Amanda Palmer

Dieses Buch ist sicher eines der besten non-fiction Bücher die ich je gelesen habe. Amanda Palmer beschreibt darin ihr Leben als Künstlerin, und wie einem Leute auch etwas zurückgeben, wenn man nur drum bittet. Wenn ihr nie ihren TED-talk gesehen habt, tut es! Wenn ihr es schon gesehen habt, ist dieses Buch eine längere, privatere und herzzerreißendere Version vom TED-talk. Ich habe viel von ihr gelernt, was ich auch privat anwenden werde. Ich empfehle es als audiobook zu lesen, da ihre Stimme fantastisch ist, es dadurch privater wird, und weil sie dazwischen singt (mega-plus). Alles in allem, ein fantastisches Buch!

Okay, I have a massive book hangover, so here's some background info to start with: Amanda Fucking Palmer is a punk cabaret rock musician, has toured the world, hugged a large part of the human population, and scored a whooping Million Dollars with her "Theatre is Evil"-Kickstarter-campaign. Her fanbase is loyal and strong, since she tweets daily, blogs about everything, and is very approachable at signings. She is married to (one of my favorite) author(s) Neil Gaiman.

So, in 2013 she gave a speech at TED (see above), where new ideas and concepts are presented. She talked about asking people to help instead of carrying the weight of the world alone on your shoulders. After the talk she was approached if she wanted to write a book about her idea. This is it.

But it's not simply a How-To-Ask-manual or a dry nonfiction book. Amanda's life has been a study in how to ask for the things you need: you have to make a connection first. That is why the How-To-Parts are intertwined with stories from her own life - a large part is autobiographical, including details of her marriage and her friendships and the connections she has made on the road.

I myself had the same problem with money as Amanda: I am currently an intern and therefore don't have as much money as my boyfriend. He sometimes insists to pay for stuff for me and I, in my stubborn feminist mind, tell him not to. I have now learned to thank him for his offerings and not feel guilty. That is why this book is a beauty: it teaches us to interact, to accept, and to be grateful.

I laughed ("BaNAHna"), I cried (Neil and love), and then I realized that I had been lurking in the shadows of her blog, never commenting, never engaging. I felt connected to this wonderful woman and her fantastic husband and she didn't even know I existed. But there were so many things that I wanted to tell her. So I took notes and wrote her a mail. I made a connection.

"There's really no honor in proving that you can carry the entire load on your own shoulders. (...)
Take the fucking donuts."

Dieses Songbook beinhaltet Noten für Piano und Stimme sowie Guitar Tabs zu den beiden Alben der Dresden Dolls namens "Yes, Virginia..." und "No, Virginia..." und heißt daher auch "The Virginia Companion".
Doch nicht nur Noten sind enthalten, auch Hintergrundinformationen zu den jeweiligen Liedern, auch wenn diese kürzer ausfallen als beim Begleitbuch zum ersten Album der Band. Desweiteren schreibt Amanda Palmer über die Aufnahmen der beiden Alben und man bekommt alternatives Artwork zum "Yes, Virginia..."-Album zu sehen. Es sind tatsächlich viele Bilder enthalten - von Fotoshoots der Band oder eben von Aufnahmen zum Album oder von Songs der Band inspirierte Bilder.
Alles in allem ein interessantes Buch einer interessanten Band.

Anmerkung: Die erste Auflage zerfällt leider sehr schnell, da der Klebstoff, der die Seiten halten soll, seinen Zweck nicht wirklich erfüllt.