I came to a number of conclusions about this book, as is evidenced by my notes, taken during the course of reading the book, and to which I am now referring some days later, but now have some hesitation as to using analogies to explain the content, if that is the right word, of the book, possibly because the novel itself ends in mystification rather than clarification. The first book I mentioned in the previous paragraph is the novel The Plains, thought of by some who make a profession out of making pronouncements in literary matters as his most notable book, his most successful book, if such a thing can be adjudicated on anything more than sales. The author to which I am referring in the previous sentences is the Australian author Gerald Murnane. On a weeknight recently I took a library book that had lain on the coffee table for some days to bed, with the aim of reading it and then writing down some thoughts on its content and style, in anticipation of, and preparation for, reading the same author’s recent collection of essays, a book that is the outcome of him re-reading his own books, in many cases in their manuscript form. Last Letter to a Reader, Gerald Murnane, Giramondo
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Fanning’s talent is matched with the energetic Justice Smith. Without Fanning, the film would feel even more shallow than it already did. She makes Violet’s character feel familiar, as if we already know her. Luckily, that comes in the form of Violet Markey (Elle Fanning). Since All the Bright Places already puts off its audience with its rushed pace, it is important that the audience has something with which to quickly identify. With that being said, it should be enjoyable for those who have read the book, but may leave newcomers to this story puzzled. The movie tries to encapsulate all the beauty and insight of the book, but it is incapable of delivering the story in its entirety. The novel and the film share the same name but the film lacks the emotional depth found in the text. The story explores the painful lives of two young high schoolers, Violet Markey and Theodore Finch, as they bond together in efforts to better navigate through their own turmoil. This film is an adaptation of the New York Times best-seller YA novel, All the Bright Places, written by Jennifer Niven. All the Bright Places finds success on the shelves but not on the screen. I wrote last time that Michael was a bit of a cardboard character. And if one unsolved murder wasn’t enough, Lucy’s ex-husband Michael (also killed in Upstairs) is back, in a subplot with a slightly different timeline. Although Birdie died 25 years ago, her skeleton has been moved relatively recently, which points to murder. Meanwhile, the skeleton of Birdie, a truly appalling character from Upstairs, has washed up in the Thames. How hard can it be to find a man hiding in a city the size of Chicago, thinks Henry, and – fair play to him – he’s up for the task. But when Phin flees Africa rather than meet, Henry develops a hunch that the object of his obsession is now in Chicago. Libby, Phin’s daughter, is going to Botswana to meet Phin (for the first time), and Henry’s invited himself along. Twenty-five years since they last saw each other, Henry hasn’t moved on. In Upstairs, teenage Henry was obsessed with teenage Phin. Even in the queer community, though we hate to be oversexualized by the straights, we often sexualize ourselves and each other. Compulsory sexuality posits that sex is a primal human need, ties sex to maturity, and places sex in relationship hierarchies. This episode is more about what asexuality says about our societies.Īnd as I’m notoriously crap at explaining why I like the books I like, I am going to read a paragraph written by Sarah Neilson for which summarizes really well why Chen’s book matters: “The crux of society’s difficulty with accepting asexuality is, Chen argues, because compulsory sexuality is ingrained in societal narratives about mental and physical health, politics and liberation, and interpersonal relationships. There are loads of asexuals who do explain what it means, Angela Chen’s book including. Feel free to look up the basics if you want. The Fire These Times is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Breaker, Amazon Music, Audible, Stitcher, Radio Public, Pocket Casts, Castro and RSS. This is a conversation with Angela Chen, author of the book ‘ Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex‘. Adams writes what it was like playing with the best players in the game, from Gazza to Dennis Bergkamp and working with some of the most successful managers, including George Graham, Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Arsene Wenger. But behind the on-the-field successes is the story of a man who has fought and continues to win a battle against alcoholism. Inspirational Arsenal captain and England international, Tony Adams is a legend of the modern game. ADDICTED by Tony Adams is the story of the inspirational Arsenal captain and England international and the story of a fight a battle against alcoholism. It has not been possible to include the illustrations in this edition. First published in 1998 and now available as an ebook. At one point, Maya speculates that perhaps “your whole life is determined by what store you get left in” (page 85). Did you find Ismay’s motivations for stealing Tamerlane to be forgivable? How do you think she should pay for her crime? Why do you think Lambiase lets her off?ħ. creating a canon for Maya? How does the book itself function as a kind of canon? If these are A.J.’s favorites, what do they say about A.J. Discuss some of the ways the stories relate to the chapters with which they are paired. The author chooses to begin each chapter with a description of a short story. Do you think Lambiase’s reaction is different than it would have been if he hadn’t taken up reading?ĥ. How do you think becoming a reader changes him? Consider the scene where he decides not to confront Ismay about the backpack. Lambiase moves from an occasional or nonreader, to a reader, to a bookseller. What do you make of the references to vampires?Ĥ. Perhaps oddly, vampires are a recurring motif in the story: for example, when A.J.’s wife throws the vampire prom and when A.J. Why do you think the author chooses to set the book on an island? How does the island setting reflect A.J.’s character?ģ. How would you compare the act of buying books online to the act of dating online? Is it relevant to the story that Amelia meets her eventual husband in a very analog location, a bookstore?Ģ. At the beginning of the story, Amelia says she is considering quitting online dating. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin: A Reader’s Guideġ. By 1960 it had already gone through 20 printings. It reprinted strips from late 1950 through early 1952. The very first collection of Peanuts comic strips appeared in a book appropriately titled Peanuts and first published by Rinehart & Company (later Holt, Rinehart & Winston) in July of 1952. Of strips to essentially disappear.but that's another matter.) Unlike some cartoonists, who reprint everything, Schulz originally allowed many hundreds (To make things even harder, Schulz was selective about what got anthologized. Worse yet, the strips reprinted inĪmerican books rarely displayed their date of original publication, and often are not Since there really was no uniform series of titles. Peanuts Reprint Books PEANUTS Reprint Books by Derrick Bangīack in the day, before Fantagraphics began its Complete Peanuts reprint program,Īssembling a more-or-less chronological collection of Peanuts strips could be daunting, All profits are given to various charities each month to help those in need. In 2015, Colleen and her family Founded The Bookworm Box, a Bookstore and monthly subscription service offering Autographed Novels donated by Authors. Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance twice – for Confess in 2015 and It Ends with Us in 2016. EVENT OVERVIEW: Colleen Hoover, New York Times Bestselling Author will to Present her New Hardcover & Softcover Novel Without Merit at a Rainy Day Books Author Event at Mid-Continent Public Library, Woodneath Library Center, The Story Center.ĪBOUT COLLEEN HOOVER: Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Slammed, This Girl, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Ugly Love, Maybe Not, Confess, November 9, and It Ends with Us. I require a reading partner to guide me along the way.Recently, I discovered the work of Lesley Hazelton, a self-described agnostic Jew whose unique view of Islam is both enlightening and engaging. Like many outsiders I find reading from the Qur’an challenging to the point of being daunting. While I can from time to time open myself to the riches that Islam has to offer, I can only ever hope to be someone who peers in from the outside. Islam like any religion that has survived and evolved over centuries, is a multifaceted and multilayered way of living. One doesn’t just apply one’s self to the study of a religion and learn what one needs to know and then move on. Fortunately my naiveté was matched by my enthusiasm and I quickly learned that, despite my good intentions, there was no way to simply learn about the religions of the world. Back then I believed that anyone who intended to seek a career in the church had better understand the religions of the world. Each time I dip into the Qur’an I am surprised by some new insight and I can’t help wondering why I don’t sip more frequently from this deep well’s thirst-quenching wisdom. Over the years, I have tried to keep up my study of Islam which I first began during my years as an undergraduate in Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia. references to African writers or intellectuals”). In “A Foreigner in Cape Town,” Wainaina ( One Day I Will Write About This Place) discusses the xenophobia he faced after emigrating from Kenya to South Africa and laments the racist double standard that “white expatriates in South Africa don’t get accused of stealing jobs.” Pushing back against Westerners who dismiss African cuisine as “bland and uninspired,” Wainaina explains how African culinary traditions influenced those outside the continent and serves up recipes for mango salad and “Swahili braised chicken.” The author shows off his talent for withering satire in the standout “How to Be a Dictator” (“be the richest man in your country” and “make America and China happy”) and “How to Write About Africa,” which critiques the racist tropes that accompany depictions of the continent (“treat Africa as if it was one country,” and avoid “ordinary domestic scenes. This brilliant collection brings together incisive essays by the late Kenyan journalist Wainaina (1971–2019) on his life and Africa’s place in the world. |