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Thinking with Rhythm
These stories are a collection of fiction chronicling the adventures, and romantic experiences of Alessandra Cangini with a couple of US Navy SEALs, and anecdotal stories where I write in first person. I let you, the reader, decide how intertwined Alessandra and I are in these stories.
Music has always been important to me. I grew up in a household where there was always music playing in the background from the radio or a record player my father built for her. My mother was always singing along. She had a beautiful voice. I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra, Al Johnson, Benny Goodman, Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, Sui Generis, Alberto Spinetta, Francesco di Gregori, Luca Carboni, Bruce Springfield, Queen, Phil Collins, Joan Manuel Serrat, and many others.
Music to me has always been an exhilarating component of my living impacting my serotonin levels because it always puts me in a good mood. Music makes me feel energized, and sparks my creativity. Music does not make me sad. It makes me dance, when nobody watches. I sing along the tunes in the privacy of my home or the car.
Some lyrics cause me to reflect on my life experiences, such as the lovers who broke my heart, and the places I have visited. Other songs make me think of the life of friends and family who experienced events similar to those described in the lyrics. Certain songs spark my imagination. Finally, there are the songs that trigger my point of view about that topic, even though, I have not personally experienced it.
These short stories offer the narrative of my mind that comes alive when I am listening to the songs I have compiled on my playlist. The title of each story reflects the title of the song the story is about.
I hope that these reflections will make you think about your life. My goals are to energize you with my joie de vivre, and to give hope to those who are feeling a little down; however, I will not be writing Western songs backwards to accomplish this. We might agree on the topic at hand. We might think differently on some of the issues I touch. I hope my different point of view, or philosophy of life, enriches yours.
Music has always been important to me. I grew up in a household where there was always music playing in the background from the radio or a record player my father built for her. My mother was always singing along. She had a beautiful voice. I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra, Al Johnson, Benny Goodman, Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, Sui Generis, Alberto Spinetta, Francesco di Gregori, Luca Carboni, Bruce Springfield, Queen, Phil Collins, Joan Manuel Serrat, and many others.
Music to me has always been an exhilarating component of my living impacting my serotonin levels because it always puts me in a good mood. Music makes me feel energized, and sparks my creativity. Music does not make me sad. It makes me dance, when nobody watches. I sing along the tunes in the privacy of my home or the car.
Some lyrics cause me to reflect on my life experiences, such as the lovers who broke my heart, and the places I have visited. Other songs make me think of the life of friends and family who experienced events similar to those described in the lyrics. Certain songs spark my imagination. Finally, there are the songs that trigger my point of view about that topic, even though, I have not personally experienced it.
These short stories offer the narrative of my mind that comes alive when I am listening to the songs I have compiled on my playlist. The title of each story reflects the title of the song the story is about.
I hope that these reflections will make you think about your life. My goals are to energize you with my joie de vivre, and to give hope to those who are feeling a little down; however, I will not be writing Western songs backwards to accomplish this. We might agree on the topic at hand. We might think differently on some of the issues I touch. I hope my different point of view, or philosophy of life, enriches yours.
157 pages, Paperback
Published March 30, 2023
1 person want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 5, 2025
Exploring Life’s Soundtrack
This book is a unique literary endeavor that fuses the realms of biography, fiction, and music into an experimental collection of short stories. The result is a mosaic of stories that challenge conventional storytelling and invite readers to reflect on their own life experiences. Each story is anchored by a song title and lyric, serving as both inspiration and thematic compass.
However, this collection may not cater to every reader's taste. The vignettes are brief, at times feeling more like glimpses than fully formed tales, leaving one craving deeper exploration. The unconventional structure, while refreshingly different, may come off as disjointed or abrupt to those accustomed to more linear storytelling.
For readers willing to embrace an unorthodox literary journey, "Thinking with Rhythm" offers a compelling exploration of the interplay between life and music. It serves as a reminder of how art—whether through words or melodies—can resonate differently with each person, sparking varied emotions and insights. This collection is best suited for those who approach literature with an open mind, ready to experience the world through the rhythm of another's soul.
This book is a unique literary endeavor that fuses the realms of biography, fiction, and music into an experimental collection of short stories. The result is a mosaic of stories that challenge conventional storytelling and invite readers to reflect on their own life experiences. Each story is anchored by a song title and lyric, serving as both inspiration and thematic compass.
However, this collection may not cater to every reader's taste. The vignettes are brief, at times feeling more like glimpses than fully formed tales, leaving one craving deeper exploration. The unconventional structure, while refreshingly different, may come off as disjointed or abrupt to those accustomed to more linear storytelling.
For readers willing to embrace an unorthodox literary journey, "Thinking with Rhythm" offers a compelling exploration of the interplay between life and music. It serves as a reminder of how art—whether through words or melodies—can resonate differently with each person, sparking varied emotions and insights. This collection is best suited for those who approach literature with an open mind, ready to experience the world through the rhythm of another's soul.
March 10, 2025
A tricky book to read. The stories are both all over the place and never going anywhere, about everything and about nothing. They jump from real and fictional characters, back and forth, from different periods without warning, from another love of her life to another love of her life. Then the book switches to current political affairs, then something about movies, then a long preach about things that, I have to say, underestimate readers’ intelligence, drawing shallow conclusions, and poorly informed research, basing on theories that had been challenged multiple times. One of the examples is about TV influence.
I like non-linear time frames if they’re done well. I’m sorry this is not the case. There are incomplete words and a story that stops mid-sentence and changes to another chapter (end of Chapter: Abram) with different elements: another POV, now first person, non-fictional, about something else unrelated.
Overall, I don’t feel this is a coherent book. It’s like a diary entry with a plethora of names, mixed with writing ideas, opinion pieces about current news and entertainment, and social media level of analysis thrown and bundled together.
I failed to relate to the characters and there is barely any plot. Some of the stories are entertaining, like when the author went on a road trip with her brother and cat. Unfortunately, most of the content is dominated by Alessandra’s endless love affairs, told like one-dimensional weather forecasts and chapters about anything and everything else.
Please don’t count on my review; books are subjective, and I’m sure some readers might appreciate this unusual piece.
I like non-linear time frames if they’re done well. I’m sorry this is not the case. There are incomplete words and a story that stops mid-sentence and changes to another chapter (end of Chapter: Abram) with different elements: another POV, now first person, non-fictional, about something else unrelated.
Overall, I don’t feel this is a coherent book. It’s like a diary entry with a plethora of names, mixed with writing ideas, opinion pieces about current news and entertainment, and social media level of analysis thrown and bundled together.
I failed to relate to the characters and there is barely any plot. Some of the stories are entertaining, like when the author went on a road trip with her brother and cat. Unfortunately, most of the content is dominated by Alessandra’s endless love affairs, told like one-dimensional weather forecasts and chapters about anything and everything else.
Please don’t count on my review; books are subjective, and I’m sure some readers might appreciate this unusual piece.
December 10, 2024
This was an unusual writing sample, maybe an experimental method of conveying the author's general thoughts and feelings covering her whole life with an unidentified fictional portion mixed in.
Practically speaking, it was a massive download of words running along very tightly together and changing total subjects and characters as the highlighted songs were listed as chapters. The songs ostensibly inspired the combined fiction/non-fiction stories in each different chapter.
It was difficult for me to appreciate this work. It felt like an unending one-sided flow of words that left no room for the reader to participate. A domineering command of the experience that seemed designed only to please the writer, not the reader.
Intentionally mixing fiction and non-fiction puts the reader in an awkward position of not knowing if they should take any of it seriously. Or spend their time on it.
I didn't really get much else from the stories as they seemed designed for the reader to just "take it", and left the reader no room to breathe, contemplate, or relax as the word tsunami roared in.
Kudos to the author for making this effort at self-expression. But as the intended target of the work, the reader, I didn't feel like I was ever invited to the party.
Practically speaking, it was a massive download of words running along very tightly together and changing total subjects and characters as the highlighted songs were listed as chapters. The songs ostensibly inspired the combined fiction/non-fiction stories in each different chapter.
It was difficult for me to appreciate this work. It felt like an unending one-sided flow of words that left no room for the reader to participate. A domineering command of the experience that seemed designed only to please the writer, not the reader.
Intentionally mixing fiction and non-fiction puts the reader in an awkward position of not knowing if they should take any of it seriously. Or spend their time on it.
I didn't really get much else from the stories as they seemed designed for the reader to just "take it", and left the reader no room to breathe, contemplate, or relax as the word tsunami roared in.
Kudos to the author for making this effort at self-expression. But as the intended target of the work, the reader, I didn't feel like I was ever invited to the party.
November 25, 2024
This is a story written as a sort of autobiography focusing on "anecdotal" stories featuring Alessandra Cangini. However, it isn't actually an autobiography- for one thing, all the people are fictitious, though are presumably based on real people (the main character, Alessandra, is loosely based on the author). Each short story's title is named after one of the author's favourite songs, so it reads as a sort of playlist.
It certainly is a very interesting and unique way of writing fiction, but because it's not written as a conventional story I was confused in places by the flow of the story. For example it jumps in places from first to third person, so one minute it refers to "I" then goes back to using "Alessandra". Also it is not written chronologically, so it switches from Alessandra being 30 to being 12 again, and from being in America to being in Uruguay.
Overall it wasn't quite what I expected. However in terms of background and storytelling it was worth reading.
It certainly is a very interesting and unique way of writing fiction, but because it's not written as a conventional story I was confused in places by the flow of the story. For example it jumps in places from first to third person, so one minute it refers to "I" then goes back to using "Alessandra". Also it is not written chronologically, so it switches from Alessandra being 30 to being 12 again, and from being in America to being in Uruguay.
Overall it wasn't quite what I expected. However in terms of background and storytelling it was worth reading.
January 27, 2025
A collection of short stories titled "Thinking with Rhythm" by Cecilia Anastos, combines biography, fiction and the music of her life. The author writes anecdotally from her own life experiences as an expert in Strategic Intelligence and Cybercrime, she has many interesting stories to tell. She mostly writes from the point of view of (her alter ego) Alessandra Cangini but sometimes from her own first person POV. The stories are very short and sometimes leave you wanting (needing) more from these 'vignettes'. Music played a big part of this author's early life and each story starts with a song title and verse from one of these musical memories designed to inspire and invoke reflection. I enjoyed some but not all of the musically inspired memories as they ended abruptly and did not flow particularly well. 3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars.
December 19, 2024
A unique effort – great if you're looking for something different
A mixture of fiction and commentary on the author's own experiences and some interesting points about the current world situation (including politics and war), each under the heading of a particular song that influenced the author.
I would have loved to experience an overarching storyline connecting each chapter, as it feels disjointed and often confusing without it. As a reader, the 'telling' writing style didn't draw me in to experience what was happening.
It's also disappointing how few female artists were listed.
If you're looking for something different, this is worth a try.
A mixture of fiction and commentary on the author's own experiences and some interesting points about the current world situation (including politics and war), each under the heading of a particular song that influenced the author.
I would have loved to experience an overarching storyline connecting each chapter, as it feels disjointed and often confusing without it. As a reader, the 'telling' writing style didn't draw me in to experience what was happening.
It's also disappointing how few female artists were listed.
If you're looking for something different, this is worth a try.
February 4, 2025
"Thinking With Rhythm" by Cecilia Anastos is a quick read. Cecilia has compiled a collection of short stories in this book. Regardless of the tone she aims to convey in each story, she seems to want the reader to engage with them through a bit of written song at the beginning of each reflection. I enjoyed several of the stories but I noticed that they lacked coherence.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews