Momo Miyazaki has collected together a variety of pieces from the Edo Rinpa style that focus primarily on bird and flower paintings within his book, Elegance in Japanese Art. These pieces draw their influence from the school of painting that first began with Rinpa and spread from Kyoto to Edo, know modern day Tokyo. Within this book Miyazaki presents the beauty that can be found in this specific subset of paintings from within this style. Continue reading “Elegance in Japanese Art Book Review from @kleffnotes”

John F. Llewellyn delves deep into the history of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in his book, Birth of a Cemetery: Forest Lawn Memorial-Park. This particular location is well known within the Los Angeles area. While it originally was established in Glendale, California the Forest Lawn Memorial-Park and Mortuaries corporation has expended throughout the state of California. In keeping with Hubert Eaton’s dream of what the memorial-park term meant these cemeteries have grown into something far more than just somewhere for burials. Continue reading “Birth of a Cemetery Book Review from @kleffnotes”

A Victorian Flower Album: Collected and Painted in the Summer Evenings of 1873, as a Pleasing Recreation by Henry Terry is possibly one of the longest titled books I have ever reviewed. This work though was created initially by Henry Terry, who made this as a brief collection of his personal sketches of flowers for his children. Over time this compilation of artistic sketches has been published a number of times, but this October a new version has been created with Japanese translations. Continue reading “A Victorian Flower Album Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Do you love cute things? Do you love furry things? Do you just plain love cats? Then Cat Paws is the perfect little book for you. This brief little book is a collection of cat pictures pulled from some of your favorite cat accounts on social media and will immediately brighten your day. Continue reading “Cat Paws Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Have you ever had a dream so vivid that it felt like real life? For Ben, Marcus, and Avery every night they find themselves in a mysterious world that feels completely and utterly real. In this place each of them has a new persona and together they find themselves working together to save this world from The Fading. Where Dragonwoofs Sleep and The Fading Creeps is a fantastic story that examines the power of your dreams. Continue reading “Where Dragonwoofs Sleep and The Fading Creeps Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Kill for Me is the eighth novel in the Victor series by Tom Wood. This thrilling series focuses on the assassin named Victor who takes on dangerous and deadly jobs and in this new story he has taken a job full of twists, turns, and another hitman. I had not previously read books in this series and even with no foreknowledge of Victor and his assignments I was still completely sucked in and could follow the story easily. If you are a fan of thrillers and killers, even if you’ve never read a book in the Victor series, you should pick up Kill for Me today. Continue reading “Kill for Me Book Review from @kleffnotes”