BookWyrm

cos finished reading In Manchuria by Michael J. Meyer

Michael J. Meyer: In Manchuria (2015, Bloomsbury Press)

In Manchuria by Michael J. Meyer

Not since Pearl Buck wrote The Good Earth has anyone brought rural China to life as Michael Meyer has here. …

cos reviewed A Strange Fascination: Luna Live 2015-2017 by Joakim Bengtsson

Joakim Bengtsson, Ulrika Lovén: A Strange Fascination: Luna Live 2015-2017 (Paperback, 2017, Joakim Bengtsson)

Luna. The band from New York. It was snowing that night 2005. Bowery Ballroom. Then …

Softly spoken tigers

4 stars

I appreciated the slight freeform nature of Joakim's writing, but wished for a bit more from Ulrika, to bring balance and alternate angles. Overall, it's a nice celebration of the way particular bands can worm their way into your soul, as Luna did for me over the years.

Living on the "wrong" side of the world, I've never been the sort to follow bands as they toured; instead, I waited for them to come to Melbourne. I was fortunate to see Luna exactly once, in the late 90s, but was lucky to see some Australian bands multiple times through the years, and came to appreciate the way songs change across the years, depending on the mood, the circumstances, and the lineup. Through this book, I learned plenty about those differences between the gigs, the interplay between band members, and particular moments (awkward or otherwise) of crossover between them and their …

I appreciated the slight freeform nature of Joakim's writing, but wished for a bit more from Ulrika, to bring balance and alternate angles. Overall, it's a nice celebration of the way particular bands can worm their way into your soul, as Luna did for me over the years.

Living on the "wrong" side of the world, I've never been the sort to follow bands as they toured; instead, I waited for them to come to Melbourne. I was fortunate to see Luna exactly once, in the late 90s, but was lucky to see some Australian bands multiple times through the years, and came to appreciate the way songs change across the years, depending on the mood, the circumstances, and the lineup. Through this book, I learned plenty about those differences between the gigs, the interplay between band members, and particular moments (awkward or otherwise) of crossover between them and their fans. All of this lent them a bit more humanity without going so far as to delve into full-on biographies that often leave you wishing you didn't know quite so much about your heroes after all.

(Thanks for the book, Andrew!)

cos reviewed River at the Centre of the World, the by Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester: River at the Centre of the World, the (Spanish language, 1999, Penguin Books)

The River at the Centre of the World

5 stars

A lovely read, from what was a very different time in China’s history even though it wasn’t that long ago now. As predicted, it made me miss China - the landscape, the food, the history, and the lovely people I met there.

Perhaps what I’m looking for next is a book about the Mekong River - while I don’t expect a story quite like this one, I suspect there’s something interesting out there?