![]() ![]() ![]() The fog and cold that permeate Bleak House mirror a Victorian England mired in spiritual insolvency. But while the intricate puzzles of the lawsuit are being debated by lawyers, other more dramatic mysteries are unfolding that involve heartbreak, lost children, blackmail and murder. Esther Summerson watches as her friends and neighbours are consumed by their hopes and disappointments with the proceedings. Nobody can remember exactly how the case started but many different individuals have found their fortunes caught up in it. "Jarndyce and Jarndyce" is an infamous lawsuit that has been in process for generations. ![]()
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![]() ![]() In a rare interview, Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti speaks to Stuart Maconie about his relationship with George Whitman. George Whitman took up this mantle in 1951 and attracted the writers of the Beat Generation including Allen Ginsberg, William S Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Anais Nin, and Henry Miller. ![]() Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein communed, borrowed books and exchanged ideas in the original shop founded by Sylvia Beach.Ī bookshop dedicated to empowering writers, it was Sylvia Beach who first published James Joyce's Ulysses. James Joyce and the Lost Generation of Ernest Hemingway, F. Since its beginnings in 1919, Shakespeare and Company has played host to an extraordinary range of authors. ![]() Stuart Maconie travels to the Shakespeare and Company bookshop in a bid to understand how a winding, twisting, bohemian bookstore in Paris has become a draw for generations of writers. ![]() ![]() Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. Unable to act "normal," the once-popular Allison became an outcast. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing. ![]() Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. ![]() It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.īut after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. ![]() ![]() Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. Science & Technology: General & ReferenceĪ brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder-and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side-in this powerful and inspiring memoir. ![]() ![]() ![]() If you’re unfamiliar with this literary family, it consists of three very famous sisters named Charlotte, Emily, and Jane. My eyes were soon opened to the wonderful world that the Brontë sisters created for themselves and their readers. To be honest I welcomed the change and the opportunity to discover titles that I had either never heard of or had just heard of in passing. When I decided to pursue my Master’s degree in English literature in Paris (yes, it’s ironic, I know!), the texts we studied were decidedly British, not American. ![]() And, we tended to focus on American writers. I grew up in the United States and the closest I ever got to studying literature was my high school English classes. I have always been passionate about reading and writing, but I’ll be the first to admit that I was pretty clueless about classic British literature until I went back to school at the ripe age of 26. Well, by “quite some time,” I mean, a few months.maybe a year. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a book that had been on my radar for quite some time before I happened to notice a copy nestled amongst other classic titles in a basket selling books at discount prices in one of my favorite bookstores. ![]() ![]() This is a unique, and uniquely accessible, presentation of the Tao Te Ching. ![]() And Hoff's chapter notes shed new light on the author's surprisingly modern viewpoint. She may be feeling sad, overwhlemed and burdened with grief and her brain may not feel up to an intellectual read. Hoff also makes the provocative claim-and demonstrates by revealing clues in the text-that the author of Tao Te Ching was a young nobleman hiding his identity, rather than the long alleged author, the "Old Master" of legend, Lao-tzu. Hoff points out in his chapter notes the many incidents of meddling and muddling that have been made over the centuries by scholars and copyists, and he corrects the mistakes and removes such tampering from the text. The Eternal Tao Te Ching is the first translation to employ the meanings of the pre-writing brush characters in use 2,400 years ago, when the classic was written, rather than relying on the often different meanings of the more modern brush characters, as other translations have done. ![]() The bestselling author of The Tao of Pooh offers a uniquely authentic translation of the enduring Tao Te Ching, based on the meanings of the ancient Chinese characters in use when the Taoist classic was written.įrom Benjamin Hoff, author of The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet, which have sold millions of copies worldwide, comes The Eternal Tao Te Ching, a new translation of the Chinese philosophical classic, the Tao Te Ching. Buy The Tao of Pooh: Celebrating 40 years of the adult self-help bestseller guide inspired by the classic childrens series 01 by Hoff, Benjamin, Shepard. ![]() ![]() ![]() The author states, "The written record of what happened in Eyam during the plague year is scant. She has authored a few non-fiction books, but this is her first foray into the world of fiction. Brooks makes the story plausible because she knows how to find information due to her journalism training. But Brooks was intrigued with their actions in taking the unusual step that prevented the plague from spreading through the countryside and decimating the broader population. Real facts are fragmentary regarding the small English village that took the altruistic precedent of closing themselves off from all outsiders once the plague was identified in their community. ![]() These factors make the story hard to follow. The storyline takes many twists and turns leading readers on a thread of a trail while valiantly trying to keep up. Characters and their motives are sometimes inadequately introduced as the reader repeatedly finds essential information lacking. Year of Wonders has enjoyed tremendous success and popularity since its debut, but I do not see why. What else could it be since John Cleese was not involved? Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks is a grim, troublesome read. Perhaps I was curious to see how the author would tell the story of the plague in a historical fiction format. ![]() ![]() Not quite sure why I selected this book to read on a recent road trip. ![]() ![]() ![]() As she watches those she loves most lay their lives on the line against ghouls and enemy soldiers, Amani questions whether she can be the leader they need or if she is leading them all to their deaths. Armed with only her revolver, her wits, and her untameable Demdji powers, Amani must rally her skeleton crew of rebels for a rescue mission through the unforgiving desert to a place that, according to maps, doesn’t exist. But after the bloodthirsty Sultan of Miraji imprisoned the Rebel Prince Ahmed in the mythical city of Eremot, she doesn’t have a choice. When gunslinging Amani Al’Hiza escaped her dead-end town, she never imagined she’d join a revolution, let alone lead one. ![]() *Because this book is the third and final in the series, there ARE going to be spoilers, because I don’t think I can write this review without them…* I read Rebel of the Sands when it first came out, and following Amani on her journey across the desert, into the Sultan’s palace in Traitor to the Throne, and back across the desert , has been a delightful (and not so delightful) journey. I feel like I have been waiting for this all my life. Ahhhhh, here it is: the final book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy. ![]() ![]() After a year full of the kind of success he could only dream of, it’s December 23, and he’s headlining a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. Thirty-five-year-old Heath Sawyer has finally made it to the big-time as a country music star. The fireplace is lit, the snow is falling, and sleigh bells echo in the distance-it’s Christmas, and it’s time to come home in this charming holiday novel based on Dorothy Shackleford and Blake Shelton’s hit song. ![]() NOW THE HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES ORIGINAL TIME FOR ME TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! ![]() ![]() ![]() Growing many different plant species (also known as plant diversity) is correlated with attracting a wider diversity of creatures, such as multiple species of wild bees. Rather than just selecting plants because of their ornamental appeal, many gardeners and householders are selecting plants native to Ohio to draw an assortment of living creatures to the landscape and to support the many ecosystem services they provide. ![]() Consequently, spaces under individual control such as backyards, decks and patios, community garden plots, and small meadows, are increasingly important to provide habitat and connect otherwise fragmented spaces. Human development and some agricultural practices have destroyed, degraded, or fragmented many natural areas, limiting available habitat for wildlife to feed, seek cover, and rear their young. Loss of habitat is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity.īirds, butterflies, moths, bees, and other beneficial creatures depend on plants to provide seeds, nectar, pollen, cover, nesting sites, and nesting materials. ![]() These services include the creation of oxygen, nutrient cycling, decomposition, and the food, fiber and fuel humans need to survive. Humans rely on plants, insects, birds, and countless other creatures for vital functions (also known as ecosystem services). Biodiversity-the variety of creatures living on earth-is under threat. ![]() ![]() ![]() Max suddenly doesn't despise Ari anymore, and then he expires in her arms during a battle.īook four begins with Ari's funeral. ![]() Ari and Max find out from Jeb that they are half-siblings. Max's mini-flock roams France, Britain, and Germany, where they meet the Director. ![]() Fang, who is still against the idea, splits the flock into two groups: Max's group includes herself, Nudge, Angel, Ari, and Total Fang's group includes himself, Iggy, and Gazzy. In the third book, Max invites Ari to join the flock after all of the other Erasers are eliminated. But they don't know where they come from, who's hunting them, why they are different from all. ![]() And that's just the beginning of their amazing powers. Max Ride and her best friends have the ability to fly. Max and Max II battle at the end of School's Out-Forever after the clone takes Max's role as the leader of the flock. Six unforgettable kids with no families, no homes are running for their lives. In book two, Ari teams with a clone of Max, whom is referred to as Max II. This leads to the flock going to the School to reattain her, and this is where Max discovers that she is supposed to save the world. In the first book, Ari and several unnamed Erasers capture Angel. The Angel Experiment (Nudge spray-painted Ari's hair green by throwing paint cans at him). Ari had blond hair until he faced Nudge and Fang in At age three, scientists turned him into an Eraser, which is a fearsome and power-hungry enemy of the flock. ![]() |