We all know Benjamin Franklin from history classes and the teacher might have mentioned his other notable achievements, however Mr. Franklin had many notable achievements – far too many to mention in a 45 minute classroom. This biography is a terrific sweeping read and full of insights.
[Accompany Eugene Uttley on a mythological “hero’s journey” to another world and back again, and join him as he articulates the prize that he won there — The Ultimate Boon. Through his struggles in coping with schizophrenia, Uttley has come to know what he wants. Now he just needs to figure out how to get it. This experimental open letter includes original and appropriated prose, poetry, song, prayer… memoir, travelogue, sketches of Uttley’s present-day life, and literary exegesis. Its many sources and topics are ranging, but circle always back to the overarching theme of recovery from mental illness through better knowledge of self and becoming more whole, a complex process both mental and spiritual, which entails increasing awareness of connectedness to the greater whole, the infinite.] Enter the Giveaway Today Review / Authors Den / Bio / Interview / Blog / Facebook / Twitter. We hope you’ll enjoy the opportunity to visit each of these sites on this tour: Oh, Chrys! D.S. White Marat M’saev Daan Fly High Brooke Blogs A Grumpy Young Woman Delia Bourne R. Tsoumbakos BooksRUsOnline Mary’s Cup of Tea Girl-Who-Reads Uttley’s Take
About: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is a historical fiction novel taking place in 17th Century Holland. The book has fascinating descriptions of the times, how people lived and behaved. 256 pages Publisher: Plume; Deluxe edition (August 30, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0452287022 My rating for Girl with a Pearl Earring – 3 Buy this book in paper or in electronic format* More Books by Tracy Chevalier Thoughts: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (website | Facebook | @Tracy_Chevalier)was neither here nor there. The story seems like an episode of the old British drama “Upstairs Downstairs” set in Holland with a coming of age story neatly tucked in it as well. The plot is somewhat interesting with one well developed character (Griet) and none others I cared about. The book is written very well but nothing happens and for awhile I was actually bored. Some of the characters are well developed but I was hoping for Johannes Vermeer’s character to be more in depth. To my disappoint Vermeer played a minor (yet important) part in the book. However, the descriptions of 17th Century Holland, the class system and mercantile society were excellent, which by itself was worth finishing the book. The descriptions of how the paintings were…
Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/01/andrews-review-of-jedi-academy-trilogy_2371.html 2/5 Rancors – Champions of the Force is the final book in Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy. It continues much in the vein of the first two novels: a somewhat promising and engaging storyline is dragged down by pedestrian writing and some very hokey scenes. The 300-some pages of this book are essentially one extended climax to the trilogy. One battle in particular, the assault on the Imperial facility in the Maw, almost stretches the entire length of the story. The Bantam Spectra era of Star Wars novels was noted for the authors’ predilection to invent “superweapons-of-the-week.” True to form, this trilogy contains not one but two in the form of a prototype (but fully functional) Death Star and the even more powerful Sun Crusher. It’s not that hard to swallow the existence of a prototype Death Star, although the idea feels a trifle overused after seeing them in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. However, the Sun Crusher concept goes beyond the pale. Anderson asks the reader to accept it took a 100+ kilometer wide sphere to support a laser that could destroy…
American author Alice Hegan Rice was born on this day in 1879 (d: 10 February, 1942). She is best known for her novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch which was published in 1901. Books by Alice Hegan Rice Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was a thinly veiled social commentary, with memorable characters fighting enormous odds. The book was an immediate success and was translated to both stage and screen. Mrs. Hegan is also known as a life-long philanthropist. Among the author’s literati circle were Annie Fellows Johnston and Thornton Wilder. She was praised by President Theodore Roosevelt. Mrs. Hegan’s most known works are set among the urban poor in Kentucky. The author got to know those people while volunteering as a settlement worker. Alice Hegan Rice wrote a sequel to Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch called Lovey Mary (published in 1903) in which an orphan girl runs away from the orphanage and is taken in by Mrs. Wiggs. Hegan’s husband, Cale Young Rice, was a poet and dramatist. Hegan’s uncle was author Frances Little. Hegan’s works were translated to German, Swedish, French and Danish during her lifetime. Even though we remember Hegan for her novels, she was…
Article first published as Book Review: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique on Blogcritics About: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique is a historical-fiction novel about Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s journey to write Don Quixote. The book is peppered with literary references to Cervantes’ works as well as works of the time, while I didn’t get many I did enjoy learning about them. 320 pages Publisher: Akashic Books (September 4, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 161775126X My rating for Cervantes Street — 5 Buy this book in paper or in electronic format* Thoughts: As followers of my blog know, I am a big fan of Don Quixote, probably more to the nostalgia associated with the story from my childhood than anything to do with the classic story. However, when I did read the full length novel (both parts) I understood why the book has become such a literary classic. Unfortunately, many readers get daunted by the sheer size of Don Quixote. The stories in the classic tale need knowledge of the time’s pop-culture in order to fully enjoy the reading experience. However, the same could be said for Shakespeare and several other authors from the far and not-so-far past. For those readers who are overwhelmed by the size of the classic book, Cervantes…
The start of the buildup of the Gulf War (1990) is where the book takes off to relevancy not only when published, but today also since we are still facing some of those issues, as well as many others. General Schwarzkopf was assigned to Central Command not long before Iraq invaded Kuwait, in this book the General states that he prepared his troops for war in the Middle East since, to his estimation, a war in Europe is unlikely. As Bush 41 made it clear that Iraqi aggression will not go unnoticed, General Schwarzkopf realized that he might be at the center of fight.
Article first published as Book Review: The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy on Blogcritics. About: The Krautzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy is a novella written in 1889. At times this novella seemed like a rant that goes on page after page, but taken as a whole I can certainly see the genius behind it. 128 pages Publisher: Modern Library Language: English ISBN-10: 0812968239 Buy book in paper or electronic format* More books by Leo Tolstoy Thoughts: I enjoyed The Krautzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy very much, it was a quick read, quite interesting but also a bit disturbing. I disagree with many of the themes the book represents and it seemed as if Tolstoy wrote this novella while being in an extremely foul mood, or extremely mad at his wife. The novella is pro-religion (Christianity), sexist, anti physical contact (sex), pro-life (or more accurately anti-birth control), and seems to justify murder. One of the characters (very few) feels justified at murdering his wife how might, MIGHT, have cheated on him. That being said, the book is very well written and can be appreciated even though one might disagree with almost all the opinions in the I guess the major disagreement I have with Mr. Tolstoy is that sex is evil and…
It can almost be said with certainty that I didn’t follow the path of the average writer. As a child, I never dreamed of writing a best-seller, never aspired to write the next classic novel, I wanted to be an NHL superstar…period. I was born in a small rural community in Western Quebec. Like every boy growing up in Canada, I aspired to be an NHL superstar. With the death of my mother in 1992, losing a battle to cancer she had fought so hard against for years, I sensed it was time to get serious about reaching my dreams, and moved away to pursue hockey. From 1992-1995, while playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings in the Central Junior Hockey League, I noticed a shift in the game of hockey and realized that the odds of making it to the NHL were unfavorable for a kid who stood 5’9’’ and weighed 160 pounds. So, my goals shifted. I accepted a hockey scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology. If I couldn’t make a living playing hockey, at least I could achieve an education and open doors for my future. After four rewarding years at College, receiving a Bachelor of…
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (known as Karl) of the Grimm Brothers was born on this day, 4 January, 1785 (d: 20 September, 1863) . The brothers are famous to this day and their name is practically synonymous with folk tales and fairytales. Books by Jacob Grimm 1 ) Jacob Grimm was the older of the two brothers. 2 ) Jacob is credited with establishing Grimm’s Law – a linguistic rule which ties in earl Germanic stops with other European languages. The law is the first non-trivial systematic sound change to be discovered in the study of languages. 3 ) Jacob was known for his thirst for knowledge. After his law studies, Jacob moved to Paris for help with his literary work. Jacob was very happy in Paris and spent much of his time in libraries studying literatures of the Middle Ages. Returning home he got a jobwith the war office, but in 1808, after his mother’s death, Jacob was appointed superintendent of the private library of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia 4 ) The Grimm Brothers collected folk lyrics and published the collection as Children’s and Household Tales, later known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. 5 ) Grimm’s…
