Of Old Dallas Landmarks and Young Struggles to Fit In

Authors often advise: Write what you know.

The local writers of this month’s selections got personal with their distinctly different books.

One adopted a new workout regimen before taking the first photographs that would fill his pages.

The other drew on her experiences as an Asian girl trying to find her place in predominantly white schools to create a heroine for her children’s fiction.

“Doug’s Gym: The Last of Its Kind.”
By Norm Diamond
$45 normdiamondphoto.com

We wrote in early 2018 about this retired Dallas doctor turned photographer
whose debut book, What is Left Behind –Stories from Estate Sales, featured images of unexpected items people no longer wanted. Before he could begin shooting pictures for his newest book, Diamond had to spend a month working out three days a week at the legendary “no frills” gym, a downtown Dallas landmark operated for 55 years by cigar-smoking owner Doug Eidd.

“Mindy Kim and The Yummy Seaweed Business”

“Mindy Kim and The Yummy Seaweed Business”
“Mindy Kim and The Lunar New Year Parade”

By Lyla Lee
$16.99 each lylaleebooks.com

Some readers may know this Korean-American author, who first moved to Dallas when she was 5, for the tutoring she does in our markets. Two of her children’s chapter books came out in January, featuring Mindy Kim, a plucky protagonist working to fit in at a new school where most students don’t look like her.

William Taylor

William Taylor, editor of Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People, shares a name and a birthday with his dad and a love for community journalism with his colleagues at People Newspapers. He joined the staff in 2016 after more than 25 years working for daily newspapers in such places as Alexandria, Louisiana; Baton Rouge; McKinney; San Angelo; and Sherman, though not in anywhere near that order. A city manager once told him that “city government is the best government” because of its potential to improve the lives of its residents. William still enjoys covering municipal government and many other topics. Follow him on Twitter @Seminarydropout. He apologizes in advance to the Joneses for any angry Tweets that might slip out about the Dallas Cowboys during the NFL season. You also can reach him at william.taylor@peoplenewspapers.com. For the latest news, click here to sign up for our newsletter.

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