BOOK REVIEW: Hendrix: Electric Requiem by Mattia Colombara

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Hendrix: Electric RequiemHendrix: Electric Requiem by Mattia Colombara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: September 6, 2022

This is a biography of the life of Jimi Hendrix in graphic novel form, from his youth in the Jim Crow South to his untimely demise. The book takes narrative license here and there, rather than being a just-the-facts scholarly or journalistic biography. This license is most extensively seen in the mystical and surreal dream and death sequences, but the back matter suggests that there was at least one event depicted in the book that didn’t happen in reality (or, at least, there isn’t evidence to support its occurrence.)

Hendrix’s life was so short and his death was now so long ago that few people know more than that he was a guitar prodigy with a penchant for playing in wild and unusual ways. The story digs into moments of poignancy and drama in the guitar phenom’s life as well as emphasizing his interactions with major artists of the day: e.g. Clapton, McCartney, and The Rolling Stones.

I found the book intriguing and valued the fact that there were notes and a bibliography in the back that help to clarify what’s well-supported and what events take creative license. The art is well rendered and colorful. If you’re interested in learning more about a rock-n-roll legend, it’s worth looking into this book.


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Many Worlds [Free Verse]

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Fictional cities pile upon each other,

spreading like blood puddles 
until they spill into yet others
at their amorphous edges.

And distinction is lost --
homogeneity wins --

but that lysergic sadness remains.

Late Day Sun [Haiku]

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late day sunlight
fires the yellow temple top
while shadows harden

DAILY PHOTO: Vaidyeshvara Mandir, Talakadu

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Taken on August 13, 2022 in Talakadu

BOOK REVIEW: Stephen King by Bev Vincent

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Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and InfluencesStephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences by Bev Vincent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: October 18, 2022

This book offers one-stop shopping for anyone who wants to know about the life and works of one of the most popular and prolific genre fiction writers ever, Stephen King. The book is built around decade-by-decade examination of the books that King published as well as the adaptations that those books spawned (film, tv, comic book, theater, etc.) It’s arranged in an encyclopedic fashion (though chronologically) with entries on all of King’s titles, and has many textboxes about niche subjects including: King’s side hustles (e.g. owning radio stations, playing in a rock bank, etc.,) major events in King’s life, fictional places and characters that grew lives of their own, adaptations other than film and tv [film & tv adaptations are presented in the body of the text,] and various other quirky King-related topics.

The book is illustrated with a large collection of photos of King from various time periods and engaged in various activities.

Many fascinating insights can be discovered throughout the book. I learned, for example, that the Richard Bachman alias resulted from King’s prolific nature (and because BTO was playing at the time.) Publishers thought that readers would only buy one or two titles from a given author per year, but King had a back log of unpublished material – so he started publishing books under the Bachman persona. King was ever experimenting with various approaches to publishing and that makes the book potentially interesting for those with a curiosity about publishing innovations. The book is forthright about King’s alcohol and drug addictions and the influence they had on his work.

Oddly, I’m not the target audience for this book. I’ve only read a couple of King’s books (and one of those was “On Writing,” his nonfiction guide to writing.) That said, I found the book quite interesting.

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Westward Run [Free Verse]

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Put the sun at your back
and
run headlong toward the darkness.

Killing days at record speed,
leaning into the terminus,

and you wake up in the light
and 
prepare for another westward run.

Stowaway [Limerick]

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There once was a mischievous macaque
with a knack for invading knapsacks.
When a zipper stuck,
'twas his terrible luck
to get locked in a trunk & run out of snacks.

Quick Peek [Kyōka]

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a weaver
pokes its head from the nest,
looks both ways,
& decides to stay in.
i know the feeling.

DAILY PHOTO: Barid Shahi Memorial Park Mosque

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Taken in August of 2022 in Bidar

Hyderabadi Limerick

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There was a plump man of Hyderabad
who was known to be quite a tightwad,
but he ate his biryani
and never was scrawny.
He had a Hyderabadi biryani bod-y.