![]() There is the teenage wannabe-DJ eager to play his first gig even as his family disastrously falls apart-who reappears many years later as an unhappy middle-aged man drunk-calling his ex-wife a man who throws a living funeral for his dying brother three friends who ponder penis captivus and one’s peculiar erectile dysfunction a troubled woman who tries to find her peace-place in the world, helped by a headful of songs and a pot of ginger tea. It is also Chimeka Garricks’s love letter to his native city, Port Harcourt, introducing us to a cast of indelible characters in these loosely interlocked tales. ”-Hari Kunzru, author of White TearsĪ Broken People’s Playlist is set to the soundtrack of life, comprised of twelve music-inspired tales about love, the human condition, micro-moments, and the search for meaning and sometimes, redemption. Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in life’s soundtrack." - Booklist, starred review ![]() "A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised. ![]()
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![]() (I've rarely disliked a character so much in historical fiction, but Cecil is a vile character here). ![]() Tracy Borman writes so vividly as to make you seriously afraid of Cecil on Frances's behalf. He is determined to bring Frances to justice - right to the grisly fate of 17th-century witches: burning at the stake. He's deeply suspicious of her, and takes his role leading James's witch hunt quite seriously. Sir William Cecil - a key figure in the Elizabethan government, and new right-hand man to King James, proves immediately to be one of Frances's foes. ![]() so the days ahead are dark for Frances, indeed. James is notorious for his fear of witchcraft and loathing of women. The story opens with her at Queen Elizabeth I's death bed in 1603, and as we (as Tudor enthusiasts) may know, her healing work will soon be under serious scrutiny when the new king, James VI of Scotland/I of England, takes the throne upon the Virgin Queen's death. ![]() ![]() She's a healer, having learned the art of medicinal plants and herbs from her mother, and earning a positive reputation among her many patients. Frances Gorges is a character I instantly liked and sympathized with. Does that capture your interest? It certainly piqued mine, and though I've rarely delved into 17th-century novels, I was very excited to start this one. ![]() ![]() She desperately wants freedom, so that she can decide what to do with her life. Jacinda was designated as special from a young age, and knows that every move she makes is watched. “Firelight” is the first novel in the “Firelight” series and was released in the year 2010. She has a hard time choosing between the two men, partly because of how she feels for each one, but also because of other circumstances as well. ![]() Both Will (who is actually human) and another draki, who is named Cassian. This allows her to keep on surviving, as she lives with humans that protect her. Dragons who can turn into humans, which she is, are called draki. It stars a girl who is named Jacinda, a human that has dragon origins, who is able to shift into human form. The series is a trilogy, one that ended in the year 2012, with the release of “Hidden” book two (called “Vanish”) was released in the year 2011. ![]() The “Firelight” series by Sophie Jordan is from the young adult genre and started in the year 2010 with the release of “Firelight”, book one in the series. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As Mayor points out in The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy, nonfatal lightning strikes forecasted fame. Then, soon after his birth, lightning struck Mithradates’ crib, leaving a crown-like scar on his forehead. Astronomic phenomena were hugely portentous in antiquity, usually signifying the arrival of a savior, as with Jesus and the Star of Bethlehem. In the year he was either born or conceived, 135 or 134 BC, the “Star of Sinope” burned across the sky over Mithradates VI Eupator’s home in northwestern Turkey, on the coast of the Black Sea. He conducted not one but three wars against Rome, caused more than 80,000 civilians to be slaughtered in a single day, and publicly executed an enemy by pouring molten gold down his throat.Įven his birth was marked by a celestial event. ![]() He developed immunities to poison – by taking poison. He had his armor made a size or two too big to intimidate enemies. Mithradates was not the type to do anything small. Mayor will discuss her book this Thursday, July 22, at the Central Library. Adrienne Mayor’s The Poison King is a stunning portrait of the greatest ruler time forgot. Persian king Mithradates was a master of warfare and toxicology who nearly brought the Roman Empire down. Charismatic, brave and ruthless, the first century B.C. ![]() ![]() ![]() Plot Ī nuclear catastrophe leaves the city of Allendale, California entirely desolate. ![]() Bradbury's foresight in recognizing the potential for the complete self-destruction of humans by nuclear war in the work was recognized by the Pulitzer Prize Board in conjunction with awarding a Special Citation in 2007 that noted, "While time has (mostly) quelled the likelihood of total annihilation, Bradbury was a lone voice among his contemporaries in contemplating the potentialities of such horrors." The author considered the short story as the only one in The Martian Chronicles to be a work of science fiction. ![]() The author regarded it as "the one story that represents the essence of Ray Bradbury". It was first published in 1950 in two different versions in two separate publications, a one-page short story in Collier's magazine and a chapter of the fix-up novel The Martian Chronicles. ![]() The title is from a 1918 poem of the same name by Sara Teasdale that was published during World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. " There Will Come Soft Rains" is a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury written as a chronicle about a lone house that stands intact in a California city that has otherwise been obliterated by a nuclear bomb, and then is destroyed in a fire caused by a windstorm. ![]() ![]() ![]() Though the book satisfies voyeuristic pleasures, on a basic level, it also inspires meaningful questions by virtue of its structure contributions are well-organized in short sections (participants like Lena Dunham and Cindy Sherman are granted longer entries) with surprising juxtapositions-for example, rapid-fire answers to the editors’ survey questions about shopping sit comfortably next to an essay on the political and personal implications of wearing a head scarf. Reminiscent of women’s collaborative book projects from the 1970s, women (and a few men) are quoted in survey responses, essays, artworks, and recorded snippets of conversation. Thoughtfully crafted and visually entertaining, this collection, edited by Heti (How Should A Person Be?), Julavits (The Vanishers), and Shapton (Swimming Studies), uses personal reflections from 642 contributors to examine women’s relationship with clothes in a deceptively lighthearted and irreverent tone. ![]() ![]() A un secolo di distanza dalle sue straordinarie scoperte risulta ancora stupefacente che un giovane studioso sia riuscito da solo a ridisegnare l'universo. Gli impulsi ribelli, la curiosità, le passioni e l'elegante distacco che permeano la sua produzione scientifica hanno dominato anche la vita affettiva e la dimensione politica dell'uomo Einstein. ![]() Albert Einstein, il mite rifugiato in fuga dall'oppressione, con la sua aureola di capelli arruffati, gli occhi pensosi, la sua accattivante umanità e il suo limpido genio spicca come icona suprema del Novecento. Quando, nel 1900, Lord Kelvin dichiarò che la fisica non aveva ormai "nulla di nuovo da scoprire", il mondo scientifico non sospettava che, di lì a pochi anni, gli articoli di un giovane impiegato dell'Ufficio brevetti di Berna, basati su esperimenti mentali, avrebbero rivoluzionato la scienza. ![]() ![]() Celebrating the astounding creativity and originality of designer Alexander McQueen, who relentlessly questioned and confronted the requisites of fashion "An authoritative and moving insight into the legacy of the British designer."-Carola Long, Financial Times "McQueen's brilliance is celebrated in this sumptuous tome."-Harper's Bazaar "Excellent."-Huffington Post Arguably the most influential, imaginative, and provocative designer of his generation, Alexander McQueen both challenged and expanded fashion conventions to express ideas about race, class, sexuality, religion, and the environment.Īlexander McQueen: Savage Beauty examines the full breadth of the designer's career, from the start of his fledgling label to the triumphs of his own world-renowned London house. ![]() ![]() ![]() Most of the damage to his house and garden has been repaired, and while his wife tragically died towards the end of the war, he has his grandson Ichiro to distract him from dwelling on the past too much. The Second World War has been over for three years, and life is beginning to settle down. It’s well worth the wait, too – a clever book with an intriguing narrator looking back at an uncertain past.Īn Artist of the Floating World, Kazuo Ishiguro’s second novel, is narrated by Masuji Ono, an artist who has stepped back from public life and is now enjoying a peaceful retirement in his large house on the outskirts of the city. Alas, I had no time to rectify that at the time, but it’s been at the back of my mind (and highlighted on my Excel reading list) ever since, and today’s the day that this oversight gets corrected. ![]() ![]() While I was busy reviewing International Booker longlisters earlier this year, I selected a book from my shelves for a quick reread of something I’d already reviewed – only to discover half-way through that although I had read it since starting my site, it had been during one of my rare injury-induced blogging slumps, and I hadn’t actually written the post. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times. Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times,, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. Soon after, she began to write her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love. ![]() ![]() When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.Įventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. The last book her her Possession series is set to release in March 2011. Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling author of the WICKED Series, has just published CRUSADE - the first book in a new vampire series cowritten with Debbie Viguie. ![]() |