5/24/2023 0 Comments The beauty myth book![]() ![]() ![]() Middle-aged women are supposed to face the loss of their youthful selves with grief and anguish. The common cultural script tells us that women lose value as they age and that men will trade in their counterparts for younger versions. I had thought that getting older would be harder. The man may have imagined that he was showing off the youth of his date the way he might show off a new Maserati but parading her around like an acquisition seemed only to make his friends feel sorry for him. In fact, the mood of both genders was tender, almost pitying. And yet I did not feel the frisson of envy among the men present, nor did I see a bristle of jealousy from any of the stylish, accomplished women in their 40s. It took only a few moments of conversation before the rest of the group realized that the two had very little in common. Recently, I was at a party, and a man who, like myself, was in his late 40s, arrived with a woman 20 years younger. ![]()
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5/24/2023 0 Comments Speaker of the dead ender's game![]() ![]() Mankind is determined not to make the same mistakes that it made with them. The first was the Buggers, and things went very, very badly with them. It is also inhabited by the second intelligent race mankind has found in the universe. The world that is at the core of this novel is called Lusitania–the ancient name of Portugal–and it is so named because it is inhabited by Portuguese-speaking colonists from Brazil. In those 3,000 years mankind has moved out into the stars and set up colonies on different worlds. So while 3,000 years have passed for mankind by the time the novel begins, far fewer have passed for Ender, and he’s now a young-ish adult. After the events of Ender’s Game, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin left Earth for the stars, and the only way to get there in his universe, as in ours, was by slower-than-light travel. Or cryonic suspension.Īctually, it’s as mundane as the known effects of relativistic spaceflight. How does that work? Is he an immortal being? Has medical technology banished death? Or perhaps time travel is involved. ![]() ![]() Instead, Speaker for the Dead is set 3,000 years later, yet it still continues the story of Ender Wiggin. You might think that the sequel to Ender’s Game would be set shortly after the events of that novel. ![]() 5/24/2023 0 Comments Delany neveryon![]() It is only here that one can truly play the game. ![]() I finally decided to start on the series because the setting intersects ideally the course I am following about the civilization of the eastern Mediterranean and the rise of urban culture in the ancient world.įor sword and sorcery to be at its best, one needs a landscape that is ‘on the brink of civilization’ in an almost scientifically ideal way. Return to Nevèrÿon is a sword & sorcery series set in a pre-historic time, in which humanity is transitioning from a primitive, free-roaming state, to a settled, city-based civilization. You can huff and puff in frustration, but you will not drop the book and move to something friendlier. The thing about Delany I mentioned above is this – even when his plot appears to be hard to catch, and his linguistic games become disorienting, there is still something there, in the sound of the words, in the images, in the white spaces between words, that compels us to go on and see where this will take us. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Kelsey Who doesn’t like a gritty love story. ![]() Anytime a book can make me use my imagination to paint the picture, it’s doing a darn good job…. Additionally, the tone complements the characters very well as it emphasizes the thoughts of each of them that makes their situations feel real. The tone of the book is so casual that it feels as if you’re right in the thicket of the story’s environment. The characters are able to be connected with and each have their own quirks that give them life. REVIEWS (English Edition) Despite having placed the book down due to being busy, as soon as I picked it up again, I had no problem being wrapped back up into the story. ❼onectarán con el amor estos dos corazones solitarios o la flecha de cupido ha errado el tiro? Pensando que los dos famosos harían una bonita pareja, imprudentemente decide jugar a ser un casamentero…delante de un público en vivo. Una Nochevieja, la tímida cantante December Brown, le manda borracha un mensaje de texto su colega y presentador de un programa de entrevistas, Trace Randall sobre su enamoramiento de hace tiempo por el distante actor, Tom Elmswood. ![]() El Problema de Jugar a ser Cupido Libro 1 de la serie Cupido by Tamara Philip Ya está disponible en todas las ediciones españolas! Now Available in All Spanish Editions! ![]() 5/24/2023 0 Comments Alan parsons poe![]() As physical releases go it should also be noted that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab was the first to re-issue the original album on CD in 1994, although this particular release isn’t readily available and goes for considerable prices on the second-hand market. Besides being available on pre-1987 releases of the album, the 1976 mix was also reissued in a 2007 Deluxe Edition and via the 40th Anniversary releases that are not available to streaming services. Subjectively, I prefer the fuller, more atmospheric, sound of the remix along with the inclusion of the Orson Welles’ narration although it does make for a less fluid and relaxing musical experience.ĭisappointingly, the original mix is difficult to come by in the modern era. ![]() No doubt there’ll be some who prefer the original mix and there’s nothing wrong with that. Yes, there’s an 80s vibe to this 70s album, but the prog-rock style remains ever-present thereby offering not only refinement in production but a significant improvement over the original. ![]() Unlike George Lucas ruining the original Star Wars trilogy, the 1987 remix of Tales of Mystery and Imagination is nothing short of perfection and while the original mixes are worth your time tracking down and listening to, the remix is arguably the best way to enjoy this cult classic. ![]() 5/24/2023 0 Comments Books by blake crouch![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory-his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland’s upcoming Netflix film.Kalli King, Rediscovered Books, Boise, ID The line between what is real and what is memory blurs, and humanity may not be able to handle it.” Barry starts investigating False Memory Syndrome, while Helena works towards finding a way to save memories for people like her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. Like a roller coaster, it was a slow ride up the hill and then a quick drop into a Groundhog Day from hell. “This book felt like science fiction/mystery at the beginning, but turned into psychological thriller. Mary Salazar, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC Summer 2020 Reading Group Indie Next List Hitting and exceeding all of my expectations, this one will be hard to beat as my favorite book of the year.” I haven’t been this satisfied with a book in a long time. In his newest, Crouch quickly reveals the cause of the ‘fake memories’ that are plaguing the population, but the twists and thrills just keep coming. As a huge fan of Dark Matter, I knew I was in for a treat. “As soon as I saw Blake Crouch’s name, I scooped this book up. ![]() 5/23/2023 0 Comments The Twelve by Justin Cronin![]() ![]() As a huge Post Apocalyptic geek, every time there is a relatively popular novel in the genre released it is compared to either The Stand, or The Road, or both and almost never lived up to these comparisons. ![]() Yet, it also made me a tad bit skeptical. People all over where comparing it to Stephen King’s The Stand and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, which to me is like comparing anything edible to peanut butter and chocolate. ![]() Justin Cronin, who before this, it seems was a mid level literary writer, has produced a masterpiece of post apocalyptic horror. ![]() I, of course, being human and easily manipulated by well produced press segments was quite intrigued. As a long time book nut, rarely had I seen a book given so much press, almost to major motion picture level. Two years ago, the hype machine introduced us to Justin Cronin and his novel, The Passage. The worst part of The Twelve is knowing you have another lengthy wait until the final chapter is released. Cronin’s writing is hauntingly beautiful and his plotting precise, making The Twelve a novel that feels comfortable on anyone’s shelves. Quick Thoughts: The Twelve is a giant step in moving The Passage Trilogy forward to its eventual place as one of the top Post Apocalyptic series of all time. The Twelve (Book 2 of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin ![]() 5/23/2023 0 Comments Wicked saints a novel![]() ![]() And truthfully, not even then - the explosive ending will haunt you for days!" - Robin LaFevers "Wicked Saints is a lush, brutal, compelling fantasy that is dark, deep, and bloody - absolutely riveting! With a boy who is both man and monster, mysterious saints with uncertain motives, and a girl filled with holy magic who is just beginning to understand the full reaches of her power, this gothic jewel of a story will sink its visceral iron claws into you, never letting go until you’ve turned the last page. A shattering, utterly satisfying read." - Rosamund Hodge It’s got a world at once brutal and beautiful, filled with characters who are wounded, lovable, and ferocious enough to break your heart. "This is the novel of dark theology and eldritch blood-magic that I’ve been waiting for all my life. If you’ve ever fallen in love with a villain you will fall hard for this book." - Stephanie Garber Emily is a wicked storyteller, she’s not afraid to hurt her characters or her readers. ![]() "Full of blood and monsters and magic?this book destroyed me and I adored it. "Prepare for a snow-frosted, blood-drenched fairy tale where the monsters steal your heart and love ends up being the nightmare." - Roshani Chokshi ![]() 5/23/2023 0 Comments Wh auden collected shorter poems![]() ![]() ![]() He came to wide public attention at the age of twenty-three, in 1930, with his first book, Poems, followed in 1932 by The Orators. From 1947 through 1957 he wintered in New York and summered in Ischia from 1958 until the end of his life he wintered in New York (in Oxford in 1972–73) and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria.Īuden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form and content. He taught from 1941 through 1945 in American universities, followed by occasional visiting professorships in the 1950s. In 1939 he moved to the United States and became an American citizen in 1946. After a few months in Berlin in 1928–29 he spent five years (1930–35) teaching in English public schools, then travelled to Iceland and China in order to write books about his journeys. ![]() He attended English independent (or public) schools and studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. Wystan Hugh Auden was an Anglo-American poet, best known for love poems such as "Funeral Blues," poems on political and social themes such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles," poems on cultural and psychological themes such as The Age of Anxiety, and poems on religious themes such as For the Time Being and "Horae Canonicae." He grew up in and near Birmingham in a professional middle-class family. ![]() 5/23/2023 0 Comments Black hole book charles burns![]() But more conspicuous still in their almost total absent are the parents. ![]() There are no mentions of Watergate or even Vietnam - surely high among the concerns of any American teenager growing up in the era of Ziggy Stardust. The world is presented as our own - there are numerous references to Aladdin Sane-era Bowie and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (although, sadly, no appearance by Tarkus) - but every effort is meant to keep the story tightly focused on the concerns of its principle characters. The book follows the outbreak of a strange disfiguring disease among the teenage population of a small Washington state high school in the early 1970s. These facets of the story - all facets of the story not pertaining to the principle notions of alienation and paranoia endemic to the teenaged classes across the industrialized West - are glossed over in favor of a loose, diaphanous metaphorical structure that proves as intense, and ultimately as intensely anticlimactic, as the very act of growing up itself. That it takes place in the 1970s and is preoccupied with the concept of mutation and deformity is of little consequence. ![]() And yet that is exactly what Black Hole is and aspires to be, the archetypal high school experience printed on high-quality paper and bound between two thick, hard covers. ![]() ![]() It is hard enough to be a teenager once the idea of having to relive the high school experience again is almost too obscene to bear. ![]() |