![]() On the flight over, I finally finished one of the most remarkable books I’ve ever read, or could ever hope to read: The Matter With Things, by Iain McGilchrist. ![]() A First World Problem if ever there was one! But at least I have the gift of being able to visit Budapest friends. The only way I could get to Austria before Matt, or on the same day as Matt, was to fly to Budapest early, spend a couple of days with friends, then take the train. There were no seats left on Matt’s flight. ![]() ![]() I had planned to fly to Vienna later this week with my son Matt, but when I called American Airlines last Friday to see if I could use miles to upgrade to the next class of service, I discovered that they had no record of me buying a ticket for myself. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() ![]() ![]() Shunned by her classmates and teachers for her limited English, Qian takes refuge in the library and masters the language through books, coming to think of The Berenstain Bears as her first American friends. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly, taking out the stress of their new life on one another. In Chinatown, Qian's parents labor in sweatshops. In China, Qian's parents were professors in America, her family is "illegal" and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive. ![]() In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to "beautiful country." Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. An incandescent memoir from an astonishing new talent, Beautiful Country puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world. ![]() ![]() ![]() I have seen this book described as "paranoid," but given the realities of life in the Soviet Union during this period, and the distrust between the USSR and the USA, I would be very surprised if the portrait offered here of being very much in a fishbowl, and constantly under surveillance, weren't fairly accurate. ![]() I'm not sure that Eloise in Moscow will have quite the same appeal for young readers that it had for me, as quite a bit of my enjoyment here stemmed from the contrast between Eloise's exuberant joie de vivre, and the solid un-smiling Russian atmosphere surrounding her, as well as the insights offered into Cold War politics. Eloise goes to Moscow at the height of the Cold War - published in 1959, Eloise in Moscow is a product of Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight's own unusual trip to Moscow - and the results are fascinating! Staying at The National Hotel - it's no Plaza, but it has its charms - touring the Kremlin with their guide, Zhenka, and taking a brief trip to the countryside to enjoy some winter sports, Eloise and Nanny enjoy their Russian sojourn, although they are always conscious of the many eyes upon them. ![]() After enjoying the first Eloise book, and then finding the subsequent two rather ho-hum - it's not that there was anything wrong with either Eloise in Paris or Eloise at Christmastime, but their eponymous young heroine's frenetic activity palls a bit, after one's initial exposure - I found this fourth installment of the series quite engaging. ![]() ![]() ![]() "Elizabeth Finch," which opens in an adult-education classroom in turn-of-the-21st-century London, is narrated by the title character's most dedicated pupil. "Flaubert's Parrot," "England, England," "The Sense of an Ending" - in these and other novels Barnes' characters, by turns eccentric, bereft and extremely bright, are relatable players in vivid stories about artistic ingenuity, ideological conflict and the commodification of history. ![]() ![]() Barnes' 25 th book is part of a long-running effort to portray the life of the mind. ![]() Longtime fans won't be surprised to learn that the English author's "Elizabeth Finch" is erudite yet accessible. Julian Barnes' characteristically cerebral new novel focuses on a chaste but ardent relationship between an adult student and his charismatic teacher, a bond that nourishes a perceptive rumination on the solitary rewards of scholarly work. ![]() ![]() "In the vein of Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story, Polisner's short novel destigmatizes mental illness, emphasizing that everyone needs a little help sometimes. One of the most compelling and important books on the shelves today, giving teens an outlet to feel heard and understood."- Germ Magazine ![]() "Gae Polisner’s latest release is nothing short of extraordinary. As far as I'm concerned, is the equivalent to “Starry Night Over the Rhone,” making Gae Polisner the Vincent Van Gogh of young adult fiction." - Teen Reads "In Sight of Stars deals with mental health, Vincent Van Gogh, family and recovery all told in some of the most beautiful prose you will probably ever read. ![]() “An intense, sometimes graphic, totally heartbreaking portrait of a character who will keep pages turning.” - Booklist, Starred Review SEVEN CLUES TO HOME is a Junior Library Guild Selection and Bank Street Best! ![]() CONSIDER THE OCTOPUS is out now! Awarded a starred review from Kirkus and a glowing review from School Library Journal, this STEM and STEAM read is absolutely perfect for your "Oceans of Possibilities" Collaborative Library programs and classroom environmental units! ![]() ![]() ![]()
![]() "I Would Have Despaired" - by David Bolton.The Face of the Ox - Priestly Calling (#thecorporatechrist).Excerpt from "All Fullness in Christ" - A Sermon by Charles Spurgeon.The Practice of the Presence of God - by Brother Lawrence (free audiobook).The Anointed Body of the Anointed One: Kingly Anointing (#thecorporatechrist).A Short and Easy Method of Prayer - by Madam Guyon (free audiobook).Using examples from Scripture and from the lives of saints who lived with this thirst for God, Tozer sheds light on the path to a closer walk with God.Ġ2 – The Blessedness of Possessing NothingĠ8 – Restoring the Creator-Creature Relation But, he asserts, it is all too rare when believers have become conditioned by tradition to accept standards of mediocrity, and the church struggles with formality and worldliness. Tozer, is not for a select few, but should be the experience of every follower of Christ. ![]() “As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” This thirst for an intimate relationship with God, claims A.W. ![]() ![]() Throughout his lengthy and prolific career, Wyeth focused on two locations: Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, his birthplace, and Cushing, Maine, his second home since childhood. ![]() ![]() ![]() All works are untitled and range from 1987 to 1996.Īndrew Wyeth (1917 - 2009), regarded as one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, launched his career in 1937 with a sold-out exhibition of his watercolors in New York. Throughout his career, Johns has recast flags, targets, and other borrowed subjects, and in the process he has transformed both the images and their potential meaning.The works by Johns include examples of encaustic, oil and watercolor, as well as a monotype and an Aquarelle crayon drawing. His work bridges the immediate post-World War II modernist trends of Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism with subsequent movements of the 1960s, including Pop art, Minimalism, and Conceptual art.ĭrawn from the Museum’s extensive holdings of the artist’s work , this exhibition includes only original works. Jasper Johns (born 1930) is the world’s most critically acclaimed living artist. Eight original works by Jasper Johns and eleven seldom exhibited paintings by Andrew Wyeth comprise Jasper Johns + Andrew Wyeth: Repeat Until Empty. ![]() ![]() ![]()
![]() ![]() Needless to say, it is a tale as old as time.īelle and the Beast, huh?. also, a very unique, ✨exceptional✨ male 'anatomy') and the virgin sacrifice that lacks fear and deemed to be cursed by the villagers. ![]() Second try!Ī Soul to Keep is one slow burn romance between a Duskwalker (imagine Elias from TAMB, furry body, wolf skeleton for the head and Impala's horns on the top. Okay, that is one of the most blasé reviews I've ever put out. the best monster romance I've read so far. ![]() She’s not afraid of him, and his insatiable desire deepens within every moment of her presence.īut will Orpheus be able to convince Reia to stay before she’s lost to him forever?Īs a fan of The Ancient Magus' Bride, you cannot not love this reimagining.Īlso, Orpheus is such a cinnamon roll. He'd thought it was a hopeless endeavour, until he met her. The brief companionship does little to ease his loneliness, and their lives were always, unfortunately, cut short. His skull face and glow eyes are ethereal, and she finds herself unwittingly enchanted by him.Įach decade, in exchange for a protection ward from the Demons that terrorise the world, Orpheus takes a human offering to the Veil – the place he lives and the home of Demons. When the next offering is due and the monstrous Duskwalker is seen heading their way, her village offers her an impossible choice – be thrown into the prison cells or allow herself to be sacrificed to a faceless monster. Known as a harbinger of bad omens and blamed for Demons eating her family, Reia is shunned by her entire village. ![]() |