![]() ![]() The narrative tends to circle back on itself drunkenly as the protagonist goes off on tangents, then lurches back to the beginning, or runs around telling friends in great detail about events that have already been narrated to the reader. “Unt I know dot you two don’t zee dot your bags iss now geshifted, mid dot car uf ours now going der odder vay…,” states the German tram conductor. The writing is riddled with ridiculously self-conscious similes and metaphors. As the author assures us (through the mouth of one of his characters) in the last chapter of the book, “To tell you the truth, I-I really wanted to show you how easy it is to-to construct dramatic fiction plot-what a racket these damned fictioneers have!-so that never again will you pay $2.00 for a mystery novel.” ![]() ![]() Until I read this book, I never understood the phrase, “so bad it’s good.” What an absurd phrase! Except that in Keeler’s case, it’s true, and I’ll go one further: “so bad it’s insanely brilliant.” So bad that you can almost see the author winking at you, so bad that it becomes a sort of metafictional commentary on the mystery novels of the time. ![]()
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6/10/2023 0 Comments Get well soon jennifer wright![]() Wright finds that in fighting epidemics, a strong leader matters communities must choose compassion over stigma and fight the disease instead of people. But she has harsh words for Woodrow Wilson, who suppressed news about the Spanish flu in service of America’s WWI effort, and is even harsher to those who cause active harm, such as the anti-vaccine activists sabotaging herd immunity. Wright treats generously even misguided attempts to ease suffering, as when she describes such superstitious treatments as the “exploding frog cure” for bubonic plague. ![]() She expresses sympathy for abused victims of syphilis, who were shunned for having the disease praises healers such as Father Damien of Molokai, who tended to the residents of Hawaii’s leper colony and heaps scorn upon those who have viewed the symptoms of particular illnesses, such as tuberculosis, as fashionable. ![]() Wright ( It Ended Badly) adopts a lighthearted approach-with mixed results-to delivering sociologically oriented descriptions of history’s greatest epidemics, including bubonic plague, smallpox, typhoid, and polio. ![]() 6/9/2023 0 Comments Oryx and crake amazon![]() ![]() Nightmares: the one where the Parthenon was decorated with cut-off heads was, He didn't want to tell Crake that he was having some severe Jimmy said if that was the point, it was pretty This was the point of the game, said Crake, The other trouble was that the Blood player usually won, but winning Was the trouble with Blood and Roses: it was easier to remember the Blood Unveils the story through the eyes of a character who becomes real to She moves from the present to the past with ease, and The novel maintains momentum without bathosĪnd absent tricks. In her latestĬrake, Atwood presents another memorable world, and takes on theĬhallenges of genetic experiments, corporate imperialism, the values conveyedīy games and media, and the steady progress of one misstep after another.Ītwood herself shows no missteps. ![]() In one of my favorite early novels, The Handmaid’s Tale. ![]() 6/9/2023 0 Comments A woman makes a plan![]() In A Woman Makes a Plan, Maye shares experiences from her life conveying hard-earned wisdom on career (the harder you work, the luckier you get), family (let the people you love go their own way), health (there is no magic pill), and adventure (make room for discovery, but always be ready for anything). But she made her way through it all with an indomitable spirit and a no-nonsense attitude to become a global success at what she calls the “prime of her life.”Īs everyone who follows her obsessively on social media knows, Maye is a fount of frank and practical advice on how the choices you make in every decade can pay off in surprising, exciting ways throughout your life. ![]() But things were not always so easy or glamorous–she became a single mom at 31, struggling through poverty to provide for her three children dealt with weight issues as a plus-size model and overcame ageism in the modeling industry and established a lifelong career as a respected dietitian, all the while starting over in eight different cities across three countries and two continents. Maye Musk is a fashionable, charming, jet-setting supermodel with a fascinating and tight-knit circle of family and friends–and is 71 years old. ![]() The international supermodel shares personal stories and lessons learned from a life of “living dangerously–carefully” “Warm, honest and true–A Woman Makes A Plan is full of insight as well as a good dose of humor, offering readers a lifetime of hard-won advice.” ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() That includes the one at the center of it all: a seductive, enigmatic woman helpless against the man whose desire is just as desperate as his need to destroy. Graeme plans to exact an extreme and ruthless vendetta against those who wronged him-Breed and human alike. All will suffer his wrath: those who created him, those who pretended to love him, and those who betrayed him. And he has a need for vengeance that surges hot and swift through his veins. A rogue Bengal Breed, he has loyalties to no one but himself. Now calling himself Graeme, he hides in plain sight, terrifyingly close to his goal. The elusive ideal conceived and created by the Genetics Council, he went by just as many names as he had identities-the last one being Gideon. He was a shadow, ever shifting and insinuating, able to blend in everywhere and anywhere. New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh tells a story of two Breeds who are united by animal desires, only to find it’s vengeance that stirs the mating heat… ![]() ![]() One of the more interesting characters is Pir Syed Mohammed Sarmadi, a very successful fraudulent dervish: And the book has some great characters, like partridge aficionado Punjab Singh (whose name is surely an Indian version of Indiana Jones) and archaeologist B.B. He covers a wide variety of topics, from historic people and places to the state of modern eunuchry, partridge fighting, and sufism. So the reader is treated to a book that weaves back and forth in time, telling us what the city as like way back when, an then revealing it again in 1993. Like most travelogues, this book features a few of the author's trials and tribulations, but it offers much more than that, for during his stay Dalrymple delves into the history of the city. The subtitle, A Year in Delhi tells you pretty much exactly what you get - an account of Dalrymple and his wife's year in Delhi. I first read this many years ago and decided to re-read it after I finished reading Kim. ![]() TLDR: 5 out of 5 for a beautifully written and sympathetic travelogue with plenty of interesting historical fodder. ![]() ![]() The theft of a priceless reliquary box, the disappearance of local women and children, and the concurrent rumors of a slave trade all combine to make this one of the most diabolical puzzles that Fidelma and Eadulf have ever faced. This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: United States Minor. ![]() An Ensuing Evil collects for the first time fourteen of his historical mysteries ranging in time and place from 7th-century Ireland. Peter Tremaynes novels and stories have been published in over a dozen countries around the world. An Ensuing Evil and Others has short stories set in many periods of history. The duo soon find that between the autocratic Bishop Leodegar and the malignant abbess, Mother Audofleda, a web of sinister intrigue is spreading throughout the abbey. Shapeshifters Lair - (Sister Fidelma Mystery) by Peter Tremayne (Hardcover). An Ensuing Evil and Others: Fourteen Historical Mystery Stories View larger image. Peter Tremayne is one of the best loved writers of historical mysteries. Fidelma and her husband, Brother Eadulf, are suddenly in the midst of a murder investigation involving some of the most powerful religious leaders. But his plans are threatened when one of the delgates is found murdered, his skull crushed. In an abbey in Burgundy, Bishop Leodegar of Autun has assembled church leaders from all over western Europe, intending to use the council to deliver a death blow to th. 670 Fidelma of Cashel is asked to act as an advisor to the Irish delegation to a hostile church council. ![]() ![]() Council of the Cursed: A Mystery of Ancient Ireland (Trade Paperback / Paperback, 17th edition) ![]() 6/8/2023 0 Comments Married by morning![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Catherine Marks was an extremely interesting heroine as she has plenty of spunk and independence that put anyone to shame, but she also harbors a dark past that makes her distant towards any kind of men, especially towards Leo and it was that part of Catherine’s personality that I found the most interesting about her character since I rarely read about heroines whose dark pasts makes them have trouble trusting anyone. But the two characters that I was most fond of were Catherine Marks and Leo Hathaway as they were the two most unusual yet interesting hero and heroine I have ever read about. Wonderful, wonderful work Lisa Kleypas! Lisa Kleypas has certainly done an excellent job at writing a story full of drama, mystery and sizzling romance which made this novel worthwhile for any romance novel fan! I also loved the character development that Lisa Kleypas incorporates into her characters as I truly sympathize with their situations and it was also nice seeing all of the Hathaway family together again and the mischievous antics they get into. ![]() ![]() ![]() The fourth book in the Timeless Classics series from Rock Point has nearly 800 pages of classic fairy tales to enjoy and features a gorgeous deckled edge, ribbon marker, and foil and deboss details on a vibrantly colored case-a standout for your personal library collection. ![]() The Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, were German linguists and cultural researchers who gathered legendary folklore and aimed to collect the stories exactly as they heard them. Originally titled Children's and Household Tales, The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales contains what have been the essential bedtime stories for children worldwide for over two centuries. ![]() Featuring 211 classic tales from the Brothers Grimm, including favorites such as "Hansel and Gretel," "Cinderella," "The Frog Prince," "Rapunzel," "Snow White," and "Rumpelstiltskin," The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales is accompanied by 40 color plates and 60 black-and-white illustrations from award-winning English illustrator Arthur Rackham, whose books and prints are now highly sought-after collectibles. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Perhaps most interestingly, Eager addresses both the positives and negatives of the beaver-human-ecology relationship in a thought-provoking way. One can learn about “the world’s largest collection of beaver-themed” items (it’s located in Martinez, California), and “one of the largest beaver relocations ever undertaken” (it took place from 1986 to 1999 to the north of Yellowstone National Park). In addition to being enlightening, Eager is filled with unusual beaver-related stories. Goldfarb also uncovers how humans who recognize beavers’ importance help by relocating them to areas where they can do the most good. It traces the history of beavers, tying their evolution to the colonization of North America, and shows their positive impact on the natural environment. ![]() To some, he writes, “beavers still appear more menacing than munificent.” This book is an excellent antidote to that attitude. Goldfarb is a fan of beavers, but he admits that they are not loved by all. The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matterįinalist, Ecology & Environment (Adult Nonfiction)Įnvironmental journalist Ben Goldfarb’s lively and educational Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter shows why beavers should be respected as “ecosystem engineers.” ![]() |