The newly published book, Shine On! Shiny Bits of Wisdom, isn't like the other horse books out there. Yes, it's a book with horse photos and quotes, but what makes this book different is its background. The book originated as a Facebook page produced by Cathy Herbert and DandeLyon Vredenburg as an effort to share the lessons and wisdom they'd learned in working with horses, and in particular with the 1996 Quarter Horse palomino stallion, Twice As Shiney.
The idea was simple: post eye-catching equine photos and quotes to connect with other Facebook horse lovers. It became wildly successful (the page today has over 528,000 likes), and the idea to form a book from the essence of the page arose. Cathy had a writing background, having been a senior editor for Practical Horseman and Horse & Rider. DandeLyon owned Twice As Shiney for a number of years and had a breeding operation. The two turned their attention to producing Shine On.
Shine On! features color equine photographs juxtaposed with poetic quotes and inspirational musings on life. The quotes maintain a consistent voice throughout the whole book, which is gentle, loving, and uplifting. In reading the book you have the impression that the writers truly care for the reader and for life in general, and the quotes are all well matched to their corresponding photos. This book could be a good match for a horse or animal lover looking for a little inspiration.
I very much enjoyed the fact that the book's entire interior consists of full color photography. The book's overall color scheme is well chosen, as the photos and the quotes are framed by a light blue background that works well with the colors in the majority of the photos. This background doesn't detract from the book's content, and the text is clear and easy to read.
However, in reading this book I was disappointed to see that it was lacking in a number of standard elements. I would have enjoyed reading an About the Authors section. Given this book's fascinating background I felt that it was important for a reader to understand its history and origin, yet no mention of that was made. I also would have liked to have read even a bit of information on Twice As Shiney, the horse who was so influential.
While the majority of the photos are beautiful, the inclusion of a few particular photos surprised me, since they weren't of the greatest quality. I would have also appreciated captions for the photos, whether included on the pages themselves or referenced in the back of the book. The photos all included a "flipping the corner" graphic that I felt detracted from both the quality of the photos and from the professional layout of the book.
Shine On! is a book that will appeal to many horse and animal lovers. Inspirational and uplifting, many of the photographs are stunning. You can order Shine On! on Amazon and can visit the Facebook page that it originated from.
The idea was simple: post eye-catching equine photos and quotes to connect with other Facebook horse lovers. It became wildly successful (the page today has over 528,000 likes), and the idea to form a book from the essence of the page arose. Cathy had a writing background, having been a senior editor for Practical Horseman and Horse & Rider. DandeLyon owned Twice As Shiney for a number of years and had a breeding operation. The two turned their attention to producing Shine On.
Shine On! features color equine photographs juxtaposed with poetic quotes and inspirational musings on life. The quotes maintain a consistent voice throughout the whole book, which is gentle, loving, and uplifting. In reading the book you have the impression that the writers truly care for the reader and for life in general, and the quotes are all well matched to their corresponding photos. This book could be a good match for a horse or animal lover looking for a little inspiration.
I very much enjoyed the fact that the book's entire interior consists of full color photography. The book's overall color scheme is well chosen, as the photos and the quotes are framed by a light blue background that works well with the colors in the majority of the photos. This background doesn't detract from the book's content, and the text is clear and easy to read.
However, in reading this book I was disappointed to see that it was lacking in a number of standard elements. I would have enjoyed reading an About the Authors section. Given this book's fascinating background I felt that it was important for a reader to understand its history and origin, yet no mention of that was made. I also would have liked to have read even a bit of information on Twice As Shiney, the horse who was so influential.
While the majority of the photos are beautiful, the inclusion of a few particular photos surprised me, since they weren't of the greatest quality. I would have also appreciated captions for the photos, whether included on the pages themselves or referenced in the back of the book. The photos all included a "flipping the corner" graphic that I felt detracted from both the quality of the photos and from the professional layout of the book.
Shine On! is a book that will appeal to many horse and animal lovers. Inspirational and uplifting, many of the photographs are stunning. You can order Shine On! on Amazon and can visit the Facebook page that it originated from.
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