![]() ![]() ![]() Comparing the map in The Wind in the Willows to a map of her local terrain is one thing: comparing her first act of performing cunnilingus to entering Homer's cave of Polyphemus made me groan out loud. Bechdel continuously draws parallels to anything and everything literary. The constant literary references (Joyce, Camus, Proust, Wilde, etc) do not impress me and they do not enrich the story she is telling. She doesn't make me care about her, and I care only a little bit about her dad, whom the book focuses on. The key to this is good writing, and although Bechdel's writing is ORNAMENTAL, it's not engaging. This is how I feel: any person, no matter how mediocre his/her life might be perceived, can be made into a great story. However, this is not a review of The Song of Solomon, so I suppose I will set aside that grudge for now. To put it in less crude terms, both books overflow with self-conscious references to classic literature (both use The Odyssey in a major way). ![]() ![]() Reading Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic put me in the same irritated and impatient mood experienced when reading Toni Morrison's The Song of Solomon in high school: both books feel like major wank-offs to the writers' cumulative reading endeavors. ![]()
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![]() Drawing on nearly thirty years of research, she presents a compelling account of first encounters between disparate societies, which sparked conflict and collaboration eerily reminiscent of our contemporary moment. ![]() But how, then, to explain the presence of blond-haired people in Maya temple murals at Chichén Itzá, Mexico? Could it be possible that the Vikings had found their way to the Americas during the height of the Maya empire? Valerie Hansen, an award-winning historian, argues that the year 1000 was the world's first point of major cultural exchange and exploration. ![]() *A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice* From celebrated Yale professor Valerie Hansen, a "vivid" and "astonishingly comprehensive account casts world history in a brilliant new light" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and shows how bold explorations and daring trade missions first connected all of the world's societies at the end of the first millennium.People often believe that the years immediately prior to AD 1000 were, with just a few exceptions, lacking in any major cultural developments or geopolitical encounters, that the Europeans hadn't yet reached North America, and that the farthest feat of sea travel was the Vikings' invasion of Britain. ![]() ![]() It has tremendous pace, rich detail and immense drama." - The Washington Post ![]() Louis Post-Dispatch - The Daytona Beach News-Journal - Kirkus Reviews - Booklist The Wall Street Journal - The Daily Beast - St. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY And in the end, we experience Churchill's last years, when he faces the end of his life with the same courage he brought to every battle he ever fought. ![]() And after his triumphant return to 10 Downing Street, we follow him as he pursues his final policy goal: a summit with President Dwight Eisenhower and Soviet leaders. We witness Churchill, driven from office, warning the world of the coming Soviet menace. In brilliant prose and informed by decades of research, William Manchester and Paul Reid recount how Churchill organized his nation's military response and defense, convinced FDR to support the cause, and personified the "never surrender" ethos that helped win the war. ![]() Spanning the years 1940 to 1965, The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm begins shortly after Winston Churchill became prime minister-when Great Britain stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() There is also a touch of what feels like product placement, when a character sits upstage reading “ Ella Persistió,” the Spanish-language version of Clinton’s book.Īnother moment stands out for its possibly unintentional message. The cast’s singing is not uniformly strong, and Saturday’s performance at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater suffered some technical hiccups. Things turn fantastical when Naomi slips into the past, where she meets a young Sonia Sotomayor (Jianzi Colón-Soto), intent on becoming a detective Virginia Apgar (Amanda Corday), the physician whose namesake test for newborns occasions a charming baby-doll dance and Ruby Bridges (Auberth Bercy), the first grader who in 1960 integrated a New Orleans school.īest of all are a commanding, kind Harriet Tubman and an appealingly down-to-earth Florence Griffith Joyner, both played by the show’s M.V.P., Cynthia Nesbit, who is very funny as a museum guard, too. Chan, played by Heather Sawyer as an endearingly irrepressible geek, wants to inspire Naomi (Amber Jaunai) and her classmates with stories of great achievement. Directed and choreographed by MK Lawson for Atlantic for Kids, which recommends it for ages 5 and up, the play begins with a fourth-grade field trip to a women’s history museum. ![]() ![]() and disciplined himself to write 250 words every fifteen minutes has become part of literary legend. How he paid his groom to wake him every morning at 5:30 a.m. But he had inherited his mother's determination, and managed later to carve out a successful career in the General Post Office while devoting every spare moment to writing. He was the victim of vicious bullying at Harrow and Winchester. Trollope was born in 1815, the product of a formidable mother and a tragically unsuccessful father who was socially ambitious for his sons. ![]() But he was also the author of one of the most fascinating autobiographies of the nineteenth century. Anthony Trollope is most famous for his portrait of the professional and landed classes of Victorian England, especially in his Palliser and Barsetshire novels. ![]() ![]() ![]() However, his horror novels turned out to be quite popular and made him much in demand as a novelist. ![]() Early in his career, his agents and editors expressed concern that he would be "written off" as someone who only wrote horror. In it, he explains why he had not previously submitted the novellas (each written at a different time) for publication. The collection is notable for having nearly all of its novellas turned into Hollywood films, one of which, The Shawshank Redemption, was nominated for the 1994 Academy Award for Best Picture.Īt the ending of the book, there is also a brief afterword, which King wrote on January 4, 1982. The four novellas are tied together via subtitles that relate to each of the four seasons. Different Seasons (1982) is a collection of four Stephen King novellas with a more dramatic bent, rather than the horror fiction for which King is famous. ![]() ![]() " I enjoyed this book, as I have all of her books, but it doesn't grab me as much as most of her Dark Hunter books do-probably because I like the fantasy genreso much. If not that the story would be quite enjoyable. Reading over and over about extreme child abuse is not relaxing at all. Overall Performance: Narration Rating: Story Rating:.:-) They are added to my list of must reads! Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite authors. Now, of course, I want to read the rest of the books in the series. I just can't believe it took me so long to read it. Old enemies and new threaten them both and the only way they can survive is to overcome their suspicions and learn to trust in the very ones who threaten them the most: each other. ![]() Though many have tried, none can kill him or stop him from completing his current mission: to protect Kiara Zamir, a woman whose father's political alliance has made her a target.Īs her world becomes even deadlier, Kiara must entrust her life to the same kind of beast who once killed her mother and left her for dead. Ĭommand Assassin Nykyrian Quikiades once turned his back on the League-and has been hunted by them ever since. But not even the League is immune to corruption. ![]() Expertly trained and highly valued, the League Assassins are the backbone of the government. ![]() In the Ichidian Universe, The League and their ruthless assassins rule all. ![]() ![]() ![]() It is these three prayers – asking for assistance from a higher power, appreciating what we have that is good, and feeling awe at the world around us – that can get us through the day and can show us the way forward. And in her new audiobook, Help, Thanks, Wow, she has coalesced everything she knows about prayer to these fundamentals. Listeners of all ages have followed and cherished Anne Lamott’s funny and perceptive writing about her own faith through decades of trial and error. The New York Times bestseller from the author of Hallelujah Anyway, Bird by Bird, and Almost EverythingĪuthor Anne Lamott writes about the three simple prayers essential to coming through tough times, difficult days and the hardships of daily life. ![]() ![]() ![]() He captures her and holds her against her will during which time he unveils who he really is a tender, alluring, romantic man although he is also savage, chauvinistic, and primal. Julian always takes what he wants, even if he has to commit rapine. She is only expected to please her fiancé visually and sexually.When Cheryl meets the handsome Julian, he pursues her vigorously, regardless of her disinterest and engaged status. She can have absolutely anything she desires materially. ![]() She is engaged to an incredibly attractive billionaire. Is it possible to fall for a man who brutally fights for you, commits rapine, and holds you against you will?A tale of highly possessive, savage, chauvinistic, alpha male billionaires.Cheryl appears to have an extravagantly perfect life. ![]() |