Review: Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage

Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage by Matthew Wolfe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers

In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers by Don Blanding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very short book, can easily be read in under an hour. Although if you’re one to peer for a long time at a drawing of a flower and contemplate the accompanying poem it may take longer.

There are under twenty of these flowers that can be found in Hawaii. The poems are six or eight lines which praise the flower on the opposing page. The poems are okay, nothing that seems remarkable. The images are done fairly realistically but have a sort of soft focus as well.

My copy, which came to me through generations of my family (my great-grandmother knew the author) also includes an insert about where you can buy the images for framing so as not to cut up the book itself. It also advertises other paper products with these images, like stationary or cards. I'm sure those are no longer available now since this was published in the 1940s.

The description in goodreads about this book is incorrect, as there are more than 8 flowers in the book, although maybe only that many are native to Hawaii and the others are not native. I’m not sure about the horticulture history.


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Review: In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers

In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers by Don Blanding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics

The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics by Don Blanding
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a very short book, a poem, only one, that can easily be read in just a few minutes of time. There is a very short introduction by the publisher which states the author delivered this poem at an event and, “It was felt that a number of appreciative souls who were not present…were deserving of the pleasure which this rare and piquant piece affords to Epicurean literary tastes.” The first printing was a small private batch, when quickly sold out there was another, then this third which seems to be the first to include the illustrations.

I am not a fan of the poem, the drawings that accompanied the text, however, I did enjoy. This was printed in 1933, so the humor and social mores were different during that time.

The poem is about a “spinster” woman aged 40, living in Waikiki near the beach, who was still a virgin. Spoilers: (view spoiler)[She had a dour countenance. People made fun of her. The neighbor lady sought to change things and gave her a romance book. The spinster read it and was filled with passion at what she’s been missing in her life. In a crazed way, she goes out and seeks it. (hide spoiler)]

The very end of the book contained an envelop of types that covered up the last image, or maybe page. Since it was already opened, I cannot be certain of exactly what was hidden.

The poem was a simple rhyming scheme. I will hold out on my opinion on Blanding’s writing overall until I read a longer work of his. I do have several of those, as this book and several others belonged to my great-grandmother, who knew the author. They were in a writing group together, although she never published. The books have been handed down through the generations, with the latest from my dad to me a few years back.



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Review: Glasses

Glasses by Adam Geczy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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