionary biology, psychology, sociology and much more.
Definition of humanity, groups, ethnicity, political parties in grade to incorporate a lot of people "under their wings," social conditions and variants that can occur, situations of conflicts, religions; differences between  various situations that men experience choosing of embrace a religion or just asking for an advice at a religious specific character as a shaman can be; the born of religions for the soul as I would define the Hinduism and Buddhist ones, the meaning of information, crusades of every sorta of problems in grade to attract people causing conflicts and debates, their power and their lacks; the  junk culture permits to experience various kind of distortions in the beliefs and certainties of people.
The author will also analyzed the meaning of family, and the invention of modern western family as we know this little society, the various different typologies of families pretty diverse in the world, passing through the attraction of a man and a woman and how a man or a woman picks up a potential partner, defining also the domestic oppression that a woman can suffers at many levels.
The final chapters are dedicated to the cooperation between minds, asking in the final chapters if humans minds understand societies, in all their complexities.
Yes, because what it is real for us, and a certainty, for other societies not true because there are another systems of living and loving, thinking, creating an existing.

Beautiful, captivating reading, I couldn't put down this book.

I suggest this book to everyone interested to discover more about ourselves, our minds, why sometimes we act and reacts in certain ways, why sometimes we can't understand other ones, felt as enemies or "strangers"; but the most important aspect of this book it's that it will open a lot of chances and possibilities of inclusions thanks to a new modality of understanding of this world, minds, societies, human beings in a world always more projected to create a humanity close, peaceful, united, thanks also to its differences and diversities.

Highly recommended.

I thank Yale University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori