Two

"I've always been interested in watching people together. I wonder what their story is, who they are to each other," explains photographer Melissa Ann Pinney in Two, a collection of more than 90 color images that focus on pairs of people and objects, accompanied by 10 essays by notable contemporary writers.

In this group of vivid, often mystical and playful images, Pinney explores connection, identity and relationships. There is a candid aesthetic to her work. Even her posed photographs grant viewers a glimpse into lives-in-action: a couple's embrace; a tender moment between mother and child; two nested teacups; a girl and her obedient dog; two barefoot, suspender-wearing Amish men staring into a placid sea; an elderly man having his hair done poolside.

The accompanying essays, which delve into the nature of pairs and twosomes, make the book even more compelling. Edwidge Danticat writes about having her feet washed by a stranger in church. Barbara Kingsolver expresses her feelings of being left out of the "charmed Romeo-Julietness" of her parents' marriage. Maile Meloy explores, with awe, the 70-year bond between her grandparents. Allan Gurganus considers the possibility of vanishing twin syndrome, and Elizabeth McCracken writes about her mother's enduring bond with her fraternal twin.

In the moving, eloquent opening essay, Ann Patchett notes that writers and photographers share a similar drive to exist "alone and in the world" in order to create their art. That concept makes Patchett and Pinney's collaborative exploration into the "the power of two" all the more thought-provoking.

Two by Melissa Ann Pinney

Harper Design, $29.99 Hardcover, 9780062334428, 208 pp

Publication Date: April 14, 2015

To order via INDIEBOUND link HERE

Note: This review is a reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (5/1/15), click HERE 

This review was also featured (in a longer form) on Shelf Awareness: Book Trade (12/18/15). To read the longer review click HERE

Favorite Reads of 2013

As a book reviewer for Shelf Awareness, I read and review at least three titles per month. Those titles are culled from an often eclectic list of nonfiction and fiction (mysteries and romances) - books I might not normally choose for myself, per se, but titles I have enjoyed reading that broaden my range. This blog tends to highlight a majority of those titles. However, I read a lot more than what I post on this blog.

Below is a list of my favorite reads from 2013. Please note: there is no special ranking. Each book is vastly different in content, form, tone and subject matter, and I feel it is unfair to qualify them in that manner. The numbers are simply there to keep the list orderly. 

To learn more about any of the selections, click on the highlighted titles for additional information:

Fiction:

1)      The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

2)      The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

3)      The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

4)      Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

5)      The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

6)      Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg

7)      Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason

8)      Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

9)      The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

10)    The Widow Waltz by Sally Koslow

Nonfiction:

11)    This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

12)    Saltscapes: The Kite Aerial Photography of Cris Benton by Cris Benton

13)    Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

14)    Things that Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics 

          by Charles Krauthammer

15)    The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams by Ben Bradlee      

32 Days to a Perfect '10

Ann Patchett (author of the memoir Truth and Beauty and the novels Bel Canto and Run, among others) recently wrote a column for the Washington Post about resolutions in the new year - especially the need for writers to treat writing as a job they show up for every day. "Whatever a person (does) with thoughtful consistency for the first 32 days of the year sets the course for the entire year," she states in the essay, reinforcing the underlying theme of how the more hours you spend working, the more work you actually get done.

So with January 1st just days away, whatever your talent and passion, go for it . . . And keep at it! When you take a measure of your efforts 32 days into the year, maybe February 1, 2010 will reveal a new year with the potential to become a Perfect '10!

Photo "Calendar" by Kathleen Gerard