I wish I could say she also deserves kudos for writing a spectacular work of fiction, but to tell you the truth, it's just - at best - so-so. Kingsolver deserves kudos, if only because she seems to be single-handedly keeping consumer zest alive for the literary novel. The Lacuna is the only literary novel caught in the cross hairs of this sales skirmish. Almost all of the blockbuster books in question are works of genre fiction - suspense and horror stories by the likes of James Patterson, Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Grisham. Wal-Mart, Amazon and Target are engaged in a price war against booksellers over the hot late fall/early winter releases. Interest in it is unusually fierce for a work of literary fiction. The Lacuna is Barbara Kingsolver's first new novel in nine years. Barbara Kingsolver is an author, a poet and the creator of the Bellwether Prize for "literature of social change."
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As the essay, who many would argue is a lyrical poem, is titled Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, Rankine spends a great deal of time exploring not only what loneliness is in the playing field of modern culture, but also how her experience with loneliness has shaped how she views her self and the role of the individual.Īs the essay’s subtitle is An American Lyric, the reader is apt to anticipate Rankine’s use of metaphorical and rhetorical language to explore her greater focus of loneliness. Bush, and Timothy McVeigh to name a few), the essay is also focused on her idea of loneliness and its connection to both an individual and modern society. Yet, while Rankine studies her culture and the world at large post 9/11 in tackling controversial political issues (9/11, George W. Rankine certainly explores America’s rise to capitalism in the essay through writing about 9/11 and how it produced this sense of what she calls “American optimism,” a modern take on the classic ideology of the American dream (23). In coining her essay an “American lyric,” Rankine both structures her analysis within a specific culture, but also encourages her readers to actively participate in her thought process. Claudia Rankine titles her exploration of America during the dawn of the twenty-first century and her discovery of the self Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. These things speak to us of the persistence of life against all odds. Beach plums have enormously long taproots which draw water up from the the 'moist core of the sands'. Life is scarce on these dunes and what there is eke’s a precarious living from the dry sand. The dunes roll away into the distance having been sculpted by the persistent winds endlessly removing and depositing sand creating shapes that mimic the waves of the nearby ocean. “I have always loved to walk through the great dunes of the Outer Cape. Touch the earth, love the earth, honour the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas rest your spirit in her solitary places.” - Henry Beston Spiritually shaken by his experiences in World War I, Beston retreated to the outer beach at Eastham in search of peace and solitude. To all who love her, who open to her the doors of their veins, she gives of her strength, sustaining them with her own measureless tremor of dark life. The Outermost House, now considered a Cape Cod nature literary classic, was written after Beston spent what he called 'a year of life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod'. Hold your hands out over the earth as over a flame. For the gifts of life are the earths and they are given to all, and they are the songs of birds at daybreak, Orion and the Bear, and the dawn. Touch the earth, love the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas rest your spirit in her solitary places. Do no dishonour to the earth lest you dishonour the spirit of man. Henry Beston - The Outermost House Photographsby Debora Rosen 1965 Cape Cod, MA. "The ancient values of dignity, beauty, and poetry which sustain it are of Nature’s inspiration they are born of the mystery and beauty of the world. It’s a bargain that keeps Cyril in business – and keeps Isda alive, for if anyone knew he’d saved her, they’d both be executed. Isda is now the Channe’s star attraction – singing behind a veil and screen, avoiding the other musicians, and filling the two thousand seats of the Channe every night with audience members whose memories of the show have been manipulated by her siren song. Gravoirs are to be killed at birth – her mother accordingly abandoned her at the bottom of a well at infanthood – where Cyril, owner and manager of the Channe Opera House discovered her and nursed her to health and maturity. With it she can manipulate and modify the memory of any individual who hears her, and can extract and see their memories as well. She was born a gravoir, with scars upon her face, and a powerful voice that packs a wallop. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book – quite the contrary – but it’s a delightful twist. Olson’s well-written and impassioned Sing Me Forgotten will definitely amuse musical theater fans – if only because the book definitely reads like a gender-swapped, fantasy-tinged take on The Phantom of the Opera. Invaders like the British were to be opposed. Impoverished peasants, their national pride ran high. The author herself becomes an eloquent affirmation that men are not intellectually superior to women.Įl-Saadawi’s political roots spring primarily from her father and his mother’s family. Revealing her didactic intent in a discussion of female anatomy, the writer utilizes her medical authority as a trained physician to point out important differences among women, and to explain why some brides’ hymens do not break on cue. She goes on to trace the development and significance of prostitution. El-Saadawi repeatedly observes that the patriarchal system is built on exploitation of cheap, free, or slave labor. After an account of women in religious history–”Eve was the first goddess of knowledge, later to be succeeded by the pharaonic Isis”–the author discusses the role of women in Arab history. It surveys aggression against female children, the practice and perils of circumcision (citing her own), and the development and deficiencies of the patriarchal family. The first section, “The Mutilated Half,” describes with impassioned detail the current fate of women in Arab society. “The Hidden Face of Eve” gives a historical overview of women’s social position. This went as far as having associates of the Anchorage Daily News publication (the real-life version of the "Alaska Daily”) join the production as executive producers and contributors. While it is technically a fictional story, steps were taken to incorporate real-life stories and tie the show directly to the community it represents. It is set to tell the story of a disgraced investigative journalist, missing and murdered indigenous women in small-town Alaska, and unveiling an uninterrupted threat of violence. With the latest Alaska Daily, crime dramas are gaining primetime television slots.ĪBC is throwing its hat in the crime drama ring with the upcoming show Alaska Daily. Crime dramas have gained popularity, major awards, and glowing reviews. Hulu’s Under The Banner of Heaven, starring Andrew Garfield, premiered in April, Apple TV+’s Black Bird premiered in July, and the highly-anticipated season two of Hulu’s Only Murders in The Building premiered in June. Fans of true crime and crime dramas have had a packed year so far. But why, Jane McGonigal asks, should games be used for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking book, she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world-from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change-and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business, education, and nonprofit worlds. With 174 million gamers in the United States alone, we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation. McGonigal makes a persuasive case that games have a lot to teach us about how to make our lives, and the world, better." - San Jose Mercury News "Jane McGonigal's insights have the elegant, compact, deadly simplicity of plutonium, and the same explosive force." - Cory Doctorow, author of Little BrotherĪ visionary game designer reveals how we can harness the power of games to boost global happiness. Assertions are backed by countless psychological studies." - The Boston Globe "Powerful and provocative. About the Book Visionary game designer McGonigal reveals how we can harness the power of games to solve real-world problems and boost global happiness.īook Synopsis "McGonigal is a clear, methodical writer, and her ideas are well argued. She leaned her back against the bar and scanned each customer for signs of trouble. And here I thought we’d get some peace and quiet once all the trappers and emigrants headed west. Charlie, her bartender, narrowed his eyes at the stream of soldiers filtering in. She strained to keep a watchful eye and ear on her girls and their customers lounging in secluded alcoves, sitting on sofas, or leaning against the long mahogany bar.ĭamn. Tess Swenson inwardly cursed the smoke-filled, dimly lit room and the tinny clanking of the piano. I hope you’ll enjoy sharing their journey.īACKWARDS TO OREGON Independence, Missouri, June 1846 This box set includes two novels- Backwards to Oregon and Hidden Truths-as well as a total of seven short stories that give you glimpses into the main characters’ lives before Backwards to Oregon, between the two novels, and after the end of Hidden Truths. The Oregon series has been an all-time favorite of many readers, even those who don’t normally enjoy historical romances, so I’m pleased that it’s now available as a box set for you to binge-read. Backwards to Oregon was the first book I ever published, and to this day, I still have a soft spot for the Hamiltons-as do many readers. Our heroine is of mixed race, half French- half Filipino, adding a much needed shot of diversity in the romance category. I loved the combination of sights, sounds, flavors and cultures mixed into this story. However, a stunning revelation could throw ice cold water on the couple’s fiery passion.Įxcruciating suspense, and foreign intrigue ensues, leaving Maddie and Aidan’s future hanging in the balance… However, when Aidan shows up in Singapore, the sparks reignite, big time, spawning a super intense affair. She hasn’t seen him in the couple of months since they shared a romantic interlude. However, she is having trouble getting Aidan, her best friend’s future brother-in-law, out her mind. Maddie is enjoying every minute of her life in Singapore, while working in a public relations firm. Singapore Fling by Maida Malby is a 2019 EOT publication.Įxotic locations, high drama, intrigue and sizzling hot romance! “I also researched old English and British slang. “I reread some of my favorite fantasies and read books on mythology, religion, and ancient worlds,” he said. She is determined to uncover the truth, but the closer she gets, the more she risks her life.Īfter almost four years and a good deal of research, Baldacci finally found the right voice, plot, and time frame for The Finisher. The novel centers on 14-year-old Vega Jane, who fights to do what’s right after discovering that her village of Wormwood is built on dangerous lies. That’s all that I knew at the beginning.”īaldacci, whose adult thrillers have more than 110 million copies in print worldwide, is venturing onto new fictional turf with The Finisher, due from Scholastic Press on March 4. I decided to write a story from a British perspective, since I love all things Brit. And ‘Jane’ is a typical British last name. When I received the journal from my wife five years ago, I immediately fled to my home office, opened to the first page, and wrote the name ‘Vega Jane.’ For me, ‘Vega’ has always been a cool name, since it represents a star. “When I was a kid, my mother bought me a journal – just to shut me up, since I talked nonstop about everything,” he explained. It wasn’t the first time the author found inspiration in a diary. Thriller author David Baldacci’s new children’s fantasy series began with a journal that his wife, Michelle, gave him on Christmas Day 2008. |