tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40665247430474381822024-03-13T20:08:58.538-07:00Mharvi Reads"All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been:
it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books."
Thomas CarlyleMLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-84665415980617884322012-05-29T00:00:00.000-07:002012-05-29T00:00:01.915-07:00Artemis Fowl Series - Eoin Colfer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><b>Publisher:</b> Miramax (May 7, 2003)</li>
<li><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0786819146</li>
<li><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0786819140 </li>
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<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_II" title="Artemis Fowl II">Artemis Fowl II</a>, the 13-year-old criminal mastermind, has created a supercomputer which he calls the "<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_Cube" title="C Cube">C Cube</a>", from stolen <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_%28Artemis_Fowl%29" title="Fairy (Artemis Fowl)">fairy</a> technology. It far surpasses any human technology made so far.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl:_The_Eternity_Code#cite_note-0">[1]</a></sup> When Fowl meets Chicago businessman <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Spiro" title="Jon Spiro">Jon Spiro</a> to show him the Cube, Spiro ambushes Artemis and steals it. In the process, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domovoi_Butler" title="Domovoi Butler">Butler</a>,
his bodyguard is killed by one of Spiro's staff. However, Artemis
manages to revive him with the aid of cryogenics and fairy healing
magic, courtesy of Captain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Short" title="Holly Short">Holly Short</a> of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEPrecon" title="LEPrecon">LEPrecon</a> squad.</i></div>
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<i>After Butler is revived, Artemis convinces the LEP to track down the
Cube. They agree on one condition: that Artemis' mind is to be wiped
later. They head to The Spiro Needle, where Jon Spiro has held the Cube.
The Cube is recovered with the aid of Butler's sister and Mulch
Diggums, who is later incarcerated. Nearing the end of the book, Mulch
discovers that Artemis has cleared him of all charges and tasked him
with restoring Artemis' memory, which is wiped at the end. In the
epilogue, it is revealed that the LEP questioned him to reveal any plans
he had to retain his memory, but he managed to fool them, and his plans
remained secret from the LEP..</i></div>
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*Wikipedia</div>
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I enjoy YA fiction. There it's been said and can't be undone. YA fiction is not highbrow...you'll not find anything terribly challenging about it. No heady undertones, no deep philosophical meanings that keep your mind reeling for years, no life changing messages. It is not fiction that you will be discussing over espresso at some artsy French cafe. It won't impress your intellectual friends at cocktail parties and it won't up your image sitting neatly next to you at a board meeting.<br />
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YA fiction is pure entertainment. It is what one might reach for when they just need a break for awhile. It's where you go in your mind when no one else is looking. It is ice cream at 2 a.m. with heaps of hot fudge and nuts and whipped cream. It is comfort and juvenile joy, a favored sweater that is perhaps dated and (gasp!) colorful. YA fiction whisks the reader away from the cares and trials of daily life on wings of fantasy. It is or it can be sublime when written with care. Too much of it is written without thought and with simply an eye toward profit because let's face it young adult readers are not very discerning readers. Eion Colfer has managed to pen a series of books that are endearing and entertaining and that this reviewer has enjoyed immensely. I can't thank Mr. Colfer enough for giving me that little break from reality, that special treat at the end of a long day. That is a gift that is truly priceless.<br />
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<b>From Wikipedia: Artemis Fowl</b> is a series of eight <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fantasy" title="Science fantasy">science fantasy</a> novels written by the Irish author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eoin_Colfer" title="Eoin Colfer">Eoin Colfer</a>, starring teenage criminal mastermind <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_II" title="Artemis Fowl II">Artemis Fowl II</a>. Colfer summed up the series as: "<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard" title="Die Hard">Die Hard</a></i> with fairies."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_%28series%29#cite_note-1">[2]</a></sup>
There are seven novels in the series; the first was published in 2001
and the seventh was released in 2010. The eighth and final book is set
to be released 10 July 2012. A graphic novel was released in 2007, and a
second in 2009. A third graphic novel and a movie are currently in the
writing process.<br />
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***</div>
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<div class="artistCentralBio_biographyBody" id="artistCentralBio_officialFullBioContent" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d5/08/9997e03ae7a07b39859e1210.L._V192477178_SX200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d5/08/9997e03ae7a07b39859e1210.L._V192477178_SX200_.jpg" /></a>Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) is the New York Times best-selling author of the blockbuster Artemis Fowl series as well as Airman; Half Moon Investigations; The Supernaturalist; Eoin Colfer's Legend of... books; The Wish List; Benny and Omar; and Benny and Babe. He was born in Wexford on the southeast coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary (elementary) school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history that he was learning in school at the time.<br />
Eoin got his degree from Dublin University and qualified as a primary school teacher, returning to work in Wexford. He married in 1991 and he and his wife spent about 4 years between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based on his experiences in Tunisia; it has since been translated into many languages; a sequel followed in 1999. In 2001, the<br />
first Artemis Fowl book was published worldwide to much success - shortly thereafter he left teaching to concentrate fully on his writing. To this day, Eoin has written 6 Artemis Fowl books which have sold over 12 million copies worldwide.<br />
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<span class="mw-headline" id="Novels_in_series">Novels in this series</span><span class="editsection"><img class="sprite edit-pencil" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D" />:</span></h3>
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<li><i><a href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_%28novel%29" title="Artemis Fowl (novel)">Artemis Fowl</a></i> (2001)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book1_0-4"></sup>
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Arctic_Incident" title="The Arctic Incident">The Arctic Incident</a></i> (2002)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book2_7-0"></sup>
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Eternity_Code_%28novel%29" title="The Eternity Code (novel)">The Eternity Code</a></i> (2003)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book3_8-0"></sup>
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Opal_Deception_%28novel%29" title="The Opal Deception (novel)">The Opal Deception</a></i> (2005)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book4_2-2"></sup>
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_%28novel%29" title="The Lost Colony (novel)">The Lost Colony</a></i> (2006)
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Time_Paradox_%28novel%29" title="The Time Paradox (novel)">The Time Paradox</a></i> (2008)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book6_9-0"></sup>
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Atlantis_Complex_%28novel%29" title="The Atlantis Complex (novel)">The Atlantis Complex</a></i> (2010)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book7_10-0"></sup>
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<li><i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://artemisfowl.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Guardian_%28novel%29" title="The Last Guardian (novel)">The Last Guardian</a></i> (2012)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book8_11-0"></sup>
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-25844900415854916862012-04-09T03:00:00.000-07:002012-04-09T03:00:15.620-07:00Escape from Camp 14 - Blaine Hardin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><b>Hardcover:</b> 224 pages</li>
<li><b>Publisher:</b> Viking Adult (March 29, 2012)</li>
<li><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0670023329</li>
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<b> <i style="color: #20124d;">The shocking story of one of the few people born in a North Korean political prison to have escaped and survived. </i></b><br />
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<i>North
Korea is isolated and hungry, bankrupt and belligerent. It is also
armed with nuclear weapons. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are
being held in its political prison camps, which have existed twice as
long as Stalin's Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi
concentration camps. Very few born and raised in these camps have
escaped. But Shin Donghyuk did.</i></div>
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<i>In </i><i>Escape from Camp 14,
acclaimed journalist Blaine Harden tells the story of Shin Dong-hyuk
and through the lens of Shin's life unlocks the secrets of the world's
most repressive totalitarian state. Shin knew nothing of civilized
existence-he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him
to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his own family.
Through Harden's harrowing narrative of Shin's life and remarkable
escape, he offers an unequaled inside account of one of the world's
darkest nations and a riveting tale of endurance, courage, and
survival.</i></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I am sitting in my living room on a lovely Saturday, in fact, it is the day before Easter.</span><i><span style="color: black;"> </span></i><span style="color: black;">There is a warm breeze sifting through the curtains, my child has been hovering around the eggs all morning, eager to dye them. I can hear the joyful sounds of children playing outside and I know that I have been blessed beyond imagining. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I once asked a near stranger to tell her personal story to me. As it turned out, this dear lady, remembers running away from communist soldiers in Vietnam</span><i>. </i><span style="color: black;">She recalled the iron grip her mother had on her hand, she remembers worrying if her grandparents would keep pace with them, she could still smell the smoke that rose from her ancestral home as it burst into flames. Most of all she remembers the look in her father's eyes as she turned to see him fall to his knees and raise his arms in surrender. I have no framework with which to understand such a tale...a story so fantastic, so fictional...and yet, I feel as though it is I that has lived in a fantasy all these years. It is I, living in a world pampered and coddled, well fed, well dressed and yes, I have been well loved as well.</span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;">What do I know of suffering? Hardship? Atrocity?</span> <span style="color: black;">Very little. Very, very little. As I read through Camp 14 I was, no, I <i>am</i> bewildered. It would seem that there are no bounds to which Humans will stop, no low too low to stoop, no degradation too base for them to reach when it comes to inflicting pain and suffering onto their own. We are the only species that tortures its own kind. Probably the only species that actually actively seeks out to cause harm. What Shin went through, what countless thousands continue to suffer is abhorrent. There is no excuse, no justification, no reasoning. There is no explanation that will suffice. The 'camps' of North Korea are a disgusting and reprehensible blight on humanity. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Read this book not because it is well written or entertaining. Not because it is what everyone else will be reading this year. Please don't buy this book to put up on your bookshelf. Read this book because you need to know what goes on in our world. It is our responsibility to our fellow human beings to at least be aware and we owe them that much. We would want the same if it were us. We would want the world to at least hear our story. So, take a moment and simply listen. Listen to one man tell his story. </span><br />
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Blaine
Harden is an author and journalist who reports for PBS Frontline and
contributes to The Economist. He worked for The Washington Post in
Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as in New York and Seattle. He
was also a roving national correspondent for The New York Times and
writer for the Times Magazine.<br />
His most recent book is Escape From
Camp 14. It's the story of Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person to have been
born and raised in a North Korean prison camp -- and to have escaped to
the West. It will published in late March in the United States by
Viking, and in much of Europe in April. In a pre-publication review,
Publisher's Weekly said Escape from Camp 14 "reads like a dystopian
thriller."<br />
Blaine is also the author of A River Lost. It's about
well-intentioned Americans (including the author's father) who dammed
and degraded the West's greatest river, the Columbia. The New York Times
called it a "hard-nosed, tough-minded, clear-eyed dispatch on the sort
of contentious subject that is almost always distorted by ideology or
obscured by a fog of sentiment." An updated and revised edition of A
River Lost will be published by Norton in the spring of 2012 to coincide
with a PBS American Experience program about Grand Coulee Dam and the
Columbia River.<br />
Blaine's first book, Africa: Dispatches from a
Fragile Continent, was described by The Independent (London) as the
"best contemporary book on Africa."<br />
Blaine lives in Seattle with his wife Jessica and their two children, Lucinda and Arno.<br />
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<b>Shin Dong-hyuk</b> (born in 1982 as <b>Shin In Geun</b>)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_defectors" title="North Korean defectors">North Korean defector</a> living in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup> He is the only known person to have escaped from a 'total-control zone' grade internment camp in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea" title="North Korea">North Korea</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup> He has given testimony on his life in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaechon_internment_camp" title="Kaechon internment camp">Kwan-li-so No. 14 Kaechon</a> to human rights organizations<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-1">[2]</a></sup> to raise awareness of the situation in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_North_Korea#Internment_camps_for_political_prisoners" title="Human rights in North Korea">North Korean internment and concentration camps</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-2">[3]</a></sup><br />
Shin Dong-hyuk was born in a prison-labor colony as child of two
prisoners in 1982. He has described how, at the age of 14, he was
tortured for four days after his mother tried to escape. He was
completely stripped, his legs cuffed and hands tied, and suspended from
the ceiling of his cell. His torturers then lit up a charcoal fire under
his back and forced a hook into his skin so that he could not struggle.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-3">[4]</a></sup> Shin still has a number of large scars from the flesh burned and from many other abuses.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-4">[5]</a></sup> Later, on 29 November 1996, he was forced to watch the public execution of his mother and brother.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-5">[6]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-6">[7]</a></sup> At age 20, part of his middle finger was hacked off after he dropped a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewing_machine" title="Sewing machine">sewing machine</a> in the textile factory where he worked.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup><br />
He was imprisoned for 22 years. During his work at a textile factory,
befriended a 40 year old man named Park, who claimed to be from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang" title="Pyongyang">Pyongyang</a>. Park told Shin stories of food he had eaten in Pyongyang and while studying in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East Germany</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>,
such as chicken, pork and beef. He also talked of electronics such as
televisions and mobile phones. Shin has described how he became excited
and decided he was going to attempt to flee the camp. Shin and Park
discussed escaping the camp extensively. One day, when the two were
assigned work by the camp's electrified fence on a 1,200 feet (370 m)
mountain ridge, Shin noted the long interval between the guard's
patrols, so the two waited until the guards had left, and attempted to
flee the camp.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-7">[8]</a></sup> Park tried to fit through a hole in the fence, but was electrocuted. Shin managed to pass through the gap, fleeing the camp.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup><br />
He walked 18 miles trying to locate a stretch of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumen_River" title="Tumen River">Tumen River</a> where he could cross into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" title="China">China</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup>
He broke into a shed where he stole a military uniform. He pretended to
be a North Korean soldier, and bribed border guards along the way with
food and cigarettes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_0-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29#cite_note-guardian-0">[1]</a></sup> Eventually, he found the river and crawled the rest of the way into China. From China, he travelled to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> and later to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_California" title="Southern California">Southern California</a> in the United States, changing his name from Shin In Geun to Shin Dong-hyuk.*</div>
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*From Wikipedia.<br />
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-30348377576798978532012-04-08T03:00:00.000-07:002012-04-08T03:00:04.814-07:00Happy Easter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>H<span style="color: #7f6000;">O<span style="color: #0c343d;">P<span style="color: #4c1130;">E <span style="color: #660000;">Y<span style="color: #134f5c;">O<span style="color: #bf9000;">U <span style="color: #741b47;">H<span style="color: #6aa84f;">A<span style="color: #ea9999;">V<span style="color: #0c343d;">E <span style="color: #274e13;">A<span style="color: #351c75;">N <span style="color: #990000;">A<span style="color: #f1c232;">M<span style="color: magenta;">A<span style="color: purple;">Z<span style="color: cyan;">I<span style="color: #0c343d;">N<span style="color: #274e13;">G <span style="color: #783f04;">D<span style="color: #a64d79;">A<span style="color: #b45f06;">Y<span style="color: #274e13;">!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-6721749133596382012-03-15T00:00:00.000-07:002012-03-15T00:00:09.578-07:00Starters - Lissa Price<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxdjjvoFjIxeIkKWIgwdcQYe42lby3gqxR07ZVe26zvGM9wWn_" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxdjjvoFjIxeIkKWIgwdcQYe42lby3gqxR07ZVe26zvGM9wWn_" width="265" /></a></div>
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<li><b>Reading level:</b> Ages 12 and up</li>
<li><b>Hardcover:</b> 352 pages</li>
<li><b>Publisher:</b> Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 13, 2012)</li>
<li><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0385742371</li>
<li><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0385742375</li>
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<b><i>HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER</i></b></div>
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<b><i> Callie lost her parents when the Spore
Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and
her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their
friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a
cookie. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place
in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.<br /><br />
He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be
young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler,
and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place
in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter,
living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator’s
grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers
that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations’
plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . . </i></b>
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<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/starters/pdf/starters_sampler_web.pdf"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>READ HERE.</b></span></a></div>
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For fans of 'The Hunger Games', 'Starters' should be the next big thing. I actually read 'Starters' before reading 'The Hunger Games' and it's because of 'Starters' that I even read that other trilogy (yes, this book is that good, It is sooo good that when I read that other reviewers were comparing it 'The Hunger Games' I finally caved and read the books). I am a huge fan of YA Fiction and and I should mention that some of the best writing is being done for this genre. Lissa Price will inevitably prove herself to be an author to watch out for if this debut novel is any indication of her talent and imagination. Romance, intrigue, mystery...it's all in here and if there is one thing that I love more than a dystopian story it is one that is part of a series. Look for book two 'Enders' to be released 04 December 2012. Just in time for my birthday. Yeah!</div>
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<b>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/starters/image/author-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lissa" border="0" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/starters/image/author-photo.jpg" /></a>Lissa Price has studied
photography and writing, but the world has turned out to be her greatest
teacher. She has walked with elephants in Botswana, swum with penguins
in the Galápagos, and stood on a field at sunset amid a thousand nomads
in Gujarat, India. She has been surrounded by hundreds of snorting
Cape buffalo in South Africa and held an almost silent chorus with
a hundred wild porpoises off the coast of Oahu. She has danced in
mud huts at village weddings in India and had tea with the most famous
living socialite in Kyoto. When she sat down to write, she found that
the most surprising journeys were still inside her mind. She lives
in the foothills of southern California with her husband and the occasional
deer. Visit her at <a href="http://lissaprice.com/" target="_blank">LissaPrice.com</a><br />
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-39907636527778874242012-03-13T00:00:00.000-07:002012-03-13T00:00:03.911-07:00Erebos - Ursula Poznanski<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://site.annickpress.com/annick/covers/erebos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://site.annickpress.com/annick/covers/erebos.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblAge">Age 12+</span><br />
<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblGrade">Grade 7+</span><br />
<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblMeasurement">5.5 x 8.5</span><br />
<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblPages">532 Pages</span><br />
<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblPublishYear">2012</span><br />
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<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblClassification"><br /><b>Fiction</b></span></b>
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<span class="CatalogStats" id="lblPrice2">ISBN 13: 9781554513734</span></div>
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<b><i><span class="CatalogSource" id="lblTextSourceTitle">An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span class="CatalogLabelArea" id="lblMainText">When
16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer
game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his
classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must
obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and
never tell anyone your nickname. </span><br /><br /><span class="CatalogLabelArea" id="lblMainText">
Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos
knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When
it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from
the game. </span></i><span class="CatalogLabelArea" id="lblMainText"><i>
Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who
controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the
border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur. This
utterly convincing and suspenseful thriller originated in Germany, where
it has become a runaway bestseller.</i> </span></b></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/Tqenx_QkLl4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tqenx_QkLl4&fs=1&source=uds" />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.annickpress.com/pdf/Erebos.pdf">READ HERE.</a></span></div>
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For young adult/teen fiction this was a surprisingly decent read. Actually, I enjoy the YA genre quite a bit and there is (surprisingly) a slew of fabulous books and authors writing for this generation. How fortunate today's youth is...Anyway, Erebos (or at least the version I read) is translated from its original German so you have to imagine that at least some of the flavor of the novel gets lost in translation. Luckily, Erebos has been deftly translated by Judith Pattinson and she has apparently done a wonderful job. Erebos clips along at a quick pace drawing the reader in from the beginning and not letting go until the last page. I didn't put the book down until it was finished...in fact I felt that I couldn't-I just had to know what happened next. There is enough going on in this book to keep even the most jaded reader happily ensconced in its pages.</div>
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Ursula Poznanski</h2>
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Ursula Poznanski was born in Vienna, Austria, where she
still lives today with her partner and daughter. The older of two
sisters, she enjoyed reading, music, cycling, and skiing when she was a
child. Her favorite books were <i>The Flying Classroom</i> by Erich Kaestner, <i>Mio</i>, <i>My Son</i> by Astrid Lindgren, and Tolkien’s <i>Lord of the Rings.</i><br />
Ursula started writing when she was no more than seven or
eight years old. She was fortunate in that she had teachers who
encouraged her a great deal, and loving relatives who would read her
essays to everybody who hadn’t managed to escape in time. She found it
quite embarrassing, but it did not deter her from writing.<br />
The idea for <b><i>Erebos</i></b> (Spring
2012) came from her penchant for stories that include a change of
worlds. These usually come in the form of fantasies, but she wanted to
tell a story where this actually happens. She loved the idea of a
computer game dragging the player so deeply into a virtual world that
it would affect his view of reality. She also wanted to write about
manipulation and how it works. <br />
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What Ursula enjoys most about the creative
process are those moments when it seems as if the book is writing
itself. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it is pure joy.<br />
Her advice for aspiring authors is to read a lot and write
a lot. Don’t believe that success is going to come fast or easy, but
carry on nevertheless. Love your story; don’t run after trends. Look
for a good writing partner who tells you the truth about what he or she
thinks of your work. Appreciate profound criticism. <br />
Ursula’s interests, besides writing, include photography,
music (although she doesn’t play an instrument, she has not given up
hope that she may still do so one day), talking to interesting people,
and traveling.</div>
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.</div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-58291362411265733452012-03-02T08:59:00.001-08:002012-03-02T09:07:54.743-08:00Heft - Liz Moore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><b>Hardcover:</b> 352 pages</li>
<li><b>Publisher:</b> W. W. Norton & Company (January 23, 2012)</li>
<li><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0393081508</li>
<li><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0393081503 </li>
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<i> Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn’t left his
rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers,
seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich
school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising
baseball career–if he can untangle himself from his family drama. The
link between this unlikely pair is Kel’s mother, Charlene, a former
student of Arthur’s. After nearly two decades of silence, it is
Charlene’s unexpected phone call to Arthur–a plea for help–that jostles
them into action. Through Arthur and Kel’s own quirky and lovable
voices, Heft tells the winning story of two improbable heroes whose
sudden connection transforms both their lives. Like
Elizabeth McCracken’s <i>The Giant’s House</i>, <i>Heft</i> is a novel about love and family found in the most unexpected places.</i></div>
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Heft is a haunting portrait of isolation, alienation and hope. Ms. Moore's deft realization of her characters was perfection....each person had a clear and distinct voice and while Moore places them in difficult circumstances she manages to abstain from melodrama and remain ever truthful-Moore truly shows immense respect for her characters. I immediately became immersed, intrigued and enthralled by this novel...I read it in a scant three days, often staying up late to read just a bit more (thank you Ms. Moore for some very sleepy days!).<br />
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Now, normally I hate a cliffhanger ending and Heft definitely leaves the reader hanging. However, in this particular situation, I actually liked it-dare I say, prefer, this abrupt and slightly dissatisfactory ending to such a well liked novel? Moore's decision to end this story firmly rooted with a question mark was in my opinion brilliant. Moore's characters had all progressed personally to such a point that literally the future was wide open to them...possibilities abounded for them. It is left to the reader to imagine their futures and I found it lovely to think of all the wonderful ways their lives could end up...these will be well loved characters by all readers and I can only imagine all the beautiful things that the readers of Heft will dream up for them.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR </span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.lizmoore.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.lizmoore.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bio.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.lizmoore.net/">Liz Moore</a> is a writer, musician, and teacher.<br />
She wrote most of her first novel, <i>The Words of Every Song</i>
(Broadway Books, 2007), while in college. The book, which centers on a
fictional record company in present-day New York City, draws partly on
Liz’s own experiences as a musician. It was selected for Borders’
Original Voices program, received 3.5/4 stars in PEOPLE Magazine, and
was given a starred review by Kirkus. Roddy Doyle wrote of it, “This is a
remarkable novel, elegant, wise, and beautifully constructed. I loved
the book.”<br />
After the publication of her debut novel, Liz released an album, <i>Backyards</i>,
and obtained her MFA in Fiction from Hunter College, where she studied
with Peter Carey, Colum McCann, and Nathan Englander. After being
awarded the University of Pennsylvania’s ArtsEdge residency, she moved
to Philadelphia in the summer of 2009. She has taught Creative Writing
at Hunter College and the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently
an Assistant Professor of Writing at Holy Family University in
Philadelphia, where she lives.<br />
Her second novel, <i>Heft</i>, was published by W.W. Norton in January 2012.<br />
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-18825493728887092102012-02-20T00:00:00.000-08:002012-02-20T00:00:07.143-08:00The Book of Lost Fragrances - M.J. Rose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mjrose.com/fragrances/images/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.mjrose.com/fragrances/images/cover.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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<ul style="text-align: center;">
<li><b>Hardcover:</b> 384 pages</li>
<li><b>Publisher:</b> Atria Books (March 13, 2012)</li>
<li><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 1451621302</li>
</ul>
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***</div>
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<i><b>A sweeping and suspenseful tale of
secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through
the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of
Cleopatra--and lost for 2,000 years. </b></i><br />
<i> <b> </b></i><br />
<i>Jac
L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with
the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a
storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those
remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now,
fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company
along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an
earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes
missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world
she thought she'd left behind.</i> <br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>Back
in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted
by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is
there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it
just another dream infused perfume?</i> <br />
<i> </i></div>
</div>
<i>The Book of Lost Fragrances</i>
fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra's Egypt and
the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet's battle with China and
the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac's quest for the ancient perfume
someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own
troubled past.</div>
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***</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;">Read an excerpt from <i>The Lost Book of Fragrances</i>.
</span></span><br />
<br />
<i style="color: #20124d;">But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people
are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell
alone, more fragile but more enduring, more unsubstantial, more
persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls,
remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear
unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence,
the vast structure of recollection.</i><span style="color: #20124d;">
—Marcel Proust, </span><i style="color: #20124d;">Remembrance of Things Past</i><span style="color: #20124d;">
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #20124d;">
Chapter 1.<br />
Alexandria, Egypt, 1799
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #20124d;">
Giles L’Etoile was a master of scent, not a thief. He had never stolen
anything but one woman’s heart, and she’d always said she’d given that
willingly. But on this chilly Egyptian evening, as he descended the
rickety ladder into the ancient tomb, each tentative footstep brought
him closer to criminality.
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #20124d;">
Preceding L’Etoile had been an explorer, an engineer, an architect, an
artist, a cartographer and, of course, the general himself—all the
savants from Napoleon’s army of intellectuals and scientists now
stealing into a sacred burial place that had remained untouched for
thousands of years. The crypt had been discovered the day before by the
explorer Emile Saurent and his team of Egyptian boys, who had stopped
digging when they unearthed the sealed stone door. Now the
twenty-nine-year-old Napoleon would have the privilege of being the
first man to see what had lain lost and forgotten for millennia. It was
no secret that he entertained dreams of conquering Egypt. But his grand
ambitions went beyond military conquests. Under his aegis, Egypt’s
history was being explored, studied and mapped.
</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mjrose.com/fragrances/excerpt.asp"> Full Excerpt Here.</a></div>
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***</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
What a truly lovely novel this was to read. A love story spanning the ages, an intricate mystery set in the recesses of time...all of this set in some of the most beguiling and intriguing locations around the world. It was, for me, the ideal way to escape the 'real world' for awhile...just kick up my feet and allow myself to be transported into a fictional world that seemed so familiar and yet magical, surreal. MJ Rose has crafted that rare novel that manages to be believable and fantastical at the same time. </div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Oh, and what's not to love about a book that launches with it's very own personalized signature fragrance? </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: orange;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: bold;">Discover the perfume inspired by The Book of Lost Fragrances
</span>
<br /><br />
Pre-order The Book of Lost Fragrances and we'll send you a free sample
of Âmes Soeurs, the Scent of Soulmates. This exclusive fragrance,
inspired by the novel, was created by Joya Studios and is not yet for
sale.
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.mjrose.com/fragrances/scent.asp">Just use one of the above links</a> to buy the book and then email the receipt, or a scan of it, to <a href="mailto:LostFragrances@gmail.com">LostFragrances@gmail.com</a>. Include 1) your name, and 2) snail mail address so we can send you the fragrance. </i><i>(no post office box addresses, please!</i></div>
</blockquote>
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<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">AUTHOR</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div class="artistCentralBio_biographyBody" id="artistCentralBio_officialFullBioContent">
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<a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/46/85/5a0a6055f3620ad8956ede.L._V185960532_SX200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/46/85/5a0a6055f3620ad8956ede.L._V185960532_SX200_.jpg" /></a></div>
M.J.
Rose (www.mjrose.com) is the international best selling author of
eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE
BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March
2012.<br />
Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines
and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New
York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR
radio.<br />
Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in
advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and
since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors -
Authorbuzz.com<br />
The television series PAST LIFE, was based on
Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the
founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the
blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.<br />
She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.<br />
Rose
lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield,
and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.</div>
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-40093177663506503332012-02-18T13:03:00.000-08:002012-02-18T13:03:54.232-08:00Yep.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/140315344610178898_4M2HVCbn_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/140315344610178898_4M2HVCbn_f.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><b>I feel like this most days...Take that as you please.</b></span></div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-16656468549234578332012-02-17T16:20:00.000-08:002012-02-17T16:20:05.979-08:00Quoted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/135459901261909812_JiRyQ2PS_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/135459901261909812_JiRyQ2PS_f.jpg" /></a></div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-24333574524657329362012-02-16T19:31:00.000-08:002012-02-16T19:36:08.698-08:00Gotye - Somebody That I used To Know<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>"Somebody That I Used To Know"</b><br />
<span class="feat">(feat. Kimbra)</span><br />
<br />
<i>[Gotye:]</i><br />
Now and then I think of when we were together<br />
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die<br />
Told myself that you were right for me<br />
But felt so lonely in your company<br />
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember<br />
<br />
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness<br />
Like resignation to the end, always the end<br />
So when we found that we could not make sense<br />
Well you said that we would still be friends<br />
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over<br />
<br />
But you didn't have to cut me off<br />
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing<br />
And I don't even need your love<br />
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough<br />
No you didn't have to stoop so low<br />
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number<br />
I guess that I don't need that though<br />
Now you're just somebody that I used to know<br />
<br />
Now you're just somebody that I used to know<br />
Now you're just somebody that I used to know<br />
<br />
<i>[Kimbra:]</i><br />
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over<br />
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done<br />
But I don't wanna live that way<br />
Reading into every word you say<br />
You said that you could let it go<br />
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know<br />
<br />
<i>[Gotye:]</i><br />
But you didn't have to cut me off<br />
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing<br />
And I don't even need your love<br />
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough<br />
And you didn't have to stoop so low<br />
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number<br />
I guess that I don't need that though<br />
Now you're just somebody that I used to know<br />
<br />
<i>[x2]</i><br />
Somebody<br />
(I used to know)<br />
Somebody<br />
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)<br />
<br />
(I used to know)<br />
(That I used to know)<br />
(I used to know)<br />
Somebody
</div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-32883534833980915472012-02-07T02:00:00.000-08:002012-02-07T02:00:10.026-08:00Havah - Tosca Lee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/102310000/102312112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/102310000/102312112.jpg" /></a></div>
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<ul id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8381" style="text-align: center;">
<li id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8380">
<span id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8387">ISBN-13:</span> 9781433668791
</li>
<li id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8383"><span id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8388">Publisher: </span>B&H Publishing Group</li>
<li id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8384"><span id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8389">Publication date: </span>8/1/2010</li>
<li id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8386">Pages: 384</li>
</ul>
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***</div>
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<div id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_7645" style="text-align: center;">
<i>She knew this earth when it was
perfect—like her, for a time. Made by God in a manner like no other, she
lived in utter peace without flaw in paradise until one fateful
decision changed everything. Now, all humanity suffers for her mistake.
But what did it feel like then to first sin and be exiled, to see all
innocence crumble so vividly, and a strange new world take its place?</i></div>
<div id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_7644" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Experience the epic dawn of mankind through the eyes and heart of Eve—the woman first known as Havah.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"A passionate and riveting story
of the Bible's first woman. Lee's superior storytelling will have
readers weeping for all that Havah forfeited by a single damning choice</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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***</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
What Publisher's Weekly Had To Say About <i>Havah</i>: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h5 id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_9901">
Publishers Weekly</h5>
Starred Review.
<br />
<div id="yui_3_4_1_1_1328554914847_8280">
Lee surprised the evangelical
Christian literary world with her acclaimed Demon: A Memoir. Her fans
will be equally pleased with her newest, a passionate and riveting story
of the Bible's first woman and her remarkable journey after being cast
from paradise. Havah, Adam's chosen name for Eve, recounts her life from
a singular vantage point. From having known only blissful innocence,
she must struggle through every post-Garden moment. Frustration
compounds her plight as she repeatedly attempts to regain her former
idyllic existence and repeatedly fails. Havah's life becomes a fight for
survival once she and Adam are cast from the Garden, and Lee's poetic
prose beautifully depicts the couple's slow surrender to a world tending
to destruction. Havah gives birth, raises a brood of children, watches
one son kill another, observes disease and death. Yet all the while, she
waits for the fulfillment of "the One" (God) who will bring
reconciliation and redemption through her seed. Lee's superior
storytelling will have readers weeping for all that Havah forfeited by a
single damning choice.<br />
<i>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.</i></div>
</blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I couldn't wait for this novel to be released. I longed to read it for months and literally counted down the days until it was finally available for review. I feel pretty confident that I was among the few lucky people to receive a review copy as soon as it was released. Ahhh, advanced reader copies I do love them. Tosca Lee is probably one of my favorite authors and she is without a doubt a talented and gifted writer. <i> Havah</i> is a unique novel in so many ways. It charts territory at once familiar and foreign. Ms. Lee tackles this timeless tale with an authority that allows the reader to experience the story of Adam and Eve in a way that you were not taught in Sunday School...full of very human wonder, despair, tragedy and joy. </div>
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<i>Havah</i> is beautifully written and will probably change you in ways quite unexpected...highly recommended.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></span></b> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/122520000/122525670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/122520000/122525670.JPG" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Tosca Lee is the author of the critically acclaimed Demon: A Memoir, a
ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year silver award winner and 2008 Christy
award finalist. She earned her degree in English from Smith College, is
an international consultant, and was first runner-up to Mrs. United
States.
</div>
<br />
* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-78732152112022928382012-02-06T15:52:00.000-08:002012-02-06T15:52:18.915-08:00Photo Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mharvireads.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o186/gerbear727/bia%202012/anthology-mag-blog-art-designer-inspirations-katespade-serendiptitous.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-size: large;">Feeling Hopeful.</span></b></div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-91220947484459882012-02-02T00:00:00.000-08:002012-02-02T00:00:06.636-08:00The Lost Goddess - Tom Knox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tomknoxbooks.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61tYE+hhxhL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<ul style="text-align: center;">
<li><b>Hardcover:</b> 448 pages</li>
<li><b>Publisher:</b> Viking Adult (February 2, 2012)</li>
<li><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0670023183</li>
<li><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0670023189</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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***</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>From the internationally bestselling author of <i>The Genesis Secret</i>-a seductive, exotic new thriller</b></i>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>
In the silent caves beneath France, young archaeologist Julia Kerrigan
unearths an ancient skull-with a hole bored through the forehead. After
she reveals her discovery, her mentor is brutally murdered. Deep in the
jungles of Southeast Asia, photographer Jake Thurby is offered a
mysterious assignment by a beautiful Cambodian lawyer who is
investigating finds at the two-thousand-year-old Plain of Jars-finds
that shadowy forces want kept secret.
</i></div>
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From the temples of Angkor Wat and the wild streets of Bangkok to the
prehistoric caves in Western Europe, what links Jake's and Julia's
discoveries is a strange, demonic woman whose unquenchable thirst for
vengeance-and the horrors she seeks to avenge- are truly shocking.
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Readers have become enthralled by Knox's vivid blend of buccaneering
modern adventure, gothic horror, and grand intellectual puzzles. <i>The Lost Goddess</i> is his most exciting novel to date.
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This review has really got me stumped. I just don't know what I want to say...what should I tell you, dear reader, about this rather long tome? I could tell you how I haven't read a book that actually taught me anything new since I was a rather young girl and yet this novel had me highlighting new words and names of places and googling them like mad. I could tell you how (quite recently) I have been having an ongoing<strike> argument </strike>discussion about the evils of communism and this book managed to succinctly encapsulate my views quite nicely (and vindicating my humble opinion, I should add). I am rather tempted to lift and quote directly for the benefit of<strike> winning</strike> contributing to our <strike>heated </strike>friendly debates. Anyway, philosophical matters aside, Tom Knox has written a fast paced, thriller. A real gem of a novel that kept me reading long after bed time. </div>
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This book will take you from obscure locales in France to exotic Asian landscapes educating you with facts about the people and their history along the way. I really can not express how much I learned from this book. Of course I've heard of the Khmer Rouge but what did I actually know of them? Their acts, their beliefs? Nothing, I tell you...until now that is. What did I know about the rise of communism in Southeast Asia? Squat, apparently. Now, I generally warn people about getting their history facts (or any FACTS, for that matter) from a work of fiction. I mean, hello? It's a work of fiction...right? Well, as I began to read The Lost Goddess I realized pretty quick that I would need to keep my trusty laptop handy so I could look up all of the interesting bits of information. Turns out Mr. Knox has done his research really well and he takes little creative license with it-though I have to say when the truth is this crazy you don't need a lot of embellishment to make it interesting. Kudos to Mr. Knox for taking the time and using his talent to write a novel that not only entertains but illuminates and informs as well. He has brought to light some pretty horrifying realities that truly need to be more well known. I just hope his voice will be heard. </div>
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I so much enjoyed this book and have been telling everyone to put it on their must read list. I just want to formally thank the author right here and now....Thank you, Mr. Knox! Love your book! Going back to the beginning of this post...<i>I just don't know what I want to say, </i>well this pretty much sums it up for me: A quote from the wonderfully talented Mr. Knox, "I want you to like the books so much you buy several copies in case you lose one." Yup. That's all I wanted to say. I liked this book so much I intend on buying several copies. Review closed.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tom Knox</span></div>
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Tom Knox is the pseudonym of the author Sean Thomas. Born in England, he
has traveled the world writing for many different newspapers and
magazines, including The Times, the Guardian, and the Daily Mail. His
last book was a memoir, translated into eight languages; he also writes
on art, politics, and ancient history. He lives in London.</div>
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You can find him and LOADS of information on his novels <a href="http://www.tomknoxbooks.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </div>
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-19673958928538416842012-01-26T13:35:00.000-08:002012-01-26T13:35:25.850-08:00Organized Simplicity - Tsh Oxenreider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+bJXZlmHL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-29,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+bJXZlmHL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-29,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Remove the Mess, Add Meaning</b></i></div>
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<i>Simplicity
isn't about what you give up. It's about what you gain. When you remove
the things that don't matter to you, you are free to focus on only the
things that are meaningful to you.</i></div>
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This was a recent free offer from Amazon. Like so many people these days I am not just interested in living a simpler life I am practically obsessed with it. Lately I have been very intrigued by what is called a "French Closet"---basically it means that you own only a few key pieces of high quality clothes that fit you perfectly. Well, if you knew me personally you'd know right away that owning only a 'few' clothing items has never been even remotely a possibility. I love fashion. I have loads of clothes that take up three closets and we aren't talking about those dinky little niche in the wall closets. The stand alone shower in my en suite? It's been converted into a closet because I simply ran out of space. </div>
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My little family and I live in a quaint but small cottage where space is a premium and my hoarding of the closets has really been challenging. A few years back I purged the kitchen of all non essential gadgets and it felt liberating. Now, I am the proud owner of a few well seasoned cast iron skillets and great set of knives and you know what? I do not miss the Cuisinart or the toaster oven or the panini press, the George Foreman or any of the other stuff I donated. </div>
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I was off to a great start on this path to simple living. Enthused and optimistic even. But somewhere along the way I simply stopped purging our stuff. Out of sight out of mind. Until, at least, something else came into the house and it was time to find it a home and I realized all the cupboards were taken. The closets were full. We began talking about selling our sweet little home and buying a bigger place. Well, thank Heaven that sanity prevailed and coincidentally this book popped up on Amazon. Actually, I believe that God answers all prayers and that this book showed up free just when I was struggling with our space issues was, in fact, NOT a coincidence but that is neither here nor there. </div>
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It probably took me two days to read this book and it was just enough motivation to get me going. Every week since reading this book I've made a trip to the local charity to drop off more of our unused stuff. Stuff we didn't even know we had. Stuff that was piled up on the tippy tops of the closets, stuff tucked into the dark recesses of the laundry room cabinets and yes, my friend lots and lots of clothes. The process is still ongoing but I always joke that our home has lost a lot of weight these last few weeks and she looks great for it.</div>
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</div>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-83457620849752602212012-01-13T09:09:00.000-08:002012-01-13T09:09:03.315-08:00Photo Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6deycBDX0RY/TvlUePfLasI/AAAAAAAACx4/S3pJ__VlUMw/s640/tumblr_lmnb7tUefO1qa7gx5o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="465" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6deycBDX0RY/TvlUePfLasI/AAAAAAAACx4/S3pJ__VlUMw/s640/tumblr_lmnb7tUefO1qa7gx5o1_1280.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-57435984067097636772012-01-10T01:00:00.000-08:002012-01-10T01:00:08.242-08:00Pure - Julianna Baggott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.pure-book.com/img/pure300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pure-book.com/img/pure300.jpg" /></a></div>
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<img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,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" /></div>
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<i><i>We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . </i></i>
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<i><br />
Pressia barely
remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her
sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives
with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went
from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and
mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused,
damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn
themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if
they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can
no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.<br /><br /><i>Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . . </i></i>
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<i><br />
There
are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked
safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet
Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome,
feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just
because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his
brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their
shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome
has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped
phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his
life to leave the Dome to find her. <br /><br />
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again. </i></div>
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This is a compelling book<i>. Pure</i> is a somewhat savage coming of age book set in a post apocalyptic world. It is a world that is mesmerizing in all of it's harrowing detail, a world ruled by a stark authoritarian regime and populated by humans that barely eke out a bleak existence. And yet there is hope in these pages. There is a subtle beauty that manages to redeem a novel that could have been too bleak and oppressive. I came away from this novel feeling hopeful, feeling alive and capable. Ms. Baggott writes with a sensitivity that allows her characters to retain their human qualities in an environment that endeavors to destroy rather than nourish. </div>
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What else can I say other than I was absolutely surprised by this novel. I wasn't expecting that much from an 'end times' book. I never do. <i> Pure</i> somehow treads that line between shock and awe and true literary fiction. Sure it's a book about a dystopian future and it has all the qualities that novels of that genre usually have: desolate lands, victims, martyrs and characters that spend most of their time just surviving. Yet, <i>Pure</i> manages so much more than that. It is also a novel about first love, friendship, and the complex bonds that humans create when they become attached to one another. The characters in Ms. Baggott's novel are not mere pawns that drive a story they <u>are</u> the story, their lives, hopes, fears and dreams are what propel this novel along. Their struggles became mine and I found myself thinking about them even after the last page had been turned.</div>
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You can find Julianna<a href="http://bridgetasher.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> here.</a></div>
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More about Pure<a href="http://www.pure-book.com/about.html" target="_blank"> here.</a></div>
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR</div>
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<a href="http://www.drinkingdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JuliannaBW-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.drinkingdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JuliannaBW-32.jpg" width="213" /></a>Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott also writes under the pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode.
She has published seventeen books over the last ten years. Film rights for her forthcoming novel <a href="http://www.pure-book.com/"><b>PURE</b></a> have been acquired by Fox 2000.
<b>The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted,</b> written under pen name Asher, was published in spring 2011. There are approximately 50 foreign editions of
her novels to date.<br />
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Julianna began publishing when she was twenty-two and sold her
first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first
novel, <b>Girl Talk</b>, which was a national bestseller and was quickly followed by <b>Boston Globe</b> bestseller
<b>The Miss America Family</b>, and then <b>Boston Herald Book Club</b> selection, <b>The Madam</b>, an historical
novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote <b>Which Brings Me to You</b> with Steve Almond,
A Best Book of 2006 (<b>Kirkus Reveiws</b>) optioned by producer Richard Brown and adapted by Keith Bunin with Matthew Warchus set to direct.<br />
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Her Bridget Asher novels include <b>The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, </b><b>The Pretend Wife</b>, <b>My Husband's Sweethearts.</b> More info can be found at her <a href="http://bridgetasher.blogspot.com/">Bridget Asher</a> blog.
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She also writes bestselling novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as under
Julianna Baggott. The <b><a href="http://theanybodies.blogspot.com/">Anybodies</a></b> trilogy was a <b>People</b> Magazine
pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a <b>Washington Post</b> Book of the Week, a Girl's Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development
at Nickelodeon/Paramount; <b>The Slippery Map</b> (fall 2007), and the prequel to <b>Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium</b> (2007),
a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on <b>XM Sirius Radio</b>.<br />
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Julianna's Boston Red Sox novel <b><a href="http://www.princeoffenwaypark.com/">The Prince of Fenway Park</a></b> (HarperCollins), was published in spring 2009. It is on <a href="http://myssyra.org/grades6_8/68list.html">the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards</a> List for 2011-2012.<br />
<b>The Ever Breath</b> (Random House) was published in December, 2009.<br />
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Baggott also has a highly acclaimed career as a poet, having published three collections of poetry and
having been published in the best literary publications in the country, including <b>Poetry</b>,
<b>The American Poetry Review</b>, and <b>Best American Poetry</b> in 2001 and 2011.<br />
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Baggott's work has appeared in over a hundred publications, including the <b>The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Glamour, Ms.,
Real Simple</b>, and read on NPR's <b>Here and Now</b>, <b>All Things Considered</b> and <b>Talk of the Nation</b>. Her essays, stories, and
poems are highly anthologized.<br />
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She is an associate professor at <a href="http://www.english.fsu.edu/crw/index.html">Florida State University's Creative Writing Program.</a><br />
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In 2006, Baggott and her husband co-founded the nonprofit organization <a href="http://www.booksindeed.org/">Kids in Need -
Books in Deed,</a> that focuses on literacy and getting free books to underprivileged children in the state of Florida.</div>
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-28270502932242404992011-12-31T06:57:00.000-08:002011-12-31T06:57:00.155-08:00The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillippe Sendker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="availOrange" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This title will be released on 31 January, 2012.</span></div>
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<i>A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, </i><i>The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans
the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New
York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor
his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love
letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never
heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her
father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman
lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience,
and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love
to move mountains.</i></div>
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I couldn't put this book down. I read it in just a day or two and I found it to be a beautiful story lovingly told by a talented writer. It is magical and poignant; an amazing, achingly sublime love story. It is a tale of faithfulness, perseverance, hope and trust. When have you ever loved someone enough to let them go without hatred or malice? Have you ever felt that kind of deep emotion that rings true thorough out your life despite the circumstances? Funny how people live lives that they know they were not meant to live simply because it is convenient or the right thing to do. As I read this book my heart ached for the characters but it ached also for myself. There is something in this book that will touch you profoundly, spur you onto greater heights. I know this because one can not read this tale without thinking about one's own life and the trajectory it is taking them on. Are you really living how you want, with whom you want...are you really honoring your soul or are you only marking time until some later date? Perhaps we could all learn the art of hearing heartbeats, beginning with listening to our own.</div>
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Excerpt</h4>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">December in Kalaw is a cold month. The sky is blue and cloudless. The
sun wanders from one side of the horizon to the other, but no longer
climbs high enough to generate any real warmth. The air is clear and
fresh, and only the most sensitive people can still detect any trace of
the heavy, sweet scent of the tropical rainy season, when the clouds
hang low over the village and the valley, and the water falls unchecked
from the skies as if to slake a parched world’s thirst. The rainy season
is hot and steamy. The market reeks of rotting meat, while heavy black
flies settle on the entrails and skulls of sheep and cattle. The earth
itself seems to perspire. Worms and insects crawl out of its pores.
Innocent rills turn to rushing torrents that devour careless piglets,
lambs, or children, only to disgorge them, lifeless, in the valley
below.</span><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444;"> But December promises the people of Kalaw a respite from
all of this. December promises cold nights and mercifully cool days.
December, thought Mya Mya, is a hypocrite.</span><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444;"> She was sitting on a
wooden stool in front of her house looking out over the fields and the
valley to the hilltops in the distance. The air was so clear that she
felt she was looking through a spyglass to the ends of the earth. She
did not trust the weather. Although she could not remember ever in her
life having seen a cloud in a December sky, she would not rule out the
possibility of a sudden downpour. Or of a typhoon even if not a single
one in living memory had found its way from the Bay of Bengal into the
mountains around Kalaw. It was not impossible. As long as there were
typhoons anywhere, one might well devastate Mya Mya’s native soil. Or
the earth might quake. Even, or perhaps especially, on a day like today,
when nothing foreshadowed catastrophe. Complacency was treacherous,
confidence a luxury that Mya Mya could not afford. That much she knew at
the bottom of her heart. For her there would be neither peace nor rest.
Not in this world. Not in her life.</span></i></h4>
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***</h4>
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<a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ9Fe-Fb-P7T1wb-4EYq7thUAUvgKzmauyjSJcTXk5Y_pn36PVmrA8fdxeM" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ9Fe-Fb-P7T1wb-4EYq7thUAUvgKzmauyjSJcTXk5Y_pn36PVmrA8fdxeM" /></a><b>Jan-Philipp Sendker, </b>born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for <i>Stern </i>from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. In 2000 he published <i>Cracks in the Great Wall, </i>a nonfiction book about China. <i>The Art of Hearing Heartbeats </i>is his first novel. He lives in Berlin with his family.</div>
* I received a free copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-76063543509037761922011-12-21T03:00:00.000-08:002011-12-21T03:00:14.720-08:00The Bee-Loud Glade - Steve Himmer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fiction, Trade Paperback Original<br />
ISBN 978-0-9845105-8-0<br />
6 x 9 in / 224 pages<br />
Publication Date: April 4, 2011</div>
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<i>“I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,<br />
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;<br />
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,<br />
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.”<br />
-W.B. Yeats, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”</i></div>
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<i><i>The Bee-Loud Glade</i> is the story of Finch, a daydreamer whose
job as a marketer of plastic plants consists mostly of updating the
blogs of the imaginary people he creates. Once new management steps in
and kicks him out, Finch slowly lets go of all ties to the outside
world. With both his electricity and motivation shut off, he sinks into a
state of oblivion, holed up in his apartment for weeks on end. But when
his reply to what he thinks is innocuous spam sweeps him into the world
of billionaire Mr. Crane, Finch agrees to live and work—for more money
than he’s ever imagined—as an ornamental hermit in a cave on Mr. Crane’s
estate.</i></div>
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<i>This darkly comic commentary on modern work and wealth thoughtfully
probes deep-rooted questions about the nature of man, the workplace, and
society (and what happens in their absence). Set in a postmodern
pastoral landscape, it brings a playfulness more commonly found in urban
fiction to an outdoor setting. With light and engaging prose, Himmer
deftly unearths the ironies of life and the futility of escape.</i></div>
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A while back I wrote a review for a Korean movie called "Castaway on the Moon" (review<a href="http://mharvireads.blogspot.com/2011/11/castaway-on-moon.html" target="_blank"> here</a>). This novel tracks the same premise...disillusioned soul finds himself inexplicably 'trapped' in the center of everything. It is a theme that I personally find fascinating.<br />
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Mr. Himmer has written a novel that manages to be sublime and deeply thought provoking simultaneously. Rarely do authors manage the two so deftly. As a commentary on modern life Himmer pretty much nails the essence of our daily existence...and our collective modern way of living has never seemed so inane, so inexplicably ridiculous. Finch is a perfect citizen in so many ways. He does just what he is told to do and if he stops to question 'why' he doesn't dwell on it for very long...he simply follows whatever instruction has been given him to the best of his abilities though he rarely tries very hard.<br />
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<i style="color: #783f04;">Now, with nothing but time on my hands, I didn't know where to start and it was simpler to not start at all. I had no more interest in finding a job than I had in anything else </i></blockquote>
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He is in every way a thoroughly modern man. He exists without any particular passion, without any definable goal, no dreams, no real emotions...he is essentially an empty case, vacant and vacuous. And he doesn't even realize that this is a tragedy.<br />
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Over the course as his tenure as 'hermit' Finch undergoes a gradual transformation...nothing very dramatic, just a slow, soft ascent into the realm of higher values. At one point in the story Finch is struck by the industry of nature, it's beauty and perfect imperfections he marvels...<br />
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<i><span style="color: #274e13;">All this had been happening every day of my life, while I'd been moving too fast and with too sluggish a mind to take note. While I'd been too busy shitting and showering and shaving myself, trundling myself off to work in a mental fog that lent itself to traffic jam driving but not to being alive. </span></i></blockquote>
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The nature of his Glade-somewhat manipulated by man, not entirely secluded and sort of dependent on the care of outsiders and it's slow transformation through the years toward total independence tracks the progress of Finch's spirit. He is not so much adrift in isolation as he is cast out of a society that has lost it's meaning, it's soul, it's raison d'etre. Here, in The Bee-Loud Glade a man finds himself and in the process has thrown the world a lifeline out of chaos and maybe back into the Garden.<br />
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GR1v4oixqjPKyGwbmRi-uuGWHbGmH5nxMOBtCdDmY93V2elEhb5J0-mQnNstVO-2MxUuElFw0F3JlUNQpJVk-FsjiExKdnm0Dyl82y2_WNjxCGPcX9cwEnP6AanCNg35cWb4fvroYhdm/s1600/Himmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GR1v4oixqjPKyGwbmRi-uuGWHbGmH5nxMOBtCdDmY93V2elEhb5J0-mQnNstVO-2MxUuElFw0F3JlUNQpJVk-FsjiExKdnm0Dyl82y2_WNjxCGPcX9cwEnP6AanCNg35cWb4fvroYhdm/s320/Himmer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://stevehimmer.com/beeloud" target="_blank">Steve Himmer</a> teaches at Emerson College in Boston, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and is on the faculty of the First-Year Writing Program. His stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Hobart, The Los Angeles Review, Night Train, Pindeldyboz, PANK, Emprise Review, and Everyday Genius. He also is a frequent blogger on writing and teaching, and edits Necessary Fiction, a webjournal from So New Publishing, a press based in Eugene, Oregon.<br />
You can find Bee-Loud Glade at Atticus Books<a href="http://atticusbooksonline.com/books/the-bee-loud-glade/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://atticusbooksonline.com/books/the-bee-loud-glade/" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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The Bee-Loud Glade is his first novel.<br />
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-33404606290838426902011-12-17T10:57:00.000-08:002011-12-17T10:57:59.305-08:00Truth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
wear your white shirts. get them pressed.<br />
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use your good dishes -- everyday.<br /><br />
shave on weekends.<br />
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do not wait for special occasions.<br /><br />
do not tuck your best away in the drawers, in the back of the closet, in your heart.<br /><br />
don't wait for holidays or invitations.<br />
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declare that your today is the special occasion.<br />
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call instead of emailing. (it feels so good to connect.)<br /><br />
go for coffee.<br />
<br />
quit.<br />
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<a href="http://whitehottruth.com/inspiration-spirituality-articles/get-immediate-relief-energy-leaks-and-enlightenment/">take care of it.</a><br />
<br />
renounce your glory days. you've told all of those stories more than twice. <br /><br />
focus forward.<br />
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wear perfume for yourself. toss your only-wear-around-the-house
clothes and let your good clothes graduate to around-the-house status.<br />
<h2>
intend to feel good all of the time.<br /></h2>
<a href="http://yourbigbeautifulbookplan.com/" target="_blank">write your book</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://whitehottruth.com/business-wealth-articles/how-to-accomplish-great-things-quickly-when-quick-n-dirty-is-totally-genius/">launch</a>.<br />
<strong><br /></strong><br />
<a href="http://whitehottruth.com/white-hot/how-i-kicked-my-time-management-habit-and-became-exceedlingly-more-productive-profitable-and-thrilled/">burn your to-do list</a>.<br />
<br />
write poetry. <a href="http://bentlily.com/" target="_blank">one a day</a>.<br />
<br />
make a point to <a href="http://whitehottruth.com/white-hot/the-manifesto-of-encouragement/">be as encouraging as possible</a>, as much as possible, to everyone possible.<br />
don't look back.<br />
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if you feel like you're always failing, consider that this is part of
being an artist. let it be a divine inclination. keep going.<br />
<br />
enter.<br />
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leave.<br />
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<a href="http://whitehottruth.com/wellness-healing-articles/crazy-sexy-diet-self-empowered-glowing-and-the-science-of-kris-carr/">eat real food</a>.<br />
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often refuse to be in the presence of people who make you feel repressed, anxious, or pull your frequency down.<br />
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do not entertain haters. <br />
<br />
send light to the haters.<br />
<br />
give it away. you probably don't need it and someone else does.<br />
<br />
turn off the tv.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://whitehottruth.com/shop-adore/true-strengths-the-metrics-of-ease-chapter/">let it be easy</a>.<br />
<br />
burn candles. during the day.<br />
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<a href="http://whitehottruth.com/white-hot/on-bright-faith-and-why-falling-in-love-is-totally-uncool/">fall in love</a>. with yourself. with the person you're with. with the persons in your orbit.<br />
because no one is perfect, but you can let the love be perfect for the both of you.<br />
because everyone -- everyone -- is a doorway to God.<br />
because you can get there from here.<br />
<br />
because life is short.<br />
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*from <a href="http://whitehottruth.com/white-hot/in-honour-of-the-fact-that-life-is-short/" target="_blank">HERE </a>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-49803778668889870762011-12-16T03:00:00.000-08:002011-12-16T03:00:14.175-08:00Nazareth, North Dakota - Tommy Zurhellen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Nazareth, North Dakota: A Novel</i></b><br />
by Tommy Zurhellen<br />
Fiction, Trade Paperback Original<br />
ISBN 978-0-9845105-6-6<br />
5.25 x 8 in / 212 pages<br />
Publication Date: April 15, 2011</div>
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<i>This gem of a novel—a splendid recasting and modern retelling of the
story of the young messiah—is a fast, quirky, dirt-kicking ride through
the Badlands of North Dakota from the early 1980s to the present,
complete with feathered locks, KISS cover bands, and fire-and-brimstone
preachers. It’s an adventurous, irresistible tale about everything from a
31-year-old fugitive mom who escapes a motel shootout with an abandoned
new born to a corrupt sheriff, a kindhearted carpenter, the world’s
oldest man, and the chosen paths of two hell-raising, miracle-bent
cousins.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>This incandescent debut is an authentic religious allegory connecting
Lakota history with scripture. It contains plot twists and undeniable
truths as deep and wide as the Little Missouri River, with ideas and
messages so big, so earthshaking, so unmistakably divine, they do more
than transform the little town of Nazareth. They change the world.</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>***</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nazareth, North Dakota<i> </i>is an imaginative and whimsical retelling The New Testament. Tommy Zurhellen's latest novel tracks the events of the Bible in modern times, his story populated by ever too real misfits, malcontents, lost souls and of course larger than life heroes. It is a tale as old as time and yet presented under a modern context. As such the reader must ask himself or herself just one question...exactly how would we react if Jesus arrived today? Would you believe? What if John the Baptist was planted on the shores of the Rio Grande...would you go?<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Waiting around for God! As if God isn't already in every blade of grass and slab of concrete we walk upon, and in the very air we breathe. Waiting around for God! As if the Lord doesn't show us miracles every single day. A miracle is like a big billboard that reads, "Don't worry God's coming." Sometimes we're too stubborn to look up and read the signs.</span></blockquote>
<br />
How could I not truly enjoy this novel? Compelling characters that are familiar and yet brand new, a well known tale wrought anew by a slight twist of perspective. Each day I approached my reading with an eager spirit and, in the end, that is all I could ask of any novel. <br />
<br />
<br />
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*** </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #741b47;">AUTHOR BIO</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://atticusbooksonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/tommyz1-150x150.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://atticusbooksonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/tommyz1-150x150.gif" /></a></div>
<b>Tommy Zurhellen</b> was born in New York City. <i>Nazareth, North Dakota</i> is his first novel.<br />
<b></b>
To find out more about Tommy, his upcoming tour dates and his research for the sequel <i>Apostle Islands</i>, visit his <b><a href="http://tommyzurhellen.com/">website</a></b>.<br />
Read a <b><a href="http://atticusbooksonline.com/everything-i-have-is-blue-part-one-of-three/">short story</a></b> written during the evolution of <i>Nazareth, North Dakota</i>.<br />
Learn about Tommy’s many sources of inspiration for the novel at <a href="http://hpr1.com/feature/article/a_messiah_in_the_badlands/"><b><i>High Plains Reader</i></b></a>.<br />
Check out Tommy’s interview at <a href="http://www.eleutherophobia.co.uk/2011/10/interview-tommy-zurhellen.html"><b>Eleutherophobia</b></a>, which covers everything from <i>Nazareth</i> to wave-making waterbeds.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-16291829059853638212011-12-10T05:00:00.000-08:002011-12-10T05:00:08.675-08:00May B. by Caroline Rose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9781582463933&height=250&maxwidth=170" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9781582463933&height=250&maxwidth=170" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/208455/may-b-by-caroline-rose" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gzrYqfsdmtg/TjWSbHxjSsI/AAAAAAAACog/zM1IivwoutQ/s1600/bt_buynow_blue.gif" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On Sale: January 10, 2012<br />
Pages: 240 |
ISBN: <span class="isbn">978-1-58246-393-3</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I've known it since last night:<br />It's been too long to expect them to return. <br />Something's happened.</i><br /><br />May
is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead—just until
Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be
separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the
unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered
sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the
oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her
struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's
determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose's fast-paced
novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong
new heroine to love.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="isbn"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="isbn">***</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="isbn">***</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="isbn"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="isbn"><br /></span></div>
<div class="tab_headers">
<a href="http://www.carolinestarrrose.com/Caroline_Starr_Rose/Home.html"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="minor_tab" id="0">Caroline Rose</span></span></b></a></div>
<div class="tab_headers">
<a href="http://www.carolinestarrrose.com/Caroline_Starr_Rose/Home_files/csr5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.carolinestarrrose.com/Caroline_Starr_Rose/Home_files/csr5.jpg" width="133" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="minor_tab" id="0"> </span></span></b> </div>
CAROLINE STARR ROSE spent her childhood in the deserts of
Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating
red chile in the other. As a girl she danced ballet, raced through books
by Laura Ingalls, and put on magic shows in a homemade cape. She
graduated from the University of New Mexico and went on to teach both
social studies and English in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and
Louisiana. In her classroom, she worked to instill in her students a
passion for books, the freedom to experiment with words, and a curiosity
about the past. Visit her at carolinestarrrose.com.<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="isbn"></span></div>
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* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-51369620373603305312011-12-08T16:05:00.001-08:002011-12-08T16:11:27.217-08:00Tyndale Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wallpaper4god.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/william_tyndale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://wallpaper4god.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/william_tyndale.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is a great giveaway happening over at the <a href="http://list-marketing.tyndale.com/lt.php?c=899&m=251&nl=69&s=c687cf88b3daaf2475648199ef9c867e&lid=12425&l=-http--www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation--Q-sk--E-app_121121694568521" target="_blank">New Living Translation Facebook page</a>, and a chance to enter a Tyndale Blog Network exclusive giveaway.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here are the NLT Facebook page giveaway details:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Starting on November 29<sup>th</sup> until December 24<sup>th</sup> at the <a href="http://list-marketing.tyndale.com/lt.php?c=899&m=251&nl=69&s=c687cf88b3daaf2475648199ef9c867e&lid=12425&l=-http--www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation--Q-sk--E-app_121121694568521" target="_blank">New Living Translation Facebook</a> page they're giving away lots of great prizes and something free for just for singing up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">By visiting the giveaway entry
page (located on the NLT Facebook page, the link is under the profile
picture) and entering your name and e-mail address you'll be entered to
win the following prizes:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One random person each day will
win a Life Application Study Bible Family Pack (Guys Life Application
Study Bible hc, Girls Life Application Study Bible hc, Student's Life
Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible hc, Life
Application Study Bible Large Print hc).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>One Random person each week will win an Apple iPad 2!</b></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Everyone that signs up gets a free download copy of the Life Application Bible Study – Book of Luke!</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>But Wait! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">There's more!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here's how you can win by helping them promote this giveaway:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">The first 100 people to post
about this giveaway on their personal blog will win a free Life
Application Study Bible. They'll also choose one person from all the
entries to win a free Life Application Study Bible Family Pack (includes
6 Bibles!). You can earn extra entries by posting about the giveaway in
multiple places.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">For more details and to enter fill out this form with the link to your blog post (<a href="http://list-marketing.tyndale.com/lt.php?c=899&m=251&nl=69&s=c687cf88b3daaf2475648199ef9c867e&lid=12426&l=-https--docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform--Q-formkey--E-dFJ2ZjFab0NRaE5YcjhpcjN3OHk2b3c6MQ--PND-gid=0" target="_blank">click here to visit the form</a>).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Good Luck! </span>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-5388126179953245032011-11-30T15:53:00.001-08:002011-12-05T09:12:27.775-08:00Corus the Champion - Dean "D. Barkley" Briggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thebestreviewspot.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/corus-the-champion-cover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://thebestreviewspot.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/corus-the-champion-cover1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,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" /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600062288/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mharread-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1600062288">Corus the Champion</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=mharread-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1600062288&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>He was once the greatest champion in the land.<br />
<br />
Then he disappeared.<br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></b></span><b><br />
</b></i>
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</div>
<i>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">With
Nemesia's defeat, the Barlows have helped turn the
tide in the Hidden Lands. But the victory is short-lived. An even greater evil stirs
in the north with a fierce new army</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
bent on destruction. As the twins, Gabe and Garret, discover their own
special powers, a thin thread of hope emerges: long ago, a fabled king
was rescued from death on our world and hidden on Karac Tor. Who is he?<br />
<br />
Each brother has their part to play. Hadyn must travel north to warn
the land barons, which leaves Ewan with a bitter choice. Will he
sacrifice what is most precious to discover whether Corus lives? Even
more important, if Corus is alive, can he wake
the Sleeping King of legend...before it's too late?</span></i><br />
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<i></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
This series of books blends Arthurian legend with the author's incredible imagination. Mr. Briggs writes confidently and with a masters touch - he is rather talented and he weaves a dense tale full of magic, deception and mysteries galore. This book is second in what will be a series of five. Unfortunately, for me I haven't had the pleasure of reading book one. So for the first few chapters or so I felt rather confused. Now, usually I prefer that when reading a series of books that the author not spend an inordinate amount of time retelling and retelling what happened in previous books. Too much backstory is tedious and interrupts the flow. However, zero backstory leaves the reader on her own. That would be my only caveat...read Book of Names first. Please. Otherwise, this is an immense saga spanning great distances and between great lengths of time and Mr. Briggs tells this story with a strong and lyrical voice. </div>
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On a side note there is a very interesting story about this book. At one point near the end of the book there is one rather odd sentence. Now, it turns out that during the editing of the book there happened to be a gale storm of apparently epic proportions. Mr. Editor presumably headed for higher ground and in the midst of such chaos there happened a weird little cut and paste accident. Mr. Briggs explains it <a href="http://deanbriggs.com/2011/09/22/three-for-3-a-review-for-a-song/" target="_blank">here</a> and I suggest that you read his account of how it happened as I am told that I tend to mix up my facts from time to time. Now I only want to know...What does Poplar Springs Baptist Church still need?!?! </div>
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***</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
ABOUT THE AUTHOR</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/cd/d8/1360810ae7a0c6fb0255d110.L._V192424701_SX200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/cd/d8/1360810ae7a0c6fb0255d110.L._V192424701_SX200_.jpg" /></a></div>
Dean "D. Barkley" Briggs is an author, father of eight, and waaay too
prone to twisting his ankle whenever he attempts a pick-up basketball
game in his old age. He grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lews,
Patricia McKillip, Guy Gavriel Kay, Stephen R. Donaldson, Ursila K.
Leguin, Susan Cooper, Madeline L'Engle, Terry Brooks, Andre Norton and
Lloyd Alexander (just to name a few).<br />
In the aftermath of losing
his wife of 16 years, Dean decided to create a heroic journey that his
four sons could relate to. Thus was born a new and paradoxical genre:
semi-autobiographical fantasy, as Dean actively weaves elements of his
life and family into the plots of his stories.<br />
"The Legends of
Karac Tor" tells the edgy, sweeping tale of four brothers who get
stranded on another world. Together, they must find their courage,
battle overwhelming odds, face their pain, and never quit searching for
home. Five books total are planned.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.<br />
<br />
<br />MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-77693679304016009782011-11-30T01:00:00.000-08:002011-11-30T01:00:09.126-08:00Out of My Mind - Sharon M. Draper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rakestrawbooks.com/images/books/out_of_my_mind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.rakestrawbooks.com/images/books/out_of_my_mind.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAdEAAAB6CAIAAABvDf5VAAAPJElEQVR4nO2d24GqMBCGKYqOqMdybMZmPA+ukrlmghrdPd/3tJJ7gD/DwGaWKwAAzGKZ3N55W5ZlWdbTZXLDAABfgNLcy2lVmmiPPMXv09yfHt/Zzm3ifXaSMV1O668aLwC8EzS3w+W0NjJ73lrZPW/NSM6bFuTry2cPAH47o5rbGnZBzu3889c9yZSRGiQNyT1FHhdCJw7s7V6d5h71Bd0z1eU0yno5rWIc+vc9sz1uK9zH2uQMJsCbUr0s1GcZAKbyjJ1bkmOlacrO1Wbvebv9KVVb/lI1Ssm9Jcqct5RgtRjS3Mtp3XMaw1YeeBjBfc1VK8regFwwxBomG3L7tP9QXZW2OwBMJNBci6caUu60vdkeE0/gj99eiTaX1BW/mPdDt2YzmqY6musVzjS31dmKnStb8nKHAtr89izv7dzrAQBM5ICda3U51lyjaEI8I+eu1UF5pGnJN4G99SIU+BFaD26oucoOfUJz1VQ/1g5RnVRjjVhvvMkGgJkMaq7/q6u5xkn7nObuSnv2fBC+rrxEc1s9zTXXwW051lz7vq6iudnwmo7hWwD4DGOaq3Sr7lvw7dyDvoWrljXnPZkd6VO+BVFLo/D5O7T8+N6+6ylQCVXfQmUgPW0GgLcxaOdK7Quf+OMKX/AOTdSrj7vOjCf8uZfT2lSvvrXtfyt2L1TV3KZGUUy8aRPN3obVvkOTbo3tfL2et9LiAADvZ9ifK8Ru7dm5uoQjkyq5+63YVSd320uN6p6d67lU/dRIxirfLbiVCFeA0Gbhnz2ZjxJMf5NGAGAqs//3FxTPP+crKxYAvhk098Mc0dzmw10cBQC/CzT3wxzTXBwFAL8UNBcAYB5oLgDAPNBcAIB5oLkAAPNAcwEA5oHmAgDMA80FAJgHmgsAMA80FwBgHmguAMA80FwAgHm8UHPTQAxtYmmb8NeEdXgf7Pt95/lddvbtJ5nRUSZch+dt3rYef+q2kntbP6jEoBwIofDrNdfZHv1+WPbkl14c9gQ/fTM9q7kv2hlN7SffHPz0adJz/lL5evt16GzcLAcgQm2/tLVK5kGR0sWGd8S2SpCXcgaU71n+qKoyorLmlviM5l5O67JumxGBP6W5Zl/050PEPXPHvW7/XxFA4/oliqsnyF0bjvPm61CdXOeujIIaHqM8HDmNI2f6vKkAsX6cFjc6lq+GabwY27VenAhhk+oZl9O9pzqxDtuiuhptB6i2osiJ3ZhowmYtGdc/8xVcaKIXt6z7efDWfpUwXsRTyCYW3S1GxF4mvipEDSaCZSXoUZwkqxQPotKiiELImwxJ4KX1dMkijbajMRd7qf9yfc1PmXthWHQDesrjqyWoOmk3qsrMW//U7OPXQzltYpK3bYtOuVAze+6soZpPeDynx1f+ZoiVCId2UeiW0kWqmuuGK/c1142dFmqujYgmNTdtWp46GSJIXU8VzZWx0/S1Zu1cuWz4K13zY7xIR3OD6ciMBe/+j1Z9G3fNTWqqFJlUL35is1lsvqgPlafYe0Q4fQpL/X/8lvPqnjLHQjo05/HVIpsKlpK2eH7hNV04eGoeQ3k8mlxO6+1nc+353bbnTl1eW3ObuhMusCkHDf62IlOFU6c91C+lDrzFzr3a5EhzQxdC2pb2uraiG9RY0Fy14uk7Np3p/dTFt/B4ka6d60eLSNZ8syJZQ9wdZJJ0b03NWdnwSCRIHah5IR5GUltNof9tx+N1o13n0wauXqmrtnKzxt3exu2mF94hm9Dma8/1dr5XbAx327lqH+IJdzLGa2qZ1C3wKs1Vo6j5cwNV7WhuSWfls4h9vnTb0oXasqGK98ju/QHN9frW0dywyHs013lAdltrjiRJjZcjfPJOb3AxLVlDRc2192Ol/4Oa232AVE2Zi6Htqnu1+OWSdtML79CpsVe9uCC2bdvvYXn12dHoPgTzVdZcPeB1HddcYYh7fXqR5qrBF75bUI+eS6CDBzXXabNrUxtr3BvCkfnXiMekAc0tP0R3iszQ3L35JzTXXisiY5yqR/8SzbU2z8c1t71HYj9Dg1w3hNcr0dxwhtNbJTo1ieYKoVV/Rv6NV2uu6WstZ9NSzz0xVXNjJ8qA5lZ8C3YaKr7jTFeP+RacU9au3oO+hfg2GisyV3Of9C1YQclGHyU871tw5/O7fAvKLulrT9W3EM5w/Ukj7Lg+sntu9zsl7PbLfQtOuQHJtU9CXmvpzTJQasi34HZ1aecx1lyZN9Lc86auv4qda3uiLIFhzXXPrbzA8sVM55VPBx3fQlxE9Os2hFdrbtu0vG3FdRwnBeNQN1ncJ2dagj48obm9ofmT3Dtlcnaq67lcm/xTH/cpaTe58LSNeejURFn3LqXdTmyaa/sObVhz7WLvGLFJ7qBP7lLkHeyVUofGNNd/BFea29L1M2gnlLqaQs312ktt4FRzg1VS3Kd7Tz2bUF0csm/N3TJYRD3/vcbO9U+fk0HVESTZtvWXa15lO77l4BV7RnPToUWTnJ+yptTNnz32DLXnd0+96JPxv0TtRhees84WTo05Nz3Njbvtnru2H127RCOmwRqjhWLeDMQXSShVaSk7JvZbAHgF1fXglzHsJv0GrCfwg1gDAM0FOETzJervlKYaiaP6S7mc1u85F870obkAhxDPmt9zk7+ezDkKCYGXH80FAJgHmgsAMA80FwBgHmguAMA80FwAgHmguQAA80BzAQDmgeYCAMwDzQUAmAeaCwAwDzQXAGAeaO77GdkA5fftKAIAI2jN7YRT+D/QO2U+uYmJCKTQqQfNBfjboLkOg4E+emDnAsCduuYGYRnapNse+4tTg2M5BlHU/Hg/xa3blySQRJPQW1gSzb1p4t5uHGRhb8C3c2XfZQygqH4A+O0cs3NVCJ9davZYhFZGS1HUnBg8QaN5tT8/m4CBcYcMHc2VQVWCiGFRkEY3Vt8jclVWPwD8AQ76FqRSprppQqwd1Vw/RqVf7U+qTnTDY1oSf24crykPyCo1dyggI6IL8IcY0lwbvq2guW6E3gHNDRrNq/VUM1Byh65vQcyIE/FU5nSkNoyfh+YC/G3KmivtygE714jogOYmjabVdsMX57xfc9WkLsIER3MB/i5VzVXSeMC3cMDOzRrNqw0CrncG2aaPau6QbyGuFc0F+NuU7VyplDJb7dsD9e6r8iqs0mitWqFmb9FcWaoNP2c1VwXmjpUbzQX4Y0SaKxFW57Isy7qW7dw2g6mzmxo32q02/tDsLe/QZIPr6dT7bsHtNJoL8Lf5wP/+qg+3vrzawyhbFgDg+gHNzT2t31btEOdNmrxILgBoZmhu55/Jvqza4wiHwac7AwBfCfuKAQDMA80FAJgHmgsAMA80FwBgHmguAMA80FwAgHmguQAA80BzAQDmgeYCAMwDzQUAmAeaCwAwDzQXAGAeSnPtzrHNRl1xorvrrruTrdrUu7YVTLxpmGz40KZil9OaFLyc1jAIcTdmnA4bUZpTOw7bVqeU2HRYBi/SQzlvR+cNAI7g2ble6F2zzXcbCMGk3n97O4/LQDu55qqtw6Q2SCU+sH3urlxBKTesWlJKzIk+HsVkt1lNjLfuuEQpEa9C7oGuAmCkPQGAd1DT3CCm43kLNFfnF9rpR0PPcOM69IJTFKPGmzhmKiHYCNcpFSqYG3qyFGq900Mvg65b/W7sWhQX4AOMaW6kkYGdax0Jp+2e7VnNNctAEB/toOY+LMKy5sZCalMCFQ3isHU0V5YymfWBH6lFcQE+QtG34EUeU8+sWfousLe/Hn/44cG0FmSaazrxAs1tRbKsuedtj9imWtZOU1/vQhVMNVeX6mru2HIHAK+l6s+9+sLqRuS9NhotglTeY94uy7KdXmTnhppbJbAD2591zW0ySqGVMSRWR13jYMOZ5ppSdc3FygX4AAOa26B9DVYU5ZO+sKwc526HQ76FKq7mOliF7RwZcTakztVYc51SXc39UWl8CwAfoaa5bXTFG+5HAzXNFUbfF79D25s55s8NNdexaGMjN+uhV6rwDu3nJ6oL8AGqmuseiH2n6mMx7UHsvZPzO1T5Vsx+ZzVLc72XWcGHvZ6Rm0xE0MOoVOdbMe1Xxq0LMJPq/0TYBOO7TDLYtzY1T0Dn1V36PxF9zdW9dvtilC0tFfznQzsQ00pibyZtZVZq8j8R3vdtGLsA8+B/fwEA5oHmAgDMA80FAJgHmgsAMA80FwBgHmguAMA80FwAgHmguQAA80BzAQDmgeYCAMwDzQUAmAeaCwAwDzQXAGAeaC4AwDzQXACAeVT3z80Ti/vnLnbb8tKO2UEAL9PqkbA8pXEuXggMr0vpEOK80ebhYam2D9F+wvURBW0NzEOywzCb8wK0VOOhBVEm1Y7mWoPb4LnqHixprtqz3InNcz+kgl72kTKXxqlpty2XG39XwtvsCtTZYTzQLT8+sFPZwREVeuiViqNRnDctzMguwIOa5gZRHc5boLk6vxN2csTODeKhbTr6mKgwjxNRj14mBMWLNlaSlDSm2XauRwAKWzw4on4PvQydqGtD9QL8V4xpbhYN3LFzrSPhtN2zPa25kjD0elVzI21QYc1UgJuyoPgZH5Ufj3T59IiKQ7HB3joR3bsdBvgvKfoWOoHJXM+fdf3dQ3zvf6hY7cEzbiafTVHfG5kEMDfxGP3neDeGWLYEBc059bQPAiUdPG/Lsq6rN1fHRxT1MC5V1tw0oDHAf0jVn3v1hfUnT+DtfRxpBfaWdzu91s4th/mNBrSujhZZxTA+TS+AfOHJXYnYmObq6J8m3PLIiOK2klI1zSWuMIBhQHMbtK/BCp50rwqj1nHudijp6QHR1UNyQqA7kme0pjIGV3MdOs3ZIyPOhtT9HGtudR6c5wwEF0BR09zzpm8e6T8d0lxhjh3X3McLvCDTmAY72ukcsupzVHMVx/25oebWRlTooVeq9w7Ni+sOANe65roHjIiah9yfDPqFWe+dnN8hq3a2RvsFVOHO956BfS1T32nVH55fpbney6zgw97aiHo9jErF34rhUQBIqP5PhE0wZk2SwX6kEHx9pkhf3ZlG7Vv7VHObyk0veg/hpjMxupvuiI2ypaXaxMBhMTKipK1sHoJ3ie45Q4IBfuB/fwEA5oHmAgDMA80FAJgHmgsAMA80FwBgHmguAMA80FwAgHmguQAA80BzAQDmgeYCAMzjH2/5B5I1CBjLAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" /></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=mharread-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=141697170X" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a
video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete
button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it.
Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don't think she's capable
of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of
listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again
and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people
what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't
talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is
making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until she discovers something
that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has
a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.From
multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story
full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll
never, ever forget.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>***</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My daughter brought this book home for me after seeing it on one of her (numerous) book orders at school. She said that it "just sounded so interesting, mommy". I am truly one blessed Momma. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There is no doubt that this book will stay with you for the rest of your life. It's message will reside there somewhere in the depths and reaches of your being, fluttering just on the edges of your conscience it will speak to you, I guarantee that. It will most likely change your world view. You will probably not see anyone the same again, you will never look upon the sea of human faces and simply dismiss them flippantly. No, you will forever be changed if you read 'Out of My Mind'.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="color: #45818e;">"You've got it easy-you have all of your physical functions working properly. You never have to struggle just to be understood...you're just lucky...all of us who have our faculties intact are just plain blessed. Melody is able to figure out things, communicate, and manage in a world where nothing works right for her."</i></div>
</blockquote>
Not even Melody's mother has any idea what is really going on inside of Melody. Melody is trapped inside and she can't communicate the simplest things to those around her. She wants to share memories with her parents and can't, the things she loves about them most she can't tell them, she hears a song and can not tell anyone that she likes it. Oh, how I fell in love with Melody and how desperately I wanted to make it all okay...make it all go away. Sometimes, I am struck by how much we take for granted. Sometimes, this realization brings tears to my eyes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.pepperdine.edu/pr/images/events/2009/june/SharonDraper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pepperdine.edu/pr/images/events/2009/june/SharonDraper.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://sharondraper.com/" target="_blank">Sharon Draper</a> is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author,
most recently for Copper Sun, and previously for Forged by Fire. She's
also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award
for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger and the Coretta Scott King Author
Honor for The Battle of Jericho and November Blues. Her other books
include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn, and Double Dutch. She
lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for
twenty-five years. She's a popular conference speaker, addressing
educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally.<br />
<div class="tiny">
This biography was provided by the author or their representative.</div>
<br />
*The opinions stated herein are all my own.MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4066524743047438182.post-10194200790204916282011-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:002011-11-22T00:00:05.600-08:00CASTAWAY ON THE MOON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn-2.nflximg.com/en_us/boxshots/gsd/70125342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn-2.nflximg.com/en_us/boxshots/gsd/70125342.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;">2009</span> <span style="color: #990000;">Not Rated</span> <span style="color: #b45f06;">116 minutes</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="synopsis">
<i>Kim Seong-geun (Jae-yeong Jeong), despondent over
being dumped by his girl, decides to end it all by jumping into the Han
River, but instead wakes up on a tiny island in the middle of the
waterway, now a castaway in the teeming heart of civilization. Part
social commentary, part romantic adventure with hints of science
fiction, Lee Hey-jun's film touches on topics ranging from economic
disparity to the alienating nature of modern urban existence.</i></div>
<dl class="clearfix">
<dt> Cast:</dt>
<dd><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiRoleDisplay?personid=20037599">Jae-yeong Jeong</a></dd>
<dt> Director:</dt>
<dd><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiRoleDisplay?personid=30165432">Hae-jun Lee</a></dd>
<dt> Genres:</dt>
<dd><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=6548">Comedies</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=5763">Dramas</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=7462">Foreign Movies</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=8883">Romantic Movies</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=4426">Foreign Comedies</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=5475">Romantic Comedies</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=2150">Foreign Dramas</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=1255">Romantic Dramas</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=7153">Romantic Foreign Movies</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=5685">Korean Movies</a></dd>
<dt>Language:</dt>
<dd>
Korean
</dd>
<dt> This movie is:</dt>
<dd><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=4136">Emotional</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=2979">Imaginative</a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=8883">Romantic</a></dd><dd> </dd><dd> </dd><dd style="text-align: center;">***</dd><dd style="text-align: center;"> </dd><dd style="text-align: center;"> </dd><dd style="text-align: left;"> I've been really into watching Korean movies lately. Castaway on the moon is a fairly serious commentary on modern life. The commercialism, greed, consumption, our reliance on modern 'necessities' and our resulting crippling alienation from each other in the process. While the overall them is quite heavy this movie has some pretty funny moments in it. I found myself laughing out loud, crying and rooting for the characters - there are some very touching moments. It is beautifully filmed...a near perfect film in my opinion. So much about it works on so many levels. The dichotomy of the hero being shipwrecked on an island in the middle of a bustling city-so close yet so far away. A perfect metaphor for how so many of us live our lives today. The heroine that has a self imposed alienation from the world, living in a virtual world, afraid of human contact also speaks to the modern way of life. </dd><dd style="text-align: left;"> </dd><dd style="text-align: left;">There are some films that stay with you long after the last credits roll. This is one such film. It is truly amazing...easily one of the best films I've seen probably ever. </dd><dd style="text-align: left;"><br /></dd><dd style="text-align: left;">I was really very surprised by how much I truly liked this film and found myself telling everyone about it. I hope you'll take the time to give this film a watch. </dd><dd style="text-align: left;"> </dd><dd style="text-align: left;"> </dd><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<dd style="text-align: left;"><br /></dd></dl>MLHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11923858059968333886noreply@blogger.com0