![]() ![]() RP1 is a near-perfect ode to the nerd and geek culture that I grew up in and belong to. I would rather shoot myself in the foot than have to choose between The Martian and Ready Player One (my other favorite novel from the past couple of years).Īnd then I’d hobble off with The Martian. It’s difficult for me to find the right words to describe how much I love this book. But the real key to this novel is that it attains a level of hyper-realism almost unmatched in the SF genre. Weir spins a tremendously engrossing story. The worst-case scenario just keeps getting worse. The stakes and the suspense just keep building. There’s an age-old formula for how to structure compelling stories: “First act-Get your hero up a tree second act-throw rocks at him third act-get him down.” The Martian is a master class in how to throw bigger and bigger rocks, and drive a character farther and farther up the tree. ![]() If he can survive, he also needs to find a way to get back home… On his own in an environment lethal to life, Watney must find a way to survive with only the equipment and supplies left behind. It’s the story of an astronaut, Mark Watney, a member of the Ares III mission to explore Mars, who gets stranded on Mars when the rest of his crew abandons the planet and believes him dead. ![]() That’s one word I try not to overuse or water down-brilliant. ![]()
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![]() ![]() “ Joe, Beth and Frannie are fed up when Connie comes to stay – she’s so stuck-up and bossy. Like the Land of Spells, the crazy Land of Topsy-Turvy, and the land of Do-As-You-Please, where the children ride a runaway train!” ![]() “ Joe, Beth and Frannie take their cousin Rick on an adventure he’ll never forget to the magic Faraway Tree, where he meets Moon-Face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man, and visits all the different lands at the top of the Faraway Tree. Together they visit the strange lands (the Roundabout Land, the Land of Ice and Snow, Toyland and the Land of Take What You Want) atop the tree and have the most exciting adventures – and narrow escapes.” ![]() In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man. Book Summaries: “ Joe, Beth, and Frannie move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() He likes to read contemporary books with realistic characters and meaningful storylines full of heart. Whenever his knees will allow it, he enjoys playing basketball, running, and swimming. He holds an English degree from the University of California, Irvine a teaching credential from California State University, Long Beach as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from National University. He believes the real world is f Ernesto Cisneros is a veteran English teacher currently serving the colorful city of Santa Ana, California. As a writer, he believes in providing today’s youth with honest depictions of characters with whom they can identify. ![]() He is an avid music and ketchup lover, and he still follows the Lakers-even post Kobe. ![]() Ernesto Cisneros is a veteran English teacher currently serving the colorful city of Santa Ana, California. ![]() ![]() ![]() That extends to the plot of this novel, by the way. For the most part, though, a reader will have to pay attention and put the pieces together themselves. Here and there, her (general) narrator, Mycroft Canner, will stop and address the reader, dropping more information. Palmer has built an extremely complex world, and she has effectively managed to do it without much in the way of info dumping. Nevertheless, we shall endeavor to explain what we like and don’t like about this book, and give it a very solid 3 /5 stars, based on its general inventiveness. We could go on, really, but we’ll stop here. ![]() The fourth practically requires a passing familiarity with Homer, philosophy, probably the majority of the world religions, the Enlightenment, and more. On the third, it’s about the ideas of religion and what happens when it’s sort-of-but-not-really-banned. On another level, it’s about gender and performances thereof. ![]() Sure, on its face it’s about a world in which nations have been replaced with Hives, and how those Hives have avoided war for hundreds of years. The same is true of the first book, Too Like the Lightning. It’s hard to really say what Ada Palmer’s Seven Surrenders is about in one sentence. ![]() By Cheryl Wassenaar 6 years ago Ada Palmer’s Seven Surrenders classifies as science fiction, but its wide breadth of references and well-tangled plot make it a book many might enjoy. ![]() ![]() ![]() Evidently in Regency times, banks weren’t the only ones who could foreclose on one’s home, which is a scary thought. Lord Ormskirk is an older wealthy man whom her aunt is indebted to, considering he holds the mortgage to the house, as well as some other outstanding bills. Adrian is a wealthy young man who is soon to come into an inheritance and follows Deb with puppyish devotion. Her beauty and vivaciousness has attracted several would be suitors. ![]() But faro is a card game and one our hero,Deb, who is one of those spunky women so beloved by romance novelists, is an expert in.ĭeb is a card dealer in a higher class gaming house run by her widowed aunt, Lady Bellingham, who has fallen on hard times. “Faro? What is faro?” I asked myself, thinking maybe the setting was Ancient Egypt with different spelling. Though Founder Fox Leena had been recommending her books for years and it was she who suggested I do this novel for our theme week. Unlike most of the other Book Foxes, I had never read Georgette Heyer before we planned this week. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We hear the limousine confessions of a celebrated foundation boss witness an American president hem and haw about his plutocratic benefactors and attend a cruise-ship conference where entrepreneurs celebrate their own self-interested magnanimity. ![]() We see how they rebrand themselves as saviors of the poor how they lavishly reward "thought leaders" who redefine "change" in winner-friendly ways and how they constantly seek to do more good, but never less harm. An insider's groundbreaking investigation of how the global elite's efforts to "change the world" preserve the status quo and obscure their role in causing the problems they later seek to solve.įormer New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, where the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can-except ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it. ![]() ![]() ![]() Watson has a fancy for the sport of kings. The story 'The Adventure of Silver Blaze' is about the mystery of a missing horse and a murdered horse trainer. And we even learn that Edward Hardwicke as Dr. One of the most popular Sherlock Holmes short stories, Silver. This particular Holmes story is a well put together one, the conclusion will perk the interest. Read THE ADVENTURE OF SILVER BLAZE by ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE available from Rakuten Kobo. As it turns out the current whereabouts of the horse and what happened to its trainer have only the slightest of connections. In this one Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes has to not just deduce clues from humans, but reason why a pair of animals, the selfsame race horse Silver Blaze and a dog behave as they do. The single loose issues of the Strand magazine, which contain the. Later on those desolate English moors the trainer Barry Lowe is found dead with a bad head wound. Contains the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Silver Blaze. It's on the moors on one of those English murder mystery nights that the prominent race horse Silver Blaze disappears from the stable of his owner Peter Barkworth. Silver Blaze based on his story The Adventures Of Silver Blaze also has a setting on the moors. They seem to figure prominently in his stories, most prominently of course in The Hound Of The Baskervilles. I'm starting to note that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was certainly fascinated by the moors and cliffs of England. ![]() ![]() ![]() This egregious gap has now been filled to a fare-thee-well by Dawson’s book. Patrick Ness, New York Times bestselling author The book every LGBT person would have killed for as a teenager, told in the voice of a wise best friend. Educators looking for advice about the LGBTQIA+ community.Parents of gay kids and other LGBT youth.But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don’t) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. Your Plus plan is 7.95 a month after 30 day trial. You will get an email reminder before your trial ends. This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it’s like to grow up LGBTQ also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums, not to mention hilarious illustrations. This Book Is Gay By: Juno Dawson, David Levithan Narrated by: Christopher Solimene Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins 4.4 (100 ratings) Try for 0.00 Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts. Inside you’ll find the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask, with topics like: There’s a long-running joke that, after “coming out,” a lesbian, gay guy, bisexual, or trans person should receive a membership card and instruction manual. This book is for anyone who’s ever dared to wonder. This book is for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference. The bestselling young adult non-fiction book on sexuality and gender! This Book Is Gay is a nonfiction book written by Juno Dawson and illustrated by Spike Gerrell, first published in the United Kingdom in 2014 with subsequent publication in the US in June 2015. ![]() Health & Fitness, Sociology, Humor (Nonfiction), Young Adult Nonfiction ![]() ![]() ![]() I grabbed my tray and pad and went over to the vampire's table. Sam Merlotte, my boss, looked up from the drink he was mixing and gave me a tiny smile. I could have danced with joy, and in fact I did do a little step right there by the bar. They couldn't tell! But to me, his skin had a little glow, and I just knew. It amazed me when no one else turned around to stare. So little treats count a lot with me.Īnd he sat at one of my tables - the vampire. That's how I try to think of it.Įither way, the result is that I almost never have a date. I look good in the warm-weather waitress outfit Sam picked for us: black shorts, white T, white socks, black Nikes.īut I have a disability. I'm blond and blue-eyed and twenty-five, and my legs are strong and my bosom is substantial, and I have a waspy waistline. It's not that long a drive from Bon Temps to New Orleans, and everyone who came into the bar said that if you threw a rock on a street corner you'd hit one. ![]() ![]() We had all the other minorities in our little town - why not the newest, the legally recognized undead? But rural northern Louisiana wasn't too tempting to vampires, apparently on the other hand, New Orleans was a real center for them - the whole Anne Rice thing, right? I'D BEEN WAITING for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar.Įver since vampires came out of the coffin (as they laughingly put it) four years ago, I'd hoped one would come to Bon Temps. ![]() ![]() The book starts six months after the end of 'Saving Liam' and they're now living together properly, working through the knots in their relationship because it's early days and even though they're happy together generally, things still aren't perfect. Something, that even with Justin he can't reciprocate outside of a few kisses and cuddles, but still there's a bond between them which helps strengthen them as a couple emotionally. ![]() Their romance tentative because of Liam’s deep issues with penetrative sex. Luckily Justin was there to help Liam through it all, first as just a good friend but later, after quite a few setbacks that included a tricky relationship for Justin.as a couple. All the drama from the original book was firmly embedded in my memory so I was able to snuggle down with my endless supply of cups of tea (and the odd nibble, Lol) and get straight back in to see how they were faring in their relationship, which was complicated more because of poor sweet Liam's past history at the hands of his horrendous, manipulative ex, Cord, who under the guise of false love had coerced him into a life of porn then pimped him to another sexual predator, a real shit who put him through a terrible ordeal that ultimately tipped him over the edge. ![]() ![]() Having just read and reviewed Saving Liam (book# 1) this was a very smooth transition into the follow up to Liam and Justin's story. ![]() |