Official Review: Breath of Joy! by Kathy Joy

[CataclysmicKnight]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Breath of Joy!" by Kathy Joy.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I don't know about you, but it's really easy to forget what a big season Autumn is. Not only is it one of the most beautiful seasons , it's also packed with holidays including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the vast majority of the shopping days before Christmas. And yet, in a season that's so packed with special days, it's also a season of reflection. It's this reflection on traditions, experiences, and life that Kathy Joy celebrates in her book Breath of Joy: Ah, Autumn. This is a book full of high-quality photos and poetic bursts of writing that touch on things from football to seasonal foods, from reading to camping, and from nature to home.

The writing in the book is terrific from start to finish. While there are no poems in the book, it also feels like the entire book is one long poem, with individual, self-contained lines and stanzas on each page. The words manage to not only bring the feelings of Autumn to life, they do it in Autumn's language. "Sunlight dancing on honey butter hair" sits beside a dog lying in leaves. The words play about the pages as well, such as "The echo of the canyon" being echoed in fading smaller text down the image, or "Not just tasting but savoring..." spacing the letters of "savoring" out, causing your mind to slow down and enjoy it just as your mouth would savor the delicious soup on the page.

In a children's picture book, the quality of the art is a big part of the quality of the overall book, and when images come together with text, elevating one another, a classic is born. The same is true of Breath of Joy: Ah, Autumn. The marriage of photographs and writing create a sensory experience I never expected, and every page was a unique feeling due to both. The scent of old books, the feel of the night's sky, the pure relaxation that comes from sitting by the ocean, the infinite possibilities of a written page, even the cheers and sound of the band at a football game all come across on these pages. This makes the fact that the entire book is upbeat and positive even more of a good thing as it feels like a unique vacation on each page without the weight of negativity. The world is already rough enough at times, and I appreciate that a book series that begins with the words "Breath of Joy", written by a woman whose last name is Joy, is itself full of joy.

As mentioned, this is part of a series - the Seasons/Breath of Joy series - and this is actually the second book in the series. I haven't read the first, Breath of Joy!: Simply Summer, but it seems like a similar concept. This book perfectly stands alone without a single reference to the first, but I can certainly see them being a very artistic collection, especially if Kathy continues with Winter and Spring. The books are available on Kindle (which is the version discussed in this review), but they're also available in hardcover or paperback as well. With the prices rather similar I'd highly recommend the hardcover version as this is something I can see leaving open on a coffee table. The Kindle version was lovely as well, especially on a bigger device; it was rather hard to see the images on my small phone, but on my Kindle or laptop they really shined! The resolution is good enough that even when I made the images as big as I could on my 17" laptop there was no degradation at all.

It's clear a lot of work went into Breath of Joy: Ah, Autumn, and thought was put into every aspect and page of the book. I didn't see a single error or odd phrasing anywhere, and combined with everything else being so terrific, it's easy for me to give this book 4 out of 4 stars. It ended up being a huge surprise, and it's one of my favorite books of the year! Anyone who enjoys photography, reminiscing, Autumn, art, poetic writing, or any of the things I've mentioned - this book is for you.

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Breath of Joy!
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[WeeYips]

You've definitely wet my appetite to buy Ah, Autumn - Joy upon Joy! So, it isn't a yoga book for autumn?

[kandscreeley]

I love Autumn for so many different reasons. It sounds like the author shares that opinion. The thought of the beautiful photos as well as the poetic quality of the writing makes me want to run out and get this one. Thanks for the informative review.