July 19, 2019
I received a beautiful early birthday gift from my good friend Paul Ramunni!
No, this is not something that came in a box, but is just as (if not more), valuable… in the form of a kind word from a world-famous company that reviews books.
It was exactly on my birthday two years ago (July 26th, 2017), that I was chosen by Paul as photographer of choice to take the pictures of his most precious accordions and truly, for me, it was meant as nothing more than a labor of love, as I asked nothing more than the privilege of being the one to do my best to capture the beauty and details of those most precious accordions. My efforts have been paid back many times over in the appreciation that I received when people spoke of the photos. For them to have been kind enough to have been given a mention of in a Kirkus Review is nothing short of incredibly satisfying and humbling to me. I am touched.
Kirkus Review is a book reviewing company of the highest order. The very famous news paper “The New Yorker” tells us that:
“Kirkus Reviews is a magazine, though few readers of its work have ever seen a copy. Like the Michelin guides, its known for verdicts spread across the publishing world, bringing good books to first attention and helping to sweep aside huge piles of dross. A Kirkus review is short, fewer than four hundred words, and written to a form.
- There’s a one-line precis to start.
- There’s a paragraph of plot and character summary, culminating in formal assessment.
- There’s a quotable verdict of one line or one word (for example “Stunning”).
Kirkus’s main virtue is its comprehensiveness: it gets through hundreds of titles even in a slow month. To people who stock shelves, it can be orienting, and, for publishers, it is a geyser of back-cover praise. Kirkus Review gets its authority from its scale, yet readers generally encounter its reviews individually, book by book.
A “thumbs up” by Kirkus Review has sent many an author to the heights of popular acclaim, and a poor review has sent many an author to the depths of insignificance in roughly equal doses of colloquy.
In this case, the review is a bright glowing praise to the man who I am proud to call my friend.
I am not surprised that they displayed a high level of praise for the book and it’s author, but this part did surprise me… they used enough of those precious limited words to create a complete sentence of the review, mentioning the quality of the photos taken by me and even mentioned my name!
Wow… I mean… WOW!
The Actual Review
The part that touched me the most was obviously the one where they discussed the photos. An exact quote is:
“The sheer love and passion involved are easily visible in the lavish book, dozens of color images by debut photographer Homolka of gorgeous accordions, some of them as intricately exquisite as any prized violin or piano. And that enthusiasm is mirrored in the vibrant vignettes the owners shared with Ramunni’s tales of family, wine, celebration, and love.”
The entire review is a ringing testament made to Paul as author and to our most highly cherished accordion and it’s effects on our lives. You can see the entire Kirkus Review by CLICKING ON THIS LINK to see the PDF of this document.
If you want to see the complete review on the Kirkus Review website, CLICK ON THIS LINK.
The Actual Book
Would you be interested in purchasing a copy of this book for yourself? There are several ways, and maybe… just maybe… if you play your cards right, you could possibly even find a way to get your copy of the book autographed by this wonderful author himself!
Get your copies from these links here:
AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
INDIEBOUND
Or contact Paul Ramunni, the author, directly at:
New England Accordion Connection and Museum Company
Ask nicely, and he might be able to get you a personally hand signed copy! 🙂