Skip to main content

Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton

By
Concept: A visual cross-section of people in New York City.

Author: Brandon Stanton - He got his first camera about six months before loosing his job as a bond trader. After that loss, he planned a trip to visit and photograph several different cities. New York was the third stop on his trip and he has intended to only stay a week. He ended up staying there all summer and eventually moving there. At first he envisioned this project to be a "photographic census of New York City." He was going to make an interactive map where you could click on an area and see portraits of people who lived there. Later, once he started interviewing his subjects it turned more into a human interest blog.

Monologue score/Review: 8 - Humans of New York is a fantastic photo survey of people in New York City. I'll say upfront that there were a fair share of colorful and, let's just say somewhat "unsavory" characters pictured here. I mean, with it taking place in NYC, and a photographer looking for "interesting subjects," it was bound to happen. There are a few scantily clad women, people talking about drugs, or bad language. However, most of the time even those were done as tastefully as one might handle those types of things. 

My favorite pictures were of the kids. Here is my top favorite: 
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/32541717067/a-head-full-of-dreams.  

And here is another:
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/24977178723/the-early-bird-gets-the-worm

I really enjoyed the ones that had a story with them. A little more than a third of the pictures just say "Seen in..." and then names an area of NYC. Another generous third have a single line quote or saying from that person. And the last few have a short paragraph story about or from the person who was photographed. It's amazing how much pictures can and can't say about a person. 

Difficulty level: Very easy, mostly pictures.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

By
Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Improbable Libraries Alex Johnson

By
Concept: " A visual journey to the world's most unusual libraries." Author : Alex Johnson, a journalist and consultant . Both parents were librarians.  Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining): 8 - Overall I found this book quite interesting. I loved seeing all the ways that people were working to bring books into the community and how many were trying to create a sense of community through books. The pictures did a great job of helping to visualize how these libraries are being used.  Difficulty level: 3- Not very hard. Each of the seven sections (Libraries on the Move, Animal Libraries,Tiny Libraries, Big Libraries, Home Libraries, Mobile Libraries, and Not Libraries) starts with a short introduction and then gives a picture (or three) of the library described.  What I Learned/Review:  I really found this to be an enlightening and uplifting book. Having been a librarian and having a love for books in general it warms my heart to see all the ways that ...
1 comment
Read more

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Vin relies on her fighting skills, and a little extra "luck" to survive in the thief's world. Then comes Kelsier, a master thief and planner, showing her that what she calls luck is really much more. Kelsier and his crew plan to use a variety of special powers to free an entire population of slaves, including themselves, from tyranny. But, as always, there's far more to the story. Category Science Fiction or Fantasy Why I chose this book Rated highly on the library site My personal opinion (the review) Definitely the best story I've read in the past year. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series. Special abilities, fighting, romance, social justice - this has it all. And not a single bad word or uncomfortable situation. Warnings Language: None Violence: frequent, some mildly graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Some, and of major characters Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagon...
Post a Comment
Read more