![]() Robinson explores ten periods in this alternate history with earthy, pragmatic Bardash, impetuous, vengeful Kyu, and quietly intellectual I-Li undergoing many reincarnations: orphaned Indian girl, Sufi mystic, African eunuch, Sultan’s wife, Chinese admiral, dourly brilliant alchemist, feminist poet, village midwife, glassblower, theologian, etc. Christianity just about dies out, Judaism is a minority cult, and, after many barbarous and pointless struggles between petty warlords, the New World is discovered by the Chinese Navy, and the Renaissance is played out as a conflict between a Middle Eastern Islam and Chinese Buddhism. Her charming though ponderous study in comparative religions opens with wandering Mongol scout Bold Bardash stumbling through an abandoned Athens, where the Black Death has wiped out everyone. ![]() Hugo winner Robinson ( Antarctica, 1998, etc.) follows three characters over seven centuries on an alternate Earth in which Islam and Buddhism are the dominant religions. ![]()
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Thich nhat hanh peace is every step poem6/10/2023 ![]() ![]() Thich Nhat Hanh’s key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment-the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world.īorn in central Vietnam in 1926, Thich Nhat Hanh entered the monkhood at the age of sixteen at Tu Hieu Temple, Hue, and received the full ordination there in 1949. He has published over 100 titles of sutra translations and commentaries, mindfulness manuals, poems, prose, and children’s stories, with more than 90 in English, including the best-selling Peace Is Every Step, The Art of Power, True Love, Old Path White Clouds and Anger. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is perhaps most known for his prolific writings on meditation, mindfulness, and peace. One of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today, poet, and peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thây by his students) has led an extraordinary life. ![]() Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn6/10/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Book request titles must contain details about the kind of book you’re looking for.Inflammatory titles like Does Anyone Else, Unpopular Opinion, or similar are not allowed.Gush and critique posts should contain the book title/author if applicable. Reviews and screenshots of book excerpts must contain the book title/author in the post title.Book request titles must contain details about the kind of book you’re looking for and/or keywords that will inform future searches.Rules Post titles must be clear and informative For updated information regarding ongoing community features includings upcoming AMAs, please visit 'new' Reddit. Resource links will direct you to Wiki pages, which we are maintaining. Please be aware that the sidebar in 'old' Reddit is no longer being updated with informative links about Book Clubs, AMAs, etc. Home of the magic search button and endless book recommendations as well as discussions about tropes and characters, Author AMAs, book clubs, and more. R/RomanceBooks is a discussion sub for readers of romance novels. ![]() When You Call My Name by Tucker Shaw6/9/2023 ![]() Peggy’s menu fantasies (recipes included) and her restaurant scenes bring a welcome whiff of bracing mountain air to an otherwise tired chick-lit retread. Luckily, in a rare departure from the play, this Peggy is a budding chef, taken under the wing of a local restaurateur. With no romantic interest of her own, her intense investment in the love affairs of others is downright creepy. The book’s primary difficulty, though, stems from narrator Peggy’s passivity. The emphasis on lavishly conspicuous consumption jars in the current economic climate. ![]() Its characters’ single-minded focus on cheating boyfriends was dated by the ’60s. Here, Shaw faithfully transports characters (even the names are the same), plot and tropes to students at an upscale boarding school in Aspen, Colo. ![]() Its upper-crust, mostly parasitic characters gossip, scheme and compete viciously for the attention of men who remain offstage. Despite an all-female cast, the original play was hardly feminist. ![]() Having previously reworked Cyrano de Bergerac in Flavor of the Week (2003), Shaw again puts his stamp on high-concept YA in this retelling of Claire Boothe’s 1930 Broadway hit, The Women. ![]() Hogfather part 26/9/2023 ![]() One of my major fears was that the whole humor would be changed from the subtleness within the books to a crude slapstick. Thankfully, the end result came a lot closer to my hopes than my fears. Hopeful that Pratchett's unique meld of fantasy and parody would come across well, but fearful that the medium change or the 'suits' would rob all of it's worth. ![]() As a fan of Pratchett's books, when I noticed the UK subscriber channel 'Sky One' had commissioned this live action mini-drama, I was both hopeful and fearful. At its core, it raises questions about the nature of belief and the human condition itself (All in a fun way though). Don't be fooled into thinking this is another Harry Potter clone though. The story leads itself in a fantastical ride with something for both adults and children (although there is some violence in parts, so maybe not suitable for the very young or fragile). Opposing them are a bumbling group of wizards, a babysitter who is more than she appears, and the personification of death itself. Good fun The story of the Hogfather revolves around a fictional world named 'Discworld' and a group of beings trying to stop Hogswatch (the Discworld equivalent of Christmas). ![]() ![]() ![]() What are they? They are not men and women. Unlike some of the later Poirot mysteries, our favourite Belgian sleuth is introduced very early in this novel, and he has much to say about sunbathers: ‘Regard them there, lying out in rows. The 1930s in particular saw a shift in this area due to the 1938 Holiday with Pay Act. This setting arguably ties into the later drugs trafficking subplot, but I felt the exposition also tapped into the changing times when it came to holidaymaking in the UK. This introduction also explains how the Jolly Roger Hotel came into being. It is said to have been based on Burgh Island, near Devon. Interestingly though in Evil Under the Sun she begins more unusually (although it is not unheard of for her) with the history of her geographical setting, e.g., the fictional Smugglers Island near Leathercombe Bay off the south-east coast of England. Often Christie opens her stories with characters mid conversation, or she has a series of small vignettes which introduce you to all the main characters. They all had a reason to kill Arlena Stuart. On this luxury retreat, cut off from the outside world, everyone is a suspect. And in less than 72 hours she will be dead. ![]() ![]() ‘The moment Arlena Stuart steps through the door, every eye in the resort is on her. ![]() ![]() ![]() Now, thirty five years or so later, I’ve re-read it for the purposes of this blog and, I have to say, I’m really not as enamoured with it as I expected. I picked up one of the Sphere copies with a Terry Oakes illustration when I was in my early-teens and very much enjoyed it. ![]() If anyone had asked me, not that anyone ever has, if I liked the Carnacki tales I would most definitely have replied in the affirmative. ![]() And so we’re onto number five of the Dennis Wheatley Library of The Occult series, William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. ![]() Book dead lions6/8/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() He finds Bow's cellphone pushed down between two seats. When Dickie Bow, a retired alcoholic ex-spook is found dead on a bus, Lamb heads out to examine the scene. Jackson Lamb, the supervisor of a crew of MI5 agents who have derailed their careers one way or another and ended up in professional limbo working at trivial tasks in an office called Slough House, has the manners of a badly-brought up eight-year-old and the instincts of an old school spy. But if you're in the mood for a smart, well-written, engaging and hilarious novel in which sidelined spooks get up to more trouble than their masters think them capable of, you're in the right place. If you are looking for an edge-of-your-seat thriller with a cast of talented and dedicated MI5 agents working together to prevent a catastrophe that threatens England's national security, then you should put this book down immediately and look for a different one. ![]() ![]() ![]() They left their children forever, and they will never know what happened to all of us. They left their children and never came back. ![]() ![]() Every single child that was in my orphanage and orphanages around the world had mothers that made the same decision. Because now I know that thousands of mothers have made the same decision that She made. The bigger I get, the more confused I feel. What did they say to each other? How does a person decide to leave their baby and a book in the street under a gate? How is it possible that She could decide that plan was the best thing to do? It doesn’t make sense to me and it probably never will. If only I could go back in time and see Her (biological mom) face and listen to Her conversations with Him (biological dad). Ch.91 “As my body grows, the more I feel like I will never know the beginning of my story. I am reading An-Ya and Her Diary by Diane Rene Christian, it is a novel that chronicles the journey of an 11 year old adoptee from China, written in diary format. ![]() ![]() Here’s one of the more straightforward recipes, courtesy of the BBC. The RWA blog features conference news, special events, book signings, guest blogs and author interviews and everything else that promotes the work of our wonderful members. It also provided the opportunity for the chef to show off their skill in pastry work – And check out the pastry work on this recreation! Pies are a wonderful way of showcasing seasonal fruit, vegetables and meat.Īnd in the case of meat, it is quite an effective (and tasty) way of dealing with left overs. ![]() The hall thundered with the sound of a hundred fists banging their approval of the meal as it was served. ![]() Sebastian spared her one last glance before turning his attention to assisting his sister with the second course-a pie of beef, rabbit, and pheasant. Alive, whole and now our guest.”Ī murmur went through the crowd before a few isolated handclaps turned into an ovation.įrey bowed her head in acknowledgement before sitting, somewhat embarrassed by the attention. Her other full length titles include the Roman era thriller Dark Heart, the medieval romantic adventure Warriors Surrender, and the Regency titles Moonstone. Eduard Limonov, and Sasha Sokolov (Middlebury Studies in Russian Language and Literature)Cynthia Simmons, Warriors SurrenderElizabeth Ellen Carter. “I present to you Lady Alfreya of Tyrswick, daughter of the late Earl. The hubbub of voices died down as Sebastian spoke. Show people you’re home,” he said softly. ![]() ![]() Her reflection was broken by a demanding pounding on the table and Sebastian rose to his feet and tugged on her arm. ![]() |